New Homiletic and Pastoral Review article undermining Virginity 'in partu'‏

Dear [Fr Arthur Calkins],

I have finally got round to reading your very fine new article upholding Our Lady's Virginity in partu against Fr. Zimmermann et al. Congratulations!

Unfortunately, as you can see by scrolling down, the usually very orthodox Homiletic and Pastoral Review (now online only) has just published an article by a layman with a Master's degree in Theoology, defending Archbishop Mueller's views on this subject. The author quotes them extensively, giving a lengthy translation of that whole section of Mueller's German dogma text. But it seems to me that this fuller exposition of Mueller's views, far from reassuring us that he holds to the Tradition on this matter, only confirms the already widely circulated criticisms of those who claim that he fails to do so.

While Mueller acknowledges that it is of faith that Mary was a virgin "before, during and after the birth of Jesus", his interpretation of the second of these phases (in partu) falls foul not only of that Holy Office monitum you refer to (which I didn't previously know about), but also - and more seriously - of Vatican I's solemn anathema against giving a sense to any Catholic dogma which is different to the sense which the Church has perennially ascribed to it (cf. DS 3043 = Dz 1818).

Basically, Mueller is 'demythologizing' the virginity in partu; for he says it is "not about" biological "anomalies" such as Mary's hymen not being broken. It's just about 'spiritual' realities (grace, salvation, or whatever). But that "biological" aspect is precisely what the Church has always meant in speaking of the virginity in partu. It was something miraculous. Obviously it could not possibly mean anything so gross as that Mary had no sexual intercourse with any man during the birth of Jesus! For that is already crudely obvious to everyone as knowable from elementary unaided human reason; so it could not possibly have ever been proposed by the Church as part of our faith, as something we are to believe on the revealing authority of God's word!

It looks to me as if the HPR, in publishing such an article, is falling into human respect ("Mueller is now such a Big Shot in the Church that, whatever he says, we're going to defend him").

As you can see if you click on the link below and read Mr. Michael Miller's apologia for Mueller's opinions, there is space at the end of the article for readers' comments. One reader has already referred to your article as an antidote. But I think it would be good if you considered adding a comment of your own.

Fraternally in the Infant Jesus and his Ever-Virgin Mother,

[Fr Brian Harrison]

The Divine Art of Praying



By
Frits Albers

It is because good praying involves all the virtues known to man, that praying is so pleasing to God. Good praying includes at the human level submission, adoration,patience and perseverance, Faith, Hope, praise, humility and thanksgiving, togetherwith a genuine willingness to be sorry for one's sins for the Love of God which includesthe firm resolution not to offend God again. It is because God our Father is so muchmore willing to hear us than we ourselves could ever wish to be heard, that the displayof virtue at the foundation of good prayer is so pleasing to God. Note that for Christiansgood prayer does include the three supernatural virtues Faith, Hope and Love, whichwere infused by God into our souls at the moment of Baptism.Prayerful contact with God should be maintained throughout the day, for therewill never be a moment that we do not need Him. As a Christian grows more and moreinto union with God, the need for good prayer in this transient world becomes evenmore necessary than the need for fresh air in an airless room. This shows that in such alife a habit of prayer has been established as an urge for daily contact with God to riseabove life's contingencies. It is about this rising above life's vicissitudes in the ascent ofa soul to God that this short little essay will have a few things to say.As the saying goes, all art contains a grain of inspiration as well as a hefty doseof perspiration. Any soul in need of prayer is in need of that special divine touch "thatthe world cannot give". Yet, at the same time, the pearl of divine inspiration, howevertiny, does need the human framework to enshrine it and set it off. In a dissolute life theart of prayer is not present because the original inspiration is rejected. However, inmany worldly and superficial lives the art is not present because the habit is not beingformed through lack of ‘perspiration’: the willingness to practise in order to becomeproficient. But this does not mean that a soul cannot be thrown off its horse and beforced to ask in all humility: “Lord, what is it that You want me to do?” as oncehappened to a famous persecutor in sight of his own Damascus. And in answer Saul wasled, led by the hand. Although in his case the Inspiration had dawned on him in such aflash of brilliant Light that it had blinded him, it did not remove from him the need forthe other requirement. For now the perspiration had started: “I Myself will show himhow much he will have to suffer for My Name...” (Acts 9:16). Even St. Paul had to learnfrom scratch.Prayer of Petition.There is nothing wrong with prayer of petition, and, as this little essay willshow, it is capable of transforming a soul, leading it to a very high degree of perfection.For good prayer of petition too contains all the virtues known to man, and because ofthis, it is not easy to do it properly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 2 2The Most Common Scenario.Imagine the Angels who live in the sight of God being spectators to the mostfrequent re-enactment which goes something like this. One of our friends or relativesasks us for a prayer so he or she may find a house or get a job. Of course we dutifullypromise whole-heartedly. So next time we kneel before our bed or come inside a churchand remember the promise, we say a Hail Mary that the petitioner may be granted his orher request. And if our friend is lucky, we remember it a couple more times. Not a heftydose of ‘perspiration' here, the practice that makes us proficient, nor a great occasion forAngels to come down the ladder laden with heavenly gifts, to ascend again carrying ourpetitions, as had been the case in the prayerful life of Jacob the Patriarch as described inthe Book of Genesis even before God had renamed him Israel. (Ch. 28).“Struggling with God....”"That night he rose and taking his two wives with their servants andhis eleven children, Jacob crossed the ford of Jabok And when allthings had been brought across that belonged to him, Jacob was leftalone. And behold, a man wrestled with him till daybreak who,seeing he could not master him, struck him in the socket of his hipand Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him. And theman said: ‘Let me go, for day is breaking’. But Jacob answeredhim: ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’. He then asked:‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob’, he replied. He said: ‘Your nameshall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; because you have been strongagainst God, you shall prevail against men’. Then Jacob made hisrequest: ‘1 beg you, tell me your name’, but he replied, ‘Why do youask my name?’ And he blessed him there and then”. (Ch. 32).This glimpse in the life of this beloved forebear of Our Lord and Our Lady,known for his prayerful communion with God, cannot fail to give us the necessaryinsight into what is really involved in prayer of petition, and that the word ‘perspiration’used before in this context is not out of place. Here we have what can only be called agraphic representation of what nowadays goes under the name of an “All-Night Vigil”in which human souls, in union with countless examples since this first write-up inGenesis, wrestle all night with God for graces to be brought down on parched souls. “Iwill not let You go unless You bless me!” And humbly mortified we acknowledge thatthis is a far cry from the perfunctory prayers we tend to say in response to a sincererequest from a neighbour in need.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 3 3Repairing the Damage....Once a Catholic enters into a more thorough relationship with God with theinevitable result that the need for prayer begins to work itself upwards to the consciouslevel and starts to move around there, it will be difficult to escape the next phase. Oncepraying for others is being taken more seriously, we become aware that the salvation ofthe whole world depends on the Catholic Church; that the Catholic Church is made upof Catholics, and that a simple exercise in arithmetic will very quickly convince us ofthe truth that, if the number of people in the world is divided by the number of livingCatholics, that we then roughly arrive at the number of souls Divine Providence mayhave allocated to each individual Catholic and to the care with which each individualCatholic ought to live out the tremendous Gift of his or her own Catholic Faith. And ifthen we see how many Catholics are flouting the rules and are openly living by the waysof the world, it will not be very difficult to extend this exercise in salvation arithmeticonly a little bit, and to come to the alarming conclusion that a great number of people inthe world may miss out on the original allocation and distribution of Catholic support. And if one would object that the word ‘alarming’ is too strong a word to use in thiscontext, then let him be reminded of what Our Lady of the Rosary revealed to threelittle children, and subsequently to the whole Church, on July 13, 1917 at Fatima whenShe spoke those ominous words:“Many souls go to Hell because there is no one to pray or tobring sacrifices for them....”And once this realisation gets a foothold in a Catholic's consciousness and underthe influence of grace starts to preoccupy a Catholic mind, then the translation intoaction will not be all that far away as a result of the blessing asked for “in the strugglewith God....” The weight of the fate of souls on the road to perdition with no one to prayor to bring sacrifices for them, abandoned by the Catholics into whose spiritual carethey had been entrusted in the first place when in Baptism God had infused into thesesouls the supernatural Gifts of Faith, Hope and Love, will be too much to ignore. Andthen the questions start crowding around:“May I casually assume that the eternal fate of the men who pick up the rubbishat my gate is secured?” “Who looks after the spiritual well-being of the people in my employ?” “Or of those who look so faithfully after my car so I do not come to grief on theroad?” “Or of those whom only yesterday I met for the first time?” When I think of the tradesmen I deal with casually, infrequently or daily, must Inot interpret the fact that God brought me into contact with these souls, that thereby Healso entrusted to my Catholic Faith their eternal wellbeing? Hopefully in conjunctionwith others, but what, if not....? If I happen to be the only one ‘to pray and to bringsacrifices for them’? If the Mother of God came down from Heaven to tell us Catholicsthat many souls go to hell because there is no one to pray or to bring sacrifices for them,then how many of these poor souls would only have me to pray for them? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4 4And God will forgive us if it is with a sigh that we open our Catholic toolbox ofprayers and sacrifices and begin in earnest the task of repairing the damage done in somany souls by the neglect of those Catholics to whom they had been entrusted in thefirst place. But it will be a great comfort for us to know, after we have come this far,that we are enduring in a very small way what must have have been “in the mind ofChrist” (Phil. 2:5) and in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, when the fate of the souls ofthe whole world and of all times had been entrusted by God to this singular pair, to thisunique beginning of His unique Catholic Church? If the realisation grows on us that weare their instrument, and that it is through us that they are looking after the lost sheepentrusted to their care by the Father, then we will be in daily contact with them in ordernot to fail them. In fact, at our Sunday and weekday Masses, it will soon become ourhabit to bring along all those God has entrusted to the care of our Catholic Faith, theknown ones and the unknown ones, in order to present them to Him for His blessing, ablessing earned after struggling with God in the period of thanksgiving after HolyCommunion “Standing in”.We must all admit that we can never quite avoid that initial somewhat sinkingfeeling that comes over us when in the middle of our own work, someone “in anemergency” imposes on our generosity with that all too familiar request ‘to come overand mind the children’ because Johnnie has to be rushed to casualty. It means droppingthe ironing and doing the dishes at our end in order to attend to the emergency only tobe confronted at the other end with a sink full of half-done dishes and a heap of ironing.“No, luv, of course we don't mind”. And deep down, we don't. It is just.... And with trueresignation we begin the task of “standing in”. Our friend's work is being taken care of,and it is our friend who reaps the benefit.In the spiritual life there is a way of praying which is different from the routineunderstanding of it that was discussed before and which is not unlike the familiarsituation described here. Normally, we pray FOR someone and so FOR someone else'sneeds from our own surroundings. From where we are, we decide the time, the place,the duration and the ‘object’ of our prayers of intercession. Even if we are intense andare prepared ‘to struggle with God’ it is still largely a question of “us” and “them”.“We” pray “for them”. But that was not the only way Our Blessed Lord prayed for us.For that, He could, so to speak, have remained “in His Father's House” and prayed forus there. But the human race was “in an emergency” and He came down to us, to ourdirty washing and an endless array of half-done works we could not possibly attend toourselves. Thus He identified Himself with us. He literally “stood in” for us. His prayerswere not only said FOR us, He said His prayers in such a way that they became ourprayers. His prayers were not only said “on our behalf”: by an altogether miracle of“Divine Art” He was capable of putting His prayers into our mouths, so that, for the firsttime, the Heavenly Father heard the human race pray as it ought to have prayed. And, as -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 5 5in the little story above, our work got done and we reaped the benefits, just as a tinybaby receives personally all the benefits of the regenerating waters of Baptism simplybecause some grown-ups, the parents and God-parents, thought it important enough to“stand in”, “stand proxy”, for the helpless little creature.St. Paul is quite adamant about this further development in praying.“The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness. For when wecannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit Himselfexpresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words; andGod who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well whatHe means, and that the pleas of the Saints expressed by the Spiritare according to the mind of God” (Rom. 8:26-27).“The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of HisSon into our hearts: the Spirit that cries Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6).So the pleas of the Saints are now united within all humanity with the way theSpirit prays, even cries, within souls, even (and maybe even especially) within those“who cannot choose words to pray properly”.Is it possible to imagine the mind-boggling results if the father of a rapeddaughter, or the mother of a murdered child, not only prays FOR the assailant in theway as is usually understood, but actually puts in the mouth of the perpetrator of theterrible crime very fervently and very devotedly “The Act of Contrition” or the “HailHoly Queen”, not only once, but day in day out, standing in for the sinner, letting him,as it were, say those blessed words which he himself in all probability would not be ableto choose, and letting the sinner have the full benefit of this prayer as if it was said, notonly on his behalf, but very really BY him because of the intimate relationship of“standing in” and “standing proxy” for a helpless creature. For, once we are in the habitof knowing ourselves responsible for the salvation of all those whom God has entrustedto the care of our Catholic Faith, then there is no need to call on a great stretch of ourimagination to acquire the habit of praying like that for all those precious souls everytime we hear Mass, say a Rosary or do good works during the day as if called up to‘stand in’ for an emergency which according to the above-quoted words spoken by OurBlessed Lady at Fatima, we are. If we can put prayers in the mouth of one soul entrustedto our care, to let that soul have the reward of those prayers as if said by him personally,then it is only a matter of intention or habit, to surround other souls with this realisticexpression of our love and care, and in fact to extend it to all those whose eternalsalvation God has made us co-responsible for. Quite obviously, nothing would morespeedily dissolve in our own hearts any vestige of hatred or malice, which would extendour usefulness as Christians even further. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 6 6Paying the Price....Is it humanly possible to go even further than that? Is there no end in sight to thedemands Christ makes on His followers? If the foregoing is not heroic, what is....? Is ittruly given to mere human beings to penetrate ever further into the Mystical Life ofChrist, where He lives in the most intimate relationship with His Bride, the Bride of theLamb of God, Our Holy Mother, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church?The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’.No, it is not given to ‘mere human beings’ even to come this far.But Catholics are no longer ‘mere human beings’. A baptised Christian is analtogether new creation, a sharer in an altogether New Life, the Life that Christ lived onearth. A Catholic Priest is more, much more, than a ‘mere human being’ when he workshard at the preservation and the perfection of his vow of celibacy. In his consecratedmanhood he is truly Christ-back-on-earth. He has free access to supernatural powers.And so the answer is ‘Yes’. Yes, it has now become ‘humanly possible’ for aCatholic not only to come this far but to exhaust his participation in that mystical life ofChrist even further.In His human flesh Our Blessed Lord and Saviour not only prayed for us sinnersto His heavenly Father in the manner spoken of before, ‘standing in’ for us and for allhumanity in such a way that we should have the immediate benefits of these prayers ofadoration, intercession and thanksgiving. There was a price to be paid for these‘immediate benefits’ when we were still helpless, as the three greatest Apostles, St.John, St. Peter and St. Paul remind us.St. John:“He was in the world that had its being through Him, and the worlddid not know Him. He came to His own domain, and His ownpeople did not accept Him....” (John 1:10,11).St. Peter:“Remember the ransom that was paid to free you from the uselessway of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anythingcorruptible... but in the precious Blood of a Lamb without spot orstain...” (1 Pe. 1:18,19).“Think of what Christ suffered in this life, and then arm yourselveswith the same resolution that He had: anyone who in this life hasbodily suffering has broken with sin, because for the rest of his lifeon earth he is not ruled by human passions but only by the will ofGod....” (1 Pe. 4:1-2).“If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad...” (1 Pe. 4:13) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 7 7St. Paul:“We were still helpless when at His appointed moment Christ diedfor sinful men" (Rom. 5:6)."...but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us whilewe were still sinners" (Rom. 5:8)."Since God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up to benefitus a14 we may be certain, after such a gift, that He will not retuseanything He can give" (Rom. 8:32).“….redeemed in Christ Jesus, Who was appointed by God to sacrificeHis life so as to win reconciliation through Faith" (Rom. 3:25)."Now before we came of age we were as good as slaves to theelemental principles of this world, but when the appointed timecame God sent His Son, born of a Woman, born a subject of theLaw, to redeem the subjects of the Law....” (Gal. 4:3-5).How many still “have not come of age” St. Paul acknowledges in the same breath whenhe wrote a bit further on in this same letter to the Galatians:“….how can you want to go back to elemental things like these, thatcan do nothing and give nothing AND BE THEIR SLAVES? Youmake me feel I have wasted my time with you!” (Gal. 4:9,11).Universal Redemption has been assured in Christ Jesus, but, according to thesewords written here, and according to innumerable similar references in SacredScripture, and according to the previously quoted words of Our Lady spoken at Fatimain 1917, universal salvation has not been assured.... And it is here that the revelation isbeing made, that the suffering and dying of Christ in His Mystical Body still goes on,hour after hour, day after day, year after year, century after century....“It makes me happy to suffer for you as I am suffering now, and todo in my own body what I can to make up all that has still to beundergone by Christ for the sake of His Body, the Church”. (Col. 1:24).Finally, we must take into account the words spoken by Our Lord Himself:“Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer all this and soenter into His glory?” (Lk. 24:26). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 8 8But who is Christ? When the Lord appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus Heinformed this persecutor of His Church in no uncertain terms: “Saul, Sau4 why are youpersecuting ME?” (Acts 9:4). If Christ identifies Himself with His Mystical Body, mustwe not extend His words to mean that it also has been ordained that He should suffer allthis in His Mystical Body as well, so that His Mystical Body should make up what hasstill to be undergone by Christ for the sake of His Church, the sole Instrument ofSalvation?And thus, yes, it is possible for Catholics to go further than to stand in forsinners in their prayer life, and “by proxy” say the prayers these sinners entrusted totheir care should say themselves but do not say in their state of utter helplessness. It is inthe power of all Catholics “to arm themselves with the same resolution that Christ had”,“to help pay the ransom” and, as part of the Mystical Body of Christ, to volunteer “tomake up in their own bodies all that has still to be undergone by Christ”, so that whenChrist does come into His world and enters in His own domain at the end of any sinner'slife, He will be accepted. How far a Catholic is prepared to go here is now left to the intimacy between avictim soul and the Bridegroom....

F. Albers.
.... JULY 1995.

....

Taken from: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:5m409i14wh0J:users.pipeline.com.au/~rossj/files/Divine_Art.pdf+&hl=en&gl=au

"Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy"

Background

St.
Faustina
The
Image
Feast of Mercy

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Why would Christ emphasize in our
time a doctrine, the Divine Mercy, which has been part of the patrimony of the
Faith from the beginning, as well as request new devotional and liturgical
expressions of it? In His revelations to St. Faustina Jesus answers this
question, connecting it to another doctrine, also sometimes little emphasized,
that of His Second Coming. In the Gospel the Lord shows us that His first coming
was in humility, as a Servant, to free the world from sin. Yet, He promises to
return in glory to judge the world on love, as He makes clear in his discourses
on the Kingdom in Matthew chapters 13 and 25. In between these Comings we have
the end times or era of the Church, in which the Church ministers reconciliation
to the world until the great and terrible Day of the Lord, the Day of Justice.
Every Catholic should be familiar with the teaching of the Church on this
matter, contained in paragraphs 668 to 679 of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church. Only in the context of public revelation as taught by
the Magisterium can we situate the words of private revelation given to Sr.
Faustina.

You will prepare the world for My final coming. (Diary 429)
Speak to the world about My mercy ... It is a sign for the end times. After
it will come the Day of Justice. While there is still time, let them have
recourse to the fountain of My mercy. (Diary 848)
Tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of
My justice, is near. (Diary 965).
I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if
they do not recognize this time of My visitation. (Diary 1160)
Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy. (Diary
1588)
He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the
door of My justice. (Diary 1146).

In addition to these words of Our Lord Sr. Faustina gives us the Words of the
Mother of Mercy, the Blessed Virgin,

You have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world
for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful Savior, but as a
just Judge. Oh how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the
day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this
great mercy while it is still the time for granting mercy. (Diary
635).

It is clear that, like the message of Fátima, the urgency here is the urgency
of the Gospel, "repent and believe." The exact timing is the Lord's. However, it
is also clear that we have reached some critical phase of the end times that
began with the birth of the Church. To this fact Pope John Paul II alluded at
the consecration in 1981 of the Shrine of Merciful Love in Collevalenaza, Italy,
when he noted the "special task" assigned to him by God "in the present
situation of man, the Church and the world." In His Encyclical on the Father he
urges us "to implore God's mercy for humanity in this hour of history ... to beg
for it at this difficult, critical phase of the history of the Church and of the
world as we approach the end of the second millennium." (Rich in Mercy
15)

Diary, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul (c) 1987 Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge, MA 01263. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com.au/devotionals/mercy/coming.htm#ixzz2EhwbeDSI

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more: http://www.ewtn.com.au/devotionals/mercy/coming.htm#ixzz2Ehw24PVS

"When victory is won, it will be a victory through Mary"



TESTAMENT OF THE HOLY FATHER
JOHN PAUL II

Totus Tuus ego sum

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

"Watch, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming" (Mt 24: 42) - these words remind me of the last call that will come at whatever time the Lord desires. I want to follow Him and I want all that is part of my earthly life to prepare me for this moment. I do not know when it will come but I place this moment, like all other things, in the hands of the Mother of my Master: Totus Tuus. In these same motherly hands I leave everything and Everyone with whom my life and my vocation have brought me into contact. In these Hands I above all leave the Church, and also my Nation and all humankind. I thank everyone. I ask forgiveness of everyone. I also ask for prayers, so that God's Mercy may prove greater than my own weakness and unworthiness.

During the spiritual exercises I reread the Testament of the Holy Father Paul VI. It was reading it that gave me the incentive to write this Testament.

I leave no possessions of which it will be necessary to dispose. As for the things I use every day, I ask that they be distributed as seems appropriate. Let my personal notes be burned. I ask that Fr Stanis³aw see to this, and I thank him for his help and collaboration, so understanding for so many years. On the other hand, I leave all my other "thank yous" in my heart before God Himself, because it is difficult to express them.

With regard to my funeral, I repeat the instructions that were given by the Holy Father Paul VI (here a note in the margin says: burial in the ground and not in a sarcophagus, 13 March 1992). Let the College of Cardinals and my Fellow Citizens decide on the place.

"apud Dominum misericordia
et copiosa apud Eum redemptio"

John Paul PP. II

Rome, 6 March 1979

After my death I ask for Holy Masses and prayers

5 February 1990

***

Undated page

I express the most profound trust that, in spite of all my weakness, the Lord will grant me every grace necessary to face, in accordance with His will, any task, test or suffering that He sees fit to ask of His servant during his life. I am also confident that He will never let me fail through some attitude I may have: words, deeds or omissions, in my obligations to this holy Petrine See.

***

24 February to 1 March 1980

Also during these spiritual exercises I reflected on the truth of the Priesthood of Christ in the perspective of that Passing which the moment of death is for each one of us. The Resurrection of Christ is an eloquent [above this word was added decisive] sign of the departure from this world for rebirth in the other, future world.

I therefore read the draft of my Testament as it was recorded last year, also written during the spiritual exercises - I compared it with the Testament of my great Predecessor and Father, Paul VI, with his sublime testimony on the death of a Christian and a Pope - and I reminded myself of the matters mentioned in the draft of 6 March 1979, prepared by me (in a somewhat makeshift manner).

Today, I would like to add just this: that everyone keep the prospect of death in mind and be ready to go before the Lord and Judge - and at the same time Redeemer and Father. So I keep this continuously in my mind, entrusting that decisive moment to the Mother of Christ and of the Church - to the Mother of my hope.

The times we are living in are unspeakably difficult and disturbing. The Church's journey has also become difficult and stressful, a characteristic proof of these times - both for the Faithful and for Pastors. In some Countries (as, for example, those I read about during the spiritual exercises), the Church finds herself in a period of persecution no less evil than the persecutions of the early centuries, indeed worse, because of the degree of ruthlessness and hatred. Sanguis martyrum - semen christianorum ["The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians" (Tertullian)]. And in addition to this, so many innocent people disappear, even in this Country in which we live....
I would like once again to entrust myself entirely to the Lord's grace. He Himself will decide when and how I am to end my earthly life and my pastoral ministry. In life and in death [I am] Totus Tuus through Mary Immaculate. I hope, in already accepting my death now, that Christ will give me the grace I need for the final passover, that is, [my] Pasch. I also hope that He will make it benefit the important cause I seek to serve: the salvation of men and women, the preservation of the human family and, within in it, all the nations and peoples (among them, I also specifically address my earthly Homeland), useful for the people that He has specially entrusted to me, for the matter of the Church and for the glory of God Himself.

I do not want to add anything to what I wrote a year ago - except to express this readiness and, at the same time, this trust which these spiritual exercises have once again inspired in me.

John Paul II

* * *

5 March 1982

Totus Tuus ego sum

In the course of the spiritual exercises this year I read (several times) the text of my Testament of 6 March 1979. Although I still consider it as temporary (not definitive) I am leaving it in its present form. I am not (for the moment) changing anything, nor do I add anything to the arrangements it contains.

The attack on my life on 13 May 1981 in some way confirmed the exactness of the words I wrote during the spiritual exercises in 1980 (24 February-1 March).

I feel so much more deeply that I am totally in God's Hands - and I remain continuously available to my Lord, entrusting myself to Him through His Immaculate Mother (Totus Tuus).

John Paul PP. II

Postscript

In connection with the last sentence of my Testament of 6 March 1979 ("Let the College of Cardinals and my Fellow Citizens decide on the place/that is, the place of the funeral") - I explain that I have in mind: the Metropolitan of Krakow or the General Council of the Polish Bishops' Conference - in the meantime, I ask the College of Cardinals to do their best to satisfy the possible requests of those listed above.

* * *

1 March 1985

Once again - with regard to the expression "the College of Cardinals and my Fellow Citizens": the "College of Cardinals" is under no obligation to consult "my Fellow Citizens" on this topic; it may, however, do so, if for some reason it should deem it appropriate.

JPII

* * *

The spiritual exercises in the Jubilee Year 2000
(12-18 March)
[for the Testament]

1. When, on 16 October 1978, the Conclave of Cardinals chose John Paul II, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, the Primate of Poland, said to me: "The task of the new Pope will be to lead the Church into the Third Millennium". I do not know if I am repeating the sentence exactly as he said it, but this was at least the sense of what I heard him say at the time. These words were spoken by the Man who went down in history as the Primate of the Millennium: a great Primate. I witnessed his mission, his total confidence, his struggles and his triumph. "When victory is won, it will be a victory through Mary": The Primate of the Millennium was fond of repeating these words of his Predecessor, Cardinal August Hlond.

Thus, I was in some way prepared for the task presented to me on that day, 16 October 1978. As I write these words, the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 is already a reality that is taking place. On the night of 24 December 1999 the symbolic Great Jubilee Door in the Basilica of St Peter was opened, and subsequently that of St John Lateran, then that of St Mary Major - on New Year's Day, and on 19 January the Door of the Basilica of St Paul "Outside-the-Walls". Particularly the latter event, because of its ecumenical character, was imprinted indelibly on memories.

2. As the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 continues, the 20th century closes behind us and the 21st century unfolds, from one day to the next. In accordance with the designs of Providence, I have been granted to live in the difficult century that is retreating into the past, and now in the year in which I have reached my 80s ("octogesima adveniens"), I must ask myself whether the time has come to say with Simeon of the Bible, "Nunc dimittis".

On 13 May 1981, the day of the attack on the Pope during the General Audience in St Peter's Square, Divine Providence miraculously saved me from death. He Himself, who is the One Lord of life and death, extended this life of mine, and in a certain way he restored it to me. Ever since that moment it has belonged even more to Him. I hope He will help me to recognize how long I must continue this service to which he called me on 16 October 1978. I ask him to deign to call me to Himself whenever he wishes. "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then... we are the Lord's" (cf. Rom 14: 8). I hope that as long as I am granted to carry out the Petrine service in the Church, God in His Mercy will grant me the necessary strength for this service.

3. As I do every year during the spiritual exercises, I read the Testament that I wrote on 6 March 1979. I continue to keep the instructions it contains. What was added then, and also during the subsequent spiritual retreats, reflects the difficult and tense general situation that marked the 1980s. After autumn of the year 1989, this situation changed. The final decade of the last century was free of the previous tensions; this does not mean that it did not bring new problems and difficulties. In a special way may Divine Providence be praised for this, that the period known as the "Cold War" ended without violent nuclear conflict; the risk of it had been threatening the world in the previous period.

4. As I stand on the threshold of the Third Millennium "in medio Ecclesiae", I would like once again to express my gratitude to the Holy Spirit for the great gift of the Second Vatican Council, to which, together with the whole Church - and especially with the whole Episcopate - I feel indebted. I am convinced that it will long be granted to the new generations to draw from the treasures that this 20th-century Council has lavished upon us. As a Bishop who took part in the Council from the first to the last day, I desire to entrust this great patrimony to all who are and will be called in the future to put it into practice. For my part, I thank the eternal Pastor who has enabled me to serve this very great cause in the course of all the years of my Pontificate.

"In medio Ecclesiae"... from the very first years of my service as a Bishop - precisely, thanks to the Council - I was granted to experience the fraternal communion of the Episcopate. As a priest of the Archdiocese of Krakow, I was granted to experience the fraternal communion of the presbyterate - the Council had opened a new dimension of this experience.

5. How many people I would have to list! The Lord God has probably called the majority of them to Himself - as for those who are still here, may the words of this Testament recall them, everyone and everywhere, wherever they may happen to be.

In the course of the more than 20 years since I have been carrying out the Petrine service "in medio Ecclesiae", I have experienced the benevolent and most especially the fruitful collaboration of so many Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, so many priests and so many consecrated persons - Brothers and Sisters - finally, of a great many lay people, in the Curial environment and in the Vicariate of the Diocese of Rome as well as outside these contexts.

How could I not embrace with grateful memories all the Episcopal Conferences in the world, which I met in the course of their visits ad limina Apostolorum! Besides, how could I fail to remember all the Christian Brothers and Sisters - non-Catholics! And the Rabbi of Rome and likewise all the representatives of non-Christian religions, not to mention all the representatives of the worlds of culture, science, politics and the media!

6. As the end of my earthly life draws close, I think back to its beginning, to my Parents, my Brother and my Sister (whom I never knew, for she died before I was born), to the Parish of Wadowice where I was baptized, to that city of my youth, to my peers, my companions of both sexes at elementary school, at high school, at university, until the time of the Occupation when I worked as a labourer, and later, to the Parish in Niegowic, to St Florian's Parish in Krakow, to the pastoral work of academics, to the context... to all the contexts... to Krakow and to Rome... to the persons who were especially entrusted to me by the Lord.

I want to say just one thing to them all: "May God reward you!".

"In manus Tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum".

17 March 2000, A.D.

Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana

10th December 1925: Communion of Reparation

Sr. Maria Lucia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart Visionary of Fatima, 1907-1925 ©Recompiled by SCTJM
"Jesus wants to use you to let others know and love me. He wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world."

Lucia was the oldest of the visionaries. She entered religious life with the St. Dorothy Sisters in Pontevedra and later entered the Carmelites in Coimbra, Portugal until her death on February 13th, 2005.

During her religious life she receives apparitions of the in which the Blessed Virgin reveals to her :
the petition of Our Lady of the Five First Saturdays of Reparation
the vision of the Trinity with the petition of the consecration of Russia
 

Five First Saturdays in Reparation

History
 

Saturdays are traditionally dedicated to Our Lady. Since the beginning of Christianity, the Church has considered Saturdays to be dedicated to intensifying our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our mother. Many people consecrated the first Saturday of the month to Mary for this intention and in reparation for the blasphemies and sacrileges against her from sinners and false teachings.

Pope Saint Pio X, on July 12th, 1905, promulgated a decree praising this practice, and moreover, he granted indulgences for it. This same year, in the month of November, the Holy Father again blessed and granted indulgences to the sons and daughters of the Heart of Mary and the Confraternity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who traditionally had dedicated each first Saturday to repairing the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The Blessed Virgin requests the Five First Saturdays of Reparation. The Blessed Virgin said: "To prevent the war, I will come to ask for the consecration to Russia to my Immaculate Heart and communion in reparation on the first Saturdays of the month." Our Lady promised Lucia on July 13th, 1917 that a future manifestation would occur in relation to the practice of the first five Saturdays of the month. This was fulfilled on December 10th, 1925.

Lucia was a postulant in the Convent of St. Dorothy in Pontevedra, Spain when she had the apparition of our Blessed Mother. She was standing over a cloud of light with the Child Jesus at her side. The Blessed Virgin put one hand on Lucia's shoulder, while her other hand sustained her Immaculate Heart that was surrounded with thorns. The Child Jesus said: "Have compassion on the Heart of your Blessed Mother. It is surrounded with thorns that ungrateful men pierce each moment, and there is no one that is willing to offer an act of reparation to take the thorns away."

Our Lady immediately said to Lucia: "Look, my daughter. My Heart is surrounded with thorns that ungrateful men pierce unceasingly with their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me and announce that for all those, who for five consecutive first Saturdays, confess, receive Holy Communion, pray the Holy Rosary and accompany me for15 minutes by meditating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary with the intention to do reparation, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with the graces needed for salvation."

The Elements of the First Saturday Devotion

1- Confession: Essential for the journey of repentance and conversion.
2- Eucharist: The first fruit of this devotion is the worship of the Holy Eucharist in three ways: sacrifice, communion, and adoration.
3-Holy Rosary prayer with two aspects: prayer, meditation. Five mysteries are to be prayed.
4- The promise of salvation

Meditation of the Holy Rosary:
The vocal prayer of the Rosary has always been fundamentally based on the interior act of meditation on the mysteries of the life, sufferings, and glory of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The prayer that our Lady requested us to pray after each mystery is : "Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy." In this prayer, we are praying for the conversion and eternal salvation of the souls of sinners. These sinners may be very obstinate in their sins, refusing to repent. Some are unknowingly in mortal sin and are at the precipice of death. Finally, there are those who because of circumstances of location or education, are far from the possibility of finding a priest and receiving the sacraments, even in their last moments. The graces and merits from the reparation and prayers of Christians who are united in meditation with the Heart of Mary, Mother and refuge of sinners, are especially for these poor souls "most in need of God's mercy."

Promise of Salvation:
To those who practice this devotion of the First Five Saturdays of the Month, Our Lady promised: "I promise to assist them at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation." She does not promise eternal salvation, but the graces necessary for salvation. There are many testimonies from souls particularly devoted to the Heart of Mary who receive knowledge from heaven about the proximity of their hour of death. It is not necessarily an announcement of death, but a new awareness and need to receive the sacraments with more dignity, a purer intention in all their actions, and an intensification of charity and dedication to their apostolate. The Heart of Mary perfects the souls of her children until they reach their decisive encounter with their Divine Savior.

Spirit of Reparation

All the acts of devotion offered should be donewith the intention of repairing the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Those that offend Mary commit a double offense because they offend her and her Divine Son. As a result, their salvation is in danger.

This reparation emphasizes our personal responsibility towards sinners who do not pray and do not do reparation for their sins. This devotion represents a social responsibility and reminds us that in order to reach God, we should love our neighbor and try to save their souls. Also, it teaches us an excellent way of doing this - by repairing the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Some worry about forgetting to offer the intention of reparation on one of the First Saturdays of the month. This can be avoided by making the resolution to offer the reparation at the beginning of the first First Saturday.

"My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love you. And I ask forgiveness for those who do not believe, do not adore, and do not love you."(the angel to the shepherd children at Fatima)

Why the Five Saturdays ?

During her prayer time, our Lord revealed to Lucia the reason for the Five Saturdays of Reparation:
"My daughter, the reason is simple; it concerns the 5 forms of offenses and blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary":

1-Against her Immaculate Conception.
2- Against her virginity
3- Against her Divine Maternity, refusing at the same time to receive Mary as Mother of all humanity.
4- Against those that publicly instill and induce indifference, hate and scorn towards our Immaculate Mother in the hearts of children.
5- Against those that insult or directly offend her sacred images.

"This is why, my daughter, that before the offended and insulted Immaculate Heart, my mercy was moved to request this small reparation in recognition to Her, in order to grant forgiveness to souls who go through this disgrace of offending My Mother. But you, at least, try unceasingly, with your prayers and sacrifices, to move my mercy for these souls." It is important to establish a fixed time for this devotion; in this case, it is the First Saturdays of the month. This will help us establish a habit, just as the Church leads our spiritual lives through liturgical cycles: lent, advent, etc . . .

The Importance of this Devotion

On February 1926, the Child Jesus appeared to Lucia asking her if she promoted the devotion to our Blessed Mother. Lucia talked about the difficulties she encountered in order to fulfill this mission. Jesus responded that His grace is sufficient.

In Fatima, the Blessed Mother's desire was to recommend this devotion, specifically "Five First Consecutive Saturdays," promising salvation to those who practice it. It is God who is offended by each sin. For this reason, it is also God the ultimate object of each act of reparation from Christians. We would not comprehend the celestial message given at Fatima in this essential element of reparation unless it is directed to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lord Himself says: "Have compassion for your Mother's Heart. It is surrounded with thorns that ungrateful men pierce at each moment, and there is no one who does acts of reparation to remove them." The predestination of Mary in her Divine Maternity, her active collaboration in all the work of redemption, her mission to be the spiritual mother of all the Church and of each person redeemed by the precious Blood of Christ constitute the basic laws of divine providence for the effective application of redemption in each soul. Therefore, devotion to her Immaculate Heart should be intensified and promoted. As a result, whoever offends our Mother, either by blasphemies, by rejecting the greatness in her mission of co-redemption, or by trying to demote the devotion of Our Lady in the Church or in souls, offends God and His providence at the same time.

A Christian who understands how vile this type of offenses are tries to do reparation by intensifying his personal devotion and efforts so the Reign of the Heart of Mary may be established. This is how love responds. Both aspects of Christian reparation, first directed to God and subordinated to the Heart of Mary, are complementary manifestations of one same reality and one same Spirit.

Fruits of this Devotion

In all true devotion to Our Lady (devotion to her Immaculate Heart is a perfect expression of true devotion) there always exists an effective invitation to return our hearts to Christ Our Savior.

When it is about those who have lost grace, it is a call to conversion, to the life of grace and eternal salvation.
When it is about the souls that live in God's grace, the true devotion to Mary gives them a strong push to advance towards holiness creating in them an apostolic Christian spirit.

This is a constant law in the Church's vitality. Whether it is from Marian Institutions, Marian Shrines, movements or Marian Pilgrimages, there has always been an irresistible call from Mary's Maternal Heart to return these souls to Christ.

The practice of the First Saturdays of reparation corresponds to this new chapter of sanctification and the eternal salvation of the redeemed.

Vision of the Trinity and the petition for the consecration of Russia

In June 1929, Lucia, already a religious of St. Dorothy, describes the following apparition:

" . . . . suddenly the entire convent Chapel was illuminated in a supernatural light, and a Cross of light appeared over the altar and reached the ceiling. On the superior part the face of man was seen and his body down to the waist. A dove of light was over his chest and nailed to the Cross was another man. Suspended in air over his waist I was able to see a chalice with a large Host. Drops of Blood from the face of Jesus Crucified and His pierced side fell into the the chalice, dripping from the Host. Beneath the right arm on the Cross was Our Lady. It was Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without thorns or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames. Underneath the left arm on the Cross, big letters, similar to crystal water came down to the altar forming these words: Grace and Mercy.'

Lucia said : "I understood it was the mystery of the Blessed Trinity that was revealed to me, and I perceived inner light about this mystery which I'm unable to reveal. The Blessed Virgin told me: The time has come in which God asks the Holy Father that in union with all the bishops of the world the consecration of Russia to my Heart be made, I promise salvation through this means.' Preventing diffusion of error and advance its conversion."

Consecration of Russia by the Holy Fathers

Dec. 1940-------Lucia receives permission to write the Holy Father Pio XII, asking for this consecration.
Oct. 1942------Pope Pío XII consecrates the world mentioning specially Russia.
July 1952------Special Consecration only of Russia.
1965------------Pope Paul VI also consecrates Russia.
1984------------Pope John Paul II consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart.
2000------------Pope John Paul II consecrates the III Millennium to the Immaculate Heart.

Many times these consecrations were considered to be incomplete because they were not done in union with the bishops of the world. The consecration that John Paul II, did of the world in 1984, in Rome before the image of Our Lady of Fatima was according to Lucia, in conformity with Mary's desires. All the bishops of the world were formally invited by the Holy Father John Paul II to unite to him in this consecration.

Victims souls of the Fatima message : The victims souls embraces with heroic love grate sacrifices in favor of Mary's intention. The most known victims souls of Fatima are Blessed Alejandrina de Costa and Aminda de Jesus. She lived 50 years in total paralysis, praying from her bed in a small room in Fatima so that the message of Our Lady might be received, especially by the youth. We had the great gift of knowing her personally, and the one she considered "my little friend". Arminda, after great sufferings and being detached from her greatest desire to die in Fatima, left for the House of the Father in January 2001.

"'The victory, if it comes, will come through Mary.' As I became more involved in the problems of the universal Church, I came to have a similar conviction: On this universal level, if victory comes it will be brought by Mary. Christ will conquer through her, because He wants the Church's victories now and in the future to be linked to her."(Bl. John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 114)

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