Where the Stars and Stripes, and the Eagle Fly

Sometime last year, my favorite Archbishop Vigano, made the profound statement -repeated by Taylor Marshall- that it is almost sinful to not be patriotic and love one’s country. Sinful! And that, it’s actually a grace and gift from God, if one does indeed have that patriotism swelling in their hearts. Did you read that? It’s a GIFT and GRACE from God the Father. You can argue with me, but I will take Vigano’s word for it, over the opinion of a “luke-warm American”, any old day of the week. Perfect example of this grace of patriotism; if you hear a song about our country, it fills you with pride and it brings tears to your eyes- THIS is the grace I speak of, but it goes beyond that. Vigano’s words do not surprise me; the saints that came out of Poland: Kolbe and Faustina had a deep love for their country, and as Our Lord proclaimed to the latter: “offer your vows for Poland”. God Himself desires that we love our homeland.

Do you know how our branches of government work? How many Justices there are and why they wear black or what the notion “packing the court” means? If you do not know the answers to these questions, it’s time to brush up on your civics, pick up a United States Constitution and educate yourself. Because if you hate this country, but do not even know how our democracy works, then I urge you to go live in a place like Cuba, where clearly socialism does NOT work and then come back to this great nation and realize how good you have it. I am not for ILLEGAL immigration, but if our country is so bad, why are “millions and millions” (Trump’s famous expression) immigrants flocking to this country, if as the democrats say, “it’s systemically racist and terrible”? Anything Illegal is NOT supported by God. How do we know this? Because Our Lord followed all the laws and Jewish customs, and was so bold as to proclaim:

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at Him. (Mark 12:17)

Satan hates America, because it belongs totally to Mary, and he wants you to hate it too.

Before I entered Carmel, during the one-hundred-year anniversary of Fatima two things became my life: the Traditional Latin Mass and a deep love for the United States of America. With the latter, I started watching conservative news, so when I entered Carmel I would not be praying for something as broad and silly as “world peace”; I wanted to know what I was praying for. The saints that came before us were holy AND educated. I also realized how “different” I felt among even good Catholics. They CHOSE not to know what was going on in our country. This blew my mind; I tend to laugh when holy Catholics say they cannot stand Donald Trump; when they say this, I automatically roll my eyes and know they do not have that grace of patriotism, nor do they know how our democracy works and do not see the current war taking place within our government and are simply not educated at all with what’s going on in the country or the Church. They radiate a sort of lukewarmness, because they choose to not know what’s going on in the world. Interesting how the Catholics who love the Old Mass tend to share something in common: we look to Vigano- who endorsed Trump- who is the face of the Catholic Church, and we look to Trump, who is the face of America. Both figures have been selected, out of grace, by the Immaculata. TRADITIONAL Catholics love America, and we clearly see a crisis with a “deep Church” in the Vatican and a “deep state” in this great nation. But again, knowledge, a gift from the Holy Ghost are direct graces, gifted to souls from Our Lady’s Heart who generously seek this truth.

2017 was a year I will never forget. I was driven up to the private living quarters of Pope Benedict XVI, given a personal inside tour of the Vatican and Ecclesia Dei as I was driven around by the generous Monsignor Patrick- I was in the very heart of the Catholic Church. What could be better? But I cannot describe to you, the feeling of joy I experienced when I made it back to America. A country that was hidden for hundreds of years, pre-destined and hand-picked by Mary. Hand-picked? That’s right. Below is a story you will not want to miss reading. All I pray for, for those reading this post, that if you do not love this country, for you to receive that gift to do so from now on. And to educate yourself, God gave us all a brain and it’s time to fill it with knowledge necessary for the future battle ahead: the battle between Our Lady and Satan. And as Lucia said, “we must now choose sides”. Do not be ignorant, lukewarm, and lazy- be joyful, educated, and zealous for God Our Father and Our Lady of America! And if, like the FIRST North American Martyrs, we are called to die for the Catholic Church, Christ the King, Our Lady of Fatima, and the United States of America, what could be more glorious?

Benedict’s current residence, Mater Ecclesiae- “Mother of the Church”. Symbolic name, no?

Taken from Saints to Remember by the Slaves of the Immaculate:

October 12^th, the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, has a very important significance to us Americans. Christopher Columbus packed his boat [named Santa Maria] to sail from Spain to America on August 2^nd, 1492, the feast of Our Lady of the Angels [yesterday’s ancient feast]. Columbus and his men sailed all the rest of August and the whole of September without sighting the land they were looking for. And then October approached [the month of the Holy Rosary]. Columbus said that if he did not see land on October 12^th, the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, he would turn back and go to Spain. By the special providence of Our Lady, it was on October 12^th that Columbus first saw land. Columbus did not choose this day because it was October 12 simply. He chose it because it was the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar. In childlike innocence, every one of us must admit that it was because of the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that America was discovered.

On the second voyage of Columbus to America in 1493, he put his whole expedition under the protection of the Immaculate Conception. He called the boat on which he sailed on the second voyage, Gracious Mary. Columbus had called the island on which he first landed in the New World on his first voyage, San Salvador, which means Holy Savior. Enemies of the Catholic Faith, of the Blessed Virgin, of all true history and, of course, of Columbus himself, have changed the name of that island to Watling Island. On his second voyage to America, Columbus saw a group of Islands south of San Salvador. He called these islands the Virgin Islands, in honor of the 11,010 virgins who were martyred with Saint Ursula in Cologne, in 383.

It was the feast of Our Lady of the angels, August 2^nd, 1492, that Columbus, knowing there was a plenary indulgence granted to all those who received Holy Communion on that day, went with all his crew to Mass received Holy Communion, finished packing his boat- called Santa Maria, the Holy Mary- set sail for the New World. It took Columbus seventy-two days to cross the ocean [age of Mary and of Mary Magdalene when they both died].

End of Excerpt

In case you think Columbus was a racist and like seeing his statues torn down:

Five Myths About Christopher Columbus

1. MYTH: Columbus was sailing to prove the world was round.

FACT: Every educated person at the end of the fifteenth century knew the earth was a sphere, a fact known since antiquity. What was in dispute was the earth’s circumference, which Columbus underestimated by one-fourth.

2. MYTH: Queen Isabella sold her crown jewels to finance the first journey.

FACT: The royal treasury of Spain was depleted after the completion of the conquest of Granada early in 1492. However, Luis de Santangel, the royal treasurer, was able to secure funding by reaching out to the Crusading societies throughout the Mediterranean, as well as other financial backers from Spain and elsewhere. The crown put up very little to finance the journey.

3. MYTH: There was a priest on board the Santa Maria in 1492.

FACT: Because of the dangers involved, there were no priests or friars on the first voyage, despite the deep piety of Columbus. Many of the paintings of the first landfall in the new world on San Salvador show a priest with Columbus—contrary to the facts. There were five priests on the second voyage: Benedictine Father Buil; the Jeronymite Father Ramon Pane; and three Franciscans.

4. MYTH: Columbus introduced slavery to the New World.

FACT: Slavery was already widespread among the native Indians when Columbus arrived. Columbus was insistent on the fair treatment of the Indians, a policy which gained him many enemies as governor of Hispaniola. Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish friar who worked for the protection of the Indians, is quick to excoriate his fellow Spaniards in their grave abuses, but is filled with nothing but respect and admiration for Columbus. The mass subjugation and importation of Africans to the Americas did not begin until a generation after Columbus’ death.

5. MYTH: Columbus died a pauper, in chains, in a Spanish prison.

FACT: Despite the fact that the Spanish crown retracted some of the privileges promised to Columbus, he was relatively wealthy at the time of his death. Although he returned to Spain in chains in 1500 after his third voyage, the King and Queen apologized for the misunderstanding and had them removed.

On May 20, 1506, the Vigil of the Ascension, Christopher Columbus lay on his deathbed in his apartment at Valladolid, surrounded by his fellow Franciscans and his sons. As the friars chanted Compline, his last words echoed those of Christ on the cross: In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum. (Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.)

Footnotes

Irving, Washington. A history of the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus. Paris: A. and W. Galignani, 1828. 237.

colour highlight backgrounds –

Columbus, Ferdinand. The life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand. 1. Madrid: 1892. 14-15.

Polo, Marco. The Travels of Marco Polo. Project Gutenberg, 2004. 11-14. http://www. gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10636/pg10636.html.

Marckham, Clements Robert, ed. The Journal of Christopher Columbus. London: Chas. J. Clark, 1843. 16-17.

Miller, Kevin A. “Why Did Columbus Sail?” Christian History. Oct 1992: 6.

Marckham, Clements Robert, ed. The Journal of Christopher Columbus. London: Chas. J. Clark, 1843. 37.

Hardon, SJ, John. “Christopher Columbus, the Catholic.” Fr. Hardon Archives. Inter Mirifica, 2003. Web. 27 Jun 2012.

Markham, Clements Robert, ed. The Journal of Christopher Columbus. London: Chas. J. Clark, 1843. 139.

Grant, George. The Last Crusader. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1992. 67.

Grant, George. The Last Crusader. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1992. 69-70.

Columbus, Ferdinand. The life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand. Vol. 1. Madrid: 1892. 6.

Columbus, Christopher. The first letter of Christopher Columbus to the noble lord Raphael Sanchez announcing the discovery of America. Boston: Trustees of the Boston Public Library, 1891. 16.

Reproduced from Amercian TFP August 31, 2012, by Ben Broussard

Aaron Tippen lyrics:

When I spoke of the “pride” that should swell in every heart of a true American Patriot, below is my all-time favorite song about our country. While I mostly despise country music, this one is an exception, to me personally: