“The disintegration of any civilization, or a crisis in history, bears within it the threat of an interregnum of barbarism. As in the physical order the putrid remains of the unburied dead create a pestilence, so the disintegration of the liberal civilization through which we have just lived, and which was strong only because it was a parasite on Christianity, creates the possibility of chaos. Liberalism left to itself is really only a transition between a culture which was Christian and one which will be anti-Christian.

By barbarism we mean the destruction of moral values, or the repudiation of the funded heritage of culture. The barbarism of the new era will not be like that of the Huns of old; it will be technical, scientific, secular, and propagandized. It will come not from without, but from within, for barbarism is not outside us; it is underneath us. Older civilizations were destroyed by imported barbarism; modern civilization breeds its own.

Hold fast to your God, your Faith, your Church. The time is now five minutes to twelve. We are in the valley of decision. Either the bloom or the blight. A new crime is arising in the world today; be prepared for it. The crime of being a Christian. The crime of believing in God.”

~ Fulton J. Sheen; Seven Pillars of Peace, The Pillar of World Unity; August 5, 1944 [New York. Scribner's sons, 1945. page 110].

Peace, Be Still!!

Sweet Jesus! By this Sacrament of love

All gross affections from my heart remove;

Let but Thy loving kindness linger there,

Preserved by grace and perfected by prayer;

And let me to my neighbor strive to be

As mild and gentle as Thou are with me.

Take Thou the guidance of my whole career,

That to displease Thee be my only fear:

Give me that peace the World can never give,

And in Thy loving presence let me live.

Ah! Show me always, Lord, Thy holy will,

And to each troubled thought, say:  “Peace be still.”

THE SACRED HEART BADGE

Our Lord revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque His wish for her to order a picture

of the image of His Sacred Heart for people specifically to venerate and have in

their homes and also small pictures to carry with them. St. Margaret Mary always kept

a Sacred Heart badge with her and inspired her novices to do the same. She made many badges and often said this practice was very pleasing to the Sacred Heart.

The popularity of the Badge increased suddenly due to a very dramatic event in the

city of Marseilles in France. In the year 1720, about thirty years after the death of

St. Margaret Mary, Marseilles was ravaged by the plague. About one thousand persons died each day from the disease. Fear had reached near panic proportions. 

The Bishop of Marseilles asked the nuns of the city to make thousands of Sacred Heart Badges similar to the kind used by St. Margaret Mary and her friends. When the Badges were ready, the Bishop led a procession to the center of the city. There he consecrated Marseilles to the Sacred Heart, and everybody present put on a Sacred Heart Badge.

From that moment not one new case of the plague was reported.

In 1870 a Roman lady, wishing to know the opinion of the Holy Father Pius IX about

the Badge of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, presented him with one. Touched by the sight of this emblem of salvation, the Pope approved the devotion forever and said: "This, Madam, this is an inspiration from Heaven. Yes, from Heaven."

Blessed Pope Pius IX granted an indulgence to all the faithful who wear this pious

emblem and pray daily one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be to the Father.

The Badge is a reminder of reparation by which we accept with love and faith our

share in the sufferings of Christ. Thus we cooperate more closely with Christ in the

vital work of the redemption of mankind by accepting the obligations of God's

commandments, by our fidelity to the daily tasks of our state in life, by the patient

acceptance of the trials, disappointments, and crosses thrust upon us each day.

Regarding devotion to His Sacred Heart, Our Lord revealed to St. Margaret Mary:

"Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart never

to be blotted out."

A beautiful prayer composed by Blessed Pope Pius IX:

"Open Thy Sacred Heart 0 Jesus! Show me Its beauty and unite me with It forever. May the throbbing in all the movements of my heart, even during sleep, be a testimony of my love and tell Thee unceasingly: Yes, Lord Jesus, I adore Thee ... accept my poor little actions ... grant me the grace of repairing evil done ... so that I may praise Thee in time and bless Thee for all eternity."