Dedication

This work, City of God in Exile, is humbly laid at the feet of the Most Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, from Whom all truth proceeds, by Whom the Church is sustained, and to Whom all glory must return.

It is consecrated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest and King of kings, burning furnace of charity and inexhaustible source of mercy, in Whom the perfect sacrifice is offered and through Whom the Church lives, suffers, and triumphs. In an age that rejects His reign, this work is placed beneath His Kingship, that every word may serve His truth and every soul be drawn to His altar.

It is offered in filial devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, who stood faithful beneath the Cross when the visible Church appeared to be overthrown, and who remains the living image of the Church in her Passion: sorrowful, faithful, and unconquered.

It is entrusted to the paternal guardianship of St. Joseph, Terror of Demons and Protector of the Universal Church, who preserves the faithful remnant, defends the domestic church, shelters the life of grace in times of darkness and exile, and guards with quiet fidelity all that belongs to Christ.

It is placed under the protection of St. Michael the Archangel, Prince of the Heavenly Host, who casts down Satan, defends the Church in battle, and bears the sword lifted against the ancient serpent, standing guard over souls in the hour of trial.

It is commended also to St. Francis de Sales, doctor of charity and fearless confessor of Catholic truth, whose meekness never bartered with error, and whose patient clarity labored to draw souls out of heresy and back into the one fold of Christ.

And in humble gratitude, this work remembers St. Barbara, virgin and martyr, asking her intercession that all who encounter this work may be preserved from sudden death, not be left to die without the sacraments, be strengthened in grace, and be granted perseverance unto the end.

It remembers also the holy souls in purgatory, especially the most forgotten and abandoned, and with tender remembrance a most beloved soul who was sustained by the intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Joseph, St. Barbara, all the angels and saints, and the prayers of the true Mass and sacraments, asking that through the Holy Sacrifice and the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ they may be refreshed, purified, and brought swiftly into the light of the Beatific Vision.

It is offered also in grateful affection for the faithful Pius bishop, who has given me a love of Scripture and helped me to see the Faith as a whole with such coherence that it can never be doubted; and for the holy priests who continue to teach with patience, suffer contradiction from the proud, and have been a support through their teaching and their continued prayers for the souls so dear to me. Their fidelity, hidden sacrifices, and priestly charity deserve honor, affection, and prayer.

It remembers also with gratitude my son, Patrick Kearney, whose patient labor gave this work a visible home upon the web. Those who wish may visit his work at lumalien.com.

If a personal word may be permitted, it is this: whatever good is intended in these pages is intended from love of souls. This work is written for souls who have been misled, wounded, scattered, wearied, or left half-famished in a time of confusion; for souls who still desire the truth, the true Mass, the true sacraments, and the safe way of Christ's Church; for souls who need not flattery, but light; not novelty, but fidelity; not false peace, but saving mercy. If there is any earnestness here, it comes from that desire that souls be helped, warned, strengthened, and brought home to God.

May all who enter here be fortified in truth, preserved from error, strengthened in sacrifice, and made ready to suffer with the Church in her Passion, that they may also reign with her in glory.

Given on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Friday in Passion Week, March 27, 2026.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

For orientation, begin with Start Here, Statement of Faith, and Method and Authority of This Work.