Laurence D. Behr,
Executive Director
Dec 24, 2002
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Dear Friends of the Arch of Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary and International Shrine of the Holy Innocents,
It is December 24, the traditional "Feast of Adam and Eve,"
celebrated in times past. Tomorrow the world celebrates the birth
of Christ, a triumph of the Light over darkness—and as well, a
triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart. Through Mary's obedience,
born of her pure heart and deep faith, we received our "second
parents," Jesus and Mary, the new Adam and Eve.
Because of this great undertaking on behalf of Our Blessed Mother,
Our Lord, and their innocent unborn, many non-Catholics are beginning
to ask what is meant by the "Immaculate Heart of Mary." Indeed,
one Baptist minister earnestly wrote me that he had visited a
Catholic bookstore seeking this information, and had even called
a priest he picked from a phone book, who admitted that he "doesn't
really know" what “Immaculate Heart of Mary” means.
What a shame, for any person of good faith and with a basic knowledge
of the Gospel can say what is meant by Mary's Immaculate Heart.
Immaculate means clean, pure, without spot; such a heart is totally
free of sin and viciousness; it is the pure heart of an innocent
child, like whom Jesus taught we must become, in order to enter
into the Kingdom of God. The Virgin Mary's purity of heart, if
greater in degree is not of a different kind, than the purity
of that little girl whose inquiring letter years ago evoked the
famous editorial, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." “Love
believes all things,” wrote Saint Paul; he might as well have
written “Purity believes all things,” understanding both love
and purity in their most exalted senses as uniting us with the
very heart of God, and the things believed by them, to be His
things. Love and purity exist together, in the same degree as
each other, and die if they are separated.
That is why we know Mary to be our loving Mother, and why those
Christians who do not gaze beyond the reported fact of Mary's
physical virginity, to look upon the spotless soul of Mary and
marvel at its shimmering beauty, deprive themselves of the greatest
blessing of salvation after knowing God Himself—and indeed, self-limit
their knowing of Him. An artist's true greatness cannot be fully
appreciated without contemplating his greatest creation, nor can
God's. Mary herself exclaimed under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, "My soul doth magnify the Lord" (Luke 1:46).
Without a doubt, Mary's revelation at Fatima, that "God wishes
to establish in the world, devotion to my Immaculate Heart," anticipated
the steady decline of morality that has brought us now to the
seeming bottom of an abyss of license and profligacy. Cardinal
Ratzinger's commentary on the Third Secret of Fatima makes it
clear that Mary's Immaculate Heart is offered for our imitation,
and in full accord with scriptural principles:
"In biblical language, the 'heart' indicates the center of human
life, the point where reason, will, temperament and sensitivity
converge, where the person finds his unity and his interior orientation.
According to Matthew 5:8, the 'immaculate heart' is a heart which,
with God's grace, has come to perfect interior unity and therefore
'sees God.' To be 'devoted' to the Immaculate Heart of Mary means
therefore to embrace this attitude of heart, which makes the fiat
- 'your will be done' - the defining center of one's whole life.
It might be objected that we should not place a human being between
ourselves and Christ. But then we remember that Paul did not hesitate
to say to his communities: 'imitate me' (1 Cor 4:16; Phil 3:17;
1 Th 1:6; 2 Th 3:7,9). In the Apostle they could see concretely
what it meant to follow Christ. But from whom might we better
learn in every age than from the Mother of the Lord?"
How perfectly this understanding of Mary’s important role in our
spiritual lives, is mirrored by this entry in the diary of St.
Maria Faustina, on Christmas Eve, 1936:
"During Holy Mass today, I was united in a particular way with
God and His Immaculate Mother. The humility and love of the Immaculate
Virgin penetrated my soul. The more I imitate the Mother of God,
the more deeply I get to know God. Oh, what infinite longing envelops
my soul! Jesus, how can You still leave me in this exile? I am
dying of longing for You. Every touch of my soul by You wounds
me immensely. Love and suffering go together; yet I would not
exchange this pain caused by You for any treasure, because it
is the pain of incomprehensible delights, and these wounds of
the soul are inflicted by a loving hand.” (843)
It is beyond question for any Christian, that the violence and
wars of the last century, and violent start of the new millennium,
are intimately intertwined with the impurity and lust so rampant
in our day, for impurity and hatred are mates, just as are purity
and love. But Mary promised at Fatima that in the end, her Immaculate
Heart will triumph, and the world would know peace. She made this
prediction and all her appearances at the Cova da Iria, the Hollow
of Irene—a name that means Queen of Peace—and a sign that proves
wrong those who dismiss Fatima as the product of over-imaginative
children's minds.
May the Queen of Peace and her glorious Son reign in our hearts
and in our world, and may you and your loved ones enjoy the most
blessed and merriest of Christmases!
For the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart,
Laurence D. Behr
LDBehr@ArchofTriumph.org
Executive Director, Ass'n for the Arch of Triumph Of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary and Int'l Shrine Of the Holy Innocents, Inc., A
NY Non-profit 501(c)(3) Corporation
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
GIVE THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING! Please make a pledge or a
donation today, to help accomplish our great task of proclaiming
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the coming of her glorious triumph,
to all the world.
HELP SOUND A GLOBAL SIGNAL CALL TO REPENTANCE, CONVERSION, AND
RENEWED PURITY OF HEART!
All contributions are gratefully received, and are fully tax deductible.
For each donation of at least $100 US, one name may be inscribed
on Mary’s golden Arch of Triumph of a person, living or deceased,
born or unborn ($175 US per wedded couple; $250 for group names).
Please consider adding $7.00 to defray transaction costs. Donors
of at least $1000 will also receive a beautiful signed certificate.
Donors of at least $2000 may also have names placed on bronze
plaques in the Chapels of the Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Heart,
the Triumph, or the Holy Innocents, as they may choose. Qualifying
donations may be cumulative. Send and make checks payable to:
Arch of Triumph of the IHM, PO Box 394, Buffalo, NY 14201. Make
SECURE charge and check account donations on our Web site, www.ArchofTriumph.org, or by calling toll free,
1-866-205-6512 (charge only). TO START OR JOIN LOCAL CHAPTERS;
to arrange larger dedicatory contributions, for instructions for
making stock donations, write, call or email Executive Director
Laurence D. Behr, Esq., using the above address or phone number,
or e-mail address LDBehr@ArchofTriumph.org.
FREE OFFER! Email us at tapes@archoftriumph.org,
to receive a free audiotape or CD of the riveting speech by Judge
Daniel J. Lynch, “Choose, America: Arch of Mercy, or Arch of Justice?”,
delivered at our first annual Celebration of the Culture of Life
and Civilization of Love, held in Buffalo NY Sept. 1, 2002. Email
us your name and postal mailing address, and specify your preference
for a tape or a CD, please!
PRAYER TO CHRIST UNBORN
Dear Lord Jesus in the womb of Blessed Virgin Mary, before your
birth You filled the unborn Baptist with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
Inspire us to see You in every unborn child. Grant us the perseverance
to defend vulnerable human life from abortion, abandonment, experimentation,
and all violations. Fill us with reverence for the moment of your
Incarnation in Nazareth when the Word became flesh. Amen.
(Email your name and postal address to Kelly G. Smith, kgsniagfalls@hotmail.com,
to receive a FREE Arch of Triumph prayer card).
