"If the poor world could see the beauty of the sinless soul, all sinners, all unbelievers, would be instantly converted."
Father Pius of Pietrelcina
One month after conception, a human being is one-sixth of an inch long. The tiny heart has already begun beating for a week, and the arms, legs, head, and brain have already begun to take shape. At two months, the child already fits in a nutshell: curled up, the person measures little more than an inch. Inside your closed fist, the person would be invisible, and you could squash them without intending to, or even realizing it. But if you open your hand, the person is practically complete, with hands, feet, head, internal organs, brain, all in place. All they need is to grow. Looking even more closely with a standard microscope, you may be able to see their fingerprints. Everything needed to establish their identity is already in place.
-Jerome Lejeune, Modern Geneticist
I. HELL, EUPHEMISMS, AND THE PROFANE LITURGY OF THE SELF
Abortion is a crime. There is no possible mitigating factor, no context that dignifies it, no rhetoric that softens it. It is, in itself, an act of absolute injustice: the deliberate destruction of the most innocent, the most defenseless, the most irreplaceable. Its malice needs no adjectives to be monstrous. The fact is enough.
But as if death were not enough, modern culture has added mockery. Today, children are killed not only in the shadows, but under the spotlight; not with tears, but with applause; not in secret, but as a spectacle. What was once hidden as a sin is today celebrated as a right. And this is not just an added aberration: it is a consecration of crime, a profane liturgy of the self, a godless religion whose dogma is absolute autonomy and whose altar is the desecrated womb.
Every time an innocent person is sacrificed in the name of "reproductive freedom," a systematic denial of the natural order, a subversion of law, and a blasphemy against divine law are perpetrated. What they call "voluntary termination of pregnancy" is not merely the extirpation of a child: it is the solemn affirmation that the self has become god, that good and evil can be defined by decree, that killing can be an act of justice.
II. THE INVERSION OF LANGUAGE: FROM CRIME TO LAW
The spiritual war of our time is waged in the realm of language. It is not enough to commit evil: it must be rebranded. Thus, abortion becomes not only a “right,” but a “conquest,” an “act of love,” a “form of social justice.” Every word has been carefully twisted so that hell is spoken in tones of sweetness.
But the Angelic Doctor teaches that veritas est adaequatio rei et intellectus—truth is the conformity between the thing and the intellect. When language is dissociated from reality, it is also dissociated from truth. Calling murder “intervention” does not make it any less homicide; proclaiming it “progress” does not make it any less sinful. This is the language of the father of lies, who promised freedom in Paradise and delivered death.
III. LEGALITY AS A MASK OF INJUSTICE: THE STATE AS PRIEST OF THE NEW RELIGION
Human law, when it deviates from eternal and natural law, ceases to be law and becomes a corruption of it. The modern State, once instituted to safeguard justice, has embraced legal apostasy: it not only tolerates abortion, it promotes it; it not only permits it, it finances it; it not only decriminalizes it, it turns it into a symbol of civilization.
Thus, the legal apparatus becomes an instrument of death. And, as the traditional Magisterium taught, lex iniusta non est lex—an unjust law does not oblige, but oppresses. The legal order that protects death and persecutes life has reversed its purpose: it no longer protects the innocent, but rather the executioner.
IV. THE WOMAN'S BODY AS AN IDEOLOGICAL BATTLEFIELD
Modern feminism has replaced the dogma of love with the dogma of revenge. The maternal womb, which was supposed to be a sanctuary, has become a trench; motherhood, which was supposed to be a gift, has become slavery; life, which was supposed to be welcomed, has become the enemy. The female body has been recruited as a battlefield by an ideology that does not seek to elevate women, but to strip them of their essence.
Women are not liberated when they reject life; they are disfigured. The devil does not hate women's freedom: he hates their capacity to give life. Therefore, abortion is not only an act against the child: it is a rebellion against motherhood itself. It is the Luciferian cry: non serviam.
V. THE VOICELESS VICTIM: THE UNBORN AND THE OMISSION OF THE JUST
The unborn child is the most perfect icon of the innocent Christ: it has no power, no voice, no defense. And yet, its death is celebrated as if it were a victory. Modern culture not only condones crime: it proclaims it as a virtue.
And where are the just? Where are the parents, the teachers, the legislators, the doctors, the clergy? Where are those who should have raised their voices in defense of the least of these? They remain silent. Because speaking out would cost them prestige, security, or comfort. Yet history, in its ebb and flow, sometimes shows glimpses of heroism: amidst moral decay, there are still those who, with a simple guideline or "blank" of intentions, dare to defend the life of the unborn, bearing witness that political prudence, when upright, can be a bulwark against tyranny.
But silence in the face of injustice is complicity with evil. It is better to die with the Truth than to live with a lie.
VI. NATURE'S REVENGE: SPIRITUAL SCARS
Abortion does not end when the child's heartbeat ceases. The mother's soul—created to love, not to destroy—is scarred. Although ideology claims to have "made a free choice," nature cries out. Empty wombs cry. Cribs never purchased cry out. Nightmares do not cease. Guilt is not erased with pills.
Not only is a body destroyed: a spirit is wounded. Not only is a life extinguished: a conscience is fractured. Not only is the child suppressed: motherhood is obscured.
VII. THE CATHOLIC RESPONSE: LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
Political arguments are not enough. Medical statistics are not enough. Awareness campaigns are not enough. Against this vital heresy, there is only one sufficient response: the full Gospel, natural law proclaimed clearly, Catholic doctrine lived faithfully.
It is necessary for the eternal truth to shine again: that life is sacred, that a child is not an enemy, that motherhood is a gift, that crime can never be a right. The answer will not come from enlightened elites or international NGOs: it will come from humble souls who have kept the faith, from courageous lay people, from faithful confessors, from the apostles of the Sacred Heart, who still dare to call sin sin and grace grace.
EPILOGUE: JUDGMENT DAY AND THE SENTENCE THAT MATTERS
The day will come when the innocent will look down on us from eternity. They will not ask what laws were passed, what marches we organized, what editorials we signed. They will ask something simpler and more terrible: "Where were you when they were killing us?"
And if our silence was complicit, if our lukewarmness was a disguise for prudence, if our inaction was more convenient than our fidelity... then we will be unable to respond.
History will judge abortion as it judges slavery today. But beyond history, the Just Judge will call for an account. And then, only those who have defended life with words, prayer, and sacrifice will be found worthy.
Oscar Méndez O.
Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori warns:
“A certain author indicated that hell is populated more by mercy than by divine justice; and so it is, because, recklessly counting on mercy, they continue to sin and are damned. God is merciful. But who denies it? And yet, how many does mercy send to hell today! God is merciful, but also just, and that is why he is obliged to punish those who offend him. He uses mercy on sinners, but only on those who, after offending him, regret it and fear offending him again: His mercy for generations to come is toward those who fear him (Luke 1:50), the Mother of God sang. He uses justice on those who abuse his mercy to despise him. The Lord forgives sins, but he cannot forgive the will to sin.” Augustine said that whoever sins with the hope of repenting after sinning is not a penitent, but rather mocks God (“Irrisor est, non poenitens”). The Apostle warns us that one does not mock God in vain: “No one mocks God” (Galatians 6:7). It would be mocking God to offend Him however and however much one wants and then go to heaven.”
(Sermon 32, The Sinner's Illusions).
The poverty the gospel praises is not so much the actual lack of goods as the absence of attachment to riches. I can live miserably, lacking almost everything, and be strongly attached to the little I have, wanting more and more. On the contrary, I can live by making good use of the things that are, yes, within my reach and that, however, do not stick to my heart.
In addition to this evangelical conception of poverty it is necessary to consider also the way in which the virtue of justice should preside over our relationship with goods. The most delicate care must reign, lest we fall into the temptation of arbitrarily seizing the stranger.
The seventh commandment ("thou shalt not steal") commands us to respect another man's property, to pay the fair wages, and to observe justice in all that concerns the property of others. To him who has sinned against the seventh commandment confession is not enough, but he must do what he can to restore the stranger and repair the damages.
The tenth commandment (“You shall not covet the goods of others”), forbids us the desire to take away others’ goods and the acquisition of wealth by unjust means. God forbids disorderly desires for other people's goods because He wants us to be still inwardly righteous; that we always keep very far away from wrongful actions and that we are happy with the state in which we find ourselves.
And we do not believe that all this is of little importance for our salvation. St. Peter of Alcantara wrote, "What will you answer on that day, when you are called to account for all the time of your life and all the points and moments of it?" (Treatise on Prayer and Meditation, 23).
*
We invoke St. Mary, our Advocate and Refuge of sinners: Pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death. May He teach us to make use of the goods of this world so that they are means and never obstacles on our way to Heaven.
Marcial Flavius - presbyter
"My kingdom is not of this world.
Juan Fernando Segovia, The Dogma of the Reality of Christ. Quas primas, of Pius XI.
THAT SEMINARIANS BE TRAINED ACCORDING TO THE INTEGRITY OF CATHOLIC TRADITION, WE PRAY YOU, LORD.
Lord, to safeguard your honor and glory, give us holy priests.
Lord, to increase our faith, give us holy priests.
Lord, to sustain your Church, give us holy priests.
Lord, to preach your doctrine, give us...
Lord, to defend your cause, give us...
Lord, to counteract error, give us...
Lord, to annihilate sects, to uphold the truth, give us...
Lord, to direct our souls, give us...
Lord, to improve morals, give us...
Lord, to banish vices, give us...
Lord, to enlighten the world, give us...
Lord, to teach the riches of your Heart, give us...
Lord, to make us love the Holy Spirit, give us...
Lord, that all your ministers may be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, give us...
Prayer. — Heart of Jesus, holy Priest, we ask you with the greatest earnestness of soul that you increase day by day the number of aspirants to the priesthood and that you form them according to the designs of your loving Heart. Only in this way will we obtain Holy Priests, and soon there will be only one flock and one Shepherd in the world. So be it. Amen.
(Indulgence of 7 years and one plenary session per month, with the ordinary conditions.)
O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of the true God and Mother of the Church! You, who from this place manifest your clemency and compassion to all who seek your protection: hear the prayer we address to you with filial trust, and present it to your Son Jesus, our only Redeemer.
Mother of mercy, Teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you, who come to meet us sinners, we consecrate on this day our whole being, all our love. We also consecrate to you our lives, our labors, our joys, our illnesses, and our sorrows.
Grant peace, justice, and prosperity to our people, for all that we have and are, we place under your care, our Lady and Mother.
We wish to be totally yours and walk with you the path of complete fidelity to Jesus Christ in his Church: do not let us go from your loving hand.
Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, we pray for all the Bishops, that they may lead the faithful along paths of intense Christian life, of love and humble service to God and souls.
Contemplate this immense harvest, and intercede that the Lord may inspire a hunger for holiness in all the faithful and pastors, and grant abundant vocations to priests and religious, strong in faith and zealous dispensers of the mysteries of God.
Grant our homes the grace to love and respect the life that is beginning, with the same love with which you conceived in your womb the life of the Son of God. Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of Beautiful Love, protect our families so that they may always be closely united, and bless the education of our children.
Our Hope, look upon us with compassion, teach us to continually go to Jesus, and if we fall, help us to rise again, to return to him, through the confession of our faults and sins in the sacrament of Penance, which brings peace to the soul. We beseech you to grant us a great love for all the holy sacraments, which are like the footprints your Son left for us on earth.
Thus, Most Holy Mother, with the peace of God in our consciences, with our hearts free from evil and hatred, we may bring to all the true joy and true peace that come from your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
What does the devotion of the three Hail Marys consist of?
It involves praying the Hail Mary three times to the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God and our Lady, either to honor her or to obtain some favor through her mediation.
What is the purpose of this devotion?
What is the way to pray the three Hail Marys?
"Mary, my Mother, deliver me from falling into mortal sin.
1. By the power the Eternal Father has given you
Hail, Mary; full of grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
2. By the wisdom the Son has given you.
Hail, Mary; full of grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
3. By the love the Holy Spirit has given you
Hail, Mary; full of grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!
What is the origin of the devotion of the three Hail Marys?
Saint Matilda, a Benedictine nun, begged the Blessed Virgin to assist her at the hour of death. The Virgin Mary told her the following: "Yes, I will; but I want you to pray three Hail Marys daily for me. The first, asking that just as God the Father raised me to a throne of unparalleled glory, making me the most powerful in heaven and on earth, so also I may assist you on earth to strengthen you and remove from you all hostile power. For the second Hail Mary, you will ask me that just as the Son of God filled me with wisdom, to such an extent that I have more knowledge of the Holy Trinity than all the Saints, so I may assist you in the trance of death to fill your soul with the lights of faith and true wisdom, so that it is not darkened by the darkness of error and ignorance. For the third, you will ask that just as the Holy Spirit has filled me with the sweetness of his love, and has made me so lovable that after God I am the sweetest and most merciful, so I may assist you in death by filling your soul with such Gentleness of divine love, may all the pain and bitterness of death be changed for you into delights."
And this promise was extended to the benefit of all who put into practice this daily prayer of the three Hail Marys.
What are Our Lady's promises to those who prayed the three Hail Marys daily?
Our Lady promised Saint Matilda and other pious souls that whoever prayed three Hail Marys daily would have her help during life and her special assistance at the hour of death, appearing at that final hour with the radiance of such beauty that just seeing her would console them and transmit to them the joys of Heaven.
Mary renews her promise of protection:
When Sister Maria Villani, a Dominican nun (16th century), was praying the three Hail Marys one day, she heard these encouraging words from the Virgin Mary's lips:
"Not only will you obtain the graces you ask of me, but in life and in death I promise to be your special protector and that of all those like you who practice this devotion."
The Blessed Virgin also said: "The devotion of the three Hail Marys has always been very dear to me... Do not cease to pray them and to have them prayed as much as you can. Every day you will have proof of their effectiveness..."
It was the Blessed Virgin herself who told Saint Gertrude that "whoever venerates her in her relationship with the Most Holy Trinity will experience the power communicated to her by the Omnipotence of the Father as the Mother of God; she will admire the ingenious means inspired by the wisdom of the Son for the salvation of men, and she will contemplate the ardent charity kindled in her heart by the Holy Spirit."
Referring to all those who invoked her daily, commemorating the power, wisdom, and love bestowed upon them by the August Trinity, Mary told Saint Gertrude that, "At the hour of his death, I will reveal myself to him with the radiance of such great beauty that my sight will console him and communicate to him the joys of heaven."
What is the basis of this devotion?
The Catholic affirmation that the Blessed Virgin possessed, to the highest degree possible for a creature, the attributes of power, wisdom, and mercy.
This is what the Church teaches when it invokes Mary as the Powerful Virgin, Mother of Mercy, and Seat of Wisdom.
THE SCAPULAR OF CARMEN
A. HISTORY AND PRIVILEGES
1. Promise of Salvation:
Whoever dies with the scapular will be saved.
Saint Simon Stock was the sixth Superior General of the Carmelite Order during the years 1245-1265. Faced with serious difficulties in the Order, Saint Simon daily implored Mary's protection. His prayer was answered, and "the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, accompanied by a multitude of Angels, holding in her blessed hands the scapular of the Order and saying these words: This will be a privilege for you and all Carmelites; whoever dies with it will not suffer eternal fire, that is, whoever dies with it will be saved." (Catalog of Saints of the Order
Another very old version reads as follows: "Saint Simon, an Englishman, a man of great holiness and devotion, in his prayer continually begged the Virgin to favor his Order with some singular privilege. The Virgin appeared to him holding the Scapular, saying: This is the privilege for you and yours; whoever dies wearing it will be saved" (Brussels Saints' Calendar). That is, he will avoid hell. He will go to heaven after a stay in purgatory.
The date and place of the apparition are not known with certainty. London is mentioned, on July 16, 1251. This was still within the generalate of Saint Simon and before 1252, since on January 13 of that year, Pope Innocent IV issued the Bull "Ex parte dilectorum" in which he defended the Carmelites on this issue.
2. Sabbath Privilege: And the first one will be freed from purgatory. Saturday.
Sixty-two years later (1314), Our Lady appeared to Pope John XXII, who recorded her words in the Bull "Sacratissimo uti culmine," also called the Saturday Bull (3.3.1322): "If among the religious or confraternities of this order there are any who, upon dying, must purge their sins in the prison of purgatory, I, who am the Mother of mercy, will descend into purgatory on the first Saturday after their death, and I will free them to lead them to the Holy Mountain of Eternal Life."
3. Plenary Indulgences. - Those who wear the Scapular of Carmel join the Carmelite family and can gain a plenary indulgence on the day the scapular is imposed and on the following days (fulfilling the usual conditions, that is, receiving Communion—naturally without mortal sin—on that date and praying for papal intentions, usually a Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Gloria). as well as confessing eight days before or after the date):
May 16 (Saint Simon Stock).
July 16 (Our Lady of Mount Carmel).
July 20 (Saint Elijah the Prophet).
October 1 (Saint Therese of Lisieux).
October 15 (Saint Teresa of Jesus).
November 14 (All Saints' Day of the Carmelites).
December 14 (Saint John of the Cross).
B. CONDITIONS
1. For the promise of salvation, the following are required:
Having the scapular imposed. (It is enough to do so once.)
Wearing it. It can be replaced with a medal. (We will discuss this.) Both the medal and the scapular must be blessed upon imposition.
Devotion to Mary; seeking to imitate her; desiring to be good children of hers. The scapular is two small pieces of cloth that symbolize a garment. And whoever wears Mary's habit must live like her, practicing the virtues. Christians. So that the habit-dress is united to the habit-virtue.
2. For the Sabbath privilege. In addition to the above, the following are required:
Maintain the chastity proper to one's state. (Confession restores the lost status.)
Pray the Little Office of Our Lady. This prayer can be substituted for abstinence from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Other possible substitutions are also mentioned, provided they are authorized by a priest: the recitation of the Divine Office or the Rosary. For indulgences. The requirements proper to indulgences are required, plus the conditions of the scapular in the promise of salvation.
4. The medal. - Saint Pius X (Holy Office, 16.12.1910) decreed that the scapular, after its imposition, can be replaced by a metal medal bearing on one side an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and on the other an image of the Blessed Virgin (usually Our Lady of Mount Carmel).
C. BLESSING AND IMPOSITION
There are several formulas for the blessing and imposition of the scapular. Some are approved for the different branches of Carmel, others are more general.
“The first duty that Christ has assigned to those who, like us, have been entrusted from on high with the task of shepherding the Lord’s flock is to guard with the greatest vigilance the deposit of the holy faith that has been entrusted to us; and this, both by rejecting profane novelties of language and the contradictions of a so-called science. And certainly there has never been a time in which this vigilance of the Supreme Shepherd has not been necessary, for there has never been a lack, at the instigation of the enemy of the human race, of men teaching perverse doctrines (1), charlatans of novelties and seducers (2), immersed in error and leading us astray (3). But it must be acknowledged that, in recent times, the number of enemies of the cross of Christ has increased enormously; all of them, with absolutely new and cunning techniques, strive to exhaust the vital energies of the Church and would even want to destroy the kingdom of Christ, if this were possible. Therefore, we cannot remain silent any longer.” "Let us not give the impression of failing in the most sacred of our duties, and the understanding we have shown until now, hoping to see a rectification, be interpreted as a dereliction of our duty."
Saint Pius X, Encyclical Letter Pascendi, Introduction.
(1). Acts 20:30.
(2). Titus 1:10.
(3). 2 Tim 3:13.
Poor unbelievers! How sorry I am for them! Not all are equally guilty. I clearly distinguish two completely different kinds of unbelievers. There are tormented souls who feel they have lost their faith. They don't feel it, they don't savor it as before. They feel they have lost it completely. This very afternoon I received an anonymous letter; no one signs it. Through his words, however, a person of more than average culture shines through. He writes admirably well. And after telling me that he is listening to my lectures on Spanish National Radio, he tells me his story. He tells me that he has almost completely lost his faith, although he desires it with all his soul, because with it he felt happy, and now he feels a terrible emptiness in his spirit. And he begs me, if I know of any practical and effective means to return to his lost faith, to shout it out to him, to show him that goal of peace and happiness he longs for.
My poor friend! I'm going to open a parenthesis in my lecture to send you a few words of comfort. I will tell you with Christ: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." From the moment you seek faith, you already have it. Saint Augustine says it beautifully: "You would not seek God if you did not already have him." From the moment you desire faith with all your soul, you already have it. God, in His inscrutable designs, has chosen to subject you to a test. He has withdrawn the feeling of faith from you, to see how you react in the darkness. If, despite all the darkness, you remain faithful, a day will come—I don't know if sooner or later, these are God's judgments—when He will restore the feeling of faith to you with a strength and intensity incomparably greater than before. What do you have to do in the meantime? Humble yourself before God. Humble yourself a little, which is the indispensable condition for receiving God's gifts. Joy, enjoyment, and the savoring of faith are often the rewards of humility. God never resists humble tears. If you kneel before Him and say: “Lord, I have faith, but I wish I had more. Help my little faith.” If you fall on your knees and ask God to give you the innermost feeling of faith, He will give it to you infallibly, do not doubt it; and in the meantime, my poor brother, live in peace, because not only are you not far from the Kingdom of God, but, in reality, you are already within it.
Ah! But your case is completely different from that of true unbelievers. You are not an unbeliever, even if for the moment you lack the sweet and savory feeling of faith. True unbelievers are those who, without any foundation, without any argument to prevent them from believing, burst into foolish laughter and utterly disregard the truths of faith. You have no argument against it, you cannot have one, gentlemen. The Catholic faith resists all kinds of arguments that may be put against it. There is not, and cannot be, a valid argument against it. It infinitely surpasses reason, but it never contradicts it. There can be no conflict between reason and faith, because both proceed from the same and only source of truth, which is the first Truth by essence, which is God himself, in whom there can be no contradiction. It is impossible to find a valid argument against the Catholic faith. It is impossible for there to be unbelievers in the head—as I told you the other day—but there are abundant ones at heart. He who leads an immoral conduct, he who has acquired a fortune through unjust means, he who has four or five girlfriends, he who is up to his neck in mire and mud—how can he calmly accept the Catholic faith that speaks to him of an eternal hell! It is more convenient for him to dispense with faith or to hurl at it the laughter of unbelief. Fool! As if that laughter could alter the tremendous reality of things in any way! Laugh now! The laughter of a dwarf on a night in Chinatown. Laugh now! God's time will come! Things will change. Listen to Holy Scripture: "You rejected all my advice and did not obey my requests. I, too, will laugh at your ruin and mock when terror comes upon you." (Prov 1:25-26). Christ himself warns in the Gospel, quite clearly: "Woe to you who laugh now, for you will groan and weep!" (Lk 6:25). Are you mocking all this? Well, go on enjoying yourself and laughing peacefully. You are dancing with incredible madness on the edge of an abyss: it is the time of your laughter! The time of God's laughter will come for all eternity.
And we hear phrases like:
"Finally, he's resting with God."
"We now have a little angel in heaven."
"He was very good, he's at peace now."
No, my friends, only God knows in what state that soul arrived in His presence, but good wishes are not enough to save a soul, no matter how beloved it may be.
Therefore, let us not stop offering prayers, Masses, and sacrifices for the souls in purgatory; they may still need us greatly.
LET US NOT FORGET THEM.
Evening of June 30: 505nd Anniversary of the arrival of the Image of Our Lady of Remedies to Naucalpan, amidst the tragic flight of "The Sad Night."
After the chaos caused during Cortés' absence from the Great Tenochtitlan, the natives became very angry with Emperor Moctezuma II for various reasons, one of them being for having allowed the Spanish to place the Image of Our Lady of Remedies atop the Templo Mayor.
Following the death of Moctezuma II and the growing hatred of the natives toward the Spanish, on the night of June 30 to July 1, 1520, the Spanish conquistadors under Hernán Cortés fled the city of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire. But not before collecting the image that presided over the Templo Mayor, the patron saint of the Conquest, which had remained intact despite the attacks of the Mexica seeking its destruction.
Many of the Spaniards only attempted to flee, because the indigenous warriors caught up with them and offered their blood to their false gods. Bernal Díaz del Castillo, author of the "True History of the Conquest of New Spain," a soldier present at that event, estimates that around 600 of his comrades died.
Cortés and his men fled at midnight on June 30, 1520. Cortés gave the signal to depart, and under orders of silence, they marched across a canoe bridge toward Tlacopan (Tacuba). Before reaching the causeways leading out of the Aztec city, they were observed by Aztec warriors, who sounded the alarm warning of the Spanish escape. As the Spanish and their allies reached the causeways, hundreds of canoes appeared in the waters alongside the Aztec warriors.
The Spanish and their native allies fought their way out in the rain against countless arrows, using portable bridges to bridge the gaps. It is said that during the battle, the natives suddenly saw a bearded man mounted on a white steed flashing with a distinctive light, shielding the Spaniards from fleeing (some say it was the apostle Saint James, known as "Santiago Matindios"); but they also saw a Lady with a Child in her arms, both with delicate faces, who threw dirt in the eyes of the natives so they would lose track of the Spaniards (here it is believed that it was the Virgin of Remedies).
Upon reaching the territory of Tacuba, they entered the area of Totoltepec, where the Otomi Indians, tired of being dominated and enslaved by the Mexica empire, supported Cortés and his men, providing them with provisions and treating their wounds so they could later resume their journey.
Tradition tells us that upon arriving at Totoltepec, Cortés sat at the foot of an ahuehuete tree to mourn his defeat. The image of the Virgin of Remedies, and feeling helpless over his failure, Cortés, fearing that the Blessed Image would be desecrated, ordered Captain Juan Rodríguez de Villafuerte (the soldier who brought the Virgin) to hide her at the top of a grove on Otomcapulco Hill. There was no safer place than the hollow of a maguey tree at the top of Otomcapulco Hill (today Los Remedios), where the indigenous chief of Totoltepec, Don Juan Ce Cuautli, found her in 1540.
It seems strange to think that after the battle of the "Noche Triste," the Spanish Conquistador and General Hernán Cortés stayed to mourn his defeat in the tree located in Popotla (for let us remember that the Aztec dominions extended even beyond those lands), as most people think. Therefore, it is more likely that this resting place took place in Totoltepec, since It was an Otomi domain.
It is worth noting that the aforementioned Ahuehuete de Totoltepec is still standing, making it one of the oldest trees preserved in the town.
Author: Eduardo Baltazar Martínez.
Catholics must unite themselves to the cross, in the depths of their souls, uniting the sufferings of our time with the Passion of Our Lord.
We must not only unite against modern errors, but we must provide our families with an alternative to this godless world in Christian civilization. Therefore, our unity is first for the Truth and then against error.
The Truth we promote is Catholic Tradition in all its fullness: the doctrine revealed by Christ and guarded by the Catholic Church: faith and morals, as well as the sacred traditional liturgy and also the customs, pious beliefs, and the great monuments of art, architecture, and music.
We unite according to the binding force of Tradition; this is what was handed down to us by our grandparents and parents, to be passed on to our children and grandchildren.
Don Rodrigo Ruiz Velasco y Barba recently published this very interesting article:
"The Debacle of the Religious." I take the essential data from historian Francisco José Fernández de la Cigoña, who in turn takes them from the Pontifical Yearbook (2025):
*NOTE ON CATHOLICITY: There are those who claim that Plutarco Elías Calles died repentant and confessed.
“Life is your ship, not your home,” said Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, inviting us to reflect on the transitory nature of our earthly existence. Life, according to this metaphor, is like a ship we sail on, a journey full of experiences, lessons, and challenges. We should not become too attached to this world, since our true home, the final destination to which we are called, is heaven.
This thought encourages us to live with hope and purpose, reminding us that our ultimate goal is union with God in eternity, and that all our actions and decisions should be oriented toward that transcendental end.
As soon as we open our eyes in this life, time has already overtaken us.
It wakes us up without permission, drags us without pause, educates us with blows, and dismisses us without farewell.
No one chooses it. No one can stop it. No one ever sees the same time twice.
And yet, we treat it as if it were ours. As if it were a resource, a calendar, a number to be accumulated or managed, but not a mystery to be received.
And so, by dint of measuring it, dividing it, chasing it, we have forgotten that time does not belong to us.
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There are those who believe that time is the neutral framework of life. Others imagine it as an invisible god who rules all things without a face.
But the truth is much simpler, and more solemn: time is a creature.
As real as the sun, as fragile as the soul, as obedient as a servant awaiting orders from the Eternal.
It did not arise out of necessity. It is not self-sufficient. It has no end in itself.
It was created by God, not for man to dwell on, but to transform it into eternity.
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The human soul was made for eternity, but it can only choose within time.
And that is why time is not an empty succession, but the space of drama.
The drama of freedom, of sin, of grace, of forgiveness, of glory or perdition.
Every second is a battlefield.
Every moment can be an altar or an abyss.
Every day can incline the soul toward Heaven or toward judgment.
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But here is the secret that cannot be taught in academies: time is not understood with concepts, but with worship.
It is not mastered with clocks, but with knees.
It is not won by doing more things, but by uniting everything to God.
Therefore, he who multiplies his agenda but does not love wastes his time.
And he who appears ineffective in the eyes of the world, but unites his day to the Cross, is saving hours for eternity.
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The eternal Word, by becoming incarnate, entered into time.
God, who does not need minutes, agreed to live each one, so that not one of our minutes would be left out of his Redemption.
And thus, time was sanctified.
Not because its substance changed, but because it was assumed by the Word and transfigured among men.
From then on, every moment can be united to the Mystery,
every hour can be grace,
every day can be an oblation...
if it is lived in Christ.
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Time does not wait.
But it does obey.
It obeys the One who created it.
And therefore, he who unites himself to the will of God does not fear the passing of days. Because he knows that each day doesn't distance him from fulfillment, but brings him closer.
There is a higher freedom than that of one who controls his agenda: that of one who allows himself to be possessed by God's plan in time.
That freedom knows how to lose in order to win, to remain silent in order to conquer, to wait in order to burn.
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The soul that loves God doesn't waste time.
Not because it fears it, but because it sees it as a gift.
A fleeting, fragile, precious gift, whose value is measured not by its duration, but by its destiny.
The saints, who understood time more than all the watchmakers in the world, lived each day as if it were the first... and the last.
They knew that every moment could be the hour of their death or their eternity.
And so, they didn't rush: they worshipped.
They didn't plan for ten years: they prepared for ten centuries of glory.
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Time is not a tyrant. The tyrant is the man who wants it without God.
Time does not kill: it is we who kill it when we use it without love.
Time does not age: it is the soul that withers if it does not await eternity.
Time, lived in grace, rejuvenates hope.
Time, united with sacrifice, transfigures history.
And time, offered with faith, conquers death.
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Time is not ours.
It was given to us… to give back.
And in that act—free, humble, silent—everything is at stake.
We will not be asked how much we did, but how much we offered.
Not how many hours our work lasted, but how much of God each one contained.
Because time will not be judged by its progress, but by its worship.
And only those who love the eternal Word discover that time is not a prison… but a path.
And that every minute is a possibility of eternity.
OMO
"The first fundamental virtue of the Christian woman is piety; but an educated, solid, and exemplary piety.
Her piety must be educated by an exact and reasoned knowledge of Christian doctrine. She needs, above all, a clear knowledge of our religion, to be prepared to solidly instruct, whether at home or outside of it, all those who vegetate in ignorance. Happy are the children who, from the earliest age, have learned the rudiments of the faith from the pious lips of their good mother or virtuous sister!
Religious knowledge must be elevated to the level of scientific knowledge: that is, they must understand the foundations of certainty on which the truths of our holy faith rest.
This reasoned knowledge of our holy faith is, especially in our days, indispensable for the Christian woman; because in our century of unbelief, she must be prepared and must prepare those who are his own defenses against the pestilent contagion of skepticism; and it must also, many times, confound the ignorance of the wicked.
Their piety must be not only instructed, but also solid; and it will be so if it is based on the unshakeable convictions of faith, and on a will firmly resolved to serve God above all things. From this solid piety, well grounded on the convictions of the intellect and the firmness of the will, there spontaneously springs constancy in the well-regulated practice of devotion; the exercises of which will never be omitted, even if they cost some sacrifice.
Finally, piety must be exemplary; that is, it must be accompanied by good example, by the practice of Christian virtues, especially those born of charity, such as gentleness and affability in dealings, which make piety lovable. ✨ Fr. Francisco J. Schouppe, S.J.
📖 The Christian Woman: Her Mission, Her Formation, and Her Defense.
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