Return to The Reign of Mary No. 120
The Reign of Mary
No. 120: Letter from the Editor
May 13, 2005
St. Robert Bellarmine (Our Lady of Fatima)
Dear Readers,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!
With deep regrets we are sending out this issue quite behind schedule, and we appreciate your patience in awaiting this issue.
It has been a momentous few months since our last issue, beginning with the disastrous tsunami in Southeast Asia that killed well over 150,000 people and injured or displaced hundreds of thousands more. Unfortunately, even with all the technology we have today, there were not adequate warning mechanisms to prevent the death and suffering of so many.
In the face of such disaster, the thought of God’s threatened punishment upon Nineveh came to my mind. I could not help but muse: if the people there had done penance for their sins, would not God have spared them from the catastrophe, just as He had spared the Ninevites from being destroyed because of the penance they did for their sins? I say this, of course, with great compassion for the sufferings of the tsunami victims, mindful that if we had been struck in such a manner, we should have to accept the suffering as punishment for our sins. Whatever the purpose God had in mind in permitting this disaster, though, it was gratifying to see how virtually the entire world responded with outpourings of every kind of aid to help the victims. This charity was indeed a good that came of the great evil.
We all paused to reflect when we heard of the death of Sr. Lucia on February 13. It was indeed the end of a long era: the sole surviving witness to the entire Fatima happenings was now gone. Though she was under the control of the Novus Ordo church, we remember the promise of Our Lady that Lucia would go to heaven some day, along with Francisco and Jacinta. We pray that she is looking once more upon our Heavenly Mother, more beautiful and resplendent in heavenly glory than in her appearances on earth.
Another couple of recent deaths had even greater repercussions in the world: that of Terri Schiavo on March 31, and that of John Paul II on April 2.
Terri’s death was watched by virtually all of America. Sadly, we saw her starve and dehydrate to death after her feeding tube was withdrawn by court order. Having weighed both sides of the argument, I’ve concluded that Terri was deprived of what should have been considered ordinary means for sustaining her life (see p. 4 for our statement on the matter). What is particularly poignant is that extraordinary means or not, her parents were most willing to care for her. They had the incredible anguish of seeing their daughter’s life brought to an end by the deprivation of liquid food and water.
Just two days later, John Paul II died, and for many people this was a most unique event, since he had been the pope of the Modernist church for some twenty-six years. Since CMRI has been of the sedevacantist persuasion for many years, we did not mourn his passing as the death of a Roman Pontiff, needless to say.
His successor in the Conciliar Church, Benedict XVI, is the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who was one of the theological experts and hence architects of the disaster of Vatican II. From the start, he made it clear that he will continue to implement Vatican II (instead of recognizing it for the theological debacle that it was), and that he will “reach out to all religions.” So nothing has changed, despite his reputation of being a conservative. We shouldn’t expect the leopard to change his spots. Our next issue will have more commentary on him.
May you have a blessed month of May, the month of our Heavenly Queen and Mother. Honor her with special devotion each day, and never forget how much she loves you!
In Jesus and Mary,
Fr. Casimir M. Puskorius, CMRI (Email)