Notre-Dame de Paris II. The Immaculate Character of the Catholic Church Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira The attributes of Our Lady and those of the Catholic Church are interchangeable. Many things we …More
Notre-Dame de Paris II.
The Immaculate Character
of the Catholic Church
Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
The attributes of Our Lady and those of the Catholic Church are interchangeable. Many things we say about Our Lady, we can also say about the Holy Church. If we were to pray the Litany of Our Lady or the Salve Regina and apply each one of those titles to the Holy Church, we would see that they are interchangeable and apply beautifully. Obviously, one needs to know how to make the transposition.
A certain adaptation is necessary.
One such application regards the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, which relates to the immaculate character of the Church that came from the Redemption. Just as Our Lady has no stain of original sin, the Church has no element of original sin in herself. The liturgy applies to the Church the scriptural passage that says she is without stain or wrinkle, and is always young, beautiful and holy (Eph 5:27; Cant 4:7). We can say the same of Our Lady, a woman without stain or wrinkle as a consequence of her Immaculate Conception. In her there is no blemish, no weakness, no fatigue, because these things came to humankind with original sin.
This perennial radiance of Our Lady can also be seen in the character of the Catholic Church. We are reminded, however, that notwithstanding her splendor, there was a moment when she appears to us as the Mother of Sorrows, when she was emerged in the most profound mourning ever felt in History for the death of her Divine Son. The words of the Prophet Jeremiah were applied to that enormous grief of Our Lady: “All ye that pass by, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow?”
(Lam 1:13)
At this moment in History, this same lamentation applies to the Catholic Church. We should ask Our Lady to conserve in us the vision of the immutable radiant and immaculate character of the Holy Church, despite the profound grief she suffers at the present time. We should ask Our Lady to give us a grace that is very similar to the grace of having devotion to her, which is the grace of having a profound, imperturbable, and invincible devotion to the Catholic Church, though today she is in a situation analogous to that of Our Lady on Good Friday. The same lamentation of Jeremiah can be applied to the Catholic Church today: “All ye that pass by, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow?” She poses this question to her true children regarding the situation she is passing through now.
In the uncertainty of our days, we should remember that the Catholic Church continues to be perfectly radiant, infallible, and immaculate in her substance despite the errors that Progressivism is introducing inside her boson. The Church in herself remains spotless and without stain despite all the bad use that the ecclesiastical authority is making of its power, which makes it appear that the Church has joined the party of the Revolution.
Even though many religious authorities give the impression that truth is error, and error is …
The Immaculate Character
of the Catholic Church
Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
The attributes of Our Lady and those of the Catholic Church are interchangeable. Many things we say about Our Lady, we can also say about the Holy Church. If we were to pray the Litany of Our Lady or the Salve Regina and apply each one of those titles to the Holy Church, we would see that they are interchangeable and apply beautifully. Obviously, one needs to know how to make the transposition.
A certain adaptation is necessary.
One such application regards the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, which relates to the immaculate character of the Church that came from the Redemption. Just as Our Lady has no stain of original sin, the Church has no element of original sin in herself. The liturgy applies to the Church the scriptural passage that says she is without stain or wrinkle, and is always young, beautiful and holy (Eph 5:27; Cant 4:7). We can say the same of Our Lady, a woman without stain or wrinkle as a consequence of her Immaculate Conception. In her there is no blemish, no weakness, no fatigue, because these things came to humankind with original sin.
This perennial radiance of Our Lady can also be seen in the character of the Catholic Church. We are reminded, however, that notwithstanding her splendor, there was a moment when she appears to us as the Mother of Sorrows, when she was emerged in the most profound mourning ever felt in History for the death of her Divine Son. The words of the Prophet Jeremiah were applied to that enormous grief of Our Lady: “All ye that pass by, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow?”
(Lam 1:13)
At this moment in History, this same lamentation applies to the Catholic Church. We should ask Our Lady to conserve in us the vision of the immutable radiant and immaculate character of the Holy Church, despite the profound grief she suffers at the present time. We should ask Our Lady to give us a grace that is very similar to the grace of having devotion to her, which is the grace of having a profound, imperturbable, and invincible devotion to the Catholic Church, though today she is in a situation analogous to that of Our Lady on Good Friday. The same lamentation of Jeremiah can be applied to the Catholic Church today: “All ye that pass by, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow?” She poses this question to her true children regarding the situation she is passing through now.
In the uncertainty of our days, we should remember that the Catholic Church continues to be perfectly radiant, infallible, and immaculate in her substance despite the errors that Progressivism is introducing inside her boson. The Church in herself remains spotless and without stain despite all the bad use that the ecclesiastical authority is making of its power, which makes it appear that the Church has joined the party of the Revolution.
Even though many religious authorities give the impression that truth is error, and error is …