Free Republic

Even while the Civil War raged, slaves in Cuba could be heard singing, “Avanza, Lincoln, avanza! Tu eres nuestra esperanza!” (Onward, Lincoln, Onward! You are our hope!) – as if they knew, even before the soldiers fighting the war far to the North and long before most politicians understood, that the war in America would change their lives, and the world. The secession crisis of 1860-1861 threatened to be a major setback to the world antislavery movement, and it imperiled the whole experiment in democracy. If slavery was allowed to exist, and if the world’s leading democracy could fall apart...

Obama’s message is not new: tax the rich, give to the poor. Sure, it sounds nice… or does it? This strain sounds pretty Marxist to me. Why? Because his “tax cuts” are not tax cuts. He promises tax cuts for 95% of Americans. Guess what? Only 62% of Americans even pay federal income tax. So those other people, the ones who don’t pay taxes, can’t get “cuts” on something they don’t pay! So they’re just getting checks from the government. You know what we actually call Obama’s tax cuts? Income redistribution. Yes, I want to help the poor. But you...

(14 August is the feast day of the great Marian saint, St. Maximilian Kolbe. The following is taken and adapted from a booklet entitled "The Crusade of Mary Immaculate," printed by the Augustine Publishing Company, Devon, UK, 1988) The Crusade of Mary Immaculate"...The final aim of man is that to which he tends, and for the attainment of which he uses all means. Our aim is to love God through Mary Immaculate, and in her; therefore, our whole life should used for this purpose. To gain as many souls as possible, this is the purpose of our life; to give...

Domine Jesu Christe, qui beatissimam Virginem Mariam Matrem tuam ab orgine immaculatam innumeris miraculis clarescere voluisti: concede, ut ejusdem patrocinium semper implorentes, gaudia consequamur aeterna. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre, in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. "O Lord Jesus Christ, who have vouchsafed to glorify by numberless miracles, the Blessed Virgin Mary, immaculate from the first moment of her conception, grant that all who devoutly implore her protection on earth, may eternally enjoy Your presence in heaven, whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, live and reign, God, for ever and ever....

The Man Who Stepped Out of LineIn this post-feminist age where men are still learning remedial masculinity, we have a model of manhood lived heroically which we would do well to emulate. In the early twentieth century Poland gave us that manly priest, John Paul II, but also his hero, Maximilian Kolbe, priest, missionary, spiritual father and martyr of brotherly love. St. Maximilian’s feast day is August 14th, the vigil of his beloved Virgin Mary’s Assumption and the day which commemorates the conquest of virile love over the totalitarian creeds of his generation. As men, we could all learn a...

Who Are You, Immaculate Conception?Mary, mother of GodFr. [now Saint Maximilian] Kolbe asked this question during a meditation on February 17 1941, the same day he was arrested, just before he left for the concentration camp at Auschwitz, where he would die on August 15. Immaculate Conception : these very words crossed the lips of the Immaculate herself. So they must show just how important they were in describing who she is. Fr Kolbe remembered Mary’s declaration to Bernadette on March 25 1858. Fr Peyramale, the parish priest of Lourdes, had been astonished by the name Our Lady gave to...

Graces Will Be Abundant by Ada Locatelli, fkm On November 27, 1830, 175 short years ago, Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Laboure in the chapel of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity, at 140 Rue du Bac, Paris, entrusting the young novice with a mission and with a gift. Our Lady showed herself as the Immaculate Conception: her feet resting on a globe and crushing a twisted serpent, rings on her fingers and rays - symbol of graces - flowing from her hands. St. Catherine recounted: "Her height was medium and her countenance, indescribably beautiful... A frame... formed...

The Militia of the Immaculata (MI) is a worldwide evangelization movement founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1917 that encourages total consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a means of spiritual renewal for individuals and society. The MI movement is open to all Catholics. It employs prayer as the main weapon in the spiritual battle with evil. MIs also immerse themselves in apostolic initiatives throughout society, either individually or in groups, to deepen the knowledge of the Gospel and our Catholic Faith in themselves and in others. Marian consecration is a formal act of self-giving that does not stop...

St. Maximilian was born Raymond Kolbe in Poland, January 8, 1894. In 1910, he entered the Conventual Franciscan Order. He was sent to study in Rome where he was ordained a priest in 1918. Father Maximilian returned to Poland in 1919 and began spreading his Militia of the Immaculata movement of Marian consecration (whose members are also called MIs), which he founded on October 16, 1917. In 1927, he established an evangelization center near Warsaw called Niepokalanow, the "City of the Immaculata." By 1939, the City had expanded from eighteen friars to an incredible 650, making it the largest...

Recently I heard about an organization that was founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe called the Knights of the Immaculata (Militia Immaculata). The purpose of the Knights is to do all one can for the conversion of sinners, heretics, schismatics, and so on, above all the Masons, and for the sanctifcation of all persons under the sponsorship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Their website is http://www.consecration.com. I found an article on their site at the link at the top of the page that was written by St. Maximilian himself. It is an explanation of the prayer of (Marian) total consecration that...

 What is the MI?  Who is St. Maximilian?  What is Consecration?  Enroll in the MI  Contact Us  FAQ's  ((( MI News )))  Archives  Guestbook  Marytown  MI Resources  KFC  MI Centers  MI Youth  MI Villages  MI Contemplatives  LINK to us!  After Consecration Immaculata Magazine WHAT IS THE MI? The Militia of the Immaculata (MI) is a worldwide evangelization movement founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1917 that encourages total consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a means of spiritual renewal for individuals and society. The MI movement is open to all Catholics. It employs prayer as the main weapon...