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Saturday, July 30, 2011

  This is the best chapter in the Imitation of Christ:

THE DIFFERENT MOTIONS OF NATURE AND GRACE

THE VOICE OF CHRIST

MY CHILD, pay careful attention to the movements of nature and of grace, for they move in very contrary and subtle ways, and can scarcely be distinguished by anyone except a man who is spiritual and inwardly enlightened. All men, indeed, desire what is good, and strive for what is good in their words and deeds. For this reason the appearance of good deceives many.

Nature is crafty and attracts many, ensnaring and deceiving them while ever seeking itself. But grace walks in simplicity, turns away from all appearance of evil, offers no deceits, and does all purely for God in whom she rests as her last end.

Nature is not willing to die, or to be kept down, or to be overcome. Nor will it subdue itself or be made subject. Grace, on the contrary, strives for mortification of self. She resists sensuality, seeks to be in subjection, longs to be conquered, has no wish to use her own liberty, loves to be held under discipline, and does not desire to rule over anyone, but wishes rather to live, to stand, and to be always under God for Whose sake she is willing to bow humbly to every human creature.

Nature works for its own interest and looks to the profit it can reap from another. Grace does not consider what is useful and advantageous to herself, but rather what is profitable to many.
Nature likes to receive honor and reverence, but grace faithfully attributes all honor and glory to God.
Nature fears shame and contempt, but grace is happy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.
Nature loves ease and physical rest. Grace, however, cannot bear to be idle and embraces labor willingly. 
Nature seeks to possess what is rare and beautiful, abhorring things that are cheap and coarse. Grace, on the contrary, delights in simple, humble things, not despising those that are rough, nor refusing to be clothed in old garments.

Nature has regard for temporal wealth and rejoices in earthly gains. It is sad over a loss and irritated by a slight, injurious word. But grace looks to eternal things and does not cling to those which are temporal, being neither disturbed at loss nor angered by hard words, because she has placed her treasure and joy in heaven where nothing is lost.

Nature is covetous, and receives more willingly than it gives. It loves to have its own private possessions. Grace, however, is kind and openhearted. Grace shuns private interest, is contented with little, and judges it more blessed to give than to receive.

Nature is inclined toward creatures, toward its own flesh, toward vanities, and toward running about. But grace draws near to God and to virtue, renounces creatures, hates the desires of the flesh, restrains her wanderings and blushes at being seen in public.

Nature likes to have some external comfort in which it can take sensual delight, but grace seeks consolation only in God, to find her delight in the highest Good, above all visible things.
Nature does everything for its own gain and interest. It can do nothing without pay and hopes for its good deeds to receive their equal or better, or else praise and favor. It is very desirous of having its deeds and gifts highly regarded. Grace, however, seeks nothing temporal, nor does she ask any recompense but God alone. Of temporal necessities she asks no more than will serve to obtain eternity.

Nature rejoices in many friends and kinsfolk, glories in noble position and birth, fawns on the powerful, flatters the rich, and applauds those who are like itself. But grace loves even her enemies and is not puffed up at having many friends. She does not think highly of either position or birth unless there is also virtue there. She favors the poor in preference to the rich. She sympathizes with the innocent rather than with the powerful. She rejoices with the true man rather than with the deceitful, and is always exhorting the good to strive for better gifts, to become like the Son of God by practicing the virtues.

Nature is quick to complain of need and trouble; grace is stanch in suffering want. 

Nature turns all things back to self. It fights and argues for self. Grace brings all things back to God in Whom they have their source. To herself she ascribes no good, nor is she arrogant or presumptuous. She is not contentious. She does not prefer her own opinion to the opinion of others, but in every matter of sense and thought submits herself to eternal wisdom and the divine judgment.

Nature has a relish for knowing secrets and hearing news. It wishes to appear abroad and to have many sense experiences. It wishes to be known and to do things for which it will be praised and admired. But grace does not care to hear news or curious matters, because all this arises from the old corruption of man, since there is nothing new, nothing lasting on earth. Grace teaches, therefore, restraint of the senses, avoidance of vain self-satisfaction and show, the humble hiding of deeds worthy of praise and admiration, and the seeking in every thing and in every knowledge the fruit of usefulness, the praise and honor of God. She will not have herself or hers exalted, but desires that God Who bestows all simply out of love should be blessed in His gifts.

This grace is a supernatural light, a certain special gift of God, the proper mark of the elect and the pledge of everlasting salvation. It raises man up from earthly things to love the things of heaven. It makes a spiritual man of a carnal one. The more, then, nature is held in check and conquered, the more grace is given. Every day the interior man is reformed by new visitations according to the image of God.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

31 July 2011

[Image]

The Sunday

Sermon




Dear Friends,
In today’s gospel, our Lord warns us against false prophets – “by their fruits you shall know them.” St. Paul tells us in the epistle for today to consider the fruits of our works. When we are in sin our works produce death, but when we are in the state of grace, our works produce life in the soul.
In a sense our works are prophets of what fruit we may expect to reap in the future. To most of those in the world they cannot distinguish works done in the state of grace as opposed to those done in the state of sin, but God sees the distinction very clearly. It is God who will reward these works with their appropriate fruit.
On the surface all the works look the same. Even the worldly fruits of the labor look very much the same. After all, the laborer is paid exactly the same regardless if he is in the state of grace or in the state of sin. The worldly employer does not care about his soul and therefore never looks into it.
The sinner is not immediately struck by lightning so he often assumes that he got away with something. Life continues on as if nothing were wrong. No one treats him any differently. These works done in an evil state have become false prophets. They are dressed in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Only God and the person’s conscience know of what is lurking underneath the appearance of good works.
Those in the state of sin can see but pretend not to see and carry on with a facade. They attempt to badger their conscience into silence and submission. Not only are they attempting to hide from themselves the inevitable true fruit of their labors (death), but they are making it ever more bitter and painful.
The most dangerous of all the false prophets therefore is our own selves. St. Augustine tells us that it would be nearly impossible for others to deceive us if we did not first deceive ourselves. We must pray that God will show us to ourselves as He sees us. In this light we will be able to make a correct judgment concerning the fruits of our labors. With this knowledge we can set about perfecting our labors and therefore the fruit that will come from them.
From this worldly perspective all our works look pretty much the same, but our state of soul and our intentions greatly change the reality of these works. St. Paul tells us that we should do all things for the love of God. It does not matter if we eat or fast, work or play, etc. as long as we do all things for God.
A good intention makes all the difference in the world. The same work, the same material effort is put in but the fruit is completely different depending on the intention with which it is done. God even goes so far as to tell us that the intention is greater than the deed itself. One who is angry with his brother is already guilty of murder; one who lusts after a woman is already guilty of adultery, etc. It is what is within the heart that God is interested in.
We must therefore learn to stop seeing with worldly eyes our own material works and the temporal material fruit that is produced as if that were all there is to it. There are eternal fruits to our labors and we can only judge of what they are by looking into our hearts and judging the motives, and dispositions of our hearts. These are the fruits that will allow us to distinguish the true prophets from the false ones.
Let us stop deceiving ourselves so that we can truly judge our own works and fruits. In turn, we will no longer be deceived by the world or by evil spirits that are always tempting us to judge from the physical or material appearance of things. A simple humility and acknowledgement of our own lack of good works will guard us readily against the deceits of those around us.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

9. What should we say if we saw the public executioner walking in the streets and claiming to be esteemed, respected and honored? We should consider his effrontery as insufferable as his calling is infamous. And thou, my soul, each time that thou hast sinned mortally thou hast indeed been as an executioner, nailing to the Cross the Son of God! Thus St. Paul describes sinners as "crucifying again to themselves the Son of God." [Heb. vi, 6]
And with this character of infamy which thou bearest within thee, dost thou still dare to demand honor and esteem? Wilt thou still have the courage to say: " I insist upon being honored and respected, I will not be slighted"? However much pride may tempt me to boast and seek esteem, I have ample cause to blush with shame when I hear the voice of conscience reproaching me for my ignominy and my sins, and not ceasing to reprove me for being a perfidious and ungrateful rebel against God, a traitor and an executioner who co-operated in the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. "All the day long my shame is before me, and the confusion of my face hath covered me at the voice of him that reproacheth me." [Ps. xliii, 16, 17]

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Babies Born Alive in Toilets at Abortion Center, Left to Die
On July 21, 2011, a jury of six found that the notorious late-term abortionist James Scott Pendergraft IV was liable for injuries sustained by a pre-born baby during a failed abortion ten years ago. The jury stunned eye-witnesses in the courtroom by ordering Pendergraft to pay $36,737,660.16 in compensatory and punitive damages.
The case is number 2004-CA-001202 captioned C. H. et al. v. James Scott Pendergraft IV, et al.
Yesterday, Operation Rescue obtained two amended complaints in the case that finally concluded last week. Court authorities told Operation Rescue that the case had generated 16 volumes of documents, which were all sealed by the court. However, at the direction of Operation Rescue, one pro-life activist was able to procure the rare documents through an open records request.
The documents reveal an almost typical abortion malpractice case of the kind that has occurred by the thousands over the years. What is extraordinary about this is that the aborted baby survived to sue her abortionist for a crippling monetary judgment. Most of these cases are settled out of court for undisclosed amounts of money, then sealed so the public never knows the truth about the dangers of abortion or the shoddy skills of abortion suppliers in America.
“In this case, Pendergraft’s pride may have been his downfall. If he’d settled this case, we would not have the documentation of the horrific details of his seedy abortion business,” said Newman. “There was an attempt to seal this case, but the documents got out anyway.” http://www.lifenews.com/2011/07/27/babies-born-alive-in-toilets-at-abortion-center-left-to-die/
“Even to your old age I am the same, and to your gray hairs I will carry you; I have made you and I will bear; I will carry and I will save.”   Isaiah 46:4
There is no sadder plight than that of a friendless man.  To be alone, not merely in body-that were hard enough – but alone in soul, to meet “face on face in the city, but never the face of a friend,” and to know we could roam the wide world over and never would anyone strike the sudden hand of comradeship in ours, that is bitter isolation indeed.  We need companionship.  God knew this, and God saw that our soul’s strong hunger for sympathy must be fed.  So He left us not alone; in the Garden of Eden He made a help for man like unto himself, and from that moment  man has always dwelt in fellowship with men and in his hours of need has sought their helping presence.
 
But again God looked.  He saw that we might make friends; yes, good and true and loyal friends, yet there would come times when our friends would feel the load of mortal cares themselves, and we would not dare to weight their shoulders more.  He knew that there would be hours, nay, maybe weeks and months and years, when we should sorely need our friends, and they would be far away under other skies or gathered to the world’s great sleeping army beneath the sod.  And the famished eyes met His and He realized that the gaunt soul must not be left to starve.  God saw the need, and as He has always done, God met it, met it and we start and we start at the thought of His love.
Out from the Bosom of the Eternal Father leapt the Eternal Word, and Mary’s Child lies on the straw before us, and Mary’s Boy graces the sordid streets of an Eastern village, and Mary’s Son beckons us on so appealingly as He bows His thorn-crowned Head on the hill of death.  Yes, but how compellingly, how irresistibly does the Prisoner of nineteen hundred years call to us from out the tabernacle of His imprisonment!  The Desired of the Nations has come, and our human hearts have found a human Friend in whom we can all confide.  We are all sick, all infirm, all weak and feeble, and the constant play of light and shadow in our lives wearies us.  We know too surely the end of all, as we daily struggle with death till one day victory be his.  But what of that!  Come clouds, come sunshine, my Friend is with me now.   Never a moment of solitude now;  never a place where there will not be the face of a Friend.  He, “the Keeper of little ones,” will deliver “my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from falling.”  He, the Friend of friends, whose moods I do not have to watch; for “even to your old age I am the same, and to your gray hairs I will carry you; I have made you, and I will bear;  I will carry and I will save.” 
Friend of my younger days, Friend of my maturing years, Friend, too, when life shall ebb into eternity, constant and unswerving in Your love for me, I kneel here to thank You for Your friendship.  You alone know what it means to me;  what it means to realize that there is no sorrow I need hold back from You, no meanness, no cowardice I need hide from You, lest Your shoulder bear not the burden and Your heart be not brave enough to love me still; what it means to know that my coming can never be ill-timed.  Lord Jesus, I am contented now and my weary heart has found its rest.  “Lover of souls, great God, I look to Thee.”
“I never crossed your threshold with a grief but that I went without it, never came Heart-hungry but You fed me, eased the blame, And gave the sorrow solace and relief”

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

St. Anne with the Young Mary
LUCA GIORDANO c. 1660
Here are the Fruits of Vatican II  and the Great Apostasy:
1.In 1965 there were 58,632 Priests
2.  In 1965 there were 48,992 Seminarians
3.  In 1965 there were 12,271 Religious Brothers
4.  In 1965 there were 179,954 Religious Sisters
5.  In 1965 there were 1,566 Diocesan High Schools
6.  In 1965 there were 10,503 Catholic Grade Schools
7.  In 1965 there were 104,314 Teaching Sisters
8.  In 1965 there were 12,346 Teaching Priests
9.  In 1965 there were 65% of Catholics Attending Weekly Mass
10.  Those that call themselves Catholic:
77% believe it is not necessary to attend Sunday Mass
65% believe Divorce and Remarriage is acceptable
53% believe abortion is acceptable
74% believe artificial birth control is acceptable
66% believe the Eucharist is only symbolic and not the Body and Blood of Christ.
These are all mortal sins that can lead to eternal suffering for those who practice 
these beliefs.
 
Leonardo da Vinci. Virgin and Child with St. Anne. c.1502-1516. 


















ST. Anne is my patron saint from birth but not until this year when I became a grandma did I realize what a role she played in the life of Our Lord.  Every time my grandson smiles, laughs, cries , does insanely funny things like scoot backward across the room and whine when he gets stuck on a chair did I think about how wonderful it must have been for her as a grandma!  So here is a little history of her life.  Evidently she is a wonder worker just like St. Jude and St. Anthony so I'm going to be invoking her daily especially for my children and grandchild(en). 
St. Anne
Mother of the Blessed Virgin


JULY 26

THE Hebrew word Anne signifies gracious. St. Joachim and St. Anne,
the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are justly honored in the
church, and their virtue is highly extolled by St. John Damascene.
The emperor Justinian I built a church at Constantinople in honor of
St. Anne, about the year 550. Codinus mentions another built by
Justinian II, in 705. Her body was brought from Palestine to
Constantinople in 710, whence some portions of her relics have been
dispersed in the West. F. Cuper the Bollandist has collected a great
number of miracles wrought through her intercession. God has been
pleased by sensible effects to testify how much he is honored by the
devotion of the faithful to this saint, who was the great model of
virtue to all engaged in the married state, and charged with the
education of children. It was a sublime dignity and a great honor for
this saint to give to a lost world the advocate of mercy and to be
parent of the Mother of God. But it was a far greater happiness to
be, under God, the greatest instrument of her virtue and to be
spiritually her mother by a holy education in perfect innocence and
sanctity St. Anne, being herself a vessel of grace--not by name only,
but by the possession of that rich treasure--was chosen by God to form
his most beloved spouse to perfect virtue; and her pious care of this
illustrious daughter was the greatest means of her own sanctification
and her glory in the church of God to the end of ages. It is a lesson
to all parents whose principal duty is the holy education of their
children. By this they glorify their Creator, perpetuate his honor on
earth to future ages, and sanctify their own souls. St. Paul says that
it is by the education of their children that parents are to be saved.
Nor will he allow any one who has had children, ever to be admitted to
serve the altar, whose sons do not, by their holy conduct, give proofs
of a virtuous education. Nevertheless, we see parents solicitous about
the corporal qualifications of their children, and earnest to procure
them an establishment in the world; yet supinely careless in
purchasing them virtue, in which alone their true happiness consists.
This reflection drew tears from Crates, a heathen philosopher who
desired to mount on the highest place in his city, and cry out, with
all his strength, "Citizens, what is it you think of? You employ all
your time in heaping up riches to leave to your children; yet take no
care to cultivate their souls with virtue, as if an estate were more
precious than themselves."

From "Butler's Lives of the Saints"

Monday, July 25, 2011

8. It is enough for a virgin to have fallen once for her to lose her virginity; and for a wife to have been but once unfaithful for her to be perpetually dishonored; even though she may afterwards perform many noble works, still her dishonor can never be effaced, and the sting and painful memory of her shame and guilt must remain for ever in her conscience.
And thus, even though in the whole course of my life I have only committed one sin, the fact will always remain that I have sinned and committed the worst and most ignominious action. And even if I should live a life of continual penance, and be certain of God's forgiveness, and though the sin exist no longer in my conscience, still I shall always have cause for shame and humiliation in the fact that I have sinned: " My sin is always before me; I have sinned and done evil in Thy sight." [Ps. l, 5, 6]
Let us, my dear reader, courageously and cheerfully do all, undertake all, sacrifice all that we may gain the ineffable happiness of heaven, for we never can purchase heaven at too dear a price. Let us not be disheartened at the difficulties on our road, for, after all, it is not so difficult to merit heaven.  Were we to do for heaven half as much as people do to earn a living, to acquire a little wealth, power or fame, or to enjoy life, we would be sure of securing a high place among the saints. All we have to do to gain heaven is to keep the commandments of God and of His Church, to bear our little crosses, to discharge the obligations of our state of life, to overcome temptation ; and although this is above our natural strength, we nevertheless can count on the grace of God, if we pray earnestly for it, and with God's help everything will become coniparatively easy, for, as St. Paul says: "I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth me " (Phil. iv. 13).

Earnest, persistent prayer will secure heaven to us. I now, dear reader, address to you the words the mother of the Maccabees addressed to her youngest son, a mere boy, when he was about to be tortured to death, as his six brothers had been before him: "My son, I beg thee to look up to heaven." Look up to heaven every day, especially in time of trial and temptation. Heaven is well worth every suffering and every sacrifice and every combat required of us, and even a thousand times more! Life is short; its trials, its sufferings, its labors, its combats, its crosses also are short and temporary; but heaven and its joys are inconceivable, satisfying every desire of the heart and never-ending! "Our present light affliction which is for the moment, prepares for us an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all measure" (2 Cor. iv. 17).
May God in His mercy grant this happy end to the writer of this work and on to all those whose eyes and heart it may resound.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

24 July 2011

[Image]

The Sunday

Sermon



  Dear Friends,
Our Lord multiplies His graces as He had multiplied the loaves of bread and fishes in today’s gospel.
Those who love God and feed daily upon His words follow Him every day just as the people in the gospel today. They followed Him physically and we must follow Him spiritually. His presence is just as real to the Catholic today as it was to the people that followed Him when He walked this earth.
God’s love for us is the same as the love He had for them. He fed them with His words and He fed them with bread, but He indicated that there is a greater bread than what they were eating. We have been given the opportunity to taste of this heavenly bread in the Holy Eucharist.
Jesus remains present in the consecrated hosts as long as the form (shape, color, taste, etc.) of the bread remains. He is truly present in both His Humanity and His Divinity. This is the bread that we are told will give us eternal life if we partake of it. He has told us that those who eat His Flesh and drink His Blood will have eternal life in them.
We first begin to receive His graces when we are baptized. From that moment we have become true children of God and He takes special care of us, especially for our souls. At every stage of our lives we are given sacraments to feed us and give us the grace and strength necessary for the vocation or stage of life we are entering. Above all of these sacraments is that most necessary one of the Holy Eucharist, where we feed and nourish ourselves with God Himself. We enter not only into a spiritual Communion with God but also into a profoundly physical Communion. We receive Him into our bodies so that we can be transformed into Him.
As often as we receive Jesus into our bodies in Holy Communion, His presence among us is increased, rather than decreased as with natural food. In Holy Communion we now have Christ living within us and in this way we are to bring Christ to the rest of the world.
There are some very serious dangers for us to be aware of as we prepare to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion. St. Paul warns not to receive Him unworthily because we will only be bringing upon ourselves our own destruction – damnation. God has provided a means for us to cleanse ourselves and thus be humbly prepared to receive Him without condemnation. That means is in the sacrament of Penance (Confession). A simple means where we humbly confess to God’s minister our sins and receive through the priest God’s pardon. In this state we are now ready to receive God in Holy Communion, still unworthy, but in a state now receptive to grace rather than in opposition to it. For those who truly love God they find that they can never receive Him often enough, and panting after Him they are always eager to receive not only His words but Jesus Himself in Holy Communion. God in His generosity has provided still another means to satisfy this love – Spiritual Communions. If we are unable to physically receive Him in the Holy Eucharist we can do so through love and desire. With a simple act of our wills we can make an act of Contrition, we can make acts of Faith, Hope, and Love and in these dispositions of our hearts we humbly make bold to beg the grace of God’s presence in the Holy Eucharist.
God who reads the hearts of men takes these holy desires for the deed. It is a frightful thought that the man who lusts in his heart is already guilty of adultery, but it is a consoling thought that the man who craves God’s graces and presence will be spiritually rewarded with that which he desires.
Let us each time we receive Our Lord pray for those who are unable to receive Him that they too may profit from a similar grace. There are many who because of the great apostasy and the scarcity of true priests do not have the opportunity to receive as we do. They are often reminded that they are never far from the Church or God because He is everywhere and His grace is not impeded by time or space. To make these Spiritual Communions requires a greater faith but it is likewise rewarded with great graces too. As we are more than just one family, but are actually one body in Christ, it is good for us to always pray for one another as we receive Our Lord -- either in the physical Holy Eucharist or in a Spiritual Communion.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Luke 8:2
And certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities; Mary who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth,

John 19:25
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.
For the consolation and encouragement of the Christian it must here be remarked that if the number of his enemies is so appallingly great, the number of his friends is still greater. 

"Fear not, for there are more with us than with them." So spoke the prophet Eliseus to his frightened servant. "And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw; and behold the mountain was full of horses and of chariots of fire"( 4 Kings vi. 16). We are not left to do battle alone; our holy guardian angel and all the blessed spirits are on our side; we may rely on the powerful protection of the Mother of God, on the virtue of the sacraments, the merits of Christ's Passion, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the help of almighty God. By means of these mighty aids we shall overcome, if we fight bravely and do not weakly yield ourselves into captivity, as unhappily too many do. For these timid, slothful, spiritless persons delude themselves with the false hope that, after all, heaven is not hard to win. They think and say to themselves. It is not so bad a case as some would make out; Christ did not suffer for us for naught; if it were not God's will that we should be saved, He would not have created us for the enjoyment of heaven. These and similar words we hear from the lips of the children of this world; they live according to these notions, and succeed in deceiving themselves and others. 

That such persons are in error, and that they are walking on the broad road that leads to destruction, Holy Scripture leaves us no doubt. The whole teaching of the Gospel is wholly at variance with the principles they follow; and those who live a careless life and indulge their senses are repeatedly warned that eternal death will be their portion. Listen to the admonition Christ addresses to the follower of this world and the lovers of its luxuries: "Woe to you that are rich, for you have your consolation. Woe to you that are filled, for you shall hunger; woe to you that now laugh, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when men shall bless you," that is, when men of bad principles, opposed to the maxims of religion, applaud your words, your actions, your opinions. This denunciation from Our Lord's lips may well fill us with dismay. 

What object in life have the great majority of mankind? What is it that they strive after and crave for? 

They desire to be rich, to be prosperous, to live in luxury, and to be praised by their fellowmen. Nobody considers this to be a sin. And yet Our Lord declares that everlasting death will be the doom of such persons, and He denounces them in forcible language. 

From these and similar passages, which abound in Holy Scripture, thou seest that God is more strict than thou dost imagine, and it is a more easy matter to lose thy soul than thou perhaps thinkest. Wherefore do not any longer live so heedlessly, but work out thy salvation with fear and trembling, as the Apostle exhorts thee. The saints did so at all times, having the fear of God's judgments ever before their eyes. The ungodly, on the contrary, where ever wont to say, as many do at the present day: God is merciful, He will not condemn us so lightly to eternal damnation. But remember what is said in Holy Scripture: "Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin to sin. And say not, The mercy of the Lord is great, He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins. For mercy and wrath come quickly from Him, and His wrath looketh upon sinners" (Ecclus. v- 5-7) 

We also find St. Catharine of Sienna saying: "O unhappy sinners, do not rely upon the greatness of God's mercy; believe me, the more you provoke the anger of this merciful God by wilful sin, the deeper you will be cast into the abyss of perdition." 

It is undoubtedly true that we ought to place our trust in God's mercy; but what the nature of our confidence should be, we are taught by St. Gregory. He says: "Let him who does all that he can, rely firmly upon the mercy of God. But for him who does not do all that lies within his power to rely upon the mercy of God would be simple presumption." To each and all of us the Apostle Peter says: "Labor the more, that by good works you may make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. i. 10).
Several of the Fathers of the Church consider that from the fact that at the time of the deluge only eight persons were saved, at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha only four---namely, Lot, his wife and his two daughters---escaped with their lives, and of the six hundred thousand able men who departed out of Egypt not more than two reached the Promised Land, the others all dying in the desert, it may be concluded that the number of the elect amongst Christians will be proportionately small. This agrees with what St. John Chrysostom said on one occasion when he was preaching in the city of Antioch: "What think you, my hearers, how many of the inhabitants of this city may perhaps be saved? What I am about to say is very terrible, yet I will not conceal it from you. Out of this thickly populated city with its thousands of inhabitants not a hundred will be saved; I even doubt whether there will be as many as that. For what indifference we see amongst the aged, what wickedness amongst the young, what impiety amongst all classes of people." 

Such words as these may well make us tremble. We should hesitate to believe them, did they not come from the lips of so great a saint and Father of the Church. And if it is true that in the first five centuries, when the zeal and devotion of Christians was much more fervent than it is now, so small a number attained everlasting salvation, what will it be in our own day, when crime and vice prevail to so fearful an extent ? 

Since it is impossible for any one to deny, or even to doubt, that the number of the elect is small in proportion to that of the lost, I beseech thee, O Christian reader, exert thyself to the utmost to accomplish the work of thy salvation. Thou knowest what an awful thing it is to be damned eternally. The plagues and torments of hell are so terrible that words cannot be found to describe them. Consider in time the eternity of those unspeakable tortures, and take heed, lest thou too be cast into the abyss of never-ending anguish. 

How wouldst thou be able to endure torments so immeasurable, so endless? Wouldst thou not despond and despair, wouldst thou not storm and rage? Yet that would avail thee nothing; it would only add to thy sufferings and increase thy misery. 

All this is most terrible, most awful, most appalling. Now is it that thou dost not think about it more often? How is it possible that thou canst live on so heedlessly? How is it possible that thou hast not more fear of hell? Dost thou perhaps think thyself secure of heaven? How is it that thou dost go with the multitude, as if thou didst not know that thou art in great danger of perishing with the multitude? 

If thou wouldst be saved, follow the counsel of St. Anselm, when he says. "If thou wouldst be certain of being in the number of the elect, strive to be one of the few, not of the many. And if thou wouldst be quite sure of thy salvation, strive to be among the fewest of the few; that is to say: Do not follow the great majority of mankind, but follow those who enter upon the narrow way, who renounce the world, who give themselves to prayer, and who never relax their efforts by day or by night, that they may attain everlasting happiness."

Thursday, July 21, 2011

From Michael Muller, The Blessed Eucharist, Our Greatest Treasure
Published in 1868, republished by TAN 1994, pp. 201-203



"Towards the close of the last century, there lived a very impious man in Rottweil, a little town of Swabia, Germany. One day, when in the most solemn procession of Corpus Christi, the Blessed Sacrament passed by the house of this impious wretch, he had the diabolical audacity to scoff at the Blessed Sacrament in a most horrid manner. He placed himself before the window in his shirt sleeves, with his butcher's apron on and a white nightcap on his head. By appearing in this unbecoming dress, he wished to show his contempt and disrespect to the Holy Eucharist...

"This blasphemer soon after died the death of a reprobate...

"Immediately after the death of this impious man, such horrible noises, such frightful groanings, lamentations and howlings were heard in his house that no one could stand it any longer. Every person easily guessed the cause of it; the difficulty was, how to remove it.

"At last, as if inspired by God, they had recourse to the following expedient: It was resolved that this man's portrait should be painted in the same dress and posture in which he had appeared, to scoff at the Blessed Sacrament, and that the painting should be placed in the opening of the wall, instead of the window, in order to show to all who should pass by how God punishes the scoffers of the Blessed Sacrament. Strange to say, no sooner was this painting placed in the wall, than the house became quiet.

"Some years afterwards, the wife of a Protestant preacher who lived opposite could no longer bear the sight of this horrid portrait. Accordingly, her husband went to the Civil Magistrate to obtain an ordinance for the removal of the picture. His petition was granted, but no sooner was the painting removed than the former frightful scenes returned and continued until the alarmed people of the house obtained permission to restore the painting to its place. One of our Fathers related this event to me, as an eye-witness of the fact."
 
This morning I read the following which is the last chapter of our series on Death, Judgment, Hell, Heaven.  This chapter is most sobering because it reiterates what St. Leonard of Port Maurice said about the number of people that will be saved.  Its hard to fathom that most people do not give eternity a second thought in this world today and so with that in mind, here is the first half of this chapter.  I will be posting the end of it tomorrow.  With temperatures in the high 90's, humidity in the 70's and the heat index in the 100's, it is a good time to think about hell and all of its sufferings and to pray for our indifferent families and friends who don't ever consider this reality:

Chapter 4. On the Number of Saved

IN the three previous chapters it has been our pleasurable task to point out how beauteous is the celestial paradise, how great is the happiness enjoyed by the redeemed. And doubtless in the heart of each one of our readers a fervent desire has arisen to gain admission to the realms of eternal light, and become a partaker of its joys. Perhaps each one will feel sure that his hopes in this respect will be fulfilled. It is, however, greatly to be feared that many a one will come short of the goal, and will be forever excluded from the kingdom of heaven, as this chapter is intended to demonstrate. Let me, however, beg all who peruse it, not to allow what is said to discourage them, and render them fainthearted, but rather to let it increase in them the spirit of humility and statuary fear, and stimulate them to greater energy and diligence in working out their salvation, if this appear to them less easy than they were inclined to imagine. My only motive in writing this chapter is to open the eyes of the reader, and show him his danger. For were I not to do this he might go on blindly on the wrong road, and only become aware that it is the road to damnation when it is too late to retrace his steps, when the hand of death draws the veil from his eyes. Thereupon I consider that I shall do the wanderer a service if I enlighten him as to the risk he is incurring, and endeavor to direct his steps into the path to heaven.
Let me ask thee, O reader, what proportion thinkest thou of all who live upon this earth will be saved? Half? or a third part? or perhaps a quarter? Alas, I fear, and not without good reason. that the number will not be nearly so large. Jesus Christ, who is eternal Truth, His holy apostles, and the Fathers of the Church, all tell us that so it will be. 

What does Christ say about the number of the elect? His words are these "Many are called, but few are chosen." He repeats these words when He speaks of the guest who had not on a wedding garment: "Bind his hands and his feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness. For many are called, but few chosen." Were nothing more to be found to this intent in the whole of the Scriptures, this passage could not fail to alarm us. But there are many other similar ones, of which I will quote one or two.
In the Gospel of St. Matthew we read that Our Lord said: "Enter ye in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth unto destruction, and many there are that go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there are that find it" (Matt. vii. 13) Are not these words calculated to inspire us with anxiety and apprehension? May not we be amongst those who go in at the wide gate, who walk on the broad road that ends in everlasting damnation? 

In order that thou mayst better appreciate the meaning of Our Lord's words, and perceive more clearly how few are the elect, observe that Christ did not say that those were few in number who walked in the path to heaven, but that there were but few who found that narrow way. "How strait is the gate that leadeth unto life, and few there are that find it." It is as if the Saviour intended to say: The path leading to heaven is so narrow and so rough, it is so overgrown, so dark and difficult to discern, that there are many who, their whole life long, never find it. And those who do find it are exposed constantly to the danger of deviating from it, of mistaking their way and unwittingly wandering away from it, because it is so irregular and over-grown. This St. Jerome says, in his commentary on the passage in question. Again, there are some who when they are on the right road, hasten to leave it, because it is so steep and toilsome. There are also many who are enticed to leave the narrow way by the trickery and deceits of the devil, and thus, almost invisibly to themselves, are led down-wards to hell. From all that has been said we may gather that those are but few in number who find the way to heaven, and yet fewer are those who persevere in following it unto the end.
He bids us strive, take trouble, make use of all our powers in order to enter unto the narrow gate. And what is still more calculated to appall, He adds that many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able.
If those who desire and endeavor to enter into the kingdom of heaven fail to do so, what will become of those who lead a careless, perhaps an ungodly life, and manifest no zeal, no interest in what concerns their eternal salvation?
We have already heard Christ three times declare to us that the number of the elect is small; that in proportion to the great mass of mankind only a few will be saved. And because He was aware that we should not lay this weighty truth to heart as we ought, He reiterates it in yet more explicit language.
After He had told a rich man who came to Him to leave all his possessions and follow Him, and the man had gone away sorrowful, He said, addressing His disciples: "What difficulty shall they who have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus again answering saith: Children, how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Then the disciples wondered the more, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking on them saith: With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible unto God" (Mark x. 23-27) 

Truly these words, coming from the lips of our divine Master, are enough to inspire us with profound alarm; they are almost enough to cause us to despond. For they expressly tell us that the work of our salvation is a work of immense difficulty, an almost miraculous achievement, and that it is well-nigh impossible for poor humanity to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is in reality as much of a miracle for a man to escape everlasting damnation and to attain eternal happiness, as it would be for one to fight a whole army. For all the powers of hell are leagued together with the wicked world against us; all the powers of hell put their forces in array in order to conquer and enslave every one of us mortals. And with the awful powers of darkness the evil, a crafty world makes common cause, and the evil desires of the flesh do the same, for the purpose of enclosing our ruin. 

Now, since there are so many adversaries who assail us, adversaries so crafty, so strong, so fierce, who can deem himself sure of victory? It is little short of a miracle if one escapes the clutches of foes so numerous and so formidable. Who can hope in his own strength to triumph over them? We must acknowledge that all who have overcome the evil enemy, the evil world, and their own evil all the desire, have been strengthened by God with His special assistance. Hence we see how toilsome and laborious a work it is to win heaven; and we learn the truth of Our Lord's words, when He said: "The kingdom of heaven has been enduring violent assault, and the violent have been seizing it by force" (Matt. xi. 12).

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Dear Friends,
The topic for this week's program will be vocations with Most Rev. Giles Butler, OFM on the phone from Rochester, NY. It's sure to be an informative program. I hope many of you will be able to listen live.
 
The program is broadcast live from the studios of KRFE AM580 in Lubbock, TXwww.ustream.com . It has been brought to my attention that ustream is interrupting the program with commercials. We are going to see if we are able to eliminate these interruptions, or at least minimize them. 
Please be aware that in the month of August we will begin streaming the program directly through our website, www.catholichour.org  . I'll let you know when this will begin. I would like to encourage all of you to go to our website now to see the programs and other info which are now available. We'll be adding many things in he coming weeks and months, including streaming Sunday Mass live (hopefully in August), audio and video sermons, numerous articles and Church documents.
 
I continue to be encouraged by the support, as we have learned in recent weeks we now have people listening abroad in different countries. Many others are learning about the website, which evidenced by the comments in the website's blogs. Feel free to leave a comment.
 
Your prayers and financial support are gratefully appreciated.
 
May God bless you,
Fr. Joseph, OFM
7. In order to learn what we really are, let us examine our own conscience. And finding therein only our own malice and a capacity to commit every kind of iniquity, shall we not all say to ourselves: "Why dost thou glory in malice, thou that art mighty in iniquity?" [ Ps. li, 1] What hast thou of thine own, my soul, wherewith to glorify thyself-----thou who art a vessel of iniquity, and a sink of sin and vice? Is not all this self-glorification-----whether it be for thy bodily or spiritual gifts that thou buildest a reputation for thyself-----but vanity and deceit?
Oh, how true it is that every man is a liar, for one need have but little pride in order to be a liar, and. there is no one who has not inherited through our first parents something of that pride which they learned in listening to the deceitful promise of the serpent: "And you shall be all Gods." [Gen. iii, 5]
Again it may be said that every man is a liar in this sense-----that he not infrequently prizes earth more than Heaven, the body more than the soul, things temporal more than things eternal, the creature more than the Creator-----and it is for this reason that David exclaims: "O ye sons of men, why do ye love vanity and seek after lying?" [Ps. iv, 3] "The sons of men are liars in the balances." [Ps. lxi, 10]
But in reality a lie dwells essentially in that pride which makes us esteem ourselves above what we are. Whoever regards himself as more than mere nothingness is filled with pride, and is a liar. It is St. Paul's statement: "If any man think himself to be something whereas he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." [Gal. vi, 3]
Every time I esteem myself, preferring myself to others, I deceive myself with this self-adulation, and commit an error against truth.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011


The next day again John stood, and two of his disciples.  And beholding Jesus walking, he saith:  "Behold the Lamb of God." And the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus.      John 1:  35-37
To make a friend better known is a distinct joy to us all.  To have others realize how one stood by us when the shadows fell, how he nerved our hearts, when life's strain was hard, brings a ray of sunshine into our dullest day.  Others must know my friend as I know him, and then they too will add their love to mine.  This was the joy of John the Baptist that day when he stood by the Jordan's bank and pointed out his Friend.
So, too, it ought to be and must be with us and that same Friend, Christ Jesus.  When our lives were robbed of sunshine, no friend was ever so near as He.  When sorrow gripped our soul and the darkness of lowering storms came swift upon us. there never was a time when we stretched forth our hands in the dark and found Him not at our side, nor listened for His voice and heard it not in its answering.  Then when the day dawned bright again and the clouds were hurried away, who sweetened our joys as He, who hallowed our pleasures as He?
Sweet then it ought to be to tell of all His love in the days gone by, sweet to tell of His kindly help and of His cheering voice.  Others may not know Him as He has deigned to let us know Him, others may not have enjoyed the closeness of intimacy that has been ours - and shall we let our best of Friends remain unknown?  It may be in His hidden Providence He is waiting for me to introduce Him to other souls.  Shall I keep the Lord of all waiting for the introduction?  Oh no!  But rather I shall call the little ones around me and tell of the Friend that knows their little hearts and loves their tiny lives.  I shall speak to older folk of the love that made a Bethlehem and then a Calvary, and made and still makes the God-Man find His home within the tabernacle.  I shall tell of the burning flax He will not quench and the bruised reed He will not break, tell them one and all how weary hearts can gain their rest, where sun-lit lives may find new joy.  Even when my lips are still, even when my voice is hushed, shall I yet speak of Him by my self-restraint and by my thoughtfulness for others, which I have learned by keeping company with Him.  But loudest shall this voiceless story be as I kneel in lowly adoration before Him and never once do aught that would be rude while visiting such a Friend.
Jesus, Friend where others fail, Friend where others cannot help, would I could tell all men the story of Your gentle ways, and bring them, one and all, to love You in return.  But that alas, were an idle wish. Yet some there are with whom I live my shortening days, some whom I have with me at home and some whom I shall meet in the busy ways of life.  These at least will I teach the gladness of Your friendship, these few at least will I bring to know Your priceless love and all Your blessed gifts.  Oh Jesus, help me to make You friend to all my friends.
"I could not do without Him!
Jesus is more to me
Than all the richest, fairest gift
Of earth could ever be.
But the more I find Him precious,
And the more I find Him true,
The more I long for you to find
What He can be to you."

Monday, July 18, 2011



The Audio Sermon Link For the Fifth Sunday After Pentecost is now online.

5th Sunday After Pentecost Fr. Bonaventure Strandt, OFM 

Audio Sermon for 5th Sunday after Pentecost given by Bishop Giles, OFM

Video Sermons of the above can be seen at Bishop Giles website and at youtube.com (gladiumchristi).

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The beatific vision of the divine countenance is a joy above all joys, a delight far surpassing all the celestial pleasures of which we have spoken. Without this all other joys would lose their savor, they would be changed to bitterness. On one occasion, when the devil was speaking by the mouth of a person who was possessed, he said: "If the whole heaven were a sheet of parchment, if the whole ocean were ink, if every blade of grass were pen, and every man on earth a scribe, it would not suffice to describe the intense, immeasurable delight which the vision of God affords to the blessed." And at another time he said that if God would but vouchsafe to grant him the privilege of beholding His divine countenance for a few moments, he would, if it were possible, gladly bear in his own person all the torments of hell until the Day of judgment. This teaches us that if a man spent his whole life in works of most severe penance, and after his death were permitted only for one instant to gaze on the face of God, be would have received an ample recompense for all his mortification’s. 

Now consider how transcendent must be the bliss which the saints derive from the contemplation, the enjoyment, the possession of the supreme God! If to gaze on the divine countenance for one passing moment is a joy beyond all that a life of pleasure offers to the worldling, what rapture will it be to gaze for evermore, with undimmed eyes, on His infinite beauty, what rapture to call this supreme Good ones own for all eternity!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

MIRACLE OF GRACE
A priest relates how one day in a town near Chicago he was called to the bedside of a man who had been away form the Sacrament for many years. "The man did not want to see me: he would not talk. Then I asked him to look at the little Scapular I was holding. 'Will you
wear this if I put this on you?' I ask nothing more. He agreed to wear it and within the hour he wanted to go to confession and make
his peace with God. This did not surprise me, because for 700 years Our Lady has been working in this way through Her Scapular."

On the very day Our Lady gave the Scapular to St. Simon, he was hurriedly called by Lord Peter of Linton: "Come quickly, Father, my brother is dying in despair!" St. Simon left at once for the bedside of the dying man. Upon arrival he placed his large Scapular over the
dying man, asking Our Blessed Mother to keep Her promise. Immediately
the man repented, and died in the grace and friendship of God. That
night the dead man appeared to his brother and said, "I have been
saved through the most powerful Queen and the Habit of that man as a
shield."

St. Alphonsus tell us: "Modern heretics make a mockery of wearing the
Scapular, they decry it as so much trifling nonsense." Yet many of the
popes have approved and recommended it.

It is remarkable that only 25 years after the Scapular vision,
Blessed Pope Gregory X was buried wearing the Scapular, when his tomb
was opened 600 years after his death, his Scapular was found intact.

PROTECTION AGAINST THE DEVIL

You will understand why the Devil works against those who promote the
Scapular when you hear the story of Ven. Francis Ypes. One day his
Scapular fell off. As he replaced it, the devil howled, "Take off the
habit which snatches so many souls from us!"
Then and there Francis made the devil admit that there are three
things which the demons are most afraid of: the Holy Name of Jesus,
the Holy Name of Mary, and the Holy Scapular of Carmel. To that list
we could add the Holy Rosary.



A TRAIN ACCIDENT

One of the most extraordinary of all Scapular incidents took place
right here in the United States. It happened around the turn of the
century in the town of Ashtabula, Ohio, that a man was cut in two but
a train; he was wearing the Scapular. Instead of dying instantly, as
would be expected he remained alive and conscious for 45 minutes --
just enough time until a priest could arrive to administer the Last
Sacraments. These, and other such incidents, tell us that Our Blessed
Mother will take personal care of us in the hour of our death. So
great and powerful a Mother is Mary that She will never fail to keep
the Scapular contract, i.e. to see that we die in God's grace.

NECESSITY OF WEARING THE SCAPULAR

During the Spanish civil war in the 1930s, seven Communists were
sentenced to death because of their crimes. A Carmelite priest tries
to prepare the men for death; they refused. As a last resort, he
brought the men cigarettes food and wine, assuring them that he would
not talk religion, in a short while they were all friendly, so he
asked them for one small favor: "Will you permit me to place a
Scapular on each of you?" six agreed, one refused. Soon all Scapular
wearers went to confession. The seventh continues to refuse. Only to
please them he put on the Scapular, he would do nothing more. Morning
came, and as the time of the execution came near, the seventh man made
it clear that he was not going to ask for a priest. Although wearing
the Scapular he was determined to go to his death an enemy of God.
Finally, the command was given, the firing squad did its deadly work,
and seven lifeless bodies lay sprawled in the dust. Mysteriously a
Scapular was found approximately 50 paces from the bodies. Six men
died WITH Mary's Scapular; the seventh died Without the Scapular. St.
Claude gives us the solution to the mystery of the missing Scapular:
"You ask; what if I desire to die in my sins?" I answer, "Then you
will die in your sins but YOU WILL NOT DIE IN YOUR SCAPULAR." St.
Claude tells the story of a man who tried to drown himself three
times. He was rescued against his will. At last he realized that he
was wearing his Scapular. Determined to take his life, he tore the
Scapular from his neck and leaped into the water. Without Mary's
protective garment he accomplished his wish and died in his sins.

VATICAN APPROVAL

In wearing the Scapular at all times we make silent petition for the
Blessed Mother's continual assistance. We share in all the prayers
and good works of the Carmelite Scapular Confraternity throughout the
world. Pope Pius XII often spoke of the Scapular. On the 700th
anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady to St. Simon Stock, Pope
Pius XII referred to the Scapular as "the sign of Consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary". The Scapular also represents the sweet yoke
of Jesus Christ, which Mary helps us to bear. And finally, the pope
continued, the Scapular marks us as one of Mary's chosen children,
and becomes for us (as the Germans call it) a "Garment of Grace". St.
Claude tells us, "Of all the pious practices which have inspired the
faithful to honor the Mother of God, there is none so sure as that of
the Scapular. No other devotion has been confirmed by so many and such
extraordinary miracles."

As we mentioned above, during the Scapular Anniversary celebration in
Rome in 1951, Pope Pius XII told a very large audience to wear the
Brown Scapular as a sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary. Our Lady asked for this consecration in the last apparition at
Fatima, when She appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, holding the
Brown Scapular out to the whole world. It was Her last moving appeal
to souls to wear Her Scapular as a sign of consecration to Her
Immaculate Heart.