MyCatholicSource.com - 'Quick Help' Page: What Catholic Devotion Helps Fight Socialism/Communism?

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Besides the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy Rosary and other relevant prayers & devotions, a recent publication by TAN Books entitled "The Secret of the Holy Face: The Devotion Destined to Save Society" argues that the reparation-oriented Holy Face devotion may be used to fight communism. Authored by a Catholic priest (Fr. Lawrence Daniel Carney III), the book reflects on Veronica's Veil, the Shroud of Turin, the Veil of Manoppello, Scripture, history, the writings of a French nun (Sister Mary of St. Peter), and more to ultimately argue that...

"We need to rally around the Arch-confraternity of the Holy Face established in perpetuity by a former head of state, Pope Leo XIII, in 1885... [The alleged private revelation of Sister Mary of St. Peter in the 1840s in which Jesus] exhorts us to make reparation for blasphemy and how to save society from revolutionary men, especially the communists."

The publication claims to present...

"a blueprint of how to evade a new world order, because God is punishing us with revolutionary men. God, Who is the avenger of blasphemy, is showing us how to defeat these tyrants."

The book, dedicated to "Pope Leo XIII Who raised the Confraternity of the Holy Face To the rank of an Archconfraternity To exist in perpetuity and for all countries Of the world, wherever they may be...", claims that "the Holy Face Devotion was at the center of some of the greatest miracle-working in Church history" and "was as well-known as the Devotion to the Sacred Heart" and states that "the Holy Face Devotion emanates from that of His Sacred Heart, the one complementing the other."

It notes that...

"Combating Communism is a main thrust of this devotion, especially with regard to offenses against the first three commandments, for which man is called by Christ to make reparation — those concerning idolatry, blasphemy, and irreverence. Indeed, Communism is anti-human, anti-family, and anti-God, for it strikes at the very image of God in man, corroding human dignity by destroying freedom and individual rights, undermining the nuclear family, and stamping out religion... It is, in fact, largely responsible for producing more Catholic martyrs since the nineteenth century than all previous centuries combined. Its explicitly atheistic and blasphemous foundation makes it an unprecedented affront to the Majesty of God. Tragically, Communist thought has infiltrated almost every aspect of our modern cultural and political world — as well as, quite arguably, the Catholic Church itself."

It further states that...

"This is the secret of the Holy Face; we have been told how to help save humanity from hell on earth. It is a mystical combat of great proportions for our own salvation and for a life of peace for our children and grandchildren. Let us enroll in this spiritual militia. Take up [spiritual] arms and repair the affronts!"

A footnote in the publication indicates that...

"Thousands of miracles took place at the hands of Venerable Leo DuPont whom Blessed Pope Pius IX described as 'perhaps the greatest miracle worker in Church history.' The miracles were directly tied to the Holy Face Devotion and were no doubt instrumental in helping to show its credibility prior to approval for the whole world by Pope Leo XIII." [Note that Leo/Léon Dupont has been called the "holy man of Tours" (Catholic Dictionary) and "Apostle of the Holy Face"]

The book also notes that...

"On April 27, 1910, Pope Saint Pius X decreed that the Mass on the feast of the Sacred Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ be called 'Humiliavit.'"

And it claims that...

"...the Holy Face Chaplet...is a most efficacious tool of spiritual warfare to defeat Communism, [which] includes saying the Glory Be seven times in honor of the Seven Last Words of Christ, as well as the Seven Sorrows of Mary (as well as other prayers)." [Note that the Holy Face Chaplet should be prayed in addition to (NOT instead of) the Holy Rosary.]

The publication details the requirements to join the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face (their hope "is that this book will be used by God to encourage the enrollment of one million members into the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face and the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary") and states that...

"...reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus is the mystical combat of our age and a foretaste of the Beatific Vision, for gazing upon Him is what we shall do for all eternity. The Archconfraternity of the Holy Face is the supernatural armament heaven has given us to defeat the globalist elites. The system is in place, the stage is set; we need to arise and engage in the battle by enrolling and living out the devotion to the Rosary and the Holy Face of Jesus."

Note that St. Therese of Lisieux (also called "St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face") had a devotion to the Holy Face, as did St. Gertrude the Great and others. And of course, another relevant saint is St. Veronica (from the Latin, meaning "true image"), who tradition says wiped Jesus' sacred face during His Passion and in return received the miraculous imprint of His countenance (see medal below).

Saint Veronica Medal

For more detail concerning the Holy Face Devotion with respect to defeating communism, you might consider the above referenced publication (to purchase this book on Amazon.com in support of this site, please try this link).

Please Note: The publication referenced herein contains information from alleged private revelations. Belief in private revelations is not binding on Catholics. Note that it is up to the appropriate Church authorities to pass judgment on all private revelations. Catholics should reject any 'private revelations' which do not conform to traditional Catholic teaching as unworthy of belief. The Faithful should also confirm that any information obtained from private revelations has not been condemned by Church authorities (not exempting any which may be contained on this site). For more information regarding apparitions/private revelations, try here.

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"[Communism is] the fatal plague which insinuates itself into the very marrow of human society only to bring about its ruin." (Pope Leo XIII)

"There would be today neither Socialism nor Communism if the rulers of the nations had not scorned the teachings and maternal warnings of the Church." (Pope Pius XI)

"Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever." (Pope Pius XI)

"Whether considered as a doctrine, or an historical fact, or a movement, Socialism, if it remains truly Socialism... cannot be reconciled with the teachings of the Catholic Church because its concept of society itself is utterly foreign to Christian truth... [N]o one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist." (Pope Pius XI)

"Eternal Father, turn away your anger from all who are unsightly to You. Instead, look upon the face of Your Beloved Son, for this is the face of He in which You are well pleased. We offer you His Holy Face, covered with bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of the world, in order to appease Your just anger. Your Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon Himself all the sins of His people that we might be spared and we now humbly beg of you, Eternal Father, to grant mercy to us. Amen." (Holy Face/Reparation Prayer)

"Domine Deus virtutem, converte nos: et ostende faciem tuam et salvi erimus. Excita, Domine, potentiam tuam, et veni: ut salvos facias nos." ["O Lord God of hosts, convert us: and show Thy face, and we shall be saved. Stir up Thy might, O Lord, and come to save us."] (Gradual, cf. Ps. 79)

"Exsurge, Domine, non praevaleat homo: judicentur gentes in conspectu tuo. In convertendo inimicum meum retrorsum, infirmabuntur, et peribunt a facie tua." ["Arise, O Lord, let no man be strengthened; let the nations be judged in Thy sight. When my enemy shall be turned back, they shall be weakened and perish before Thy face."] (Gradual, cf. Ps. 9)

"Domine Jesu Christe, cujus sacratissimus Vultus, in passione absconditus, sicut sol in sua virtute relucet: concede propitius; ut tuis passionibus communicantes in terris, in revelatione gloriae tuae gaudere valeamus in caelis. Qui vivis et regnas." ["O Lord Jesus Christ, whose most holy Face, hidden away in thy passion, shineth forth as the sun in its power: mercifully grant that, sharing thy sufferings on earth, we may avail to rejoice at the unveiling of thy glory in heaven: who livest and reignest."] (Collect, Feast of the Holy Face)

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