Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Hope

Hope has been the sole companion of my life,
the greatest aid in doubts, the strongest assistance in my weakness;
hope, but not the hope in men,
such as is thought to bring greater happiness and instead
brings greater disaster,
but hope in Christ, supported by the celestial promise that
He will strengthen the weakest of men
with a greatness of soul and divine help.

Pope St. Pius X

The First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church

In July of the year 64, more than half of Rome was destroyed by a fire that lasted for nine days. Rumor blamed the tragedy on the Emperor Nero, who was said to have set flame to the grand city. On the third day of the fire, dressed in theatrical costume and singing with his lyre, he surveyed the flaming ruins (“Nero fiddled while Rome burned” is the often-used phrase).More and more people began to blame Nero for the desolation. Alarmed, the emperor shifted the blame to the Christians, and had them seized and tortured to death in public. Some were burned as living torches at evening banquets, some crucified and others were fed to wild animals.

Though the Romans were hardened to cruelty by the display of the gladiator’s arena, the brutality toward the Christians caused horror and pity in many of those who witnessed the scenes. According to the historian Tacitus, many Christians were put to death even though no one believed them to be guilty.

Monday, June 29, 2020

How to make peace

The peacemakers are pronounced blessed, they namely
who make peace first within their own hearts, then
between brethren at variance.
For what avails it to make peace between others,
while in your own heart
there are wars of rebellious vices?

St. Thomas Aquinas

Sts. Peter and Paul

Peter, who was named Simon, was a fisherman from Galilee. Jesus gave him the name Peter, which means ‘Rock,’ because he was to become the rock upon which Christ would build His Church. Among the Twelve, Peter was the first to recognize the divinity of Christ and to publicly profess that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Chosen by Our Lord to shepherd His flock, he led the Apostles as the first Pope.

Peter and the apostles James and John were often taken aside by Our Lord and were witnesses to the more profound mysteries of Christ's divinity: His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, His agony in the Garden. Peter's triple denial of Our Lord during the night after the Last Supper filled him with intense sorrow.

Peter became head of the Church in Rome and was martyred in the year 64. He was crucified upside-down at his own request, because he claimed he was not worthy to die as his Lord. He was buried on Vatican hill, and St. Peter's Basilica is built over his tomb.

Paul is known as the Apostle of the Gentiles. Before receiving the name Paul, he was Saul, a Jewish Pharisee who zealously persecuted Christians in Jerusalem.

Saul was traveling to Damascus to persecute Christians when he was surrounded by a light from heaven. He was blinded and fell from his horse. He then heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He answered: “Who are you, Lord?” Christ said: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Saul continued to Damascus, where he was baptized and his sight was restored. He took the name Paul and spent the remainder of his life preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles.

Paul was imprisoned and taken to Rome, where he was beheaded in the year 67. He is buried in Rome in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

In speaking of St. Peter and St. Paul, Augustine of Hippo said of them: “Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles' blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.”
Second Photo by: Wolfgang Moroder

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Header-Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy, and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee.
The more Thy mysteries are blasphemed, the more firmly we shall believe them, O Sacred Heart of Jesus!
The more impiety endeavors to extinguish our hope of immortality, the more we shall trust in Thy Heart, sole Hope of mankind!
The more hearts resist Thy Divine attractions, the more we shall love Thee, O infinitely amiable Heart of Jesus!
The more unbelief attacks Thy Divinity, the more humbly and profoundly we shall adore It, O Divine Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy holy laws are transgressed and ignored, the more we shall delight to observe them, O most holy Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy Sacraments are despised and abandoned, the more frequently we shall receive them with love and reverence, O most generous Heart of Jesus!
The more the imitation of Thy virtues is neglected and forgotten, the more we shall endeavor to practice them, O Heart, model of every virtue!
Sacred Heart of Jesus-Oval ImageThe more the devil labors to destroy souls, the more we shall be inflamed with desire to save them, O Heart of Jesus, zealous Lover of souls!
The more sin and impurity destroy the image of God in man, the more we shall try by purity of life to be a living temple of the Holy Spirit, O Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy Holy Church is despised, the more we shall endeavor to be her faithful children, O Sweet Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy Vicar on earth is persecuted, the more will we honor him as the infallible head of Thy Holy Church, show our fidelity and pray for him, O kingly Heart of Jesus!
O Sacred Heart, through Thy powerful grace, may we become Thy apostles in the midst of a corrupted world, and be Thy crown in the kingdom of Heaven. Amen.



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Also Read:

He will be crowned

Blessed the one who continually
humbles himself willingly; he
will be crowned by the One
who willingly humbled himself for our sake.

St. Ephrem the Syrian

St. Irenaeus of Lyon

Irenaeus was born around the year 125 in a province in Asia Minor. He was a brilliant student and well versed in the Holy Scriptures, which led him to serve as a priest under St. Pothinus, the first bishop of a local church.

His fellow clergy thought highly of him, so highly, in fact, that in 177 when the persecution of Catholics in Lyon in France began, they sent him away to Rome because St. Pothinus wanted to preserve him from martyrdom.

Irenaeus returned to Lyon and became a bishop. He remained a bishop for about twenty years, wrote several works against heresy and dedicated his life to evangelizing. He died around the year 202, and is known as one of the most distinguished theologians of his time.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

How to face all situations without anxiety

Let us learn to keep a perfectly even temper,
so important to our spiritual life, and
a harmonious state of mind so that
we may face all situations without anxiety.

St. Joseph Marello

St. Cyril of Alexandria

Cyril was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 376, and was the nephew of Theophilus, the patriarch of the city. When his uncle died in 412, Cyril took his position on the see of Alexandria.  He soon began a series of attacks against the Novatians, a religion started by the antipope Novatian. He closed their churches and drove Jews from the city.

In 428, Cyril discovered that the priest/monk Nestorius, the Archbishop of Alexandria, was preaching heretical theology. Cyril sent the heretic a mild expostulation, but to no avail. Both parties then appealed to Pope St. Clementine, and Cyril was appointed to depose Nestorius. In 431, Cyril presided over the Third General Council at Ephesus, attended by some two hundred bishops, which condemned all the tenets of Nestorius and his followers. However, upon the arrival of Archbishop John of Antioch and forty-two followers who believed Nestorius to be innocent, they held a council of their own and deposed Cyril. Emperor Theodosius II had both Cyril and Nestorius arrested but released Cyril on the arrival of papal legates who confirmed the council's actions against Nestorius and declared Cyril innocent of all charges leveled against him.

Two years later, Archbishop John, representing the moderate Antiochene bishops, and Cyril reached an agreement and issued a joint condemnation, and Nestorius was forced into exile.

Cyril died in 444 at Antioch. He was named a Doctor of the Church in 1882.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Novena to St. Paul for the Conversion of America (June 26 – July 4)

Novena-to-St-Paul-Apostle-for-conversion-America
Novena Intention: St. Paul, pray that America follows in your footsteps.

O glorious St. Paul, after persecuting the Church you became, by God’s grace, Her most zealous Apostle.
To carry the knowledge of Jesus, our Divine Savior, to the uttermost parts of the earth, you joyfully endured prison, scourgings, stonings, and a shipwreck, as well as all manner of persecutions, culminating in the shedding of the last drop of your blood for Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Obtain for us the grace to labor strenuously to bring the Faith to others and to accept any trials and tribulations that may come our way. Help us to be inspired by your Epistles and to partake of your indomitable love for Jesus, so that after we have finished our course we may join you in praising Him in Heaven for all eternity.
Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.
St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!

How we should deal with human infirmity

Charity requires us always
to have compassion
on human infirmity.

St. Catherine of Siena

St. William of Vercelli

William was born in 1085 at Vercelli in the Piedmont region of Italy of noble and wealthy parents. When he was still very young, he determined to renounce the world and become a hermit.

He built his first hermitage on Monte Solicoli, and then went to Monte Vergine. Many disciples came to him there, attracted by the sanctity of his life and the many miracles he performed. From among this first group of followers, a community soon formed. William became their Abbot and a church dedicate to Our Lady was built on the site. For this reason, the mountain became known as Monte Vergine or the Mount of the Virgin.

After a while, however, their ardor growing tepid, the monks began to complain that William’s rule was too strict and life too austere. He therefore decided to leave Monte Vergine. He traveled south and founded a new hermitage on Monte Laceno, then others at Basilicata, Conza, Guglietto, and Salerno. He also became an adviser to King Roger I of Naples. William died at Guglietto on June 25, 1142.

The first congregation of Monte Vergine dissolved. The monastery, however, remained and came into the hands of the religious of Our Lady of Monte Cassino, who wear the white habit of St. William in commemoration of the founder of the monastery.

The following extraordinary fact is recorded about the Monte Vergine monastery, where the monks still lead a life of penance and austerity. According to the rule, it is not permitted to eat meat, eggs, milk, or cheese. If someone tried to violate this regulation, storm clouds would appear in the sky and the lightning would destroy the illicit foodstuff that had been brought into the monastery. This happened on many occasions, and always with the same result. It is the way God chose to show that He desires the traditions of penance and austerity of the great St. William to be maintained.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Welcome Him as warmly as possible

When you have received Him,
stir up your heart to do Him homage; speak to Him
about your spiritual life,
gazing upon Him in your soul where He is present
for your happiness; welcome Him
as warmly as possible, and behave outwardly
in such a way that your actions
may give proof to all of His Presence.

St. Francis de Sales

Nativity of St. John the Baptist

The Church usually observes the day of a saint's death as his feast, because that day marks his entrance into heaven. To this rule there are two notable exceptions, the birthdays of Blessed Mary and of St. John the Baptist, both born free of original sin (as John was cleansed of original sin in his mother’s womb). “I tell you, among those born of woman no one is greater than John…”  Jesus said.

John’s purpose was to prepare the way for the Redeemer.
Photo by: GFreihalter

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Fashions that will greatly offend Our Lord will appear

Fashions that will greatly offend Our Lord will appear.
People who serve God should not follow fashions.
The Church has no fashions.
Our Lord is always the same.

St. Jacinta Marto

St. Thomas Garnet

Born in 1575 in the Southwark section of the City of London, Thomas was the son of Richard Garnet, a Confessor of the Faith, and nephew of the famous Jesuit missionary and martyr, Father Henry Garnet.

In his youth, he was a page to the Count of Arundel. At sixteen, he entered the College of St. Omer in the Low Countries and, two years later, was sent to Spain. He continued his studies at the College of St. Alban in Valladolid and was ordained to the priesthood in 1599. After his ordination, he returned to England and, under the alias of Thomas Rokewood, spent nearly six years wandering up and down the country ministering to the faithful and bringing souls back to the Catholic Faith.

About 1605, Thomas was arrested and falsely accused of participating in the Gunpowder Plot, the failed plan to assassinate James I. He was tortured for information, the authorities hoping to extract information about his famous uncle, Father Henry Garnet, Superior of the English Jesuits, who was implicated in the Plot because he refused to break the Seal of Confession.

After roughly nine months, he was released and deported to Flanders. There he entered the Jesuit Order, and just a year after his deportation, he returned to England. He was arrested after refusing to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the Church of England, known as The Oath of Supremacy. He was hanged at Tyburn in 1608 as a traitor to the crown.

“I wandered,” he said during his trial, “from place to place to recover souls which had gone astray and were in error as to the knowledge of the true Catholic Church.”

Before he died, he publicly reaffirmed himself as a Jesuit and a priest. He was canonized in 1970 and is included among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Photo by: Quodvultdeus

Monday, June 22, 2020

When the devil again tempts you

When the devil again tempts you to sin,
telling you that God is merciful,
remember that
the Lord "showeth mercy to them that fear Him" but
not to them who despise Him.

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More

The lives of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher are very closely linked, and thus it is quite appropriate that the Church celebrate their feasts together. They are both renowned Englishmen martyred within two weeks of each other for the same cause of defending religious liberty, the sanctity of marriage and Papal authority against State usurpation. They were both associates of King Henry VIII before his apostasy, and it was at his hands that they both suffered martyrdom.

Sir Thomas More was a distinguished statesman in the English Parliament. First and foremost, however, he was a faithful Catholic, a loving husband, and a devoted father. More was widely known for his “unfailing moral integrity, sharpness of mind, his open and humorous character, and his extraordinary learning." He was a close friend and confidant of Henry VIII, and the King himself eventually promoted Thomas to the prominent office of Lord Chancellor. However, the two were alienated when Thomas refused to compromise his conscience and faith when Henry openly defied Church teachings and divorced his wife to marry Anne Boleyn, choosing instead to renounce the King’s friendship, his own public career, wealth and worldly prestige. Thomas was consequently imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually condemned and beheaded on July 6, 1535. He was named patron saint of statesmen and politicians by Pope John Paul II.

A friend of St. Thomas More’s, St. John Fisher also had a close connection to Henry VIII, having once been his tutor, and was a friend of the royal family. As the Bishop of Rochester, he was known as a man of great leaning and deep and unshakable faith. He was supported by the King and appointed to the lifetime position of Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. However, he too fell into disfavor with Henry when he also opposed the King’s unlawful divorce of Queen Catherine of Aragon. Bishop Fisher courageously warned Parliament of Henry’s encroaching powers over the Church in England in direct disregard of the Papal audit, and publicly preached against the divorce from the pulpit at the same time as Sir Thomas More was resigning his high office. By thus calling down the King’s fury on himself, the holy Bishop of Rochester suffered multiple imprisonments in the Tower, during which time he was made a Cardinal by the authority of Pope Paul III – an appointment which Henry rejected. Fisher was condemned to be hung, drawn and quartered; and, although originally sentenced to be killed on June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist, the King had a superstitious fear of executing him on that feast because of the strong resemblance of the deaths of these two saints, and instead had him beheaded – ironically just like John the Baptist after all – two days earlier, on June 22, 1535.

Thomas More and John Fisher were beatified together by Pope Leo XIII in 1886, and canonized together by Pius XI in 1935. One a layman and statesman, the other a priest and bishop – they stand together as models and heroes of religious freedom against encroaching government powers.

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Do you love God?

He who wishes to love God
does not truly love Him
if he has not
an ardent and constant desire
to suffer for His sake.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga

St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Aloysius was born in the Italian province of Lombardy in 1568, the first-born son of a Marquis and the lady of honor to the Queen of Spain. When he was seven, he experienced a spiritual awakening: he made a vow of perpetual virginity, keeping his eyes downcast in the presence of women to safeguard himself from possible temptation, and dedicated most of his time to prayer, especially the Office of Our Lady.

When he was just eleven years old he fasted in the manner of a monk, eating only bread and water three days a week, practiced austerities and taught poor children the catechism. The next year, he received his First Holy Communion from the hands of the great saint and cardinal, Charles Borromeo.

By age fourteen, Aloysius had resolved to join the Society of Jesus and become a missionary. He was to suffer much from his family's strenuous opposition to this decision, particularly from his father, who hoped Aloysius would join the military. However, he persevered, and his father finally relented.

In 1585, the seventeen-year-old Aloysius was admitted into the Jesuit novitiate in Rome where he took the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience two years later. While the young Gonzaga was ordained a deacon at twenty, he was never to realize his dream of becoming a priest and missionary in this life.

As had been foretold to him in a vision, Aloysius died on the octave of Corpus Christi in 1591 after contracting the plague while caring for the sick in the Jesuit hospital. He was twenty-three years old. He was canonized in 1726 and his relics remain under the altar dedicated to the Jesuit founder in the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome. The virtue that had so marked him in his youth – purity – and which he preached and practiced to a heroic degree during his short life, became the spiritual crown by which he will be forever known.
Second Photo by: Philippe Alès

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Father's Day Cards

Click on the Father's Day cards  below to download and print them for your father!

Father's Day Card 1 Father's Day Card 2 Father's Day Card 3



Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary


Header-The Immaculate Heart of Mary
But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. Luke-2:19

Statue of St John EudesHistorically, devotion to Mary Most Holy in the form of her Immaculate Heart first occurs in the thirteenth century with St. Mechtilde, St. Gertrude, St. Bernardine of Siena and others. In the seventeenth century, St. Francis de Sales was an exponent of this devotion. But it was St. John Eudes the great apostle of the Immaculate Heart (1601-1680), who gave the decisive impulse to the practice.  
 In the same century, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus came to light through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and her confessor, St. Claude de La Colombiere. As the devotion to the Sacred Heart spread, so did the devotion to the Immaculate Heart. Both St. Margaret Mary and St. Claude, were deeply dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as well.   
Beginning with Pope Pius VI, several popes incrementally spread the devotion, but in 1944 Pope Pius XII extended it to the whole Church, fixing the celebration on August 22. Today, the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated on the Saturday following the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is moveable, always observed on a Friday, nineteen days after Pentecost Sunday.

1st Five Saturdays Devotion Card Banner

 The physical heart, symbol of the spiritual heart
The Fathers of the Church consider that when, from the Cross, Our Lord Jesus made the Blessed Lady the mother of St. John, He also appointed her the mother of all men.
Thus, Mary’s heart is the physical symbol of her boundless love for God and human kind. But Our Lady’s physical heart is also the symbol of her spiritual heart. Thus, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary we also honor her inner life, her virtues, her perfect purity, her boundless humility, her affections and her sorrow.
Poignant in Catholic tradition is the representation of Mary’s heart pierced by a sword, symbol of her immense sorrow at witnessing and willing her Son’s passion and death for the salvation of our souls. 

Fatima and the Immaculate Heart of Mary - The Five First Saturdays Devotion
Pope Pius XIIIn the second apparition of Fatima, Our Lady showed the seers, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, her heart encircled by thorns. Later, on December 10, 1925, in a private apparition to Sister Lucia, she asked for the devotion of reparation of the Five First Saturdays.
The Blessed Mother appeared alongside the Child Jesus who stood over a luminous cloud. Our Lady rested one hand on the Child’s shoulder while she held on the other hand a heart pierced with thorns.
The Child said, "Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother which is covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment with no one to extract them with an act of reparation."
Our Lady expressed her request in the following words,
"See, my daughter, My Heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment with blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, make sure to console me and announce that all those who for five months, on the first Saturdays, go to Confession, receive Communion, say five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for 15 minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to Me, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls."   

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of heaven and earth and tender mother of men, in accordance with thy ardent wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate to thee myself, my brethren, my country and the whole human race. Reign over us and teach us how to make the Heart of Jesus reign and triumph in us and around us as It has reigned and triumphed in thee.
Reign over us, dearest Mother, that we may be thine in prosperity and in adversity, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death. O most compassionate Heart of Mary, Queen of Virgins, watch over our minds and hearts and preserve them from the deluge of impurity which thou didst lament so sorrowfully at Fatima. We want to be pure like thee. We want to atone for the many sins committed against Jesus and thee. We want to call down upon our country and the whole world the peace of God in justice and charity.
Therefore, we promise now to imitate thy virtues by the practice of a Christian life without regard to human respect. We resolve to receive Holy Communion on the first Saturday of every month and to offer thee five decades of the Rosary each day together with our sacrifices of reparation and penance. Amen.

Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Immaculate heart of Mary, Pray for our dear country.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Sanctify our clergy.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Make our Catholics more fervent.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Guide and inspire those who govern us.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Cure the sick who confide in thee.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Console the sorrowful who trust in thee.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Help those who invoke thine aid. 
Immaculate heart of Mary, Deliver us from all dangers.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Help us to resist temptations.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Obtain for us all we lovingly ask of thee.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Make our family life holy.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Help those who are dear to us.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Bring back to the right road our erring brothers.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Give us back our ancient fervor.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Obtain for us pardon of our manifold sins and offenses.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Bring all men to the feet of thy Divine Child.
Immaculate heart of Mary, Obtain peace for the world.

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Note: The above prayers were taken, with permission, from a leaflet at Our Lady of Mercy Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
References:
https://www.motherofallpeoples.com/2006/06/the-history-and-nature-of-devotion-to-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary/
https://airmaria.com/2011/08/18/st-john-eudes-on-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary/
Illustrations:
1-Statue of Saint John Eudes, by Silvio Silva
2-Pope Pius XII extended the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the entire Church. Photo credit: Ambrosius007 



Also Read:

The reward of faith

Faith
is to believe what you do not see;
the reward of this faith
is to see what you believe.

St. Augustine of Hippo

St. Silverius

Born in Italy, Silverius was son of Pope Hormisdas, who had been married before becoming one of the higher clergy. He was only a subdeacon, when, upon the death of Pope St. Agapetus in 536, the Ostrogoth King Theodehad of Italy forced him on the Catholic Church. Soon afterwards, Silverius was formally accepted as pope by the Roman clergy.

Silverius soon incurred the wrath of the Empress Theodora. He refused to accept and recognize the heretical Eutychian patriarchs – Anthimus of Constantinople, Severus of Antioch, and Theodosius of Alexandria – who had all been excommunicated and deposed from their episcopal sees by the previous pope. Silverius is said to have remarked that by his signing the letter of refusal to Theodora's imperial request, he was also signing his own death warrant. And so it proved to be.

Theodora had Silverius kidnapped and imprisoned on the island of Ponza, and the empress nominated her supporter, Archdeacon Vigilius, for the papal throne. Vigilius was named pope, but upon taking the position, he ceased to support the Empress’ heresy and became a strong defender of orthodoxy.

In 537, after a reign of just a year, Silverius died of neglect during his imprisonment. He is now recognized as the patron saint of the island of Ponza, where he died.

Friday, June 19, 2020

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Bridge and Refuge


Header-Sacred Heart, Bridge and Refuge
By Michelle Taylor
“Come to me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” Matt.11:28

Though this age stresses “happy” and “safe,” in reality it has produced a steady diet of dire news, often uncomfortably close to home: teen pregnancies, substance abuse, marriage break-ups, suicides, murder in schools and so on.
One day when sharing with a pastor of many years the news of a friend’s divorce, he sadly retorted; “And how do you think I feel, counseling couple after couple, blessing their marriages, and then watching many of those marriages hit the rocks?…”
The world has sadly turned away from God and it has become in many respects a ferocious river taking with it all that it can engulf and destroy within its torrential waters.

Sacred Heart Image and Prayer Card Banner 

Is there a way out of the torrent?
The great saint and mystic, doctor of the Church Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), while in ecstasy, dictated an amazing book called The Dialogue. Many know it as The Dialogue of St. Catherine.

In this book God the Father describes the world and its ways as a raging torrent, and His Son, Jesus Christ, as the “bridge” on which we must climb if we wish to avoid inevitable destruction. By getting out of the river of perdition and standing on the Bridge, we are able to cross over safely from one shore–earthly life–to the other–eternal life.
Wounded and confused by the Original Sin of our first parents, our human nature easily miscalculates the river as more “exciting.” Things, pleasures and people, like water, make their way down stream while holding onto the illusion of standing on firm ground.

Our Good Lord invites us to get off the torrent and onto the safe Bridge, but we fear going against the “current,” and making the effort and the commitment of climbing onto the safe pass.
The Father speaks of this “bridge” as made from the solid virtues and example of His divine Son. This Bridge is STRONG, and SAFE. And though Our Lord Jesus Christ returned to the Father, He left us His life-giving teaching in His Church.
This teaching, says God the Father to St. Catherine, “…has been verified by the apostles, and proclaimed in the blood of the martyrs. It has been lighted up by the doctors, attested to by the confessors, and committed to writing by the evangelists…” 1
“So you see,” continues the Father, “…I have shown you my way, which is truth, and the devil’s way, which is falsehood. These are the two ways, and both are difficult.” 2
But though both ways are indeed difficult, the way of the Bridge has the promise of divine refreshment and final victory, “How foolish and blind,” says the Father, “are those who choose to cross through the water when the road (bridge) has been built for them! This road is such a joy for those who travel by it that it makes every bitterness sweet… and every burden light.” 3
But, again, like children, we are easily seduced by water. And even though the water is icy-cold and destructive, we take the plunge.

The “Bridge” as a Burning Heart.  Sacred Heart of Jesus
In the seventeenth century, God Our Lord again appeared to another saint, Margaret Mary Alacoque. He complained to her that “hearts had grown cold.” and, as a remedy, He revealed to her His burning heart.
He spoke to her of His great desire to be loved by men and of diverting souls from the path of ruin into which Satan hurls entire crowds. It was this wish which led Him to reveal His Heart, with all its treasures of love, and grace.

To those who practice this devotion to Our Lord’s exposed heart, and enthrone an image of Him thus pictured in their homes, He makes twelve amazing promises:
1.   I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
2.   I will establish peace in their families.
3.   I will comfort them in their trials.
4.   I will be their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death.
5.   I will shed abundant blessings on all their undertakings
6.   Sinners will find in My Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.
7.   Lukewarm souls will become fervent.
8.   Fervent souls will rapidly grow in holiness and perfection.
9.   I will bless every place where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10.  I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11.  The names of those who promote this devotion will be written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12.  I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion (having previously gone to Confession if aware of mortal sin) on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

What’s there to lose?
Let us take the Bridge. Let us enter the Refuge.
Above all, let us show our children the way to the Bridge by teaching them early about Christian virtue, self-discipline and good manners, by igniting in their hearts and minds a thirst for Scripture and Catholic doctrine, by habituating them to prayer (according to their capacity as they grow) and the life-giving Sacraments, and by dazzling them with all that is beautiful in God’s nature, centuries-old Catholic culture and history.
We couldn’t enroll them in a better “Insurance Policy” for happiness and safety. Let’s take the upward “plunge” and do what it takes to climb the bridge and enter the burning Heart of our all-powerful Father. It surely pays–here and beyond.


Notes:
1 Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue, The Classics of Western Spirituality, p.692 Ibid, p.673 Ibid, p.68
Also Read:

Sacred Heart Novena Banner


How to acquire the spirit of God

We should strive to keep our hearts open
to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people,
and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion
which is truly the spirit of God.

St. Vincent de Paul

St. Romuald

Romuald was born into a noble Italian family in 956. He spent his youth wildly in comfort and laziness. One day, when he was twenty, he saw his father kill another man in a duel. He fled to a monastery in disgust, and he stayed there for three years before deciding to travel, and spending the next thirty years building monasteries and hermitages in Italy.

On one occasion, Romuald was falsely accused of a scandalous crime. The accuser was a young nobleman whom the holy monk had previously rebuked, and Romuald’s fellow monks believed the young rake. Romuald was severely reprimanded, forbidden to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass and excommunicated, an unwarranted sentence which he endured for six months without complaint.

Of the monasteries established by Romuald, the most famous was called Camaldoli. There he developed an order he called “Camaldolese Benedictine,” where he brought together the monastic and hermitical ways of life.

Romuald died on June 19, 1027 at the monastery of Valdi-Castro, which he founded. Eventually, his father too became a monk. He gave up his wealth and followed his son to spend the rest of his life doing penance for his sins.

Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (June 19 - 27)

Header-Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help
 Pray for 9 consecutive days - June 19th to June 27th


MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP, you are the dispenser of every grace that God grants us in our misery.
For this reason He has made you so powerful, so rich, and so kind that you might help us in our needs.
You are the advocate of the most wretched and abandoned sinners, if they but come to you.
Icon-Our Lady of Perpetual HelpCome to my aid for I commend myself to you.
In your hands I place my eternal salvation; to you I entrust my soul.
Count me among your most faithful servants. Take me under your protection; that is enough for me.
If you protect me, I shall fear nothing: not my sins, because you will obtain for me their pardon and remission; not the evil spirits, because you are mightier than all the powers of Hell; not even Jesus, my Judge, because He is appeased by a single prayer from you.
I fear only that through my own negligence I may forget to recommend myself to you and so lose my soul.
My dear Lady, obtain for me the forgiveness of my sins, love for Jesus, final perseverance, and the grace to have recourse to you at all times, Mother of Perpetual Help.

Say Three Hail Marys

O MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP, grant that I may ever invoke your most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying.
O Purest Mary, O Sweetest Mary, let your name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on you, for, in all my temptations, in all my needs, I shall never cease to call on you, ever repeating your sacred name, Mary, Mary.
O what consolation, what sweetness, what confidence, what emotion fills my soul when I utter your sacred name, or even only think of you.
I thank God for having given you, for my good, so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But I will not be content with merely uttering your name; let my hope in you prompt me ever to hail you, Mother of Perpetual Help.



Thursday, June 18, 2020

Some things we need to forget

Forget the services
you have rendered to others, but not
those rendered to you.

St. John Bosco

St. Gregory Barbarigo

Gregory Barbarigo was born in 1625, of a very ancient and distinguished Venetian family. A brilliant student, he embraced a diplomatic career and accompanied the Venetian Ambassador, Contarini, to the Congress of Munster in 1648. He was later ordained to the priesthood and became the first Bishop of Bergamo consecrated by Pope Alexander VII. Eventually he became a Cardinal with authority over the diocese of Padua. Through his efforts the seminaries of both Padua and Bergamo were greatly increased.

Gregory worked unceasingly toward the Counter-Reformation – the movement by the Council of Trent as a response to the Protestant Reformation specifying Catholic doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, and the Biblical canon.

Gregory died at Padua of natural causes in 1697. He was canonized in 1960 and his body is buried in the Cathedral of Padua.
Photo by: Wolfgang Moroder

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Bad company

If I had to advise parents, I should tell them
to take great care
about the people with whom their children associate …
Much harm may result from bad company,
and we are inclined by nature to follow what is worse
than what is better.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Albert Chmielowski

Born on August 20, 1845, Albert belonged to a wealthy, aristocratic Polish family. Involved in politics from a young age, at eighteen he lost his leg during an uprising against Czar Alexander III of Russia.

Albert had a great talent for painting, and eventually became a well-know and rather popular artist. But he soon became aware of the suffering of the poor of the city, and felt compelled to help those in need. He abandoned his art and became a Secular Franciscan to dedicate his life to helping those in need. In 1887, he founded the Brothers of the Third Order of Saint Francis, Servants of the Poor, known as the Albertines or the Gray Brothers. Then, in 1891, he founded a community of Albertine sisters, known as the Gray Sisters. The Albertines organized food and shelter for the poor and homeless of any age or religion, dedicating their good works to God.

Albert died on Christmas Day, 1916.  He was canonized on November 12, 1989.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Resentment

We should blush with shame
to show so much resentment at what is done or said against us,
knowing that so many injuries and affronts
have been offered to our Redeemer and the saints.

St. Teresa of Avila

St. Lutgardis


Born in the Netherlands in 1182, Lutgardis was sent to a Benedictine convent at the age of twelve because her merchant father had lost the money meant for her dowry, and marriage without it seemed unlikely.
She was fond of worldly things, and had no inclination toward a religious life. However, one afternoon she had a vision of Our Lord, Who showed her His sacred wounds and asked her to love Him and Him alone.
Lutgardis immediately renounced all worldly pleasures and became a religious. She often saw Christ while engaged in prayer, and was allowed to share in His sufferings: her forehead and hair were often made wet with drops of blood when she meditated on The Passion.
Desiring to live under a stricter rule, Lutgardis later joined a Cistercian convent at Aywieres. There she spent the final thirty years of her life, becoming known as a mystic with the gifts of healing and prophecy.
During the last eleven years prior to her death she was totally blind, an affliction which she treated as an extraordinary gift from God because it reduced the distractions of the outside world.
Before she died, Our Lord appeared to her to warn her of her approaching death, and asked her to prepare for this event in three ways.
She was to give praise to God for what she had received, pray constantly for the conversion of sinners and rely in all things on God alone.  She died soon after the vision on June 16, 1246.



Monday, June 15, 2020

The only thing you can take with you

Remember when you leave this earth, you
can take with you nothing that you have received
– only what you have given:
a heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Germaine of Pibrac

Germaine was born in 1579 in Pibrac, a village in southern France. Her mother died soon after her birth, leaving the child in the care of her husband. Germaine’s father, who had no love for her on account of her right hand being paralyzed and deformed, eventually remarried. Her new step-mother was abusive, forcing her to sleep in the stable or in a cupboard under the stairs. She gave the sickly girl scraps and isolated her from her healthier step-siblings.

As soon as she was old enough, she was charged with the care of the family’s flock of sheep. During this time, surrounded by nature as she was, Germaine became closer to God, and attended Mass as often as she could. If she heard the church bells toll for the beginning of Mass, she would plant her crook and her distaff in the ground, commend her flock to her guardian angel and hurry to receive Holy Communion.

When she returned, she would find that though she had left the flock unattended, not one of the sheep in her flock had strayed or fallen prey to the wolves that often lurked nearby.

One winter day, when the ground was still frozen, her step-mother chased her with a stick, accusing her of concealing stolen bread in her apron. But when Germaine let her apron fall, summer flowers tumbled onto the hard ground. Her parents realized the deformed girl had been touched by God, and showing her kindness at last, invited her to live with them in the house. Yet she refused, and continued to live as before until one morning in 1601, she was found dead in the little cupboard under the stairs. She was twenty-two years old.

Germaine was buried in the church of Pibrac. Forty-three years after her death, her body was accidentally exhumed and was found incorrupt and flexible.

Sunday, June 14, 2020

What is the essence of a Christian life?

The whole essence of a Christian life is
to reject the corruption of the world
and to oppose constantly
any indulgence in it.

Pope Leo XIII

St. Methodius of Constantinople

Born in Sicily in the eighth century, Methodius, well educated and wealthy, hoped to receive a place in the Court of Constantinople. However, influenced by a holy monk, he decided to abandon materialism and become a religious, and built a monastery on the island of Chios.
In 815, during the second outbreak of the iconoclastic persecution, the movement against the veneration of icons, Methodius was sent to Rome as a representative of Patriarch Nicephorus, who was exiled by Emperor Leo V the Armenian for refusing to yield to the imperial decrees on the destruction of icons. The holy man spoke in favor of the reverence for holy images, seeking acceptance and approval for the icons, but he returned to Constantinople unsuccessful.

Methodius returned to Rome in 821 when a new emperor, Theophilius, sat on the throne, hoping to convince him to allow the veneration of icons. Instead, he was scourged and imprisoned for seven years.

In 843 he was consecrated as Patriarch of Constantinople with the backing of the Empress Theodora, Theophilius’ widow, and convened a council. Theodora was an ardent supporter of the veneration of icons and was the reason icons were restored to Catholic churches.

Methodius died in Constantinople in 847 of dropsy, or what is now called edema.

Saturday, June 13, 2020

The Second Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima - June 13, 1917


Header-Second Fatima Apparition

Preceding the second apparition, the seers, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, once again saw a great brilliance, which they called lightning. Some people in the group of fifty spectators noticed that the light of the sunlight dimmed during the first few minutes of the conversation. Others said that the top of the budding holm oak bent down, as if under the weight of something. During Our Lady's conversation with the seers, some of the bystanders heard a whispering, like the humming of a bee.


Lucia:
What does Your Grace wish of me?
Our Lady: I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month, to pray the rosary every day, and to learn to read. I shall later say what I want.
(Lucia asked for the healing of a sick person.)
Our Lady: If he converts, he will be healed within the year.
Lucia: I would like to ask you to take us to heaven.
Our Lady: Yes, I shall take Jacinta and Francisco soon, but you will remain here for some time yet. Jesus wishes to use you in order to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to those who embrace it; and these souls will be beloved of God like flowers arranged by me to adorn His throne.
Lucia: Will I stay here alone?
Our Lady: No, daughter. Does that make you suffer much? Do not be dismayed. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart shall be your refuge and the road that shall lead you to God.

Lucia writes, ”Upon saying these last words, she opened her hands, and for the second time she communicated to us the reflection of that intense light. We could see ourselves in it, as if immersed in God. Jacinta and Francisco seemed to be in the part of this light that went up toward heaven, and I in the part that was cast toward the ground. In front of Our Lady's right hand there was a heart encircled by thorns that seemed to pierce it. We understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, insulted by the sins of humanity and which desires reparation."
When this vision ceased, the Lady, still surrounded by the light that she radiated, rose from the little tree and glided toward the east until she disappeared completely. Several persons who were closer noticed that the buds at the top of the holm oak were bent in the same direction, as if they had been drawn by the Lady's clothes. They returned to their usual position only some hours later.


 
Read: Third Apparition 
 
Meet the Witnesses Banner

Jesus wishes to use you

Jesus wishes to use you in order to make me known and loved.
He wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world.
I promise salvation to those who embrace it; and
these souls will be beloved of God
like flowers arranged by me to adorn His throne.

Our Lady of Fatima to Lucia dos Santos

St. Anthony of Padua

Anthony was born Fernando Martins in Lisbon, Portugal, in August, 1195. His noble and wealthy family arranged for him to be instructed at the Cathedral school where he was instilled with a deep religious piety. At fifteen, Fernando entered the Augustinian Order at the Abbey of Saint Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon and there studied theology, Latin and the Holy Scriptures.It was after his ordination to the priesthood that Fernando first came into contact with some Franciscan friars who settled near his monastery. From the beginning, Fernando was strongly attracted to the simple, evangelical lifestyle of the friars. However, it was not until the news came of the first martyrs of their order – five Franciscans beheaded in Morocco – and Fernando saw their mutilated bodies, which had been ransomed, being buried in the Abbey of Santa Cruz, that he obtained permission to leave the Augustinian Order and join the Franciscans, where he received the new name of Anthony. So inspired was he by the martyrs’ example that he set out for Morocco himself, with the hope of becoming a martyr too. However, he fell seriously ill en route and was forced to return to Portugal to regain his health. According to the designs of Divine Providence, on the return voyage, the ship was blown off course and landed in Sicily.

From Sicily he made his way to Tuscany where he was assigned to a convent of the order, but he was later assigned to the rural hermitage of San Paolo near Forlì, Romagna, a choice made after considering his poor health. There he lived in a cell made by one of the friars in a nearby cave and spent his time in private prayer and study.

One day, in 1222, in the town of Forli, on the occasion of an ordination, Anthony was persuaded to be the homilist. So simple and resounding was his teaching of the Catholic Faith that even the most unlettered and innocent might understand it and it made a great impression on all who heard. Not only his rich voice and arresting manner, but the entire theme and substance of his discourse and his moving eloquence, held the attention of his hearers. Everyone was impressed with his knowledge of Scripture, acquired during his years of solitude at the hermitage of Forli.

Anthony was known as the “hammer of the heretics” in Italy. His great protection against their lies and deceits in the matters of Christian doctrine was to utter, simply and innocently, the Holy Name of Mary. Outstanding among the stories of his dealings with the heretics – who would not listen to him as he tried to teach them the truths and joy of the Gospel – is the one which recounts how he became so frustrated one day by their stubbornness that he went out and preached to the fishes, who gathered in droves to listen attentively to his words, poking their heads up out of the water and refusing to leave until they had received the saint’s blessing.

Anthony died in 1231, at the age of thirty-five, and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX less than a year later. He was declared a Doctor of the Church and is especially invoked as the patron saint of lost articles.

Friday, June 12, 2020

There is no problem that cannot be resolved by the Holy Rosary

The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live
has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent
that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is,
whether temporal or above all spiritual,
in the personal life of each one of us, of our families
- that cannot be solved by the Rosary.
There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is,
that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

Sister Lucia dos Santos

St. Paula Frassinetti

Paula Frassinetti was born in Genoa, Italy into a Catholic family. At nineteen, she left home to live with her brother, who was a priest, to fulfill the call she felt toward a life of servitude to God.
Paula often assisted her brother in teaching poor children at his parish, and soon realized her vocation as an educator. In 1834, she and six other women began a school for the poor, and became known as the Sisters of St. Dorothy. The congregation grew quickly, and the schools eventually spread across Italy, then to Europe and Africa, Asia and onto the Americas, many of which remain open to this day.

Sister Paula Frassinetti died in 1882 and was canonized in 1984.

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Our souls are fields of battle

The field of battle between God and Satan
is the human soul.
This is where it takes place every moment of our lives.
The soul must give free access to our Lord and be completely
fortified by Him with every kind of weapon.
His light must illuminate it to fight the darkness of error.
He must put on Jesus Christ, His truth and justice, the shield of faith,
the word of God to overcome such powerful enemies.
To put on Jesus Christ we must die to ourselves.

St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

St. Barnabas the Apostle

Though Barnabas, a Jew of Cyprus, was not one of the Twelve chosen by Our Lord, he is still considered an apostle. He was closely involved with the apostles after Pentecost, and was principally responsible for their accepting Paul, who was a recent convert, into their midst.

Barnabas was sent by the disciples to lend a guiding hand to recent evangelization efforts in Antioch. The success in Antioch led to his first official mission trip: the holy man traveled all over, preaching the Gospel to all who would listen, even the Gentiles. Barnabas took Paul with him, and the two continued to evangelize and preach the Gospel together for many years.

Later, when the two apostles decided to revisit their missions, a sharp contention arose between them over whether John Mark should accompany them, and they parted company going their separate ways: Paul with Silas to Asia Minor and Barnabas with John Mark sailing to Cyprus. In the Apostle Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians he indicates that their friendship was unimpaired by this disagreement.

It has been said that Barnabas was stoned to death at Salamis, the Greek city-state near Cyprus in about the year 60.

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

One of the most admirable effects of Holy Communion

One of the most admirable effects of Holy Communion
is to preserve the soul from sin, and
to help those who fall through weakness to rise again.
It is much more profitable, then, to approach this divine Sacrament
with love, respect, and confidence,
than to remain away
through an excess of fear and scrupulosity.

St. Ignatius Loyola

St. Ithamar of Rochester

We know very little about St. Ithamar, but we do know that he was consecrated to the see of Rochester after the death of St. Paulinius.

He was the first Anglo-Saxon bishop in Britain, but according to the Venerable Bede, his wisdom and piety were equal to that of his predecessors.

In 655, Ithamar consecrated a fellow countryman as the Archbishop of Canterbury. He died just a year later in 656, and many churches were dedicated to him on account of his reputation for miracles.

His relics were enshrined in 1100.

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Your refuge

“My Immaculate Heart
will be your refuge
and the way that will lead you to God.”

Our Lady to Sister Lucia dos Santos

St. Ephrem the Syrian

Ephrem was born about the year 306 in Nisibis in Mesopotamia and is the only Syrian Doctor of the Church. He was a vigorous defender of the Faith, taking it upon himself to expose and combat many false doctrines of his time.

In 350, Ephrem and other Christians were forced to flee their homes when the Persians attacked their city. The holy deacon retired to a cave in a rocky height overlooking Edessa and lived most austerely until his death in 373.

Ephrem is known as the “Harp of the Holy Spirit” because he was a great poet and composer of holy songs. It has been said that Ephrem prayed to Our Lord to “stop the flow of inspiration” because he could not work fast enough to pen all the compositions in his head.

“St. Ephrem’s Prayer” is considered to be the Lenten prayer par excellence in the Byzantine Rite tradition as it succinctly summarizes the true spirit of Great Lent:
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despondency, lust for power and idle talk.
But grant unto me, Thy servant, a spirit of chastity (integrity), humility, patience and love.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see mine own faults and not to judge my brother.
For blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Also called “the zither of Mary,” Ephrem wrote most of his compositions in his cave above Edessa, dedicating many of them to Our Lady, to whom he had a great devotion. He is credited with bringing song into the offering of the Holy Liturgy of the Mass

Pope Benedict XV proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1920.

Sunday, June 7, 2020

Infallible way to drive out the devil

The devil can be driven out in a thousand ways:
the only infallible way
is through obedience.

St. Joseph Marello