“The Visitation. The Gospel tells us, “In the days that followed, Mary rose up and went with all haste to a city of Judea, in the hill country, where Zachary dwelt; and there entering in she gave Elizabeth greeting. No sooner had Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, than the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Ghost; so that she cried out with a loud voice, ‘Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb’ (Luke 1:39-42).
The first miracle worked by our Lord on earth was performed while He was still in His Mother’s womb. He stirred the unborn John and brought consciousness of His presence to Elizabeth, the cousin of His Mother. Thus, long before Cana, our Lord shows that it is through His Mother that He works His unseen wonders in the heart and through her that He is brought into the souls of men.
The joy of the second Joyful Mystery is that of the Old Testament meeting the New, and of the young maiden greeting the old woman, as Mary burst into the most revolutionary song that was ever sung, the Magnificat, foretelling the day when the mighty would be unseated from their thrones, and the poor would be exalted.
Yet at that moment, when Elizabeth is the first to call her the Mother of God, even before our Lord is born, Mary answers in her song that her greatness is due to Him, and that she was chosen because she was lowly. It may very well be that Mary was chosen to be the Mother of God after she had in her vow renounced the honor. Though greater than Elizabeth, she visits her in her hour of need. Only as we become little do we ever become great in the eyes of God.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary)
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
“That which I fear is not the Commune of Paris - no - that which I fear is liberal Catholicism. . . I have said so more than forty times, and I repeat it to you now, through the love that I bear you. The real scourge of France is Liberal Catholicism, which endeavors to unite two principles as repugnant to each other as fire and water.” Pope Bl. Pius IX (1792 - 1878)
"As I fixed my gaze on the Most Sacred Heart, the same rays of light, as are represented in the image as blood and water, came forth from it, and I understood how great is the Lord's mercy. And again Jesus said to me with kindness, My daughter, speak to priests about this inconceivable mercy of Mine. The flames of mercy are burning Me — clamoring to be spent; I want to keep pouring them out upon souls; souls just don't want to believe in My goodness." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary 177)
“We must conclude that, being necessary to God by a necessity which is called "hypothetical," (that is, because God so willed it), the Blessed Virgin is all the more necessary for men to attain their final end. Consequently we must not place devotion to her on the same level as devotion to the other saints as if it were merely something optional.”
- St. Louis Marie de Monfort
- St. Louis Marie de Monfort
“The great tragedy of history is not that men should fall, but that they should fail to rise to full realization of their vocation as children of God, in other words, that they should miss so much. All about us we see vast multitudes of men and women of refinement and culture, endowed with intelligence and possessed of every natural virtue and every now and then swept by noble emotions and ideals, but who are living second-rate, superficial unimportant and morally insignificant lives, because they never had their nature enkindled into flame by the Spirit of Christ.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Mystical Body of Christ)
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Pope St. Felix I: “Ego te baptizo in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti [I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.]” (Fr. Alban Butler says of him: “The persecution of Aurelian breaking out, St. Felix, fearless of dangers, strengthened the weak, encouraged all, baptised the catechumens, and continued to exert himself in converting infidels to the faith. He himself obtained the glory of martyrdom; which title is given him by the council of Ephesus, (Act. 1, Conc. t. 1, p. 512.) by St. Cyril, (Apol. t. 3, Conc. p. 852.) and by St. Vincent of Lerins.”)
“Christ is called Net, because through Him and in Him the diverse multitudes of peoples are gathered from the sea of the world, through the water of Baptism and into the Church, where a distinction is made between the good and the wicked.” St. Gregory of Elvira, 360 A.D. (As quoted by Fr. William Jurgens in his work: The Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 1: 899.)
“There are some jurists in our land who contend that the principle of the sacredness of human rights is merely an expression of 18th century philosophy, or a false totem, or an assumption of the Aufklarung movement. They quite forget that though the Declaration of Independence gave an 18th century expression to these ideas, the truths themselves were nevertheless eternal. As long as man has been a creature endowed with an intelligence and will and made to the image and likeness of God, he has been the possessor of rights and freedom. Once God is denied as the Source of rights, the State sets itself up as an absolute.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Whence Come Wars)
“Let Heaven sustain me in its embrace, because I am honored above it. For heaven was not Thy mother, but Thou hast made it Thy throne. How much more honorable and venerable than the throne of a king is her mother.”—St. Ephrem the Syrian (As quoted by Pope Pius XII, “Ad Caeli Reginam”, Encyclical, Oct. 11, 1954, Par. 10)
“Together with Mary, let us seek to be sharers in this death which brought forth fruits of “new life” in the Resurrection: a death like this on the cross was infamous, and it was the death of her Son! But precisely there, at the foot of the cross, “where she stood, not without a divine plan,” did not Mary realize in a new way everything that she had already heard on the day of Annunciation?” Pope St. John Paul on Our Lady of Sorrows
Monday, May 28, 2018
Pope Calixtus III to Ladislas: “How,” he asks, “can the French, the Spaniards, and the English think of sending armies against the Turks [Muslims] when you, who are near at hand, and whose interests are at stake, seem to take no heed of the danger which threatens you from the infidels?” (Calixtus III. to Ladislas. Æn. Sylv., Opp., 819-820.)
”Place all the weight of your trials and tribulations on the shoulders of Jesus Christ. He will carry them for you. Remember He once carried a heavy cross.” St. Rita of Cascia. Rev. Joseph Sicardo, O. S. A., “Life of Sister St. Rita of Cascia of the Order of St. Augustine. Advocate of the Impossible. Model of maidens, wives, mothers, widows and nuns.” Translated by the Rev. Dan J. Murphy, O. S. A. from the Spanish, Cum Permissu Superiorum N. J. MURPHY, O. S. A., Provincial; NIHIL OBSTAT J. F. GREEN, O. S. A, Censor Librorum; IMPRIMATUR GEORGE W. MUNDELEIN, D. D., Archbishop, Chicago, pub. 1916)
“Have you ever seen a field of fully ripened grain? You will see that some ears are tall and vigorous; while others are bent to the ground. Try to take the tall one, the most vain you will see that it is empty; if instead you take the low ones, the most humble, these are laden with grain. From this you can deduce that vanity is empty.” St. Pio of Pietrelcina
“There are certain things in life which are too beautiful to be forgotten, such as the love of a mother. Hence we treasure her picture. The love of soldiers who sacrificed themselves for their country is likewise too beautiful to be forgotten, hence we revere their memory on Memorial Day. But the greatest blessing which ever came to this earth was the visitation of the Son of God in the form and habit of man. His life, above all lives, is too beautiful to be forgotten, hence we treasure the divinity of His Words in Sacred Scripture, and the charity of His Deeds in our daily actions. Unfortunately this is all some souls remember, namely His Words and His Deeds; important as these are, they are not the greatest characteristic of the Divine Saviour. The most sublime act in the history of Christ was His Death.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Calvary and the Mass)
Sunday, May 27, 2018
“Instead of afflicting yourselves at our separation, and My going to the Father, you ought, if you truly love Me, to testify your affection, by a faithful observance of My commandments. Behold, this is the best proof you can give Me of your attachment: better far than any exterior sign of grief and tenderness.” — St. John Chrysostom
Saturday, May 26, 2018
“But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble servants and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But in return for this they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.” - Saint Louis de Montfort
"The world is not as powerful as it seems to be: Know, my daughter, that if your soul is filled with the fire of My pure love, then all difficulties dissipate like fog before the sun's rays and dare not touch the soul. All adversaries are afraid to start a quarrel with such a soul, because they sense that it is stronger than the whole world". WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1643)
"And so now with all those who see the Blessed Sacrament, sanctified by Our Lord's words on the altar, through the hands of the priest, in the form of bread and wine: if they do not see and believe, as the spirit and the Divine nature demand that it is truly the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, they stand condemned. For it is the Most High who bears witness to it. He says, ‘This is My Body, and the Blood of the New Testament’ (Mk, 14, 22-24) and, ‘He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, has life everlasting.’” - (Jn. 6, 55) - from the writings of St. Francis of Assisi on The Blessed Sacrament
“The Trinity is the answer to the questions of Plato. If there is only one God, what does He think about? He thinks an eternal thought, or about His Eternal Son. If there is only one God, whom does He love? He loves His Son, and that mutual love is the Holy Spirit. I firmly believe that the great philosopher was fumbling about for the mystery of the Trinity, for his great mind seemed in some small way to suspect that an infinite being must have relations of thought and love, and that God cannot be conceived without thought and love. But it was not until the word became Incarnate that man knew the secret of those relations and the inner life of God.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Divine Romance)
Friday, May 25, 2018
"If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy" WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1317)
“Our blessed Lord did not ascend to heaven immediately after the Resurrection but remained on earth for 40 days, speaking to the Apostles about the Kingdom of God. It was during these days that He gave the details of His Church, which He said would have its visible manifestation on Pentecost. ‘And so the Lord Jesus, when he had finished speaking to them, was taken up to heaven, and is seated now at the right hand of God.’ Seated is a figurative expression of eternal repose, which He has merited by His victory over sin. At the right hand is a symbol of His power of eternal intercession before His heavenly Father on our behalf. The Ascension of Christ is the assurance of our own ascension into heaven after the Last Judgment. Not yet ascended in body, we nevertheless enjoy the ascension of our minds in union with Him. We find our true home in heaven. It is to heaven that we look expectantly for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to save us; He will form this humbled body of ours anew, modeling it into the image of His glorified body, so effective is His power to make all things obey Him. O heavenly Magnet, in each communion draw our body and blood to Thy own, that already following Thee in heart, we may later ascend with Thee in the flesh!” + Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Fifteen Mysteries)
The Rosary mystically transports us to Mary's side as she is busy watching over the human growth of Christ in the home of Nazareth. This enables her to train us and to mold us with the same care, until Christ is ''fully formed'' in us... Why should we not once more have recourse to the Rosary, with the same faith as those who have gone before us? Pope St. John Paul II
Thursday, May 24, 2018
A praise of glory is a soul of silence that remains like a lyre under the mysterious touch of the Holy Spirit so that He may draw from it divine harmonies; it knows that suffering is a string that produces still more beautiful sounds; so it loves to see this string on its instrument that it may more delightfully move the Heart of its God. St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Heaven in Faith, Day 10, Second Prayer
“You have released us, O Lord, from the fear of death. You have made the end of life here on earth a beginning of true life for us. ... You redeemed us from the curse and from sin, having become both on our behalf. You have crushed the heads of the serpent who had seized man in his jaws because of the abyss of our disobedience. You have opened up for us a path to the resurrection, having broken down the gates of hell and reduced to impotence the one who had power over deaths. You have given to those who fear You a visible token, the sign of the holy cross, for the destruction of the adversary and for the protection of our life.” — St. Macrina the Younger
"My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself. From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. No soul that has approached Me has ever gone away unconsoled. All misery gets buried in the depths of My mercy, and every saving and sanctifying grace flows from this fountain...". WORDS OF JESUS YO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1777).
“History is not just a record of different things that have happened to ancient peoples; it is also a record of the same things happening to new people. He who knows history will not be a prey to the theory of ‘automatic progress,’ nor will he be without a standard to judge the ‘commentator-mentality,’ which identifies the later with the most important.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Life is Worth Living)
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
“After Jesus Christ's ascension to Heaven, Mary longed continually with burning desire to be reunited with Him. To be without her divine Son was a very harsh exile. Those years of separation from Him were for her a most slow and painful martyrdom of love that consumed her slowly.” St. Pio of Pietrelcina
“IF there is any subject which is offensive to modern sentimentalism it is the subject of hell. Our generation clamors for what the poet has called a soft dean, who never mentions hell to ears polite, and our unsoiled age wants a Christianity watered so as to make the Gospel of Christ nothing more than a gentle doctrine of good will, a social program of economic betterment, and a mild scheme of progressive idealism.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
“Heaven is a city on a hill, hence we cannot coast into it; we have to climb. Those who are too lazy to mount can miss its capture as well as the evil who refuse to seek it. Let no one think he can be totally indifferent to God in this life and suddenly develop a capacity for Him at the moment of death. Where will the capacity for heaven come from if we have neglected it on earth?” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Seven Capital Sins)
“Let anyone who comes to you go away feeling better and happier. Everyone should see goodness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile. Joy shows from the eyes. It appears when we speak and walk. It cannot be kept closed inside us. It reacts outside. Joy is very infectious.” (Saint Teresa of Calcutta)
Monday, May 21, 2018
“A treasure is secure so long as it remains concealed; but when once disclosed, and laid open to every bold invader, it is presently rifled; so virtue is safe so long as secret, but, if rashly exposed, it but too often evaporates into smoke. By humility, and contempt of the world, the soul, like an eagle, soars on high, above all transitory things, and tramples on the backs of lions and dragons.” St. Syncletica
“Thus also in the Franciscan family, Roger Bacon, that scholar so dear to Our Predecessor, Clement IV, not only wrote learnedly on the Chaldean, Arab and Greek languages,[Opus maius, pars tertia.] but also facilitated their study for others. Following the above examples, Raymond Lulli, a man of singular learning and piety, urged with all the impetuosity of his nature, and obtained from Our Predecessors, Celestine V and Boniface VIII, favors which at the time were most unusual: that a Cardinal should be placed at the head of Oriental affairs and studies, and that Apostolic expeditions be sent to the Tartar, the Saracen, and other infidels, as well as to bring the ‘schismatics’ once more into the unity of the Church.” — Pope Pius XI, Rerum Orientalium, September 8, 1928, Par. 4
“ANOTHER road, which our Leader has pointed out to us is this: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ ... ‘Upon this path the Apostles also entered, though it would not have been difficult for them to have enriched themselves, since they were renowned for signs and wonders, and spoke the languages of many nations, and were admired by the whole world for their wisdom. But they who had once spoke the words, Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee;’ who had tasted how sweet it was to be free from the love of money, having food and wherewith to be covered, they considered virtue and the justice of God to be their great gain. On this road also walked, not only monks and hermits, but even kings and pontiffs who have thus arrived at the kingdom of heaven. ” —St. Robert Bellarmine, “The Eternal Happiness of the Saints”, Ch. VII
Sunday, May 20, 2018
“After Jesus Christ's ascension to Heaven, Mary longed continually with burning desire to be reunited with Him. To be without her divine Son was a very harsh exile. Those years of separation from Him were for her a most slow and painful martyrdom of love that consumed her slowly.” St. Pio of Pietrlcina
“Mary Most Holy, since Pentecost you have kept watch with the Church as she prays for the Holy Spirit: remain with us at the centre of our extraordinary Upper Room. To you, whom we venerate as Our Lady of Divine Love, we entrust the fruits of the City Mission, so that through your intercession the Diocese of Rome may offer the world a convinced witness to Christ our Saviour”. Pope St. John Paul II. (May 22, 1999).
Saturday, May 19, 2018
“We must not drift away from the humble works, because these are the works nobody will do. It is never too small. We are so small we look at things in a small way. But God, being Almighty, sees everything great. Therefore, even if you write a letter for a blind man or you just go sit and listen, or you take the mail for him, or you visit somebody or bring a flower to somebody—small things—or wash clothes for somebody, or clean the house. Very humble work, that is where you and I must be. For there are many people who can do big things. But there are very few people who will do the small things.” —Saint Teresa of Calcutta
“Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to heaven. There are others: innocence, but that is for little children; penance, but we are afraid of it; generous endurance of trials of life, but when they come we weep and ask to be. The surest, easiest, shortest way is the Eucharist.” — Pope St. Pius X
Friday, May 18, 2018
Pope John III, being a peacemaker and mediator, addressing General Narses after the Romans had made complaint of him to the Emperor Justinian: “I myself shall go to him [Justinian] sooner than you shall leave this land.” (It was through this intercession that General Narses returned peacefully to Rome to complete his governance of the Roman people. Quoted in the Liber Pontificalis, as translated by Dr. Louise Ropes Loomis, Ph.D.. pub. 1916)
St. Peter Chrysologus, to Eutyches: “We exhort you, honourable brother, to attend with docility in all things to what shall be prescribed to you by the most blessed Pope of the Roman city, since BLESSED PETER, WHO IN HIS OWN SEE LIVES AND PRESIDES, grants the knowledge of the true faith to those that seek it.” (S. Petrus Chrys. Ep. ad Eutycheten.)
Pope Gregory XII, the true pope during the Great Western Schism, some time after his voluntary abdication so a universally recognized successor pontiff could be elected, and the last words before his death: “I have not understood the world, and the world has not understood me.” (As quoted by Ludwig von Pastor in his work “The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages” Vol. 1, pub. 1891., pg. 202)
“With all our strength, therefore, let us never receive communion from or grant it to heretics; ‘Give not that which is holy unto dogs, saith the Lord, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,’ (Matt. 7:6); lest we become partakers in their dishonor and condemnation.” St. John Damascene (Patrologia Graeca, vol. 94, col. 1149, 1152, 1153; Also De Fide Orthodoxa (Exposition of the Orthodox Faith), Book IV, Chapter XIII).
Thursday, May 17, 2018
“Today, during Mass, I saw the Lord Jesus in the midst of His sufferings, as though dying on the cross. He said to me, ‘My daughter, meditate frequently on the sufferings which I have undergone for your sake, and then nothing of what you suffer for Me will seem great to you. You please Me most when you meditate on My Sorrowful Passion. Join your little sufferings to My Sorrowful Passion, so that they may have infinite value before My Majesty.’” WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1512 )
"You must remember that you have in Heaven, not only a Father but also a Mother…If our wretchedness saddens us. . .if the memory of our faults hinders us from presenting ourselves to God, our Father, let us then have recourse to Mary, our Mother. She is all sweetness, mercy, goodness and love for us because she is our Mother." Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
“Modern prophets say that our economics have failed us. No! It is not our economics which have failed; it is man who has failed-man who has forgotten God. Hence no manner of economic or political readjustment can possibly save our civilization; we can be saved only by a renovation of the inner man, only by a purging of our hearts and souls; for only by seeking first the Kingdom of God and His Justice will all these other things be added unto us.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Prodigal World)
Pope Calixtus III, original inaugural oath: “I, Pope Calixtus III., promise and vow to the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to the Ever-Virgin Mother of God, to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the heavenly host, that I will do everything in my power, even, if need be, with the sacrifice of my life, aided by the counsel of my worthy brethren, to reconquer Constantinople, which in punishment for the sin of man has been taken and ruined by Mahomet II., the son of the devil and the enemy of our Crucified Redeemer. Further, I vow to deliver the Christians languishing in slavery, to exalt the true Faith and to extirpate the diabolical sect of the reprobate and faithless Mahomet in the East. For there the light of Faith is almost completely extinguished. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten. Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee. If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy, God and His holy Gospel help me.—Amen.” (According to Ludwig Von Pastor, in his “History of the Popes” vol. II: “The vow has been often printed, in Cochlaeus, Hist. Hussit., i, xi. ; d’Achery, Spicil., iii., 797 ; Raynaldiis ad an. 1455, N. 18 ; Bzovius, xvii., 137; Wadding, xii., 245; Leibniz, Cod. jur. gent., i., 411, and others.” [pg. 346])
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
“Motherhood has been introduced into the order of the covenant that God made with humanity in Jesus Christ. Each and every time that motherhood is repeated in human history, it is always related to the covenant which God established with the human race through the motherhood of the Mother of God." - Pope St. John Paul II
“The Church holds that it is impossible to have a religion without dogmas. To say that one must have a religion without a dogma is to assert a dogma, and a dogma that needs tremendously more justification than any dogma of the Church. What is a dogma? A dogma is an idea, and in the sense a man without a dogma may be said to be a man without an idea. Dogmas there must be, just as long as there is sound thinking.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Moods and Truths)
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
“When you write, you use your hand as the visible instrument of your invisible mind; so He, Who is God, in a more perfect way, taught, governed, and sanctified through His human nature, which was the visible instrument of His Invisible Divinity. In plain language, you would have seen His Body, but you would have heard, obeyed, and been forgiven by God in Christ.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Rock Plunged into Eternity)
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. WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary. 294)
“St. Gregory Nazianzen calls Mary ‘the Mother of the King of the universe,’ and the ‘Virgin Mother who brought forth the King of the whole world. -Pope Pius XII, Ad Caeli Reginam, October 11, 1954. [.S. Gregorius Naz., Poemata dogmatica, XVIII, v. 58; PG XXXVII, 485.] while Prudentius asserts that the Mother marvels ‘that she has brought forth God as man, and even as Supreme King.’[Prudentius, Dittochaeum, XXVII: PL LX, 102 A.]”
“THEE, peerless monarch of the sky, My soul aspires to glorify, And, swelling with immortal verse, Immortal wonders to rehearse. Through thee the tide of praise is roll’d ; The seraphs strike their chords of gold, And wake the anthem, soaring high With lnspiration’s ecstasy; Whilst angels, quicken’d by thy glance, Circle the throne in mystick dance. Through thee the seasons ’gan to roll, Exulting in their Lord’s control: At thy command the HeaVen’s expansion Became the golden stars’ fair mansion; Flamed high the sun in glory bright; Look’d forth the moon with softer light ; And, born Jehovah’s works to scan, Uprose Creation’s wonder, Man, Uniting in his complex form Mild reason’s calm, and passion’s storm.” St. Gregory Nazianzen, Hymn to the Deity. (Translated from Greek by Hugh Stuart Boyd, in his published work “SELECT PASSAGES OF THE WRITINGS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM, ST. GREGORY NAZIANZEN, AND ST. BASIL.”, pg. 299, pub. 1813)
Monday, May 14, 2018
“Throughout history there have been supernatural apparitions and signs which go to the heart of human events and which, to the surprise of believers and non-believers alike, play their part in the unfolding of history. These manifestations can never contradict the content of faith, and must therefore have their focus in the core of Christ’s proclamation: the Father’s love which leads men and women to conversion and bestows the grace required to abandon oneself to him with filial devotion. This too is the message of Fatima which, with its urgent call to conversion and penance, draws us to the heart of the Gospel.” (The Message of Fatima, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith)
Pope St. Martin I, Epistulae, Epistle 15: “It is now forty-seven days since I have been permitted to wash myself either in cold or warm water. I am quite wasted and chilled, and have had no respite either upon sea or land from the flux which I suffer. My body is broken and spent, and, when I would take any nourishment, I lack such kind of food as is necessary to support me; and have a perfect aversion and loathing to what I have. But I hope that God, who knows all things, when he shall have taken me out of this world, will bring my persecutors to repentance.”
“To enjoy interior peace, we must always reserve in our hearts amidst all affairs, as it were, a secret closet, where we are to keep retired within ourselves, and where no business of the world can ever enter.” St. Antoninus. (Fr. Alban Butler prefaces these words with the following remark: “The saint made...this answer, which the author of his life wished to see written in letters of gold:” from Butler’s “Lives of the Saints”, feast of St. Antoninus.)
“God in His great mercy, has instituted the sacrament by which the sins committed after baptism may be remitted. No human being would ever have thought of this sacrament of reconciliation for it is something like a resurrection; we rise after we are dead. It is a journey back again to God. It enables us to get rid of infections before they become chronic diseases and epidemics. The sacrament of reconciliation is the inflowing of God’s mercy, an opportunity for the increase of the grace of Calvary. It is a medicine for the soul, the healing of our wounds, a homecoming, an undoing of the past; an opportunity to get a fresh start in life, another bath, a kind of secondary baptism.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (talk on “Sin”)
Sunday, May 13, 2018
“The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.” - Sister Lucia dos Santos of Fatima
Pope Leo XIII, FIDENTEM PIUMQUE ANIMUM, SEPTEMBER 20, 1896, Par. 1: “We have already had the opportunity on several occasions during Our Pontificate of bearing public testimony to that confidence and devotion towards the Blessed Virgin which We imbibed in Our tenderest years, and have endeavoured to cherish and develop all our life long. For, having fallen upon times of calamity for Christendom and perils for the nations, We have realised how prudent it is to warmly recommend this means of safeguarding happiness and peace which God has most mercifully granted to Mankind in His August Mother, and which hath ever been celebrated in the annals of the Church. The manifold zeal of Christian people has responded to Our desires and exhortations, most particularly in exciting a devotion to the Rosary; and a plentiful harvest of excellent fruits has not been wanting. Still we can never be satisfied with celebrating the Divine Mother, who is in truth worthy of all praise, and in urging love and affection towards her who is also the mother of mankind, who is full of mercy, full of grace. Yea, Our soul, wearied with the cares of the Apostolate, the nearer it feels the time of Our departure to be at hand, with the more earnest confidence looks up to her from whom, as from a blessed dawn, arose the Day of happiness and joy that was never to set. It is pleasant to us to remember, Venerable Brethren, that We have in other letters issued from time to time extolled the devotion of the Rosary; for it is in many ways most pleasing to her in whose honour it is employed, and most advantageous to those who properly use it. But it is equally pleasant to be able now to insist upon and confirm the same fact. Herein we have an excellent opportunity to paternally exhort men’s minds and hearts to an increase of religion, and to stimulate within them the hope of eternal reward.”
“In conclusion, then, this Divine Mother is infinitely inferior to God, but immensely superior to all creatures; and as it is impossible to find a Son more noble than Jesus, so is it also impossible to find a Mother more noble than Mary. This reflection should cause the clients of so great a Queen not only to rejoice in her greatness, but should also increase their confidence in her powerful patronage; for, says Fr. Suarez, as she is the Mother of God, ‘she has a certain peculiar right to His gifts,’ to dispense them to those for whom she prays. Saint Germanus, on the other hand, says, ‘that God cannot do otherwise than grant the petitions of this Mother; for He cannot but acknowledge her for His true and immaculate Mother.’ Here are his words addressed to this Blessed Virgin: ‘For thou, who by thy maternal authority hast great power with God, obtainest the very great grace of reconciliation even for those who have been guilty of grievous crimes. It is impossible that thou shouldst not be graciously heard; for God in all things complies with thy wishes as being those of His true and spotless Mother.’ Therefore power to succor us is not wanting to thee, O Mother of God, and Mother of us all.” St. Alphonsus de Liguori: (pg. 336 from “The Glories of Mary”)
“‘Oh, my children,’ Mary seems to say to us with these words, ‘when the enemy assails you, lift your eyes to me and behold me and take courage; for in me, who defends you, you will behold, at the same time, your victory.’” (As quoted by St. Alphonsus in “The Glories of Mary” Section II, “How Powerful is Mary in Protecting Those Who Invoke Her in Temptations of the Devil.”)
Love the family! Defend and promote it as the basic cell of human
society; nurture it as the prime sanctuary of life. Give great care to the
preparation of engaged couples and be close to young married couples, so
that they will be for their children and the whole community an eloquent
testimony of God's love. Pope St. John Paul II
society; nurture it as the prime sanctuary of life. Give great care to the
preparation of engaged couples and be close to young married couples, so
that they will be for their children and the whole community an eloquent
testimony of God's love. Pope St. John Paul II
Saturday, May 12, 2018
“True followers of Christ; Be prepared to have a world make jokes at your expense. You can hardly expect a world to be more reverent to you than to Our Lord. When it does make fun of your faith, its practices, abstinence's, and rituals-then you are moving to a closer identity with Him Who gave us our faith. Under scorn, Our Lord "answered nothing". The world gets amusement from a Christian who fails to be Christian, but none from his respectful silence”. – Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen
My dear Christians, are we not astonished at what the saints have suffered, at the patience which they exhibited in all this suffering, at the longing which they showed for crosses and sufferings? And we--we complain when we have to suffer a little! We bear with impatience the slightest adversity sent to us from God. Let us remember that "through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God," and let us bear the little suffering which God sends us with patience and submission, so that we may by this, like the saints, obtain the everlasting joys of heaven." St. John Vianney
“If a little boy loses his temper and insults his father, he is not told that he is at fault; our progressive educators would not warp his mind by speaking of wrong-they blame it on his naughty ductless glands. Today nobody is wrong; they are anti-social or have bad tonsils.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Whence Come Wars)
I saw the Lord Jesus, who said, "My daughter, you gave Me greater pleasure by rendering Me that service than if you had prayed for a long time". I answered, But it was not to You, Jesus, but to that patient that I rendered this service. And the Lord answered me,"Yes, My daughter, but whatever you do for your neighbour, you do for Me". WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary 1029)
As often as the Lord commanded something of me in prayer and my confessor told me to do otherwise, the Lord returned and told me；to obey my confessor; afterward His majesty would change the confessor's mind, and he would agree with the Lord's command. St Teresa of Jesus of Avila The Book of Her Life - chapter 26 : 5
Friday, May 11, 2018
I remind you, My daughter, that as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at that moment mercy was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world — mercy triumphed over justice. WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary, 1572).
“Give your intentions in prayer to God, Who knows everyone, even before our birth. And do not ask that everything will be according to your will, because a man does not know what is profitable for him. But say to God: 'Let Thy will be done!' For He does everything for our benefit.” — St. Gennadius of Constantinople
"With one stroke of an infallible dogmatic pen, the Church lifts the sacredness of love out of sex without denying the role of the body in love. Here is one body that reflects in its uncounted hues the creative love of God. To a world that worships the body, the Church now says: ‘There are two bodies in heaven, one the glorified human nature of Jesus, the other the assumed human nature of Mary. Love is the secret of the Ascension of one and the Assumption of the other, for Love craves unity with its Beloved. The Son returns to the Father in the unity of Divine Nature; and Mary returns to Jesus in the unity of human nature. Her nuptial flight is the event to which our whole generation moves." Archbishop Fulton Sheen
"May 1, [1938]. This evening, Jesus said to me, My daughter, do you need anything? I answered, "O my Love, when I have You I have everything." And the Lord answered, If souls would put themselves completely in My care, I myself would undertake the task of sanctifying them, and I would lavish even greater graces on them. There are souls who thwart My efforts, but I have not given up on them; as often as they turn to Me, I hurry to their aid, shielding them with My Mercy, and I give them the first place in My compassionate Heart." WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA (Diary 1682)
Thursday, May 10, 2018
“Our blessed Lord did not ascend to heaven immediately after the Resurrection but remained on earth for 40 days, speaking to the Apostles about the Kingdom of God. It was during these days that He gave the details of His Church, which He said would have its visible manifestation on Pentecost. ‘And so the Lord Jesus, when he had finished speaking to them, was taken up to heaven, and is seated now at the right hand of God.’ Seated is a figurative expression of eternal repose, which He has merited by His victory over sin. At the right hand is a symbol of His power of eternal intercession before His heavenly Father on our behalf. The Ascension of Christ is the assurance of our own ascension into heaven after the Last Judgment. Not yet ascended in body, we nevertheless enjoy the ascension of our minds in union with Him. We find our true home in heaven. It is to heaven that we look expectantly for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to save us; He will form this humbled body of ours anew, modeling it into the image of His glorified body, so effective is His power to make all things obey Him. O heavenly Magnet, in each communion draw our body and blood to Thy own, that already following Thee in heart, we may later ascend with Thee in the flesh!” + Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Fifteen Mysteries)
"It should be of no concern to you how anyone else acts; you are to be My living reflection, through love and mercy". I answered, Lord, but they often take advantage of my goodness. "That makes no difference, My daughter. That is no concern of yours. As for you, be always merciful toward other people, and especially toward sinners". WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary 1446)
“It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God. Without God people only succeed in bringing out the worst in one another. Lovers who have nothing else to do but love each other soon find there is nothing else. Without a central loyalty life is unfinished.” (Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, Seven Words of Jesus and Mary)
But responsibility likewise falls on the legislators who have promoted and approved abortion laws, and, to the extent that they have a say in the matter, on the administrators of the health-care centers where abortions are performed. In this sense abortion goes beyond the responsibility of individuals and beyond the harm done to them, and takes on a distinctly social dimension. It is a most serious wound inflicted on society and its culture by the very people who ought to be societys promoters and defenders. Pope St. John Paul II
"Charity may be compared to gold, the most precious of all metals, which adorns and beautifies everything that is richest upon earth. Charity is the ornament and adornment of all other virtues. The least little action accompanied with meekness and humility and charity of heart, is of more value and far surpasses anything that we can imagine."
"If I should ask, what is Charity? the answer is , it is a virtue that comes to us from heaven, by which we love God with our whole heart, and our neighbor as ourselves, for the love of God." St. John Vianney, Sermon on Charity
"If I should ask, what is Charity? the answer is , it is a virtue that comes to us from heaven, by which we love God with our whole heart, and our neighbor as ourselves, for the love of God." St. John Vianney, Sermon on Charity
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
“Be sure that in proportion as you advance in fraternal charity, you are increasing in your love of God, for His Majesty bears so tender an affection for us that I cannot doubt He will repay our love for others by augmenting, in a thousand different ways, that which we bear for Him.” (St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church; Interior Castle, Fifth Mansions, Chapter 3)
"Ave Crux, spes unica! (Hail O Cross, our only hope!) May this acclamation … remain ever on our lips, for the Cross is a mystery of life and death. The Cross has become for the Church a 'tree of life'. For this reason we proclaim that life has triumphed over death." - Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Gregis
"Today the Lord said to me, " Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself entirely in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls". WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA
(Diary 1602)
(Diary 1602)
“It is God you are looking for. Your unhappiness is not due to your want of a fortune, or high position, or fame, or sufficient vitamins; it is due not to a want of something outside you, but to a want of something inside you. You cannot satisfy a soul with husks! If the sun could speak, it would say that it was happy when shining; if a pencil could speak, it would say that it was happy when writing – for these were the purposes for which they were made. No wonder everything short of God disappoints you.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (You)
“Ecclesiastical dignities should follow virtue, not birth.” -Pope Innocent VI (As quoted by Ludwig von Pastor in his work “The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages” Vol. 1, pub. 1891., pg. 93, footnote: “See Christophe, ii., 173, for particular details. See also Schwab, 17, and Werunsky, 63.”)
“They are happily linked in the bond of blood who are held together in the bond of love. And for this gift - which is descended to us from the father of lights, - both you and myself may greatly rejoice: whom love as well as kindred hath united, and those two fair obligations have betrothed in one entire affection. One of them we took from the fathers of the flesh, and the other from our private dispositions. This double tie by which - love bounding us on the one side, and blood on the other, - we are mutually knit together, hath enforced me to enlarge myself in this Epistle with some excess more then usual: that I might commend unto your consideration the cause of your own soul, and assert the work of our profession to be that supreme beatitude which is only true, and capable of those things which are eternal.” -St. Eucherius of Lyons, Epistle to Valerianus
"Our Lord's departure on the Ascension was the very condition of the Apostles receiving Him intimately on Pentecost. If He sent His Spirit then He would not be an external voice or an example to be copied, but a veritable life to be lived: "But when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will teach you all truth. For He shall not speak; and the things that are to come, He will show you." And Again, "The Spirit of Truth Whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, nor knows Him not; but you will know Him because He will abide with you and will be in you." Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
"My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself. From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. No soul that has approached Me has ever gone away unconsoled. All misery gets buried in the depths of My mercy, and every saving and sanctifying grace flows from this fountain. My daughter, I desire that your heart be an abiding place of My mercy. I desire that this mercy flow out upon the whole world through your heart. Let no one who approaches you go away without that trust in My mercy which I so ardently desire for souls". WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. (Diary 1777)
“With equal truth may it be also affirmed that, by the will of God, Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God, for mercy and truth were created by Jesus Christ.[Jn 1.17.] Thus as no man goeth to the Father but by the Son, so no man goeth to Christ but by His Mother. How great are the goodness and mercy revealed in this design of God! What a correspondence with the frailty of man! We believe in the infinite goodness of the Most High, and we rejoice in it; we believe also in His justice and we fear it. We adore the beloved Savior, lavish of His blood and of His life; we dread the inexorable Judge. Thus do those whose actions have disturbed their consciences need an intercessor mighty in favor with God, merciful enough not to reject the cause of the desperate, merciful enough to lift up again towards hope in the divine mercy the afflicted and the broken down. Mary is this glorious intermediary; she is the mighty Mother of the Almighty; but-what is still sweeter -- she is gentle, extreme in tenderness, of a limitless loving-kindness.” Pope Leo XIII, Octobri Mense, Sept. 22, 1891
St. Alphonsus, How to Converse Continually and Familiarly With God, Ch. 9: “‘Think of the Lord in goodness.’ (Wis. 1:1) The wise man exhorts by these words to have a greater confidence in the Divine mercy than fear of the Divine justice, since God is far more inclined to do good than to chastise. So says St. James: ‘Mercy exalteth itself above judgment.’ (Jas. 2:13). Hence the apostle St. Peter warns us that in the fears we feel for our concerns, be they temporal or eternal, we must abandon ourselves entirely to the good God, who has our Salvation so much at heart: ‘Casting all your care upon Him, for He hath care of you.’ (1 Peter 5:7)” (St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, “How to Converse Continually and Familiarly with God”, translated by Fr. L. X. Aubin, C.SS.R, Ch. 9 )
“To enjoy interior peace, we must always reserve in our hearts amidst all affairs, as it were, a secret closet, where we are to keep retired within ourselves, and where no business of the world can ever enter.” -St. Antoninus (Fr. Alban Butler prefaces these words with the following remark: “The saint made...this answer, which the author of his life wished to see written in letters of gold:” from Butler’s “Lives of the Saints”, feast of St. Antoninus, May 10.)
“From the very first, upon Our elevation to the chief Apostleship, We gladly turned our mind and energies and directed all our thoughts to those matters which concerned the preservation of a pure liturgy, and We strove with God’s help, by every means in our power, to accomplish this purpose. For, besides other decrees of the sacred Council of Trent, there were stipulations for Us to revise and re-edit the sacred books: the Catechism, the Missal and the Breviary. With the Catechism published for the instruction of the faithful, by God’s help, and the Breviary thoroughly revised for the worthy praise of God, in order that the Missal and Breviary may be in perfect harmony, as fitting and proper - for its most becoming that there be in the Church only one appropriate manner of reciting the Psalms and only one rite for the celebration of Mass - We deemed it necessary to give our immediate attention to what still remained to be done, viz, the re-editing of the Missal as soon as possible.Hence, We decided to entrust this work to learned men of our selection. They very carefully collated all their work with the ancient codices in Our Vatican Library and with reliable, preserved or emended codices from elsewhere. Besides this, these men consulted the works of ancient and approved authors concerning the same sacred rites; and thus they have restored the Missal itself to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers.” Pope St. Pius V, Quo Primum, July 14, 1570
Monday, May 7, 2018
"Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy". WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. Diary 1146
“No bishop should be translated from his See for pecuniary advantage, but for the good of the flock committed to him, with the consent of the Apostolic See.” —Pope St. Anterus (235-36) St. Peter to the Time of Charlemagne” pub. 1878)(Quoted by Fr. Thomas Meyrick, in his work “Lives of the Early Popess
“Holy Mother the Church celebrates today a feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, which we honor twice in the year. The first is the Discovery, in the month of May (May 3). The second today (Sept. 14) on the Exultation. Reason, because after the Holy Cross was discovered by St. Helena, it came into the possession of the infidels, who contemptuously held it. But Heraclius, the Most Holy and Christian Roman Emperor, extracted it from the possession of the infidels and exalted it honorably...” -St. Vincent Ferrer, Sermon on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
“The way we judge others is very often the judgment we pronounce on ourselves. Every dramatist, scriptwriter, novelist, and essayist who attacks the moral law has already lived against it in his own life. These men may not know it, but in their writings they are penning their own autobiography.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Guide to Contentment)
“The rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christ-centered prayer. It has all the depth of the gospel message in its entirety. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb…” (Pope St. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae)
Sunday, May 6, 2018
“Give your intentions in prayer to God, Who knows everyone, even before our birth. And do not ask that everything will be according to your will, because a man does not know what is profitable for him. But say to God: 'Let Thy will be done!' For He does everything for our benefit.” — St. Gennadius of Constantinople
"Write this for the many souls who are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul". WORDS OF JESUS TO ST. FAUSTINA. Diary 1317
“Our Blessed Lord left the world without leaving any written message. His doctrine was Himself. Ideal and history were identified in Him. The truth that all other ethical teachers proclaimed, and the light that they gave to the world, was not in them, but outside them. Our Divine Lord, however, identified Divine Wisdom with Himself. It was the first time in history that it was ever done, and it has never been done since.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Life of Christ)
“But the writings on the human soul, the divine attributes, and other questions of mighty moment which the great Athanasius and Chrysostom, the prince of orators, have left behind them are, by common consent, so supremely excellent that it seems scarcely anything could be added to their subtlety and fullness.” -Pope Leo XIII, AETERNI PATRIS, August 4, 1879, Par. 12
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