Benedict XVI’s May 22, 2011 Reflection to pilgrims from the pro-life movement: “Dear friends, I congratulate you in particular for the commitment with which you help women who face difficult pregnancies, engaged couples and married people who desire responsible procreation…”

L’ Osservatore Romano, May 25, 2011, p. 2.

Benedict XVI doesn’t say married couples should procreate.  He says that they should engage in “responsible procreation.” No wonder you see bogus ordo families with 1, 2 or possibly 3 children-no more!!! God forbid that  we don't practice "responsible procreation"!!!!! 

"O how did heaven receive her who is greater than heaven? How did she, who had received God, descend into the grave? This truly happened, and she was held by the tomb. It was not after bodily wise that she surpassed heaven. For how can a body measuring three cubits, and continually losing flesh, be compared with the dimensions of heaven ? It was rather by grace that she surpassed all height and depth, for that which is divine is incomparable. O sacred and wonderful, holy and worshipful body, ministered to now by angels, standing by in lowly reverence. Demons tremble: men approach with faith, honouring and worshipping her, greeting her with eyes and lips, and drawing down upon themselves abundant blessings. Just as a rich scent sprinkled upon clothes or places, leaves its fragrance even after it has been withdrawn, so now that holy, undefiled, and divine body, filled with heavenly fragrance, the rich source of grace, is laid in the tomb that it may be translated to a higher and better place. Nor did she leave the grave empty; her body imparted to it a divine fragrance, a source of healing, and of all good for those who approach it with faith.

We, too, approach thee to-day, O Queen; and again, I say, O Queen, O Virgin Mother of God, staying our souls with our trust in thee, as with a strong anchor. Lifting up mind, soul and body, and all ourselves to thee, rejoicing in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, we reach through thee One who is beyond our reach on account of His Majesty. If, as the divine Word made flesh taught us, honour shown to servants, is honour shown to our common Lord, how can honour shown to thee, His Mother, be slighted? How is it not most desirable? Art thou not honoured as the very breath of life? Thus shall we best show our service to our Lord Himself. What do I say to our Lord? It is sufficient that those who think of Thee should recall the memory of Thy most precious gift as the cause of our lasting joy. How it fills us with gladness! How the mind that dwells on this holy treasury of Thy grace enriches itself."

By St. John Damascene (b. A.D. 676)

 READ THIS SECTION THIS MORNING AND IT FILLED ME WITH JOY AND LONGING!! IF WE MAKE IT TO HEAVEN, THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO!:

"The ascension into heaven will next take place. Can one venture to describe this also? The sweetest strains of music will fill the air. St. Michael will head the glorious procession, carrying the cross whereon Christ died. For the cross and all the other instruments of the Passion will be preserved in heaven---at least such is the opinion of several learned theologians. 

Following upon these sacred relies will come the first choir of angels, together with those members of the company of the saved, to whom the sentence of Christ has assigned a place in the lowest of the angelic choirs. Children who have died in infancy, and souls who have persisted in sin unto the last, and yet have been saved through the infinite mercy of God and real contrition on their part, will be with the first choir of angels. How fervently they will praise their God for His unspeakable compassion !

Next will come the choir of archangels, and with them those saints who have deserved a place in this second angelic choir. God-fearing married people, devout widows, besides other pious persons who have lived in the world, will, adorned in marvelous beauty, land and magnify God with the archangels.

In the third place will come the choir of powers, amongst whom will be all priests who have led a holy life on earth.

The choir of the principalities will come next, with all the saintly bishops and prelates who have ruled the Church to the glory of God and the salvation of those who have been subject to them.

The choir of virtues will come fifth with the doctors of the Church and all who, by their doctrine and preaching, have converted unbelievers, and brought them to the knowledge of the true faith.

In the sixth place will come the choir of the dominations, with the confessors who suffered great persecution for the faith, and died in misery and destitution for Christ's sake.

The choir of the thrones will follow next, with the holy martyrs who shed their blood, and gladly gave up their lives for the name of Christ.

The eighth choir is that of the cherubim, amongst whose ranks will be those holy virgins who have not merely kept their chastity virtuous, but who, consumed by divine charity, have led a life of highest perfection.

The ninth and highest of the angelic choirs is that of the seraphim. With them will be the holy apostles and servants of Christ, who, following in the footsteps of the Redeemer, have lived on earth an angel's life.

In a word, every one of the blessed will have his place assigned him in whichever of the angelic choirs for whose company his virtues render him most fit. 

How glorious will be the procession of the choirs, and how melodious the celestial canticles they will sing ! Words fail us when we attempt to describe it. And to close the triumphal cortege the King of heaven and earth comes, crowned with splendor, Christ, the first begotten Son of the heavenly Father, accompanied by His most blessed Mother the Virgin Mary. He is surrounded with such beauty and majesty, that heaven and earth, angels and men, are struck with amazement. In fact this ascension into heaven will be in every respect attended with such grandeur and glory, it will be so inexpressibly sublime and beautiful, that the lips even of an angel would fail to give an adequate idea of it.

Consider what will be the rapture of the redeemed when they soar aloft through the air, both soul and body, as if they were pure spirits, ascending ever and ever higher, beyond the shining rays of heaven with their golden splendor, approaching nearer and nearer to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God. And oh ! what ecstatic joy will inebriate them when they enter through the golden gates, and behold the grandeur and magnificence of the city of God. When the Queen of Sheba saw the magnificence of Solomon's palace, she was struck dumb with astonishment. But a greater than Solomon is there, and the majesty and loveliness of the palace of the King of kings is infinitely greater than that of any earthly monarch.

Hence we may surmise what the blissful rapture of the blessed will be, when it is granted them to behold what God has prepared for them that love Him.

Dost thou not desire, O pious Christian, to dwell with the redeemed and enjoy the unspeakable delights of the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem? Assuredly thou dost desire it. We all of us have within us a powerful impulse, an ardent longing for happiness and enjoyment. O, seek not after that happiness, strive not to secure the enjoyment for which thy soul thirsts in this valley of tears. Lift up thine eyes to the land that is above, let that be thy goal, and one day thou shalt ascend up on high with jubilant songs. God grant to thee and to me, reader, that by His grace, this happy lot may be our portion."

 

 Dear Friends In Jesus Crucified,

Here is the Audio Link for the 5th Sunday After Easter Sermon delivered by Father Bonaventure Strandt, OFM on 5-29-11 at St. Anthony Friary in Waterloo, NY


AMDG

AUDIO SERMON GIVEN BY BISHOP GILES, OFM-5TH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER:

http://friarsminor.org/audio/11easter5.wma

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Fifth Sunday after Easter 29 May 2011

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Anything you ask the Father in the name of Jesus, He will give it to you. The reason we have not received is because we have not yet asked. These are words to test how real our prayers are and ultimately how true our faith is.

St. Basil says: “Prayer is not made perfect by uttering syllables, but in the purpose of the soul, and in the just actions of a lifetime. Nor are we to believe that God has need of being reminded through our words. We are not to think that we complete our prayer by murmuring a number of syllables, but rather, by the purpose of our soul, and in deeds of virtue extending into every action and moment of our life. Neither are we to think that God needs the reminder of our spoken words; rather are we to believe that He knows our need whether we ask of Him or not. The ear of God has no need of our cry, since He can see even from the movements of our soul what it is that we seek for. . . . For the words of prayer that are simply uttered are of themselves of no avail unless they are sent upwards from a fervent soul.”

The prayers of the Pharisee, according to St. Basil, “are the occasion of His [God’s] resentment. It is as if someone should kill the beloved son of another, and then stretch forth to the afflicted father their hands still stained with blood; asking for the right hand of fellowship. Would not the blood of his son, still visible on the hand of his slayer, provoke him rather to just anger? And such are the prayers of the Jews. For when they stretch forth their hands in prayer, they but remind God the Father of their sin against His Son. And at every stretching forth of their hands they but make manifest that they are stained with the blood guilt of their fathers. For they cried out: ‘His blood be upon us, and upon our children’ (Mt. 27, 25)”

How many who call themselves Christians are to be classified with the Jews in their prayers? How many by their own personal sins make themselves guilty of the murder of the Son of God, then with a boldness and effrontery appeal to God for their worldly advantages?

It is time once again to examine ourselves. It is time to look into the depths of our own souls. What are the purposes of our souls? The words of our lips in prayer mean very little if we speak like those that Jesus condemns: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” (Mt. 15, 8) Our prayers must come forth from the depths of our souls. That which lives deep in our souls makes itself manifest in our lives. Whatever is held in our souls, is thought about in our minds, and is then spoken of with our lips and acted upon with our bodies. All our sins begin from within. Christ tells us that it is not that which enters the man that defiles him but it is that which comes forth from his heart.

There is too often a disconnect between our words and the desires of our hearts. This discordance within ourselves is the obstacle to having our prayers answered. Or perhaps it would be better said that it is the reason are prayers are answered, God gives us just what we want and expect from the depths of our souls. We ask one thing with our lips and at the same time we do not ask it with our hearts or we ask for something that is contrary to what our lips are asking for. We ask not expecting that our prayers will be heard and so we get our desire and our prayers are not heard. St. Augustine expresses this discordance within us in his confessions when he tells us that at the same time that he prayed that God would give him chastity another part of him prayed that he not give it right away. In this prayer nothing takes place because this prayer ultimately is one that asks that nothing take place.

Let us become one in all that we are: in our soul, in our thoughts, in our words and in our actions. Then in this singleness of prayer ask our Heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus and trust completely that we will receive that which we truly desire.

THE PRIESTHOOD IS A MASTERPIECE OF
CHRIST'S DIVINE LOVE, WISDOM AND POWER

NEVER ATTACK A PRIEST

"Jesus, Mary, I love You, Save Souls."

CRITICISM OF PRIESTS

Our Lord's revelations to Mutter Vogel:

"One should NEVER attack a priest, even when he's in error, rather one should pray and do penance that I'll grant him My grace again.  He alone fully represents Me, even when he doesn't live after My example!"  (page 29, Mutter Vogel's Worldwide Love, St. Grignion Publishing House, Altoting, South Germany (29. 6. 1929)).

When a Priest falls we should extend him a helping hand THROUGH PRAYER AND NOT THROUGH ATTACKS!  "I myself will be his judge, NO ONE BUT I!"  "Whoever voices judgment over a priest has voiced it over Me; child, never let a Priest be attacked, take up his defense."  (Feast of Christ the King 1937)  "Child, Never judge your confessor, rather pray much for him and offer every Thursday, through the hands of My blessed Mother, Holy Communion (for Him) (18.6. 1939)&nsp; "Never again accept an out-of-the-way word about a Priest, and speak no unkind word (about them) EVEN IF IT WERE TRUE!  Every Priest is My Vicar and My heart will be sickened and insulted because of it!  If you hear a judgment (against a Priest) pray a Hail Mary." (28. 6. 1939)

Mary. Queen of the Clergy, pray for them.

Chapter 4

Prudence in What We Do

We must not be easy in giving credit to every word and suggestion, but carefully and leisurely weigh the matter according to God.
Alas! such is our weakness, that we often more readily believe and speak of another that which is evil than that which is good.
But perfect men do not easily give credit to every report, because they know man's weakness, which is very prone to evil and very subject to fail in words.
2. It is great wisdom not to be rash in our doings; nor to maintain too obstinately our own opinion:
Nor should we believe every man's word; nor presently tell others the things which we have heard or believed.
Consult with a wise and conscientious man - TOBIAS IV. 19 ; and seek rather to be instructed by one who is better than to follow thine own inventions.
A good life makes a man wise according to God, and expert in many things. The more humble a man is in himself, and more subject to God, the more wise will he be in all things and the more at peace.

 My years as a "Brownie" and then "flying up" to Girl Scouts were some of the most memorable & fun of my life.  It really saddens me when I read garbage like this.  What is left for girls if even the Girl Scouts are tainted?:

Two ex-Girl Scouts challenge organization's ties to Planned Parenthood

From LifeSiteNews:
Two teen girls who dedicated years to the Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA) have gone public with their decision to leave the popular girls’ organization out of alarm over its ties to Planned Parenthood.

Tess Volanski, 14, and Sydney Volanski, 15, say they decided to leave their Girl Scout Troop after eight years, and they describe their process of disillusionment in their blog Speak Now: girl scouts.

“Leaving Girl Scouts was not a casual, easy, or convenient decision,” say the girls. “Girl Scouts was a huge part of our lives that included a bond with our best friends.”

The girls write on the blog that “the first eye-opening, and quite honestly, jaw-dropping, example” of GSUSA’s acceptance of Planned Parenthood’s (PP) ideology was the organization’s involvement in a United Nations workshop that distributed the PP sex education pamphlet “Happy, Healthy, and Hot.”

Click here to read more.

These are so wonderful - read each one slowly and meditate upon them! 

Maxims for Attaining Perfection

by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

1. To desire ardently to increase in the love of Jesus Christ.

2. Often to make acts of love towards Jesus Christ. Immediately on waking, and before going to sleep, to make an act of love, seeking always to unite your own will to the will of Jesus Christ.

3. Often to meditate on his Passion.

4. Always to ask Jesus Christ for his love.

5. To communicate often, and many times in the day to make spiritual Communions.

6. Often to visit the Most Holy Sacrament.

7. Every morning to receive from the hands of Jesus Christ himself your own cross.

8. To desire Paradise and death, in order to be able to love Jesus Christ perfectly and for all eternity.

9. Often to speak of the love of Jesus Christ.

10. To accept contradictions for the sake of Jesus Christ.

11. To rejoice in the happiness of God.

12. To do that which is most pleasing to Jesus Christ, and not to refuse him anything that is agreeable to him.

13. To desire and to endeavor that all should love Jesus Christ.

14. To pray always for sinners and for the souls in purgatory.

15. To drive from your heart every affection that does not belong to Jesus Christ.

16. Always to have recourse to the most holy Mary, that she may obtain for us the love of Jesus Christ.

17. To honor Mary in order to please Jesus Christ.

18. To seek to please Jesus Christ in all your actions,

19. To offer yourself to Jesus Christ to suffer any pain for his love.

20 To be always determined to die rather than commit a willful venial sin.

27. To suffer crosses patiently, saying, "Thus it pleases Jesus Christ."

22. To renounce your own pleasures for the love of Jesus Christ.

23. To pray as much as possible.

24. To practice all the mortifications that obedience permits.

25. To do all your spiritual exercises as if it were for the last time.

26. To persevere in good works in the time of aridity.

27. Not to do nor yet to leave undone anything through human respect.

28. Not to complain in sickness.

29. To love solitude, to be able to converse alone with Jesus Christ.

30. To drive away melancholy [i.e. gloom].

37. Often to recommend yourself to those persons who love Jesus Christ.

32. In temptation, to have recourse to Jesus crucified, and to Mary in her sorrows.

33. To trust entirely in the Passion of Jesus Christ.

34. After committing a fault, not to be discouraged, but to repent and resolve to amend.

35. To do good to those who do evil.

36. To speak well of all, and to excuse the intention when you cannot defend the action.

37. To help your neighbor as much as you can.

38. Neither to say nor to do anything that might vex him. And if you have been wanting in charity, to ask his pardon and speak kindly to him.

39. Always to speak with mildness and in a low tone.

40. To offer to Jesus Christ all the contempt and persecution that you meet with.

41. To look upon [religious] Superiors as the representatives of Jesus Christ.

42. To obey without answering and without repugnance, and not to seek your own satisfaction in anything.

43. To like the lowest employment.

44. To like the poorest things.

45. Not to speak either good or evil of yourself.

46. To humble yourself even towards inferiors.

47. Not to excuse yourself when you are reproved.

48. Not to defend yourself when found fault with.

49. To be silent when you are disquieted [i.e. upset].

50. Always to renew your determination of becoming a saint, saying, "My Jesus, I desire to be all Yours, and You must be all mine."

Dear Friends,

The Catholic Faith Radio Program will be broadcast at a different time tomorrow, May 27, 2011. It will be broadcast from 4 - 6 p.m. (Central Time). The change applies only to this date.

Most Rev. Giles Butler, OFM will be our guest tomorrow, speaking and answering questions about heresy and the effect it has on society. I hope you can make time to listen.

 

The Catholic Faith Radio Program is broadcast each week on KRFE, AM580, Lubbock, Texas, and is streamed on www.ustream.com. Type "Catholic Faith Radio Program" in the search engine and go directly to the program.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support,

 

Fr. Joseph, OFM

 JUST HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THIS PROPHECY:

This is very important, it seems to me, because these revelations made to St. Margaret in the thirteenth century are coming true despite anyone's desire to the contrary.. The history of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ is that of one great battle between Heaven and Hell. The Sacred Scriptures warn us that a terrible conflict will take place just before the end of the world. Our Lord revealed to His servant Margaret that in the last days the Friars Minor will be called to fight against the Anti-Christ. He said: "Tell the Friars Minor to hold themselves ready to withstand his malice, for he will cause them many afflictions. But let My Order have courage. I will be with it."
It should be obvious that this message given to Margaret even before her death was meant to be transmitted spiritually to those Friars who shall not have drowned the Order in the cesspool of Modernism. For, those Friars who join the ranks of the myriad of heretical Religious of all Orders and Congregations cannot be meant to be the courageous fighters against Anti-Christ. They have already given up the fight and are now resting in the cool shade of the Anti-Christ's shadow. This revelation can only mean to apply to our times, that is, in this eve of the twenty-first century.
Our Lord continues: "A great tribulation will be aroused in the world against the Church by a demon sent by Lucifer. This demon, who has never come out of hell since the day when he was cast into it, will go around the world trying to prepare the way for the Anti-Christ, of whom he will be the forerunner. The persecution will be so great that many religious will leave their order and nuns will abandon their convents. The Friars Minor themselves will be sorely tried at that time. But they must have confidence in Me. I will protect them, and I will give special help to their Order. They must know that I have given more graces to them than to all the others. Let them therefore prepare themselves for tribulations, in which they will acquire further points of resemblance to Me. My love for them is so great that I would like to make their life conform entirely with Mine."
"Know that just as people criticized My miracles and My teaching, so they will dare to criticize the Friars Minor, your Fathers. But just as, despite the accusations of My critics, I did not give up My good works, so let the Friars in turn not cease performing the good works that they do in Me, on account of those who slander them."
"My enemies have increased in number in order to tempt My people. The Friars Minor, to whom I have given the nets of My preaching, are the shields of souls."

From "The Seraph"

HERE ARE BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS OF A NEIGHBORHOOD IN JOPLIN, MO.  SEE HOW ALL OF OUR MATERIAL GOODS CAN BE DESTROYED IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE IF GOD CHOOSES !!

THIS IS A POWERFUL REMINDER TO LIVE FOR GOD AND NOT FOR THE WORLD!

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!!! PLEASE BOYCOTT PEPSI PRODUCTS UNTIL THEY STOP THIS HORRIBLE PRACTICE.  CAMPBELL SOUP IMMEDIATELY STOPPED AFTER PEOPLE COMPLAINED BUT PEPSI IS TELLING PEOPLE THAT THEY AREN'T REALLY DOING THIS!

                                                                      
               

            World Leaders of The Campaign for Ethical Vaccines, Medicines and Consumer Products

 

May 25, 2011

Pro-Life Groups Call for Pepsi Boycott over Aborted Fetal Cell Lines

Contact: info@cogforlife.org  Phone:  (727) 483-9251

 

(Largo, FL) Scores of prolife groups are calling for a public boycott of food giant, PepsiCo due to their partnership with Senomyx, a biotech company using aborted fetal cells in the research and development of artificial flavor enhancers.

 

Pepsi is funding the research and development – and paying royalties to Senomyx which uses HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney cells) to produce flavor enhancers for Pepsi beverages.

 

Senomyx boasts they have over 800,000 unique flavors for foods.  The human tongue recognizes only 5 (salty, savory, sweet, sour and bitter).  But cells expressing certain proteins produce a chemical signal when flavors are introduced, which determines if it’s the proper flavor. The aborted fetal cells are not in the product itself.

 

“There are many options PepsiCo could be using instead of aborted fetal cells” noted Debi Vinnedge, President of Children of God for Life, the group spearheading the boycott.

 

The revelation—a potential public relations nightmare—motivated Campbell Soup to sever all relations with Senomyx. 

 

However, PepsiCo continues their business relationship despite the abortion connection. They drew pubic ire earlier this year when they responded that “our collaboration with Senomyx is strictly limited to creating lower-calorie, great-tasting beverages for consumers.”

 

When pressed further, PepsiCo attempted to pacify angry consumers with a form letter response insinuating they had been accused of conducting aborted fetal tissue research.  Their duplicity again drew public outrage.

 

Bradley Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute, said, “While aborted fetal cells aren’t actually in the product itself, the close relationship is enough to repulse most consumers.  To our knowledge, this is the first time a food product has been publicly associated with abortion.”

 

The pro-life groups noted that additional companies collaborating with Senomyx will be targeted for boycott next. 

 

Pro-life organizations are asking the public to boycott all Pepsi drink products and encourage consumers to contact Pepsi management requesting that they sever all ties with Senomyx. Consumers are also encouraged to contact Campbell Soup and thank them for responding to pro-life concerns.

 

Jamie Caulfield, Sr. VP PepsiCo, Inc. 700 Anderson Hill Road Purchase, NY 10577 (914) 253-2000 Email form: http://cr.pepsi.com/usen/pepsiusen.cfm?time=5189878

Edmund M. Carpenter, Chair, Corporate Development Campbell Soup 1 Campbell Place Camden, NJ 08103-1701 1-800-257-8443 Email form: http://campbellsoupcompany.com/Feedback.aspx

Pro-life groups joining Children of God for Life in the boycott to date are:  Life Issues Institute, American Life League,  Colorado Right to Life, American Right to Life, Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute, ALL Arizona, Central Nebraskans for Life, Pro-Life Waco, Houston Coalition for Life, Mother and Unborn Baby Fox Valley, Womankind, Billboards for Life, Movement for a Better America, Defenders of the Unborn, Focus Pregnancy Help Center, Idaho Chooses Life, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers of NY, Four Seasons for Life, CREDO,  Life Choices, STOPP Dallas, CA Right To Life, Human Life Alliance, International Right to Life Federation, Operation Rescue and Pro-Life Nation.
Two more groups have joined today after reading our press release:  LifeNews.com and Mary's Outreach for Women.

For a list of Pepsi Beverages included in the boycott: http://pepsico.com/Brands/Pepsi_Cola-Brands.html

See our previous release and updated info

 

Dedication of the Patriarchal Basilica
of Our Holy Father St. Francis at Assisi,
and Commemoration of the
Transfer of the Body of St. Francis

 

This feast and commemoration are observed by all the branches of the Franciscan Order. When St. Francis died in 1226, he was buried in the Church of St. George in Assisi (now a chapel in Santa Chiara, and the shrine of the original San Damiano crucifix.) Two years later St. Francis was solemnly canonized, and the building of San Francesco at the other end of the town was begun. In May, 1230, the body of the saint was transferred to the new church; and in 1253, on the anniversary of the transfer, Pope Innocent IV consecrated the Church of San Francesco. Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) raised it to the rank of a patriarchal basilica and papal chapel.

 

Here is a wonderful daily prayer:

Most bountiful Jesus, in the name of all the saints and elect, whom Thou dost destine to the enjoyment of eternal happiness, I beseech Thee of Thy infinite loving kindness, that I may stand amongst Thy saints in the Day of judgment. I am indeed unworthy of this favor, but for the greater honor and praise that will be ascribed to Thee, I pray Thee let thy boundless mercy be manifested towards me; cast me not away, poor sinner that I am. And I entreat you, saints of God, to help me to attain to your blessed company. I know that your intercession is powerful enough with God to induce Him to look upon me with compassion, and be infinitely merciful to me in His judgment of my life. Amen.

Dear Faithful Catholics,

Here is the audio link for the 4th Sunday After Easter Sermon 
delivered by Father Bonaventure Strandt, OFM at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel in Rochester, NY.

 4th Sunday After Easter Sermon

Here is Bishop Giles Sermon:

Audio sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter

Leviticus 26:18-20 - "But if you will not yet for all this obey me: I will chastise you seven times more for your sins, And I will break the pride of your stubbornness, and I will make to you the heaven above as iron, and the earth as brass: Your labour shall be spent in vain, the ground shall not bring forth her increase, nor the trees yield their fruit." 

Jeremias (Jeremiah) 12:13. "They have sown wheat, and reaped thorns: they have received an inheritance, and it shall not profit them: you shall be ashamed of your fruits, because of the fierce wrath of the Lord."

 

 

This is the best that the bogus ordo can do because when there is no grace, there is no beauty! It looks like JPII is a bus shelter!

 Father Bernard's very wonderful sermon this morning included the life of this great Franciscan.  Here is a little bit more on him.  We are so blessed to be Franciscans!

John Forest

John Forest (1471-London, 22 May 1538) was an English Franciscan Friar and martyr.
Born in the Oxford area, John Forest became a Franciscan Friar Minor of the Regular Observance in 1491. He went on to study theology at the University of Oxford, later becoming confessor to Queen Catherine of Aragon, first wife to King Henry VIII. From 1531 the Friars Minor had gained the enmity of the King by opposing his divorce and his movements toward Protestantism.
On 8 April 1538 Forest was brought before Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, to renounce his rejection of King Henry's assumed title of Supreme Head of the Church of England. Bishop Hugh Latimer read out the beliefs that Forest was required to reject: "That the Holy Catholic Church was the Church of Rome, that the Pope’s pardon is key to the remission of sins, and that a priest can forgive a penitent sinner,  After initially recanting, Forest was detained at Newgate Prison together with several other Friars, who persuaded him to stand fast in his Roman Catholic beliefs.^[1]
In accordance with the custom of the time, Bishop Latimer was selected to preach a final sermon at the place of execution urging recantation, but in the end Forest was burnt to death at Smithfield, London on 22 May 1538.^[2] Extra fuel for the pyre is said to have been provided by an enormous statue of St. Derfel from the pilgrimage site of Llandderfel in north Wales, and of which it was supposed to have been prophesied, would "one day set a forest on fire." ^[3]
Father Forest, together with fifty-three other English martyrs, was beatified by Pope Leo XIII, on 9 December 1886.

1. ^ Demaus, Robert. (1904) Hugh Latimer: a biography. Religious Tract Society, London, United Kingdom. Page 293
2. ^ Duffy, Eamon. (2005) The Stripping of the Altars. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. 2nd. Edition. ISBN 0300108281, page 404
3. ^ Three Saints, Two Wells & a Welsh Parish by Tristan Gray Hulse

MARY LEADS HER SERVANTS TO HEAVEN
from "The Glories of Mary"
By St. Alphonsus De Liguori - Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Oh, what an evident mark of predestination have the servants of Mary!
The holy Church, for the consolation of Her clients, puts into Her
mouth the words of Ecclesiasticus, In all these I sought rest, and I
shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord. Cardinal Hugo explains
these words, and says, "blessed is he in whose house the most Holy
Virgin finds repose." Mary, out of the love She bears to all,
endeavours to excite in all devotion towards Herself; many either do
not admit it into their souls, or do not preserve it. But blessed is
he that receives and preserves it. And I shall abide in the
inheritance of the Lord. "That is," adds the Cardinal, "Blessed is he
whose interior offers the Blessed Virgin Mary a place of repose."
Devotion towards the Blessed Virgin remains in all who are the
inheritance of our Lord; that is to say, in all who will praise Him
eternally in Heaven. Mary continues, speaking in the words of
Ecclesiasticus: "He that made me rested in my tabernacle, and He said
to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel,
and take root in My elect." That is, my Creator has condescended to
come and repose in my bosom, and His will is, that I should dwell in
the hearts of all the elect (of whom Jacob was a figure, and who are
the inheritance of the Blessed Virgin), and that devotion and
confidence in me should take root in all the predestined.

O, how many blessed souls are now in Heaven who would never have been
there had not Mary, by Her powerful intercession, led them thither. "I
made that in the heavens there should rise light that never faileth."
Cardinal Hugo, in his commentary on the above text of Ecclesiasticus,
says in the name of Mary, "I have caused as many saints in Heaven
through Her intercession, who would never have been there but through
Her."

St. Bonaventure says, "that the gates of Heaven will open to all who
confide in the protection of Mary." Hence, St. Ephrem calls devotion
to the divine Mother "the unlocking of the gates of the heavenly
Jerusalem." The devout Blosius also, addressing Our Blessed Lady,
says, "To Thee, O Lady, are committed the keys and the treasures of
the Kingdom of Heaven." And therefore we ought constantly to pray to
Her, in the words of St. Ambrose, "Open to us, O Mary, the gates of
paradise, since Thou hast its keys." Nay more, the Church says, that
"Thou art its gate."

For the same reason, again, is this great Mother called by the Church
the Star of the Sea, "Hail, Star of the Sea!" "For," says the
angelical St. Thomas, "as sailors are guided by a star to the port,
so are Christians guided to Heaven by Mary."

For the same reason, finally, is She called by St. Fulgentius, "the
Heavenly ladder." "For," says the saint, "by Mary, God descended from
Heaven into the world, that by Her men might ascend from earth to
Heaven." "And Thou, O Lady," says St., Athanasius, "wast filled with
grace, that Thou might be the way of our salvation, and the means of
ascent to the Heavenly Kingdom."

St. Bernard calls Our Blessed Lady "the Heavenly chariot." And St.
John Geometra salutes Her, saying, "Hail, resplendent car!"
signifying that She is the car in which Her clients mount to Heaven.
"Blessed are they who know Thee as the high road to everlasting life,
and the publication of Thy virtues is the way of eternal salvation."

Denis the Carthusian asks, "Who is there that is saved / who is there
that reigns in Heaven?" And he answers, "They are certainly saved and
reign in Heaven for whom this Queen of Mercy intercedes." And this
Mary Herself confirms in the book of Proverbs, "By Me kings reign"
through My intercession souls reign, first in this mortal life by
ruling their passions, and so come to reign eternally in Heaven,
where, says St. Augustine, "all are kings." "Mary, in fine," says
Richard of St. Laurence, "is the Mistress of Heaven; for there She
commands as She wills and admits whom She wills." And applying to Her
the words of Ecclesiasticus, "And My power was in Jerusalem," he makes
Her say, "I command what I will, and introduce whom I will." Our
Blessed Lady, being Mother of the Lord of heaven, it is reasonable
that She also should be sovereign Lady of that kingdom, according to
Rupert, who says, "that by right She possesses the whole kingdom of
Her Son."

St. Antoninus tells us "that this divine Mother has already, by Her
assistance and prayers, obtained Heaven for us, provided we put no
obstacle in the way." Hence, says Abbot Guerric, "he who serves Mary,
and for whom She intercedes, is as certain of Heaven as if he was
already there." St. John Damascene also says, "that to serve Mary and
be Her courtier is the greatest honour we can possibly possess; for to
serve the Queen of Heaven is already to reign there, and live under
Her commands is more than to govern." On the other hand, he adds,
"that those who do not serve Mary will not be saved; for those who
are deprived of the help of this great Mother are also deprived of
that of Her Son and of the whole court of heaven."

"May the infinite goodness of Our Lord be ever praised," says St.
Bernard, "for having been pleased to give us Mary as our advocate in
Heaven, that She, being at the same time the Mother of Our Judge and
a Mother of mercy, may be able, by Her intercession, to conduct to a
prosperous issue the great affair of our eternal salvation." St.
James, a Doctor of the Greek Church, says, "that God destined Mary as
a Bridge of salvation, by using which we might with safety pass over
the stormy sea of this world, and reach the happy haven of paradise."
Therefore St. Bonaventure exclaims, "Give ear, O ye nations; and all
you who desire Heaven, serve, honour Mary, and certainly you will
find eternal life."

Nor should those even who have deserved hell be in the least doubtful
as to obtaining Heaven, provided they are faithful in serving this
Queen. "O, how many sinners," says St. Germanus, "have found God and
have been saved by Thy means, O Mary!" Richard of St. Laurence
remarks, that St. John in the Apocalypse says that Mary was crowned
with stars: "And on Her head a crown of twelve stars." On the other
hand, in the sacred Canticles, She is said to be crowned with wild
beasts, lions, and leopards: "Come from Libanus, my spouse, come from
Libanus, come; thou shalt be crowned ... from the dens of the lions,
from the mountains of the leopards." How is this? He answers, that
"these wild beasts are sinners, who by the favour and intercession of
Mary have become stars of paradise, better adapted to the head of this
Queen of mercy than all the material stars of heaven."

We read in the life of the servant of God, Sister Seraphina of Capri,
that once during the novena of the Assumption of Mary she asked our
Blessed Lady for the conversion of a thousand sinners, but afterwards
thought that she had asked too much; and then the Blessed Virgin
appeared to her, and corrected her for her ungrounded anxiety,
saying, "Why dost thou fear? Is it that I am not sufficiently
powerful to obtain from My Son the conversion of a thousand sinners?
See, I have already obtained the favour." With these words, She took
her in spirit to Heaven, and there showed her innumerable souls which
had deserved hell, but had been saved through Her intercession, and
were already enjoying eternal happiness.

It is true that in this world no one can be certain of his salvation:
"Man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred," says
Ecclesiastes. But St. Bonaventure, on the words of King David, "Lord
who shall dwell in Thy tabernacle?" and on the preceding quotation,
answers, "Sinners, let us follow Mary closely, and casting ourselves
at Her feet, let us not leave them until She has blessed us; for Her
blessing will insure our salvation."

"It suffices, O Lady," says St. Anselm, "that Thou willest it, and
our salvation is certain." And St. Antoninus says that "souls
protected by Mary, and on which She casts Her eyes, are necessarily
justified and saved."

"With reason, therefore," observes St. Ildephonsus, "did the most
Holy Virgin predict that all generations would call Her blessed;"
"for all the elect obtain eternal salvation through the means of
Mary." "And thou, O great Mother" says St. Methodius, "art the
beginning, the middle, and the end of our happiness;" -- the
beginning, for Mary obtains us the pardon of our sins; the middle,
for She obtains us perseverance in divine grace; and the end, for She
finally obtains us Heaven. "By Thee, O Mary, was Heaven opened," says
St. Bernard; "by Thee was hell emptied; by Thee was paradise
restored; and through Thee, in fine, is eternal life given to so many
miserable creatures who deserved eternal death."

But that which above all should encourage us to hope with confidence
for Heaven, is the beautiful promise made by Mary Herself to all who
honour Her, and especially to those who, by word and example,
endeavour to make Her known and honoured by others: "They that work
by Me shall not sin; they that explain Me shall have life
everlasting." "O happy they who obtain the favour of Mary!" exclaims
St. Bonaventure; "they will be recognised by the blessed as their
companions, and whoever bears the stamp of a servant of Mary is
already enrolled in the Book of Life." Why, then, should we trouble
ourselves about the opinions of scholastics as to whether
predestination to glory precedes or follows the prevision of merits?
If we are true servants of Mary, and obtain Her protection, we most
certainly shall be inscribed in the Book of Life; "For," says St.
John Damascene, "God only grants devotion towards His most Holy
Mother to those whom He will save." This is also clearly expressed by
our Lord in St. John: "He that shall overcome ... I will write upon
him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God." "And who
but Mary is this city of God?" observes St. Gregory on the words of
David: "Glorious things are said of Thee, O city of God."

Correctly, then, can we here say with St. Paul, "Having this seal,
the Lord knoweth who are His;" that is to say, whoever carries with
him the mark of devotion to Mary is recognised by God as His. Hence
St. Bernard writes, that "devotion to the Mother of God is a most
certain mark of eternal salvation." Blessed Alan, speaking of the
"Hail Mary," also says, that "whoever often honours Our Blessed Lady
with this angelical salutation has a very great mark of
predestination." He says the same thing of perseverance in the daily
recital of the Rosary, "that those who do so have a very great
assurance of salvation." Father Nieremberg says, in the tenth chapter
of his book on "Affection for Mary", that "the servants of the Mother
of God are not only privileged and favoured in this world, but even
in Heaven they are more particularly honoured." He then adds: "that
in Heaven they will be recognised as servants of its Queen, and as
belonging to Her court, by a distinguishing and richer garment,"
according to the words of the Proverbs, "All Her domestics are
clothed with double garments." St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi saw a
vessel in the midst of the sea: in it were all the clients of Mary,
and this Blessed Mother Herself steered it safely into the port. By
this the saint understood, that those who live under the protection
of Mary are secure, in the midst of the dangers of this life, from
the shipwreck of sin, and from eternal damnation; for She guides them
safely into the haven of salvation. Let us then enter this blessed
ship of the mantle of Mary and there we can be certain of the Kingdom
of Heaven; for the Church says: "O holy Mother of God, all those who
will be partakers of eternal happiness dwell in Thee, living under
Thy protection."