The Path to True Peace: Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary

The so-called “peace” agreement between the Zionist State of Israel and the terrorists of Hamas, an organization that received covert support from the Israeli Mossad in 2013 to serve as a “wedge” against the Palestinian Authority, and the Zionist State of Israel that its principal architects, President Donald John Trump and his team of negotiators, are celebrating with great chest-thumping, is very fragile and, truth be told, very hollow as it has been built upon the ruins of lives and infrastructure were destroyed wantonly the Israeli marauders.

The following report from The New York Times explained that there is relief among Palestinians that the Israeli bombardments have stopped, at least for now as some observers are convinced that Palestinian militia men who have already had skirmishes with Hamas are Israeli agents’ provocateur to give the Zionists an excuse to reenter Gaza City, but the mood in Gaza is far from celebratory:

Palestinians in Gaza expressed relief on Monday that Israel had halted its two-year military offensive in the territory, and that hostages and prisoners had been exchanged. Still, many felt there was little to celebrate.

Two years of war left the enclave in ruins, its cities reduced to rubble, tens of thousands dead and the health system devastated. Despair and hopelessness are pervasive and many no longer see a future.

“It’s important that the bombing has stopped, but there’s nothing to be happy about,” said Saed Abu Aita, 44, who is displaced in central Gaza. “My two daughters were killed, my home was destroyed and my health has deteriorated.”

Israel’s military campaign against Hamas killed more than 67,000 people in Gaza, according to local health officials. Their tolls do not specify the number of combatants, but they say thousands were children.

Some Gazans said they do not see the release on Monday of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners — one of Hamas’s stated reasons for launching the war in the first place — as an achievement worth the cost.

Hamas secured the exchange by trading the remaining hostages out of the some 250 seized during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that ignited the war.

Mr. Abu Aita said that a fragment of shrapnel penetrated his rib cage when an Israeli airstrike hit his hometown, Jabaliya, in northern Gaza in October 2023, soon after the war began. For more than a year, he said, he has not been able to find a doctor who could remove the fragment. He said he hoped that the return of the last 20 living hostages to Israel on Monday — a crucial element of the cease-fire that went into effect last week — would pave the way to an end to the war.

“They needed to go home a long time ago,” he said. “Holding them in Gaza gave Israel a pretext to continue its bombing.”

Gazans have lived through hunger, fear and bombardment. With a cease-fire now in effect, aid groups say they are attempting to scale up relief as much as possible to blunt the humanitarian catastrophe and allow people to rebuild their shattered lives.

Many relief officials blamed Israeli restrictions for shortages that led to hunger and malnutrition throughout the enclave. While Israel blocked all supplies entering Gaza for nearly three months earlier in 2025, Israeli officials have recently said they were no longer limiting the amount of aid that can go into the territory.

Under the cease-fire agreement, Israel committed to allowing a surge of desperately needed supplies into the enclave.

On Sunday, the United Nations said it was working to boost its aid to Gaza, including by bringing in cooking gas for the first time since March. Many Gazans have had to resort to making bread with firewood, because there was little gas or electricity available.

“For two years, we’ve dreamed of this moment,” said Amani Nasir, 30. “We’ve had enough of tents, fire, displacement and thirst.”

Under the deal, at least 600 trucks of supplies will enter Gaza per day, and Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt will be reopened.

Abdel Nasser al-Ajrami, the head of Gaza’s Bakers’ Union, which works with the World Food Program to distribute subsidized bread, said the humanitarian situation in Gaza has been steadily improving since the announcement of the cease-fire last week.

“Today is better than yesterday, and tomorrow will hopefully be better,” he said, adding that 17 bakeries were now operating across central and southern Gaza.

But there is some skepticism that the cease-fire will hold.

The deal clinched last week by U.S., Qatari, Turkish and Egyptian mediators did not resolve some of the toughest sticking points between the warring sides and left Hamas still armed and the dominant force in parts of Gaza for the time being.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has said his government will not agree to end the war until Hamas’s government and military wing in Gaza are dismantled.

While Hamas has expressed willingness to hand civilian rule over Gaza to another Palestinian entity, it has not committed to giving up its weapons.

Since Israel halted its military offensive and pulled back from parts of Gaza in the past few days, Hamas has begun reasserting itself on the streets of the territory.

Witnesses in Gaza said they had begun to see small groups of Hamas’s internal security fighters standing guard at some intersections.

On Sunday night, Hamas fighters clashed in Gaza City with a rival gang of gunmen and attempted to capture its members, according to the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

During a visit to Israel on Monday to coincide with the hostage release, President Trump was asked by a reporter what he thought about the possibility of Hamas reasserting itself as a police force and shooting rivals.

He replied that this was because “they do want to stop the problems” and suggested the United States was not opposed, temporarily.

“They’ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump’s ambitious vision for Gaza includes bringing in a postwar security force to stabilize the enclave, as well as training a new Palestinian police force to maintain law and order. But that prospect will be difficult should Hamas insist on continuing to play a dominant role in the enclave.

Abdullah Shehab, 32, said he was worried that the respite in fighting would only be temporary because Hamas had not agreed to Israel’s conditions for ending the war.

In recent days, Mr. Shehab said, Hamas was trying to show that it “hasn’t given up its rule” in Gaza.

On Sunday, he said, masked gunmen who he believed were members of Hamas stopped him on the way to the dentist and inspected his car.

“The situation is very fragile,” he said. “The weak party, Hamas, hasn’t been convinced to accept the strong party’s demands.” (Gazans See Little to Celebrate Even Though the Bombs Have Stopped.)

As noted above, the Israelis will eagerly resume hostilities on slightest pretext and are, according to some sources, continuing to kill Palestinian civilians in the areas to which its forces have withdrawn according to the “peace agreement”:

• Israel’s defence minister tells military to prepare “comprehensive plan” to defeat Hamas should Gaza ceasefire collapse.

• Hamas return the remains of two more Israeli captives but admits that it will need specialised equipment and assistance to locate bodies still buried beneath the rubble.

• Israel says there will be no advance to next phase of Gaza peace plan until Hamas returns the remains of all 28 captives.

• A United Nations agency has accused Israeli forces of continuing to “kill civilians” in areas of Gaza where Israel’s military has redeployed under the terms of the ceasefire.

• Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 67,938 people and wounded 170,169 since October 2023. A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks and about 200 were taken captive. (Gaza ceasefire fears as Israel demands return of all captives’ bodies.)

Moreover, the reconstruction process will take years to complete and, most likely, will enrich the pockets of the same kinds of American contractors that did such a “wonderful” job rebuilding Iraq after its infrastructure had been destroyed the American invasion and very long occupation of that ancient land. The descendants of those who were displaced from Palestine by the Zionists in 1948 are going through the exact same experience in Gaza as many expect the Israelis to strike again whenever they decide to do so:

Israel must allow tents and caravans to immediately be delivered to the Gaza Strip, a United Nations expert says, as displaced Palestinians returning to the north of the bombarded territory have found their homes and neighbourhoods destroyed.

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, said people are finding nothing but rubble in areas from which Israeli forces have withdrawn in northern Gaza.

“The psychological impacts and trauma are profound, and that’s what we are seeing right now as people are returning to northern Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera in an interview on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been streaming back into Gaza’s north after Israeli forces pulled back on Friday as part of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to halt the two-year conflict.

Palestinians across the coastal enclave have welcomed the suspension of Israel’s bombardment, which has killed more than 67,700 people since October 2023 and plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis.

The UN estimated that 92 percent of all residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been forced to live in tents and other makeshift shelters.

Rajagopal noted that tents and caravans were meant to be delivered to Gaza during a ceasefire early this year but “almost none” of them was allowed in due to Israel’s strict blockade.

“That is really to me the crux of the issue right now. Even immediate relief and aid to the people of Gaza is not possible unless Israel stops controlling all the entry points. That is essential,” the UN expert told Al Jazeera.

Rajagopal, who has used the term “domicide” to describe the decimation of homes across the Strip, said the destruction of housing in Gaza has been a central component of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

“The destruction of homes and clearing people from the area and making the area uninhabitable is one of the main ways in which the act of genocide has been committed,” he said, adding that the recovery process will ultimately take generations.

“It’s like another Nakba,” he said, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine when Israel was created in 1948. “What has happened in the last two years is going to be something similar.” (‘Another Nakba’: UN expert says Gaza recovery will take generations.)

The tragic reality facing the Gazan Palestinians cannot be permitted to pierce the universe in which President Donald John Trump and the man whose genocidal activities he enabled and justified, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu, which is why the two men engaged in a veritable love-fest on Monday, October 13, 2025, the Feast of Saint Edward the Confessor and the one hundred eighth anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun, as Trump addressed the Israeli Knesset:

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. It's a great honor. Nice place. Very nice place. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Speaker, esteemed members of the Knesset and cherished citizens of Israel. We gather on a day of profound joy, of soaring hope of renewed faith, and above all, a day to give our deepest thanks to the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families and it is glorious. 28 more precious loved ones are coming home, at last, to rest in this sacred soil for all of time. And after so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace. A land and a region that will live, God willing, in peace for all eternity. This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of a age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God. It's the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region. I believe that so strongly. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East. I want to express my gratitude to a man of exceptional courage and patriotism whose partnership did so much to make this momentous day possible. You know who I'm talking about? There's only one, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bibi, please stand up. And he is not easy, I want to tell you. He's not the easiest guy to deal with, but that's what makes him great. That's what makes him great. Thank you very much, Bibi. Great job. (Rev Transcripts on X: "Donald Trump speaks to Israel's Knesset as Hamas releases the remaining hostages. Read the transcript here. https://t.co/SMTSec6NCM https://t.co/rxvQypdC2w" / X.)

A Brief Commentary:

An age of “faith and hope and of God.”

Donald John Trump is delusional.

Every faith other than Catholicism is false, and the only true God of Divine Revelation is the Most Holy Trinity.

Furthermore, how much “courage” does it take to destroy civilian population centers and to engage in systematic liquidation of innocent human beings?

How much “courage” does it take for one’s armed forces to destroy Christian statues and destroy Christian churches and shrines?

How much “courage” does it take to deny starving human beings from access to plentiful food and water?

How much “courage” does it take to pay Protestant Zionists to spread Israeli disinformation?

Benjamin Netanyahu is a mass murderer.

Here is yet another memorandum to Donald John Trump: The Incarnation has occurred. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the Most Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost for all eternity. Indeed, Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ told the Jews of His time that Abraham longed to see His day:

Then Jesus said to those Jews, who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed.  32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  33 They answered him: We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any man: how sayest thou: you shall be free?  34 Jesus answered them: Amen, amen I say unto you: that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin.  35 Now the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the son abideth for ever.

 36 If therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.  37 I know that you are the children of Abraham: but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.  38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do the things that you have seen with your father.  39 They answered, and said to him: Abraham is our father. Jesus saith to them: If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham.  40 But now you seek to kill me, a man who have spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God. This Abraham did not.

 41 You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God.  42 Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father, you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded, and came; for I came not of myself, but he sent me:  43 Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word.  44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.  45 But if I say the truth, you believe me not.

 46 Which of you shall convict me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me?  47 He that is of God, heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God.  48 The Jews therefore answered, and said to him: Do not we say well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?  49 Jesus answered: I have not a devil: but I honour my Father, and you have dishonoured me.  50 But I seek not my own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

 51 Amen, amen I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever.  52 The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever.  53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself?  54 Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God.  55 And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him, and do keep his word.

 56 Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad. 57 The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?  58 Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am.  59 They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple. (John 8: 31-59.)

Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Christ the King, but Donald John Trump is so ignorant that he invokes Abraham as though he can be separated from His Divine Redeemer, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Even though many confused Catholics within the conciliar structures continue to refer to Donald John Trump as a “Christian,” I must remind those so confused that there is no Christianity where there is no Mass, and no man is a true follower of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Who can speak as a Jew to Jews and to boast of his daughter’s conversion to the dead, superseded religion that is Judaism in any of its contemporary forms:

And let me also give a very special thanks to someone who truly loves Israel. In fact, loves it so much that my daughter converted. My daughter converted. I didn't know this was going to happen. And Ivanka's here. And Bibi, you do know this was not in the cards for me. You understand that. And she is so happy and they are so happy, at least I think they're happy. If they're not, we have a big story, right? No, they have a great marriage and they get along great. They're best friends. They have a very special relationship. But Jared has been so helpful. He really did something very special. He established the Abraham Accords with a group of very wonderful people. I like calling it the Avraham Accords because people that… Right? Avraham, it's so cool. It's so much nicer. The Abraham versus the Avraham. I just don't want to sound too sanctimonious when I do it, so I split it up. This way, I keep everybody happy. (13:10) (Rev Transcripts on X: "Donald Trump speaks to Israel's Knesset as Hamas releases the remaining hostages. Read the transcript here. https://t.co/SMTSec6NCM https://t.co/rxvQypdC2w" / X.)

A Final Brief Commentary:

The conversion of one to a dead religion that belongs to the kingdom of satan is nothing about which to be proud, and to change the name of Abraham is blasphemous, so to use it in reference to “accords” that are offensive to God as they are written to take no account that the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt amongst us, and despite what Donald John Trump contends, the only path to true peace runs through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Most Sacred Heart of her Divine Son Who became Incarnate in her Virginal and Immaculate Womb at her Annunciation by the power of the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, God the Holy Ghost.

The empire of Christ the King embraces all nations:

This world-wide and solemn testimony of allegiance and piety is especially appropriate to Jesus Christ, who is the Head and Supreme Lord of the race. His empire extends not only over Catholic nations and those who, having been duly washed in the waters of holy baptism, belong of right to the Church, although erroneous opinions keep them astray, or dissent from her teaching cuts them off from her care; it comprises also all those who are deprived of the Christian faith, so that the whole human race is most truly under the power of Jesus Christ. For He who is the Only-begotten Son of God the Father, having the same substance with Him and being the brightness of His glory and the figure of His substance (Hebrews i., 3) necessarily has everything in common with the Father, and therefore sovereign power over all things. This is why the Son of God thus speaks of Himself through the Prophet: “But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain. . . The Lord said to me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psalm, ii.). By these words He declares that He has power from God over the whole Church, which is signified by Mount Sion, and also over the rest of the world to its uttermost ends. On what foundation this sovereign power rests is made sufficiently plain by the words, “Thou art My Son.” For by the very fact that He is the Son of the King of all, He is also the heir of all His Father’s power: hence the words – “I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance,” which are similar to those used by Paul the Apostle, “whom he hath appointed heir of all things” (Hebrews i., 2).

4.But we should now give most special consideration to the declarations made by Jesus Christ, not through the Apostles or the Prophets but by His own words. To the Roman Governor who asked Him, “Art thou a king then?” He answered unhesitatingly, “Thou sayest that I am a king” John xviii. 37).And the greatness of this power and the boundlessness of His kingdom is still more clearly declared in these words to the Apostles: “All power is given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew xxviii., 18). If then all power has been given to Christ it follows of necessity that His empire must be supreme, absolute and independent of the will of any other, so that none is either equal or like unto it: and since it has been given in heaven and on earth it ought to have heaven and earth obedient to it. And verily he has acted on this extraordinary and peculiar right when He commanded His Apostles to preach His doctrine over the earth, to gather all men together into the one body of the Church by the baptism of salvation, and to bind them by laws, which no one could reject without risking his eternal salvation.

5. But this is not all. Christ reigns not only by natural right as the Son of God, but also by a right that He has acquired. For He it was who snatched us “from the power of darkness” (Colossians i., 13), and “gave Himself for the redemption of all” (I Timothy ii., 6). Therefore not only Catholics, and those who have duly received Christian baptism, but also all men, individually and collectively, have become to Him “a purchased people” (I Peter ii., 9). St. Augustine’s words are therefore to the point when he says: “You ask what price He paid? See what He gave and you will understand how much He paid. The price was the blood of Christ. What could cost so much but the whole world, and all its people? The great price He paid was paid for all” (T. 120 on St. John).

6. How it comes about that infidels themselves are subject to the power and dominion of Jesus Christ is clearly shown by St. Thomas, who gives us the reason and its explanation. For having put the question whether His judicial power extends to all men, and having stated that judicial authority flows naturally from royal authority, he concludes decisively as follows: “All things are subject to Christ as far as His power is concerned, although they are not all subject to Him in the exercise of that power” (3a., p., q. 59, a. 4). This sovereign power of Christ over men is exercised by truth, justice, and above all, by charity.

7. To this twofold ground of His power and domination He graciously allows us, if we think fit, to add voluntary consecration. Jesus Christ, our God and our Redeemer, is rich in the fullest and perfect possession of all things: we, on the other hand, are so poor and needy that we have nothing of our own to offer Him as a gift. But yet, in His infinite goodness and love, He in no way objects to our giving and consecrating to Him what is already His, as if it were really our own; nay, far from refusing such an offering, He positively desires it and asks for it: “My son, give me thy heart.” We are, therefore, able to be pleasing to Him by the good will and the affection of our soul. For by consecrating ourselves to Him we not only declare our open and free acknowledgment and acceptance of His authority over us, but we also testify that if what we offer as a gift were really our own, we would still offer it with our whole heart. We also beg of Him that He would vouchsafe to receive it from us, though clearly His own. Such is the efficacy of the act of which We speak, such is the meaning underlying Our words. (Pope Leo XIII, Annum Sacrum, May 25, 1889.)

The only kind of true and everlasting peace starts within the souls of the baptized who are in a state of Sanctifying Grace, which is the precondition for true peace within families and within and among nations. This true peace is meant to be fostered personally by means of frequent confession and frequent reception of Holy Communion as well as by pious practices such as the praying of Our Lady’s Most Holy Rosary both privately as well as publicly within society, something that Pope Leo XIII explained in Vie E Ben Noto, September 20, 1887:

 We need not tell you, Venerable Brethren, with what bitterness Our soul is filled at seeing the danger there is for the salvation of so many of Our beloved children. And Our sorrow is greater because We find it impossible to oppose such great evil with that salutary efficacy We would desire and that We have the right to use, for you know, Venerable Brethren, and all the world knows, the state to which we are reduced. On this account We feel a still greater desire to call upon the Mother of God and to ask her help. Let all good Italians pray for their misguided brethren, for their common Father the Roman Pontiff, that God, in His infinite mercy, may hear and answer the prayers of a father and his sons. And Our most lively and sure hope is placed in the Queen of the Rosary, who has shown herself, since she has been invoked by that title, so ready to help the Church and Christian peoples in their necessities. Already have We recorded these glories and the great triumphs won over the Albigenses and other powerful enemies, glories and triumphs which have not only profited the Church, afflicted and persecuted, but also the temporal welfare of peoples and nations. Why in this hour of need should We not behold again such marvels of the power and goodness of the august Virgin, for the good of the Church and its Head, and of the whole Christian world, if the faithful only revive, on their part, the magnificent examples of piety given by their forefathers, under similar circumstances? And to make this most powerful Queen more and more propitious, We would honor her more and more in the invocation of the Rosary, and increase this devotion. And to this end We have made a double of the second class for all the Church of the Feast of the Rosary. And for the same purpose We ardently desire the Catholics of Italy, with lively faith, especially during this month of October, to invoke this august Virgin and to do loving violence to her mother’s heart, and to pray to her for the triumph of the Church and the Apostolic See, for the liberty of the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth, and for peace and public prosperity. And, since the effects of such prayers will be proportionate to the dispositions of those offering them, We ardently exhort you, venerable brethren, devote all your care and zeal to kindle among those committed to your charge a strong, living and active faith, and to call on all to return by penance to grace and to the faithful fulfillment of; all their duties. Among such duties, considering the state of the times, must be reckoned as paramount an open and sincere profession of the fait and teaching of Jesus Christ, casting aside al human respect, and considering before all thing the interest of religion and the salvation of souls. It cannot be concealed that, although thanks to the mercy of God religious feeling is strong and widely spread among Italians, nevertheless by the evil influence of men and the times religious indifference is on the increase, and hence there is lessening of that respect and filial love for the Church which was the glory of our ancestors and in which they placed their highest ambition. Let it be your work, venerable brethren, to revive this Christian feeling among your people, an interest in the Catholic cause, a confidence in Our Lady’ help, and a spirit of prayer. It is certain that the august Queen, invoked thus well by her man sons, would deign to hear their prayer, console Us in Our sorrow, and crown Our efforts for the Church and for Italy, by granting better times to both. With these desires, We bestow on you venerable brethren, and the clergy and people committed to your care, the Apostolic Benediction as a promise of graces and favors of the highest kind from heaven. (Pope Leo XIII, Vie E Ben Noto, September 20, 1887.)

What applied to Italy one hundred thirty-eight years ago applies to us all today as we must spread public devotion to Our Lady’s Most Holy Rosary at all times without regard, as Pope Leo XIII noted, for human respect.

To advance true peace in the world we must pray and to advance the cause of Our Lady’s Most Holy Rosary so that all men everywhere, filled with the true peace of Christ the King in their souls will exclaim:

“Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.”

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

Saints Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, pray for us.

Saint Hedwig, pray for us.

Appendix

Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B, on the Feast of Saint Hedwig

At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the plateau of Upper Asia poured down a fresh torrent of barbarians, more terrible than all their predecessors. The one fragile barrier, which the Græco-Slavonian civilization could oppose to the Mongols had been swept away by the first wave of the invasion; not one of the States formed under the protection of the Byzantine Church had any prospect for the future. But beyond this Ruthania, which had fallen into dissolution before being conquered, the Roman Church had had time to form a brave and generous people: when the hour arrived, Poland was ready. The Mongols were already inundating Silesia when, in the plains of Liegnitz, they found themselves confronted by an army of thirty thousand warriors, headed by the Duke of Silesia, Henry the Pious. The encounter was terrible; the victory remained long undecided, until at length, by the odious treason of some Ruthanian princes, it turned in favor of the barbarians. Duke Henry and the flower of the Polish knighthood was left upon the battlefield. But their defeat was equal to a victory. The Mongols retired exhausted, for they had measured their strength with the soldiers of the Latin Christianity.who believe what they are told and who have been so dumbed down by catering to every perceived slight or offense that they will always do what their minders tell them to do, especially if this makes them incapable of thinking on their own.

It is Poland’s happy lot that at each decisive epoch in its history a Saint appears to point out the road to the attainment of its glorious destiny. Over the battlefield of Liegnitz shines the gentle figure of St. Hedwige, mother of Duke Henry the Pious. She had retired, in her widowhood, into the Cistercian monastery of Trebnitz, founded by herself. Three years before the coming of the barbarians, she had had a revelation touching the future fate of her son. She offered her sacrifice in silence; and far from discouraging the young duke, she was the first to animate him to resistance.

The night following the bat Three days later the fatal news was confirmed. “It is the will of God,” said Hedwige; “what God wills, and what pleases him, must please us also.” And rejoicing in the Lord: “I thank thee, O my God,” said she, raising her hands and eyes to heaven, “for having given me such a son. He loved me all his life, always treated me with great respect, and never grieved me. I much desired to have him with me on earth, but I congratulate him with my whole soul, for that by the shedding of his blood he is united with thee in heaven, with thee his Creator. I recommend his soul to thee, O Lord my God.” No less an example was needed to sustain Poland under the new task it had just accepted.

At Liegnitz it had raised up again the sword of Christendom, fallen from the feeble hands of Ruthenia. It became henceforth as a watchful sentinel, ever ready to defend Europe against the barbarians. Ninety-three times did the Tartars rush upon Christendom, thirsting for blood and rapine: ninety-three times Poland repulsed them at the edge of the sword, or had the grief to see the country laid waste, the towns burnt down, the flower of the nation carried into captivity. By these sacrifices it bore the brunt of the invasion, and deadened the blow for the rest of Europe. As long as blood and tears and victims were required, Poland gave them unstintedly; while the other European nations enjoyed the security purchased by this continual immolation.

This touching page will be completed by the Church’s story, where the part played by the saintly duchess is so well brought forward.tle, she awoke one of her companions, and said to her: “Demundis, know that I have lost my son. My beloved son has fled from me, like a bird on the wing; I shall never see my son again in this life.” Demundis endeavored to console her; no courier had arrived from the army, and her fears were vain. “It is but too true,” replied the duchess; “but mention it to no one.”

Hedwige was illustrious for her royal descent, but still more so for the innocence of her life. She She would neither speak of wordly affairs nor hear them spoken of, unless they affected the interests of God or the salvation of souls. All her actions were governed by prudence, and it was impossible to find in them anything excessive or disorderly. She was full of gentleness and affability towards all. She triumphed completely over her flesh by afflicting it with fasting, watching, and rough garments. She was adorned moreover with the noblest Christian virtues; she was exceedingly prudent in giving counsel; pure and tranquil in mind; so as to be a model of religious perfection. Yet she ever strove to place herself below all the nuns; eagerly choosing the lowest offices in the house. She would serve the poor, on her knees, and wash and kiss the feet of lepers, so far overcoming herself as not to be repulsed by their loathsome ulcers. was maternal aunt to St. Elizabeth, the daughter of the king of Hungary; and her parents were Berthold and Agnes, Marquis and Marchioness of Moravia. From childhood she was remarkable for her self-control, for at that tender age she refrained from all childish sports. At the age of twelve, her parents gave her in marriage to Henry, Duke of Poland. She was a faithful and holy wife and mother, and brought up her children in the fear of God. In order the more freely to attend to God, she persuaded her husband to make with her a mutual vow of continency. After his death, she was inspired by God, whose guidance she had earnestly implored, to take the Cistercian habit; which she did with great devotion in the monastery of Trebnitz. Here she gave herself up to divine contemplation, spending the whole time from sunrise till noon in assisting at the Divine Office and the holy Sacrifice. The old enemy of mankind she utterly despised.

She would neither speak of wordly affairs nor hear them spoken of, unless they affected the interests of God or the salvation of souls. All her actions were governed by prudence, and it was impossible to find in them anything excessive or disorderly. She was full of gentleness and affability towards all. She triumphed completely over her flesh by afflicting it with fasting, watching, and rough garments. She was adorned moreover with the noblest Christian virtues; she was exceedingly prudent in giving counsel; pure and tranquil in mind; so as to be a model of religious perfection. Yet she ever strove to place herself below all the nuns; eagerly choosing the lowest offices in the house. She would serve the poor, on her knees, and wash and kiss the feet of lepers, so far overcoming herself as not to be repulsed by their loathsome ulcers.

Her patience and strength of soul were admirable; especially at the death of her dearly-loved son, Henry Duke of Silesia, who fell fighting against the Tartars; for she thought rather of giving thanks to God, than of weeping for her son. Miracles added to her renown. A child, that had fallen into a mill-stream and was bruised and crushed by the wheels, was immediately restored to life when the Saint was invoked. Many other miracles wrought by her having been duly examined, Clement IV enrolled her among the Saints; and allowed her feast to be celebrated on the fifteenth of October, in Poland, where she is very greatly honored as Patroness of the country. Innocent XI extended her Office to the whole Church, fixing it on the seventeenth of October. (The Divine Office, Matins, Feast of Saint Hedwig, October 16.)

Daughter of Abraham according to faith, thou didst imitate his heroism. Thy first reward was to find a worthy son in him thou offeredst to the Lord. Thy example is most welcome in this month, wherein the Church sets before us the death of Judas Machabeus. As glorious as his was the death of thy Henry; but it was also a fruitful death. Of thy six children he alone, the Isaac offered and immolated to God, was permitted to propagate thy race. And yet what a posterity is thine, since all the royal families of Europe can claim to be of thy lineage! I will make them increase exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. This promise, made to the Father of the faithful, is fulfilled once more on thy behalf, O Hedwige. God never changes; he has no need to make a new engagement; a like fidelity in any age earns from him a like reward. Mayst thou be blessed by all, O Mother of nations! Extend over all thy powerful protection; but above all others, by God’s permission, may unfortunate Poland find by experience that thy patronage is never invoked in vain! (Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year, Feast of Saint Hedwig, October 16.)