Fides et Ratio

Despite these forces—or perhaps because of them—the Church entered a paradoxical era of flourishing mysticism and missionary zeal. Pius IX would convene the First Vatican Council in 1869, defining the dogma of papal infallibility even as the Papal States fell in 1870. His successor, Leo XIII, would emerge as the great statesman pope, issuing Rerum Novarum (1891), the encyclical that would shape Catholic social teaching amid industrial exploitation.

Amid persecution in Germany (Bismarck’s Kulturkampf, 1871–1887) and France (with the Third Republic’s anti-clerical laws from the 1870s), the Church endured through divine grace manifesting in its saints. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897) would later offer her “Little Way” as empires crumbled; John Bosco and Damien of Molokai anchored an age drifting from God. In the early 20th century, Pius X, as priest and later pope, would fortify the Church against modernism, while Mexico’s trials, intensifying in the 1920s, forged new martyrs.

Rerum Novarum JPII revisited this important document. Body of work given to us not born all of its fruit. Modernism heresy, a bit left behind, an urgent need. Need a scholar to revisit and bring our attention to it.

Living consequences concretely under these errors.

III. Mexico in Turmoil: The Cross and the Revolution

For Mexico, the years from 1862 to 1937 were marked by nearly unbroken instability, yet God was at work in the hidden hearts of its people. After Maximilian’s fall, the liberal reformers of the La Reforma era reasserted a strict separation of Church and state, expropriating Church lands and suppressing religious orders. President Benito Juárez led the charge, expropriating Church lands and curbing its influence. His successors, notably Porfirio Díaz, pursued modernization policies inspired by Europe, often at the expense of indigenous and Catholic traditions, though Díaz pragmatically tolerated private devotion to maintain social order.

San Luis Potosí, where Conchita was born in 1862, had once been a center of silver wealth and colonial religious fervor. By the late 19th century, it had become both a cultural crossroads and a stronghold of conservative Catholic resistance. Churches still rang with sacred music, processions wound through cobbled streets, and within private homes, faith quietly flourished amid the political hostility.

But the most dramatic trials lay ahead. The Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) would devastate the country. What began as a populist uprising against the long-standing Díaz regime devolved into a brutal civil war. Peasants, bandits, generals, and ideologues fought for shifting causes, and the Church—perceived as an ally of the old order—was increasingly targeted. Priests were exiled, churches desecrated, religious instruction banned.

Then came the Cristero War (1926–1929), a desperate uprising of Catholics—many rural, poor, and fiercely devoted—against the anti-clerical policies of President Plutarco Elías Calles. Under his regime, public worship was outlawed, religious orders suppressed, and priests executed. In this crucible of blood and faith, the souls of Mexico shone. “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”—Long live Christ the King! — became their battle cry and their prayer.

Grahm Greene novel, Blessed Miguel Pro man of many costumes for fear of murder, great rallying cry executed by the state

In America, ignorant level of anti-Catholicism.  Child martyrs, extreme hostile and dangerous

See desecration and attacks in Africa, onslaught against the faithful. Those who live free take serious obligation to defend our liberties and fought gained. Rights are not assured.

Churches burning in France, appalling.

King Charles, opening mosques as if great for England. Schizophrenia.

Christianity has enemies, identify, and name them without prejudice. Love for the truth fight an enemy.

The post Blessed Conchita Wife, Mother, Mystic II appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

Historical Background (1862–1937): A World on Fire, A Garden of Grace[1]

In the mid-19th century, the world stood at the crossroads of spiritual upheaval and political reinvention. The Church, long persecuted, was entering yet another age of trials—yet also, providentially, of hidden saints. The world that Concepción Cabrera de Armida entered in 1862 was fractured but fertile, wounded but waiting. She was born not in Rome or Paris or Madrid, but in the arid hills of north-central Mexico, in a quiet colonial town that would become a hidden stage for grace: San Luis Potosí.

The year 1862 marked a turning point across continents. Europe, once the stronghold of Christendom, now reeled under the pressures of nationalism and secularism. In Italy, Garibaldi’s unification campaign had swallowed the Papal States; the temporal power of the Pope was dissolving before the eyes of the faithful. Pius IX, then in the sixteenth year of his long pontificate, stood against the tide with the clear voice of the Syllabus of Errors (1864), denouncing the modern world’s growing rejection of truth, revelation, and divine authority.

France, meanwhile, sent troops to Mexico under Napoleon III in that same year—1862—beginning the ill-fated French intervention that would install Maximilian of Habsburg as Emperor of Mexico. His rule was brief, tragic, and symbolically rich: a Catholic monarch imposed by foreign power in a nation fiercely asserting its republican identity. His execution in 1867 would sear itself into the Mexican conscience.

Beyond Europe, revolutions of industry and ideology began to reshape the modern world. Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) challenged traditional views of creation, sowing seeds of doubt about man’s divine origin, though its full impact would unfold later. Marx’s Das Kapital (1867) laid the groundwork for revolutionary atheism, a specter that would haunt the 20th century. In Europe, the seeds of godless materialism and militant secularism germinated, while in Latin America, these ideas remained nascent, overshadowed by local struggles but destined to influence future conflicts.

[1] Warren H. Carroll, The Crisis of Christendom, vol. 6 of A History of Christendom (Front Royal, VA: Christendom Press, 2013)

The post Blessed Conchita Wife, Mother, Mystic I appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

Sacred Scripture offers a profound prefiguration of Saint Joseph in the figure of the Old Testament Joseph, son of Jacob. Betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, Joseph rose to become the trusted advisor of Pharaoh. Through divine wisdom, he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams and prepared Egypt for the coming famine (Genesis 41:29–57). His prudence and foresight saved countless lives. Similarly, Saint Joseph saved the Holy Family by leading them to safety in Egypt, responding to divine warnings with immediate and unwavering obedience. The parallel is striking: both Josephs were foster fathers in times of crisis, entrusted with the preservation of life. The Old Testament Joseph’s stewardship during famine prefigures the New Testament Joseph’s stewardship of the Bread of Life Himself, Jesus Christ.

Moved by eloquence and elegance of the stories God uses. Stories filled with drama.

Lord teaching us with images, a Jospeh would come save lives of Israel. Taught us about the superior Joseph to come.

Joseph brough her to Bethlehem, House of bread, laid in a manger, a bed of food.

At the foundation of every human family is the gift of embodied love: the man gives himself to the woman, and through this gift, new life is conceived. The husband’s act of self-donation is essential. When fatherhood is wounded—when men abandon, betray, or neglect their role—the entire family structure begins to crumble. Motherhood, too, suffers when fatherhood is weak. The crisis of fatherhood therefore precedes and precipitates the crisis of motherhood. Healing must begin with the restoration of fatherhood: a return to a vision of masculinity rooted not in domination or passivity, but in strong, loving sacrifice. Where natural fathers fail or are absent, the Church must implore the Lord to supply the lack through spiritual fathers and community support.

XII. Exhortation

The modern world desperately needs a renewal of fatherhood. Saint Joseph stands as a luminous guide for this renewal. Fathers must be men of faith, courage, and perseverance. They must be willing to sacrifice, to protect, to provide, and to lead with wisdom and love. They must reject the false promises of individualism and consumerism, embracing instead the high calling of service within the family. In times of personal weakness or societal failure, they must turn to Saint Joseph, their mighty protector and exemplar. Through his intercession, may fathers today be strengthened, families renewed, and society rebuilt upon the solid foundation of faithful love.

Fatherhood, foundation, must be preserved, first principles. Need to set something in motion. For good or ill, man is the active agent in society. Alice Von Hildebrandt, called to be both/and, women premier passive agent. Bring a newness to that given.

First impetus is the father, plant the seed, received, grow in security, grow in newness.

Litany of St. Jospeh, “most” superlative adjective of everything.

Man becomes the best of himself the most giving, most obedient, most chaste.

Poetic prayer to St. Joseph seemed fitting:

“O St. Joseph, silent strength, patron of all who labor,

Karen Early 2025

References

XIII. Addendum

Litany of St. Joseph

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

Joseph most just, pray for us.

Mirror of patience, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.

He made him the lord of his household,

Let us pray:

Litany of St. Joseph | EWTN  https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/litany-of-st-joseph-247

The post Litany of St. Joseph: A Role Model for Fathers Today VI appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

VIII. Litany of St. Joseph

The Litany of Saint Joseph beautifully captures the many virtues and titles of this great saint. Each invocation invites reflection on a different aspect of his role: spouse, guardian, protector, worker, model of patience and strength. Reciting the Litany deepens one’s devotion to Saint Joseph and fosters a greater appreciation for the virtues necessary for fatherhood. It is not a mere listing of titles but a powerful spiritual exercise that draws the heart closer to one of God’s greatest saints. It encourages all fathers to see in Saint Joseph a mirror for their own vocation.

One of the greatest saints, only our Lady ahead of him. John the Baptist premier saints both men of action, few words. Book ends family and life of the Church to spread the gospel. Litany of the Joseph the beatitudes of fatherhood, The best, the highest, what fathers are called to achieve.

Husband what can I achieve. As a wife, how can I assist and not be stumbling block.

Several titles from the Litany merit special reflection:

Reminiscent of Scripture Mary & Jesus “who is my father & mother? One who does the will of God.” Honoring His father and mother perfectly. Joesph did the will of God.

Holy fathers see the dangers to the family and a special way.

The post Litany of St. Joseph: A Role Model for Fathers Today V appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

VII. Joseph is an Ever-present Help for Modern Fathers

Saint Joseph shines as a beacon for modern fathers struggling amidst these cultural storms. He is the model of humble strength, silent perseverance, and tender authority. In an age that often mocks fatherhood or portrays it as irrelevant, Joseph offers an alternative vision. He fulfilled his vocation not through loud proclamations but through steady, faithful action. He protected Mary and Jesus, labored to provide for them, and guided the Holy Family in fidelity to God’s will. His intercession remains powerful. Fathers today are encouraged to turn to Saint Joseph for guidance, strength, and protection as they seek to lead their families in a hostile world.

Joseph as model, one of action. Speaks of action. No words are recorded. He shows what it means to be a man in the heart of the family. Bear weight and consequence of those decisions.

For men, prefer less talk, more action unlike women in general. Seeing what he does is sufficient to know the man.

Warren Carroll’s type of history, full of action.

Destruction of fatherhood begins in Enlightenment. Not married, no children, or a lot of children. fatherhood absent.

Men in women sports, wholescale loss of masculinity and femininity. Enlightenment, rationalism. Romanticism emotion overwrought.

Pill destroyed women in her ecology with synthetic hormones, pharmalogical drama along with forces not working to the good.

The post Litany of St. Joseph: A Role Model for Fathers Today IV appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

In our time, the family is undergoing an unprecedented crisis. Marriage rates have plummeted, divorce rates remain high, and many children grow up without the stable presence of both parents. Cultural forces demean the significance of marriage and family life, replacing them with transient relationships based on convenience or personal fulfillment. Economic pressures and ideological movements have further weakened the bonds that unite husbands and wives, fathers and children. The results are seen in the rise of loneliness, depression, and social fragmentation. The crisis of the family is a crisis of civilization itself. Without the stabilizing, nurturing influence of the family, individuals and communities lose their way.

The crisis in fatherhood has received special attention from Catholic scholars and authors. At the University of Virginia and beyond, recent works have explored the deep wounds caused by absent or passive fathers. Authors like Devin Schadtin his book Joseph’s Way: The Call to Fatherly Greatness (Ignatius Press, 2014) emphasize the importance of modeling fatherhood on Saint Joseph’s virtues of humility, sacrifice, and steadfast love. Similarly, Fr. Gerald E. Murray has written powerfully in essays such as “The Crisis of Fatherhood: Confronting Our Failure” published in The Catholic Thing (2021), highlighting the moral and societal collapse that follows from the abdication of paternal responsibility. Although not specifically Catholic, David Blankenhorn‘s influential book Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem (Basic Books, 1995) has been widely cited by Catholic thinkers for its sober assessment of the societal impact of widespread fatherlessness. These authors collectively argue that reclaiming the vision of fatherhood rooted in service, leadership, and love is essential for renewing both the Church and the broader society.

Mid 80-90s Daniel Moynihan, African American community, late 60-70 25% fatherlessness. Now, 75-80% fatherlessness.

Hopefully pendulum has swung as far as it can.

Children as adult can articulate harms of divorce.

As an adult, be an adult. Keep mouth shut instead of arguing in front of children.

No fault divorce, whims, great harm.

Harm the family, large flesh wound for all.

Brad Wilcox, go 5 years out from crisis point, the couple stayed together are happier than those divorced. Stay, learn to adapt.

Not extreme cases of abuse. Leave to safety and help

The post Litany of St. Joseph: A Role Model for Fathers Today III appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

Modern society increasingly elevates rugged individualism, where the self is seen as an isolated and self-sufficient entity. This view contradicts the Catholic understanding of the person as fundamentally relational. The modernist exaltation of personal autonomy, disconnected from duties to family and community, has contributed to a weakening of family structures. Men are often portrayed as either unnecessary or even harmful to family life, and their responsibilities toward their wives and children are diminished. The Catholic vision reminds us that true freedom is found not in isolation but in communion—with God, with family, and with society. Saint Joseph stands as a corrective to the modern image of the isolated individual. He is deeply bound to Jesus and Mary, living his vocation through service, not self-promotion.

Classical understanding of personhood, Aristotle, political animal, lives in society

Politics social relationships man engages with

Rugged humanism, Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand’s philosophy of rugged individualism, central to her Objectivism, champions the primacy of the individual’s rational self-interest, autonomy, and productive achievement over collective or altruistic demands. She articulated this through her novels, like The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957), and non-fiction works such as The Virtue of Selfishness (1964).

Individual cannot continue society. No life-giving element. One person cannot carry on his own seed. Need a couple, to create children, to sustain and maintain the state.

And within the heart of the Church.

Masculine & feminine.

Rugged humanism, unicycle

3-legged stood man, woman, God greatest stability

III. Integral to a Family are Both a Father and Mother

The family thrives when both a father and mother are present, cooperating in their complementary roles. The masculine and feminine are not interchangeable. Each brings essential gifts: the father offering strength, provision, and protection; the mother offering nurture, tenderness, and formation. Children flourish when they witness the loving unity of their parents. They learn the meaning of love, sacrifice, and duty from the daily interactions of father and mother. The absence of either figure creates a deficit that is deeply felt in the emotional and spiritual development of a child. Thus, the Church affirms the vital importance of both fatherhood and motherhood in building strong families and healthy societies.

Put ourselves in opposition how and order created. Society demands responsibility for self.

Called to live in community, beauty of Church sacramental marriage.

3-legged stool. Ride unicycle very hard, God adds absolute strong foundation family & society at large.

Despite the ideal, life in a fallen world often results in circumstances where one parent is absent—whether through death, abandonment, or other causes. In such cases, the broader Christian community has a sacred duty to step forward. Grandparents, godparents, mentors, and the parish family should strive to supply what is missing to the best of their ability. No child should feel completely bereft of paternal or maternal love. The Church herself, as Mother, seeks to enfold the wounded within her arms. Spiritual fatherhood and motherhood remain possible and are vital ministries within the Body of Christ. Saint Joseph himself was not Jesus’ biological father but was nonetheless a true and loving father. His example reminds us that true fatherhood transcends biology; it is a vocation of service, protection, and sacrificial love.

Unique reality God becoming man, how engages in humanity while maintain who He is.

St. Joseph fulfills natural role.

Paternity can be both natural and supernatural. Boyhood become premier into man in society. Become fully what you are is paternal in the best case.

St Joseph became premier, arch type what a true father is. Know what a father ought to be. Learn to love St. Joseph

The post Litany of St. Joseph: A Role Model for Fathers Today II appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

The Catholic Church has long taught that the family is the fundamental cell of society. It is within the family that children first encounter love, responsibility, sacrifice, and the knowledge of God. As Saint John Paul II affirmed, “The future of humanity passes by way of the family” (Familiaris Consortio, 86). Families are the first schools of virtue and the original communities of faith. Without strong families, the broader structures of society become fragile, susceptible to disorder, and eventually to disintegration. Fathers and mothers serve as the primary educators and protectors of their children. It is through their example and care that the next generation learns how to live virtuously and work for the common good. This ecclesial vision sees the health of society tied intimately to the health of family life.

Witnessed destruction of fatherhood often portrayed in sitcoms (cultural education)

Incompetent, buffoon, predator type of husband.

30-40s years

Ratzinger Crisis of Fatherhood

Advent Sermon (Second Sermon, December 10, 2021): “The Holy Spirit’s Role in Our Prayer as Children of God”

Being aware of cultural deficits, makes proactive action possible. Know better do better.

Culturally, Roseann Barr Kramer, ship is off kilter, need to right the ship.

LA rioting, sign of absence of holy good Fatherhood in these peoples lives

The post Litany of St. Joseph: A Role Model for Fathers Today I appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

Caryll Houselander “The Reed” (pg 359)

The Virgin Mary as a hollow reed, ready for the Breath of God to make music in her.

As she wrote to wartime Londoners, “Because he [Christ] has made us ‘other Christs,’ because his life continues in each of us, there is nothing that any one of us can suffer which is not the passion he suffered.” In this way, her intuitive religious vision anticipated Pope Pius XII’s encyclical on the “Mystical Body of Christ.”[1]

Mary is presented the great agent of change. Mary answers for the whole world, Be it done unto me”. Houselander’s desire was to have her lines out into the world, even if bombs were falling. She counseled many of those traumatized by the war. She was hyper attuned to other’s suffering and vulnerable herself. Though single and childless, these are her lullabies to us, her prayers.

Being precede thought, action

Hollowness, Augustine, late have I loved thee. Man is a shell without Grace

Word of God, think Scripture, part but not the whole

WOG Christ, infinitely more than the words on paper

Residual empiricism through modernism. Strong hold can’t love that which is not measured. If its not in the Bible, not to be loved. God can’t be contained within the written word

Sola Fides, answer to the poem, seems concrete form for sake of abstraction. Go from paper to the Person, a hard transition.

VII. Hesitancy & Gratitude for this topic

Cover flap, many devout believers recoil from poetry, even though it is deeply Catholic. Thomas Aquinas, who wrote poetry, was ambivalent about poem’s ability to speak truth.[2] These selections would make a fitting Lenten &/or Easter season devotion.

Nice for a person hold a key to open a door we can’t. We need a mentor then we can understand.

He wants man to live in communion with others. Someone needs to assist especially in these profound endeavors.

[1] https://www.ncronline.org/culture/book-reviews/new-biography-caryll-houselander-illuminates-20th-century-catholic-writer  accessed March 3, 2025

[2] Read xx

The post 100 Great Catholic Poems IX appeared first on Fides et Ratio.

TOL “To Scatter Flowers” (pg 289) Language of flowers an ancient metaphor for transcendent ideas. TOL famously promises, “a shower of roses”. Written a year before her painfully suffering death from TB, her DNS, she uses the metaphor of flowers as her language of love speaking to God and things she “offers up” to God.

Stumbling block for some the language of flowers, can sound syrupy

Decipher TOL language of flowers, offering up suffering, DNS

ICS Institute of Carmelite Studies very helpful to orient understanding

Flower girl at every wedding, counted the radicalness the separation of the petal from the stem.

Her self-recognizing through her suffering to pluck the flower from the stem. Intense pain separation from the flower from the root.

Charming metaphor as well, Doctor of the Church.

The post 100 Great Catholic Poems VIII appeared first on Fides et Ratio.