Not only do they offend thee, O Lady, who outrage thee, but thou art also offended by those who neglect to ask thy favors . . . He who neglects the service of the Blessed Virgin will die in his sins . . . He who does not invoke thee, O Lady, will never get to Heaven . . . Not only will those from whom Mary turns her countenance not be saved, but there will be no hope of their salvation . . . No one can be saved without the protection of Mary.

-Saint Bonaventure, Cardinal-Bishop and Doctor of the Church, 1221-1274 AD

 


Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love?
 Great deeds are forbidden me.  The only way I can prove my
 love is by scattering flowers, and these flowers are every
 little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the 
least actions for love.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Wedding feast at Cana


What is the number of those who love Thee, O God? How few they are! The Elect are much fewer than the damned! Alas! The greater portion of mankind lives in sin unto the devil, and not unto Jesus Christ. O Saviour of the world, I thank Thee for having called and permitted us to live in the true faith, which the Holy Roman Catholic Church teaches. […] But alas, O my Jesus! How small is the number of those who live in this holy faith! Oh, God! The greater number of men lie buried in the darkness of infidelity and heresy. Thou hast humbled Thyself to death, to the death of the cross, for the salvation of men, and these ungrateful men are unwilling even to know Thee. Ah, I pray Thee, O omnipotent God, O sovereign and infinite Good, make all men know and love Thee! 

-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

 


The greater number of men still say to God: Lord we will not serve Thee; we would rather be slaves of the devil, and condemned to Hell, than be Thy servants. Alas! The greatest number, my Jesus – we may say nearly all – not only do not love Thee, but offend Thee and despise Thee. How many countries there are in which there are scarcely any Catholics, and all the rest either infidels or heretics! And all of them are certainly on the way to being lost.

 -Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

Communion cup encircled with a Garland of Fruit (1648), Jan Davidsz. de Heem

THE WORLD IN DANGER SAVED BY THE HOLY NAME

    In the year 1274 great evils threatened the world.  The Church was assailed by

fierce enemies from within and without.  So great was the danger that the Pope,

Gregory X, who then reigned, called a council of Bishops in Lyons to determine on the best means of saving society from the ruin that menaced it.  Among the many means proposed, the Pope and Bishops chose what they considered the easiest and most efficacious of all, viz., the frequent repetition of the Holy Name of Jesus.

    The Holy Father then begged the Bishops to call on the Name of Jesus and to urge

their peoples to place all their confidence in this all-powerful Name, repeating it

constantly with boundless trust.  The Pope entrusted the Dominicans especially with

the glorious task of preaching the wonders of the Holy Name in every country, a work

they accomplished with unbounded zeal.

    Their Franciscan brothers ably seconded them. St. Bernardine of Siena and St.

Leonard of Port-Maurice were ardent apostles of the Name of Jesus.

    Their efforts were crowned with success so that the enemies of the Church were

overthrown, the dangers that threatened society disappeared and peace once more

reigned supreme.

    This is a most important lesson for us because, in these our own days, dreadful

sufferings are crushing many countries, and still greater evils threaten all the

others.

    No government or governments seem strong and wise enough to stem this awful

torrent of evils.  There is but one remedy, and that is prayer.

    Every Christian must turn to God and ask Him to have mercy on us.  The easiest

of all prayers, as we have seen, is the Name of Jesus.

    Everyone without exception can invoke this holy name hundreds of times a day,

not only for his own intentions, but also to ask God to deliver the world from

impending ruin.

    It is amazing what one person who prays can do to save his country and save

society.  We read in Holy Scripture how Moses saved by his prayer the people of

Israel from destruction, and how one pious woman, Judith of Betulia, saved her city

and her people when the rulers were in despair and about to surrender themselves to

their enemies.

    Again, we know that the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, which God destroyed by fire for their sins and crimes, would have been pardoned had there been only ten good men to pray for them!

    Over and over again we read of kings, emperors, statesmen and famous military

commanders who placed all their trust in prayer, thus working wonders.  If the

prayers of one man can do much, what will not the prayers of many do?

    The Name of Jesus is the shortest, the easiest and the most powerful of prayers.

Everyone can say it, even in the midst of this daily work.  God cannot refuse to

hear it.

    Let us then invoke the Name of Jesus, asking Him to save us from the calamities

that threaten us.

Taken from the booklet

THE WONDERS OF THE HOLY NAME

by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan

Angels announcing the birth of Christ to the shepherds (1639), Govert Flinck