DUBLIN, Ireland – Thousands of Irish Catholics celebrated the 109^th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima by holding 586 Public Rosary Rallies today, on May 16. The rallies, organised by Irish Society for Christian Civilisation, (ISFCC) represent one of the largest and most widespread public manifestations of the Faith in Ireland in recent years. 

“The Rosary has always been dear to the Irish, said Mr Gregory Murphy of Ireland Needs Fatima, “and has been a spiritual weapon against sin. Oliver Cromwell credits his failures of breaking the Irish to their devotion to the Rosary. Today, we see an ever-growing need for the Rosary.”

ISFCC and its Ireland Needs Fatima campaign organised these rosary rallies as a fitting way to commemorate Our Lady’s call to challenge the culture and resist the waves of sin and aberrations rocking the nation. The number of Rosary Rallies has steadily grown over the years since ISFCC began the campaign in 2013. 

Each Rosary leader is given a 6ft banner of Our Lady of Fatima and a prayer programme, which details the prayers to be said and the intentions. To put the event in context, 586 Rosary rallies mean over one million Hail Marys prayed in the public square! 

 “One person described it as many small fires of the action and grace from the Holy Ghost across Ireland, and it really was!” Rosary Rally campaign coordinator Gregory Murphy said. “Surely, this will be a beautiful call to God, through His mother for the grace of peace, conversion and courage.”

At the flagship Rosary Rally on O’Connell St., hundreds of passersby witnessed the gathering, made the sign of the cross, or even joined in. One young attendee, Edward, said that it was an honour for him to be there. He continued, “It’s lovely to pray privately, but as St Louis de Montfort said, private prayer solves personal problems, and public prayer fixes societal problems. So, that is what we are doing here today: praying to Our Lady to solve Ireland’s societal problems.” 

One Rosary Rally leader from Cobh wrote in to say, “I was delighted with the numbers, as it far exceeded my expectations. It was supposed to rain, but we had sunshine all the time. All the usual faces turned up, but some new ones I hadn’t seen before were there too. It was a happy, prayerful meeting, and I think everyone went away satisfied with the whole venture.”

“More and more people are looking to the Fatima message because it offers a sure remedy to the moral crisis in society.” Gregory Murphy continued. “In other words, prayer, penance and conversion are the answer to a world that has abandoned God.” 

Photos from the various Rosary Rallies can be found at this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/b5JXuqJPcGrsbtV19

For more details, contact Gregory Murphy at 089 461 7935 or gmurphy@isfcc.org. 

This year, it is more crucial than ever that we turn to prayer and intercession to increase devotion to Our Lady across our country. That’s why you’re invited to join us in the Three Hail Marys Pledge, a powerful devotion that can bring personal spiritual benefits and national transformation. By reciting three Hail Marys daily, you honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary and seek her intercession for the conversion of sinners, the salvation of souls and the restoration of Ireland’s Catholic Faith. This ancient devotion, revealed to Saint Mechtilde, promises spiritual benefits including protection from mortal sin and the assurance of a good death. Your daily prayers will contribute to an increase in devotion to Our Lady, the conversion of sinners and the moral renewal of our country. Let us commit to this powerful devotion and seek the guidance and protection of Our Lady.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post 586 Rosary Rallies Across the Public Squares of Ireland appeared first on ISFCC.

• Celebrating the month of May in a spirit of reparation

As there is no ‘Saint of the Day’ entry for today, the Committee has asked me to say a few words on how to make the most of this month, which is entirely dedicated to Our Lady, particularly in the spirit of reparation, as I have been emphasising.

It really is a very good idea, and I could suggest the following approach: this month is dedicated to Our Lady and is a month of celebrations. And naturally, out of habit and given the nature of the subject, our spirit turns to celebrating Our Lady during this month. It so happens that there is a principle of common sense, whereby one does not celebrate a person who is going through great sorrow. For example, for a mother whose child is very ill, one does not, whilst the child is ill, organise a birthday party for her. Because she is not in the right frame of mind for that.

So this is the occasion to show her veneration, affection, etc., but to show it in another way, that is, by sympathising with her pain. Say two things: I remember it’s your birthday, and I understand the happy feelings that date evokes in me, but given your state of mind and your situation, I also wanted to tell you how much it weighs on me to see you going through this ordeal, and I pray for your son’s recovery. That is what any sensible person would say.

Well, that is what we too must say to Our Lady. We must say that we remember all the enduring reasons for joy that she is to all Catholics, in all circumstances. Our Lady is in such a way causa nostrae laetitiae, as the Litany of Loreto says, that she was a cause of joy for us even in the saddest of situations, which was when Our Lord Jesus Christ died. Even on that occasion, her presence was a source of joy and comfort for us.

On the other hand, because of this, we must understand that a mere attitude of festive celebration serves no purpose, and that we must, in remembering all the joy she gives us, combine this with consideration of all the sorrow she feels in the present circumstances, and live in that sorrow. To keep that sorrow in mind. Keeping that sorrow in mind is not merely attending the Holy Day, or a ceremony, and feeling moved by it at that moment. But it is having the reasons for her sorrow at the tip of one’s tongue. And being able to recall this at any moment.

What Saint Thomas Aquinas Says About Immigration – ISFCC

And this is so easy to remember: a plot that seeks to commit the worst of crimes, after deicide, which is to lead people into error and, therefore, to attempt to destroy the Roman Catholic Church. This is a terrible crime, because nothing more nefarious can be planned against the glory of God, nothing more effective can be done against the salvation of souls; to carry out the devil’s temptation, nothing could be more fitting, for this is the very essence of the devil’s temptation. Of course, he cannot destroy the Catholic Church, because the Church is immortal. But he can, at least, take things as far as they can go along these lines. And it must be said that they are likely to go further than we imagined.

Now, this crime, set out in this way, must cause us unspeakable indignation; it must provoke a protest from our very being. For we shall love God to the extent that we hate this crime. We can test our love for God through the reaction of our soul to this crime. If, at the moment when they attempt to kill the Mystical Body of Christ, my indignation is small, there is no doubt that my love is small.

Imagine someone comes to kill me and I have a friend who says: “Oh dear, poor Dr Plínio! What a rough time he’s having right now! Anyway, let’s see how he gets out of this. I need to go and shave now.” Once I’ve recovered, he comes up to me and says: “Oh! My friend, how much I admire you!” – For heaven’s sake! I was just in the worst of trouble, and you went off to shave. You had a fit of pity for me, and you come and say you’re my friend? Where’s the consistency in that? This friendship of yours that you flaunt to me—that friendship is a mockery, it’s a mockery. Take your friendship and go; I don’t want it. A Pharisee’s friendship!

So, [the attitude we have towards] the enemies of the Church is the barometer of our love for the Church. And the hatred we feel for the crime that is being committed is the barometer of our love for Our Lady.

• Let us ask Our Lady that, through our fault, the graces she grants us are not lost

We have moved on from the idea of reparation to another idea. This consideration certainly shows how necessary reparation is. But it may also show us that our love is feeble, that our love is weak. So we should make the following request to Our Lady – someone in the Group made this request and I thought it was very beautiful; I won’t repeat the request exactly as it was phrased, but I will give it in broad terms.

And this is the request I wish to put forward: Our Lady is constantly showering the Group with graces of love for Her; but also with graces of hatred and fighting spirit against the work that the forces of darkness are carrying out against Her. Well, these graces are not being received as fully as they ought to be. Many of them fall to the ground.

So we must – those of us who are sensitive to the appeal I am making here – address the following plea to Our Lady: that She may give us all the graces that others do not make use of; that She may fill our souls with all the graces given and which others do not accept, so as to make amends for the sadness that lies in this flow of graces which goes unused; and so that at least in us the gift given to the Group may shine forth.

In the Footsteps of the Little Flower – ISFCC

And this is a beautiful prayer which I recommend to those who feel inwardly moved to do so, that they may offer it every day during the month of May. For example, at the time of Communion. To say to Our Lord, through Our Lady, that these graces may be placed in our souls, that we may be the receptacle of all combativeness, of every spirit of intransigence, of every incompatibility with evil which must characterise the true member of the ‘Catholicism’ Group. You can see that this is a splendid prayer and that we could, therefore, take it for ourselves, make it our own.

It also strikes me that it would be interesting to vary this devotion from day to day. In other words, to keep the same intention, but to dedicate each day of May to a different reflection on Our Lady. As we will be offering here, each day, a reflection on Our Lady, a piece of news about a devotion to Our Lady; one could draw from this, if you remind me, a suitable reflection for the following day, which would nourish our Rosary, our piety, for the rest of that day or the next, and which would be a way for us to make good use of the month of May, in a truly ultramontane spirit.

On each day of this month, I have authorised that, on the occasion of the announcement, an image or painting of Our Lady—from those held at our headquarters—be placed on display for everyone’s special veneration. Today we begin with the most venerable of our images, namely the image of Our Lady Help of Christians, which has accompanied the Group, in a sense, since its very beginnings. It is an image that belongs to me personally, but which I placed in the room of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Action when we were in charge of Catholic Action. When we stepped down, I removed the image, which was our property, and it was moved to [the altar of our chapel], and from then until now we have seen it accompanying us to this very day. So, this will be the first image to be venerated especially during the month of Mary.

Before moving on to the announcements, I should like to comment on an apparition of Our Lady in the city of Kiev, in Russia. As the city was under attack by the Tatars and could no longer hold out, everyone fled, abandoning everything. Saint Hyacinth of Krakow, a worthy son of Saint Dominic and a most ardent devotee of Our Lady, went to bid farewell to the statue before fleeing himself. As he commended himself to Her, he distinctly heard the alabaster statue murmur: ‘And me? Are you abandoning me? Take me with you.’ The saint did not know what to do, for the statue was extremely heavy and he could not carry it alone. But as soon as he took it in his arms, he felt it as light as a feather. The statue lost all its weight, through a miracle of the most powerful Mother of God. And naturally he fled with it.

• The manifestations of Our Lady through her images and their symbolism

You can see here in this account how Our Lady cherishes her images, how she feels worthily represented by them, and how she does not wish her images to be treated in a way that is neither worthy nor right towards her. She performed a miracle so that her image might be taken away from a place where it would likely be desecrated, etc., by heretics or anyone else who might be threatening the place.

The Holy Shroud: A Twenty-First Century Gospel – ISFCC

On the other hand, however, you can see how Our Lady loves to be with us through her images, and how she wants her images to accompany us. And so she worked a true miracle so that this image might accompany her children throughout the journey they were about to undertake. An alabaster image, extremely heavy, speaks, and yet it is easy to carry… It is a way of showing how Our Lady wishes to be present amongst her children.

Is there any application for this in our lives? If the images of Our Lady, if Our Lady so very much wants her images to be with her children, it is to make us realise how much she accompanies us through all vicissitudes, in all circumstances. Her image does not abandon us; far from it, She does not abandon us. That is to say, in whatever situations we find ourselves, in every latitude, in every longitude, at the highest peaks of the spiritual life, as well as in the saddest moments of the spiritual life, there is a gaze from Our Lady that accompanies us; there is a protection, there is a providence from Our Lady that accompanies us and never abandons us. And this should give us precisely a sense of tranquillity in the face of life’s vicissitudes.

The thought to keep in mind throughout the whole of tomorrow: Our Lady is my Mother and will not abandon me; nor does she abandon me even in the current situation, in which I so greatly need her graces—whether to make progress, to avoid falling back, or for any other reason. She does not abandon me because if an alabaster image, which after all is nothing but alabaster, goes in search of Her children, how much more so will Her providence – symbolised by the image – go in search of Her children. Our Lady will follow me like a good shepherd. And so I can have this peace of mind throughout my life: I have the protection and the watchful eye of My Mother. There is a thought for tomorrow, suggested by this devotion to Our Lady of Kiev.

This text is an adaptation of a transcript of a lecture given by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira to members and supporters of the TFP; it therefore retains the spoken style and has not been revised by the author

This year, it is more crucial than ever that we turn to prayer and intercession to increase devotion to Our Lady across our country. That’s why you’re invited to join us in the Three Hail Marys Pledge, a powerful devotion that can bring personal spiritual benefits and national transformation. By reciting three Hail Marys daily, you honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary and seek her intercession for the conversion of sinners, the salvation of souls and the restoration of Ireland’s Catholic Faith. This ancient devotion, revealed to Saint Mechtilde, promises spiritual benefits including protection from mortal sin and the assurance of a good death. Your daily prayers will contribute to an increase in devotion to Our Lady, the conversion of sinners and the moral renewal of our country. Let us commit to this powerful devotion and seek the guidance and protection of Our Lady.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post A spiritual attitude during the Month of Mary appeared first on ISFCC.

Below is an adaptation of a text first published here: https://www.tfp.org/what-does-saint-thomas-say-about-immigration/

In Ireland, opinion is greatly divided over the question of immigration.

As the debate continues, many think that the Catholic Church’s position is one of unconditional charity: no limits, no walls, and no borders. But is that really the case? What does the Bible say about immigration? What does Saint Thomas Aquinas say? Can a medieval Saint solve a modern problem?

Well, he does. In his masterpiece, the Summa Theologica, Saint Thomas has gems of wisdom that apply to the national immigration policy debate today.

Saint Thomas says:

Man’s relations with foreigners are twofold: peaceful, and hostile: and in directing both kinds of relation the Law contained suitable precepts.

Saint Thomas affirms that not all immigrants are equal. Every nation has the right to decide which immigrants are beneficial, that is, “peaceful,” to the common good. As a matter of self-defense, the State can reject criminals, traitors, enemies and others who it deems harmful to its citizens.

The second thing he affirms is that the manner of dealing with immigration is determined by law in the cases of both beneficial and “hostile” immigration. The State has the right and duty to apply its law.

Saint Thomas continues:

For the Jews were offered three opportunities of peaceful relations with foreigners. First, when foreigners passed through their land as travelers. Secondly, when they came to dwell in their land as newcomers. And in both these respects the Law made kind provision in its precepts: for it is written, ‘Thou shalt not molest a stranger’ (Exodus 22:21).

Saint Thomas acknowledges that others might want to visit or stay in a land for a period of time. Such foreigners deserved to be treated with charity, respect and courtesy, which is due to any person of good will. In these cases, the law should protect foreigners from mistreatment.

Saint Thomas says:

Thirdly, when any foreigners wished to be admitted entirely to their fellowship and mode of worship. With regard to these a certain order was observed. For they were not at once admitted to citizenship: just as it was law with some nations that no one was deemed a citizen except after two or three generations, as the Philosopher says (Polit. iii, 1).

Saint Thomas recognises that some people will want to become citizens of the lands they visit. However, he sets as the first condition for acceptance a desire to fully integrate into the culture and life of the nation.

A second condition is that the granting of citizenship would not be immediate. The integration process takes time. He quotes Aristotle about this process taking two or three generations. Saint Thomas himself does not give a time frame for this integration, but he does agree that it can take a long time.

Saint Thomas:

The reason for this was that if foreigners were allowed to meddle with the affairs of a nation as soon as they settled down in its midst, many dangers might occur, since the foreigners not yet having the common good firmly at heart might attempt something hurtful to the people.

What Saint Thomas says is full of common sense. Living in a nation is a complex thing. It takes time to know the issues affecting the nation. Those familiar with the long history of their nation are in the best position to make the long-term decisions about its future. It’s harmful to put the future of a nation in the hands of those who recently arrived, and don’t know what’s happening. Such a policy could lead to the destruction of the nation.

To illustrate this point, Saint Thomas later notes that the Jewish people did not treat all nations equally. Nations closer to them were more quickly integrated into the population than those who were not as close. Some hostile peoples were not to be admitted at all into full fellowship due to their enmity toward the Jewish people.

Saint Thomas writes:

Nevertheless it was possible by dispensation for a man to be admitted to citizenship on account of some act of virtue: thus it is related (Judith 14:6) that Achior, the captain of the children of Ammon, ‘was joined to the people of Israel, with all the succession of his kindred.’

In other words, the rules were not rigid. There were exceptions. But the exceptions always had the common good in mind. The example of Achior describes how citizenship was bestowed upon the captain and his children for the good services he rendered the nation.

These are some of the thoughts of Saint Thomas Aquinas on immigration based on biblical principles. It’s clear that good immigration policy has two things in mind: First, the nation’s unity; and second, the common good.

Immigration should have as its goal integration, not disintegration or segregation. Good immigrants not only desire benefits but they assume the responsibilities of joining into the full fellowship of the nation. By becoming a citizen, a person becomes part of a broader family and not just a shareholder with short-term self-interest.

Saint Thomas teaches that immigration must have the common good in mind; it cannot destroy or overwhelm a nation.

This explains why so many Irish are uneasy with the flood of mass immigration, flawed catch-and-release policies, and porous borders. Such bad policy destroys common points of unity and overwhelms the ability of a society to absorb new elements organically into a unified culture. The common good is no longer considered.

Proportional immigration can be healthy for society because it injects new life and qualities into a social body. But when it loses that proportion and undermines the purpose of the State, it threatens the well-being of the nation.

We should follow the advice of Saint Thomas Aquinas. The nation must practice justice and charity towards all, including foreigners, but it must above all safeguard the common good and its unity. Without that, no country can long endure.

This year, it is more crucial than ever that we turn to prayer and intercession to increase devotion to Our Lady across our country. That’s why you’re invited to join us in the Three Hail Marys Pledge, a powerful devotion that can bring personal spiritual benefits and national transformation. By reciting three Hail Marys daily, you honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary and seek her intercession for the conversion of sinners, the salvation of souls and the restoration of Ireland’s Catholic Faith. This ancient devotion, revealed to Saint Mechtilde, promises spiritual benefits including protection from mortal sin and the assurance of a good death. Your daily prayers will contribute to an increase in devotion to Our Lady, the conversion of sinners and the moral renewal of our country. Let us commit to this powerful devotion and seek the guidance and protection of Our Lady.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post What Saint Thomas Aquinas Says About Immigration appeared first on ISFCC.

Last Easter week, members and volunteers of the Irish Society for Christian Civilisation (ISFCC) drove through France, delivering petitions at Saint Therese of the Child Jesus’ shrine in Lisieux.

Approaching from the north-east, the pilgrims made a stop at a few places of interest. First was Paris. A TFP member based in the city gave us a tour of the many monuments of Christian Civilisation.

 The group began with a visit to Saint-Roche Church. Magnificent side altars and Christian art were but a foretaste of the succeeding visits.

After admiring the statue of Saint Joan of Arc, the group had lunch in the Palais Royal. Those acquainted with the history of the French Revolution noted the unfortunate conspiracies of the former proprietor of the park, the Duke of Orleans, which took place there.

Satisfied with sandwiches and Parisian eclairs, the group proceeded to the most Teresian aspect of Paris. That place is Our Lady of Victories Church. Mr James Bascom, the member showing Paris, presented the history of the Church, from the first stone by Louis XIII to the Paris Commune. The connection to Saint Therese of Lisieux is immense. It was here that a novena of Masses was said for Saint Therese, who was terribly sick, with death seemingly in sight. On a Sunday morning during the novena, her sisters, without much left to do, prayed earnestly towards a statue of Our Lady by Therese’s bed, after which Our Lady appeared and healed her.

The participants knelt to pray before the statue of Our Lady. What felt like fifteen minutes was actually thirty. Describing her visit to the Church, Saint Therese remarked, “the graces Our Lady granted me were like those of my First Communion Day”.

Notre-Dame de Paris and Saint Julien le Pauvre certainly had their own impressions, but Our Lady of Victories was the jewel in the crown of that day.

One day was spent at Chartres, breathtaking in its own respect. The graces received were many.

Nonetheless, the most important part was the end, Lisieux.

Les Buissonnetes, Saint Therese’s home for most of her childhood, clearly showed the ambience befitting the raising of a Saint. The house outside presents itself as a bastion of order and purity. The dormer windows face the city, or the modern world, as if “looking” at it with seriousness and disavowal. We can see a kind of representation of the Little Flower’s zeal for souls.

The garden, on the other hand, shows a different perfection. A tranquil area, it moves the soul to a true calm. Not so much a naivety or forgetfulness of the world’s sin, but a confidence grounded in Faith can be seen here. This garden, then, prefigures, in a way, the Carmel of Lisieux.

The interior gave an insight into the spirit of the Martin family. One could easily have imagined the pious conversations of the family at dinner, or the terrible suffering afflicting 10-year-old Saint Therese.

Sir Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us”[i]. Without a doubt, Les Buissonnets vindicated Churchill entirely. This notwithstanding, the medieval Cathedral of Lisieux was an even better example. The Gothic structure was where Saint Therese most commonly attended Mass, from which her love for the Church is easily understood. One of the pilgrims much preferred it even to Notre-Dame de Paris and Chartres. Simultaneously presenting the austerity of this valley of tears and pointing towards the Heavens, this Cathedral truly formed Saint Therese. The formerly private chapel of the Martin family can now be visited.

The petitions, passing through Les Buissonnets and the Cathedral, finally arrived in the mid-afternoon at the Carmel. After one last stop at the Basilica of Lisieux, the group drove to Cherbourg to board a ship back to Ireland.

This year, it is more crucial than ever that we turn to prayer and intercession to increase devotion to Our Lady across our country. That’s why you’re invited to join us in the Three Hail Marys Pledge, a powerful devotion that can bring personal spiritual benefits and national transformation. By reciting three Hail Marys daily, you honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary and seek her intercession for the conversion of sinners, the salvation of souls and the restoration of Ireland’s Catholic Faith. This ancient devotion, revealed to Saint Mechtilde, promises spiritual benefits including protection from mortal sin and the assurance of a good death. Your daily prayers will contribute to an increase in devotion to Our Lady, the conversion of sinners and the moral renewal of our country. Let us commit to this powerful devotion and seek the guidance and protection of Our Lady.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post In the Footsteps of the Little Flower appeared first on ISFCC.

The Holy Shroud of Turin confirms the terrible punishments inflicted on Our Lord Jesus Christ during the Passion with such extraordinary precision that it has even been called the “Fifth Gospel.”

Meditating on the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ, especially during Lent, has always been an occasion of great spiritual consolation and progress in the interior life. Living in the twenty-first century, we are unfortunately forced to live in the hustle and bustle of a technological society. We find it increasingly difficult to “disconnect,” meditate peacefully and lift our minds to consider divine things.

On the other hand, our upbringing teaches us to minimize the role of reasoning. We are increasingly immersed in what Pope Paul VI called the “civilization of the image.” Thus, we must see things with our eyes to believe them.

A Message for Our Times

Perhaps Divine Providence was thinking of us when deciding to wait for the twentieth century to begin to reveal the mysteries of the most precious relic of Christianity: the Holy Shroud of Turin.1

This linen sheet wrapped the lifeless body of Jesus in the tomb. All four evangelists narrate the laying of Jesus in the “nearby new tomb that Joseph of Arimathea had excavated in the rock.” The first three say, “after having lowered him [from the Cross], they wrapped him in a sheet.”

After several vicissitudes, this sheet ended up in the treasury of the House of Savoy in the mid-fifteenth century, where it was kept first in Chambéry, France, and then in Turin, Italy. The Vatican acquired it only in 1983, and it is now found in the Turin Cathedral.

Click here to become a Rosary Rally Captain

The sheet measures 14 feet long by 3.5 feet wide. It is woven in a herringbone pattern and hand-spun according to techniques used in Palestine in the first century. In the median longitudinal part, we can see the evanescent double imprint (front and back) of the life-size corpse. The body depicted is a male in his thirties with a beard, long hair and a robust constitution. He was five feet, nine inches tall, with typically Semitic features. From the imprint, we can deduce that the Man of the Shroud was tortured, scourged, crucified and pierced in his side by a lance.

All this is visible to the naked eye and has been known since ancient times. Christian tradition has always considered this sheet an authentic relic and held that the image of the Man of the Shroud is a portrait of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Proof of this tradition, for example, can be seen in several Byzantine icons depicting Christ as the Man of the Shroud. Numerous documents dating back to very remote times speak of the relic’s veneration.

However, the relic had to wait until 1898 for an extraordinary discovery that would forever mark its destiny.

The Scientific Saga Begins

On May 25 of that year, the Turin lawyer Secondo Pia photographed the Shroud for the first time. He was amazed when he developed the first two plates: the photographs revealed that the Shroud image naturally functions as a negative! Why? It was undoubtedly a mystery.

Thus, the scientific ‘adventure’ of the Shroud began. It was soon subjected to systematic study with leading-edge technologies. The more scientists studied it, the more baffled they became. The more they discovered its mysteries, the more they realized they were only scratching the surface. In 1959, the International Center for Sindonology was founded in Turin. Later in 1977, the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) was established, bringing together mainly American scholars.

This is not the place to report on their research. Our focus is concentrated on only one aspect: the Shroud’s striking confirmation of the Gospel narrative of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The “Fifth Gospel”

After decades of research, scientists can affirm that the Holy Shroud is even more meticulous in relating, albeit silently, the details of the Passion than the Gospels. STURP Prof. John Heller comments: “The research of the last decades does not contain the slightest information at variance with the narration of the Gospels.”2

Consequently, some began to call the Holy Shroud the “Fifth Gospel” or “the Twentieth-century Gospel.”

This “Gospel” is so rich in details that the French surgeon Pierre Barbet, a famous pioneer of medical studies on the Shroud, went as far as to state: “A surgeon studying the Holy Shroud to meditate on the Passion by going through the different stages of Jesus’ martyrdom can follow His sufferings better than relying upon a great preacher or a holy ascetic.”3

The Agony in the Garden

“In his anguish, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground” (Lk 22:44).

Saint Luke, a doctor, is the only evangelist who describes this episode, which he does with clinical precision. Blood sweating, clinically called hematohidrosis, occurs rarely. It is observed in conditions of great physical weakness accompanied by strong moral shock, emotion and fear, which St. Luke calls “anguish.” There is sudden vasodilation of the subcutaneous capillaries, which break under the sweat glands. Blood mixes with the sweat and seeps out of the pores.

10 Forgotten Facts About Fatima

Computer analysis of three-dimensional images of the Man of the Shroud’s face, particularly those of Prof. Giovanni Tamburelli in 1978, shows how, in addition to countless abrasions and small clots, His whole skin surface seems as if soaked in blood. Such a state would be a result of hematohidrosis.

The Slap in Annas’ House

“When he had said these things, one of the servants standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying, Is that how you answer the high priest?” (Jn 18:22).

The Man of the Shroud’s face reveals a large hematoma or mass of clotted blood on the right cheek. His nose is swollen, turned to the right and visibly broken.

The Turin sindonologist Prof. Judica Cordiglia believes this wound was inflicted by a short wooden stick about 2 inches in diameter. The blow caused a profuse nosebleed. Indeed, the Man of the Shroud’s mustache is soaked in blood on the right side, as is His beard.

Modern linguists believe that the term used by Saint John, and normally translated as “slap,” can be interpreted as “beating,” which would reflect the data found in the Holy Shroud.

Injuries and Wounds

“And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to do him homage” (Mk 15:18-19).

The Man of the Shroud shows multiple signs of trauma: swelling on the forehead, browbones, cheekbones, cheeks, lips and nose. The latter is deformed due to the rupture of the dorsal cartilage close to the insertion on the nasal bone, which, however, is intact. Two streams of blood come out of His nose. There are bruises on His face almost everywhere, especially on the right side, which is visibly swollen. His eyebrows are torn, with bones having wounded the skin from the inside. The left cheekbone has several incisions.

Therefore, we deal with a man brutally beaten with sticks, punches and slaps.

The Scourging

“Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged” (Jn 19:1 )

The Holy Shroud offers us a very complete, precise and horrendous picture of the scourging. We can count more than 120 blows on the Man of the Shroud. They were inflicted by two strong men, one bigger than the other, on both sides of the victim. They were experts, His chest being the only part of the body that shows no signs of flagellation. In fact, strokes by a flagellum in the pericardial region could cause the early death of the convict. There is no shortage of injuries to the buttocks, which means that the Man of the Shroud was scourged naked.

It was a Roman scourging since the Jews could not exceed 39 blows by law.

The Shroud also allows us to identify two different instruments used for this torture. One, the flagrum taxillatum, consisted of three strips, each with two small lead balls, meaning that each blow caused six bruises. The other had metal hooks at the ends. One struck, the other tore.

By studying the imprints, we can even establish Jesus’ position during the scourging: He was bent over a very short column.

The Crowning with Thorns

“And after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head and dressed him in a purple robe” (Jn 19:2)

The Man of the Shroud’s head shows at least fifty small but deep puncture wounds consistent with applying a “helmet” of thorny branches rather than a “crown,” properly speaking. The most conspicuous bloodstains correspond with the head’s veins and arteries.

Two rivulets of blood can be seen to the right of those looking at the image. One falls down the hair towards the shoulder; the other drops almost perpendicularly on the forehead toward the eyebrow. These protrude from a puncture wound that injured the frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery. In fact, this blood has a distinctly arterial character. Toward the middle of the forehead, we see a brief flow of venous blood in the shape of an inverted 3, resulting from a lesion to the frontal vein.

Pagan Celebration Cancelled at St. Brigit’s Shrine Thanks to the Action of Catholics

The wounds produced by the crown, or rather the helmet of thorns, descend from the back to the nape, where we see hemorrhagic occurrences that repeat the same pattern as the frontal ones. The thorns, deeply embedded, injured some branches of the occipital artery and deeper veins of the posterior vertebral plexus.

The head is full of blood vessels and nerve endings. The pain caused by the crown of thorns, especially during the carrying of the Cross, was undoubtedly horrible.

The Way to Calvary

“And carrying his own cross, he went out to the Place of the Skull or, as it is called in Hebrew, Golgotha” (Jn 19:17).

The Man of the Shroud’s shoulders display a large bruise at the level of the left shoulder blade and a wound on the right shoulder that can be attributed to carrying the patibulum, that is, the horizontal beam of the Cross. His shoulders appear raised, a position correlated to the transport of the beam.

The imprints also show that the beam slipped over His shoulders, producing severe abrasions.

The images reveal a significant amount of earthy material on the Man of the Shroud’s soles, revealing that He walked barefoot.

The Three Falls

“Jesus falls for the first time… Jesus falls for the second time… Jesus falls for the third time” (Way of the Cross, Stations III, VII and IX)

Although unreported by any Gospel, Catholic piety has always venerated the three falls of Our Lord on the way to Calvary.

The falls are very evident on the Holy Shroud. His knees, especially the left one, are skinned. There are traces of blood and earthy material on the left knee. The nose also appears flayed and with traces of earthy material, which shows that Our Lord fell with His face on the ground. This is explainable because He could not protect Himself with His hands tied to the gallows.

The Crucifixion

“When they reached the place called The Skull, there they crucified him and the two criminals, one on his right, the other on his left” (Lk 23:33)

Praying the Family Rosary

First, Jesus was stripped. His whole body was torn and covered with a mixture of blood, sweat and dust, which had dried, causing His clothes to stick to the skin. We can imagine the excruciating pain that action caused. In modern hospitals, such an operation is sometimes performed under general anesthesia to avoid the patient’s risk of syncope. Many wounds began to bleed again.

Our Lord was laid on the Cross and nailed to it. His torturers mistook the distance of the lateral holes and thus strongly pulled His right arm to fit until His joints were dislocated. This, too, is visible on the Holy Shroud.

Where Were the Nails Driven In?

The anterior imprint of the Man of the Shroud shows a puncture wound, not in the palm of His hand, as iconographic tradition has it, but in His wrist, corresponding to the so-called Destot space. It is an anatomical passage that easily allows the insertion of a nail without breaking any bone.

The classic view of the nails in His palms is, therefore, excluded. First, the palm would not have supported the body weight. Second, because some metacarpal bones would probably have broken, disproving the prophecy, “all his bones will be kept, not one of them will be broken” (Ps 33:21).

The nails injured the median nerve in the hands, causing the thumbs to flex under the palms, which explains their absence on the Shroud imprint.

As for the feet, the right foot left a complete imprint on the Shroud, while the heel and plantar cavity of the left foot can be seen. Therefore, the two feet were crossed; the left was placed in front, and its sole rested on the back of the right foot, which rested directly on the post of the Cross. They were nailed together.

The bloodstains found on the Shroud correspond perfectly to pierced feet resting on the Cross in the manner described above.

Note also that the wounds of the Man of the Shroud’s hands and feet conform to the square shape of the nails used for Roman crucifixions.

The Death

“Jesus cried out in a loud voice saying, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ With these words, he breathed his last” (Lk. 23:46).

He hung from the Cross by His arms without support to keep him upright. Contrary to traditional iconography, the Shroud shows no evidence to indicate the use of a footrest on the Cross. Indeed, the footrest was only introduced in Roman crucifixions in the second half of the first century. Thus, Our Lord could no longer breathe normally due to hanging only by His arms.

In such circumstances, spasms, cramps and suffocations begin and worsen until the intake muscles are blocked. Death occurs from a mixture of asphyxia and generalized shock, here also caused by a heart attack and hemopericardium, as we will explain below.

The image of the Shroud shows the chest muscles contracted in a spasmodic way. The diaphragm is raised, and the abdomen has collapsed. These are typical signs of death from respiratory anxiety, asphyxiation and shock.

24 Quotes about Purity Every Catholic Should Know

The bright red color of the bloodstains is due to a high amount of bilirubin, typically found in those who have been severely traumatized just before the blood was shed. The neatness of the Man of the Shroud’s wounds, caused by the rapid drying of the blood, also indicates that He was severely dehydrated.

The Spear of Longinus

“One of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water” (Jn 19:34).

On the anterior Shroud imprint, we see a large flow of blood on the left, corresponding to a breach of the skin with the characteristics of a puncture and cut wound. The wound’s margins remained wide and are well delineated, like those inflicted upon a corpse. This wound would be attributable to the thrust of the lance by the Roman soldier. It is a deep wound that perforated the chest wall, explaining the abundance of bloodshed. It was inflicted on a corpse because the dried blood showed its cellular part had separated from the serous component.

This evidence supports a very reliable hypothesis on the causa mortis of Our Lord Jesus Christ: a heart attack followed by hemopericardium.

This cause of death can be deduced from a study of the dried blood. It is very dense and shows lumps separated by a halo of serum. This condition is typical of a man who dies due to a large accumulation of blood in the chest area, the so-called hemothorax. Blood accumulation can be explained by the rupture of the heart and the consequent spillage of blood between it and the outer pericardial layer. This blood flow causes excruciating pain, which always corresponds to a cry, after which the individual immediately expires.

Therefore, the lance wound on the crucified man, by then a corpse, would have allowed the shedding of the blood already separated from the serum. A hematological examination reveals that this blood from the right side is “dead” blood, that is, released post mortem, while the blood on the forehead, wrist, nape and feet soles is “alive,” that is, it was shed when the Man of the Shroud was still alive.

On the other hand, penetrating from the right side to the height of the fifth intercostal space, the lance would never have been able to reach the heart, as the Roman pillum did not have a long enough blade.

Death from hemopericardium causes immediate cadaveric rigidity, found precisely in the Man of the Shroud.

The Laying in the Sepulchre

“They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, following the Jewish burial custom. … Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes” (Jn. 39:40)

Everything above shows that the Holy Shroud of Turin wrapped the lifeless body of a crucified man. The presence of aloe and myrrh, substances used in Palestine to bury corpses at the time of Christ, has been identified on the fabric.

10 Reasons to Pray a Public Square Rosary Rally

According to medical studies, to obtain the blood markers seen on the Holy Shroud, the crucified must have been wrapped in the cloth within two and a half hours after death and remained no more than 40 hours since there are no traces of putrefaction.

The Resurrection

“On the first day of the week, at the first sign of dawn, they went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but on entering, they could not find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled about this, two men in brilliant clothes suddenly appeared at their side. Terrified, the women bowed their heads to the ground. But the two said to them, ‘Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here; he has risen” (Lk 24:1-6).

In the dorsal imprint of the Holy Shroud, the dorsal and deltoid muscles appear naturally arched and not flattened, as it should have happened with a body lying on its back on a stone slab. On the other hand, the different spots on the back that would naturally touch the surface are not crushed. There is no bodyweight effect, meaning that when making the imprint on the cloth, the Man of the Shroud floated in the air in a state of levitation without touching the stone.

How was the Shroud imprint made? The scientists respond that “the corpse vaporized as it were, emitting a radiation that would have caused the imprint. … the body was very likely in levitation when producing this radiation.”4 In scientific terms, that means the corpse became “mechanically transparent” for the burial sheet.

Let us hear from STURP professor Aaron Upinsky: “One of the greatest mysteries of the Shroud is how the corpse never touched the fabric while detaching itself from it. He flew away without altering the fibers in the slightest, without tearing them, and without modifying the already existing bloodstains. That is impossible for a normal body, subject to the laws of nature. A sore-covered corpse could never be taken off a sheet without altering it and leaving no traces. No science denies this decisive fact. It can be explained solely by the ‘dematerialization’ of the body, which flies off the sheet while no longer subject to the laws of nature. That is precisely what Christians call the ‘Resurrection.’”5

Conclusion

To conclude, let us quote some words of noted Catholic thinker Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira:

“The Holy Shroud is a permanent miracle. By allowing photography to show His Divine Face, Our Lord made a gesture of mercy, especially for our times. The Holy Shroud is such a marvel, such a proof of the existence of Our Lord, His Resurrection, and everything we believe that the Faithful in every Catholic environment should continuously talk about it.”6

Footnotes
1 Giulio Fanti and Emanuela Marinelli wrote an excellent book on the matter, Cento prove sulla Sindone [One Hundred Proofs on the Shroud], Padova, Edizioni Messaggero, 2000. This book also contains a complete bibliography on the subject.
2 John H. Heller, Report on the Shroud of Turin, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1983.
3 Pierre Barbet, La Passione di N. S. Gesù Cristo secondo il chirurgo, LICE, Torino, 1951.
4 Julio M. Preney, O Santo Sudario de Turim – O Evangelho para o Século XX, Ediçoes Loyola, Sao Paulo, 1992, p. 90-92.
5 Arnaud-Aaron Upinsky, interview with Catolicismo, June 1998.
6 Plinio Corrêa de Oliveria, lecture to Brazilian TFP members and volunteers, Sao Paulo, April 28, 1984.

This year, it is more crucial than ever that we turn to prayer and intercession to increase devotion to Our Lady across our country. That’s why you’re invited to join us in the Three Hail Marys Pledge, a powerful devotion that can bring personal spiritual benefits and national transformation. By reciting three Hail Marys daily, you honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary and seek her intercession for the conversion of sinners, the salvation of souls and the restoration of Ireland’s Catholic Faith. This ancient devotion, revealed to Saint Mechtilde, promises spiritual benefits including protection from mortal sin and the assurance of a good death. Your daily prayers will contribute to an increase in devotion to Our Lady, the conversion of sinners and the moral renewal of our country. Let us commit to this powerful devotion and seek the guidance and protection of Our Lady.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post The Holy Shroud: A Twenty-First Century Gospel appeared first on ISFCC.

On March 8th, feminists around the world will, in an egalitarian spirit, celebrate “International Women’s Day.” Their goal: A “gender equal world (…) free of bias and discrimination” to “forge gender equality.”

On the other side of the moral battle, Catholic ladies reply to this egalitarian stance by celebrating March 8^th as a day of Christian virtue and feminine beauty. Through dress, manners, and morals, they aspire to be shining examples of purity–the virtue that defines a true lady. Among these Catholic women, a grace was born–woman’s day has been baptised and renamed “Lady Day.” For Catholic women, March 8^th is a day to express, in a public place, with intention and purpose, the beauty of a truly feminine lady in the fullest possible way.

By holding true to the Catholic concept of a lady, this movement, especially on Lady Day, accomplishes four things:

First, in the face of the revolutionary culture which promotes vulgarity and sin among women, Lady Day challenges the narrative. Like a bright star in a dark sky, it shines as proof that some souls remain willing to stand out and proclaim with conviction and without hesitation that every woman has the vocation to uphold the true, good, and beautiful. It is a way to face head-on the attacks on true femininity and hold the Catholic line, influence public opinion, and make reparation to God.

Secondly, the observance of Lady Day affirms the belief that all women are made in the image and likeness of God and should treat themselves with dignity. A lady dresses, speaks, and acts, having before her eyes the knowledge that she is a human being with a soul that demands respect. Her feminine qualities are a noble gift from God to be treated with reverence. Thus, on Lady Day, a woman shows respect for herself and her purity, embracing her God-given vocation.

The third reason to present the full picture of a lady in public is to uplift society. When acting with poise and elegance, the lady performs an “apostolate of presence” that benefits not only herself but also society. While the egalitarian culture pushes promiscuity, the Catholic lady uses her influence to uphold morality and purity. Her apostolate of presence is refined yet firm. It is refined because she is a lady, and firm because her way of being is rooted in idealism. She provides a moral axis to families and a standard of virtue by which a society can flourish. Thus, she draws God to her side, and nobody can deny that this sublime union is powerful in moving the souls of those around her.

Saint Bernard Teaches: Do Not Take Your Eyes Off Our Lady

This brings us to the fourth and most sublime accomplishment of a true lady. By acting according to her feminine nature, she honours Him who ordained the distinct functions of the sexes. With every step she takes, movement of her hand, gaze of her eyes, the true Catholic lady pays homage to Natural Law and honours God in the order He placed in creation. Her actions are an outward expression of this noble principle.

In addition to glorifying God, her dignity and purity honour the greatest of all ladies: Our Lady. Through the cultivation of that feminine grace endowed only to women, she becomes a reflection of the Blessed Virgin and takes on a certain aspect of her beauty. Our Lady is naturally pleased by and watches over these special daughters as they strive to embody her virtues. Thus, we see a relationship in which the efforts of the earthly lady add to the splendour of our Heavenly Queen, who, in turn, rewards her daughters by endowing them with her own mark.

In summary, one could say that Lady Day is a “fiat” to God’s inscrutable design and to cultivating that aspect of Our Lady which God calls each woman to reflect. As well as honouring Our Lord and Our Lady, Lady Day honours the lady herself as a creature made in God’s image and likeness. It also benefits others; since Lady Day includes appearing in public, women share, through symbols, with others the principles that make her a lady. And finally, with her elegance, she deals a forceful blow to the enemies of God; with the same breath that she says “fiat” to her vocation, she responds “no” to every affront to Our Lady, specifically the egalitarian spirit at the root of “Woman’s Day.”

Finally, finding ourselves in the midst of a world that flaunts impurity and promiscuity as the norm, let us make an appeal to our Queen and Mother this coming March 8^th, 2026, to be the ultimate model of ladies and to give the necessary courage to take up the sword of purity and dignity in the face of sin and vulgarity.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post Lady Day: How Catholic Ladies Can Oppose the Feminist “Woman’s Day” appeared first on ISFCC.

Reactions were certainly mixed. Volunteers also noticed that a lot of pro-lifers reacted more enthusiastically, and likewise for the pro-abortion side.

Joy and Encouragement

One lady we met was a pro-life activist long before many of the lads went on their first campaign. However, she had stopped after the 2018 referendum. Seeing the campaign was refreshing and certainly a great grace from Our Lady.

Additionally, many young people responded positively to the campaign.

Pro-Abort “Arguments”

The pro-abortion side, however, did not make many qualms about their hatred.

Many middle fingers were seen, but the most memorable reaction was that of five young men, who tried in vain to prove that abortion is a legitimate choice. A member responded that it was a “baby’s body” that was on the line.

Being furious, they resorted to insults and crossed Merrion Road. The last the volunteers saw of them was when they hit the footpath with their car, close to the grand standard. Ironically, the car gave out a long honk. Getting nowhere with their infantile protest, drove off defeated.

The Coming Months

The Student Action members showed a new, revitalised generation willing to defend God’s Law on the streets. With Our Lady’s help, more people will be encouraged to defend the unborn one honk at a time. 

This year, it is more crucial than ever that we turn to prayer and intercession to increase devotion to Our Lady across our country. That’s why you’re invited to join us in the Three Hail Marys Pledge, a powerful devotion that can bring personal spiritual benefits and national transformation. By reciting three Hail Marys daily, you honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary and seek her intercession for the conversion of sinners, the salvation of souls and the restoration of Ireland’s Catholic Faith. This ancient devotion, revealed to Saint Mechtilde, promises spiritual benefits including protection from mortal sin and the assurance of a good death. Your daily prayers will contribute to an increase in devotion to Our Lady, the conversion of sinners and the moral renewal of our country. Let us commit to this powerful devotion and seek the guidance and protection of Our Lady.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post Pro-Life Campaign in Ballsbridge appeared first on ISFCC.

We do well to read some advice from Saint Bernard about devotion to Our Lady. The advice is as follows:

“Oh, whosoever thou art that perceiveth thyself during this mortal existence to be rather drifting in treacherous waters, at the mercy of the winds and the waves, than walking on firm ground, turn not away thine eyes from the splendor of this guiding star, unless thou wish to be submerged by the storm!”

Passages like this are often found referring to Our Lady. Such texts represent what we might call a profoundly anti-Hollywoodian vision of life.

A Review of the Political Panorama in 2025—the Chaotic Path to a Multipolar World

This modern, optimistic and wrong view creates the illusion that this life can be a phase of our existence in which we can find true happiness. Earthly life is presented to us as a rose garden, in which misfortune only happens to people by chance or bad luck. Some people might also make a few unfortunate missteps, thus falling, hurting themselves, or collapsing definitively. However, if we manage to work around our problems, this earthly existence can be entirely happy.

On the contrary, all great texts on devotion to Our Lady present life as a valley of tears, a place where we are all atoning for Original Sin and our present sins. We are taught that man has a lot to suffer in life. This premise is the basis of the advice from Saint Bernard.

He considers life to be a collection of whirlwinds and storms, rather than a joyous walk and race after pleasure. Amid this dramatic life full of storms, he advises people to be sure to set their eyes on the star that is Our Lady. We must be like sailors who set their eyes on the North Star to find their way. If not, the waves will drag us down to where we do not want to go.

Therefore, his first piece of advice implicitly acknowledges that life is a valley of tears and a battlefield. Militia est vita hominis super terram, says the Scriptures (Job, 7:1), which means man’s life on earth is a warfare, albeit dignified. However, in this struggle and uncertain sailing, we must keep our eyes on Our Lady.

The Profound Impact of Profanity: How Swearing Affects the Brain, Emotions and Soul

He continues:

“If the winds of temptation arise; if you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation look to the star, call on Mary.”

We see here how he presents the spiritual life as a series of tribulations like rocks insidiously waiting in the navigator’s path. Life is filled with whirlwinds of temptations that can solicit and drag us to evil. If that happens, invoke Mary, the star of sailors and the Star of the Sea.

“When buffeted by the billows of pride, or ambition, or hatred, or jealousy, look at the star, call upon Mary.”

We face the prospect of being sinners collapsing into the worst of sins, which is the cause and main root of all sins—pride, which manifests itself in selfishness, the desire to have no one above us, or the wish to be the first of the first.

These are the dangers we face. Saint Bernard gives us the solution.

The preceding article is taken from an informal lecture Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira gave on September 24, 1966. It has been translated and adapted for publication without his revision. —Ed.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post Saint Bernard Teaches: Do Not Take Your Eyes Off Our Lady appeared first on ISFCC.

On 11 February, we will celebrate the centenary of the first apparitions at Lourdes.

No one is unaware of this fact, in its simplest terms. In 1854, in the papal bull ‘Ineffabilis’, the great Pope Pius IX defined the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady as dogma. In 1858, from 11 February to 16 July, Our Lady appeared eighteen times in Lourdes to a girl of the people, Bernadette Soubirous, declaring herself to be the Immaculate Conception. From that moment on, miracles began to occur. And the great wonder of Lourdes began to shine in the eyes of the whole world, even to this day. The miracle confirming the dogma, this is, in summary, the relationship between the events of 1854 and 1858.

What is less known to the general public, however, is the relationship between these two great events and the problems of the mid-19th century, so different from those of today, but at the same time so very similar to them.

By defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius IX aroused reactions throughout the civilised world that were both disparate and profound.

On the one hand, among most of the faithful, the definition of the dogma aroused immense enthusiasm. To see a Vicar of Jesus Christ rise in the fullness and majesty of his power to proclaim a dogma in the middle of the 19th century was to witness an admirably lofty and bold challenge to the triumphant scepticism that was already corroding Western civilisation to its core. Moreover, this dogma was Marian. Now, liberalism, another plague of the 19th century, tends by its very nature towards interconfessionalism, the affirmation of everything that the various religions have in common (which ultimately boils down to a vague deism), and an underestimation, if not a formal rejection, of everything that separates them. Thus, the proclamation of a new Marian dogma – precisely as occurred in some quarters with the recent definition of the Assumption – appeared to the hidden or declared interconfessionalists of 1854 to be a serious and unexpected barrier to the realisation of their designs. Moreover, the new dogma, considered in itself, deeply shocked the essentially egalitarian spirit of the Revolution that, since 1789, had reigned despotically in the West. To see a simple creature elevated in such a way above all others, by an inestimable privilege granted at the first moment of its being, is something that could not and cannot fail to hurt the children of the Revolution, which proclaimed absolute equality among men as the principle of all order, all justice, and all good. Non-Catholics, like Catholics more or less infected by the spirit of 1789, found it painful to accept that God had installed with such prominence in Creation an element of such marked inequality.

Lourdes: A Lesson in Suffering

Finally, the very nature of privilege is unpalatable to liberal minds. If one admits original sin with all the consequences of disorder of the soul and misery of the body that it has brought about, one must accept that man needs an authority to whose dominion he must live subject. Now, the definition of the Immaculate Conception implied an implicit reaffirmation of the Church’s teaching in this regard.

However, as much as all this may be, it was not only in this that we would dare to call the salt of the glorious event of the definition of the dogma. It is impossible to think of the Immaculate Virgin without at the same time remembering the serpent whose head she triumphantly and definitively crushed with her heel. The revolutionary spirit is the very spirit of the devil, and it would be impossible for a person of faith not to recognise the part that the devil has played in the emergence and spread of the errors of the Revolution, from the religious catastrophe of the 16th century to the political catastrophe of the 18th century and all that followed. Now, to see the triumph of its greatest, its unchanging, its inflexible enemy thus affirmed was, for the power of darkness, the most horrible of humiliations. Hence a concert of human voices and satanic roars throughout the world, like an immense and thunderous storm. To see that against this storm of unconfessable passions, threatening hatreds, and furious despair, stood alone and intrepid the majestic figure of the Vicar of Christ, stripped of all earthly resources and relying solely on the help of Heaven, was a source of joy for true Catholics equal to that felt by the Apostles when they saw, in the storm unleashed on the Sea of Galilee, the divinely manly figure of the Saviour, commanding the winds and the sea with sovereignty: ‘venti et mare oboediunt ei’ (Mt. 8:27).

Just as all the generals and governors of the Roman Empire allowed themselves to be defeated or fled before the Huns, so too, in the face of the Revolution, those who in temporal society were supposed to defend the Church and Christian civilisation were in deplorable defeat or flight, in countless numbers.

In this situation, of noble and solemn drama, Pius IX, like St. Leo the Great, was the only one to face the adversary and force him to retreat.

Retreat? The proposition seems bold. However, nothing could be truer. From 1854 onwards, the Revolution began to suffer its greatest defeats.

It is true that, in appearance as in reality, it continued to develop its empire on earth. Egalitarianism, sensuality, and scepticism achieved ever more radical and extensive victories. But something new emerged. And this something, which is modest, unassuming, insignificant in appearance, has in turn been growing unstoppably and will eventually kill the Revolution.

To understand this fundamental point well, we must keep in mind the role of the Church in history and the devotion to Our Lady in the Church.

The Church is, in God’s plan, the centre of history. She is the Mystical Bride of Christ, whom He loves with a unique and perfect love, and to whom He wanted to subject all creatures. It is clear that the Spouse never abandons His Bride, and that He is extremely jealous of Her glory.

Thus, as long as its human element remains faithful to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Church has nothing to fear. Even the greatest persecutions will serve Her glory. And the most marked honours and prosperities will not diminish the faithful people’s sense of duty and love for the Cross. This is on the spiritual level.

On the other hand, on the temporal level, if men open their souls to the influence of the Church, the path to all prosperity and greatness will be open to them. On the contrary, if they abandon her, they will be on the path to all catastrophes and abominations. For a people who once belonged to the Church, there is only one normal order of things, which is Christian civilisation. And this civilisation, superior to all others, has the Catholic religion as its vital principle.

THE CONDITIONS FOR THE FLOURISHING OF THE CHURCH

In turn, there are three conditions for the flourishing of the Church that are so essential that they take precedence over all others. I have already spoken at length about them. However, it will never be enough to insist on them.

First of all, there is Eucharistic piety. Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament is the sun of the Church. All graces come to us from Him. But these graces must pass through Mary. For she is the universal Mediatrix, through whom we go to Jesus, and through whom Jesus comes to us. Intense, enlightened, filial Marian devotion is therefore the second condition for the flourishing of virtue. If Our Lord is present in the Blessed Sacrament but does not speak to us, His voice is heard through the Supreme Pontiff. Hence, docility to the Successor of St. Peter is the proper and logical fruit of devotion to the Holy Eucharist and to Our Lady.

When these three devotions flourish, sooner or later the Church triumphs. And, a contrario sensu, when they are in decline, sooner or later Christian civilisation declines.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

For a long time, the Catholic media in Europe and America had been afflicted by a veritable leprosy, which was Jansenism. This heresy aimed precisely to weaken the Church by undermining devotion to the Blessed Sacrament under the guise of false respect. It demanded such conditions for approaching the Holy Table that the people, unfortunately very numerous, influenced by it, almost completely stopped receiving Communion.

On the other hand, Jansenism waged an insistent campaign against devotion to Our Lady, which it accused of diverting people from Jesus Christ instead of leading them to Him. Finally, this heresy waged a relentless struggle against the Papacy, and especially against the infallibility of the Supreme Pontiff.

The definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was the first of the great setbacks suffered by the internal enemy. In fact, from this arose an immense outpouring of Marian piety, which has been growing ever since.

To prove that everything comes to us through Mary, Providence willed that the first great triumph should be Marian.

LOURDES

But to glorify his Mother even more, Our Lord did more. In Lourdes, as a resounding confirmation of the dogma, he did what had never been seen before: he established miracles in the world, so to speak, in series and on a permanent basis. Until then, miracles had appeared sporadically in the Church. But in Lourdes, the most scientifically proven and authentically supernatural healings have been taking place for a hundred years, in a continuous stream, in the face of a confused and bewildered century.

INFALLIBILITY

From this brazier of faith, lit by the definition of the Immaculate Conception, an immense longing burst forth like a flame. The best, the most learned, the most qualified members of the Church desired the proclamation of the dogma of papal infallibility. More than anyone else, the great Pius IX wanted it. And from the definition of this dogma came a surge of devotion to the Pope, which constituted a new defeat for impiety.

THE HOLY EUCHARIST

Finally, came the pontificate of St. Pius X, and with it the invitation to the faithful to receive Communion frequently, even daily, as well as to children. And the era of great Eucharistic triumphs began to shine radiantly for the whole Church.

With all this, the Jansenist atmosphere was swept away from within Catholic circles. The modernist outbreak and, later, the neo-modernist outbreak failed to nullify the great victories that the Church had achieved against its internal adversaries.

AN IMMENSE AND FRUSTRATED TRIUMPH

But, one might ask, what was the result of this for the Church’s struggle with its external adversaries? Wouldn’t one say that the enemy is stronger than ever, and that we are approaching that era, dreamed of by the Enlightenment thinkers so many centuries ago, of raw and integral scientific naturalism, dominated by materialistic technology; of the fiercely egalitarian universal republic, of more or less philanthropic and humanitarian inspiration, from whose environment all remnants of a supernatural religion are swept away? Is this not communism, is this not the dangerous slide of Western society itself, supposedly anti-communist, but which is also moving towards the realisation of this “ideal”?

Yes. And the proximity of this danger is even greater than is generally thought. But no one pays attention to a fact of paramount importance. It is that while the world is being shaped for the realisation of this sinister design, a deep, immense, indescribable malaise is taking hold of it. It is a malaise that is often unconscious, vague and undefined even when conscious, but which no one would dare to contest. It would seem that the whole of humanity is suffering violence, that it is being forced into a form that does not suit its nature, and that all its healthy fibres are writhing and resisting. There is an immense longing for something else, which is not yet known. But, in short, perhaps a new fact since the decline of Christian civilisation began in the 15th century, the whole world groans in darkness and pain, just like the prodigal son when he reached the lowest point of shame and misery, far from his father’s home. At the very moment when iniquity seems to triumph, there is something frustrated in its apparent victory.

Experience shows us that it is from such discontent that the great surprises of history are born. As the contortion becomes more pronounced, the malaise will become more pronounced. Who can say what magnificent surprises may come from this?

At the extreme of sin and pain, there is often, for the sinner, a moment of divine mercy…

Now, this healthy and promising unease is, in my view, a fruit of the resurrection of the Catholic spirit with the great events I have listed above, a resurrection that had a favourable impact on what remained of life and sanity in all areas of world culture.

THE GREAT HISTORICAL MOMENT

It was certainly a great moment in the life of the prodigal son when his spirit, dulled by vice, acquired new lucidity, and his will new vigour, as he meditated on the miserable situation into which he had fallen and the stupidity of all the mistakes that had led him away from his father’s house. Touched by grace, he found himself, more clearly than ever, faced with a great alternative. Either repent and return, or persevere in error and accept its consequences, even the most tragic ending. Everything that a proper education had instilled in him as good was wonderfully reborn in that providential moment. On the other hand, the tyranny of bad habits asserted itself in him, perhaps more terribly than ever. An internal struggle ensued. He chose good. And we know the rest of the story from the Gospel.

Are we not approaching that moment? Will all the graces accumulated for sinful humanity by this new surge of devotion to the Holy Eucharist, Our Lady and the Pope not produce, precisely in the tragic events of an apocalyptic crisis that seems inevitable, the great conversion?

THE TEACHING OF LOURDES

Only God knows the future. However, we humans are allowed to conjecture it according to the rules of verisimilitude.

We are living in a terrible time of punishment. But this time can also be a wonderful time of mercy. The condition for this is that we look to Mary, the Star of the Sea, who guides us through the storms.

For a hundred years, moved by compassion for sinful humanity, Our Lady has obtained for us the most stupendous miracles.

Has this piety been extinguished? Are the mercies of a Mother, and the best of mothers, at an end? Who would dare to say so? If anyone were to doubt, Lourdes would serve as an admirable lesson in trust. Our Lady will come to our aid.

LOURDES AND FÁTIMA

She will come to our aid. This statement is partly true and partly false. For in reality, She has already begun to help us. The definition of the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and papal infallibility, the renewal of Eucharistic piety, have their continuation in the Marian celebrations of the pontificates subsequent to St. Pius X. Our Lady appeared in Fatima under Benedict XV. Precisely on the day that Pius XII was consecrated bishop, 13 May 1917, the first apparition took place. Under Pius XI, the message of Fatima spread gently and surely throughout the earth. On that same occasion, the 75th anniversary of the apparitions at Lourdes was celebrated by the Supreme Pontiff with unusual joy, and he delegated the then Cardinal Pacelli to represent him at the festivities. The pontificate of Pius XII was immortalised by the definition of the dogma of the Assumption and the Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of the World. During this pontificate, Cardinal Masella, so dear to Brazilians, crowned the image of the Blessed Virgin in Fatima on behalf of Pope Pius XII.

These are so many lights that, from the grotto of Massabielle to Cova da Iria, constitute a shining thread.

And this article focuses on Fatima. Our Lady perfectly outlined the alternative in her apparitions. Either we convert, or a tremendous punishment will come. But in the end, the Reign of the Immaculate Heart will be established in the world.

In other words, in any case, with more or less suffering for men, the Heart of Mary will triumph.

This means, after all, that according to the Message of Fatima, the days of the reign of wickedness are numbered. The definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception marked the beginning of a succession of events that will lead to the Reign of Mary.

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post The apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes: First Milestone of the Counter-Revolutionary Resurgence appeared first on ISFCC.

It is a peculiar irony of modern life that while most people strive to improve their lives with technology and sophistication, language is sliding comfortably into the gutter. Profanity has become the linguistic wallpaper today, increasingly commonplace among the youth and emblematic of a shift toward a lifestyle that is as casual as it is vulgar.

Tragically, swearing has taken up permanent residence in the repertoire of the masses, especially among the youth. Unlike mathematics or history, it is not a subject taught in a classroom—at least, not in the traditional sense.

Instead, it is absorbed through osmosis from peers, parents, and, most aggressively, social media and Hollywood. There is a rich contradiction here: society largely condemns the use of expletives, turning up its nose at their rude offensiveness, yet simultaneously consumes them with a voracious appetite.

Swear words are sanctioned and restricted under the vague assumption that harm will befall society if they are used, especially if they become a habit. Yet the exact nature of this harm—whether to the speaker, the listener or society at large—remains ever so vague.

Why Swear?

Swearing is done to vent. Sharp, jagged words release pressure valves of anger, frustration, or even exuberant excitement. There is a pervasive notion that no other collection of sounds is quite as efficient or effective at conveying raw emotion. In a sense, this is true; curse words are not merely random insults.

They pack an emotional wallop. Linguists, such as Timothy Jay, author of Why We Curse, suggest that profanity hijacks the brain’s limbic system—the very center of emotions. When an expletive is spoken, it triggers a dopamine surge, embedding itself in memory with a tenacity that polite language simply cannot match.

Hollywood and social media, in their infinite wisdom, seem intent on promoting this vulgarity. They prioritize profanity for drama, embedding it into iconic movie lines. Curse words are short, punchy and versatile—a scriptwriter’s dream for quick character development and an even quicker shock value sure to be remembered.

Social media and streaming platforms have become central pillars of modern life, particularly for the younger generation. While these tools were ostensibly created to entertain and connect us, they have arguably succeeded in spreading a contagion of unhealthy trends—online vulgarity being among the most pernicious. This growing tide is eroding young minds, undermining moral frameworks, and weakening emotional health in ways we are only just beginning to understand.

The Psychological Drive to be Vulgar

The relentless parade of vulgar and provocative content distorts what “popularity” actually looks like. Many young people have come to believe they must display bold behavior, air their dirty laundry, or act in shocking ways simply to garner likes and followers. Consequently, they drift away from cultivating genuine talent or personality. Rather than focusing on developing culture, education, or creativity, they begin to value the fleeting attention gained from shock value over the enduring peace of self-respect.

This online vulgarity is fundamentally altering how young people view human connection. On many platforms, the superficiality of physical appearance and attraction is elevated above virtue, emotional depth, respect, and trust, fostering wildly unrealistic expectations of love and companionship.

Many young people begin to operate under the delusion that relationships are solely about appearances, pleasure, and excitement rather than about understanding, virtue, patience or responsibility. The inevitable result is a landscape of unstable relationships and emotional confusion, contributing to the fracturing of families and higher divorce rates.

The algorithms that govern our digital lives only exacerbate the situation. Because platforms are designed to promote posts that elicit strong reactions, vulgar content travels much faster than meaningful discourse. This creates a perverse structure of incentive in which creators post increasingly provocative material to remain relevant.

The more young people consume this content, the more they crave that specific brand of excitement, eventually losing their taste for the God-given beauty of normal life. Over time, they experience reduced concentration, diminished motivation and poor emotional control.

The Hidden Impact of Profanity: How Swearing Affects Your Brain, Emotions, and Spirit

Ancient wisdom, particularly within the Catholic tradition, has long emphasized the importance of pure, respectful speech as a reflection of one’s inner values. Religious teachings encourage us to use language that inspires, comforts, and uplifts rather than degrades.

When we speak with forethought and restraint, it reflects internal discipline and strength. Choosing respectful language is not just about manners; it is a way to nurture both the soul and the society it inhabits.

From a psychological perspective, habitual profanity can deeply affect our emotional and cognitive landscape. Swearing is inextricably linked to the expression of intense emotions such as anger or stress.

When these explosive words become the default in our vocabulary, they reinforce negative emotional patterns and atrophy our ability to manage stress with grace. Research in cognitive psychology indicates that frequent exposure to harsh language may actually lower one’s emotional self-regulation and self-esteem.

Habitual profanity creates cognitive ruts that hinder the development of adaptive coping strategies, affecting our overall mental health. Studies show that profanity activates brain regions linked to emotion and impulsivity, such as the amygdala and the limbic system.

Over time, the repeated firing of these neural pathways strengthens our tendency toward intemperate, quick and unfiltered emotional reactions, while diminishing the faculties responsible for self-control and thoughtful regulation.

Profanity’s Adverse Effect on Family and Society

Changing speech habits that have been etched into our psyche may seem like a Herculean task, but it is entirely possible with self-awareness and resolve. Our choice of words has a profound impact on mental well-being and relationships. Practicing self-reflection allows one to identify triggers and replace negative verbal reflexes with constructive language.

Pursuing the company of supportive individuals who model positive communication can further reinforce these changes. The goal is not to surgically remove strong emotions but to express them in ways that promote self-control, mental clarity and emotional resilience.

Understanding the profound effects of foul language on mental, emotional and spiritual health is essential to personal growth. Profanity, used to express deep emotion, reinforces negative thought patterns, increases stress and disrupts interpersonal harmony. In short, foul language accelerates vice.

The journey toward a healthier way of communicating begins with self-awareness and a commitment to practicing virtue. The power of thoughtful speech must be embraced through self-awareness, the exploration of alternative expressions, and the fostering of respectful interactions. In doing so, an important step can be taken toward not only improving one’s mental health but also contributing to more compassionate and understanding relationships.

To solve this issue, a coalition of the willing—the clergy, families, schools, governments, and the youth themselves—must work together. Parents need to engage in open, honest dialogue with their children. Schools must teach the curriculum of digital responsibility. Governments must enforce strict rules against harmful content. Most importantly, young people need to develop the armor of self-control, value real-life relationships over digital ones, and eliminate the harmful noise generated by social media and Hollywood.

Every word matters when it comes to cultivating a healthy mental state and a positive social environment. We must choose words wisely and take pride in meaningful, expressive dialogue bereft of swear words. If society hopes to build a healthy and emotionally robust future generation, it must recognize the serious pitfalls of vulgarity and return to the principles of a well-ordered, Christian civilization.

As seen on TFP.org

Sign the Three Hail Mary Pledge

The post The Profound Impact of Profanity: How Swearing Affects the Brain, Emotions and Soul appeared first on ISFCC.