Friday, December 07, 2007

Dec. 7, 1585 Isle of Bomel, Netherlands, Vigil of the Immaculate Conception


Dec. 7, 1585 Isle of Bomel, Netherlands, Vigil of the Immaculate Conception.
With the onslaught on the Catholic Church in full swing Protestant Armies were out fitted and supported by people such as William of Orange with the aid of Elizabeth I of England, Cecil, and other disaffected non Christian financiers. Many churches and tabernacles had been desecrated. Many of the Holy relics of the had been defiled.

Phillip II of Spain had sent his armies north to the Netherlands to protect his estates and more importantly to safeguard Catholicism at the cross roads of heresies between Germany and England. The Protestant armies, though, had a plan to destroy the Catholic Army.

After Phillips Army's success at Antwerp, the Duke of Parma sent a multiude of his troops to garrison on Bomel, Netherlands. The Catholic Army believed that Bomel was a safe and built a fort to protect themselves from possible attack from the Protestants during the winter months.

As the Spanish garrison thought they were secure, the Dutch Protestant Naval forces, who new the country better, had a plan to destroy the Christian army. It turns out that the land the Spaniards thought was safe was actually below sea level. Owing to the Netherlands reliance on dykes to keep water our of their fertile farm lands the areas around Bomel had been drained of water.

The Calvinists came up with the plan to destroy the dykes and flood out the Spanish Army. Once the dykes were destroyed the Calvinist Navy waited for the water to rise. They wanted the water to rise so high that the hated Catholics would be drowned.

Soon, that night, as the water rose, the land around Bomel became the Island of Bomel. The Catholics had become completely surrounded by water. The Spanish had no means of escape, no means of re supply of food, water, arms or reinforcements.

The Spaniard, though, had the true faith of Jesus Christ and the holy sacraments. The Spanish Army, in this time of peril, knelt down and gave thanks to our Lord and besought protection from our Lady of Victory.

Miraculously, in answer to the Catholics’ prayer, the roaring sea froze solid!
As the sea rapidly froze it became impossible for the Calvinist navy to approach the Spaniards and the Protestants had to retreat. Our Lady heard the pleas of her Christian soldiers. The open sea became ice so hard that the entire Spanish Army was able to cross the sea on foot to dry land!

Praise God!

3 comments:

Cajun Huguenot said...

I appreciate your visit and I plan to do some reading what you have to say on your blogs.

Thanks,
Kenith

gallicman said...

Thank you for visiting Kenith,

I have great respect for the suffering that the Acadian people suffered at the hands of the English. I like the music too.

God Bless

Cajun Huguenot said...

Hello Gallicman,

The Acadian my ancestors)have a suffered ethnic and religious cleansing at the hand of the English their Yankee (New Englanders) cousins. It is a tragic story.

The Acadians left us a noble heritage.

I too love the music. My grandfather was in a French (Cajun) band, so I grewup with it. My wife and I still dance to Cajun music when ever we can.

Bonjour,
Kenith