A special thank you to the faithful souls who showed up yesterday at Parliament Hill, and all others who prayed the Rosary at home as part of the Canada Needs Our Lady campaign. There were several groups scattered around the Nation’s capital praying the Rosary, as well. The campaign organizers have reported that over 770 groups participated around the country.

Many people wonder why Our Lady is so important in the battle against Hell. Why her and not Jesus “only”? Well, the answer to that question requires more space than can be offered here, but I will leave you with one observation to prayerfully consider.

To understand Our Lady’s role, we must understand God’s character which demands perfect justice and perfect vindication. And His victory requires perfect fittingness, as well.

We must remember that the person of Christ was divine and therefore was not a creature. He was eternal who assumed a human nature. The Devil, on the other hand, is a creature, full of pride and envy. Therefore, to perfectly recompense God in pure justice, to be perfectly vindicate His own majesty, and to perfectly effect a fitting defeat of the Devil, it is necessary that God would choose an unblemished creature, free from sin and pride to offer the final blow against Satan. After all, what true humiliation would there be in being defeated by God alone, apart from His creation? Not much.

Once Christ redeemed and opened heaven’s gates for humanity, it is indeed fitting that the instrumental victory over the Devil should come from a creature, a Woman. “Woman”, as a representative of Creation, whom the Devil captured and ensnared at Eden, would return at the appointed time to reverse the defeat and claim victory for her and all her spiritual children.

Now, for the most powerful and beautiful angel, who bears an angelic nature (which is superior to that of human nature), to be defeated by a 15 year-old girl is quite the humiliation, would you not say?! Shades of another creature I know who is the patron of our little Community here…St. Joan of Arc!

Our Lady’s victory, of course, is ultimately God’s victory working through her, since Our Lady has no power other than through her Son’s victory on the Cross.

Everyone loves a good story. And, boy oh boy, there’s no better story than this story.

The Devil took down one Woman and by another Woman he would be defeated.

If you like poetic justice and want to see justice done to the last drop, believe me, friend, God likes it more.

In her Immaculate Heart,

John Pacheco

St. Joan of Arc Community