*BEST OF DTB #114* The Catholic Defender: The Immaculate Conception

It was 27 January, 2007 I had been out with the Scouts as we went to a number of villages looking for weapons.

That had been a long day that was very beneficial to us as we were able to find weapons and get some key information.

Once we returned back to Base, I was able to take off and go to a scheduled class I was prepared to give.

The following is what I wrote on the Defenders of the Catholic Faith Message Board:

Beginning this morning, I was outside the wire on mission and didn't get back until after 18:00 hours. I was in full battle rattle when I got to my room and grabbed my computer and speaker system and made my way to the Division Chapel which was about a mile away. I had to go by foot. I got there to find Father was there with the RCIA class which was real glad I was able to get there. Even though I was 45 minutes late, everyone stayed the whole time to watch the DVD on Mary. That was so cool. A non-denominal preacher happened to be in another room became interested in the subject matter so after I dismissed the class we talked for another hour. It was a good night of RCIA action!!!

As I walked back to my unit, it was night time, very dark. I heard the explosions in the distance, the gun fire. I reflected on some of the questions I covered at this evenings class.

I have Soldiers who were raised as Mormons, Church of Christ, Lutherans, Anglicans, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptists, Non-Denominational, Pentecostals, former Catholics, and non-believers.

They had various opinions based from what they were raised so their questions are very interesting as they were all sharing their journey to the Catholic Faith.

In one way, it reminded me of the first Christians who were Baptised that first day (Acts 2:41) St. Luke writes, "Those who accepted his (St. Peter's) message were baptised, and about three thousand persons were added that day".

I thought it was cool that we were continuing the work that Christ commissioned the Church to do.

The teaching on Mary was tonight's main discussion and the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was a main issue. What a great reflection of the love of God and I continued to walk along my journey back to my room.

I thought of Genesis 3:15, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heal".

I thought about that for a while, certainly God knew who this woman was when he said this. This woman can not be Eve as I've heard some think because her offspring did not conquer the serpent.

It was Jesus who conquered sin and death, St. Paul wrote, "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38).

I felt that the Virgin Mary was the only one who could be the Woman of Genesis 3:15. This is the belief of the Early Church Fathers and the constant teaching of the Catholic Church.

Resting in this truth, my heart just came alive. I continued to reflect on the Immaculate Conception remembering that Gabriel was sent to tell Mary that she was this Woman.

This is very important. Compare the appearance of Gabriel to the Virgin Mary with when the Angel appeared to St. John. Revelation 22:8, St. John writes, "It is I, John, who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said to me, 'Don't! I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the message of this book, Worship God".

I thought about how St. John was with Jesus for three years learning and hearing the Lord's teaching first hand. He was one of the Twelve, yet he lost himself with the appearance of the Angel.

Compare this with Mary's response to Gabriel, an Archangel. The Angel first greets Mary with "Hail, Full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). I recalled the original Greek "Kecharitomene" means "having been" or "have already been" graced, Mary is "Full of Grace", a past perfect participle.

Because God knew who the Woman of Genesis 3:15 would be, at the appointed time, God prepares the Virgin Mary from her very beginning to be the Mother of Jesus.

This does not mean that she didn't need Jesus, she absolutely did, it is when she was free of Original Sin. It is a singular grace by God to the Virgin Mary that benefits all mankind.

She was protected by God from the Devil from the moment of her conception. St. John writes, "When the dragon saw that it had been thrown to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child (Jesus). But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert, where, far from the serpent, she was taken care of for a year, two years, and a half year. The serpent, however, spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current. But the earth helped the woman and opened it's mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus" (Rev 12:13-17).

The Virgin Mary appears to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 giving us the "Miraculous Medal" that shows Mary standing on the moon and the Devil under her feet.

St Augustine said (354-430), “Since the devil is the head of original sin, this head it was that Mary crushed: for sin never had any entry into the soul of this Blessed Virgin, which was consequently free from all stain”.

As I kept thinking about this, I just wanted to reach out to God and thank him, even in this place. He has given us so much.

I couldn't help thinking of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous identifying herself, "I am the Immaculate Conception".

I thought of the wonders God has worked at Lourdes that even today miracles are happening.

I understand that several thousand people go to Lourdes France everyday from around the world.

God promised us signs and wonders through his presence among his Church. As I walked into our Orderly Room, I checked in so they would know I was accounted for. I stopped in talking with the duty personnel and I was overjoyed from all that I was involved in this night.

I could still hear mortar fire in the distance, machine gun fire sporatic, every now and then a real loud explosion, yet it could not dampen my spirit. I dedicated my prayer for those who were in the midst of the fight.


Looking back, what a blessing it was to paticipate in the journey of so many people wanting to become Catholic. Despite the danger we lived, I was consoled with this truth: "You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).


Recently, Islamic Terrorists have attacked Catholic Churches in Baghdad killing many. Please pray for the Church persecuted today.

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The Catholic Defender: Battle Rhythm

In the Army we have a saying that we use to ensure that our troops are prepared daily to handle the constant missions being laid out.

The first thing we would do would be "Stand Too" which before dawn every Soldier would be at their fighting position prepared for an attack.

Once daylight had broken through, only specific guards would maintain vigilance as everyone else would continue on for the day.

The cooks would go to the dining hall, the medics would go to the Aid Station, maintenance would go to the motor pool. Everyone has different areas of responsibilities. All would have to have personal hygiene done before all of this.

I remember what it was like putting cold water on your face to shave in zero degree weather. I was always hardcore like that as I never really took to electric shavers in the field. Platoon Sergeants would go to the First Sergeant's meeting to get the information and the plans for the next coming days.

We would develop a "Soldiers Book" to keep up with all the Soldiers under your responsibility. They had to be supervised to ensure that not only all missions were met on time as planed, but that they were in the correct uniform and that their equipment is serviceable.

All this is important to get through the day. Once you have everything supported and covered, once everything has been met, you might be able to get some downtime. The Army has really changed in 26 years as today, you will see that just about everyone has a lab top computer that can play movies, use Internet, amazing technology to keep up with the family and world back home.

The Battle Rhythm is an important tool to help each Soldier stay on top of their responsibilities.

Our Faith can be like that as well. Without an established Battle Rhythm, it is easy to pass days without praying or dedicating time with the Lord that we need.

1 Timothy 4:7-9 states, "Avoid profane and silly myths. Train yourself for devotion, for, while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future".

It's good if we can make daily Mass, weekly bible study, rosary and other devotions you can join in on. It's those individual commitments that can be a challenge.

A Battle Rhythm can help you manage each day to dedicate your commitment to the Lord. It's important to be prepared for the missions coming up that we support such as the pro-life rally's, or other issues we are involved in.

Prayer is very important. Daily prayer is personal, how many times do we fail because there just is not enough time in a day?

That has always been a struggle at times especially when I am home because of all the events and obligations I end up participating in.

Sometimes just a change to chill out and watch a good movie or something can take up a lot of time.

This is when a Battle Rhythm can be a tool the Lord can use to help you fulfill your own commitments. Let us not grow lazy in our prayer life, but faithful to our obligations to prayer.

Prayer can be work at times, sometimes we may not feel like it. Do it anyway! You never know what good you offer by doing so! Prayer builds character such as the following example:

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The Catholic Defender: The Power Of The Hail Mary

The Hail Mary of a Protestant
(A true story)
A little six-year-old Protestant boy had often heard his Catholic companions reciting the prayer "Hail Mary." He liked it so much that he copied it, memorized it and would recite it every day. "Look, Mommy, what a beautiful prayer," he said to his mother one day.
"Never again say it," answered the mother. "It is a superstitious prayer of Catholics who adore idols and think Mary a goddess. After all, she is a woman like any other. Come on, take this Bible and read it. It contains everything that we are bound to do and have to do." From that day on the little boy discontinued his daily "Hail Mary" and gave himself more time to reading the Bible instead.

One day, while reading the Gospel, he came across the passage about the Annunciation of the Angel to Our Lady. Full of joy, the little boy ran to his mother and said: "Mommy, I have found the 'Hail Mary' in the Bible which says: 'Hail full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women.' Why do you call it a superstitious prayer?"
On another occasion he found that beautiful Salutation of St. Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary and the wonderful canticle MAGNIFICAT in which Mary foretold that "the generations would call her blessed."

He said no more about it to his mother but started to recite the "Hail Mary" every day as before. He felt pleasure in addressing those charming words to the Mother of Jesus, our Savior.

When he was fourteen, he one day heard a discussion on Our Lady among the members of his family. Every one said that Mary was a common woman like any other woman. The boy, after listening to their erroneous reasoning could not bear it any longer, and full of indignation, he interrupted them, saying:

"Mary is not like any other children of Adam, stained with sin. No! The Angel called her FULL OF GRACE AND BLESSED AMONGST WOMEN. Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ and consequently Mother of God. There is no higher dignity to which a creature can be raised. The Gospel says that the generations will proclaim her blessed and you are trying to despise her and look down on her. Your spirit is not the spirit of the Gospel or of the Bible which you proclaim to be the foundation of the Christian religion."

So deep was the impression which the boy's talk had made that his mother many times cried out sorrowfully: "Oh my God! I fear that this son of mine will one day join the Catholic religion, the religion of Popes!" And indeed, not very long afterwards, having made a serious study of both Protestantism and Catholicism, the boy found the latter to be the only true religion and embraced it and became one of its most ardent apostles.

Some time after his conversion, he met his married sister who rebuked him and said indignantly: "You little know how much I love my children. Should any one of them desire to become a Catholic, I would sooner pierce his heart with a dagger than allow him to embrace the religion of the Popes!"

Her anger and temper were as furious as those of St. Paul before his conversion. However, she would change her ways, just as St. Paul did on his way to Damascus. It so happened that one of her sons fell dangerously ill and the doctors gave up hope of recovery. Her brother then approached her and spoke to her affectionately, saying:

"My dear sister, you naturally wish to have your child cured. Very well, then, do what I ask you to do. Follow me, let us pray one 'Hail Mary' and promise God that, if your son recovers his health, you would seriously study the Catholic doctrine, and should you come to the conclusion that Catholicism is the only true religion, you would embrace it no matter what the sacrifices may be."

His sister was somewhat reluctant at the beginning, but as she wished for her son's recovery, she accepted her brother's proposal and recited the "Hail Mary" together with him. The next day her son was completely cured. The mother fulfilled her promise and she studied the Catholic doctrine. After long preparation she received Baptism together with her whole family, thanking her brother for being an apostle to her.

The story was related during a sermon given by the Rev. Fr. Tuckwell. "Brethren," he went on and said, "the boy who became a Catholic and converted his sister to Catholicism dedicated his whole life to the service of God. He is the priest who is speaking to you now! What I am I owe to Our Lady. You, too, my dear brethren, be entirely dedicated also to Our Lady and never let a day pass without saying the beautiful prayer, 'Hail Mary', and your Rosary. Ask her to enlighten the minds of Protestants who are separated from the true Church of Christ founded on the Rock (Peter) and 'against whom the gates of hell shall never prevail.'"

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The Catholic Defender: The Rosary Patrol Salutes

The Virgin Mary at Fatima told the children, “Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war... If they do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace. The war is going to end [World War I]. But if they do not stop offending God, another and worse one will begin in the reign of Pius XI... When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that it is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, of hunger, and of persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father."

The Rosary is one of the most identifiable devotions in the world. It is a very visible sign that has had a huge impact on the world.

With all the chaos everywhere, can you imagine what it would be like without the Rosary? What it would be without the many devoted to praying the family Rosary? The Rosary Patrol was born in Iraq when I would go to the Chapel to pray the Rosary everyday.

I would pray the Rosary at 11:30 before going to lunch. In time, I would have other Soldiers join me. In time, we had people around the United States praying with us spiritually. Then this would branch out to all over the world as people praying the Rosary would tie in with us.

The Rosary Patrol's devotion was dedicated to the Soldiers going outside the wire, for the families having to be separated due to deployment. Then we opened it up to everyone in the group, which included the prayer requests asked of us from the "Defenders of the Catholic Faith". We have been graced to see miracles of safety, healing, conversion in some very powerful ways.

This growth was largely because of the "Defenders of the Catholic Faith" (DCF) and Steven Ray's Message Board.

The Moderator (Siggy), has always been excellent in running DCF ensuring that the Catholic Faith was always seen in the light of Christ.

In the DCF Archives, you can read the daily posts of 27 months in Iraq. Much of this story is still seen and preserved.

What a blessing it is to be able to go back in there and retrace those events that changed peoples lives forever.

Coming home from Iraq for the last time in 2011, John Benko and I have continued the idea of "The Rosary Patrol" and setting up a Rosary which we have devoted Monday evening to pray the Rosary. John put together a Facebook page dedicated entirely for those who would like prayer support from the Rosary Patrol. We continue to see good fruit coming from the devotion of the Rosary.

Because of the importance that DCF gave to the Rosary Patrol in following the stories of the Catholic Defender, we want to give a "Rosary Patrol Salute" to the Family of DCF, there are many great testimonies there. Steven Ray, a convert to the Catholic Faith, is the founder of the website and you can go to this site from our own home page.

We want to encourage everyone to pray the Rosary for sinners as Our Lady of Fatima requested. At a time when many are busy trying to make ends meet, many more falling into the trap of sin and vice, people need to rediscover their prayer life.

If you have been away from the Catholic Faith for awhile, we want to encourage you and welcome you home.

You do matter, the Lord, Jesus Christ loves you and wants you to follow him.

Matthew 16:24-27 states, "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct".

The virgin Mary reminds the children of Fatima that men “must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins,” and that they “offend the Lord God no more, for He is already much offended”. This is intended to be for the whole Church. Praying the family Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

By praying the daily Rosary and offering their prayers and their sacrifices dedicated for the building up the Kingdom of God, we restore the temporal order in Christ.

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The Catholic Defender: Welcome To Fright Night

As Peter Vincent and Charles Brooster stood near the bottom of the stairway, Jerry Dandridge walked to the top of the stairway looking down at the two men.

Full of confidence, Mr. Dandridge welcomes the two men with, "Wecome to Fright Night, for real".

The suspense begins to build as good is totally in the presence of pure evil.

This is a fight for survival and the victor live to fight another day.

Fearfully, Peter Vincent pulled out his crucifix and stood before Mr. Dandridge who walked towards Peter Vincent and said, "You have to have Faith to work against me Mr. Vincent, Vampire Killer".

As I watched this movie, I couldn't help think of the many simularities that the historic story of Count Dracula has with real life.

Sunlight can kill vampires which reminds me that Christ is the light of the world, his light shines upon the darkness vanguishing away the evil. Holy Water, blessed Sacramentals can hurt vampires as well.

When there is a true demonic possession demons manifest supernatural knowledge of blessed objects and resent it bitterly. The crucifix represents the Lord's victory over death which the vampire cannot overcome.

Satan cannot overcome the light. Vampires represent the damned and the unholy so those objects that are holy have an affect.

The crucifix is important at exorcisms and that is by no accident. Good will always prevail over evil if we have the faith to get us through.

To finally place a wooden stake through the heart destroys the one who takes blood to live on. Jesus offered his blood on behalf of all mankind, the vampire kills for blood to keep themselves alive.

Genesis 32:24-27 states, "And Jacob was left alone; and a man (angel) wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

When the man (angel) saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob's thigh was put out of joint as he (angel) wrestled with him.

Then he (angel) said, 'Let me go, for the day is breaking'.

But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go, unless you bless me'.

And he (angel) said to him, 'What is your name'?

And he said, 'Jacob',

then he (angel) said, 'Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed".

I thought it was interesting that the angel was concerned that daylight was coming! Many of these older stories would have a biblical base of good and evil.

As I continued to watch this thriller called "Fright Night", the vampire, Jerry Dandridge, tried to defeat Peter Vincent but in the end, could not overcome the protection of God.

I was intertained watching the movie, but I also had the feeling of evil being defeated in my own living room.

Sin lurks in the darkness, so we can see why evil hates the light.

In real life, sometimes the outcome is not as apparent, yet, if we have Faith in God, we will prevail. Prayer, especially the Rosary, are important weapons against darkness and sin. Sacramentals are occasions of Grace that God can use.

Heaven is our true objective and we should never allow the darkness and evil to tempt us away from the Catholic Faith.

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The Guardian Angel: Advocate, Mediatrix, Co-Redemptres

All generations will call me blessed (Luke 1:48).

As I have thought on writing about the Dogma on Mary, it has taken me longer than my first two books. Mary lived through the life, passion, death and Resurrection of the Savior of Mankind, JESUS. To answer questions for Catholics to better defend their faith, and also hopefully present it in such a way that our non-Catholic brothers and sisters can be drawn closer to the Mother of God is not a task I take lightly. How can I in my finite being ever express the fullness of the gift that Mary is to us, the most beautiful creation that God ever made. I will seek many of the words of those much greater than myself, and only repeat them in a way that you might understand. Understand that God alone is Adored, but Mary is indeed Venerated and honored.

Mary has shared intimately in the redemptive work of Jesus, by suffering with Him and offering Him up to the Eternal Father. But the fact that Mary was associated with Jesus in the redemption as it actually took place, adds nothing to HIS sacrifice. We can become friends of God solely because of the merits of Jesus Christ. This is what the Catholic Church always has taught and believed. Mary was Co-Redemptrix, which is translated “Woman with the Redeemer.” At the Annunciation, Mary cooperated with the Redeemer by giving the 2^nd person of the Trinity His human body.

The Virgin with her maternal heart suffered with Jesus at the foot of HIS Cross, fulfilling the prophecy of Simeon, “and the sword will pierce your heart too.” Recognizing that the Virgin Mary participated in a unique though subordinate way in the work of the redeemer, beyond any other creature, but never places her on a level of equality with Jesus Christ or His Divinity. She is central in the plan of salvation as Mother of the Redeemer. Mary is an example to the Church that suffering is redemptive, it is not valueless, look at Mary’s suffering as Mother. This shows us that there is supernatural value in suffering by freely and profoundly accepting the Crosses given in our life. Suffering is Redemptive. So Mary had a unique participation in the work of redemption by Jesus Christ, as She suffered with her son at the foot of the Cross. The Agony of her Immaculate heart is joined completely with the Agony of her Son.

Confided by Our Lord to Berth Petit:
“Teach souls to love the Heart of My Mother pierced by the very sorrow which pierced Mine.” (Dec. 25, 1909)

“The Heart of My Mother has the right to be called Sorrowful, and I wish this title placed before that of Immaculate because she has won it herself. The church has defined in the case of My Mother what I Myself had ordained—Her Immaculate Conception. This right which My Mother has to a title of justice is now, according to My express wish, to be known and universally accepted. She has earned it by her identification with My sorrows; by her sufferings; by her sacrifices and her immolation in Calvary endured in perfect correspondence with My grace for the salvation of mankind…” (Sept. 8, 1911)

Mary freely and deliberately co-operated in giving the Redeemer to the world. Instructed by the angel Gabriel as to the person and task of Her Son she freely assented to be Mother of God. Luke 1:38, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done unto me according to thy word.” The Incarnation of the Son of God, and the Redemption of mankind by the vicarious atonement of Christ were dependent on her assent. In this significant moment in the history of Salvation Mary represented humanity. By her obedience the Virgin Mary became a cause of her own salvation and the salvation of the whole human race.

As Mediatrix, “Go Between”, Mary became the Mother of those reborn to new life. Mary presents our desires and petitions to Christ and transmits the divine gifts to us, interceding continually on our behalf. Although Christ is the Sole Mediator between God and man as stated in 1 Timothy 2:5, since He alone, by His death on the Cross, fully reconciled mankind with God, this does not exclude a secondary mediatorship, subordinated to Christ. "To unite men to God perfectively appertains to Christ according to 2 Corinthians 19. Therefore Christ alone is the perfect mediator between God and man, inasmuch as He reconciled mankind with God by His death…But there is nothing to prevent others in a certain way from being called mediators between God and man, in so far as they, by preparing or serving, cooperated in uniting men to God.” St. Ephrem says of her: “After the Mediator you are the mediatrix of the whole world”

Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces in two ways: 1. Mary gave the Redeemer, the Source of all graces, to the world, and in this way she is the channel of all graces., which was dependent upon her consent. 2. Since Mary’s Assumption into Heaven no grace is conferred on man without her actual intercessory co-operation. The graces flowing from the Father and Son through the Holy Spirit flow through the Virgin Mary as the Holy Spirits Spouse.

Consider this, Mary is the Daughter of God the Father! Mary is the Mother of Jesus Christ the Son! And Mary is the Bride of the Holy Spirit. When the Angel showed up, her assent was needed, not commanded. Do you know how much importance Mary commands? Realize this, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, made Mary the first and most beautiful of all tabernacles, a living tabernacle! Mary would contain in Her womb, Jesus Christ—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity for the first nine months of His earthly life. Mary is the Father’s best creation, the Father’s Masterpiece, God’s creative best. Her stainlessness in Immaculate Conception, which is a singular privilege and grace that is the foundation of everything else she does. “…because He who is might has done great things to me.” Luke 1:48

Next to God Himself, have you ever heard of a power like God speaks to Satan about Mary in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the Woman, between your seed and Her seed; She shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for Her heel.”

In Matthew 7:20, Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.” Since Jesus Christ is the Fruit of Mary’s womb, what more need be said of Mary. She voluntarily devoted her whole life to the service of the Redeemer, and, under the Cross, suffered and sacrificed with HIM.

Under the title Advocate, Mary presents our petitions to Jesus the King in her role of queen Mother of Heaven, intercessor for God’s people. All of us are called to be mediators, instruments of grace and instruments of Christ one to another. “The blessed Virgin participates like no one else in the one mediation of Jesus Christ. That is why She is Mediatrix, subordinate, supportive, sustained by the power of the grace of Christ. She is a handmaid of Jesus in the mediation of Graces and through Him the human family. She intercedes for the whole human family, our common Mother. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen said, “Our Lady is the only person who looked down on Heaven---when She held the Christ-Child in Her arms.”

St. Bernard speaks to this in the magnificent Memorare:

Remember, O most gracious virgin Mary, that NEVER was it known, that ANYONE who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

There have been over 260 Popes since Christ, but just over 30 great theologians that were called Doctors of the Church, and they all had a burning love for the Mother of God, as stated by some of the Doctors that were Saints:

St. Liguori said, God would refuse Mary nothing, and that, “A true child of Mary will never be lost.”

St. Bonaventure, “It is the privilege of the glory of Mary, that after God, our greatest happiness is from Her.”

St. Augustine, “If all the tongues of men were put together, and even if each of their members was changed into a tongue, they would not suffice to praise Her as much as She deserves. “

St. Robert Bellarmine, “And who would ever dare to snatch these children from the arms of Mary when they have taken refuge there. What power of hell or what temptation can overcome them if they place their confidence in the patronage of this great Mother, the Mother of god, and of them?”

St. Catherine of Siena, “Mary is a most sweet bait, chosen, prepared, and ordained by God to catch the hearts of men.”

St. Teresa, “The devotions we practice in honor of the glorious virgin Mary, however trifling they may be, are very pleasing to Her Divine Son, and He rewards them with eternal glory.”

Cardinal O’Conner, to define the Dogma of Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate, so that other Christians would lose their anxiety that we do not distinguish adequately between Mary’s unique association with the redemption, and the redemptive power exercised in Christ alone.

Scripture states very clearly (1 Timothy 2:5) that Christ is the Mediator. Everyone of us is a mediator, when you ask me to pray, I become your mediator, your advocate. We are advocates to Christ for one another. Then when we view Mary as Gods’ most perfect creation we see her as the model for us. The way that God chose to reach us through His Son was through his Mother, and through her accepting of God’s will in her life. That’s what it means to share in her role in the redemptive act by saying “yes” to God.

Intercessor to the Son, who is the one mediator between God and man. She wants her children to come back to God before it is to late. Calling us back to Christ and fundamental doctrine of fasting, prayer, conversion and peace.

All the Saints that have gone before us, were born for their moment in time, we are here at this moment in time with Mary. It is a call of Grace and great Responsibility in cooperating with the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

It has been said, the love that all Mothers have for their children is but a shadow in comparison with the love that Mary bears to each one of us. She loves each one of us more than all the Angels and Saints put together. She is easily found by those who seek Her. How easy it is for those who love Mary to find Her, and to find Her full compassion and love, as she continues to point us to Her Son with the words that can take us to heaven, “Do whatever HE tells you to do.”

And one final gift from St. Louis De Montfort, First to Priests, “ I beg of you to beware of thinking of the Rosary as something of little importance—as do ignorant people and even several great but proud scholars. Far from being insignificant, the Rosary is a priceless treasure which is inspired by God".

Almighty God has given it to you because He wants you to use it as a means to convert the most hardened sinners and the most obstinate heretics. He has attached to it grace in this life and glory in the next. The saints have said it faithfully and the Popes have endorsed it.

When the Holy Spirit has revealed this secret to a priest and director of souls, how blessed is that priest? For the vast majority of people fail to know this secret or else only know it superficially. If such a priest really understands this secret he will say the Rosary every day and will encourage others to say it. God and His Blessed Mother will pour abundant grace into his soul, so that he may become God’s instrument for His glory; and his word, though simple, will do more good in one month than that of other preachers in several years. And to all of us, “Jesus began to do and to teach.” We ought to pattern ourselves on Our Blessed Lord, Who began by practicing what He preached. We ought to emulate Saint Paul who knew and preached nothing but Jesus Crucified. This is really and truly what you will be doing if you preach the Holy Rosary. It is not just a conglomeration of Our Fathers and Hail Marys, but on the contrary it is a divine summary of the mysteries of the life, passion, death and glory of Jesus and Mary. And best of all, they will feed upon the tree’s fruit, which is none other than our adorable Jesus, to Whom be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. So be it.

Say the Rosary, to mediate and advocate to your father in Heaven. Mary is our example, because God does nothing by chance. She was in God’s mind from the beginning. When She came into existence, it was to be the Mother of God, and when God gives anyone a work to do, HE gives the wherewithal (graces) to do it right. So God then, who chose Mary to be the Mother of God, gave her grace, blessedness, and holiness that made her worthy of that dignity. She was fit to be the mother of God and to receive God himself into her bosom. So I repeat Her appeal to each of us, “Say the Rosary”.

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The Catholic Defender: The Rosary Patrol

On Monday, 21 February at 7:00 P.M. Central, live on blogtalkradio, deepertruth will begin praying the Rosary.

While serving in Iraq, I organized a rosary group I called the :"Rosary Patrol".

We will pick this up again Monday each week.

I want to invite everyone who has a desire to pray the Rosary to come and join us here at deepertruth blogtalkradio.

If anyone would like to have the rosary patrol to dedicate the Rosary for your intentions, please respond each week so we can pray for your needs.

This is from one of my Rosary Patrol members (Iraqi) November 15, 2009!

In a small village, far from Cordoba about 15 Km, at the 10th of this month, a lady took her one month old baby to baptize him, in the church, there where others baptizing their babies too and there was a female photographer taking pictures to other babies. the infant's mother asked the photographer to take a picture for her son while the priest baptize him and she had told her previously that she own nothing to pay for the picture but she ask her as a favor, the photographer has agreed to do the courtesy as she knows the mother and son lives in poor and the baby has no father, the photographer took the pictures using a regular camera, and sent it to the Cordoba city for development, and it was the surprise when the pictures were received, as the poured water on the Babbie's head revealed as a rosary and here I'm sending you the picture, as it was published in the newspapers and shot by the photographer's lens.













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*BEST OF DTB #58* The Catholic Defender: Iron Rakkason

It was October 1989 after arriving back to the United States from Germany that I was assigned to Fort Campbell Kentucky.
I would first report to Fort Sam Houston for BNCOC (an NCO School).
While I was at Fort Sam I was glad to see the Catholic Priest who had been there when I came through during my initial AIT.
I really enjoyed participating with the choir as this was a release from my normal studies.
There was always good fellowship and I enjoyed Father's Sunday meetings over contemporary issues. This reminded me of the CNN show "Crossfire" and I loved it.
All this was a great support for me as I went to the different Schools for progression and promotion. I would be there until March when I returned back to Fort Campbell.
Ft. Campbell is very beautiful. It is right on the Tennessee/Kentucky State line between Clarksville TN and Hopkinsville Ky. The Post Office happens to be on the Kentucky side of the line so it is post marked "Kentucky".
I was soon placed in the 20th Replacement Center where I In-processed into the Base. I quickly learned that I was going to the 3rd Brigade Rakkasons (HHC 3/187 Infantry).
This would be light infantry. Before, my job was supporting units with tanks driving M113 A-2, A-3 tracked vehicles. Now, I would be hoofing it everywhere we go. We live totally out of our rucksacks, literally.
I would quickly be put in for Air Assault School in July, 1990 and I would soon earn my EFMB (Emergency Field Medical Badge).

My first deployment with HHC 3/187 was in Panama. The Jungle was an interesting place to train.
You definitely did not want to mess with the wild because that could get you killed.
They have what is called the "Bush Master" a snake that is very territorial and known to be aggressive.
They are also very poisonous. When you go there to the Army Base there in Panama, you will see a jar with a finger that was bitten off by one of these snakes.
They kept it there for us to see so we would not mess with any of the animals.





There also is the Fer D Lance that would surprise you then kill you very quickly. These are snakes you do not want to mess with out in the triple canopy jungle.
We were setting up a bivouac when we discovered one of these snakes sitting in a tree right over the First Sergeant's hooch (poncho utilized as a tent).
That was an uneasy situation. We killed it with a blank shooting an M-16 at it's head. You had to get close to it to make that kind of kill with firing a blank.
The heat was dangerous, sunburns were not a small thing there, the jungle would be very dangerous without water.
It was great training and I enjoyed my time there.
Then Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Our training began to focus for the possibility of war. We trained extensively against Chemical attack and heat related injuries.
It was reported to us that Saudi Arabia was going to be hot, 130 degrees in the shade. It was the beginning of Fall 1990, that we flew into King Fahd Airport being guided in by F-15's. There was visibly seen about 40,000 empty body bags stacked near the runway.
That was a wake up call. This was the beginning of Operation Desert Shield. I soon discovered that the opportunity to witness for Christ was going to be incredible. I was able to speak with both Officers and Soldiers in the Saudi desert as they would come to me.
I remember the Motor Pool Chief was worried that we were not going to make it home. He was raised Catholic, but had not been to Mass in years.
I was teaching Soldiers how to pray the rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and read the bible. About 3-4 months into this deployment, we had a Catholic Priest assigned to our unit, I was able to have daily Mass right there in the desert.
We would use an MRE box as an altar. All our training was of great value, we had good leadership, for the most part, the Gulf War went fairly smooth. Upon returning back to the United States, I'll never forget the welcoming we received with all the people cheering us off the plane at Fort Campbell.
You could hear them from the plane. I couldn't help feel a lot of pride in our Country and being an American.

Soon after returning our next Commander would be one of the greatest leaders I would ever be privileged to serve with.
At the time he was LTC David H. Petraeus. He is now General Petraeus. At one time he regarded me as his favorite Medic.
He liked visiting the training going on and he always wanted to see the training I had my Medics doing out on the ranges.
On one occasion, I was out supporting a live fire exercise. I'd been out there about a week and I had my video camera so I got some good pictures to include of General Petraeus.
One morning I had one of my Soldiers replace me as planned so I could come in to play in the Division/Post Softball Tournament. We did well during the season and we were in for the post cup!
That night, General Petraeus was shot in the chest by a stray round that was fired. My Medic did a good job responding to the situation, treating for both entry and exit wounds, starting IV, and getting him evacuated out of there. As leaders, this is a great example why we need to maintain training as you never know when something can happen. When training events are taking place, for the Medic, it is always real world first.
General Petraeus would be flown to Nashville to Vanderbilt Hospital. He was very much in our thoughts and prayers, three weeks later he would be doing push ups in the Hospital. The man is a machine. He started a Physical Training Program we called "Iron Rakkason".
These were Soldiers who would score well over 300 on their PT test. I would be one of the few that would earn that title. We would go on to win the Post Championship beating our arch rivals from the 502nd Infantry beating them twice to win the title! That was sweet!
I would soon leave the Rakkasons after nearly 5 years of service there. I would reach the pinnacle from being a Senior line Medic, the Evac NCOIC, the Battalion Aid Station NCOIC, and finally as the Medical Platoon Sergeant. I was always proud to have served under General Petraeus.
I have several awards that has his signature to include one for winning a Division Championship for him. The last time I would see him was in Iraq. I was part of 15,000 plus Soldiers that were going after the Belgium 12 plus mile road march Medal when running the opposite direction towards me came General Petraeus and his team of body guards.
I was able to recognize him in the dawn of the day and as he ran on by I yelled out "Iron Rakkason", he responded "Who ah"! For many of you wanting to know where the word "who ah" came from, here is my story:
During the Korean War, the Rakkasons were given this name which mean "falling umbrellas" by the local Korean civilians because that is what they looked like jumping out of planes with parachutes. On one occasion as the Rakkasons were parachuting down, they were being pinned down by enemy gun fire. There was a machine gun suppressing fire from a bunker. One of the Commanders seeing what was happening motioned one of his Platoon Leaders to come to him. He instructed that the Platoon Leader take his platoon and knock out the bunker. The Platoon Leader pauses for a moment and then responds back to the Commander, "Who us"! That is my story where we got the word "Who ah"from!

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The Catholic Defender: Day of the Morning Sun

One late night during the summer of 2007, I was abruptly awaken by a Currier with a message that the Battalion Commander wanted to see me ASAP.

I quickly got myself together and made a mad dash to the Battalion Headquarters where the Commander was awaiting.

My Platoon Leader, a young Lieutenant, just went on a 30 day leave so I was acting Platoon Leader, Platoon Sergeant, and because we were short of Medics, I would go out on missions with the Scouts (PSD) and who ever else needed support.

The Battalion had been given a late mission from Brigade coming from Division. It always seemed that we would always have short notice for critical planning, but, sometimes this is the nature of our business. We must be flexible especially in an environment such as in Iraq OIF 2006-2008.

It was my task to provide a plan for Brigade the medical support for an up coming mission that would require a main push of our Battalion assets. All the Company elements will play a role given areas of responsibilities.

This will be a door to door seek and find mission of enemy elements in an area where Americans had not been. This was going to be potentially dangerous. Of course, before I was to present my plan of support for this mission, I would have to give the plan to the Battalion leadership first.

That is a smart move because we all must be on the same sheet of music. Of course, before I shared the plan to Battalion, our Company Commander and First Sergeant wanted to know what my plan was before I did anything.

As you can see, this was very labor intensive and the plan had to be accepted up the chain. I had already a good plan of support at the Company level as my squad leaders were doing a good job keeping me informed of the missions they had been conducting. This upcoming mission was going to be a major push that would require the Division to move forward.

I had to establish a temporary Aid Station to move to a central location not far from the action.

I would have to ensure a good Evac route from all avenues of approach. I would need a good estimate calculating the supplies I would need to have on hand.

I had to ensure that the logistics supporting this mission was all in place. This would have to be briefed to all the leadership and I would be the one to present it.

Everyday there were the meetings, the preparation of the power point presentations. If your act was not together, it would not be good so everyone tried to stay ahead of the program. You are the subject matter expert and you were expected to know the questions and answers before you presented yourself.

You had to know backwards and forwards what your role was and to know what your team leaders of the other sections were doing. In other words, if the Scouts had a mission, I needed to know what it was and how I was going to support them.

I had to know from the point of attack how long it would take an Evacuation Black hawk helicopter to arrive at the scene and then how long it would take to get the casualties back the the green zone. I had the Golden Hour incorporated in the plan.

Whenever there are casualties, if you can get the wounded to the Green zone and on an operating table in an hour, you greatly increase the chance of survival for many of our Soldiers. We have the best Military strategy the world has ever seen and I am proud to have played a major role at the tip of the spear.

During all this stress and daily headaches, I was able to keep up with my commitment to the Rosary Patrol. Prayer has always been my shield especially going out in harms way. All along the way to completion, I presented my plans of action and I was able to answer any and all questions relating to the mission.

I was not usually one of the ones who was held back getting yelled at.

On the morning of the kickoff, I was supporting our Echo Company Elements who was building a JSS in the middle of enemy strongholds. We had three Companies conducting mop up missions which were highly successful.

As we were rolling down the road, we were attacked with small arms fire and IED.

I was riding in a vehicle right behind the hit vehicle. There was a large explosion and the debre, smoke, and dust litterally made it hard to see. The vehicle right in front of me was hit by an IED.

I was the first on the scene with my Aid Bag as the vehicle Commander gave support ensuring that I was protected under fire.

I had two critically wounded Soldiers and I treated their life threatening injuries first and packaged them at the scene.

I made the decision to Evac the wounded by vehicle to the JSS where I had a set Helicopter pad available. This was a short two miles away from point of impact.

I could have called for the evac to come to the location where we were hit, but the terrain was not the ideal place.

As far as the plan went, it was picture perfect. My plan worked as planned and the wounded were on the operating table within 45 minutes.

This showed the Command that we had the right plan in place and I was thankful that the wounded survived. Two of them did have to evac back to the States, but they went home alive.

It was another good day, when we did not lose anyone, that was always a good day. I would receive a Combat badge with a star that would make me the old man in the Battalion.

That is rarely scene, but once in a while you will see someone with the badge with a star. Besides myself, I seen one other but for me the most important thing was no body died.

I look back at this today and I am so thankful to God, I don't know what it would have been like for me without my Catholic Faith. For me, this was more than a healing.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKbCzba31TE&feature=related

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The Catholic Defender: Interesting events of my trip

Last week my Father suffered a heart attack, I felt there was no choice but to go see him in Southern Missouri near Springfield.

It's a small cattle town called Humansville. It is the only town with this name anywhere in the known world.

I was told by the Doctor that if he had been 30 minutes later he would not have made it.

It is very important to respond quickly under these kinds of situations.

Minutes do make a difference. He is doing well at this time.

Spending some time with him, I learned about an Uncle of mine, one of his Brothers, was wounded in World War II when a Japanese Soldier ran upon him with bayonet.

My Uncle killed the enemy attacker but his momentum carried him right to my Uncle.

He was hit on the right hip with the bayonet. I really enjoyed listening to my Dad as he spoke of his time in the Army. He served as one of the Commanders driver.

It seems that some of us always get all the luck? I'm proud of my Dad's service as well as my Uncle. I have Two Brothers who served as Marines, one of them was in Viet Nam, while the other was in Lebanon.

He survived the blast that hit the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Oct 23, 1983. The attack just one day before my second Son, Joshua would be born on 24 October 1983.

I was really glad to spend some quality time with my Brother (Randy) the past few days. We watched some old Westerns with Clint Walker and the first season of 24.

My Soldiers got me hooked on 24 during the first two weeks in Kuwait February 2009.

During that deployment, I went through 1-7 seasons of 24. I was only too happy to get my Brother hooked!

Last Saturday, while walking through Humansville I stopped into a shop where I heard some people talking so I went in to see what it was about.

It turned out to be a small group of families who classified themselves as "Jews for Jesus".

They were strict on Saturday as the Sabbath. I told them if they really understood the Catholic Faith, they would have to have a good understanding of the Old Testament.

They were very respectful to me and invited me to participate with their fellowship. I stayed until I went to Catholic Mass.

My Mother died 1 August 2006, anytime I come visit the area, I always pay her a visit.

I prayed the Rosary as my custom, when I got to the last prayer in the 5th decade, two formations of Canadian Geese flew overhead and I couldn't help but think Mom and the Saints were appreciative watching over us (Hebrews 12:1).

From Humansville, I drove to Fort Campbell Kentucky where I had the chance of visiting two of my Sons going to Austin Peay University.

I also got the chance to see two of my Grand Children there. I still have one Son in Afghanistan from there. I stopped by St. Michael's Catholic Church in Oak Grove Kentucky getting the chance to see Father David who blessed my new rosary made in Jerusalem!

Before I left Fort Campbell, I was able to see the Catholic Coordinator, Rita Payne, who has been there for many years.

We worked together when I was stationed there. I had the chance to meet the Catholic Priest from Nigeria serving there.

It was just a few moments when Father Pamula walked into the Soldiers Chapel walking into the office.

I served with him in Iraq during my 2007 deployment.

I also served Mass with him in October 2009 when I came back from leave.

He has a strong devotion to the Divine Mercy Chaplet. He was raised just miles from St. Faustina in Poland.

Currently, My wife and I are visiting our Grand Children in Alabama as Matt redeployed and is home.

We are so proud of him being awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts. My wife and I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving to John Benko and his family, my sidekick on the Blog, to all our readers and participants, and to all Americans who love freedom and liberty. God bless America!

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