Meanwhile, Bob Fox and his son Gregory drove all the way from Long Island to attend the Encampment.  Bob has written about the experience on his blog.

This non conformity with the present age speaks volumes to young boys and men, and rejects the symbols of the present cultural and moral haziness and laziness! These men draw from the rich past of our civilization when it was at one time informed by Catholic ideals. This community exemplifies the Kingship and absolute sovereignty of Jesus Christ in every age… and they indirectly remind us that it is the Church which builds civilization… it’s not the other way around!

The link above will only help you find the video clips as long as the Bulletine keeps them on their homepage.

During the Encampment on Friday night, we conducted a ceremony during which we lit two bonfires with flaming arrows (we have to work on the flaming arrow part) in remembrance of Thom and Marc and promised never to let them go out.  On Saturday night we revealed the work that we friars had been doing over the past week:  three shields, one for the Knights of Lepanto (pictured above), one for Thom and one for Marc.

I am no herald, but I have done some private research on heraldry, so if anyone reads this blog who has suggestions or corrections, I am completely open to them.  For an explanation of the arms of the Knights of Lepanto see this post.

By the way, for anyone who cares to help me out with my heraldry, the blazoning of the arms of the Knights of Lepanto I render thus:  Per fess azure and argent, a fleur de lis counterchanged between two fleur de lis argent and a cross formy gules dexter,  a fleur de lis azure sinister.  That is just a guess.  I really don't know what I am doing.  I concur with Chesterton:  "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly."

My intention is to bestow full knighthood in an official capacity upon both Thom and Marc posthumously.  Both of them were in formation for knighthood; however, we have had no formal investitutures or doubings yet in the organization.  Even so, it seems that the two of them providentially entered the order of knighthood during the last encampment.

In any case, I wanted to bestow upon Thom and Marc the arms of their knighthood, so the first thing I did is find the arms for the French Girard family which as it turns out is three gold trefoils on a blue field.  Blazoned that would be, I think, azure three trefoils or.  My second concern was how I would distinguish their arms from each other's.  There is a heraldic way of showing that the bearer of arms is a son, but I thought I might do it in a different way by giving each of their arms a distinctive honorary augmentation.

My line of thinking on their deservingness for this honor is as follows.  Thom was the brains and the spirit behind the  Encampments, and by universal acclaim among the knights he became the first Encampment Grand Marshal.  As I talk more and more to various knights I am amazed to just how deeply Thom had assimiliated the Spirit of Lepanto.

Marc, as I have said before, was his father's son and a hero.  What more needs to be said?

So on Saturday night, before I had the boys recite the oath, we presented the shield of Lepanto to Mr. Dietz, the new Grand Marshal of the Encampments, the shield of Sir Thom to his son Adam, and the shield of Sir Marc to his brother Lucas.

Master Paul recieving  the Lepanto shield from Brother Giuseppe to present to Mr. Dietz.

Mr. Casey placing Sir Thom's shield on the tower after having recieved it from Adam.

Lucas holding the shield of Sir Marc.

Friar honor guard for the three shields.

Sir Thom's Shield

I am not going to try to express the proper blazoning of these arms, suffice it to say that the arms of the Girard family (three gold trefoils on a blue field) have been quartered with the arms of the Knights of Lepanto.  Quartering usually indicated a marriage, but sometimes it was used to augment the arms of a knight because of some noble deed.  In such cases a king or barron might quarter the arms of the knight with his own arms.  Thom, as the first Grand Marshal and because of his complete commitment to what the Knights of Lepanto are about has earned the right to have his arms quartered with that of the Knights of Lepanto.

Sir Marc's Shield

I guess that Marc's shield would be properly blazoned thus:  azure, a horse argent and three trefoils or.  What I have done is take the Girard arms and augment them with a white horse.  In the organization of the Knights of Lepanto I have envisioned establishing an honorary council of anyone who has held a high place of responsibility or who by some deed of honor has established his precedence.  I planned to call it The Council of the White Horse, in remembrance of King Alfred the Great and his victory over the Danes, which Chesterton immortalized in his epic poem The Ballad of the White Horse.

Defender of the faith as he was, Chesterton saw in the epic history and legend of King Alfred a testimony of God's love for England, and was moved by his Catholic sensibilities to assimilate the story in a mode that produced a work that was not only chivalric, but also spiritually moving. The motif of the White Horse was used in connection with a geological formation on a hill in Berkshire. From ancient times a 374 foot long figure of a horse had been cut out of the side of White Horse Hill. The turf was dug out, exposing the white subsoil below, so that the figure of the white horse could be seen against a green grass background. According to the legend accepted by Chesterton, the Vale of the White Horse in Berkshire was the location of the Battle of Ethandune. In the mind of Chesterton, and in the text of the ballad, the white horse signifies the presence of Christendom. When Christians are in control of Wessex they tend the white horse and regularly cut the grass back to preserve the figure; when the Danes are in control of Wessex the figure is grown over. The ballad ends with the restoration of Christendom in Wessex, the establishment of the English Kingdom and the scouring of the horse (Book VIII).

While Thom by virtue of his being the first Grand Marshal is also to be considered a member of the Council of the White Horse, Marc, by virtue of his heroic death is to be considered the founding member.

On Sunday morning just before Holy Mass, we had two candles lit from each bonfire and had them carried into the Church by Carol and Jacquiline Girard.  Thom's Sheild was carried by Adam Girard, and Marc's by Lucas Girard.  The Knights have pledged never to let either of those two fires to be extinguished.  May their gesture, be translated into their own heroic deeds.

• Norwhich Bulletin on the Funeral (link only temporary)
• Extended Version of Memorial Video
• Comment from Carol Girard, Wife and Mother
• Blog Entry by Regina Doman

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after” (J.R.R. Tolkien).

As unspeakably sad as the last week has been, I cannot remember one that was more filled with grace and peace. I have been privileged to witness heroism, steadfastness and mercy.

Thom and Marc, their family and friends have been searching earnestly for the ideals of chivalry; however, none of us would have considered the plate we have been served “quite the something” we “were after.” We must always praise God for His goodness.

Last Monday, when through one of the friars I received a distressed call from Carol in which she asked one of us to meet her at Bachus Hospital, I was swept up into a series of events so inconceivable to me that the mind still balks at its consideration. I knew the situation was dour when I heard the words “drowning” and “Life Star” though in reality, I had no idea of the real dimensions of the tragedy.

My mind still short circuits when I think of the hole left in so many lives by the absence of Thom and Marc, but at the same time, the past week has etched into my mind some of the most precious memories of my life. Like many who were privileged to know Thom and Marc and to participate in their sending off, I have been overwhelmed by the presence of God during this difficult time.

Some events that happen in life have a mythic quality, that is, they are so invested with the workings of divine providence that they are not only the history we have lived, but they also seem to be parables applicable to some greater and truer story. Thom and Marc passed through fire and water to victory, and they go before us to prepare the way.

I guess I have Marian Chivalry on the brain, but so did Thom and Marc. They carried the banner and stormed the tower. Woe to us if we dishonor their memory by not taking and securing what they won for us at the price of their lives.

I am not being romantic about what happened. Those who knew our two friends know how they believed in what they were doing with the Knights of Lepanto. I will try to explain.

When we first started our Third Thursday Discussion Group for Men the general idea was to give men a forum in which they could discuss the faith and have a sense of identity as Catholic men with other Catholic men. Underlying that idea was the conviction that men need to translate their faith and prayer into action in order to consolidate and deepen their religious convictions and spiritual practices. The idea seems to have been correct and the group of men developed into the organized assembly of the Knights of Lepanto.

It has become an apostolate of men to men and fathers to sons. Everyone has participated and contributed. I have encouraged that active and creative participation while guiding it according to the charism of the MIM to which the Knights of Lepanto belong. During this development Thom and Marc rose to places of prominent influence (among the men and boys respectively), not due to my arrangement, but by a natural democratic process. They were recognized by the men without fanfare for their commitment and understanding of both the charism and the practical means of implementing it among men and boys.

Thom and Marc loved our Blessed Mother and understood the nature of consecration to Her as a real form of knighthood. It was Thom who formulated what is essential of vow of service to Our Lady, in the form of a knightly consecration, a vow which I believe both he and Marc made not long before their passing.

When Carol was told that Thom was gone she had to hold herself together in order to tell her children. I was in a state of shock, but I saw grace at work. Thom was not gone. He was still a father. He had handed something on to his children that would last. There was sadness but no despair.

But later that night when the family and friends gathered around the bed of Marc and knew that his time had come the presence of God was palpable. We prayed for a miracle and I blessed Marc with a relic of St. Pio, his favorite saint. The moment I touched his forehead with the relic he went into cardiac arrest. We began the prayers for the dying and by the time we had finished singing the Salve Regina he was gone.

As sad as it all was, there has never been any doubt that it was their time and that somehow the loss is a key, both for the family and the rest of us. I think we have our miracle, but it is up to us to bring it to fruition.

The tradition of chivalry and the notion of nobility are tied to the idea of “patrimony,” fathers handing on to their sons and standard of excellence. Me generation has largely lost any appreciation for the common good and the responsibility we have to future generations. The highest expressions of chivalry were all about the common good and about a patrimony of moral excellence. Fathers need to be real fathers, involved with their children at every step of the way and teaching their sons how to be fathers themselves. Thom taught this to Marc. Marc was his father’s son.

All of us, including myself, take so much for granted. I was always so busy that I did not give Thom nearly the amount of time I should have. My loss.

The grace of our consecration to Our Lady we also take for granted. So much more could be done with a knighthood based on Marian Chivalry. Time is too short not to see this. The men have pulled together in the last week in the face of this tremendous loss. It is my prayer that we recognize this grace for what it really is and not let the hour of our visitation pass.

I want to thank all the Knights, Other Marys and all the friends and relatives of Thom and Mark who contributed to making the farewell to our brothers in arms such a grace-filled event.  I would also like to thank all those who commented on MaryVictrix on the two posts: In Memoriam: Thom and Marc Girard and Thom and Marc: Knights of Holy Mary Victrix at Lepanto.  Your very kind remarks are a consolation to everyone.

We are all looking for something transcendent and beautiful in life. Thom and Marc have gone before is in finding it. We have also, in a sense, found it too. It certainly hasn’t been what we expected, but I for one treasure not only memories of the last week, but the overwhelming providence of God hidden just beneath the sorrow. We cannot forget or become complacent, too much has been lost in the service of our Queen and too much is at stake. To arms, then, in the service of the Queen.

Of particular interest to those who read MaryVictrix are the some of the conferences by Dr. John Rao, associate professor of history at St. John's University and director of the Roman Forum.

• The Christian Warrior
• Mary & The Modernists: An Eternal Warfare
• The Roman Catholic Church: Where are the Men?

Of further interest are some of his series on Church history especially his ones on the Crusades.  Very Good.

I admire Keep the Faith and the Roman Forum very much.  The late Dr. William Mara was a giant among the great Catholic American thinkers of the last century.

Not being a Traditionalist myself, though celebrating the Traditional Rite, I can't vouch for everything on the website.

God bless them for defending the crusading spirit.

This should make the envelope pushers squirm.  I hope.

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.583116&w=425&h=350&fv=m%3D35284147%26type%3Dvideo%26a%3D0]

I have a reading recommendation for our men and boys who fancy themselves to be knights or knights in the making. It is Father Francis Xavier Lasance's book entitled Kindess: The Bloom of Charity. I am not an advocate of chicken love, in fact I am all for learning more about providing ourselves with fresh food, but I draw the line at chicken swirlies.

Lest any of the big strapping men find the title of the book laced with a bit too much estrogen, I should point out that Father Lasance is also the editor of the 1945 classic The New Roman Missal, republished under the title Roman Catholic Daily Missal. I think we could justly say that the Roman Missal is The Dangerous Book for Men. Father Lasance's hand missal, although quite pricey in its new edition, is still one of the best missals for the use of the faithful at the Traditional Mass. Also worth considering is the fact that Fr. Lasance utilizes much of Kenelm Digby's masterpiece on chivalry and manliness, The Broadstone of Honor in Kindness: The Bloom of Charity.

Here is a story quoted at length by Fr. Lasance from Digby's work"

A Soldier of the Cross

It remains for us to mark that refinement and delicacy of feeling which formed so striking a characteristic of chivalry. Of this it is easy to find examples. Don Garcia Perez de Vargas was one of the most distinguished warriors who fought at the siege of Seville, under the banner of St. Ferdinand. One day at the beginning of the siege, Don Garcia Perez and another with him were riding by the side of the river at some distance from the outposts when of a sudden there came upon them a party of seven Moors retreating on horseback. The companion o Perez was for retreating immediately, by Don Garcia answered that never, even though he should lose his life for it, would he consent to the baseness of flight. With that his companion rode off. This moment is well described in the old ballad:

Ha! gone! quoth Garci Perez;--he smiled,
and said nor more
But slowly, with his esquire, rode as he rode
before.

Perez armed himself, closed his visor, and put his lance in the rest. But the enemies when they discovered that it was he, declined the combat. "The honor of the action," says Mariana, "was much increased by this circumstance, that, although frequently pressed to disclose the name of the knight who had deserted him in that moment of danger, Garcia Perez would never consent to do so, for his modesty was equal to his courage." On returning to the camp, he was met by Ferdinand, whose first question was: "What is the name of the knight who fled and deserted you?" "My liege," answered Garcia Perez, "ask anything else and it shall be done as you commanded. This man is already sufficiently punished."

You guys need a real battle to fight. It's not like there are not any out there. Any suggestions?

I thought they were just playing. They weren't. I am lucking to be alive.

More serious business.  That's one of our knights in the chain mail coif giving a talk on courtesy.  I hope the little gentlemen in the first picture learned something.

The Illustrious Marceg with his penance pack (15 pounds of rocks) during his initiation into the Knights of Lepanto.

Fra Joseph showing us how its done.  Young whippersnapper.

The famous frilly shirt brothers.

Hoodlums!

Last Minute preparations:

Chasm, check.

Keep, check.

Trail, check. Notice, moms, how well kept our trail is. This is so the guys stay as clean as possible so your clothes washing isn't so hard.

Bridge, check. Gandalf at Khazadum.

How many men does it take to put up a tent?

This is how you "get into" the Encampment.

Standing fast! . . . er, sitting fast.

Just having a little fun. Pray for us.

I was going through the pictures I took in Rome earlier in the month and I was inspired to post one last photograph. Click on the picture for a larger version.

This is San Andrea delle Frate (St. Andrew of the Bush). It is just down the street from the Spanish Steps in old Rome. In 1990, I lived for three months very near the church while studying at the Angelicum and had the opportunity to serve the noon Mass almost every day at this altar, which is a side altar originally dedicated to St. Michael, but now is known as the Altar of Our Lady of the Miracle.

The miracle in question was the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne, a rabid anti-Catholic agnostic and gentleman of influence, who received a vision of our Blessed Lady at this altar after having been given a Miraculous Medal. Those who are familiar with St. Maximilian Kolbe will remember that during his stay in Rome, while he was studying for the priesthood, the rector of the college, Father Stefano Ignudi, told the seminarians the story of Ratisbonne's conversion. The Pontifical Theological University of the Seraphicum, the theological faculty of the Conventual Franciscans, the order to which St. Maximilian belonged, is about a fifteen minute walk from the Church of San Andrea delle Frate. St. Maximilian used to visit the Church quite often during his free time. I made a very similar walk during my weeks at school from where I lived to the Angelicum.

Father Ignudi, the rector of the college, was a confidant of Pope St. Pius X, and held deep within his heart the concerns of the Holy Father. It was the time of World War I and the Modernist crisis. Father Ignudi also told the friar seminarians about how the Freemasons had demonstrated in St. Peter's square against the Holy Father, carrying a banner of Satan trampling St. Michael underfoot. St. Maximilian asked permission to go to the Roman headquarters of the Freemasons in order to convert the Grand Master. Father Ignudi refused the request but urged the saint to channel his zeal to a life of prayer and penance. St. Maximilian thought long and hard about the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne and concluded that the Immaculate was the real secret to being victorious in the battle against Satan for souls.

In 1917, three days after the miracle of the sun at Fatima, in the evening of October 16, St. Maximilian founded the Militiae Immaculatae, the Knights of the Immaculate. He gathered a number of his confreres in a little room in the Seraphic College in Rome, where they all signed the original statute for this movement of consecration to Our Lady. The primary condition for membership was the making and living the consecration to the Immaculate; one of the secondary conditions was the wearing of the Miraculous Medal and the daily recitation of the medal prayer, which the Saint adapted to read: "O Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to you, and for all who do not have recourse to you, especially for the Freemasons."

St. Maximilian continued to be a zealous apostle for the faith. With his doctorates in both philosophy and theology and with his practical commons sense and speaking ability, he never neglected to engage unbelievers in apologetics. He crossed swords with socialists, communists, agnostics and atheists, many of whom were converted, but always his efforts bore fruit more through the help of the Immaculate than through his words and actions. This he knew. In fact, he always carried with him a handful of Miraculous Medals and gave them to everyone with whom he spoke.

St. Maximilian's militant zeal for souls made him a true knight of Our Lady, always eager and ready to engage, and always open to prayer and sacrifice. The same zeal that led to him to beg his superiors to lay siege to the Masonic headquarters in Rome, led him to found the M.I., to hand out Miraculous Medals everywhere and to engage in apologetics. The same zeal led him to work day and night without rest in spite of his tuberculoses and to leave his homeland for the mission in Japan. When he was a novice, he almost left religious life itself in order to join the Polish army so that he could fight for his Queen and Lady, the Immaculate. Indeed, the Immaculate wanted him to fight for Her, and he did upon a spiritual battlefield.

St. Maximilian was a man at war. He wrote: "'Knights,' 'battles'. . . these are all terms that have a warlike connotation. Ours, however, is not a war fought with rifles, machine guns, cannon, airplanes, poison gas . . . but still it is a real war."

Indeed, the woman on the Miraculous Medal is the one mentioned in Genesis 3:15, that is, the Woman who crushes the head of the serpent and who is at war with the ancient dragon (Apocalypse 12). St. Maximilian called the Miraculous Medal his "silver bullet":

During the apparition of the Miraculous Medal, She dictated an ejaculatory prayer, so this is our prayer and in it we include all men. She gave us the Miraculous Medal, so this is our weapon with which to strike hearts. In addition, any other means, provided it is licit, can be used, anything that zeal and prudence suggest--in a word, whatever love commands us, a love without limits--whatever this beloved Mother of ours, Mother of the whole world and of each and every souls wishes to do by our instrumentality.

I find it fascinating that St. Maximilian used the term, "silver bullet" in regard to the Miraculous Medal. How much reflection went into its use is by no means clear, but the context suggests that not only does the usage manifest a military bent in the Saint, but also his awareness of the demonic. As already noted, it is pretty clear from the medal itself that Our Lady's power throws all hell into panic.

Folklore ascribes to the silver bullet the power to eliminate monsters of various sorts, most notably the werewolf. I am sure that European monster mythology is at least partly related to spiritual combat.

For example, in Bram Stoker's Dracula spiritual combat is pretty explicit. The vampire is of demonic origin and is not only in pursuit of blood, but is also bent upon the destruction of purity and innocence. Literary critics almost universally apply Freudian hermeneutics to Bram's text, saying that the work is largely about sexual repression and male fear of female sexuality. Whatever one's attitude toward the Victorian mores out of which Dracula came, it takes a hypersexualized and conscienceless mindset to suggest that feminine purity is nothing but repression, and its ideal the product of chauvinism. Alas, but such is the case today. I mention this not so much out of praise for Bram and his work, but simply to indicate that the ideals of spiritual combat are so deeply ingrained in the human psyche that it quite naturally comes out in these mythologies.

Bram Stoker was not a Catholic, his family of birth belonged to the Church of Ireland. The main hero of his novel, Van Helsing, is a man of science, but also a man who values virtue and believes in the power of the supernatural, even though the novel leaves us guessing as to what the dimensions of the supernatural actually are. Anyway, its a myth. In any case, Van Helsing knows the power of the crucifix (a silver one at that) and of the Eucharist (even though Bram has Van Helsing use the Eucharist against the vampire in a sacrilegious way).

Even if one were to conclude that Bram is subconsciously criticizing Victorian morality, one thing is clear: there is a demon orchestrating our fear and threatening our existence. Science (reason) can go only so far to expel him. In the end only the sacrifice of courageous men under the influence of the supernatural will be able to withstand, protect their purity and defend that which is true good and beautiful. We must face the darkness, but we must also have a silver bullet.

St. Maximilian once, when speaking about spiritual combat, recounted how once Napolean was asked by a journalist what it took to win a war. The great general replied: "It requires three things: money, money and more money." St. Maximilian then rhetorically asked what it takes to win a spiritual war. His reply: "prayer, prayer and more prayer."

Our prayer needs to be Marian: "O Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to Thee." She is the Woman Clothed with the Sun with Her immaculate foot on the head of our enemy. She is the Warrior Queen of which Judith and Jahel are merely the types. She is fair as the moon, bright as the sun and terrible as an army set in battle array (Cant. 6:10).

She is as beautiful as the moon. According to the monster myths the virtue of the silver bullet is associated somehow with moonlight (gold = sun, silver = moon). In the Old Testment silver is associated with purity and beauty: And he shall sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold, and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice (Mal. 3:3). In the apparition of Our Lady to St. Catherine Labouré in which she revealed the pattern for the Miraculous Medal, Our Lady's hands radiated silver light that represent the graces that she wishes to bestow upon us.

St. Maximilian spent many hours in the Church of San Andrea delle Frate meditating before the altar of Our Lady of the Miracle. That prayer was fortifying beyond what most of us can appreciate. It led him to hope and conquer even after passing through the gates of hell, that is, those of Auschwitz. After St. Maximilian was ordained a priest, he said his first Mass on the altar of Our Lady of the Miracle. After he entered Auschwitz, he "said mass" at the altar of the death bunker and was victorious. He had his silver bullet, over his heart, and his Lady and Queen within his heart.

Today in San Andrea delle Frate on the left side of the altar you will find a bust of Alphonse Ratisbonne, and on the right one of St. Maximilian (see photo). Between them over the altar is the Virgin of the Miracle in exaclty the same way She appears on the silver bullet.

Never allow the enemy to find you unarmed.

The Marian Library at the University of Dayton has an interesting page on the Litany of Loreto, including an illustration for each invocation:

The Marian Library has in its possession rare books of the eighteenth century with engravings by the renowned Augsburg artist, Josef Sebastian Klauber (ca. 1700-1768). The highly symbolic and illustrative reproductions are typical of the Baroque period. Their message is of great spiritual riches. Mary's profile is that of the exalted Mother, Virgin, and Queen, as suits the period. We limited ourselves to the illustrations of the Marian titles . . .

The illustration above is for the invocation "Help of Christians," which invocation is connected, interestingly enough, to the Battle of Lepanto:

The invocation Auxilium Christianorum (Help of Christians ) originated in the sixteenth century. In 1576 Bernardino Cirillo, archpriest of Loreto, published at Macerreta two litanies of the Bl. Virgin, which, he contended, were used at Loreto: One a form which is entirely different from our present text, and another form ("Aliae litaniae B.M.V.") identical with the litany of Loreto, approved by Clement VIII in 1601, and now used throughout the entire Church. This second form contains the invocation Auxilium Christianorum. Possibly the warriors, who returning from Lepanto (7 Oct., 1571) visited the sanctuary of Loreto, saluted the Holy Virgin there for the first time with this new title; it is more probable, however, that it is only a variation of the older invocation Advocata Christianorum , found in a litany of 1524. Torsellini (1597) and the Roman Breviary (24 May, Appendix) say that Pius V inserted the invocation in the litany of Loreto after the battle of Lepanto ; but the form of the litany in which it is first found was unknown at Rome at the time of Pius V (see LITANY OF LORETO; Schuetz, "Gesch. des Rosenkranzgebets", Paderborn, 1909, 243 sq.).

Whatever the historical origins of the invocation and its place in the litany, the illustrator clearly associates the title with Lepanto. The Battle is actually depicted beneath the Virgin and Child and flanked on either side by the coat of arms of the opposing armies. The caption from the Book of Judith reads: Woe the nations that rise against my people! The Lord Almighty will requite them (16:17).

There are several other chivalrous titles from the Litany of Loreto, and the Marian Library has some great accompanying illustrations:

Virgo Potens (Virgin Most Powerful)

Turris Davidica (Tower of David)

For a better look at the illustrations right click on the image and select "view image." Your pointer should change into a magnifying glass when you role over the image. Click and you should get a larger image.

I conclude this post with a meditation of Cardinal Newman on the invocation "Tower of David, pray for us":

A TOWER in its simplest idea is a fabric for defence against enemies. David, King of Israel, built for this purpose a notable tower; and as he is a figure or type of our Lord, so is his tower a figure denoting our Lord's Virgin Mother.

She is called the Tower of David because she had so signally fulfilled the office of defending her Divine Son from the assaults of His foes. It is customary with those who are not Catholics to fancy that the honours we pay to her interfere with the supreme worship which we pay to Him; that in Catholic teaching she eclipses Him. But this is the very reverse of the truth.

For if Mary's glory is so very great, how cannot His be greater still who is the Lord and God of Mary? He is infinitely above His Mother; and all that grace which filled her is but the overflowings and superfluities of His incomprehensible Sanctity. And history teaches us the same lesson. Look at the Protestant countries which threw off all devotion to her three centuries ago, under the notion that to put her from their thoughts would be exalting the praises of her Son. Has that consequence really followed from their profane conduct towards her? Just the reverse—the countries, Germany, Switzerland, England, which so acted, have in great measure ceased to worship Him, and have given up their belief in His Divinity while the Catholic Church, wherever she is to be found, adores Christ as true God and true Man, as firmly as ever she did; and strange indeed would it be, if it ever happened otherwise. Thus Mary is the "Tower of David."

Off to the right of the main altar in Santa Maria Maggiore, the principle basilica of Our Lady in the Western Church, is the so-called Sistine Chapel--not to be confused with the Chapel by the same name in the Vatican decorated by Michaelangelo. This chapel was built by Pope Sixtus V, a Franciscan, to honor his Dominican predecessor Pope St. Pius V, depicted in the sculpture above. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Here I am near the body of the Saint:

Pope St. Pius V is notable for many reasons; two come to mind immediately: one, his codification of the Roman Rite in the Missal of Pius V, the so-called Tridentine Rite; two, his establishment of the Holy League and his leadership which led to the victory at the Battle of Lepanto.

And below is an inscription, which is part of the shrine to St. Pius V, commemorating the Battle of Lepanto (click on the image for a larger version):

And here is the translation:

Pius V, on forging an alliance with Philip II, King of the Spanish and with the Republic of Venice, (defeated) Selinus, Tyrant of the Turks who becoming insolent after many victories conquered Cyprus with an enormous fleet and was threatening Christendom with extinction

Mark Anthony Collona, Admiral of the Papal Fleet by prayer and arms defeated at Lepanto the enemy: 30,000 killed, 10,000 taken captive, 158 ships captured, 90 sunk, 15,000 Christians freed from slavery

In the upper left of the rererdos one can view the bas-relief of the Battle of Lepanto:

And below that there is this panel which shows Mark Anthony Collona presenting his victorious banner to St. Pius after the battle upon his return to Rome:

I was really grateful to be able to pray at the tomb of St Pius. Some of our brothers have the grace to work as sacristans in the basilica, so they have the grace to be there everyday, and to pray at the altar of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani:

]]> http://maryvictrix.wordpress.com/?p=593 Mon, 12 May 2008 16:30:18 +0000 frangelo http://maryvictrix.wordpress.com/?p=593

When I arrived at the friary here in Rome, Santa Maria di Nazareth on via Boccea, I was confronted by a picture of this painting in the entrance way of the friary. It is called La Battaglia de Milici by Bartolomeo Pascucci. Pretty awesome painting of Our Lady on a horse with a sword, no?

The painting is associated with a historical event that took place in Scilci, Italy:

The city is famous for a lot of festivities and traditional tales. One of this is based upon the presence of the statue of the "Madonna delle Milizie", the only fighter Madonna of Christianity. The statue is situated inside the church. According to the tradition, she came down from the heaven on a white horse in order to save the Christians from the incursions of the “Saracens”.

On the last Sunday of May a play takes place recalls the battle between Normans and Arabs [translation slightly edited].

"According to the tradition"? Isn't this what She always does?

Here is the image the people of Scicli venerate:

Well, I am on my way to the Logan Airport. I fly out this evening for Rome. Our general chapter begins on Tuesday morning with two day retreat, and then the chapter begins deliberations on matters concerning our order. On the eve of Pentecost the Minister General and his vicar will be elected.

Please pray for our order, the Franciscans of the Immaculate and for the chapter fathers, that we will be enlightened by the Holy Spirit.

I will try to post, if I can. I am bringing a camera. I hope to visit a few places that would be interesting to anyone with the spirit of chivalry. I will be back on May 14. I leave you with a section from the legislation of the friars concerning our Marian Vow. It is the spirit of chivalry:

The constitutive element most specific to the Marian Vow is the "unlimited" character of the consecration to the Immaculate.

In its most obvious and fundamental meaning, "unlimitedness" is the completeness of dedication to and possession by the Immaculate, excluding any limit and reservation, condition and regret of any kind. Gradually, in accord with the original inspiration of the Founder, there takes shape that resemblance to Her who in the Coredemption realized the most perfect unlimited love.

From this it follows that unlimited consecration to the Immaculate includes all other possible offerings and excludes none, nor can it exclude any, in virtue of the very nature of unlimitedness, which does not admit limits of any kind.

Because of this the Marian Vow entails "heroic action and unlimited striving for perfection". It includes in itself an offer to be a "victim", even beyond the furthest limit, namely, the immolation that is "martyrdom". In the Marian Vow is found the most complete and radical offer of self to the Immaculate: She may demand "everything" from Her consecrated, ask any sacrifice and heroism, even that of being consumed as a victim of sacrifice and of immolating one's life with the violent death of a martyr (cf. Const. 26), after the example of the death of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe.

That is the ideal. Please pray that we live it.

Ave Maria! Hopefully, I you will hear from me again soon.

The weekend was challenging, but as you will see everyone had a great time. Don't be put off by the challenges. Doug is great with kids and had everyone encouraging each other. I didn't matter how athletic or advanced the kids were in their catechism everyone was treated with respect and support.

This Spring Encampment the Knights of Lepanto will be running the Boot Camp, but we hope to have Doug back for the Fall Encampment.

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Not so long ago, with the publication of Blessed Mother Teresa's letters to her spiritual director much misinformation was disseminated about her "dark night," namely, that is Mother had lost her faith. The arch-atheist, Christopher Hitchen's and other anti-Catholic enthusiasts were quick to vilify this holy woman, whose trial should be a source of edification.

Recently Zenit interviewed Missionary of Charity Father Joseph Langford, cofounder with Mother Teresa of her community of priests, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, about his new book Mother Teresa: In the Shadow of Our Lady.

Blessed Teresa, like Our Lady, took the road to Jerusalem in obedience to Jesus: Unless you pick up your cross and carry it, you cannot be my disciple. Perseverance in the dark night of faith is spiritual chivalry, spiritual prowess and largess, and in the case of Mother Teresa, it is an extension of the Marian Way of Beauty.

One cannot argue with likes of a blasphemer like Hitchens. In an debate between him and Bill Donahue of the Catholic League he referred to the faith-based defense of Mother as "white noise." All we can do is say to Hitchens is "come and see." His only hope is the Way of Beauty . . . and of course, prayer and fasting. Here is an excerpt of the Zenit interview with Father Langford:

Q: What did you learn about the Blessed Mother from Mother Teresa?

Father Langford: The book is a compendium of what I learned of Our Lady over the years, from watching and listening to this Saint of the Gutters. It is a simple apologia for Our Lady's role, wrapped not in polemics, but in the humble sari of one of the gospel's most credible and approachable witnesses.

It is impossible to observe Mother Teresa's faith without being reminded of the faith of Our Lady. Though her darkness bore other names and other dimensions, Mary of Nazareth lived her own night of faith.

Consider Joseph's months of doubt; finding no room in Bethlehem; the flight into Egypt; the years of Jesus' absence from Nazareth; the hours of his agony on the cross; and her own agony as he lie in the grave. From these came the lessons of faith she shared with a young Mother Teresa.

Mother Teresa's own life, and her sense of the role of the Mother of God, was that of "an ongoing Visitation," a "going in haste" to bring God to others. This Marian vision was based on Mother Teresa's own experience, but also firmly rooted in scripture.

The Gospel account of the Visitation in the first chapter of Luke shows obvious echoes of the "visitation" made by the Ark of the Covenant to David, also "in the hill country of Judea." No one disputes that the Ark carried a special anointing of grace and divine presence, that it was itself a "theotokos" ("God-bearer"), though only made of wood.

Can God not do the same and more, in a latter Testament, with a new and better Ark? Are we scandalized that God can make of flesh what once was? Or has our generation understood "neither the scriptures nor the power of God?"

In the end, Mother Teresa would not be one to argue, but simply to say of this Marian mystery, as she so often did of the mystery of Christ hidden in the poor: "Come and see."

Here is Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B. on the Triumph of the Immaculate Conception and Her Knights. (Notice how the good Benedictine is humble to tip his hat to the Friars Minor. Would that Our Lady's Brothers of Penance in the Order of Penance be so self-forgetful.):

But, whilst thus mentioning the different nations which have been foremost in their zeal for this article of our holy faith, the Immaculate Conception, it were unjust to pass over the immense share which the seraphic Order, the Order of St. Francis of Assisi, has had in the earthly triumph of our blessed Mother, the Queen of heaven and earth. As often as this feast comes round, is it not just that we should think with reverence and gratitude on him, who was the first theologian that showed how closely connected with the divine mystery of the Incarnation is this dogma of the Immaculate Conception? First, then, all honour to the name of the pious and learned John Duns Scotus! And when at length the great day of the definition of the Immaculate Conception came, how justly merited was that grand audience, which the Vicar of Christ granted to the Franciscan Order, and with which closed the pageant of the glorious solemnity! Pius IX. received from the hands of the children of St. Francis a tribute of homage and thankfulness, which the Scotist school, after having fought four hundred years in defence of Mary's Immaculate Conception, now presented to the Pontiff.

In the presence of the fifty-four Cardinals, forty-two archbishops, and ninety-two bishops; before an immense concourse of people that filled St. Peter's, and had united in prayer, begging the assistance of the Spirit of truth; the Vicar of Christ had just pronounced the decision which so many ages had hoped to hear. The Pontiff had offered the holy Sacrifice on the Confession of St. Peter. He had crowned the statue of the Immaculate Queen with a splendid diadem. Carried on his lofty throne, and wearing his triple crown, he had reached the portico of the basilica; there he is met by the two representatives of St. Francis: they prostrate before the throne: the triumphal procession halts: and first, the General of the Friars Minor Observantines advances, and presents to the holy Father a branch of silver lilies: he is followed by the General of the Conventual Friars, holding in his hand a branch of silver roses. The Pope graciously accepted both. The lilies and the roses were symbolical of Mary's purity and love; the whiteness of the silver was the emblem of the lovely brightness of that orb, on which is reflected the light of the Sun; for, as the Canticle says of Mary, 'she is beautiful as the moon. The Pontiff was overcome with emotion at these gifts of the family of the seraphic patriarch, to which we might justly apply what was said of the banner of the Maid of Orleans: 'It had stood the brunt of the battle; it deserved to share in the glory of the victory.' And thus ended the glories of that grand morning of the eighth of December, eighteen hundred and fifty-four.

The story goes that Scotus was on his way by foot to Paris where he was to defend the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception during a disputation conducted at the great University of Paris. Along the way he passed by a wayside shrine of Our Blessed Lady, and was inspired to kneel down and say this prayer. Our Blessed Lady was pleased to acknowledge the humility and devotion of her servant by miraculously manifesting that the prayer had been heard and answered.

The statue animated and bowed to the Blessed John, and he went on to Paris to brilliantly defend Our Lady's prerogative of Her Immaculate Conception. The Franciscan Order has generally been recognized as one of the principle instruments for the defense and articulation of the dogma. Blessed Pope Pius IX, in fact, used the argumentation of Blessed John Duns Scotus as the basis for the papal bull defining the dogma in 1854. That defining moment is know affectionately within the Order as the Franciscan Triumph.

St. Maximilian Kolbe believed that the dogma was a blueprint for Catholic life, a battle plan for the crushing of the serpent's head in our godless age. His act of consecration is a chivalric commitment, in our order a vow of blood to fight under Our Lady's banner for the extension of the kingdom of Christ. Allow me to praise Thee O Holy Virgin, give me strength against Thine enemies.

St Maximilian attached this antiphon to end of his solemn act of consecration and also composed a longer prayer inspired by it:

Allow me to praise You, O most holy Virgin, with my personal commitment and sacrifice.

Allow me to live, work, suffer, be consumed and die for You, just for You.

Allow me to bring the whole world to you.

Allow me to contribute to Your ever greater exaltation, to Your greatest possible exaltation.

Allow me to give You such glory that no one else has ever given You up to now.

Allow others to surpass me in zeal for Your exaltation, and me to surpass them, so that by means of such noble rivalry Your glory may increase ever more profoundly, ever more rapidly, ever more intensely as He Who has exalted You so indescribably above all other beings Himself desires.

In You alone has God been adored beyond compare, more than in all His saints.

For You God has created the world. For You God has also called me to existence. For what reason have I merited this fortune?

Oh, allow me to praise You, O most holy Virgin!

That second to the last line might raise some eyebrows. I am prepared to defend it, if anyone is interested.

In any case, Our Lady is the "way of beauty" to use the words of Paul VI. It should be our honor to praise her. The chivalric ideal of honor is realized in service to the Queen. To "live" for Our Lady is to realize that Jesus lived in Her and through Her. By his own choice is self-emptying included his dependence on Her and his willingness to observe the fourth commandment, and He is the epitome of manliness and militancy.

Allow me to praise Thee O Holy Virgin . . . Faith and Prayer.

give me strength against Thine enemies. . . Charitable and Courageous Action.

On Saturday I conducted a day of recollection for the Knights of Lepanto. The question as to whether there is such a thing as Catholic masculinity was one of the main topics.

In the course of my presentation I brought up the controversy between Cardinal John Henry Newman and Charles Kingsley. Kingsley accused the recent convert to Romanism, Newman, and the Catholic clergy generally, of dishonesty. The polemical exchange between the two thinkers generated Newman's masterful defense of his conversion and of the Catholic faith, Apologia Pro Vita Sua.

In the debate, much more was at stake than just the honor of the the Catholic clergy. Kingsley was an advocate of "Muscular Christianity," a kind of manly expression of Christian faith, which emphasized physical exercise and sport as a necessary balance to a more bookish approach to Christian spirituality. While much can be said for a distinctly manly expression of Christian faith (as is often advocated here), Kingsley went further, by blaming Catholic Marian devotion and asceticism for the emasculation of the Church, and especially Catholic men.

Newman refuted Kingsley soundly, but the assertion that Catholic spirituality produces effeminate men is an idea that remains. Leon Podles in The Church Impotent: The Femininization of Christianity traces the current of bridal spirituality throughout the history of the Church, and even notes the Marian character of western chivalry as a contributing factor to the development of feminine spirituality. He also points out that while St. Bernard was one of the foremost influences on the development of bridal spirituality, he was also the great promoter of the Knights Templar, that is, of militant spirituality. While Podles critiques much of the ascetical and marian dimension of the western Church, he does admit that bridal spirituality is a part of the scriptural data.

Bridal spirituality cannot be jettisoned. Marriage is the fundamental metaphor for the spiritual life. It is the great sacrament as St. Paul says in Ephesians 5. It is the sacrament of nature; man is created male and female, and as such is the image and likeness of God. Christ is, in fact the Bridegroom and the Church the Bride. These realities are too fundamental to minimize.

If we adopt the language of Benedict XVI which he uses in the inaugural encyclical of his pontificate, Deus Caritas Est, and speak about the necessary balancing of eros (possessive love) by agape (oblative love), indeed if we assert the primacy of agape over eros, I think we have the answer to what sometimes might legitimately be perceived a feminizing tendency of bridal spirituality. Asceticism or perhaps better, spiritual discipline need not appear exclusively contemplative and oriented to religious experience. It is also part of the training of the whole man to confront the World, the Flesh and the Devil, our cosmic enemies. Likewise, Marian devotion is not merely the imitation of Our Lady's virtues, particularly Her feminine virtues, but a commitment to defend all that is true, good and beautiful. Our Captain, Christ the Lord, enters into battle for the sake of His Bride and defeats the Dragon, but only at the oblative cost of His life. Yes, in the end oblation is a manner of submissiveness to the provident will of God. It is obedience. But it is also an undaunted militance. It is warrior spirituality. It seems that the real argument here is about the right balance.

On Saturday, one of the guys asked if I could give a practical example where the critique of Muscular Christianity against Catholic spirituality has shown itself false. After a little thought, I replied that perhaps the best example is the almost universal compromise of Protestantism with contraception. Wayward eroticism not only produces effete men who are more occupied with words and feelings than actions and principles, it also produces, as we know, men who brutally subordinate women to their own desire for sexual gratification. Only in the Church where the Virginity of Our Lady, and the ideals of consecrated chastity have been retained has the full doctrine on the sanctity of matrimony and chaste love survived.

Contraception is a plague upon our world which must be fought to the death, and those who choose to do so face humanly insurmountable odds. Even in nations where the demographics are radically changing and birthrates are well below the replacement rates, governments are finding that their efforts to encourage large families with entitlements are ineffective. The sort of self-indulgence which is involved in contracepting the future has certainly not produced a manly culture.  On the other hand, facing the monster and fighting against it, no matter how difficult or lonely the quest might be, is exactly the militant and evangelical spirit necessary to restore manliness to religious experience.

It seems to me that it is only chivalry, specifically Marian Chivarly, that guarantees for men, both prayer and action, chastity and strength, obedience and authority.  I will fully admit, though, that if Our Lady remains only and ideal and not the living and acting Queen Mother in the order of grace and prayer, then the extremes are not likely to be avoided.

I can only say that I am not much of a crusader, but at least I am not a Mohammedan.

Well, I don't think anyone would get away with saying something like that today. G.K. was so warmly welcomed by the students of Holy Cross College, because, as was said, he was one of the "foremost Cruaders in the modern world of letters," meaning he was not a skeptic and was willing to defend his position; meaning he was also a Catholic and willing to defend his position.

In accepting the honor, Chesterton was typically self-deprecating. This is especially edifying, considering that he was to receive, posthumously, from Pius XI the title "Defender of the Faith," a title once granted by Leo X to Henry VIII for his defense of the Catholic faith against the Protestant heresy.

The selection of the Crusader as the mascot of Holy Cross college, back in 1925, had seems to have been more or less unrelated to the themes of this blog:

Holy Cross's athletic teams for both men and women are known as the Crusaders. It is reported that the name "Crusader" was first associated with Holy Cross in 1884 at an alumni banquet in Boston, where an engraved Crusader mounted on an armored horse appeared at the head of the menu.

The name was rediscovered by Stanley Woodward, a sports reporter for the Boston Herald, when he used the term "Crusader" to describe the Holy Cross baseball team in a story written in 1925. The name appealed to the Holy Cross student body, which held a vote later in that year to decide whether this cognomen or one of the other two currently in use - "Chiefs" and "Sagamores"- would be adopted. On October 6, 1925, The Tomahawk, an earlier name of the student newspaper, reported that the results of the ballot were: Crusaders 143, Chiefs 17, Sagamores.

However, the connection between the history of the Crusaders and Mr. Gilbert Keith Chesterton, did not go unnoticed by the students of Holy Cross. I wonder what would be said about this crusading business today on the campus of the average Catholic university or college. Well, for example . . . or how about this?

Unfortunately, it might not be until our Catholic universities are operated under sharia law that we will have more admiration for the simple honesty and humility of the Chestertonian response.

Several things or going on this week. First of all, I am on my way up to our friary in Maine NY, Mount St. Francis to visit our friars there before my trip to Rome during the first part of May. I will be there for our general chapter, which will conclude on Pentecost. Please pray for our community during this important time.

I will be back for the Third Thursday Night Holy Hour for the Fathers of our Families (program). This will be the third holy hour of the novena which will conclude in October just before the presidential election.

I have long encouraged the Knights of Lepanto to engage in Catholic action and our Third Thursday Meetings have been oriented in that direction. It is, however, far more important to pray and I have not wanted to neglect this. Hence the novena.

This particular month, I have invited Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut to speak following the holy. I will be putting up a post shortly on the work of Peter at FIC. I am inviting all local men to come and learn more about how you can help to protect marriage and family life in Connecticut.

Thirdly, on Saturday, April 19 I will be directing a day of recollection at the friary for the Knights of Lepanto, specifically for all the first year members who are in need of their basic formation. This is open to all those who are formal MIM members and who attend the Knights' meetings, including those who have already finished the first year formation and would like to review or just attend for their spiritual benefit.

We are planning on an early day, so that the whole Saturday is not shot for the guys who have stuff to do around the house. WE BEGIN AT 8:30 AM.

Here are the topics I will be covering on Saturday:

1. What is the group, The Knights of Lepanto? (Article 1 and 2, KL Directory)

• History
• The Name
• Nature and Purpose

2. Is there such a Thing as Catholic Masculinity?

• The Problem within the Family and the Church
• The Fatherhood of God
• Reclaiming Masculinity and Fatherhood

3. Do Grown Men Need Our Lady?

• The Imitation of Christ
• Mary and the Church
• Motherhood and Femininity