How to go to sleep more cheerful and pleased

Do not let any occasion of gaining merit
pass without taking care to draw some spiritual profit from it; as,
for example, from a sharp word which someone may say to you;
from an act of obedience imposed against your will;
from an opportunity which may occur to humble yourself,
or to practice charity, sweetness, and patience.
All of these occasions are gain for you, and you should seek to procure them; and
at the close of that day, when the greatest number of them have come to you,
you should go to rest most cheerful and pleased …

St. Ignatius Loyola

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Inigo de Loyola was born in 1491 in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa in northern Spain. Of the noble family of Loyola, as a boy he was sent as a page to serve the treasurer of the kingdom. There, he had access to court and developed a taste for all its ways, including the ladies.

Intelligent, of a fiery temperament and handsome, Inigo, or Ignatius, harbored dreams of romance and worldly conquests. He was addicted to gambling, and wasn’t above sword play, once getting into serious trouble.

At age thirty we find him a soldier defending the fortress of Pamplona against the French. Hugely outnumbered, the Spanish commander wished to surrender but Ignatius egged him to fight on. As the fight continued, Ignatius’ leg was fractured by a canon shot. Honoring his courage, the French allowed him to be treated at his castle of Loyola rather than in prison.

After enduring an operation without anesthetics, it was found that there was a bone protruding from under his knee. The thought of not being able to wear the slimming leggings of the time was unendurable, so he had doctors saw off the bone – without anesthetics. Still, he always limped as one leg remained shorter than the other.

Convalescing, he asked for romance novels, but was given to read the only books in the castle: a life of Christ and lives of the saints. As he begrudgingly picked up the volumes, he began to notice that while his thoughts of romance and fantasy left him restless and agitated, these books gave him peace and a sense of true accomplishment and well-being.  Slowly moved by what he read, he made a powerful conversion.

Shedding his fineries and donning a poor habit, he ultimately came to the cave of Manresa by a river where he stayed for ten months. Here, he had a powerful revelation, an experience of God as He really is so that he now looked at all of creation in a new light – an experience that allowed Ignatius to find God in all things – one of the central characteristics of Jesuit spirituality. It was in the seclusion of Manresa that ideas for his famous Spiritual Exercises began to take shape.

After a trip to the Holy Land, the holy wanderer decided to go back to school to learn Latin with the goal of entering the priesthood. He ultimately went to the University of Paris where he met several young men whom he led in the Spiritual Exercises. Two of these men were Francis Xavier, and Peter Faber. Once ordained, he and his group decided to place themselves at the disposition of the Pope in Rome. They taught catechism to children, worked in hospitals and instructed adults in the Spiritual Exercises.

In September of 1540, this first nucleus was approved by Pope Paul III, as the order of The Company of Jesus, an institution that was to be instrumental in countering the protestant reform of Martin Luther. They were also active in the missions, and later became unparalleled academic instructors of young men, as well as performing countless other services in the Church.

Since his early conversion days, because of indiscreet, severe penances, St. Ignatius had developed stomach troubles that plagued him for the rest of his life. In the summer of 1556 his complaint grew worse, and his health ailing, he felt the end approaching. Still, those around him were not unduly alarmed. But shortly after midnight on July 31, the former soldier presented arms at the heavenly court.

The Scapular—A Powerful Weapon Against the Devil

Abbé Francis Trochu, in his book, The Cure D’Ars, relates a story of a young lady who, having decided to consecrate her life to religion, sought the holy pastor of Ars, Saint John Vianney, for a general confession.
When she finished relating her sins, St. John Vianney asked her if she was not forgetting something. The girl, upon recollecting her thoughts, could not recall anything else. The holy priest then proceeded to refresh her memory.
He asked her if she remembered a certain dance where she encountered a handsome young man with whom she desired to dance, but who, in turn, only danced with the other girls, passing her up.
Surprised, again she replied in the affirmative, that such was indeed true. The Cure D’Ars then asked her if she remembered how downcast she had felt at the snub, and how, upon leaving the ballroom, she had glanced back once more and had seen the young man dancing with a girl, but this time there were two small blue lights under his feet.
Again she agreed and confirmed that in fact she had seen the two blue lights under the youth’s feet, but that, finding them strange, she could not account for them.
Saint John Vianney then explained to her that the young man was in fact the Devil in human form, and that the only reason why he would not dance with her was because she was wearing the holy Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

It is useless for a man...

It is useless for a man to flaunt his knowledge of the law
if he undermines its teaching
by his actions.

St. Anthony of Padua

St. Peter Chrysologus

Peter Chrysologus was born in Imola, Italy in 406 and died there in 450. He was baptized, educated and ordained a deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola, and was consecrated Bishop of Ravenna in 433. He shared the confidence of Pope Leo the Great and enjoyed the patronage of Empress Galla Placidia.

Of his homilies, 176 survive, as well as others known to have been written by him under different names. Many of these are brief and concise explanations of the Bible. Others are beautiful discourses on the Incarnation, the Apostles’ Creed, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, as well as talks countering the heresy of Arius and Eutyches.
Photo by: Fcosampieri

The power of just one prayer

It was the thief’s last prayer,
perhaps even his first.
He knocked once, sought once, asked once,
dared everything, and found everything.
When even the disciples were doubting,
and only one was present at the Cross,
the thief owned and acknowledged Him as Savior.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

St. Martha

Martha, named in the Gospels of St. Luke and St. John, was the sister of Lazarus, the friend of Jesus whom the Lord resurrected. She was also the sister of Mary Magdalen, the repentant sinner whom the Lord converted from a life of sin.

They lived in Bethany, thought to be the town al-Eizariya, two miles from Jerusalem.The Gospels speak of Martha as a dutiful housekeeper, serving the Lord hospitably when He visited:"but Martha was busy about much serving…" (Luke 10:40) Complaining that her sister Mary was listening to Him instead of helping, Our Lord sweetly rebuked : "Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things: But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away her" (Luke 10:41-42) - words the Master which established the priority of prayer for all time.When her brother, Lazarus, fell ill, she sent for the Lord, but He delayed and when He arrived, Lazarus had been four days in the tomb. She complained to Jesus about His delay, but He assured her: "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live." (John 11:25) And he proceeded to call Lazarus forth the tomb before a crowd of astonished witnesses.After the martyrdom of St. James in Jerusalem, as persecution intensified, tradition says that Lazarus and his two sisters, along with others, were placed in a boat and set out to sea. This boat landed on the southern shore of France. While Lazarus and Martha went on to evangelize Provence, a fact recorded in French history, Mary retired to a cave in a mountain, to do penance for the rest of her life.Martha is said to have died about the year 84. Her tomb is located in the crypt of the Collegiate Church of Tarrascon, France.

Our Lady of Good Help and the Peshtigo Fire Miracles: An American Story

By Rex Teodosio

On December 8, 2010, Bishop Ricken gave approval to the 1859 apparitions of Our Lady to Sr. Adele Brise, making these apparitions the first ever to be approved in the United States. An essential part of the approval dealt with the Peshtigo Fire miracle cited by the bishop in his declaration. It is impossible to gauge how incredible this miracle was without understanding the intensity of the Peshtigo Fire of 1871.
Armed with a book called, The Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account, by Father Peter Pernin, I and a fellow America Needs Fatima custodian traced the footsteps of the priest as he recounts his amazing experience, his unbelievable survival and his witness of not just one but two Peshtigo Fire miracles.

Father Peter Pernin and His Missions
Father Peter Pernin was the parish priest of the cities of Peshtigo and Marinette, both in Wisconsin, and Cedar River, Michigan. Peshtigo was a small growing community due to a logging company and other enterprises including a factory producing tubs and buckets. The population of Peshtigo was about 2,000 souls. In addition to this population, the work brought in numerous temporary workers.
On October 7, 1871, the day before the fire, Father Pernin was scheduled to go to Cedar River by steamboat which was roughly 25 miles north of Marinette along the shore. It never came. In reality, it did pass by the wharf but owing to the dense smoke about the dock area, the captain decided it was too dangerous to make the stop. It was the first sign of divine intervention since he would have been stranded in Cedar River and perished in the fire with the entire city the following day. He returned to Peshtigo that evening.
The day the fire began was a Sunday and Father Pernin was intent on proceeding to Marinette by horseback to celebrate the Mass as was customary.
The Catholics in Peshtigo argued forcefully that it was too dangerous and he conceded to stay. Much smoke and the sound of crackling continued to be seen and heard from a distance.

Premonition of the Calamity
Up until the early evening of the 8th, Father Pernin did not feel compelled to prepare for a calamity. There was danger in the air and everyone felt it. However, there were monitors assigned to watch over the region for dangers of forest fire. They were entrusted to warn the city of any impending danger. Since no warning had come, Father Pernin felt that everyone’s feelings of dread, including his, were irrational.
He only felt the first premonition of a great danger at around 8:00 in the evening. He was walking with his neighbor on her land when suddenly “some old trunks of trees blaze out though without seeing about them any tokens of cinder or spark, just as if the wind had been a breath of fire, capable of kindling them into a flame by its mere contact.” The wind had been faltering until then, blowing at one moment, abating on the next, then suddenly gusting. Off to the west, they saw “a dense cloud of smoke over-hanging the earth, a vivid red reflection of immense extent, and then suddenly struck on my ear, strangely audible in the preternatural silence reigning around, a distant roaring, yet muffled sound, announcing that the elements were in commotion somewhere.”
Father Pernin made up his mind. A great calamity is coming. It was time to prepare for the worst. Little did he know how providential that decision was.

Preparation for the Calamity
At about half past eight, he freed his horse, judging that it was the best he could do for him. He then dug a six-foot-deep trench and buried his chest, the church’s books and precious belongings in it.
His neighbor, Mrs. Tyler, who was hosting a party, approached him and asked, “Father, do you think there is any danger?” “I do not know,” he replied, “but I have unpleasant presentiments, and feel myself impelled to prepare for trouble.” “But, if a fire breaks out, Father, what are we to do?” “In that case, Madam, seek the river at once.” Mrs. Tyler and her family followed the priest’s instruction and were saved. All of Mrs. Tyler’s party guests, except two, perished.

The Tabernacle
Father Pernin then turned his attention to saving the Blessed Sacrament. It was shortly past 9:00 and the wind had picked up. The redness in the sky deepened. The roaring sound seemed to be almost upon him. Even when surrounded by grave danger, he never let the Blessed Sacrament out of his mind. “Object of all objects,” Father Pernin wrote, “precious, priceless, especially in the eyes of a priest.” The calamity seemed about to fall on him. In his haste, he dropped the key to the tabernacle. So he decided to take the tabernacle on his hand cart. He exited the church and immediately a strong gust of wind began blowing with the strength of a hurricane clearing away the gate, the planks and fencing from his path. All he had to do now was to make it to the river.

The Struggle to Make It to Safety
The wind was so strong it pushed him against the building across the street. He struggled to stay on his feet. He tripped several times on his way to the river. Once, it was over a mother and a daughter who had succumbed to the fire. Another time, he lost his balance due to the wind. When trying to get back on his feet, he felt a horse nuzzle his shoulder. It was his own horse, trembling from fear. Pull as he might, the horse never budged. It stayed frozen in its spot only to be found some days later devoured by the fire.
He was still a few blocks away from the bridge. “The air was no longer fit to breathe, full as it was of sand, dust, ashes, cinders, sparks, smoke and fire.” The bridge was mess of people fleeing. Those from the east side thought it was safer on the west. Those from the west thought it safe on the east. Each side pushed through the other. There were “a thousand discordant deafening noises” all about: “…the neighing of horses, falling of chimneys, crashing of uprooted trees, roaring and whistling of the wind, crackling of fire as it ran with lightning-like rapidity from house to house.”
Father Pernin noted that all matter of sounds could be heard with the exception of the human voice. “People seemed stricken dumb by terror,” he wrote. “They jostled each other without exchanging look, word, or counsel. The silence of the tomb reigned among the living; nature alone lifted up its voice and spoke.” And spoke it did in a spectacular fashion.
Father Pernin pushed the wagon containing the tabernacle into the river as much as he dared. It was made of wood. It was at high risk of catching fire, but he could not push it deeper in the river. The tabernacle was not waterproof. To submerge it entirely in water would also submerge the Blessed Sacrament. It was the best he could do.
He moved upstream where he awaited his fate. People lined both banks of the river “as far as the eye could see.” They survived the night by being partially immersed in the water and constantly splashing water over their heads.

The Intensity of the Fire
The river where Father Pernin waded was about 400 feet wide. The air was full of flames which darted back and forth across the span of the river all night long. Clothing and quilt, used as coverings, would burst into flames if the people neglected to splash water over them. “The river was bright,” he wrote, “brighter than by day.” It was painful to expose head or hand above the water. He looked around him and “saw nothing but flames; houses, trees, and the air itself were on fire…above my head, as far as the eye could reach into space, alas! Too brilliantly lighted, I saw nothing but immense volumes of flames covering the firmament, clouds driven wildly hither and thither by the fierce power of the tempest.”
Were one to describe the firestorm of hell, this description must necessarily be a point of reference. No adjective best defines this scene other than infernal.
After several hours, as Father Pernin ventured to get out of the water to check the temperature, his shoulders scarcely out of the water, someone shouted, “Father, beware, you are on fire!”
A lady who remained close to him asked, “Father, do you not think this is the end of the world?” “I do not think so,” he replied, “but if other countries are burned as ours seems to have been, the end of the world, at least for us, must be at hand.”
They stood in the cold waters of the river for about five and a half hours.
The aftermath gave more indication of the intensity of the conflagration. Many buildings, including the church, were burned to the ground. When the priest retrieved his vestments, they seemed to have been preserved by the fire. He cleared the dirt around them and tried to lift them up. They came undone. The cloth had been reduced to ash.
Father Pernin himself wrote that the intensity of the fire was such that not only did it burn the trees to the ground, it had burned the very stump of the trees. And, most unbelievable, it burned the very root system of the trees. When he placed his hand in one of these holes on the ground, his hand came away with nothing but ashes.
According to an online science website, the temperature of a bonfire can reach over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. For reference, the melting point for gold is 1,945 degrees. The burning of 1.4 million acres of forest and cyclic hurricane-strength winds must have created the perfect condition to reach at least that temperature, if not more. It is impossible to calculate the total sum of heat produced by the Great Peshtigo Fire. In about twenty-four hours, it burned 1.4 million acres of forest to the ground.

Miracle #1: The Miracle of the Tabernacle
Days later, when the good priest recovered his sight and was well enough to walk around, he returned to Peshtigo to administer to the injured, the dying and the dead. A parishioner approached him and asked; “Father, do you know what has happened to your tabernacle?” “No, what is it?” “Come quickly then, and see. Oh! Father, it is a great miracle!” At the spot where Father Pernin had left the tabernacle, he saw the wagon had fallen to its side. Doubtless it was blown over by the storm. The tabernacle, however, stood on one of the logs floating in the water.
“Everything in the vicinity of this spot had been blackened or charred by the flames: logs, trunks, boxes, nothing had escaped, yet, strange to say, there rose the tabernacle, intact in its snowy whiteness, presenting a wonderful contrast to the grimy blackness of the surrounding objects.”
Father Pernin left the tabernacle there for several days for all to see. It was a testimony of the power of the Blessed Sacrament. Exposed to heat that could melt metal, this wooden tabernacle stood untouched by the infernal flames, preserved in its immaculate whiteness. Numbers came and saw. “The Catholics generally regarded the fact as a miracle, and it was spoken of near and far, attracting great attention,” he wrote.
The tabernacle can be found today either at St. Mary’s Church or in the Fire Museum in Peshtigo.

Miracle #2: The Miracle of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help
Weeks after the fire, Father Pernin heard of an incredible account of a shrine which had been preserved from the fire. He had seen what devastation the fire had wrought in Peshtigo. It seemed improbable that a chapel, a schoolhouse and the property found in the middle of the forest could survive such a firestorm. He decided to visit it himself and see with his own eyes. This eyewitness account was written in his other book titled, The Finger of God Is There!
In 1859, Our Lady appeared to a young girl, Adele Brise (pronounced like “ice”). Her confessor counseled her to heed the apparition’s request which was to catechize children so they will know their faith and avoid punishment. There was also a call to conversion for sinners.
The girl grew to be a nun. Sister Adele suffered much persecution, but she obeyed Our Lady’s request and opened a chapel and schoolhouse on a six-acre piece of land donated for this purpose. It was the very site of Our Lady’s apparition. Twelve years later, the Peshtigo Fire threatened this small parcel of land dedicated to Our Lady. Surely, the inhabitants saw the same red glow Father Pernin described in his account. Surely, they heard the same noise that seemed like the roar of a thousand angry dragons. Surely, they felt the same premonition and the same decision to prepare for the worst. So they did. Many families took what belongings they could carry, what livestock they could drive, and went to the shrine.
It seems irrational to seek refuge from a forest fire in a wooden chapel. It seems more rational to flee, as the survivors in Peshtigo had done, to the closest body of water. After all, the waters of the bay were only 3.5 miles away. Perhaps it wasn’t physical safety they sought, but supernatural. There the faithful were on the late evening of October 8, 1871, pressing upon three simple nuns the duty to protect them from the impending calamity.
The nuns placed their trust in Our Lady. They put a statue of Our Lady on a carrier. They processed around the property praying the rosary out loud. They did not stay in the chapel. They prayed outside to confront the very danger where it threatened them. When the fire, heat and smoke became so oppressive on one side of the property, they moved to another. Despite the danger and their fear, they refused to stop praying the rosary. After hours of praying, confronting the conflagration, suddenly a downpour of rain came and doused the fire. Thus ended the Great Peshtigo Fire, the deadliest fire in American history.
This happened on the morning of October 9th, the very anniversary of Our Lady’s third apparition to Sister Adele Brise.

Father Pernin wrote in The Finger of God Is There!, “Morning's light revealed the deplorable ravages wrought by the conflagration. All the houses and fences in the neighborhood had been burned, with the exception of the school, the chapel and fence surrounding the six acres of land consecrated to the Blessed Virgin. This paling had been charred in several places, but the fire, as if it had been a sentient being, whilst consuming everything in the vicinity, the winding path surrounding the enclosure being only eight or ten feet wide, had respected this spot, sanctified by the visible presence of the Mother of God, and, it now shone cut, like an emerald island in a sea of ashes.”
With this retelling, the words of Bishop Ricken in pronouncing the authenticity of the apparitions of Our Lady of Good Help may gain new significance to many. He said: “Our Lady has lessened or relieved the burdens of the People of God, whether about financial, familial, relationship or employment matters or even through diminishing inclement and tempestuous weather. This holy place was preserved from the infamous Peshtigo Fire of 1871, when many of the faithful gathered here with Adele and prayed through the intercession of Our Lady of Good Help, with the result that the fire that devastated everything in its wake in this entire area stopped when it reached the parameters of the Shrine.” [Accents ours]

2018: Two Fatima Custodians Retrace the Footsteps of Father Pernin
Matthew Shibler, a fellow America Needs Fatima custodian, and I read Father Pernin’s book with focused interest. We compared notes and discussed conclusions. To the best of our abilities we retraced the footsteps of Father Peter Pernin.
It was partially an adventure to discover where Father Pernin’s church had been and where he dug the ground to bury his chest, the church’s books and precious belongings. We crossed the same bridge he crossed, assessed where he must have stayed in the water, and where he left the wagon with the Blessed Sacrament. We stood at the banks where the Miracle of the Tabernacle may have happened and said a prayer. It was a reminder to us that even at the height of a chastisement, the impossible can happen. All the furies of hell cannot touch the Church symbolized by the tabernacle, which, of course, is understood by Catholics as the tent or abode of God.
We followed his footsteps partially, too, as a pilgrimage. We stood on the grounds where the faithful prayed their rosary procession. This is the ground where the three little nuns armed with nothing but their beads and a statue of Our Lady faced the infernal storm that consumed 1.4 million acres, except for the six-acre property dedicated to Mary.
It was with exciting realization that this may have been the first public square rosary procession in American history, something America Needs Fatima has been honored to promote.

Hope in Face of the Coming Punishment Predicted at Fatima
It was with awe that we prayed in the chapel. Because of the thousands of talks about the message of Fatima Matthew and I had given as custodians these past several decades, the chastisement prophesied by Our Lady of Fatima was very present in our minds.
When this great punishment comes because of mankind’s sins, will we simply seek physical safety or will we turn to Our Lady? Full of confidence and staring down the chastisement, armed with nothing more than our trust and devotion to Mary, we will see her prophesy fulfilled that “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”

Do not spoil His work

My confidence is placed
in God who does not need our help
for accomplishing His designs.
Our single endeavor should be
to give ourselves to the work and to be faithful to Him, and
not to spoil His work by our shortcomings.

St. Isaac Jogues

St. Samson of Dol

St. Samson is counted among the seven founding saints of Brittany. He was born in Wales, his father being the son of Amon of Demetia and Anne of Gwent, daughter of Meurig, king of Glamorgan and Gwent.

Early in life his education was entrusted to St. Illtud, the abbot of Llandtwit Fawr.

Seeking an even more austere life than this school provided, Samson moved to the island monastery of Caldey where he became a model of virtue. There, he succeeded St. Pyr as abbot.

Later, his father Amon and an uncle joined him in the monastic life. At one point he made a visit to Ireland, and on his return, with his father and uncle retired to a hermittage.

But his peace did not last. He was again made abbot, and was subsequently consecrated bishop by St. Dubricius. After a vision instructing him to travel beyond the sea, he sailed for Cornwall, converting a number of idol worshipers by miraculously restoring a boy who had been thrown by a horse.

He founded a couple of churches, after which he sailed for Brittany possibly visiting the Scilly Islands, one of which is named after him.

In Brittany he traveled extensively preaching and teaching, and working many miracles. A town in Guernsey bears his name. He founded two monasteries, one in Dol and another in Normandy. While visiting Paris he attracted the notice of King Childebert who is said to have appointed him bishop of Dol. Samson died peacefully among his monks in the year 565.
Photo by: Humphrey Bolton

Powerful weapon to overcome the devil

If our age – in its pride – laughs at and rejects Our Lady’s Rosary,
a countless legion of the most saintly men of every age and of every condition
have not only held it most dear and have most piously recited it
but have also used it at all times as a most powerful weapon
to overcome the devil, to preserve the purity of their lives,
to acquire virtue more zealously,
in a word, to promote peace among men.

Pope Pius XI

St. Theobald of Marly

Theobald was the son of Bouchard of Montmorency, one of the most illustrious families of Europe. They were constables of France, marshals, admirals, cardinals, grand officers of the crown and grand masters of various knightly orders.

And yet Theobald is called the “great ornament” of the family of Montmorency.

He was born in the family castle of Marly, highly educated and trained as a knight. He served for a time in the court of King Phillip Augustus II, but showed a strong inclination to a state of retirement. Even at court he spent a long time in prayer and often visited the church at the convent of Port Royal founded by a relative, and which his father largely endowed.

Theobald took the Cistercian habit at Vaux-de-Cernay in 1220 and was chosen abbot in 1235. He lived in his monastery as the servant of all, surpassing others in his love of poverty, silence and prayer.

He was known to King St. Louis IX who held him in high esteem and veneration.

Theobald died on December 8, 1247.

Powerful Novena to Saints Anne and Joachim

Although Scripture is silent about the grandparents of Jesus, tradition tells us that Saints Anne and Joachim were married for many years before God blessed them with a child. During those years, they fasted, prayed and wept, mourning the child that would not come.

Click here and send your intentions to the Shrine of Saint Anne in Quebec City!

Years of longing did not weaken their trust in God, but grief eventually drove Saint Joachim into the wilderness to fast and pray. Saint Anne, remaining at home, dressed in mourning clothes and wept because she had no child of her own. Seeing her mistress distressed, a servant girl reminded Anne to put her trust in God. Saint Anne washed her face, put on her bridal clothes and went to a garden to plead with God for a child.
Angels appeared to Saint Anne in her garden and Saint Joachim in the desert, promising that, despite their old age, they would give birth to a child who would be known throughout the world. The new parents ran to meet one another at Jerusalem’s Golden Gate, and rejoiced in the new life which God had promised would be theirs.
When that child became a woman and pronounced her "Fiat" to Saint Gabriel, Saints Anne and Joachim saw an even more wondrous answer to their prayers. Not just a grandchild, but a Savior who was God Himself, Jesus Christ.
On July 26, the Church honors these holy grandparents for their prayers, their trust, and most of all for the foundation of faith they laid in the Blessed Virgin Mary’s life.
Beginning on July 18, pray the novena prayer below to Saints Anne and Joachim, trusting in their intercessory power with Our Lord, their Grandson, Jesus Christ.

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O Holy Mother and Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as parents, you guided and nurtured Mary and, under your protection and love, watched her grow in holiness.
Through your faithfulness and goodness the Will of God was fulfilled; the fruits of your virtue and faith brought salvation to the whole world with the birth of the baby Jesus.

“The Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us.”
(John 1:14)

Most Holy Saints Anne and Joachim, come close to us and guide our hands and our hearts in the way of virtue.

Help us to parent our children and grandchildren with a gentle heart as you did.

Show us how to raise our children in faith and bring our families into the Light of Jesus.

Remain close to us and help us on our journey to salvation.

Saints Anne and Joachim, we place our petitions in your hands and ask that you lay them before the child Jesus.

Seek this, my favor [Mention your request]  but only if it be for the greater glory of God and the good of my soul.

Pray: Our Father…, Hail Mary…, Glory be to the Father….

St. Anne and St. Joachim: Pray for Us 

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Click here and send your intentions to the Shrine of Saint Anne in Quebec City on her Feast Day - July 26th!

Faith

To one who has faith,
no explanation is necessary.

To one without faith,
no explanation is possible.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Sts. Joachim and Anne

According to tradition, Our Lady’s parents were Joachim and Anne to whom, after years of childlessness, and much prayer, an angel appeared and announced they would bear a child. Much like Hannah who dedicated her son Samuel to the service of God (1 Kings), Anne also dedicated Mary to God as a child.   Hence, we find the abundant iconography representing the child Mary being presented in the Temple.

Eastern tradition of devotion to the parents of Mary goes back to the sixth century. Relics of St. Anne were brought from the Holy Land to Constantinople in 710. In the twelfth century, this devotion reached the West, with Crusaders bringing back relics of St. Anne to Western Europe.

Two popular shrines to Saint Anne are that of Ste. Anne D’Auray in Britanny in western France, and that of St. Anne de Beaupre near Quebec, where countless mementos hang in thanksgiving for favors and healings granted.

The Queen of Heaven and the Son of Thunder

 By Andrea Phillips

When Our Blessed Lord ascended into heaven, He left His most holy Mother here on earth for several years to help the young Catholic Church.  All of the Apostles and disciples held her in great esteem and sought her counsel in all things. She, the holiest, wisest, and most blessed of women, always had a word of encouragement and precious advice to answer their requests.
At times, as the Apostles and disciples went on their journeys to far off places to preach the Faith, she would send one or several of her many guardian angels to strengthen or console them in some way.

For example, after the Apostles’ Creed had been composed by the Twelve, she wrote several copies of this profession of our Faith with her own hand and, summoning several of her angels, bade them deliver these copies to the disciples who were in distant places so they might recite it and teach others to do the same.
She also prayed constantly for their work and begged God to deliver them from the assaults of the devil, who from the very beginning has unceasingly prowled around seeking to destroy God’s Church.

Our Lady and Saint James
The Apostle Saint James the Greater, brother of Saint John the Evangelist and a cousin to Our Lord Jesus, had a most special and tender devotion to Our Blessed Lady.
Possessed of a generous nature, he preached the word of God with such zeal and fearlessness that he aroused the fury of all who hated Our Lord and His Church.
The more the evil people persecuted him the more ardently and louder he preached. Some say that he had a powerful, booming voice, in keeping with his designation as a “Son of Thunder.” He knew how needful he was of Our Lady’s help and sought it constantly.
One day, about a year and a half after the death of Our Lord, Saint James traveled to Spain to carry the true Faith to the people there. In imitation of his Master, he took twelve disciples with him. One of the first cities he and his disciples visited was Granada in the south of Spain. In Granada were several Jews who hated the new Faith of Jesus and watched the newcomers closely. Saint James and the disciples fearlessly began to preach as if nothing were wrong. While several of these Jews became impressed and listened, others became even more hardened against these holy men and began a terrible persecution against them. Seizing one of them, they brought him to his martyrdom.
Yet another day they managed to seize Saint James and the remaining eleven and took them to a field outside the walls of Granada to put them to death. As had occurred so many times before, Saint James prayed to the Blessed Mother to assist them. If they were to die for her Son, then he wished that somehow he be allowed to see her before dying.

Our Lady interceeds
Back in Jerusalem, by a special gift granted to her by her Divine Son, the Holy Virgin, saw everything that was happening, and her mother’s heart went out to this devoted son who sought her help. She felt a great sorrow that she was so far away, but knowing that nothing is impossible to God, she besought her Son to allow her to aid Saint James and his friends.
Our Lord, seeing His Mother’s holy desire from heaven, commanded the angels of her guard to carry her to Spain. Immediately, one thousand angels appeared before her and, placing her on a shining throne of clouds, carried her across the sea to Granada.
All the while, Saint James and his disciples remained in great danger. The Jews already had their swords bared and ready to strike when, looking up, the Apostle beheld his beloved Queen and Mother coming on this dazzling cloud surrounded by angels. She spoke beautiful words of encouragement to this faithful son and made him understand that he and his companions were not yet to shed their blood for her Son.
At her command, their fetters and chains fell to the ground. Simultaneously, the would-be executioners fell as if dead and remained stunned for many hours. The devils that had accompanied them and incited them to this terrible deed were hurled into the deepest abysses of Hell, leaving Saint James and his friends completely free.
Saint James was filled with joy at the sight of his Queen and what she had done. He thanked her from the depth of his heart and, bowing his face to the ground, thanked God Our Lord for such a favor. Although the other disciples had not seen her and the thousand angels, they understood that a great miracle had taken place, and Saint James later told them what he had seen to increase and confirm their Faith.
Before leaving, the Most Holy Mother wished to bless Spain even further by sending Saint James all over its territory to preach the new Faith of her Son. For this she assigned hundreds of her own angels to accompany him and his disciples wherever they went, showing them the way and protecting them from every danger. In this manner, the Son of Thunder and his worthy friends traveled throughout Spain and brought about many conversions.
Eventually they entered the old city of Saragossa. There, the Mother of God came to visit Saint James once more. This came about in the following manner.

Spain honored by a second visit from the Mother of God
One day, Our Lord Jesus decided in heaven to visit His mother in her home in Jerusalem to speak with her about Saint James. While she prayed, He entered her room seated on a shining throne and surrounded by thousands of angels. He told her that He wanted her to visit Saint James in Saragossa and have him build a house of prayer in her honor so that through her He might be specially honored there.
Once again the angels built a shining throne of clouds and, placing their Queen on it, carried her over the land and sea to far away Spain. This time, however, Our Lord had commanded them to travel slowly so that along the way they might sing beautiful songs to her. Their repertoire included the “Ave Maria,” “Salve Sancta Parens,” “Salve Regina,” and “Regina coeli laetare,” chanted by various choruses of angels in the most pleasing harmony.
During this joyous celestial singing, the most humble Lady returned all this praise to God Most High: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, have pity on the poor children of Eve. Thine is the glory, Thine the power and majesty. Thou alone art holy, the most High and the Lord of all the heavenly armies and of all creation.”
Meanwhile, Saint James was camped outside the walls of Saragossa with his disciples. He was praying by himself some distance from them when he suddenly perceived the most beautiful music he had ever heard.
The disciples, some while praying and others awakening from sleep, likewise heard this heavenly chorus, and their hearts filled with an ineffable joy. Looking up, they saw a most brilliant light forming a luminous globe. Evidently something marvelous was happening.
To his immense joy, the holy Son of Thunder once again beheld, within this brilliance, his holy Mother coming across the sky to visit him. All resplendent with the very light of God as she sat on her throne of clouds, the great Lady far outshone her angel escort.
The angels placed the throne with their Queen within sight of the Apostle who, beside himself with joy, bowed low to the earth. The loving Queen greeted him sweetly and then gave him a blessing in the name of her Son Jesus.

Our Lady of the Pillar of Saragossa
Saint James noticed that some of the angels held a small marble column and a small statue of their Queen holding the Infant God. Our Lady relayed to him the desire of her Divine Son that he build a temple on that very spot to be dedicated to her name so that, through her, Her Son might be glorified.
In His name she promised great favors and blessings to those who sincerely requested her intercession in this church, as well as her protection and assistance, “for this is to be my house and temple, my inheritance and possession.” The column and the statue were presented as a pledge of this promise: “In the temple which thou shalt build for me, it shall remain and be preserved, together with the holy faith, until the end of the world.”
She told him that he should begin building this church immediately. When it was finished, he was to return to Jerusalem where he would be called to imitate his Lord Jesus, the first of the Apostles to surrender his life for Him. She assured him that she would be there to assist him.
As she finished speaking, she ordered the angels to place the column with her statue on the ground. As soon as this was done, both the angels and Saint James gave thanks to God and celebrated this spot as the first place on earth to be dedicated to the name of Mary Most Holy for the greater glory of Almighty God.
Such was the beginning of the famous shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar of Saragossa. The original chapel built by Saint James has grown into a great church that stands today on the very site of Our Lady’s visit nearly 2000 years ago.
Our Lady guaranteed this before leaving by appointing one of her angels to guard the statue and the place against every attack of devil or man. And attack it the devil has done, throughout all these years, but that mighty angel has foiled every attempt of the infernal fiend.
So, dear reader, if you wish to see this great marvel that is, still today, the great church of Our Lady of the Pillar, the very first place dedicated to Holy Mary even as she was still on this earth, you have only to go with a sincere heart and you will certainly receive her sweet favor.
 

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Adapted from The Mystical City of God, by Venerable Maria of Agreda, “The Coronation,” Chapters 16 and 17.
Footnote: One of the miraculous aspects of the statue of Our Lady of the Pillar, in Saragossa, Spain, is that dust never settles on it.

Ideas for when it is hard to pray

When you can do nothing at prayer,
make acts of humility, comparing
your nothingness with God’s greatness,
your ingratitude with His benefits,
your lack of virtue with the purity and perfection of the saints.

St. Claude de la Colombière

St. James the Greater

James the Greater was the son of Zebedee and Salome, one of the women at the tomb on Easter morning, (Matt.27:56, Mark 15:40, 16:1) and the brother of John – probably the elder of the two. He is called “the greater” to distinguish him from James the Lesser, who was probably shorter in stature.

There is evidence in Scriptures that these two brothers were cousins of the Lord, which may explain Our Lord entrusting His mother to John as He was dying. Both James and John were probably of a fiery temperament for which they were called “sons of thunder.”  They once wished to call fire upon a city, for which Our Lord rebuked them. (Luke 9:51-6)

James was one of the first apostles called by Jesus, and was one of the three selected to witness His transfiguration.

James was apostle in Iberia, in the region of present-day Spain. Ancient tradition ascertains that when praying one night in the year 40, the Virgin Mother, then still living, appeared to him on the banks of the River Ebro to encourage him in his difficult mission. She was accompanied by a multitude of angels who bore with them a marble pillar on top of which was a small statue of her holding the Child Jesus. She bid James build a shrine where the pillar was to be placed, which he did, the first shrine dedicated to the Mother of God on earth. Today, the sacred pillar, still in the same spot, is enshrined in the great Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza.

James returned to Judea after this apparition, and was the first apostle to suffer martyrdom. He died by the sword in Jerusalem at the command of Herod Agrippa in the year 44. His relics rest in the city of Compostela in northern Spain, the final destination of the famous pilgrims of the “Camino de Compostela.”

But the great matter...

It is easy to infuse
a most fervent devotion into others, even in a short time;
but the great matter is
– to persevere.

St. Philip Neri

St. Charbel Makhlouf

Youssef Antoun Makhlouf was born in the village of Bekka Kafra in Lebanon on May 8, 1828 and was one of five children born to Antoun Zarrour Makhlouf and Brigitta Chidiac. His father was a mule driver who died when Youssef was only three years old, leaving his widow to bring up their children alone.

Although Brigitta was left nearly destitute, she reserved a profoundly religious atmosphere in their home and instilled in her children a deep spirit of piety. Because of this fidelity, Youssef became unusually devoted and inclined to prayer and solitude at a very young age. He was greatly attracted to the life and spirituality of hermits; and as a young boy tending his family’s small flock, he would often go to a nearby grotto where he had erected a little shrine to the Holy Mother of God and would spend his whole day there in prayer.

When he was twenty-three years old, Youssef, feeling the call to the religious life, left his home and family to join the Lebanese Maronite Order at the Monastery of Our Lady in Marfouq. Here he began his formation as a monk before later being transferred to the Monastery of St. Maron near Beirut. There he received the religious habit of the Maronite monk and took the name Charbel. He made his final profession as a religious brother on November 1, 1853 – he was twenty-five years old.

Brother Charbel immediately began his studies for the priesthood under the instruction of Father Nimattullah Kassab, who was also later declared a saint by the Church. Charbel was ordained on July 23, 1859, following which he returned to the Monastery of St. Maron where he lived a life of great austerity. In 1875, he was granted permission by his superiors to live a solitary life in the Hermitage of Sts. Peter and Paul, which was under the jurisdiction of the monastery; and there he resided for the remaining twenty-three years of his life until his death on Christmas Eve, 1898.

St. Charbel is renowned for his many miracles both during his life and after his death. His most famous miracle – which was also his first – occurred when, multiple times, he successfully lit an oil lamp which was filled with water. He is also credited with many healing miracles.

After his death, he was interned at the Monastery of St. Maron, now a famous pilgrimage site. His tomb was often witnessed surrounded by a dazzling light, and to this day his remains are incorrupt and an unexplainable blood-like fluid flows from his body. He was canonized on December 9, 1977, by Pope Paul VI, who held him up as an example to help us understand “in a world, largely fascinated by wealth and comfort, the paramount value of poverty, penance and asceticism, to liberate the soul in its ascent to God.”

The Virgin Mary Rewards a Bandit

In the days of yore, when travel must be had on foot or by horse, many were the dangers to be found along the roadways. Bandits plagued travelers and made their living by depriving others of their goods and often their very lives.
A young woman in the Papal States, who was very devout towards Mary, met in a certain place a chief of the bandits. Fearing some outrage, she implored him, for love of the most holy Virgin, not to molest her.
"Do not fear," he answered, "for you have prayed me in the name of the mother of God; and I only ask you to recommend me to her." Moved by the woman’s mention of the Blessed Virgin, the bandit accompanied her himself along the road to a place of safety.
The following night, Mary appeared in a dream to the bandit. She thanked him for the act of kindness he had performed for love of her. Mary went on to say that she would remember it and would one day reward him.
The robber, at length, was arrested, and condemned to death. But behold, the night previous to his execution, the blessed Virgin visited him again in a dream, and first asked him: "Do you know who I am?"
He answered, "It seems to me I have seen you before."
"I am the Virgin Mary," she continued, "and I have come to reward you for what you have done for me. You will die tomorrow, but you will die with so much contrition that you will come at once to paradise."
The convict awoke, and felt such contrition for his sins that he began to weep bitterly, all the while giving thanks aloud to our Blessed Lady. He asked immediately for a priest, to whom he made his confession with many tears, relating the vision he had seen. Finally, he asked the priest to make public this grace that had been bestowed on him by Mary.
He went joyfully to his execution, after which, as it is related, his countenance was so peaceful and so happy that all who saw him believed that the promise of the heavenly mother had been fulfilled.
From the Glories of Mary, by St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori.

He never refuses pardon and grace

Behold Jesus Christ crucified, Who is the only foundation of our hope;
He is our Mediator and Advocate; the victim and sacrifice for our sins.
He is goodness and patience itself;His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and
He never refuses pardon and grace to those who ask it
with a truly contrite and humbled heart.

St. Charles Borromeo

St. Bridget of Sweden

Bridget was nobly born, her father was Birger, the governor of Upland in Sweden, and her mother, Ingeborg, was the daughter of the governor of East Gothland.

At fourteen she was married to young Ulf Gudmarsson, to whom she was happily married for twenty-eight years and had eight children, four boys and four girls, one of whom was St. Catherine of Sweden.

In 1335, she was appointed lady-in-waiting to King Magnus II’s bride, Blanche of Namur, and she spent years at court trying to reform Magnus’ weak, and at times, wicked ways, and the queen’s often well-meaning, but irresponsible, bend.

Though Bridget’s famous visions were already under way at this time, spanning subjects from personal hygiene to politics, she did not have great success with her royal “charges”, and was often seen as a “dreamer.”

After her husband’s death in 1344, she founded an order of women and another of men to support them spiritually. When her order was established, she traveled to Rome accompanied by her daughter Catherine and some disciples, to seek approval of her Rule. But she was never to return to her native Sweden.

In Rome, she worked to bring back the Papacy, then in the French city of Avignon, to the Eternal City. Her visions and prophecies, dealing with the burning political and religious issues of her time, continued and so increased that, alarmed, she submitted them to the direction of Canon Matthias of Linkoping who pronounced them to be of God. Peter, Prior of Alvastra, recorded these visions in Latin.

Her order was only approved by Pope Urban V in 1370.

In 1373 she made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, with Catherine and three of her sons. At Naples, Charles, her favorite son, became entangled with Queen Joanna I who wanted to marry him despite both being already married (Joana thrice). Anguished, Bridget stormed heaven, and Charles, struck by a fever, after two weeks died in his mother’s arms.

Returning from Jerusalem, Bridget, already ailing, received the last rites from her faithful friend, Peter of Alvastra, and died on July 23 at the age of seventy-one.

Bridget was canonized in 1391, and is the patron saint of the Kingdom of Sweden. She is also considered one of the patron saints of Europe.

The only way into some hearts is to break them

Mary Magdalene . . . did not do what you and I would do.
She did not pour out the precious perfume drop by drop
as if to indicate by the slowness of the giving
the generosity of the gift
She broke the vessel and gave everything, for love knows no limits.
Immediately the house was filled with perfume.
It was almost as if, after the death of that perfume and the breaking of the bottle,
there was a resurrection.
Broken things are precious. We eat broken bread because
we share in the death of our Lord and his broken life.
Broken flowers give perfume. Broken incense is used in adoration.
A broken ship saved Paul and many other passengers on the way to Rome.
Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

St. Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene, called “the penitent”, was a woman of great beauty who was known as a sinner, but was touched in her soul by the merciful power of Our Lord Jesus Christ and made a great conversion. Scriptures speak of the Lord driving out “seven demons” from her, symbolic of the seven capital sins (Mark 16:9).

Thinking to trick Our Lord, she had been presented to Him by the Scribes and Pharisees whilst He was teaching in the temple. Mary Magdalene had been caught in adultery and the Law of Moses was quite clear as to its punishment: death by stoning. In silence, Our Lord began to write with His finger on the ground. At their persistent questioning, He lifted Himself up and replied: “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone,” and stooping down, He returned to His writing in the dust. One by one they left until none remained but the Judge and the Accused. “Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee? Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more” (John 8:10-11). From that moment onwards, her heart was won over completely.

At the house of Simon the Pharisee, the repentant Magdalene poured costly ointments on Jesus’ feet and then dried them with her hair (John 7:38). On her action being censured by the host, Our Lord said in her defense: “Many sins are forgiven her because she has loved much” (John 7:47).

Mary Magdalene was the sister of Martha and Lazarus of Bethany whom the Lord raised from the dead after four days.

She along with the Lord’s mother and other holy women stood at the foot of the cross unafraid for herself. She it was also that, along with others first discovered the empty tomb after the Lord’s Resurrection. And it was to Mary Magdalene that the Lord first appeared after He was risen.

After the martyrdom of the Apostle James in Jerusalem, as persecution intensified, tradition says that Lazarus, Martha and Mary Magdalen, along with others, were placed in a boat and set out to sea. This boat landed on the southern shore of France. While Lazarus and Martha went on to evangelize Provence, a fact claimed in French history, Mary retired to a cave in a mountain, known as La Sainte-Baume, or The Holy Cave. In this cave she lived the life of a penitent for thirty years until her death. Today, at this site, there is a shrine where her relics are venerated.

Who loves to be bothered?

Our dear God loves
to be bothered.

St. John Vianney

St. Lawrence of Brindisi

Born in Brindisi in Italy and christened Julius Caesar, the future saint’s father was Guglielmo Rossi, and his mother Elisabetta Massella, both excellent Christians.

His parents entrusted the boy’s education to the Conventuals of Brindisi where he showed early signs of a shimmering intelligence and a gift for oratory.

When twelve, his father died, and he pursued his studies in Venice with the Clerics of St. Mark, under the supervision of an uncle. In 1575 he was received into the Capuchin Order and was given the name of Lorenzo. Once professed, Brother Lorenzo studied philosophy and theology at the University of Padua.

Lawrence had a prodigious memory, and mastered most of the European languages and Semitic tongues. It is also said that he knew the entire original text of the Bible, a feat deemed miraculous. He is also renowned for his complete refutation of the doctrines of Martin Luther, as well as his work in defense of the Immaculate Conception of Mary of whom he was an ardent devotee, and in whose name he worked all his miracles.

In his lifetime he filled all the posts of his order. As a great preacher, he was invited to preach all over Europe. Always seeking to move hearts, he adapted his preaching to his audience with enormous success. The sermons he left fill no less than eight volumes. Because of his knowledge of Hebrew, Pope Clement VIII assigned him to the instructions of the Jews, and due to his knowledge of the language, and powerful reasoning combined with his great kindliness, brought many into the Faith.

He founded houses in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, despite many obstacles placed by heretics. As the fame of his sanctity preceded him wherever he went, people flocked to hear his sermons.

In 1601 Lawrence served as chaplain for the army of Rudolph II, the Holy Roman Emperor. In this capacity he was present at the battle of Albe-Royal against the Ottoman Turk’s force of 80,000, while the Christian army had 18,000.  Prior to the battle, hesitating at these odds, the leaders sought the holy chaplain’s advice. The saint took full responsibility for the outcome, and in a glowing speech communicated to them his own confidence. Aged and enfeebled, he mounted a horse, and, crucifix in hand, led the charge. The Turks were defeated, but regrouping, attacked again a few days later. Again the chaplain led the attack to complete victory.

Lawrence died in a mission in Lisbon on July 22, 1619, as he had predicted.

How would He not pardon you as well?

Jesus purified Magdalen and pardoned the triple denial of Peter.
He opened heaven to the good thief.
In truth, I assure you,
if Judas had gone to Him after the crime, Our Lord would have received him with mercy.
How, then, would He not pardon you as well?

The Book of Confidence—Fr. Thomas de Saint-Laurent

St. Apollinaris of Ravenna

Apollinaris was possibly born in Antioch, in the Roman province of Syria.
Consecrated bishop of Ravenna by St. Peter himself, he won many converts by his preaching, and the numerous miracles he wrought attracted the attention of the officials.
Furious with his success, the idolaters beat him cruelly and drove him from the city. The Christians found him half-dead on the seashore, and cared for and concealed him for a time. However, recaptured by the authorities, he was forced to walk on burning coals and then exiled from the city again.
Remaining in the vicinity, Apollinaris continued his work, journeying to the Roman province of Emilia.
Returning a third time to Ravenna, he was captured yet again and hacked with knives. Scalding water was poured on his wounds. He was beaten on the mouth with stones because of his persistence in preaching, flung into a dismal dungeon and left to starve. There, he continued performing miracles, teaching and preaching, silencing the oracles that dared to debate with him.
Imprisoned for three years, he was finally returned to Ravenna for a fourth time, and was martyred under the persecution unleashed by Emperor Vespasian. He died prophesizing that the persecutions would increase but that the Church would ultimately triumph.

For the salvation of souls

I shall spare myself neither care nor labor nor vigils
for the salvation of souls.
My hope is in Christ, who strengthens the weakest by His divine help;
I can do all in Him who strengthened me!
His power is infinite, and if I lean on Him it will be mine;
His wisdom is infinite, and if I look to Him for counsel I shall not be deceived;
His goodness is infinite, and if my trust is stayed on Him I shall not be abandoned.
Hope unites me to my God and Him to me.
Although I know I am not sufficient for the burden, my strength is in Him.
For the salvation of others I must bear weariness, face dangers, suffer offenses,
confront storms, fight against evil.
He is my Hope.

Pope St. Pius X

St. Macrina the Younger

Macrina was born in Caesaerea, Capadoccia, her parents being Basil the Elder and Emmelia. Her grandmother was St. Macrina the Elder and her three brothers were eminent figures in the Church: Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa and Peter of Sebaste.

Macrina’s parents arranged a marriage for her but her fiancé having died before the wedding, the bride turned to religion.

Well known as a holy woman and instructor of young women, she is honored as one of the most prominent nuns in the Eastern Church. Her ascetic way of life had a profound influence on her brothers. She purposely gave up classical education in favor of the study of Scriptures and sacred writings.  Her brother, Gregory of Nyssa wrote a life entitled, Life of Macrina, in which he describes the holiness of her life.

With the help of her younger brother, Peter, she turned her family estate at Pontus into a convent, where she died in 379.

Prayers to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

 
Prayer:
O precious Blood of Jesus, infinite price paid for the redemption of sinful mankind. O Divine Blood, drink and laver of our souls, standing between us and the Father pleading mercy.
With all my heart I adore You, sweet Lord, and offer reparation for the insults, outrages and ingratitude, which You continuously receive from human beings, especially those who dare blaspheme the Divine Blood You shed for us.
Bless this Blood of Infinite value. Bless the fire of Jesus’ Love who shed it to the last drop for us. Where would I be if not for this Divine Blood that redeemed me? Indeed, Lord, I have drawn if from You to the last drop. What love! Thank You for this saving balm!
May every heart, every tongue, now and forever, praise and thank this priceless balm, this saving Blood, this fountain of crimson Mercy welling up from the fountain of infinite Love. Amen.

Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ:

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the eternal Father, save us.

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word or God, save us.

Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, save us.

Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in Agony, save us.

Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, save us.

Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, save us.

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, save us. 

Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, save us.

Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, save us.

Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, save us.

Blood of Christ, stream of mercy, save us.

Blood of Christ, victor over demons, save us.

Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs, save us.

Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors, save us.

Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins, save us.

Blood of Christ, help of those in peril, save us. 

Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened, save us.

Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow, save us.

Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent, save us.

Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, save us. 

Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts, save us.

Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life, save us.

Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory, save us.

Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, save us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord. 

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.

V. You have redeemed us, O Lord, in Your Blood.

R. And made us a kingdom for our God.

Let us Pray:

V. Almighty and eternal God, You have appointed Your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world and willed to be appeased by his blood. Grant, we beg, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

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Also Read:  July, Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

God always speaks to you when...

God always speaks to you
when you approach Him
plainly and simply.

St. Catherine Labouré

St. Camillus de Lellis

Camillus was born on May 25, 1550 in the region of Abruzzo in the Kingdom of Naples. His father was a mercenary soldier and seldom at home. His mother, Camilla, though good was also timid and had trouble controlling her morose, hot-tempered son.

At seventeen, being tall for his age, Camillus joined his father in soldiering. Leading the rambling, ambulant life of a mercenary, he acquired the wayward habits of the profession, especially the vice of gambling.

Still, Camillus’ mother had instilled in him a respect for religion. After his father died repentant, and his regiment disbanded in 1574, he found himself, at twenty-four, destitute because of his gambling. He was offered a shot at reform when a wealthy, pious man, noticing the tall, lanky young man in town, offered him employment at a monastery that he was building for the Capuchins of Manfredonia.

Despite his aggressive nature and gambling habits, the guardian of the monastery saw another side to Camillus, and continually tried to bring out in him his better nature. Finally moved by the good friar’s exhortations, Camillus underwent a deep spiritual conversion.

Refused admission by the Capuchins because of an unhealed leg wound, he traveled to Rome where he began to serve the sick at the Hospital of St. Giacomo while attempting to lead a penitential and ascetic life.

Hearing of St. Philip Neri and his great gift with souls in need, Camillus sought his spiritual direction and was taken in by the saint.

He soon discovered that helping the sick was the cure for his wayward habits, and the only thing that gave him true joy.  He began to gather a group of men around him who had a desire to help the sick for love alone and not for pay. Feeling the need to be ordained, he studied under the Jesuit Fathers and was ordained in 1584 at the age of thirty-four.

Thus Camillus de Lellis, former wandering soldier and professional gambler, established the Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Sick. His group was approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1586, and officially raised to the status of a mendicant order by Gregory XV in 1591. On their black habit they wore a large red cross which became the first inspiration for today’s Red Cross.

By the time of Camillus’ death in 1614, his order had spread throughout Italy and into Hungary. He was canonized in 1746.

The Rosary and the Possessed Girl

In his book, The Secret of the Rosary, St. Louis de Montfort relates that a Dominican, Father Jean Amat, was once giving a Lenten Mission in the Kingdom of Aragon, Spain, when a young girl, possessed by the devil was brought to him.
Father Amat began the exorcism. After several unsuccessful attempts, the priest had an idea; taking his Rosary, he looped it around the girl’s neck.

No sooner had he done this, the girl began to squirm and scream and the devil, shouting through her mouth shrieked, “Take if off, take off; these beads are tormenting me!”
At last, moved to pity for the girl, the priest lifted the Rosary beads off her neck.
The next night, while the good Dominican lay in bed, the same devils who possessed the young girl entered his room. Foaming with rage, they tried to seize him, but he had his Rosary clasped in his hand and no efforts from the infernal spirits could wrench the blessed beads from him.
Then, going on the offensive and using the Rosary as a physical weapon, Fr. Amat scourged the demons crying out, “Holy Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, help me, come to my aid!” at which the demons took flight.
The next day on his way to church, the priest met the poor girl, still possessed. One of the devils within her taunted him, “Well, brother, if you had been without your Rosary, we should have made short work of you…”
With renewed trust and vigor, the priest unlaced his Rosary from his belt, and flinging it around the girl’s neck commanded, “By the sacred names of Jesus and Mary His Holy Mother, and by the power of the holy Rosary, I command you, evil spirits, leave the body of this girl at once.”
The demons were immediately forced to obey him, and the young girl was freed.
“These stories,” concludes St. Louis de Montfort, “show the power of the holy Rosary in overcoming all sorts of temptations from the evil spirits and all sorts of sins because these blessed beads of the Rosary put devils to rout.”

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Tracing the Glorious Origins of Priestly Celibacy

 

Written by Luiz Sérgio Solimeo

Self-appointed reformers always arise in times of crises offering “brilliant” solutions that attempt to demolish the Church’s most venerable traditions.
Priestly celibacy, a glorious trait of the Latin Church, has been a constant target of these so-called reformers.
Curiously enough, abolishing priestly celibacy comes hand-in-hand with destroying the indissolubility of marriage. This is easy to understand since it is based on the idea that chastity is impossible to observe. Thus, not only celibate continence is cast aside but also conjugal chastity and fidelity in marriage. Historically this happened with Eastern Orthodox schismatics, Protestants, Anglicans and others. The total or partial abolition of priestly celibacy either came together with or was preceded by permission to divorce.

Pseudo Arguments Against Celibacy
The present sex scandals, so trumped up by the media, have served as a pretext to intensify the campaign against priestly celibacy. Sectors of the media, as well as organizations of married priests and liberal Catholics, are insisting on this matter.
In addition to pseudo-scientific arguments used to prove the impossibility of observing chastity, we often find the claim that celibacy is a purely disciplinary policy introduced only later in Church legislation. It can therefore be abolished. Others say that it should at least be made optional.
Actually there are many studies, some very recent, totally debunking this supposedly historic-canonical argument.
Let us cite three among the most important studies:

• Apostolic Origins of Priestly Celibacy, by Fr. Christian Cochini, S.J.(Ignatius, San Francisco, 1990);
• The Case for Clerical Celibacy, by Alfons Maria Cardinal Stickler (Ignatius, San Francisco, 1995);
• Celibacy in the Early Church,by Fr. Stefan Heid, (Ignatius, San Francisco, 2000).

Early Church Tradition
Based on solid documentation, these authors show that although one cannot speak of celibacy in the strict sense of the word (not being married), it is certain that since apostolic times the Church had as a norm that men elevated to the deaconate, priesthood and the episcopate should observe continence. If candidates happened to be married — a very common occurrence in the early Church — they were supposed to cease, with the consent of their spouses, not only marital life but even cohabitation under the same roof.
Let us limit ourselves to the short yet substantial book by the late Cardinal Stickler (1910-2007), a well-respected Canon Law historian, expert on Roman Congregations, and former head of the Vatican Library.
He explains that both the apostolic and early Church did not require that a man be single or widowed in order to be ordained priest or designated bishop.
Since a large number of Christians were adult converts, (a typical example is Saint Augustine, who converted at 30), it was common for a married man to be ordained priest and made bishop.
However, the Epistles of Saint Paul to Titus and Timothy clearly state a bishop had to be a “man of only one woman” (I Tim 3:2; 3:12; Titus 1:6).
According to the interpretation commonly adopted in the early Church (and attested to by the Fathers of the Church), a candidate could not be married more than once. Thus, a widower who remarried was ineligible.
Moreover, Church officials believed a person in those conditions would hardly have sufficient strength to halt marital relations and live under the same roof.
Cardinal Stickler emphasizes that because of the mutually self-giving nature of matrimony; a separation would always take place only with the full consent the wife, who, for her part, would make a commitment to live in chastity in a community of women religious.

The Apostolic Tradition
Among the Apostles, only Saint Peter is known to have been married due to the fact his mother-in-law is mentioned in the Gospels. Some of the others might have been married but there is a clear indication that they left everything, including their families, to follow Christ.

Thus, in the Gospels, one reads that Saint Peter asked Our Lord, “What about us? We left all we had to follow you.” The Divine Master answered: “I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life” (Lk 18:28-30, cf. Mt 19:27-30; Mk 10:20-21).

Early Church Councils Reaffirm Practice

This brief overview does not allow us to look at the whole history of celibacy amply documented by Cardinal Stickler. Let us present some of the most outstanding cases. The Council of Elvira in Spain (310) dealt with priestly chastity (canon 33), and presented perfect continence as a norm that must be maintained and observed and not as an innovation. The lack of any revolt or surprise attested to its widespread practice.

At the Council of the Church of Africa (390) and above all at the Council of Carthage, (419), which Saint Augustine attended, similar norms were adopted. These councils recalled the ecclesiastical praxis of the obligation of perfect chastity, affirming that such praxis is of apostolic tradition.

Pope Siricius answering a specific consultation about clerical celibacy in 385 affirmed that bishops and priests who continue marital relations after ordination violate an irrevocable law from the very inception of the Church that binds them to continence.

Several other popes and regional councils, particularly in Gaul, present day France, continued to recall the tradition of celibacy and punish abuse.

Saint Gregory VII (1073-85) when struggling against the intervention of the Holy Roman Emperor in church affairs, had to fight simony – the purchase of Church posts – and Nicolaitism – the heresy that preaches, among other things, priestly marriage.
Some mistakenly conclude that Saint Gregory VII introduced the law of celibacy into the Church. Quite the contrary. What Saint Gregory VII, and later the Second Lateran Council (1139) did was not to “introduce” the law of celibacy but simply confirm that it was in force and issue regulations for its observance. Since most recruiting for the priesthood was already among the unmarried, the Second Lateran Council forbade priestly marriage, declaring it null and void in the case of priests, deacons or anyone with a solemn vow of religion.

The Case of Paphnutius

The main argument of those who deny the apostolic tradition of priestly continence comes from an incident during the first Council of Nicea (325). Paphnutius, a bishop from Egypt, was reported to have protested in the name of tradition when the Conciliar Fathers tried to impose priestly continence. Because of his protest, the Council is said to have refused to impose such continence.

Cardinal Stickler adeptly deals with the case. He points out that Eusebius of Cesarea, the Council’s historian, was actually present during the whole event. He makes no reference to any such protest, which he certainly would have noted had it really happened.

The story of Paphnutius only appears almost a century after the Council of Nicea in the writings of two Byzantine authors, Socrates and Sozomen. The first cites as his source his conversation as a young man, with an elderly man who claimed he was at the Council. The veracity of this story is questionable since Socrates was born more than fifty years after the Council. His interlocutor had to be at least seventy years old when he was born and practically in his nineties at the time of the supposed conversation.

The story of Paphnutius’ protest was also always held in suspicion because his name was not on the roster of Fathers who came from Egypt to participate in the Council of Nicea. This was affirmed by Valesius, editor of the works of Socrates and Sozomen in the Greek Patrology of Migne.

However, Cardinal Stickler claims the decisive argument against the Paphnutius story comes from the second Council of Trullo (691). During this council of the Eastern Church, the Council Fathers, under pressure from the Emperor, allowed matrimony for priests (not for bishops) — going against the tradition both in the East and West. These same Fathers failed to present the testimony of Paphnutius to justify their break with the tradition of priestly continence even though they had everything to gain by doing so. Instead of citing Paphnutius, they sought to justify their position, never recognized by the Western Church, by invoking the Council of Carthage.

However, this Council clearly ruled in defense of the apostolic tradition of continence. Thus, they resorted to falsifying its decrees, a fact even schismatic historians now recognize.

Cardinal Stickler laments that historians of weight like Funk, at the end of the nineteenth century, accepted the story of Paphnutius as valid even as his contemporaries had already rejected it as false. One of the people responsible for spreading this error was the Frenchmen, E. Vacandard, through the prestigious Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique.

An Identity Crisis

Finally, Cardinal Stickler argues that the reason for priestly celibacy is not a functional one. Unlike the Old Testament, where the priesthood was merely a temporary function received by way of inheritance, the priesthood in the New Testament is a vocation, a calling that transforms the person and confiscates him entirely. He is a sanctifier, a mediator.

Above all, the priesthood in the New Testament is a participation in the Priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the High Priest. And, therefore, the priest has a mysterious and special bond with Christ, in whose name and by whose power he offers the bloodless sacrifice (in persona Christi). The most profound reason for priestly celibacy comes from this supernatural bond with the Savior.

The Cardinal points out that the main reason celibacy is in question today is because the clergy faces an identity crisis. Only by restoring the true identity of the priest, can the profound reasons for celibacy be understood and practiced.

This identity crisis cannot be resolved by returning to “the origins of the Church,” a solution proposed by proponents favoring married priests and their sympathizers. Those origins would simply not allow them to cohabit with their wives and continue to exert their priestly ministry.

Let us hope that, with the help of grace, the true identity of the Catholic priest will be restored soon so that all the present-day madness may come to an end.

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