Dear Mr. Atila Guimarães,

My name is R.W. from the Netherlands.

I don’t know if you still remember me, but I am the person who was an ex-Baptist Protestant who was on his way to the Catholic Church and who had a deep interest in some of the books you wrote, such as In the Murky Waters of Vatican II, Animus Delendi I and II. And although I could not afford your books (because I have been very limited financially), you helped me by sending me those books as gift, which I am very thankful for!!!

I also shared with you that I was very concerned about some issues in the Catholic Church, like liberalism and moral issues that happened since the Second Vatican Council, and I was sure that your great books would shed some very important light on all this.

It has been some months now that we had e-mail contact, and I have to tell you the wonderful news that my wife R., our two children (G. 3 years, and N. 6 years old) joined the Catholic Church two weeks ago. My thankfulness for this journey I can’t express with my words!

My wife received the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Confirmation, and our children got baptized. In my area there are only Vatican II churches, but our parish is pretty conservative, and we both received Communion on the tongue and my wife wears the veil (she was already wearing this when she was a Protestant).

The greatest part has to do with the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom we believe has been so loving and gracious that, by her intercession, we have been drawn into a closer relationship with the Triune God. Everyday I pray the whole Rosary, and by the grace of God, my wife also started. The spiritual impact in really great!

I really have a desire and longing to have a deeper devotion to the Blessed Mother of God, and since I only want to read faithful writings and theology, I came across those wonderful books of Our Lady of Good Success. It’s amazing to read about those prophecies about our century and this devotion to Our Lady.

As before, I would love to read those books of the Admirable Life of Mother Mariana and Our Lady of Good Success, but here in the Netherlands they are not available.

I was wondering if there might be way you can help me with some of those books, so that we as a family can study them and grow in our devotion to Our Lady of Good Success.

If it is not possible, I can understand, and I can try to read the articles from your great website!

May the Lord God bless you and your wonderful ministry for the true Catholic faith, the Triune God and the Blessed Virgin Mary!

     From the Netherlands,

     R.W.,



The Editor responds:

Dear R.W.,

What joyous news you gave me, saying that your wife and two children have also converted from Protestantism and entered the Catholic Church! May Our Lady be glorified by that!

I am quite pleased and honored that my books played some role in these conversions.

In my opinion, there is no better way to grow in a true Catholic life than to pray your daily Rosary, as you are doing, and to increase in devotion to Our Lady. Being the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, she is the surest means for us to attain perfection in this life and eternal salvation in the next. With her goodness and patience, she also provides the best remedy to heal the harsh Protestant mentality, an unfortunate but inevitable consequence of having professed those errors. It takes some time - shorter or longer depending on each case - for this healing to take effect, and no one could nurse you and your family better than the Virgin Mary, our most attentive Mother.

I will check to see if we have some seconds of the books on Mother Mariana and Our Lady of Good Success you mentioned, and will send them to you. But, as retribution, I ask the favor that you, your wife and your children pray for us at TIA. Times are difficult here, spiritually and materially, and your prayers will help us to keep the standard of our cause flying high and will strengthen us in the hard efforts of our daily fight.

May Our Lady help these four new Catholics and make them her faithful children. Welcome to the Catholic Church! Have a good journey to Heaven.

     Cordially,

     A.S. Guimarães

Dr. Horvat,

Peace be to you.

This year like years pass we do not celebrate thanksgiving. I feel not only is this not the first one, but that we should give thanks to Our Lord everyday, not just one day.

However, I have been reading on a site here in Florida - called www.vivaflorida.org - an article that states the First Thanksgiving was in Florida at St. Augustine in the year 1565. I have also seen this in a book The Cross in The Sand by Michael V. Gannon, and from other historians as well. I am a Proud Native Floridian as well as a Proud Traditional Roman Catholic, and I was born and live in Florida.

If I may ask, what is your knowledge of the Catholic History of Florida, and did the First Thanksgiving happen here? By the way I wish to also thank you for all your articles that I have read about our Faith and thank you for having a True Catholic Backbone.

     Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,

     A.M.



Dr. Horvat responds:

A.M.,

Thank you for your inquiry and the trust that your question represents.

Some time ago I wrote an article about the expedition of Don Juan de Oñate into Texas in 1598. In it I affirm that the first American Thanksgiving was in El Paso. You can read about it here.

I am interested to learn about the possibility of a prior Thanksgiving celebration in Florida in 1565. When I will have a little spare time, I will research the topic, including the sources you advised, to see if the base is sound; if so, I will write an article to update the first one.

Thank you for the pointer you provided. The early Catholic history of our country is a topic of great interest to me.

     Cordially,

     Marian T. Horvat

Dear TIA,

Thank you for your reply to my letter [on Cardinal Newman].

What you wrote makes sense. I look forward to learning more.

Fr. Paul McDonald

To whom it may concern

In your article Errors of Canonized Saints & Newman it is mentioned that many "saints" and "blesseds" of the Novus Ordo Church and its Popes professed errors such Abbot Rosmini.

Do have any article on the faux saints and blesseds who professed errors? Could you create a section on them or even suggest another website

Thank you very much

     In Christo

     N.W.



TIA responds:

N.W.,

We have an article that analyzes some of the most famous ‘saints’ or ‘blesseds’ who hold suspicious doctrinal points. You can read it here. On our website there is a section on the New Canonizations. Please check it here.

We hope that you will find answers to your questions in these two places. Also, you can check our Updates page daily for new articles on the topic.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondent desk

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