I thought you might be interested in an update on the status of my diet:
There are two critical updates the first is the round of blood tests that the Doctor ordered after three months of it being in place: These tests were all drawn 2 1/2 weeks ago.
Test Progress
My A1C is out of the Diabetic range and now in the pre-diabetic range
My glucose is down but still not in the “normal” zone but I’ve moved half the distance to the goal
Bun is now in normal range lowest in 10 years
My total cholesterol is now only a single point above normal the lowest since they started checking 12 years ago
Triglycerides are now deep into normal better than half of before
Non HDL cholesterol down 15 points still over normal but the lowest ever measured in me
The big news is the A1C If I can drop it by half as much as I’ve already had I’ll actually be in the full “normal” range and given the history of heart attacks in my family the HDL number is a big deal.
These are all good signs. My next set of tests are scheduled for February, we’ll see where we are there.
Diet progress
At my last post I was at 280 on the nose. At my doctor’s appointment on the day of the tests I was at 273.4 Today I have broken the 270 barrier and am at 269.6. I’m at 63.2% of my goal under 20 lbs away (250).
This means my diet is now entering phase 2 which is what I call the adaptive phase.
Phase one was very strict. Here are the details again:
No fast food: McDonalds, Wendy’s Burger king OUT
No bread (I get two slices when I go out for breakfast that’s it)no Subs
No sausage (I had one piece a week ago) 1st since Aug 8th
No chocolate bars (had one since the 8th)
No candy, cake etc basically no deserts
No Ice Cream (I’ve had two servings since Aug 8th)
No potatoes (two servings since Aug 8th)
Salads with a meal whenever possible simple oil/vinegar dressings only
Soups when possible
Soda only if a restaurant has iffy water
Lots of peppers, onions & garlic
No Pasta (UPDATE forgot to include this in the list)
No snacks (chips , Cheetos etc forgot to include this on the original list but it’s been from the start)
NO SECOND HELPINGS NO EXCEPTIONS!
You’ll note some of these items are in bold that means they remain the same in phase 2 that is:
No fast food: McDonalds, Wendy’s Burger king OUT
No Subs (covered by ‘no bread’ but need to clarify here)
No Candy cakes, basically no deserts
Salads with a meal whenever possible simple oil/vinegar dressings only
Soups when possible
Soda only if a restaurant has iffy water (always diet)
Lots of peppers, onions & garlic
No Pasta (UPDATE forgot to include this in the list)
No snacks
NO SECOND HELPINGS NO EXCEPTIONS!
You’ll note some items are now in italics. That’s because we’re reached this point in under 4 months of the full year I have some flexibility so here is what will change
No bread at home, if I’m out and it comes with a meal one slice (Toast if I go out for breakfast)
Breakfast sausage once a week max if I cook at home or once a week out
One candy bar a week if I want it (think a Cadbury bar eaten over 3 days)
If at Friendly’s a burger & fries (no BBQ sauce or bacon) eat about 1/2 of the fries
An occasional Market Basket Donut (FAR superior to Dunkin’s) perhaps bi-weekly.
The idea is to slowly reintroduce foods to my diet that were once staples (sausage, burger & fries) and some deserts (ice cream, chocolate bars). This is to teach me to eat them in moderation and not to binge. If this means I get to 259 in January or Feb that’s fine. The idea is to learn moderation in foods I enjoy.
As before there are no “cheat” days but Birthdays, Holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas) are days when none of these restrictions apply.
Once I hit 259 we’ll begin phase 3. The home stretch. When I get there I’ll fill you in on the plan.
You might ask yourself: “Hey DaTechGuy? There are now drugs that will help you lose weight? Why bother with all this dieting?”
I say. The whole point of this exercise is to not have to take medications (pills and shots) to stay alive, not to take a different set of pills and shots.
Plus if you use the diet shots & pills then but don’t change your lifestyle once you stop all the problems return. Much better to do this myself and train myself to be sensible.
Well Ten Years after the MSNBC crowed stated on live TV that it would be bad news for the Clintons if Donald Trump brought up Jeffrey Epstein during election 2016 (the video for those who have forgotten)
the Epstein files (at least those not being blocked by three Democrat Judges) will now all be out there.
And while we’ve seen Larry Summers “retire from public life” & Congresswomen Stacy Plasket somehow dodge a censure vote with every democrat in the house voting that exchanging texts with Jeffrey Epstein while questioning a witness during a hearing is no big deal. We’re not going to be seeing anything that implicates Donald Trump for the simple reason that if there WAS anything like that in these files the Biden administration and the Democrats would have put it out there during the four years that no Democrat had any interest in them.
But we HAVE seen a few signs of what is to come: like this
The panicked Democrat talking point has been released …
– "Trump and Pam Bondi have altered the Epstein files."
😂 They know this is going to be devastating to Democrats.
And now that the various connections to Democrats will be out there we’ll see a lot less of this:
ICYMI: My latest @NewsBusters study looked at *every mention* of Epstein on ABC, CBS, and NBC across their morning, evening, and Sunday political talk shows.
The result? 821 minutes from July 7 thru this morning, which is nearly 14 HOURS of coverage. https://t.co/eACPho8Gv5
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy literally said recently, 'Clearly, Donald Trump was at the center of a child sex ring. That is heartbreaking that the President of the United States was involved in that kind of gross, craven immorality.' That is a positively surrealistic read on what…
Here are the rules for the 4th season (1999) of the 1996 short season draft league.
How the league is to be played
We will be playing the 1999 season We will be playing under 1999 rules with two exceptions. There will be at least one interleague play to allow each player to play each other player at least one home and away series. There will be no wild cards.
The schedule
We will be playing an 80 game schedule with two series against each opponent.
2 Two game series vs interleague opponents
2 Three game series vs teams in the same league but different divisions
2 Four game series vs division rivals
the final three series of the season will all be within the division to make the races interesting
Frequency of games
There will be one series per week. This will make it easier to get in series vs division rivals and to prevent conflicts with my other leagues.
Number of teams
We have a fixed number of teams 16.
Division setup:
2 leagues, 2 divisions in each no wild cards.
Trades and waivers.
After the fifth series of the season teams may trade. Any player on the current roster may be traded along with any of the first seven draft picks for the next season If a trade is made that increases a roster beyond the 40 man limit a player must be released before the next series is played. Any trades agreed will not be executed until all the teams involved have the same amount of games played.
Waivers takes place after the sixth series. Teams make waivers picked based on their current record and are made from the undrafted players not on rosters.. If a pick brings a Roster over 40 a player must be released or an injured player not on the DL must be placed there to make room.
Note:Any player who is planning to leave the league at the end of the season is encouraged NOT to trade as it is unfair to both the other teams and the player who will replace him or her.
NEW DRAFT TRADE WINDOWS
Pre-Draft Trade window:
There will be a 48 hour window before the formal draft where trading will be allowed.
Any player on the roster (rookie or retained player) may be dealt along with drift picks up to the 7th round at this time.
Only draft picks for the upcoming draft will be tradable.
The trade window will end 15 minutes before the start of the formal draft to allow for any updates to lists to be recorded before the start.
Draft Day Trading up or down window.
At the end of each round there will be a 10 minute window for rosters to be adjusted and all the paperwork to be done.
For the first five rounds of the draft During those 10 minutes teams will be allowed to Trade. NO PICKS BEYOND THE 7th ROUND ARE TRADABLE
In Season Trades and waivers (Note change in when waivers starts).
After the fifth series of the season teams may trade. Any player on the current roster may be traded along with any of the first seven draft picks for the next season (1999) If a trade is made that increases a roster beyond the 40 man limit a player must be released before the next series is played. Any trades agreed will not be executed until all the teams involved have the same amount of games played.
Waivers takes place after the 1st series. Teams make waivers picked based on their current record and are made from the undrafted players not on rosters.. If a pick brings a Roster over 40 a player must be released or an injured player not on the DL must be placed there to make room.
NEW Contested, Uncontested and Emergency Waivers
NEW: Contested Waivers
Contested waivers are waivers picks made after week 5 and works like this:
A team submits a waivers pick from Friday to Monday
Another team may usurp that pick and make it theirs if
It has a worse record than the 1st team
It has not already made waivers pick
It has not already tried to usurp a different pick
No team worse than them has tried to usurp it
They make the attempt 9 PM EST Tuesday
If no team makes a counter claim on the pick by 10 PM EST Tuesday the waivers pick is successful.
If a team successfully usurps the tip go to step 1 as if the usurping team make the pick
New UNCONTESTED WAIVERS
Uncontested waivers picks are waivers picks that take place from weeks 1-4.
The picks are automatically successful and are decided on a first come first served basis. If you unknowingly submit a pick for a player who has already been claimed you may pick again.
Regardless of success the player won’t be added to your roster till your Friday games for that week are completed.
NEW EMERGENCY WAIVERS
On rare occasions due to multiple injuries, suspensions or very long extra inning games or any combination thereof a team may not have a pitcher available to start or a player to play a position for their next series. In such a situation a team may contact the commissioner for Emergency Waivers.
If granted said team may make an uncontested waivers pick to either get the needed starting pitching or position player to fill the spot.
Said pick MUST be made at the end of a series or before the next as the Dynasty system doesn’t allow changes to the 40 man roster while a series is active.
If an emergency pick puts the team over 40 players a player must be released to get the roster back to 40.
If an emergency pick needs to be made for a computer team the commissioner will make the pick. Priority will be given to any qualifying player whose card is from the team needing the pick.
NOTE if a player drops out of the league and we have an empty team any draft picks he has traded those trades are still valid and will be picked by the team that received it.
The DL:
The DL WILL count toward your roster but to make up for it we will have a maximum 40 man roster. We will still only draft 30 but players may expand their rosters to 40 via trade and waivers.
Playing Games.
All games must be completed before the next scheduled series. the Dynasty system will take over and auto play any games that are not completed one hour before the next scheduled game (even if said unfinished game is in progress) Players are encouraged to use the chat room and the Dynasty message system to reschedule games if needed and are also encouraged to make a manager profile in case a game has to autoplay. Instructions on how to do that are here.
Be aware that if you have your team on AUTO and your opponent requests a rescheduled in the system Dynasty will automatically allow it so keep this in mind when or if you turn auto on. Also be aware if both team are on auto and you reschedule the game will be played automatically so make sure your team is not on auto before you do this. I also suggest when you go on auto if you plan on playing your next series make certain you checked off the “take off auto before the next series” button.
Expansion
This league will NOT have expansion. It is designed as a short season to contrast with the 1969 league and to give me an easy schedule to make. If you want a longer season and / or a bigger league check out my 1969 league currently playing 1974.
Selecting a franchise:
Players picked from existing franchises keeping two batters and two pitchers the rest go in the draft
Franchise locations and parks
Every team is presumed to have the park their team played in during the season they entered the league.
Franchises whose teams move in real life are not required to relocate their teams. So the Montreal Expos are not required to move to Washington but they retain the option to do so at the start of any season but such a move must be announced by draft day.
Franchises are NOT required to build new stadiums and my continue to play in their old stadiums if they wish. So Houston can stay in the Astrodome if they wish but they retain the right to move into Minute Maid park at any time If a team chooses to move into their new park in the same city the old park is considered demolished and no other team may use it from that point on.
A team may NOT move into a park that in a different city because the Dynasty system bases the weather on the park used NOT the city that a team’s label claims it is in. Example from the 1971 league: If the Seattle Pilots want to play in Country Stadium they MUST move to Milwaukee
A team may NOT move into a park in the same city that belongs to a future franchise. Example from 1971 league: If the Seattle Pilots choose to remain in Seattle rather than move to Milwaukee they may NOT move into the Kingdome because it is reserved for the Mariners franchise when it becomes available.
Old parks
A team MAY move into an old park from the same city under the following conditions:
The park was once the home park of the franchise OR
The franchise that once owned the park is now located in another city
You or the previous owner of the team in this league did NOT move the team out of the park.
Examples,
the Seattle Pilots move to Milwaukee the Mariners if taken MAY move into Sick Stadium.
The Cardinals may move into sportsman park because it was once their old stadium.
Both the Yankees and the Mets may move into the Polo Grounds because the park is in NY and both teams were once based there.
Franchise Moves and or Replacement players or teams
A player may decide to take a different franchise after playing one season under the following rules
The player who movies will get the city and park of the new franchise at once but will NOT get the rookies for said new Franchise until the season AFTER the move
Example: Boston decides to move to California after the 2010 season. he does NOT get the rights to Mike Trout but retains the rights to any RedSox player who has their first card in 2011. If Boston makes the move to California in 2009 then after keeping the Boston rookies for 2010 in 2011 Mike Trout is his as a rookie (see rookies below)
If due to circumstances in the real world a player has to temporarily drop out of the league their team will be put on auto until a substitute can be found. Said substitute shall take over the team and play games until the original player can return but may not make trades or drop players from the roster (excepting for injury).
If at the end of the season the base player can’t return the substitute has first rights to the team and gets full control over it.
If a player has to drop out permanently the team will go on auto until a substitute or replacement player can be found. Said player will get full rights to the franchise unless they declare that they will only be a substitute till the end of the season.
If no replacement player is found during the season a new player will be recruited for the next season. Said player will retain the franchise and draft picks of the player he is replacing. If said new player wishes to move the franchise he can per the limitations listed above, namely he retains the rookies of the current franchise for his first season and then get the rookie rights to the new franchise the following year.
Example The Yankees drop out of the league due to illness. A substitute is found to play their games. The sub places the games until the Yankees recover. If they do not recover sufficiently to return to the league the substitute may over the Yankees franchise permanently
Example 2: A replacement player is found for the Yankees in the above example but is a big Texas fan. Said substitute can move their franchise to Texas but will retain the Yankees rookies for the 1999 season. Starting in 2000 they will have rights to Texas rookies.
Rookies
A “Rookie” is define as any player who did not have a card for the previous season.
A rookie is considered to be part of the team listed on their card regardless of who they actually played their first game for (Dynasty lists cards based on who a player finishes a season with thus any rookie that was traded by an MLB team in his first season will have their card listed for the team they were traded to NOT the team they played their first game with.
All teams retain rights to their rookies prior to the draft and rookies for a franchise are not eligible to be drafted in any expansion draft.
A Rookie becomes a part of a team after said team names their protected players for the draft. They count toward the 40 man roster
Any team that doesn’t want to retain a rookie may release them before the draft to open up a roster spot but once release all rights to said player are surrendered.
Players retained list
At the end of a season teams may retain a number of players based on their finish in the previous one The players retained list for 1997 is
World series winner 4 players ( Dodgers)
World series runner up 5 players (Redsox)
Division winners that don’t go to the series 6 players (Pittsburgh, Cleveland)
Teams with the 5th and 6th best records that didn’t win a division 7 players (Cubs, San Diego)
Teams with the 7th and 8th best records 8 players (Yankees, Cincinnati)1
Teams with the 9th and 10th best records 9 players(St Louis, Baltimore)
Teams with the 11th and 12th best records 10 players (Minnesota, Houston )2
Teams with the 3rd and 4th worst records 11 players (Kansas City, Mets )
Teams with the worst and 2nd worst record 12 players (Tampa Bay, Toronto)
Rookies do not count toward the keeper list total.
As soon as all the keeper/rookies are finalized the draft day will be set. A minimum of one week wait will be given to make sure people can check out the cards the 1998 cards are here:
NOTE(s): For teams with identical records we go to the tiebreakers
Head to head record the team with the worst head to head record is considered to have the worst record. (Thus Cincinnati with an identical record as St. Louis is considered to have the better records as they went 4-2 against the cards)
How many games behind the players were in their division. A team closer to a playoff spot his considered to have the better record. (Thus Houston with an identical record as the Mets AND with a 3-3 record against them is considered a better team because at 18 games out of 1st they are closer to a playoff spot then the Mets who were 23 games out)
The best record in their division.
The best record in the league
Dice Roll, high roll is considered the team with the better record.
NOTE:If a player on your current Roster does not have a card for the next season due to injury, military service etc but WILL the following year a team may choose to retain the rights to said player but will have to spend a protected spot for it and will have to keep a space for him all season.
Example: Rheal Cormier was out the entire 1998 Season. If a team has him after the 1997 season and wants to keep him they can choose to hold his rights when his season ends and keep a roster spot for him. He will play 1998 with 39 players and in 1999 will hold the rights to Cormier.. If at any time he chooses to release him Cormier will be considered a rookie for Boston because
He had no card the previous year
No team held his rights
His 1999 card says “Boston”
The draft order of teams for each season will be based on their finish the previous season. Any team that is not retained will of course not be drafting BUT If a team holds the draft pick of a team that is no longer in the league he will draft those picks as if that team was still in the league in the round that he holds them.
Worst team (12) Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2nd worst team (12) Toronto Blue Jays
3rd wort team (11) Kansas City Royals
4th worst team (11) New York Mets
5th worst team (10) Houston Astros (Fewer GB than Mets)
6th worst team (10) Minnesota Twins
7th worst team (9) Baltimore Orioles
8th worst team (9) St Louis Cardinals
8th BEST team (8) Cincinnati Reds (won season series vs cards)
7th Best team (8) New York Yankees
Team with the 2nd Best record that didn’t win a division (7) San Diego Padres
Team with the best record that didn’t win a division (7) Chicago Cubs
Division winner not in WS with worst record (6) Cleveland Indians
Division winner not in WS with best record (6) Pittsburgh Pirates
World series loser (5) (Boston Red Sox)
Word series winner (4) (LA Dodgers)
NOTES
Tiebreakers are the same for the keeper order
The pick order of traded picks remain the same even if a team is replaced.
Examples: If San Diego traded the NYY their 3rd round draft pick last season but are not an active team in 1998 then during round 3 the Yankees would get a pick in the sport where SD would have been had they played..
When all teams have drafted that will be considered the end of a round and the next round will commence.
NEW:
Teams WILL continue to draft in this order until:
A team reaches 30 men OR
A team with 25 or more players on their roster voluntarily drops out
Once a team has dropped out of the draft they may not re-enter it. Teams can increase their rosters to up to 40 men either through trades or waivers.
The Formal & InformalDraft.
Formal Draft & Designated Draft day(s):
A date and time will be set for the initial rounds of the draft. It will almost certainly be a Saturday or Sunday as those are the days I have off. Because my schedule is full from Thanksgiving to Christmas this may be delayed. If/When a designated draft day is set All teams will be expected to be either:
Available in the slack chat room (preferred)
Available by phone
With me in my home at the time of the draft
Have a list of players to be drafted submitted
All currently players are presumed to have looked over the card(s) for 1997 online or at least looked up stats by draft day. All teams are encouraged to start doing so at once.
There will be one designated draft day per week.
On a designated draft day a strict 5 minute limit will be allowed to make a pick.
If a team misses their pick will be moved to after the next player on the list who will be considered on the clock and allowed to pick. Example: Cincinnati misses their pick and Houston is next, Houston is allowed to pick and Cincinnati picks after them
If a team who has been skipped has to be skipped twice their pick can be made any time before the end of the round. Example Cincinnati is scheduled to pick 11th They miss their pick If they figure out who they want they can make a pick or submit a list any time before the end of the round and that pick will be valid.
If a team that has been skipped has not picked by the end of the round then a pick will be made for them by me. Said pick will be the player from your franchise who played the most games that season based on their card. Example: Boston does not pick or submit a list for round 5 I will look at the Roster for the actual 1997 red sox to see who is available. If John Valentin has the most game played among unpicked players he will be Boston draft pick. If Boston already has 2 shortstops that will not matter Valentin becomes the pick.
As soon as a round ends there will be a ten minute period to update the rosters and lists and confirm players were put on the right team. During that period draft day trades may be made (see above)
The opening Scheduled draft days will go on for 100 picks. Other scheduled draft days will be 60 picks. Once the number of picks is reached the clock is turned off
The Formal Draft generally begins at either 11 am or 1 pm EST to give west coast folk the time to be awake. Be aware that if you are scheduled to pick
BE AWARE THAT EVEN WITH A FIVE MINUTE LIMIT THAT CAN MEAN 80 MINUTES FOR 16 TEAMS TO PICK IN ONE ROUND. PLEASE DO YOUR BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DRAFT TO CUT DOWN ON THE TIME REQUIRED. The more prepared everyone is the faster things will go.
Picks off the clock and on non-draft days
As soon as the initial draft ends the “informal draft” begins
During the informal draft a team has 24 hours to make a pick. Picks can be submitted in the draft room or via the Dynasty message system or in person if the person picking is local or via the phone to me. If there is an existing list from the formal draft it will be used to continue the informal draft.
Once the pick is made and recorded on the draft sheet and the player moved to the roster I will announce the pick in the slack chat room and inform the person up, the person on deck and the person in the hole to be prepared to pick. Until you see that announcement the pick is not official.
The Informal draft ends when:
Round 25 is complete OR
The next formal draft begins
The informal draft resumes after any formal draft that doesn’t reach round 25.
Be aware that trading can be made at any time during the informal draft until:
round seven is complete
15 minutes before a formal draft that has not completed round 7
IMPORTANT: Once round seven of the draft is complete trading is finished until the end of week 5 of the season.
The season will begin one week after the draft is complete.
Game Play Etiquette:
Given the weekly nature of the game it should be not difficult to get games in on time or at least get series started but here are some basic guidelines.
If you know in advance you can’t play on the scheduled game day and time try to contact your opponent to arrange a different time both through the chat room and the dynasty system.
If gameday comes and your team is on AUTO your scheduled opponent should assume they can play all or part of their series if they choose.
If gameday comes and you haven’t heard from your opponent check your “Friends” list to see when the last time they signed on was. If it is 10 days or more then play the series vs the PC
If gameday comes and you haven’t heard from your opponent give him or her at least two five minute waiting periods before letting the computer take over the team
On occasions when you and your opponent are in touch but just can’t seem to find a time when both are available I make the following suggestion.
The player who shows up on gameday should play one game (2 game series) or two games (3-4 game series) against the pc.
When those games are finished exit the system and put yourself on Auto being sure to check the “Take my team off auto after this series”
Then your opponent can finish the series as his or her time permits
Keep in mind that the Dynasty system is designed to keep games moving the default position should always be to get games played when possible.
If you have any questions not covered here please let me know.
If you are interested in joining this league let me know
There has been a lot of fuss over a Vatican Document Mater Populi Fidelis that came out this week noting that the term “co-redemptrix” can cause people to misunderstand the role of Mary in salvation history. The key section(s) are here:
7. The title “Co-redemptrix” first appeared in the fifteenth century as a correction to the invocation “Redemptrix” (as an abbreviated form of the title, “Mother of the Redeemer”), which had been attributed to Mary since the tenth century. Saint Bernard assigned Mary a role at the foot of the Cross that gave rise to the title “Co-redemptrix,” which first appears in an anonymous fifteenth-century hymn from Salzburg.[31] Although the designation “Redemptrix” persisted throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it disappeared entirely in the eighteenth century, having been replaced by the title “Co-redemptrix.” Theological research on Mary’s cooperation in Christ’s Redemption in the first half of the twentieth century led to a deeper understanding of what the title “Co-redemptrix” signifies.[32]
18. Some Popes have used the title “Co-redemptrix” without elaborating much on its meaning.[33] Generally, they have presented the title in two specific ways: in reference to Mary’s divine motherhood (insofar as she, as Mother, made possible the Redemption that Christ accomplished[34]) or in reference to her union with Christ at the redemptive Cross.[35] The Second Vatican Council refrained from using the title for dogmatic, pastoral, and ecumenical reasons. Saint John Paul II referred to Mary as “Co-redemptrix” on at least seven occasions, particularly relating this title to the salvific value of our sufferings when they are offered together with the sufferings of Christ, to whom Mary is united especially at the Cross.[36]
19. In the Feria IV meeting on 21 February 1996, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was the Prefect of the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was asked whether the request from the movement Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici to define a dogma declaring Mary as the “Co-redemptrix” or “Mediatrix of All Graces” was acceptable. In his personal votum, he replied: “Negative. The precise meaning of these titles is not clear, and the doctrine contained in them is not mature. A defined doctrine of divine faith belongs to the Depositum Fidei — that is, to the divine revelation conveyed in Scripture and the apostolic tradition. However, it is not clear how the doctrine expressed in these titles is present in Scripture and the apostolic tradition.”[37] Later, in 2002, he publicly voiced his opinion against the use of the title: “the formula ‘Co-redemptrix’ departs to too great an extent from the language of Scripture and of the Fathers and therefore gives rise to misunderstandings… Everything comes from Him [Christ], as the Letter to the Ephesians and the Letter to the Colossians, in particular, tell us; Mary, too, is everything that she is through Him. The word ‘Co-redemptrix’ would obscure this origin.” While Cardinal Ratzinger did not deny that there may have been good intentions and valuable aspects in the proposal to use this title, he maintained that they were “being expressed in the wrong way.”[38]
Now for me Cardinal Ratzinger’s (later Pope Benedict XVI) opinion is pretty trustworthy on a subject like this. The conclusion (emphasis mine):
22. Given the necessity of explaining Mary’s subordinate role to Christ in the work of Redemption, it is always inappropriate to use the title “Co-redemptrix” to define Mary’s cooperation. This title risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific mediation and can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith, for “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). When an expression requires many, repeated explanations to prevent it from straying from a correct meaning, it does not serve the faith of the People of God and becomes unhelpful. In this case, the expression “Co-redemptrix” does not help extol Mary as the first and foremost collaborator in the work of Redemption and grace, for it carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ — the Son of God made man for our salvation, who was the only one capable of offering the Father a sacrifice of infinite value — which would not be a true honor to his Mother. Indeed, as the “handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38), Mary directs us to Christ and asks us to “do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5).
As you might guess there are a lot of people who were upset at this and there are plenty of people making their beans online over the church “insulting Mary” et/al. One only needs to check youtube to find examples of this.
This might be fun if you’re primary worry is clicks and your primary drive is anger at the Vatican but if you really want to see if such a statement is consistent with Catholic teaching on Mary the best thing to do is to go to actual sources of said teaching and when it comes to Catholic Teaching on Mary you can’t do much better than Saint Louis de Montfort (1673-1716) who literally wrote the book(s) on Marian Devotion: True Devotion to Mary: with Preparation for Total Consecrationas well as the Excellent TheSecret of the Rosary
In his True Devotion to Mary The Saint describes Mary thus:
4. God the Father willed that she should perform no miracle during her life, at least no public one, although he had given her the power to do so. God the Son willed that she should speak very little although he had imparted his wisdom to her. Even though Mary was his faithful spouse, God the Holy Spirit willed that his apostles and evangelists should say very little about her and then only as much as was necessary to make Jesus known.
5, Mary is the supreme masterpiece of Almighty God and he has reserved the knowledge and possession of her for himself. She is the glorious Mother of God the Son who chose to humble and conceal her during her lifetime in order to foster her humility. He called her “Woman” as if she were a stranger, although in his heart he esteemed and loved her above all men and angels. Mary is the sealed fountain and the faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit where only he may enter. She is the sanctuary and resting-place of the Blessed Trinity where God dwells in greater and more divine splendour than anywhere else in the universe, not excluding his dwelling above the cherubim and seraphim. No creature, however pure, may enter there without being specially privileged.
6. I declare with the saints: Mary is the earthly paradise of Jesus Christ the new Adam, where he became man by the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to accomplish in her wonders beyond our understanding. She is the vast and divine world of God where unutterable marvels and beauties are to be found. She is the magnificence of the Almighty where he hid his only Son, as in his own bosom, and with him everything that is most excellent and precious. What great and hidden things the all- powerful God has done for this wonderful creature, as she herself had to confess in spite of her great humility, “The Almighty has done great things for me.” The world does not know these things because it is incapable and unworthy of knowing them.
Pretty strong stuff for the introduction to his book and if you stopped there you might have a case to make against the Vatican statement, but he doesn’t stop there. In the very first paragraph of his piece under the heading: Mary’s Part in the Incarnation he opens with this (emphasis mine)
14. With the whole Church I acknowledge that Mary, being a mere creature fashioned by the hands of God is, compared to his infinite majesty, less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing, since he alone can say, “I am he who is”. Consequently, this great Lord, who is ever independent and self-sufficient, never had and does not now have any absolute need of the Blessed Virgin for the accomplishment of his will and the manifestation of his glory. To do all things he has only to will them.
This seems rather conclusive.
He follows this paragraph noting that God the unchanging having used Mary to give Christ to the world he of course continues to use her to she that is full of grace to bring the world to her son, and in paragraph 27 under the heading: Mary’s part in the sanctification of souls he gives what I consider the conclusive statement on the subject: (again emphasis mine)
Since grace enhances our human nature and glory adds a still greater perfection to grace, it is certain that our Lord remains in heaven just as much the Son of Mary as he was on earth. Consequently he has retained the submissiveness and obedience of the most perfect of all children towards the best of all mothers.
We must take care, however, not to consider this dependence as an abasement or imperfection in Jesus Christ. For Mary, infinitely inferior to her Son, who is God, does not command him in the same way as an earthly mother would command her child who is beneath her. Since she is completely transformed in God by that grace and glory which transforms all the saints in him, she does not ask or wish or do anything which is contrary to the eternal and changeless will of God. When therefore we read in the writings of Saint Bernard, Saint Bernardine, Saint Bonaventure, and others that all in heaven and on earth, even God himself, is subject to the Blessed Virgin, they mean that the authority which God was pleased to give her is so great that she seems to have the same power as God. Her prayers and requests are so powerful with him that he accepts them as commands in the sense that he never resists his dear mother’s prayer because it is always humble and conformed to his will.
In short de Montfort says that Mary is the perfect disciple to God whose humble prayers always conforms to God & thus always grants them which can give to us the illusion of an authority that she neither has not wishes to have.
This is exactly the point that the Vatican’s statement is making.
Neither this Pope nor any other suggests that we curtail devotion to Mary, on the contrary they would encourage us to mimic her devotion to Christ and call upon her aid to help lead us to her son. All this Pope is saying is that Mary is not God & we should take care not to mistake the graces she gives and the any more than St. Louis De Montfort would. For nobody else asks and receives from Christ better than Mary & when we humbly entreat Mary to intercede with her son in a matter conforming to God’s will we can be confident that her prayer will be answered.
May we strive for the humility of Mary in obedience to God and his holy church.
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