In the course of my apostolate in the Legion of Mary, what we call the weekly “task,” I was at a stall, in front of the oldest Catholic church in the city of Belfast (St Mary’s Chapel Lane), here in Northern Ireland. The presence of atheists, lapsed Catholics, people of other religions, and also Protestants passing by is notable.

What surprises me most, most of the time, is the arrogance with which Protestants approach Catholics, judging that they will find people who are in the Church only by tradition, who do not truly believe what the Holy Mother Church teaches, nor have any idea what their faith is, who need to “accept Jesus”...

It was on one of those days that a man approached where we were, before the beautiful image of the Legion of Mary, and began to point his finger at some people who were with us. He began by saying:

“This is absurd... Only Jesus saves... There is no need for Mary, she was a normal woman, nothing special, like you and I who were chosen by God... Now she is dead... You need to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior...”

And all those meaningless catchphrases they learn in their temples.

By the grace of God, I was there and was able to defend the faith we received through this holy and wonderful tradition of the Catholic Church. We should not be afraid of them!

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Pet 3:15)

We should be more like Saint Paul and allow God to act and speak through us, in whatever way He desires, for once baptized, we have the mission to preach and live the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

“For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am under compulsion. Indeed, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16)

Regardless of what these people and the false prophets behind them think — that we live in a fantasy, out of touch with reality, and that we don't know what we are doing — we must remain firm and show them the reason for our hope: and our hope is Christ Himself, the beginning and end of all things. We must not be afraid to preserve the treasure of the tradition of faith that we have received.

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.” (2 Thess 2:15)

To give the reason for the hope we have, I approached him to help my brothers who were respectfully listening to his nonsense and to put that man in his proper place, so that he would stop bothering the elderly who, so devoutly, preserve these traditions...

By “nonsense” I do not mean the Bible, the wonderful Word of God, but the way they manipulate it and use it to lead people into the same error in which they live — becoming Protestants, against the Church, instead of being its members.

When he saw me, he began to quote the Bible, expecting me to be impressed by the fact that he knew it all by heart...

“What does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Rom 10:9-10)

I replied to him that Jesus is the Lord, He is the Savior, He is the Lord of Lords, the one God, the almighty and ever-living Son of God, who rose from the dead, who is 100% man and 100% God, who is the reason for my life. He is everything!!

And, very much like Saint Paul, I told him:

“But whatever gain I had, I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.” (Phil 3:7)

When a Catholic quotes a book and verse of Scripture to a Protestant, it still causes surprise today. Well then: the Bible is Catholic! After Martin Luther removed 7 books from the original Bible to call it “his Bible” — in other words, an incomplete collection of the books of God's history — they still claim to know the revelation of Heaven and Earth, of hell and sin, and everything else. But the treasure of faith and the grace of the Holy Scriptures were transmitted to us thanks to the compilation made by the bishops of the Catholic Church!!

BLESSED BE GOD FOR HIS HOLY CHURCH!!

There were so many topics he mentioned that each of them could turn into an entire formation. Anyway, we went on quoting Bible verses back and forth, until he said:

“Why do you need Mary? You need Jesus! She is dead and can do nothing! She was an ordinary woman, the handmaid of the Lord, and that's all...”

SO SOMEONE COMES TO OUR LEGION OF MARY STALL, IN FRONT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, TO INSULT THE MOTHER OF GOD?? NO, MY FRIENDS! WE RESPECT, LOVE, AND WILL DEFEND OUR BLESSED VIRGIN MARY UNTO DEATH, BECAUSE WE ARE HER SLAVES, HER CONSECRATED PEOPLE. HE HAD NOT REALIZED, UNTIL THAT MOMENT, THAT HE WAS SPEAKING WITH SOLDIERS OF THE VIRGIN MARY...

Among everything he said and we discussed, I would like to bring this small formation, in the power of the name and blood of Christ Jesus, in communion with the saints, the angels, the entire Church (on Earth, in Heaven, and in Purgatory) and through the intercession of the great Mother of God.

Whoever has ears to hear (or eyes to read), let them do so... and share with someone if you deem it important.

To begin, I just need to bring some basic concepts, so that we can understand what we are going to talk about...

“For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb 1:13-14)

According to Saint Thomas Aquinas, there are certain levels of knowledge, in which some people know more or better than others; adults generally know more than children; teachers know more than their students; doctors are more educated than those who have not studied, and so on. Following this hierarchy, the wisest of men knows less than any angel.

The word ANGEL represents what they do, and not what they are. They are all pure spirits in the service of God and, according to the level of service or mission, have more or less contact with men. There are nine orders in the hierarchy of angels (from highest to lowest):

Seraphim

Cherubim

Thrones

Dominions

Virtues

Powers

Principalities

Archangels

Angels

To get to the point I discussed with that Protestant, let's explore some encounters of humanity with the second order of angels. It will not be a waste of time, but rather a gain of graces, to read what follows...

The first encounter I would like to highlight was the moment when the great Joshua, the man chosen by God to lead His people to the Promised Land, successor of Moses, met the holy Saint Michael the Archangel.

The Bible does not explicitly state that this encounter refers to the Archangel Michael, but by the tradition of our Mother and Teacher, the Holy Catholic Church, we know it is he, for he is the commander of the Lord's armies. He was chosen to be the captain of the angels after the fall of the corrupted angels who followed Lucifer, the angel of light who became pure darkness.

“When Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you one of us, or one of our adversaries?’ He replied, ‘Neither; but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and he said to him, ‘What does my lord say to his servant?’ The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” (Josh 5:13-15)

Look again at the first image above and imagine what a wonderful encounter! It was not just any angel, it was not just any archangel: it was the great Saint Michael the Archangel. Imagine how extraordinary it must have been. Imagine looking with these human, weak, and impure eyes at this celestial prefiguration of the Lord, through His messenger. That is what happened to the blessed Joshua!

WHEN SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL REVEALED WHO HE WAS, JOSHUA FELL ON HIS FACE TO THE EARTH, WORSHIPING HIM, AND PLACED HIMSELF IN THE POSITION OF A SERVANT TO HEAR WHAT GOD HAD TO SAY TO HIS SERVANT.

The second encounter was between Tobias, son of Tobit, who went far away in search of help and to bring some money to his father, and the great Archangel Raphael.

His father, Tobit, had become blind due to an accident, and when his son set out on this long journey, he advised him to seek someone to be his traveling companion. Tobias found someone. As he departed, Tobit said that a good angel would go with him — not knowing that he was already before an archangel.

Anyway, they continued their journey and succeeded in everything. When they returned, they said they did not know how to pay their companion, for he had helped in everything. Then, in chapter 12 of the book of Tobit, he revealed who he was and explained what had happened. The essential here is:

“I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One.” Then they were alarmed and fell upon their faces, for they were afraid. But he said to them, “Do not be afraid; peace be with you. Bless God forevermore.” (...) When they rose, they saw him no longer. Then they confessed the great and wonderful works of God, and how the angel of the Lord had appeared to them.” (Tob 12:15-17, 21)

Look at the second image above and imagine this great encounter. Tobias traveled long distances with an archangel who was disguised as a man for a long time. They walked together, ate together (even though Saint Raphael only appeared to eat), and followed side by side far from home. Raphael guided Tobias on what he should do and how to do it. And so he did — and everything went well.

WHEN THE GREAT SAINT RAPHAEL, THE ARCHANGEL, REVEALED WHO HE WAS, TOBIAS AND HIS FATHER PROSTRATED THEMSELVES WITH THEIR FACES TO THE GROUND. AND, WHEN THEY ROSE, RAPHAEL WAS NO LONGER THERE.

The third encounter, unlike the others, is a little more known by most Catholics and Christians, as it is in the New Testament.

Still, it is very good to keep the two previous encounters in mind, so that we can compare the three. This is also the most important of all, because only because of this encounter did a God made man enter our world.

“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’ (...) And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.” (Lk 1:26-35, 38)

Now look at the image above and also imagine this very special and humble encounter. It was the encounter of humility with humility, of holiness with holiness, of glory with grace, of power with mercy.

Saint Gabriel, the archangel, descended into a closed room, in a small place, to meet a woman who found favor with God. This is fantastic!

In a more faithful translation, other versions bring: “Hail, full of grace” (Lk 1:28).

This means that the archangel spoke to Mary in a different way than the other archangels spoke to humanity. (Someone might argue that it was a different archangel in each encounter and that would be the reason — but then we could also remember Zechariah's encounter with the same Saint Gabriel, the archangel — but let's leave that for another exclusive formation).

WHEN SAINT GABRIEL, THE ARCHANGEL, MET THE BLESSED, IMMACULATE, PURE, HUMBLE, FULL OF GRACE (THAT IS, PRESERVED FROM THE STAIN OF SIN) AND UNIQUE MARY, HE IS THE ONE WHO PROSTRATED HIMSELF, HE IS THE ONE WHO BOWED TO THE GROUND BEFORE HER.

He proposed God's plans to the humble handmaid of the Lord — and she became the Mother of God.

In a single encounter, we see the will of the Father: by sending His messenger with the annunciation of His great plan of salvation; the incarnation of the Son: for after Mary's fiat, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and the power of the Holy Spirit: who descended upon the Virgin Mary and made her the full dwelling place of the Most Holy Trinity.

There is no comparison between these three encounters (nor with any other mentioned in the Holy Scriptures) with the one Mary had. In all others, naturally, when an angel meets a human being, the attitude is always that of the man prostrating himself before the angelic message and the person of the Lord's messenger.

With Mary it was different: the archangel humbled himself before the purest of creatures. He did not act like Satan, who did not accept being inferior to a creature because of her dignity, but did exactly what God commanded him!

Now, if God sent Saint Gabriel, the archangel, in all his glory of beatific vision and fullness of knowledge, to tell Mary that He wanted to come into the world through her, who are we to say that we should not follow the same path He took to come to us in the first place — to go to Him, through her?

We must do this with such certainty that there is no room for any confusion...

The conversation with that man went on until he said that he accepted none of it and, even revealing to me that he had never read the entire Bible, he claimed to know enough not to be deceived by the "lies" I was telling.

This should not have taken so long to be available to all who have ears to hear and receive the truth, but God knows our limitations. It was He who inspired me to bring this important message today.

It was He who chose Mary. Why would we reject what He did, if we want to accept His will?

Saint Augustine used to say:

“If we want to accept some things from the Gospel and reject others, it is not God we want to please, nor is it God's will we want to do, but our own.”

He also used to say:

“God came to us through Mary, we must go to Him also through her.”

And he further affirmed:

“The common characteristic in all saints is devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a great saint of the Church (celebrated today, August 20, in the old calendar) aware of the reality that Jesus is the head of the Church and we are the members of His mystical Body, once said:

“Jesus is the head and we are the members, but Mary is the neck that unites the head with the members.”

“Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his handmaiden. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me.” (Lk 1:46-49)

If all generations will call the Virgin Mary Blessed, we too, like the archangel, should not be afraid to prostrate ourselves before her. This is not adoration or idolatry, as many like to say and repeat to their own, spreading their foolishness; this is pure Catholic doctrine, it is the truth of 2000 years of Church history.

This is the greatest act of humility and grace: those who proclaim the wonders God has performed through Mary are in total humility; while all who speak ill of Mary and falsify the words of the Gospel, unite themselves with the evil one, hating God and His way of acting...

Let us pray together to the Mother of the Lord:

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen!"

Let us conclude our prayer with this beautiful prayer composed by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, entrusting ourselves totally to the Mother of God and our mother:

"Remember, O most pure Virgin Mary,

that never was it known that anyone

who fled to your protection,

implored your help, or sought your intercession,

was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence,

I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother;

to you do I come, before you I stand,

sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,

despise not my petitions,

but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen!"

May God bless us through the pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary!

**Translated and adapted from my other blog in English catholicinbelfast.blogspot.com

The original post was written in March 2020.