THE CRISTERO MOVEMENT WAS NOT IN VAIN: HIS HOLINESS PIUS XII

RADIO MESSAGE FROM HIS HOLINESS PIUS XII TO THE MEXICAN FAITHFUL ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CANONICAL CORONATION OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

Friday, October 12, 1945

Venerable Brothers and beloved children, gathered around Our Most Worthy Cardinal Legate, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the canonical coronation of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

More than three centuries had passed since the day the sweet Mother of Tepeyac began to receive the homage of the Catholics of Mexico and all of America, on the throne she herself had chosen; you held her in the center of your hearts and for this reason you had repeatedly proclaimed her your Lady and Patroness;  You had first dedicated a hermitage to her, then a chapel, then a temple, and finally a magnificent Basilica; Mexican voices acclaimed her continually, and the cry never ceased: Noble Indian woman, Mother of God; Noble Indian woman, our Mother. But your piety was still not satisfied; you wanted to see her crowned, as befitted a sovereign. She was your Queen, and the Queen had to be crowned!

And finally, your wish was fulfilled. Fifty years ago today—the chronicles recall—the newly restored Basilica was a blazing hot; tens of thousands of pilgrims thronged its spacious naves and spilled out into the surrounding area; almost forty bishops bowed reverently in the sanctuary; the cheers, hymns, and prayers reached heaven.  And when the golden crown shone upon that angelic brow, the cry, barely contained until then, finally burst forth from every heart and every mouth: “Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe, Empress of America and Queen of Mexico!” The spectacle was so beautiful, it seemed like a sweet dream. In reality, it was nothing more than the conscious and serene triumph of your love and your faith.

A most fitting tribute. For who could ignore what that nation owed to that Lady? Who could fail to remember the crucial role She had played in their vocation to the true Church, in their preservation within the practice and purity of a faith that had been like the crucible in which their young and powerful nation had been forged?

The Blessed Virgin was the providential instrument, chosen by the designs of the Heavenly Father, to give and present His precious Son to the world; to be Mother and Queen of the Apostles, who were to spread His doctrine everywhere;  to always crush heresies, and even to intervene miraculously at all times, wherever necessary for the establishment, consolidation, and defense of the holy Catholic faith. “Through Her,” says a great devotee of Mary, “the Holy Cross is celebrated and adored throughout the universe…; through Her every creature, imprisoned in the errors of idolatry, is led to the knowledge of the truth;… through Her the Apostles preached salvation to the nations” [1].

And so it happened, when God’s appointed time struck for the vast regions of Anáhuac. They had barely opened themselves to the world when, on the shores of Lake Texcoco, the miracle blossomed. On the tilma of poor Juan Diego—as tradition relates—brushes not of this world painted a most sweet image, which the corrosive work of the centuries would miraculously preserve.  The kind young maiden asked for a seat from which to "show and give all her love and compassion, help and defense... to all the inhabitants of that land and to all others who invoked her and trusted in her." From that historic moment, total evangelization was accomplished. And, what is more, a banner was raised, a fortress erected, against which the fury of all storms would break; one of the fundamental pillars of faith in Mexico and throughout the Americas was firmly established. As if the Cross, which, on this very day, across the turbulent waves, the fragile Spanish caravels had carried to the new continent, had been entrusted to the frail hands of that young woman, so that she might carry it triumphantly throughout those lands, plant it everywhere, and then retire to her rocky castle, overlooking ancient Tenochtitlán, to reign from there over the entire new world and watch over its faith;  "For, to use the felicitous expressions of one of your poets, she knows that such a daughter—proclaiming her Queen—faithfully preserves the deposit of faith that saves the world."

Today, beloved American congressmen, Our thoughts, with flight swifter and more certain than the waves that carry Our voice to you, place Us in your midst; and once again Our spirit is comforted by admiring your countless numbers, your boundless enthusiasm: by seeing that at this moment more than fifty Archbishops and Bishops represent there, in your midst, the faith of all the peoples of America; by receiving, in the person of Our Legate, the magnificent testimonies of your filial devotion, which are already known to Us. And by verifying that the center of all these fervors continues to be your Exalted Patroness, by seeing, almost with Our own eyes, that you continue to acclaim the Virgin of Guadalupe as your Mother and your Queen, We raise Our eyes to Heaven and give thanks to the Author of all good, because in this love and in this fidelity we wish to see the guarantee of the preservation of your faith.

For her sake, Mexican Catholics, your brothers and your parents were victims of persecution, and to defend her they faced death without hesitation, with the double cry of “Long live Christ the King! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!” Today, the conditions of the Church and of Religion in your homeland have improved remarkably, demonstrating that that invocation and that steadfastness were not in vain. But it is up to you, to you and to all American Catholics, to remain firm in your position, aware of your rights, with your heads always held high before the enemies of today and always: those who do not want Mary because they do not want Jesus, those who would like to sideline or ignore Jesus, thus robbing Mary of the most precious of her titles. Faced with their rebellion, your fidelity. May the dark-skinned Virgin of Tepeyac, the Empress of America and Queen of Mexico, not have to weep for desertions. May she, as she was yesterday, also be proud of her children tomorrow.

Your Congress, gathering thousands of signatures, has acclaimed her as "Sedes sapientiae," the throne of wisdom. Do not forget, Catholics of Mexico and all of America: true wisdom is that which she gave us, that which she teaches us in the name of Incarnate Wisdom. "Hail, most abundant fountain from which flow the streams of divine wisdom, repelling with the purest and clearest waters of orthodoxy the turbulent waves of error![2] Hail, O Virgin of Guadalupe! We, to whom the admirable disposition of Divine Providence entrusted, without regard for Our unworthiness, the sacred treasure of divine wisdom on earth, for the salvation of all souls, today place anew upon your brow the crown, which forever places under your powerful patronage the purity and integrity of the holy faith in Mexico and throughout the American continent."  Because we are certain that as long as You are recognized as Queen and as Mother, America and Mexico have been saved.

Let the Apostolic Blessing, which we wholeheartedly give you, be a pledge of these Our desires at this present time.

* AAS 37 (1945) 264-267

[1] St. Cyril Alexis, Hom. 4 ex diversis: MIGNE, PG, 77, 991.

[2] St. Germain Const., Sermon 1 in SS Deip. Praesent., n. 14: MIGNE, PG, 48, 305-306.

THE MEXICAN TEENAGER WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR CHRIST ON FEBRUARY 10, 1928

José Luis Sánchez del Río (1913–1928) was a young Mexican teenager and martyr of the Cristero War, a religious conflict that occurred during the persecution of Catholics by the Mexican government between 1926 and 1929.

He was born on March 28, 1913, in Sahuayo, Michoacán, into a Catholic family. From a young age, he showed a deep faith and admiration for those who defended religious freedom during the persecution of the Church in the country.

At the age of 13, he asked to join the Cristero forces, not as a combatant, but as an assistant, caring for horses and helping with basic tasks. He was captured by government troops in 1928 after a confrontation.

During his captivity, he was pressured to renounce his faith.  According to surviving accounts, he repeatedly refused. Finally, after being cruelly tortured, he was executed on February 10, 1928, in his hometown of Sahuayo. Tradition recounts that his last words were: “Long live Christ the King!”

Decades later, his story began to spread widely. He was canonized on October 16, 2016.

Today he is considered a symbol of religious fidelity and youthful courage, especially in Mexico, and his feast day is celebrated on February 10.

THE GREAT POWER OF THE HOLY ROSARY

 

IT IS NECESSARY TO BE WHOLLY GOD'S.

I. The means we must employ to be totally the Lord's is detachment from the world. If your position does not allow you to share your possessions with the poor, at least detach your heart from riches and worldly vanities. You cannot serve two masters at once; you cannot be both God's and the world's at the same time. Choose, of these two paths, the one that is more advantageous to you. Is it necessary to think too much when it comes to giving yourself to You, O my God?

II. Consider the rewards the world bestows on those who serve it. Solomon was showered with all the goods of the earth, and yet he declared that everything is vanity. Ask yourself: Is it not true that you are already dissatisfied with the goods of the world as soon as you possess them; that your spirit has never been fully content and that something has always been lacking in your happiness?  Deceitful world, why do you promise us so many things you cannot give?

III. If you truly wish to confess the truth, you will agree with me that you have never been happier or more content than after performing some act of virtue. If Jesus Christ rewards you so generously in this world, what will He not reserve for you in the next? If the pleasures the devil offers are tinged with such bitterness, what torments await you! Surrender yourself to God, and you will see that there is no pleasure comparable to that which is found in the service of this most loving Lord.

FEBRUARY 2: THE PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND THE PRESENTATION OF THE CHILD JESUS ​​IN THE TEMPLE

Adorn, Zion, your dwelling, and receive Christ the King; embrace Mary, who is the heavenly gate, for she brings the King of glory, of the new light. The Virgin pauses, holding in her hands the Son conceived before the dawn; and Simeon, taking him in his arms, proclaims to the nations that he is the Lord of life and death, and the Savior of the world.

January 31: Saint John Bosco

 

CONCUBINAGE

Concubinage is the state in which a man and a woman live as if married without having received the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Concubinage is a crime (OF FORNICATION) before God, an abomination before the Church, and a public scandal before society.

CIVIL MARRIAGE

Since marriage is a Sacrament, its celebration among Christians lies completely outside civil jurisdiction.

In marriage between Christians, the contract cannot be separated from the Sacrament, because marriage is the very natural contract raised by Jesus Christ to the dignity of a Sacrament.

Therefore, for a Christian there can be no true marriage that is not a Sacrament.

For Christians, only religious marriage is valid, and whoever does not marry through the Church is not married. Consequently, for a Christian, so-called civil marriage is not a valid marriage and is null even when considered as a mere contract.

If one were to enter into it because it is obligatory or civilly necessary, it would be solely in order to give effect to its civil consequences.

The Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth, Pope Pius IX, stated this very clearly in an Allocution with these words:

“Every other union of man and woman, outside the Sacrament, entered into by virtue of any civil law whatsoever, is not marriage among Christians and is absolutely condemned.”

Therefore, Christians who are united ONLY civilly (in reality, in concubinage) and live as husband and wife live in a continual state of mortal sin. The same applies to those who, having contracted a religious marriage, resort to the INVALID civil divorce and supposedly “remarry” civilly. Those who live in concubinage must either marry through the Church or separate. Those who were religiously married, divorced, and then united “conjugally,” whether by “civil marriage” or otherwise, must separate from that false conjugal union. In both cases, if death overtakes them in that state, their souls will be condemned to hell for all eternity.

The children of Christians united only civilly are illegitimate before God, before the Church, and before persons of upright conscience.

Where the law so requires, the marriage must be registered in the civil registry in order to grant and secure civil effects for the married couple and their offspring.

But the Christian who is instructed in matters of religion, when registering in the civil registry, does not intend to truly contract marriage, but merely to fulfill a formality imposed by law for civil effects.

The law of civil marriage, in the form established in some nations as a substitute for true sacramental marriage, is contrary and offensive to the Catholic Religion.

It is an affront to Catholics to oblige them to perform a civil marriage as a substitute for the religious one, since they can recognize no true marriage other than the religious marriage.

Only an ignorant or impious Catholic (the impious person is no longer Catholic, but a renegade) can recognize civil marriage as a true marriage. The state could, with reason, require that once the religious marriage has been celebrated, it be immediately registered in the Civil Registry.

But the state cannot in any way, without offending the religious sentiments of conscientious Catholics, consider the act of civil registration as the celebration of marriage. Evidently, in secular—indeed atheistic—governments, civil marriage is considered true marriage even for believers.

Even in non-Catholic nations, if freedom of conscience were respected, the state should have no other requirement for Catholics than the registration of the marriage in the Civil Registry.