Monday, November 14, 2022

The Rise And Fall Of A Prideful Man: The Story Of Robert Lamennais (Part 2)

 

To My Readers: This week's post is the conclusion of the story of Robert Lamennais by Joanna from Poland. If you have a comment or query specifically for me, I will answer as always, but it may take a bit longer this week for my response. I can't thank Lee and Joanna From Poland enough for having given me the longest break since 2014! 

I also have my third podcast (regarding the occult) coming out probably next week with Mr. Kevin Davis of Catholic Family Podcast (it was postponed). It will be a discussion on yoga and its inherent dangers. 

Next Monday, I return with a post of my own! 

God Bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo

The Liberal Offensive

By Joanna From Poland

In July of 1830 France was swept by yet another Revolution which deposed the Bourbons, the French dynasty which originated in 1272 when the youngest son of King St. Louis IX married the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon. The famous painting by Eugène Delacroix Liberty Leading the People with its bare-breasted female protagonist, holding in her right hand the Tricolour of the French Resolution and a musket topped with a bayonet in her left, spurring the mob on to rebellion was created that year as a visual outlet for liberal propaganda, being one of the most widely-recognized paintings today.

By that time, Lamennais who had had suffered some personal hardship due to the policy of the Bourbons and thus started to entertain feelings of deep resentment towards them, radically changed his political affiliation, burying once and for all his fervent love for the monarchy.  Although, much to Lamennais’ chagrin, France did not become a republic in 1830, the principle of hereditary right of the kings was replaced with that of popular sovereignty, advocated by Rousseau and his liberal ilk. Small wonder that it only took eighteen years for the Parisian mob to set France ablaze with yet another revolution.

On the wave of the social unrest culminating in the July Revolution of 1830,  Lamennais started to publish the newspaper L’Avenir, meaning The Future, which he co-authored, in October of the same year through which he intended to disseminate the ideas of liberal Catholicism. The motto of that journal read: Dieu et la liberté [God and liberty].

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) thus characterizes Lamennais’ journalistic zeal in trying to advance the welfare of the Church (as he perceived it) in France with liberally-tainted ideas:

“The force of his blows, the boldness of his ideas, his outspoken sympathy for every people then in a state of revolt, provoked new accusations against him and gave rise to suspicion of his orthodoxy. To set himself right in the face of all this hostility, he suspended the publication of ‘L'Avenir’ (15 November, 1831), and went to Rome to submit his cause to Gregory XVI. Though accompanied by Lacordaire and Montalembert [his fellow collaborators; Fr. Lacordaire would later humbly apologize to the Holy See for his writing published in L’Avenir, submit sincerily to the Pontiff’s decision condemning the journal, and deservedly gained the repute of ‘the greatest pulpit orator of the 19th cent.’] he did not find there the pronounced welcome of 1824. [that year Pope Leo XII welcomed him cordially in the Vatican, considering him at one time a likely candidate for the cardinal’s hat!]. He waited a long time, but received no definite answer: then some days after his departure from Rome, appeared the Encyclical ‘Mirari vos’ (15 August, 1832), in which the pope, without expressly designating him, condemned some of the ideas advanced in ‘L'Avenir’: liberty of the press, liberty of conscience, revolt against princes, the need of regenerating Catholicism, etc. At the same time a letter from Cardinal Pacca informed Lamennais that the pope had been pained to see him discuss publicly questions which belonged to the authorities of the Church.”

Pope Gregory XVI writes in Mirari vos (On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism):

Now we examine another prolific cause of evils by which, we lament, the Church is at present afflicted, namely indifferentism, or that base opinion which has become prevalent everywhere through the deceit of wicked men, that eternal salvation of the soul can be acquired by any profession of faith whatsoever, if morals are conformed to the standard of the just and the honest … And so from this most rotten source of indifferentism flows that absurd and erroneous opinion, or rather insanity, that liberty of conscience must be claimed and defended for anyone.

Indeed, to this most unhealthy error that full and immoderate liberty of opinions which is spreading widely to the destruction of the sacred and civil welfare opens the way, with some men repeatedly asserting with supreme boldness that some advantage flows there from to religion itself. But ‘what death of the soul is worse than freedom for error?’ Augustine used to say. For, since all restraint has been moved by which men are kept on the paths of truth, since their nature inclined to evil is now plunging headlong, we say that the ‘bottom of the pit’ has truly been opened, from which John (Apoc. 9:3) saw ‘smoke arising by which the sun was darkened with locusts’ coming out of it to devastate the earth …

Nor can we foresee more joyful omens for religion and the state from the wishes of those who desire that the Church be separated from the State, and that the mutual concord of the government with the sacred ministry be broken. For it is certain that that concord is greatly feared by lovers of this most shameless liberty, which has always been fortunate and salutary for the ecclesiastical and the civil welfare.

Having embraced with paternal affection those especially who have applied their mind particularly to the sacred disciplines and to philosophic questions, encourage and support them so that they may not, by relying on the powers of their own talents alone, imprudently go astray from the path of truth into the way of the impious. Let them remember ‘that God is the guide of wisdom and the director of the wise’ (cf. Wisd. 7:15), and that it is not possible to learn to know God without God, who by means of the Word teaches men to know God. It is characteristic of the proud, or rather of the foolish man to test the mysteries of faith ‘which surpasseth all understanding’ (Phil. 4:7) by human standard, and to entrust them to the reasoning of our mind, which by reason of the condition of our human nature is weak and infirm. [see: Indifferentism (against Félicité de Lamennais) in: The Sources of Catholic Dogma paras. 1613-1616] 

Wounded Pride Takes Its Toll

Lamennais announced that he would not revive his journal, abolished his General Agency for the Defense of Religious Liberty, and seemingly subjected himself to Rome’s ruling. In his heart, however, there raged a furious battle, the last and decisive one, which ultimately sealed his inglorious fate and tragic end. He would voice his indignation and bitterness in private correspondence; Lamennais’ grudge towards the Church’s hierarchy finally reached Rome.

The Catholic Encyclopedia continues:                   

Rome was stirred by this behavior, and demanded frank and full adhesion to the Encyclical ‘Mirari vos’. After seeming to yield, Lamennais ended by refusing to submit without reserve or qualification. Little by little, he began by renouncing his ecclesiastical functions (December, 1833) and ended by abandoning all outward profession of Christianity. The amelioration of humanity, devotion to the welfare of the people and of popular liberties, dominated him more and more. In May, 1834, he published the ‘Paroles d'un croyant’[‘Words of a believer’], through the apocalyptic diction of which resounds a violent cry of rage against the established social order: in it he denounces what he calls the conspiracy of kings and priests against the people. In this way he loudly declared his rupture with the Church, and set up the symbol of his new faith. Gregory XVI hastened to condemn in the Encyclical ‘Singulari nos’ (15 July, 1834) this book, small in size, but immense in perversity, and at the same time censured the philosophical system of Lamennais.

The Pope thus exhorted the bishops of France in his encyclical Singulari nos:

But it is a very mournful thing, by which the ravings of human reason go to ruin when someone is eager for revolution and, against the advice of the Apostle, strives ‘to be more wise than it behooveth to be wise’ (cf. Rom. 12:3), and trusting too much in himself, affirms that truth must be sought outside of the Catholic Church in which truth itself is found far from even the slightest defilement of error, and which therefore, is called and is ‘the pillar and ground of the truth’ (I Tim. 3:15). But you well understand, venerable brothers, that We are here speaking in open disapproval of that false system of philosophy, not so long ago introduced, by which, because of an extended and unbridled desire of novelty, truth is not sought where it truly resides, and, with a disregard for the holy and apostolic tradition, other vain, futile, uncertain doctrines, not approved by the Church are accepted as true, on which very vain man mistakenly think that truth itself is supported and sustained.” [See: The False Doctrines of Félicité de Lamennais in: The Sources of Catholic Dogma para. 1617]

In the 1840s Lamennais would continue to openly tout blatant apostasy in his writings, denying “in formal terms the fall of man, the Divinity of Christ, eternal punishment, and the supernatural order (…). To this epoch, too, belongs the translation of the Gospels, with anti-Christian notes and reflections."

In the aftermath of the 1848 Revolution, Lamennais once again tasted of his former renown. Having won a seat in the French parliament, he expected to put his radically liberal political designs into practice. However, bitter disillusionment followed as his plans for a constitution attracted no attention of his fellow deputies. For a period of four month only he managed to publish yet another journal, “in which he met common cause with the worst revolutionaries”. Finally, the coup of 1851 orchestrated by Bonaparte’s nephew thwarted Lamennais’ political career for good. He would spend his last years in financial ruin, serving time in prison on account of one of his publications and financial debts until his death on February 27, 1854.

Death  of the Apostate

Although Lamennais did not take his own life, he truly can be said to have died the death of Judas inasmuch as he was lying on his deathbed in utter despair.

Around him would be gathered only the libertines, freemasons, and the worst enemies of religion; among whom the most prominent was one young man, one of the former co-editors of the radically liberal daily Le Peuple Constituant (Lamennais was the editor of that paper). The friends of the dying man from his former, better years would not be admitted – with Lamennais’ knowledge – to his deathbed. Many of them did not cease to offer fervent prayers for his conversion. Members of the Church hierarchy, including the archbishop of Paris and even Pope Pius IX himself would persevere in their efforts to save the soul of the poor wretch to the very end.

The response of the dying man was still the same: No, no, no, leave me alone! To one of his once beloved disciples who still retained his unique sentiment towards the old master, and would exhort Lamennais to at least make an effort to pray, he would say that he was not able to pray as prayer is a grace and he had no grace anymore. Lamennais was conscious till the last moment. He did not want to make peace neither with God nor with his Mystical Body – the Church.

This diabolical obstinacy in sin may have seemed almost unreal – it certainly left me astounded – until I learnt that many years before his death Lamennais had disposed of the statue of Our Lady that he had kept in his bedroom in a place of honor and placed there a bust of Marianne – a symbol of the Freemasonic, God-hating French Revolution – instead.

Father Dębicki thus characterizes Lamennais’ apostasy and its effect on the Church he would once defend with the zeal of the early Christian writers:

 The history of great apostasies is always tragic; shaking the minds with its horror, it teaches us also and says much. The falling away of Lamennais, in many aspects similar to the fall of Tertulian, is one of a kind. Rarely ever one falls from so high, in so direct, so sudden, and so profound a manner. Rarely ever is the fall an end to activity this rich in merits and so promising. Rarely ever has the fall of a man injured the Church so little. In the history of the Church Lamennais is the only example of a beloved master who, having apostatized from the Faith, did not drag into the abyss even one of his companions and disciples. Others, especially in more recent times, would win their sad fame only through their apostasy; Lamennais was highly esteemed by the public opinion as long as he stayed faithful to the Church. His star would fade away the moment he apostatized from the Faith. There was only one feeling that his friends and foes had for him – pity.

 

Conclusion

In the last years marked by financial ruin and personal failure, Lamennais’ chief source of income came from the copyrights of his translation of… one of the classics of Catholic spirituality – The Imitation of Christ – which he had rendered nearly thirty years before. Lamennais’ L’Imitation de Jésus-Christ first published in 1824, at the height of his ecclesial celebrity, with its author being esteemed by the princes of the Church and revered by his disciples, surpassed in popularity all of his other works. He furnished his Imitation with his own notes and reflections. Tragically, Lamennais did not heed the spiritual advice contained therein . It was at that time that he needed to be reminded of the danger of vainglory and praise, of the urgent necessity of humility, mortification, of renouncing the pomp of this world, and embracing the Cross of Christ. One cannot help but wonder how different his life might have been if only he would have made this small book (which let him buy his daily bread in his darkest years) truly, and most importantly, his spiritual food.

Woe to them that seek to learn many curious things from men, and attend but little to the way of serving Me.

I teach without noise of words, without confusion of opinions, without arrogance of ambition, without strife of arguments.

I am He who teacheth to despise earthly things, to scorn what is present, to seek what is unending, to relish what is eternal, to fly honors, to endure revilings,  to place all hope in Me, to desire nothing but Me, and to love Me ardently above all things.

[Of the Imitation of Christ, Book IV, Chapter 43 Against vain and worldly learning]

33 comments:

  1. Hello Joanna from Wellington,New Zealand.

    New to this blog.Thank you so much for your writing.It is most interesting.

    Where do you attend Mass?Which part of Poland do you live?

    We attend the SSPX.If you go to youtube and SSPX New Zealand,there is recordings of recent Sunday High Masses at the main SSPX Church St Anthony's in Wanganui.There is also a growing order of traditional Dominican nuns who teach in the growing schools.

    God bless you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello and welcome to Introibo's blog!

      At present I have no viable options for attending Mass which is most painful to me. I've been disappointed (to put it mildly) with the way the sede apostolate in Poland is run but keep praying and hoping for a change to come. Theoretically, I'm about 100 km away from a sede Mass center but the way I was treated there was really uncatholic.

      God Bless You and I hope you stay with us!
      Joanna S.

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    2. @Joanna S,
      Hit up Bishop Markus Ramolla as he and 2 Priests he's Ordained operate in Germany. They have contacts in Eastern Europe + may be able to connect you with a group or mission who aren't public. It's worth a try, he's been active in Central & North Europe for past 10 yrs.

      Ourladyofvictoryblogspot.com

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  2. Why has nobody commented?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has to be a compelling topic. For example, write an article called 'Jews, Kanye West, and Vatican II', and believe me you'll have many, many, many comments.

      Delete
    2. How about the private perverted life of "Cardinal" Blase Cupich of Chicago.Just kidding.

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    3. I must admit historical bios are hardly "hot" subjects, lol!
      I'm grateful to each and every one of you who took the time to read and post a comment.

      God Bless You all,
      Joanna S.

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  3. Thanks Joanna.As you live in Poland,do you live very far from the shrine of our Lady of Czestochowa?Have you been there often?What other famous shrines are there in your country?

    James

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    1. James,
      not very far (about 300 km) but I've never been to the shrine at Jasna Gora. I sure hope to see it some day.
      Interestingly, that's probably one of the very few places that the Modernists haven't been able to desecrate with their supper table (they are compelled to have their novus bogus on the main altar which I guess is even more sacrilegious).

      Here's a list of Marian shrines in Poland:
      https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/s/shrines-in-poland.php
      (with the exception of the Modernist Lagiewniki and the one in Szczecin).
      The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Gorka Duchowna is actually just a stone's throw from where I live, and the miraculous image is one of the sweetest representations of the Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus!

      God Bless You,
      Joanna S.

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  4. A very interesting article.Thanks Joanna.We look forward to more from you in the near future.


    May God bless you and your family.


    Robert and Anne

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    1. Robert and Anne,
      thank you so much for your kind words! I do hope to return with more guest posts.

      God Bless You,
      Joanna S.

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    2. Joanna,
      I hope you do more of your wonderful guest posts as well!

      Thank you and God Bless,

      ---Introibo

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  5. Hello Introibo:
    A few questions:

    1. You said a while ago that when Father DePauw died there was nothing held for him at Ave Maria Chapel. Did you mean to say that there was no Mass for him at Ave Maria Chapel? I saw Father DePauw 's obituary on the Internet, www.findagrave.com, and it said that he had a funeral service at Ave Maria Chapel.

    2. What do you think of the various reports that are out there about SSPV/CSPV refusing sacraments to people, and not just because of the issue with the Thuc bishops?

    3. What would you say to somebody whose only current option(transportation)for the Tridentine Mass is SSPX?

    4. Do you have any recommendations for traditional Catholic religious life for women?

    Thank you. Anonymous

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    Replies
    1. @anon7:34
      1. Yes. There was no Mass. There was a service conducted and his Mass DVD was played while the real Mass took place with Fr. Tremonti in Chicago. He was too old and frail to travel. He has since gone to Judgement himself.

      2. I have not heard such reports nor have I experienced such with SSPV. Those who OPENLY go to "Thuc priests" are to be denied--as are Feeneyites (rightfully so)--but there is no "oath" you must profess. They do not act as the "Mass police."

      3. I personally have no problem with it. Lee does, as is his right. I believe one should follow his/her conscience on this question. However, one MUST check to make sure the priest was validly ordained and not "transported over" from the V2 sect.

      4. I think the Daughters of Mary (SSPV) and CMRI sisters are both excellent options.

      God Bless,

      ---Introibo

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    2. Bishop Robert Neville Highland,Michigan has a small group of traditional Nuns. I'd highly recommend looking into them as it's smaller and not very public.

      God bless -Andrew

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  6. Anonymous November 15,7.34PM

    Regarding Traditional Orders for women try the CMRI sisters(over 50 sisters) based at Mt St Michaels,Spokane,WA or their other order the CMD sisters based in Omaha,NE that Bishop Pivarunas founded in 1993 now almost 40 sisters.

    I am not sure what the views of Introibo are regarding the Daughters of Mary.If you attend a Traditional chapel outside the SSPV/CSPV,not sure if they will accept you?

    Pray for Bishop Kelly that he retracts his hatred of the Thuc bishops/CMRI before he departs this vale of tears.He has caused much heart ache and hurt over the years.Volumes could be written.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. You could also try the sisters of Saint Thomas Aquinas based in Florida that Bishop Donald Sanborn founded.

      The Daughters of Mary almost number 100 sisters and growing.This is amazing.

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    2. @anon4:37 and 11:39
      I think the Daughters of Mary are wonderful as are the CMRI nuns. Have not heard of the Sisters of St. Thomas Aquinas.

      God Bless,

      ---Introibo

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  7. Joanna S.,

    Thank you for writing part 2 of this story. It was interesting, and I enjoyed the exposure to some more papal writings. It is my opinion that indeed his swapping of the statue of Our Lady for the bust of Marianne did not do him any favors. I do hope that despite the problems at that chapel, you are able to receive sacraments from time to time.

    -S.T.

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  8. Hello Introibo:

    Some questions:

    1. What do you think of Father Walter Ciszek, the Jesuit?

    2. I have met several people who have been denied sacraments by SSPV, including at least one who has never received sacraments from a Thuc line priest, and has only attended Thuc line Masses a few times, probably less than five. And the SSPV probably does not know that this person has been to Thuc line Masses. I think that this matter could be something that is basically private, and not known to everybody.

    Thanks. Anonymous

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    Replies
    1. @anon1:15
      1. Fr. Ciszek was a brave hero in the fight against Communism, bringing the Faith to those in the Soviet Union. Since he was Eastern Rite, he wasn't affected by the Novus Bogus after his repatriation in the U.S. However, to what extent did he accept the heretical teachings of Vatican II? I don't think he can be considered a saint, but he could be in Heaven. I leave his culpability (or lack thereof) to God alone.

      2. I acknowledge the SSPV will deny Communion to those who are known to go to "Thuc Clergy." On what basis did the SSPV deny the person you know Communion, if they were ignorant of his going to Thuc clergy?

      God Bless,

      ---Introibo

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    2. Hello Introibo:

      1. I think that Father Ciszek did at least partially accept Vatican II, and I think that he was "bi-ritual", so he celebrated Mass in both the Roman and Eastern Rites. I have seen a picture online of him vested for the Tridentine Mass, and also a picture of him apparently celebrating the Novus Ordo.

      2. This person was apparently denied Communion because of their personal circumstances. The SSPV apparently thought that the person should not receive the sacraments.

      Thanks. Anonymous

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  9. Hello Introibo.

    Bishop Kelly,Father William Jenkins,etc have a duty before God to answer the open letter that Mr Mario Derkson wrote on the Thuc issue.He spent a long time writing this and it was well written.

    I am sure you have heard about many horror stories of sermons,etc over the years from the SSPV regarding the thuc-line.Many famlies have been broken up.

    One of the worst comments that Father Jenkins has spread around and spoken off the pulpit is those priests that work with priests and bishops from the Thuc -line are tainted.Pick up any pre Vatican two book on the Sacraments(I have a personal library over 7000 books that belonged to a good priest) and there is nothing about tainted Sacraments.In certain times has Mario has said one may approach a schismatic or excommunicated cleric.

    I thought Father Cekada's writings and videos on the Thuc issue were also excellent.

    This garbage has to stop.Even the SSPX say the Thuc-line is valid.

    Interested in your thoughts.I would also be interested to hear from any SSPV folk who read your site their thoughts and have they lost traditional friends because of this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @anon2:29
      1. The dissertation of Mr. Derksen is both erudite and excellent. I don't think it is capable of refutation, and hence, the SSPV will not answer.

      2. I am fully aware of the "Thuc problem" with the SSPV and the grief it has caused.

      3. I think it is Bp. Kelly's pride that keeps him from admitting he is wrong. I hope he rethinks that position before Judgement.

      God Bless,

      ---Introibo

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  10. Hello Introibo:

    What Masses would you consider to be so "tainted" that a person should not attend? Other than Novus Ordo and indult.

    Thank you. Anonymous

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    Replies
    1. @anon3:36
      I don't believe any True Mass offered by a validly ordained Traditionalist priest who holds the Integral Catholic Faith is off-limits. I have no problem with the so-called "Una Cum" and have written about it.

      The SSPX isn't ideal NOT because of the Mass but because of the skewed theology and atmosphere may make someone not strong in the Faith see nothing wrong with the "pope issue" and come to accept the R&R position.

      This is my opinion. I have no Magisterial authority. If someone's conscience tells them (even after studying the issue) they cannot attend "Una Cum" they should not violate their conscience.

      God Bless,

      ---Introibo

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  11. Introibo so you don't support the SSPV idea that Mt Saint Michaels/CMRI is or was a Old Catholic sect.I am sure if you ask anyone who attends their Masses,they will say they are Traditional faithful Roman Catholics.This garbage has to stop.

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    1. So you don't believe CMRI was a Old Roman Catholic Sect Introibo?

      Andrew
      Europe

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    2. Andrew,
      No. At their inception, they had MANY problems under Schuckhart. When Bp. Mark Pivarunas took over, they had a major overhaul and became solidly Traditionalist Catholic. Bp. Musey ordained Mark Pivarunas and Bp. Carmona consecrated him. I see no problems with them after he "cleaned house" so to speak.

      God Bless,

      ---Introibo

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  12. Can everyone please remember in your prayers Sister Mary Joseph of the Daughters of Mary who is having treatment for cancer.Thank you and God bless.Mary

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    1. @anon7:54
      My prayers assured, and I ask all my readers to please do the same.

      God Bless,

      ---Introibo

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    2. I'll be keeping Sr Mary Joseph in my prayers.

      Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for us!

      God Bless You,
      Joanna S.

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  13. Thank you for this article Joanna S.
    I'll pray for Sr.Mary Joseph..
    Please keep us posted on her progress

    God bless -Andrew

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