Britain and Japan Both Nix The Narrative

 By Anna Von Reitz

People have been waiting for the domino to take down The Big Lie.

Britain's announcement that Mandates, Mask Mania, and Vax Passports are not going to be part of Britain's future came today, with Boris Johnson appearing briefly before Parliament to make the public disclosure ---and being met with applause.

Japan's action exiting the Weird World of Media-Caused Delusion came a couple weeks earlier and without much fanfare. They simply banned all the hoop-la and slapped a myocarditis warning on all remaining supplies.

Britain and Japan join Spain and several other countries, mostly small but wise African nations, that saw the light and smelled the rats much earlier on.

And now, it's just a matter of time before the rest of the world shakes awake and rejects the whole Pandemic Narrative.

That said, it's too little and too late.

Hundreds of thousands have already died and hundreds of thousands more will die because of this madness. Someone has to pay for that.

The politicians can't be allowed to shrug and pawn it off on their politicized "scientific" advisors. They all have cause to know that health, even Public Health, is a subject beyond the reach of any Constitution, or any private work-for-hire contract.

The courts have, on average, performed better than one might expect, having quashed many of the most oppressive over-reaches of the politicians. One might suspect that their fear of the Public has been aroused, which is a good thing.

The military, as usual, has insisted on viewing the world through a fish-eye lens, with everything distorted into endless arguments about the limits of military power and the rights of corporations to impose their private policies and "laws" on their employees in defiance of the Public Law of this country.

Does any such corporate omnipotence right exist? No, it does not. And that is another Big Question arising from The Big Lie that needs to be answered with a cannonade and 21-gun salvo right up the rumps of all the petty bureaucrats who stood by and took part in this horrifying debacle.

The military, at least the Marine Corps, seems to be genuinely confused about the rejection of their religious exemption claims. They should assign a few people to read my archives.

Then they would learn that when they join the military they waive their Constitutional guarantees and if they don't serve Notice of their return to their birthright political status after their Tour is done, they remain obligated to obey Federal Code and have no access to the Constitutional Guarantees they fought for.

Nice, huh?

But there is this much to say --- there is a silver lining to being abused as underpaid mercenaries and misidentified as British Territorials for 160 years.

Americans know how to fight and once we get a clear view of what motivated the Plandemic and who is responsible for it, the end of this sordid chapter of our history is sure.

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There Are Two "Forces" of Occupation

 By Anna Von Reitz

I understand why people are confused. They are being deliberately kept confused by those who benefit themselves from our confusion.

Tonight, I received word that countermeasures will be taken against the Municipal Government by the Territorial Government.

The Territorial Government is claiming that this is okay under the Geneva Conventions, because the Municipal Government Perps have had one full year in which to declare themselves as belligerents -- one way or the other -- and they haven't done it.

All those who have been resisting my instruction to declare their birthright political status and place it on the Public Record ---take heed! If you are not identifiable as an American civilian, you can be mistaken for an "Enemy" and shot, jailed, and/or have your property confiscated.

It is crucial for all of you to know and accept the fact that your country has been occupied by two opposing Mercenary Armies since 1860. They are engaged in the world's longest running "mercenary conflict", and it is right here on your shores. Being clueless will not save you.

Having your identity and political status declared on the Public Record may be the only thing that prevents you from being misidentified in the maelstrom they are now creating.

It is certainly better to declare yourselves as American civilians than to leave it up to the British-American Raj to interpret your identity and status. Knowing that you are owed the Law of Peace established in the Army Regulations may save you. Flying your American Peacetime Flag may save you and identify your household as being at peace.

According to the Territorial Government, they will have the right to undertake military action in defense of the country at noon on January 20th, the day the 2020 Presidential Election was certified despite evidence of massive voter fraud brought forward by Italy and other foreign governments and agencies.

The situation is being compared to the situation the Allies faced at the end of World War II, where the Nazi-Sympathizing Vichy French Government was still in place in France and had to be removed, even though technically it was French and civilian in nature.

The members of the Vichy Government, though French, owed their political allegiance to the Nazis, and had to be removed from power by force.

In the same way, the Municipal Government and its agents owe their political allegiance to the Pope and Rome, and when they operate the quote-unquote "American Government" they are acting as Undeclared Foreign Agents.

Most Municipal Agents (and U.S. Territorial Citizens) are American by birth, and they appear to be as American as everyone else, but in fact, they have abandoned their American political status and are working for a different foreign government while appearing to be American and acting under color of authority.

It's true that the Municipal Government has done that, but don't forget three very important points:

(1) Both of these entities, Territorial and Municipal, are foreign forces of occupation so far as we are concerned.

(2) Both of these entities, the Territorial and the Municipal "Governments" are in fact foreign commercial corporations in the business of providing government services, so the only kind of war they can engage in is a mercenary conflict.

(3) Both of these incorporated "governmental services corporations" are ultimately owned by the Pope, so there is no excuse for any fight or failure to resolve this long-standing debacle peacefully.

What should happen now is what should have happened in 1865.

There should be a full-scale public admission and explanation of the circumstance. And then Americans should step forward, declare themselves, and engage in the first Public Elections in 160 years, to elect new leaders of an actual American civilian government, without regard to political parties (which are foreign).

The partisan private shareholder elections that everyone has hitherto --- and incorrectly --- assumed to be Public Elections, need to be disclosed for what they are, and all participants given full and complete disclosure.

This should be simple to do with modern communications technologies and does not require any bloodshed or fighting or destruction of property. The Bigger Picture here is one of administrative dishonesty and incompetence.

The issues that really need to be addressed are all issues of breach of trust, unjust enrichment and identity theft, evasion of Public Law, conspiracy against the Constitution, and similar crimes ----and they need to be handled as crimes, not as political issues.

Both "armies" of occupation need to stand down and support the actual American Government that they in fact owe allegiance to. If the U.S. Military wants to arrest the rotters, they are well-within their rights and duty to do so --- without using our country as a battlefield, and our mostly clueless people as targets.

The formal "declaration" of oneself is a necessary evil in "occupied territory" and against this backdrop of internecine corporate "mercenary wars" it becomes even more crucial.

Everyone who receives this message is being forewarned.

Go to the https://tasa.americanstatenationals.org/ website and fill out and record your "1779 Declaration" now. All Americans are advised to obtain your own American peacetime flag and fly it. Make it clear that you are a peaceable Third Party American. http://www.annavonreitz.com/order.html

We appeal to the High Courts and all Administrative Powers and Assigns, to yield to the Truth and serve a permanent protective injunction covering all the Americans, who are owed good faith and service from both the Territorial and Municipal Governments, and who hereby object to the promotion of any warfare on our shores.

We, the actual States and People, have been at peace since 1814. We are not, ultimately, a war-like people and fully deserve to live in peace without any transgressions or continued damage caused by misdirected employees ---and all resulting from the Pope's failure to control corporations that he owns and operates.

Make no mistake. This situation is dangerous and requires action and awareness. Whatever the U.S. Military is planning is likely to take place very rapidly, without forewarning to the population in general, and will be veiled in ignorance ---- you can bet that the soldiers executing the orders will have no actual knowledge of who they are fighting or why, and will have no idea what ends they are serving.

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Israeli Scientist Blows Down the Covid House of Cards

 https://newswithviews.com/israeli-scientist-blows-down-the-covid-house-of-cards/

Severely Ill COVID-19 Patient Moved 1,000 Miles After Doctors Threaten to Turn Off Ventilator

https://www.theepochtimes.com/severely-ill-covid-patient-moved-1000-miles-after-doctors-threaten-to-turn-off-ventilator_4221986.html

German Lawyer Sues The World Over Coronavirus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpOzHHJmy7g

The Secret Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

 https://newswithviews.com/the-secret-life-of-martin-luther-king-jr/

A Short Time After the Great Earthquake

 By Anna Von Reitz

I hate to be harping on this, but look at where we are in the playbook. We will move on with the issues of the American Government soon enough, but there's something here everyone needs to take into consideration.

I have observed to you that virtually all the prophecies up to and including the end of the world prophecies have been fulfilled. The Great Abomination --- the Great Harlot --- does indeed stand in a place where she should not be: New York Harbor. The Great Tribulation -- the fraudulent extraction of tribute to Rome -- has come and is now ending.

How about the Great Earthquake?

Turns out that we have lots of hard evidence of an incredible world-wide earthquake happening sometime in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. Those of you who spent a little time yesterday and checked out the "empty city" photographs were also exposed to the Mud Flood --- massive evidence of worldwide liquefaction --- a phenomenon that occurs during earthquakes.

Water-logged or silty soils disturbed by the vibrations generated by a powerful earthquake make the soil "liquify" to a quicksand-like consistency, and then, as the earthquake subsides, the soil hardens up again. We saw that happen here in Alaska during our famous 1964 Earthquake.

It explains, among other things, the leaning towers found all over the world and the buildings, including our own U.S. Capitol Building, that have apparently sunk six to nine feet straight down into the soil, effectively burying all or part of the original first floor of the building.

The evidence of this "Mud Flood" is overwhelming and fully demonstrated at locations all around the world..... so..... what caused it? What could possibly cause a worldwide phenomenon of liquefaction?

Only the biggest earthquake anyone ever heard of. Just what the Disciples were told to look for as a sign of the End Times. Why weren't we told about this?

Who knows?

Have the rats been seeking to hide themselves in the hills and caves? Given all the tunnel-works discovered in the past ten years underlying major cities and remote "continuation of government" locations as well?

Has Satan, the Father of All Lies, been turned loose for a "short time"? Three cataclysmic wars in the space of a hundred years, plus innumerable smaller clashes? Civil War, First World War, and Second World War, plus Korea, plus Vietnam, plus all the other worldwide destruction?

Plus the unprecedented, blatant, universal culture of lies and deceit and self-interest that we've observed and demonstrated? Sounds like Old Scratch has been on the loose again.

You might ask when this world ever had a thousand years of peace, but then, we know that Saint Jerome erased 1,100 years of human history --- just drew a line through it --- at the Council of Nicea.

And we know, if we think about it, that people in the nineteenth century and the centuries immediately preceding, did not have the tools and technology, much less the wealth, to build the great houses and castles and cathedrals and buildings of government that we see throughout the world.

What if all this magnificent architecture was built during the thousand years of peace, using technology that we can't even fathom now?

I was born close enough to the nineteenth century to get a good whiff of it. It involved a lot of mud and horse dung and misery and ignorance. Wooden wagon wheels bound with bands of iron. Carts drawn by oxen. Grindstones. Sweat. Smokey wood fires, and even smokier coal fires.

We can safely propose that people living immediately prior to the Age of Steam lacked the wherewithal to build much more than mud and wattle structures, which we also see dotting the same landscape, cheek and jowl with the Taj Mahal.

There are a lot of problems with the narrative we've been given about our own history, about our religions, governments, science, symbols, heroes, and so much more---- and it all boils down to this: being brave enough to look at the world around us and see what is in front of our faces.

Why would Hiram Grant, a harness-maker from Ohio, adopt the name Ulysses S. Grant? ----that is, U.S. Grant. See the joke?

Who was Ulysses? ---- the Greek king of Ithaca, who won the Trojan War by deceit and nothing else.

Who was supposed to dine with and then join President and Mrs. Lincoln for the show at the Ford Theater? General Grant.

Who canceled at the last moment? General Grant.

Who was most likely a secret supporter of the Pope's Municipal Government? General Grant.

Who benefited the most from Lincoln's death? General Grant.

What happened as a result of Grant's presidency? The Slavers won.

And the same thing happened a hundred years later with John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson. The Slavers won again.

Next time you have a hundred dollar bill in your hand, take a moment and really look at the engraved portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Look into his hooded, brooding eyes. This is a dangerous, serious man, no silly Bon Vivant. His character is stamped on his stubborn jaw.

And next time you have a fifty dollar bill, look long and hard at General Grant. Look into his hard and glinting gray eyes and feel the blizzard at the center of his soul. This is a weary, mean, and troubled man, intelligent and cold.

Here we are, folks, shortly after the Great Earthquake.

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Morning Star, Indeed

 By Anna Von Reitz

There are numerous passages in the Bible that mention the Morning Star --- Venus. Here are the four that matter in context:

Isaiah 14:12

“How you have fallen from heaven,

O star of the morning, son of the dawn!

You have been cut down to the earth,

You who have weakened the nations!

2 Peter 1:19

So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Revelation 22:16

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

Revelation 2:28

and I will give him the morning star.

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/The-Morning-Star

So, Satan is the "Son of the Morning Star" and Jesus (in the vision of Revelation) proclaims that either he or King David is the "bright morning star". Difficult to tell which, isn't it?

If King David is the bright morning star and Jesus is the son (descendant) of King David, what does that make Jesus, but the Son of the Morning Star? Lucifer.

The text also claims that Jesus is both the root and the offspring of David, the "alpha and omega" of the Davidic bloodline, that is, both the source of the lineage and its ultimate end.

Hmmm.

What if Revelation is just a big pile of horse hooey tacked onto the end of the book to create a program, like a computer program, in our minds and our expectations? A venal self-fulfilling prophecy brought on by ingesting too much viper venom?

The Jesus -- or as I call him, Joshua -- that captured my heart has no truck with Lucifer, doesn't glorify evil, doesn't teach destruction, and doesn't offer bribes.

I don't recognize the "Jesus" of Revelation, and all I see driving the present apocalypse is the natural unraveling of a lot of rather self-evident lies, which are yielding to logic and inquiry by hundreds of thousands of people who are now looking at things with new eyes.

It's apparent that a well-orchestrated and well-funded effort is being made by the criminals to create a Do-It-Yourself fulfillment of Revelation, but if this circumstance were dictated by the Creator, then, it would simply happen as rain falls and the sun shines. It would not have to be contrived or brought into existence and engineered by human calculation, Bill Gates, Lord Pirbright, and a crooked Patent Office.

It is also apparent that although a lot of people are fuming at me for discussing the problem of centering the Christian Faith around a pagan anointment ceremony --- nobody is addressing the problem I brought forward.

Explain to me why an act of anointment by a former prostitute results in the universal practice of calling Joshua "The Christ" and calling his Followers "Christians"?

Who among you in any Christian Church knew that this anointment was the centerpiece of your faith? And you think you haven't been deceived?

Who told you that a Baptismal Certificate would promote a claim to own your soul and allow your soul to be bought, sold, and traded on a Black Market supervised by witches and warlocks?

Who decided to make your church--- your Fellowship of Believers -- into a commercial operation, without telling you?

I have no intention of taking on church reform in addition to restoring the form of government we are owed. My position is what it has always been --- that this is a Catholic problem and Catholics must solve it.

As for me, I shall never call myself a "Christian" again and I shall never join any "Christian" Church again. I recall my innocent acceptance of Communion --- a barely veiled act of ritual cannibalism -- with embarrassment and shame. I admit that I was duped.

But no more.

For me, the race is won and everything has come full circle, all the way back to the Garden of Eden. We chose to know both Good and Evil. We put ourselves in the Devil's Dominion. And now that we have learned our lessons, we are free to come home again.

Just as we are free to come home to the land and soil, and as we are free to populate our lawful government. Ours is a separate dominion.

Let the serpents fight it out among themselves, for all the good it will do them. Pay them and their endless wars and deceptions and distractions no mind. Let them trample their way to perdition unobstructed and keep your hearts and minds centered in love and health and joy and truth forevermore.

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The First Question --- Finally Answered?

 By Anna Von Reitz

In my life there have been many unanswered questions.  Let me give you an example. 

My Grandmother had a stereoscope, which was a strange viewing apparatus that used postcard-like printed paper photographs that featured two identical images of the same thing, one on the right side of the card, one on the left.  When you peered through the eyepiece at this strange card, it made the photographs appear to be in 3D.  The tiny amount of offset between the eyes and the two photographs introduced the illusion of another dimension being present. 

I spent many hours pouring through her collection of stereoscope cards.  

There were cards from all around the world, everywhere and every subject you could think of. 

In this way, I visited the Amorite Hill Country north of Jerusalem and saw the homes of the giants who once lived there. I visited Saudi Arabia and the Bedouin Tribes of North Africa as they appeared more than a century ago.  I traveled with Baron von St. Pauli on his difficult and dangerous expeditions to collect rare plants from around the world.  I went to Cuba, and visited a cigar factory in Havana. 

And of course, I visited the world's great cathedrals and saw the Sphinx up close and personal, the Great Pyramid, and so much more.  

My Grandmother was content to let me rummage to my heart's delight.  In her view, I was getting my Grand Tour early in life, and inexpensively, too.  

"About all you are missing is Australia and Greenland."  she'd say.   And that was quite true.  I went to the World Fairs.  I walked the Boardwalk on the New Jersey Shore.  I visited Russia, Finland and Sweden.  I saw Reindeer in Siberia.  I attended a Mayan Sun Ceremony and walked the beach at Waikiki. I shared the view from the top of the Empire State Building. 

I was completely happy.  What a world!  What a place to explore!  I would dive into the boxes of stereoscope photos on a dull Sunday afternoon and not emerge until nightfall and primitive electric light sources made viewing less pleasant.  For the most part, I loved this "toy" from the Nineteenth Century and saw no reason for Disney.  

What could bright colored talking mice offer compared to the black and white glories of St. Petersburg?  

So my easy and happy familiarity with the world I lived in was founded on photographs, mostly black and white, and then, all I needed was an Atlas to help locate the sources of all these photos, which my Father happily provided, along with access to his collection of classical music. 

My Mother sniffed and let me play her Country Western records, too.  

It was, all in all, a great introduction to the world we live in, bolstered by my Mother's willingness to provide her version of the world's great culinary classics.  She had to raise her own eggplants to do it, but we had Eggplant Parmigiana, we had Greek Souvlaki, we had Chocolate Gateau and Egg Rolls and Flan.  Every Sunday she was apt to do her own Julia Child imitation and try something new, from some other corner of the world. 

But, while all these memories are abundantly and uniformly happy, there was something I noticed back then about some of the photos that seemed odd.  These were usually what we would call panoramic photos or landscape photos that encompassed a very expansive view of the subject --- say, Westminster or St. Peter's Basilica or the center of St. Petersburg --- and yet, there were no people visible in these photos at all.  

Say what?  Not even a horse and cart?   

I used to wonder how they accomplished that pristine view of the buildings and streets without also capturing images of all the thousands of human inhabitants.  Everyone in St. Petersburg decided to stay home en masse, so our photographer had his big chance?  Milwaukee empted out for the photo op?  

That part of it never made sense, and there were quite a few photos like this in my Grandmother's collection, all showing these beautiful buildings and exotic places, but all of them devoid of people.  This eerie --- and inexplicable --- emptiness haunted my dreams.  I would mentally go visit all of these places, but always alone.  The grand museums, churches and government buildings were all empty. How? Why? 

I always wondered.  I even asked the adults.  My Grandmother wrinkled her nose, paused a moment, looked at me sharply, but ultimately shrugged.  She didn't know, either.  

It's some comfort to know, all these years later, that I wasn't alone in wondering about this odd phenomenon.  Please take the time to watch this video and at least consider some of the questions it raises and information it provides. Apparently, I wasn't the only one spooked by the "empty photographs".  

https://beforeitsnews.com/paranormal/2022/01/lost-history-of-flat-earth-1-7-by-ewaranon-2555991.html 

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Second Sunday After Epiphany

 Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's

The Church's Year

In the Introit of this day's Mass the Church calls upon all creatures to thank God for the Incarnation of His only-begotten Son.

INTROIT Let all the earth adore Thee, O God and sing to Thee: let it sing a psalm to Thy name (Ps. 65:4). Shout with joy to God all the earth, sing ye a psalm to His name: give glory to His praise (Ps. 65:1-2). Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT Almighty and eternal God, Who disposest all things in heaven and on earth: mercifully hear the supplications of Thy people, and give Thy peace to our times. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE (Rom.12:6-16). Brethren: We have different gifts, according to the grace that is given us: either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith, or ministry in ministering, or he that teacheth in doctrine, he that exhorteth in exhorting, he that giveth with simplicity, he that ruleth with carefulness, he that sheweth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good: loving one another with the charity of brotherhood: with honor preventing one another: in carefulness not slothful: in spirit fervent: serving the Lord: rejoicing in hope: patient in tribulation: instant in prayer: communicating to the necessities of the saints: pursuing hospitality: bless them that persecute you: bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that rejoice, weep with them that weep: being of one mind, one towards another: not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not wise in your own conceits.

EXPLANATION. St. Paul in this epistle exhorts every Christian to make good use of the gifts of God; if one receives an office, he must see well to it, so that he can give an account to God of the faithful performance of his duties. He exhorts especially to brotherly love which we should practice by charitable works; such as, receiving strangers hospitably, giving alms to those who are in need, and to those who by misfortune or injustice have lost their property; he commands us, at the same time, to rejoice in the welfare of our neighbor, as we rejoice at our own good fortune, and to grieve at his misfortunes as we would over those which befall us.

How is brotherly love best preserved?

By the virtue of humility which makes us esteem our neighbor above ourselves, consider his good qualities only, bear patiently his defects, and always meet him in a friendly, respectful, and indulgent manner. Humility causes us to live always in peace with our fellowmen, while among the proud, where each wishes to be the first, there is continual strife and dissatisfaction (Prov. 13:10).

INSTRUCTION FOR SUPERIORS

Those have to expect a severe sentence from God, who merely for temporal gain, seek profitable offices, and thrust themselves therein whether capable or not, and if capable care very little whether they fulfill the duties required, or perhaps make the fulfillment of them depend upon bribes. Of such God makes terrible complaint: Thy princes (judges) are faithless, companions of thieves: they all love bribes, they run after rewards. They judge not for the fatherless; and the widow's cause comes not into them (Is. 1:23). A most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule (Wisd. 6:6).

ASPIRATION Grant us, O Lord, Thy grace, that according to Thy will, we may follow the instructions of St. Paul in regard to humility and love, have compassion upon all suffering and needy, think little of ourselves, and descend to the lowest, that we may, one day, be elevated with them in heaven.

GOSPEL (Jn. 2:1-11). At that time there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus with to her: Woman, what is it to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. Now there were set there six water-pots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. Jesus saith to them: Fill the water-pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now, and carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it. And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water; the chief steward calleth the bridegroom, and saith to him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine; and when men have well drank, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee: and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

Why was Christ and His mother present at this marriage?

In order to honor this humble and God-fearing couple who, with faithful hearts, had invited Him and His mother to their wedding; to give us an example of humility; to assist them in their poverty, and save their good name by changing water into wine; to reveal His dignity as the Messiah to His disciples by this miracle; and to sanctify by His presence the marriages that are contracted in the spirit of the Church.

Alas! how few marriages of our time could Jesus honor with His presence, because He is invited neither by fervent prayer, nor by the chaste life of the couple: He is excluded rather, by the frequent immorality of the married couple and their guests.

Why was Mary interested in this married couple?

Because she is merciful, and the Mother of Mercy, and willingly assists all the poor and afflicted who fear God. From this incident, St. Bonaventure judges of the many graces which we can hope for through Mary, now that she reigns in heaven; "For," says he, "if Mary while yet on earth was so compassionate, how much more so is she now, reigning in heaven!" He gives the reason by adding: "Mary now that she sees the face of God, knows our necessities far better than when she was on earth, and in proportion to the increase of her compassion, her power to aid us has been augmented." Ah! why do we not take refuge in all our necessities to this merciful mother, who although unasked assists the needy?

Why did Christ say to Mary: Woman, what is it to me and to thee?

This seemingly harsh reply of Christ was no reproach, for Mary had made her request only through love and mercy, and Christ calls those blessed who are merciful, but he wished to show that in the performance of divine work, the will of His heavenly Father alone should be consulted. He meant to remind her that He had not received the gift of miracles from her as the son of woman, but from His eternal Father, in accordance with whose will He would do that which she asked when the hour designed by God would come. Though the hour had not come, yet He granted the wish of His mother, who knew that her divine Son refused none of her requests, and so she said to the servants: "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye." Behold the great power of Mary's intercession! Neglect not, therefore, to take refuge in this most powerful mother!

What are we taught by the words: My hour is not yet come?

These words teach us that we should in all things await God's appointed time, and in things belonging to God and His honor, act only by divine direction, without any human motives.

What does the scarcity of wine signify?

In a spiritual sense the want of wine may be understood to signify the lack of love between married people, which is principally the case with those who enter this state through worldly motives, for the sake of riches, beauty of person, or who have before marriage kept up sinful intercourse. These should ask God for the forgiveness of their sins, bear the hardships of married life in the spirit of penance, and change the wrong motives they had before marriage; by doing so God will supply the scarcity of wine, that is the lack of true love, and change the waters of misery into the wine of patient affection.

Why did Christ command them to take the wine to the steward?

That the steward, whose office required him to be attentive to the conduct of the guests, and to know the quality of the wine, should give his judgment in regard to the excellence of this, and be able to testify to the miracle before all the guests.

ASPIRATION O my most merciful Jesus! I would rather drink in this world the sour wine of misery than the sweet wine of pleasure, that in heaven I may taste the perfect wine of eternal joy.

INSTRUCTION ON THE HOLY SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

What is Matrimony?

Matrimony is the perfect, indissoluble union of two free persons of different sex, for the purpose of propagating the human race, mutually to bear the burdens of life and to prevent sin (I Cor. 7:2).

Who instituted Matrimony?

God Himself, the Creator of all things (Gen. 1:27-28). He brought to man the helpmate, whom He formed from one of the ribs of Adam, that she who came from his heart, might never depart therefrom, but cling to him in the indissoluble bond of love (Gen. 2:18, 24). To this original, divine institution Christ refers (Mt. 19:4-6), and the Church declares the bond of marriage perpetual and indissoluble.

Is Matrimony a Sacrament?

Yes; according to the testimony of the Fathers, the Church has held it such from the times of the apostles, which she could not do, had Christ not raised it to the dignity of a Sacrament. St. Paul even calls it a great Sacrament, because it is symbolical of the perpetual union of Christ with His Church; and the Council of Trent declares: "If any one says that Matrimony is not really and truly one of the seven Sacraments of the Church instituted by Christ, but an invention of men that imparts no grace, let him be anathema" (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, can. 1).

What graces does this Sacrament impart?

The grace of preserving matrimonial fidelity inviolate: the grace of educating children as Christians; of patiently enduring the unavoidable difficulties of married life, and of living peaceably with each other. Married people are indeed greatly in need of these graces, in order to fulfil their mutual obligations.

What is the external sign in the Sacrament of Matrimony?

The union of two single persons in Matrimony, which according to the regulations of the Council of Trent (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, can. 1), must be formed publicly in the presence of the pastor, or with his permission before another priest, and two witnesses.

What preparations are to be made to receive the grace of this Sacrament?

1. The first and best preparation is a pure and pious life. 2. The light of the Holy Ghost should be invoked to know whether one is called to this state of life. 3. The parents and the father-confessor should be asked for advice. 4. The choice should be made in regard to a Christian heart, and a gentle disposition rather than to beauty and wealth. 5. The immediate preparation is, to purify the conscience, if it has not already been done, by a good general confession, and by the reception of the most holy Sacrament of the Altar. Before their marriage the young couple should ask their parents' blessing, should hear the nuptial Mass with devotion, with the intention of obtaining God's grace to begin their new state of life well, and finally they should commend themselves with confidence to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her spouse St. Joseph.

Why are there so many unhappy marriages?

Because so many people prepare the way by sins and vices, and continue to sin without interruption, and without true amendment until marriage, therefore always make sacrilegious confessions, even perhaps immediately before marriage. Besides this many enter the married life on account of carnal intentions, or other earthly motives; in many cases they do not even ask God for His grace; without any proper preparation for such an important, sacred act, on their marriage day they go to church with levity and afterwards celebrate their wedding with but little modesty. Is it any wonder that such married people receive no blessing, no grace, when they render themselves so unworthy?

Why did God institute married life?

That children might be brought up honestly and as Christians, and that they should be instructed especially in matters of faith; that married people should sustain each other in the difficulties of life, and mutually exhort one another to a pious life; and lastly, that the sin of impurity might be avoided. For they who in such manner receive matrimony as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power (Too. 6:17).

'With what intentions should the married state be entered?

With such intentions as the young Tobias and his bride had, who before the marriage ceremony, ardently prayed God for His grace, and took their wedding breakfast in the fear of the Lord (Too. 14:15). Hence God's blessing was with them until death. If all young people would enter the married state thus, it would certainly be holy, God-pleasing and blessed, and the words of St. Paul, spoken to wives, would come true unto them: Yet she shall be saved by bearing children, if she continue in faith, and love, and sanctification with sobriety (I Tim. 2:15).

Why are the bans of marriage published three times in Church?

That all impediments which would render the marriage unlawful may be made known. Such impediments are: consanguinity, clandestine marriages, etc. Therefore, any one who is aware of such impediments, is bound to make them known to the pastor.

Why is the marriage performed in the presence of the parish priest?

Because the Catholic Church expressly declares that those marriages which are not performed in presence of the pastor, or with his permission before another priest, and two witnesses, are null and void (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV can. 1)¹; and because the blessing of the priest, which he imparts in the name of the Church, gives the couple, if they are in a state of grace, strength, fortitude and grace to be faithful to each other, to endure all trials patiently, and to be safe from all the influences of the evil enemy."

Why do they join hands before the priest, and two witnesses?

By this they bind themselves before God and His Church to remain true to each other, and to be ready to assist each other in all adversities. The bridegroom puts a ring on the bride's finger which should remind her of her duty of inviolable fidelity; to this end the priest signs and seals this holy union with the unbloody Sacrifice of the New Law.

Can the bond of marriage be dissolved in the Catholic Church?

A valid marriage, contracted with the free consent of each of the parties, can according to the plain doctrine of the Scriptures, the constant teaching and practice of the Church, be dissolved only by the death of one of the parties. If the pope or a bishop, for important reasons, gives a divorce, this is only partial, and neither can marry again while the other lives. Such a marriage would not be valid. How pure and holy are the doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church in this the most important and sacred of all human relations, preserving its inviolability and sanctity; while, on the contrary, by means of the wanton doctrine of the heretics, which for trivial reasons entirely dissolves the marriage contract, this sacred union is made the deepest ignominy of mankind, and the play-ball of human passions and caprice!

What is thought of mixed marriages, or marriages between Catholics and Protestants?

The Catholic Church has always condemned such marriages, because of the great dangers to which the Catholic party is unavoidably exposed as well as the offspring. Such marriages promote indifference in matters of religion, by which the spiritual life of the soul is destroyed; they are a hindrance to domestic peace, cause mutual aversion, quarrels, and confusion; they give scandal to servants; they interfere with the Christian education of the children, even render it impossible, and they frequently lead to apostasy and despair. But the Catholic Church condemns especially those mixed marriages, in which either all or a number of the children are brought up in heresy, and she can never bless and look upon those as her children who do not fear to withdraw themselves and their own children from the only saving faith, and expose them to the danger of eternal ruin. Therefore, those Catholics who enter the matrimonial union with Protestants, although the marriage if lawfully contracted is valid, commit a mortal sin if they permit their children to be brought up in heresy, and should it not be their full intention to bring up their children in the Catholic faith at the time of their marriage, they would commit a sacrilege.

What should the newly married couple do immediately after the ceremony is performed?

They should kneel and thank God for the graces received in this holy Sacrament, in such or similar words: "Ratify, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that which by Thy grace Thou hast wrought in us, that we may keep that which in Thy presence we have promised unto the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." That they may keep their promise made at the altar, they should always remember the duties laid down to them by the priest at the time of their marriage, and the exhortations which are taken from the epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:29, 31), wherein he instructs married people how they should comport themselves towards each other, and recalls to them as an example the union of Christ with His Church, and His love for her. To the husbands he says, they should love their wives as Christ loved His Church, for which He even gave Himself up to death; from this is seen, that men should assist their wives even unto death, in all need, and not treat them as servants. To the wives St. Paul says, that they as the weaker should be in all reasonable things obedient to their husbands, as the Church is obedient to Christ; for as Christ is the head of the Church, so is the husband the head of the wife. Experience proves there is no better way for women to win the hearts of their husbands than by amiable obedience and ready love, while, on the contrary, a querulous, imperative deportment robs them of their husbands' affections, and even causes them to be regarded with aversion. St. Paul says further; that husbands should love their wives (and consequently wives their husbands) as their own bodies, because married people are, as it were, one. They shall be two in one flesh; no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the Church (Eph. 5:29, 31). How unjustly and barbarously do those act, who, instead of loving one another, rather hate and outrage each other, and cause the loss of their property, and by detraction steal their honor! These do not consider that he who hates and disgraces his partner in life, hates and disgraces himself; while according to the words of St. Paul he who loves her, loves himself. If married people would remain in constant love and unity, it is most necessary that they should patiently bear with each other's infirmities, wrongs, and defects, exhort one another with mildness and affection, keep their adversities, trials, and sufferings as much as possible to themselves, and complain in prayer only to God, who alone can aid them. By impatience, quarrels, and complaints the cross becomes only heavier and the evil worse. Finally, not only on their wedding day, but often through life, they should earnestly consider that they have not entered the married state that they may inordinately serve the pleasures of the body, but to have children who will one day inhabit heaven according to the will of God; as the angel said to Tobias: "For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power" (Tob. 6:17).

PRAYER Most merciful Jesus! who didst work Thy first miracle at the wedding in Cana by changing water into wine, thereby revealing Thy divine power and majesty, and honoring matrimony: grant we beseech Thee, that Thy faithful may ever keep sacred and inviolate the holy sacrament of Matrimony, and that they may so live in it truthfully, in the fear of the Lord, that they may not put an obstacle in the way of obtaining heaven for themselves, and their children.

1. In all such dioceses of the United States, where the Council of Trent has not been published, civil marriages are considered valid. The Catholic, however, who becomes married by civil authority commits a mortal sin, except in case of extreme necessity. To be married by a sectarian preacher is looked upon as a denial of faith, and incurs excommunication.