“My hand upholds you. Wherever you may fall, you will always fall into my hands. I am present even at the door of death. Where no one can accompany you further, and where you can bring nothing, even there I am waiting for you, and for you I will change darkness into light.” -John Paul II
Categories: Catholic Thought
Tagged: Faith
More to Feminine Genius
A response to: Awaiting the Age of MaryTo limit the feminine genius to fertility is being very narrow. Women with children are fertile in many ways in the church and society. Women who choose to be infertile for the Kingdom of God likewise bear fruit. There are women who can’t have children. Many of them adopt. Some women choose not to have children, for reasons laudable and some not. A friend of mine is a carrier of a deadly gene. She has lost three children already at a tender age. She chooses not to continue this. The article seems to imply that women who don’t have children or limit their children all have abortion. That is not so.
Patricia L. Marks
Categories: Catholic Thought
St. John Mary Vianney (Saint Jean Baptiste Vianney in French) is such a special saint and a dear friend to me that one post hardly seems enough to write about how holy and precious he is. I would like to share a brief biography as well as some of my favorite quotes, and a prayer to St. John Vianney.
May 8, 1786 in the village of Dardilly in France. The son of a poor farmer, he worked as a shepherd on the farm in his youth and taught other children their prayers and catechism. He did not receive any formal education until he was 20 years old.
While a student he was called for military service, and became a delinquent military recruit more or less because of illness, and hid to escape Napoleon’s police. He had difficulty learning Latin, and twice failed the examinations required before ordination. He was finally ordained at the age of 30, but was thought to be so incompetent he was placed under the direction of Fr. Balley, a holy priest in a neighboring village, for further training.
St. John was assigned to Ars, a tiny remote village near Lyons, which suffered from lax attendance. He spent almost forty-two years of his life as the Cure (Pastor) of Ars, devoting himself to prayer, mortification, and pastoral works. He preached in a very simple manner, had a great love of the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Mother and he had a special devotion to St. Philomena.
The Cure of Ars lived an austere life, ate potatoes he boiled, and learned to keep suspended by a rope from the ceiling, so the rats wouldn’t get to them. He allowed himself 2 hours of sleep each night and was frequently interrupted by the devil, who assaulted him with deafening noises, insulting conversation, and physical abuse. These diabolical visitations were occasionally witnessed with alarm by the men of the parish, but the pious He accepted the attacks as a matter of course and often joked about them.The frail Cure began hearing confessions at 1 o’clock in the morning, and spent from 14 to 18 hours a day in the cramped confessional. Crowds flocked to the confessional because of his reputation with penitents, and many came to hear him preach. By 1855, there were 20,000 pilgrims a year traveling to Ars.
His success in directing souls made him known throughout the Christian world. Men of all ranks and conditions of life sought his guidance, including bishops and aristocracy, who made the journey to Ars in order to receive his spiritual counsel. Through his work, he brought about a spiritual renewal that touched not only the people of his parish but all of France.
His success in directing souls made him known throughout the Christian world. Men of all ranks and conditions of life sought his guidance, including bishops and aristocracy, who made the journey to Ars in order to receive his spiritual counsel. Through his work, he brought about a spiritual renewal that touched not only the people of his parish but all of France.
Thus, St. John Vianney was a man who started his life as one who very few thought would ever amount to anything, but gave God permission to use him as the vehicle for thousands of conversions. He is, for us today, an example of how God works wonderfully through those who dedicate their lives to him and who seek to do his will. John Vianney, a humble parish priest is regarded by the Church as one of its great figures simply because he was faithful and obedient.
St. John Vianney died peacefully on August 4, 1859. His body was exhumed because of his impending beatification, and was found perfectly entire. He was beatified by Pope St. Pius X, himself once a parish priest, and canonized by Pope Pius XI. St. John Vianney is the only diocesan priest to be canonized and is the patron saint of parish priests.
Patronage
confessors Dubuque, Iowa, archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, archdiocese of Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney priests
“All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man.”
“I tell you that you have less to suffer in following the cross than in serving the world and its pleasures.”
“Prayer is to our soul what rain is to the soil. Fertilize the soil ever so richly, it will remain barren unless fed by frequent rains.”
“Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.”
“Man is a beggar who needs to ask God for everything.”
“When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant.”
“All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone – for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good. “
“You cannot please both God and the world at the same time, They are utterly opposed to each other in their thoughts, their desires, and their actions.”
“Upon receiving Holy Communion, the Adorable Blood of Jesus Christ really flows in our veins and His Flesh is really blended with ours.”
“We should consider those moments spent before the Blessed Sacrament as the happiest of our lives.”
“I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master.”
“If we could comprehend all the good things contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be wanting to content the heart of man. The miser would run no more after his treasures, or the ambitious after glory; each would shake off the dust of the earth, leave the world, and fly away towards heaven.”
“When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other.”
“Christian wife! Follow in the footsteps of the ideal of all womanhood, the Blessed Mother of God; in joy and in sorrow, she will be your advocate at the throne of her Son.”
Prayers
Prayer for Seminarians and Parish Priests from Mount Carmel Bloggers:
I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally…My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath.
~St. John Vianney, The Cure d’ Ars
Matrimony is a great Sacrament, as St. Paul says, but only in Christ and His holy Church. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loves His Church: wives, be subject to your husbands, in love and obedience, and care for one another. Bear with your imperfections.
~ St. John Vianney
this post via : http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/
Categories: Catholic Resources · Catholic Thought · Vocations
So after looking at this wordpress blog i realized something. That the links in the side bar are there and once the list gets to be more than say 10 long its mainly for browsing and not much is known about them. So in an effort to educate those who read this blog on why i have what i have up here (because its all here for a reason… not just for fun fun) i’m going to be writing posts featuring certain links on the right side of the page here. (so i guess now that i have designated the side i cant change the template 5 times a day…)
After glancing through a few posts from Mary’s Aggies on the changes implemented after the Second Vatican Council I though I would post a bit here for those interested.
the question from the first post reads :
Q – We spoke about Vatican II briefly in RCIA. Can you give more details to the changes implimented by Vatican II and a quick comparison to the Mass pre-Vatican II?
the question from the second post reads :
Q – Hey Marcel, A friend of mine wants to know more about Vatican II. I will, of course, direct him to actually read the documents himself (as you always directed me), but I was hoping you could give a little intro beyond what you gave today or direct us to a good source for that. More specifically he’d like to know how Vatican II is actually a response to rather than an embrace of modernism. Thanks!
When it comes to all things catholic these guys know what’s going on.
Categories: Catholic Resources · Catholic Thought · about this blog
Mother Teresa Endured God’s Silence, Says Pope
Comments on Nun’s “Dark Night” to Youth
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- God speaks even when he doesn’t say anything, Benedict XVI told 500,000 young people in reference to the “dark night” of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
Mother Teresa’s spiritual suffering was one of the topics covered by the Pope on Saturday night, during his question-and-answer session with 500,000 youth in Loreto, Italy.
The Vatican released the transcript of the questions and answers today.
The session, held in the esplanade of Montorso, was part of a two-day encounter of Italian youth with the Holy Father.
A young Italian woman, Sara Simonetta, explained to the Pontiff that she believed “in the God that had touched my heart, but I feel a lot of insecurity, questions, fear.”
“I feel human solitude, and I would like to feel God close. Holiness, in this silence, ‘Where is God?’” she asked.
Benedict XVI responded that “we all, even though we believe, experience this silence of God.”
“A book was just published on the spiritual experiences of Mother Teresa, and what we have known is now more openly presented: With all her charity, her strength of faith, Mother Teresa suffered the silence of God,” he said.
The Pope was referring to the book “Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light,” written by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator for the cause of canonization of the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. The book, published 10 years after the nun’s death, is a compilation of her letters and writings.
Benedict XVI continued: “On one hand, we have to endure this silence of God, partly in order to understand our brethren who don’t know God.”
On the other, he said, “we can always yell out again to God: ‘Talk, show yourself!’ And without a doubt, if the heart is open, we can discover the great moments of our life in which the presence of God is truly perceptible, even to us.”
Seeing God
The Pope explained how it is possible to see God.
Before all, the Pontiff said, “the beauty of creation is one of the sources in which we can touch the beauty of God, we can see that the Creator exists and is good, that it is true what sacred Scripture says in the creation account.”
Second, he explained, it is possible to perceive the divine presence “listening to the word of God in the great liturgical celebrations, in the great music of faith.”
Benedict XVI then told the story of a woman who converted to Christianity after having listened to the music of Bach, Handel and Mozart.
Third, the Pope told the assembly of youth, one can discover God through “personal dialogue with Christ.”
“He doesn’t always respond, but there are moments in which he really responds,” the Pontiff said.
A last way of discovering God, according to the Holy Father, is “friendship, companionship in the faith.”
Benedict XVI continued: “Now, here, gathered in Loreto, we see how faith unites, how friendship creates a companionship of journeying persons.
“And we experience that all of this does not come from nothing, but has a source, that the silent God is also a God who speaks, who reveals himself, and above all, that we can be witnesses of his presence, that our faith truly brings about light, even for others.”
The Pope added: “On one hand, we have to accept that in this world, God is silent, but we shouldn’t make ourselves deaf when he speaks, when he manifests his presence on so many occasions, above all in Creation, in the liturgy, in friendship within the Church. And, full of his presence, we can also give light to others.”
Categories: Catholic Thought · Pope Benedict · Zenit
Farouq said that he agrees with the Pontiff’s reflections on fundamentalist religion and violence: “Nihilism and fundamentalism agree in their scorn for God and man: the former because it denies the truth, the latter because it wants to impose the truth.”
“This is where violence is born,” Farouq explained. “Violence that can be overcome by the commandment to love.”
“Reason,” he claimed, “is a relation based on love: Without love, faith itself does not reach its goal.”
Farouq then pointed out that Mohammed wrote: “You will not be brothers until you love each other.”
-Clip from Wa’il Farouq, a professor of Islamic Sciences at the Coptic-Catholic Faculty of Sakini in Cairo
Categories: Catholic Thought · Pope Benedict
VATICAN CITY, AUG. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is part of a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI’s July 24 question-and-answer session with priests from the dioceses of Belluno-Feltre and Treviso, Italy, during the Pope’s vacation.
Today, the idea prevails that only what is quantifiable can be rational, which stems from reason. Other things, such as the subjects of religion and morals, should not enter into common reason because they cannot be proven or, rather, put to the “acid test”, so to speak. In this situation, where morals and religion are as it were almost expelled from reason, the subject is the only ultimate criterion of morality and also of religion, the subjective conscience which knows no other authority. In the end, the subject alone decides, with his feelings and experience, on the possible criteria he has discovered. Yet, in this way the subject becomes an isolated reality and, as you said, the parameters change from one day to the next. In the Christian tradition, “conscience”, “con-scientia”, means “with knowledge”: that is, ourselves, our being is open and can listen to the voice of being itself, the voice of God. Thus, the voice of the great values is engraved in our being and the greatness of the human being is precisely that he is not closed in on himself, he is not reduced to the material, something quantifiable, but possesses an inner openness to the essentials and has the possibility of listening. In the depths of our being, not only can we listen to the needs of the moment, to material needs, but we can also hear the voice of the Creator himself and thus discern what is good and what is bad.
Categories: Catholic Thought · Pope Benedict
Categories: Catholic Thought · Social Justice
