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Catholic Family Calendar for the Year of Our Lord 2020

11/25/2019

~ I have placed a PDF for our 2020 Catholic family calendar on our download page. Feel free to print it and use it if you like. You can view the calendar below.
~ This is not an official calendar of the Catholic Church. It was put together by a lay person for her own family using the Saint Andrew Daily Missal, Imprimatur 1951. All quotes taken from: Whom the Lord Loveth,” Imprimatur 1919

~ PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE double check days of fast and abstinence. We are human and we make mistakes even with the best of intentions and a lot of proof reading. We feel guilty when someone doesn't fast or abstain because of an oversight or mistake on our part!

Christmas Sale at Bellas Little Shoppe

11/18/2019

We are having a Christmas sale through December 7th . We are offering 10% off all of our Saint doll outfits as well as FREE SHIPPING. Discount will be automatically applied. You can fine our shoppe here.

In order to receive orders in time for Christmas delivery the order must be placed no later than December 7th.

Thank you so very much for all your orders. God bless you!

23rd Sunday after Pentecost - Resurrection of Jairus Daughter

11/17/2019

IN the miracle which Jesus wrought in favor of the daughter of Jairus we should especially consider three things: of whom is this young girl the image, the conditions of the sinner's return to grace, and the marks of a true return to God.
First Point—Of whom is this young girl the image? She is yours; because she was young, full of health, loved by her father, adored by her mother. She promised herself long years, and in her gracious carelessness she smiled on the world, which extended its arms to her. However, she dies—this only daughter, this rich heiress, this youthful beauty. Neither the nobleness of her blood, nor the dignities of her family, nor wealth, nor youth, were able to preserve her from death. She is your image, because you yourself, from one moment to another, may fall under the stroke of death, as the fragile flower falls under the scythe of the harvester.

Woe to this young girl, if, captivated by the pleasures of the world, she has loved it to the detriment of her eternal interests; if the desire to please it made her forget God; if the care of her body made her forget her soul; if she has cultivated her beauty to attract adorers; if, proud of her advantages, she has opened her heart to pride and allowed it to fall into vain projects—what a misfortune for her, and what a folly ! Death has destroyed everything, and her projects and her desires have perished. What misfortune also for you, if you imitate her in her ardor for the things of the world and her carelessness for the things of heaven. Death shall come to destroy everything, both the vanity of your projects and the folly of your illusions. On seeing her, Jesus exclaimed: "The girl is not dead, but sleepeth." It was impossible better to express the effect of sin in a soul hitherto innocent. This first fault, it is true, brings her death, but the return to life is so easy that this death is rather a sleep than a real death. The heart cannot be corrupted ; conscience has not lost its first delicacy; all the principles of life, so to speak, are living—the breath of grace is all that is needed to reanimate them. See also in what this young girl is your image. You have sinned, but your heart is not perverted; every sentiment is not extinguished; the habit is not formed. All the happy impressions of virtue which you have received still live, and a little good will is all that is necessary to restore you to grace. May you understand and profit by all these elements of sanctification.

Second Point.—Jesus begins by sending away the band of musicians who make a great tumult in this house where life must re-enter. He thus indicates to us the ordinary cause which leads to neglect in the souls of sinners, of whom this young girl is the image; also the first condition of a return to God. There carelessness has commenced with a taste for pleasures. There is in worldly diversions—in parties, balls, spectacles—a deadly vapor which penetrates the heart and excites it. Do not hope to return to the fervor of your first piety as long as you shall live in the midst of the agitation of the world. The cloud of dust which envelops the worldly soul hides from it the sight of God and the sight of duty. In retreat, on the contrary, the heart looks upon itself; it sees its state, it hears the voice of God, and nothing can hinder it from responding to His appeal. If, then, you wish to preserve grace, or to recover it, fly every occasion, all society, all reading calculated to lead you to dissipation. Do you hope to resist your passions in the midst of all that nourishes and develops them ? Do you think that you can preserve your virtue for a long time, when you expose it to the seductions which corrupt it? Do you think you can remain pious, recollected, fervent, and devoted to duty in the midst of objects which dissipate the heart, excite the imagination, and bring distaste for every duty? To believe it is the saddest of illusions. Alas, how many victims this illusion has already made!

Jesus, having dismissed the clamorous crowd which surrounded the young girl, approached her, and taking her by the hand said to her: "Young girl, arise! it is I who command you." Thus it is that God approaches the sinner in the measure that he separates from the world; He takes him by the hand. This is the grace which comes to assist our weakness. "Return to God," said Cardinal Wiseman, "and do not fear the difficulties; when you would sincerely return to good, God shall place His hand in yours and you shall overcome every obstacle." O powerful Hand, Thou unitest Thyself to a hand which is cold in death; Thou deignest to touch a corpse, and Thou givest it warmth, movement, and life! O vivifying Voice, Thou piercest the depths of the abyss; the empire of Death is shaken by Thee; she recognizes her Conqueror, and Thou compellest her to restore the prey of which she took possession. Speak to my heart, O Jesus, and if it resists speak to it more loudly and its life shall be restored. It is only Thou, O my God, who, by the application of Thy merits and the interior voice of Thy grace, can recall me to life.

Third Point.—Signs of resurrection to grace. At this word of Jesus, "Arise!" the soul re-entered the body which she had abandoned, and "immediately the young girl arose and walked. And Jesus commanded that they should give her food to eat." As the soul is the principle of human life, the Holy Spirit is the principle of the supernatural life. If the soul has truly risen, the Holy Spirit dwells there again. His presence is revealed by signs which cannot be mistaken. Upon entering the heart He spreads there a certain recollection, a taste for the things of God, which contrast with the old habits of dissipation and the pleasures which made up her worldly life. The spirit of pride has given place to the spirit of modesty and humility; charity succeeds hatred; liberality succeeds selfishness. The habits of life are as different as the dispositions of the heart. He who only frequented worldly assemblies is pleased in the midst of sacred assemblies; virtuous friends surround him whom corrupting friends had seduced and led away; charity pours into the hands of the poor the money which vanity dispensed in foolish ornaments; words of salvation and edification fall from his lips, which were opened only in falsehood and frivolity; visits to the amiable Guest of the Tabernacle replace the useless visits which begot idleness; the Spirit of God has re-entered this soul.

Jesus commands that food shall be given the young girl whom He has just restored, and thus compels the most obstinate minds to Recognize the miracle which His power had just wrought. The divine Master has prepared for us in the Holy Eucharist the food which is best suitable to sustain and develop our life as Christians. He who approaches it, and approaches it often, shall find the strength to combat, lights in his doubts, consolations in his sorrows, and supernatural life shall flow in on him with superabundance. The careless soul who remains away from it exposes herself to see the life of grace languish and little by little become completely extinct in her. The desire of this heavenly bread and the eagerness to be nourished by it are the index of the soul whom the Holy Spirit animates by His breath and enlightens by His lights.

O divine Jesus, Thou givest life to the sinner, and Thou makest even the dead hear. Speak to my
heart as Thou spoke to the daughter of Jairus. Grant that I may arise and walk, that I may receive with spiritual hunger the food Thou presentest to me, in order that I may live by Thy spirit and be nourished by Thy flesh, and that by a holy life I may come to share Thy glory.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

All Souls Day - November 2nd

11/2/2019

ALL SOULS DAY: SOULMASS: NOVEMBER 2nd

Fire has always been a symbol of immortality, and the immortality of the soul was symbolized by lighting fires during the night of All Souls; perhaps the simpler people thought that their little furze fires dotted over the hillsides would show the way to souls who were that day making their journey from purgatory to heaven!

Long after the Catholic faith had been cast out of this country, relics remained at Soulmass of the once universal praying for the dead, though, as was inevitable, these became empty and corrupt. Even in the 19th century girls still went "souling" from door to door; people baked and ate soul cakes, people, who would have abhorred the idea that the dead can be helped by prayers, would say on this day: "A soul cake, a soul cake, God have mercy on all Christian souls for a soul cake." A soul cake was a sort of oat cake, which, in Catholic times was baked specially as a gift for poor and needy people, and these people on receiving it would pray for the dead belonging to those who gave it.

All Souls' day could be made the feast day of the dead members of any family. One could pray in general for all the souls in purgatory, but surely the members of the family have first claim. Where there are children in a family one can make a soul cake for each one and ask each to undertake to pray particularly for one dead member of the family.

When the dead are buried not too far away an annual expedition could be made to the churchyard with flowers, or to tidy and clear their graves. One has only to walk through any churchyard to wish that All Souls' day could be celebrated in such a way by the whole country! In this way, starting from a quite unambitious level, children could be taught to take a real interest in the welfare of the dead members of their family and could come to have a real devotion to the souls in Purgatory.
Source: A Candle is Lighted, 1945

The Feast of All Saints - The Making of a Saint

11/1/2019

The Feast of All Saints, on the 1st of November, was celebrated as early as the fourth century by the Greeks, who kept a feast of all the martyrs and saints, on the first Sunday after Pentecost; and we still possess a sermon delivered on that day by St. Chrysostom. In the West, this feast was introduced by Pope Boniface IV. after he had dedicated, as the Church of the Blessed Virgin and the Martyrs, the Pantheon, which had been made over to him by the Emperor Phocas. The feast of this dedication was kept on the thirteenth of May.

About 731 Gregory III. consecrated a chapel in St. Peter's church in honor of all the saints, from which time All Saints' Day has been kept in Rome, as now, on the first of November. From about the middle of the ninth century the feast came into general observance throughout the West. It ranks as a double of the first class, with an octave. That none of the elect might be omitted in the honor and veneration due them, this feast was established.

During the course of the year the Church offers for our contemplation the feast of one saint after another, but on this day she shows us the heavens opened and the countless multitude of the Elect from all nations, races and states of life. The Church celebrates her harvest feast on this day, showing herself the true Church that leads her children to eternal bliss. The true Christian, especially should feel on this day that he also is created for heaven. The sight of so many saints that were once human, like himself, enlivens the hope within him of reaching his eternal goal. Renewed courage and strength invigorates his heart. Penetrated with a lively faith in the Communion of Saints, he confidently calls upon the inhabitants of heaven for their powerful assistance.

By far the greater number of the Elect who have attained to the beatific vision are unknown to us. The Church honors only those as saints who either have suffered martyrdom, or whose sanctity has been indisputably confirmed. In former times bishops could declare a deceased person worthy of veneration, but now this right is reserved exclusively for the Pope. For this purpose the Church has established an exceedingly strict and deliberate process, which usually develops into three degrees,—that of Venerable, Blessed, and Saint. The first step of the process
is a formal inquiry as to whether the deceased practiced the virtues in an heroic degree. If this is
attested in the affirmative, then the deceased is declared venerable. The second degree is that of beatification. The person who is to be beatified must have practiced, in the heroic degree, chiefly, the three theological virtues,—Faith, Hope and Charity, and the four cardinal virtues,—Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance, with all that these suppose and involve. It must also be proved that four or at least two miracles have been wrought by the intercession of the person whose virtues are under debate; upon which the Pope declares him or her Blessed (Beatus), by virtue of which a limited public veneration is permitted. Canonization is the third and final degree in the recognition and estimation of the virtues of a servant of God, preparatory to his or her being elevated to the altars, and commended to the perpetual veneration and invocation of Christians throughout the Catholic Church. Before proceeding to canonization it must be proved that at least two miracles have been wrought through the intercession of the blessed person since the beatification. This proof is attended with the same formalities and surrounded by the same rigorous conditions as in the case of the miracles proved before beatification, whereupon the Pope declares, that the servant of God in question shall be inscribed on the register of the Saints. Though Rome from century to century, has established many miracles with the greatest judicial rigor and exactitude still the unbelieving world persist in denying, without further examination, the truth of these miracles; even going so far as to dispute their possibility. For the thoughtful Christian, these authenticated miracles are an indisputable proof that the Catholic Church is the sanctifying Ciurch of Christ. This proof is confirmed anew at every process of beatification or canonization.

Source: The Ecclesiastical Year for Schools and Institutions, Imprimatur 1903

All Saints Day

10/28/2019

Instruction on the Feast of All Saints

Source: Goffine's Devout Instruction, Imprimatur 1874

                                                                         November 1st
Why has the Church instituted this festival?
1. To give praise to God in His saints, (Ps. cl.) and to pay to the saints themselves the honor which they merit for having made it the work of their earthly life to promote the honor of God.
2. To impress vividly upon our minds that we are members of that holy Catholic Church which believes in the communion of saints, that is, in the communion of all true Christians, who belong to the Church triumphant in heaven, to the Church suffering in purgatory, or to the Church militant upon earth; but, more particularly, to cause us earnestly to consider the communion of the saints in heaven with us, who are yet battling on earth.
3. To exhort us to raise our eyes and hearts, especially on this day, to heaven, where before the throne of God is gathered the innumerable multitude of saints of all countries, times, nationalities and ranks of life, who have faithfully followed Christ and left us glorious examples of virtues, which we ought to imitate. This we can do, for the saints, too, were weak men, who fought and conquered only by the grace of God, which will not be denied to us.
4. To honor those saints, for whom during the year there is no special festival appointed by the Church. Finally, that in consideration of so many intercessors God may grant us perfect reconciliation, may permit us to share in their merits, and may grant us the grace to enjoy with them, one day, the bliss of heaven.

Who first instituted this festival?
    Pope Boniface IV. first suggested the celebration of this festival, when in 610 he ordered that the Pantheon, a pagan temple at Rome, dedicated to all the gods, should be converted into a Christian church, and the relics of the saints, dispersed through the different Roman cemeteries, taken up and placed therein. He then dedicated the Church to the honor of the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, and thus for the first time celebrated the Festival of All Saints, directing that it should be observed in Rome every year.
Pope Gregory IV. extended this feast to the whole Catholic Church, and appointed the 1st of November as the day of its celebration.
    At the Introit the Church sings: "Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a festival day in honor of all the saints; at whose solemnity the angels rejoice, and give praise to the Son of God. Rejoice in the Lord, ye just: praise becometh the upright. Glory Be, etc.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. Almighty everlasting God, who givest us to venerate in one solemnity the merits of all Thy saints: we beseech Thee to bestow upon us, through our multiplied intercessors, the fulness of Thy propitiation. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee in union with the Holy Ghost, now and forever. Amen.

LESSON. (Apoc. vii. 2 12.) IN THOSE DAYS, behold, I, John, saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them that were signed, and hundred and forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Ruben twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Aser twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Nephtali twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Manasses twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Zabulon twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand signed. After this I saw a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb , clothed with white robes , and palms in their hands: and they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces, and adored God, saying: Amen. Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honor, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.

EXPLANATION:
    The words of this lesson relate immediately to the divine punishment on Jerusalem and the Jewish people, as they were revealed in spirit to John; in a higher and particular sense they refer to the general judgment. At this judgment there will be chosen ones, from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. But that it might not be thought that the elect are principally Christian converts from Judaism, St. John was shown a countless multitude of Christians from heathen lands, by which it is seen, that it is the pagans who will principally fill the Church of Christ and heaven. This multitude clothed in white and carrying palms in their hands, stand before the throne of God and before the Lamb, that is, Christ. The white robes are tokens of their innocence; the palm is the emblem of their glory and of their victory over the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. They shall adore God, and forever sing to Him, in communion with all the heavenly spirits, a canticle of praise for the power and glory which He has bestowed upon them.
    Let us strive so to live, that we may one day be among these chosen ones.
GOSPEL. (Matt. v. i 12.)
    AT THAT TIME, Jesus seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain. And when he was sat down, his disciples came unto him. And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. Blessed' are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you untruly, for my sake: be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven.

Why is the Gospel of the Eight Beatitudes read on this day?
    Because they form, so to speak, the steps on which the saints courageously ascended to heaven. If you desire to be with the saints in heaven, you must also mount patiently and perseveringly these steps, then God's hand will assuredly aid you.

EXPLANATION OF THE EIGHT BEATITUDES.
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    THEY are poor in spirit who, like the apostles, leave all temporal things for Christ's sake and become poor; they who have lost their property by misfortune or injustice, and bear this loss with patience and resignation to the will of God; they who are contented with their poor and lowly station in life, do not strive for greater fortune or a higher position, and would rather suffer want than make themselves rich by unlawful means; they who though rich do not love wealth, nor set their hearts upon it, but use their riches to aid the poor; and especially they who are humble, that is, who have no exalted opinion of themselves, but are convinced of their weakness and inward poverty, have a low estimate of themselves, therefore, feel always their need, and like poor mendicants, continually implore God's grace and assistance.

2. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. He is meek who represses every rising impulse of anger, impatience and desire of revenge, and willingly puts up with every thing that God, td prove him, decrees or permits to happen to him, or men inflict upon him. He who thus controls himself, is like a calm and tranquil sea, in which the image of the divine Sun is ever reflected, clear and unruffled. He who thus conquers himself is mightier than
if he besieged and conquered strongly fortified cities, (Prov. xvi. 32.) and will without doubt receive this earth, as well as heaven, as an inheritance, enjoying eternally there the peace (Ps. xxxvi. n.) which is already his on earth.

3. Blessed are they that mourn , for they shall be comforted. The mourners here mentioned are not those who weep and lament over the death of relatives and friends, or over misfortune or loss of temporal riches, but those who mourn that God is so often offended, so little loved and honored by men, that so many souls, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, are lost. Among these mourners are also those who lead a strict and penitential life, and patiently endure distress; for sin is the only evil, the only thing to be lamented, and those tears only, which are shed on account of sin, are useful tears, and are recompensed by everlasting joy and eternal consolation.

4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill. Hunger and thirst denote the ardent longing for those virtues which constitute Christian perfection. He who seeks such perfection with ardent desire and earnest striving, will be filled, that is, will be adorned by God with the most beautiful virtues, and will be abundantly rewarded in heaven.

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. They are merciful who assist the poor according to their means, who practice every possible spiritual and corporal work of mercy, who as far as they can, patiently endure the faults of others, strive always to excuse them, and willingly forgive the injuries they have received. They especially are truly merciful, who are merciful to their enemies, and do good to them, as written: Love your enemies, and do good to them that hate you. (Matt. v. 44.) Well is it for him who is merciful, the greatest rewards are promised him, but a judgment without mercy shall be passed on the unmerciful.

6. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. They are clean of heart, who carefully preserve the innocence which they received in baptism, and keep their heart and conscience free not only from all sinful words and deeds, but from all sinful thoughts and desires, and in all their omissions and commissions think and desire only good. These while yet on earth see God in all His works and creatures, because their thoughts are directed always to the Highest Good, and in the other world they will see Him face to face, enjoying in this contemplation a peculiar pleasure which is reserved for pure souls only; for as the eye that would see well, must be clear, so must those souls be immaculate who are to see God.

7. Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God. Those are peace-makers who guard their improper desires who are careful to have peace in their conscience and regulated tranquility in all their actions, who do not
quarrel with their neighbors, and are submissive to the will of God. These are called children of God, because they follow God who is a God of peace, (Rom. xv. 33.) and who even gave His only Son to reconcile the world, and bring upon earth that peace which the world does not know and cannot give.(Luke ii. 14.; John xiv. 27.)

8. Blessed are they that suffer perseciition for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those suffer persecution for justice' sake who by their words, writings, or by their life defend the truth, the faith and Christian virtues; who cling firmly to God, and permit nothing to turn them from the duties of the Christian profession, from the practice of their holy religion, but on its account suffer hatred, contempt, disgrace, injury and injustice from the world. If they endure all this with patience and perseverance, even, like the saints, with joy, then they will become like the saints and like them receive the heavenly crown. If we wish to be crowned with them, we must suffer with them: And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution, (ii. Tim. v 111, 12.)

SUPPLICATION.
    How lovely, O Lord, are Thy tabernacles! My soul longeth for Thy courts. My body and soul rejoice in Thee, most loving God, Thou crown and reward of all the saints, whose temporal pains and sufferings Thou dost reward with eternal joy, filling them with good! How blessed are they who have faithfully served Thee, for they carry Thy name on their forehead, and reign with Thee for all eternity.
    Grant us, we beseech Thee, O God, by their intercession, Thy grace that we, after their example, may serve Thee in sanctity and justice, in poverty and humility, in meekness and repentance, in the ardent desire for all virtues, by mercy, perfect purity of heart, in peacefulness and patience, following them, and taking part, one day, with them in heavenly joy and happiness. Amen.

20th Sunday after Pentecost - Jesus Heals the Son of the Officer

10/27/2019

IN the Gospel of today we are called upon to consider the zeal and the ardor of the officer of Capharnaum. He hastens to the Saviour to ask the healing of his son, and we cannot fail to observe his lively faith and the graces he received from Our Lord Jesus Christ.

First Point.—"An officer whose son was sick at Capharnaum, having heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, went to Him and begged Him to come and heal his son." This officer had a son, the object of all his tenderness, who was sick; the malady was so violent that there was no hope of his restoration except by a miracle. Jesus had already done a great number of miracles in this city, but He had left it. What a sad plight for this unhappy father, on the point of losing all that was dearest to him in the world! In his sorrow he inquires and is informed where Jesus was; he had heard all that had been said of Him, and he learns that Jesus had left Judea and had gone to Galilee. Then, fearing that Jesus would arrive too late at Capharnaum, he determines to set out to meet Him and to ask Him to hasten His journey. He will not entrust this mission to any one, but leaves his son to seek assistance for him. He departs without thinking of the length of the journey or the fatigue.

Have for the salvation of your soul the eagerness which this father had for the health of his son, and you shall discover, as he did, all that contributes to your health, your sanctification, and your perfection; you shall not be arrested either by human respect or by shame of confessing your faults, or by the difficulties of the sacrifices you may make. If the officer of Capharnaum now gives you a lesson by his eagerness in going to find Jesus, he gives you another, no less important, by the fervor of his prayer. Hardly had he found Jesus than he begged Him to come and heal his dear sick one. But Jesus said to him, "Unless you see miracles and wonders you do not believe," and the officer insists by saying, "Come, Lord, before my son dies."

The prayer of this man was indeed defective, because he seemed to think that Jesus could not heal his son except He was near him; but how admirable are his fervor, his humility, and especially his perseverance! A confidence less solid should fail before a reproach which had all the appearances of a refusal; but, far from being disconcerted, he humbles himself and gives to his prayer a fresh energy. He exclaimed: "Lord, my son is near dying; hasten, I conjure you; come quickly before he dies." O happy father, not to be rejected ! His perseverance is rewarded. Jesus said to him: "Go, your son is healed." Strive to know the Master whom you serve. If He defers hearing you, if He seems to reject you, it is His love which prompts Him to act so and for your greater good. Ask Him, therefore, in confidence, but ask Him with an entire resignation to the designs of Providence, for all temporal goods, health of body, success in your studies, success in your enterprises; if He refuse you, then believe it is for your interest and bow down to His holy will. Ask Him for spiritual goods. God owes them to you. Ask them of Him eagerly and with perseverance, and rest assured He shall grant you always more than you ask of Him.

Second Point.—Consider the beginning, the progress, and the recompense of this man who comes to implore the healing of his son. His faith is not an enlightened one; the idea which he had formed of Jesus after what he had heard of Him in Capharnaum was very imperfect. He believed, it is true, that Jesus could heal his son, but he did not believe He could heal him without seeing him, touching him, and speaking with him. He did not know that Jesus could work miracles at a distance as well as near at hand, when absent as well as when present, and that a single act of His will was sufficient. He was far from believing that Jesus was the Son of God, God Himself, the Creator and Master of the universe. Have you a more precise idea of Jesus? Have you such an idea as faith gives and demands? Should the divine Master address you as He once addressed the apostles, "What think you of Me?" could you respond without hesitation and with the same assurance as St. Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"? The progress of his faith. The reprimand of the Saviour had made an impression on this man; and when he heard Jesus in tones of authority pronounce these words of hope, "Your son is healed," he believed in the words of Jesus, and departed fully persuaded his son should be restored to him.

Therefore he believed in this miracle without having seen it; he ceased to be of the number of those of whom Jesus had just spoken, who did not believe unless they had seen. On his return the servants, who had been witnesses of the sudden healing of their young master, met him and said: "Your son liveth." At this happy news, he does not permit his heart to indulge in vain joy. He forgets himself and thinks only of his Benefactor. This prodigious eventshall have for him practical and important consequences. He asks of the servants at what hour his son got better, and recognized it was at that very moment that Jesus said: "Your son is healed." "He believed, and his whole house with him." Then it was that he understood that Jesus had not only predicted the healing, but had also accomplished it. He was struck at the sight of a power so divine, and he believed not only in the words of Jesus, but in Jesus Himself. He recognized Him
as the Son of God, the promised Messias, and the Saviour of the world. May your faith in Jesus likewise grow in proportion to the benefits you receive from Him.

Recompense of his faith. The first recompense which this happy father received was the restoration of his son to health. What reward for his long journey, his fatigues, and his sacrifices ! And for us, also, our first and sweetest recompense when we shall sincerely seek Jesus shall be the healing of our soul. We shall recover the beauty of virtue, peace of heart, and the friendship of God and our rights to heaven. What a happiness ! Can we ever do too much to merit this? The second recompense he received was the perfection of his faith. The faith of this man which came from seeking Jesus was indeed generous; but, observe, it was also an enlightened faith. When he had left Jesus it had received a wonderful increase which exalted it to the very perfection of faith. He believed without reserve the words of Jesus, regarding Him as the Messias, the one by whom alone we can have access to God. And not content with believing in Him, he inspired his whole household with his faith, and gained for Jesus all those hearts over whom he had authority. God does not cease to lavish His blessings on you, but shall they serve to increase your love for Him and your zeal for His glory?

Who could not grieve for this man when he saw his son, whom he loved so much, at the point of
death! And still, that very circumstance which made him an object of compassion in the eyes of
men was the means of leading him and his household to Jesus. Oh, how little we understand our true interests when we complain of God and murmur against the dispositions of His providence!

Ah, rather than murmur, let us adore the profound wisdom of God, directing us in all things. After the example of the model we have just studied, let us also profit by sickness and afflictions. They should prompt us to have recourse to God, to unite us with Him intimately, and to detach us from the world more and more.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

18th Sunday after Pentecost - Jesus Cures the Paralytic

10/13/2019

IN the paralytic healed so miraculously by Jesus, the holy doctors see the image of spiritual paralytics, in whom sin has exhausted the sources of supernatural life, or in whom tepidity has stopped its activity. In the zeal which these men display who are so afflicted, they find two circumstances worthy of our meditations, viz., the conditions and the signs of a sincere return to God.
First Point.—Conditions of a sincere return to God. These men whom the Holy Spirit here presents
to us as models have with difficulty come to Jesus. They are stopped at the door of the house by a multitude whom all their efforts cannot resist. But their zeal is not lessened. Their ingenious charity finds another way to Him. Rather, He to whom faith conducts them suggests the way they must follow. And you also must expect to find obstacles in your return to Jesus. The enemy of your salvation shall oppose your return by the illusions of the world, the seductions of pleasures, the authority of examples, vain words, the fear of opinions, and foolish railleries. But it is in yourself especially that you shall find the most dangerous arms. They are the ardent passions which you must repress, agreeable inclinations which you must reform, flattering tastes which you must abandon, cherished associations which you must break, and inveterate habits which you must overcome. Imagination, which still more increases the difficulty, terrifies you; only the idea of efforts to be made prevents even the first step. Alas! how much this sad fear of contest against one's self puts to flight the courageous resolutions and renders void the most salutary projects.

If the sick man of whom there is now question was discouraged; if, yielding to obstacles, he stopped short; if, despairing of reaching Jesus, he had ceased to seek Him, the unfortunate man would have been a victim to his infirmity during his life; and, what is more deplorable still, he would die laden by his sins. This is the condition of sinners whom sloth restrains at the very outset of their penitential career, or whom weakness prevents from performing it. Indeed, we should mistrust ourselves, but can we not confide in God? He has promised us His assistance; shall we doubt His fidelity? Implore this assistance with which you cannot fail to triumph, but think that it is to your efforts that God shall grant it. He wishes to supply for your weakness, but not for your will. He consents to aid you, but He commands that you shall begin to act. He adds to your strength what is wanting, but He requires that such as it is you must employ it. See the paralytic who is presented for your model. He strives to come to Jesus with all the strength of which he is capable; in his inability to go and cast himself at the feet of Jesus he puts himself in the hands of charitable persons who carry him there. Imitate him; if your soul, paralyzed by a long sequence of sins, feels no longer able to endure their weight and can only give forth vain desires, entrust yourself to a zealous director. He shall guide you, he shall carry you if it is necessary, even to the feet of your Redeemer. His science shall enlighten you, his experience shall guide you, and his charity shall sustain you. What you think you are unable to do he shall teach you ; and what you really cannot do he shall do for you. His prayers, which are agreeable to God, shall make yours heard. He shall be at once the happy mediator who shall obtain your pardon and the merciful judge who shall pronounce it.

Second Point.—Signs of a true conversion. In healing the paralytic, Jesus gives him three different commands which announce the different characters of the conversion of a sinner. He commands him to arise, to take up his bed, and to return into his house.

The first mark by which we recognize that a sinner is truly converted is when his soul, once lifted up to God, is no longer grovelling in the things of earth, and, strongly maintaining itself, it remains' with constancy in the state of rectitude in which grace has placed it. We do not consider the sick man cured when each time he strives to rise he falls back through want of vigor. We must pronounce the same judgment on a soul whose feeble efforts to arise, not having the necessary strength, are continually followed by relapses. Is not this the judgment we must pronounce on you—you who make of your life a continual alternation of penance and sin ? You have not the courage to cut loose entirely from the world; you have not the generosity to give yourself entirely to God; you are tossed about successively from your fears to your weakness. Do you think you have recovered health when you take in the way of salvation only wavering steps and when the least obstacle disturbs you and casts you down? "Arise," said the Saviour; but remember that a relapse is worse than the original malady, because, already weakened, you have less strength to bear this and to accept the remedies.

In the bed which Jesus commanded the paralytic to take away, the fathers see the symbol of habits, affections, and the passions to which the soul was addicted while she was paralyzed. There she rests, there she languishes, there she remains, incapable of movement. After her conversion the objects of her affections become for her a burden. Her crime was to taste of the pleasure, and a part of her penance shall be to feel its burden. Sinful soul, do not hesitate to take up this bed of miseries to which you were so long confined. You must take it up, or you shall continue to lie upon it. But take courage. Your burden shall become less heavy in proportion to your willingness to carry it; your passions will continue to torment you, especially in the beginning of your conversion, but they will grow weaker in the measure you resist them, and you shall regain the dominion over yourself.

Jesus commanded the paralytic to return to his house. This is also the command He gives to a converted soul. By sin she went out from herself to give herself to creatures; her conversion should consist principally in re-entering herself and remaining there constantly recollected. This separation from dangerous objects, this interior retreat, are at once the precious effects, the manifest sign, and the assured guarantee of a solid penance.

Those sinners are not truly converted whom we see, after some equivocal marks of repentance, not avoiding the occasions which led them to sin, forming again those associations which were their ruin,and returning to the pleasures which corrupted them. You see the most perfect, just those innocent souls that have never been stained by a mortal sin, tremble at the approach of the world and fear its empoisoned breath lest the delicate flower of purity should be withered. And you, who with the knowledge of your weakness and the experience of all your falls should stand in fear and in continual circumspection—you imprudently expose yourself to the contagion by which you were so often attacked, and again expose yourself to the danger to which you have so often succumbed! How can you think that your desires of virtue are sincere?

Fly, therefore, from the world, where everything is a pitfall for your virtue; and, if you are obliged to live in it, make a solitude for yourself, where you can often enter—there to purify your soul from the vile dust by which the commerce of the world surely soils even the most religious hearts.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

Novena to Our Guardian Angel for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

10/12/2019

NOVENA TO OUR GUARDIAN ANGEL FOR THE HOLY SOULS
TO BE SAID FOR NINE CONSECUTIVE DAYS

O HOLY ANGEL, whom God, by the effect of His goodness and His tender regard for my welfare, has charged with the care of my conduct, and who assists me in all my wants and comforts me in all my afflictions, who supports me when I am discouraged and continually obtains for me new favors, I return thee profound thanks, and I earnestly beseech thee, O most amiable protector, to continue thy charitable care and defense of me against the malignant attacks of all my enemies. Keep me away from all occasions of sin. Obtain for me the grace of listening attentively to thy holy inspirations and of faithfully putting them into practice, In particular, I implore thee to obtain for me the relief and deliverance of all the Souls in Purgatory, the ones who prayed for the Souls themselves while still on earth; the forgotten and abandoned Souls; the souls of my relatives and friends; the souls of priests and religious; the souls of all those to whom I am obligated by charity to pray for and may have neglected by laxity in memory; and most especially for the Soul I here name in this novena.

[Mention the person or think of him.]

Protect me in all the temptations and trials of this life. but most especially at the hour of my death, and do not leave me until thou hast conducted me into the presence of my Creator in the mansions of everlasting happiness. Amen.

Source: Manual of Prayers, Imprimatur 1888

Charity - The Churches Teaching on It

10/12/2019

Below you will find the Catholic Churches teaching on True Charity. We need this today more than ever. The true meaning of Charity. It is a long post but a good one. The following is taken from a book titled,
"An Illustrated Explanation of the Commandments," by Rev. H. Rolfus, D.D., Imprimatur 1897.

CHARITY
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength." The meaning of this commandment is this: We must love God by a deliberate act of the will (heart), we must reflect how we can put this love into action (soul), we must really love God with an ardent inward charity (mind), and what our will and our intellect have thus apprehended we must practise to the best of our ability (strength). And as the Israelites were always to have the law of God before their eyes, so it must ever be present to our soul, that its observance is the end for which we were created. It is impossible, however, for us to do this of our own selves, but only by means of a supernatural faculty which we receive in holy Baptism. Therefore we call charity, as well as faith, an infused virtue, and, because it has God for its object, a theological virtue. "The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given us" (Rom. v. 5).

1. God must be the object of our love, we must love God above everything else in the world. For the love of God we must, if necessary, sacrifice all the goods of this earth; we must leave father and mother, nay, even give our own life, if charity requires it. All we are allowed to love in this world, we may only love for the sake of God, and in so far as He permits it. We must rather lose everything than commit a sin, for sin separates us from God. " He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me ; and he that lovethson or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me" (St. Matt. x. 37).

2. It it not at all opposed to the love of God that man love himself. He is a creature of God, a child of God, an heir of the kingdom of heaven, destined for eternal bliss. This high dignity confers on the Christian not only the right to love himself, but makes self-love a duty for him. Here, again, however, man may only love himself so far as this love coincides with the will of God, as no sin is committed, and as the honor of God is not offended. When charity is violated, all temporal gain, even the greatest, is a loss; but every loss we suffer for the love of God is a gain for us. " He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal" (St. John xii. 25).

3. Although we must love God because He commands it, love from this motive would be a most imperfect love. We must rather love God because He is the Sovereign Good, because He is most worthy of our love, and because He contains in Himself all perfection. He is the most excellent, the most beautiful, the most perfect, and therefore the most amiable. He alone is the Sovereign and Eternal Good. Therefore Nehemias prays in these words: "O Lord God, Creator of all things, dreadful and strong, just and merciful, who alone art the good King, who alone art gracious, who alone art just, and almighty, and eternal" (2 Mach. i. 24, 25). But we also may and ought to love God for the sake of the many benefits which He has conferred on us and is still conferring every moment. Even before we began to live the Lord looked on us with an eye of mercy and called us to be His children. He says to us through the prophet : " I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee" (Jer. xxxi. 3).

From the very first moment of our life to our last breath the Lord loads us with undeserved benefits. And these benefits are at the same time the means of our salvation, for they sustain the life of the soul as well as that of the body, in order that we may fulfil both our earthly and our heavenly destiny. This love is called the love of gratitude. "Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us" (1 St. John iv. 19).

4. We must moreover love God, because He has prepared eternal beatitude for us. This beatitude consists in the possession and enjoyment of God Himself. Therefore those who love God feel a longing for God, which is thus described by the apostle : " I have a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ" (Phil. i. 23).

5. Charity does not only manifest itself in loving affections and emotions, but in an upright mind, instrong resolves, and above all in the observance of the commandments. It stands to reason that he who acts contrary to the will of God has no love for Him. Therefore Our Saviour says expressly: "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me" (St. John xiv. 21).

Application.
1. Although charity does not consist in tender emotions, we must not omit to evoke loving affections in our hearts. Even when we are at work, and then more than ever, we can prove to God that for love of Him we are ready to do and suffer all, and to bear all hardships. Let us offer Him our thoughts, affections, desires, actions, toils, and privations, and let us unite them all with the great sacrifice of love which Our Saviour offered for us.

2. But let us also speak very often of the love of God, not only in order to animate ourselves, but also to enkindle divine love in the hearts of our fellow-men, for this is the will of God expressed in the following words: "I am come to cast fire on the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled?" (St. Luke xii. 49.)

Examples.
Abraham would have made the greatest sacrifice for the love of God: he would have killed his own son (Gen. xxii.). The three Israelites, Annias, Azarias, and Misael, allowed themselves to be thrown into the fiery furnace rather than adore the statue erected by Nabuchodonosor (Dan. iii. 20). Eleazar let himself be beaten to death with scourges, but he did not touch the swine's flesh which was put before him (2 Mach. vi.). The Machabean brothers and their mother showed equal fortitude (2 Mach. vii.). St. Stephen, the protomartyr, and all the other martyrs of Christ give us the same glorious example. All for the Love of God.

The heart of St. John of the Cross burned with such an ardent love of God that the hardest trials and privations seemed easy to him, because he bore all adversities with his eyes fixed on Him who first loved us. He went so far as never to accept an invitation to dine when he had preached in a strange place, for he said : " I do not want to accept pay from men for what I have done for the love of God." Once he was innocently imprisoned and even bodily ill-treated. But, when he was set free, he only complained that he had so little to suffer. To those who wondered at his lamentations, he answered: "Do not be astonished that I love suffering so much, for when I was in prison God gave me a great knowledge of the value of suffering borne for the love of Him." On his deathbed he kept on sighing for release. When askedby a brother whether he wished to be released on account of his pains, he answered with a smile: "No, dear brother, but because of my hearty desire to see God the hours seem so long to me." The Church therefore calls St. John of the Cross, in the
Collect of his feast, a lover of the Cross. Sins Against the Love of God*

Every sin violates charity. The effect of mortal sin is to kill the love of God in our soul, whereas venial sin only weakens its fervor. But there are sins which in themselves are opposed to the love of God. To these belongs above all:

1. Hatred of God. This is the devil's own sin. For he did not simply transgress a commandment, but he rebelled against God and would have deprived Him of His sovereignty, and put himself in His place, had he been able to do so. Then there is:

2. Impiety or contempt of God, when we turn away from God. An impious man of this kind is found in Pharao, who, on being asked by Moses in the name of God to let the Israelites depart, hardened his heart, and, in spite of all the divine judgments which he saw before his eyes, would not turn to God.

3. Forgetfulness of God, or indifference for God's honor. Of this sin those are chiefly guilty who know that their inferiors commit sin and do not interfere, or allow God to be blasphemed in their presence and do not raise their voice against it.

4. Murmuring against God's providence. In this way Jonas sinned, who tried to evade the command of God by taking ship for Tharsis, instead of going to Ninive. And when God spared the inhabitants of Ninive, because they did penance, put on sackcloth, and proclaimed a fast, he murmured against God and wished to die (Jonas i. 3; iv. 2-4).
The opposite virtue of these sins is zeal for God's honor, which boldly opposes all evil.

5. Lastly, we have to name idolatry in its extended sense, i.e., such an inordinate affection for creatures that we would rather transgress God's commandments and commit sin, or allow others to commit sin, than overcome the love of creatures or keep it in its proper bounds. Thus parents love their children more than God when they allow them to do as they like, and bring them up to vanity and pride, whereas God commands that they should be trained in modesty, obedience, and humility. So also many a one loves a person, and, in order to obtain her in marriage, he sacrifices his faith and the faith of his children if this is made a condition. Animals are often loved inordinately, and so much is spent on them that the poor would be glad to have only part of it. If anybody loves money and possessions so much that he strives to acquire them by unlawful means, or does not restore them when he has acquired them dishonestly, or if he becomes hard towards his fellow-men for the sake of worldly gain, he adores Mammon. The god of the glutton is his belly. This kind of idolatry is, moreover, committed by all those who trust more in man than in God. All the impious are guilty of it. Every inordinate affection leads to this creature worship, if we do not resist it from the very beginning. Zeal for the Honor of God.

In the time of Antiochus, king of Syria, there lived in the Jewish town of Modin a priest of the name of Mathathias. He was much honored in all Judea for his piety and zeal for the law of God. He had five sons, who, like their father, walked in the ways of the law ; Judas, who afterwards received the name of Machabeus the Hammer, was the greatest among them. To this man King Antiochus sent messengers to ask him and the inhabitants of Modin to sacrifice to heathen idols and eat swine's flesh, and to threaten him with death if he refused. If, on the contrary, Mathathias would offer sacrifice, he and his sons were to be counted among the friends of the king, and loaded with gold and silver and many presents. But Mathathias answered and said in a loud voice : " Although all nations obey King Antiochus, so as to depart every man from the service of the law of his fathers, and consent to his commandments, I and my sons, and my brethren, will obey the law of our fathers." And, when a Jew stepped forth in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar which the messenger of Antiochus had erected, his wrath was kindled, and he slew him on the altar, and pulled down the altar. And he left the city with his sons and fled into the mountains, and many that sought after judgment and justice went up with him, and they went round about and threw down the altars, and they recovered the law out of the hands of the nations and yielded not the horn to the sinner (1. Mach. ii.).

Charity Towards Our Neighbor
The object of our love is God in the first place, but our neighbor in the second, and the commandment of charity towards our neighbor is expressly declared by Our Lord to be equivalent to the commandment of charity towards God. "And thesecond is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (St. Mark xii. 31).

1. The word neighbor does not only designate those who are nearly related to us by the ties of blood, or who live with us in the same house, not only our friends, our countrymen, our namesakes,but every one who has a claim on our help, whether he be of our faith or not, whether he be our friend or our enemy. Our Saviour clearly teaches this in the parable of the Good Samaritan (St. Luke x.). It is where the need is greatest that we must help first, and this is especially the case where the soul is in danger. But when the necessity is equally great, we may give the preference to our relatives, friends, and those of our own faith. We may also render greater assistance to those who are more worthy of charity, and we may refuse our help altogether to those who constantly abuse it. " Whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Gal. vi. 10).

2. We must love our neighbor for the sake of God. In man we love and honor God Himself, for man is created after the image of God. Moreover, we are members of the same family, for we are children of God, we have God for our common Father, we have all the same vocation to attainheaven, whether we be rich or poor. The Prophet Malachias reproves the Jews for their want of charity when he says: "Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us ? Why then doth every one of us despise his brother?" (Mai. ii. 10).
Besides, love of our neighbor is the test by which we know whether love of God be genuine, for the Apostle says: " If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not? And this commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God love also his brother" (1 St. John iv. 20, 21).

3. When the commandment says: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," this does not imply that I am bound to love him in the same degree as myself, but that I must love him in the same manner as myself. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches expressly that the words " as myself" do not refer to the degree, but to the manner in which we must love. In the same way as we desire all good for ourselves and try to avoid all evil, we are to desire every blessing for our fellow-men, and grieve with them over their misfortunes. " Rejoice with them that rejoice, weep with them that weep" (Rom. xii. 15).
How we are to love our neighbor is summed up very simply in the following two precepts of the natural law : " Do not do to others what you do not wish them to do to you;" "Do to others as you wish to be done by." These precepts of the natural law are confirmed by Holy Scriptures. When the elder Tobias thought he was going to die, he exhorted his son in these words : " See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another" (Tob. iv. 16). And Our Saviour teaches: "All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets" (St. Matt. vii. 12).

4. But charity must not be satisfied with empty words and wishes, it must show itself in works ofpractical help and assistance in corporal as well as in spiritual need. The apostle exhorts us in the name of God in these words : " Let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed, and in truth (1 St. John iii. 18).

5. This precept of charity does not, however, give a right to the poor to claim our help and
assistance. They must look for charity and mercy, which they may invoke, but which they must try to merit by faith and confidence, by patience and content, by temperance and industry. The Apostle Paul could write of himself to the Christians: "When I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man : In all things I have kept myself from being burthensome to you, and so I will keep myself" (2 Cor. xi. 9).

6. Holy Scripture recommends to our charity above all widows and orphans, for they are those who have generally lost their protector and support. The impious take advantage of their helplessness, and injure and oppress them, because they have nobody to take up their cause. " Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation" (St. James i. 27).

7. How charity shows itself in our daily intercourse with our fellow-men is described by St. Paul in these words : " Charity is patient, is kind : charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (1 Cor. xiii. 4-7).

Examples.
Holy Scripture tells us the most beautiful and touching examples of charity. Abraham sat before his tent and saw three strangers come to him. He did not know them, but he adored them down to the ground, and said : " Lord, if I have found favor in Thy sight, pass not away from Thy servant; but I will fetch a little water and wash your feet, and rest ye under the tree. And I will send a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart." Then Abraham hastened to the tent and said to Sara: "Make haste, temper together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth." He bade his servant to prepare a very tender calf; he himself took butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set it before his guests. (Gen. xviii. 2-8.) When Abraham's servant, Eleazar, asked Rebecca for a little water, she did not only give him to drink out of her pitcher, but she ran back to the well to draw water, and having drawn, she gave to all the camels (Gen. xxiv. 20). When the Israelites began to think that Moses had forsaken them, and made a golden calf in order to adore it, and God wanted to destroy the whole nation, Moses prayed thus to the Lord : "Either forgive them this trespass, or if Thou do not, strike me out of the book that Thou hast written" (Exod. xxxii. 31). He was ready to give up eternal bliss rather than let the people perish. Tobias daily went among all his kindred, and comforted them, and distributed to every one as he was able of his goods, so that he became poor himself (Tob. i. 19).
At the marriage of Cana, our Blessed Lady interceded for the guests when the wine failed (St, John ii. 3). The early Christians had all things in common, " neither did any one say that aught of the things which he possessed was his own" (Acts iv. 32). The pious Tabitha was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. When she was dead, and they sent for St. Peter, all the widows stood about him weeping and showing him the coats and garments which Tabitha had made (Acts ix. 36-39)- How beautiful is the sympathy of the neighbors and kinsfolk of Elizabeth, who rejoiced when they heard that the Lord had showed His great mercy towards her (St. Luke i. 58). When the widow of Naim followed the body of her son to the grave, a great multitude of the city was with her. And when Our Lord had given back the son to his afflicted mother, they glorified God and rejoiced with her (St. Luke vii. 12-16). St. Paul says of himself that he had great sadness and continual sorrow in his heart, because his kinsmen would not receive the Gospel of Christ, and he wished, like Moses, to be anathema if only his brethren might be in union with Christ (Rom. ix. 23).

Love of Our Enemies
The commandment which God has given us to love our neighbor extends to our enemies. Nobody may be excluded from our love. This seems very hard to our poor human nature. But:

1. God has expressly commanded it, and this alone is sufficient for convincing us that we can love our enemies. Our Saviour says : " Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that calumniate you" (St. Luke vi. 27, 28).
He has, moreover, given us the example Himself: He did not only pray for His executioners, He also made excuses for them when He said : " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (St. Luke xxiii. 34). St. Leo says, in contemplating this wonderful love: "Our Lord did not remember that He was dying by His enemies, He only remembered that He was dying for them."

2. Our Lord has attached the pardon of our own sins to our readiness to forgive those who have injured us. He taught us to pray: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us." And He added expressly : "If you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences" (St. Matt. vi. 14, 15).
Whoever does not forgive his enemies draws down upon himself the curse of God in saying the Our Father, for he says: Do to me, O Lord, as I do to my enemies, and, because I do not forgive them, do Thou not forgive me either. We see how such an unforgiving man is dealt with in the parable of the unmerciful servant, who did not come out of prison till he had paid the last farthing, although his master had forgiven him his whole enormous debt before.

3. This precept of loving our enemies does not enjoin that we should love our enemies in the same way as we love our friends, parents, benefactors, i.e., not as sensibly and as tenderly, but we must not wish them any harm, but rather, as far as we can, shield them from evil. We must not only wish them all good from our hearts, we must do good unto them as far as we can. On no account may the Christian take revenge for injuries he has received. If he whom we deem our enemy has done us any injury, God will punish him, for He says: "Revenge is Mine, and I will repay them in due time" (Deut. xxxii. 35).
If we treat our enemy with charity, we imitate our heavenly Father, "who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust" (St. Matt. v. 45).

4. If we have been injured by any one, we may try to obtain just and legal reparation; when we are assaulted, we may defend ourselves as far as is necessary. On the other hand, we may not refuse to salute our adversary or to return his salute, we may not revile and insult him, or refuse him such services as usage and custom require, especially when he is in distress. We must altogether show by our outward conduct that we have no hatred or rancor in our heart, but are ready to be reconciled with our enemy, even should he himself not be willing to forgive.

Application.
1. Let us strive above all to banish all bitterness from our hearts, and let us consider that it is often mere thoughtlessness, and not malice, by which we have been offended. Let us pray forour adversaries, that God may give them a right understanding. But let us remember above all that, whatever men may do to injure us, their guilt towards us is only very small in comparison with the immense debt we have incurred by offending God.

2. As long as we harbor any enmity in our heart, all our good works are of no avail. Therefore Our Saviour exhorts us in these words: "If, therefore, thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother has anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then coming, thou shalt offer thy gift" (St. Matt. v. 23, 24).

3. Let us render good for evil according to the words of the apostle: "If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat : if he thirst, give him to drink. For, doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head" (Rom. xii. 20).

Examples.
The sons of Jacob had treated their brother Joseph most cruelly and had deserved severe punishment. When Joseph held them in his power, he could easily have revenged himself on them. But he not only refrained from taking revenge, but moreover loaded them with benefits after the death of their father Jacob (Gen. 1. 21).
David was threatened with death by Saul, to whom he had rendered great service, and was obliged to flee. Saul pursued him with 3,000 men in the desert, and searched all the nooks and caves for him, but David knew the hiding-places in the desert better than he. Once he was so near Saul that he could have killed him, but he contented himself with cutting off the hem of his robe, and sent it to Saul in order to show him that he could have put him to death. Another time David went in the night with his armor-bearer Abisai into Saul's tent, and Abisai asked David to kill his persecutor. But David only took Saul's spear and his cup of water with him, and thus showed to the king that God had given him in his power, but that he had honored in Saul the anointed of the Lord (1 Kings xxiv. 1 -1 2). The proto-martyr St. Stephen gave us, like Our Saviour Himself, an example of love towards our enemies. He not only forgave, but he prayed with his dying breath for his murderers in these words : " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts vii. 59).

I will continue this in another post - which talks of the Works of Mercy.

The Feast of the Most Holy Rosary of the B.V.M.

10/7/2019

Our Lady of the Rosary

Through thee, to us, our Savior came,
Through thee, to Him, we fain would go.
Our lives are marred by wrong and shame,
Yet, confidence in thee we know.
The friendship thou dost give to all
Who love thy name, shall ever be
Assurance thou wilt hear our call,
Sweet Lady of the Rosary!

Thou art our Strength upon the way,
Our Morning Star, to cheer and guide; with picture
Our Beacon Light to show the day,
And lead us to the Savior's Side;
A Comforter in ev'ry pain
We find, O Mother blest, in thee,
And seek we, never, thee in vain,
Fair Lady of the Rosary!

Thy praises, Mary, we would sing,
And all our faculties employ,
That unto thee our hearts might bring
A glory-crown of love and joy.
Bless thou each humble effort made
In thy regard, and grant that we
May by thy influence be swayed,
Our Lady of the Rosary!

Our Lady's Praise in Poetry, Imprimatur 1944.

+ + +

Prayer to be said before the Rosary

We unite ourselves with all the saints in Heaven,
with all the just on earth and with all the faithful
we wish were here present. We unite ourselves with
Thee, Oh my Jesus, in order to praise worthily Thy
most Holy Mother and to praise Thee in her and
through her.

We renounce all the distractions we may have
during this rosary which we wish to say with
modesty, attention and devotion, just as if it were
to be the last of our lives.

We ask of Thee a lively faith, a firm hope and an ardent charity.
Amen

Below you will find some coloring pictures for the children. May you all have a blessed feast of the Most Holy Rosary.

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Marie's Rosary

10/7/2019

        A lovely story for the children for this beautiful feast of the Most Holy Rosary.

                                                                                  I
THE lovely stars of early night were all a-twinkling in a glorious May sky. Marie Lesly, kneeling at the window of her little room, gazed rapturously upon the delightful scene. Down below was the blooming garden with its fragrant trees mirrored in the stone-encircled pond. Further on a leafy grove threw somber shadows, as the moon, big and nearly full, peeped slowly over the tree-tops, gushing out a flood of silver light Marie was praying. 'Twas her evening prayer. But now, because it was May, a decade of the rosary was lovingly added. How easy it was to pray to nature's God with nature all a-smiling before her! Arising, she kissed the cross of the neat little mother-of-pearl rosary in her hand. "My First Communion Rosary," she murmured softly as she unconsciously dropped it upon the sill and cast a last look at the starry heavens above.
     "Queen of May, O pray for me!"
     "Mother dear," cried Marie, upon entering the den early the next morning, "did you take my rosary away? I can't not find it anywhere, and only last night I had it in my room." No, mother had not taken it , nor had she seen it anywhere. "Perhaps Eddie has it," she suggested. In a moment Marie had found her brother.
     "Now, don't you begin to tease again, Eddie, but tell me where you hid it—my First Communion Rosary."
     "Really, Marie, honest now, I didn't take it. I didn't even see it , " said Eddie. "You'll soon find it somewhere, I'm sure. Don't worry." And for once Eddie looked so very innocent and sincere that Marie could not but believe him. But search as they would, it could not be found. Turning everything topsy-turvy to mother's great discomfort they explored the entire house and even the lawn around it. It was in vain. At last they gave up, but not to fret and complain. Oh, no; Marie was too truly a little lady for that. Beckoning Eddie, she whispered mysteriously into his ear: "Come up to my room with me. I have a wonderful plan." Up they went. Eddie's curiosity was wide-awake. What was about to happen? Closing the door quietly, Marie said with a bright smile:
     "Eddie, let's pray to Mother Mary, asking her in some way to bring my rosary back to me. The fifth joyful mystery, The Finding of Jesus in the Temple, is the best."
      Kneeling in simple faith, gazing fervently upon a picture of our Blessed Lady which hung over Marie's little white bed, and using Eddie's rosary, they trustfully prayed, "Hail, Mary, full of grace. Ten times their sweet little voices chimed out the beautiful prayer. Then they arose, joyful, confident.
     "Twill surely, surely come back," maintained Marie. "Our Lady's help is never asked in vain. 'Remember, O gracious Virgin Mary!' Now we'll wait. I'll get another rosary from Sister for the time." And away they went for a game before school.
                                                                             II
October days, the sweetest of the year, had come. Glad in autumn's many-colored garb, the woods presented a beautiful sight. In the fields yellow pumpkins shone amid rugged shocks of golden-eared corn. All nature was aglow with the russet and gold of Indian summer days. 'Twas Mary's month again: the month of the Holy Rosary.
     "Eddie," said Marie, as they sported about in the frost-painted grove, "it's the first of October. I'm sure my rosary must come back soon. It simply must! Doesn't the Memorare say: 'never was it known?" Marie was ever thinking of her rosary still. She was
waiting patiently, trustingly.
     "Perhaps," Eddie ventured to say, " you'll never find it ."
     "There's no perhaps to it," replied Marie with sweet sauciness, "it's sure!" And laughing lightly, she added: "Let's pick a museum of leaves, all colors and sizes and shapes."
     This they at once proceeded to do. Suddenly Marie called excitedly: "Eddie, Eddie! come here. There's a lone robin's nest high up in this tree. And see! there
is something shiny in it , something bright; maybe it's a jewel." Eddie peeped through the brownish leaves.
     "Sure enough!" he burst out. "I'll have it down in a jiffy. What if it's a real gem," he added, his eyes glistening with excitement. With squirrel-like agility he climbed the tree.
     "Now
I have it," he cried, standing on a long branch and reaching out for the nest. "Catch it, Marie! Down it comes!"
     Down it came, falling on the velvet grass at Marie's feet. As she stooped to pick it up an exclamation of surprise and joy escaped her lips. Then kneeling beside it she breathed a grateful prayer:
     "O thanks, my darling Mother, Queen of the Holy Rosary!"
For there, neatly interwoven in the robin's nest, completely encircling the inner side, was a string of pearls—Marie's First Communion Rosary.
                                             Source: Tell Us Another, Imprimatur 1925
Another coloring picture is below.

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The Guardian Angels

10/2/2019

Guardian Angel

Your Guardian Angel is your companion and your friend. He is given to you at the first moment of existence and stays with you to the end. He inspires you with good and holy thoughts. He protects you from many dangers and accidents, and assists you in a thousand ways throughout your life. The Angels are most de- sirous to be our friends and they love us with all the intensity of their angelic natures. "He hath given His Angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee up lest thou dash thy foot against a stone" (Psalm 91).

The Angels are pure spirits, mighty Princes of Heaven who stand before God. They are burning fires of love, filled with the plenitude of happiness. No two Angels are alike and there are too many to be numbered. All of them are indescribably beautiful. "Thousands and thousands ministered to Him and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him" (Dan 7:10).

St. Frances of Rome saw her own Angel. She said the splendor of her Angel dimmed the light of the sun and moon and stars in comparison. Often she could read her prayers by the light of her Angel. When the Angel rolled back the stone from the holy sepulcher, Sacred Scriptures says that the countenance of the Angel was like lightning and his clothes white as snow. His appearance was so full of majesty that the soldiers at the tomb were terrified and could not look at him. "For an Angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning and his raiment as snow" (Matt 28: 2,3).

Angelic intelligence is immeasurably superior to our own. We plod from truth to truth, studying, steadily investigating in order to understand a topic, but they understand the entire subject at a single glance. In that same glance, they immediately see all the nuances and consequences of a particular action. It is easy to see how important their assistance would be for us, who need help in
making decisions each day of our lives.

There are angels in Heaven and also on earth, each with different jobs to do. Nations, cities, families, towns - all have their special Angels. St Thomas Aquinas teaches us that there are Angels that guide the stars, the moon, the sun, and the planets, keeping everything in harmony according to God's plan. Scripture tells us of the Angels that perform duties that some attribute to chance.

It was an Angel that gave its medicinal quality to the pool at Bethesda; an Angel generated the fires on Mount Sinai; the thunder and lightning were the work of Angels; and in the Apocalypse we read of the Angels restraining the winds. Thus, we learn that the course of nature, so marvelous and at times so fearful, is moved by these unseen beings.

Angels act as messengers as in the Annunciation when the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary, or as protectors as when Archangel Raphael helped to guide young Tobias on a dangerous journey, or as avengers as when God sent an Angel who killed 70,000 Egyptians in one night as a punishment for the Pharaoh not releasing the Hebrews from slavery.

They are also powerful protectors against the tricks of the devil. They will fight by your side and inspire you on how to resist the temptations of the devil. "Be sober and watch: because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet 5: 8). The Angels protect us from falling into temptations and avert natural disasters from befalling us - often the person never even realizes the tragedy he narrowly missed.

It is interesting to note that at the time of the Renaissance, Angels began to be portrayed as fat, sweet babies with wings. This artistic style continues to our day. It is a shame for such militant warriors to be reduced to these weak, infantile representations. In the mind of the viewer, the role of the Angel as protector and avenger fades away, replaced by a different idea. It is a subtle way of gradually changing the notion of the principle that life is a war between good and evil with the agents of each side fighting to win the souls of men. There is no spirit of fight in the fat baby angels - in fact, they are so smiling and happy that it appears nothing is amiss in their world.

And yet, there are many incidences in the lives of the Saints that show the militant, protective mission of the Angels toward men. St John Bosco, for example, was a man who fought vigorously against the Waldensian heresy. Many of the heretics hated him for his unrelenting fight and tried to kill him many times. During this dangerous period of his life, a large grey dog appeared and
would accompany him as he walked the streets of the city, fighting off any attackers. When the danger passed, the dog disappeared. In his writings, Don Bosco called this dog Grigio [Grey], and he believed that it was an angelic intervention protecting him so many times over a period of 30 years.

Angels also reflect God's goodness, kindness, and generosity. He gave us these Angels to "level out the playing field." Man by himself is no match for the wily Devil, a fallen angel that still retains all his intellectual prowess and powers. Without some kind of supernatural help, we would be certain to make many mistakes, some irreparable.

God in His goodness gave us Angels. Knowing this, wouldn't it be foolish to ignore our Guardian Angels and not ask often for their help?

"Ask us and we will give you a share of all our treasures, all our graces, all our happiness," they seem to say. The only thing standing between us and these benefits is our forgetfulness of these wonderful beings.

~ Lift Up Your Hearts – Fr. Lasance - 1926 ~
Coloring pictures of the Guardian Angels can be found below:

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16th Sunday after Pentecost - Humility

9/29/2019

OUR divine Saviour allowed no occasion to pass by without extolling humility; and it must be admitted that it is the base, the foundation of all the other virtues. We shall consider it today in its different kinds and in its object.

First Point.—The different kinds of humility. The first is the humility of the heart. It consists in voluntarily embracing the practices of humility in not taking offence at calumnies; in not being angered by humiliations; and in not being offended by injuries. It goes even farther in the most fervent Christians. We have seen the saints desire to be humiliated, to cherish affronts, and to rejoice at being contemned and despised. St. John of the Cross asked of Our Lord but one grace, viz., to suffer and to be despised for His love. Alas! how far you are from these sentiments, you who are so sensitive to an injury, so particular about preferences, and so susceptible when your self-love is wounded! Do not forget that self-love is the principle of almost all the faults which stain the soul in the eyes of God, of all the defects which make piety odious in the eyes of men, and of all the caprices which dishonor a Christian in the eyes of the world. Strive, therefore, to destroy, if not completely, at least to weaken, this terrible enemy, which has such a firm hold on your whole being. To accomplish this end, profit by the countless little occasions where your self-love is hurt to do violence to it; each humiliation generously borne is a blow which shall weaken your enemy and prepare you for a complete victory.

The second kind of humility is the humility of speech. The precepts of the Gospel and the maxims of the world equally recommend this; the sentiment of decent propriety should suffice to engage us to be faithful to it. He who extols himself should feel that he is doing just what degrades him. He seeks admiration, and he finds contempt only. He wishes to make himself important, and he renders himself only ridiculous. It is astonishing the disgust which boasting inspires—it is so universal and so common. How does it happen that the criticisms and railleries which are heard on every side concerning vain men do not correct their vanity? They are, therefore, very blind. Besides openly boasting, there is another manner of praising one's self which is more skilful but no less reprehensible. It consists in not naming one's self, but allowing every one to perceive who is praised. He does not eulogize his good works, but takes care to make them known. It is rarely that this refinement deceives men. Their own pride makes them see clearly the pride of others, and if instead of the esteem they craved for, the vain inspire only mistrust and contempt.

The third kind of humility is humility in actions. Our divine Saviour especially recommends this in the Gospel of today when He says: "When you are invited to a banquet take the last place." This precept finds its application not only at the banquet, but it extends to all the circumstances of life. It condemns the desire of self-exaltation and commanding, which is one of the most common sentiments and one of the most dangerous among men. They wish for the first place in the affections, and hence the love of dress and all the artifices of vanity. Not only do they wish for the affections, but they wish for them to the exclusion of every one else, and hence jealousies and bitter disappointments. They wish to excel all others by their success and triumphs, and hence rivalries among equals and accusations of injustice against superiors. It is to the desire of self-exaltation and of ruling we must attribute almost all the oppositions to authority in the family and almost all the crimes which are committed in society. Accustom your pride to submission, and your self-love to endure humiliations; then you shall destroy the
principle of many faults, and dry up the source of many bitter disappointments.

Second Point.—The object of humility. You should be humble in your own eyes. The first degree of humility is nothing else than the knowledge of yourself, of your frailty, of your inclination to evil, your passions, your vices. This knowledge of your misery which your experience gives and which faith reveals to you, should it not force you to be humble ? How can you be so presumptuous when you are so weak? How can you dare to nourish thoughts of pride when you have so much to blush for? How can you afford to resent some affront when you are so worthy of contempt? How can you love yourself when you are so unlovable ? Does this kind of humility consist in denying that there is something good in you and not seeing the advantages you have above others either in wealth or in mind? Not at all. Humility is not falsehood. The truly humble heart never forgets that its good qualities, its talents, and its virtues are the gifts of God. It knows that all that it is, all the good it has done, comes from God; consequently it cannot assume any vanity Whatever. Does it witness the fall of one of its friends? It thinks that if God had placed it in the same circumstances as this man, without giving it the most abundant graces, it would fall perhaps into the most criminal excesses. The two considerations of the concupiscence which it feels and the grace it experiences; concupiscence leading it to evil, and grace which alone retains it in well-doing; concupiscence which it can with difficulty resist and grace to which it is so difficult to respond—these two considerations retain the heart in humility and hinder it from rising above others less favored and committing greater sins than itself. Thus it is that the humble heart, while not forgetting that it is exalted above others, does not glorify itself, but refers all honor to God, the Source of all good.

You should be humble before God. This duty need only be exposed to be believed. You would strive in vain to form even a remote idea of the infinite distance which separates man from God.
How then can we express what it is not possible for us to conceive? We are but nothingness, while God is the Sovereign Being. We are only weakness; God is Omnipotence! We are only sinners; God is Sanctity itself. It is this last consideration which should especially profoundly humiliate us before Him. Yes, we should be more ashamed of our corruption than of our frailty; of our ingratitude than of our nothingness; everything should humiliate us before God; everything—even the remembrance of what He has done to exalt us. Have we not abused His very gifts? You should be humble in your thoughts with regard to your neighbor. Humility forbids all contempt for others and all pretension to superiority. To see the justice of this rule which humility imposes, consider that your thoughts of pre-eminence come from the superiority which you think you have over others, whether they are in the order of nature or the order of religion. If they are temporal advantages—riches, beauty, birth, talents which raise you above others in your thoughts, how futile they are? How small is the difference that these distinctions make between one man and another. They are like to the bubbles which children make and which ascend in the air; they are dissipated and dissolved in the moment they appear. If you esteem yourself more than others by reason of advantages in the religious order—virtue, good works, and piety—while the motive would, have some solidity, it would not have, in you, more justice. What have you, the Apostle asks, that you have not received ? And if you have received it, how do you dare to glory in it as if it had come from you? Your pride is more than ridiculous; it is unjust, since you rob God of the glory which is due to Him.

O my God, all that I am and all that I have come from Thy grace; do not permit that I abuse Thy gifts to offend Thee, but grant that all that is in me may serve to glorify Thee.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

15th Sunday after Pentecost - The Widow of Naim

9/22/2019

IN the resurrection of the widow's son we should consider what grace does for sinners, and what the sinner should do to correspond with this grace.

First Point.—What grace does for sinners. This young man, whom death has taken in the very flower of his age, is the image of so many young persons who are deprived of sanctifying grace by sin and whose spiritual death is more terrible than that which merely destroys the life of the body. This desolate mother who accompanies to its last dwelling-place the inanimate body of her son is the Church; she is our mother; since she has begotten us in Christ in our infancy she has nourished us by her first lessons, and she does not cease to instruct and exhort us, and she labors untiringly to make us grow in virtue and in piety. This tender mother follows with her tears all her unfortunate children whom the sad stroke of sin has robbed of the life of grace. And even when all hope seems lost she does not abandon them; she asks them again from Jesus by her sighs and tears. Touched by her sorrow, Jesus is moved at the sad condition of an unfortunate sinner whom the passions conduct to hell.

Jesus drew near. This is the first condition of a return to God and virtue. Unhappy beings as we are by our own depraved will, we can indeed go far from God and hasten to our destruction; but to leave the ways of iniquity, or even to desire to do it, is the effect of grace. How good God is! Insulted and outraged by sinners, He had no need to avenge Himself, but merely to abandon them to themselves. Still He does not wish to do so. He selects them, pursues them, and urges them to return to Him and save themselves. " He drew near and touched the bier." Thus it is that Jesus touches the sinner by the good sentiments with which He inspires him, He disturbs him by remorse, He enlightens him by good counsels, He encourages him by holy examples, He terrifies him by the fear of death and by the judgment which follows.

By this secret touch of grace conscience is awakened as if from a long sleep, and the passions which were dragging him down are arrested. The sinner begins to find pleasures not so pleasant and the world not so lovable; he stops short in the midst of the excitement which carries him away. This is the moment when grace is at work; it is the moment when she may make her voice heard. Alas, as long as the sinner is dissipated by pleasures, preoccupied by human interests, absorbed by business, he sins and he perseveres in his sin. This terrible indifference can be explained only by a want of reflection but at the moment he reflects he is saved. The prodigal child perceived neither his ingratitude, nor his degradation, nor the rags which covered him, as long as he was absorbed by pleasures; but it was in his misfortune that he reflected, and that one inward glance sufficed to reveal to him all his shame and to lead him back to his father. And so it is with the sinful soul: hardly has she been arrested, hardly has she looked upon herself than Jesus makes her hear His voice, which shall recall her as it recalled the young man from death in the city of Naim—"Young man, I say to thee, arise"

Young man, you who are meditating on these words, you are only on the threshold of your career. You may think that you are proof against the stroke of death; the world tells you to take advantage of your youth, to crown yourself with roses while they are fresh and in bloom; but the world deceives you. This young man whom they carried to the tomb was as young as you. The funeral cortege which accompanied him proves that he was rich. He was as you are—the idol of his mother, the only son, but nothing could guarantee him from death. To you, as to him, Jesus speaks these words: "I, thy Master, command you to arise from sin and to break the bonds which hold you in slavery. I say to thee, arise!" May you be docile to this voice, which calls you to life by recalling you to virtue.

Second Point.—What the sinner should do to correspond with grace. The first thing which the young man does when he feels himself restored is to arise in obedience to the command his Liberator has given him. This promptitude to correspond with grace as soon as it is felt is one of the most essential conditions of conversion. Everything is possible to the will when it is excited by grace, enlightened by its light, and inflamed by the holy ardor which the divine Spirit spreads in it when He communicates Himself to it. Then the strongest bonds are easily broken; remember Magdalen at the feet of Jesus. The greatest obstacles are overcome by the wise men journeying far to follow the star which leads them to Bethlehem. The most violent passions are conquered. St. Paul becomes a vessel of election, after having been the most ardent persecutor!

Now, why are so many sermons sterile and unfruitful? Why do so many graces remain unprofitable? Is it because the preachers are wanting in eloquence? No. There are indeed some truths which require to be presented in a certain manner to strike some souls; but is there need of having recourse to the artifices of eloquence to tell you that you must die, that you shall be judged, that there are a hell and an eternity? Is it because hearts are too hardened? Not a year passes that some sinners are not touched and their hearts moved, and yet very few are converted. And why? Because very few profit by the moment of grace. They hesitate, they defer, they put off—the light disappears, grace is withdrawn, and they remain irresolute and in their weakness. They are doubly unfortunate men, because they conceive the most generous projects and cannot attain the point of realizing them.

The Evangelist observes that the young man after his restoration began to speak. Of course his first words were the expressions of his gratitude, the declaration of his resurrection, and the request to those who carried him to set him free. Such should be the language of the sinner whom Divine Mercy deigns to withdraw from the state of death in which he had been plunged. Penetrated by the immense benefit which he had so little merited, he should from the bottom of his heart return grateful thanksgiving to his Benefactor. But this is not enough. He should put away and reject far from him all that which hitherto, by leading him into sin, conducted him to hell. Occasions, habits, affections-- he must quit them all. In fine, he is obliged to manifest his resurrection by the splendor of his virtues. The greater the scandal of his sinful life, the greater should be the edification of his new life.

Jesus crowns His work by restoring the young man to his mother. You may judge by the tears she shed over this cherished son what was her care to preserve for him the life he had just recovered by removing the cause which occasioned its loss. Jesus likewise confides to the Church those whom He has drawn from spiritual death, and this tender mother surrounds them by her care. She instructs them by her lessons, sustains them by her exhortations, strengthens them by her sacraments, and hinders them from falling again into death. If ever you have the misfortune of losing the life of grace, do not despair; but be generous in your correspondence to the goodness of God when He shall recall you to Him.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

Indifferentism - The Heresy of the Day

9/1/2019

Words to ponder:

Did you ever stop to realize when you say one church is as good as another, you take all meaning, all significance, out of Christ's life and work among men?

What is the most prominent feature in the life of Christ? It is His teachings!

Presenting Himself to men, and bringing to men, God's revelation. The truths of Life, Death and Eternity. What men must believe! And how men must live in accordance with this belief!

Probably the most telling point in His whole life's ministry was when He stood before Pontius Pilate. And Jesus cried out to Pilate, and to all mankind! "For this I was born, for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth."

For truth, Christ came into the world! For truth He suffered! For truth He died!

And indifferentism lightly says: "It makes no difference to God whether you believe truth or error."

Then why was Christ here among us? Then why did He teach? Then why did He suffer and die for truth? Was Christ worse than a human fool?

And what about the Apostles? In all justice the Apostles were eleven good men. Tried and true! They had given up everything for Christ. Homes, friends, positions! They had suffered with Him the scorn, the jeers, and the abuse. He had seen them so hungry that they were plucking the corn from the stalks and eating it raw. He had seen them thirsty, footsore, and weary. They had trudged with Him over the dreary miles of the Galilean desert sands. And all for love of Him. And that alone! Their only reward had been hardship, hunger, and the hatred of men.

Christ not only foresaw, but He even foretold, the hardships, the imprisonments, the exiles, the tortures, the cruel deaths, that were in store for them.

What can you think of Christ? Here He is, ordering these men, His dearest, most beloved friends, to suffer all things in order to bring His teachings to men. When it made no difference to Him whether men believed them not. How could Christ command them thus? You who believe Christ was God! And believe God is love! Is God an inhuman tyrant?

And what about the Christians of all ages? Those who had kept the word delivered to them by the Apostles!

Did Christ not foresee the centuries of bloody persecution in which His followers would be dragged from their homes, torn from their loved ones, thrown into the loathsome dungeons, scourged, burned, exposed to wild beasts, beheaded, crucified, suffering under the the worst and most diabolical of torments? Did He not foresee all this? did He not foresee all that His followers would suffer and suffer simply because they believed in Him and were faithful to His teachings?

He did foresee all this! He knew exactly what would happen! Can you believe then, knowing God as you know Him, this God loving you as you know He loves you, that He would have demanded obedience to His teachings in the face of all this if it makes no difference to Him what men believe? What doctrines they hold? To what church men belong?

Finally, picture one of the martyrs, his body torn limb from limb; his ears cut off; his eyes burned out by red-hot irons; his tongue ripped out, and red-hot lead poured down his throat; his hair torn out by the roots; tortured and tormented by every diabolical scheme that men could devise; until nearly dead, he is thrown into a furnace where death relieves him from his torments.

Now picture Christ! Coming along and gazing upon that wounded and bruised and scarred body. Gazing into those eyeless sockets, which had welled with those scalding tears of pain and agony.

Can you picture Christ, His lips curled in derision, a mocking light in His eyes, as He says: "I was only joking - it really makes no difference what you believe, or whether you believe anything at all. The joke is on you!"

Can you even imagine such a vile, blasphemous picture of Christ?

But that is the picture indifferentism would give you!

Indifferenism, which says: "One church is as good as another." Indifferentism, which is nothing but blasphemy! Indifferentism, which is simply atheism.

Source: One Church is not as good as another by Rev. Wilfred Hurley C.S.P

10th Sunday after Pentecost - The Pharisee and the Publican

8/18/2019

WE cannot better understand the manner in which we should pray than by establishing a parallel between the defective prayer of the Pharisee and the excellent prayer of the publican. Let us, therefore, examine the dispositions of both.

First Point.—The dispositions of the Pharisee. There were good and bad dispositions in his prayer. There was something good in him, because he went to the temple to pray. In this he imitated the example of Jesus. He did what the faithful observers of the law do, and what should be done after the example of the apostles and the saints. He understood the words of Holy Writ, "My house is a house of prayer." How many men are there today who pretend to be better than this Pharisee and still they do not even do as much as he did? And even you, when you go to the temple, is it true that you go there to pray?

The Pharisee gave thanks to God for His benefits. Jesus also thanked His Father in His prayers. This is a duty which the Church is careful to impress on us every day at Mass—" It is right and just to return thanks to God." The Pharisee understood the duty of gratitude. How many Christians who have been filled with God's choicest blessings do not understand this duty? Are you of this number?

The Pharisee was neither a thief, nor an adulterer, nor an unjust man. Consequently, he observed many of God's commandments—the seventh, which says, "Thou shalt not steal;" the sixth, which forbids adultery; in fact, he avoided what is forbidden by all the commandments, viz., injustice. In many respects he was not of the number of those of whom St. Paul says: "They who do these things shall not enter the kingdom of heaven."

This Pharisee did good works; he fasted two days in each week, thereby following the example of Jesus, the apostles, and all true Christians. He gave alms, paid his tithes on all he possessed, and in this imitated Abraham and fulfilled the law of Jesus. Where are the Christians, even among those who are reputed pious, who do as much as he did? We are obliged to praise and admire all this in the Pharisee, but here is what we must blame in him and the reason his prayer was rejected: He was of the number of those who consider themselves just, rely on themselves, and despise others. Spiritual pride, which is the worst of all, blinds the Pharisee to such an extent that he no longer regards himself as a sinner. This it is which corrupts all good works in their very essence and makes his prayer vicious. He is also guilty in his prayer; he sees nothing in himself which is reprehensible; in fact, there is nothing for which he may reproach or accuse himself, and he regards himself as entirely innocent. It is said, however, that "the just man first accuses himself." David conjured the Lord to pardon him for his hidden faults, and has not St. Paul spoken these words: "Although I do not feel guilty of anything, still I am not justified for that."

The Pharisee, under the very eye of God, enumerated his good works, not to refer them to the Author of every good, but to take pride in them. Instead of saying, "That which I am, I am by the grace of God," he refers all his good qualities to himself; he exaggerates and esteems them far more than they are really worth, and, under the veil of his presumptuous pride, it is not God whom he thanks, but himself.

The Pharisee commits a third fault by comparing himself with the publican, to despise him. By what right does he exalt himself the judge of his neighbor? St. Paul has said: "It is why, O man, you are inexcusable if you judge others; for in judging others you condemn yourself, since you do that which you condemn in them." It was not enough for the Pharisee to exalt himself above the publican, but in his pride he exalted himself above all men. "Lord, I thank Thee that I am not as the rest of men." With such dispositions, is it surprising that his good works were sterile, his piety rejected, and that he returned to his house without being justified! Is it not written: "God resists the proud and gives His grace to the humble"?

Second Point. The Dispositions of the Publican. In the prayer of the publican there is much to
praise and nothing to blame. And first remark his profound humility. He remains as far as he can away from the altar, and there accuses himself before God. At the sorrowful sight of his faults, he does not dare to approach the sanctuary; he considers himself unworthy to appear in the presence of the Lord, he is so convinced of his unworthiness. Accustom yourself to modesty, and do not strive to obtain preference; here on earth, the last place is the best. The divine Master has said: "Whosoever humbles himself shall be exalted."

While the Pharisee was standing erect with his eyes raised to the altar, the poor publican, ashamed and humiliated at his criminal life, trembles in the presence of the Lord and Judge and dares not to lift his eyes to heaven. You are also a sinner; therefore imitate a repentant sinner. As the publican, be penetrated by a salutary shame at the remembrance of your faults, and as he entertain a holy respect in presence of the God whom you have offended and who shall one day be your Judge. Admire, in the second place, the publican's spirit of penance. He strikes his breast, and by this action he loudly confesses that he has merited the chastisements of God. He strikes his own breast because he accuses himself, without striving to cast his faults on another. You also have sinned, and by your sin you have incurred the enmity of God. Do you wish to obtain pardon ? Strike your breast also, and, humbly at the knees of the priest in the tribunal of penance, do not fear to say: "It is through my fault, through my fault, it is through my great fault that I have sinned by thought and word and deed and omission." The humble publican adds to this exterior act a prayer which comes from a heart which is truly contrite: "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner!" Thus it is he speaks to God, and not to himself, as the Pharisee did; he does not enumerate his good works with complacency; he only accuses himself, avows himself a sinner, and asks for mercy and pardon. When you are before God do not rely on your good works and your merits to attract His graces, but recall and tell Him, in the bitterness of your heart, all your sorrows and faults. Let your lips frequently repeat the humble prayer of the publican: "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner!" and then there shall flow from your eyes those tears of penance which shall merit for you grace and pardon.

And now make an examination of your own conduct. Indeed, you detest the culpable conduct and the haughty hypocrisy of the Pharisee, but have you been careful to avoid it in your own life? As he, you are, perhaps, exempt from the gross vices; in your conduct, as in his, we may see evidences of good works ; but are you wholly exempt from pride, envy, ambition, and those other spiritual vices, with which the heart of this presumptuous man was filled? Put away all such sentiments, which are so unworthy of a Christian, and strive to imitate the example of the poor publican! Pray as he did, in the church and out of it, with the same humility, the same fervor, and then rest assured that your prayers shall be heard always.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

9th Sunday after Pentecost - Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem

8/11/2019

ON seeing the Saviour of the world shed tears over Jerusalem, strive to understand under what circumstances He shed them and what is the object of His tears.

First Point.—The circumstances under which Jesus shed tears. Nothing on the part of Jerusalem seems to justify them, and with regard to Himself nothing seems to provoke them. In Jerusalem everything appears to inspire joy, everything breathes of happiness. From afar you may see the rich palaces, brilliant and lifting their domes to the clouds, her splendid temple, and her impregnable towers ; you can hear the sound of her joyous population, and the eye of man perceives nothing there which can explain the profound sadness of the Saviour. But the look of Jesus is not the look of a man; it is the look of a God before whom everything is unveiled. It pierces the future, it sounds the depths of hearts, it judges men and things, not after they have appeared, but before they had existence. And now behold the mysteries which the eye of Jesus discovered in the unfortunate city which provoked His tears.

On the Mount of Olives, where He had come to pour out His soul in prayer, from this lofty summit Jesus saw the fearful storm which was already gathering over the heads of this guilty people. Jerusalem was condemned to perish, and the sentence was irrevocably pronounced. Titus and Vespasian, who were to be the terrible executioners, appeared before the saddened eyes of Jesus. On the very spot where He had received a kind of triumph, Vespasian shall establish his camp for the extermination of the city; thousands of crosses are erected, on which the Jews must expiate their crime of Deicide; He perceives the burning of the city, the fall of its walls, the flight or the death of its inhabitants, the captivity of those who could neither fly nor die, the frightful famine which would compel mothers to devour their own offspring— the scene of desolation which must ruin the proud and unfaithful city was all before His eyes. Then it was He wept over it and its misfortunes. He had predicted it, and He would have hindered it; but His Father had pronounced the sentence, and He could only weep over the sad future of a city which He had loved so much.

On the part of Jesus, nothing seems to provoke the tears He shed. All Jerusalem carries Him in triumph, arid the multitude in its enthusiasm exclaims: "Glory to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" Some extend their garments under His feet, while othersstrew flowers on the streets through which He passes. What, then, is the secret of His tears? Why sadness and sorrow at the moment when everything calls for happiness and joy? Jesus would teach us to restrain ourselves in prosperity by the expectation of the evils which may surprise us. It is written in our sacred books that joy and sorrow meet each other here below, and a day of joy may be the precursor of a day of affliction. It is not, therefore, necessary for a Christian to allow himself to indulge in a delirium of triumph, but it is necessary that he should strive to preserve, in the most lively and legitimate joy, a certain sentiment of sorrow which becomes a disciple of the cross and predisposes him to endure better the inconstancy of men and the reverses of fortune.

"I know well," said a famous orator to the tribune, "that the Tarpeian rock is close to the Capitol." One day the celebrated Ugolin, a chief of the Guelphs, having accomplished a complete triumph over a faction of the Gibelines, invited all his friends to a banquet. He recalled his recent successes, and asked of one of his most devoted friends if there was anything wanting to complete his happiness. "Yes," answered his friend, "the anger of God cannot be far from so great prosperity." He was indeed a prophet without being aware of it, for, some time after, Ugolin was conquered and taken prisoner; then he was imprisoned in a tower with his two sons and three nephews, and there they all died of hunger. Who is there that can securely count on the delusive' prosperity which comes to us here on earth?

Second Point.—What is the object of the Saviour's tears? If Jesus weeps, is it not over His approaching passion and death, since, some days later and amid the most bitter sorrows, He consoles the holy women who followed Him? He said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over Me, but weep for yourselves and your children." These words clearly indicate the object of His tears. It is the blindness of the Jewish people—a blindness which was followed by the ruin of their city and the loss of souls. To sin is the sad portion of humanity, but to persevere in crime and to have no wish to rise from that condition is the characteristic of the demon. Now Jerusalem, indisposed and laden with iniquity, rejects the Physician who had come from heaven to heal her; she refuses to know the peace which is offered her or Him who visits her. How could He restrain His tears when beholding such blindness?

That which increased the sorrow of the Saviour was that the unfortunate inhabitants of Jerusalem were amusing themselves at the very moment He wept over them. Everything in the city was festive and rejoicing, although they were on the eve of their last misfortune. "If thou hadst known, on this day, that which can procure thee peace, the day shall come when thine enemies shall surround thee and they shall overthrow thee, and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone." And so the tears of Jesus are disinterested, tears so much the more bitter because of the sorrows which caused them to flow, because they were shed over a city formerly faithful, loved by God, and filled with His most signal favors.

Several cities of Judea must share the same lot as Jerusalem; Jesus knew this. However, He wept only for Jerusalem. Ah, it was because it was formerly the cherished city of God, and because today it was the most ungrateful. When Jesus wept over the tomb of Lazarus the Jews said: "See how He loved him." Why, then, today, when He weeps over them, do they not say: "See how He loves us"? It is because all that is hidden from their eyes and they understand nothing of their own history.

The second object over which Jesus shed tears is ourselves. Alas, what a painful similarity to make between us and Jerusalem! And in this similarity how many traits of resemblance afflict the heart of Our Saviour and should cover us with confusion! As Jerusalem, we have been chosen by God as the portion of His inheritance. He has enriched us with His graces. At a certain epoch in our life we received Him in triumph, and we have promised Him an inviolable fidelity. What has become of our promises? What have we done with His graces? Jesus weeps over us, over our innocence lost, over our promises violated, and over the evils which threaten us. Today are we grateful, at least for the time in which He visits us? It is like the efforts which God makes to bring back the lost sheep—the loving searches of the Good Shepherd—to the fold; it is like the anxious solicitude of the woman who disturbs everything in her house to find the lost drachma.

God seeks us in two ways: At one time it is His love and His grace which call us to prayer which has been abandoned for a long time, or He knocks gently at our hearts in the assembly of the faithful. Again, it is Divine Justice which chastises us to recall us to the right way, and sends us afflictions to remove from our eyes the bandage which blinds us. Happy is the soul who knows how to correspond to the voice of God, whether it sounds with severity or whether it calls us with love.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

August 5th - Our Lady of the Snow

8/5/2019

Under the Pontificate of Liberius, John, a Roman patrician, and his wife, who was of an equally noble race, having no children to whom they might leave their estates, vowed their whole fortune to the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, begging her most earnestly and continually to make known to them by some means in what pious work she wished them to employ the money. The Blessed Virgin Mary graciously heard their heartfelt prayers and vows, and answered them by a miracle.

On the Nones of August, usually the hottest time of the year in Borne, a part of the Esquiline hill was covered with snow during the night. That same night the Mother of God appeared in a dream to John and his wife separately, and told them to build a church on the spot they should find covered with snow, and to dedicate it tot he Virgin Mary; for it was in this manner that she wished to become their heiress. John related this to Pope Liberius, who said he had dreamt the same thing.

He went therefore, with a solemn procession of priests and people to the snow-clad hill, and chose the site of a church, which was built with the money of John and his wife. It was afterwards rebuilt by Sixtus III. At first it was called by different names, the Liberian basilica, St. Mary at the Crib. But, since there are many churches in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and as this one surpasses all other basilicas in dignity and by its miraculous beginning, it is distinguished from them also by its title of St. Mary Major. On account of the miraculous fall of snow, the anniversary of the dedication is celebrated by a yearly solemnity.

Source: The Liturgical Year, Vol. XIII. 1868

2019 - 2020 Maidens for Mary and Crusaders for Christ Student Planners

8/4/2019

The printed copies of the Maidens for Mary and Crusaders for Christ 2019-2020 Student Planners are now available to purchase. These planners begin with August of 2019 and end with June of 2020. You may view them by looking at the scribd file below. A print your own PDF file can be found here. They are copyrighted, so please abide by the copyright laws.

You can purchase a printed and bound version by clicking here: Bellas Little Shoppe. THEY ARE PRINTED AND READY TO SHIP.

8th Sunday after Pentecost - The Parable of the Unjust Steward

8/4/2019

THERE are few narratives in the Gospel which are so replete with useful instructions as the parable of the unjust steward. Reflect on these most interesting circumstances, and strive to profit by the lessons which they contain.

A rich man had a steward. This rich man is God, and He alone merits this title truly, because He only disposes of all goods, since He is Sovereign and Master of all. The rich of the world are not rich except by Him; if men have science, wealth, virtue, or beauty, they possess all these goods from His liberality. Besides, these borrowed riches may disappear in one moment or another; their loss may be occasioned by some disgrace, an illness, or a reverse of fortune; while, on the contrary, God is free from all reverses, all accidents, and from every inconstancy.
This man had a steward. We are all the stewards of God, and to all He has confided goods which we should improve. There are goods in the order of nature, and goods in the order of grace. Everything has been confided to us as a trust which we must render fruitful for our Master. Intelligence and genius come from God; we must employ them for His glory. The faculty of loving is a gift of His heart; we should direct it towards Him who is its principal and its most worthy object. If we have riches, let us strive to employ them in doing Him homage and by distributing them among the poor, who are His representatives. The sacraments, sermons, and holy inspirations are the gifts of God. He has lavished them on us as to His children, but it is on the condition that we make them fructify for His glory by making them serve for our sanctification.

The steward in question here was defamed to his master for having badly administered the goods which had been confided to him. From this learn that God knows everything. He knows perfectly those who are faithful and those who are not, those who are negligent and those who are zealous. Therefore, if He remain silent, if He fail to strike the guilty one, understand it well, it is not because He has not seen him or has forgotten him, but His patient mercy gives us time to think of ourselves and to repair the offenses of which we are guilty towards Him. When the time marked by His justice shall come, He shall call us before His tribunal. God calls us all, one after the other, a little sooner or later, but He shall call all without exception. Though we were concealed in an abyss, God need only make a sign, and Death, the implacable messenger, shall hasten to strike us and to cast us at the feet of our Judge. Then our examination shall begin.

What is this I hear of you? A thousand complaints have reached me and directly accuse you. Your conscience groans in its slavery. I have given it to you to be your rule, your guide, and instead of hearing its voice and walking in its light you have stifled its cries, you hold it captive in iniquity, and it complains of the violence you have done it. The poor, whom you should assist
according to your means—the poor, My friends and your brethren, complain of your neglect and the hardness of your heart. The blood of My Son whom I have delivered up for you—this blood, which you trample under your feet and which you despise or which you profane in the sacraments, cries for vengeance against you. My ministers whom you insult—these men of peace who have instructed your infancy, guided your youth, consoled your sorrows—My ministers mourn over your sins, the cry of their hearts has reached me. Why then are all these complaints? Now render an account of your administration.

O terrible words! they shall be addressed to us one day; they shall resound in our ears with the sound of thunder which suddenly comes to awake us from sleep in the middle of the still night. O unfaithful Christian! you have been born of virtuous parents, in the bosom of the true Church, and, consequently in the midst of all graces, and of all the means of salvation; to sustain and to sanctify you, you have had the sacraments, instructions, good examples, wise counsels, remorse of conscience—and what profit have you made of all these graces? "Give an account of thy stewardship, for now thou canst be steward no longer."

There shall come a day when God shall take from us all His goods, and there shall no longer be grace to aid us, nor talents to improve, nor merits to acquire. That day has already come for many whom you have known, and it shall also come for you, and when it shall come and your stewardship shall have been taken from you it shall be forever. Shall you not draw some practical consequences from such a terrible truth? Shall you live always as if this world belonged to you, and as if you were never to depart from it? Oh! do not forget that you are constantly nearing one of these two alternatives-- either an eternity of punishment, if you are a sinner, or an eternity of delights, if you have been faithful.

"But what shall I do?" said the unjust steward to himself. How shall I escape the evils which threaten me ? Then it was that a means was suggested which was more cunning than equitable, and which justified these words of our blessed Lord: "The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." The children of the world are they who think only of the present life, and who are occupied only with what interests them on earth. The children of light are they who know that there is another life, who aspire to life eternal, desiring and wishing to gain their salvation. You have the happiness to be of this number, but compare your prudence for eternal things with the prudence of the worldly for temporal things, and see how much their prudence is superior to yours.

They are superior in action, they do not fear pain or suffering, and it is even one of their principles that we obtain nothing without difficulty. They spare themselves in nothing—humiliating undertakings, prolonged watchings, voyages, fatigues, in fact nothing disheartens them. They are superior in reflection; they wish to be ignorant of nothing which can be useful to them. They study, they examine, they search deeply, they consult, they ask; their whole mind is concentrated on what they desire, and they profit by everything. They are superior in their resources; ill success never discourages them, and they arrange to withdraw from unsuccessful business; then it is that their activity and shrewdness are especially manifest. There are no means which they do not discover, no attempts which they do not make, no resources they do not employ; and when placed in greatest disgrace, they have the secret of still finding resources-- witness the unfaithful steward of whom our blessed Saviour speaks. Alas! shall these men be so prudent for the earth, and shall we do so little for heaven? In the matter of salvation we would wish that everything were easy, and we would abandon success, if to assure it we must labor and combat. In our contests for virtue the least reverse discourages us, our falls make us despair, and instead of thinking of the means to repair the past and of fortifying ourselves for the future, instead of animating us with new ardor and of taking new precautions, we are tempted to abandon everything, and we are imprudent enough sometimes to do so.

My God, should I not blush for my imprudence, for my carelessness, for my sloth in a matter where there is question of Thy glory and my eternal salvation! and when the children of the world are so attentive, so prudent, so laborious, and so persevering to attain their ends? May their conduct be always a living lesson to teach me what I should do for Thee, and to sustain myself in the difficult way of virtue.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

Popular Instructions on the Bringing up of Children

8/3/2019

The future welfare of both Church and state depends chiefly on the manner in which the rising generation is brought up, for if all parents were to give their children a good religious training, the future prosperity of both Church and state would be assured, because a good religious training will make children good Christians, and, as experience proves, good Christians are always good citizens. In our "Popular Instructions on Marriage" we have briefly outlined the duties of parents in the bringing up of their children. In this little work we enter more fully into details, and clearly point out, almost step by step, the manner in which Christian parents should bring up their children from birth to the time when they embrace that state of life for which God has destined them. May this little book prove useful in directing and assisting parents in the proper performance of the noble but difficult task of making their children exemplary Christians and virtuous citizens!

The book that this excerpt was taken from can be read in its entirety here.

7th Sunday after Pentecost - On False Prophets

7/27/2019

ON the journey of life you walk between truth and falsehood. There are holy prophets who strive to direct you in the right pathway; there are also false prophets who seek to seduce you and to lead you astray. To avoid these false prophets you must know them. This shall be easy for you, since you may judge them by their works. " By their fruits you shall know them."

First Point.—It is in your own heart and in your passions that you shall find the false prophets who are most to be feared. To those perfidious teachers these words of the Saviour are especially appropriate: "They come to you under the appearance of lambs, but within they are ravening wolves." What flatters us more than a passion? What is sweeter to us than its language or more seducing than its promises? Should you listen to it, it will give you happiness and glory—everything will be yours if you consent to open your heart to it and submit to its amiable empire. Thus it is that pleasure promises the sweetest joys. Envy shows us the humiliation of a rival as a most beautiful triumph. But if you are wise you will close your ears to the voices of these sirens, consider their effects, and then judge them.

We read in the Sacred Scriptures that a woman named Jahel, beholding Sisara hurriedly departing, recalled him by the most flattering words: "Come to my house; fear not, for I shall conceal you from the search of your enemies." Sisara returned at this invitation and at first was entertained splendidly. Jahel gave him milk to drink and clothed him with a beautiful mantle, and he slept in fullest confidence. But while he slept this perfidious woman drove a large nail in his head, and he perished a victim to his credulity. And this is what the passions do; they promise life, a happy life, to those who listen to them, but in reality they are the cause of death—at first the death of the soul by inducing to sin; and they often occasion the death of the body, for every one knows how pleasures, intemperance, impurity, and idleness produce a multitude of maladies and infirmities which abridge the life of those who indulge in them.

Sensual pleasures have all the attraction and sweetness of honey; we taste them without suspicion, and relish their delights; little by little, we sleep and forget God, our soul, and eternity. The habit of living only a material and sensual life becomes as the nail which binds us to the earth, and we are miserably lost. Guard well, therefore, against the voice of passions; learn to rule them, otherwise you shall become their slave; and what greater misfortune can there be than such a slavery!

Second Point.—The second kind of false prophet you should mistrust is the world, or rather the respectable worldlings. If you have to deal with men who are known as infidels or libertines, you will have less to fear, because you will be on your guard. But the men whom you are to question have a reputation for honesty and respectability, and it is this very morality which puts aside every suspicion. They come to you with a smile on their lips, and oh, how charming their language is! It has all the sweetness of honey. Youth must have its pleasures, and to interdict a young person from balls, theatres, and certain books is a species of cruelty! Religion must not exact privations which are beyond human strength! God has not created man to make him miserable, and to forbid him the pleasures of the world is to rob him of every happiness! This is the language of your respectable worldly man, this is what he will tell you, and such are the false prophets of whom you must beware. Judge of them by their fruits. And what are the effects of those books which your respectable worldling counsels you to read? They exaggerate the imagination, falsify the judgment, place the soul outside the limits of truth, and feed it with
chimeras. Romantic ideas, loss of time, forgetfulness of the most sacred duties, distaste for life, and, consequently, suicide—behold the fruits of those readings which some shall tell you are innocent!

With regard to the pleasures of the world, unquestionably they are not all equally criminal, but experience proves how sad, how disastrous they are to virtue. Distaste for piety, abandonment of prayer, hardness of heart, a spirit of vanity and of pride—behold the least consequences of those pleasures to which the world agrees! The distaste for piety and abandonment of prayer. How can we bring to prayer the recollection it requires on returning from a ball, when the senses and imagination are full of excitement from all we have seen and heard?

Hardness of heart. A person in the midst of the world, accustomed to the society of happy people, never dreams of the sufferings of the poor; if we behold misery, we turn our eyes away in disgust; and, besides, vanity absorbs our resources to satisfy the demands of style and dress, and we never have anything to give to the poor. Be on your guard, therefore, against the world, its maxims, its examples, and especially its pleasures; never forget that one cannot serve two masters; you must stand for virtue or vanity, for God or the world.

Third Point.—The third kind of false prophets which you should mistrust is composed of all the enemies of the Church. Here also the most dangerous are not the unbelievers. They do not come under the shepherd's staff, they do not dissemble, and on that account it is more easy for you to be on your guard against their impious words. Heresy is more to be feared because it conceals the poison of error under the appearance of truth. It is not inclined to show itself such as it is, or to uncover its designs and to plainly expose its thoughts. It strives to conceal and disguise and hide itself under the staff of the faithful shepherd. To hear some speak, you would think them the true children of the Church, wholly submissive to all her decisions. Equivocations are not their least defects. They place the Church where it seems good for them, and they recognize only those decisions which do not attack their errors. They appear to labor only for God, they call themselves His envoys, and promise to conduct souls to salvation. They support their doctrine by a certain regularity of life; their exterior is edifying and composed; but under a simple garb, under a mortified exterior, they conceal a spirit of fury and hatred, and carry destruction and division everywhere; they are the ravening wolves in the midst of the flocks of Jesus Christ. But the sheep should fly from them, avoid their assemblies, reject their books, and close their ears to their misleading discourses. As an excuse for your relations with the enemies of your faith, you say that you do not indulge in religious disputes. Now either this is to hold your salvation and your religion as worth but little, or you fail to distinguish two things most distinct. Without doubt, all the faithful are not obliged to enter into the depths of disputed matters between Catholics and heretics, but all should be on their guard, lest they give their confidence to false prophets, lest they follow a false doctrine, a doctrine condemned by the Church. This is a precept of Jesus Christ. If through want of this attention you are seduced or led astray, you can have no excuse. To say also that we should not judge any one is to misconstrue the words of Jesus, and to forget that in the same chapter where He forbids us to judge He commands us to be most attentive and watchful.

O my God, how many false doctors strive to mislead me, by preaching to me a doctrine and maxims which are contrary to Thy doctrine and Thy maxims. Save me, Lord, from the pitfalls which surround my pathway, and do not permit that I should ever cease to hear Thy commandments, Thou who art the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

Mary, Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and our Mother, thou seest how the Catholic Faith is assailed by the devil and the world, that Faith in which we purpose, by the help of God, to live and die. To thee do we entrust our firm purpose of never joining assembles of heretics. Do thou, all holy, offer to thy divine Son our resolutions, and obtain from Him the graces necessary for us to keep them unto the end. Amen.

6th Sunday after Pentecost - Confidence in God

7/20/2019

WHILE meditating on the different circumstances of this day's Gospel, you shall find... in it the great foundations of Christian confidence, viz., the knowledge of God, His goodness, and His power.

First Point.—The knowledge of God is the first foundation of our confidence in Him. See, by the Gospel of to-day, how all that concerns us is of greatest concern to Jesus, in the past, the present, and the future. For the past: Jesus reminds His disciples that during three days the people followed Him. He therefore knows how long we have served Him, and He has counted all the moments. Our divine Saviour adds: "Some of them have come from afar." Not only does He count the time, but He knows all that it has cost us to come to Him—the temptations we have resisted, the obstacles we have overcome, and the sacrifices we have imposed on ourselves. There is not a step taken for Him that He has not seen and which He does not remember. Ah, how sweet it is to serve a Master who knows so well all that we have done for Him!

For the present: Jesus warns His disciples that the people are in great need and that He has not wherewith to nourish them. Whatsoever may be the situation in which we are, God sees us and knows all our needs; He knows our misery and our poverty, our losses and our misfortunes, our afflictions and our pains, our temptations and our weakness, our spiritual and temporal wants. Men do not know them, and often they wish neither to know them nor to believe them. Why then do you place your confidence in men, and not in God alone? Why do you not seek your consolation in this sweet thought, that God sees everything and knows everything?

For the future, Jesus reminds the apostles of the danger of sending the people away without having given them some nourishment. Ordinarily it is the future which is the cause of our greatest solicitude; it is the future which the demon employs frequently to disturb and discourage us; but why are we disturbed by a future of which we are ignorant? God only knows it; let us leave it to His care. Not only does He see the future, but He sees it in relation to us; He sees what must befall us, whether it be happy or unfortunate, and He knows the means to put away from us whatever may be injurious and to procure for us whatever may be advantageous. Let us therefore place in Him our entire confidence. Then shall we give Him the most glorious worship that is possible for us, and we shall find, for ourselves, the most precious blessing, viz., peace of heart.

Second Point.-The goodness of God is the second foundation of our confidence. Jesus, having called His disciples, said to them: - "I have compassion on the people." The knowledge which God has of our needs is not a sterile knowledge. Alas', men, for the most part, when they see us in affliction remain insensible. The fortunate ones of the world hearing of the sufferings of the poor, are but little moved and neglect to bring them assistance. But it is not so with our God. The sight of our miseries excites in Him the sentiments of tenderest compassion: "I have compassion on the multitude because they continue with Me now three days and have not what to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way." What treasures of tenderness are enclosed in the heart of Jesus, since these words escaped from His lips. O my amiable Saviour, whose heart is sensible to all miseries, shall Thou behold mine and not be moved?

The knowledge which God has of our needs stirs His Sacred Heart with compassion; it does more, it prompts Him to assist us. Jesus, having represented to His apostles that the people who had followed Him for three days had nothing to eat added "I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way." Listen to these words you who follow Christ and who are faithfully attached to Him! Yes, in His service you shall suffer. He will test your fervor and your constancy to a certain point, but He knows how far and how long your strength will last, and He will not allow you to be tried beyond that. Everything seems to be wanting; your condition has become desperate; relatives, friends, protectors, all have abandoned you ; but your God will never abandon you, He will assist you. Where shall this assistance come from ? This is the objection which the apostles raise. "Whence then should we have so many loaves in the desert, as to fill so great a multitude?" 'Whence shall come the assistance? You do not know, nor can you foresee; but should it not suffice to know that God wishes we should have it, and that He does not wish we should be abandoned in our need? Rest assured in the bosom of His infinite goodness, persevere in the sentiments of the fullest confidence, and you shall not be deceived.

Third Point.—The power of God is the third foundation of our confidence in Him. "And taking the seven loaves which His apostles gave Him, He blessed them and distributed them to the people. All did eat and were filled, and they took up that which was left of the fragments, seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about four thousand men, without counting the women and children." What a prodigy ! What abundance ! And yet this prodigy of power God renews every day in favor of His children.

In the general order of nature every year the earth is covered by new riches to provide for all our needs, the plants grow again, the animals are multiplied, the grains and fruits are reproduced. This prodigy as admirable as it is constant; a prodigy which should give us an exalted idea of the power of God and fill our hearts with tenderest gratitude. But, ungrateful and unfaithful as we are, we think only of enjoying the gifts of God, without ever thinking of the omnipotent hand which has lavished them.

This prodigy is renewed every day in the special order of His providence. God has secret resources for those who put their trust in Him. The miracles which He employs are not always shining and sensible miracles, but they are the miracles of a Providence as attentive and as admirable as they are hidden. We find some just and charitable souls who aid the poor, assist the unfortunate, contribute to the decorations of the altars, assist in all good works, and who, however, are never in need themselves. The more they give, the more they have to give, without knowing whence or how the abundance comes. Everything prospers with them, and goods seem to multiply in their hands. Whatever they give is as a seed which produces a hundredfold. It is the consequence of their confidence in Him whose providence governs everything and provides everything.

This prodigy of power is renewed every day in the order of grace. The miracle of the multiplication of loaves is the figure of the Eucharistic bread. In what profusion the Lord has provided for the nourishment of our souls? Not only does He give us His grace, but He gives us Himself, who is the Author of all grace. If we are in need, if we are weak and languishing, the fault is our own. Do we need the bread of the strong, or is the bread of the strong wanting in strength? It is we who need it; we are wanting to ourselves, allowing ourselves to die of hunger in the midst of abundance, either because we refuse to eat of this bread which is offered us, or because we do not partake of it with the necessary dispositions.

O my God, Thou beholdest all my temporal and spiritual needs. Thy goodness is moved by them, and Thou wishest to help me; Thy power is infinite, and nothing can resist Thee. In whom shall I hope if I do not hope in Thee? Ah, Lord, the more pressing my needs shall be, the more my soul shall languish and the greater shall be my confidence in Thee.

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897

5th Sunday after Pentecost - On Christian Justice

7/6/2019

JESUS, in the Gospel of today, warns you that if your piety would be agreeable to God, it must excel the justice of the Pharisees. He reproaches these hypocritical men, by declaring that all their justice was most culpable since it was purely exterior, wholly incomplete, and most interested.

First Point—The justice of the Pharisees was wholly exterior. Jesus said to them: "You are careful to cleanse the exterior of the cup regardless of what is within it," and for this reason He calls them "whited sepulchres" St. Luke also speaks of the justice of the Pharisees: "I am not as the rest of men." In what do you excel, vain and proud man ? " I fast twice in the week and I pay the tenth of all I possess." He boasts only of his external works, and they that resemble him are attached only to the external observances. The Pharisee does not abandon or despise the practices of piety, or the ceremonies of religion. Exterior worship is a duty, and the sloth or false shame which makes us neglect it is a sin. But it is quite another thing to be engaged solely in exterior works of piety, and to put aside the virtues which are in the soul; this is really to possess a Pharisaical justice.

If your piety be true, it must be united to virtue. To be pious without being virtuous is to cleanse the outside of the cup without putting in it the perfume which must attract the pleasure of God; it is to resemble those whited sepulchres of which the Saviour spoke, which appeared beautiful in the eyes of men, but which were within full of dead bones and corruption. If, therefore, you wish that your worship may be an act of adoration, and not a falsehood, it must be the expression of your interior sentiments; otherwise you shall merit this reproach of the Saviou: " These people honor me with their
lips, but their hearts are far from me." Yes, says Bossuet, to say prayers, to go to church, assist at the holy sacrifice, to take holy water, and to kneel without having the spirit of all this, is pharisaical justice. It seems to have some exactitude, but it is reprobated by God, who wishes to have, particularly, the homage of the heart. Is this deceitful piety, which was so common in the Mosaic law, very rare in the Church of Jesus Christ ? Alas, how many Christians pride themselves on their regularity, and place all their perfection in the fulfillment of the exterior duties which religion commands, while they neglect what is most imperiously commanded—to restrain their temper, regulate their inclinations, and repress their passions!

How many are considered as devout people because they are assiduous in the temple, and who are vain, sensual, angry, and detractors? They are scrupulous at the slightest neglect in their habits of devotion, but they have no remorse for their numerous defects. The reason of this inversion of principles is not easily understood. The external practices are not so difficult as the exercise of interior virtue the performance of some acts costs less than self reformation. We, therefore, abandon the duties which require combats against ourselves, to indulge in practices which are more to our tastes. Guard well against this deceitful piety, which will hopelessly ruin you because it forms in you a conscience which is truly false.

Second Point.—The justice of the Pharisee, was incomplete. True justice, that which shone in the lives of the saints, is an act of obedience and fidelity to all the commandments: it fulfilled all the law. Jesus has said: "He that loves Me shall keep My commandments." He did not say some of My commandments, nor for some time only, but all the commandments, and always, and at every age. The Pharisees chose, according to their caprice, those commandments which were convenient for them. They practiced certain observances which were to their taste, and neglected the most essential precepts. This is the reproach which Jesus made to them, and with a severity of language which clearly shows the indignation with which this vicious piety inspired Him. "Woe to you, Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are exact in paying tithes, you are faithful in observing certain legal ceremonies, and you forget the essential duties of justice, charity and mercy."

The Pharisees considered it a crime to gather a bundle of straw on the Sabbath day, while on that same day they formed intrigues against Jesus. They took care to wash their hands before their repasts, and charged the apostles with a crime for neglecting this practice ; but at the same time they violated the precept which commanded them to honor father and mother. This is certainly a strange combination of piety and sin which can be explained only with difficulty. If we are unfaithful in little things, and stand firm in greater matters, this would be a consequence of our poor human frailty; but that we should discover a piety whose character is to be exact even to scrupulosity in little things, and to neglect things which are essential, is one of the grossest illusions. But it is so frequent that it cannot be guarded against too much. Look upon it as one of the pitfalls which the demon places for souls which he sees strongly attached to virtue. If he tempted them to commit sin, these souls would reject the temptation with horror. Having no hope to seduce them, he strives to lead them astray. He employs, however, the contrary means. It is through their very taste for piety that he tempts them. He places before their eyes the means of apparent perfection, but not real, and inspires them with an unwise ardor in their exercise. Because these practices are to their taste, they remain faithful to them nevertheless. And one of the scandals of the world, one of the reproaches which irreligion urges against piety, is to behold true obligations, those which the profession of piety imposes and which justice and charity prescribe, sacrificed to false duties.

To avoid all illusion, we must distinguish well between what is only mere counsel and what is of precept; between the things which are of simple perfection and those which are of rigorous obligation. We should be faithful to the first through love, and to the others through duty. To do that which is only a counsel and to neglect that which is a precept is the sign of a false devotion; to do only that which is of precept and to despise what is merely of counsel is a sign of slothfulness; but to faithfully attend to both, the precept and the counsel, is indeed perfection.

Third Point.—The justice of the Pharisees was interested. They sought only the esteem of men, and cared little for the esteem of God. They prayed to be seen, they gave alms to be applauded, and they fasted to earn for themselves the reputation of being just men. Men, charmed by all their external beauty, honored and venerated them; but Jesus, who read their hearts, exclaimed: "Woe to you, hypocrites, who pretend to pray in public, and who sound the trumpet when you distribute alms, you have already received your reward." But is your virtue really exempt from that gross pride which was the only motive of the Pharisee ; is it wholly disinterested? Pride is very subtle, and there are many little winding ways by which it enters our soul. That your piety may be disinterested it is necessary in all you do—prayers, alms, good works, confessions, communions—that you should have but the single intention of pleasing God; every other motive shall be a stain on your soul, if it be not completely effaced. And now, is your piety truly disinterested ? Indeed, it is not a hypocritical piety, but is it truly God, only, you seek in your devotion? Is it He or His consolations? Is it the thought that you wish to honor God which makes you desire to receive holy communion so often, or that prompts your prayer on certain days? Or is it because you find a certain pleasure in the performance of these exercises of devotion? If God should withdraw that sensible pleasure you experience, would you continue to pray and approach the sacraments? Have these exercises of devotion ceased to be agreeable to the heart of God when they ceased to be consoling to you? Then it is not for God that you have been virtuous and faithful; it was for yourself. We should fear the anathema hurled by our divine Saviour against the Pharisees: "They have already received their reward."

Source: Short Instructions on the Feasts of the Year, Imprimatur 1897