The Papal Zouaves

Fourth part: Toward the Battle

By June 1860, the training of the new recruits could begin. The battalion went out for a first exercise. The Holy Father himself reviewed the troop in the evening and exhorted the men. Enthusiasm and cheerfulness were not lacking, and Monsignor Talbot, a camerier of the Pope, would tell that Pius IX appreciated the spirit of the men. Then, the battalion left the Eternal City for a few weeks of training that gave full satisfaction to Becdelièvre. The people from the country displayed cordiality when the troop went through their villages. It was quite comforting to see that many Italian people loved and supported the Pope. Meanwhile the organization of the corps was set up: supplies, equipment, weapons and ammunition were distributed. The fusion between the French and the Belgian was well carried out, and new recruits continued to arrive. Other units composed with volunteers of different countries were organized at the request of General de La Moricière, such as a corps of cavalry. In less than a month, La Moricière muffled all the critics that had said it was impossible to create an international corps. The General, who had served in North Africa, certainly remembered the example of the Foreign Legion created in 1831, and he knew that with discipline, everything was possible. The cohabitation of men from different countries even fostered a sound competitiveness that pushed the whole group toward a greater perfection. Yet, it was a difficult task that required many efforts and attention from the officers.

A new uniform was finally presented to Monsignor de Mérode who approved it. It was a combination of the uniform of the Zouaves of Africa and the one of the French infantry: the dress was blue with red trimmings. This uniform would change the title of “bataillon de tirailleurs” into the famous “zouaves pontificaux.”

During the summer, the situation became more tense as the revolutionary troops intensified their pressure. With an impulse of greatness, La Moricière exclaimed: “If France abandons Rome, and if Austria permits the violation of the treaty of Villafranca and the invasion of the Papal States, we shall go to the sanctuary of Loreto and pick the standard given by His Holiness Pius V to Juan of Austria, the hero of Lepanto. We shall lead the Pope to Ancona. Then we shall see if Christian Europe would contemplate without stirring Pius IX besieged and bombarded by the barbarians of the XIX century.”

The strength of the Papal Army was now 18,000 men. La Moricière organized the Army in three columns positioned on the line that goes from Rome to Ancona. General de Pimodan received the order to deploy his brigade around the city of Terni. This little corps was composed, in addition to the Zouaves, of two battalions of Italian volunteers, one battalion of Swiss Carabineers, one battalion of Austrian Bersaglieri, a squadron of cavalry, and six pieces of artillery. The two others corps were deployed around Foligno and Macerata. La Moricière remained with a reserve in the middle of his deployment in Spoleto. He could join one of his corps and reinforce it wherever a serious menace would appear. He knew that something would happen in the very near future. Garibaldi had to attack before the Army of the Pope became too strong. But its General–in–Chief had no idea about the huge wave that would break soon.

In fact, it was not the little troop of Garibaldi, considered as a gang of bandits, that would frighten the Papal Army led by well experienced officers who have fought on many battlefields. Colonel de Becdelièvre explained that the morale was excellent in the camp. French and Austrian officers met every evening and the “gatherings were joyful as long as it was just about fighting against Garibaldi.” But in the beginning of September, an event changed the situation. Piedmont had officially declared the war on the Papal States, with the passive approbation of Napoléon III. La Moricière took this as a betrayal and an act of hypocrisy. As a result, some Italian troop of the Papal Army refused to fire on other Italian fellows.

La Moricière received an ultimatum from General Franti, who led the Army of Piedmont, which was composed of 35,000 men. Franti’s Army had already taken possession of Perugia and Spoleto. La Moricière found his communication cut off and decided to reach the last fortress in the power of the Papal troops: Ancona. He urged General de Pimodan to redeploy his brigade as fast as possible around the city. It was necessary to arrive before the Piedmont Army. By the 12th of September, a column of 4,000 men were en route toward Ancona. The weather was extremely hot and it took four days to arrive. La Moricière was already there. He ordered a day of rest and of preparation for the battle that would be on the 18th.

“His men passed the day of the 17th in religious exercises and in going to confession, Countess Cesaresco wrote in The Liberation of Italy. The vicinity of the Holy House of Loreto, brought hither by angels from Bethlehem, filled the young Breton soldiers with transport of religious fervor. La Moricière had taken from the Santa Casa some of the flags of the victors of Lepanto to wave over his columns. In the battle of the next day the French fought with the gallantry of the Vendéens, whose descendants they were, and the Irish behaved as Irishmen generally behave under fire.”

Colonel de Becdelièvre gathered his Zouaves on the eve of the battle. “The hour that you were longing for since you joined the army of the Holy See is now near. Tomorrow you will see the enemy, and we know that this day will be hot. You will do your duties as valiant soldiers, and you will not forget that we fight for the cause of God. For that reason you must prepare yourselves to appear in front of Him. Tomorrow, many of us will be gone. Therefore I urge you to do what many military chiefs would not dare to tell. Go to our chaplain, as I am going to do now. Let everybody be prepared for tomorrow.”

The sun rose on the morning of this bloody day of September 18th, 1860. It was to be a fatal day.

The Papal Zouaves

Third part: creating a new army

General de la Moricière was now officially appointed Commander in Chief of the Papal army, but this would create some tensions with the French Government. La Moricière had been an opponent to the regime of Napoleon III from the beginning. He had promised to never take arms against France, but this did not mean he would accept the politic of her Government. “I gave my sword to the Pope, I recommend my soul to God, but I do not want to take anything from the Emperor, to keep my honor safe,” he wrote. General Goyon, who was the head of the French troops in Rome, had a great admiration for La Moricière, and he did everything he could to make the situation better for everyone, but Napoleon displayed more and more impatience. In fact, the attitude of the Emperor and his politics regarding the Roman Question were quite ambiguous. On one hand he was in favor of the Italian unity, and on the other he claimed to be a defender of the Papal State.

By April 9th, 1860, General de la Moricière issued his first Order of the Day, by which he took possession of his commandment:

“Soldiers, our Holy Father, Pope Pius VII, having deigned to call me to defend His rights, which are unrecognized and threatened, I did not hesitate to take again my sword. To the echo of that venerable voice which, not long ago, from the high of the Vatican, made the world know the perils that threaten the patrimony of Saint Peter, the Catholics have been moved. Their emotion quickly expands across the earth. Indeed, Christianity is not only the religion of the civilized world, but it is even the principle and the life of civilization, since the Papacy has been the center of Christianity. All Christian nations show in this time that they are aware of these great truths that constitute our faith. The Revolution, as in former times Islam, threatens today Europe, and today, as it was the case then, the cause of the Papacy is the cause of civilization and the liberty of the world.
Soldiers, have courage, and be assured that God will keep up our courage and raise it for the cause He entrusted to our arms.”

General in Chief de La Moricière.”

Now, there was an urgent task to begin, which was to organize an army. Uprisings had begun in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and by May 6th, Garibaldi boarded with a troop of one thousand volunteers. King Francis II would not hold too long his defense. Cavour had managed to have Napoléon III on his side with the condition that Rome remained with the Pope and that Nice and Savoy are given to France. In 1859, the French-Piedmontese army had defeated Austria, which was no longer in position to help the Holy Father. At the end of the year 1859, Tuscany, Parma, Modena and the Legations became the United Province of Central Italy. Austria was powerless and the Pope could not rely upon Napoléon. It was necessary to act quickly.

In April 1860, the Papal troop was composed only of eleven battalions, for a total of 600 men, very poorly equipped. Cavalry and artillery were almost inexistent. La Moricière would need first some fine officers that he could trust entirely. Messieurs de Pimodan, de Chevigné, de Lorgeril, and de Bourbon-Chalus accepted to organize the Headquarter and the new army. Officers of the former Papal Army joined them. Then it was necessary to recruit at least 20,000 soldiers. The call of the Holy Father had been heard. Soon, 5,000 Austrians, 3,000 Swiss, 3,000 Irish, and hundreds of French and Belgians, and even a little contingent from Quebec, would arrive. Organizing an army with volunteers of different countries, speaking different languages, and having different habits and traditions was not an easy task, but La Moricière, who had gained a great experience in North Africa, could manage this situation.

The French and the Belgians were joined together in a battalion of “tirailleurs pontificaux,” which would soon become the famous “Zouaves Pontificaux.” It was a valiant former officer of the French Army who took command of this unit, Lieutenant Colonel de Becdelièvre, who did not remain in charge for a long time (as we will see later), but whose testimony is precious, as evidenced in his writing, “Memories of the Papal Zouaves.”

De Becdelièvre had served eight years in the French Army and was no longer in active duty when he heard the news that General de La Moricière needed men. He went to Rome and met with the General and Monsignor de Mérode. By June 1st, he was officially appointed as “Chef de Bataillon des tirailleurs pontificaux.” La Moricière instructed him to begin his duties immediately. The newly appointed “Chef de Bataillon,” who did not even have a uniform, obeyed and went right away to his new quarters. He had to begin the organization of the battalion with only 70 men. Captain de Charette gathered the troops and Becdelièvre delivered his first message:

“Messieurs, this is the first and last time I call you this way. I have received from the General in Chief, who himself has his power from the Pope, the honor to command you. I do not yet have a military uniform, but this is my patent, and from now I take command of this corps. We have been called to defend the cause of God, and we must keep in our minds that, in a Pontifical army, distinctions of nationalities and of races have no place, especially in such a critical time when union is our strength. You would give a sad representation of your dedication, and we could suspect your intentions, if you would not immediately understand that, belonging to the French nation, you cannot shrink from privations and fatigue. On this day, the first company will be constituted. The Belgians will be mixed with the French, and it will always be like this. You will submit to this order; such is the will of your General in Chief, and I have been appointed by him in order to execute his orders. "



Lieutenant-Colonel de Becdelièvre would tell later that the orders were quickly understood. “As I appealed to their Catholic hearts, I was understood. One has to acknowledge that never I have met in the French army more submissive or braver soldiers.” The story of the Papal Zouaves was about to begin.

The Papal Zouaves

Articles published in Upon This Rock, April and June 2009

First part: historical background

The French Revolution had initiated a process that has totally changed the face of Europe. In the XIX century, the borders and the sovereignties had become the pieces of an international chessboard that constantly moved according to the result of the military actions and the revolutions within the states. Italy had not escaped from the wind of the great changes of this time. After the proclamation of the French Republic, several republican insurrections broke out here and there in the kingdoms and duchies of Italy. Many Sovereigns of Italy were allied or relatives of the House of France, such as Charles Emmanuel of Sardinia and Savoy, who was the brother-in-law of the future Louis XVIII, or Mary-Caroline of Austria, Queen of Naples and of Sicily, who was the sister of the Queen of France, Marie-Antoinette.

In 1796, the new French Republic sent its armies into Italy to help the revolutionaries overthrow the Monarchs and to create Republics. It is during this campaign that a young general distinguished himself at the Bridge of Arcole. His name would be soon known in the whole world: Bonaparte. Italy became a kind of annex of France when Napoleon, then Emperor of the French, proclaimed himself King of Italy, while he gave the Kingdom of Naples first to his brother Joseph, and then to Murat.

The Italian Campaigns of 1796-1797 brought to an end a long alliance between the Church and her eldest Daughter. In 754, King Pepin the Short promised to give the Pope the land of the Lombards in a document known as the Donation of Pepin. His son, Charlemagne, would confirm this act 20 years later. The Donation of Pepin provided a legal basis for the erection of the Pontifical States. The Kingdom of France had been predestined by God for the defense of the Roman Church (Testament of Saint Remy). Now, the French Republic would become the persecutor of the Church. The pact that has been sealed in Reims would be rejected.

By February 11th, 1798, Rome was occupied by the armies of General Berthier. The Roman Republic is proclaimed. Pius VI left Rome during the night of the 20th of February, 1798. He found a refuge in the Carthusian monastery of Florence, but he was finally caught by the troops of General Berthier and brought to France. He died, prisoner in Valence, on August 29th, 1799.

His successor, Pope Pius VII, restored the Pontifical States after the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and that had reestablished the borders of the countries as they were before the Revolution of 1789. The former Monarchs returned on their thrones: Francis IV, Duke of Modena, Reggio and Mirandola; Ferdinand III, as Grand Duke of Tuscany for the House of Habsburg; Ferdinand IV, as King of the Two Sicilies; and Maria Luisa, Infanta of Spain, as Duchess of Lucca for the House of Bourbon.

But the liberal ideas inspired by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution contributed to the blooming of a national romantic ideal. The Carbonari spread throughout Italy, and in spite of their condemnation by Pius VII (Papal Constitution Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo, 1821) , realized an increasing success. Many uprisings instigated by the Carbonari broke out in the 1820’s and 1830’s throughout the peninsula. Pope Leo XII, who had been elected in 1823, renewed the condemnation of the Carbonari in the Apostolic Constitution Quo Graviora in 1826:

Would that those who were in charge of matters then had assumed these Decrees to be of such value as the salvation of both the Church and the State was demanding! Would that they had convinced themselves that they ought to respect in the Roman Pontiffs, Successors of Blessed Peter, not only the Universal Pastors and Teachers of the Church, but also the Vigorous Defenders of their Dignity, and the most diligent heralds of the dangers which threaten! Would that they had used that power of theirs for dismembering the sects whose pernicious devices had been exposed to them by the Apostolic See! Already from that time they had plainly put into effect their cause. And because they judged that this cause was needing to be treated with indifference or at least treated very trivially, whether by the deceit of the sectarians cunningly hiding their affairs, whether by the imprudent counsels of some, from those old Masonic sects which have never languished, very many others have arisen much more dangerous and more audacious than the former. The sect of the Carbonari, which was considered the leader of all the others in Italy and in some other regions, was considered to embrace as if in its bosom all these, and having divided into, as it were, various branches diverse in name only, undertook to fight most vehemently against the Catholic Religion and every topmost legitimate civil power. Which being a disaster, so that he might free Italy and other regions, indeed even the very Pontifical Domain – into which, because the Pontifical Government had been obstructed for so long a time, the sect had insinuated itself. Pius VII of happy memory, in whose place We have been chosen, condemned with the gravest penalties the sect of the Carbonari, or with the passage of time by whatever other name it might be called according to the diversity of places, of idioms and of men, by a Constitution published on the 13th of September in the year 1821 whose beginning is: Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo.

In spite of the condemnations, the movement continued to develop, led by Mazzini, Cavour, and Garibaldi. Then began Il Risorgimento - The Resurgence - with the first Italian War of Independence in 1848. After the assassination of Pellegrino Rossi, Minister of Justice of the Papal States in November, 1848, Pius IX fled from Rome to Gaeta. The Roman Republic was proclaimed in 1849. France, who was then under the Presidency of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the future Emperor Napoléon III, sent an army to support the Pope. General Oudinot took Rome and reestablished the Pontifical power.

But the Papal States had been weakened and the Pontifical armies were just a shadow of an army. It is at this time that Monsignor François Xavier de Mérode, of the illustrious Belgian House of Mérode and Minister of the Armies of Pius IX, decided to create a new army for the honor and the defense of the Papacy. The adventure of the Papal Zouaves would begin.

Second Part :The General of the Pope

Louis Juchault de La Moricière came back from Africa in 1846 with a great prestige that allowed him to deal with princes, ministers, and all the political leaders as an equal. After brilliant military successes in Algeria and Morocco, where he gained the nickname of Bou Chechia, ‘the man who wears a chechia,’ General de La Moricière thought that there would be something good to do with these great territories, especially in the area of agriculture. North Africa needed “Christian arms to work the soil.” He pacified these territories as a soldier; now he would participate in their development as a politician.

At forty years, Louis de La Moricière began a new career in which he would be as successful as he was in his military career. Deputy in 1846, he was appointed Minister of the War two years later. But in 1851, he was arrested for being opposed to the coup d’état of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte. He was sent in exile to Belgium and probably thought that his career was now over. This period gave him an occasion to nurture his faith.

It is at this time that Pius IX, advised by Monsignor de Mérode, decided to reorganize the Pontifical Army. In the political context of the middle of the XIX century, the Pope could not entrust the survival of His territories to any sovereign country. The intervention of the Army of Oudinot gave Pius IX a certain respite, but it would not last long. His last recourse was then to call the children of the Church from all over the world and to organize an army under the command of a General, as Saint Pius V did when he gave full power to Marc-Anthony Colona, who defeated the Turks.

“He chose for this mission General de La Moricière, Emile Keller writes. This man had the most brilliant military reputation of this time and was then disengaged of any obligations toward his Government. He was not involved with any political party and had given proofs of his love for order and liberty. He came back to God with a pure faith matured by the harshest adversities.”

But there was still a question: would he accept? Nothing was certain. La Moricière had fought for many years, but in a well organized army and for his country. In a certain way, he was asked now to be a kind of mercenary at the head of a troop that had poor means and was hardly organized. Moreover, though he was a man of principles and faith, he was nevertheless not so certain about the necessity of maintaining a form of political power that was a vestige of the old regime.

Pius IX sent Monsieur de Corcelles, ambassador of France to the Holy See and former Deputy, to General de La Moricière. The two men knew each other very well. La Moricière’s answer was direct: “I think that it is a cause for which I would be happy to die.” We have learned from his correspondence how great a sacrifice this was for him and his family, as it was for thousands of Catholics, known or unknown, who left their families and countries to serve the Pope. The sacrifice was even greater, as many relatives and friends of La Moricière tried to persuade him to renounce such a foolish project. The answer of the great General was always the same: “When a father calls his son in order to defend him, there is only one thing to do: you go.”

In March 1860, Monsignor de Mérode, who knew La Moricière when he visited the province of Oran as a Belgium officer, paid a visit to La Moricière in his chateau of Prouzel. In the name of Pius IX, Monsignor de Mérode officially asked him to take the command of the army. The day after, La Moricière and his devoted wife offered their resolution to God in their parish church. Nothing would make him change his mind.
This great General and organizer knew that the mission was almost impossible. It was certainly a difficult cause, yet not a desperate one, as there is always a chance of victory. La Moricière was very lucid. “My hope is only in God,” he wrote to friend the day before his departure. “For what I know, the strength of a man can not suffice for the work that I am about to begin.”

By March 19th the new Commander in Chief of the Papal Army began his trip with his dear saber of Africa that he did not want to leave. It would share the glory of this cause. La Moricière asked a dear friend, François Cattoir, to come with him and Monsignor de Mérode. The three men traveled to Italy, passing by Belgium and Germany. In Cologne, they stopped to pray in the Cathedral and venerate the relics of the Wise Men. In the old days, the Family of Mérode had hosted these relics in their chateau. For this reason, the knights of the family of Mérode were granted to enter the vault of the Cathedral of Cologne with their swords. On this day, Monsignor François Xavier de Mérode had the saber of General de La Moricière under his cassock.

The three travelers arrived in Rome by April 2nd, 1860. La Moricière immediately wrote to the Pope and expressed again his desire to serve him under the only condition of never fighting against France. Pius IX accepted his service with joy and gratitude and the two men met together. The General offered his person and his saber to the Pontiff who was charmed by his prestige and his candor. From this day, the Holy Father had never refused anything to the man who represented the last chance of protecting the Pontifical States. But much more was still to be done, and the difficulties would come soon enough.

Continuation of the story of the Papal Zouaves in Upon This Rock, February 2011, soon on line!

A church for the Glory of God

Saint Pio de Pietrelcina Latin Mass Community needs your help

for a great project:

- A Romanesque Church, for the glory of God, where the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass shall be offered daily according to the ancient magnificent Liturgy.

- A school for Saint John Bosco Academy and Saint Caecilia Academy where our children will receive an authentic Catholic education.

We need your help so that our dream may become reality. We found a beautiful property for sales in Ash Flat, Arkansas that would be perfect for our project. A house would serve as a rectory for the priest and a barn as a provisory chapel until we build our future Romanesque Church.

Rectory and office

A provisary chapel

The location of our future church

Help us and participate to a great project for the restoration of the Catholic culture. You may send your donation by check (order to Cherokee Village Latin Mass Community) at the following address:

Saint Pio de Pietrelcina Latin Mass Community
40 Matecumbe Drive
Cherokee Village AR 72529

Or with Paypal (click the link on the top right of the blog)

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered once a month for the Benefactors.

Ut In Omnimbus Glorificetur Deus

A pilgrimage in Louisiana

Pilgrimage of Thanksgiving and of Reparation
From Baton Rouge to New Orleans
November 25th – 27th

Three days of prayer, of sacrifice, but also of joy and Christian friendship, in thanksgiving for all the good graces received and in reparation for all the sins committed, especially the sin of abortion. As pilgrims on earth, we want to advance on the road to heaven and bring with us as many souls as we can. A pilgrimage is a time of conversion and of mission. Join us in this spiritual journey for the kingdom of Christ.

“On the uphill path, sandy and troublesome.
On the uphill road.
Dragged along, hanging from the arms of her two older sisters,
Who hold her by the hand,
The little Hope
Pushes on.
And in between her two older sisters she seems to let herself be carried.
Like a child who lacks the energy to walk
And is dragged along the road in spite of herself.
But in reality it is she who moves the other two
And who carries them,
And who moves the whole world.”

Charles Péguy, The Portal of the Mystery of Hope.

The pilgrimage will begin with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Thursday 25th at 7 am at Saint Agnes church, Baton Rouge (749 East Boulevard) We shall walk to New Orleans. Confession and spiritual direction will be available during the walk. For those who cannot walk all the way, vehicles will follow us. The pilgrimage will end Saturday 27th with a High Mass at the shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos (2030 Constance Street, New Orleans) at noon.
Bring good shoes, food and beverage, a sleeping bag, your rosary and your joy and good zeal.

Voting Right - Voting the Commandments

Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary

Sermon for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost

Saint Paul helps us today to continue our meditation on the virtue of humility. We have seen last week that this virtue is necessary for justification, and that all the works performed without this excellent virtue are useless. We have also seen that everything we have has been given by God and that, therefore, there is no reason for us to be proud. True humility does not make us deny our gifts, but rather use them for the glory of God. It supposes that we acknowledge first our gifts. It is what our Blessed Mother did when she said her Magnificat: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty has done great things to me: and holy is his name. It is what Saint Paul does when he says: By the grace of God, I am what I am. He, who was a persecutor of the Church, is now one of her Apostles, and this is the work of the grace of God.

Holy Scriptures teaches us about the virtue of humility. Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. Commentating on this verse, Saint Benedict tells us what to do in order to be exalted. He describes humility as a ladder – the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream – on which Angels appeared to him descending and ascending. By that descent and ascent we must surely understand nothing else than this, that we descend by self-exaltation and ascend by humility. And the ladder thus set up is our life in the world, which the Lord raises up to heaven if our heart is humbled. This ladder has 12 degrees that we have to climb one by one.
The first degree of humility, then, is that a person keeps the fear of God before his eyes and bewares of ever forgetting it. Let him be ever mindful of all that God has commanded; let his thoughts constantly recur to the hell-fire which will burn for their sins those who despise God and to the life everlasting which is prepared for those who fear Him. Let him keep himself at every moment from sins and vices, whether of the mind, the tongue, the hands, the feet,
or the self-will, and check also the desires of the flesh.

This is basically what Holy Mother Church constantly recalls us during the Sundays after Pentecost. There is even not an ounce of humility in a person who still lives in sin.

On the 5th Sunday, we were told by Saint Peter to refrain our tongues from evil and our lips that we speak no guile. We can never speak enough of the seriousness of the sins of the tongue, which are often the sins of the coward. Someone once asked Saint Anthony, "What is backbiting?" and he replied, "It is every sort of wicked word we dare not speak in front of the person about whom we are talking." This is truly the nature of backbiters. They cannot do physical harm to those who are absent, so they strike at them with their tongue. Saint Thomas Aquinas says, "Destroying a person's reputation is a very serious wrong." And Saint Bernard declares, "Backbiting is a great vice, a great sin, a great crime."

The Scriptures says You shall not curse the deaf! Here is how Saint Gregory explains these words: "Backbiting someone who is deaf means backbiting one who is absent and cannot hear you. Just as a deaf man cannot hear or understand what is said, so it is with an absent person someone backbites. He cannot reply or rectify the errors of which he is the object."

He who speaks evil commits a great sin. So does he who listens to him, as Saint Bernard explains: “I would have difficulty deciding which of them is more damnable," he says, "he who backbites or he who listens to the backbiter. Even if we excuse it as wit or banter, every jesting word must be banished not only from our mouth, but also from our ears. "

In today’s gospel, Our Lord heals a deaf and dumb man. Speaking and hearing are such gifts from God! But as well as every other gift, they must be used with humility for a good purpose. Sins of the tongues are unfortunately so common throughout the world. But when they come from Christians, they are even more serious, more reprehensible and more harmful. They hurt the Mystical Body of Christ and are object of scandal. On the day of your Baptism, the priest put the salt of wisdom on your tongue and touched your ears saying like Jesus: Ephpheta, be opened. This was done so that you can hear the teaching of God and speak out wisely in order to praise God.

Let us remember, brethren, that we are accountable for what we say and what we listen. The first degree of humility, then, is that a person keeps the fear of God before his eyes. May this fear make us use well all our faculties and abilities for the glory of God and not for our own satisfaction!

In Memoriam

August 6th 1945 - Hiroshima: about 90,000 casualties

August 9th 1945 - Nagasaki: about 40,000 casualties

Plus about 80,000 injured people who eventually died

Total: about 200,000 victims.

I have always considered the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a crime against humanity, there is absolutely no doubt about this. Then I was surprised, for not saying shocked, to hear some Traditional Catholic Americans who say that it was a necessary thing to end the war and to save the life of American soldiers. Ending the war and saving American lives is definitely a good purpose, but not at any cost. And patriotism is certainly a very good thing…as long as it remains virtuous, which means as long as it remains a prudent medium between defect and excess. One can love his country very much without justifying the crimes of its Government. The fact is that on a moral level, nothing can justify the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to the old principle: the end does not justify the means.
Besides, in the opinion of many, this was totally useless, as Japan was already almost defeated.

Dwight Eisenhower:
Secretary of War Stimson, visiting my headquarters in Germany, informed me that our government was preparing to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. I was one of those who felt that there were a number of cogent reasons to question the wisdom of such an act. ...the Secretary, upon giving me the news of the successful bomb test in New Mexico, and of the plan for using it, asked for my reaction, apparently expecting a vigorous assent.

"During his recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face'. The Secretary was deeply perturbed by my attitude.. "

Admiral William Leahy:
"It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.

"The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children."

"Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation." (Cathechism of the Catholic Churc # 2314)

Righteousness is in us, not of us!

Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Men’s justice is definitively not like God’s justice, and this is a very good thing. It is a very good thing because God is infallible in his judgments and infinitely good and merciful in his sentences, whether He condemns or He acquits. Men are certainly not infallible and as for their goodness and mercy, though it is possible to find them in certain noble hearts, it is still in a relative proportion that will never attain the divine perfection. Most of the men are rather prompt to condemn their neighbor while they so easily justify themselves. And when these men pretend to be religious, such an attitude becomes simply more obnoxious as it is a caricature of religion. It is true that men have the tendency to belittle the holy things that God has given. This is our nature: we have this treasure in earthen vessels, Saint Paul says.

But knowing this should precisely make us humbler, acting with fear, like a person who would have to handle precious porcelain and would be afraid of breaking it. Cardinal Newman, commentating on Saint Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians, says that righteousness is in us, but not of us. The Corinthians "had had gifts given them, he says. They did not forget they had them; they used, they abused them; they forgot, not that they were theirs, but that they were given them. They seem to have thought that those gifts were theirs by a sort of right, because they were persons of more cultivation of mind than others, of more knowledge, more refinement. In spite of the clear views which the Apostle had doubtless given them on their conversion of their utter nothingness in themselves; in spite too of their confessing it, yet they did not feel that they came from God. They seemed, as it were, to claim them, or at least to view their possession of them as a thing of course; they acted as if they were their own, not with humbleness and gratitude towards their Giver, not with a sense of responsibility, not with fear and trembling, but as if they were lords over them, as if they had sovereign power to do what they would with them, as if they might use them from themselves and for themselves."

Such is the Pharisee of today’s gospel who reckons that he is justified. Such is his judgment. He is sanctimonious, satisfied of himself. He is so full of himself that he even gives thanks to God for what he is. He thanks God for not being like the others that he looks down upon. Pride and prejudice! It seems to be a very old sin. In fact, "in every age of the Church, Cardinal Newman says again, Christians have been tempted to pride themselves on their gifts, or at least to forget that they were gifts, and to take them for granted. Ever have they been tempted to forget their own responsibilities, their having received what they are bound to improve, and the duty of fear and trembling, while improving it."

Every age of the Church, Cardinal Newman says. Dear Brethren, let us well consider that we might be tempted to act like the Corinthians of the time of Saint Paul, like the Pharisees of anytime. For us, who by the grace of God, have been preserved from the modernist errors, for us, who might know well our catechism and the teaching of the Popes, for us who can worship according to the old and venerable Tradition of the Church, there is a danger if we forget that we have precisely some responsibilities for having received such gifts. God asks more to those who have received more, and if you take for granted what you have received, remember that it may be taken away from you one day.

Without humility, all these beautiful gifts from God would become the object of our condemnation. Attending the Latin Mass is not always and necessarily a ticket for heaven. It can also be your ticket for hell if you do not humble yourself. Dom Guéranger, commentating on today’s gospel, reminds us of what humility is:

Humility, which produces within us this salutary fear, is the virtue that makes man know his right place, with regard both to God and to his fellow-men. It rests on the deep-rooted conviction, put into our hearts by grace, that God is everything, and that we, by nature, are nothingness, nay, less than nothingness, because we have degraded ourselves by sin. Reason is able, of herself alone, to convince anyone, who takes the trouble to reflect, of the nothingness of a creature; but such conviction, if it remain a mere theoretical conclusion, is not humility: it is a conviction which forces itself on the devil in hell, whose vexation at such a truth is the chief source of his rage.

So, do not thank God for what you are, because you are just a sinner. Give thanks to God for what you have received. And since what you have is what you have received, do not keep it for yourselves, but share it with others. This is where charity blossoms and it cannot blossom if it is not rooted in the soil of humility.

Only one surgical abortion site in Arkansas

It is still too much, but we can rejoice for the following news received from 40 Days for Life. Deo gratias!


It appears to be official - William Harrison is closing the Fayetteville Women's Clinic due to health reasons. In case you missed it, this story aired on KFSM. http://www.kfsm.com/news/kfsm-news-fayetteville-womens-clinic-closing,0,7890155.story

Please continue to pray for Harrison, his health, conversion, family and that no other abortionist comes to take his place.

We give all the glory and praise to God that abortions have stopped at the Fayetteville Women's Clinic. Thank you to each one of you who has prayed for an end to abortion in our town, state and nation and taken a stand against the injustice of abortion. As we rejoice over the babies that will be saved and the parents who will be spared from a lifetime of regret by currently not having an abortionist at the FWC, we must continue to pray that abortions will also stop at Planned Parenthood on Township. Planned Parenthood performs medical abortions through RU-486 and distributes abortifacient contraceptives. In addition, it is rumored that Planned Parenthood may be considering building a mega clinic in Arkansas, which means our prayers are all the more important at this time.

In case you are wondering, 40 Days for Life will take place as planned this fall in Fayetteville. Given the recent events, we are carefully discerning the location of the fall campaign. We will be sure and keep you updated. God bless.

Destruction of Jerusalem

Commentary of Saint Gregory the Great on today's gospel

"The evil spirits lay siege to the soul, as it goes forth from the body, for being seized with the love of the flesh, they caress it with delusive pleasures. They surround it with a trench, because bringing all its wickedness which it has committed before the eyes of its mind, they close confine it to the company of its own damnation, that being caught in the very extremity of life, it may see by what enemies it is blockaded, yet be unable to find any way of escape, because it can no longer do good works, since those which it might once have done it despised. On every side also they enclose the soul when its iniquities rise up before it, not only in deed but also in word and thought, that she who before in many ways greatly enlarged herself in wickedness, should now at the end be straitened every way in judgment. Then indeed the soul by the very condition of its guilt is laid prostrate on the ground, while its flesh which it believed to be its life is bid to return to dust. Then its children fall in death, when all unlawful thoughts which only proceed from it, are in the last punishment of life scattered abroad. These may also be signified by the stones. For the corrupt mind when to a corrupt thought it adds one more corrupt, places one stone upon another. But when the soul is led to its doom, the whole structure of its thoughts is rent asunder. But the wicked soul God ceases not to visit with His teaching, sometimes with the scourge and sometimes with a miracle; that the truth which it knew not it may hear, and though still despising it, may return pricked to the heart in sorrow, or overcome with mercies may be ashamed at the evil which it has done. But because it knows not the time of its visitation, at the end of life it is given over to its enemies, that with them it may be joined together in the bond of everlasting damnation."

La voici, la voilà!

L'intégrale du Défilé du 14 juillet 2010, qui plus est, sans les commentaires !

Merci au Ministère de la Défense !

I like this octopus

There is no need to present Octopus Paul, the most famous octopus in the world who was 100% right for his predictions during the World Cup. He can now enjoy a peaceful and well deserved retirement but Paul thought he still had a prediction to make. Is this the announcement of the near coming of the Great Monarch?

The truth about Bastille Day

The following text was written by John Zmirak and published on the blog InsideCatholic.com (July 15th 2008.)

Yesterday probably passed without much fanfare in your home, but July 14 is a day I usually try to commemorate. Not because I carry a single drop of French blood (more's the pity -- I'd be proud to be a cousin of Joan of Arc and François Mauriac). No, it's because I think Bastille Day is a solemn occasion every Catholic should remember -- like the feast of the Martyrs of Mexico, or the Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War.

Bastille Day marks the beginning of the greatest organized persecution of the Church since the Emperor Diocletian, and the explosion onto the world of ideologies that would poison the next two centuries: socialism and radical nationalism. Between them, those two political movements racked up quite a body count: In his 1997 book Death By Government, scholar R. J. Rummel pointed out that during the first 88 years of this century, almost 170,000,000 men, women, and children have been shot, beaten, tortured, knifed, burned, starved, frozen, crushed, or worked to death; or buried alive, drowned, hung, bombed, or killed in any other of the myriad ways governments have inflicted death on unarmed, helpless citizens or foreigners.

And the first such modern genocide in the West took place in France, beginning in 1793. It was undertaken by modern, progressive apostles of Enlightenment and aimed at Catholic peasants, and by its end up to 300,000 civilians had been killed by the armies of the Republic.

It was ordinary peasants of the Vendée and Brittany regions who rose up in that year against the middle-class radicals in Paris who controlled the country. The ideologues of the Revolution had already

• executed the king and queen, and left their young son to die of disease in prison;
• declared a revolutionary "war of liberation" against most of the other countries in Europe;
• seized all property of the Church, expelling thousands of monks, priests, and nuns to fend for themselves, then sold the property to their cronies to raise money for their wars;
• ordered all clergy to swear allegiance to the French state instead of the pope; and
• launched the first universal conscription in history, drafting ordinary people (most of them devout peasants bewildered by the slogans that held sway in Paris) to fight for the Revolution.

When the Parisians came to take away their sons for the army, the Vendeans finally fought back and launched a counter-revolution in the name of "God and King." It quickly spread across the northwest of France, tying down the government's professional armies -- fighting untrained bands of devout guerillas, many of them armed only with muskets suited to hunting.

As Sophie Masson -- herself a descendant of Catholics who fought in the Vendée resistance -- has written:

The atrocities multiplied, the exterminations systematic and initiated from the very top, and carried out with glee at the bottom. At least 300,000 people were massacred during that time, and those of the intruders who refused to do the job were either shot or discredited utterly. But still the people resisted. Still there were those who hid in the forests and ambushed, who fought as bravely as lions but were butchered like pigs when they were caught. No quarter was given; all the leaders were shot, beheaded, or hanged. Many were not even allowed to rest in peace; the body of the last leader was cut up and distributed to scientists; his head was pickled in a jar, the brain examined to see where the seed of rebellion lay in the mind of a savage. . . .

"Not one is to be left alive." "Women are reproductive furrows who must be ploughed under." "Only wolves must be left to roam that land." "Fire, blood, death are needed to preserve liberty." "Their instruments of fanaticism and superstition must be smashed." These were some of the words the Convention used in speaking of the Vendée. Their tame scientists dreamed up all kinds of new ideas -- the poisoning of flour and alcohol and water supplies, the setting up of a tannery in Angers which would specialise in the treatment of human skins; the investigation of methods of burning large numbers of people in large ovens, so their fat could be rendered down efficiently. One of the Republican generals, Carrier, was scornful of such research: these "modern" methods would take too long. Better to use more time-honoured methods of massacre: the mass drownings of naked men, women, and children, often tied together in what he called "republican marriages," off specially constructed boats towed out to the middle of the Loire and then sunk; the mass bayoneting of men, women and children; the smashing of babies' heads against walls; the slaughter of prisoners using cannons; the most grisly and disgusting tortures; the burning and pillaging of villages, towns and churches.

The persecution only really ended when Napoleon came to power in 1799 -- and needed peace at home so that he could launch his wars of conquest. He patched together a modus vivendi with the pope, and the Vendée quieted down.

This story is little discussed in France. Indeed, a Catholic historian who teaches at a French university once told me over dinner, "We are not to mention the Vendée. Anyone who brings up what was done there has no prospect of an academic career. So we keep silent." It is mostly in the Vendée itself that memories linger, which may explain why that part of France to this day remains more Catholic and more conservative than any other region. The local government, to its credit, opened a museum marking these atrocities on their 200th anniversary in 1993 -- with a visit by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who pointed out that the mass murders of Christians in Russia were directly inspired by those in the Vendée. The Bolsheviks, he said, modeled themselves on the French revolutionaries, and pointed to the Vendée massacres as the right way to deal with Christian resistance.

Of course, it wasn't supposed to work out this way. The Revolution had begun with a financial crisis, and promised to pare back an absolutist monarchy, perhaps along British lines. King Louis XVI -- a kindly if not terribly competent king, who'd lifted legal penalties against Protestants and Jews -- had bankrupted his kingdom bankrolling the American Revolution. (In gratitude, the U.S. Congress hung a portrait of the monarch in the Capitol, and named for his family the southern county which gave birth to bourbon.) The legislators who met in 1789 for the first time in over a century intended at first to reform their government, not replace it.

And some reforms were certainly needed: the ruthless centralization imposed by Louis XIV and XV had hollowed out French political life and concentrated power over the lives of citizens almost entirely in Paris, in the hands of technocrats. Predictably, they'd made a mess of things.

Unlike its sister kingdom across the channel, France had no sitting parliament, no common law protecting its subjects from arbitrary arrest, and an economy largely driven not by free citizens but the state. The French "Gallican" Church, while still in communion with Rome, was largely controlled by the kings -- who appointed its bishops and set its policies. Indeed, the kings of France, Portugal, and Spain had arranged in 1767 for the suppression of the Jesuits -- whose loyalty to Rome and rejection of the Divine Right of Kings made them suspect, and whose defense of the rights of Indians got in the way of "progress."

The educational vacuum created by the destruction of this order was quickly (and ironically) filled by Enlightenment philosophes. The first generation to rise without the Jesuits would come of age in 1789. The abuses that would mark the Revolution -- including mass executions of priests and nuns -- were endorsed by intellectuals schooled on the slanderous pamphlets of Diderot, full of pornographic falsehoods about the "secret lives" of monks and nuns.

Indeed, there's a chilling similarity between the anti-clerical literature that prepared the public for the looting of monasteries and the anti-Semitic canards that were spread by the Nazis. The euphemism that was used to describe stealing monastic property for the state -- "secularization" -- found its echo in the 1930s in the term the German government employed for robbing the Jews: "aryanization." If the Jews are indeed a priestly people, it is not surprising that such diabolical parallels exist.

Just as fascists excused their atrocities by pointing to Jewish prominence in the financial sphere and the press, leftists still defend the persecution of the Church by pointing to her political influence. We shouldn't let them get away with it. I wait in vain for the historian who will write a comprehensive comparison of anti-Semitism and anti-clericalism.

In the meantime, I'll mark Bastille Day as best I can. In 1989, I helped organize a Requiem Mass for all the Revolution's victims (we invited the French consul-general, but he pleaded a prior engagement). On several subsequent anniversaries, I've thrown a memorial party on the day, with foods and wines from the Vendée and counter-revolutionary songs. (Recipes and lyrics appear in each of my Bad Catholic's guides.) In the Christian spirit of transforming suffering into joy, I think that the hearty folk who fought for God and king would appreciate the gesture. But in the Vendée itself, a French friend has told me, some people still wear black armbands on their country's national holiday.

Rediscovering simplicity of life!

I was happy when I recently found the English translation of a very good book that I read some years ago when I was in the Seminary: Abandonment to Divine Providence by Father de Caussade, s.j.

Father de Caussade (1675-1751) was a French Jesuit, director of souls, preacher of the Spiritual Exercises. He wrote several books of spiritualy that are all helpful and accessible to anyone. He is known for his belief in the sacredness of the present moment, or the "eternal now", proof that the Jesuits can be be close to the Benedictines.... sometimes! We will come back to this notion soon.

For now, as an appetizer, enjoy the following words of Father de Caussade. May they help us to discover the simplicity of life that we need.

"God still speak today as he spoke to our fathers, when there were no spiritual directors or set methods. Then, spirituality consisted in fidelity to the designs of God, for it had not yet been reduced to an art and explained in a lofty and detailed manner with many rules, maxims, and instructions. Surely our present needs demand this, but it was not so in former times when we were more upright and simple. Then it was enough for those who led a spiritual life to see that each moment brought with it a duty to be faithfully fulfilled. On that duty the whole of their attention was fixed at each successive moment, like the hand of the clock which marks each moment of the hour. Under God’s unceasing guidance their spirit turned without conscious effort to each new duty as it was presented to them by God each hour of the day."

Le Mont Saint Michel

De magnifiques images de la Merveille de l'Occident.

Merci à MGRoyaume

"Plus loin, dans la ligne bleuâtre des flots aperçus, d'autres roches noyées montraient leurs crêtes brunes ; et l'œil, continuant le tour de l'horizon vers la droite, découvrait à côté de cette solitude sablonneuse la vaste étendue verte du pays normand, si couvert d'arbres qu'il avait l'air d'un bois illimité. C'était toute la nature s'offrant d'un seul coup, en un seul lieu, dans sa grandeur, dans sa puissance, dans sa fraîcheur et dans sa grâce; et le regard allait de cette vision de forêts à cette apparition du mont de granit, solitaire habitant des sables, qui dressait sur la grève démesurée son étrange figure gothique." (Guy de Maupassant)

The Nature of Sacramental Grace (V)

By Father Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

Our dignity is further revealed in the Sacrament of Penance. In order to receive absolution, men and women entrust the priest with their secret thoughts and desires, which not even the Angels themselves are allowed to know. And thus the priest actually cooperated with God in giving back life to the soul. So, whether he is celebrating Mass or ministering to souls, he is another Christ. His priesthood is a splendid participation in the priesthood of Christ; he is Christ’s minister, His living, conscious instrument for the saving of souls.

Remember that the priest in celebrating Mass is so closely united to Christ – the principal Offerer – as his instrument that the one effect of Consecration is produced by both of them together, just as a writer and his pen produce the same effect. The effect of Consecration – the changing of the substance of bread and wine – is produced by God as the principal agent, by the huminity of Christ as the instrument conjoined to the divinity, and by the celebrant as a separate instrument, conscious and free.

It might be objected that the Sacramental grace of the priesthood is of less worth than the priestly character, for although the latter is indelible, sacramental grace, like Sanctifying Grace, is lost by mortal sin. This is a serious difficulty, since the more perfect an accidental reality, the more firmly does it inhere in the substance to which it belongs. Therefore, grace, which can be lost, does appear to be less perfect than the character which can never be lost.

In reply to this objection, notice why it is that the character cannot be lost. It is not because of its own perfection and dignity, but because it is conferred for the valid celebration of Mass and for the valid administration of Penance, which provide for the spiritual welfare of the faithful. This is very well explained by St. Thomas: “The sacramental character is a sharing of Christ’s priesthood by His faithful…”; also, in answer to the first objection: “Grace is present in the soul as a form complete in its being, whereas the character is there as an instrumental power. Now a complete form is present in its subject according to the condition of that subject , so that grace is present in the soul of a person here on earth according to the volatile nature of the will. But an instrumental power is to be considered rather from the point of view of the condition of the principal agent; hence the character is indelibly present in the soul not because of any perfection of its own but because of the perfection belonging to Christ’s priesthood, from which the character originates as an instrumental power.” (IIIa, Q.63, art 5c).

Again, in answer to the third objection, St. Thomas says: “The character endures even after this life, in the good as redounding to their glory, in the wicked as stressing their disgrace, just as the character of military service remains in a soldier after the victory has been won, as the mark of honor in the victors, as a mark of dishonor in the vanquished.”

This concludes for the present our study of the dignity of Christ’s priesthood and of ours.

Saint John Bosco Academy coat of arm

We are glad to present our new coat of arm

Visit Saint John Bosca Academy's website: http://www.saintjohnboscoacademy.net/

The Nature of Sacramental Grace (IV)

By Father Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange

Corollaries

Therefore the sacramental grace of the priesthood, since it is a permanent and intrinsic mode of habitual grace, can be looked upon as a feature of the priest’s spiritual character which is meant to develop and grow to perfection – to the age of maturity in the spiritual life.

It follows that while no growth is possible in the character of Holy Orders, which empowers a man to exercise validly the priestly functions, yet the sacramental grace, having as its aim an increasingly holy celebration of Mass and administration of Penance, is intensified at the same time as habitual grace, which it modifies and strengthens in a special way. True, this is not expressed in so many words in the theological works, but it is deduced as certain from the purpose of these divine gifts.

And thus all are agreed that the sacramental grace of Holy Orders should bear fruit and that it entitles a man to further and higher actual graces – provided no obstacle is put in the way. It develops rather like the features of a child countenance, which change with the different facial expressions of smiling, crying, blinking, etc. Therefore, “how careful we must be not to lose that sacramental grace or prove ourselves unworthy of it by receiving the Sacrament without the suitable disposition.” (Billuart )

The value of our priesthood is also evident in the fact to which we have already alluded – namely, that so far as the Consecration of the Eucharist is concerned, the Bishop himself has no greater power than the priest. And this power of consecrating the body of Christ is far more outstanding than the power of consecrating priests and chalices, because the Holy Eucharist is the supreme Sacrament and Sacrifice, containing not merely the gift of grace but the very Author of grace. So we find St. Thomas, St. Albert, St. Bonaventure, Scotus and Soto of the opinion that the Episcopate is not a separate Sacrament from that of priesthood but is its extension and perfect complement, giving the power to ordain, confirm and govern. It is, therefore, the fullness of the priesthood and is intended to be as fruitful in the Bishop as the grace of priesthood should be in the priest.