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Meditation 26. The Insults and Pains which Jesus Suffered
Preparatory Prayer as on page x
Composition of Place — Imagine you see Jesus at the tribunals and palaces of Annas, Caiphas, Herod and Pilate. Note the patience with which He bore horrible insults and atrocious pains.
Prayer of Petition — O my Jesus, grant me the grace I need in order to bear with silence and humility the degradations and pains that I must undergo in this world.
First Point
There has not been and will never be a man who has suffered or had to suffer such great wrongs and degradations as Jesus Christ suffered. It is not possible to combine in a single meditation all the degradations to which Jesus Christ submitted. Therefore we will only consider some of them. These alone, my soul, will be enough to make you ashamed of your pride.
The first kind of degradation was the false charges and the calumnies — There is nothing that more keenly wounds a man of noble and sincere heart than piling up false charges against him of things he would not even dream of doing. Enter, O my soul, into the tribunal of Annas and Caiphas and hear the outrageous crimes that are charged against Jesus.
The witnesses are lined up and here are the charges they make: They say He is a lover of wine; that He likes to eat with publicans and sinners; that He is ruled by an intolerable pride, going so far as to claim to be Divine; that He would destroy the temple in Jerusalem; that He spreads impious doctrine and is introducing the people to idolatry; that He is a sorcerer and works prodigies with the help of the devil, with whom He has a secret compact; that He is a seducer and astutely plots the ruin of the chosen people. . . They charge Jesus with all these crimes in the tribunals of the High Priest and of Pilate. These charges are circulated among the people and are spread in the neighborhoods and public squares of Jerusalem.
The second kind of degradation was the scoffing and mockery — The wickedness of calling Jesus a blasphemer and criminal was not enough. It was also necessary to call Him a senseless fool. See Him in Herod's presence. Because He makes no answer to repeated questions but in His Infinite Wisdom keeps silent, men call Him a fool, at the prompting of the king and courtiers, and, like a fool He is covered with a white robe, and amid the mockery and laughter of insolent people they lead Him through the public streets to Pilate.
After this insult another follows of which I would not know whether to call it more savage or more contemptuously insulting, this time in the palace of the Roman Prefect. Incited to do so by the Jews, the soldiers decide to make sport of Jesus in a way no one but the devil could suggest. They throw a purple robe over His shoulders. Then they place a reed in His hand. Weaving together a crown out of rough, sharp thorns, they press it down on His head in order to make fun of Him as a make-believe king.
Their mockery does not stop here. To ridicule Him more, they bend their knees to Him in mock reverence; then they spew their filthy spittle into His Face and give Him a cruel beating. While the Heavens darken at the sight of this and the angels are bitterly weeping, a countless throng pauses to look at the unusual spectacle, and add to the injury and mockery in their festive way by their applause.
The third kind of injury that was done to Jesus was the passage of the death sentence with all its bad implications — Pilate, who was perfectly aware of Jesus' uprightness and innocence, in order to deliver Him, placed Him before the people, who had gathered beneath the balcony of his palace. They were there to choose a man sentenced to die whom Pilate would do the favor of sparing in honor of the Pasch.
They were to choose between Jesus and Barabbas. And who would believe it? Against Pilate's expectations the choice fell on Barabbas, as all the people cried out that Barabbas should go free and Jesus should be condemned. Now how is it that people want Jesus condemned and Barabbas released? Who is Barabbas? He is a criminal found guilty of sedition and murder.
And ought he be released and Jesus condemned?
"Indeed, that is what we wish. Let Barabbas live and let Jesus die!" What evil has Jesus done? . . . Now if Jesus must die, what kind of death should He be sentenced to? It would be very harsh to put Him to the sword.
Even so, He must die the most bitter kind of death and at the same time the one most disgraceful. He must die nailed to a cross — the way the most infamous, the most wicked criminals are accustomed to suffer death. And He must die in between two criminals, so that all may know that He surpassed everyone in wickedness. This was what the people wished and was the sentence Pilate gave Him.
Thus Jesus was led to His death on the Cross amid the festive joy of the high priests, amid the blasphemous insults of the scribes and pharisees, and amid the harsh mockeries of an immense throng. It was exactly then that was fulfilled the prediction of the Prophet who, in the person of Jesus Christ, testified, "I am a worm and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people." (Ps. 21:7).
Pause here a little, my soul, and answer the questions that I am going to ask. First, I ask: Did the Eternal Father give an unjust sentence when He decreed such great, such shocking degradations for His Only-Begotten Son? No, my soul, certainly not. Jesus had taken on Himself the liability for our sins by His own choice, and our sins called for this payment . . .
Secondly, I ask: Would the Eternal Father do you any wrong to allow against you insults and disgraces as great as the ones that He willed for His Only-Begotten Son to undergo? No, for sin deserves as much; and rightly do you come to realize this from the outrages and insults done to Jesus, and rightly does your conscience accuse you of being guilty of many sins.
Thirdly, I ask: If you believe that sin is something that deserves such ill treatment, knowing as you do that you have sinned, would your pride not be intolerable if you refused to bear even a slight contempt? What could be the ingratitude if you were unwilling to suffer a bit of offensive treatment for love of Jesus, after He has suffered such great wrongs and such extraordinary offenses for love of you?
Affective Acts
(1) Admiration of the humility of Jesus — O my beloved Jesus, my Redeemer, what astonishing wonders are put before my eyes by Thy humility! Thou, Who art Infinite Wisdom and govern Heaven and earth, are declared a dull-witted fool! Thou art mocked as a make-believe king and people spit in Thy Face as though Thou were the vilest man in the world! Thou, Who are Holiness Itself, from whom come all gifts and Heavenly Graces, are counted a hypocrite and a lover of wine!
Thou art charged with being a seducer and blasphemer; Thou art called a Samaritan and a sorcerer, and are counted worse than a murderer and an assassin! All this Thou suffer, and suffer it with awesome silence without the least complaint, with a meekness beyond comparison, without bitterness and with full resignation, without any regret that Heaven decreed this. . . Oh, what humility! Oh, the reticence of my Jesus! This is truly a sacrifice which, of itself, is enough to give infinite pleasure to the Eternal Father and to give the hearts of all men a lesson of humility . . .
(2) Shame — But this humility of Thine, oh, how hateful it makes my pride appear in Thy sight. O my Jesus! I, a lowly little mortal with a mind so very ignorant, so darkened — I want to be counted wise and prudent; while Jesus, Who is Wisdom Itself, is led in the garment of a fool through the public streets to be the laughing-stock of all the people! I, a sinner, want to be counted blameless, while the blameless Jesus is being counted as a seducer, a blasphemer and a sorcerer!
I, poor in every virtue and full of evil ways, endeavor to win preference above all others; while Jesus, Who is Holiness Itself, is ranked below Barabbas and sentenced to die on the disreputable Cross! Oh, how hateful, how abominable my intolerable pride must seem in my Redeemer's eyes! O my Jesus, have mercy on me and grant that in my mind I may have an entirely different outlook, and in my will my sentiments shall be quite contrary to what they have been up to now.
Second Point
There has not been a man in the world who has borne degradations and outrages as Jesus bore them. The royal Prophet describes the truly awesome humility with which Jesus bore insult and outrage, and he uses these words: "I, as a deaf man, heard not: and as a dumb man not opening his mouth." (Ps. 37:14). Ponder these brief words, my soul, and wonder at the immense humility that is hidden beneath the awesome silence.
(1) Jesus was blameless — and could never be charged with anything that was not upright, and He could never be rightly rebuked. The crimes with which men charged Him were evil inventions of His enemies. If Jesus had chosen to speak, in a moment He could have made His innocence very obvious to everyone. He could have silenced His enemies before all the people and could have covered them with shame and embarrassment.
(2) Jesus was All-Powerful — One word of His was enough to cause bolts of fire to shoot down from the clouds upon all His enemies and hurl them all into the abyss of hell. With just a word He could have caused all men to know His Divinity and He could have caused all Jerusalem to adore Him as the long-awaited Messias.
(3) Jesus was Infinite Wisdom — He knew that His enemies would become abusive on the occasion of His silence, and that they would not rest until they had seen Him die a disreputable death on a Cross. He knew that from His silence His beloved Mother and the Apostles would suffer extremely. . .
He knew that when He would hold His peace as He did, men would make it an occasion to discredit the miracles He had worked, to condemn His teaching as erroneous and to vent their rage against His newly founded Church. He knew all this. Nevertheless these considerations were not powerful enough arguments to draw one word from His mouth to prove His innocence. He wanted to keep silent, and to keep silent up to His last breath.
O Jesus, my wonderful Jesus, how astonishing and how eloquent is this silence of Thine! How sublime is this lesson of Thine! But alas! How few there are who imitate it! Where are those souls who, when they suffer insult and reproach and outrage, know how to join Jesus in keeping silent? There may indeed be men who know how to adapt themselves to other difficulties and mortifications, above all if they are undertaken through their own decision. But to be quiet when people disparage us, to love our cross of insult and calumny, to avoid explaining away unjust accusations against us — Ah! This is a burden few backs would carry! . . . But meantime it will always be an undeniable truth that Jesus Christ's example is the only road to holiness, and one who does not imitate Him will never be very worthy in His sight and will have no hope of reaching perfection at any time.¹
Affective Acts
(1) Esteem and appreciation for contempt — Oh how wonderful is Thy teaching, my Jesus! How far it outmatches all the wisdom of the world! In suffering unkind criticism, contempt, and ill treatment, Thou found only the beauty and desirability of these things. When with a single word Thou could draw on Thyself as much honor as there was contempt that Thou received, Thou preferred contempt rather than honor. So far removed were Thy affections from being set on honor, that Thou showed a desire for the humiliations.
Now why should I not have the same sentiments that Thou had and why should I not love what Thou loved? Indeed, my Jesus, in the future I will regard contempt as something that overthrows my fiercest enemy, which is pride, as something that opens for me the entrance into the Heart of Jesus, as something that ought to form the loveliest part of my glory in paradise.
(2) Contrition and Resolution — Ah how blind I have been in the past, my Jesus! I have desired to be able to love Thee as Thou art loved by the Seraphim in Heaven and especially I have wanted to be able to show Thee my love by offering Thee a sacrifice that Thou would like and accept. And what other sacrifice could be more agreeable to Thee but that of forsaking my high rating of self, by bearing humiliation and insult in silence? And why have I not conducted myself in that way?
Ah, the most beautiful moment of my life was not when my heart was penetrated with a tender, sentimental affection for God and felt carried away with love for His Infinite Goodness. No; rather the loveliest instant was when my actions were being unfairly interpreted and discredited, and the most beautiful occasion of offering God a perfect sacrifice was when people downright despised me and ceremoniously mocked me.
I was wrong, then, O my Jesus; I was wrong in grieving when I should have rejoiced, and in running from what I should have sought, and in grumbling when I should have kept quiet. Now that I know my mistake, what should I do, O my Jesus? I should do just what Thou did when the hour approached for Thee to suffer disgrace. "That the world may know, that I love the Father: . . . Arise, let us go hence." (John 14:31). This is how Thou spoke when, full of fervor, Thou submitted Thyself to Thy enemies, from whom Thou could hope for nothing but ill treatment and slanderous insult. When an occasion comes to me to suffer contempt and humiliation, I, likewise, will lift up my heart, saying: That Heaven may know that I love Jesus, come, my soul, let us proceed to embrace these things gladly for love of Him. . .
Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.
Footnote
¹ This point deserves a clarification. Even though Christ did not answer all of Pilate's questions, He did respond truthfully when Pilate asked Our Lord if He was King. (Matt. 17:11). Further, Our Lord proclaimed His innocence and defended Himself during His trial before the high priest. When He was struck by the officer at the Temple, He said: "If I have spoken evil, give testimony to the evil; but if well, why strikest thou Me." (John 18:23). At this trial, Our Lord proclaimed His Divinity to the high priest (Matt. 26:63-64). Also, during Our Lord's public life, He gave testimony to His sinlessness: "Which of you shall convict Me of sin?" (John 8:46). Hence, St. Anthony Mary Claret is actually speaking here about the holy and meritorious virtue of remaining silent in the face of detractions and calumnies, that is, when we are attacked personally. But if we see the rights of God under attack, then we may not be silent. We must publicly and steadfastly defend the rights of God at all times. Pope Leo XIII reiterated this truth when he said, "About the rights of man, people have heard enough. It is time they should hear of the rights of God." (Encyclical Letter Tametsi, Nov. 1, 1900).
Preparatory Prayer as on page x
Composition of Place — Imagine you see Jesus at the tribunals and palaces of Annas, Caiphas, Herod and Pilate. Note the patience with which He bore horrible insults and atrocious pains.
Prayer of Petition — O my Jesus, grant me the grace I need in order to bear with silence and humility the degradations and pains that I must undergo in this world.
First Point
There has not been and will never be a man who has suffered or had to suffer such great wrongs and degradations as Jesus Christ suffered. It is not possible to combine in a single meditation all the degradations to which Jesus Christ submitted. Therefore we will only consider some of them. These alone, my soul, will be enough to make you ashamed of your pride.
The first kind of degradation was the false charges and the calumnies — There is nothing that more keenly wounds a man of noble and sincere heart than piling up false charges against him of things he would not even dream of doing. Enter, O my soul, into the tribunal of Annas and Caiphas and hear the outrageous crimes that are charged against Jesus.
The witnesses are lined up and here are the charges they make: They say He is a lover of wine; that He likes to eat with publicans and sinners; that He is ruled by an intolerable pride, going so far as to claim to be Divine; that He would destroy the temple in Jerusalem; that He spreads impious doctrine and is introducing the people to idolatry; that He is a sorcerer and works prodigies with the help of the devil, with whom He has a secret compact; that He is a seducer and astutely plots the ruin of the chosen people. . . They charge Jesus with all these crimes in the tribunals of the High Priest and of Pilate. These charges are circulated among the people and are spread in the neighborhoods and public squares of Jerusalem.
The second kind of degradation was the scoffing and mockery — The wickedness of calling Jesus a blasphemer and criminal was not enough. It was also necessary to call Him a senseless fool. See Him in Herod's presence. Because He makes no answer to repeated questions but in His Infinite Wisdom keeps silent, men call Him a fool, at the prompting of the king and courtiers, and, like a fool He is covered with a white robe, and amid the mockery and laughter of insolent people they lead Him through the public streets to Pilate.
After this insult another follows of which I would not know whether to call it more savage or more contemptuously insulting, this time in the palace of the Roman Prefect. Incited to do so by the Jews, the soldiers decide to make sport of Jesus in a way no one but the devil could suggest. They throw a purple robe over His shoulders. Then they place a reed in His hand. Weaving together a crown out of rough, sharp thorns, they press it down on His head in order to make fun of Him as a make-believe king.
Their mockery does not stop here. To ridicule Him more, they bend their knees to Him in mock reverence; then they spew their filthy spittle into His Face and give Him a cruel beating. While the Heavens darken at the sight of this and the angels are bitterly weeping, a countless throng pauses to look at the unusual spectacle, and add to the injury and mockery in their festive way by their applause.
The third kind of injury that was done to Jesus was the passage of the death sentence with all its bad implications — Pilate, who was perfectly aware of Jesus' uprightness and innocence, in order to deliver Him, placed Him before the people, who had gathered beneath the balcony of his palace. They were there to choose a man sentenced to die whom Pilate would do the favor of sparing in honor of the Pasch.
They were to choose between Jesus and Barabbas. And who would believe it? Against Pilate's expectations the choice fell on Barabbas, as all the people cried out that Barabbas should go free and Jesus should be condemned. Now how is it that people want Jesus condemned and Barabbas released? Who is Barabbas? He is a criminal found guilty of sedition and murder.
And ought he be released and Jesus condemned?
"Indeed, that is what we wish. Let Barabbas live and let Jesus die!" What evil has Jesus done? . . . Now if Jesus must die, what kind of death should He be sentenced to? It would be very harsh to put Him to the sword.
Even so, He must die the most bitter kind of death and at the same time the one most disgraceful. He must die nailed to a cross — the way the most infamous, the most wicked criminals are accustomed to suffer death. And He must die in between two criminals, so that all may know that He surpassed everyone in wickedness. This was what the people wished and was the sentence Pilate gave Him.
Thus Jesus was led to His death on the Cross amid the festive joy of the high priests, amid the blasphemous insults of the scribes and pharisees, and amid the harsh mockeries of an immense throng. It was exactly then that was fulfilled the prediction of the Prophet who, in the person of Jesus Christ, testified, "I am a worm and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people." (Ps. 21:7).
Pause here a little, my soul, and answer the questions that I am going to ask. First, I ask: Did the Eternal Father give an unjust sentence when He decreed such great, such shocking degradations for His Only-Begotten Son? No, my soul, certainly not. Jesus had taken on Himself the liability for our sins by His own choice, and our sins called for this payment . . .
Secondly, I ask: Would the Eternal Father do you any wrong to allow against you insults and disgraces as great as the ones that He willed for His Only-Begotten Son to undergo? No, for sin deserves as much; and rightly do you come to realize this from the outrages and insults done to Jesus, and rightly does your conscience accuse you of being guilty of many sins.
Thirdly, I ask: If you believe that sin is something that deserves such ill treatment, knowing as you do that you have sinned, would your pride not be intolerable if you refused to bear even a slight contempt? What could be the ingratitude if you were unwilling to suffer a bit of offensive treatment for love of Jesus, after He has suffered such great wrongs and such extraordinary offenses for love of you?
Affective Acts
(1) Admiration of the humility of Jesus — O my beloved Jesus, my Redeemer, what astonishing wonders are put before my eyes by Thy humility! Thou, Who art Infinite Wisdom and govern Heaven and earth, are declared a dull-witted fool! Thou art mocked as a make-believe king and people spit in Thy Face as though Thou were the vilest man in the world! Thou, Who are Holiness Itself, from whom come all gifts and Heavenly Graces, are counted a hypocrite and a lover of wine!
Thou art charged with being a seducer and blasphemer; Thou art called a Samaritan and a sorcerer, and are counted worse than a murderer and an assassin! All this Thou suffer, and suffer it with awesome silence without the least complaint, with a meekness beyond comparison, without bitterness and with full resignation, without any regret that Heaven decreed this. . . Oh, what humility! Oh, the reticence of my Jesus! This is truly a sacrifice which, of itself, is enough to give infinite pleasure to the Eternal Father and to give the hearts of all men a lesson of humility . . .
(2) Shame — But this humility of Thine, oh, how hateful it makes my pride appear in Thy sight. O my Jesus! I, a lowly little mortal with a mind so very ignorant, so darkened — I want to be counted wise and prudent; while Jesus, Who is Wisdom Itself, is led in the garment of a fool through the public streets to be the laughing-stock of all the people! I, a sinner, want to be counted blameless, while the blameless Jesus is being counted as a seducer, a blasphemer and a sorcerer!
I, poor in every virtue and full of evil ways, endeavor to win preference above all others; while Jesus, Who is Holiness Itself, is ranked below Barabbas and sentenced to die on the disreputable Cross! Oh, how hateful, how abominable my intolerable pride must seem in my Redeemer's eyes! O my Jesus, have mercy on me and grant that in my mind I may have an entirely different outlook, and in my will my sentiments shall be quite contrary to what they have been up to now.
Second Point
There has not been a man in the world who has borne degradations and outrages as Jesus bore them. The royal Prophet describes the truly awesome humility with which Jesus bore insult and outrage, and he uses these words: "I, as a deaf man, heard not: and as a dumb man not opening his mouth." (Ps. 37:14). Ponder these brief words, my soul, and wonder at the immense humility that is hidden beneath the awesome silence.
(1) Jesus was blameless — and could never be charged with anything that was not upright, and He could never be rightly rebuked. The crimes with which men charged Him were evil inventions of His enemies. If Jesus had chosen to speak, in a moment He could have made His innocence very obvious to everyone. He could have silenced His enemies before all the people and could have covered them with shame and embarrassment.
(2) Jesus was All-Powerful — One word of His was enough to cause bolts of fire to shoot down from the clouds upon all His enemies and hurl them all into the abyss of hell. With just a word He could have caused all men to know His Divinity and He could have caused all Jerusalem to adore Him as the long-awaited Messias.
(3) Jesus was Infinite Wisdom — He knew that His enemies would become abusive on the occasion of His silence, and that they would not rest until they had seen Him die a disreputable death on a Cross. He knew that from His silence His beloved Mother and the Apostles would suffer extremely. . .
He knew that when He would hold His peace as He did, men would make it an occasion to discredit the miracles He had worked, to condemn His teaching as erroneous and to vent their rage against His newly founded Church. He knew all this. Nevertheless these considerations were not powerful enough arguments to draw one word from His mouth to prove His innocence. He wanted to keep silent, and to keep silent up to His last breath.
O Jesus, my wonderful Jesus, how astonishing and how eloquent is this silence of Thine! How sublime is this lesson of Thine! But alas! How few there are who imitate it! Where are those souls who, when they suffer insult and reproach and outrage, know how to join Jesus in keeping silent? There may indeed be men who know how to adapt themselves to other difficulties and mortifications, above all if they are undertaken through their own decision. But to be quiet when people disparage us, to love our cross of insult and calumny, to avoid explaining away unjust accusations against us — Ah! This is a burden few backs would carry! . . . But meantime it will always be an undeniable truth that Jesus Christ's example is the only road to holiness, and one who does not imitate Him will never be very worthy in His sight and will have no hope of reaching perfection at any time.¹
Affective Acts
(1) Esteem and appreciation for contempt — Oh how wonderful is Thy teaching, my Jesus! How far it outmatches all the wisdom of the world! In suffering unkind criticism, contempt, and ill treatment, Thou found only the beauty and desirability of these things. When with a single word Thou could draw on Thyself as much honor as there was contempt that Thou received, Thou preferred contempt rather than honor. So far removed were Thy affections from being set on honor, that Thou showed a desire for the humiliations.
Now why should I not have the same sentiments that Thou had and why should I not love what Thou loved? Indeed, my Jesus, in the future I will regard contempt as something that overthrows my fiercest enemy, which is pride, as something that opens for me the entrance into the Heart of Jesus, as something that ought to form the loveliest part of my glory in paradise.
(2) Contrition and Resolution — Ah how blind I have been in the past, my Jesus! I have desired to be able to love Thee as Thou art loved by the Seraphim in Heaven and especially I have wanted to be able to show Thee my love by offering Thee a sacrifice that Thou would like and accept. And what other sacrifice could be more agreeable to Thee but that of forsaking my high rating of self, by bearing humiliation and insult in silence? And why have I not conducted myself in that way?
Ah, the most beautiful moment of my life was not when my heart was penetrated with a tender, sentimental affection for God and felt carried away with love for His Infinite Goodness. No; rather the loveliest instant was when my actions were being unfairly interpreted and discredited, and the most beautiful occasion of offering God a perfect sacrifice was when people downright despised me and ceremoniously mocked me.
I was wrong, then, O my Jesus; I was wrong in grieving when I should have rejoiced, and in running from what I should have sought, and in grumbling when I should have kept quiet. Now that I know my mistake, what should I do, O my Jesus? I should do just what Thou did when the hour approached for Thee to suffer disgrace. "That the world may know, that I love the Father: . . . Arise, let us go hence." (John 14:31). This is how Thou spoke when, full of fervor, Thou submitted Thyself to Thy enemies, from whom Thou could hope for nothing but ill treatment and slanderous insult. When an occasion comes to me to suffer contempt and humiliation, I, likewise, will lift up my heart, saying: That Heaven may know that I love Jesus, come, my soul, let us proceed to embrace these things gladly for love of Him. . .
Now pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Concluding Prayers as on page xi.
Footnote
¹ This point deserves a clarification. Even though Christ did not answer all of Pilate's questions, He did respond truthfully when Pilate asked Our Lord if He was King. (Matt. 17:11). Further, Our Lord proclaimed His innocence and defended Himself during His trial before the high priest. When He was struck by the officer at the Temple, He said: "If I have spoken evil, give testimony to the evil; but if well, why strikest thou Me." (John 18:23). At this trial, Our Lord proclaimed His Divinity to the high priest (Matt. 26:63-64). Also, during Our Lord's public life, He gave testimony to His sinlessness: "Which of you shall convict Me of sin?" (John 8:46). Hence, St. Anthony Mary Claret is actually speaking here about the holy and meritorious virtue of remaining silent in the face of detractions and calumnies, that is, when we are attacked personally. But if we see the rights of God under attack, then we may not be silent. We must publicly and steadfastly defend the rights of God at all times. Pope Leo XIII reiterated this truth when he said, "About the rights of man, people have heard enough. It is time they should hear of the rights of God." (Encyclical Letter Tametsi, Nov. 1, 1900).
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre