Pope Pius V

Leave a comment October 21, 2017 Larry Peterson

By Larry Peterson

Battle of Lepanto Wikipedia common.org

October is the month of the Holy Rosary. During the month we might also acknowledge the person known as the Pope of the Rosary, Pope St. Pius V.

In 1517, Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, posted his 95 Theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. Within the Catholic world, a great theological revolt ensued. This revolt spread throughout Europe and it was focused on many of the practices taking place within the church at the time, such as the selling of indulgences, papal authority, and Transubstantiation. This “revolt” is more commonly known as the Protestant Reformation.

The Catholic Church did not begin to confront the Reformation seriously until Pope Paul III convened the Council of Trent in the year 1545. This was to be a mammoth undertaking as virtually all church doctrines had been challenged by the Reformation including the Real Presence and the validity of the sacraments.

The Council did not adjourn until 1563, eighteen years after its inception. A period of 46 years had elapsed since the 95-Theses were first posted. But the final pronouncements of the Council had yet to be enacted and sealed as doctrinal law. Three years after the Council adjourned Michael Cardinal Ghislieri was elected to the papacy. He took the name of Pope Pius V.

Pope Pius V was a devout priest who found his strength in Christ crucified. He also held a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His first acts as pontiff were to give approval to the changes instituted by the Council of Trent and immediately implement the reforms set forth.

Pope Pius V codified the Tridentine Mass (Latin Mass) as the primary Mass for the Roman Church, He authorized a revised breviary and a new Roman Catechism and Missal. He approved the Council’s teachings that Christ is present in both the consecrated bread and the consecrated wine. The Mass was defined as a TRUE sacrifice and he approved doctrinal statements on the sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony. He also affirmed church teachings on Purgatory and indulgences. He would quickly have much more to do. The Turks of the Ottoman Empire were determined to conquer Europe and Rome.

Deeply devoted to our Lady, Pope Pius V, issued a document in 1569 called a Papal Bull . This document was called, Consueverunt Romani Pontifices (On the Rosary) and it set in place the permanent format for the Rosary, the same which is used today. This is the same Rosary that our Lady presented to St. Dominic in 1214.

The greatest challenge at the time to the papacy of Pius V and to the Catholic Church was the Ottoman Empire. Pius V understood the intense desire of the Muslim Turks to conquer the entire Mediterranean area. Just as it is today, jihad, had been declared by the Muslim imams and Pope Pius V knew full well this was spiritual war about to be waged.

Pope Pius called together the Christian nations of Europe and formed them into what became known as the Holy League. Both Protestants and Catholics from different nations came together under the guidance of Pope Pius V to fight back against the Ottoman Turks. Pope Pius asked all Catholics to pray the Rosary asking for our Lady’s intercession when the battle ensued.

And so it was that on October 7, 1571, the Battle of Lepanto, took place. As the Pope and thousands of his followers prayed the Rosary the Battle of Lepanto began. Under the military leadership of Don Juan of Austria, the Christian fleet won a resounding victory over the more powerful Ottoman Turks. This battle literally saved Christendom and western civilization. Pope Pius V declared that from that day on, the day would be called The Feast Day of Our Lady of Victory. Today it is called The Feast Day of Our Lady of the Rosary.

The papacy of Pope Pius V lasted a mere six years. During his reign, he led the forces of “good against the forces of “evil” literally saving Christianity throughout Europe. He gave all credit to our Blessed Mother and today she bears the title of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Pope Pius V also set in place the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which was unchanged for over 400 years (until Vatican II), established the doctrines of Transubstantiation and the Real Presence, restored discipline in seminaries, republished the Roman Breviary and the Roman Missal. He was canonized a saint on May 22, 1712 by Pope Clement XI. How honored he must be to be called the Pope of the Holy Rosary.

Pope St. Pius V please pray for us.

Leave a comment November 20, 2015 Larry Peterson

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson

“I asked the Lord, with the help of all my faith, to come to my aid, to come and help us forgive you.”

The quote above comes from an 18 year-old student who lives in Paris. I do not know her name. On the Monday morning after the Friday of Satan, she left class and stopped at a cafe for a cup of coffee. The headline of the newspaper read, Sorrow and Rage. She thought, “What should I do?”

So she wrote this beautiful letter and I believe her words and actions flowed freely from the very depths of her God-filled heart. (Please click on the link (letter) and see how God’s grace can move a person, any person, to shout His message to the world.)

I also believe she has unintentionally demonstrated to the entire peace-loving world that our most powerful weapon available in the war on terror is prayer. I know we pray for world peace in our churches on Sundays and in our homes, or maybe by ourselves; but this weapon is available to us all. It costs nothing, requires no munitions factories or raw materials, and does not have to be safeguarded or transported carefully. Where weapons of destruction are designed to destroy and obliterate lives prayer has the power to change, transform and convert bad to good and hate to love. Prayer can conquer evil….bombs, bullets and chemicals CANNOT.

The secular world has been rejecting this most potent weapon as outdated and a relic of the past. It is NOT. This is what we must pull back to the forefront, not randomly or incidentally or alone when we can, but together. We need a unified and all out assault on Satanic fueled terrorism and evil using prayer as the infantry rifle in the hands of every believer all over the world. This is how we can help to crush the serpent’s slimy head. This is the answer to peace. Prayer–followed by physical action if necessary.

Leadership for this new D (Demonic)-Day should start with Pope Francis who can instruct the bishops the world over to orchestrate simultaneous prayer events around the planet every day. The Bishops can instruct their parish pastors and priests to gather their flocks together. This prayer assault can be taken up with all Protestants and Jews and even the “nones” who do not recognize any religion. If the secularists object—too bad.

A bit of history relating to the power of prayer. On October 7, 1571, the most significant, crucial and profound naval battle ever fought took place. Known as The Battle of Lepanto, this is the battle that saved the Christian West from an impending defeat by the Ottoman Turks. Vastly outnumberd with ships and men, the victory at Lepanto prevented the Christian world from being taken over by Islam. So how does prayer fit into the Battle of Lepanto?

Pope St. Pius V had formed what is known as the Holy League, combining the maritime nations of Europe so as to be able to defend themselves against the Ottoman Turks. Prior to the Battle of Lepanto the Holy Father ordered the rosary to be said throughout Europe. The Pope led a candlelight rosary procession through Rome the night before the battle. In addition, all the men with the fleet prayed the rosary. The resulting victory was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. To this very day October 7 is celebrated as The Feast of the Most Holy Rosary aka The Feast of Our Lady of Victory.

Unfortunately, most Americans have not even heard of the Battle of Lepanto. The possibility that the West could be under Islamic rule today was just one day and thousands of prayed rosaries away. It never happened. It seems that some serious prayer might be once again in order. Political correctness be damned–The power of prayer is the key to crushing ISIS, Boko-Haram, Al-Queda, Hezbollah and all the rest of these Satanic fueled barbarians. We ALL need to get busy praying.