For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will gather.Matthew 24:24–28
The other day I was invited to a movie preview, where the movie is shown prior to its actual release. I often get invitations to preview Christian themed movies prior to their release. I don’t write this as a movie review, although, it would appear that is what I am doing, but I write it as a warning to stay awake to certain things.
The movie I went to see is a musical about the birth of Christ that is due for release in November. I was actually very excited to see the movie because I love all things Jesus and I love musicals. I was expecting to be thoroughly uplifted. Though I often have trepidation about the depiction of Mary when Protestants depict her, I was not prepared for what I saw. I actually got up and walked out after 30 minutes. Our Lady was depicted as a feminist being held down by the man (Saint Joachim). She didn’t want to get married but was being forced to. She wanted to be a teacher and all her dreams were being smashed. There was even a scene where she told Saint Anne that she wished she had more faith!!!!
And Joseph, well, he was trying to pick up women in the market! He didn’t know the woman he was trying to pick up was Mary. But the message was clear, Joseph was out on the prowl.
It was as if the bible was never read prior to the making of this film. And the early church Fathers were certainly not read. Mary wasn’t a faith filled woman full of grace;
The angel came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28
and Joseph certainly wasn’t a righteous man;
And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her….Matthew 1:19
I wish I could tell you that the movie got better but I didn’t stay long enough to find out. I left a scathing review of how they essentially blasphemed the Mother of God.
To be fair, there was an opening where the makers of the film spoke of why they made the film. You could tell they loved Jesus. I know they did not know what they were doing.
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34
And I left so sorrowful, not wanting to give another minute of my time to such a lack of understanding. What could have been so heartening became a grief. I felt that in an effort to relate to the modern man, the movie had made Mary and Joseph the dregs of modern man.
I thought of the verse at the top of the article. The eagles pecking on the corpse of womanhood trampled upon left by a society who doesn’t really know God, even those baptized, who perhaps, desire to, but cannot look up enough to believe their nature can be elevated. Even the elect will be deceived. This isn’t just a statement about Protestants who denigrate Our Lady, Catholics do it too. There is one thing I know for sure, Our Lady, daughter of God the Father, Mother of the Son, and spouse of the Holy Spirit, is the key to these times. Those who degrade and blaspheme her will be deceived. People who do not realize Mary had total mortification of natural ego, are themselves submersed in ego. It is ego that keeps us from seeing and ego that leads to deception.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age
to those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped Israel his servant,
remembering his mercy,
according to his promise to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Luke 1:46-55
This may have been just a movie, but it speaks of the larger deception. But for those who submit themselves under the mantle of the Mother of God and surrender themselves to her Son, who is God Himself, they will be lifted up, even in their weaknesses.
Veil of Veronica 
An attack on Mary is an attack on the Divine Will. The opposite, consecration to Mary, brings about the Divine Will.
Susan, you have made a very important point. This will be an anchor for me in the weeks and months ahead: “There is one thing I know for sure, Our Lady, daughter of God the Father, Mother of the Son, and spouse of the Holy Spirit, is the key to these times. Those who degrade and blaspheme her will be deceived.”
You are once again spot on. It took me a long time to realize and accept Mary’s role in God’s plan and in our lives. Everything changed for me after my Consecration to her.
Thank you for your observation and may She protect you always.
Thank you.
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Your post today how Mary and Joseph images and holiness were brought so low by ignorance or worse is cause for sorrow in me too. It follows yesterday’s sorrow when I saw an EWTN news clip of the image of our beautiful Mother spray painted with black markings. I asked myself how would our Blessed Mother respond. She would respond in love. So I make reparation for those who do these things, I sacrifice for their souls. And I join her in sorrow. Mary loves even them. I will love them through these acts of love I can offer. Through her, I love them. Thank you Susan, my beautiful sister of our Abba, Father!
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Very thought provoking article, Susan. Thank you!
I think that such an attack on the Blessed Mother is not surprising at all. In fact, it is to be expected…
I remember reading long ago that the devil has far more hate and disdain for the Blessed Mother than of God, Himself…AND is more of afraid of her than God!
Why so? Because she is “not” God (which is the key) and yet she is “full” of grace. It is no wonder that St Louis de Montfort named two of his books “The Secret of Mary” and another “The Secret of the Rosary” – suggesting that she is indeed God’s “secret weapon”…
I was intrigued by the ambiguous titles that were given to those books when I first read them years ago and still am. The content of those books explains how amazingly “blind” the world can be in the face of the most powerful weapon in God’s arsenal!
The “weapon”for these times! Pray the Rosary. The other weapon is the Holy Face. I hope to write about that soon.
It’s about ignorance, really. How can anyone love someone that they do not know? That is the whole point of secrecy in the titles of Montfort’s books I think.
It’s essentially “ludicrous” that Montfort would suggest the “obvious” to be secret, but those who “dare” to read his books would in turn discover the power of her immense love, leading one to embrace his greatest work…”True Devotion” and the consecration to the Blessed Mother.
Thankfully, we have a God who took such “stark” ignorance into consideration (though) as you noted in this treatise – saying “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”…
When I first moved here, to Texas, I placed a small half dollar sized magnet depicting the Blessed Mother’s face on my front door as I always do. The image is a bit worn and is not very clear from wear over many years. I had only been here a couple of days when returning from a trip to the store, my next door neighbor (who was a lifetime Baptist) suddenly asked me as I was walking by “who” is that lady pictured on my door (she must have got up real close in order to see it in my absence). I responded to her that she was my mother…and then added “yours” too!
She then asked “are you Catholic”? I said “yes mam!”…to which she said “I have some questions for you!” I said “and I’ve got answers.” That lady was 87 years old at that time and obviously searching. The next two years became a sort of non stop “schooling” into the “secret” of Mary. She was delighted to know that she had had a momma that loved her so very much, as she had a very difficult relationship with her biological mom, even brutal at times.
In time, she was eventually moved to a nursing home where she would “pass out” pics of her new found mom, the Blessed Mother to the others there (asking me to bring her more and more of them) even among the “scorn” from her peers. It didn’t matter what anyone thought though. She truly felt loved for the very first time in her entire life! As a matter of fact, not long before she passed away she said that if she had a chance to have a “do over” of her life, she would do so as a Catholic!
My point in sharing this is to reveal the extent of the “ignorance” that many, many people have about the Blessed Mother – no matter “what” religious background one has…EVEN many supposed “devout” Catholics…
Discovering the “secret” of her love is a life changing thing. St Louis de Montfort knew that…and he also knew that his very works (themselves) would become “hidden” (literally) for a hundred years for protection from the anti- Catholic forces that were in place at that time! That is a most amazing fact as well!
The magnificat says: “His Mercy is from age to age for those who fear Him”…to which I would suggest that the love of the Blessed Mother is from age to age for those who fear her. To “fear” is not to be afraid but rather to be “respectful” is all!
The problem in the world today is that many are “afraid” of God or afraid of His Mother. To be afraid is NOT the same as being fearful!
That’s beautiful.
Unfortunately the genesis of the protestant churches was the protestation against the actual truth (One of today’s Mass reading is from 1 Tm 3:14-16 in it, it states “you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” We need to be very careful what sources we reference. There are many points in scripture that point to Our Lady, Let me mention 3.
The Angel’s greeting to Mary is the first point, it says “Hail Mary full of Grace”. If we go back to Rome we find the greeting “Hail Caesar”, this was the greeting to royalty or the highest authority, and that deference was given by an Archangel Gabriel to Mary! Just that one opening word shows the nobility and dignity of Mary given to her from Heaven!
The second point is from the “Our Father” where it states “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”. Here we can see the works of Mary. We understand that when the Will of God is done on Earth as it is in HEaven then the kingdom would come to Earth. It did, the Kingdom is the Holy Catholic Church, and Jesus is the King. But who was the first person to perfectly do the Will of God on Earth after the fall of Adam to bring the King and the kingdom to Earth? It was Mary, and her “Fiat” gave us the King, Jesus himself, fulfilling what God intended. Mary by her perfect adherence to the Will of God in Heaven gave us the Kingdom of God on Earth. Granted, the Kingdom is Apostolic and still spreading, so when we do the will of God we also help build and spread the Kingdom (The Church of God), but Mary alone fulfilled the statement.
The 3rd point is from Revelation 12, the chapter that describes the interplay of the great Red Dragon and Mary. It is clear it is Mary discussed, and in the text she also symbolizes the Church. The verse for this point to look at however is at the end, Verse 17 that states: “Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.” Yes her offspring, members of the Catholic Church , who received her as our Mother (at the foot of the cross when Jesus entrusted her to St. John), are the ones pointed to in the passage as “those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.” Woe to those who do not take this stern warning of scripture about the attacks of satan against those who are the offspring of Mary seriously.
I feel bad for those who are not her children, they may be missing out on more than I want to express. Jesus said “If you love me, keep my commandments” and it is the offspring of Mary who do that as shown in Rev 12:17. So the the real love of God truly is affiliated with his Mother. As said by the Archangel Gabriel in his statement in the annunciation, and recalled and prayed in the Hail Mary “the Lord is with you”, those who find Mary, find Jesus is with her. Mary (who also represents the Catholic Church) is the shortest and best path to Jesus. Hail “Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Our Life, Our Sweetness, and Our Hope” pray for those who do not know you, and for those of us who should contemplate you all the more.
Amen.
Thanks for the excellent comment.
It’s so sad to be subjected to this blasphemy, and think of the scandal it caused to others who may not know any better. As you discussed recently, we all need Mama Mary completely in these times. She is the new “Ark”. Beloved St. John Paul II said “If victory comes, it will come through Mary.” The books of de Montfort and Kolbe are so important now, to lead people to Mother Mary. She brings the powerful presence of her spouse, the Holy Spirit!
God bless you!
A was introduced to a Baptist author at a party – she saw my crucifix & without missing a bear said “Mary had other children you know – it’s in scripture.”.
She proceeded to tell me the novels she has written about Mary’s life. I was quiet since I was surrounded by lively Protestant women. I pray for them to be enlightened. They are upstanding mothers, wives and more. I look forward to the day they receive the Eucharist & we can talk about the Truth of our Blessed Mother. It will happen.
Prayers
I posted the following (a compilation of mine and others work) awhile ago for a similar statement in FaceBook, I slightly edited it for here. I hope it is of help on this.
It doesn’t say that in reality (MAry having other children other than adopting St. John at the Cross). Many Protestants know very little of the bible in reality (usually just a few verses), and often don’t understand the context that all family like cousins were called brothers and sisters, they get lost.
The Bible does indeed mention the “brothers” of Jesus. Mark 6:3, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon…”
Let’s look at Matthew 27:55-56. Here we see named some of the women who were at the Crucifixion. “There were also many women there, looking on from afar…among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses…” It seems that the James and Joses identified in Mark 6:3 as the “brothers” of Jesus, indeed had a mother named Mary, but it was not the same Mary who was the mother of Jesus.
Furthermore, let’s look at Galatians 1:19. Paul is talking about when he went to Jerusalem to consult with the chief of the Apostles, Peter, and while there, “I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.”
So, we have James, the “brother” of Jesus as mentioned in Mark 6:3, and James, the “Lord’s brother,” as mentioned in Gal 1:19. And this time James, the Lord’s brother, is identified as an apostle. So, if I’m a Bible-only believer — in other words, if the Bible is my sole rule of faith when it comes to all things related to the Christian Faith — then I have to admit that the James in Mark 6:3 and the James in Gal 1:19 are the same James; after all, how many brothers named “James” would Jesus have?
There’s a problem for those who would say this James is the son of Mary, the mother of Jesus. You see, this James is clearly identified as an apostle. Yet, of the two apostles named James that we find in the list of the twelve apostles (e.g., Matthew 10:1-4), one of them had a father named Zebedee and the other had a father named Alphaeus — neither one of them had a father named Joseph! Which means, neither one of them was Jesus’ sibling. Neither one of them had the same mother as Jesus. So, the James mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Gal 1:19 as a “brother” of Jesus, is a brother in a broader sense of the word, he was not a brother in the sense of having the same parents.
Now, Catholic tradition (small “t” tradition), often identifies the James in Galatians 1:19 as someone who was not one of the twelve apostles. However, someone who goes by the Bible alone and who does not put any stock in “tradition” cannot use the argument from tradition, because they only accept the Bible as the authority in matters Christian. So, using the Bible alone, one cannot argue that the James in Gal 1:19 is a “third” James who had at some point been named an apostle because the Bible nowhere mentions such a thing.
So, when we look at the “brothers” of Jesus in the broader context of Scripture, rather than just focusing on Mark 6:3, we see that the argument against the perpetual virginity of Mary has no foundation in the Bible.
Arguments about Scripture that don’t take account of the fact Scripture wasn’t written in English should be automatically disqualified! The New Testament doesn’t say Jesus has brothers. It says he has “adelphoi”—and although the most restrictive sense of “adelphos” is “brother”, it actually means a much broader range of relations, something more like “kinsman”. The feminine, “adelphe”, can mean “aunt” and even “WIFE”, as well as “sister”.
1 Corinthians 15:5-8 “ that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me.”
Did he have 500 brothers who were not of the 12?
Genesis 14:12-14 KJV (just for our Protestant friends!)
What is interesting about this is that in verse 12 we learn that Lot is the nephew of Abram (the son of Abram’s brother.) Lot was taken captive and it would seem that he was captured with some others because in verse 13 someone escapes and tells Abram about it. Verse 14 talks about Abram knowing that Lot was captured but the words used are, “when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive…” The word “brother” refers to Lot, but Lot is not Abram’s brother; instead he is his nephew. How can the bible make a glaring mistake? We have to go back to the Greek where the word is adelphos. So there is no mistake in Greek because adelphos can mean “uncle” too. The person, however, who translated this verse from Greek to English chose to render “adelphos” as “brother” (in this sense, a euphemism for someone close) instead of “uncle.” So if in these verses “brother” can mean “uncle” is it not at all possible that in Matthew 13:55 the word rendered as “brothers” can mean cousins or uncles or half-brothers?
One more…. In the story of the resurrection, When Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene, we see in John 20: 16-18 the following:
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher.
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.
Note: Jesus told her to go tell his “Brothers” and she went and announced to “the disciples”. The disciples are clearly the “Brothers” of Jesus in this context.