Thursday, December 15, 2011

Human Law Is Law Only By Virtue Of Its Accordance With Right Reason

‎Human law is law only by virtue of its accordance with right reason, and thus it is manifest that it flows from the eternal law. And in so far as it deviates from right reason it is called an unjust law; in such case it is no law at all, but rather a species of violence. - Saint Thomas Aquinas

The Church Has Been Accused Of Hiding The Bible, Which Of Course Is Not True...

The Church has been accused of hiding the Bible, which of course is not true, but even if that had been true, it would have been a less astonishing achievement than that of the Reformation, which succeeded in hiding everything else about the Faith. – G. K. Chesterton

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Tradition Refuses To Submit To The Arrogant Oligarchy

Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. ― G.K. Chesterton

You, Lord, Give Perfect Peace

You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in You. – Isaiah 26:3

Friday, December 2, 2011

The Christian Family, Through A Process Of Ongoing Conversion Supported By The Grace Of God, Reflects The Splendour Of Christ In The World


Just like the Church, [the family] is called to welcome, radiate and show the world the love and the presence of Christ. The Christian Family to the extent it succeeds in living love as communion and service as a reciprocal gift open to all, through a process of ongoing conversion supported by the grace of God, reflects the splendour of Christ in the world and the beauty of the divine Trinity. – Pope Benedict XVI

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

O Love of God! how is it that all creatures do not know how freely you lavish Yourself and Your favours on them while they are seeking You in byways and corners where You are not to be found? How foolish to refuse to breathe the open air! to search for a spot on which to place the foot when there is the whole countryside before you; to be unable to find water when there is a whole deluge at your service, nor to possess and enjoy God, nor to recognise His action when it is present in all things. You search for hidden ways of belonging to God, good people, but the only way is that of making use of whatever He sends you. All leads to union, to perfection, except what is sinful or not a duty. All that is necessary is to accept everything, placing no obstacle in the way of its action but letting it accomplish its work. All things are intended to guide, raise, and support you, and are in the hand of God whose action is vaster and more present than the elements of earth, air, and water. Even by means of the senses God will enter, provided they are used only as He ordains, because everything contrary to His will must be resisted. There is not a single atom that goes to form part of your being, even to the marrow of the bones, that is not formed by the divine power. From it all things proceed, by it all things are made. Your very life-blood flows through your veins by the movement this power imparts to it, and all the fluctuations that exist between strength and weakness, languor and liveliness, life and death, are divine instruments put in motion to effect your sanctification. Under its influence all bodily states become operations of grace. From this invisible hand come all your opinions, all your ideas on whatever subject they may be formed. What this action will effect in you, you will learn by successive experiences, for there is no created heart or mind that can teach it to you. Your life flows on uninterruptedly in this unsounded abyss in which each present moment contains all that is best for you, and as such must be loved and esteemed. It is necessary to have a perfect confidence in this action which of itself can do nothing but what is good. Yes, divine Love! to what heights of supernatural, sublime, admirable and incomparable virtue would all souls arrive if they would but be satisfied with Your action! - Jean Pierre de Caussade

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Hope Is The Power Of Being Cheerful In Desperate Circums

Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances which we know to be desperate. – G. K. Chesterton

An Age Prospers Or Dwindles In Proportion To Its Devotion To The Holy Eucharist

Let us never forget that an age prospers or dwindles in proportion to its devotion to the Holy Eucharist. This is the measure of its spiritual life and its faith, of its charity and its virtue. – Saint Peter Julian Eymard

Saturday, November 26, 2011

The Soul Clouded By The Desires Is Darkened In The Understanding

The soul that is clouded by the desires is darkened in the understanding and allows neither the sun of natural reason nor that of the supernatural Wisdom of God to shine upon it and illumine it clearly. At the same time, when the soul is darkened in the understanding, it is benumbed also in the will, and the memory becomes dull and disordered in its dire operation. The intellect cannot get the illumination of God’s wisdom, the will cannot get the love of God, and the memory cannot get God’s image. Darkness and coarseness will always be with a soul until its appetites are extinguished. The appetites are like a cataract on the eye or specks of dust in it; until removed they obstruct vision. The affections and appetites deprive them of a treasure of divine light. Any appetite, even one that is but slightly imperfect, stains and defiles the soul. - Saint John of the Cross, 'Ascent of Mount Carmel,' Bk. 1. Ch. 8. No. 2, 4, 6, 7

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Beware That Your Hearts Do Not Become Drowsy From Carousing And Drunkenness

Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the son of man. - Our Lord Jesus Christ

Saturday, November 19, 2011

There Is Nothing More Nauseating Than A Fickle, Frivolous, Haughty Woman

‎There is nothing more nauseating than a woman, especially if she is married, who is fickle, frivolous and haughty. The Christian wife must be woman of sound piety towards God, an angel of peace in the family, dignified and pleasant towards others. - Saint Padre Pio

Friday, October 21, 2011

Never Have Grudges Against Others Or Lose Your Temper

Guard against foul talk; let your words be for the improvement of others, as occasion offers, and do good to your listeners, otherwise you will only be grieving the Holy Spirit of God who has marked you with his seal for you to be set free when the day comes. Never have grudges against others, or lose your temper, or raise your voice to anybody, or call each other names, or allow any sort of spitefulness. Be friends with one another, and kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ. - Ephesians 4:29-32

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Adapt Yourself With Gracious And Charitable Compliance To All Your Neighbor's Weaknesses

Adapt yourself with gracious and charitable compliance to all your neighbor’s weaknesses. In particular, make a rule to hide your feelings in many inconsequential matters. Give up all bitterness toward your neighbor, no matter what. And be convinced that your neighbor is in everything better than you. This will not be difficult if you keep even a little aware of yourself. It will give you the ability to overcome your feelings of resentment. Each day look for every possible opportunity to do a kindness for those you do not like. After examining yourselves on this matter every morning, decide what you are going to do, and do it faithfully with kindness and humility. - Saint John Baptist de la Salle

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People who think they want socialism are in for a rude awakening when all the luxuries capitalism gave them are taken away. - Steve Sheppard

Monday, October 17, 2011

ObamaCare makes it FUNCTIONALLY IMPOSSIBLE to be a Roman Catholic AND an American. It prohibits the FREE EXERCISE of Catholicism. Period. This is not debatable. It is an objective fact...Forcing Catholics to subsidize contraception is like forcing muslims to eat pork every day. How do you think a “daily pork consumption mandate” would go over? - Ann Barnhardt

He Who Died In Place Of Us Is The One Object Of My Desire

No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. - Saint Ignatius of Antioch

Families Are Called To Be Islands Of Christian Life In An Unbelieving World

From the beginning, the core of the Church was often constituted by those who had become believers "together with all their household." When they were converted, they desired that "their whole household" should also be saved. These families who became believers were islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world...In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. It is in the bosom of the family that parents are 'by word and example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They should encourage them in the vocation which is proper to each child, fostering with special care any religious vocation.'" - Catechism of the Catholic Church 1655 & 1656

Which Is The One True Church?

Now, in order to determine which is this one true Church, it is necessary to examine which is the Church first founded by Jesus Christ, for when this is ascertained, it must be confessed that this one alone is the true Church which, having once been the true Church must always have been the true Church and must forever be the true Church. For to this first Church has been made the promise of the Savior that the gates of Hell would never be able to overturn it [Matt 16:18]. - Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. - Will Rogers
The Founders spoke of rights being endowed by the Creator. The government does not grant us rights. It acknowledges them. A government that sees itself as the giver of rights is an arrogant and deluded government. Likewise, the government has no authority to supersede the moral law. It is not in the power of government to redefine marriage. Perhaps, though I'd oppose it, it could claim to have the power of establishing an alternative form of "civil union", but that is wholly different from marriage. Since it disrupts society's understanding of marriage by introducing a false alternative, it is not in for the good of society, and should on those grounds be opposed though government might have the power to establish it. - Anthony Summers
Law that is not in accordance with the moral law is stripped of authoritative power, but is simply enforced by brute force. Nothing in it binds conscience. Therefore, government must not abandon its ground in objective moral law. However, it does not need to enforce the entirety of the moral law. Only those that are most directly and clearly bring necessary stability to a society. Marriage is paramount. - Anthony Summers

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Sacraments Recall In Many Ways The Means Our Lord Merited The Graces We Recieve Through Them

The Sacraments recall in many ways the means by which Our Lord merited the graces we receive through them. Baptism recalls His profound humility; Confirmation His ceaseless prayer; Holy Eucharist His care of the needy; Penance His mortified life; Extreme Unction His model death; Holy Orders His establishment of the priesthood, and Matrimony His close union with the Church. - Baltimore Catechism

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All Men Are Equal And Have Been Created For The Same End -- God

All men are equal in whatever is necessary for their nature and end. They are all composed of a body and soul; they are all created to the image and likeness of God; they are all gifted with understanding and free will; and they have all been created for the same end--God. - Baltimore Catechism

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Contempt Is A Grievous Sin

Nothing is so opposed to charity, much more to a devout spirit, as contempt and depreciation of one's neighbour, and where satire and ridicule exist contempt must be. Therefore contempt is a grievous sin, and our spiritual doctors have well said that ridicule is the greatest sin we can commit in word against our neighbour, inasmuch as when we offend him in any other way, there may still be some respect for him in our heart, but we are sure to despise those whom we ridicule. - Saint Francis de Sales
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There Are Many Ways To Be A Mortified Soul

There are many ways to be a mortified soul and make spiritual progress without doing a complete fast. You can: Choose to eat foods you don't care for, or leave off the butter or salt or other condiment. Skip snacks and desserts - give your share to your children. Prepare your coffee in a way you don't like - drink it black if you like cream and sugar, or sweeten it if you prefer it black, etc. Omit TV or computer time, or watch what others prefer and you don't. Fast from having the last word or making clever comments. Don't make unnecessary small purchases for yourself. Put your own needs aside in favor of the others.

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In The Mass, You And I Have Heaven On Earth

Our heritage includes the whole of the Bible, the uninterrupted witness of the Mass, the constant teachings of the saints, the research of the schools, the methods of contemplative prayer, and the pastoral care of the popes and bishops. In the Mass, you and I have heaven on earth. The evidence is overwhelming. The experience is a revelation. - Scott Hahn

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

We Should Only Fear Offending God

We should only fear offending God. Other than that, fear is not of God and we should reject it in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Jesus Teaches Without Noise Of Words

Jesus needs neither books nor Doctors of Divinity in order to instruct souls; He, the Doctor of Doctors, He teaches without noise of words. - Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Monday, September 26, 2011

If It Is Daily Bread, Why Do You Take It Once A Year?

If it is "daily bread," why do you take it once a year? Take daily what is to profit you daily. Live in such a way that you may deserve to receive it daily. He who does not deserve to receive it daily, does not deserve to receive it once a year. - Saint Ambrose of Milan

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Sin Is The Executioner Of The Good God And The Assasin Of The Soul

SIN IS the executioner of the good God, and the assassin of the soul. It snatches us away from Heaven to precipitate us into Hell. And we love it! What folly! If we thought seriously about it, we should have such a lively horror of sin that we could not commit it. O my children, how ungrateful we are! The good God wishes to make us happy; that is very certain; He gave us His Law for no other end. The Law of God is great; it is broad. King David said that he found his delight in it, and that it was a treasure more precious to him than the greatest riches. He said also that he walked at large, because he had sought after the Commandments of the Lord. The good God wishes, then, to make us happy, and we do not wish to be so. We turn away from Him, and give ourselves to the devil! We fly from our Friend, and we seek after our murderer! We commit sin; we plunge ourselves into the mire. Once sunk in this mire, we know not how to get out. If our fortune were in the case, we should soon find out how to get out of the difficulty; but because it only concerns our soul, we stay where we are.

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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Defensive Violence Will Always Be A Sad Necessity But It Would Be More Unfortunate If Wrongdoers Should Dominate Just Men

Though defensive violence will always be a ’sad necessity’ in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men. - Saint Augustine

Sunday, September 11, 2011

God has assigned as a duty to every man the dignity of every woman. - Blessed Pope John Paul II

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Catholic School System Could Be A Source Of Spiritual Dynamite

The Catholic School System could be a source of Spiritual Dynamite and until it is, the Catholic Church in America and all over the world is going to limp into eternity. Souls will continue to be lost and lives will continue to be broken.

Throwing Away The Teaching Of The Gospel Cannot Make People Happy

Liberalism and throwing away the precepts of the Church and throwing away the teaching of the Gospel cannot make people happy. Only God can make people happy...the Fulfillment of all desire. - Gabrielle Catillo

A Catholic School That Fails To Make The Eucharist The Source And Summit Of Its Life Has Failed At Being Catholic

A Catholic school that fails to make the Eucharist the source and summit of its life has failed at being Catholic. We are called to love God above all else and the Eucharist is really, truly, and substantially Jesus Christ, God.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Leave Those Worldly Things That Shackle The Heart And Come With Us In Search Of Love

Don't you long to shout to those... who are bustling around you.. 'Leave those worldly things that shackle the heart - and very often degrade it - leave all that, and come with us, in search of Love!' - Saint Josemaria Escriva

Jesus Christ Is The Only One Who Can Satisfy The Innermost Yearnings Of The Human Mind And Heart

Jesus Christ is the only one who can satisfy the innermost yearnings of the human mind and heart…it is Him that you seek when you dream of happiness. It is Him who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your life. - Blessed Pope John Paul II

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Be Quick To Listen But Slow To Speak

Be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to rouse your temper; God’s righteousness is never served by man’s anger. Nobody must imagine that he is religious while he still goes on deceiving himself and not keeping control over his tongue; anyone who does this has the wrong idea of religion. - James 1:19-20,26

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Don't Let Yourselves Be Intimidated By An Environment That Pretends To Exclude God

‎Don't let yourselves be intimidated by an environment that pretends to exclude God, and in which power, possessions and pleasure are often the criteria by which people judge their lives. - Pope Benedict XVI

Saturday, August 20, 2011

America Is Suffering From Indifference To Truth

America is suffering not so much from intolerance, which is bigotry, as it is from tolerance, which is indifference to truth and error, and a philosophical nonchalance that has been interpreted as broad-mindedness. - Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Friday, August 19, 2011

Inflation Is Taxation Without Representation

Inflation is taxation without legislation. - Milton Friedman

To Have A Blessed Home In Myself

Humility is perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore; to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised.. to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and to be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness when all around and about is seeming trouble.

Discipline Is Needed, Not Eloquence; Character, Not Cleverness

Isn't it absurd to send children out to jobs and to school, and to do all you can to prepare them for these, and yet not to "bring them up in the chastening and admonition of the Lord" [Eph. 6:4]?... Discipline is needed, not eloquence; character, not clevernes; deeds, not words. These gain a man the kingdom. - Saint John Chrysostom (347-407AD)

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

JPII On World Youth Day

When asked why he wanted to start a World Youth Day, John Paul II responded, "To greet the martyrs of the Third Millennium."

Truth Suffers, But Never Dies

Truth suffers, but never dies. - Saint Teresa of Avila

Once Thought A Safety Net, Welfare Has Become A Cage, Entrapping People In Poverty

Entitlement programs have taken the drive to thrive out of a whole segment of society. Just like caging a tiger, after a while they forget how to hunt. Once thought a safety net, welfare has become a cage, entrapping people in poverty. - Christina Molander Pasterz

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Jesus And The Jewish Roots Of The Papacy

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Papacy
Ancient Jewish Literature

1. Mishnah: a collection of oral traditions of the Rabbis (1st-3rd centuries A.D.), compiled
by Rabbi Judah the Patriarch ca. 200 A.D.
2. Babylonian Talmud: a thirty-volume collection of rabbinic traditions, in the shape of a
commentary on the tractates in the Mishnah
3. Midrash Rabbah: ancient rabbinic commentary on the books of the Bible. (1st-5th centuries A.D.)
4. Aramaic Targums: ancient Jewish translations and adaptations of the Hebrew Bible
into Aramaic, the language of the people (3rd century B.C.—5th century A.D.)

Jesus, Peter, and the “Keys of the Kingdom”
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and
on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew
16:13-19)
1. The Foundation Stone 3. The Power to “Bind” and “Loose”
2. The Keys of the Kingdom 4. The Priestly ‘Prime Minister’
1. The “Foundation Stone” in Jewish Tradition
The “Foundation Stone” (’Eben Shetiyah)
[On the day of Atonement, the High Priest] went through the Sanctuary until he came to
the space between the two curtains separating the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies….
When he reached the Ark he put the fire-pan between the two bars. He heaped up the
incense on the coals and the whole place became filled with smoke. He came out by the
way he went in, and in the outer space he prayed a short prayer. But he did not prolong
his prayer lest he put Israel in terror. After the Ark was taken away a stone remained there
from the time of the early prophets and it was called “Shetiyah.” It was higher than the
ground by three fingerbreadths. On this he used to put… (Mishnah, Yoma [Day of
Atonement] 5:2)

The Foundation Stone: the Center of the World
“And it was called Shetiyah [foundation].” A Tanna taught: [It was so called] because
from it the world was founded. We were taught in accord with the view that the world
was started [created] from Zion on… Rabbi Isaac the Smith said: “The Holy One, blessed
be He, cast a stone into the ocean, from which the world then was founded as it is said:
‘Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened, or who laid the corner stone thereof?’
(Job 38:38). But the Sages said: The world was started [created] from Zion, as it is said…
“Out of Zion, the perfection of the world” (Ps 50:2). (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma [The
Day of Atonement] 54a-54b)

2. The Keys of the Kingdom in Jewish Tradition
The Keys Were Kept by the Temple Priests in a Rock
…for although there be four courses of the priests, and everyone of them have above five
thousand men in them, yet do they officiate on certain days only; and when those days
are over, other priests succeed in the performance of their sacrifices, and assemble
together at midday, and receive the keys of the temple (Josephus, Against Apion 2.108).

And there was a place there… whereon lay a slab of marble in which was fixed a ring
and a chain on which hung the keys. When the time was come to lock up [the Temple
Court] he lifted up the slab by the ring and took the keys from the chain. The priest
locked [the gates] from inside while a Levite slept outside. When he had finished locking
[the gates] he put back the keys on the chain and the slab in its place, put his mattress
over it, and went to sleep (Mishnah Middoth 1.9).

The Captain of the Temple and the Keys
Thus also, before the Jews rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the
war [in 67-70 A.D.]… the eastern gate of the inner [court of the] Temple, which was of
brass, and vastly heavey, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested
upon a basis armed with iron… was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth
hour of the night. Now, those that kept watch in the Temple came hereupon running to
the captain of the Temple, and told him of it: who then came up there, and not without
great difficulty, and was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to
be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open the gate of happiness. But the men of
learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own
accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies. So these
publicly declared that this signal foreshadowed the desolation that was coming upon
them. (Josephus, War 6:293-96)

The Destruction of the Temple and the Keys of the Kingdom
“Our Rabbis have taught: When the First Temple was about to be destroyed bands upon
bands of young priests with the keys of the Temple in their hands assembled and mounted
the roof of the Temple and exclaimed, ‘Master of the Universe, as we did not have the
merit to be faithful treasurers these keys are handed back into Thy keeping’. They then
threw the keys up towards heaven. And there emerged the figure of a hand and received
the keys from them. Whereupon they jumped and fell into the fire.” (Babylonian Talmud,
Ta’anith 29a)
“What did [Jeconiah] do?―He collected all the keys of the Temple and ascended the
roof [of the Temple], and said, “Lord of the Universe! Seeing that we have hitherto not
proved worthy stewards, faithful custodians for Thee, from now and henceforth, behold
Thy Keys are Thine.” Two Amoraim [differ as to what followed]. One said: A kind of
fiery hand descended and took them from him; the other said: As he threw them upward
they did not come down any more.” (Leviticus Rabbah 19.6).

3.“Binding” and “Loosing” in Jewish Tradition
Josephus on “Binding” and “Loosing”
The Pharisees, a body of Jews with the reputation of excelling the rest of their nation in
the observances of religion, and as exact exponents of the laws… became at length the
real administrators of the state, at liberty to banish and recall, to loose (Greek luein) and
to bind (Greek desmein) whom they would. In short, the enjoyments of royal authority
were theirs… [even though Alexandra was the queen]. (Josephus, War 1.5.2)
The Cathedra of Moses and the Power to “Bind and Loose”
Scribes and Pharisees Peter, Prefect of the Priests
1. “The scribes and Pharisees sit on 1. The Pope sits on the seat of Peter
Moses’ seat (Gk kathedras Mouseos); (Lat cathedra; Gk kathedra)
therefore do and keep whatever they tell you... when he teaches authoritatively (Matthew 23:1-2)
2. “They bind (Gk desmeuousin) heavy burdens 2. “Whatever you bind (Gk deses)
on the shoulders of others; but they themselves on earth will be bound
are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.” (Gk dedemenon) in heaven.”
(Matthew 23:4 ) (Matthew 16:19)
3. “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees! For 3. Jesus said to Peter: “I give to
you key shut (Gk kleiete) the kingdom of heaven you [sg.] the keys (Gk kleidas)
against people. of the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 16:19)
(Mat 23:13)
Modern Protestant Commentary
[T]he major opinion of modern exegetes… [is] that Peter, as a sort of supreme rabbi or
prime minister of the kingdom, is in 16.19 given teaching authority, given that is the
power to declare what is permitted (cf. the rabbinic shara’ ) and what is not permitted (cf.
the rabbinic ’asar). Peter can decide by doctrinal decision what Christians must and must
not do. This is the traditional Roman Catholic understanding, with the proviso that Peter
had successors. This interpretation of binding and loosing in terms of teaching authority
seems to us to be correct… Peter is the authoritative teacher without peer” (W. D.
Davies and Dale C. Allison, The Gospel according to Saint Matthew, 2:638-39)

4. The Priestly ‘Prime Minister’ in Jewish Tradition
The “Over the House” in the Bible (Isaiah 22)
“Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the house (Hb al bayith), and say to
him: ‘What have you to do here, that you have hewn here a tomb for yourself…? Behold,
the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on
you, and whirl you round and round, and throw you like a ball into a wide land; there you
shall die... I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your
station. In that day, I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe
him with your robe, and will bind your belt on him, and will commit your authority to his
hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none
shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a
sure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. And they will
hang on him the whole weight of his father’s house, the offspring of every issue, every
small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons...” (Isaiah 22:15-24)

The Priestly Overseer in the Targum on Isaiah 22
Thus says the LORD God of hosts, “Come go to this guardian, to Shebna, who is
appointed over the house, and you will say to him: What have you do to here and why do
you act this way; that you have prepared a place for yourself here?” He has prepared his
place on the height, sets his residence in the rock. “Behold, the LORD casts you out, a
mighty man is cast out, and shame will cover you. He will take away from you the turban
and encircle you with enemies as an encircling wall… there you shall die, and there shall
your glorious chariots return in shame, because you did not guard the glory of your
master’s house. And I will thrust you from your place and throw you down from your
ministry. And it will come to pass in that time that I will exalt my servant Eliakim, the
son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your cincture, and
place your authority in his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
and to the house of Judah. And I will place the key of the Sanctuary and the authority of
the house of David in his hand; and he will open, and none shall shut; and he will shut,
and none shall open. And I will appoint him a faithful officer ministering in an enduring
place... And all the glorious ones of his father’s house will rely on him, the sons and the
sons’s sons, from the princes to the juniors, from the priests wearing the ephod to the
sons of the Levites holding the harps. (Targum on Isaiah 22:15-25)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven...” The “power of the keys” designates authority to govern the house of God,
which is the Church... The power to “bind and lose” connotes the authority to absolve
sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgments, and to make disciplinary decisions in the
Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the Church through the ministry of the apostles
and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically
entrusted the keys of the kingdom (CCC 553).

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

As Soon As You Wish To Follow A Devout Life They Will Slander Your Conversion As Hypocrisy, Bigotry, And Trickery

As soon as worldly people see that you wish to follow a devout life they aim a thousand darts of mockery and even detraction at you. The most malicious of them will slander your conversion as hypocrisy, bigotry and trickery. - Saint Frances de Sales, Introduction To The Devout Life

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Children Will Dislike Their Parents Because They Never Gave Them A Moral Sense Of Right And Wrong

‎Mothers who are afraid to discipline think pain is more serious than wrong. When children grow up, they will not dislike their parents because they disciplined them when wrong, but because they never gave them a moral sense of right and wrong. - Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Friday, July 22, 2011

How Free Is Our Free Market?

"Free market? Really? You mean when Boeing can't locate their plant where they want in the United States? When banks are forced to make loans to people who can't pay them back? When government picks winners and losers? That is not a free market. There are plenty of socialist countries around the world, why don't you go to one of them? I bet you would love Greece. They practice "social justice," whatever the hell that is. How is that working out?"

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Discovering That Only In Me Is Your Satisfaction To Be Found, Will You Be Capable Of The Perfect Human Relationship, That I Have Planned For You

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, To be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But to a Christian, God says, “No, not until you are satisfied, Full and content with being loved by me alone, with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to me. With having an intensely personal and unique relationship with me alone.

Discovering that only in me is your satisfaction to be found, Will you be capable of the perfect human relationship, That I have planned for you. You will never be united to another until you are united with me. Exclusive of anyone or anything else. Exclusive of any other desires or longings. I want you to stop planning, to stop wishing, and allow me to give you The most thrilling plan existing… one you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you.

You just keep watching me, expecting the greatest things. Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am. Keep listening and learning the things that I tell you. Just wait, that’s all. Don’t be anxious, don’t worry. Don’t look around at things others have gotten or that I have given them. Don’t look around at the things you think you want, Just keep looking off and away up to me, Or you’ll miss what I want to show you, And then, when you’re ready, I’ll surprise you with a love Far more wonderful than you could dream of.

You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for you is ready, I am working even at this moment. To have both of you ready at the same time. Until you are both satisfied exclusively with me. - Saint Anthony de Padua

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Evil People In Power See The Normalizing Of Homosexuality, Contraceptives, Sterilization, Pornography, And Abortion As Useful Policies To Reduce World Population Growth

Because evil people in power see the normalizing of homosexuality, contraceptives, sterilization, pornography and abortion as useful policies to reduce world population growth. They don't believe people can control themselves sexually so they encourage sexual activity in forms that don't give birth to children. They believe that there's only so much wealth/resources to go around that only a few are entitled to, thus more people must die and the rest become controllable slaves. - K. Mitchell

A Joyless Catholic Is The Devil's Best Tool

A joyless Catholic is the devil's best tool. A joyful Catholic is God's greatest instrument. - Scott Hahn

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Leave Your Past To The Mercy Of God. Leave Your Future To The Providence Of God

Leave your past to the mercy of God. Leave your future to the providence of God. Have great confidence that God will take care of the future in the future. - Gabriel Castillo

Monday, July 4, 2011

The Supreme Court Cannot Give Us The Right To Do Wrong

There is no such thing as a right to take an innocent human life. The Supreme Court cannot give us the right to do wrong. There is no such thing as 'the right to abortion.' It is a legal fiction. To talk about same-sex marriage is to talk about dry water. Because same-sex contradicts the nature of marriage, just as dry contradicts the nature of water. Dry water is an oxy-moron. It is a non-existent thing. Same-sex marriage does not exist. The Church is not swayed by politics or by popular opinion. She sees reality. She sees the truth. The Church gives us a clear vision of the mind of Christ. And this is really what the Gospel speaks of, "the wisdom that God has hidden from the learned and the clever but revealed to his merest children." The learned and the clever were the people who went to school, the scribes, the pharisees. The virtue of wisdom allows a young adult to be wiser than the majority of justices on the Supreme Court. - Fr. Tito

Saturday, July 2, 2011

To Arrive At Christ, Man Must Be On The Path Of Truth

If Christ is the Logos, the truth, man must correspond to Him with his own logos, with his reason. To arrive at Christ, man must be on the path of truth. - Pope Benedict XVI

Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Heart Of Jesus Is An Open Heart

The heart of Jesus is an open heart. Spend your time there. - Mother Teresa

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Faith Is Not About Feelings, It Is About A Realization Of Truth

Faith is not about feelings, it is about a realization of truth. - Fr. Craig Harrison

Treat Opponents As If They Are Acting In Good Faith

I condemn no other man’s conscience: their conscience may save them, and mine must save me. We should remember, in all the controversies in which we engage, to treat our opponents as if they were acting in good faith, even if they seem to us to be acting out of spite or self-interest. Saint John Fisher

Purification Enables A Loving Union

The more lofty the degree of loving union to which God destines the soul, so much more profound and persistent must be its purification. - Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD (Edith Stein)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

There Is Only One True Church: The One Jesus Founded, The Catholic Church

Before the Gospels were written, four Popes already existed, before the Bible, 33. The earliest Christian writings, some older than the Gospels, are explicitly Catholic dogma. WAKE UP! The Word came down in the flesh and was preached orally, not in any written matter. The first Christians were Catholic Christians, history does not lie about that! There is only one true Christian Church: the one Jesus founded, the Catholic Church. The other Christians are false prophets.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Immodesty Contributes To A Large Extent The Present Destruction Of The Family

Garb that does not show a person’s self-respect as an intelligent and free being (and, through baptism, as a son or daughter of God and a temple of the Holy Ghost), contributes to a large extent to the present destruction of the family. It does this by favoring temptations against purity. It also does this by its vulgarity and childishness that corrodes the notion of the seriousness of life and the need for ascesis (self-discipline), all of which are fundamental elements that maintain family cohesion and stability.

The struggle for the restoration of the family by opposing abortion, contraception, and homosexuality will be much more effective if done together with efforts to restore sobriety, modesty and elegance in dress. - Luiz Sergio Solimeo, America Needs Fatima

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

What Is The Responsibility Of The Catholic Church As The Lights Go Out All Over Western Civilization?

What does the Church do? What is the responsibility of the Catholic Church as the lights go out all over Western Civilization? It is a question that we Catholics who see that reality need to start thinking about seriously. An empire that murders its own children, a population that is self-absorbed and lusts after little else other than being entertained...whose economy is rushing head long into unsustainable debt. This empire is on the short course to self-extinction. The faithful Catholics remaining, however few, need to be prepared to emerge from the rubble and once again rebuild. We did it after Rome, we will do it again. But as in the days of Rome, there will be martyrs. No empire goes quietly into the night. - Michael Voris

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Ron Paul is a complete idiot. He does NOT understand the way the world works! We have only two choices: fight our enemies where they live or fight them here when they come to America and start blowing up our shopping malls and churches and sports stadiums. And they WILL come here!

The Constitution obligates our Government to "provide for the common defense." It does NOT say "provide for the common defense by sitting at home waiting to be attacked." The words of the Constitution demand the best possible defense of our citizens, the one which prevents their deaths at the hands of our enemies.

Waiting here to be attacked DOES NOT LIVE UP TO THE CONSTITUTION no matter what Ron Paul and his loonie supporters would have us believe!

And, no, the Islamic world does NOT hate us for our support of Israel! The Muslims have been trying to conquer the Judeo-Christian world since 711 when they first invaded Cordoba in modern day Spain. Their war on the West has been all but non-stop for 1,300 years, of which only 63 included the existence of Israel.

If we pull out of the world, if we abandon Israel, the war with Islam will only get worse and more destructive for us.

Ron Paul is a foreign policy imbecile who has neither understanding of nor respect for the Constitution. He simply gives the Constitution lip service in order to pander to the patchwork of fringe elements which make up his base of support. - Imre Beke

Friday, June 10, 2011

The Reign Of Life Has Begun, The Tyranny Of Death Is Ended

The reign of life has begun, the tyranny of death is ended. A new birth has taken place, a new life has come, a new order of existence has appeared, our very nature has been transformed! This birth is not brought about by human generation, by the will of man, or by the desire of the flesh, but by God. If you wonder how, I will explain in clear language. Faith is the womb that conceives this new life, baptism the rebirth by which it is brought forth into the light of day. The Church is its nurse; her teachings are its milk, the bread from heaven is its food. It is brought to maturity by the practice of virtue; it is wedded to wisdom; it gives birth to hope. Its home is the kingdom; its rich inheritance the joys of paradise; its end, not death, but the blessed and everlasting life prepared for those who are worthy. - Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Bishop, (330-395)

Truth Is Hate For Those Who Hate The Truth

Truth is hate for those who hate the truth.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Beauty From Within Permeates The Body

‎Beauty on the outside never penetrates within but the beauty from within permeates the body. - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Friday, June 3, 2011

Same-Sex 'Marriage' Will Come Without The Consent Of A Majority Of Americans

The final, national victory of same-sex marriage, if it comes, will come as the result of a ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States issued not only without the consent of a majority of Americans, but even against the legally expressed will of majorities in a majority of states. Public recognition of same-sex marriage is demanded as a sign of equal public acceptance, but the mode in which it is being sought ensures that the acceptance will be fraudulent. It will be in fact not a public acceptance but the acceptance of a legal and political elite that is able to force its will on the public. - Carson Holloway, Catholic Vote

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The Flesh And Blood Of The Incarnate Jesus

Not as common bread or as common drink do we receive these...We have been taught that the food that has been Eucharistized by the word of prayer, that food which by assimilation nourishes our flesh and blood, is the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus. - Saint Justin Martyr (2nd Century AD)

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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Only The Chaste Man And The Chaste Woman Are Capable Of True Love

Only the chaste man and the chaste woman are capable of true love. - Blessed Pope John Paul II

Always Turn To This Most Tender Queen

‎Always turn to this most tender Queen and you will certainly be saved. Are you alarmed and discouraged at the thought of your sins? Remember that Mary was made Queen of Mercy to save the most abandoned sinners who recommend themselves to her. - Saint Alphonsus de Liguori

Sunday, May 29, 2011

She Was More Absorbed In What Was Happening Within Her Than Without, For Within Her Was Her Treasure, The Gentle Secret That Left Her Amazed And Speechless

Only when the divine life we receive in the sacraments has been assimilated in contemplation, can it be practically expressed in action - in the practice of the virtues and especially charity. Just as there is no human action that doesn't originate in thought (if it does, it is useless, or extremely dangerous), there is no Christian virtue that doesn't originate in contemplation...Perfection in Christian life consists in being fully like Christ, first in the inner heart and then in exterior action.

Contemplation is, then, the set course for passing from communion with Christ in Mass to the imitation of Christ in life. Therefore, just as everyone in the Church is called to holiness, we can equally talk of everyone in the Church being called to contemplation. The way to Christian perfection goes from the mysteries to contemplation and from contemplation to action.

As soon as we try to apply these general premises on the mysteries of the Eucharist, their importance and relevance is immediately obvious. The result is that to be like Christ it is not enough to eat His Body and drink His Blood; this mystery must be contemplated. There is a big affinity between the Eucharist and the incarnation. St Augustine says that in the incarnation "Mary conceived the Word first in her mind and then in her body" (Prius concepit mente quam corpore). Actually, he adds, it would have been worth nothing to her to have carried Christ in her womb if she had also carried Him with love in her heart.

After the incarnation, therefore, Mary was full of Jesus not only in her body but in her spirit too. She was full of Jesus because she thought of Him and awaited Him (and how she awaited Him!); she loved Jesus. Like any woman expecting a child, but in a much more perfect way, she was more absorbed in what was happening within her than without, for within her was her treasure, the gentle secret that left her amazed and speechless. St. Luke tells us: "Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). In this she is the most perfect model of Eucharistic contemplation: that is what the Christians who have just received Jesus in the Eucharist must be like. They too must receive Jesus with their minds after receiving after receiving Him into their bodies. And to receive Jesus with the mind mean to think of Him and have one's gaze fixed on Him.

- Father Cantalemessa

Saturday, May 28, 2011

I Never Did Give Them Hell. I Just Told The Truth, And They Thought It Was Hell

‎I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell. - H. Truman

It Is Only The Reasonable Dogma That Lives Long Enough To Be Called Antiquated

‎I am proud of being fettered by antiquated dogmas and enslaved by dead creeds (as my journalistic friends repeat with so much pertinancity), for I know very well that it is the heretical creeds that are dead, and that it is only the reasonable dogma that lives long enough to be called antiquated. - G.K. Chesterton

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Gift That Surpasses All Gifts

“I will not leave you orphans.” How painful for the Twelve to hear their Lord, their Leader, speaking about his imminent departure! They had left all to follow him, and he was going to leave them. But not really… He would send them the “Advocate to be with them always” – the “Paraclete,” the Holy Spirit. In the Holy Spirit, Jesus knows that he will be present to his disciples in a more intimate way than ever before. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, is the love between the Father and Son lived so intensely that it is a person itself. When we are baptized, that same Spirit takes up residence within our souls, and his field of action is increased when we are confirmed. This gift surpasses all other gifts. In the Holy Spirit the prophecy of “Emmanuel” (God-with-us) takes on unimaginable proportions: not merely God among us, as in the Incarnation, but God within us, a guest in our souls, a guide for our life’s journey, a personal trainer for our spiritual fitness. What greater gift could Christ have left us? What other friend could match such a gift?


Jesus: I was longing to complete my mission and go back to the Father, because I was longing to come and live in your heart forever, in an intimacy that only the Spirit can give. And I was longing to go and sit at the Father’s right hand so that I could be there interceding for you all the time, so that you could finally ask the Father for all that you need and desire in my name. Now that I have repaired the breach through my sacrifice on the cross, the floodgates of grace are open, and all that I have and all that the Father has is all yours.

Christ in My Life You speak with such assurance, Lord. You are Master of all time and space. You are Master of my life. What confidence this should give me! Increase my faith, Lord. Give me the faith and trust of a child who is incapable of doubting, of being anxious, of wondering what will become of him. You love me more than any human mother or father ever could. And you are all-powerful. Jesus, I trust in you…

Mary, the Church calls you the Mother of Fairest Love. But you didn’t do big and impressive things. You did all things with the purest and most humble self-forgetfulness and dedication to God the world had ever seen. You had two mottos: “Let it be done to me…” and “My soul magnifies the Lord.” Why do I keep seeking satisfaction in other mottos? Mother, pray for me, teach me to love…

Holy Spirit, pour out your gifts into my soul. My mind is weak and benighted; renew and restore its vigor and clarity. My will is shrunken and misdirected; breathe into it your force and goodness. My heart – I don’t even want to talk about it. You know that way down at its very core is a tiny spark of love. Blow on it, feed it, build it into a blazing fire of zeal for God’s glory and the salvation of souls…



- Fr. John Bartunek

Read more at Roman Catholic Spiritual Direction.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

No One Can Be At The Same Time A Sincere Catholic And A True Socialist

No one can be at the same time a sincere Catholic and a true Socialist. - Pius XI

She Crushes The Head Of The Serpent

I once had a dream in which I was surrounded by snakes. Then a young lady with the feet of an elephant rescued me. It was so bizarre and lasting that I prayed and asked God to help me to understand it...

"She crushes the head of the serpent." - Gabriel Castillo

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Pope Benedict Is Trying To Revitalize Our Catholic Identity As A Bulwark Against The Dictatorship Of Relativism

After the devastation in WWII, the USA helped to rebuild Europe in order to foster trade and support a bulwark against Communism. In the wake of the devastation caused by a hermeneutic of discontinuity after the Second Vatican Council, Pope Benedict is trying to revitalize our Catholic identity as a bulwark against the dictatorship of relativism. - Fr. Z

We As A Culture Have Unburdened Ourselves Of All Standards Of Sexual Morality

Sex before marriage is not new to our time, but what is new is that in the last fifty years or so, beginning with the sexual revolution of the 1960s, we as a culture have slowly unburdened ourselves of a high standard, or really any standard, when it comes to sexual morality. In 1955, a young woman having sex with her boyfriend, though not unheard of, was considered far from ideal. Today, there is no ideal, and the fact that teenagers will have sex with each other is par for the course – as are teen pregnancy, abortion, single motherhood, the welfare state, and juvenile delinquency. Coincidence? No.

Planned Parenthood delights in the death of sexual standards…. Why? Because a young woman who says ‘yes’ to sex before she’s ready could one day be a young woman who says ‘yes’ to an abortion, allowing PP to continue their intended mission: ridding the world of ‘human weeds.’

And my, how the money rolls in. - Kristen Walker, author of Eve’s Ransom blog

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Our Productivity, Personal Growth, And Our Future Depends On What Our Minds Are Focusing On At Any Given Minute

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to become distracted and spend our time on activities that are either non-productive or ineffective?

Our productivity, personal growth, and our present as well as our future depends on what our minds are focusing on at any given minute.

Since our future depends on our focus, my thoughts often turn toward Ephesians 5:15-17 - Be very careful, then, on how you live---not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

It’s our choice how we spend our time; we can choose to complain, criticize, worry & wish things were different or we can spend our time learning, creating, planning, encouraging & building people up. It’s difficult to be effective & productive in this life if we allow our minds to dwell on the negative. - Anna Gisselle

One Thing In This World Is Different From All Others

One thing in this world is different from all others. It has a personality and a force. It is recognized and (when recognized) most violently hated or loved. It is the Catholic Church. Within that household the human spirit has roof and hearth. Outside it is the night. - Hellaire Belloc

Come To Me, Lord, And Possess My Soul

Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with you and let You work in my heart. I am Yours to possess.

I am Yours to use. I want yo be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is in me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You.

Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.

I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.

When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change whats in my heart that You are making very clear to me.

I worship You, I adore You and I love You.

Come and dwell with me now.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Nothing We Do To Defend The Human Person Is Ever Unfruitful Or Forgotten

Nothing we do to defend the human person, no matter how small, is ever unfruitful or forgotten. Our actions touch other lives and move other hearts in ways we can never fully understand in this world. Don’t ever underestimate the beauty and power of the witness you give in your pro-life work. - Archbishop Charles Chaput

Any Pro-Life Effort That Temporizes On Contraception Will Be Ultimately Futile

Any 'pro-life' effort that temporizes on contraception will be ultimately futile. Legalized abortions in the United States are usually estimated at about 1.5 million a year. This figure, however, does not include early abortions caused by the intrauterine device and some so-called contraceptive pills. Such early abortions have been estimated at between 6.4 and 8.8 million each year in this country. - Charles E. Rice

The Call To Martydom Of Witness Is Ever More Urgent

Given the breakdown in family life, the wholesale attack on innocent and defenseless human lives, and the violation of the integrity of the union of marriage in our society, the call to the martyrdom of witness is ever more urgent. - Cardinal Burke

Mass Is Very Much More Important Than An Exorcism

Mass is very much more important than any exorcism. Many people ask me, do you prepare a lot before doing an exorcism? I can assure the people that I prepare more for the Mass than for exorcism, because in exorcism I am treating with just a demon, but in the Mass I am dealing with, treating with the Holy of the Holies, the Almighty God, the God of all the armies...Exorcism has made me understand the importance of every small rite in the liturgy, because now I see, if every rite has so much importance in exorcism, how much more has to be the importance in the liturgy. - Father Jose Fortea, 'Interview with an Exorcist'

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Keep Up Your Daily Communion, And Think: 'What Would I Be If I Had Not Gone'

'Going to Communion every day for so many years! Anybody else would be a saint by now, you told me, and I...I'm always the same!' Son, I replied, 'keep up your daily Communion, and think: what would I be if I had not gone' - Saint Josemaria Escriva

The Word Gives Life To Our Souls, But The Word Made Flesh Nourishes Our Bodies

‎The Word gives life to our souls, but the Word made flesh nourishes our bodies. In this Sacrament is contained the Word not only in His divinity but also in His humanity; therefore, it is the cause not only of the glorification of our souls but also of that of our bodies. - Saint Thomas Aquinas

One Day, All Human Accomplishments Will Be Reduced To A Pile Of Ashes But Every Single Child To Whom A Woman Gives Birth Will Live Forever

One day, all human accomplishments will be reduced to a pile of ashes. But every single child to whom a woman gives birth will live forever, for he has been given an immortal soul made to God's image and likeness. In this light, the assertion of de Beauvoir that "women produce nothing" becomes particularly ludicrous. - Doctor Alice von Hildebrand

Looking Through This Distorted World's Lenses

The world in which we now live is a world whose outlook is so distorted that we absolutize what is relative (money-making, power, success) and relativize what is absolute (truth, moral values, and God). Power, riches, fame, success, and dominance are idolized; humility, chastity, modesty, self-sacrifice, and service are looked down upon as signs of weakness. - Doctor Alice von Hildebrand

The Mother Is Nature's Constant Challenge To Death, The Herald Of Eternal Realities, God's Great Cooperator

The mother is both the physical preserver of life and the moral provider of truth; she is nature's constant challenge to death, the bearer of cosmic plenitude, the herald of eternal realities, God's great cooperator. - Archbishop Fulton Sheen

There Are Going To Be A Lot Of 'Nice' People In Hell

‎'Nice' is a very trite word and there are going to be a lot of 'nice' people in Hell because they didn't want to stand up for anything; they just wanted to be nice. - Father Tony Stephens

Like Eve From Adam's Rib, The Church, Christ's Bride, Grew From His Wounded Side

Like Eve from Adam's rib, the Church, Christ's bride, grew from His wounded side.

Through Christ I Enter In, Not To Your Houses But To Your Hearts

I, seeking to enter in among you, that is, into your heart, preach Christ: if I were to preach other than that, I should be trying to enter by some other way. Through Christ I enter in, not to your houses but to your hearts. Through Him I enter and you have willingly heard me speak of Him. Why? Because you are Christ's sheep and you have been purchased with Christ's blood. - Saint Augustine

The Truth Does Not Change According To Our Ability To Stomach It

The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. - Flannery O'Connor

That Bread Which You See On The Altar Is The Body Of Christ

That bread which you see on the altar...is the body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the blood of Christ...What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the body of Christ and the chalice is the blood of Christ. - Saint Augustine A.D. 411

The Best Suffering Is The Suffering That Is Kept To Oneself

The best suffering is the suffering that is kept to oneself. - Michael Fanelli

Friday, May 13, 2011

USCCB

USCCB: Underhanded Sindicate of Communists Camaflagued as Bishops - Janet Baker

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

We Preach Christ Crucified

I had a friend ask me why Catholics have Crucifixes in our churches...don't we believe Jesus has risen? Why do we keep Him on the cross?

First of all, you would want to check out 1st Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 23. Paul says, "...but we preach Christ crucified..." Why does Paul preach Christ crucified? Doesn't he know Jesus has been raised from the dead? Of course he does! But, he knows that it is through the power of the crucified Christ on the cross that the bonds of sin and death are broken. As Paul says in verse 24, Christ crucified is the "power of God".

1 Cor 2:2, "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Again, didn't Paul know that Jesus had risen from the dead? Of course, he did.

Paul preaches Christ crucified because an empty cross has no power. The cross that bears the beaten, battered, and bloodied body of Jesus Christ, however, that cross is the "power of God". This is why, we "keep Jesus on the cross," because we, too, preach Christ crucified. The Crucifix reminds us not only of God's power, but also His love for us - giving His only begotten Son up for suffering and death.

Also, here in this life we do not share so much in the glory of the Resurrection, as we do in the suffering of Jesus on the cross; after all, we must take up our cross daily if we are to follow Jesus, as it says in Lk 9:23.

And, we must die with Christ in order to live with Him as Romans 6:8 tells us. Where did Christ die? On the cross. The Crucifix serves to remind us of these things.

It Is God, The Thrice Holy Who Makes Us Saints

Can I do so with my own strength? The answer is clear: A holy life is not primarily the fruit of our own effort, of our actions, because it is God, the thrice Holy (cf. Isaiah 6:3), who makes us saints, and the action of the Holy Spirit who encourages us from within; it is the life itself of the Risen Christ, which ... transforms us. - Pope Benedict XVI

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Sacrament Of The Body Of The Lord Puts The Demons To Flight

The Sacrament of the Body of the Lord puts the demons to flight, defends us against the incentives to vice and to concupiscence, cleanses the soul from sin, quiets the anger of God, enlightens the understanding to know God, inflames the will and the affections with the love of God, fills the memory with spiritual sweetness, confirms the entire man in good, frees us from eternal death... - Saint Thomas Aquinas

He Remains Among Us Until The End Of The World

He remains among us until the end of the world. He dwells on so many altars, though so often offended and profaned. - Saint Maximilan Kolbe

Friday, May 6, 2011

Let The Thief No Longer Steal

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. - Ephesians 4:28

Mary Contributes To Transforming persons in Christ, That Is, To 'Christifying' Them

St. Paul the Apostle teaches that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Since Mary is sinless and ever-virgin, her immaculate body is the perfect temple of the Holy Spirit. Even to Martin Luther, Mary is “the pneumatophoros (bearer of the Spirit) to the highest degree.” Thus, she “can communicate the divine life in the Spirit” and “contribute to transforming persons in Christ, that is, to ‘Christifying’ them.” - Brother Marwil N. Llasos

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Frequent Not The Company Of Immodest Persons

Frequent not the company of immodest persons, especially if they be also impudent, as is generally the case; ...these corrupted souls and infected hearts scarcely speak to any, either of the same or a different sex, without causing them to fall in some degree from purity; they have poison in their eyes and in their breath, like basilisks. On the contrary, keep company with the chaste and virtuous; often meditate upon and read holy things; for the word of God is chaste, and makes those also chaste that delight in it. - Saint Francis de Sales

The Catholic Church Is Different From All Other

One thing in this world is different from all other. It has a personality and a force. It is recognized (and when recognized) most violently loved or hated. It is the Catholic Church. Within that household the human spirit has roof and hearth. Outside it, is the Night. - Hilaire Belloc

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Devil Can Receive The Most Brilliant Mind

‎The devil can deceive the most brilliant mind. - Saint Padre Pio

O Ravisher Of Hearts, When Wilt Thou Restore Mine?

O Lady, who by thy sweetness dost ravish the hearts of men, hast thou not ravished mine? O ravisher of hearts, when wilt thou restore mine? Rule and govern it like thine own; preserve it in the Blood of the Lamb, and place it in thy Son's side. Then shall I obtain what I desire, and obtain what I hope for; for thou art our hope. - Saint Bonaventure

God With A Face

Heavenly Father, I embrace your grace this day,
So that I might not:
Think of another,
Speak to another or
Touch another,
without first looking for
Your Face in the other.
I ask all this through
Jesus Christ:
God Incarnate,
God with Skin,
God made Poor,
God with a Face. Amen!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

I've Fallen More Than I Like To Admit But The Sacraments Sustain Me

I could never go back to whom I had been in the past, so I stretched out my new legs and have been running the race ever since. I’ve fallen more times than I would like to admit, but the sacraments sustain me. - Blessed John Paul II

Friday, April 29, 2011

In His Holy Flirtation With The World, God Occasionally Drops A Handkerchief

In his holy flirtation with the world, God occasionally drops a handkerchief. These handkerchiefs are called saints. - Frederick Buechner

Thursday, April 28, 2011

It Is Our Suffering That Gives Us Strength As The Cross Sustains Our Being

When Carter was President, he actually made many of us stronger such as Obama is doing today. It is in our suffering that gives us strength as the Cross sustains our being. The answer to the whole situation is to continue the job of many of the Saints such as Saint Pius X, St. Patrick, and others such as these who converted many. The people lack true leadership and wouldn't know of it unless they are shown it. Being a caregiver by profession, I see the changes firsthand when I'm given assignments. I always wear my cross to identify who I am. In the meantime, we need to lessen and limit government in our daily lives as we walk and weep in this Valley of Tears. The next generations are counting on us. Lord, hear our prayers! - Arthur R. Garcia

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Without Truth There Is No Social Conscience And Responsibility

Without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power. - Pope Benedict XVI

God Never Resists The Prayer Of His Mother Because It Is Always In Accord With His Will

‎Mary's prayers and requests are so powerful with God that they pass for commands with His Majesty. He never resists the prayer of His dear Mother because it is always humble and in accord with His will. - Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716 AD)

Monday, April 25, 2011

We Have Little Inborn Light, And This We Quickly Lose Through Negligence

WE MUST not rely too much upon ourselves, for grace and understanding are often lacking in us. We have but little inborn light, and this we quickly lose through negligence. Often we are not aware that we are so blind in heart. Meanwhile we do wrong, and then do worse in excusing it. At times we are moved by passion, and we think it zeal. We take others to task for small mistakes, and overlook greater ones in ourselves. We are quick enough to feel and brood over the things we suffer from others, but we think nothing of how much others suffer from us. If a man would weigh his own deeds fully and rightly, he would find little cause to pass severe judgment on others. - Imitation of Christ

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Sunday, April 24, 2011

To Obey The Catholic Church Is To Obey God

To obey the Catholic church is to obey God because the Catholic church is God's living voice. Proof of that is 20+ centuries of existence unlike any other institution in history. The Roman empire tried repeatedly to destroy the Catholic church and FAILED. This is a historical fact. "The gates of hell will not prevail against it." (Matthew 16: 18) - Michael Fanelli

The Enemies Of The Church Are Intolerant In Principle Because They Do Not Believe

The Church is intolerant in principle because she believes; she is tolerant in practice because she loves. The enemies of the Church are tolerant in principle because they do not believe; they are intolerant in practice because they do not love. - Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Man Finds Himself Betwixt A Twofold Gravitational Force

The Fathers of the Church maintained that human beings stand at the point of intersection between two gravitational fields. First, there is the force of gravity which pulls us down – towards selfishness, falsehood and evil; the gravity which diminishes us and distances us from the heights of God. On the other hand there is the gravitational force of God’s love: the fact that we are loved by God and respond in love attracts us upwards. Man finds himself betwixt this twofold gravitational force; everything depends on our escaping the gravitational field of evil and becoming free to be attracted completely by the gravitational force of God, which makes us authentic, elevates us and grants us true freedom. - Pope Benedict XVI

How Many There Are Who Shrink From Whatever Requires Manhood

How many there are, who love to live delicately and shrink from whatever requires manhood. - Pope Leo XIII

Help Us To Become Loyal And Steadfast Disciples

Almighty God, we remember Jesus' joyous ride into Jerusalem, as we enter into Holy Week contemplating your his path of suffering, help us to become loyal and steadfast disciples, that we may always hear his word, follow his teachings, and live in his Spirit. And prepare our hearts for that day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord and King, to your eternal glory. Amen.

The World Is Rotten Because Of Silence

Enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues; the world is rotten because of silence. - Saint Catherine of Siena

Time Is Short; Eternity Is Long

Time is short; eternity is long. - Blessed John Henry Newman

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Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Truth Is The Truth Even If Nobody Believes It

The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it, and a lie is still a lie, even if everybody believes it. - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

There Will Be Many Things About Which You Care Nothing

‎Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing. - Saint Teresa of Avila

Sunday, April 10, 2011

By The Time You Finish Reading This Message, An Unborn Human Would Have Been Killed In It's Mother's Womb

By the time you finish reading this message, an unborn human would have been killed in its mother's womb. Please pray and act to end this killing of the innocent. Parents do not have the right to kill their children, born or unborn! - Catherine Contreras

Thursday, April 7, 2011

I Have To Tear Myself Away From His Sacred Presence

When I am before the Blessed Sacrament I feel such a lively faith that I can’t describe it. Christ in the Eucharist is almost tangible to me. When it is time for me to leave, I have to tear myself away from His sacred presence. - Saint Anthony Claret

True Happiness Does Not Consist In The Pleasures of The World

With all the strength of my soul I urge you young people to approach the Communion table as often as you can. Feed on this bread of angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner battles...Because true happiness, dear friends, does not consist in the pleasures of the world or in earthly things, but in peace of conscience which we can have only if we are pure in heart and in mind. - Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Saints Are Prayer Partners And Role Models

Saints are prayer partners and role models. Just like an evangelical would have no problem whatsoever going to a fellow church member and saying, "you know, I am having a hard time with this, will you pray with me about this?" We do the same thing, it just happens that the bulk of our Church just happens to be in heaven. - Michael Matthews, Former Baptist Minister

For 1500 Years, If Someone Was a Christian, They Were A Catholic

For 1500 years if someone was a Christian, they were a Catholic. Even the split with the Orthodox really wasn’t complete until the 1400s after the fall of Constantinople. Even during the years of the schism with the East, there was still the idea of there being one Church. That is why the East called upon the West during the Crusades. The understanding that for 1500 years there was Christendom...there was one Church. And Jesus said, “upon this rock I shall build my Church.” As a Fundamentalist, I had to think of myself as being like a bug on a leaf that fell off of a twig that fell off of a branch that fell off of a bow that fell off the tree 500 years ago. And now as Catholics, we are back to the root. We are back to the Church that can trace itself back to Christ. It is so neat to be part of something that goes back 2000 years and stretches into eternity, that reaches up to heaven and down to earth...it’s amazing. - Michael Matthews, Former Baptist Minister

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Anima Devota

I believe, dearest Jesus,
that Thou art united to my soul,
by Thy real presence.
Filled with consolation,
I clasp Thee to my breast,
and return Thee thanks
for this Thine infinite mercy.
Why unite Thyself to a soul so full of self-love,
so cold towards Thee,
so averse to mortification and self-denial?
Thou knowest how much I am attached to pleasure,
comfort and honour,
how ill I endure the slightest provocation,
a harsh word,
or the most trifling adversity.
Why, then, my sweet Saviour,
unite Thyself to so vile and despicable a creature?
It is not sufficient for Thee
to visit my soul with Thy divine lights,
to lead me on in the paths of salvation?
Why condescend to visit me in person?

Dear Jesus,
I have neither words nor feelings
adequately to express the extent of Thy goodness.
I clasp Thee to my heart;
I adore Thee as my first treasure,
my supreme Lover,
my first beginning,
and my last end,
my chief and only good.
O that I could adore Thee
with those feelings with which
the Blessed Virgin adored Thee on earth,
and with which she now adores Thee in heaven!
O that like her,
I could die,
consumed by transports of the most ardent love for Thee!

Complete, my dear Saviour,
the salutary designs which
Thou hast in paying me this visit.
Thou hast given me light and strength
to abandon the paths of perdition;
grant me now light and grace to know,
and steadily to advance in the ways of salvation.

Dear Jesus,
deny me not the grace
requisite for overcoming my passions,
and remaining faithful to Thee.
Grant that I may renounce all earthly satisfactions,
and place my delight in pleasing Thee,
my God, my treasure, and my all.
By Thine infinite goodness,
and by Thine infallible promise of never abandoning
those who cast themselves into Thine arms,
to be directed by Thee,
I beseech Thee, O Lord,
to grant me this grace.
Grant it to me,
by the merits of Thy most precious Blood,
of that saving and vivifying Blood,
so profusely shed for the salvation of all,
and for the tender consolation of Thy faithful servants.

Come to my aid,
O Mary,
my dearest Mother;
intercede for me and enable my unworthy petition to find,
through Thine intercession,
a ready acceptance.
Alas! have pity on Thy poor child,
and cease not to exert a mother's care in its behalf.
Take me, O Mary,
take me under thy protection;
thou shalt not always find me so unworthy
as I have hitherto been.
I will endeavour to copy thy virtues,
especially thy humility and purity,
which have ever been so dear to thee.
Hail, august Mother of Jesus Christ!
receive my humble homage of praise and thanks.
Obtain for me innocence of heart and purity of mind,
that so my thoughts and affections
may be ever pure and chaste.
By thy most powerful intercession,
obtain for me the grace to reap
solid and lasting advantages from the holy Sacrament,
of which I have just participated;
to imitate faithfully thy virtues,
and to steadily follow thine example during my life,
so that in heaven
I may be associated with thee
in eternally praising the unspeakable
and infinite goodness of thy Son.
Thou who wast never defiled by sin,
preserve me in future from its cursed contagion;
inflame my heart with divine love,
that I may ever adhere to my Jesus,
and be never separated from Him eternally.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Adore And Bless The Divine Will, Especially in The Things Which Are Hardest For You

In all the events of life, you must recognize the Divine will. Adore and bless it, especially in the things which are the hardest for you. - Saint Padre Pio

Holy Communion Assures Me That I Will Win The Victory

Every morning during meditation, I prepare myself for the whole day's struggle. Holy Communion assures me that I will win the victory; and so it is. I fear the day when I do not receive Holy Communion. - Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Saturday, March 26, 2011

A Funeral Mass is Primarily For Praying For The Deceased

"...a funeral Mass is primarily for praying for the deceased, asking God's mercy. It is not for telling off-color stories or tales of getting drunk together or watching some poor person burst into tears." - Father Z.

read the article here.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Lord Jesus, Have Mercy On Me

Lord, Jesus, Through Thine infant cries when Thou wast born for me in the manger, Through Thy tears when Thou didst die for me on the Cross, Through Thy love as Thou livest for me in the tabernacle, Have mercy on me and save me.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Paths of Repentance

A third path of repentance consists of prayer that is fervent, careful and comes from the heart. A fourth path of repentance is almsgiving, whose power is great and far-reaching. A fifth way, moreover, if a man lives a modest humble life, takes away sin. - Saint John Chrysostom

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Be Thoughtful, But Not Complicated

Be united but not closed off. Be humble, but not fearful. Be simple, but not naive. Be thoughtful, but not complicated. Enter into dialog with everyone, but remain yourselves. - Pope Benedict XVI

The Floors of Hell Are Paved With The Bones of Errant Priests

The floors of hell are paved with the bones of errant priests and the skulls of their wayward Bishops serve as its ramparts. - Saint John Chrysostom

Monday, March 7, 2011

God Wills The Lofty Mountains of Our Lives be Made Low

God wills the lofty mountains of our lives be made low. These mountains take the forms of pride, fear, resentment, and anxiety. They prevent us from seeing the light of Christ inviting us to taste of His goodness. Christ wants to level our mountains, and fill our empty valleys with His river of Love. We should simply stop paying attention to our failings and problems and look at Christ as our solution - Brother Cassian Sama, O.P.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

We Should Seek Truth And Serve It When We Have Found It

No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it. The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the hecatombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves? - Saint Maximilian Kolbe

The Dignity of Man Rests Above All on The Fact That He is Called to Communion With God

The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator. - Catechism of the Catholic Church 27

The Ridiculous Attempt of Modern Feminism

I do not deny that women have been wronged and even tortured; but I doubt if they were ever tortured so much as they are tortured now by the absurd modern attempt to make them domestic empresses and competitive clerks at the same time. - G. K. Chesteron

The Desire for God is Written in The Human Heart

The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for. - Catechism of the Catholic Church 27

Faith is Man's Response to God

Faith is man's response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life. - Catechism of the Catholic Church 26

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Addiction is Slavery

‎Addiction is slavery, and the devil is a very cruel master. - Father John Corapi

Virtues Are Formed by Prayer

‎Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven. - Saint Ephraem of Syria

Sex And Technology Have Very Large Congregations

There are no real atheists in America – quite the opposite. We have a thriving free market of little gods to worship. Sex and technology have very large congregations. - Archbishop Chaput

Friday, March 4, 2011

They That Follow Their Sensuality Defile Their Conscience

Study, therefore, to withdraw thy heart from the love of visible things, and to turn thyself to things invisible. For they that follow their sensuality defile their conscience and lose the grace of God. - Thomas a Kempis

The Level of Any Civilization is The Level of its Womanhood

‎To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women. - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

In Whatever State a Soul May be, it Ought to Pray

In whatever state a soul may be, it ought to pray. A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty; a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul which is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again; a sinful soul, plunged in sins, must pray so that it might rise again. There is no soul which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer. - Saint Faustina

Our Lady's Love is Like a Stream That Has its Source in The Eternal Fountains

Our Lady's love is like a stream that has its source in the Eternal Fountains, quenches the thirst of all, can never be drained, and ever flows back to its Source. - Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys

The Mystery of The Most Holy Trinity is The Central Mystery of The Christian Faith And Life

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the “hierarchy of the truths of faith”. The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men “and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin”. - Catechism of the Catholic Church 234

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

How Come The Church Gets The Blame?

Would you know from the media coverage that there are more sex offenders among public school teachers then among Catholic priests? How come the church gets the blame and the Department of Education doesn't? - Father John Higgins

The Mass is The Passion of Christ

‎The Mass is the passion of Christ. - Saint Padre Pio

The Soul That is United With God is Feared by The Devil

‎The soul that is united with God is feared by the Devil as though it were God Himself. - Saint John of the Cross

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Lord, Take Everything That Diverts Me From You

‎O Lord, give me all that leads me to You. O Lord, take everything that diverts me from You. O Lord, wrest me from myself and give me wholly to You. - Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Monday, February 28, 2011

They Do Not Recognize Love

My great delight is to unite myself with souls...When I come to a human heart in communion, my hands are filled with graces which I want to give to souls. But souls do not pay attention to me: they leave me to myself and busy themselves with other things. They do not recognize love. They treat me as a dead object. - Jesus Christ to Saint Faustina

Do Not be Afraid of The Truth

I would like to say to those passing through a difficult moment in their journey of faith, and those who take little part in the life of the Church or live "as though God did not exist," not to be afraid of the Truth, never stop searching for the profound truth about yourselves and other things. God will not fail to provide Light to see by and Warmth to make the heart feel that he loves us. - Pope Benedict XVI

We Have Been Called to Penetrate The Intimacy of God's Own Life

‎We do not exist in order to pursue just any happiness. We have been called to penetrate the intimacy of God's own life, to know and love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and to love also--in that same love of the one God in three divine Persons--the angels and all men. - Saint Josemaria Escriva

The Papists Have The Word of God

We are compelled to concede to the papists that they have the Word of God, that we received it from them, and that without them we should have no knowledge of it at all. - Martin Luther

Pray

Pray for the wicked, pray for the lukewarm pray even for fervent souls, but pray especially for the Supreme Pontiff, for all the spiritual and temporal needs of holy Church, our most tender mother: A special prayer for all those who are working for the salvation of souls and for God's glory - Saint Padre Pio

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

What Will my Father in Heaven Think?

You have no time to occupy your thoughts with complacency or or consideration of what others will think. Your business is simply, 'What will my Father in heaven think?' - Saint Katherine Drexel

Monday, February 21, 2011

Behold Me Prostrate Before Your Immense Majesty

Eternal God, behold me prostrate before your immense majesty, humbly adoring you. I offer you all my thoughts, words, and actions of this day. I offer them all to be thought, spoken, and done entirely for love of you, for your glory, to fulfill your divine will, to serve you, to praise you, and bless you. I wish and intend to do everything in union with the most pure intentions of Jesus and Mary. - Saint John Leonardi

My Soul Proclaims The Greatness of The Lord

Magnificat anima mea Dominum

Order All my Life For The Glory And Honor of Your Name Alone

Merciful God, grant that I may eagerly desire, carefully search out, truthfully acknowledge, and ever perfectly fulfill all things which are pleasing to You. Order all my life for the glory and honor of Your name alone. Enlighten me to know what You want of me, and help me to do it properly and without profit to my salvation. Grant that I may not fail or swerve either in prosperity or adversity; that I be not lifted up by the one, nor cast down by the other. Let me enjoy only what leads to You, and grieve only for what leads away from You; let me neither seek to... please, nor fear to displease, any but You alone. May all transitory things grow vile in my eyes, O Lord, and make all that is Yours be dear to me for Your sake, and You, my God, dear above them all. May all joy be irksome to me that is without You, may all labor and toil delight me which is for You, and rest be weariness which is not in You. Amen. - Saint Thomas Aquinas

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

If You Are Afraid to Love, Never Become a Priest

If you are afraid to love, never become a priest, never say Mass. The Mass will draw you down upon your soul a torrent of interior suffering which has only one function: to break you wide open and let everybody in the world into your heart. For when you begin to say Mass, the Spirit of God awakens like a giant inside you and bursts the locks of your private sanctuary. If you say Mass, you condemn your soul to the torrent of a love that is so vast and insatiable that you will never be able to bear it alone. That love is the love of the Heart of Jesus, burning within your own heart and bringing down upon you the huge weight of His compassion for all the sinners of the world. - Thomas Merton

Make Your Lives Intensely Eucharistic

Make your lives intensely Eucharistic. - Venerable Pope John Paul II

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Allusion of Tolerance

Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views. - William F. Buckley, Jr.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Whoever Professes the Christian Religion Yet Professes it is Only a Subjective Truth is Not Worthy of the Name "Christian"

Whoever professes the Christian religion, yet in politics and daily life profess that it as only a subjective truth and that religion has no place outside of itself has lost their purity and is not worthy of the name 'Christian.' - Appian Nesbitt

Friday, February 11, 2011

For we do not Receive These Things as Common Bread or Common Drink; But as Jesus Christ

St. Justin Martyr was born a pagan but converted to Christianity after studying philosophy. He was a prolific writer and many Church scholars consider him the greatest apologist or defender of the faith from the 2nd century. He was beheaded with six of his companions some time between 163 and 167 A.D.

"This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus."

Thursday, February 10, 2011

You Are Called to Throw Out The Nets of The Gospel Into The Stormy Seas of Our Time

You have been called to play roles that concern the Universal Church. You are called to throw out the 'nets of the Gospel', into the stormy seas of our time...to obtain the adherence of men and women to Christ, so as to draw them out-so to speak-from the salty waters of death and from the dark...to live in communion with Jesus Christ. - Pope Benedict XVI

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Arbitrary Deformations of The Liturgy Caused Deep Pain

Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them. This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear. I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church. - Pope Benedict XVI, letter to present the Motu Proprio

Monday, February 7, 2011

I Adore You From the Abyss of My Nothingness

My Lord Jesus Christ, who for the love which You bear
us, remain night and day in this Sacrament full of compassion
and love, awaiting, calling, and welcoming all who come to visit
You, I believe that You are present in the Sacrament of the
Altar. I adore You from the abyss of my nothingness, and I
thank You for all the graces which You have bestowed upon me
and in particular for having given me Yourself in this Sacrament,
for having given me Your most holy Mother Mary as my
Advocate, and for having called me to visit You in this church. I
now salute Your most loving Heart; and this for three ends:
first, in thanksgiving for this great gift; secondly, to make
amends to You for all the outrages which You receive in this
Sacrament from all Your enemies; thirdly, I intend by this visit to
adore You in all the places on earth in which You are present in
this Sacrament and in which You are the least reserved and the
most abandoned. My Jesus, I love You with all my heart. I
grieve for having hitherto so many times offended Your infinite
goodness. I purpose by Your grace never more to offend You
for the time to come. And now, miserable and unworthy though
I be, I consecrate myself to You without reserve; I give You
renounce my entire will, affections, my desires, and all that I
possess. Henceforward, dispose of me and of all that I have as
You please. All that I ask of You and desire is Your holy love,
final perseverance and the perfect accomplishment of Your will.
I recommend to You the souls in Purgatory, and especially those
who had the greatest devotion to the most Blessed Sacrament,
and to the most Blessed Virgin Mary. I also recommend to You
all poor sinners. Finally, my dear Savior, I unite all my affections
with the affections of Your most loving Heart, and I offer them,
thus united, to Your Eternal Father, and beseech Him in Your
name to vouchsafe for Your love, to accept and grant them.
Amen.

Transport Yourself Quickly in Spirit Before the Tabernacle

When you awake in the night, transport yourself quickly in spirit before the Tabernacle, saying, 'Behold, my God, I come to adore You, to praise, thank, and love you, and to keep you company with all the Angels..' - Saint John Marie Vianney

Thursday, February 3, 2011

He Disciplines us For Our Good, That we May Share His Holiness

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us ...and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. - Hebrews 12:7-11

Filled With a Fire of Love

I no sooner began to pray than my heart is filled with a fire of love. This fire does not resemble any fire of this lowly earth. It is a delicate and very gentle flame which consumes without causing any pain...This is a wonderful thing for me, something I will perhaps never understand until I get to Heaven. - Saint Padre Pio

Protect Yourselves by Prayer, Fasting, And, Above All, Community Prayer

Mirjana, one of the visionaries of Medjugorje, had a particular vision on 14th April 1982. While she was waiting for Our Lady to appear, Satan arrived disguised as Our Lady. She writes

"He was ugly, horribly ugly. You cannot even imagine how ugly, he almost killed me with his gaze, I almost fainted. He then told me,'You must leave God and Our Lady because they will make you suffer, come with me and I will make you happy in love and life.' My heart echoed -No, no, no! Then Satan went away and Our Lady came and she said to me:

"I am sorry for this, but you must know that Satan exists and has asked God to allow him to test the Church for a certain period with the intention of destroying Her. God allowed him to have one century, saying ,'You will not destroy Her.'

This century in which we are living is under Satan's power. When the secrets I have confided to you come about, his power will be destroyed. Satan has become aggresive because he is losing his power. He is breaking up marriages, causing quarrels amongst priests, obsessing people, even killing them.

Therefore, protect yourselves by prayer, fasting and, above all, community prayer. Renew the use of holy water, wear blessed and holy objects and put them in your homes."

Are You Aware That God Did Not Leave us on Our Own But He Gave us His One Church With His Own Teaching Authority to Guide us in Truth

Are you aware that you are so loved that God himself took on our human nature to become one of us in everything except sin and showed us the way to himself through God the Son Jesus Christ? (We are loved by God who through his Son died for ...our sin, rose from the dead to give us everlasting life: John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10; Galatians 2:20. Jesus is True God and True man: John 1:1, 10:38, 12:45, 20:28; Colossians 2-9; Philippianss2:5-11). Your sin is but a drop in the ocean of God's love and mercy. No sin is too great for our God to forgive. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Are you aware that God did not leave us on our own but he gave us his one Church with his own teaching authority to guide us in truth. Yes, a Church that would never fall to the powers of hell that Jesus himself built upon Peter the rock and the first pope which would have successors to lead it? "You are Peter the rock (kepha in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke) and upon this rock (kepha) I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18-19, 18:17-18; Luke 10:16; John 16:12; Ephesians 2:20; Acts 1:20, 1:25-26; 1 Timothy 3:1-8, 5:17, 4:14).

Are you aware that the Church (the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church) is the Pillar and Foundation of the Truth (1 Timothy 3:15)? If the Church is the pillar and foundation of Truth does that sound like all that you need is the Bible alone? No, what about the Traditions we are to keep a tight hold onto along with Scripture (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Also, can the one Church of Jesus be split into 28,000 competing denominations? No, because there is "One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One God & Father of us all" Ephesians 4:3-6; 1 Corinthians 1:10. Jesus Prayed that we may be ONE (John 17:17-23).

Why choose the Catholic church? Because it is the only historical Christian church that has been around for almost 2000 years and can trace itself back to the apostles. In fact, the early first, second, third century Christians were Catholic and held to Catholic beliefs such as the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Today's pope Benedict XVI can trace himself in an unbroken line of succession to St. Peter the apostle and 1st pope himself! Orthodox Christians broke away from the Catholic church in the year 1054. The first Protestant church broke away from the Catholic Church in the year 1517 with Martin Luther (a Catholic monk) who started the Lutheran Church. The split has continued till this day with 28,000 plus denominations. I myself shall remain in the church that Jesus Christ founded, the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church established in the year 33 A.D.

Are you aware that Jesus gave his Church 7 Sacraments (visible signs of invisible grace) which are unending rivers of God's grace which nourish us on our Journey in this world to God?

--Baptism is where one is born again of water and Spirit, receives Justifying grace (made right before God) & Sanctifying grace (empowered by God to do good and grow in a holy life devoted to him). We become adopted children of God, members of his Church and have original (the sin we inherit from our parents Adam and Eve) & personal sins washed clean from our souls by the free gift of God's grace. John 3:5; Romans 5:18-19; Colossians 2:11-12; Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Romans 6:4; 1 Peter 3:21.

--Confirmation is where you become a mature member of the Church and accept the faith personally. You also receive a deeper outpouring of the Holy Spirit and of the seven gifts which you received at Baptism. The seven gifts are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. You are empowered to share your faith with all and you are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Acts 19:5-6, 8:14-17; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 1:13; Hebrews 6:2.

--Confession is where Jesus gives us the sacrament of Reconciliation to forgive us our sins committed after Baptism. Yes, Jesus wants us to receive his forgiveness and grace to stay away from sin through his priest in Confession. Jesus empowered his apostles to forgive sins in his name, "Jesus breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven" (John 20:21-22). The priest forgives us in the Person of Christ or Persona Christi (2 Corinthians 2:10). This is why the Church says we need to confess our sins to a priest because Jesus has given his priest the power to forgive in his name.

--Holy Eucharist is where by the power of the Holy Spirit bread and wine are substantially changed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Bread and wine no longer remain after the words of consecration at Holy Mass, only Jesus remains totally and equally present under both forms of the consecrated bread and wine. Here our Lord makes us one with himself and each other who shares in this Holy Communion. The simple act of receiving is to say, "yes Lord I believe it is you that I am receiving and believe all that your Catholic Church believes. Here our Lord nourishes us with his own Body and Blood and gives us the grace to follow him day in and day out. Here our Lord waits for us in the Tabernacle to spend time with him in adoration.

Yes, Jesus commanded us to "Eat his Body and to Drink his Blood" John 6:35-71). Yes, Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26). As with the Apostles the Church continues to celebrate this at Holy Mass. Here the once and for all sacrifice of Christ at Calvary is made present for us to encounter and unite ourselves with Jesus' perfect sacrifice to the Father through the Holy Spirit. But before we receive one should examine themselves to make sure they are in the State of Grace or God's friendship not guilty of mortal sin or sins that lead to death (James 1:14-15; 1 John 5:16-17)

If you are not sure you should then first go to confession (1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-29). Why would you want to put the Lord into a sinful body? Confess your sins first and then come to the Lords table. In Exodus 12:8, 46 "the Paschal lamb had to be eaten. In John 1:29 "Jesus is called the Lamb of God" so we too must eat as Jesus has commanded us.

--Anointing of the sick is where we are given the grace of healing. (Mark 6:12-13 and John 5:14).

--Holy Orders is where those who are called are ordained to a special ministry of the ordained priesthood of Christ. Yes, we are all part of a royal priesthood by virtue of our baptism, but some are called to a special order of the ordained priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9-10; Acts 20:28; Luke 22:19; John 20:22; Acts 6:6, 13:3, 14:22; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; Titus 1:5).

--Matrimony is where Jesus takes two, a man and woman and joins them together in one flesh in the eyes of God. (Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7-12, Ephesians 5:22-32; 1 Thess 4:4).

Yes our Lord and God Jesus Christ has blessed us with all this and more.

Are you aware that Catholics do not worship Mary and the Saints? We honor them and respect them. We ask them to pray for us to Jesus like you would ask someone here to pray for you. They are not dead but are alive with God for God is the Go...d of the living not of the dead and all are alive with him (Mark 12:26-27, 9:4). They are those who died in God's friendship and are now with him in Heaven. Death cannot separate those in Christ (Romans 8:35-39) and we are all part of the one body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:21-23; Colossians 1:18, 24; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Romans 12:5). We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1).

We are to offer prayer, petitions for all (1 Timothy 2:1-7) through Jesus our One mediator. We are to love one another with mutual affection, this does not stop at death for those who are in heaven fulfill this in ways we cannot imagine. Our statues and images are not grave idols because one would have to worship the statue or image which we Catholics do not do. They are mere reminders of those who have gone before us in Christ. They are like a family picture of a deceased loved one, do you worship your loved ones? Nor do we worship our statues! God even commanded images to be made (Exodus 20:4-5; Numbers 21:8-9; 1 Kings 6:23-29, 7:25-45).

Are you aware what the Catholic Church really teaches in these and other matters? Do you think you can just write off the church as nothing of importance in your life. Think again because God does exist and he came to us in the person of Jesus to show us the "The Way, The Truth and The life. No one can come to the Father except by Jesus." (John 14:6).

He established one Church to guide us and teach us his ways. His Church is like a mother to us. You may not even have God in your life, I would like to invite you into a relationship with him that can and will be nourished by him through his Church. You may be a Catholic who is not practicing their faith, may I urge you to start by learning your faith, loving your faith and living your faith. Don't believe that this doesn't matter to you because it does and will have eternal effects depending the way you chose. Jesus said that "if you deny me then I will deny you", will you deny him?

You may already be a Christian of another denomination. May I encourage you to investigate the Catholic church yourself to see what it really believes, you may be surprised what you find out. Go to the source or as they say "the horses mouth" to learn the facts of these truths. Yes we have more in common than you may think. But the Fullness of the Truth is in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church whom Jesus Himself founded and protects throughout all time. Don't you think it is time to encounter the whole truth today?