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 |
|---|
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)
Guardian Angels
by VP
Posted on Wednesday October 02, 2024 at 12:00AM in Tradition
Felix Castello: Guardian Angel
Angel-guardian of men, spirits and powers we sing,
whom our Father hath sent, aids to our weakly frame,
Heavenly friends and guides, help from on high to bring,
Lest we fail through the foeman's wile.
He, the spoiler of souls, Angel-traitor of old,
Cast in merited wrath out of his honored place,
Burns with envy and hate, seeking their souls to gain
Whom God's mercy invites to heaven.
Therefore come to our help, watchful ward of our lives;
Turn aside from the land God to thy care confides
Sickness and woe of soul, yea, and what else of ill
Peace of heart to it folk denies.
Now to the Holy Three praise evermore resounds:
Under whose hand divine resteth the triple world
Governed in wondrous wise: Glory be theirs and might
While the ages unending Run.
North Carolina Catholic Sept 28 1951
"THIS day is observed by the universal Church in honour of our guardian angels. Fail not to give God thanks for all the help and protection which you receive from those ministering spirits. Let the many examples of both old and new Testament excite your faith and hope, as to this point. Recommend yourself to the charity and protection of your angel guardian: beseech him to go before you in all your ways, and deliver you from all the snares of the infernal spirits, and particularly to stand by you at the hour of death.
Eternal praise is due to God for his mercy to sinners, who knowing how very blind and weak we are in the midst of so many dangers, with which we are encompassed, has given us in charge to his holy angels, to take care of us, that what is wanting to us, through our manifold infirmities, may be supplied by their power and charity; and that by them we may be defended from enemies, delivered from dangers, and conducted to a place of rest, in the participation of that happiness which they enjoy. For this mercy, it is our duty, particularly on this day, to bow down and adore our God; and beg that under the care of our good angels, our lives, in virtue and good discipline, may be a perpetual homage of thanksgiving. We must beg those blessed spirits to supply for what is wanting in us, giving praise to the Lord of glory, in everlasting hymns, for his infinite goodness to us, who have every provision made for us to become eternally glorious with them in heaven.
At the same time it is our duty to make a good use of these mercies of our God, and be careful not to render his blessings unprofitable to us by our sins. Whatever helps we receive from his creatures, are the effects of his bounty, and thanks are due for them. And since the end of God's ordinances is his own glory and our salvation, we must take care that our lives be so directed, as to answer these purposes of his infinite wisdom and providence.
Pray therefore to your good angel, to direct your feet in the ways of peace, to defend you from all evil spirits, and to help you, as often as the violence of temptation puts you in danger of sin. Always have a great reverence for your angel guardian, and remember his holy presence. Let the sense of his presence be a salutary check to every evil thought, word or action; and let it be a source of consolation
to you, and an encouragement to good. Beseech him to procure for you
help to avoid sin, to perform all your duties, to overcome the world and yourself, and persevere in the love and service of your Creator, till you come to praise him with the choirs of angels for ever." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Month of October
by VP
Posted on Tuesday October 01, 2024 at 12:00AM in Tradition
Only two means are left to save Her (the Church) amidst so much confusion: Frequent Communion and Devotion to Mary most holy, making use of every means and doing our best to practice them and having them practiced everywhere and by everybody. -- Don Bosco
Devotion for the month of October: Rosary for the Sanctification of Priests
Virtue of the month of October: Confidence
St. Remigius, ARCHBISHOP OF RHEIMS, CONFESSOR, A.D. 533.
by VP
Posted on Tuesday October 01, 2024 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was the great apostle of the French nation. Prayer, meditation on the Holy Scriptures, the instruction of the people, and the conversion of infidels, heretics, and sinners, were the constant employment of this holy pastor. Clovis, the king of the French, was converted after gaining a great victory, in consequence of calling on Christ to assist him. St. Remigius prepared him for Baptism by the usual practices of fasting, penance, and prayer, and solemnly baptized him at
Rheims. Under the protection of this great monarch, St. Remigius wonderfully propagated the gospel of Christ by the conversion of a great part of the French nation; in which work, God endowed him with an extraordinary gift of miracles. Having been bishop above seventy years, St. Remigius died in the year 533. Pray for all the pastors in God's Church, that they may be as eminent in virtue, as in dignity; that they may be watchful over their flocks, and teach the gospel by their example. Pray for all princes throughout the world, who as yet live in darkness, and know not Christ or his truths; that God would powerfully draw them to himself, and raise up some apostolic men in these our days, who may be instruments of this great work, for the good of innumerable souls. Pray that all Christians may live up to what they profess. What a melancholy sight it must be, when looking on ourselves, we discover the general method of our lives to have so very little regard to what Christ teaches, and so often to depart quite from him, as if we had no faith in his ways, or no interest in walking in them? The gospel charges us to be humble, meek, temperate, just, clean of heart, and not to love the world or ourselves; and we too often live as if we believed not in the gospel, and had no faith in its promises.
On this first day of the month, recommend yourself and all yours to the protection of Heaven, and consider upon the means for the amendment of past failings, that you may not be always the same." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Prayer for Priests and Vocation ( Ste. Thérèse de Lisieux)
by VP
Posted on Tuesday October 01, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers
"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. Therese of 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.
St. Therese of Lisieux
Saint Jerome, Doctor of the Church A.D. 420
by VP
Posted on Monday September 30, 2024 at 12:00AM in Saints
"Jerome (...) wrote (...) a famous letter in which he enumerated the austere duties of the sacerdotal life. Amongst many other lessons to be found in it is the following, which applies to all preachers, and which Fenelon has inserted in his third " Dialogue upon Eloquence": "When teaching in the church do not excite the applause but rather the lamentations of the people; let the tears of your auditors be your commendation. The sermons of a priest should overflow with Holy Scripture. Be not an orator, but a sincere expounder of the mysteries of your God." [Source: Saint Jerome by Father Largent, translated by Hester Davenport 1913]
"An eminent Doctor and Father in God's Church, born in Dalmatia, under the Emperor Constantius. He was brought up to learning, and improved it by the assistance of St. Gregory Nazianzen, and other great men of that age, and by four years' study of the Holy Scriptures in a desert of Syria. He was made priest by Paulinus, bishop of Antioch; and going to Rome, for composing some differences of the Eastern bishops, was chosen secretary to the pope, St. Damasus. But tired with the distractions of that
employment, he returned to his solitude; where, in continual
abstinence, prayer, and contemplation, he led an angelical life. He was
perplexed indeed with great temptations and want of health, but never discouraged; nor did he permit these to give interruption to his prayers or studies. He was there consulted both by St. Damasus and St. Augustin about difficulties of holy writ. He there translated the Old Testament out of Hebrew; and at the request of St. Damasus, corrected the New. He there vigorously opposed the errors of his time, and illustrated the Catholic faith by his learned volumes. In this method of sanctity, he lived to a great age, and died at length under Honorius, in the year 420.
Pray for all who apply to learning, that they may take virtue along with them. Learn from this saint to read the Scriptures with a diligent and humble mind. Presume not on your own sense. Solid virtue and many years' study qualified St. Jerome for an expositor; without these your expositions may be subject to great errors.
Reflect on your
own circumstances: if they engage you in great distractions, deliver
yourself, as far as you are able; and let no preferment or interest take place of your soul. But if idleness, vanity, and the earnest desire of gratifying yourself prove your distraction, your obligation to quit all this is still greater.
Pray for the whole Church and its pastors.
Pray for yourself, that the industrious, laborious, and holy spirit of this saint may be your portion, and secure you against all the mischief of sloth and self-love.
It being the last day of the month, give thanks for all blessings received, and beg hearty pardon for all your sins." [The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Rev. Fr. John GOTHER]
THE CALLS OF GRACE
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 29, 2024 at 12:00AM in Sermons
They that were invited were not worthy."-Matt. xxii. 8.
1. Gospel reminds us of the many calls and invitations of grace.
2. Why God is so generous? Because He loves us.
3. How have we responded?
4. Resolve to treasure God's graces.
THIS Gospel reminds us of the manifold invitations, the countless calls of grace, wherewith we are favored by our loving Lord and Savior. Here in God's church we cannot help but remember them. How often has He spoken to us those words, “Come to Me, all you that labor and are burdened: and I will refresh you (Matt. xi. 28). At another time, when He has seen us wasting the short and precious hours of life, He has bidden us, "Go you also into My vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just " (Matt. xx. 4). And when our souls have yearned for Him, wishing to give themselves devoutly to Him, He has said, as He did to St. Andrew, "Come and see" (John i. 39), and we have known where to find His home here in the tabernacle where He is waiting, always ready, to welcome us and bid us stay with Him.
And why all these merciful invitations? He has no need of us. He is supremely blessed and happy without us. There are so many countless multitudes better than we are. Have they been as favored as we feel that we have been? Then why these calls of grace to us? They are purely out of benevolence. "He is the Lord, who loveth souls."
There are some who may try to excuse themselves by urging that many others have had better chances; more frequent calls of grace, opportunities of practicing piety denied to them; but none of us can truly say that we have not been invited and pressed to join God's service. Does not the gospel tell us, that the servants were at length sent out to bring in all that they could find, both good and bad? So we must have neglected or even resisted, or we should have found ourselves amongst the servants of God. Let us resolve now to take that word of St. Paul's, "I cast not away the grace of God" (Gal. ii. 21), and make it our own, and with a firm, resolute will promise, "I will never again cast away the grace of God."
Our Blessed Lord's parable tells us how the Master, hurt and grieved, complained, "They that were invited were not worthy." Let us pray for holy fear lest we be found unworthy; for a holy anxiety to look to ourselves carefully lest we neglect. We must beware of being self-satisfied. We see others, as we may think, worse than ourselves, but have they received as many graces and calls as we have? And if they are more negligent, more guilty than ourselves, how does that make us stand better in the sight of God? Again, let us not be self-satisfied by any little good that we may have done, which, very likely, is far outbalanced by our shortcomings and our faults. Take heed by the example of those who thought they would be well received by their divine Master. They had forgotten their neglect and putting God off till it was too late. The five foolish virgins came to the marriage festival after the door was shut. They were too late. The gospel says, "But at last also came the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He answering said, Amen, amen, I say to you, I know you not." (Matt. xxv. II). And remember those others of whom our Lord said: "Many will say to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and cast out devils in Thy name, and done many miracles in Thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you that work iniquity” (Matt. vii. 22).
Is not this enough to make us humble and ready to accept God's graces; to welcome His invitations; to be careful to respond to them; and to do our utmost day after day? If we do this and persevere loyally, zealously, we shall indeed hear a very different word from the Master, a blessed welcome indeed! "Then shall the King say to them, Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the Kingdom prepared for you (Matt. xxv. 34)." 19th Sunday after Pentecost, Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Francis Paulinus Hickey, 1922
Prayer for the Protection of the Church to Saint Michael and the Holy Angels
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 29, 2024 at 12:00AM in Prayers
Prayer to the Holy Angels for Parishes
All you legions and choirs of Angels, please make haste to come to the aid and defense of our One Holy Roman Catholic Church. Led by St. Michael, may she be protected from destruction within by all modernistic attempts that try to diminish the true presence of God and take away His proper and due respect! In particular, come to the aid of my parish (name your parish) that it may remain or be remade to be a place of reverence and a stronghold from which the One True Triune God may continue to lead and strengthen us. Amen. CAPG
"Give thanks for that glory which the angels enjoy. Rejoice in their happiness, and pray that you may arrive at length at that unchangeable state.
Pray for that spirit of adoration in which they prostrate themselves before the throne of God. Join with them in spirit this day, and add your mite to those praises which they give to their Creator: to him be praise and glory for ever.
Pray that the will of God may be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Pray for grace, that you may not be wanting on your part, by withdrawing yourself from that obedience which you owe to your God.
A day instituted in honor of St. Michael and all the choirs of angels, ought to be a summons to all Christians to look into that happy state of which they are possessed; and by considering what their employment is, to conclude what ought to be the business of those, who are preparing to have part with them for all eternity. Now the least glance towards them informs us, that their whole occupation is in God; to adore, bless, and magnify him, to be wholly subject to him, and perform his will in all things; and that in the contemplation and possession of him is their whole happiness. This is an instruction to us, that as we entertain hopes of being added to that blessed company, so we ought here in this life to dispose and fit our souls for that which we hope will be our entertainment for ever. That however we find the whole bent of our souls, with a sort of violence, carrying us towards the earth, yet that it ought to be our endeavor to work our souls by degrees into so holy a disposition, as to be willing to leave earth for heaven. That in the meantime we ought to repute all earthly goods as vain, all satisfactions here as dangerous, and all worldly honor and the opinion of men as unprofitable. We ought to settle a fixed judgment that God is the only good; that He who is the happiness of the blessed is our only happiness here; that the best employment of our understanding is to know Him, and the ways that lead to Him, and of our will and affections to love Him. This ought to be the business of a Christian life, and is most certainly the best preparation for a happy death. For the soul by this means coming as near the life of the blessed, as the condition of this life will permit, death becomes not a death to it, but sets it at liberty from all those impediments, which were here its oppression and grievance, and puts it in a way of perfecting what it could here but imperfectly begin. Happy are those Christians, who by frequent consideration of that state which the blessed enjoy, and which is the object of their hopes, can bring their souls to this holy disposition, and make God the entertainment of their understanding and will here, whom they desire to be their only one for ever.
But because the greatest hindrances of this work, are the many distractions of this life, we cannot but acknowledge it a very providential mercy that God has by his Church appointed certain days to be kept holy, wherein Christians may not only give rest to their bodies, but to their souls also, by taking them off from the solicitude of worldly affairs, and applying them more closely to God. It is to be feared that there are very few who make it their practice to spend these days of salvation unprofitably, without shewing the wrath of God to be upon them, by other notorious disorders and their irregular lives.
It were to be wished therefore, that all Christians would learn on these days, when they are called to the life of angels, to withdraw their minds, as much as may be, from this busy and distracting world, and confine them more to the business of angels; and that they would refresh their souls with the same heavenly food. This would strengthen them against all temptations and difficulties of the world, and would make them cheerfully bend under all God's appointments. It would teach them to adore God, to love Him, and rejoice in Him. This is the life of the angels, and into these holy dispositions must those Christians work their souls, who hope to live for ever in the company of the angels." [The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Rev. Fr. John GOTHER]
St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, Cary NC
Prayer for the Protection of the Church to Saint Michael
O glorious Saint Michael, guardian and
defender of the Church of Jesus Christ, come to the assistance of the
Church, against which the powers of Hell are unchained, guard with
especial care her august Head, and obtain that for him and for us the
hour of triumph may speedily arrive.
O glorious Archangel Saint
Michael, watch over us during life, defend us against the assaults of
the demon, assist us especially at the hour of death; obtain for us a
favorable judgment, and the happiness of beholding God face to face for
endless ages. Amen
Saint Wenceslas, Martyr
by VP
Posted on Saturday September 28, 2024 at 12:53AM in Saints
"Wenceslas was the son of a Christian Duke of Bohemia but his mother was a hard and cruel pagan. Through the care of his holy grandmother, Ludmilla, herself a martyr, Wenceslas was educated in the true faith, and imbibed a special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. On the death of his father, his mother, Drahomira, usurped the government and passed a series of persecuting laws. In the interests of the faith, Wenceslas claimed and obtained, through the support of the people, a large portion of the country as his own kingdom. His mother secured the apostasy and alliance of her second son, Boleslas, who became henceforth her ally against the Christians. Wenceslas meanwhile ruled as a brave and pious king, provided for all the needs of his people, and when his kingdom was attacked, overcame in single combat, but the sign of the Cross, the leader of an invading army. In the service of God, he was most constant, and planted with his own hands the wheat and grapes for the Holy Mass, at which he never failed daily to assist. His piety was the occasion of his death. Once, after a banquet at his brother's palace, to which he had been treacherously invited, he went, as was his wont at night, to pray before the tabernacle. There, at midnight on the feast of the Angels, A.D. 938, he received his crown of martyrdom, his brother dealing him the death-blow.
Reflection: St. Wenceslas teaches us that the safest place to meet the trials of life, or to prepare for the stroke of death, is before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament."
Pictorial Lives of the Saints, by Rev. Fr. John G. Shea.
Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
by VP
Posted on Friday September 27, 2024 at 12:29AM in Saints
The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane Denys Calvaert (circa 1540–1619)
" Devotion and piety towards God and the Blessed Sacrament- Imitation of Jesus Christ.
When before the Holy Tabernacle, he always maintained himself on both knees, and in a posture so humble that he seemed, the more to testify his respect, to wish to abase himself to the center of the earth, and with such faith manifested in his countenance, one would say that he saw Jesus with his eyes; with such devotion, he would have inspired the most incredulous, with faith and the most insensible with piety; in such modesty and silence, that he had not a single glance for the greatest. magnificence, nor a word for the most august personages.
There he loved to remain all the time that his duties left at his disposal, and there he forgot himself for hours together. There he went, like Moses of old, to consult the Divine oracle in all his difficulties." (...)
Profanations, committed by heretics, or by the military, grieved him mortally. Tears, extraordinary penances, fervent prayers, all were offered in reparation and atonement He went himself or sent some of his community in pilgrimage to the profaned churches; the priests said mass and the others received Holy Communion there in reparation. He made good the material loss caused by sacrilegious thefts of sacred vessels and ornaments; and by means of missions he repaired the injury done the honor of God and souls by impiety and heresy.
He said to them with regard to the celebration of Mass: "It is not enough to celebrate mass, we must, moreover, offer this sacrifice with the greatest possible devotion, according to the will of God Himself; conforming ourselves, with His grace, as much as we can, to Jesus offering Himself, when on earth, to His eternal Father. Let us use all endeavor, then, gentlemen, to offer our sacrifices to God in the same spirit, in which our Lord offered His, and as perfectly as our poor and miserable nature will permit.”
He prescribed the greatest respect in the church and in the ceremonies. Precipitation, genuflections half-made, the least negligences in the Divine service were a torment to
his exalted idea of religion, and an alarm to his soul ever trembling
before the possibility of scandal. Hence, he took care to correct in
private, and, if necessary, in public, all the faults that he observed.
If one of his members passed before the altar, making a genuflection carelessly
and thoughtlessly, he immediately called him back, and showed him in
what manner and how far he should bend before God. On these occasions he
would say: "We should never conduct ourselves as mere puppets, which
are made to move quickly, and the salutations of which are without
reverence or soul." And, after his humble habit of accounting himself
responsible for all faults. he added: Who is guilty, my brethren! It is
this miserable person who is speaking to you, and who would cast himself
on his knees if he could. Excuse my infirmities." And in fact, it was a
cruel privation to him, and one that he attributed to his sins, when he
could no longer kneel, and he publicly asked pardon for it, and
besought them not to be scandalized.
Nevertheless," he added, "if I see the congregation relax I will force myself on my knees, cost what it will, and rise as best I may, with the aid of some of you, or in making use of my hands, so that I may thus give the example that I ought to give. For, the faults committed in a community are imputed to the superior, and the faults of the congregation in this point are always serious, as much because there is question of a duty of religion and of an exterior reverence that marks the interior respect we show God, as because, if we be the first to fail, those preparing for ordination, and the clergy who come here, will believe themselves under no obligation to do better; and those who will succeed us in the congregation and who will model themselves after us, will do still less, and thus everything will tend to decay; for if the original be defective what will the copies be? I beg you, then, gentlemen and my brothers, to pay great attention to this, and to comport yourselves in this action in such a manner that interior reverence may suggest and always accompany the exterior. God desires to be adored in spirit and in truth, and al' good Christians should do so in imitation of the Son of God, who, prostrate on the earth in the Garden of Olives, united to this devout posture a profound interior humility, out of respect for the Sovereign Majesty of His Father."
What he said of the genuflection he applied to all the ceremonies. They are, in truth, only the shadow, but the shadow of the greatest things, and this is the reason we should perform them with ll possible attention, in a religious silence, and with great modesty and gravity. How will these gentlemen who come here carry them out if we ourselves do not perform them well? The singing must be grave, without being hurried, the psalms recited with an air of devotion. Alas! if these ceremonies are not properly performed, how will we answer when God will demand an account." Virtues and Spiritual Doctrine of St. Vincent de Paul by Rev. Fr. Michel Ulysse Maynard
The Litany of St. Vincent de Paul
Lord,
have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, 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.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mary, Mother of Christ, the Sovereign Priest, pray for us.
St. Vincent,
who, from your infancy, walked in the presence of God, pray for us.
St. Vincent, most benevolent to all, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, chaste and pure, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, watchful shepherd of the flocks entrusted to your
care, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, who so faithfully preached the gospel to the poor,
Pray for us.
St. Vincent, who brought your disciples to the practice of all
good works,
Pray for us.
St. Vincent, the glory of the priesthood,
Pray for us.
St. Vincent, humble amidst the honors of the world, Pray for us.
St.
Vincent, careful imitator of Jesus Christ,
Pray for us.
St. Vincent, alleviator of human misery, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, refuge and comforter of the afflicted, Pray for us.
St.
Vincent, feeder of the hungry,
Pray for us.
St. Vincent, friend of the sick, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, father of orphans, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, refuge of purity, and security of innocence, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, zealous seeker of wandering
souls, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, restorer of the beauty of ecclesiastical discipline,Pray for us.
St. Vincent, like an Angel at the altar, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, strong in holy obedience and faith, Pray for us.
St. Vincent, burning with zeal for the glory of God, 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. He made himself all to all.
B. Let us walk in his footsteps.
LET US PRAY.
JESUS, meek and humble of heart! since
only hum dwelling of thy glory will be for ever shut against me,
unless I become truly humble: grant me humility, which alone can
merit thy grace, and secure me a place in the eternal kingdom. Pardon
me, O my God! the manifold sins, which I have committed through
pride; and grant me a contempt for myself, proportioned to the pride
which has so far enslaved me, but which I now detest so sincerely. I
beg this favor through the intercession of our holy Father St.
Vincent, who was truly meek and humble. Amen. St. Vincent's Manual: Containing a Selection of Prayers and Devotional Exercises By Sisters of Charity
