St. Bridget of Sweden, Widow, A.D. 1373.
by VP
Posted on Tuesday October 08, 2024 at 12:00AM in Saints
Source: Beautiful Pearls of the Catholic Truth, 1897 V2
"The power of the priest, My daughter, is very great; for he is the angel of the Lord, and mediator between God and man. His office is more sublime than even that of the angels, for he holds in his hand the God whose infinite Majesty it is not in any one's power to comprehend; a miserable creature is, when the priest pleases, united to all that is greatest in heaven."
Source: The Revelations of St. Bridget, Princess of Sweden published with the approval of Cardinal Manning 1874"ST. BRIDGET was born in Sweden, and so piously educated, that at ten years of age she was sensibly moved with the thoughts of our Savior's passion, made that the subject of her meditation, and could never speak of it but with tears. Being married by her parents to a nobleman, she faithfully discharged all the duties of a
good wife and a good mother; and by her powerful example obliged both
her husband and children to a virtuous life. Her husband, with her
consent, undertaking a monastic life, she likewise was called by Christ
to a stricter engagement with him. After the death of her husband, she renounced her rank in the world,
divided her estates among her children, and practiced incredible
austerities. Having received very particular favors from Heaven, she
instituted a religious Order of nuns, for God's greater glory, and the good of souls, in which she has had many followers. Going afterwards to Rome, and then to Jerusalem, the example of her virtue shone forth with great lustre; and in Palestine she watered with her pious tears the chief places which Christ had sanctified by his divine steps and precious blood. She was favored with many revelations, chiefly concerning the sufferings of our Blessed Savior: but she always humbly submitted her revelations to the pastors of the Church; and so far from glorying in these favors, she only increased in humility and the love of God. After a whole year's sickness, she died in the year 1373.
In this saint, young people have an instruction to seek God by an early application of their thoughts to Him; and the method of those is reproved, who give those first and better years to vanity and the love of the world.
Parents are taught to be just in all family duties; husband and wife to
each other, to their children and servants. Widows are taught to turn
their thoughts to heaven; and religious, to be strict in all the duties of their state. Pray for all degrees, that the grace of God may attend them, for all good." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Our Lady of the Rosary
by VP
Posted on Monday October 07, 2024 at 12:00AM in Tradition
"In its present form, the rosary was made known to the world by St. Dominic at the time of the struggles with the Albigensians, that social war of such ill-omen for the Church. The rosary was then of more avail than armed forces against the power of Satan; it is now the Church's last resource. It would seem that, the ancient forms of social prayer being no longer relished by the people, the holy Spirit has willed by this easy and ready summary of the liturgy to maintain, in the isolated devotion of these unhappy times, the essential of that life of prayer, faith, and Christian virtue, which the public celebration of the Divine Office formerly kept up among the nations. Before the thirteenth century, popular piety was already familiar with what was called the Psalter of the laity, that is, the angelical salutation repeated one hundred and fifty times; it was the distribution of these Hail Marys into decades, each devoted to the consideration of a particular mystery, that constituted the rosary. Such was the divine expedient, simple as the eternal Wisdom that conceived it, and far-reaching in its effects; for while it led wandering man to the Queen of Mercy, it obviated ignorance which is the food of heresy, and taught him to find once more the paths consecrated by the Blood of the Man-God, and by the tears of His Mother.
Thus speaks the great Pontiff who, in the universal sorrow of these days, has again pointed out the means of salvation more than once experienced by our fathers. Leo XIII, in his encyclicals, has consecrated the present month to this devotion so dear to heaven; he has honored our Lady in her litanies with a new title, Queen of the most holy rosary;1 and he has given the final development to the solemnity of this day, by raising it to the rank of a second class feast, and by enriching it with a proper Office explaining its permanent object.2 Besides all this, the feast is a memorial of glorious victories, which do honor to the Christian name.
Soliman II, the greatest of the Sultans, taking advantage of the confusion caused in the west by Luther, had filled the sixteenth century with terror by his exploits. He left to his son, Selim II, the prospect of being able at length to carry out the ambition of his race: to subjugate Rome and Vienna, the Pope and the emperor, to the power of the crescent. The Turkish fleet had already mastered the greater part of the Mediterranean, and was threatening Italy, when, on October 7, 1571, it came into action, in the Gulf of Lepanto, with the pontifical galleys supported by the fleets of Spain and Venice. It was Sunday; throughout the world the confraternities of the rosary were engaged in their work of intercession. Supernaturally enlightened, St. Pius V watched from the Vatican the battle undertaken by the leader he had chosen, Don John of Austria, against the three hundred vessels of Islam. The illustrious Pontiff, whose life's work was now completed, did not survive to celebrate the anniversary of the triumph; but he perpetuated the memory of it by an annual commemoration of our Lady of Victory. His successor, Gregory XIII, altered this title to our Lady of the rosary, and appointed the first Sunday of October for the new feast, authorizing its celebration in those churches which possessed an altar under that invocation." The Liturgical Year: Time after Pentecost ) By Dom Prosper Guéranger
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Our Lady of Victory, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant Daughter of the Father, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant Mother of the Son, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant Spouse of the Holy Ghost, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant choice of the Most Holy Trinity, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy Immaculate Conception, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in crushing the head of the serpent, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant over all the children of Adam, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant over all our enemies, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the embassy of the Angel Gabriel, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy espousal with St. Joseph, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant at the scene of Bethlehem, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy flight into Egypt, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy exile, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy humble dwelling at Nazareth, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in finding thy Divine Child in the temple, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the earthly life of Our Lord, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in His Passion and Death, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the Resurrection, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the Ascension, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the descent of the Holy Ghost, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy sorrows, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy joys, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the angels who remained faithful, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the felicity of the blessed, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the graces of the just, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the announcement of the prophets, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the desires of the patriarchs, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the zeal of the apostles, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the light of the evangelists, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the wisdom of the doctors, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the crowns of the confessors, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the purity of the numerous bands of virgins, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in the triumphs of the martyrs, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant in thy all-powerful intercession, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant under thy many titles, pray for us
Our Lady of Victory, triumphant at the hour of our death, pray for us
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord,
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O Blessed Lady of Victory !
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
O
Victorious Lady ! thou who hast ever such powerful influence with thy
Divine Son in conquering the hardest of hearts, intercede for those for
whom we pray, that their hearts being softened by the rays of Divine
grace, they may return to the unity of the true Faith, through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Saint Mark, Pope and Confessor AD 336
by VP
Posted on Monday October 07, 2024 at 12:00AM in Saints
GOOD USE OF RICHES.-When Magdalen poured over the feet of Jesus the precious spikenard, the spirit of avarice, speaking by the mouth of Judas, blamed the act under the plea that it would have been better to give the price to the poor; but the Savior praised the act and the intention which prompted it. Even thus in our days do worldlings indulge in regrets at the sums expended upon the adornment of the house of God and the splendor of His worship; but pious souls let them say on as they will. The Pope St. Mark, during his short pontificate of eight months and twenty days, in like manner shrank not from withdrawing from the support of the poor, for whom he had withal the greatest charity and pitying tenderness, large sums of money, to expend them in the construction of two churches. All ancient writers laud his generosity, and the solicitude he showed to maintain fervor amongst the faithful while the Church was at peace. Having been elected to succeed Pope St. Sylvester, in 336, he died in the month of October in the same year.
MORAL REFLECTION.-When Judas Macchabæus, triumphing over Gorgias, had "carried away gold, silver, precious furniture, and mighty riches" from the Syrians, he embellished therewith the Temple of Jerusalem." Pictorial half hours with the saints by Rev. Fr. Auguste François Lecanu
"Pray for the (Pope, Bishops), and for all the pastors of the Church. They have a great charge, and infinite difficulties; and since the good of the whole body very much depends upon their administration, let them have your prayers.
Bless your divine Savior for having established His Church, and solemnly engaged His word, that by his spirit it shall be guided and led to truth to the end of the world. Let no degree of infidelity possess your heart; and no pretext make you disobedient to the rule which He has ordained to direct you." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother
A Prayer for the Church (Holy Face Devotion)
O God, by Thy Holy Name have pity on us, protect us, and save us.
O Good Jesus, in thy sweet Name guard our Sovereign Pontiff; breathe into his soul the spirit of the Comforter.
Jesus, thy Church is menaced with great trials! Holy Father, by the
virtue of thy salutary Name protect the Church of Jesus Christ. This was
the last will of thy Divine Son; it is the holy prayer which love
prompted towards the end of His life. Holy Father, keep in thy Name
those thou hast given me (St. John Chap xxvii 11)
O most holy and worthy Mother, refuge of the Church, intercede for us and save us by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
St. Michael and the Holy Angels, guard the bark of Peter, disperse its enemies by the Holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Venerable Marie de Saint Pierre, Holy Face Devotion, Work of Reparation 1885
THE SAFEGUARD OF OUR SOUL
by VP
Posted on Sunday October 06, 2024 at 12:00AM in Sermons
"Lord, come down before that my son die."- St. JOHN 4. 49.
"THE gospel narrative to-day is simple and touching. The ruler loved his son, and was sorely grieved that he was losing him. Opportunely he heard that our Blessed Lord had come from Judea to Galilee. He hastened therefore to Him; and the cry of his heart went forth, full of faith and trusting hope: Lord, come down and heal my son. And when our Saviour chided him that unless he saw signs and wonders he believed not, the father's heart, not minding the rebuke, persevered in the prayer: Lord, come down before that my son die.
Have we not something that we should cherish even more than that father did his son? Should not our prayer be more earnest and persevering than that father's? Ours should be, "Lord, come down before that my soul die." And how this prayer of poor fallen man has been heard! God the Son came down from heaven and became Man to succor the soul of man. He taught it; He comforted it; He blessed it, and redeemed it. He, Who was the glory of heaven, came down, and became the Crucified Victim of Calvary for us. And lest in succeeding ages the memory of this atonement should grow dim, and lose its power over the hearts of men, the loving Lord perpetuated this Sacrifice, this oblation of Himself for man, lest that our soul should die. Faithful hearts gather round the altar, and their cry is, "Come down." During all these centuries, day after day, in every church the miracle of miracles is worked, and at the words of consecration in the Mass, Christ our Lord, true God, true Man, comes down in His Mercy and His love. Here is our salvation! What Calvary did, the Mass can do! The work of our redemption is renewed lest our souls die. For a moment reflect; what earnestness, devotion, gratitude should be ours for the daily Holy Mass. Christ comes down to heal us, strengthen us, to make our hearts live for and tend to their eternal destiny.
Come down! Yes, daily upon our altars, and yet the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not content. There is another yearning, another longing that inflames it. Come down, He bids us pray again. Come down, dear Lord, into the very depths of our poor souls, come down and heal them in Holy Communion. Have we no pity for our own poor souls, that are dying-frail, languishing, wasting for nourishment and health and strength? And our Blessed Lord comes down to us, saying to us, "I am the Bread of life. . . . If any man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever" (John vi. 48, 52). All that is wanting is our desire and longing to come to Him to be healed.
What shall we answer to Christ the Judge if our souls die? It will be all our own fault. No shadow of an excuse. No one upon whom to lay the blame except our own selves. We may say we were tempted by the devil; but here was our Lord to succour us. We were weak and sinful; yes, and we neglected to seek strength and holiness here in the Blessed Sacrament. We were busy and occupied with many cares and the pursuits of the world; ah! had we not time to secure eternity? Passing pleasures of an hour were more thought of than the eternal joys of heaven, of which the Blessed Eucharist is the token and the pledge.
Our divine Lord is longing to come to us; but we, alas! have little longing or desire to come to Him. Where is our faith, our hope, our love for Him? Where is the fear within us lest our soul should die? It humbles us to remember the devotedness of others, and how in response to the cry of their hearts, our Saviour has come and made His abode with them, and transformed them into saints. Yes, they have become saints because they were anxious about their souls, and their faith taught them how their souls could be safeguarded. The cry of their heart was, "Lord, come down"; they knew they could not do without Him. And the safety, the growth, the perfecting of their souls was in this-that our Lord had come with His blessed healing and nourishing, and had stayed with them. His Presence made them realize more and more His blessings and His love, and then on their part their desire and longing for Him and wholehearted response to His graces grew more and more.
Mass and Holy Communion must not become matters of custom and habit, and there is here a great danger, especially for the young and thoughtless. But they must be so prepared for and longed for each day, that this love of receiving our divine Lord may be intensified each time. We are humbled, when we think of the devotion of the saints that we read of. How St. Gerard, a mere little boy, longed so for his Lord that St. Michael the Archangel brought him his first Communion. How the Sacred Host left the altar and came of itself to St. Catherine of Siena at the end of the church.
Each time at Holy Communion let us try to learn to be more devout. And thus we shall come to be prepared for that last and final visit, when our days on earth are drawing to a close, and in response to our dying cry, "Lord, come down," the Holy Viaticum will be brought to us, and for the last time on earth our wistful eyes will look upon our Blessed Lord in the Holy Eucharist! Soon to behold Him in His glory in that eternal home whither He will lead us." Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Francis Paulinus Hickey
Saint Bruno, Confessor, Founder of the Carthusian Monks
by VP
Posted on Sunday October 06, 2024 at 12:00AM in Quotes
"Still her (the Church) enemies arise anew to taunt her in the modern day. She is called on by modern religion to come down from her supernatural viewpoint and become humanitarian; she is called by modern morality to come down from her high standards of celibacy and virginity, of indissoluble marriage, of marriageʼs sanctity; she is called upon by modern skepticism and unbelief to come down from her belief in such a thing as Truth, the existence of God and the Divinity of Christ. All together call upon the Catholic Church to come down and mingle as one among many and change her standards to suit the modern mind. And they threaten that is as she will not come down, then she must die." Bishop William J. Hafey of Raleigh, N.C. Easter Sermon 1932
"THE SCANDALS OF THE WORLD.- When the Church is about to encounter great dangers on the part of enemies of the Faith, God raises up to her noble champions; and whenever great scandals grow to a head, they are compensated for by lofty examples of virtue. Therefore was it that Bruno felt himself led into solitude. In the eleventh century ignorance had generated laxness and immorality; faith was rife enough, but morality was not in acceptance.
Bruno, canon and chancellor of the cathedral of Rheims, out of love with the world by reason of the scandals he there witnessed, formed the project, together with certain of his friends, of relinquishing it altogether. Hugh, bishop of Grenoble, to whom he unfolded his purpose, pointed out to them, as suitable for the end in view, the "Chartreuse," a rugged solitude not far distant. They there constructed for themselves separate cells, and began to lead a life of poverty and labor, as forbidding even as their chosen desert. Numerous companions soon thronged to join them, and the great ones of the world followed, to draw edification from the sight of their austere virtues. Thus was founded, in 1084, the most edifying and rigorous order that has ever existed. St. Bruno died in 1101.
MORAL REFLECTION.-"It is necessary," for the sanctification of the just, "that scandals should come; and yet woe unto him through whom scandal cometh."-(Matt. xviii. 7.)"
Priests' First Saturday
by VP
Posted on Saturday October 05, 2024 at 12:00AM in Tradition
Mary as Mother of Priests is in the Dominican Priory Church of the Holy Cross in Leicester. by Lawrence OP
"Listen to what our Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, says: " God in heaven and I on earth, we desire nothing more ardently than prayer and sacrifice for priests...Let us beg God that He may give holy priests! If we have this, all else will follow; but if this be wanting, all else will avail nothing." It was from this trend of thought that the idea of the Priest's Saturday" took its origin, which idea the Superior General of the Salvatorian Fathers placed before the Holy Father in special private audience on November 21, 1934. His Holiness was much pleased with the plan and said, in conclusion: "We heartily praise and bless the work....We repeat, the thing pleases Us, We praise and bless it heartily."
What is the plan?
The Priest's Saturday:
It is something quite simple and easy, yet immeasurable great in its results. You should make it a point to offer the Saturday after the First Friday of each month to your Savior, through the hands of Mary, the great mediatrix of all graces, for the sanctification of all the priests and students for the priesthood throughout the whole world. For this purpose you should give the Saturday wholly and entirely to Him, that is to say, Holy Mass, Holy Communion, all prayers, labors, sacrifices, joys and sorrows. Whatever you cannot do on this day (Holy Mass and Holy Communion) you ought to supply immediately on Sunday. So there is really nothing new for you to do. You merely offer up this Saturday (or even every Saturday or some other day) for the sanctification of priests. It is not a case of any sodality of fraternity or anything like that. Like the First Friday in honor of the Sacred Heart, the Priest's Saturday seeks to become something religiously observed by all the Catholics of the world.
(...) Concern about the holiness of priests is the concern of the Heart of the Divine Savior and of His blessed Mother. Therefore, you also should be sure to take part in this "apostolate to the apostles. " The Holy Father, all bishops, all priests, all students for the priesthood, and especially also your own pastor, earnestly beg of you thus to participate."
Source: Priest's Saturday Series, #2 Prayers and Devotions for Priest's Day. used with permission
Priests' First Saturday. Prayer:
Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who hast
entrusted the whole work of Thy redemption, the welfare and salvation of
the world, to priests as Thy representatives, through the hands of Thy
most holy Mother and for the sanctification of Thy priests and
candidates for the priesthood I offer Thee this present day wholly and
entirely, with all its prayers, works, sacrifices, joys, and sorrows.
Give truly holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of Thy divine love,
seek nothing but Thy greater glory and the salvation of our souls.
And thou, Mary, good Mother of priests, protect all priests in the
dangers of their holy vocation and, with the loving hand of a Mother,
also lead back to the Good Shepherd those poor priests who have become
unfaithful to their exalted vocation and have gone astray. Amen
In addition to the above make it a point also to recite frequently the following:
Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who Hast entrusted the weal and woes of
Thy Holy Church to priests, with all the fervor of my heart I recommend
to Thee the wants of my pastor and all priests. Enrich them more and
more with true priestly sanctity. Give them generous, all embracing,
apostolic hearts, full of love for Thee and for all Thy souls, so that
they, being themselves sanctified in Thee, may sanctify us who are
confided to their care, and may lead us safely to heaven. Bestow upon
them in rich abundance all Thy priestly graces!
Let them ever
give us a glowing example of love and fidelity towards Holy Mother
Church, towards the Pope, and bishops, and grant that by word and
example they may shine as models of every virtue.
Most loving
Jesus, bless all their priestly labors and sacrifices! Bless all their
prayers and words at the altar and in the confessional, in the pulpit,
and in school, in confraternities, and at the bedside of the sick!
Protect and preserve them in all dangers from within and from without.
Divine Savior, give to Thy Church priests who abound in true holiness!
Call many good boys and young men to the priestly and religious state!
Aid and sanctify all those who are to become Thy priests! And to the
souls of departed priests grant everlasting rest.
But to me
give a true spirit of faith and humble obedience, in order that in my
pastor I may ever behold the representative of God and willingly follow
all his teachings. Amen
Placidus and Companions, MARTYRS, A.D. 546.
by VP
Posted on Saturday October 05, 2024 at 12:00AM in Saints
"ST. PLACIDUS was a disciple of St. Benedict. St. Gregory relates, that having fallen into a lake, as he was fetching some water, St. Benedict, who was in the monastery, knew of the accident, and calling Maurus, said to him, "Brother, run, make haste; the child is fallen into the water." Maurus, having begged his blessing, ran to the lake, and walked upon the water to some distance from the land, to the place where Placidus was floating, and taking hold of him by the hair, returned with the same speed. St. Benedict ascribed this miracle to the disciple's obedience. St. Placidus advanced daily in holy wisdom, and the exercise of all virtues, so that his life seemed a true copy of that of his holy master, St. Benedict. Being sent by him into Sicily, he there founded a church and monastery, near the port of Messina. Having lived there with thirty monks, in wonderful sanctity, a Pagan barbarian, with a fleet of pirates from Africa, landed in Sicily, and out of hatred to the Christian name, put them all to the sword for their faith in Christ, which he could not persuade them to renounce, in the year 546.
Pray for all who suffer; and in particular for those, who lie under temptation of renouncing their faith, on account of preferment, interest, or other temporal conveniences. See if some of these considerations do not prevail on you to pass the bounds of duty to the creed or commandments. Great grace is necessary to keep you steady. Make provision therefore against the time of temptation. Christians have to subdue corruption, and live by the spirit of Christ.
They must open their breasts to this holy spirit; and put their whole
hearts so under its conduct, that all other motions being suppressed,
their thoughts, desires, affections, words, and actions may be regulated
by this divine guest, and they may do in all things, not now what they will, but what God wills in them. This is the only way to give their lives to Christ, and the only way to die for Him." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Saint Francis of Assisi
by VP
Posted on Friday October 04, 2024 at 12:00AM in Saints
Saint Francis, Holy Name Cathedral Raleigh NC VP
"I also beseech in the Lord, all my brethren who are, or who shall be, or who desire to be priests of the Most High, that whenever they wish to celebrate Mass, they be pure, and offer with purity and reverence the true Sacrifice of the most holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ with a holy and perfect intention; not from any earthly motive, nor for the fear or love of any creature, as though desiring to please men; but let every will (according to the grace given) be directed solely to the most High God, and do you desire to please Him alone, for He alone works in this holy Sacrifice according to His good pleasure, as the Lord has Himself said: "Do this in remembrance of Me:" and he who does otherwise becomes a traitor like Judas.
Remember, O priests, my brothers, how it is written in the law of Moses, that those who transgressed even in corporal sacrifices were condemned by God to death, without any mercy. What a far more terrible punishment will he deserve, who tramples under foot the Son of God, and treats the Blood of the New Testament by which he is sanctified as a vile thing, and offers insult to the Holy Ghost! A man stained with sin despises and tramples on the Lamb of God, when, as the Apostle says, not discerning the sacred Bread, which is Christ, from other food, he eats unworthily by being guilty of unworthy actions; for the Lord has said by His Prophet: "Cursed is the man who does the work of God with negligence or fraud." And on account of those priests who will not lay these things seriously to heart, we are condemned, when Our Lord days: " I will curse your blessings."
Hearken, my brethren. If the Blessed Virgin Mary is honored, as she well deserves, for having borne our Savior in her most holy womb; if St. John the Baptist trembled, and did not dare to touch the forehead of his Lord; if the Holy Sepulcher in which this same Lord reposed for a short time is so venerated - how holy, how just, and how worthy ought not he to be who touches with his hands, receives into his mouth and heart, and gives to others, this God Who is now no more to die, but Who will live and be glorified for ever, on Whom the angels desire to gaze! Understand your dignity, O priests, my brothers, and " be ye holy, because He is holy." As God has honored you more than all others through this Mystery, do you love, reverence, and honor Him through this Mystery. It is a great misery, and a deplorable weakness, when you have Him thus present, that you should care for anything else in the whole world. Man should be seized with fear, the earth should tremble, and the heavens rejoice exceedingly, when Christ the Son of the living God descends upon the altar in the hands of the priest.
O admirable greatness! O stupendous condescension! O humble sublimity! the Lord of the universe, God, and the Son of God, so abases Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the form of a morsel of bread! See, O my brethren, the lowliness of your God! pour out your hearts before Him and humble yourselves, that you may be worthy to be exalted by Him. Do not keep back anything of yourselves, that He Who gives Himself to you without reserve may receive your entire being."
Source: Works of the Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi By Saint Francis (of Assisi) 1882Ste. Thérèse de Lisieux
by VP
Posted on Thursday October 03, 2024 at 12:46AM in Saints
Ste. Thérèse de Lisieux, Brittany, France
"Our vocation is not to go and reap in the Father's fields: Jesus does
not say to us: " Cast down your eyes and reap the harvest"; our mission
is still more sublime. Here are the words of the Divine Master: "Lift up
your eyes and see..." see that in Heaven there are empty places; yours
it is to fill them...you are as Moses praying on the mountain; ask of Me
laborers and I will send them; I await but a prayer, a sigh from out
your heart!"
Ste. Thérèse de Lisieux (Spiritual Maxims)
"Now it is in the Host that I can see you carry your annihilation in full. How humble you are , oh Divine King of Glory in submitting Yourself to all your priests without making any distinction between those who love you and those who, alas, are lukewarm or cold in your service! You descend from Heaven to their call. They can anticipate or delay the time of your Holy Sacrifice. You are always ready! (Pr 20)" -- St. Thérèse de Lisieux
Prayer for Priests and Vocation ( Ste. Thérèse de Lisieux)
O Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds
of Thy Divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple
John who stood at the foot of the Cross; priests: who as a pledge of
Thine own most tender love will lovingly give Thy Divine Son to the
souls of men.
May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of
Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who
suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and
thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into
close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is
specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.
Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary,
priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care
with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.
Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for Thy beloved Son,
open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and
give Him a generation of priests formed in thy school and having all the
tender thoughtfulness of thine own spotless love.
O my God, help those priests who are faithful to remain faithful, to
those who are falling, stretch forth Your Divine Hand that they may
grasp it as their support. And for those poor unfortunate souls who have
fallen, lift them up in the great ocean of Your Mercy, that being
engulfed therein, they may receive the grace to return to Your Great
Loving Heart. Amen.
Saint Théodore Guérin
by VP
Posted on Thursday October 03, 2024 at 12:00AM in Saints
"What strength the soul draws from prayer! In the midst of a storm, how sweet is the calm it finds in the heart of Jesus. But what comfort is there for those who do not pray?" – Saint Théodore Guérin
“What have we to do in order to be saints? Nothing extraordinary; nothing more than what we do every day. Only do it for [God’s] love.”—Saint Theodora Guérin
"A woman of uncommon valor, one of those religious athletes whose life and teachings effect a spiritual fecundity that secures vast conquests to Christ and His Church. It is a beautiful and forcible setting of those sublime truths that underlie the eternal plan of creation and establish the relationship that should exist between the Sovereign Maker and the creature fashioned by His word; showing clearly how Providence is just and holy in wise dispensation, man often perverse in selfish conceit. It proves that the arm of the Lord is not shortened; that the gift of God abideth with the just, whose advancement shall have success forever. (Ecclus. Xi 17).
(...) Every one who pledges himself to the work of saving souls must expect to suffer if his ministry is to be profitable. Multiplied labors are not the greatest rigors. Distress of mind and heart, human weakness, lack of sympathy and support, misunderstands, to say nothing of the malice of men and the snares of the devil - this is the burden of the apostolate. All seem to know it, yet when it comes to the exercise how few are found with magnanimity of soul enough or with spiritual nerve enough to endure the test! Many there are who are willing to sit with Christ at His table but few to share His fast; many to behold His glory, few to bear His ignominy. (A Kempis)
It is in generous acceptance of the cross that strength comes for the warfare; so it is also in self-sacrifice that we discern the halo of holiness - God's presence in His elect.
Sacrifice shorn of its glory, inasmuch as it was scarcely recognized, epitomizes the life of Mother Théodore Guérin. The keynote of her intensely spiritual character is sounded in these lines addressed to the estimable Bishop of Mans: "I consider it the greatest privilege of my life to have suffered something for my God." Truly the lesson of Calvary was well understood by this spouse of a crucified King! It must needs be that rich endowment of supernatural favor was her recompense.
This is the age of hidden saints. A bloody persecution may not be sending victors to the eternal courts, but the sword of trial is as sharp as the blade of the executioner; and though a martyr's triumph is not proclaimed from the Church's altar, a martyr's palm is borne by those sequestered Servants of God who now "follows the Lamb whithersoever He goeth."
(...)
In deploring the scarcity of vocations to the religious life when the field was so vast and the laborers so few, we observe that the cause she assigned was the same that today holds back so many nobly gifted young men and women from responding to the call of the divine Master. Appeal to the religious impulses of nature is hushed by irresistible pleasure-seeking, softness, and love of one's ease, which incapacitate souls for anything approaching the valorous in self-sacrifice; strangers to the arbitrament of virtue, their lives are as aimless as useless." Introduction by Cardinal Gibbons, Life and life-work of Mother Theodore Guérin : foundress of the Sisters of Providence at St.-Mary-of-the-Woods, Vigo County, Indiana
Short Biography:
"Mother Theodore Guerin is the foundress of St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana.
Born in 1798, ( Born Anne-Thérèse Guerin in the village of Etables–sur–Mer in Brittany, France) of fervent Catholic parents, she entered the community of the Sisters of Providence of Ruille, recently established by the Abbe Dujarie, who is also the founder of the Brothers of the Holy Cross. After several years of successful work as head of important establishments, at the request of Bishop de la Hailandiere of Vincennes, Indiana, she was sent by her superior to found an educational establishment in the New World. She and her Sisters reached Terre Haute, Ind., on October 22, 1840. A boarding school was opened in 1841. The first boarders arrived on July 4 of the same year. Tribulations from within and from without sorely tried the heart of the foundress. Several times credit was refused to the Sisters at the stores, and the immediate necessities of the community and the pupils were relieved by Providential intervention. Often after a frugal breakfast, nothing was left for dinner, and the Sisters would have to go and beg potatoes and eggs from the neighboring farms.
Calumnies and disappointments of all sorts fell thick upon the establishment. Mother Guerin herself
was deposed from office on two different occasions, and the bishop went
so far as to excommunicate her. Amidst these trials she found refuge in
God: "Let us pray more," she would tell her Sisters, "and rest quiet in
the Providence of the Sacred Heart. Can we think that our good God will
abandon us? No, not as long as we cling to Him! Courage, hope and pray."
On days when her heart was sinking beneath weight of all the afflictions that fell upon her, she would exclaim: "Hail, crosses, great and small, spiritual and temporal, inward and outward, hail! I kiss your feet, unworthy as I am of your shadow." One day when her life-work was threatened with total extinction, she spent the whole night before the Blessed Sacrament and there, in the stillness of the chapel, poured forth her soul in indescribable anguish. It was remarked the next morning that she received Holy Communion with a radiant countenance. When the chaplain asked her what made her so happy, she answered simply: "In the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness." She would often repeat to her daughters: "All that we teach the children must be done for the glory of God and the good of souls. The profit that the community derives from it is a secondary consideration." "A Sister of Providence cannot go to heaven alone; if she is not surrounded by the souls she has brought to the knowledge and love of God, she herself will not find the way to the heavenly home."
Before her death, in 1850, she had the consolation of seeing her work solidly established in many dioceses. " The Annals of St. Joseph, Norbertine Fathers, March 1919.
| Canonized on | October 15, 2006, by Pope Benedict XVI |
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Prayer:
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin,
valiant woman of God,
intercede for us in our needs.
Implore for us through Jesus, the Christ,
the gifts of a living faith,
abiding hope
and steadfast charity,
so that
through a life of prayer
and service with others
we may aid in promoting
the Providence of God
among all peoples.
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, pray for us.
Amen.
(With Ecclesiastical Approval)
