Marian Piety Distorted: The Apocryphal Roots of Modern Devotionalism
The National Catholic Register article (November 21, 2025) promotes the feast of Mary’s Presentation using the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal 2nd-century text rejected by the Church’s perennial Magisterium. The article cites “Pope” Paul VI’s 1974 modernist encyclical Marialis Cultus to validate this feast despite its non-biblical origins, claiming it carries “lofty and exemplary values.” This uncritical embrace of pseudepigrapha epitomizes the post-conciliar sect’s rupture with Catholic doctrinal integrity.
Apocryphal Foundations: A Rejection of Divine Revelation
The Protoevangelium of James is unequivocally condemned by pre-1958 theology. Pope Innocent I (Epistula Consulenti Tibi, 405 A.D.) and the Gelasian Decree (5th century) classify it among “apocrypha devised by heretics” to be “avoided by Catholics.” St. Jerome denounced such texts as “dreary trash” (Prologus Galeatus), while the Council of Trent (Session IV, 1546) dogmatically affirmed the Canon of Scripture, excluding all apocryphal narratives. The article’s assertion that this text provides legitimate insight into Mary’s life directly contradicts the immutable Catholic principle: Extra Scripturam, nulla revelatio publica (“Outside Scripture, no public revelation”).
Paul VI’s Modernist Subversion of Marian Doctrine
The article weaponizes the antipope Montini’s words to justify devotion to an event absent from Tradition:
“Despite its apocryphal content, it presents lofty and exemplary values and carries on the venerable traditions having their origins in the Eastern Churches” (Marialis Cultus, 1974).
This relativism—elevating humanly devised “values” over revealed truth—embodies the Modernist heresy condemned by St. Pius X: “To the Modernists, piety is based on religious sentiment, not objective truth” (Pascendi Dominici Gregis, 1907). By treating apocrypha as doctrinally significant, the post-conciliar sect undermines the sola Scriptura principle it ostensibly rejects, mirroring Protestant subjectivism.
Theological Omissions: Silence on Mary’s Unique Mediation
The article reduces Mary’s Presentation to a sentimental “example for our struggle for holiness,” omitting her singular predestination as the Immaculate Conception. True Catholic theology, as defined by Pope Pius IX’s Ineffabilis Deus (1854), teaches Mary was “preserved immune from all stain of original sin” from conception—a dignity incompatible with apocryphal legends of her Temple upbringing. The article’s silence on Mary’s divine maternity (Theotokos, defined at Ephesus, 431 A.D.) and her role as Mediatrix of All Graces (Leo XIII, Octobri Mense, 1891) exposes its naturalistic framing of Marian piety.
Liturgical Novelty Versus Apostolic Tradition
While the article notes the feast’s late medieval adoption, it conceals the dogmatic dangers of liturgizing non-revealed events. Pope Benedict XIV warned: “Feasts not rooted in Apostolic Tradition risk fostering pia credulitas (“pious credulity”) detached from the deposit of faith” (De Servorum Dei Beatificatione, 1740). The Byzantine Rite’s inclusion of this feast (as one of 12 “great feasts”) stems from pre-Schism customs, but its post-1054 developments lack Magisterial approval.
The Post-Conciliar Assault on Marian Authenticity
This distortion reflects the broader modernist project to replace dogma with anthropocentric spirituality. The article’s claim that “God invites us, too, into his service” through Mary’s example ignores the unrepeatable uniqueness of her Fiat. St. Louis de Montfort clarifies: “Mary is the singular vessel of election, through whom the Trinity dispenses all graces” (True Devotion to Mary, 1712). Bergoglio’s sect, however, reduces her to a humanitarian symbol—a trend epitomized by the blasphemous “Pachamama” rituals.
Conclusion: Rejecting Apocryphal Innovations
The Presentation feast exemplifies how the conciliar sect corrupts Marian piety by grafting apocryphal narratives onto the liturgy. True Catholics must adhere to Pope Pius XII’s mandate: “Devotion to the Blessed Virgin must be founded on revealed truth… avoiding exaggerated and false piety” (Ad Caeli Reginam, 1954). To venerate Mary through unapproved texts is to participate in the neo-modernist sabotage of Tradition.
Source:
What do we know about the presentation of Mary? (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 21.11.2025