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Why Heretics Hate Mary and We Should Love Her More
One Peter Five ^ | August 5, 2019 | Timothy Flanders

Posted on 08/07/2019 3:20:08 PM PDT by ebb tide

Why Heretics Hate Mary and We Should Love Her More

Marian devotion is the cure for heresy and the healing of all heretics. We must turn to her for refuge from the heretical depravity now consuming the Church. Marian devotion is the destruction of error, the fount of humility, and a potent safeguard for orthodox faith.

Mary Is the Destroyer of All Heresies

In True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis de Montfort writes:

The most infallible and indubitable sign by which we may distinguish a heretic, a man of bad doctrine, a reprobate, from one of the predestinate, is that the heretic and the reprobate have nothing but contempt and indifference for our Blessed Lady, endeavoring by their words and examples to diminish the veneration and love of her. (30)

In the Tract for the Mass Salve Sancta Parens, the Church sings, “Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, thou alone hast destroyed all heresies.” From this, Pope St. Pius X invoked her as “Destroyer of Heresies” in Pascendi 58. And again, it was in the context of St. Dominic’s war against heresy that the Holy Rosary, Mary’s psalter, was revealed.

Thus, it is manifest that Our Lady holds a special place in the relationship of Holy Church with heresy and heretics. Why is this? It is because the root cause of heresy is not anger, lust, or sloth, but pride. A formal heretic pridefully and obstinately rejects the authority of the Church and the authority of the Fathers. His whole opinion hinges on an imaginary antiquarianism created by his pride. And it is against the sin of pride that Our Lady most perfectly shows her power. This is why St. Louis says in another place:

[Satan] fears her not only more than all Angels and men, but in some sense more than God Himself … because Satan, being proud, suffers infinitely more from being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of God, and her humility humbles him more than the Divine power. (True Devotion, 52)

Demons and heretics fear her because she threatens to humble them. The latter impiously attack her under the pretense that they are safeguarding the honor due to God. In reality, they know that Mary will destroy their prideful opinions. “Humility is an abomination to the proud ” (Ecclus. 13:24).

How Mary Humbles the Proud

When the Holy Spirit exalted Mary by the mouth of St. Elizabeth, Mary said:

He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble. (Lk. 1:51)

Devotion to Mary brings humility to the soul. Just as St. John heard her voice and leaped for joy, and St. Elizabeth immediately humbled herself, saying “Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk. 1:43), we too know this humility when we exalt Mary.

Mary humbles us because God wills that Jesus Christ be manifested to the world through her. According to nature, any man is her equal. According to grace and merit, she is “more honorable than the cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim” [1]. In Mary, our humility is truly tested because she is a human, not God.

Humility toward God is presumed by all, and heretics falsely think themselves humble because they say they submit to God. But their pride is revealed when they refuse to submit to man — both legitimate authority and the sayings of the wise. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that is wise hearkeneth unto counsels” (Prov. 12:15).

A humble man may even debase himself before wicked men, as our Lord did.  But heretics have no humility toward men. In reality, heretics are attempting to impose their private opinion on all authorities. They have no humility toward any human but are consumed in their own selves. As the history of Protestantism has shown, it is easy to feign humility toward God while exalting yourself over every man. This is the way of all the heretics.

One who is humble toward Mary will be humble toward authority. Mary especially checks the pride of heretics by proclaiming that they cannot have their own private, “personal Jesus,” since our Lord has forever bound Himself to His mother by His incarnation. In the same way that the Incarnation is the foundation of our redemption — without which there can be no Passion or Resurrection — the human person of Jesus Christ cannot exist without the person of Mary [2]. As I have written in another place, true union with Christ will result in love of Mary as our mother, who was also the first natural cause of His appearance to the world.

Marian Devotion is a test for orthodoxy

Since Marian Devotion is the fount of humility, it becomes a powerful test for orthodoxy. For example, when St. John Vianney’s lack of intelligence presented a barrier to his ordination, he was evaluated like this:

The vicar-general asked the superior of the seminary: ‘Is young Vianney pious? Is he devoted to the Blessed Virgin?’ The authorities were able to assure him fully upon these points. ‘Then,’ said the vicar-general, ‘I will receive him. Divine grace will do the rest.’ [3]

And so the Church ordained the future patron of parish priests. Sometimes it is as simple as asking if a man has Marian devotion. If a man is truly devoted to our Lady, he can be no heretic. St. Louis again:

“If you follow her,” says St. Bernard, “you cannot wander from the road.” Fear not, therefore, that a true child of Mary can be deceived by the evil one, or fall into any formal heresy. There where the guidance of Mary is, neither the evil spirit with his illusions, nor the heretics with their subtleties, can ever come — Ipsa tenente, non corruis. (True Devotion, 209) [4]

Thus, it is unsurprising that when we read through Building a Bridge by James Martin, S.J., a book purported to be about mercy and compassion, not a single page mentions the Mother of mercy and compassion. In fact, on page 130, he even erroneously asserts that at the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene was the first Christian, implicitly denying our Lady and the entire tradition of her Saturday memorial in which her sole faithfulness is commemorated. The examples of his warped or deficient Marian piety are only too easy to find [5].

But it is even more disturbing when we read how the Rhine group at Vatican II successfully suppressed the document on the Mother of God, relegating it, by a narrow vote, to the final section in Lumen Gentium (against the protests from Eastern Catholic bishops and others) [6]. When their efforts to suppress Marian devotion were opposed by Paul VI (to his credit), the time became known to them as “Black Week” [7]. Perhaps more alarming, Ratzinger himself admits that his Marian piety was weak in Last Testament and seems to imply the false dichotomy that Marian piety is not Christocentric [8]. Without succumbing to the sin of rash judgment, it is nevertheless suggestive that this lack of Marian piety correlates with an apparent hubris on the part of many Vatican II “reformers.”

Whatever the true state of these and other men with an apparent reluctance to love and honor their own mother, we can be certain that our Blessed Lady is a sure refuge from heresy. As Fr. Ripperger has stated, without a strong intellectual formation, everyone becomes a Modernist in our corrupt society. That is why we must cling to Our Lady for refuge from heretics and heresy in our time.

True devotion to Mary keeps us safe from the excesses of pride. Even more in our day, let us consider: she stood firm, though she witnessed the Passion and death of our Lord. We also must stand firm, even as we are witnessing the passion and death of the Church. Moreover, it seems clear from her frequent apparitions since the 19th century that Our Lord has purposed His mother for a special role in resolving this crisis. Let us pray our daily rosary and make the First Saturdays. Let us abide with Our Lady in the Passion of the Church and never lose hope for the Glorious Resurrection.


[1] Eastern Catholic Marian antiphon

[2] So too the mediation of the Sacraments — through another human — we receive our Lord.

[3] The Life of Saint John Vianney, The Curé of Ars, ch. 1

[4] It should be noted that Marian devotion is not an infallible test for orthodoxy, but merely a general rule against which there can be significant exceptions. Some Protestants, although material heretics, are in fact humble, and some Catholics are orthodox with little or no Marian piety. However, no man can be truly devoted to Our Lady and be a heretic. Moreover, formal heresy is defined as an error in the intellect and an obstinate will. It is particularly the latter from which Mary keeps us safe.

[5] I refuse to expose the reader to any further abuse of Our Lady from James Martin. Suffice it to say I have searched in vain for a substantial treatment or promotion of Marian devotion from Martin, and he admits in My Life with the Saints, p. 345ff., that his Marian devotion, which was shallow in his youth, was formed by the Jesuits as an imitation model, not the traditional, primarily mediatrix role. If his Marian devotion does go beyond sentimentality, let him publicly and explicitly disavow every heresy of which he is accused.

[6] See Rev. Ralph Wiltgen, The Rhine Flows into the Tiber (Augustine, 1979), 90ff.

[7] See Ibid., 234ff. The Rhine group was opposing Paul VI’s honoring of our Lady as “Mother of the Church” as well as his actions regarding collegiality, religious liberty, and ecumenism.

[8] See Benedict XVI, Last Testament, trans. Jacob Phillips (Bloomsbury, 2016), 70ff. As I have read more into Ratzinger, despite his obvious strengths, more of his theology has concerned me. This point was another red flag


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; Theology
KEYWORDS: maryworship; spanishinquisition
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To: Mark17
Me too bro. I believe Mary had other children.

You know who else believes she had other childern?

Her other children!

461 posted on 08/09/2019 5:18:22 PM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Mark17

Mary was married to Joseph when the angel came with the message to her. She had already entered into a marriage contract with Joseph, her husband.

If she had no intention of consummating the marriage, she entered into a fraudulent marriage contract that would be ground for annulment in Roman Catholicism today.


462 posted on 08/09/2019 5:18:36 PM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith..)
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To: papertyger

Soon, you will be commanded to take The Mark. Don’t take the Mark when commanded to you, regardless of what signs and lying wonders are accompanying.


463 posted on 08/09/2019 5:19:06 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensation perspective is a powerful tool for discernment)
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To: metmom
I'm included in the *whoever* in John 3.

There you go with sin of presumption again, topped off with unsubstantiated defamations of Christ's Mother!

Good job.

464 posted on 08/09/2019 5:19:44 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome)
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To: ravenwolf

All our righteous works are as filthy rags in God’s sight.

Mary was favored because she was chosen to be mother of the Messiah, not necessarily because of some inherent virtue of hers that God thought was really special.


465 posted on 08/09/2019 5:20:22 PM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith..)
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To: ebb tide

Could Jesus die? ... And you thought your smartaleck remark was clever!


466 posted on 08/09/2019 5:22:07 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensation perspective is a powerful tool for discernment)
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To: metmom
Mary was married to Joseph when the angel came with the message to her. She had already entered into a marriage contract with Joseph, her husband.

[34] And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? Luke Chapter 1

467 posted on 08/09/2019 5:25:10 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome)
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To: MHGinTN

Jesus willed to die for our salvation

He could have struck down all his Roman centurion executioners had He chosen. But He loves us and died for us.

Have you no faith in the omnipotence of God?


468 posted on 08/09/2019 5:28:53 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome)
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To: ebb tide
In the time of Mary and Joseph, betrothal WAS MARRIAGE with a usually one year waiting period for preparation and dowery accumulation. Are you onn drugs? ...

Luke 1:26 In the sixth month (of Elizabeth's pregnancy, or sixth month of the Jewish calendar?)) the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”<

469 posted on 08/09/2019 5:36:35 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensation perspective is a powerful tool for discernment)
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To: ebb tide

So, if His body died, is that not corruptible flesh? Think, curmudgeon, THINK!


470 posted on 08/09/2019 5:37:48 PM PDT by MHGinTN (A dispensation perspective is a powerful tool for discernment)
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To: MHGinTN

Was it “corrupted flesh” that rose from the dead?

Was it “corrupted flesh” that ascended into Heaven?

Ever think about that?


471 posted on 08/09/2019 5:40:18 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome)
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To: ebb tide; metmom
[34] And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? Luke Chapter 1

Ok, genius....tell us what this means in the church of ebb.

472 posted on 08/09/2019 5:40:27 PM PDT by ealgeone
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To: ebb tide; metmom; MHGinTN; Mom MD; daniel1212
Jesus willed to die for our salvation He could have struck down all his Roman centurion executioners had He chosen. But He loves us and died for us. Have you no faith in the omnipotence of God?

And by your own admission you're trusting in this idol...which btw costs anywhere from $2.49 to $11.95.

It's an idol ebb and you've fallen for the lie.

Image result for brow scapular

473 posted on 08/09/2019 5:45:01 PM PDT by ealgeone
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To: ealgeone; metmom
You know who else believes she had other children?

Her other children!

I am actually glad that Mary and Joseph had normal sexual relations and pleasure, after Jesus was born. I bet they enjoyed sex, but because of Mary’s normal sex life with her husband, she gave birth to James and Jude, who wrote scripture in the New Testament. Praise God for Mary and Joseph’s married life. James and Jude were good writers. 😁 My opinion is, they did not become saved believers, till after the resurrection, but I am not sure exactly when they became saved, once and forever. It’s a beautiful thing to have assurance of salvation. I love it. If others have no assurance, they better figure out why, before they are cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. 👍😁🙃

474 posted on 08/09/2019 5:45:55 PM PDT by Mark17 (Master Sgt, US Air Force, retired. Air traffic controller. Father of US Air Force 2nd Lieutenant)
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To: Mark17

+1


475 posted on 08/09/2019 5:47:01 PM PDT by ealgeone
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To: ealgeone
Ok, genius....tell us what this means in the church of ebb.

You are mistaken. I belong to the Catholic Church, the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

Good luck in your little sect.

476 posted on 08/09/2019 5:47:04 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome)
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To: ebb tide

Ok...what does the verse mean?


477 posted on 08/09/2019 5:48:03 PM PDT by ealgeone
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To: ebb tide

so why do you do it then? Saying Mary was sinless and perpetually a virgin is lying about her


478 posted on 08/09/2019 5:50:29 PM PDT by Mom MD
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To: ebb tide
So all you know is that the Mother of God sinned, but you can’t name any of Her sin(s), and that Mary was not assumed into Heaven. Is that right?

What kind of Catholic argument is that?! Many people in Scripture have no sins attributed to them (the devout Ananias for one), while we cannot say that Hannah was not bodily assumed into Heaven, or that Jesus did not appear in America after His resurrection, etc.

However, that something could have happened is not a basis for any doctrine that asserts it did, and which hermeneutic would renders it an untenable doctrine.

But the absence of the mention of exceptions to the norm is an argument against the premise that one did, since the Holy Spirit mentions notable exceptions to the norm even among lesser figures. From extreme age (Methuselah), to excess size, fingers (Goliath), strength (Samson), speed (Asahel), sterility (Hannah), a celibate marriage (David and Abishag), prolonged celibacy (Anna), birth by a virgin (Mary), ascetic diet (John the Baptist), uncharacteristic singleness (Paul and Barnabas), and uncharacteristic duplicity of Peter, the surpassing grace and labor and suffering of Paul, the lack of genealogy of Melchizedek, etc., to Christ being sinless, which is mentioned at least thrice.

In the absence of any statement or clear manifest evidence to the contrary, then the norm is to be presumed.

Moreover, since God used sinners build His tabernacle and to bring forth His pure and holy word, and come into a defiled world and even touch lepers while here, He certainly can take upon flesh thru a sinner.

479 posted on 08/09/2019 5:51:47 PM PDT by daniel1212 ( Trust the risen Lord Jesus to save you as a damned and destitute sinner + be baptized + follow Him)
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To: Iscool
So based on the book...

That’s your first and primary mistake. You might as well claim you can become a competent doctor by reading enough medical books.

480 posted on 08/09/2019 5:53:04 PM PDT by papertyger (Welcome to the Wild West.)
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