Category Archives: Mary Victrix

Our Lady of the Rosary, Victrix at Lepanto

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Today is the principle feast of the Knights of Lepanto and MaryVictix.com, so happy Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Victories to one and all.

I have been doing a lot of reading of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe’s writings lately.  These writings are the basis of our order’s spirituality and of the work we do.  I have been reflecting a great deal on the original inspiration for my own vocation and on the essential characteristics of our work.

When the Knights of Lepanto was founded, I remember being concerned about the absence of men from the life of the Church in general and from the MIM specifically, and I wanted to do something about it.  A masculine approach to spirituality, that is, prayer translated into action, seemed to be the order of the day.  And indeed it was. Continue reading →

Knights of the Patronage

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All right, so I will now get back to more edifying business. I have given everyone more than a piece of my mind on the question of the election, as have also some of you who have commented here.

I apologize for my snarkiness. My desire was to defend a pro-life woman who was being trashed all over the place. I got carried away and I am duly rebuked by the lady, though I really don’t know what her point is about Ben Stein’s movie.

Templar Prayer

I still can’t find a translation of the Templars’ prayer to Our Lady, which is unfortunate. The best I can come up with this description provided by the scholar who found the Chinon Parchment:

It was “beautiful and moving” and “full of poetry”, Dr Frale said, but “incredibly has never been studied”. The prayer is addressed to “Holy Mary, mother of God”, the “consolation of those who hope”, and “humbly implores” her to obtain freedom for the order “through the intercession of the angels, archangels, prophets, evangelists, apostles, martyrs, confessors and virgins”. It adds that the Virgin Mary knows that “our enemies” have spread “calumnies and lies” about the order, and pleads with her to make them “return to truth and charity”.

In their rite of profession, the Knights Templar formulated their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in terms of solemn promises made to “God and St. Mary,” so it is no wonder that the they would have turned to Mary in their dire circumstances, invoking Her as the “consolation of those who hope,” and having confident recourse to Her for deliverance.

In fact this spontaneous confidence in the power of Mary to overcome evil has always been the intuition of Christians. I would like to share a little reflection on the ancient devotion to Mary and the development of chivalry in the context of another prayer found on a manuscript that had been hidden in obscurity for many years. Continue reading →

Lepanto and the Litany of Loreto

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The Marian Library at the University of Dayton has an interesting page on the Litany of Loreto, including an illustration for each invocation:

The Marian Library has in its possession rare books of the eighteenth century with engravings by the renowned Augsburg artist, Josef Sebastian Klauber (ca. 1700-1768). The highly symbolic and illustrative reproductions are typical of the Baroque period. Their message is of great spiritual riches. Mary’s profile is that of the exalted Mother, Virgin, and Queen, as suits the period. We limited ourselves to the illustrations of the Marian titles . . .

The illustration above is for the invocation “Help of Christians,” which invocation is connected, interestingly enough, to the Battle of Lepanto: Continue reading →

Lepanto in Santa Maria Maggiore

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Off to the right of the main altar in Santa Maria Maggiore, the principle basilica of Our Lady in the Western Church, is the so-called Sistine Chapel–not to be confused with the Chapel by the same name in the Vatican decorated by Michaelangelo. This chapel was built by Pope Sixtus V, a Franciscan, to honor his Dominican predecessor Pope St. Pius V, depicted in the sculpture above. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Here I am near the body of the Saint:

Continue reading →

Altar of Heaven, Lady of Victory

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Well, I’m back.

In my last post I said I would post some more pictures of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli. The Church does not look like much from the street 124 steps below its porch. Inside, however, is a different story. There is plenty of interest, especially for a Franciscan, the Church being the medieval generalate house for the Order. Our focus here, though, is the Battle of Lepanto.

This is the interior wall of the front of the Church:

The central stone panel in the lower half of the photograph contains an inscription commemorating The Battle of Lepanto. Click on the photo above for a better look. The inscription tranlsates: Continue reading →

Finito!

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I am off to the airport in about an hour. This morning we took this picture of the community in Via Boccea. Father Settimio is the suprerior of the house (the very tall one in the middle). If you would like to see the state of Fra Giles’ balding head, click on the pic for a better look.

Yesterday the said Fra Giles and I went into Rome and visited a few churches. We also ate lunch at Santa Maria Maggiore with the friars there. Fra Giles was asking about everyone in America. He says hello to the locals.

One of the churches we visited yesterday was Santa Maria in Ara Coeli (Saint Mary of the Altar of Heaven), which an ancient church built on one of the tallest hills in Rome over the ruins of the Roman temple of Juno Moneta. I will more into the history of the Church in the next post. My main interest in this Church, which I had never visited before, is two: 1) It is the ancient Roman headquarters for the Franciscans; 2) It contains a huge memorial of the Battle of Lepanto.

In 1571, Santa Maria in Aracoeli hosted the celebrations honoring Marcantonio Colonna after the victorious Battle of Lepanto over the Turkish fleet. Marking this occasion, the compartmented ceiling was gilded and painted (finished 1575), to thank the Blessed Virgin for the victory.

Here is a little taste of some of the pictures I will be posting over the next few days.

This is the best shot I could get of the whole ceiling (click on the image for a larger version):

Continue reading →

Blast of an Encampment!

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The following video was cut together from footage captured last October for the Fall Encampment. Doug Barry runs his Radix Boot Camp for kids of all ages.

The weekend was challenging, but as you will see everyone had a great time. Don’t be put off by the challenges. Doug is great with kids and had everyone encouraging each other. I didn’t matter how athletic or advanced the kids were in their catechism everyone was treated with respect and support.

This Spring Encampment the Knights of Lepanto will be running the Boot Camp, but we hope to have Doug back for the Fall Encampment.


Spring Encampment Is Coming!

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The Spring Encampment page is up. The even will take place on the weekend of May 23-25. The Advertising Flyer and Registration and Release Forms are available, plus all the details can be found there as well.

Please print out the Advertising Flyer and post it where you can. Let’s get the word out!

The linked thumbnail below will remain in the side bar, so it will always be visible on the site.

Click on the thumbnail:

MaryVictrix News: Holy Hour, Catholic Action and KL Formation

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Several things or going on this week. First of all, I am on my way up to our friary in Maine NY, Mount St. Francis to visit our friars there before my trip to Rome during the first part of May. I will be there for our general chapter, which will conclude on Pentecost. Please pray for our community during this important time.

I will be back for the Third Thursday Night Holy Hour for the Fathers of our Families (program). This will be the third holy hour of the novena which will conclude in October just before the presidential election.

I have long encouraged the Knights of Lepanto to engage in Catholic action and our Third Thursday Meetings have been oriented in that direction. It is, however, far more important to pray and I have not wanted to neglect this. Hence the novena.

This particular month, I have invited Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut to speak following the holy. I will be putting up a post shortly on the work of Peter at FIC. I am inviting all local men to come and learn more about how you can help to protect marriage and family life in Connecticut.

Thirdly, on Saturday, April 19 I will be directing a day of recollection at the friary for the Knights of Lepanto, specifically for all the first year members who are in need of their basic formation. This is open to all those who are formal MIM members and who attend the Knights’ meetings, including those who have already finished the first year formation and would like to review or just attend for their spiritual benefit.

We are planning on an early day, so that the whole Saturday is not shot for the guys who have stuff to do around the house. WE BEGIN AT 8:30 AM.

Here are the topics I will be covering on Saturday:

1. What is the group, The Knights of Lepanto? (Article 1 and 2, KL Directory)

  • History
  • The Name
  • Nature and Purpose

2. Is there such a Thing as Catholic Masculinity?

  • The Problem within the Family and the Church
  • The Fatherhood of God
  • Reclaiming Masculinity and Fatherhood

3. Do Grown Men Need Our Lady?

  • The Imitation of Christ
  • Mary and the Church
  • Motherhood and Femininity