The Reign of Mary, Issue No. 185, Summer 2022

 
 
Letter from the Editor
by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI

Elections Matter: Overturning a Horrendous Ruling
by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
Before the completion of its term, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a decision on the Dobbs v. Jackson case that overturned the infamous Roe v. Wade decision of 1973. This case from Mississippi, widely seen as the best opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade (which claimed that women have a constitutional right to abortion) was originally argued before the court on December 1. Then, in February an unprecedented leak of a draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito caused a furor as it demonstrated the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade. Yet despite the pressure of illegal protests outside the homes of conservative justices, they held firm in their decision. Finally, on June 24, the decision was published in Dobbs v. Jackson, overturning the pro-abortion ruling of Roe v. Wade...

Rest in Pieces: The Destruction of Catholic Funerals
By Rev. Fr. Joseph Appelhanz
If someone were to enter a typical Novus Ordo church for a funeral, and then later attend another funeral at a traditional Catholic Church, the person would immediately notice a myriad of differences. Now on the surface, the Novus Ordo funeral would appear to be bright and almost joyful while the traditional one would appear somber and almost sad. However, if the person continued his observations, he would perhaps notice a different emphasis in each. The Novus Ordo funeral seems to be a celebration of the person’s life; the traditional funeral on the other hand, is focused on praying for the soul of the departed person. Why is there such a difference in tone? The answer is because the Novus Ordo Church deemphasizes the doctrine of purgatory...

How Divine Providence Has Safeguarded the Church Through the Ages
By Rev. Fr. Francisco M. Radecki, CMRI
I hope you enjoy the following stories of God’s providential care over the Church. Though it is customary to view history from ancient times to modern, this talk will do the opposite. The reason is, with limited time, I would like you to know of events closer to your lifetime first. God uses whatever means are at His disposal to bring about His designs including battles, fog, hurricanes, tornadoes, alpine winds, and rain. He also guides leaders so they know what to do at critical junctures in history. He protects the Church in every era against all its enemies...

True and False Apparitions of the Mother of God
by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
A few weeks ago I received an email that was sent to our congregation’s website (cmri.org) asking the question: “Do you, Religious Congregation of Mary, Immaculate Queen — do you agree with Our Lady of Akita?” I don’t even remember what the message was that we were being asked whether or not we agreed with, but I simply replied that I do not believe that is a true apparition of our Blessed Mother. And I told him the reasons why (which I will come back to later), and we never heard from him again. So there are people who love Our Lady, who are very sincere in wanting to pray the rosary and work out their salvation and so forth, but believe wholeheartedly in one of the modern apparitions that I question...

American Heroes of the Faith: The Silent Heroes
by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
Our goal with this column for The Reign of Mary is to acquaint our readers with some of the little-known Catholic heroes of our country’s history. Recently, we have been highlighting some of the early bishops of America. As we read about their lives, we realize that they faced incredible odds in building up the Church in their dioceses. One of the goals of these bishops was to bring religious communities from Europe to their dioceses to help with the work of the Church. Many of these religious were teachers or worked in hospitals and orphanages, but there were also contemplatives...

Let Us Rejoice at the Most Noble Birth of the Glorious Virgin Mary
A Sermon Preached on Trinity Sunday, 2021, by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
My dearly beloved in Christ, we celebrate today a wonderful feast day, the feast of the Nativity of Our Blessed Mother. Normally we celebrate, for feast days of saints, the day on which they died, because on that day they went into heaven. We do not celebrate the birthdays of saints, with three exceptions. First we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Himself, the Son of God, on Christmas day. We also celebrate the birthday of St. John the Baptist on June 24. St. John the Baptist was, like all human beings — Our Blessed Mother being the lone exception — conceived in original sin. But he was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother St. Elizabeth at the visitation of Our Lady, and so he was born without stain of sin. That is why we can celebrate the birthday of St. John the Baptist. And finally, Our Blessed Mother herself, who having been conceived immaculately, was always without any sin. That is why we celebrate her birthday...

True Devotion to Mary: Part II
by Rev. Fr. Dominic Radecki, CMRI
Most Catholics are familiar with the term devotion, such as in “devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.” The word devotion describes three things: First, certain forms of prayer or pious exercises such as the Stations of the Cross, the Rosary, devotions to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, etc. Second, it is also a way to express your feelings during prayer such as spiritual consolation experienced during Mass, meditation, etc. Third, devotion is primarily a prompt act of the will whereby a person offers himself to the service of God. True devotion to Mary corresponds with this third form of devotion...
Spiritual Aids for Confraternity Members for the months of October, November and December

World Watch:
“Pope” Francis Doubles Down on Latin Mass Restrictions
Pro-Abortion Pelosi Receives “Communion” at Vatican
“Pope” Francis Denies Plans to Resign
Abortion Centers Close as a Result of Supreme Court Decision
Novus Ordo “Cardinal” to Shut Down Latin Mass Group
Francis Participates in Pagan Smudge Ceremony
Novus Ordo “Mass” in the Ocean
Francis Decries Non-Acceptance of Vatican II
Vatican Issues Lackluster Response to Supreme Court Decision