The abbreviated date prefix ARSH stands for:

Anno
Reparatae
Salutis
Humanae

This means, “in the Year of the Reparation of Human Salvation”.

There are several forms of this wonderfully and beautifully Christian prefix to dates.  The most common, which we are all familiar with, is “A.D.”, which of course stands for “Anno Domini”, which means, “the Year of The Lord”.  BUT, there are actually FIVE more forms which one sees in documents, books, plaques and inscriptions:

A.S. = Anno Salutae = “The Year of Salvation”

A.N.S. = Anno Nostrae Salutis = “The Year of Our Salvation”

A.S.H. = Anno Salutis Humanae = “The Year of Human Salvation”

A.R.S. = Anno Reparatae Salutis = “The Year of Salvation Accomplished/Reparated”

And finally, the most florid and most glorious:

A.R.S.H. = Anno Reparatae Salutis Humanae = “The Year of the Reparation of Human Salvation”

This “moment zero” from which all dates are counted is, of course, the Annunciation, when Our Blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead, became incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary at her words, “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum,” that is, “Be it done to me according to thy word.” This is why up until not too terribly long ago in Christendom, March 25, NOT January 1, marked the beginning of a new year, and was when the date rolled over.  Hence, March 24, ARSH 1514 was followed the next day by March 25, ARSH 1515.

This event is so massively incomprehensible in its infinite love for mankind that we bend the knee TWICE at Mass when it is mentioned:  the first instance is when the Creed is recited.  All should kneel at the words, “Et incarnátus est de Spíritu Sancto ex María Vírgine: Et homo factus est,” that is in English, “And became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: and was made man.”

The second instance is at the Last Gospel, recited at the end of almost every Mass, all genuflect at the words, “Et Verbum caro factum est,” which is, “And the Word was made flesh.”

And so, years and years ago, in fact, when I was sixteen years old and got my first checking account, I started always putting “A.D.” beside the date when I wrote checks, just as a little way of working a witness to the Incarnation into daily life.  Later, when I launched Barnhardt.biz, I asked my website developer to write into the code that all timestamps would include “A.D.”  THEN, several years ago, after visiting Rome on pilgrimage, the abbreviation ARSH was suggested to me as the “ultimate” date prefix.  I was sold, because with me, it’s “go big or go home”.  And there are no words adequate to declare the awesome loving miracle of God incarnating as Man so that we might be saved.

I find it a strange compliment that 1958 sedevacantists and Trad Inc. partisans most especially, seem to think that the pinnacle and proof of my evil and stupidity is my little revival of the use of a beautiful Latin abbreviation for the pivot point of Salvation History when the Blessed Virgin Mary by her freely-chosen “Fiat” became the Mother of God and Co-redemptrix, by which all of mankind, including atheists, Communists, Jews and musloids, all measure time.

It’s… odd.

Here are some pics of ARSH used in various places:

I have long loved Da Vinci’s Annunciation and must admit that I was quite struck by the Archangel Gabriel.  I have spoken before about the notion of “Ferocious Love”.  This comes from C.S. Lewis in Perelandra:

“Pure, spiritual, intellectual love shot from their faces like barbed lightning. It was so unlike the love we experience that its expression could easily be mistaken for ferocity.”

As I zoomed in and looked closer at Gabriel’s countenance, I saw exactly that – “ferocious” love.  He is kneeling, bowing, honoring and blessing her – Gabriel loves Our Lady.  But look – LOOK at his face.  Look at his eyes.  Oh my.

Man, that’s what I want to be when I grow up. That’s what I’m gunning for, right there.

St. Gabriel, pray for us!

https://vladtepesblog.com/2023/03/21/it-was-not-a-mistake-a-video-reminding-us-to-not-allow-a-way-out-for-the-perpetrators/

This clip is very instructive and clearly shows three concepts that most people are very, very fuzzy on.  The first is SERVILE FEAR.  Now notice at the 0:45 mark, the Father takes off his belt and puts it on the table as he declares “Now we’re not raising any sheep in this family, and I WILL WHUP YOUR ASS if you turn into a wolf.”  Were you taken aback at that?  Did that rub you the wrong way?  It probably did many of you.  Do you know why?  Because we have all been trained to hate and despise masculine strength and to consider as “evil” anything that inspires or elicits SERVILE FEAR. In short, we have been inculcated to believe the lie that ALL SERVILE FEAR IS BAD.

Do you see in the video clip how the boys are startled and wide-eyed with SERVILE FEAR of their father when he makes it perfectly clear that THERE WILL BE SWIFT, SEVERE CONSEQUENCES for bad behavior – both the weakness of “the sheep”, and ESPECIALLY the evil of “the Wolves”, which will call down an ass-whupping?  This is a good and beautiful thing to see.  This is the Father DOING HIS JOB. The father is STRONG and POTENT.  The father WILL PUNISH bad behavior. The boys know this, understand this, and RESPECT THIS.  The boys recognize the strength and AUTHORITY of their father.  The boys have a very healthy and good SERVILE FEAR of their Father.

Now, look again at the 0:52-0:55 mark.  This is actually really cool.  This is where the mother simply says her husband’s name: “Wayne….”

What we see here is a wife calling her husband to MEEKNESS. “Meek” is one of the most mistakenly-defined words in the English language.  If you stopped 100 average Americans on the street and asked them what the word “meek” meant, I think north of 95 of them would say “weak” or something similar.  This is 100% incorrect.  MEEKNESS is POWER UNDER CONTROL.

Look at the video clip.  That is EXACTLY what we see.  The wife, complimentary helpmate to her husband, with just the utterance of her husband’s name calls him to MEEKNESS – that is, to keep his power, his strength UNDER CONTROL, and you can see the father physically check and contain his potency without losing or reducing it in any way. In fact, his meekness only augments and points up his strength and potency.  Absolutely beautiful.

Finally, we see in the eyes of both of the boys the love and respect they have for their father, and their desire to be good in his eyes, to make him proud, to be good for his sake.  Note how even while the boys just a few seconds before jumped in servile fear of their father, they continue to look him dead in the eye, and look him in the eye when they answer his questions.  The younger son answers his father with a genuinely respectful, “Yessir”, and then the older son answers his father with a nod, looking him dead in the eye.  This is FILIAL FEAR.  Because their father is a strong man, a meek man, and a highly moral man, they boys respect him and thus LOVE HIM, and do not want to disappoint him because to disappoint him would hurt him deeply, and they know it, and can’t stand the thought of letting him down.

Is it any wonder that masculinity, potency, virility, fatherhood, and the headship of the domestic church held by the husband and father has been and continues to be under such ruthless, relentless attack? The only thing “toxic” in today’s male culture is EFFEMINACY and MORAL IMPOTENCY.

If you would like to read more about these concepts as they apply to our relationship with God, might I recommend “THE ONE ABOUT… FEAR OF THE LORD“.

I hope this helps.