A couple possible objections to my Pentecost video…

First, didn’t Pope John XXIII’s promise of a New Pentecost come true in the Eastern Hemisphere?  The New Pentecost seems to be a dud since “the numbers tanked,” as I said in the video.  At this point, a fair counter to the above would be:  “Ah yes, Fr. David, the numbers of Catholics greatly dropped in North America and South America since Vatican II, but the numbers of Catholics in Africa and Asia increased.  Doesn’t this prove the New Pentecost?”  I admit this is a very strong retort.  However, my retort to the retort is equally simple:  The good bishops of Africa and Asia would show that their growth in numbers in the Eastern Hemisphere over the past 100 years was attributed not only to the blood of the martyrs but, also due to their preservation (not the overturning!) of Catholic tradition.

Although not “traditionalists,” per-se, Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria and Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong led many heroic Catholics in Africa and Asia the past 50 years.  Both Cardinals (and the lay Catholics they served) would probably be the very first to admit this great increase in numbers of Catholics in Africa and Asia came from their faithful following Christ and the deposit-of-the-faith, not following “the spirit of Vatican II.”  In fact, nearly all mission congregations in the Eastern Hemisphere disappeared in the 1970s except the SSPX.  The number of the baptized swells in Africa and Asia despite the spirit of Vatican II, even if most Catholics still attend the Novus Ordo.

Second, how could it be that one’s love of the Holy Spirit is proportionate to one’s love of the Blessed Virgin Mary? Certainly, I did not mean that the Holy Theotokos is the third person of the Trinity or anything weird like that. But she is His spouse, and in some sense, we must love spouses as One.  Let me use an example:  Often, when women text me, I will put their husband on the same text thread so he can see (and participate) in all our texts.  This is for more than just propriety.  One additional reason for this is because the love a priest has for one spouse is supposed to be equal to the love he has for the other spouse.  This is because they are one flesh.

Although the Holy Spirit has no flesh, we know from the Apostle that he who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit.—1 Cor 6:17. This means that Mary is one spirit with the Holy Spirit.  As I said in my SMS example above, it is nearly impossible to love one spouse without the other.  A person can not claim to love the Holy Spirit if he in any way at all denies the supreme holiness of His spouse, the Immaculate Virgin Mary.  Thus, although she is not God, the measure of your love of the Blessed Virgin is in some way proportionate to your love of the Holy Spirit.