“If people knew what power the dear poor souls have over God’s heart, and if they knew what graces can be obtained through their intercession, they would not be so forgotten. We must pray much for them so that they may pray much for us.” (Saint John Vianney, Curé of Ars)
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Marian Meditations (1/3): Mary: Daughter of the Father
Could one imagine a daughter of the Heavenly Father more enchanting than you, beloved Virgin Mary?
A daughter who so enraptures her Father that He entrusts to her the most precious thing: His beloved Son.
No, there can be no equal to you.
You are the one whom the Lord has chosen. Only God, the Holy One, knows all your beauty, with which He Himself adorned you; and He knows with what joy and tenderness you filled His Heart, seeing you in the splendour of His grace.
Fraternal correction
Mt 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you shall consent upon earth, concerning any thing whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father who is in heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Read More
“TO KNOW GOD AND SERVE HIM”
“How beautiful and great it is to know and serve God! We have nothing else to do in this world but this. Everything else we do is a waste of time.” (St. John Vianney).
GOD IS SEARCHING FOR YOU!
“God is searching for you, because from time immemorial He has been intent on bringing back the lost sheep.” (Hildegard of Bingen).
We are learning to understand ever more deeply this movement of our Father’s love.
THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS: “Saint Susanna, Martyr”
At a time when, unfortunately, moral confusion scarcely spares even our Holy Church, and many people stray from the path of virtue or never set foot on it in the first place, it is important not to forget that the saints of the early Church, in particular, have given us shining examples of chastity.
We must not forget that these saints, who gave their lives to preserve their chastity, not only bring their light into this darkness but have also received great grace from God for the Church. They are a living reminder of the importance of placing the Lord’s commandments above all else.
One of these radiant women is Susanna. She is not the biblical Susanna, whom we might first think of—the one saved from death by Daniel’s intervention, who restored her honor before all the people—but rather, Susanna of Rome.
WIN SOULS FOR GOD
“Do everything, endure everything, to win souls for the Lord.” (Don Bosco)
To hate one’s own life in this world
Jn 12:24-26
Reading for the Feast of St. Lawrence
At that time Jesus said to his disciples: “In all truth I tell you, unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me, must follow me, and my servant will be with me wherever I am. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him”.
At first, these words of the Lord that we should hate our life would seem to be contrary to the great gift of life, which we are to care for and protect.
However, their meaning will be revealed to us when we understand that natural life itself is not our goal; but that each person has a task to fulfil, which is the true goal of his life: it is to attain eternal life and to be in perpetual communion with God and his own.
Hold Fast to the Tradition
1 Cor 15:1–10
Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.
A BRIEF JOURNEY INTO ASCETICISM
“A man who masters his passions is master of the world. We must either master them or be mastered by them. It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.” (St. Dominic).