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| St. James the Moor slayer |
A Muslim storm burst from North Africa over most of Iberia
in 711 A.D. taking Christians captive, pillaging towns and swarming north over
the Pyrenees into France.
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| King Ramero |
By 800, Christians had been backed into the
northernmost region and a humiliating tribute of a 100 virgins per year was
demanded of local governors.
In return,
the Muslims would not attack the kings who agreed to the pact. This tribute
dated back to the year 738, when king Mauregato accepted it. Since then,
successive Christian kings had fought to abolish it.
Ramiro I bitterly resented that humiliation and under the
banner of the Cross summoned the Christian knights. He himself led the group
and marched against the Muslims to the most critical area: La Rioja, the upper
half of the Ebro valley. The Moors were then entangled in the frequent quarrels
with the Spanish convert Muslims ruling Navarre and had a large army. The
chronicles say that the Moorish army was lead by none other than the Emir
Abderraman II in person.
When Christians arrived at Najera and Albelda, they were
surprised to find an innumerable Moor army, made of both Andalusian and Moorish
troops.
The Christians fought bravely, but were rooted by the crushing
superiority of the Moorish troops. The knights were forced to take refuge in
Clavijo Castle, in Monte Laturce, on May 23, 844.
We can imagine the Christian
troops exhausted and on the brink of despair. It was then when, half asleep,
King Ramiro had a vision. This is his account, according to Pedro Marcio (I
have simplified the original text, written in ancient Spanish):
I was still sleeping, when the blessed Santiago, protector
of the Spaniards, appeared to me. I
asked who he was. He assured me to be Santiago, the blessed Apostle of God.
Astonished as I was, the blessed Apostle told me:
"Did not you know that
my Lord Jesus Christ, while distributing the other provinces in the world to my
brothers, the other apostles, luckily entrusted me the guardianship of all
Spain and placed it under my protection? (…)
Keep your courage, because I will
come to assist you tomorrow, God willing, to vanquish all that big crowd of
enemies surrounding you. However, many of your soldiers will be destined for
eternal rest and will receive the crown of martyrdom during your struggle for
the name of Christ.
And so that there is no doubt you will see me dressed in
white on a white horse, holding in my hand a white banner.
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| St. James the Moor Slayer |
Therefore, at dawn,
after receiving the sacrament of penance with the confession of sins, after
receiving the Communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Mass, do not
be afraid to challenge the Saracens’ squadrons, invoking God’s name and mine,
and taking for certain they will fall to the edge of the sword."
Having said all that, the pleasant vision of the Apostle of
God disappeared.”
Ramiro quickly told everyone about his vision: knights,
bishops, artisans…
At dawn, Christian troops, sure of their victory, attacked
the Saracens. For the first time some Spaniards used “Santiago” as a war cry.
In the heat of the battle, a great white knight, with a white banner on a white
horse, struck the field like a ray of light, to tilt the victory on the
crusaders’ side.
On May 25, in the town of Calahorra, the king vowed to
Santiago in gratitude, inviting all Christians in the peninsula to go on a
pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, carrying offerings to the Apostle.
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| Charlemagne |
The twelfth-century collection of history, verse, liturgy,
and travelogue about the Camino, known as Codex Calixtinus, records a legend
that Charlemagne himself had a vision of a knightly protector who identified
himself as St. James (Sant Iago, Santiago), the apostle of Jesus Christ:
Look you, my body is
in Galicia, but no man knoweth where and the Saracens oppress the land…the
starry sky signifies you shall go to Galicia at the head of a great host and
after you all peoples shall come in pilgrimage even till the end of time…and your
name shall abide in the memory of man until the Day of Judgment.
The warrior emperor was to liberate the roadway that ran to
the tomb. In Galicia, James’ burial crypt had been rediscovered in 813 and a
small chapel was built (by Bishop Teodomir) to protect it. Myth or miracle, a
rout now known as the
Battle of Clavijo was fought in the year 844 by desperate Christians with their backs
against the mountains, led by Ramiro 1 of Asturias. Suddenly, there appeared a
heavenly horseman, sword aloft, who slew every Muslim in his path: Santiago
Matamoros.
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| St. James the Moor Slayer |
Inspired by their champion, the faithful began the reconquest of
Spain.
IN OUR PRESENT TIME...
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| Teaching the Hate to their Innocents |
Despite the appalling specter of Islamic terrorism now
gripping Europe—the attacks and slaughter in Munich, Nice, Brussels,
Paris—Europeans, while once united in faith, aren't likely to seek the
intercession of St. James today.
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| Secularism as doomed us all |
Secularism has so eroded the shared basis of
European (Western) identity that any such appeal is unthinkable. Worse, an
ideology of secular progressivism is protected at all costs.
The larger terror
to many in European bureaucracy is that religion, especially Christianity, is
the basis for a culture that thrives and endures.
Fundamentally, cohesiveness as a culture requires more than
a pragmatic economic and political cooperation. Who, after all, feels a kindred
affection for political cooperation?
Culture requires an engagement of
fidelity, loyalty, and a lasting rationale for voluntary cooperation beyond the
power of states to enforce.
And even more culture must open a space for the
human expression of love beyond oneself.
The recent Brexit vote is a stark
check to bureaucrats who failed to understand this human need.
Unless such love
is nurtured,
citizens view each other
as utilitarian units
for economic or
political gain
rather than as neighbors.
In fact Pope John Paul II has urged the European Union to include a
recognition of Europe's Christian heritage in its first constitution.
But there was strong arguments against endorsing any
particular religion in a constitution for the Europe of the future.
Europe’s great minds had... long warned that
abandonment of Europe's Christian roots would imperil its Civilization.
And most of them pointed to Islam as the
invader that could vanquish a sclerotic culture emptied of its essential
identity, its central idea.
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| St. Thomas Aquinas, Church Doctor |
Consider the politically-incorrect assessment of
St. Thomas Aquinas, who flatly stated:
“He (Mohammed) seduced the people by
promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh urges us…
Those who believed in him were brutal men and desert wanderers, utterly
ignorant of all divine teaching, through whose numbers Mohammed forced others
to become his follower’s by the violence of his arms.” (Summa Contra Gentiles,
Book 1,Ch.16, art.4).
My personal note:
Now we see this invasion happening in our day. . .but there are NO CHRISTIAN fighters this time because Europe has lost her Faith -- and so will be a victim of these murderers.
As secularism spreads and goes on... the muslims aka moors will take over Europe without much of a fight. They run on HATE... nothing else... this must be stressed -- there is no 'give' in their theology you either believe or you die.
Unfortunately, I see the same for the Americas and possibly the whole world.
When you loose sight
of the True God
and go by your own selfish devices
you have no supernatural protection.
We MUST pray to Our Lady of Good Remedy for protection,
Pray the rosary
Daily...
Pray for the Muslims' conversion to the True Faith...
Pray for the victims of their atrocities. Pray for the Christians who are under persecution - rape, murder, torture.. even LITTLE CHILDREN.
Without Our Lord and Our Lady
we are surely lost.
This HAS TO STOP!!!
Excerpts in this writing are taken from the following articles:
Catholic World report article by Mary Jo Anderson
Also see
