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2020 - 2021 Maidens for Mary and Crusaders for Christ Student Planners

7/13/2020

The student planners for the 2020 - 2021 school year are finished. You may download and print them for free and they can be found here. Or if you choose to purchase a printed copy they can be found here. The printed version will be ready to ship June 1st.

Please note: I'm not a professional, I made these to fill a need I have for my own children. Feel free to download and print them for your own family's use. I have copyrighted them so please abide by all copyright laws. If you would kindly bring to my attention any mistakes you find, I will be very grateful. God bless you all in the coming school year!

Calling Good Evil and Evil Good

7/12/2020

Source: Dangers of the Day, by Rt. Rev. John S, Vaughn, Imprimatur 1909

SINCE the Providence of God has placed us in this world for the express purpose of being tried, no watchfulness or prudence upon our part will enable us to escape altogether from temptation.
Whether we live in the midst of the noisy world and occupy ourselves in trade and business, or whether we fly into the silent desert and lead a life of perpetual solitude and prayer, it is all the same: we shall most certainly have our spiritual battles to fight and our spiritual enemies to overcome.

The poor may not have the same trials as the rich, nor servants and dependents the same difficulties as masters and mistresses; but all of us, without exception, and whatever may be our
calling, are sure to meet with many tribulations of one kind or another, and to have our virtue thoroughly exercised during the course of our earthly career, be it short or be it long.

The devil, the world and the flesh are our chief enemies; and so persistent are they that it is impossible to continue long without experiencing their hostility. Yet the manner in which they make their assaults differs very considerably from age to age. Sometimes they will seek to lead us astray by exciting fear and terror, while at other times they will rather strive to beguile us with soft and honeyed words; the end sought is always the same, the means employed are often quite opposite.

In this connection, we are forcibly reminded of one of .Aesop's well-known fables. We refer to that in which he represents the Sun and the Wind disputing with each other as to which of them exercised the greater influence and power over the world of men. Since each claimed the superiority, and neither would yield to the other, they finally consented to try their skill upon a poor belated traveler, who chanced to be pursuing his way, along a rugged and difficult ascent, toward his native village, and then to abide by the result. The victory was to be declared in favor of the competitor who should first compel the traveler to remove a thick cloak that was now hanging loosely from his shoulders.

The Wind was the first to essay the task. It blew and blew and blew with all its might and main, and raised such a blast that the traveler could scarcely keep his footing. It caught up the dust and scattered the withered leaves and the dry twigs far and wide, and enveloped the unfortunate man in a perfect whirlwind. Then it seized hold of his cloak by every available fold and lappet, and tugged and pulled and wrestled and strove with relentless energy, until it had worked itself into a regular frenzy of passion.

But all to no purpose; in fact, the more violently the Wind howled and raged and beat upon the traveler, the more tightly and resolutely did he grasp his cloak, and the more closely did he draw its folds about him. The Wind, utterly disgusted, then subsided, and, abandoning the useless struggle, defied the Sun to succeed any better.

The Sun, nothing loath, at once issued forth in all its glory from behind a dark cloud, and darted down its fiery rays upon the weary pedestrian. Already hot and tired, he became yet more so. But the Sun, without pity, continued to shoot down its scorching beams upon him with ever increasing fierceness. At last the wretched man, panting for breath and perspiring from every pore, began to loosen the folds of his cloak, and, finally unfastening it, threw it off altogether. Thus the Sun easily won in the contest. Its quiet, penetrating action proved far more efficacious and powerful than all the bluster and noisy violence of the Wind.

In this ingenious story we find a very excellent and apt illustration of the two different plans the devil makes use of in order to persuade us poor travelers, wending our way along the strait and difficult path of virtue, to divest ourselves of the supernatural garment of divine grace. In bygone days, we were in imminent danger from the fierce winds and storms of cruel persecution. The old Roman emperors left no stone unturned in their efforts to crush out and utterly destroy the infant Church. Their arguments were torture, fire and the sword, ruthlessly applied century after century, until, literally, millions had been butchered and done to death on account of their loyalty to Christ and the Gospel.

In England, too, after a thousand years of comparative religious peace, a similar spirit took possession of the King and his greedy and servile minions. The glorious Catholic Faith, that for ten long centuries had been England's boast and England's glory, was forbidden by Act of Parliament. The heaviest penalties were enforced upon all who preferred the law of God to the law of man. Thousands of persons, of both sexes and of all ages, whose only offense was loyalty to God and to conscience, were fined, imprisoned, racked, tortured, or transported beyond the seas. They were stripped of all they possessed, and, in many cases, hanged and drawn and quartered, without pity and for what? For holding what countless generations of Englishmen had held before them—namely, that the Pope is the divinely appointed representative of Christ upon earth, and the supreme spiritual head of His Church; and for denying that which no Christian till then had ever been called on to affirm—namely, that the King, within his own dominions, is supreme, not only in civil and worldly matters, but in those also which are purely religious and ecclesiastical. As a consequence, the noblest heads rolled on the block, and the grandest and most splendid characters were brutally murdered at the behest of an infamous and adulterous King.

Such times are happily passed, or survive as mere memories amongst us; and full liberty now exists, at least in English-speaking countries, for everyone to believe or to disbelieve, just as his fancy or his inclination may suggest. Indeed, nowhere (except in France?) does there seem any likelihood of the cloak of divine grace being rudely torn from our backs by the storm of direct persecution. Still, though this form of danger no longer menaces us, there is yet considerable risk lest, under the pressure of another and a more insidious power, we should be induced to cast off our cloaks—in other words, to renounce our allegiance to God—of our own free will.

The old serpent still lives. His hatred and malevolence are as deep and as strong as ever, but he has changed his tactics. He no longer exhibits himself as " the roaring lion" described by St. Peter, "going about seeking whom he may devour," and striking terror and consternation into every breast by his threats of torture and of death. No. In these days he generally seems to prefer the disguise he assumed in the Garden of Eden. As a deceitful and wily serpent, he strives to insinuate himself into our hearts by the exercise of duplicity, craft, and cunning.

This I take to be one of the special dangers of these times, against which I wish now to warn the gentle reader. The devil's modern and up-to-date weapons are deceit, falsehood, and misrepresentation. Indeed, God seems to send a special message to us, in this twentieth century, from the remote past. For He certainly refers to modern and up-to-date methods when, speaking by the mouth of His prophet Isaias, He denounces and anathematizes all those followers of Satan "who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter."* In any case, these inspired words most accurately describe the system and plan followed by the three great enemies of our salvation, in this highly refined, enlightened and boastful twentieth century. The world no longer looks with favor on persecution. It has gone out of fashion, like the pointed shoes and stiff frills of a former generation. Yet the world is still our enemy, and it is still our duty to be ever on our guard against it.

The world! But perhaps the reader will ask what I mean by "the world." Let me, then, say that I mean what the disciple St. John meant when he said: "Love not the world. "f I mean what St. Paul meant when he wrote to the Romans (xii, 2): "Be not conformed to this world." In fine, I mean what Jesus Christ meant when He said: "Fear not: I have overcome the world." Yes, this
is the world to which I refer. It is the enemy of God; it is continually striving by every means within its reach to draw us away from the service of God, and to plunge us into sin, and to deprive us of all the great sources of grace and strength, especially of prayer and the sacraments.

Such is its set purpose. And what are the means it employs? Well! Now that harsher means are frowned down upon, it has recourse to every kind of stratagem, deception, and misrepresentation; so that, unless we are able to detect its sophistries and to see through its cunning, we shall be in imminent risk of losing our souls.

Suffer me to explain. The world is far too astute openly and frankly to condemn what is good. If it attempted such a thing, we should see through its malice at once, and be put on our guard. Consequently, it most carefully conceals its enmity under an assumed and hypocritical appearance of friendship. It makes great professions in order to deceive us and lead us astray. It encourages vice by calling it virtue, and will so deck out and adorn evil that the unwary will often mistake it for good. By these means thousands allow themselves to be taken in. An example or two will enable us to see how this plan works. Thus, if a man be conceited and arrogant, domineering with his servants, and overbearing and imperious with his friends, quick to pick a quarrel, and hyper-sensitive and exacting about what he is pleased to call his rights, and so forth, he can be described only as a proud man. Now, if he realizes and acknowledges that he is proud, there are great hopes of his ultimate conversion and repentance. But if he refuses even to call it "pride," if, on the contrary, he calls it "firmness" or "courage" or "justice," or any other high-soundingname,—how will he ever fight against it?

The very first step in his reformation must be to diagnose his case correctly, and to recognize the truth. Until he can acknowledge to himself, with all sincerity, "I am a proud man," he will never acquire the virtue of true humility; no, nor even set out in quest of it. Similar observations may be made in many other cases. Take, for instance, any religious duty that we, as Catholics, are called upon to perform,—let us say the duty of fasting or almsgiving. It is astonishing how easily the world will persuade us to neglect it, and on wholly false grounds. To understand the situation, it must be borne in mind that most people suffer far more from eating too much than from eating too little. So eminent a physician as Dr. Vorke Davies, to quote a single authority, says: "There is far more harm done by taking too much food than there is by taking too little, and it is only in very exceptional cases that injury results from the latter cause; whereas an enormous amount of discomfort, disorder, and disease, and even curtailment of life, arise from excess in eating." Indeed, it is said that thirty per cent of the diseases for which medical men prescribe, arise from eating too much. Yet people pretend they can not now even abstain! The medical faculty are constantly prescribing for persons whose ailments arise (though they seldom venture to say so openly) from over-indulgence. Doctors tell us that the weekly abstinence on Friday, and the occasional fast-days throughout the year, are excellent even from a hygienic point of view, and that any one in ordinarily fair health would be all the better for their observance. But we have not the spirit of self-denial and are unwilling to deprive ourselves of anything; consequently, we persuade ourselves that we are far too delicate to follow the Church's prescriptions, and would seriously injure ourselves by taking an ounce less than our appetite demands. " The wish is father to the thought," and will lead us to accept dispensations which we really have no business to seek. Mundus vult decipi. The world wishes to be deceived, and so do many of us also.

We allow ourselves to be similarly cajoled in the matter of almsgiving and the disposal of our wealth. Our bountiful God, in the pages of Holy Writ, frequently points out the obligations and the spiritual advantages of giving to those in need. " By charity of the Spirit serve one another," He says; and, "He who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly." So again: "According to thy ability be merciful. If thou have much, give abundantly; if thou have little, take care even so to bestow willingly a little. . . . For alms deliver from all sin and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness." And many other similar texts occur throughout the Bible. In these words God urges us to lay up for ourselves eternal treasures in heaven, and to make compensation for our innumerable offenses and failings; assuring us at the same time that whatever we give to the indigent in His name. He will take as given to Himself. "As long as you did it to one of these My least brethren you did it to Me."

Now, our spiritual enemies are naturally unwilling that we should reap all the advantages that are so closely bound up with the exercise of generosity and compassion toward the poor, and will do all they can to dissuade us from carrying out the recommendations of Holy Scripture. Yet, if they are to succeed, they are well aware that they must act very cautiously. They dare not show their hand, by openly condemning that which God commends; so, while admitting the excellence of generosity in general and in the abstract, they cunningly suggest a thousand plausible reasons which relieve us individually from any such obligation. Thus, one man will say: "Oh, I make it a rule never to give anything to a beggar in the street!" Not, of course, because he is ungenerous. No! That must never be even hinted at. But simply because "beggars are always, or nearly always, impostors, and I should be encouraging idleness." Indeed, he will willingly admit that " almsgiving is a most admirable thing, but we must not countenance imposture. Besides, the recipients are sure to spend it in drink." But neither will these men bestow a penny upon beggars who came to their doors. Not because they are unwilling to part with their money—at least, that is not the reason they care to allege,—but because " one beggar will attract another, and the constant visits of these tatterdemalions become a regular nuisance. Besides, it would never do to entice tramps and doubtful characters about the house." Thus, for
one reason or another, they excuse themselves from giving anything to anybody.

In some cases a man's income, though considerable enough, is not equal to his pretensions, and he is anxious to keep Up appearances. He occupies a certain position or rank in society, and every farthing is needed if he is to continue living in his present style, and to retain his customary staff of servants and dependents. He is really very sorry, or imagines he is. In fact, he does not hesitate to say that were he only as wealthy as A or as B, it would be positive joy to him to found hospitals and to erect churches, schools, and orphan asylums.

In short, he quite envies millionaires and possessors of colossal fortunes their opportunities and all the good they might do; and consoles himself by thinking how very much more generous he would be than they are, were he but treated half so well by Dame Fortune. But, alas! with his modest revenues, it is as much as he can do to clothe and educate his children, and live up to the requirements of his position. Further, he reflects that he is bound to put something by for a rainy day, and that "it won't do to be improvident." And so, for one specious
pretext or another, life passes, and he rests perfectly satisfied, though he never makes any real sacrifice for the sake of God or for the sake of His poor suffering brethren.

Observe, I do not wish to imply that there is never any grain of truth or of reason in the foregoing statement. Quite the contrary. The very danger of such arguments is precisely in the fact that there is just enough of truth in them to render them effective; just enough reason to quiet our consciences, and to persuade us that all is as it should be. It is a well recognized fact that there is no lie so difficult to deal with as a lie which is half a truth, and great candor is needed to detect its real character. Pure brass we may always know, but when mixed with gold it may often pass for the more precious metal.

But to continue. Excessive parsimony is simply niggardliness and stinginess. It is not prudence. True. But if we will insist upon calling it prudence, we cover up its hideous deformity, we hide its repulsive nature, and we represent it as a positive virtue. Then, under that guise, we do not hesitate to cultivate and practice it. Instances of self-deception are constantly thrusting themselves under our notice. What are we, for example, to think of a lady who laments in agonizing tones that she really can not afford ten shillings for some starving orphans or destitute children, when we find her a day or two later offering ten guineas in the advertising columns of the Morning Post for the recovery of her lost cat or stolen poodle? Or how shall we fittingly describe a wealthy nobleman whose family claims make it quite impossible for him to send a five pound note to a struggling mission, but who can, nevertheless, afford to bet five hundred pounds on a losing race horse?

This system of self-deception pursues us through life, and affects all our relations with the supernatural. Even the most sacred duties are often neglected on account of it; and yet we fail to see through the cunning of the devil, who deceives us. Consider, for instance, the duty of receiving Holy Communion, the greatest of the sacraments, in which Our Lord Himself comes to strengthen our weakness, and to help us by His powerful grace to overcome concupiscence and to vanquish all the enemies of our salvation.

The very great importance of this sacrament is reason enough to induce the Evil One to do all he can to prevent our making use of it. Yet he is far too astute to hint that it is a bad thing to approach the Holy Table. Oh, dear; no! He is much too diplomatic. He declares it to be a most excellent practice, at least in the abstract. He merely throws out doubts as to whether we, with our delicate chest, or with our tendency to bronchitis or asthma, ought to go. He demands, quite casually of course, whether it is "not just a little risky, especially on these cold, raw mornings, to go out fasting."

He becomes so very, very solicitous for our health, and would persuade us that we are far too delicate to expose ourselves to catching cold. Perhaps he even recalls to our minds how our medical adviser warned us that we should be more careful, and never leave the house until we had reinforced ourselves by at least a cup of tea and a slice of bread and butter. He may even add that "good people are scarce," and that "prudence is the better part of valor." And thus, without alarming us, or creating so much as a suspicion of his perfidy, or uttering even one syllable directly against Communion, which we might resent he succeeds, all the same, in keeping us from the sacrament. We postpone our Communions till the weather grows warmer and more settled. Weeks develop into months, and what is the consequence? Well! We have deprived ourselves of great graces; we have acquired a habit of postponing our Communions; we come to think less highly of this gift of God; and the end aimed at by the devil is secured quite as fully as if the penal laws against Communion were still in full force.

The fallacy of the whole argument, and the measure in which we deceive ourselves, are made manifest by a glance at our conduct in purely worldly matters. Thus, how very often it happens that, though we are too delicate to breathe the morning air, we are not too delicate to go out to late dinners or parties, and to come home in the dead of night through the cold, damp atmosphere of the reeking streets! Or we can pass the night in a hot, stuffy ballroom, and dance
till the day is dawning, and can then expose ourselves to the inclemency of the weather, on our way home, in the early hours, without any one taking us to task for our imprudence. The plain fact is that where ecclesiastical observances and religious duties are concerned, we are influenced and swayed by arguments which are summarily dismissed as utterly trivial and baseless when directed against our pleasures and amusements. In thousands of similar ways we allow ourselves to be cajoled, to our great spiritual hurt.

Among so many other instances that suggest themselves, it is difficult to make a selection. Perhaps the question of reading may serve our purpose. As we are well aware, the book-market is flooded to overflowing with a most varied assortment of literature. There are good books in abundance, but there is also an enormous and ever-increasing assortment of worthless books,—books vicious and demoralizing in tendency, and corrupt and depraved in tone; together with tales and stories which are sensuous and immoral, and sometimes obscene. There is nothing useful or really instructive in the class of publications to which I am now referring. They are full of hidden dangers, unbecoming conversations, suggestive dialogues between imaginary persons of opposite sexes, of impossible love scenes, and situations of a compromising character, which, even if they do not defile the heart and excite the passions, at all events fill the imagination with impure images and forms, and familiarize the mind with every sort of horror and abomination. (The same can be applied to the movies and music of the day)

There is, of course, a vast difference between one book and another, but it is not too much to say that some of the romances of the present day are such that any really good Catholic would feel bound to leave them severely alone. He can not read them without exposing himself to dangerous temptation. Will the world advise the purchase of such scandalous works? Will it openly counsel their perusal? Certainly not. At least, it is far too tactful to express itself in that blunt way; for some of us might resent it. Besides, it may accomplish its evil purpose yet more effectively in another manner; by inquiring, for instance, quite innocently: "Oh, by the way, have you seen So and So's last delightfully naughty book?"—"No?"—"Oh, how very odd!

Why, everybody is talking about it. And it is so very awkward, don't you know, not to be able to join in the conversation! One looks so foolish when one knows nothing about what is on everybody's lips. Do you say one ought not to read it? Oh, nonsense! It can't be so bad as all that. We are no longer children; and surely we can not be expected, in these days, to live with our head in a well, and to be ignorant of all that is passing around. As well become a recluse altogether, and live on beans in a hermitage," and so forth. And we, gentle readers, alas! are influenced by such banter. Thus, without appearing to approve in the least degree of immoral or infidel books, the devil, nevertheless, manages to get his own way. We read them on some worldly and wholly inadequate pretext; but we read them all the same, and irreparable harm is done. In one word, we are constantly being deluded by those who "put light for darkness, and darkness for light."

How many a silly worldling, when he comes to be judged, will find nothing better to say in his defense than to repeat the words of his mother Eve: Serpens decepit me—"The serpent deceived me!"

It is the same everywhere. How often, to take a somewhat different illustration, indecent pictures and statuary are displayed in drawing-rooms, and in halls of public buildings and even of private houses, on the ground that they administer to aesthetical taste and promote a love of
art! I do not wish to imply that every statue or painting is indecent merely because it is undraped; but I am referring to genuinely indecent and suggestive representations, whether draped or not. They are a source of much temptation, and often do a great deal of harm; yet they are retained, and left exposed to every eye, on the plea of their artistic merits, and because they are thought to reveal the talents and the genius of some famous wielder of the brush or the chisel. The devil eases the consciences of such exhibitors by laying all the stress on plausible motives, and by closing their eyes to the evil; for, provided he can introduce the poison of sin into our minds, he cares little about the nature of the spoon with which he administers the deadly draught.

Innumerable other instances might be mentioned, but I have probably presented a sufficient variety to illustrate my theme, and to enable the thoughtful reader to realize the special danger which, at the present day, besets us from this source. It may be well to remark that the present age is an age of deceit. Fraud is practiced everywhere. Traders and merchants and sellers do not scruple to deceive their customers, when they judge they can do so with impunity. The Chamber of Commerce Journal (April, 1907) informs us that "needles made in Germany and Austria are imported into France, and marked 'Redditch.' English hosiery is imitated in Germany and sent to America and other countries, marked as British goods. Linen made on the Continent is labelled as Irish linen, and sold in Egypt and other places."

In fact, goods of all kinds are offered to the public under false names, to make them sell. Chalk is put in the milk, sand in the sugar, and water in the wine. Paste is passed off for diamonds, shoddy for leather, and cotton for wool. We have lying advertisements, misleading prospectuses, and quack medicines. Every purchaser is afraid of being cheated; and in matters of business, commerce, and exchange, a brother can scarcely trust a brother.

This spirit of deception penetrates everywhere, not excepting the supernatural. It affects the minds of unthinking Catholics, even as regards their highest spiritual interests, and their duty to God. They grow lax and fall away into easy and negligent ways, simply because they do not, or will not, see things as they really are. They so dress up and disguise evil that they mistake it for good, and call light darkness and darkness light, and deliberately live in an atmosphere of untruth.

The remedy consists in courageously throwing off the mask of deception which evil still wears, and in beginning at once to call things by their rightful names. Let men learn above all things to know themselves, and to read their own characters aright; and then they will at least understand what is wrong and defective, and what it is precisely that they have to struggle against and overcome. So long as they insist on describing "cheating" as a trick of the trade, and "avarice" as a form of thrift, and "pride" as firmness, and "insolence" as courage, and speak similarly of all the other forms of human weakness and wickedness, they do but canonize vice and connive at evil. And unless that habit it reformed but little amendment can be expected.

Let us, then, arouse ourselves, " knowing that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. . . The night is passed and the day is at hand. Let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day"; and no longer "call evil good, and good evil; nor put darkness for light, nor light for darkness; nor bitter for sweet, nor sweet for bitter."

The Marks of the Church

7/6/2020

"All things that are read in the Holy Scriptures, we must hear with great attention to our instruction and salvation; but those things especially must be committed to memory that serve most to confute heretics; whose deceits cease not to circumvent or ensnare all the weaker sort and the more negligent persons. " ~ S. Aug,. Tract, 2, in Epis. Joan.

My dear Readers, This lesson from my young children's catechism really explained well the Marks of Holy Mother Church. It brought up many questions and gives one much food for thought . . . . . . . .

The information below would go very well with our Marks of the Church Lapbook, which can be found at the bottom of this post. The source for this lesson is: "To the Heart of a Child," Imprimatur 1918.

Tom Hunter had been brought up without any religion. Yet he believed that there is a God, and that he had a soul and he was in dead earnest about saving that soul. In walking through the streets he had noticed a great many churches and he made up his mind to visit one each Sunday until he should find out what was necessary to save his soul.

At the end of a year he had visited fifty-two churches and yet he was as much in the dark as when he had started. He took a long walk into the country and sat down in a quiet nook where he could be alone and have time to think the matter over. Each minister had claimed to be able to lead him to Heaven and yet no two of them agreed upon what was necessary to get there. One said there was no Hell, another said there was; one said Christ was God, another said He was not one said there was no such thing as confession, another said he would hear his confession if he wanted to go very much, but that he did not like to do it. In one church they passed around cake and wine to make them think of the Last Supper, in another they said Christ was present in the bread and wine but that they could not say just how. One said all that was necessary was to read the Bible, another said the Bible was old-fashioned and that no one believed in it nowadays.

Poor Tom's brain was in a whirl. How could he ever decide what to do when each church contradicted the others? To make matters worse he discovered that even ministers of the same church do not agree. Suddenly a little rabbit leaped past him and Tom said to himself: "If I should say that little rabbit is black and someone else should say it is white and a third person that it is grey, we could not all be right —not more than one could be right, and if the rabbit is really brown, we should all be wrong. So if each church tells me something different, they cannot all be right—not more than one can be right—and perhaps they are all wrong. There is only one thing 'that all the ministers agree in and that is in warning me to keep away from the Catholic Church. That is very strange. Why should they all take a stand against the Catholic Church? I shall try to find out. At least I shall call on the Catholic priest this very evening and if he can help me no more than the ministers have, I do not know where I shall ever find how to save my soul."

That evening Tom rang the bell at the priest's house and was shown into a small study. In a moment he was shaking hands with Father Carey, who told him to be seated and asked what he might do for him. Tom told his trouble and when he had finished, Father Carey said : "My dear friend, you are right in saying that if there is a true church and God expects you to belong to it, there must be some way by which you can surely tell it. "If you want a good baseball, you look for the trade-mark and buy a League ball. If you want a good tennis-racket, you look for the mark that tells you the make. If you buy a watch, you do not look at the case only, you look for the name that tells you what make it is, so that you may be sure that the works are good. You would not buy any one of these articles because the clerk who sold them was polite or because he told you they were good. No, you must have a stronger proof, you must see the mark that stamps them. Isn't that so? See how careful the United States Government is in marking the money it mints, so that if anyone should try to make any like it, it could be detected at once. Now, is not religion much more important than money? And don't you suppose that if God has made a church, He has taken care to mark it, so that everyone can see that He is its Maker?

''We know from the Bible and from history, just as well as we know that Columbus discovered America, that 1900 (2015) years ago Christ, Who is God, made a Church and said that all must belong to it. For 1500 years everybody knew which was the Church Christ had made. Then just as men have made counterfeit money, money that looked genuine but is not, and have deceived thousands of people but could not deceive the Government experts, so men have made counterfeit churches and have deceived millions of people but they cannot deceive God. As there are certain marks by which a genuine dollar bill can be told from a false bill, so there are certain marks by which God's Church can be told from the false churches."

"Tell me the marks. Father," cried Tom, "because I want to belong to the church that was made by God."

"Very well," said Father Carey. "They are very simple so that anyone who really wants to find them, can do so. In the first place, Christ started His Church on the Apostles at Jerusalem in the year 36. He made St. Peter the Head, the Rock on which He built His Church, the Shepherd of His Flock. Now the true Church must be that same Church, its bishops must be the successors of the Apostles and must have received their power from them, whilst its Head must be the successor of St. Peter and have the same power that he had."

"That's easy," said Tom.

"History proves," continued Father Carey, "that the Catholic Church has always existed since the days of the Apostles and is the same Church as that of the Apostles, for its bishops and its Pope today are the successors of the Apostles and of St. Peter. St. Peter was the first Bishop of Rome and Benedict XV is the present Bishop of Rome, and between the two there has been an unbroken chain of 258 Bishops of Rome or Popes. Is not that a pretty strong proof? How else do we prove that Woodrow Wilson is the successor of George Washington and that the Government of the United States today is the very same Government as that of which Washington was the first President?"

"Did you ever think how this city is supplied with water? First there is the reservoir at the waterworks. The water-mains carry the water from the reservoir and the pipes are connected with the mains. When you turn on the faucet in your house, you get the same water that was in the reservoir. As the city grows, more mains are laid."

"Now Christ is the reservoir, for He has all power, and the Apostles were the first water-mains and received their power from Christ. As the Church grew, more bishops were needed and so new bishops were made. They received all the power that the bishops had who consecrated them, just as when water-mains are needed, new ones are attached and receive all the water that flows through those with which they are connected. Priests are the pipes and get their power from the bishops. Thus in perfect connection has the power of Christ come down to the present day through the bishops of the Catholic Church. What would you think of a man who would build a beautiful home and run water-pipes through it but never connect them with the water-main? How much water do you think he would get when he turned on the faucets?"

"So the first Protestants cut off their connection with God's Church and their bishops and ministers are like empty water-mains and pipes, without any power whatever. They can make as many of them as they like, but of what good are they? You might as well have no pipes in your house, if no water runs through them."

"Now then, my little friend, one great mark of the true Church is that it is Apostolic, which means that it is the Church that Christ founded upon the Apostles."

"That is such a clear mark. Father," said Tom, "that I should think it was enough."

"Hold on, my boy," said Father Carey. "There are three others. The Church of God is well marked, as everyone must be able to find it, for Christ said that every lamb and every sheep must be brought into the one Fold of which He is the Shepherd. Are you too tired for more tonight?"

"Go on. Father. Please tell me more. I never heard anything like this in the other churches."

"All right then.—In the second place, the true Church must teach exactly what Christ taught and if it teaches exactly what Christ taught, it must teach the same today as it did 1900 years ago and it must teach the same in Detroit as it does in Rome, in Paris, in London, in South America, in Asia, in Africa. Now we know from the Bible, in which are written many things that Christ taught, and from the writings of the first bishops of the Church, some of whom were taught by the Apostles themselves, and from the written accounts of the meetings or councils of the bishops and the pope that have taken place every now and then since the first meeting at which St. Peter was present—we know from all these sources that the Catholic Church has never changed in her teachings and teaches the same today as she has always done."

Is this what we see today if we look at what comes out of the Vatican? Are those in the Vatican teaching the same truths that the Catholic Church has always taught?

''You told me this evening that you had discovered that even ministers of the same church do not agree in what they believe. If you like you can speak to a number of Catholic priests—take those that were brought up in different countries—go to the German, the French, the Italian, the Polish churches. You will find that all agree exactly. How is this ? Because they all believe and teach exactly what Christ taught. If one of them should teach anything different, the Church would throw him out, for Christ said: 'He that heareth you, heareth Me. And he that despiseth you, despiseth Me.' And, 'If he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen.' ''Then too, all Catholics receive the same sacraments and all obey the Shepherd whom Christ appointed, viz. : the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. This is the second great mark of the True Church, Tom, and it is what we mean when we say that the Church is One."

"My mind is clearing, Father. Everything you say has such a ring of truth about it and you are so certain. The ministers hesitated when I questioned them. They did not seem quite sure of their ground.'' "The third mark of the true Church is that it is Catholic. Before the Apostles left Jerusalem to preach the Gospel in different parts, they drew up a short form of belief known as the Creed of the Apostles, or the Apostles' Creed. In this Creed we find the words : 'I believe in the Holy Catholic Church.' From that day to this, the Church of Christ has always been known by the name 'Catholic'"

"I heard the Protestants say that same Creed, Father. They do not really believe in the Catholic Church?"

'They most certainly do not. If they did they would be Catholics and not Protestants."

"Then why do they say they believe In the Catholic Church?"

"My friend, did you ever hunt for a thing in the dark that you could easily have found in the light? Just so. Their minds are in darkness and they do not see. They do not mind saying: I believe in the Catholic Church,' whilst all the time they are protesting against it, any more than they mind reading in their Bibles that Christ said at the Last Supper: This is My body,' whilst at the same time they deny that It is His body."

"But to return. The word 'Catholic' means 'universal,' that is, for the whole world as long as the world lasts. Christ said : 'Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world' (Matt., xxviii, 20). So His Church must last until the end of the world. And He said : 'Going, therefore, teach ye all nations.' Now the true Church is Catholic because it has lasted through the nineteen centuries, since Christ started it, and it will last until the end of time. It is Catholic because it has taught all nations, though not all nations have received its teachings. "Go where you will, into every corner and hidden away place in the world and there you will find a Catholic priest. No Protestant Church can call itself Catholic in any sense of the word. Not one of them started until fifteen hundred years after the Catholic Church was founded and not one of them has gone into every part of the world. There is no prouder title under Heaven, and I glory in calling myself a Catholic!"

"The fourth mark of the true Church is its 'Holiness.' Christ made His Church to bring men to Heaven. The Catholic Church is holy in its Founder, Christ, and it is holy in the lives of millions of its children. True, there are many bad Catholics and there will always be black sheep in the Fold, but nowhere can you find such holiness as in the lives of numbers of Catholics. See the thousands of priests and sisters who have given up all they owned and all they loved to follow Christ more closely; and there are thousands of working men and women who are being made holy by frequent and daily Communion.

A Catholic who receives the sacraments often and keeps devoutly the feasts and fasts of the Church, will be holy; whilst a bad Catholic is bad because he does not live up to the teachings of the Church: ''Every man, woman and child that is called saint (as St. Francis, St. Anthony, St. Catherine, St. Teresa, St. Agnes), was a Catholic. Not a year passes but in some part of the world Catholics are tortured and put to death because they will not be traitors to God, because they will not give up their faith."

"If I were to add a fifth mark to the true Church, Tom, I would say that it is 'persecution.' Christ said: If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you' (John, xv, 20) ; 'Yea, the hour cometh, whosoever killeth you, will think that he does a service to God' (John, xvi, 2). Look about. Which is the church that is persecuted? Which is the church that is hated, that is lied against? I'll wager you have heard ^ good many lies against the Catholic Church but you will never hear the Catholics lying about the Protestants. Why, if a man comes to town and lies most horribly against the Catholic Church, he will have a large audience and make his fortune!".

"I could not understand before. Father, why all the ministers warned me to keep away from the Catholic Church."

"Just last night," continued Father Carey, I baptized a young woman who has suffered a great deal for the Faith. She told me that when she spoke of attending the Episcopalian Church, her parents made no objection; when she attended service at the Presbyterian Church they encouraged her and when some friends took her to the Baptist Church, they were pleased. But one day she spoke of joining the Catholic Church. They threw up their hands in horror and threatened to put her out of the house."

"Yes the world hated Christ and nailed Him to a cross and it still hates His Church. When Jesus was dying, He prayed for the men who were killing Him and said- 'They know not what they do' (Luke, xxiii. 34) It is the same now. Men do not know what they are hating when they hate the Catholic Church. There is not a man, woman or child in the whole world who would not be a Catholic tomorrow if he knew what the Catholic Church really is.

"Father, I want to save my soul," cried Tom. I want to be a Catholic!"

"My little friend, come and see me tomorrow evening."

"I will, Father, and may I bring my chum?"

"Bring all you can, my boy."

Hmmmmm, this lesson really makes one think. . . . . . . .

Questions
(1) What are the four marks of the true Church?
(2) What do you mean by saying that the Church is Apostolic?
(3) What do you mean by saying that the Church is One?
(4) What do you mean by saying that the Church is Catholic?
(5) What do you mean by saying that the Church is Holy?

If we really think about it can we find these four marks in the Vatican today?

Source: To the Heart of a Child, Imprimatur 1918

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Feast of Corpus Christi - Our Daily Bread from Heaven

6/8/2020

The Church today celebrates the most joyful feast of the year. Look over this wide world, travel through all the great cities in which Catholic hearts are beating, go into the smallest villages - yes, wherever there is a priest - and there you find gladness and rejoicing today. And why is this, my dear children? Because on this glorious day we observe the feast of Corpus Christi. * Today our holy Church carries about publicly in solemn procession her God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, that all may fall on their knees and devoutly adore Him, since faith teaches us that Jesus Christ, the Man-God, is really and truly present before us under the appearances of bread and wine.

The great love of our dear Saviour found a way in which He could still remain with us after His ascending into heaven; He instituted the Holy Eucharist, wherein He is present as God and man. We are, therefore, as blest as the people who lived at the time when Christ walked upon the earth, for we have the same Christ Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist. Do not think that Christ has changed in the least respect; what he was in the days of His earthly life, He is today - a God of love and mercy. Every one who comes to Him in any need and asks with humility will receive help and comfort.

The venerable Father Alvarez one day saw Jesus in the Holy Eucharist with His hands full of graces, seeking, as if it were, for those to whom He could give them.

A little English boy heard that Jesus was present in the holy Tabernacle, and that He listened to the prayers of those who went there to speak to Him. One day he went to the church to pray for the conversion of his father. Going into the sanctuary, he climbed upon the altar and, sitting near the door of the Tabernacle, knocked at it, saying: "Are you there, Jesus? But there was no answer. He knocked again, saying the same words: Are you there, Jesus? They told me at Sunday-school that you were here."

He listened for an answer, but still no answer came. "Perhaps the dear Jesus is asleep; I will quietly awake Him. O my dear little Jesus," he said gently, "I believe in Thee and I love Thee; answer me, I beseech Thee!" Jesus could not refuse the simple and humble prayer of the child, said with so much confidence. A voice came from the tabernacle, saying: "Yes, my dear child, I am here. My love for you makes me stay here always. What do you want of Me today, my dear little brother?" The child answered in a voice broken by sobs: "My father is not a good man, O my Jesus; make him good, and he will serve Thee and love Thee!" "Go, my dearest child, I will grant your prayer."

The child went home all radiant with joy; Jesus had told him that his prayer would be granted. On the following day his father went to church, made a good confession, and became a fervent Christian.

Children, that same Jesus is present on the altar in your church. He is there because He desires to bestow on you great graces. Oh, then, when you go into church, kneel reverently and lovingly before the altar and say to Him: "My dearest Jesus, I firmly believe that Thou are really present on this altar, and I love Thee with my whole heart."

It was not enough for our diving Saviour to be always present among us and to offer Himself daily for us; He also wishes to come into our hearts and to be most closely united to us; for this reason He instituted the Holy Eucharist as communion. When we go to communion Jesus comes to us. What graces may we not expect from Him! Wherever our divine Saviour went during his earthly life He left traces of His merciful love and blessings. He entered the house of Zachary and sanctified John the Baptist, who was to prepare the way for Him; He was present at the marriage in Cana in Galilee and changed water into wine; He came into Peter's house and cured his sick mother-in-law. Will He not, therefore, bestow graces upon the soul to whom He comes? Oh, what thanks do we owe to our divine Saviour for giving us a sacrament so holy as the Holy Eucharist! How anxious we should be to have a share in the graces of this wonderful sacrament by devoutly praying to Him on the altars of our churches, by often attending Mass, and by frequent and worthy communions.

In the fourteenth century there lived a holy virgin named Imelda. At the age of eleven she had been admitted into the Dominican Convent in the City of Bologna, in Italy. It is here she became the joy and the pride of the Sisters. Above all things, it was her delight to spend hours in prayer before the Holy Sacrament, and her most longing desire was to be allowed to make her first Holy Communion. This, however, had not been allowed by her confessor on account of her youth; nevertheless, she often and earnestly begged him to admit her to the heavenly banquet.

It happened one day on the eve of our Lord's Ascension, that all the Sisters were approaching the altar to nourish their souls with the Body of Christ in Holy Communion, while Imelda alone was prevented from sharing the Sacred Feast. She was overwhelmed with grief, and, kneeling before the altar, she poured out the longings of her soul at the feet of her Beloved, protesting that her only desire on earth was to be united to Him in the Divine Sacrament. At the same moment a sacred Host was seen descending from above, until it remained in the air over the head of the Holy Virgin. Her confessor, seeing what had happened, hurried to the spot and, reverently taking the Host upon the little silver plate called the paten, placed in upon the tongue of the devout Imelda. No sooner had she received the sacred Host, than the love which flooded her soul at the receiving of her divine Spouse filled her with such wonderful happiness that she fainted away in death - actually dying of holy happiness - and she was carried in the arms of her Beloved to Paradise, there to adore and enjoy Him forever.
My dear children, learn from holy Imelda how you ought to spend not only the day of your First Communion, but every day that you go to the altar to receive the Holy Sacrament. Happy is that child who dies soon after his First Communion; his passage to heaven is easy and sweet. If God leaves you on earth for a time, try to make every Communion as fervent as your first one, and when the time comes for you to die, your passage to heaven will also be as happy and sweet as was that of the child saint, holy Imelda.

Source: Anecdote - Sermonettes for Children's Masses, Imprimatur 1900

Below you will find two links to some lovely books on Holy Communion.....

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Little Manual of the Sacred Heart

6/8/2020

June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so I thought I would share this lovely prayer book dedicated to His Sacred Heart.

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Pentecost Sunday - The Coming of the Holy Ghost

5/31/2020

THE COMING OF THE HOLY GHOST

The disciples and the Blessed Virgin were assembled in the cenacle. For ten days they had been meditating and praying in unison with God, when of a sudden a great noise was heard, as of a violent hurricane, which shook the house in which they were, and then they saw that fiery tongues settled down on the heads of each one of them. They felt themselves illumined, strengthened, encouraged by the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost. They began to speak in different languages. People of every nation had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the great Jewish feast of Pentecost, a feast which was held by them in commemoration of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai to Moses; and all the Jews wished to see the magnificent ceremonies in their temple in Jerusalem.

Though these Jews had come from different places, where different languages were spoken, still they understood what the Apostles said. Such were the wonderful effects which the Holy Ghost produced in the Apostles. They were illumined by a clear, celestial light, which made them understand all the truths of God, and the future Church, and gave them the faculty of forming right judgment in all things that came under their jurisdiction.

This will also be the effect on you, my dear young people, if you beg the Holy Spirit to come into your hearts. You will feel these effects when He has come, and your way of thinking, your old way of judging, will have changed. New thoughts and other desires will grow up in you. You understand what the thoughts of young people are generally; what their hearts are fixed on; what they delight in. The young man and woman want pleasure, enjoyment, plenty of money, and good company, and they care not whether these things are sinful or not. But when the Spirit of God shall come into their hearts they will no longer love what is sinful; they will avoid all such pleasures. Then they will know, too, that all in this world is vanity, and that it is all-important to serve God and love Him.

Not only did the Holy Spirit infuse a great light into the minds of the Apostles He also inspired them with great courage. After the death of Christ, the Apostles had become very much disheartened, and very fretful. They had not the courage to stand up openly and boldly. Before the death of Christ, Peter even denied Christ three times, and the Apostles all fled in dismay when He was apprehended. As soon as the Holy Ghost had come down on them they were changed men; they no longer feared; they confessed Christ before the tribunals of tyrants; they were not dismayed at tortures; they feared neither the sword nor the bitterest death; they braved every danger to preach the Gospel before the nations of the earth.

My dear young people, if you really receive the Holy Ghost into your hearts, you also will courageously profess the faith of Christ, and human respect v^ill not affect you any more. How many, however, are there who in spite of having received the strength and illumination of the Divine Spirit, are weak and infirm in doing good; they fear to speak a word of correction to a wicked companion, who is likely to draw them away from the path of rectitude.

With all the other gifts came that of holy charity upon the Apostles. With what lively flames of love did not their hearts burn towards their neighbor. Charity is the great virtue of the Apostles. With their hearts burning with this divine flame they went forth to enkindle it in all parts of the world, and to set the hearts of all on fire. Their sermons were frequent appeals to the intellect and hearts of their hearers. At. St. Peter's first sermon three thousand were converted, and at another five thousand. St. Peter came out on a balcony, his face all aglow with a holy zeal. It is thus related in the Acts of the Apostles: "Ye men of Israel hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as you also know: This same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you by the hands of wicked men have crucified and slain: Now when they had heard these things, they had compunction in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the Apostles: What shall we do, men and brethren? But Peter saith to them: Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.'' They were converted, and baptized; they, too, received the Holy Ghost, and after that became zealous members of the holy faith.

Let us pray, my dear young people, that the Holy Spirit kindle in our hearts also this fire, that we may become, like the Apostles, strong in word to persuade people to follow Christ; and that we ourselves show our love for God by openly practising virtue. Happy shall we be if such is the fire of love of God and man in our hearts. But is your heart really inflamed with divine love? Do you not on the contrary feel that you are cold and careless? Few there are indeed among young people who think so much of religion and God that they become enthusiastic to do something for His greater glory. In your younger days, in your school-days, perhaps, you were better; you loved God more tenderly. Now it may be said of you, "You always resist the Holy Ghost." You have the spirit of the world and of sin for your guide, and in this way you sadden the Holy Ghost. We resist the Holy Ghost when we go to confession, and fall back into sin, because we do not reform our lives, as the Holy Spirit asks of us. We resist the Holy Ghost and sadden Him when we follow bad companions, when we are disobedient or impudent to our superiors, who wish to guide us in the paths of virtue. On the contrary we give joy to the Holy Spirit by our good will, and He will fill our hearts with His heavenly graces. Should one of you not yet be confirmed, let him look for an opportunity to receive this sacrament, so that he may receive the necessary virtues which it confers, namely: the spirit of Wisdom, and of Intellect, spirit of Counsel and of Fortitude, of Piety and of Knowledge, of the Fear of the Lord. In order that we may be filled with the Holy Ghost, let us live always a pure, good, and holy life. It is only with those who lead such a life that the Spirit of God remains. We read a beautiful example illustrating this in the Roman breviary. The impious governor Paschasius asked of St. Lucy, is this Holy Ghost in you?" The virgin answered, "They whose hearts are pure, and who live piously, are the temples of the Holy Ghost." "But," said the wicked man, "I will make you fall into sin, and then the Holy Ghost will leave you." To which the virgin Lucy answered, "I will remain faithful to God, and not consent to sin, and the Holy Spirit will double my reward of glory." Then the tyrant had her dragged to a place of infamy. Arriving there she stood so firm in the one spot that no power could move her further, and she had to be brought back, when she said to the tyrant: "You see, now, I am the temple of the Holy Ghost, and He protects me; no power on earth can move me, unless He permits it." In this wise, too, should we fly from sin, and we shall be the temple of God and the habitation of the Holy Ghost. Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. Yes, the Holy Spirit will help us to pray" with inexpressible groans." Let us pray to the Holy Ghost, and in our soul will burn such a flame that we will not be able to resist any longer, we shall run delighted in the odor of the love of God. Then may we repeat the words of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians: "All you are the children of light and children of the day."

Source: Sermons for Children's Masses, Imprimatur 1900

Rogation Days and the Feast of the Ascension

5/17/2020

The Church in Her glory did such wonderful things to help the faithful keep the Faith. Oh how I wish we still did these things. . . . .

                                                  ROGATION DAYS or CROSS DAYS

The first Rogation procession was made 1,500 years ago, and its litanies and antiphons were meant to avert God's anger from his people and to call down his blessing on the fruits of the fields. It is not strange that the procession came gradually to make its way over fields and meadows and ploughed land, in fact throughout the whole of the parish. In seaside parishes these processions included prayers for the harvest of the sea and they probably made their way along the sands or cliffs.

In some places the Rogation days were called the Cross days, probably because the procession halted every so often at certain crosses or at certain trees marked with a cross, at which the priest read from the New Testament before the crowd took up the litanies and antiphons once more.

Children in the procession carried green boughs, the girls decorated themselves with flower garlands, the men carried banners and a cross. All the streets were hung with green branches.

In Staffordshire by the early 18th century, the processioning had taken a rather different form; the whole village went out on the three days, led by the children, who bore long poles decorated with every sort of flower, and all together they sang over and over again the psalm: "All ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord."

There are not many processions now over the fields on Rogation days; still, after our answering the litanies at Mass, we might spend the days in something of the old spirit. In a school or club we could have a procession like that once prevailing in Staffordshire,
and thus call on all the created things of God to bless him.

Certainly night or morning prayers might include one or more of the Church's prayers for the fruits of the earth; particularly if those who pray have a garden:

"We implore thy blessing, Almighty God, that thou wilt deign to nourish this earth with temperate winds, to pour over it like a shower of rain thy gracious blessings, granting to thy people to give thanks to thee eternally for thy gifts."

                                                                 ASCENSION DAY

St. Luke tells us that Christ, after he had eaten a meal in the Cenacle, led the whole troop of apostles through the city on the last journey he would make upon earth, and "...when he had led them as far as Bethany he lifted up his hands and blessed them; and even as he blessed them he parted from them and was carried up into heaven." It is easy to understand why on Ascension day the priest led the people in solemn procession before Mass, that this last walk of Christ's might be remembered.

Since this procession has fallen into disuse, one could make a solitary visit to a church during the day. The apostles, of course, saw Christ going before them. But if we cannot, we have no less certainty that he is with us, closer than he was to any of the apostles on that first Ascension day. During that walk to the church we can do what the apostles did--praise and bless God and thank him for the holy Spirit whom he is going to send us.

A custom has survived in some parts of this country of opening the New Testament at random on this day, considering that in the page chosen there may be, as it were, some final message from Jesus as he makes his way back into heaven. Each one in turn opens the New Testament and reads the whole chapter he has lighted on, while the rest of the family or group help him to make that chapter practical for himself.
                                                                             -A Candle is Lighted, Imprimatur 1945 -

Rogation Days

5/17/2020

We've added a coloring picture at the end of this post. From the wonderful art of Cecily Mary Barker.

1. Even in the earliest times of Christianity, we find where one or more communities under the guidance of their spiritual directors went in procession, praying and singing psalms, to an appointed place to perform solemn devotional exercises. These processions were held sometimes on special occasions, sometimes on certain days of the year; to the latter, we class the procession of St. Mark's day and the Rogation days.

2. The procession of St. Mark's day is said to have been instituted by Pope Gregory the Great at the time when, in consequence of a great inundation, a pestilence was raging in Rome and vicinity. The symptoms of this dread disease were, yawning or sneezing until the victim dropped dead. Hence originated the custom of saying ''God bless you'' when one sneezes; also of making the sign of the cross on the mouth when yawning. To ward off this terrible disease Pope Gregory commanded a solemn procession to be held, and appointed it to be solemnized yearly on the 25th of April; it must have been, however, an ancient custom, but only became general on the occasion of the pestilence. In the beginning of spring, when all nature awakes, this procession is held to beseech Almighty God to avert various natural calamities—-the dangers of drought, storm and tempest. The faithful having been reconciled to God at Easter, now beg to be reconciled with nature, in order to receive not the curse of sin resting upon it through the fall of Adam, but instead the blessings of our heavenly Father. This procession then is really the celebration of the resurrection of nature. It is placed upon the 25th of April, being the first day upon which Easter cannot occur; for the spiritual resurrection must be accomplished before the curse of sin can be taken from nature. The Feast of St. Mark, celebrated on this day, is of much later origin and has no connection with it.

3. On the three days preceding the Feast of the Ascension, processions are also held, therefore this week is called ''Rogation Week," from the Latin ''rogare"—to ask or to pray. The holy bishop Mamertus of Vienne, France, was the first to introduce these processions towards the close of the fifth century to avert various temporal calamities; they found imitation in France, then gradually throughout Christendom. Formerly these days were days of fast and abstinence, as well as of rest from servile work.

4. These processions have a twofold object, namely, to be reconciled with God by penance, and by prayer to obtain new graces and benefits. Our prayers should be for temporal and spiritual blessings: the prosperity of the harvest, preservation from evil, the love of God and freedom from sin. All these requests are contained in the Litany of the Saints, which is prayed on these days, either in the church or in the processions. The special Mass for these days is read in violet, the penitential color, and is intended to increase the confidence of the faithful, and to enhance the efficacy of their prayers.

5. Processions may be held on other extraordinary occasions to avert great calamities; their celebration is the same as those of Rogation week.
-The Ecclesiastical Year, Imprimatur 1903 -

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Food for Thought ~ Modernism ~ Is it a heresy or not?

5/16/2020

"MODERNISM"

What is modernism, do you really know? The following is from my sophomore's religion course. This is the CATHOLIC Churches definition of Modernism.

Q. What is Modernism?
A. Modernism is a form of rationalism which aims at the rejection of dogma and divine authority in the Church.

Q. What is the modernist's form of religious truth?
A. The Modernist's form of religious truth is the private consciousness of man.

Q. What is the pretended object of Modernism?
A. Modernism pretends to remodel the whole Christian religion and adapt it to the ideas of the twentieth century.

Q. What do Modernists hold regarding the definitions of the Church?
A. Modernists hold that private conscience should not be hampered by any definitions of the Church.

Q, What do Modernists hold regarding religious liberty?
A. Modernists hold that there should be a general reunion, including even atheism, based upon the feelings without regard for creeds or dogma.

Q. Is Modernism a heresy?
A. Modernism might be called a tendency to rationalism and skepticism, which embraces all the heresies.

Q. What do modernists hold regarding dogma?
A. Modernists hold that dogma is a mere symbol of the unknowable and is true only in so far as it excites and nourishes religious sentiment.

Why is a Catholic not allowed to take part in Protestant services?
By taking part in Protestant church services a Catholic participates in a false religion and therefore sins against faith. One religion is not as good as another. There is only one true religion— the Catholic religion. The law of the Church says that the faithful may never take active part in the religious services of non-Catholics.

Source: "Complete Catechism of Christian Doctrine" by Roderick A McEachen, Imprimatur 1911

Modernism is condemned by the Catholic Church, in Pius X encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis.

There is only one Faith that will get us to heaven and that is the ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC FAITH.

http://www.crusaders-for-christ.com/this-and-that/-instruction-on-the-one-and-only-saving-faith

As they say, a picture paints a thousand words!

St. Anthony hammer of heretics, pray for us!

Lord Jesus, most merciful Saviour of the world, we humbly beseech Thee, by Thy most Sacred Heart, that all the sheep who stray out of Thy fold, as well as those who are held by the darkness of error, may be converted to Thee, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, forever and ever. Amen.

Something of Very Great Concern . . . . . .

5/13/2020

Dear Readers, I would not normally put a post on here concerning politics however, this is a very unsettling issue. Please take the time to read up on H.R. 6666. You can find it on Congress.gov. Please, please call or email your representatives and oppose this bill. Please forgive me if this post offends any of you it was intended to pass on very important information. We need to beg God to keep us safe. Your families are all in our prayers.
God bless you,
Julie Willson

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6666/text?r=2&s=1

2020 - 2021 Planners Survey

5/11/2020

Dear Readers I am working on the Crusaders for Christ and Maidens for Mary planners. I would like to know if you prefer the one page layout (one weeks planning on one page) or the two page layout (one weeks planning on two side by side pages)? Please leave a comment with your preference on this post. Below are images of the new planner covers for this year. Thank you and God bless you.

Remember Me - Holy Saturday

4/11/2020

The Gospel in its directions towards holiness opens out to us the path of humility, bidding us walk in it. ‘I say to you that unless you become as little children you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’' Have not little children a mother? A mother who receives their earliest confidences, who follows their earliest intelligences, who accepts their first crosses and who is their advocate when they are in disgrace? This is what Mary is to the Christian; for every Christian, whether king or slave, rich or poor, old or young, has stepped down from the throne of his knowledge, the pinnacle of his wealth, the strength of his manhood, to become a child. Devotion to Mary, which would seem to promise only to soften our sentiments and feelings, also raises them, and in that perhaps includes all Christian teaching. The virtues that belong exclusively to Mary, the silence and gentleness, in no way exclude strength and energy. See if there was ever sorrow like to her sorrow. Her Son spares her nothing at the foot of the cross neither His agony nor his death, the tears that accompany it, nor the sight of His mangled and lifeless body. Her strength bears an exact proportion to her weakness. Jesus bore the weight of the sins of men, Mary the weight of their sorrows.
- Mme. Swetchine

The more entirely you give yourself to the Blessed Virgin, the more she will give herself to you. Your confidence will be the measure of her bounty.
- Pere Cestac

Remember Me - Good Friday

4/10/2020

Sacrifice is one of life’s great laws, both in the material and in the moral order ; it is indeed a universal law. What can be achieved without sacrifice? The value of a thing is in proportion to the labor it has cost. The greater the object sought, the grander the renunciation in its attainment. Every state of life, every position, has its sacrifices, a truth commonly referred to as ‘'the reverse of the medal.” And it is remarkable that we only really esteem and admire what represents difficulties overcome, and seek out such results only, to serve as the setting of our treasures. The works and the monuments that nations count as their greatest ornaments, have cost the architect, the student, the composer, untold labor. What application they represent, what efforts of thought and will, what sleepless nights, what depression and discouragement overcome! And these sacrifices were made for the passing shadow of glory. We work so willingly for temporal gains!

The sacrifice of ourselves given to God renders us holy to ourselves. A life of sacrifice is a life drawn from a divine fountain, from the Life of Sacrifice Christ lived on earth, whence was drawn the salvation of the world. The Son of God became man to suffer and to end His earthly life by the supreme Sacrifice of the Cross. All phases of sacrifice are united in His ''Consumniatum est!' The sacrifice is perfect.
- Comtesse de T

Jesus Christ had nowhere to lay His head on earth except the tomb.
- Pascal

Remember Me - Maundy Thursday

4/9/2020

Our Lord’s temptation in the desert is typical of our assault by worldly desires, but the Son of God deigned also to experience the subtle temptations that attack the higher intelligences. There are souls above the assault of carnal vices, souls that pass by, untouched, the vain fancies and ambitions of their generation, and whose merit in disdaining the world’s deceit and injustice is slight; and yet these include with their greatness much that is pitiful and small. Such combatants as Satan cannot overcome by pleasure or the pride of life, he thinks to subdue by fear, or even by ennui.

Lord, I am sick of this dreary life. I do not ask for excitement or delight, but to have ever in front an undiminishing load of duty—I cannot bear it. Is there no relief? Day and night the thought of sacrifice is with me; it haunts my sleep, my waking hours are like a frightful dream. My heart is weary of the unchanging prospect. Fain would I be Thine, be with Thee, but conform, I pray Thee, the requirements of Thy law to my weakness. Such is the temptation.

Jesus, loving Lord, teach me to be faithful to my God. Thou too hast been overcome. Thou hast sweated blood. Thy soul has been sorrowful, even to death. Thy grief has been like a flood—Ah Jesus, Thou dost not answer! Temptation
oppresses Thee and Thou prayest. Since then Thy lips do not reply to me, I too will pray.
- Pere Chassay

Remember Me - Wednesday in Holy Week

4/8/2020

Admire the silence with which Christ suffers His many injuries. Who would not have supposed that Divine Justice would have armed every spectator to revenge such terrible treatment? Or that, at least, Jesus would have defended His innocence with His own sublime eloquence? It is otherwise: “Jesus was silent.’’ Ah, me —the innocent Jesus is accused of so many crimes, before so many judges, in the sight of so many people; an ill-report is His, dangers surround Him, thorns, nails, the cross, await Him—and He is altogether silent. ‘‘Jesus was silent.” He would supply for your pride by His shame, and so He is silent. ‘‘But He held His tongue.”

Learn to hate your impatient volubility, when you have to suffer anything similar. ‘"Come hither my Jesus and teach me silence.” Compare your innocence with His, the accusations you incur with those of Jesus, the reasons for self defense you think you have with those of your Master. Set the sentence you have to fear side by side with that He incurred. “He was silent.” And you ? You can only blush for your querulous loquacity.
- Belledo

In times of agitation, be silent; when your spirit is calm speak.
- Pere Cestac

Remember Me - Tuesday in Holy Week

4/7/2020

We too often forget that maxim of the Saints which warns us to consider ourselves as each day recommencing our progress towards perfection. If we consider it frequently we shall not be surprised at the poverty of our spirit, nor how much we have to refuse ourselves. The work is never finished, we have continually to begin again and that courageously. What we have done so far is good, but what we are going to commence will be better, and when we have finished that, we shall begin something else that will be better still, and then another— until we leave this world to begin a new life that will have no end because it is the best that can happen to us.

It is not then a case for tears that we have so much work to do for our souls, for we need great courage to go ever onwards (since we must never stop), and much resolution to restrain our desires. Observe carefully this precept that all the Saints have given to those who would emulate them: to speak little, or not at all, of yourself and your own interests.
- St. Francis de Sales

You will only love God in proportion as you learn to suffer silently and to prefer Him to every created thing.
- Blessed Margaret Mary

Remember Me - Monday in Holy Week

4/6/2020

The bond of our union with God is the love of God above all things. ‘‘He that dwells in charity dwells in God and God in him” Here is the link of gold which joins the soul of God. Keep that link fast, and do not be afraid when the consciousness of your past sins and of your many temptations seem to come down upon you and overwhelm you as a flood. In those darkest times, be sure that if you love God you are still united with Him. It is not when we walk in the brightness of the noonday only, that we are united with Him. The purest union with God is when we walk with Him in the darkness, without consolation and without joy, having no other guide; our hand in His hand; going on like children, not knowing whither, but obeying the inspirations of God to do or not to do as He wills: out in the bleak cold sky, with no joy in our prayers and no rest of heart, in constant inward fears, with temptations all around but always faithful to the guidance of the Spirit of God. “Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God”

There are two axioms in the kingdom of God which never fail; no penitent soul can perish, and no soul that loves God can be lost.
- Cardinal Manning

Never depart from Jesus on earth if thou wouldst live and rejoice with Jesus in heaven.
- Thomas d Kempis

Remember Me - The Sixth Sunday in Lent - Palm Sunday

4/5/2020

'‘The master hath need of them." Observe the poverty of our Blessed Savior. In His days of modest triumph He has nothing but what men choose to lend, or to give Him. And now in our days He is quite as poor as then. Here on earth man is rich. God is poor. "The Heaven of Heavens is the Lord’s, but the earth He has given to the children of men.”

It is as when a good father makes over a property to his eldest son. He has given it, and will not take it back. "The Lord has sworn and will not repent.” Therefore in this world man is master, and our Lord is poor and quite dependent. If He wants bread for His poor He comes for it. If He wants instruction for His little ones He comes to us. Even when He wants to offer the Everlasting Sacrifice, He cannot do it till we give Him the juice of the grape, and the wheaten bread, "and provide an altar, and the priest, and the vestments.” If He wants to soothe the soul of the dying. He cannot carry out His loving wish till we give Him as an alms the oil of peace and gladness.

O how humble of heart our Blessed Lord is when He stoops so low as to tell me that He has need of me! We often say, "I do not choose to be under obligation to this man.” Our Lord and our God wishes most ardently to be under obligation to each of us, that thus He may have a plea for pouring out all His riches on us throughout eternity.
- Fr. Gallwey S.J.

Remember Me - Friday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent

4/3/2020

Devotion and prayers to the Blessed Virgin are admirable and useful under every invocation and in whatever manner they are made, but I venture to assert that the most profitable form, as well as the one that redounds most to our credit, is that in which we appeal to her as Our Lady of Dolours. She stood immersed in sorrows at the foot of the cross, and our Lord Jesus Christ gave us all to her in the person of the beloved disciple, to replace her dying Son, and He destined His most holy Mother to become ours. Hence, whenever we betake ourselves to Mary under her title of sorrow, we go to our mother; and go as children, as designed by her divine Son. What can be more glorious for us than that the Queen of Heaven and Earth has, under her title of Mother of Sorrows, also become our mother? This is certainly a glory that the Angels would envy us, if they were capable of envy, since the Blessed Virgin is their Queen, but not their Mother. And what can be more profitable to us than that the dispenser of grace and divine benefits recognizes us in our sorrow as her children, recommended to her by the same Jesus before He died? How must those loving words ever echo in her heart? How dear to her must be their memory, and what special acceptance she must grant to our prayers when we approach her under this appellation. Happy are we, if, each time we invoke Our Lady of Dolours, we do it with a pure heart and a devout remembrance of so great a love; happier still, if, after we have enjoyed her love through life, she shall at its close show us the fruit of her womb, Jesus, acknowledging us, in His place, as the children of His most glorious Mother.
- Marchese di Tito

Remember Me - Thursday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent

4/2/2020

"Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart,” St. Bernards remarks, ''What pride is there which the humility of the divine Master cannot extinguish? Verily, it may be said that He alone in reality humbles and abases Himself, and that we, when we seem to humiliate ourselves,' do not lower ourselves at all, but simply take the place which belongs to us. For, being all creatures, guilty perhaps of a thousand misdeeds, we can lay claim to no other right than nothingness and punishment. But our Savior Jesus Christ lowered Himself infinitely beneath that lofty height which belongs to Him.

He is the omnipotent God, the Infinite and Immortal, the supreme Arbiter of all things. And notwithstanding this, He became man, weak, mortal, subject to suffering, obedient even to death. He bore the lack of all temporal things. He, who in heaven, constituted the joy of the angels and of the saints, willed to become the Man of Sorrows and took upon Himself each and all of the miseries of humanity.

The uncreated Wisdom, and of all wisdom the Principle, has borne the shame and mockery due to a fool. The Holy of Holies, and Sanctity in essence, suffered Himself to be reputed a villain and a malefactor. He whom the countless hosts of the blessed in heaven adore, willed to die a disgraceful death upon a cross. And lastly, He who by nature is the Sovereign Good, endured every kind of human misery.

Then, after such an example of humility what ought we not to do—we who are dust and ashes? And what humiliation should ever appear hard to us, who are not only worms of earth but miserable sinners?
- Pope Leo XIII

Remember Me - Wednesday After the Fifth Sunday in Lent

4/1/2020

There is a danger of forming a false idea of holiness. To hear some people talk one would suppose it necessary to leave everything, to throw away all, to bury oneself in a desert and there devote oneself entirely to prayer and mortification. People then reply, that is impossible, so holiness must be left to the saints; and then betake themselves to a myriad of faults, sins, infidelities towards God. That is to say, under the excuse of not being able to become saints, they make themselves quite easy about their state, and slip on swiftly to their own condemnation.

This is an error, invented by the spirit of lies, accepted by the world, favored by the passions, which ask no better than to find a plausible pretext for satisfying the conscience. This is not sanctity. Sanctity consists in the accomplishment of the duties God lays upon us. In this way one who fulfills well the duties of his station, and, much more one who fulfills them well for God, will become a real saint—nothing more is needed.
- Pere Cestac

The secret of being always with God and of assuring His continual presence in our hearts is constant prayer.
- St. Isidore

Remember Me - Tuesday After the Fifth Sunday in Lent

3/31/2020

It is a wise rule of life to work every day, within reasonable restrictions, towards limiting eternal needs. "To need nothing,’’ Socrates said, ''is an attribute of divinity, to have need of little is an approach towards divine perfection.” Thus the heathen sage. How many things we might do without! The needs that we create, that we do not know where to check, that, on the contrary we go on adding to indefinitely—all these become a legion of petty tyrants that form up and surround us. Let us be on our guard, for thus we are watched from every point.

We claim to be rich; we are mistaken, we are poor, very poor, indeed, for the needs that we go on multiplying are a crowd of beggars that assault our home; each addition is a fresh charge upon us. We grow poorer as we add to our wants, for each fresh need, each desire for some new thing, increases the mob of supplicants. In appearance we may seem richer, but in fact we are tending towards absolute beggary, for we in our turn come to be always asking—asking that we may supply the needs that have become our masters.
- Msgr. Landriot

The rich differ in nothing from beggars, but in being more miserable, for beggars have need of little, and the rich of much.
- Seneca

Remember Me - Monday After the Fifth Sunday in Lent

3/30/2020

Meditate for a short space on God’s love as shown in the example Christ Himself gives us of the prodigal Son. He takes his whole fortune, leaves his home, gives himself up to dissolute life, squandering his money, and, when reduced to beggary, sinks to the level of a swineherd. Roused to reflection by his misery, he resolves to return home, and his father on seeing this wreck of humanity at once recognizes him, acknowledges him as his son, weeps over him, loving him as before, and restores him to his old costume and position. He is well dressed, feasted with delicacies, music soothes him, friends are invited to meet him, for ''I have got my son back again,” says the loving father; "the one who was lost.”

This is no graceful parable but a truth; it is thus a sinner really is, with regard to God his Father. Rouse yourself therefore, you who are grovelling in self-indulgence; what are you doing ? This is not a hard saying, but a merciful one. The way will be hard during the return journey to God, but what will be your reception? Love. And that, a love that gives you all its best.
- St. Alphonsus Liguori

Do not let us be ashamed of flight, for flight from the world is not a disgrace, but an honor.
- St. Ambrose

Remember Me - The Fifth Sunday in Lent - Passion Sunday

3/29/2020

The Prophet Elias, persecuted by impious Jezabel, retreats into the desert, and having made a day’s journey in it sinks at the foot of a tree with the prayer: 'It is enough; let me die.’’ An angel descending from heaven, touching the prophet, said: '‘Rise and eat, for a long journey is before you.” Rising, he ate the food brought him by the angel, and in its strength journeyed forty days and forty nights until he reached the Mount of God.

The Prophet Elias is the Christian soul traveling through the desert of life. Often wearied by the weight of existence the exile casts himself down despondently in the shadow of the first rock he meets, and cries, “Lord, I have lived long enough, release me from this world; the source of life and strength is withered within me.” Soul of little faith! Lift your eyes, and see the Angel who is at your side. He holds in his hand food prepared in heaven. Take this strengthening manna and you will rise in full strength for the journey that lies before you. Take this Bread. It is Jesus Christ, and “Christ is life, and life is bread,” as Tertullian says. {De orat.)

How many weak souls drag themselves wearily through the shades of mortal languor, because, though they have known the gift of God, they have forgotten to eat their bread, and their soul is enervated like the body of a man who for a long time has eaten no food.
-Msgr. Landriot

Remember Me - Saturday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent

3/28/2020

When, as often happens in this life, you see deeds done, words become law, in defiance of right, do not be scandalized nor doubt the power of God’s Sovereign Will. Full of consideration for our liberty He permits revolts because He wills only to receive genuine obedience; but all the time that prescriptive right is reserved and will receive full recognition when the time of justice has come. Then will Jesus hold His court of assize, the insurgents summoned before Him will realize from the weight of His sentence that not for a moment did He cease to be their ruler. Bent beneath the burden of His judgment they will say a despairing farewell to the Kingdom of His Glory and retreat to the realm of woe. Alas ! for these eternal exiles for whom is no reprieve.

But Christian souls convinced of the sovereign rights of their Lord, recognize both the sweetness and the honor of obeying him. The grievous spectacle of agitation that alike dishonors and disintegrates society, when human will claims to rule without any superior law to direct or restrain it, shows them clearly how necessary is Christ’s government to the existence of order and of peace. It is for that object I implore you to work, by prayer, by words, by example, by influence. You may not see the triumph on earth of your divine monarch, but it is certain you will see and enjoy in heaven the kingdom of His glory.
- Fere Monsabre

It is very important that we should help each other by prayers.
- St. Teresa