THE Sacred Scripture records for us the beginning of the woman, when God saw it fit for man not to be alone (Gn). Here we see that the woman is a compliment to the man, not one simply needing the other, but that mutually the two will be a help and a compliment to each other.
Historically, however, it will take some time for the women to have the same rights as men. Let me clarify what we mean by rights. In this time and age we live in, we have invented so many “rights” that it seems nothing is left anymore in the realm of responsibility and prudence. It is also worth observing that the culture of each people defines what are the “rights” granted. Most certainly, there are universal rights accepted by all cultures such as the right to life.
And herein lay the problem and the challenge: what if culture changes, what if culture is intentionally modified? Is it not what we are witnessing now? A culture of unbridled individual freedom, without any reference anymore neither to religion nor to morals. A culture which, call it by any other name, is simply a culture against life, a culture of death.
Going back to Sacred Scripture, we see that sin and death entered through a woman, and it will take another woman to undo and untie this sin and death.
Eve and Mary
Let me liberally quote here an article from the Mary Page maintained by the University of Dayton in Ohio which prides itself to have the biggest collection of books written on Mary in the English language:
Eve's name in Hebrew means "life." She is called Chavvah (in the Septuagint, Eva; in the Vulgate, Heva because she is the mother of all the living (Gn 3:20). Her initial appearance in the Hebrew Scriptures is one of beauty, goodness, wisdom, and life. ... The rabbinic writings praise the beauty and adornment of Eve while commenting on Genesis 2:22: "The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from man." For example, Rabbi Chama ben Chanina (260 C.E.) wrote that certainly God first clothed her (Eve) with twenty-four precious decorations (those which describe the women of Israel in Isaiah 3:18-24) and then God brings her to the man.
Later Jewish writings contrast Eve's disobedience with the fidelity and obedience of the Israelites to God on Mount Sinai. ... In the New Testament, Eve is never mentioned in the Gospels. Adam is mentioned only in Luke's genealogy (Lk 3:38). Eve is mentioned in two Pauline writings:
"For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere [and pure] commitment to Christ "(2 Cor 11:2-3).
"For Adam was formed first, then Eve. Further, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. But she will be saved through motherhood, provided women persevere in faith and love and holiness, with self-control"(1 Tm 2:13-15).
Both passages emphasize the negative aspects of Eve's role in salvation history. Early Christian writers will contrast Eve's disobedience with Mary's obedience. However, it is only through the comprehensive reading of all texts of the First Testament that we will fully appreciate the greatness of Israel's first mother, Eve, the mother of the living.
Parallels are seen between Mary's dialogue with Gabriel and Eve's dialogue with the serpent (Gn 3:17, Lk 1:28-35). The text of Genesis 3:15 is also compared with the scene of Mary at the foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25-28a). ... One could view the process of salvation history from Eve to Mary as a double movement: first the breaking up of the human race into many disparate individuals, and then the gradual concentration of all expectations of salvation in the Messiah born of Mary, the Mother of God. All the eminent women in the Old Testament are concrete and partial realizations of the primal mother from ancient times (Eve) who perdures and extends herself in them. As the new Adam extends himself in the "Mystical Body" of Christ (the ecclesial community of the new People of God), so also does Mary represent all those "children of God, once dispersed, but now brought together" by her Son.
Jesus' words on the cross, "There is your mother" (Jn 19:27), may point to the popular etymological explanation of Eve's name in Genesis 3:20: "The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living." Just as the Church is "the Jerusalem above ... our mother" (Gal 4:26), so also is Mary the mother of believers, who, at the cross, were concretely present in the person "of the disciple whom Jesus loved."
The Rights of the Modern Woman
With Mary and through Mary, we see the authentic feminine soul: both its strength and beauty. Our contemporary time wishes to come to a full circle: that in the name of “liberating” the woman, we wish to take again the path chosen by Eve, a path away from God.
Are we becoming an obstacle to the liberation of the woman when we speak against newly coined rights such as reproductive rights, which is but a euphemism to universal access to contraceptives that includes abortion?
Or are we instead defending the authentic human rights and are even advancing what rightly constitutes as rights.
It is often pointed out that because there are illegal and unsafe abortions being performed in the country, the solution is to legalize and enable women to have their choice of a safe and sanitary abortion. And that because many women die because of pregnancy the proposed solution is not to be pregnant at all.
Our contention is, would it not be more appropriate that since many women die during pregnancy the proper solution would be to provide proper health care during the women’s pregnancy and during childbirth? Not unless of course, we have begun to view pregnancy as disease and a burden.
And that the proper solution to the illegal and unsafe abortion in the country is to have our women the proper options to carry to full term their pregnancy so that abortion would never be an option. And as to the issue of “unwanted” and “unplanned” pregnancy the solution is and will always be the proper value formation of the young that begins in the home.
Moral and sexual permissiveness will never be the solution. When we look back at history of all the great empires and nations of the past, we see that once the people give in to moral depravity the collapse of that nation begins.
Our country is yet at the crossroads again, we can choose the “easy” and comfortable way and adopt the policies and culture of the decaying countries or we can choose the more “difficult” path, less trodden, but leads to God and to the sharing of His divine Life.
May we choose wisely. Ad Jesum per Mariam.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Traveling with Our Lady
FOR 26 days from 28 January to 21 February 2009, we went around the country with the Pilgrim Image of Our Lady of Fatima.
Although we were confined with the “bigger” churches, mostly the Cathedrals of the Arch/dioceses, we were able to see the entire cross-section of the Church in the Philippines.
I will never forget the vast crowds we have seen in all places Our Lady visited, and very notable among these are those of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Diocese of Butuan, Diocese of Digos, and the Archdiocese of Jaro.
We also had a brief stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela on the First Saturday of February which turned out to be the last time that I would be seeing and conversing with Msgr. Moises Andrade.
St. John Damascene refers to the statues and images as visual catechisms. Without use of words and sounds, we are able to glimpse and understand aspects of our Faith through these visual representations.
The history of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue begins in 1946. At that time, after the youth of Portugal attended a Congress in Fatima, they took the Statue from display in the Cova on pilgrimage to Lisbon. As they walked the route they stopped at the towns and people gathered to pray. In Lisbon when they entered the cathedral, the miracle of doves occurred. Many other phenomena also occurred inspiring devotion and inspiring the fervor among the people.
The statue was returned to its place in the Cova de Iria but many people wished for a visit in their own communities. The Bishop asked Sr. Lucia in a letter about sending the statue on tour. Sr. Lucia responded with a letter suggesting that the new statue, just then being made, by the famous sculptor Jose Thedim be used as a pilgrim statue. The Bishop agreed and, on May 13, 1947, this new statue was blessed and named the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
Almost before it began its journey, so many places wanted her visit that it was realized a second statue should also be blessed. This second statue, made also by Jose Thedim, was completed and blessed by the Bishop of Fatima on October 13, 1947 (Exactly 30 years to the day after the great miracle of the sun which was to draw the world's attention to Mary's message.) His Excellency remarked that this would be the Western statue and that the two statues would travel about until finally they could enter Russia.
The Bishop of Fatima entrusted the Western statue to Mr. John Haffert, who later became the cofounder of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima in America. It entered the United States, through Canada at Buffalo, New York, on December 8, 1947. (December 8th, being our patronal Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception.) At Buffalo 200,000 people lined the streets and welcomed Our Lady on that occasion. To fulfill the mandate of the Bishop to travel, teach and inspire, Mr. Haffert assigned the first custodian, Fr. McGrath of Canada. The statue has always had a full time custodian and has never stopped traveling in its entire 54 years. Succeeding Fr. McGrath was Fr. Breault, and others have continued to the present time.
The miracles, favors, and signal graces were so numerous from the very beginning that even the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, reflected on them in his famous radio address to the pilgrims at Fatima, May 13, 1951. He recalled having crowned the Fatima statue in 1946: "In 1946 we crowned Our Lady of Fatima as Queen of the world, and the next year, through her pilgrim image, She set forth as though to claim Her dominion, and the miracles She performs along the way are such that we can scarcely believe our eyes at what we are seeing."
Physical cures attributed to the presence of the Statue have been documented many times. The changes in expression and coloration, and even the pose of the statue have been reported innumerable times. But, the important miracles are the spiritual cures and gifts Our Lady bestows. The sudden conversion of a stubborn heretic is a good example. Another important miracle is the enlightenment of someone who has resisted the idea of statues or the idea of praying to saints. The spiritual miracles are infinitely more valuable than the things we can see, touch, or measure.
The travel of Our Lady’s image has been very limited this year. If you wish to invite Her when she returns to the Philippines sometime from now, you can log on to the website: pilgrimvirginstatue.com
And by the way, March 25 is the Solemnity of the Anunciation and a day of Prayer for the Unborn. Any true devotee of Our Lady will certainly defend Family and Life!
We continue to pray, offer sacrifice, and mobilize against the passage of the Reproductive Health bill and even against the carefully “languaged” Magna Carta on Women.
Ave Maria! Ad Jesum per Mariam.
Although we were confined with the “bigger” churches, mostly the Cathedrals of the Arch/dioceses, we were able to see the entire cross-section of the Church in the Philippines.
I will never forget the vast crowds we have seen in all places Our Lady visited, and very notable among these are those of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Diocese of Butuan, Diocese of Digos, and the Archdiocese of Jaro.
We also had a brief stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela on the First Saturday of February which turned out to be the last time that I would be seeing and conversing with Msgr. Moises Andrade.
St. John Damascene refers to the statues and images as visual catechisms. Without use of words and sounds, we are able to glimpse and understand aspects of our Faith through these visual representations.
The history of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue begins in 1946. At that time, after the youth of Portugal attended a Congress in Fatima, they took the Statue from display in the Cova on pilgrimage to Lisbon. As they walked the route they stopped at the towns and people gathered to pray. In Lisbon when they entered the cathedral, the miracle of doves occurred. Many other phenomena also occurred inspiring devotion and inspiring the fervor among the people.
The statue was returned to its place in the Cova de Iria but many people wished for a visit in their own communities. The Bishop asked Sr. Lucia in a letter about sending the statue on tour. Sr. Lucia responded with a letter suggesting that the new statue, just then being made, by the famous sculptor Jose Thedim be used as a pilgrim statue. The Bishop agreed and, on May 13, 1947, this new statue was blessed and named the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
Almost before it began its journey, so many places wanted her visit that it was realized a second statue should also be blessed. This second statue, made also by Jose Thedim, was completed and blessed by the Bishop of Fatima on October 13, 1947 (Exactly 30 years to the day after the great miracle of the sun which was to draw the world's attention to Mary's message.) His Excellency remarked that this would be the Western statue and that the two statues would travel about until finally they could enter Russia.
The Bishop of Fatima entrusted the Western statue to Mr. John Haffert, who later became the cofounder of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima in America. It entered the United States, through Canada at Buffalo, New York, on December 8, 1947. (December 8th, being our patronal Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception.) At Buffalo 200,000 people lined the streets and welcomed Our Lady on that occasion. To fulfill the mandate of the Bishop to travel, teach and inspire, Mr. Haffert assigned the first custodian, Fr. McGrath of Canada. The statue has always had a full time custodian and has never stopped traveling in its entire 54 years. Succeeding Fr. McGrath was Fr. Breault, and others have continued to the present time.
The miracles, favors, and signal graces were so numerous from the very beginning that even the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, reflected on them in his famous radio address to the pilgrims at Fatima, May 13, 1951. He recalled having crowned the Fatima statue in 1946: "In 1946 we crowned Our Lady of Fatima as Queen of the world, and the next year, through her pilgrim image, She set forth as though to claim Her dominion, and the miracles She performs along the way are such that we can scarcely believe our eyes at what we are seeing."
Physical cures attributed to the presence of the Statue have been documented many times. The changes in expression and coloration, and even the pose of the statue have been reported innumerable times. But, the important miracles are the spiritual cures and gifts Our Lady bestows. The sudden conversion of a stubborn heretic is a good example. Another important miracle is the enlightenment of someone who has resisted the idea of statues or the idea of praying to saints. The spiritual miracles are infinitely more valuable than the things we can see, touch, or measure.
The travel of Our Lady’s image has been very limited this year. If you wish to invite Her when she returns to the Philippines sometime from now, you can log on to the website: pilgrimvirginstatue.com
And by the way, March 25 is the Solemnity of the Anunciation and a day of Prayer for the Unborn. Any true devotee of Our Lady will certainly defend Family and Life!
We continue to pray, offer sacrifice, and mobilize against the passage of the Reproductive Health bill and even against the carefully “languaged” Magna Carta on Women.
Ave Maria! Ad Jesum per Mariam.
Traveling with Our Lady
FOR 26 days from 28 January to 21 February 2009, we went around the country with the Pilgrim Image of Our Lady of Fatima.
Although we were confined with the “bigger” churches, mostly the Cathedrals of the Arch/dioceses, we were able to see the entire cross-section of the Church in the Philippines.
I will never forget the vast crowds we have seen in all places Our Lady visited, and very notable among these are those of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Diocese of Butuan, Diocese of Digos, and the Archdiocese of Jaro.
We also had a brief stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela on the First Saturday of February which turned out to be the last time that I would be seeing and conversing with Msgr. Moises Andrade.
St. John Damascene refers to the statues and images as visual catechisms. Without use of words and sounds, we are able to glimpse and understand aspects of our Faith through these visual representations.
The history of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue begins in 1946. At that time, after the youth of Portugal attended a Congress in Fatima, they took the Statue from display in the Cova on pilgrimage to Lisbon. As they walked the route they stopped at the towns and people gathered to pray. In Lisbon when they entered the cathedral, the miracle of doves occurred. Many other phenomena also occurred inspiring devotion and inspiring the fervor among the people.
The statue was returned to its place in the Cova de Iria but many people wished for a visit in their own communities. The Bishop asked Sr. Lucia in a letter about sending the statue on tour. Sr. Lucia responded with a letter suggesting that the new statue, just then being made, by the famous sculptor Jose Thedim be used as a pilgrim statue. The Bishop agreed and, on May 13, 1947, this new statue was blessed and named the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
Almost before it began its journey, so many places wanted her visit that it was realized a second statue should also be blessed. This second statue, made also by Jose Thedim, was completed and blessed by the Bishop of Fatima on October 13, 1947 (Exactly 30 years to the day after the great miracle of the sun which was to draw the world's attention to Mary's message.) His Excellency remarked that this would be the Western statue and that the two statues would travel about until finally they could enter Russia.
The Bishop of Fatima entrusted the Western statue to Mr. John Haffert, who later became the cofounder of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima in America. It entered the United States, through Canada at Buffalo, New York, on December 8, 1947. (December 8th, being our patronal Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception.) At Buffalo 200,000 people lined the streets and welcomed Our Lady on that occasion. To fulfill the mandate of the Bishop to travel, teach and inspire, Mr. Haffert assigned the first custodian, Fr. McGrath of Canada. The statue has always had a full time custodian and has never stopped traveling in its entire 54 years. Succeeding Fr. McGrath was Fr. Breault, and others have continued to the present time.
The miracles, favors, and signal graces were so numerous from the very beginning that even the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, reflected on them in his famous radio address to the pilgrims at Fatima, May 13, 1951. He recalled having crowned the Fatima statue in 1946: "In 1946 we crowned Our Lady of Fatima as Queen of the world, and the next year, through her pilgrim image, She set forth as though to claim Her dominion, and the miracles She performs along the way are such that we can scarcely believe our eyes at what we are seeing."
Physical cures attributed to the presence of the Statue have been documented many times. The changes in expression and coloration, and even the pose of the statue have been reported innumerable times. But, the important miracles are the spiritual cures and gifts Our Lady bestows. The sudden conversion of a stubborn heretic is a good example. Another important miracle is the enlightenment of someone who has resisted the idea of statues or the idea of praying to saints. The spiritual miracles are infinitely more valuable than the things we can see, touch, or measure.
The travel of Our Lady’s image has been very limited this year. If you wish to invite Her when she returns to the Philippines sometime from now, you can log on to the website: pilgrimvirginstatue.com
And by the way, March 25 is the Solemnity of the Anunciation and a day of Prayer for the Unborn. Any true devotee of Our Lady will certainly defend Family and Life!
We continue to pray, offer sacrifice, and mobilize against the passage of the Reproductive Health bill and even against the carefully “languaged” Magna Carta on Women.
Ave Maria! Ad Jesum per Mariam.
Although we were confined with the “bigger” churches, mostly the Cathedrals of the Arch/dioceses, we were able to see the entire cross-section of the Church in the Philippines.
I will never forget the vast crowds we have seen in all places Our Lady visited, and very notable among these are those of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Diocese of Butuan, Diocese of Digos, and the Archdiocese of Jaro.
We also had a brief stop at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Valenzuela on the First Saturday of February which turned out to be the last time that I would be seeing and conversing with Msgr. Moises Andrade.
St. John Damascene refers to the statues and images as visual catechisms. Without use of words and sounds, we are able to glimpse and understand aspects of our Faith through these visual representations.
The history of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue begins in 1946. At that time, after the youth of Portugal attended a Congress in Fatima, they took the Statue from display in the Cova on pilgrimage to Lisbon. As they walked the route they stopped at the towns and people gathered to pray. In Lisbon when they entered the cathedral, the miracle of doves occurred. Many other phenomena also occurred inspiring devotion and inspiring the fervor among the people.
The statue was returned to its place in the Cova de Iria but many people wished for a visit in their own communities. The Bishop asked Sr. Lucia in a letter about sending the statue on tour. Sr. Lucia responded with a letter suggesting that the new statue, just then being made, by the famous sculptor Jose Thedim be used as a pilgrim statue. The Bishop agreed and, on May 13, 1947, this new statue was blessed and named the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
Almost before it began its journey, so many places wanted her visit that it was realized a second statue should also be blessed. This second statue, made also by Jose Thedim, was completed and blessed by the Bishop of Fatima on October 13, 1947 (Exactly 30 years to the day after the great miracle of the sun which was to draw the world's attention to Mary's message.) His Excellency remarked that this would be the Western statue and that the two statues would travel about until finally they could enter Russia.
The Bishop of Fatima entrusted the Western statue to Mr. John Haffert, who later became the cofounder of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima in America. It entered the United States, through Canada at Buffalo, New York, on December 8, 1947. (December 8th, being our patronal Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception.) At Buffalo 200,000 people lined the streets and welcomed Our Lady on that occasion. To fulfill the mandate of the Bishop to travel, teach and inspire, Mr. Haffert assigned the first custodian, Fr. McGrath of Canada. The statue has always had a full time custodian and has never stopped traveling in its entire 54 years. Succeeding Fr. McGrath was Fr. Breault, and others have continued to the present time.
The miracles, favors, and signal graces were so numerous from the very beginning that even the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, reflected on them in his famous radio address to the pilgrims at Fatima, May 13, 1951. He recalled having crowned the Fatima statue in 1946: "In 1946 we crowned Our Lady of Fatima as Queen of the world, and the next year, through her pilgrim image, She set forth as though to claim Her dominion, and the miracles She performs along the way are such that we can scarcely believe our eyes at what we are seeing."
Physical cures attributed to the presence of the Statue have been documented many times. The changes in expression and coloration, and even the pose of the statue have been reported innumerable times. But, the important miracles are the spiritual cures and gifts Our Lady bestows. The sudden conversion of a stubborn heretic is a good example. Another important miracle is the enlightenment of someone who has resisted the idea of statues or the idea of praying to saints. The spiritual miracles are infinitely more valuable than the things we can see, touch, or measure.
The travel of Our Lady’s image has been very limited this year. If you wish to invite Her when she returns to the Philippines sometime from now, you can log on to the website: pilgrimvirginstatue.com
And by the way, March 25 is the Solemnity of the Anunciation and a day of Prayer for the Unborn. Any true devotee of Our Lady will certainly defend Family and Life!
We continue to pray, offer sacrifice, and mobilize against the passage of the Reproductive Health bill and even against the carefully “languaged” Magna Carta on Women.
Ave Maria! Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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