Sunday, July 31, 2016
“There is an infinite treasure of knowledge available to us: the Word of God kept safe by the Church, the grace of Christ administered in the sacraments and also the witness and example of those who live by our side and have known how to build with their good lives a road of faithfulness to God.” (St. Josemaría Escrivá, Christ is Passing By, 34).
“When God has appointed a way, we must faithfully follow it and never think of another under pretense that it is more easy and safe. It is one of the Devil’s artifices to set before a soul some state, holy indeed, but impossible to her, or at least different from hers, so that by a love of novelty, she may dislike, or be slack in her present state in which God has placed her and which is best for her. In like manner, he represents to her other acts as more holy and profitable to make her conceive a disgust for her present employment.” St. Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises (This translation is directly quoted from “Lives of Saints” edited by Fr. Joseph Vann, O.F.M., Nihil Obstat: John M. A. Fearns, S.T.D., Censor Libororum, Imprimatur+ Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, August 7, 1954)
Saturday, July 30, 2016
“Brothers and priests of the Lord... No one may chant mass outside church throughout homes, nor in places not consecrated... no one without the knowledge and consent of the bishop may acquire and obtain a church...Almighty God, whose reign and empire endures without end, in secula saeculorum. Amen.” Pope St. Eutychian, Exhortatio ad Presbyteros (Migne, “Exhortatio ad Presbyteros ex antiquo codice vaticano”)
“Love your friends in God and love your enemies for God. Keep peace and charity; avoid lies; tremble at perjury; bear no false witness; commit no theft; visit the infirm; place the whole of your hope in Christ alone.” St. Eligius or Eloy (Saint Eligius or Eloy, pg. 21 of 'A Bedside Book of Saints' by Aloysius Roche Nihil obstat: Thomas McLaughlin, S. Th. D., censor deputatus. Imprimatur: Joseph Butte, Vicarious generalis)
“A Federal judge in Washington assailed what he considered to be an unfortunate trend of judicial decisions which strain and stretch to give the guilty, not the same, but vastly more protection, than the law-abiding citizen. Bleeding hearts, some of whom are supposed to administer justice, are so concerned for criminals and terrorists that today the good citizens are considered off the reservation, as the new compassion exalts the guilty and condemns the innocent.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Guide to Contentment)
"One of the first things the devil always does is to make people stop praying." - St. Jean Vianney
Friday, July 29, 2016
“The ideal of spirituality is to be found in the first and last words of Our Lord’s public life. The first word of His public life was: ‘come’ (John 1:39; Mark 1:17; Matthew 4:18). The last word was ‘go’ (John 20:21; Mark 16:20; Matthew 28:19). The disciple first comes to absorb His Truth, to become inflamed with His Love; then and then only, he goes to accomplish his mission. Both words are summarized in the summary of the call of the disciples: He called the men He wanted; and they went and joined Him….these He would send out to proclaim the Gospel (Mark 3:14). Unfortunately today, we have too many ‘go-goes’ and not enough ‘come-comes.’ The proper balance is found again in the story of Martha and Mary which follows in the Gospel the Good Samaritan. In the latter, social service is praised. But in the story of Martha and Mary, it is suggested that we are not to become too absorbed in serving, that we have become too absorbed in serving that we have no time to sit at the foot of Jesus and learn His lessons.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Those Mysterious Priests)
"March 22,[1936]. When I arrived at Warsaw, I went into the small chapel for a moment to thank the Lord for a safe journey, and I asked the Lord to give me the assistance and the grace necessary for everything that was in store for me here. I submitted myself in all things to His holy will. I heard these words: Fear nothing; all difficulties will serve for the fulfillment of My will." (Saint Faustina's Diary 634)
Thursday, July 28, 2016
“To combat evil… is to fight with love for all men, including those who are less good. It is to put goodness in relief, so as to make it more attractive, rather than to propagate evil by describing it. When the occasion presents itself to call the attention of society, or of authority, to some evil, it must be done with love for the person to blame, and with delicacy. Do not exaggerate; do not go into detail about the evil any more than is necessary to remedy it.” —St. Maximilian Kolbe
“This holy pope saw a door opened by the peace of the church to the conversion of many, and he rejoiced at the triumph of the cross of Christ. But with worldly prosperity a worldly spirit too often broke into the sanctuary itself; insomuch that the zealous pastor had sometimes reason to complain, with Isaiah, ‘Thou hast multiplied the nation, and hast not increased my joy.’” Fr. Alban Butler on Pope St. Melchiades (“Lives of the Saints” December 10, St. Melchiades, Pope)
“In this world of ours, in which, despite the profession of good intentions, the value of the person, of human dignity and human rights is seriously threatened by the widespread tendency to have recourse exclusively to the criteria of utility, profit and material possessions, it is important not to detach the concept of justice from its transcendent roots. Justice, indeed, is not simply a human convention, since what is just is ultimately determined not by positive law, but by the profound identity of the human being. It is the integral vision of man that saves us from falling into a contractual conception of justice and enables us to locate justice within the horizon of solidarity and love.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Educating Young People in Justice and Peace, 1 January 2012)
"To give worthy praise to the Lord's mercy, we unite ourselves with Your Immaculate Mother, for then our hymn will be more pleasing to You, because She is chosen from among men and angels. Through Her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy was passed on to us. Through Her, man became pleasing to God; Through Her, streams of grace flowed down upon us." - St. Faustina
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
“Our Blessed Lady herself revealed to a holy soul, that this devotion of offering the Mass, as also of saying three ‘Paters, , Aves, and Glorias,’ in honor of the most Holy Trinity, and in thanksgiving for the graces granted to her, was most pleasing to her; for the Blessed Virgin, being unable fully to thank our Lord for all the precious gifts He has bestowed on her, rejoices greatly when her children help her to thank God. 2. To reverence the Saints who are more nearly related to Mary, as Saint Joseph, Saint Joachim, and Saint Anne. The Blessed Virgin herself recommended a certain nobleman to be devout towards her mother, Saint Anne.” St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Glories of Mary, Eccles. Approval, 1852, Tenth Devotion in honor of the Divine Mother:
"O my Jesus, I implore You by the goodness of Your Most Sweet Heart, let Your anger diminish and show us Your mercy. May Your wounds be our shield against Your Father's justice. I have come to know You, O God, as the source of mercy that vivifies and nourishes every soul." (Saint Faustina's Diary 611)
"IF YOU HAVE TOO MUCH TO DO, WITH GOD'S HELP YOU WILL FIND TIME TO DO IT ALL." - ST. PETER CANISIUS
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
"Remember that you are never alone, Christ is with you on your journey every day of your lives! He has called you and chosen you to live in the freedom of the children of God. Turn to him in prayer and in love. Ask him to grant you the courage and strength to live in this freedom always. Walk with him who is - the Way, the Truth and the Life!" - St. John Paul II
"You must always have prudence and love. Prudence has the eyes; love has the legs. Love which has the legs would like to run to God, but its impulse to rush toward Him is blind and at times might stumble, if it were not guided by prudence which has the eyes. When prudence sees that love could become unbridled, it loans its eyes to love. In this way love restraints itself and guide by prudence, acts as it should and not as it would like." St. Pio of Pietrelcina
“The two most evident symptoms of the breakdown of the family are: divorce and voluntary or deliberate sterility, i.e. broken contracts and frustrated loves. Divorce destroys the stability of the family; voluntary sterility destroys its continuity, Divorce makes the right of living souls hang up the caprice of the senses and the terminable pact of selfish fancy; while voluntary sterility makes a covenant with death, extracting from love its most ephemeral gift while disclaiming all its responsibilities.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Philosophies at War)
"After Holy Communion, I heard these words in my soul: I am in your heart, I whom you had in your arms. I then pleaded with Jesus for a certain soul [Father Sopocko], asking the Lord to grant him the grace to fight, and to take this trial from him. As you ask, so shall it be, but his merit will not be lessened. Joy reigned in my soul that God is so good and merciful; God grants everything that we ask of Him with trust." (Saint Faustina's Diary 609)
Monday, July 25, 2016
“The morning of my First Communion, [my mother] . . . would not let me do anything; I was only to read and pray. My mother often said: ‘My dear son, this has been a great day for you. I am sure that God has truly taken possession of your heart. Now you must promise Him to do your best to remain good until the day you die. In the future, go frequently to Holy Communion and beware not to commit sacrilege. In confession tell all you know, obey always, go readily to catechism classes and sermons and, for the love of God, avoid like the plague those who use foul language.’
I treasured these words and did my best to practice the counsels of my pious mother; and I think that from that day on there has been some improvement in my life, particularly in obedience and in submission to others, which I found very difficult at the time, since, like a child, I always wanted to have my way with all who were in charge or advised me.”
—St. John Bosco
I treasured these words and did my best to practice the counsels of my pious mother; and I think that from that day on there has been some improvement in my life, particularly in obedience and in submission to others, which I found very difficult at the time, since, like a child, I always wanted to have my way with all who were in charge or advised me.”
—St. John Bosco
“It is quite true that then the faith was more deeply rooted in the people, as is proven by the holy enthusiasm with which not only professional soldiers but even citizens of every class bore arms in Palestine to free the Holy Sepulcher. However, heresies gradually arose and grew in the vineyard of the Lord, propagated either by open heretics or by sly deceivers who, because they professed a certain austerity of life and gave a false appearance of virtue and piety, easily led weak and simple souls astray. They went about, too, amid the multitudes spreading the destructive flames of rebellion. If some of these men, in their pride, believed themselves called by God to reform the Church to which they imputed the faults of private persons, even going to the length of rebelling against the teachings and authority of the Holy See, later they openly manifested the real intention by which they were inspired. It is a notorious fact that before long the greater part of these heretics ended their careers in licentiousness and vice, and succeeded in embroiling the state in difficulties and in undermining the foundations of religion, of property, of the family, and of society. In a word, what happened then is precisely what we see recurring so often in the course of the centuries; rebellions leveled against the Church are followed or accompanied by rebellions against the state, the one receiving aid and comfort from the other.” Pope Pius XI, Rite Expiatis, on St. Francis of Assisi, April 13, 1926
“Where they find the fault that I handle these folk so foul, how could I other do? For while I declare and show their writing to be such (as I needs must or leave the most necessary points of all the matter untouched) it were very hard for me to handle it in such wise as when I plainly prove them abominable heretics and against God and his sacraments and saints, very blasphemous fools they should discern that I speak them fair. I am a simple plain body For though Tindall and Frilh in their writings call me a poet, it is but of their own courtesy, undeserved on my part, For I can neither so much poetry nor so much rhetoric neither as to find good names for evil things, but even as the Macedonians could not call a traitor but a traitor, so can I not call a fool but a fool, nor a heretic but an heretic.” St. Thomas More, speaking of Protestant heretics (Quoted in “The Life of Sir Thomas More” in “Lewis’ Preface”, pub. 1626, the English modernized and edited by myself.)
“To believe in Jesus is to accept what he says, even when it runs contrary to what others are saying. It means rejecting the lure of sin, however attractive it may be, in order to set out on the difficult path of the Gospel virtues.” (Pope St. John Paul II; WYD Toronto Welcoming Ceremony; July 25, 2002)
“The Holy Hour is not a devotion; it is a sharing in the work of redemption. Our Blessed Lord used the words "hour" and "day" in two totally different connotations in the Gospel of John. "Day" belongs to God; the "hour" belongs to evil. Seven times in the Gospel of John, the word "hour" is used, and in each instance it refers to the demonic, and to the moments when Christ is no longer in the Father's Hands, but in the hands of men. In the Garden, our Lord contrasted two "hours" - one was the evil hour "this is your hour" - with which Judas could turn out the lights of the world. In contrast, our Lord asked: "Could you not watch one hour with Me?". In other words, he asked for an hour of reparation to combat the hour of evil; an hour of victimal union with the Cross to overcome the anti-love of sin. The only time Our Lord asked the Apostles for anything was the night he went into his agony. Then he did not ask all of them ... perhaps because he knew he could not count on their fidelity. But at least he expected three to be faithful to him: Peter, James and John. As often in the history of the Church since that time, evil was awake, but the disciples were asleep. That is why there came out of His anguished and lonely Heart the sigh: "Could you not watch one hour with me?" Not for an hour of activity did He plead, but for an hour of companionship. ” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Treasure in Clay)
Sunday, July 24, 2016
“In marriage, however, let the blessings of marriage be loved: offspring, fidelity, and the sacramental bond. Offspring, not so much because it may be born, but because it can be reborn; for it is born to punishment unless it be reborn to life. Fidelity, but not such as even the unbelievers have among themselves, ardent as they are for the flesh. . . . The sacramental bond, which they lose neither through separation nor through adultery, this the spouses should guard chastely and harmoniously.”–St. Augustine (Marriage and Concupiscence 1:17:19 [A.D. 419])
“He who later on called Himself the Living Bread descended from Heaven was born in Bethlehem – which in Hebrew means house of bread. And He was laid in a manger – a place of food – as if to show us that as we have bread for our bodies, so He would be the Bread of our souls.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Jesus, Son of Mary)
Saturday, July 23, 2016
“Pius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, with the approval of the Sacred Council, for an everlasting record.
1. The Son of God, redeemer of the human race, our lord Jesus Christ, promised, when about to return to his heavenly Father, that he would be with this Church militant upon earth all days even to the end of the world [conf. Mt 28, 20.]. Hence never at any time has he ceased to stand by his beloved bride, assisting her when she teaches, blessing her in her labors and bringing her help when she is in danger.
2. Now this redemptive providence appears very clearly in unnumbered benefits, but most especially is it manifested in the advantages which have been secured for the Christian world by ecumenical councils, among which the Council of Trent requires special mention, celebrated though it was in evil days.
3. Thence came 1. a closer definition and more fruitful exposition of the holy dogmas of religion and 2. the condemnation and repression of errors; thence too, 3. the restoration and vigorous strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, 4. the advancement of the clergy in zeal for learning and piety, 5. the founding of colleges for the training of the young for the service of religion; and finally 6. the renewal of the moral life of the Christian people by a more accurate instruction of the faithful, and a more frequent reception of the sacraments. What is more, thence also came 7. a closer union of the members with the visible head, and an increased vigor in the whole mystical body of Christ. Thence came 8. the multiplication of religious orders and other organizations of Christian piety; thence too 9. that determined and constant ardor for the spreading of Christ's kingdom abroad in the world, even at the cost of shedding one’s blood.” Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council, Session 3 : 24 April 1870Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith
1. The Son of God, redeemer of the human race, our lord Jesus Christ, promised, when about to return to his heavenly Father, that he would be with this Church militant upon earth all days even to the end of the world [conf. Mt 28, 20.]. Hence never at any time has he ceased to stand by his beloved bride, assisting her when she teaches, blessing her in her labors and bringing her help when she is in danger.
2. Now this redemptive providence appears very clearly in unnumbered benefits, but most especially is it manifested in the advantages which have been secured for the Christian world by ecumenical councils, among which the Council of Trent requires special mention, celebrated though it was in evil days.
3. Thence came 1. a closer definition and more fruitful exposition of the holy dogmas of religion and 2. the condemnation and repression of errors; thence too, 3. the restoration and vigorous strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, 4. the advancement of the clergy in zeal for learning and piety, 5. the founding of colleges for the training of the young for the service of religion; and finally 6. the renewal of the moral life of the Christian people by a more accurate instruction of the faithful, and a more frequent reception of the sacraments. What is more, thence also came 7. a closer union of the members with the visible head, and an increased vigor in the whole mystical body of Christ. Thence came 8. the multiplication of religious orders and other organizations of Christian piety; thence too 9. that determined and constant ardor for the spreading of Christ's kingdom abroad in the world, even at the cost of shedding one’s blood.” Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council, Session 3 : 24 April 1870Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith
“I, the least of the servants of your Holiness, not being able to keep them [the crusaders] within the walls, went forth into the field with them, and running from place to place, made them retire, or advance, or formed them in such a way that the enemy could not attack them in the rear. And finally our Lord, Who is as powerful to overcome with few as with many, in His mercy placed the victory in our hands, and routed that most cruel army of the Turks, so as to put them to a shameful flight. Our men remained in possession of all the artillery and all the diabolical machines with which they presumed that they should place under their own feet the whole of Christendom. Let your Holiness, therefore, rejoice in the Lord, and order that to His Majesty be given the praise, the glory, and the honour, because He alone hath done these marvellous things. Neither I, your unarmed and useless servant, nor the poor and rude Crusaders, the devoted servants of your Holiness, could have wrought with our own strength alone that which has been done. The Lord God of hosts it is that has done all, to Him be glory for ever and ever!” St. John of Capistrano:
“Our Blessed Lord began His public life on the Mount of Beatitudes, by preaching: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.” He finished His Public Life on the Hill of Calvary by practicing that meekness: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Cross and the Beatitudes)
Friday, July 22, 2016
“Our Blessed Savior revealed to Mary Magdalene the truth that He was no longer to be seen under the form of time and in the world of sensations, but only by the soul and in the world of eternity….This great truth needs to be stressed strongly on this new Easter Day when human beings no longer speak of eternity, but only of time; when they are more concerned about citizenship in the Kingdom of this world than citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven; when their interests center more about passing questions of science, politics, economics, wealth, and power, instead of around the Risen Christ who sits eternally at the right hand of God.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Manifestations of Christ)
“If devotion to the Blessed Virgin is necessary for all men simply to work out their salvation, it is even more necessary for those who are called to a special perfection. I do not believe that anyone can acquire intimate union with our Lord and perfect fidelity to the Holy Spirit without a very close union with the most Blessed Virgin and an absolute dependence on her support.” - Saint Louis Marie de Montfort
Thursday, July 21, 2016
“The Council teaches, furthermore, that although this contrition sometimes happens to be perfect through charity and to reconcile man to God before this sacrament is actually received, nonetheless this reconciliation ought not to be ascribed to the contrition itself without the desire of the sacrament which is included in it.” Pope Pius V in Inter Multiplices confirms the doctrinal teachings of Trent, such as the following—Council of Trent, Sess. 14, Chap. 4, On the Sacrament of Penance
“The Providence of God is never wanting to him who confides in God as he ought.” St. Benedict Joseph Labrè (Quoted by Don Antonio Maria Coltraro, whose work was translated into English “The Life of The Venerable Servant of God, Benedict Joseph Labrè.” Trans. Pub. Cum Approbatione Bp. Nicholas , Feb. 2, 1850., pg. 355)
“To Jefferson goes the credit of writing our Declaration of Independence. To Lincoln goes the credit of writing our Declaration of Dependence. Jefferson declared we were independent from tyrants; Lincoln added, we are dependent on God. The ethical complement to our Bill of Rights, he told us, is our Bill of Duties.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Divine Verdict)
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
“Session 8: And since truth cannot contradict truth, we define that every statement contrary to the enlightened truth of the faith is totally false and we strictly forbid teaching otherwise to be permitted. We decree that all those who cling to erroneous statements of this kind, thus sowing heresies which are wholly condemned, should be avoided in every way and punished as detestable and odious heretics and infidels who are undermining the Catholic faith. …All false Christians and those with evil sentiments towards the faith, of whatever race or nation they may be, as well as heretics and those stained with some taint of heresy, or Judaizers, are to be totally excluded from the company of Christ’s faithful and expelled from any position, especially from the Roman curia, and punished with an appropriate penalty…” Pope Leo X, Fifth Lateran Council, 1512-1517:
“There seems to be an insane dread of using moral terms, or even condemning anything on moral grounds. Psychological terms, the lingo of sociology, even medical terms such as ‘complexes’ are invoked with an air of scientific certitude, but bad or good, right or wrong seem to be scrupulously avoided. About the only time the world good is used is when the mother of a bad boy, a mother who completely neglected her husband and her children, is quoted in the press as saying of her son who has just committed murder, ‘He was a good boy.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (On Being Human)
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
"AT LOURDES, THE IMMACULATA USED THE BEADS OF THE ROSARY, AND THEREBY ENCOURAGED BERNADETTE TO RECITE IT." - ST MAXIMILIAN KOLBE
”Glorious Virgin Mother,” he said, “behold me, a ravening wolf, and full of iniquity, who most humbly beseech you that, as you did bring forth the Lamb without spot, whose blood hath redeemed and purified us, so He may in such wise purify and change my wolfish nature, that I may become a tame and docile sheep, to serve and follow you all the days of my life in your most holy order.” St. Andrew Corsini, the night of his spiritual conversion (Cited in a work entitled ”Anecdotes and Incidents, ecclesiastical and religious” pub. 1858 by Burns and Lambert)
“Eugenius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for an everlasting record. Blessed be the God and Father of our lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all consolation, who daily promotes with many great favours, and accompanies with happy results far beyond our deserts, our aims and pious desires, whereby in fulfilment of our pastoral duties we long for and foster with many works, in so far as this allowed us from on high, the salvation of the Christian people.Indeed, after the union of the eastern church with the western church in the ecumenical council of Florence, and after the return of the Armenians, the Jacobites and the people of Mesopotamia, we despatched our venerable brother Andrew, archbishop of Kalocsa, to eastern lands and the island of Cyprus. He was to confirm in the faith which had been accepted the Greeks, Armenians and Jacobites living there, by his sermons and his expositions and explanations of the decrees issued for their union and return. He was also to try to bring back to the truth of the faith, using our warnings and exhortations, whoever else he might find there to be strangers to the truth of faith in other sects, whether they are followers of Nestorius or of Macarius.He pursued this task with vigour, thanks to the wisdom and other virtues with which the Lord, the giver of graces, has enriched him. He finally eliminated from their hearts, after many discussions, first all the impurity of Nestorius, who asserted that Christ is only a man and that the blessed Virgin is the mother of Christ but not of God, then that of the most impious Macarius of Antioch who, although he confessed that Christ is true God and man, asserted that there is in him only the divine will and principle of action, thereby diminishing his humanity.With divine assistance he converted to the truth of the orthodox faith our venerable brothers Timothy, metropolitan of the Chaldeans, who have been called Nestorians in Cyprus until now because they used to follow Nestorius, and Elias, bishop of the Maronites, who with his nation in the same realm was infected with the teachings of Macarius, together with a whole multitude of peoples and clerics subject to him in the island of Cyprus. To these prelates and all their subjects there, he delivered the faith and doctrine that the holy church has always cherished and observed. The said prelates, moreover, accepted this faith and doctrine with much veneration in a great public assembly of different peoples living in that realm, which was held in the metropolitan church of St Sophia.”
Pope Eugene IV, Council of Rome (fourth and final location of the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence-Rome), Session XIV, Bull of union with the Chaldeans and the Maronites of Cyprus
“For, even if the Pope were expelled from the popedom, it were better that he should humble himself and make peace on whatever occasion it could be done, rather than so many souls perish in eternal damnation.” St. Birgitta, or Bridget of Sweden, in a letter to the pope, forwarding a message from Christ to make peace with a temporal ruler due to a grave scandal it was causing souls: (Quoted in “Saint Catherine of Siena: A Study in the Religion, Literature, and History of the Fourteenth Century in Italy” by Edmund Garratt Gardner pub. 1907)
Monday, July 18, 2016
"We are citizens of our country, and our duty to society is to witness to the moral law, which is the prerequisite for peace in our life together. “I know very well that this is difficult today. But we do not choose the time in which God asks us to live, and we must accept the fact.”
—Raymond Cardinal Burke
Sunday, July 17, 2016
“Remember that true religion is not a matter of words; there must be deeds. Hence, if you find something related worthy of admiration, do not be satisfied with saying: I like that, or that is very good; but rather say: I want to put into practice what I see is praiseworthy in others.” St. John Bosco (in his work “The Life of Dominic Savio” translated from the Italian and published in English LONDON: SALESIAN PRESS, SURREY LANE, BATTERSEA, S.W., 1914., Nihil Obstat, Imprimatur)
“Eugenius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for an everlasting record. The duties of the pastoral office over which we preside by divine mercy, despite our lack of merit, demand that we repress by opportune remedies the nefarious excesses of evil-minded persons, especially those who, unless prevented, strive to force the peaceful state of the church into various dangerous storms and disturbances and who endeavour to overturn the barque of Peter, and that we inflict due retribution for their excesses, lest boasting of their malice they give occasion to others to commit mischief. For it is a crime to be slack in punishing crimes that harm many people, as canonical regulations state.” Pope Eugene IV, Council of Ferrara, Session III, February 1438 (Secondlocation of the 17th Ecumenical Council)
“Mind, my children, and say your prayers without fail mowing and evening. When you have no time to say them entire, say at least the Our Father, and the Hail Mary, always remember to do this!” Our Lady of La Salette to the seer children (Quoted by Rev. Henry Formby in his work “Our Lady of La Salette” to Bishop Ullathorne, pub. 1857)
Once the Lord said to me, Act like a beggar who does not back away when he gets more alms [than he asked for], but offers thanks the more fervently. You too should not back away and say that you are not worthy of receiving greater graces when I give them to you. I know you are unworthy, but rejoice all the more and take as many treasures from My Heart as you can carry, for then you will please Me more. And I will tell you one more thing: Take these graces not only for yourself, but also for others; that is, encourage the souls with whom you come in contact to trust in My infinite mercy. Oh, how I love those souls who have complete confidence in Me. I will do everything for them. St Faustina (Diary 294 )
Saturday, July 16, 2016
"I have only one trusted Friend in whom I confide everything, and that is Jesus-the Eucharist, and His . representative-my confessor. In the midst of all sufferings, both physical and spiritual, as well as in darkness and desolation, I will remain silent, like a dove, and not complain. I will empty myself continually at His feet in order to obtain mercy for poor souls."
(Saint Faustina's Diary 504)
(Saint Faustina's Diary 504)
Friday, July 15, 2016
"Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a judge for them, but the Merciful Savior. (21) At the last hour, a soul has nothing which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because Justice will have no hold on it." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary 1075 )
“May this judgment come forth from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from his mouth proceeds a double-edged sword, whose scales are just and weights are true, who will come to judge the living and the dead, our lord Jesus Christ, Amen. The Lord is just and loves just deeds, his face looks on righteousness. But the Lord looks on those who do evil so as to cut off their remembrance from the earth. Let there perish, says the holy prophet, the memory of him who did not remember to show mercy and who persecuted the poor and needy... This same holy synod, moreover...absolves and declares to be absolved all Christ’s faithful from obedience to him [Antipope Benedict XIII], and from every duty of obedience to him and from oaths and obligations in any way made to him. It forbids each and every one of Christ’s faithful to obey, respond to or attend to, as if he were pope, the said Peter de Luna, who is a notorious, declared and deposed schismatic and incorrigible heretic, or to sustain or harbour him in any way contrary to the aforesaid.” Pope Martin V confirming Session 37 of the Council of Constance:
“The religion of Christian Faith is greatly diminished; we be very few; and whereas sometime we were spread almost through the world, now we be thrust down into a very straight angle or corner. Our enemies hold away from us Asia and Africa, two of the greatest parts of the world. Also they hold from us a great portion of this part, called Europe, which we now inhabit, so that scant the sixth part of that we had in possession before is left unto us. Besides this, our enemies daily lay await to have this little portion. Therefore, good Lord, without Thou help, the name of Christian men shall utterly be destroyed and fordone. . . . Therefore, merciful Lord, exercise Thy mercy, show it indeed upon thy Church, quia tempus est miserendi ejus. If there be many righteous people in Thy Church militant, hear us, wretched sinners, for the love of them ; be merciful unto Sion, that is to say, to all Thy Church. If in Thy Church be but a few righteous persons, so much the more is our wretchedness, and the more need we have of Thy mercy.” St. John Fisher (From “The Life of Blessed John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and Martyr Under Henry VIII” by Rev. Thomas Edward Bridgett, C.SS.R. pub. permissu superiorum, with a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, 1890.)
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