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

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.

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'

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

USCCB

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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)

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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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.

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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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

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

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

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