Although she is the most tender of mothers, Mary has also been known for centuries as "the destroyer of all heresies." Why? Most of my readers probably know from Church history that any correction of a Marian heresy was usually de facto a correction of a Christological heresy afflicting the faithful. For example, Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer (of holy memory) points out that "the Council of Ephesus taught categorically and definitively that in Jesus Christ there is only one person, the Person of the Son of God, in which subsist two natures, really distinct, the divine nature, by which Jesus Christ is truly God, and the human nature which [...]

If you watch any of the Marvel Comics series of movies, you are probably disappointed at the increasing lack of chastity among the superheroes.  There's obvious exceptions.  For example, X-Men's teleporting Nightcrawler is religious in the movies.  In the original comic book, Nightcrawler had even been ordained a Catholic priest.  Sadly, today, however, more and more "superheroes" are being produced by "woke" companies under pressure to portray alternative and impure lifestyles that has nothing to do with the plot-line.  I imagine even agnostic followers (who aren't leftists) of Marvel Comic movies are getting tired of the slimy agenda when they just came to the movies to see the good-guys beat [...]

And the angel being come in, said unto her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.  Blessed art thou among women."  Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself, "What manner of salutation this should be?"—St. Luke 1:28-29 I have wondered for awhile why Mary was "troubled" at the announcement of the angel Gabriel.  The Carmelite book Divine Intimacy had a meditation yesterday which answers that question with a quote from St. Alphonsus Liguori: "Mary was troubled because she was filled with humility, disliked praise, and desired that God only be praised." Another quote from Divine Intimacy comes from St. Bernard on the topic of [...]

Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.—Jn 19:27 Even though Sacred Tradition outside Scripture proposes some accounts of Apostles having wavering courage after Pentecost (for example, the famous story of St. Peter fleeing Rome under persecution as Christ appears to him to say Quo Vadis? at which point Peter returns to Rome to be crucified) we know that for the most part, the pre-Pentecost Apostles have numerous failures in courage whereas the post-Pentecost Apostles have nearly unchecked success in their cooperation with the Holy Spirit's gift of fortitude as 11 of the 12 of them approach [...]