St. Casimir, Prince of Poland, Confessor, a.d.1483
by VP
Posted on Wednesday March 04, 2026 at 03:00AM in Saints
Saint Casimir by Agostino Masucci
(1691–1758)
"He was son of Casimir, king of Poland, who amidst all the softness of the court, lived with the austerity of the desert, in fasting and sackcloth, even in his youthful years. He was eminent for his charity in relieving the distressed, so as to be styled the father of the poor; and was very careful to avoid everything that could be prejudicial to chastity.
Pray for all those, who live amidst the dangers of the court; and in particular for princes, that, being God's vicegerents, they may encourage religion and virtue, and not permit that general depravity in persons attending them, by whose profaneness, irreligion, and luxury, their courts become the resemblance of hell, while the power of God is in the throne. Pray likewise for persons of quality of both sexes, that they may not employ their youthful years in vanities and dangerous follies, nor sully the honor of their birth with dishonourable practices, such as make them the worst of slaves, and render them contemptible both to God and man. The abuse of those blessings, with which they are encompassed above their neighbors, will be one day a very heavy charge; and it will be an aggravation of their hell to have all their imperiousness and pride trampled on by devils. The method of this saint in charity, piety, and penance is the only Christian honor; and this will raise all that follow it to the honor of saints. The ecclesiastical season of the year calls all now to it. See that you embrace it heartily; labor by an exact observance, to make some atonement for all past follies, and never remit your endeavors, till you have wrought a solid change in your soul." The Catholic Year by Rev. John Gother
For the Church and Civil Authorities by Archbishop Carroll:
We pray Thee, O almighty and Eternal
God, Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to
preserve the works of Thy mercy; that Thy Church, being spread through
the whole world, may continue, with unchanging faith, in the confession
of Thy name. We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow
with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life our Pope Leo, the vicar of our Lord Jesus Christ in the government of his
Church; our own bishop ...; all the other bishops, prelates, and pastors
of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise
among us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people
into the ways of salvation.
We pray Thee, O God of might,
wisdom, and justice, through whom authority is rightly administered,
laws are enacted, and judgments decreed, assist, with the Holy Spirit of
counsel and fortitude, the President of the United States, that his
administration may be
conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people,
over whom he presides, by
encouraging due respect for virtue and religion;
by faithful execution of the law in justice and
mercy; and by restraining vice
and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress,
and shine forth in all the
proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government;
so that they may tend to the preservation
of peace, the promotion of national happiness,
the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful
knowledge, and may
perpetuate to us the blessings of equal liberty.
We pray for his Excellency the Governor of
this State, for the members of the Assembly,
for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who
are appointed to guard our political welfare; that they may be enabled,
by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties
of their respective stations with honesty and
ability. We
recommend likewise to Thy unbounded mercy all our brethren and fellow
citizens, throughout the
United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge, and sanctified
in the observance of Thy
most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace
which the world cannot give;
and, after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those
which are eternal.
Finally, we pray Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy
servants departed who are gone
before us with the sign of faith, and repose in the sleep of peace:
the souls of our parents, relations, and friends;
of those who, when living, were members of this
congregation; and particularly of such as are lately deceased;
of all benefactors who, by their
donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the
decency of divine worship,
and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance.To these, O Lord, and to
all that rest in Christ, grant we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment,
light, and everlasting
peace, through the same Jesus, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Day 15. Lent with the Cure d'Ars: On Sloth
by VP
Posted on Wednesday March 04, 2026 at 03:00AM in Lenten Sermons
"What is sloth? Sloth is a kind of cowardice and disgust, which makes us neglect and omit our duties, rather than do violence to ourselves.
Alas, my children, how many slothful people there are on this earth: how many are cowardly, how many are indolent in the service of the good God! We neglect, we omit our duties of piety, just as easily as we should take a glass of wine. We will not do violence to ourselves; we will not put ourselves to any inconvenience. Everything wearies, everything disgusts the slothful man. Prayer, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which do so much good to pious souls, are a torture to him. He is weary and dissatisfied in church, at the foot of the altar, in the presence of the good God. At first, he feels only dislike and indifference towards everything that is commanded by religion. Soon after, you can no longer speak to him either of Confession or Communion; he has no time to think of those things.
O my children! how miserable we are in losing, in this way, the time that we might so usefully employ in gaining Heaven, in preparing ourselves for eternity! How many moments are lost in doing nothing, or in doing wrong, in listening to the suggestions of the devil, in obeying him! Does not that make us tremble? If one of the lost had only a day or an hour to spend for his salvation, to what profit would he turn it! What haste he would make to save his soul, to reconcile himself with the good God! And we, my children, who have days and years to think of our salvation, to save our souls - we remain there with our arms crossed, like that man spoken of in the Gospel. We neglect, we lose our souls. When death shall come, what shall we have to present to Our Lord? Ah! my children, hear how the good God threatens the idle: "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. " "Take that unprofitable servant, and cast him out into the exterior darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "
Idleness is the mother of all vices. Look at the idle; they think of nothing but eating, drinking, and sleeping. They are no longer men, but stupid beasts, giving up to all their passions; they drag themselves through the mire like very swine. They are filthy, both within and without. They feed their soul only upon impure thoughts and desires. They never open their mouth but to slander their neighbor, or to speak immodest words. Their eyes, their ears, are open only to criminal objects. . . .
O my children! that we may resist idleness, let us imitate the saints. Let us watch continually over ourselves; like them, let us be very zealous in fulfilling all our duties; let the devil never find us doing nothing, lest we should yield to temptation. Let us prepare ourselves for a good death, for eternity. Let us not lose our time in lukewarmness, in negligence, in our habitual infidelities. Death is advancing: tomorrow we must, perhaps, quit our relations, our friends. Let us make haste to merit the reward promised in Paradise to the faithful servant in the Gospel!"
Source: The Blessed Curé of Ars in His Catechetical Instructions, 1951
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 CAPG