From the editor

Why does Our Lord allow idolatry on the Tomb of St Peter, sacrilege and public scandal in His churches? Why does He not intervene to end the countless offences against Himself and His Blessed Mother? We cannot say. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways.” (Is. 55:8) However, the new liturgical year which has just begun brings a sense of a “new chance” for reparation. Now is the time to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths. (Is. 40:3)

On returning home after weeks in “Amazonian” Rome, a lady quietly handed me a beautiful card after Mass. It was a simple thank you to all those who “went to Rome to pray the rosary to fight for the Truth”. She was referring to Acies Ordinata (Song of Songs 6:3,9), the witness of lay Catholics at Castel Sant’Angelo. Two hundred of us, standing in battle array, called on St Michael and his angels to protect the Church and to disperse the enemy’s forces.

The lady who gave me the note is always in the church, veiled and praying whenever I go there. We have probably attended daily Mass together for some years but never exchanged a word. There are other veiled ladies like her throughout the church. They are the real warriors, Acies Ordinata, ceaselessly praying for the Immaculate Heart to triumph soon.

In my homeland of Estonia, the Soviet occupation virtually wiped out what little Catholicism there was. The KGB office overlooked the entrance to the solitary Catholic church that no-one entered. The only sign of faith that remained was the “little old Polish ladies” who seemed too unimportant for the regime to bother with. For decades they went on praying the rosary. Then, in the mid-1970s, the first five Estonian converts approached the Catholic church. It was the “little old Polish ladies” who kept the faith alive for us. It is, perhaps, their counterparts in our parishes today who have gained for us more time to make acts of reparation.

No doubt many of the roughly 5300 Catholic bishops and 220 cardinals across the world were disturbed by the sacrilegious acts of the Amazon synod but less than ten reacted publicly. Those who did speak out, urged fasts, rosaries, Masses of reparation and this we must do. But we must also pray that the silent shepherds will arise and go in haste to Bethlehem to adore the Word Incarnate, rather than remain unmoved. The FOCUS of this issue is fighting as the Church Militant p.11. Today’s fight is for our families, our Church and the salvation of our own souls. The Catholic Church is universal, not globalist. The stark contrast between these two incompatible ideas is examined in the analysis on p.4. The right order of family governance, which enables the Christian civilisation to flourish, is eloquently discussed in Sebastian Morello’s reflection on the primacy of fathers on p.44.

Love in the spiritual life is what blood is in physical life. Without blood the body dies, without love, faith is dead. Christ was born to shed all His blood for each one of us. This is the measure of His love. Now is the time to surrender our hearts in return. Now is the time for our acts of love and reparation for all the offences which He foresaw in the Garden of Gethsemane. Now is “the hour for us to rise from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed.” (Rom. 13: 11) Let us take Our Blessed Mother as our example. Closest to the manger and closest to the Cross, it is she who is terrible in the eyes of the enemy as an army set in battle array, and it is she who bids us approach her son, not as the God of Justice but as a newborn child.

2019 VOICE OF THE FAMILY ISSN:2517-6455 © EDITOR Maria Madise

EDITORIAL BOARD Liam Gibson Matthew McCusker John Smeaton John-Henry Westen

DESIGN & PRODUCTION EDITOR Selina Fang

EDITORIAL OFFICE VOICE OF THE FAMILY Unit B, 3 Whitacre Mews, Stannary Street, SE11 4AB, London, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7820 3148 Email: editor@voiceofthefamily.com www.voiceofthefamily.com/calxmariae

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DISCLAIMER: Great care is taken to credit photos and seek permission before publishing. If you have a query regarding copyright, please contact the Editor. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission. Donations for the continuation of this magazine in print will be gratefully received by Voice of the Family at the address above or online via: www.voiceofthefamily.com/donate

Calx Mariae seeks to contribute to the rebuilding of Christian civilisation by providing features and analysis in the areas of life, family and culture. Our aim in producing this magazine is to strengthen our readers in the faith and in their witness to the truth about human life and the family. Calx Mariae is published by Voice of the Family, an international coalition of 25 prolife and pro-family organisations formed in support of Catholic teaching on the family. The following truths are particularly at the heart of Voice of the Family’s work:

9 Marriage, the exclusive, life-long union of one man and one woman, is the foundation of a stable and flourishing society and is the greatest protector of children, born and unborn. 9 The procreative and unitive ends of the conjugal act cannot licitly be separated; the rejection of this truth lies at the root of modern attacks on life and the family. 9 Parents are the primary educators of their children and the protection of this right is essential for building a new

“culture of life”.