St Athanasius vs. Arianism & Do Protestant Anti-Mary Doctrines incline them towards "Practical Arianism"?
That hero is St. Athanasius.
I found comfort in a old 1919 book by F. A. Forbes titled "St. Athanasius." We in the rag-tag Catholic resistance have only one member of the Successors of the Apostoles that is the embodiment of Athanasius: Bishop René Gracida, but he is enough.
As I read this book it showed me that we have not come close to the persecution that the Catholic heroes of the Arian crisis endured. Through it all Athanasius had "peace" and "joy... for Christ."
So remember to always have peace and joy in Christ.
Now please read the following excerpts of our hero from "St. Athanasius":
"It was indeed the hour of darkness, and it seemed as if the powers of evil were let loose upon the world. The Arians, with the Emperor on their side, were carrying everything before them. Nearly all the Bishops who had upheld the Nicene faith were in exile or in prison."
"St. Anthony, over a hundred years old, was on his death-bed."
"... Fear not," replied the old man, "for this power is of the earth and cannot last. As for the sufferings of the Church, was it not so from the beginning, and will it not be so until the end?"
"... [A] new reign of terror began, in which all who refused to accept the Arian creed were treated as criminals. Men and women were seized and scourged; some were slain. Athanasius was denounced as a 'run-away, an evil-doers, a cheat and an impostor, deserving of death."
"... In the meantime, where was Athanasius? No one knew - or, at least, so it seemed. He had vanished into the darkness of the night. He was invisible, but his voice could not be silenced, and it was a voice that moved the world. Treatise after treatise in defence of the true faith; letter after letter... to the faithful, were carried far and wide by the hands of trusty messengers. The Arians had the Roman Emperor on their side, but the pen of Athanasius was more powerful than the armies."
"... Rumour said that Athanasius was in hiding in the Thebaid amongst the monk. The Arians searched the desert... The monks [of St. Anthony] themselves might of thrown some light on the matter, but they were silent men... even when questioned with a dagger at their throats."
"Silent, but faithful, their sentinels were everywhere, watching for the enemy's approach. Athanasius was always warned in time, and led by trusty guides to another and safer place. Sometimes it was only by a hair's breadth that he escaped, but for six years he eluded his enemies."
"... Tide and wind were against them; the monks had to land and tow the boat; progress was slow and the soldiers of Julian were not far off. Athanasius was absorbed in prayer, preparing for the martyr's death that, this time at least, seemed very near."
"... 'I have no fear,' answered Athanasius; 'for many long years I have suffered persecution, and never has it disturbed the peace of my soul, It is a joy to suffer, and the greatest of all joys is to give one's life for Christ.'"
"There was a silence, during which all gave themselves to prayer. As the Abbott Theodore besought God to save their Patriarch, it was suddenly made known to him by divine revelation that at that moment the Emperor Julian had met his end in battle... and that he had been succeeded by Jovian, a Christian and a Catholic. At once he told the good news to Athanasius, advising him to go without delay to see the new Emperor and ask to be restored to his see."
".... [After meeting Emperor Jovian] Athanasius was back once more in the midst of his people."
"He had grown old, and his strength was failing, but his soul, still young and vigorous, was undaunted and heroic as ever..."
"His pen was still busy. One of his first acts on return to Alexandria was to write the life of St. Anthony, a last tribute of love and gratitude to the memory of his dear old friend."
"... In 366 Pope Liberius [who had excommunicated Athanasius] died, and was succeeded by Pope St. Damasus, a man of strong character and holy life. Two years later in a Council of the Church, it was decreed that no Bishop should be consecrated unless he held the creed of Nicaea. Athanasius was overwhelmed with joy on hearing this decision. The triumph of the cause for which he had fought so valiantly was now assured. His life was drawing to an end."
"... Scarcely was he dead when he was honoured as a Saint. Six year after his death, St. Nazianzen speaks of him in one breath with the patriarchs, prophets, and martyrs who had fought for the Faith and won the crown of glory.
St. Athanasius pray for Bishop Gracida, the resistance for Faith in this present time and the restoration of the Church.
All Catholic moral theologians have taught that one of the ways of making oneself an accomplice to a crime is to remove an obstacle that one knows is preventing the crime.
Only one--ONE--Catholic bishop instructed the police that removing people who were obstacles to abortions is to make oneself an accomplice to abortions. He gave the police in his diocese letters to give to their superiors, declaring that obedience to orders to carry out such arrests would be a crime, and a mortal sin, and therefore an impossibility for any cop--Catholic or not.
That bishop was René Gracida.
James Hickey, Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, was typical. Absolute silence, for years on end, as the police committed murder after murder under his nose. Learning at Hickey's feet how to be a bishop was Fr. William Lori.
John May, Archbishop of St. Louis, held multiple televised press conferences over a period of years, declaring that "the police have to enforce the law, no matter what it is." He condemned the rescuers on many occasions.
Most Americans still believe that American cops are fundamentally different from those terrible Germans who gave their government blind obedience.
I’ll pray for Bishop Gracida and for the the restoration of the Mass and the Church as well as the Triumph of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. _ The Catholic Monitor [https://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2020/05/the-hero-st-athanisius.html]
Pray an Our Father now for reparation for the sins committed because of Francis’s Amoris Laetitia.
Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church as well as the Triumph of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Stop for a moment of silence, ask Jesus Christ what He wants you to do now and next. In this silence remember God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Three Divine Persons yet One God, has an ordered universe where you can know truth and falsehood as well as never forget that He wants you to have eternal happiness with Him as his son or daughter by grace. Make this a practice. By doing this you are doing more good than reading anything here or anywhere else on the Internet.
Francis Notes:
– Doctor of the Church St. Francis de Sales totally confirmed beyond any doubt the possibility of a heretical pope and what must be done by the Church in such a situation:
“[T]he Pope… WHEN he is EXPLICITLY a heretic, he falls ipso facto from his dignity and out of the Church, and the Church MUST either deprive him, or, as some say, declare him deprived, of his Apostolic See.”
(The Catholic Controversy, by St. Francis de Sales, Pages 305-306)
Saint Robert Bellarmine, also, said “the Pope heretic is not deposed ipso facto, but must be declared deposed by the Church.”
[https://archive.org/stream/SilveiraImplicationsOfNewMissaeAndHereticPopes/Silveira%20Implications%20of%20New%20Missae%20and%20Heretic%20Popes_djvu.txt]
– “If Francis is a Heretic, What should Canonically happen to him?”: http://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2020/12/if-francis-is-heretic-what-should.html
– “Could Francis be a Antipope even though the Majority of Cardinals claim he is Pope?”: http://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2019/03/could-francis-be-antipope-even-though.html
– If Francis betrays Benedict XVI & the”Roman Rite Communities” like he betrayed the Chinese Catholics we must respond like St. Athanasius, the Saintly English Bishop Robert Grosseteste & “Eminent Canonists and Theologians” by “Resist[ing]” him: https://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2021/12/if-francis-betrays-benedict-xvi.html
– LifeSiteNews, “Confusion explodes as Pope Francis throws magisterial weight behind communion for adulterers,” December 4, 2017:
The AAS guidelines explicitly allows “sexually active adulterous couples facing ‘complex circumstances’ to ‘access the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.'”
– On February 2018, in Rorate Caeli, Catholic theologian Dr. John Lamont:
“The AAS statement… establishes that Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia has affirmed propositions that are heretical in the strict sense.”
– On December 2, 2017, Bishop Rene Gracida:
“Francis’ heterodoxy is now official. He has published his letter to the Argentina bishops in Acta Apostlica Series making those letters magisterial documents.”
Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church by the bishops by the grace of God.
Election Notes:
– Intel Cryptanalyst-Mathematician on Biden Steal: “212Million Registered Voters & 66.2% Voting,140.344 M Voted…Trump got 74 M, that leaves only 66.344 M for Biden” [http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2020/12/intel-cryptanalyst-mathematician-on.html?m=1]
– Will US be Venezuela?: Ex-CIA Official told Epoch Times “Chávez started to Focus on [Smartmatic] Voting Machines to Ensure Victory as early as 2003”: http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2020/12/will-us-be-venezuela-ex-cia-official.html
– Tucker Carlson’s Conservatism Inc. Biden Steal Betrayal is explained by “One of the Greatest Columns ever Written” according to Rush: http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2021/01/tucker-carlsons-conservatism-inc-biden.html?m=1
– A Hour which will Live in Infamy: 10:01pm November 3, 2020:
http://www.thecatholicmonitor.com/2021/01/a-hour-which-will-live-in-infamy-1001pm.html?m=1
What is needed right now to save America from those who would destroy our God given rights is to pray at home or in church and if called to even go to outdoor prayer rallies in every town and city across the United States for God to pour out His grace on our country to save us from those who would use a Reichstag Fire-like incident to destroy our civil liberties. [Is the DC Capitol Incident Comparable to the Nazi Reichstag Fire Incident where the German People Lost their Civil Liberties?: http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2021/01/is-dc-capital-incident-comparable-to.html?m=1 and Epoch Times Show Crossroads on Capitol Incident: “Anitfa ‘Agent Provocateurs‘”:
http://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2021/01/epoch-times-show-crossroads-on-capital.html?m=1]
Pray an Our Father now for the grace to know God’s Will and to do it.
Pray an Our Father now for America.
Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church as well as the Triumph of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Robert Gotcher explains that Protestant anti-Mary doctrines incline them towards "practical Arianism":
Newman helped me see why this is the case and why it is not really a problem. Specifically, the honors paid Mary are paid to a creature just as the Arians considered Christ a creature, although far above us. Mary is above us because she has experienced transforming power of the resurrection of the body known as theosis or divinization. She participates in the divine nature in a way that we only will at the second coming, but even so to a greater degree.
Newman asserted that Arius had opened up for the Church a “place” in her thinking for an exalted creature like that which Arius ascribed to Christ. That place was filled in her speculation and piety by the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Newman’s sense was that the common devotion to Christ, though nominally orthodox, was de facto Arian or worse:
This leads them to mistake the Catholic devotion to Mary for idolatry... Protestant practical Arianism. [https://www.lightondarkwater.com/2015/08/52-authors-week-31-newman.html]