St. Aidan

St. Aidan – August 31st

Aidan was an Irish monk who lived at the great monastery of Iona, which St. Columba had founded. One day the King of the northern part of England, St. Oswald, asked for the missionaries to preach to his pagan people. The first one to go soon came back complaining that the English were rude, stubborn and wild. “It seems to me,” said St. Aidan, “that you have been too harsh with those people.” He then explained that, as St. Paul says, first easy teachings are to be given, and then when the people have grown stronger on the word of God, they can start to do the more perfect things of God’s holy law.

When the monks heard such wise words, they turned to Aidan and said that he should be the one to go to Northern England to preach the Gospel. The humble, devout monk was well received by King St. Oswald, who used to translate Aidan’s sermons until the Saint learned English better. St. Aidan traveled all over, always on foot, preaching and helping the people. He did so much good and was so loved by the people that after thirty years, any monk or priest who came into a village was greeted with great joy by all the villagers.

On the Island of Lindisfarne, St. Aidan built a great monastery, from which so many Saints were to come that Lindisfarne became known as the Holy Island. Little by little the influence of these zealous missionaries changed Northern England into a civilized Christian land.

The secret to be friendly with everyone is to be kind to all.

St. Rose of Lima

St. Rose of Lima - Patron of Invalids And Those With Skin Diseases - August 30th

This South American Saint’s real name was Isabel, but she was such a beautiful baby that she was called Rose, and that name remained. As she grew older, she became more and more beautiful, and one day her mother put a wreath of flowers on her head to show off her loveliness to friends. But Rose had no desire to be admired, for her heart had been given to Jesus. So she put a long pin into that wreath and it pierced her so deeply that she had a hard time getting the wreath off afterward. Another time she became afraid that her beauty might be a temptation to someone, since people could not take their eyes off her. Therefore, she rubbed her face with pepper until it was all red and blistered.

St. Rose worked hard to support her poor parents and she humbly obeyed them, except when they tried to get her to marry. That she would not do. Her love of Jesus was so great that when she talked about Him her face glowed and her eyes sparkled.

Rose had many temptations from the devil and there were also many times when she had to suffer a feeling of terrible loneliness and sadness, for God seemed far away. Yet she cheerfully offered all these troubles to Him. In fact, in her last long, painful sickness, this heroic young women used to pray: “Lord, increase my sufferings, and with them increase Your love in my heart.”

To be more pure I promise never to look at bad pictures.

Blessed Richard Herst

Blessed Richard Herst - August 29th

Richard was an English farmer who held to his Catholic faith despite the persecution going on. One day, he was ploughing in his fields when three men came to arrest him. One handed him the papers for his arrest while the other struck him with a stick. A young girl working in another part of the field ran to call Richard’s wife, and she came running with a farmhand and another man.

There was a struggle that ended when the men who had come to arrest Richard ran away. One of them, however, fell and broke his leg. Gangrene developed and the man died thirteen days later. Although he himself had said his fall was an accident, Richard Herst was tried and convicted for murder. The real reason he was out to death was because he was a Catholic. In fact, he was told that if he would give up his faith, he would not be killed. But Blessed Richard answered: “I would rather choose to die a thousand deaths than to possess a kingdom and live in mortal sin, for there is nothing as hateful to me as sin.”

The good man asked his friends to take care of his family, for he had six children. He was afraid to die as is only natural, but God gave him so much strength that after he had prayed at the foot of the scaffold, he said to the hangman who was fumbling with the rope: “Tom, I think I’ll have to come up and help you!” From his prison, Blessed Richard had written: “I find great comfort in throwing myself upon my Savoir with a most fervent love, when I consider what He has done and suffered for me. My greatest desire is to suffer with Him.”

I will live as a true Christian when alone and when with others, even if this means sacrifice.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine - Patron of Theologians, Printers and Brewers - August 28th

This famous son of St. Monica was born in Africa and spent many years of his life in wicked living and false beliefs. Though he was one of the most intelligent men who ever lived and though he had been brought up a Christian, his sins of impurity and his pride darkened his mind so much that he could not see or understand the divine truth any more.

Through the prayers of his holy mother and the marvelous preaching of St. Ambrose, Augustine finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life. One day, however, he heard about two men who had suddenly been converted on reading the life of St. Antony, and he felt terribly ashamed of himself. “What are we doing?” he cried to his friend Alipius. “Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!”

Full of bitter sorrow, Augustine flung himself out into the garden and cried out to God, “How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?” Just then he heard a child singing, “Take up and read!” Thinking that God intended him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the Letters of St. Paul, and read the first passage his gaze fell on. It was just what Augustine needed for in it St. Paul says to put away all impurity and to live in imitation of Jesus. That did it! From then on, Augustine began a new life.

He was baptized, became a priest, a bishop, a famous Catholic writer, Founder of religious priests, and one of the greatest Saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable, too. On the wall of his room he had the following sentence written in large letters: “Here we do not speak evil of anyone.” St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often, and prayed with great fervor right up until his death. “Too late have I loved You!” he once cried to God, but with his holy life he certainly made up for the sins he committed before his conversion.

Thinking over the lives of the Saints, we should tell ourselves, “Can you not do what these men and women did?” Certainly we can, if we pray and strengthen our will.

St. Joseph Calasanctius

St. Joseph Calasanctius - Patron of Schools - August 27th

Joseph was born in his father’s castle in Spain. He went to college and there overcame the temptation to sin offered him by a young women who was a relative of his. After becoming a priest, Joseph was given high positions and he did his work very successfully. Yet he felt that God was calling him to do some special work for poor children in Rome. Obediently he gave up everything he had in Spain and went to Rome.

There his heart was filled with pity for all the orphans and homeless children he saw everywhere. They were ignorant and uncared for, and Joseph began to gather them together to teach them all the regular subjects, but especially their religion. Other priests joined him and soon the humble Saint had to become the Superior of a new Religious Order. But he never let his duties as Founder and Superior stop him from teaching his beloved children. He would even sweep the classrooms himself and lead the little ones to their homes after school was over.

St. Joseph had much to suffer from people who tried to take over his Order and run it the way they wanted. Once he was even led through the streets like a criminal and almost put in jail, although the good priest had done nothing wrong. When he was ninety years old, the Saint received the terrible news that his Order had been forbidden to continue as he had founded it. Yet in all his suffering, Joseph only said: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. My work has been done simply out of love of God.

Two years later, the Saint died a calm, peaceful death. And several years afterwards, his Order of the Fiarist Fathers was allowed to continue St. Joseph’s wonderful mission.

I will try to be as patient as this Saint. I will never take revenge on those who hurt me with words or deeds.

St. Elizabeth Bichier

St. Elizabeth Bichier - August 26th

As a little girl, Elizabeth’s favorite game was building castles in the sand. Many years later, this holy Frenchwomen had to take charge of building many convents for the Order of nuns she founded. “I guess building was meant to be my business,” she joked, “since I started it so young!”

During the time of the French Revolution, Elizabeth’s family would have lost everything they owned because the republicans were taking property from the nobles. But this daring young lady of nineteen studied law in order to fight their case in court. When she won and saved her family from ruin, the village shoemaker exclaimed: “All you have to do now is marry a good republican!” Elizabeth, however, had no intention of marrying anyone-republican or noble! On the back of a picture of Our Lady, she had written: “I dedicate and consecrate myself to Jesus and Mary forever.”

With the help of St. Andrew Fournet, she started her Order of Sisters called the Daughters of the Cross, to teach children and to take care of the sick. St. Elizabeth would face any danger to help people. Once she found a tramp lying sick in a barn. She brought him to the convent hospital and did all she could for him until he died. The next morning the police chief came to tell her she could be arrested for sheltering a man believed to be a criminal. Elizabeth was unafraid. “I only did what you yourself would have done, sir,” she said. “I found this poor sick man, I took care of him until he died. I am ready to tell the judge just what happened.” Of course, the Saint’s honesty and charity won her so much respect and admiration that no one thought of criticizing what she did.

Let us learn from this Saint to do things for God alone. What people might think of us, should never stop us from doing our duties.

St. Louis of France

St. Louis of France - Patron of Thrid Order Members and of Barbers - August 25th

When this Prince was still small, his good mother, Queen Blanche, hugged him tightly and told him, “I love you, my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child, but I would rather see you dead at my feet than ever have you commit a mortal sin.” Louis never forgot those words so often repeated by his mother and he became one of the holiest rulers the world has ever known.

Once he asked a good friend which he would prefer, to be a leper or to have committed a mortal sin. The man said, “I would rather commit thirty sins than be a leper!” King Louis replied sadly, “This is a wild, foolish answer. When a man dies, all his sicknesses end, but mortal sin is a terrible disease which does not end with death. If you love me, I beg you to choose any suffering rather than give in to mortal sin!”

Busy as he was, the King found time for two daily Masses and for several hours of prayer.

An enemy of all injustice, of all impure entertainments and swearing, St. Louis ruled his people with such wisdom, charity and fairness that even foreign kings asked him to settle their disagreements. To his wife and eleven children he was a good husband and father, and as long as his mother lived, he showed her every respect.

St. Louis was a Crusader, too, who twice led an army against the Turks to protect the Christians in the Holy Land. The first time, he was taken prisoner, but even in jail, he behaved as a true Christian knight, unafraid and noble in all his ways. He was freed and returned to take care of his kingdom in France, yet as soon as he could, he started back to fight the enemies of Faith again. On the way, however, this greatly-loved King fell sick and died. A few hours before he breathed his last, he prayed, “Lord, I will enter into Your house, worship in Your holy temple, and give glory to your name.”

I will think of the many prayers of King St. Louis, and I will promise to offer Our Lord every morning my whole day.

St. Bartholomew, the Apostle

St. Bartholomew, the Apostle - Patron of Plasterers - August 24th

“Bartholomew” was one of the first followers of Jesus. This apostle’s other name was Nathanael. He became a disciple of Jesus when his friend Philip invited him to come and meet Our Lord. Nathanael received high praise from Jesus, who said, as soon as He saw him: “Here is a man in whom there is no guile”. Jesus meant that Nathanael was an honest, sincere man who would never deceive anyone. His one desire was to know the truth.

Nathanael was very surprised to hear those words from Our Lord. “How do You know me?” he asked. “Before Philip called you,” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig-tree.” That was a favorite praying-place, and Nathanael must have realized then that Jesus had read his heart as he prayed. “Master!” he cried, “You are the Son of God, the King of Israel.” And Nathanael became one of Our Lord’s faithful apostles.

Like the other apostles, Nathanael, or Bartholomew, preached the Gospel of Jesus at the risk of his life. He went to India, Armenia and other lands, preaching with great zeal, until he gave his life for the Faith. And so, to the reward of an Apostle, St. Bartholomew added the martyr’s crown.

Jesus likes people who are honest, like St. Bartholomew. Even though Bartholomew had his opinions, he was not stubborn at all. So Jesus praised him, gave him the grace of faith and the vocation to be an apostle.

St. Philip Benizi

St. Philip Benizi - August 23rd

Philip was a noble young doctor in his own city of Florence, Italy. In his spare time, he studied the Holy Bible and prayed that he might know what he was to do in life. At last, he was inspired to join the Order of Servants of Mary, called the Servites. He asked them to accept him as a brother, saying humbly, “I wish to be the servant of the Servants of Mary.”

Philip was made the gardener because no one knew how brilliant this young man was, and he himself wanted to remain hidden and unnoticed. Happily he talked to Our Lord in his heart as he went about his humble work. But one day, on a trip, without realizing it, Philip spoke so intelligently and beautifully that his brothers told the Superior what a brilliant and learned man the brother-gardener was. Soon he became a priest, then Master of Novices, and finally, Superior of the whole Order!

All his life St. Philip worked to make all Christians everywhere love one another. He succeeded in stopping many fights between Christians in Italy. Indeed, he made such an impression on some of the ringleaders that they changed their lives completely and became very holy men.

God gave this Saint the gift of working miracles. Once his monks had no more food at all and seemed about to starve to death. St. Philip urged them to have faith while he prayed to our Blessed Mother. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and when they opened it, there on the monastery steps sat ten great big baskets of bread.

Before he died, St. Philip kept saying to his brother Servites: “Love one another! Have respect for one another! Love one another!”

What a beautiful rule for a happy and holy life, “Love one another! Love one another!”

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

- August 22nd

The Heart of Our Blessed Mother was not only one full of love for God and for neighbor.


It was the most humble and pure, the most devout and fervent in prayer.


It was the bravest heart, and even during her Son’s passion she never gave in to discouragement.


It was the most patient and most faithful heart. It was the one which was always united to God in intimate contemplation and at the same time had charity for all. It was the heart of the Mother of Jesus, and because of this, it was in all things like the heart of her Divine Son. Like Jesus and with Him, Mary loved and suffered in her heart for the salvation of all poor sinners.


In the Heart of Our Blessed Mother, as in the Heart of Jesus, there is a most ardent desire to save souls from Hell and from Purgatory. Mary prays continually to her Son for our salvation. She knows that Jesus came on earth especially for sinners. She does not forget that when He was dying, He made her the Mother of us all.


In spite of our sins, let us look up to our Blessed Mother and let us have confidence in her motherly heart. Then, even if we are sad or upset, we will feel peaceful and happy again.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal

St. Jane Frances de Chantal - August 21st

Jane’s father was President of the lawmakers in the section of France. He was a devout man who brought his children up well after the death of his wife. Jane, whom he dearly loved, he married to Christopher, the Baron de Chantal. Jane and Christopher were very happy, for they were very much in love and God blessed them with four children. Jane showed her love for God by loving her husband and children with her whole heart.

Then, suddenly, a great sorrow fell upon that happy home. Baron Christopher was accidentally shot by a friend who had gone hunting with him. When he died, Jane was heart-broken, yet as a good Christian should, she forgave the man who had caused his death and even became his child’s godmother.

Now Jane Frances began to ask Our Lord to send her a holy priest to guide her, so she would know what to do with her life. In the meantime, she prayed and brought up her children in the love of God. She visited the poor and sick and comforted the dying. When she met St. Francis de Sales, she knew this was the holy man God had sent to guide her. Following his plan, she and three other young women started the order of the Sisters of the Visitation. But first Jane Frances had to overcome the objections of her relatives. By now Jane’s oldest daughter was married to St. Francis’ young brother, and she sent her two younger daughters with her to bring up. But her fifteen-year-old son, who was to stay with his grandfather, threw himself to the ground across the doorway, sobbing. Jane knew God wanted her to go and that He Himself would take the best care of her son, so she stepped over the boy and went away with tears spilling down her cheeks.

St. Jane showed this same courage in all the difficulties that faced her as she opened up many convents, and in fighting her own temptations. “Despite all her suffering,” wrote St. Vincent de Paul, “her face never lost its peaceful look. And she was always perfectly faithful to God. So I consider her one of the holiest souls I have ever met.”

Like this Saint, let us always obey the Will of God, even when it costs us great sacrifices. If we do it, we, too, will become saints.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bernard of Clairvaux - Patron of Candle-Makers and Candle-Sellers - August 20th

Bernard was a handsome young French noble whose heart was broken when his mother died. He was just seventeen then and he might have let sadness get the best of him had it not been for his lively sister Humbeline. She cheered him up and soon Bernard became a very popular man, for he was not only good-looking and brilliant, but also a lover of fun, good-humored and very likeable.

Yet one day, Bernard greatly surprised his friends by telling them he was going to join the very strict Cistercian Order. They did all they could to make him give up the idea, but in the end, it was Bernard who convinced his four brothers, an uncle, and twenty-six of his friends to join him! As Bernard and his brothers left their home, they said to their little brother Nivard, who was playing with other children: “Good-bye, little Nivard! You will now have all the lands and property for yourself!” But the youngster answered: “What! Will you take Heaven and leave me the earth? Do you call that fair?” And not too long after, Nivard, too, joined his brothers in the monastery.

St. Bernard became a very good monk. To keep fervent, he would ask himself every morning: “Why did you come here?” This question spurred him on to become a Saint. After three years, Bernard was sent to start a new Cistercian monastery and to be its Abbot. He and his monks lived such good and heroic lives for God that over a hundred men soon joined them. Although the Saint would have liked to stay working and praying in his monastery, he was called to preach, to make peace between rulers, to advise the Popes, and to write beautiful spiritual books. He became the most famous man of his time, yet Bernard’s great desire was to go to Heaven.

This Saint had a great devotion to the Blessed Mother and often greeted her with a “Hail Mary” when he passed her statue. One day, the Blessed Mother returned his greeting: “Hail, Bernard!” In this way, Our Lady showed how much his love and devotion pleased her.

Let us ask ourselves every day, “Why did God make us?” Then let us say the answer slowly, “God made us o know, love and serve Him in this world, and to share His eternal happiness in Heaven.”

THE NICENE CREED

THE NICENE CREED

On video, in English words, Latin singing (St. Pius V Choir), and pictures

Video created by, Rita-The Saints Administrator

Your Profession of Faith

("THE NICENE CREED" link takes you to watch this video on the YouTube website)

St. John Eudes

St. John Eudes - August 19th

John was the oldest son of a farmer in Normandy. He was a good boy, who tried to copy the examples given by Our Lord. When he was only nine, a companion slapped his face, and john did what Jesus told us to do: he turned his face for a slap on his other cheek, also.

John’s parents wanted him to marry but he finally persuaded them to let him become a priest. He gave good example to everyone in the Congregation of the Oratory which he joined, just as he had been of good example at home and in school. When a plague brought great suffering to Normandy Father Eudes volunteered to help the sick, caring for their souls and bodies. Later, he became a popular preacher of missions in parishes. In his life he preached one hundred and ten of them.

St. John is responsible for the establishment of important Congregations: the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity and the Good Shepherd nuns who try to convert sinful girls and help them lead good lives. He also founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary for priests, dedicated to training young men to become good parish priests.

St. John was very devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Holy Heart of Mary, and he wrote a book on them. He fell sick after he preached a mission for nine weeks outdoors in cold winter weather, and a few years later, invoking the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, he died a holy death.

Let us imitate this Saint in his great devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The devotion of the Nine First Fridays and of the five First Saturdays assures us of our eternal salvation.

St. Helena

St. Helena - August 18th

This Saint was the mother of the great Roman Emperor Constantine. She was about sixty-three years old when she became a Christian, but she began at once to make up for the time she had lost as a pagan. While her convert son labored to make the Catholic Church glorious with his gifts of buildings and his laws, Helena gave such wonderful examples of piety, humility and charity that she made all who saw her love the Christian Faith more.

When she was eighty years old, St. Helena traveled to Jerusalem to take charge in building a marvelous church on Mt. Calvary and to try to find the true cross on which Jesus had died. On the trip she gave away great sums of money to cities, to prisoners, to soldiers, to widows, to all kinds of people. Although she was Empress of the great Roman Empire, she had such respect for Sisters that she would visit their convents to serve them and wait on them with her own hands.

On Mt. Calvary, while the foundations for the church were being dug, the sacred cross was discovered. What joy this discovery brought to St. Helena, who devoutly venerated it! The Saint spent her last days in Jerusalem praying in the churches and decorating them beautifully to the honor of God. When she died, her holy remains were brought back to Rome.

I will be proud to make the Sign of the Cross in public and to proclaim myself a follower of Jesus Christ.

Related Links:
http://www.rosaryworkshop.com/ROME-Pilgrimage-Crx.html
http://www.stpetersbasilica.org/Statues/StHelen/StHelen.htm

Blessed Joan Delanoue

Blessed Joan Delanoue - August 17th

When this French girl was twenty-five, her widowed mother died and left her the store they had been running. Joan was not an evil girl, but she thought only of making money, and she committed many little sins to do it. She had once been devout, but now there was little love or charity in her heart. Her mother had always been generous to beggars. Joan, instead, would buy food only just in time for dinner, so that she could tell any beggars who came to the door during the day: “I have nothing to give you.”

Joan was not happy, however. At last, when she was twenty-seven, a good priest helped her to start living up to her Faith with love and fervor. Then she finally saw that her “business” was to give away money, not hoard it. Joan began taking care of poor families and orphans, even closing up her shop entirely to devote her time to them. People called her houseful of poor orphans, “Providence House.” Later, she persuaded other young women to help her, and they became the Sisters of St. Anne of Providence in Saumur, Joan’s town.

Joan treated her body so harshly that St. Grignion de Monfort told her that pride was making her do too much penance. Then she saw that her heart was really full of love of God, so he said: “Go on in the way you have begun. God’s spirit is with you. Follow His voice and fear no more.”

When Blessed Joan died, the people of Saumur said, “That little shopkeeper did more for the poor of Saumur than all the town councilors put together. What a women! And what a saint!”

There are so many poor people in the world. Many, many die hunger. Today, and every day, I will not waste food; instead I will eat even what I do not like, and offer this sacrifice to Our Lord so he will help the hungry people.

St. Rock

St. Rock - Patron of Invalids and Those With Skin Disease - August 16th

Rock was the son of the governor of Montpellier in France. When his parents died, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. At this time, he was about twenty years old. A terrible disease, called the plague, was spreading all over Italy when Rock arrived in that land, and he went from one city to another nursing the sick. Many times he cured them just by making the sign of the cross over them.

In the city of Piacenza, St. Rock became sick himself, and he who had helped so many others did not want to be a bother to anyone. So he managed to make his way into a forest and there he lay down to die. But God took care of him. A dog led his master to the Saint and this man took care of Rock until he grew better.

Finally, St. Rock returned home to Montpellier, France, but his uncle did not even recognize him. After five years of patient suffering, Rock died there, and only when a small cross-like mark on his chest was noticed did people realize that he was the son of their former governor. He was given a great funeral and many miracles took place.

He who visit’s the sick and helps them will earn a great reward from God.

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

- August 15th

Assumption means that Our heavenly Mother entered into the glory of Heaven not only with her soul, but also with her body. Since the Son of God took His body from Mary’s most pure womb, it was fitting that her body should be glorified as soon as her life here on earth was ended.

Now Our Blessed Mother sits on a sublime throne in Heaven. There she is Queen, and every time she asks Jesus to give us graces, He listens to her plea.


After the resurrection from the dead, we, too, will go to Heaven with this body of ours, if we use it now only to do good, and if we are pure in thoughts, words and deeds.


After the resurrection our body will be all perfect. It will not be subject to illness any more. It will not need any more food and drink to keep alive. It will be able to go every place without time or effort. It will be beautiful and splendid!


Let us prepare for our glory in heaven by imitating Our Blessed Mother’s virtues, especially obedience, charity, purity and patience.

St. Athanasia

St. Athanasia - August 14th

St. Athanasia was born on an island near Greece. She married a young army officer, but only sixteen days after the wedding, her husband was killed in a battle. After this, the young widow realized more than ever how quickly everything on earth passes. She began to want God alone, yet because her parents desired it, Athanasia married again. Together she and her good husband helped the poor and the sick.

On Sundays, the Saint used to gather her neighbors in her house and read them a piece from the Holy Bible. Afterwards she would explain it to them in her own words. She wanted everyone to share her love for God’s word.

When Athanasia’s husband left with her permission to become a monk, she changed her house into a convent and became Abbess of the nuns who joined her. For a while they stayed there in the middle of that noisy town and practiced very great penance. Then a wise Abbot advised them to move to a quieter spot. There, so many women joined them that they had to add on to their buildings. And St. Athanasia became so well known that the Empress Theodora called her to court to be her adviser. Then Saint fell sick very shortly after she went back to her convent, but she kept working and praying as usual, until at last she gave her nuns her blessing and died.

Let us love the virtue of purity and the things of God. These will give us true happiness, not the passing joys of this world….

St. Radegund

St. Radegund - August 13th

This German princess was taken prisoner when she was only twelve years old by the French King Clotaire. She grew up to be such a charming young women that the King married her. As Queen, she loved to take care of the sick and poor captives. She began a hospital for lepers and tenderly waited on them herself. A friend who saw her kiss the lepers’ sores scolded her, saying, “No one will dare kiss you after this!” St. Radegund was not the least worried about that. “If you don’t want to kiss me,” she answered, “I really do not mind a bit!”

King Clotaire caused his good wife much suffering before he finally let her live for God alone. At first he loved her, but all too soon, he began to speak to her in a mean, scornful way, and to give his attentions to other women. Finally, he even murdered St. Radegund’s beloved brother, and it was then that she left the court. The bishop St. Medard was a bit afraid to give her the veil of a nun when she asked for it, because he knew what a violent man the King was. But St. Radegund would not take no for an answer. “If you will not consecrate me, you fear man more than God,” she said, and at that, St. Medard gave in. King Clotaire once asked St. Radegund to forgive him and pray for him, but his repentance did not last long. He took many wives and committed terrible murders before he died. However, he did leave the Saint in peace and even helped support her convent.

St. Radegund and her nuns not only prayed and did penance but they also spent time studying every day and they worked for peace between rulers. When the Saint died, St. Gregory of Tours wrote: “We went to the convent and found her lying in her coffin, her face shinning with a brightness greater than the beauty of lilies and roses.”

Let us learn from the example of this saint to do our Christian duty all the time, without worrying about what people may say.

St. Clare of Assisi

St. Clare of Assisi - Patroness of Eyes and Television - August 12th

Clare was a beautiful Italian noblewomen who became the Foundress of an Order of nuns now called “Poor Clares.” When she heard St. Francis of Assisi preach, her heart burned with a great desire to imitate Francis and to live a poor humble life for Jesus. So one evening, she ran away from home, and in a little chapel outside Assisi, gave herself to God. St. Francis cut of her hair and gave her a rough brown habit to wear, tied with a plain cord. Her parents tried in every way to make her return home, but Clare would not. And soon her sister, St. Agnes, joined her, as well as other young women who wanted to be brides of Jesus, and live without any money.

St. Clare and her sisters wore no shoes, ate no meat, lived in a poor house, and kept silent most of the time. Yet they were very happy, because Our Lord was close to them all the time. Once, He saved them from a great danger in answer to St. Clare’s prayer. An army of rough soldiers came to attack Assisi and they planned to raid the convent first. Although very sick, St. Clare had herself carried to the wall and right there, where the enemies could see it, she had the Blessed Sacrament placed. Then on her knees, she begged god to save the Sisters. “O Lord, protect these Sisters whom I cannot protect now,” she prayed. And a voice seemed to answer: “I will keep them always in My care.” At the same time a sudden fright struck the attackers and they fled as fast as they could.

St. Clare was sick and suffered great pains for many years, but she said that no pain could trouble her. So great was her joy in serving the Lord that she once exclaimed: “They say that we are too poor, but can a heart which possesses the Infinite God be truly called poor?”

I will remember this miracle of the Blessed Sacrament when I am at church. And then I will pray with great faith to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist: “Save me, O Lord, from every evil-of soul and body.”

Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Friday following the Second Sunday After Pentecost
Taken from, “Divine Intimacy,” by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., pp.622-623

PRESENSE OF GOD – O Jesus, grant that I may penetrate the secrets hidden in Your divine Heart.

MEDITATION

1. After we have contemplated the Eucharist, a gift crowning all the gifts of the love of Jesus for men, the Church invites us to give direct consideration to the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the source and cause of all His gifts. We may call the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus the feast of His love for us. “Behold this Heart which has so loved men,” Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary; “Behold this Heart which has so loved men,” the Church repeats to us today, showing us that it is truly “in the Heart of Christ, wounded by our sins, that God had deigned to give us the infinite treasures of His love” (cf. Collect). Today’s liturgy inspired with this thought, reviews the immense benefits we owe to the love of Christ and sings a hymn in praise of His love. “Cogitationes cordis ejus,” chants the Introit of the Mass: “The thoughts of His Heart” – the Heart of Jesus – “are to all generations: to deliver them from death, to feed them in time of famine”. The Heart of Jesus is always in search of souls to save, to free from the snares of sin, to wash in His Blood, to feed with His Body. The Heart of Jesus is always living in the Eucharist to satisfy the hunger of all who long for Him, to welcome and console all those who, disillusioned by the vicissitudes of life, take refuge in Him, seeking peace and refreshment. Jesus Himself in our support of the hard road of life. “Take up My yoke upon you and learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls, Alleluia.” It is impossible to eliminate sorrow from our life; yet if we live for Jesus we can suffer in peace and find in the Heart of Jesus repose for our weary soul.

2. Today’s Gospel and Epistle lead us to consider the Sacred Heart of Jesus even more directly. The Gospel (Fn 19, 31-37) shows us His Heart pierced with a lance: “One of the soldiers opened His side with a spear,” and St. Augustine offers this comment: “The Evangelist says...opened, to show us that thereby the door of life was thrown open, through which the Sacraments of the Church flow forth”. From the pierced Heart of Christ, symbol of the love which immolated Him on the Cross for us, came forth the Sacraments, represented by the water and the Blood flowing from the wound, and it is through these Sacraments that we receive the life of grace. Yes, it is eminently true to say that the Heart of Jesus was opened to bring us into life. Jesus once said, “Narrow is the gate...that leadeth to life” (Mt. 7, 14); but if we understand this gate to be the wound in His Heart, we can say that no gate could open to us with greater welcome.

St. Paul, in his beautiful Epistle (Eph 3, 8-19), urges us to penetrate further into the Heart of Jesus to contemplate His “unsearchable riches” and to enter into “the mystery which hath been hidden from the eternity of God”. This is the mystery of infinite, divine love which has gone before us from all eternity and was revealed to us by the Word made flesh; it is the mystery of the love which willed to redeem us and sanctify us in Christ “in whom we have...[free] access to God”.

Again Jesus presents Himself as the door which leads to salvation. “I am the door. By Me if any man enter in he shall be saved.” (Fn 10, 9). This door is His Heart, which, wounded for us, has brought us into life. By love alone can we penetrate this mystery of infinite love, but not any kind of love will suffice. As St. Paul says, we must “be rooted and founded in charity”. Only thus shall we be able “to know...the charity of Christ which surpasseth all knowledge, that [we] may be filled unto all the fullness of God”.

St. Alexander the Coalman

St. Alexander the Coalman - August 11th

When the city of Comana in Asia Minor had so many Christians that a bishop was needed, St. Gregory the Wonder-Worker came to take charge of choosing one. Many different men were suggested to him, especially one very important and wealthy, but St. Gregory did not choose any of these.

"The Apostles were poor, ordinary men," he said. At that, someone asked sarcastically, "Very well, then. Why don't you pick Alexander the Charcoal-burner?" St. Gregory did not forget those words, even though they had been said so scornfully. He sent Alexander, and the coal trader came all covered with dirt and dressed in rags. His appearance did not fool the Saint for he realized that Alexander was really a wise man. he took him aside and asked him who he actually was. Alexander told him that he had been a noble, educated man who had given away everything he owned so that he could be poor like Christ.

All the people were amazed when St. Gregory chose Alexander to be bishop. But when they learned what kind of wise, holy man Alexander really was, they were very happy to have him for their bishop.

St. Alexander made a fine teacher of the faith and leader of his people. St. Gregory of Nyssa praised him as a great bishop. When persecution came, Alexander gave his life for the faith. He was put to death by fire. So it was that the poor coalman won fame as a Saint and a martyr.

Jesus taught us: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." One is poor in spirit when he is not too eager for money for a comfortable life, but works hard, is honest and satisfied with his condition in life. This good person will have a rich place in Heaven.

St. Philomena

St. Philomena The Wonder-Worker - August 11th

St. Philomena is perhaps the most extraordinary saint in the history of the Catholic Church.

When the relics of this 13-year-old Virgin Martyr were discovered in the Roman Catacombs in 1802, she became almost overnight one of the most popular saints in the Church, earning the nickname of "The Wonder-Worker" because of the countless remarkable favors that she sent to those who prayed to her. For a century and a half there was a worlwide Catholic devotion to St. Philomena, approved by many Popes. But amazingly, since the 1960's, she has been forgotten.

This little book by the beloved Fr. Paul O'Sullivan-author of All About the Angels, Read Me or Rue It, The Secret of Confession, etc.-gives the fascinating story of St. Philomena. Fr. O'Sullivan tells of her martyrdom, her miracles, her relics, her partnership with the Cure of Ars, and the great miracle involving Pauline Jaricot, as well as recounting many other true stories of the "dear Little Saint's" generous answers to those who invoke her.

God obviously wishes to give out His gifts and favors throough the hands of St. Philomena, and it is His will that we ask her for them. These pages will give new hope to all whoneed a special friend in Heaven to answer their prayers.

May this little book help to open up the floodgates of heavenly gifts so that once again this sweet young Saint will become known by that beautiful title: St. Philomena-The Wonder-Worker!

St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence - Patron of Cooks and the Poor - August 10th

This famous martyr of Rome was one of seven deacons who were in charge of giving help to the poor and needy. When a persecution broke out, Pope St. Sixtus was condemned to death. As he was led to execution, Lawrence followed him weeping. “Father, where are you going without your deacon?” he said. “I am not leaving you, my son,” answered the Pope. “In three days you will follow me.” Full of joy, Lawrence gave to the poor the rest of the money he had on hand and even sold expensive vessels to have more to give away.

The Prefect of Rome, a greedy pagan, thought the Church had a great fortune hidden away. So he ordered Lawrence to bring the Church’s treasure to him. The Saint said he would, in three days. Then he went through the city and gathered together all the poor and sick people supported by the Church. When he showed them to the Prefect, he said: “This is the Church’s treasure!”

In great anger, the Prefect condemned Lawrence to a slow, cruel death. The Saint was tied on top of an iron grill over a slow fire that roasted his flesh little by little. But Lawrence was burning with so much love of God that he almost did not feel the flames. In fact, God gave him so much strength and joy that he even joked. “Turn me over,” he said to the judge. “I’m done on this side!” And just before he died, he said, ‘It’s cooked enough now.’ then he prayed that the city of Rome might be converted to Jesus and that the Catholic Faith spread all over the world. After that, he went to receive the martyr’s reward.

Today I will not complain about anything. Instead I will suffer my little troubles in peace, for the propagation of the Faith in mission lands.

Motu Proprio - Pope Freed the Traditional Latin Mass

Motu Proprio -

Pope Freed the Traditional Latin Mass

Thanks be to our most merciful Heavenly Father, God and Creator, for hearing our prayers and answering them. With the great grace for having the Holy Father the Pope decree that the Tradtional Latin Mass be freed. As US District General Bishop Bernard Fellay and US District Superior Father John Fullerton of the Society of Saint Pius X have told our parishes to sing the Te Deum in thanksgiving to God for this gift we are most unworthy to receive!!!

Here is Bishop Bernard Fellay's letter on the SSPX website concerning the Motu Proprio
http://sspx.org/superior_generals_ltrs/motu_proprio_supgen_letter_july_7_07.html

The Meaning of the Candy Cane

The Meaning of the Candy Cane

The fascinating story behind the candy cane...

The birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ are signified through the elements of the candy cane.

JESUS CHRIST is...our Good Sheperd (staff shape) ~ 1 Pt. 5:4our Rock (hard candy) ! ~ 1 Cor. 10:4our Sinless Savior (white) ~ 2 Cor. 5:21our Sacrifical Lamb (red) ~ Eph. 1:7

The STRIPES symbolize pain inflicted upon Jesus before his death on the cross and a bold Stripe to represent the blood He shed for mankind.

The three stripes can also represent the power and presence of the Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost).

The smell and taste of PEPPERMINT relate to the Herb hyssop.

Pslams 5:17 states, "Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

"The candy can is meant to be shared - broken into pieces for all to share.

That reminds us of Jesus' words,"This is my body which is broken for you" (1 Cor. 11:24)

What a sweet way to share the Gospel!

And you just thought it was good candy!

St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney - Patron of Parish Priests - August 9th

John Mary Vianney was born in France. He grew to be a little shepherd of his father’s sheep, a devout boy who loved to pray, but also loved to play horseshoes. When he was eighteen, he told his father he wanted to become a priest, yet it took him two years to obtain his father’s permission, because they were poor and there was much work to be done on the farm. Then the next problem John met was Latin. He just could not seem to learn it! He became so discouraged that he decided to walk sixty miles to the shrine of St. John Francis Regis to beg God’s help. After that, although he had as much trouble as ever with his studies he never again grew discouraged.

John’s next big problem came when through some mistakes, he was drafted into the army! But about a year later he was finally able to enter the seminary. There again, he had a very hard time. He kept working humbly, yet he never did well in his studies. And when the final examination came, he was so upset that he broke down in the middle of it. Yet, because John Mary was a saint and full of common sense, he knew the right answer when he was asked what should be done in this case or that. From Latin books he could not learn, but he was ordained, anyway, because he was a model of goodness.

In his parish of Ars, a little, out-of-the-way village, Father Vianney fasted and did hard penance for his people. He did all he could to make them stop sinning by their drinking and dancing, to come to church and not work on Sunday, and to stop swearing. Pretty soon, the taverns had to close down because they had no business and people began living much better lives. “Our priest is a saint,” they said, “and we must obey him.”

God gave this Saint the power to see into people’s souls and to know the future. Because of this gift, he converted many sinners and helped people to make the right decisions. He became so famous that about three hundred souls came to Ars every day to go to confession to him. Although he would have liked to live in peace in a monastery, St. John Vianney stayed in Ars until he died, and even heard confessions as he lay dying.

We are to seek God’s aid when we find things hard. God never refuses to hear our prayers. He always grants our wishes if they are for our best; otherwise He gives us what is better for us.

Feast of Corpus Christi

Feast of Corpus Christi
Thursday after the Feast of the Holy Trinity
Taken from, “Divine Intimacy,” by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., pp. 599-600.


PRESENSE OF GOD – “The eternal tide flows hid in living bread. That with its heavenly life too be fed...” (J.C. Poems).


MEDITATION


1. We have gone, step by step, in the course of the liturgical year, from the consideration of the mysteries of the life of Jesus to the contemplation of the Blessed Trinity, whose feast we celebrated last Sunday. Jesus, our Mediator, our Way, has taken us by the hand and led us to the Trinity; and today is seems as though the three Persons Themselves wish to take us back to Jesus, considered in His Eucharist. “No man cometh to the Father but by Me” (Fn 14, 6), Jesus said, and He added, “No man can come to Me except the Father...draw him” (ibid. 6, 44). This is the journey of the Christian soul: from Jesus to the Father, to the Trinity; from the Trinity, from the Father, to Jesus. Jesus brings us to the Father, the Father draws us to Jesus. A Christian cannot do without Christ; He is, in the strictest sense of the word, our Pontiff, the great Bridge-builder who has spanned the abyss between God and us. At the end of the liturgical cycle in which we commemorate the mysteries of the Savior, the Church, who like a good Mother knows that our spiritual life cannot subsist without Jesus, leads us to Him, really and truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar. The solemnity of the Corpus Domini is not just the simple memorial of an historical event which took place almost two thousand years ago at the Last Supper; rather, it recalls us to the ever-present reality of Jesus always living in our midst. We can say, in truth, that He has not “left us orphans,” but has willed to remain permanently with us, in the integrity of His Person in the fullness of His humanity and His divinity. “There is no other nation so great,” the Divine Office enthusiastically sings, “as to have its gods so near as our God is present to us” (RB). In the Eucharist, Jesus is really Emmanuel, God with us.

2. The Eucharist is not only Jesus actually living among us, but it is Jesus become our Food. This is the chief aspect under which today’s liturgy presents the mystery to us; there is no part of the Mass which does not treat of it directly, or which does not, at least, make some allusion to it. The Introit refers to it when it mentions the wheat and honey with which God once fed the Hebrews in the desert, a miraculous food, and yet a very poor representation of the living, life-giving Bread of the Eucharist. The Epistle (1 Cor 11, 23-29) speaks of it, recalling the institution of this Sacrament, when Jesus “took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said, ‘Take ye, and eat; this is My Body’”; the Gradual chants, “’The eyes of all hope in You, O Lord, and You give them meat in due season”. The very beautiful Sequence, Lauda Sion, celebrates it at length, and the Gospel (Fn 6, 56-59), echoing the Alleluia, cites the most significant passage in the discourse when Jesus Himself announced the Eucharist. “My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed”. The Communion Hymn repeats a sentence of the Epistle, and reminds us that we receive the Body of the Lord worthily. Finally, the Postcommunion tells us that Eucharistic Communion is the pledge of eternal communion, in heaven. But in order to have a better understanding of the immense value of the Eucharist, we must go back to the very words of Jesus, most opportunely recalled in the Gospel of the day, “He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me and I in him”. Jesus made Himself our food in order to assimilate us to Himself, to make us live in His life, to make us live in Him, as He Himself lives in His Father. The Eucharist is truly the most convincing proof that God calls us and pleads with us to come to intimate union with Himself.

Blessed John Felton

Blessed John Felton - August 8th

When Pope St. Pius V put Queen Elizabeth I out of the Church because she said she was the head of the Church in England, John Felton fastened the Pope’s announcement right up on a door for everyone to see. Before long, it was discovered who had done that and John was arrested. When he declared that only the Holy Father could be Head of the Catholic Church, he was condemned to death.

Right in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the scaffold was set up. When John saw the horrible instruments that would be used on his body before his death, he had a terrible fit of fear. But with a mighty effort of will, he overcame that fear, and said: “Now I am ready to die for the Catholic faith!”

Then he knelt down and prayed to God to have mercy on his soul. He was hanged, but cut down from the scaffold before he died. So he was still alive when they began to use the terrible tools on his body. As they pulled his heart out, Blessed John’s daughter heard him murmur: “Jesus, Jesus!”

Eighteen years later, the martyr’s son, Blessed Thomas Felton, followed in his brave father’s footsteps and died for the Faith, too.

We should love our Faith intensely and when the occasion presents itself, we should profess it openly.

St. Cajetan

St. Cajetan - August 7th

Cajetan was the son of a Italian Count. At the University of Padua, where he finished his studies, he spent much time in prayer. That did not make him do poorly in school, however; in fact, his devotion helped him understand things better. Cajetan was made a senator, but after some years, he went to Rome and became a priest. Then he returned to his own city of Vicenza. Although it angered his rich relatives, the Saint joined a group of humble, simple men who devoted themselves to helping the sick and the poor.

St. Cajetan would go all over the city looking for these unfortunate people and serve them himself. He helped at the hospital by waiting on people who had the most disgusting diseases. In other cities he did the same charitable work and also kept encouraging everyone to go to Holy Communion often. “I shall never be happy,” he said, “until I see Christians flocking to feed on the Bread of Life, with eagerness and delight, not with fear and shame.”

Together with these other holy men, St. Cajetan founded an order of religious priests called Theatines. They devoted themselves to preaching, encouraging frequent confession and Communion, helping the sick, and other good works.

Cajetan died at the age of sixty-seven. He had earned for himself the name “hunter of souls.” In his last sickness, he lay on hard boards, even though the doctor advised him to have a mattress. “My Savior died on a cross,” he said. “Let me at least die on wood.”

In imitation of this saint we should make the Holy Eucharist the center of our lives. We will be greatly blessed if we often receive Our Divine Lord in Holy Communion with the proper dispositions.

The Feast of the Holy Trinity

The Feast of the Holy Trinity
Trinity Sunday/First Sunday after Pentecost
Taken from, “Divine Intimacy,” by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., pp. 585-587.


PRESENCE OF GOD – “I return thanks to You, O God, one and true Trinity, one sovereign divinity, holy and indivisible unity. (RB)”.


MEDITATION


1. From Advent until today, the Church has had us consider the magnificent manifestations of God’s mercy toward men: the Incarnation, the Redemption, Pentecost. Now she directs our attention to the source of these gifts, the most Holy Trinity, from whom everything proceeds. Spontaneously, there rises to our lips the hymn of gratitude expressed in the Introit of the Mass: “Blessed be the Holy Trinity and undivided Unity; we will give glory to Him, because He has shown His mercy to us”: the mercy of God the Father, “who so loved the world that He gave it His only-begotten Son” (cf. Fn 3, 16); the mercy of God the Son, who to redeem us became incarnate and died on the Cross; the mercy of the Holy Spirit, who deigned to come down into our hearts to communicate to us the charity of God and to make us participate in the divine life. The Church has very fittingly included in the Office for today the beautiful antiphon inspired by St. Paul: “Caritas Pater est, gratia Filius, communicatio Spiritus Sanctus, O beta Trinitas!”; the Father is charity, the Son is grace and the Holy Spirit is communication: applying this, the charity of the Father and the grace of the Son are communicated to us by the Holy Spirit, who diffuses them in our heart. The marvelous work of the Trinity in our souls could not be better synthesized. Today’s Office and Mass form a veritable paean of praise and gratitude to the Blessed Trinity; they are a prolonged Gloria Patri and Te Deum. These two hymns-one a succinct epitome, and the other a majestic alternation of praises-are truly the hymns for today, intended to awaken in our hearts a deep echo of praise, thanksgiving, and adoration.

2. Today’s feast draws us to praise and glorify the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, not only because of the great mercy They have shown to men, but also and especially in Themselves and for Themselves: first, by reason of Their supreme essence which had no beginning and will never have an end; next, because of Their infinite perfections, Their majesty, essential beauty and goodness. Equally worthy of our adoration is the sublime fruitfulness of life by which the Father continually generates the Word, while from the Father and the Word proceeds from the Holy Spirit. The Father is not prior to, or greater to the Word; nor are the Father and the Word prior to or greater than the Holy Spirit. The three divine Persons are all co-eternal and equal among Themselves: the divinity and all the divine perfections and attributes are one and the same in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. What can man say in the presence of such a sublime mystery? What can he understand of it? Nothing! Yet what has been revealed to us is certain, because the Son of God Himself, “who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him” (Fn 1, 18). But the mystery is so sublime and it so exceeds our understanding, that we can only bow our heads and adore in silence. “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!” exclaims St. Paul in today’s Epistle (Rom 11, 33-36). He who, having been “caught up into paradise,” could neither know nor say anything except that he had "heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter” (2 Cor 12, 2-4). In the presence of the unspeakable mystery of the Trinity the highest praise is silence, the silence of the soul that adores, knowing that it is incapable of praising or glorifying the divine Majesty worthily.

The Ascension of Our Lord

The Ascension of Our Lord

- 40 days after

Easter/The Resurrection

It is in the basilica of St. Peter, dedicated to one of the chief witnesses of our Lord’s ascension, that this mystery which marks the end of our Lord’s earthly life, is “this day” (Collect) kept.

In the forty days which followed His resurrection, our Redeemer laid the foundations of His Church on which He was soon to send the Holy Ghost.

The Epistle and Gospel describe the scene of the ascension and summarize its teaching. All the chants of the Mass (Introit, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion) celebrate the glory of the Man-God who ascends to the right hand of His Father, while the Preface and the Prayers mention the share in this great mystery that, henceforward, is ours until one day it is finally granted to us to dwell with Him. Throughout the octave the Credo is said so that the Church may express her belief in our Lord’s ascension: “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God... He ascended into heaven... He sitteth at the right hand of the Father”. The Gloria speaks in the same sense: “O Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son... who sitteth at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.” Throughout the octave the Communicants proper to the feast is said.

Every day the prayers of the Ordinary of the Mass remind us at the Offertory and the Canon (Suscipe sancta Trinitas-Unde et memores) that the holy sacrifice is offered in memory of the passion, resurrection, and the glorious ascension into heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the ascension is one of the essential mysteries of our redemption, one of those which all the chosen people of God are called to share in order to be saved: “through Thy death and burial, through Thy holy resurrection, through Thy wonderful ascension, deliver us, O Lord” sings the Church in the Litany of the Saints. We should offer to God the holy sacrifice in memory of the glorious ascension of His Son and cultivate in our souls a burning desire for heaven so that henceforth “we may ever live in mind of heavenly things”.

The Transfiguration of Our Lord

The Transfiguration of Our Lord

- August 6th

About a year before He suffered and died to save us from Hell, Jesus willed to let three of the Apostles see Him shining with great glory. He did this to make their faith in Him stronger. In the Holy Gospel we can read the story of this marvelous event, which is called Our Lord’s Transfiguration.


Jesus took Saints Peter, James, and John with Him up Mt. Thabor, a mountain that stands like a great sugar-loaf in the middle of Galilee. And when they were off by themselves, suddenly His face shone like the sun and his robes shone as white as snow-whiter than any bleach on earth could have made them. Next the amazed Apostles saw the Prophets of old, Elias and Moses, talking with Jesus.


Imagine what joy those Apostles felt! “Lord,” said St. Peter, “it is good for us to be here. If You will, let us set up three tents here-one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elias.” Peter really did not know what to say, because he was trembling with wonder and fear. As he was talking, a bright cloud overshadowed them and from it came the voice of God the Father, saying: “This is My beloved Son; hear Him.”


When they heard that, the Apostles were so struck with fear that they fell on their faces. Then Jesus came near and touched them. “Arise,” He said, “and do not be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one but Jesus.


As they were coming down the mountain, Our Lord told them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until He had risen from the dead. They did not understand what He meant by that then, but after His glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday, they understand.


Let us too, listen to Our Divine Lord when He speaks to us though His Vicar, the Pope, and through our Bishops and Priests.

Christmas Season and Sunday Shopping

Christmas Season and Sunday Shopping
By John Vennari ~ http://www.cfnews.org/Sundays.htm

<“The Jews crucified Me on Friday, but Christians crucify Me on Sunday” - words of Our Lord to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre, December 2, 1847

The time in which most Christmas shopping takes place is not really the Christmas Season, but the Advent Season. Christmas Season begins on the first Vespers of Christmas and continues to Epiphany; otherwise known as the Twelve Days of Christmas. This deformation of terminology brought about by modern commercialism reflects more of the pagan spirit rather than the true Catholic spirit as communicated by the Liturgical Year.

As we now enter a period of increased buying and selling, it is opportune to remind ourselves to be wary of another pagan practice rampant in the modern world: Sunday shopping.

This common profanation of Sunday, which only increases during the Christmas shopping season, should not be taken lightly. In the 19th Century, Heaven sent two dire warnings against this offense, making clear that Our Lord regards this as a serious sin deserving of severe chastisement.


The first warning came through Sister Marie de Sainte-Pierre, whom Our Lord revealed the Devotion to His Holy Face. The second came through Our Lady of La Salette. Both of these revelations from Heaven enjoy the full approval of the Catholic Church.

“The Holy Day of the Lord Profaned”



On Nov. 24, 1843, Our Lord said the following to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre, a French Carmelite nun:



“The earth is covered with crimes. The violation of the first three Commandments of God has irritated My Father. The Holy Name of God blasphemed, and the Holy Day of the Lord profaned, fills up the measure of iniquities. These sins have risen unto the Throne of God and provoked His wrath which will soon burst forth if His justice be not appeased. At no time have these crimes reached such a pitch.”



Elsewhere, Our Lord complained to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre of the massive amount of blasphemy taking place on earth. He said, “My Name is everywhere blasphemed. Even children blaspheme.”



Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre went on to explain, “Blasphemy is a poisoned arrow ever wounding His Divine Heart. He told me that He wishes to give me a Golden Arrow wherewith to wound His Heart delightfully and heal these wounds inflicted by the sinners’ malice.”

This is the origin of the popular prayer, The Golden Arrow, that Heaven wished Catholics to recite often:

“May the Most Holy, Most Sacred, Most Adorable, Most Mysterious and Unutterable Name of God be praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, in Heaven, on earth, and in the hells, by all God’s creatures, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.”



Sister de Saint-Pierre said, “Our Lord having given me this Golden Arrow said, ‘avail yourself of this, for I shall demand an account from you.’.’ At that moment I beheld issuing from the Sacred Heart of Jesus pierced by this arrow a torrent of grace of sinners.”
Communion of Reparation for Profanation of Sunday



Along with this prayer in reparation for blasphemy, Our Lord told Sister de Saint-Pierre about the need to appease the Divine Justice aroused by reason of the desecration of Sunday. The heart of the message can be summarized in the following words of Sister de Saint-Pierre:



“... Our Lord commanded me to receive Holy Communion every Sunday for these three particular intentions:

1) In a spirit of atoning for all forbidden works done on Sunday, which as holy days are to be sanctified.


2) To appease Divine Justice which was on the very verge of striking on account of the profanation of holy days.


3) To implore the conversion of those sinners who desecrate Sundays,
- and to succeed in obtaining the cessation of forbidden Sunday Labor.

Our Lord asked for the establishment of a special Archconfraternity in reparation for blasphemy and profanation of work on Sunday. Our Lord Himself called this “the most beautiful work under the sun.” This Archconfraternity of the Holy Face was later approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885.

Second and Third Commandments


For a quick review of the do’s and don’ts regarding the Second and Third Commandments, here is a quick summary of what we find in pre-Vatican II catechisms.

The Second Commandment is “Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of the Lord Thy God in Vain”.

It commands: reverence in speaking about God and holy things and the keeping of oaths and vows.
It forbids: blasphemy, the irreverent use of God’s name, speaking disrespectfully about holy things, false oaths and the breaking of vows.

The Third Commandment is: “Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day”.

It commands: going to church on Sundays and Holy Days.
It forbids: missing church through one’s own fault, unnecessary servile work; public buying and selling; court trials.

La Salette

Around the same time Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre received the Divine communications from Our Lord, Heaven sent another warning regarding sins against the Second and Third Commandments through Our Lady of La Salette.

On September 19, 1846, Our Lady appeared to the shepherd children Maximin and Melanie in La Salette; it was a confirmation of the messages Our Lord gave to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre. Our Lady of La Salette warned of “the utter contempt (of man) for God’s Commandments, especially, She said, in the profanation of the Lord’s Day and the crime of blasphemy.” (That is, for sins against the Second and Third Commandments.)

Our Lady said, “If my people do not return to God by penance, I shall be forced to let fall the Hand of my Son, it now presses so heavily that I can scarce hold it any longer.”

Keep Sunday Holy

We see that Heaven does not take these sins lightly. Yet blasphemy is commonplace, particularly through the machinations of Hollywood. The profanation of Sunday is a way of life in modern United States, Canada and a great part of the once-Christian West.

Recently, I heard a sermon from a traditional priest against Sunday shopping in which he gave some helpful guidelines.

He said we should try to avoid all shopping on Sunday. Certainly, we should not make Sunday our day for grocery shopping. If we find that perhaps we are inadvertently caught on Sunday without something we absolutely need (including, as another priest said, unplanned visits from guests), then maybe we can go to the store for that item alone. He said we are not to use it as an opportunity to shop for other items we may need throughout the week.

Even this activity should be strictly curbed, he cautioned, because of the danger of scandal. People who know we are Catholic and who see us in a store on Sunday will conclude “well, he’s Catholic, and he shops on Sunday, so Sunday shopping is probably legitimate.”

In conclusion, let us remember the stern warnings from Our Lord to Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre and from Our Lady of La Salette, and let us avoid all Sunday shopping. Perhaps we could often recite the Golden Arrow, and begin the practice of the Communion of Reparation for Profanation of Sundays, given by Our Lord to Sister de Saint-Pierre, in reparation for the widespread desecration of Sunday that is the shame of our age.



- All quotes from Sister Marie de Sainte-Pierre come from The Life of Sister Marie de Saint-Pierre, an 1885 book written by Father Janvier, a great promoter of the Work of Reparation (English translation). It carries the 1881 Imprimatur of the Archbishop of Tours, France, Msgr. Colet. The book is out of print and extremely rare.

Click here for more on the Holy Face and the Revelations to Sister Marie de Sant Pierre

Reprinted from the December 2007 edition of

Catholic Family News

MPO Box 743 * Niagara Falls, NY 14302

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CHRIST THE KING By Fr. Yves le Roux, SSPX

CHRIST THE KING
By Fr. Yves le Roux, SSPX ~ http://www.stas.org/publications/letter/2007/November/
November 8, 2007

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

After His Resurrection, Our Lord sent His Apostles on their mission: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." There is no ambiguity in these words: religion cannot be restricted to the purely private domain.

Many think that it is good for the government and the laws to remain neutral regarding religion, allowing it to develop without interference or obstacles from the State. Some even dare to say that such official neutrality is the most desirable status for the Church. But as Leo XIII declared in his encyclical "Longinqua oceani," such an opinion is erroneous.

Even more, it is treason against Our Lord and His kingship. To pretend that Christ should not exercise in civil matters His double rights of Creator and Redeemer amounts to nothing other than the denial of His divine nature and His universal kingship.

In spite of all our claims to independence, man is a dependent being. His life in society is not an accident or a free choice. From the moment of his creation, man is by nature a social being. Life in society is not a question of preference, but a vital necessity for us. Thus, at the same time that God created man, He created society. And society, as all of God's creatures must reader to its Creator the homage that is due to Him. In consequence, civil society - that is, the State - has the grave obligation to seek the true religion, in order to let its citizens adore God through Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church. The State, as a moral entity, must render worship to God. It cannot be neutral. No creature can assert its independence regarding the Creator, and if we were to allow it for one creature, what would stop us from claiming it for all creatures? The State is also a creature, and such a claim to independence is truly a blasphemy against God.

Let us briefly consider the dramatic consequences of civil society's neutrality towards God.

A country that claims to be neutral, that does not, as a country, render to God the adoration that it should, destroys its Relationship with its Creator. It is like a man who refuses to adore God. That man is objectively in the state of mortal sin, and thus, none of his actions is pleasing to God, none of them merits eternal life.

The same happens with a society that adopts the Liberal principle of the separation between the State and God. That society is in the state of mortal sin and does not receive the blessings of God. It merits to be justly punished. While a man will receive the full, just punishment for his crimes in the afterlife, societies receive it here on earth. Our Lady in Fatima told the little shepherds that many countries would be wiped out from the face of the earth because they were not giving her divine Son the honor legitimately due to Him.

Moreover, a state's policy of neutrality precludes it from aiding the Church. The Catholic Church, Mother and Teacher of Truth, does not receive from the State the assistance that she has the right to expect to spread her divine teachings. She is treated as an association like any other, or even reduced to the level of a sect or false religion.

This neutrality favors the spread of errors. Errors which came into contact with other errors draw from this contact a new strength to fight against the Truth. And Truth must be protected from any error, because Truth is tainted by such contacts.

This necessary protection of Truth is not a weakness, but rather a sign of its authenticity. Gold loses its purity and value when mixed with base metals. If a healthy man wants to remain healthy, he must protect himself against illness, avoiding any contact with the germs that carry disease. In a similar manner, to survive, Truth must be exempt from any contact with error.

Thus, the indifference of the State in regard to religion is an error – it is a formidable weapon to destroy the Catholic faith and to favor Error in its many guises. What do men become in such a situation? They no longer receive the light of Truth, and thus, they err, walk blindly and get lost. Pius XII was right when he said that the salvation or damnation of many frequently depends on the civil constitution of a country.

It is so because if the country itself is Catholic all its laws would lead man to adore and honor God, to praise and serve Him. In a Catholic country, the observance of the Sunday would give everyone the possibility of adoring God without obstacles. The civil laws would oppose abortion, the depravity of morals and fashions - and the same civil laws would forbid divorce arid favor the unity of families.

The neutrality of the State, that is, the indifference of a nation regarding God and His Christ, is an extremely grave fault, the most serious of all because it is the root of all the others The doctrine that divinizes human liberty, turning man into a kind of god, is called Liberalism. Demanding and imposing the religious neutrality of States, Liberalism leads souls to Hell. The surest way to lead a soul to its damnation is to let it live in a society without God.

There is no more pernicious error than Liberalism. We must reject and hate it, with all our forces, because it leads us and our children on the path to Hell. Let us wake up! We are at war! We do not have the right to let ourselves be corrupted, intellectually and practically, by these frightful liberal errors whose effects we daily see around us. Why do you think that so many souls cannot find the way to the Truth today? Why are there so many crimes? Why so much vulgarity? Why are so many souls damned in spite of their good intentions? Why? Why? Why?

Because Our Lord does not reign. Because man has become as a god. Because we have inherited this monstrous liberal culture that pretends that the State should not kneel before its God.

It is an ignoble crime, an unspeakable sin. We must not accept it, we must not resign ourselves to see God so badly treated by His creatures, we must not remain silent. We must proclaim, loudly and clearly, the kingship o£ Christ over the nations of the earth.

It is exactly because we proclaim this kingship that we meet with so many difficulties. That is the true reason for the sanctions against the SSPX. It was not because he continued saying the Mass in Latin that Archbishop Lefebvre had to struggle against so much opposition and was condemned. No. The hatred against him arose from his strong affirmation of the inalienable rights of Christ to reign over families and countries, as well as over individuals. Archbishop Lefebvre was condemned because he vigorously opposed the Conciliar declaration on religious liberty, by which modernist Rome accepted that Our Lord no longer reigned over societies. He was condemned by those who should have defended and congratulated him! - a sad proof that Roman authorities do the work of the enemies of Our Lord...

What we have said is sadly proven also by the present Roman policy regarding the faithful who want to have the Tridentine Mass. Rome accepts them on condition of their consent not to publicly proclaim the Kingship of Christ. What a misery! Rome, the indefectible custodian of Truth, beacon of intelligences and mistress of hearts, cradle of Christendom, is today eaten away by the terrible evil of Liberalism. Pius IX saw this clearly when he declared to a group of pilgrims that Catholic Liberalism was the most dangerous evil, "a true plague" in his own words. We live in a time of plague.

What should we do?

We must proclaim loudly and clearly the kingship of Christ. We must, as St. Paul teaches, "bring all minds into the service of Christ," beginning with our own. We must learn the doctrine of the Social Kingship of Christ from our priests, in order to be able to oppose its Liberal detractors. Let us not deceive ourselves: we ourselves are also tainted by this Liberal virus, if not in doctrine, then at least on a practical level. The proof is that we usually judge the realities around us from a naturalistic viewpoint - that is, according to criteria of natural goodness - but not according to supernatural Truth. Our first and most pressing duty is to enroll in this crusade, to engage ourselves personally in this battle for the social reign of Our Lord, so that our countries learn to recognize in Our Lord the God to whom they owe homage. Otherwise, vain is our claim to be Catholics. Today Our Lord is disowned, His kingship insulted. Today we hear again the ignoble cry repeated for two millennia: "We do not want Him to reign over us. Crucify Him. "

We want Him to reign over us. We want Him to reign over our institutions. We want Him to reign over our country, because we know, as the great anti-liberal Popes knew, that he who does not hate error is not a faithful servant of Christ and he is unworthy of being called a Christian.

Allow me to quote you a passage from Cardinal Pie, the Doctor of the Social Kingship of Christ: "You think that your conscience is in peace, you think that you are still orthodox because you firmly believe in the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, and that that alone suffices to constitute Christianity... Do not fool yourselves, you are not above reproach in your faith if you are of those who, while offering incense to Jesus, refuse to add gold to their offering, that is, if you refuse to acknowledge and proclaim His social Kingship."

May Our Lady, Queen of our hearts, of our families and countries, grant us the grace of always being faithful witnesses of the Social Kingship of Our Lord, remaining loyally at His side in spite of the misery of the times in which we live. We will be despised and persecuted because of this fidelity. Standing at the foot of the Cross, at the side of Our Good Mother of Heaven, we will not be intimidated by these attacks, because we know that Christ reigns from the Cross and that it is an honor for us to share in His abandonment.

May Our Lady keep us unwaveringly firm in this hope, confident that Our Lord shall reign in spite of His enemies, as He promised to St. Margaret-Mary.

Let us hasten this blessed hour of His reign by our filial devotion to Mary, our Queen, particularly by the daily recitation of the family Rosary.

In Christo sacerdote et Maria,

Fr. Yves le Roux

THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT (FOR DAILY LIVING)

THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT
(A GUIDE FOR DAILY LIVING)

This Rule of St. Benedict should be followed by all to guide us in our daily lives. Morals are the foundation upon which a country rises to great heights. Take away morals, and countries, leaders, and individuals fall. All should wear or carry this most highly indulgenced and exorcised medal:

-The Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict-

THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT (FOR DAILY LIVING):


IT IS WRITTEN: Do all things with counsel, and thy deed shall not bring thee repentance.


In the first place, to love the Lord God with all one's heart, all one's soul and all one's strength.
The one's neighbor as oneself.
Then not to kill. Not to commit adultery. Not to steal.
Not to covet. Not to bear false witness. To honour all men.
Not to do to another what one would not have done to oneself.
To deny oneself, in order to follow Christ.
To chastise the body. Not to seek soft living. To love fasting.
To relieve the poor. To clothe the naked. To visit the sick.
To bury the dead. To help the afflicted.
To console the sorrowing. To avoid worldly conduct.
To prefer nothing to the love of Christ.
Not to yield to anger. Not to nurse a grudge.
Not to hold guile in one's heart.
Not to make a feigned, (false show off), peace. Not to forsake charity.
Not to swear, lest perchance one forswear oneself. (to swear falsely).
To utter truth from heart and mouth. Not to render evil for evil.
To do no wrong to anyone, and bear patiently wrongs done to oneself.
To love one's enemies.
Not to render cursing for cursing, but rather blessing.
To bear persecution for justice sake.
Not to be proud. Not a wine bibber, (habitual drinker).
Not a glutton. Not somnolent, (inclined to sleep).
Not slothful. Not a grumbler.
Not a detractor, (slanderer). To put one's hope in God..
To attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good one sees in oneself. But to recognize always that the evil is one's own doing, and to impute it to oneself.
To fear the day of judgement. To dread Hell.
To keep constant guard over the actions of one's life.
To desire eternal life with all spiritual longing.
To keep death daily before one's eyes.
To know for certain that God sees one everywhere.
When evil thoughts come into one's heart, to dash them at once on the rock of Christ and to manifest them to one's spiritual advisor, (confessor)
To keep one's mouth from evil and depraved talk.
Not to love much speaking.
Not to speak vain words or such as move to laughter.
To listen gladly to holy reading.
To apply oneself frequently to prayer.
Daily in one's prayer, with tears and signs, to confess one's past sins to God. To mend those sins for the future.
Not to fulfill the desires of the flesh. To hate one's will.
To obey in all things the commands of the abbot, even though he himself, (which God forbid), should act otherwise, remembering the Lord's precept: What they say, do ye, but what they do, do ye not.
Not to wise to be called holy before one is holy, but first to be holy, that one may more truly be called so.
To fulfill God's commandments daily in one's deeds.
To love chastity. To hate no man.
Not to be jealous. Not to give way to envy.
Not to love contention, (conflict). To shun vainglory, (boastfulness).
To reverence the old. To love the young.
To pray for one's enemies in the love of Christ.
To make peace with one's adversary before sundown
And never to despair of God's mercy.



Behold these are the tools of the spiritual craft. If we employ them unceasingly day and night, and on the day of judgement render account of them, the we shall receive from the Lord in return that reward which He Himself has promised: Eye has not seen nor ear heard, what God hath prepared for those that love him. Now the workshop, wherein we shall diligently execute all these tasks, is the enclosure of the monastery, (home, office, workplace, etc.) and our spiritual roots in the community.

___________________________________________________

THE JUBILEE MEDAL
THE MEDAL CROSS OF ST. BENEDICT

The Medal of St. Benedict is the most highly indulgenced medal in the Catholic Church. When the exorcism blessings are applied by a Benedictine priest, the medal has power over evil: storms, poisons, pestilence, the devil's legions, etc. You must use the medal by calling down the intercession of St. Benedict. (Use by dipping in liquids, placing on/in important machinery, structures, etc.)



On many feast days of Our Lord, the Blessed Mother, the Apostles, and many Saints, it is possible to gain a plenary or a partial indulgence by carrying or wearing the medal; invoking the intercession of St. Benedict; and, praying for the abolishment of heresy.
While blessing the St. Benedict and St. Maurus on the medal. St. Maurus is a great Benedictine Saint.

Pray the Rosary daily! Wear a wool Brown Scapular! Wear a Crucifix & a St. Benedict! Each day while praying ask for all the indulgences that you may or may not know about. Indulgences are numerous and applied to almost every prayer or good work, and may be applied to those in Purgatory.

St. Benedict is called the Father of the Western Monasticism. Through his Rule of Morality there developed the Western, European, Monastic Tradition of Teaching. Teaching in the west was pioneered by Benedictine Monks.

The good moral teachings derived from St. Benedict became the foundation upon which the western countries rose to great moral heights. Let us humbly beg God to help America, our leaders, and ourselves, rise again through the intercession and the Rule of St. Benedict.

Go here to order some St. Benedict Medals and to have them personally blessed by a Benedictine priest: http://www.ourladyofguadalupemonastery.com/