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

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

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.

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

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.

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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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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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)

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