Description
The meditations are written in the light of the current Crisis in the Church and hence are extremely relevant for the present time. Without getting involved in politics or theological debates, they present the reader with a concrete solution and positive encouragement to do whatever he or she can to hasten the Triumph of Our Lady. They emphasise the importance and value of prayer and sacrifice, especially when united to the sufferings of Our Lord in His Passion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only book of meditations on the instruments of the Passion. These “weapons” are precisely what is needed to combat the malice of revolutionary men. In 1847, after warning of the approaching threat of Communism, Our Lord said to Sr. Mary of St. Peter: “To arm you for the battle ahead, I give you the weapons of My Passion, that is My Cross which these enemies dread, and also the other instruments of My tortures.” By these words He clearly indicated the remedy for Communism is not only the Holy Face Devotion, but also the instruments of His Passion. Both ecclesial and civil society are suffering at the hands of revolutionary men, hence the need for such a remedy is evident. This book provides a definite plan for using these weapons. It has been written especially with the laity in view, but without excluding priests and religious who may profitably make use of it also.
“The Arma Christi (Instruments of the Passion or Weapons of Christ) are the objects associated with the Passion of Our Lord, His suffering, death, and burial. In medieval times there was a great devotion to the Arma Christi. Illustrated manuscripts from as early as the ninth century make reference to the different instruments of the Passion, often in the form of a poem accompanied by appropriate drawings. In the ages of chivalry, various instruments of the Passion featured on the coat of arms belonging to certain devout families. They were not infrequently incorporated in stone engravings on tombs and high crosses throughout Ireland and England…
“We are in the midst of the greatest battle in history. It is a battle all the greater in that it is a spiritual one. Communism adopts many different names and disguises, but it gives itself away by its erroneous philosophy which is in stark contrast to Christianity. It is not merely a battle for land or for temporal power. It is not merely a struggle to unite the nations in a new world order where each one is at liberty to believe what they choose and to act as they please. Essentially it is a battle for the souls of mankind. The communists are but instruments in the hands of Satan who is using them to make war on the Church and to drag souls to Hell. To effectively combat them, we must arm ourselves with divine weapons.”
(excerpt from the Introduction)
Carmelites of the Holy Face – a small Community of religious women who follow the Primitive Rule of St. Albert (Carmelite Rule) in Cork, Ireland. They are fully committed to holy Tradition and the unchanging Magisterium of the Catholic Church. A brief description of their way of life can be found in the appendix at the end of this book.
