I began this series by stating that Saint Peter is the Church’s wedding ring (as “rock”) and Saint Paul is her “Best Man”. These two “pillars” also represent two specific wedding vows between the Bridegroom and the Church:
1.) Our Lord’s wedding vow to the bride THROUGH Saint Peter: “thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her.” (Matthew 16)
2.) The bride’s wedding vow to the Bridegroom THROUGH Saint Paul: “she shalt love the Lord her God with her whole heart, and with her whole soul, and with her whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like to this: she shalt love her neighbor as herself.” (Matthew 22)
Paul writes to the Church in Galatian 5:14 that, “ALL THE LAW is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Our Lord tends to the Church’s needs, fights her battles and “sees to it” (Providence), as we learned in Part Two, through the instruction of Saint Paul; and the bride in turn tends to God’s will. How can the Church carry out the will of her Bridegroom? By keeping that above vow in ALL things: love of God and love of neighbor in TWO SPECIFIC guiding principles through Mary: charity and gratitude. The two are inseparable, and have been made nearly void not only in the world today, but in the very heart of Holy Mother Church.
I will answer the “why” to that question in this final post in honor of Saint Paul. Because how did we get here? We often ONLY speak of the “robbery” the Church suffered through her liturgy, papacy, theology, dogmas, her soul and the hijacking of the holy land, but what of the forgotten “vow” of charity? The virtue, that if lacking, makes even the most noble deed “count as dung” as the Gentile Prince proclaimed. The virtue that serves as the glue, so to speak, to all of those for-mentioned “ornaments”?
In fact, in the Latin Rite of the Divine Office for one of the two feasts of Peter’s Chair for Rome and Antioch, we read how the “doctrine” during Moses’ time was referred to as the “CHAIR” of Moses (a type of foreshadowing of the papacy) and that was replaced with the CHAIR of Peter (actual papacy) which represents the LAW (doctrine). If Peter represents the law and Paul is the “New Aaron” then I think it’s safe to assume that Paul represents charity as shown in the above vow made on behalf of the bride.
This is not without biblical foundation either; especially now that I showed you the biblical evidence of Paul being the Best Man to the Church. If Peter’s chair represents the law, then the Mass represents charity because ONLY in the traditional Latin Mass of the apostles do we learn, in an ordered manner, to love God and neighbor PROPERLY through the worship instituted by God Himself on Holy Thursday. Love of God, a PROPER love of self which in turn teaches us to love our neighbor in an ordered fashion.
Everything goes back to law and “order”. As Saint Paul even reaffirms: it is Christ Who “subdues” all things to Himself (Philippians 3:21). We can’t hate ourselves, because then we could not in turn love God or our neighbor. But if we love ourselves NOT in the light of God, we will hurt our neighbor; we will also hurt ourselves. This “balance” and harmony of love of God, self and neighbor begins at the Mass, then we in turn can take that “order” into the world. And if the Mass is a wedding between Our Lord and His bride DAILY… and Saint Paul is the Best Man, it only makes sense that this “pillar” would represent charity the way Peter represents the “binding”(law).
The bride is carried by these “pillars” (crutches) because the law and charity are inseparable and FULFILL the new marriage covenant sealed on Good Friday. I thought it most fitting to end this final series on the Gentile Prince with the attack and assault on the greatest theological virtue of charity because as I stated, “the best is saved for last” and did not Saint Paul say, “the greatest of these… is charity?” The best post is saved for last, because it’s the most important.
Recap: Paul is the Church’s Best Man (part one), Father of Providence (part two) and lastly, Father of Charity and Restoration (part three).
Let us bring this Saint Paul Series home with a bang; only one that Saint Paul can fire. I understand whole heartedly after all these years that my writing or my straight forwardness, either greatly offends, or greatly convinces. I’ve learned not to care about the former as much, PRECISELY because my sole goal is love of God and love of neighbor, as Our Lord and Saint Paul have demanded. I used to shed tears over the slightest criticism and have a hard time sleeping over it; now I sleep like a baby. I say that with the utmost humility, because I know what I have signed up for in declaring uncomfortable truths because it’s not about “me, me, me” anymore.
How freeing! But why I stopped caring in that way is precisely because Our Lord did not operate this way; neither did my beloved Paul. Stop mistaking prudence with effeminacy, Church Militant. Less souls would be in hell and purgatory, right now, if we only had the courage to be forthright! I have no fancy degree 📜 and I never will. I am a proud college dropout as you have read and many, even priests, will say that I have no credentials to use my God given brain. Saint Louis de Montfort prophesied that the true children of Mary would learn to carry on amidst the attacks from clerics.
I reject that NON biblical, highfalutin, Pharisee type notion because it’s the very accusations Our Lord and His apostles suffered at the hands of the chief priests and scribes of His time, who, let’s face it, didn’t want GOD to be worshipped in their place. Today’s priests may boast in their fancy degrees, but I do as Paul told me: I BOAST IN THE LORD. Did not Our Lord warn that He came in the Name of His Father and they do not accept Him, but another would come (anti christ) who will come in the name of himself and him they would accept? Isn’t that what today’s priests are doing? Choosing themselves over God.
Our Lord told the chief priests of His generation that publicans and harlots would enter into the Kingdom before them precisely because these publicans and harlots believed the Son of God and the preaching of penance from John the Baptist (Matthew 21:31-32). I suspect today’s priests will suffer the same fate. Peter’s symbol is the wedding ring and Paul’s is the double edged sword. Why is this sword of charity so “intolerable” to those who don’t properly serve God and neighbor? See what a dear reader of ours said below:
“With regards to people hating your words, it seems you have a convincing fire in you that either catches others on fire or offends them (aka the double edged sword). But don’t worry, I most certainly have not taken offense. In fact, there have been more times than I can count where you somehow convince me while also making me laugh out loud. Only the spirit of Christ can do that! I understand wholeheartedly your love for the truth, to defend it to the point of death, and I admire you deeply for it. I also think the Lord has a special love for His fiery servants; is it not the seraphim who stand closest to His throne that are the angels on fire!?”
DOUBLE EDGED SWORD, she said… and “fire” (charity). It’s double edged because those who love God with their whole heart, strength, mind and in turn learn to love their neighbor as themselves, INSTANTLY embrace the truth of Christ, even when ugly. It’s “fire” that catches because it’s the symbol of the Holy Ghost that Paul preached with his every breath.
His letters are smothered in the Holy Paraclete. But if those in the Church have not this light and truth in Our Lord, they repel and recoil because as the Gospel of Saint John says: the darkness could not comprehend the light (Truth). That is precisely why people either flocked after Our Lord (and Paul), or sought to put Him to death. Think about it. What did the Pharisees almost always rebuke Our Lord for because they repulsed His goodness? CHARITY! HEALING ON THE SABBATH. (Eye roll). This is the final assault on charity.
When in doubt, if the Pharisees had nothing, it’s the good ol’ sabbath argument. Yawn. Get a new complaint, you lame brood of vipers! But they knew not that charity is indeed the fulfillment of the law which is exactly why Our Lord performed healing on the sabbath, and it turns out that the very arch nemesis of this great virtue of charity has been around since the Garden of Eden with the fall of our first parents: NARCISSISM.
I have covered so much on the topic of narcissism already, in past works, that I am only going to include the best and shortest description through a priest who dedicates his life to the conversion of the Jews, below. The discovery I made gradually is that Jews display the same behaviors as narcissists and only when they are converted to Christ their King, will there be peace. MARY’S PROMISED PEACE?
The profound writing of Father James Mawdsley about the Jews, and the word “Jew” can easily be swapped with narcissism as the behaviors are the exact same:
People are averse to Jews (narcissists) because Jews (narcissism) are a mirror to our sin. Imagine you could hold up a mirror and it showed you all your sins. Would you dare to look at it, or would you look away?
Are you greedy for money? With the Jew (narcissist) it is in your face.
Are you ever sexually disordered? With the Jew (narcissist) it is celebrated and paraded.
Do you play the victim? Jews (narcissists) perfected the ploy since being kicked out of Jerusalem in AD 135.
Do you have an inflated sense of superiority? It is stratospheric in Jews (narcissists).
Do you ever fantasize about “vengeance” or entertain murderous anger? Look what they have done to Gaza.
Yes, “antisemitism” (your word) is purely because of how Jews (narcissists) behave. They show us the worst side of man, our own worst side, even the worst that anyone is capable of, up to crucifying the Son of God and not repenting it.
And people hate seeing their sin, for it is a hateful sight. It takes years, decades to face up to the truth of it. And the more you face up to it, the more you will find (that is both your sin and obnoxious Jewish behavior).
What should we do? Be patient with yourself; be patient with the Jew (narcissist). Do not deny your sin; do not deny the evil the Jews (narcissists) do. Mortify yourself, give sin no opportunity; remove Jews (narcissists) from all positions of power. But do not harm yourself; and do not harm the Jew (narcissist). Despite all your sins, trust that God has a plan for you, still; despite all their sins, trust that God has a plan for the Jews (narcissists), still.
There is a spiritual fight to win. Until then, the Jews (narcissists) are a mirror to our sin.
When I speak peace, they press hard for war. (Psalm 119)
Narcissists and Jews are the only ones who actively seek war when others speak peace. These groups also play the victim, all the while discarding and harming the innocent. Christ the King THE TRUE Victim… did not play the victim.
I cannot tell you how many times I have been SCOLDED, yes scolded, by PRIESTS and NUNS (in and outside Carmel) for being TOO CHARITABLE to other members of the Church. I mean… are we being serious? We often hear about people being scolded for being mean, but for being NICE? Then it hit me like a Divine Two by Four across the face when I saw how this was the very reason all throughout Our Lord’s Public ministry that He was hated by the Pharisees; NAY, even QUESTIONED by the apostles: for His compassion. His mercy. His charity? Bingo.
The Pharisees were the original “OG” of Our Lord’s time; in short, they were narcissists. We hear the term narcissism thrown around ALL THE TIME, but it’s so much deeper than that. It’s the powers and principalities through the people of their choosing. Some believe it’s the demonic anger and traits of the Nephilim, which as we know biblically was the core reason Our Lord caused the Great Flood.
It is the core trait that will be found in anti christ when he will be worshipped in the place of God. I’ve studied this topic for years now, written about it and it has become very near and dear to my heart, because it has become a key link to my discernment process. The way that I use this discernment is when I detectweird behaviors in people:
The first time I see it, I give them the benefit of the doubt. Second time I see it, it’s a coincidence. Third time, it’s a pattern. And you know that saying: “when a person shows you who they are, believe them.” Narcissism is entirely biblical and we see Our Lord battle this behavior in the Pharisees ALL THROUGHOUT His public ministry. He leaves plenty of spicy examples of how to deal with these “hypocrites.”
It’s the real cancer found in the CENTER of the Church’s heart and it truly goes back to the grabbing of the apple with Eve: “you shall be like gods”. When we “become like gods” we cease to serve God and neighbor and, like Satan, say, “I will not serve” (i.e. narcissism). The other cancer cell that is also a black eye to the Church, is feminism. The two go together; they feed off each other. Adam’s sin was narcissism and Eve’s was feminism. Eve sought to control (grab) and Adam didn’t take responsibility: “that woman thou gavest me” (more eye rolls).
What makes the New Adam (Jesus), New Eve (Mary) and New Jerusalem (Church) different than Adam, Eve and the synagogue? Our Lord “took responsibility”, Mary didn’t seek to control Our Lord’s mission but STOOD by Him in FULL SURRENDER, and the New Jerusalem as the Church must rid herself of SELF WORSHIP (the great whore of Babylon which is narcissism and feminism; both of these are found in the New Mass) because being the “house of God” ONLY the honor and glory of the Trinity can dwell in those walls.
Neither the New Mass or narcissism are compatible with the true Church and the True Mass. I would go so far as to say that the New Mass is narcissism but in ceremonial form because God is replaced by man. Literally… SELF worship. This is all just paving the way for the son of perdition. The Tabernacle is no longer one with the Altar, but moved off to the side or on another table somewhere all-together (sometimes you can’t even find it). Is that not proof enough? “Where have they taken him?” as the Magdalen cried!
When I used to go to the Bogus Ordo, there were times I was laughably genuflecting toward the opposite direction because Our Lord was placed in the BACK of the Church? The “serving of two masters”. Narcissism and the New Mass are the same. How can the Church rid herself of these black eyes of feminism and narcissism? Well, we must look at what is being attacked: The MASS (charity) and the LAW (papacy). None other than the TWO WEDDING VOWS I started in this post.
I don’t share too much of the negative details on this site or Mary’s Secretary blog about my religious life experiences, but after leaving discalced life (which had systemic issues of its own you can read about here) I have had about fifteen (more or less) opportunities open up for religious life since my departure from JMJ Carmel before finding Aflavia (a living saint, and I don’t say that lightly) and either the law was not met with the papacy or the Mass OR… charity was void.
I have written in depth on some of these experiences of lack of charity privately and what I have found in these priests and religious was charity was replaced. Either by feminism, narcissism, or both. Charity cannot, and will not, live with those two “diseases”. These have been some of the worst human behaviors I have ever experienced. To be blunt, today’s current religious life is a “living hell on earth”. Void of proper gratitude and love.
I was going to zero in on ONLY the state of religious life lacking charity (or compromise of the Mass and papacy) but I realized that it’s so much bigger than religious life. I will say that these behaviors I have witnessed in today’s priests and nuns finally brought me to a powerful breaking point (the freeing kind) where I promised myself, “never again” will I tolerate this assault on the law and charity. I will never again compromise one for the other; they go hand in hand. Tolerating abuse of the sacred is not holy, and it never has been holy. It started out with a righteous anger, perfectly described by this below video that truly hit home:
Paul even says in Ephesians 4:26 to, “be angry, and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your anger.” Meaning, anger can serve as a catalyst to restore order the way Our Lord did in the Temple, but we must not remain in that state forever (rumination). Speaking of “home”. The Church is “THE HOUSE OF GOD” and the disastrous state of religious life is only in its current mess precisely because the root of the problem is deeper than that: it’s the current STATE OF HOLY MOTHER CHURCH as a whole.
ALL HER MEMBERS ARE INFECTED. My first study of narcissism that helped me connect all the dots of my experiences was introduced to me several years ago through a very sharp, no nonsense, witty and compassionate woman named Dr Ramani Durvasula whose entire area of expertise is the field of narcissism (I’m sorry?). She said the latest research showed that 1 in every 6 people are narcissists. Holy crow!
Apply that catastrophe to the Church and all her members. Just imagine 1 in every 6 of the Church’s members having narcissism. I’ll never forget her words on what narcissism does to the soul: “YOU WERE ROBBED.” Again, apply those words to the Church. She was robbed. I cried tears of recognition but also tears of gratitude because when you finally understand what the problem is, though painful, you can finally STOP GASLIGHTING YOURSELF and start gathering the wreckage to assess the damage.
The book of the Apocalypse even shows the NEW Jerusalem being rebuilt, so it’s proof that God promises not only will the damage be repaired (reparation) but the Church will be even more glorious than before because as the anonymous monk said, who wrote Hermitage Within, “God restores much more wondrously than He creates.” Remember, Job was not only restored, but given restitution. Meaning, God gave him more than he had before. And what is stolen… is returned to its rightful owner. In our case, the Church. See how even Zacheus in today’s gospel not only “restored”, but did so “four fold” to those he stole from:
“If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost’.”
(Luke 19)
HE TOO IS A SON OF ABRAHAM (I’m sure the Pharisees loved that; heavy emphasis on the sarcasm). I actually go out of my way to avoid those in the Church who display behaviors of narcissism precisely because they are void of charity, proper feeling and sound doctrine, lack self awareness (this part is so dangerous and why the illumination of conscience is something to be feared because we will ONLY see ourselves through the perspective of how God sees us), produces a sort of venom or poison (they are “robbers” and thieves after all and is what is known as “narcissistic supply” to them when they steal). Saint Paul concluded his letter to the Romans with what to do with this sort:
“Now I beseech you, brethren, to mark them who make dissensions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For they that are such, serve not Christ our Lord, but their own belly; and by pleasing speeches and good words, seduce the hearts of the innocent.”
Romans 16:16-17
Recap with detecting narcissists or toxic behavioral patterns:
1.) Mark them (recognize the problem).
2.) Avoid them.
3.) Their god is their belly (appetites: narcissism). Acceptance!
Besides God the Father and Saint Joseph, isn’t Paul the best Father ever? Don’t provide this “drug” supply to these “filthy little thieves”. They are indeed “filthy little thieves” (said in Sméagol voice). Ironic coming from Gollum, I know, but it’s my favorite example. But in our case, narcissism STEALS from God’s “household” (the Church). We can put on a warm smile, but strong fences make good neighbors, and thieves do NOT belong in the House of God.
This final post is so beyond fitting that it is being posted on one of my all time favorite feasts: the dedication of the Holy Savior, Saint John Lateran’s Basilica in Rome, because not only does this very Church represent the MOTHER AND HEAD OF ALL THE CHURCHES OF THE CITY AND OF THE WORLD (this phrase is inscribed there), but it was the first ever building publicly consecrated in the year 324 under Pope Sylvester, gifted to us by Emperor Constantine, during the era of true peace and PUBLIC WORSHIP taking place outside of the catacombs.
The heads of Peter and Paul are found within the walls of the Lateran, a piece of the Last Supper Table and baptisms are performed there on Easter Vigil which is a main reason why this represents Holy Mother Church giving birth to children through the sacraments on the eve of Easter Sunday as a form of triumph. We celebrated the 1700 year anniversary of the dedication of this first ever consecrated Church last November 9th, 2024. You know Who is more spot on than Gollum, however? Our Lord:
“It is written: My house is a house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves.”
~Luke 19: 46
“How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord.”
Our Lord did not “do business” with thieves. In fact, He took out a whip, flipped tables and it was His first act AFTER He was hailed as King riding in on a donkey showered with palms. His first act as Bridegroom under the title of King was “cleaning house” for His bride. Why? Because He is a very good Husband. Blaise Arminjon, S.J. in his book Cantata of Love says when Our Lord is specifically referred to under His title as King it is always in relation to the bride, and His ENTRANCE into the temple of Jerusalem, because He is worshipped as King in her, His Tabernacle (this terminology is all over the book of the Apocalypse).
Jerusalem was the then synagogue, but now it is the Catholic Church. Just as in Our Lord’s time He went up to the Temple to CELEBRATE HER DEDICATION. Essentially, Saint John Lateran’s Basilica represents HOLY MOTHER CHURCH and today? IS HER DEDICATION.
“Dedication is the act of giving a person, place or thing to God for a special use. Examples include the dedication of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 8:63) and the walls of Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 12:27).
Basilicas are named after specific figures in the Church. Saint Mary Major is dedicated to Our Lady. Saint Peter’s is for Peter. Saint Paul Outside the Walls, is for Saint Paul. The Pantheon which was once pagan is now dedicated to ALL THE SAINTS. The list goes on and on. Many of the martyrs have basilicas in Rome named after them. Every Catholic Church is named or dedicated in honor of someone, and this is not without meaning. Think about it; ponder it; Our Lord really thought of everything. Buildings matter, and they represent something very specific.
But with today’s post, it’s about Holy Mother Church as a HOUSEHOLD, and the Lateran Basilica is her headquarters. And she has been robbed. Her remedy is charity, because it’s the only cure to narcissism. It’s the only thing the souls in Purgatory have as they can’t pray for themselves, but they selflessly pray for us. It will be the only thing remaining in heaven, because all else will have passed away as Saint Paul foretold (was not he “caught up” in the Third Heaven?). And when I say charity, I am referring to Mary’s perfect charity, passed down to us through the hands of Saint Paul as we read in Part One.
“Only She can help you.”
Holy Mother Church’s “office” as “wife of the Lamb” is to
1.) Teach.
2.) Govern.
3.) Sanctify ALL MEN.
This is the ideal wife in Proverbs 31 in a nutshell. But because she has been robbed, she can no longer properly do this at her normal “headquarters”. However, this is why she is known as ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC (universal) AND APOSTOLIC. Our Lord was found “teaching in the temple” immediately after casting the thieves out, and He was also found teaching in the Temple when He stayed behind for three days in His youth. That was a foreshadowment of His “cleaving to His wife” by leaving Father and Mother.
Even IF His bride is without a visible head temporarily (papacy), her “King” will take up rest in her as a LIVING Tabernacle and will never ever “divorce her” but as my Grandpa Ken reminded me in a letter he wrote me just a year before his death, Our Lord will treat the bride as predicted by the prophet Hosea: He will allure her, speak to her heart and LEAD HER INTO THE WILDERNESS. And she will SING there according to the days of her youth.
“And this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of God.”
Jacob, Genesis 28:22
How terrible is this place! This is none other than the house of God.
How to replace what is stolen:
“If the householder did know at what hour the thief would come, he wouldsurely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open.”
~Luke 12:39~
We WATCH: discern the voice of the Shepherd from that of the wolves, hirelings and strangers.
Holiness becometh the house of God: In her let us worship her Bridegroom, even Christ.
“May peace be in your walls, and abundancewithin thy towers.”
The antidote to feminism is trustful surrender to Divine Providence:
I will not go into too much detail on feminism because that was essentially covered in Part Two, but may it suffice it to say that not only is it found in the New Mass and in the most liberal corners of the counterfeit church today, but it is also found in the most traditional circles. It’s called covert feminism, to be mild.
Ann Barnhardt in a recent interview with my friend Stephen Kokx, said that “women, unchecked and uncontrolled, ruin everything they take over. You MUST keep the womenfolk under control.” She went on to quote an essay she read on the topic and I was stunned when she said that the problem today, and what we have to be especially careful about is WOMEN in charge of ORDAINED MEN.
And what hit me is how even NUNS do this to priests as Mother Superiors. This is an EVIL. The essay she quoted also talked about how LARGE GROUPS OF WOMEN are a recipe for disaster. I immediately thought of COMMUNITIES of nuns, WOMEN, and women leading other women.
This is totally disordered and perverted and I truly see clearly after the dust has settled why Our Lord has shielded me from ever again joining a house of all women. Believe me, I tried before sticking to the current path and meeting my Sister Martyr Princess, Aflavia, and those were the doors that slammed in my face. It was as if Our Lord was saying, “yeah… we’re not doing that again.” In fact, and I say this not to attack these women, but in retrospect, most Mother Superiors I have met tend to have more masculine tendencies that are totally alien to our natural femininity.
I would witness a Prioress acting more like a husband figure and a sub prioress acting more as a wife, and honestly… it reminded me of how same sex couples act. See what I mean? Again, how do we fix this feminism, in short? I truly believe a valid pope (either the one destined to consecrate Russia to Mary’s Heart or who comes immediately after him) needs to decree that the office of Mother Superiors be TOTALLY ABOLISHED ONCE AND FOR ALL. And I mean as soon as possible. That women will only be grouped in twos and threes in the religious life and that their superior be a priest. Start there. It’s that simple. I know what you’re thinking:
BUT, Teresa of Jesus and Clare of Assisi were Mother Superiors, and many more. And I have an answer for that. How has that worked out for the Church? Our Lord set up a hierarchy of MEN, not women. The early Church militant did NOT have Mother Superiors, they came later, and as I proved in my post on the problems with Teresa’s Discalced Carmelite constitutions, even though I love her dearly, feminism was clearly at play even in her time; knowingly or unknowingly and her daughters suffered for it immensely (they still do). Don’t believe me?
Just for QUESTIONING one’s Mother Superior, her daughters were subject to whippings and imprisonment. You can Read about it here. Humbly, this is what happens when women are left “uncontrolled.” The antidote to feminism is trustful surrender to Divine Providence as covered in Part Two and that papal decree that I pray one day will be made into law.
How to get rid of feminism for non religious? EASY, abolish the New Mass once and for all, because that is where women have been given free rein; and do not give them any positions of power. Again, and I say this as a woman, it is that simple. Do not give women any opportunities to be tempted to “grab that apple”. Women are too power hungry and need to focus on imitating the Perfect Woman, Mary. I can say from experience that the more one stops seeking power as a female, but sticks to prayer and surrender, the happier she will be. The happier men will be too.
“Wonder not, my brethren, that Mary should be called martyr in spirit. He, indeed, may marvel who does not recall what Paul says, in mentioning among the greater sins of the Gentiles, that they were without affection. Such want of affection was far from Mary’s Heart. Let it be far from Her servants.”
Saint Bernard of Clairveaux Sermon for Our Lady of Seven Sorrows
A few years back I made a discernment visit to see if I was called to work with a Sister who had been a Carmelite for 30 years, to be a Carmelite Hermitess with her, and it only took a day for me to see why she was casually nicknamed “Sister Crazy Pants” by the parishioners.
It’s funny now, but when the family I was staying with asked me, “you know what she is known around here as, right?” Who are we kidding, it was kind of hilarious, then, too. Let’s put it this way; it only took me a day to realize “this person is a giant walking and talking red flag” but it took me two days of fighting with myself about saying “no”.
I didn’t yet know about how the Holy Ghost’s gift of Counsel worked, with Him giving you the answer IMMEDIATELY. Oh He told me, but I ignored the warnings. I did not believe it could be that easy. I look back in bewilderment as it was SAINT PAUL YET AGAIN on Sexagesima Sunday who gave me the strength to stop beating around the bush. Not very becoming behavior in any bride-to-be, is it?
I was sitting next to Sister Crazy Pants and as I pondered Saint Paul’s words in His Epistle to the Corinthians about God’s power being PERFECT IN INFIRMITY, I knew. When Mass was over, I excused myself instantly, once I was out of the chapel, I RAN to Sister’s car, grabbed my belongings (suit case etc) and when Sister came out, I told her it wasn’t a good fit.
She abruptly stormed off in a most immature, even laughable manner, but here is where I truly saw for the first time, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity confirm and reward my rejection of bad behavior. The very parishioners Sister scolded me for HOLDING the door open for, were the very ones who came to my rescue and worked to find my housing for the remainder of my stay. One of the monks who ran the book store, I will never forget when I told him of my concerns of Sister Crazy Pants, tell me, “you have good judgement”.
And when housing for me was found, it was him who ran out and confirmed I was taken care of. When I say several parishioners, who were angels if you ask me, all made sure I knew I was not alone and provided for, is no hyperbole. In fact, that day, I was picked up by the dear lady who ran the guesthouses and she sat me down at a banquet table with fancy silverware and China dishes where I was served a Gourmet Meal, tea and dessert as I sat directly across from an image of the Last Supper with a vase of yellow roses in the center of the table (my favorite color rose and I prayed to Therese beforehand for that very color).
Sitting across from the Best Bridegroom ever.
That was only the beginning. I was driven over to a HERMITAGE PALACE ( as a parishioner jokingly called it when they found out where I was staying) where a total of 16 people could fit, but on this rare occasion, even though it’s normally booked, I would be the ONLY ONE and the room I was given was none other than John the Baptist (a favorite of mine) and when I told my kind host, she said, “preparing the way?”. My point is, Our Lord as Bridegroom went above and beyond to prove to me that charity is everything. And it’s a vow.
And when we say NO to those who abuse this wedding vow of charity, Our Lord will confirm this truth and reward us with HIS OWN CHARITY AND HOSPITALITY. It only reinforced to me in that experience that Our Lord is very good, and He doesn’t like His children suffering at the hands of narcissists. I remember in that experience seeing the God Man for Who He was for the first time; it was one of relief that I finally understood his Heart.
It isn’t redemptive suffering by any stretch of the means to purposely place ourselves in harms way. In retrospect, I was accused of associating myself with people Sister Crazy Pants deemed “beneath her”. How does a religious of 30 years fail in basic understanding of love of neighbor? Did not Our Lord wash His apostles feet?
John’s room
Again, this was the very attitude the Pharisees had toward Our Lord when He was accused of healing and conversing with sinners; the “wrong sort”; harlots, tax collectors and sinners. Why Saint Paul’s PUBLIC correction of Peter is so important as an example of charity in the Church today is because it seemed that Peter wanted to fall back into that Jewish supremacy type attitude that only certain people with a certain bloodline (cough cough) can be associated with Abraham.
And this is where Paul had to publicly and with authority remind the first pope: that the children of Abraham are grafted in through the New Covenant of Grace. No more of this “you can’t sit with us” attitude because “you don’t have Abraham’s DNA.” As Father Mawdsley said, “better to admit the pope is in error rather than bow down to the Jews.” Peter’s error was an attack on charity.
You can almost tell Our Lord’s New Commandment of love of God and neighbor was hard to get used to or something, and was clearly foreign even to the apostles. Not Paul, though. It’s all charity, is not it? But Since Paul represents this “wedding vow” it is only fitting that he be the one to defend it and embrace it so naturally even AFTER his persecution of the Church prior.
Isn’t it no wonder that we have another “wormwood” anti pope (as Our Lady of LaSalette warned would be two of them) who is now attacking Mary’s title of co redemptrix and Mediatrix of all GRACE? That is because the NEW MARRIAGE COVENANT is all about Our Lord’s wedding to the gentile bride which is all about the joining of spirits and this happens through MARY’S GRACE. I will fight to the death on behalf of Mary, my Mother, Queen and Best Friend, and if anyone DARES to mutter a single word of insult to Her, they will have me to answer to:
My life motto. I have it taped in my music book for safe keeping.
But all these tiny little, just downright deranged experiences with priests and nuns finally made me understand that the weird customs such as “ignoring outsiders”, talking in a low whisper as if we are robots and even the whole “custody of the eyes” need to be weeded out of the Church. Custody of the eyes is good when avoiding worldly behavior or dress, but avoiding a beautiful mountain or purposely avoiding making eye contact with someone when you could offer them instead your warmest smile, is just downright pathetic. It’s that very lack of affection Paul preached against. Why are we IGNORING our neighbors? I have quoted this stellar quote by our dear friend Karen at least three times, now, but it’s worth repeating:
“The charity that the Church manifested in apostolic times and which converted thousands, if not millions, of pagans will never be seen again if such practices are not abolished and religious life once again built on mutual fraternal charity working together to love God and neighbor.”
(anonymous Third Order Carmelite)
Hermitage Palace with the most beautiful statue of Our Lady I have ever seen. I actually climbed the rail to sit next to Her. I have zero regrets. If I fell, it would have been worth it.
Again, no regrets.
Christ the King, Therese and Restoration of the Church through the triumph of Mary’s Immaculate Heart and the Holy Ghost
2025 truly seems to be the year of Christ the King and Saint Therese since BOTH celebrate the 100 year anniversary of a canonization (Therese) and the institution of a feast (Christ the King) from 1925. Aflavia and I had the most providential and unforgettable opportunity this 2025; on the vigil of Christ the King, October 25th, we were able to visit Saint Therese’s relics in San Jose, California all the way from France.
The relics included her Carmelite Habit, hair, bones, incorruptible flesh and some coffin dust. Doesn’t get much better than that, does it? My good friend Doc Edmund Mazza tipped me off about Therese’s visit since he too viewed her relics in his part of California. The last time Therese’s relics were here was 1999 and she is only visiting about six states in America for the tour. It was a true strike of good old Providence. After Aflavia and I, and her precious Mom and Dad knelt down before her relic case, she and I privately knelt in a pew off to the side of the Church and entrusted our vocations to Therese.
After we recited our prayer together, none other than Therese’s Canticle of Love began to play and I prayed specifically for an answer in a private prayer to Therese and when the song and prayer ended, someone randomly began speaking over the intercom, loud speaker and all, with a quote from Therese, which led both Aflavia and I to cry like babies. It was like receiving a direct answer from Therese directly over the microphone which also made me laugh because it was essentially an answer to my question, and so something Therese would do. The quote, more or less, was this:
“I finally had rest. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I had not recognized myself in any of the members described by Saint Paul, or rather I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that if the Church had a body composed of different members, the most necessary and most noble of all could not be lacking to it, and so I understood that the Church had a heart and THAT THIS HEART WAS BURNING WITH LOVE. I understood it was love alone that made the Church’s members act.”
It seemed fitting that all in 2025 on the feast of Mary’s Assumption, Aflavia and are enrolled in Mary’s Miraculous Medal OF GRACE and then in turn we touch our medals to Saint Therese’s relics on the vigil of the 100 year anniversary of Christ the King, the way we did to Philomena’s first class relics the year before. It’s clear that just as the papacy and Mass (two wedding vows) are under attack, so is Mary and Her SPECIFIC title of Mediatrix of all Graces that is destined to be made Dogma. Isn’t all this obvious by now? Satan just keeps making things too easy. He needs a new PR strategy. Like 1948 Israel, he’s losing the propaganda war.
Only the triumph of Mary’s Immaculate Heart will restore the bride to the Bridegroom in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb through a valid pope consecrating Russia in union with whatever bishops we have left (assuming they are still around after the upcoming chastisement). Padre Pio foretold that my Grandparent’s generation would live to see the triumph of Mary’s Heart.
This triumph is the foretold victory from the Book of Genesis. “IN THE END My Immaculate Heart will triumph.” That is a promise. It’s a victory that is inevitable. Doesn’t it cause readers to choke up? We don’t deserve to live in these times and yet, here we are! We are also living in the times of the triumph of the Holy Ghost. If Mary triumphs, so does Her Spouse, and if the Holy Ghost triumphs, so does Mary. And that triumph, is one of Holy Ghost fire. Of course this also includes Saint Joseph! Didn’t we see all this foreshadowed, in the miracle of the sun, at Fatima?
“Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, because He hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates.”
~Psalm 147:13~
Saint Paul is the Father of perfect restoration because he too wrestled with his own infirmity but it kept him humble and it made God’s healing power perfect in this Gentile Princes’ weakness. I hope to do the same and receive the same gift of healing in these final words before receiving Holy Communion today:
“Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof: say but the word, and my soul shall be healed.”
~Matthew 8:8~
I do find it so fitting, and a little comical, that today’s feast falls on none other than… THE SABBATH. Just to make the Pharisees roll in their graves, I hope Our Lord heals the Church, today! But in all seriousness:
“This return of the daughter of sin to the Truth, after her period of temporary death, will be a sign that the Last Day is near at hand, for it will put the final seal on the fulfillment of prophecy. Then freed, at last. from the bondage of sin which by frailty we have contracted, we shall GLORY IN GOD and give thanks to Him forever.”
(Saint Andrew’s Missal taken from the description of the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost)
As my Uncle and God Father would say, “don’t threaten me with a good time.”
~End of Saint Paul Series Part 3/3~
You Changed Everything song, published by Aflavia and I’s favorite artist CHPTRS, and on one of my favorite feasts, March 25th, 2022. This song to me, describes the NEW Jerusalem and the coming of the Bridegroom:
Lyrics
Heartbeat in the quiet Spotlight in an empty room A song in the silence My dreams come into view
Ooh A light in the dark, the brightest star Ooh, my beginning
Ooh, I see it now with you It’d never be the same The start of my heart, a river washing over me When you Came and changed everything
I started to wonder With something, I can’t deny In a moment unfolding Before my very eyes
A new Story’s being written right New, pouring over me
Ooh, I see it now with you It’d never be the same The start of my heart, you cover me completely When you Came and changed everything
This is more than imagined This is more than ordinary love Didn’t realize this could happen Oh, that grace would be enough
This is more than imagined This is more than ordinary love Didn’t realize this could happen Oh, that grace would be enough
Ooh, I see it now with you It’d never be the same The start of my heart, a river washing over me When you Came and changed everything
Came and changed everything It’d never been the same The start of my heart, you cover me completely When you Came and changed everything
Dedication of a Church Latin Mass Preface Translation: It is truly right and just, proper and helpful toward salvation, that we always and everywhere give thanks to you, O Lord, holy Father, Almighty and eternal God, for you, the giver of all good gifts, inhabit this house of prayer which we have built, and unceasingly sanctify the Church which you founded. For your Church is the true house of prayer signified by these visible buildings, the temple where your glory dwells, the seat of unchangeable truth, the sanctuary of eternal charity. She is the ark which rescues us from the flood of this world and brings us into the port of salvation. She is the one beloved Bride whom Christ acquired by his blood and quickens by his Holy Spirit. In her bosom we are born anew by your grace, nourished by the milk of the Word, strengthened by the bread of life, encouraged by your merciful aid. With the help of her Bridegroom she struggles faithfully on earth and, crowned by him, is triumphant forever in heaven. Therefore with the Angels and Archangels, the Thrones and Dominations, and all the militant hosts of heaven, we continuously praise your glory in song.
Carmelite Sister Martyrs 