Day 37. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: When you go back home
by VP
Posted on Thursday April 10, 2025 at 12:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"On her return to her kingdom, the queen of Sheba could never weary of relating all that she had seen in the temple of Solomon; she talked of it unceasingly, with fresh pleasure.
The same thing should happen to the Christian who has assisted properly at holy Mass. When he comes back to his house, he ought to have a talk with his children and his servants and ask them what they have retained of it and what touched them most.
Alas! Dear God, what am I going to say? .... How many fathers and mothers, masters and mistresses are there who, if someone wanted to talk to them about what they had heard at Mass, would laugh at all that and say that they were tired of it, that they knew enough about it....
Although generally speaking it seems that people still listen to the holy word of God, the moment they come out of church, they fall into all sorts of careless and frivolous ways. They get up with a sudden rush. They hurry. They jostle at the door. Often the priest has not even come down from the altar when they are already outside the door, and there they give themselves up to discussions upon all sorts of secular subjects.
Do you know what the result of this kind of thing is, my dear brethren? This is it. People derive no profit and gain no benefit from what they have heard and seen in the house of God. What graces have been lost! What means of salvation trodden underfoot! What a misfortune that is, to turn to our loss what should have helped so much to save us!
You can see for yourselves how many of these services are a burden to the majority of Christians! For those few moments, they stay in the church as if it were some kind of prison, and as soon as they are out, you will hear them shouting at the door, like prisoners who have been given liberty. Are we not quite frequently obliged to close the door of the church in order not to be deafened by their continual noise? Dear God, are these really Christians, who ought to leave Your holy temple with minds filled only with all kinds of good thoughts and desires? Should not they be seeking to engrave these in their memory, that they may never lose them and that they may put them into practice as soon as the opportunity presents itself?
Alas! The number of those who assist at the services with attention and who try to profit from them is a little like the number of the elect: ah, how small it is!"
Source: The Sermons of the Cure d'Ars, 1960
Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen
Source: Lent with the Cure d'Ars Compiled by the CAPGSt. Apollonius, Martyr, A.D. about 311.
by VP
Posted on Thursday April 10, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was a zealous, holy anchoret, who being informed of the cruel persecution of the Christians at Alexandria, under Maximin, left his solitude to visit and encourage those who suffered. He was apprehended by the persecutors at Antinous in Egypt, and cast into prison. Many heathens came to insult and affront him while in chains; and among others one Philemon, a musician, very famous, and admired by the people. He treated the martyr as an impious person, and a seducer, and one who deserved the public hatred. To his insults the saint only answered: "My son, may God have mercy on thee, and not lay these reproaches to thy charge." This his meekness wrought so powerfully on Philemon, that he forthwith professed himself a Christian. Both were brought before the judge, who after making them suffer all kinds of torments, condemned them to be burnt alive. When the fire was kindled about them, Apollonius prayed thus: "Lord, deliver not to beasts the souls who confess thee; but manifest thy power." At that instant, a cloud of dew encompassed the martyrs, and put out the fire. The judge and people cried out at this miracle: "The God of the Christians is the great and only God." The prefect of Egypt being informed of it, caused the judge and the two confessors to be brought to Alexandria loaded with irons. During the journey, Apollonius, by his instructions, prevailed so far upon those who conducted him, that they presented themselves also to the prefect with their prisoners, and confessed themselves likewise Christians. The prefect ordered them all to be thrown into the sea, about the year 311.
See here the force of patience and meekness. These are the arms which the Gospel
puts into your hand. Fight with these, if you have enemies to overcome;
for they are more powerful than passion and violence. To be more
expert, practice daily in ordinary occasions. Do not accustom yourself to anger or peevish expressions of resentment:
be not noisy and loud, but with a generous meekness stand your ground.
Thus in your patience you will possess your own soul, and gain your
enemies." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
St. Acactus, Bishop and confessor, A.D. about 430.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday April 09, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"ST. Acacius was a holy bishop in Mesopotamia. Seeing the great distress of many thousand Persians, who had been taken prisoners by Theodosius the younger, and were so neglected as to perish with hunger, he summoned his clergy, and represented this great object of charity to them. He obtained their consent for selling the vessels of gold and silver belonging to the Church, for their present relief, and to set them at liberty. Which, when the king of Persia had heard, moved by this charity performed by Christians, whom he had persecuted throughout his kingdom with so much cruelty, he recalled his edicts, and gave peace to the Church.
This was the practice of that charity recommended by St. Paul: "If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink."(Rom. xii. 20.) It is the best you can perform for removing the scourge of God from yourself, from your family and nation; and for making your peace with God, in the pardon of your sins. Let not then the malice of others shut up your bowels of compassion against them; but help them for God's sake and your own, although they may not deserve it. It is very bad management either to lock up, or to magnify your state with that, which if thus employed for the relief of the poor, might open heaven to you. How little do they understand the gospel who are more solicitous to enrich their tables and houses than to feed the poor. Will not that be their anguish at the hour of death, which is now their satisfaction? Rob your walls to clothe the naked: starve your vanity to feed the hungry. This will be your better treasure, and your eternal comfort. The spirit of Christ was the spirit of charity and humility. If He be in His followers, He will carry them on in the same holy method; and this life will give testimony of His spirit residing in them, and that truly they live by Him. But if their lives be quite opposite to the gospel, and to the life of Christ; if pride, ambition and luxury; if seeking themselves and the world be at the root of all that they do; if they make the laws of God give way to their pleasure or interest, it is evident that Christ is not in them, and that they live not by His spirit." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Day 36. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: Clear your minds
by VP
Posted on Wednesday April 09, 2025 at 12:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"If you desire the worship that you give to God to be pleasing to Him and valuable for the salvation of your soul, put it properly into practice.
Begin by preparing for holy Mass as soon as you are awake, uniting yourself to all the Masses which are being said at that moment. When the bell rings to call you to the house of God, consider the fact that it is Jesus Christ Himself calling you. Start out immediately, so that you will have a moment to meditate upon the tremendous act at which you are about to assist.
Do not say, like those people who have no religion, that you have plenty of time, that you will be there soon enough. But say, rather, with the Holy Prophet: "I rejoice when I am told that we are going into the house of the Lord." When you come out from your home, think about what you are going to do and what you are going to ask of God.
Begin by clearing your mind of earthly matters so that you will be thinking of God only. Avoid all sorts of unnecessary conversations which serve no other purpose than to make you hear Mass badly. When you enter the church, recall to yourself what the holy patriarch Jacob said: "How awesome is this place! How holy it is! It is truly the house of God and the gateway to heaven!" When you get to your place, humble yourself profoundly as you think of your own unworthiness and the greatness of your God, Who, nevertheless, in spite of your sins, wishes to suffer you in His holy presence.
Make an act of faith with all your heart. Ask God to give you the grace to lose none of the many favors which He grants to those who come here with good dispositions. Open your heart so that the word of God may enter it, take root in it, and bear fruit there for eternal life.
Before leaving the church, do not fail to thank God for the graces He has just given you and go straight home, fully occupied with the thoughts of what you have seen and heard.
Yes, my dear children, if we conducted ourselves in this manner, we should never come away from the services of the Church without being filled with a fresh desire for heaven and a new disgust for ourselves and the things of this earth. Our hearts and our minds would be given over altogether to God and not at all to the world. Then the house of God would truly be for us the gateway to Heaven. That is what I desire for you"
Source: The Sermons of the Cure of Ars 1960
Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen
Source: Lent with the Cure d'Ars Compiled by the CAPGDay 35. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: We are nothing in Ourselves
by VP
Posted on Tuesday April 08, 2025 at 12:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"Temptation is necessary to us to make us realize that we are nothing in ourselves.
St. Augustine tells us that we should thank God as much for the sins from which He has preserved us as for those which He has had the charity to forgive us. If we have the misfortune to fall so often into the snares of the Devil, we set ourselves up again too much on the strength of our own resolutions and promises and too little upon the strength of God. This is very true. When we do nothing to be ashamed of, when everything is going along according to our wishes, we dare to believe that nothing could make us fall. We forget our own nothingness and our utter weakness. We make the most delightful protestations that we are ready to die rather than to allow ourselves to be conquered.
We see a splendid example of this in St. Peter, who told our Lord that although all others might be scandalized in Him, yet he would never deny Him. Alas! To show him how man, left to himself, is nothing at all, God made use, not of kings or princes or weapons, but simply of the voice of a maidservant, who even appeared to speak to him in a very indifferent sort of way. A moment ago, he was ready to die for Him, and now Peter protests that he does not even know Him, that he does not know about whom they are speaking. To assure them even more vehemently that he does not know Him, he swears an oath about it. Dear Lord, what we are capable of when we are left to ourselves!
There are some who, in their own words, are envious of the saints who did great penances. They believe that they could do as well. When we read the lives of some of the martyrs, we would, we think, be ready to suffer all that they suffered for God; the moment is short lived, we say, for an eternity of reward. But what does God do to teach us to know ourselves or, rather, to know that we are nothing? This is all He does: He allows the Devil to come a little closer to us.Look at this Christian who a moment ago was quite envious of the hermit who lived solely on roots and herbs and who made the stern resolution to treat his body as harshly. Alas! A slight headache, a prick of a pin, makes him, as big and strong is he is, sorry for himself. He is very upset. He cries with pain. A moment ago, he would have been willing to do all the penances of the anchorites -- and the merest trifle makes him despair! Look at this other one, who seems to want to give his whole life for God, whose ardor all the torments there are cannot damp. A tiny bit of scandal-mongering .... a word of calumny .... even a slightly cold reception or a small injustice done to him .... a kindness returned by ingratitude .... immediately gives birth in him to feelings of hatred, of revenge, of dislike, to the point, often, of his never wishing to see his neighbor again or at least of treating him coldly with an air which shows very plainly what is going on in his heart. And how many times is this his waking thought, just as it was the thought that almost prevented him from sleeping?
Alas, my dear brethren, we are poor stuff, and we should count very little upon our good resolutions!"
Source: The Sermons of the Cure d'Ars, 1960
Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen
Source: Lent with the Cure d'Ars Compiled by the CAPGSt. Edesius, Martyr, A.D. 306.
by VP
Posted on Tuesday April 08, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was born in Lycia, had been a professed philosopher, and continued to wear the cloak of a philosopher after his conversion to the faith. In the persecution of Galerius Maximianus, he often confessed his faith before magistrates, had sanctified several dungeons, and been condemned to the mines in Palestine. Being released from thence, he went into Egypt, but there found the persecution more violent than in Palestine itself, under Hierocles, the most barbarous prefect of Egypt. St. Edesius being at Alexandria, and observing how outrageously the judge proceeded against the Christians, by tormenting grave men, and delivering up women of singular piety, and even virgins, to the purchasers of slaves, boldly presented himself before this savage monster, rather than man, and reproached him with his inhumanity, and barbarous usage of the Christians. He endured courageously the scourge, and the greatest torments, which the rage of such a tyrant was capable of inventing, and was at length cast into the sea in 306.
Does not this bravery of the primitive Christians inspire you with the same generous thoughts of offering yourself a sacrifice to God? You have opportunity of doing this in all that you suffer, whether in mind or body, whether from God or man. And if a total peace at any time takes this out of your hands, you have your labors still to offer to Him, as likewise the frequent contradictions of your will, in forcing it to submit to the will of God. You have again the difficulties of your state to struggle with, and the trouble caused by your inward corruption, which will not easily be overcome. If you are faithful in these occasions, it is in your power to make your life an acceptable sacrifice to heaven, by giving it every hour to God. Let not then sloth hinder the offering of your labors, nor impatience take your sufferings from the altar, nor self-love cut off self-denial. For this would be unworthy of a member of Christ Jesus, and fellow-member of the martyrs." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
St. Aphraates, Anchoret, A.D. about 400.
by VP
Posted on Monday April 07, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was born in Persia, of Infidel parents, but becoming a Christian, he came to Edessa in Mesopotamia. He shut himself up in a little cell outside of the city, applying himself entirely to the exercises of penance and heavenly contemplation. After some time, he removed to a cell in the neighborhood of Antioch, in Syria, where many resorted to him for spiritual advice. He eat nothing but a little bread after sunset; to which, when he grew old, he added a few herbs. He had no other bed than a mat laid on the ground; and his clothing was one coarse garment. Being informed of the great distress of the Catholics in Antioch, by the oppression of the Arian emperor, Valens, who had banished their bishops and priests, and forbidden their assemblies, St. Aphraates quitted his solitude, and by preaching and instruction, in those difficult times supported the flock, in the absence of their pastor Meletius. His reputation for sanctity and miracles gave the greatest weight to his actions and words. The Emperor Valens, being at Antioch, asked the saint how he came to leave his cell and ramble abroad. The holy man replied that he could not sit quiet in his cell, while the flock of the heavenly shepherd was torn to pieces; and he reproved the emperor for his persecution of the Catholics. The emperor made no reply; but one of his officers threatened the saint with death. But God chastised his insolence by an untimely death shortly after, which so terrified the emperor, that he durst not banish the saint. He was also much moved by the miraculous cures which the holy man wrought. Valens himself died a miserable death; and peace being restored to the Church, the saint returned to his solitude, and there waited till God called him to the company of the blessed.
The exercises of prayer and fasting are most commendable ; but if you are bent with so much eagerness on any practices which you have proposed, as not to bear any interruption, or delay, without peevishness and vexation, there is reason to suspect you of too much positiveness, and of a will not yet subdued. Choose rather with more freedom of spirit to turn on all occasions, wherever God seems to call you. Though this may prove some abatement of prayer, yet in thus following God, you may as surely possess him, as by more quiet devotion." The Catholic Year by Fr. Gother
Day 34. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: Follow one Master only
by VP
Posted on Monday April 07, 2025 at 12:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"What a sad life does he lead who wants both to please the world and to serve God! It is a great mistake to make, my friends.
Apart from the fact that you are going to be unhappy all the time, you can never attain the stage at which you will be able to please the world and please God. It is as impossible a feat as trying to put an end to eternity.
Take the advice that I am going to give you now and you will be less unhappy: give yourselves wholly to God or else wholly to the world.
Do not look for and do not serve more than one master, and once you have chosen the one you are going to follow, do not leave him.
You surely remember what Jesus Christ said to you in the Gospel: you cannot serve God and Mammon; that is to say, you cannot follow the world and the pleasures of the world and Jesus Christ with His Cross. Of course you would be quite willing to follow God just so far and the world just so far!
Let me put it even more clearly: you would like it if your conscience, if your heart, would allow you to go to the altar in the morning and the dance in the evening; to spend part of the day in church and the remainder in the cabarets or other places of amusement; to talk of God at one moment and the next to tell obscene stories or utter calumnies about your neighbor; to do a good turn for your next-door neighbor on one occasion and on some other to do him harm; in other words, to do good and speak well when you are with good people and to do wrong when you are in bad company"
Source: The Sermons of the Cure d'Ars 1960
Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen
Source: Lent with the Cure d'Ars Compiled by the CAPGSaint Celestine I, Pope (April 6)
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 06, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Pope Celestine I - Wikipedia
"Saint Celestine was a native of Rome, and upon the demise of Pope Boniface he was chosen to succeed him in September 422, by the wonderful consent of the whole city. His first official act was to confirm the condemnation of an African bishop who had been convicted of grave crimes. He wrote also to the bishops of the provinces of Vienne and Narbonne in Gaul, to correct several abuses, and ordered, among other things, that absolution or reconciliation should never be refused to any dying sinner who sincerely asked it; for repentance depends not so much on time as on the heart. He assembled a synod at Rome in 430, in which the writings of Nestorius were examined, and his blasphemies in maintaining in Christ a divine and a human person were condemned. The Pope pronounced sentence of excommunication against Nestorius, and deposed Him. Being informed that Agricola, the son of a British bishop called Severianus, who had been married before he was raised to the priesthood, had spread the seeds of the Pelagian heresy in Britain, Saint Celestine sent thither Saint Germanus of Auxerre, whose zeal and conduct happily prevented the threatening danger. he also sent saint Palladius, a Roman, to preach the Faith to the Scots, both in North Britain and in Ireland, and many authors of the life of St. Patrick say that apostle likewise received his commission to preach to the Irish from Saint Celestine, in 431. This holy Pope died on the 1rst of August in 432, having reigned almost ten years.
Reflection: Vigilance is truly needful to those to whom the care of souls has been confided. "Blessed are the servants whom the Lord at His coming shall find watching."
Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints
Saint Marcelinus of Carthage, Martyr A.D. 413
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 06, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"So He was secretary of state to the Emperor Honorius, and for his great virtue commended by St. Augustin and St. Jerome. Being commissioned by the emperor to decide the controversy between the Catholics and Donatists in Africa, without regarding the power or threats of these latter, he gave the cause against them. They were so exasperated, that they resolved upon his death, and raised the jealousy of an eminent courtier against him. St. Augustin testifies that he had lived in great piety, in holiness of life, and in truly Christian sentiments. He was upright in his conduct, faithful in his friendship, zealous in the support of truth, and a man of solid piety. He was compassionate and charitable, ready to forgive his enemies, and even to love them. He was full of confidence in God, and assiduous in prayer. God was pleased to crown his virtues with a glorious martyrdom. The Count Marinus cast him into prison, and had him confined in a dark dungeon; and under the countenance of his orders they murdered him. The Church honors him as a martyr, because the reason of his death was the zeal which he had shown against the Donatists, which had drawn upon him the hatred of Count Marinus. He suffered at Carthage, in the year 413; and was much lamented by the emperor.
Be but steady to the cause of justice and truth, and you will need no other persecution for the trial of your courage. Seek to be just on all occasions; never flattering what deserves reproof, nor permitting affection or dislike to carry you against duty. Examine the working of your thoughts, and the censures of your judgment; and see that you are not brought under the guilt of rashness, by a hasty conclusion of evidence, where there is none. Keep a watch upon your lips; and speak not against others upon common reports or hearsay for there is so much of mistake, if not worse in these, that ordinary observation must suspect them as insufficient arguments of truth. Observe your usual severity in putting the worst construction on what some do, and more favorable interpretation on the actions of others; and see whether passion be not at the root of this partiality." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother