"In the evening, when I was in my
cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand [was] raised in
the gesture of blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From
beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating
two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the
Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus
said to me, Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the
signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first
in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world.
I promise that the soul that will
venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies
already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it
as My own glory"
"This idea of a lost eternity that
began to move me so vividly at the tender age of five and that has stayed with
me ever since and that, God willing, I will never forget is the mainspring and
goad of my zeal for the salvation of souls. In time I felt a further stimulus
for zeal of which I shall speak later, namely, the thought that sin not only
condemns my neighbor but is an offense against God, my Father
This idea breaks my heart with pain
and makes me want to run like… And I tell myself, "If a sin is infinitely
malicious, then
preventing a sin is preventing an
infinite offense against my God, against my good Father."
"Resolutions made by me, Dominic
Savio, in the year 1849, on the day of my First Communion, at the age of
seven.
1. I will go to Confession often,
and as frequently to Holy Communion as my confessor allows.
2. I wish to sanctify the Sundays
and festivals in a special manner.
3. My friends shall be Jesus and
Mary.
4. Death rather than sin."
St Bonaventure -
Holiness of Life"Poverty is another of the virtues necessary
if
we would be holy unto perfection. Our
Lord bears witness to this in the
Gospel of
St. Matthew: :If thou wilt be perfect, go
sell what thou hast
and give to the poor."
Since the fulness of evangelical perfection
is
found in poverty, no one should imagine that
he has scaled the summits
of perfection if he
has not become an adept in the practice of
evangelical
poverty."
Download
PDFSt Birgitta of Sweden - Revelations and
PropheciesBut you, my daughter, whom I have chosen for myself, and
with whom I now speak in spirit: love me with all your heart ‐ not as you love
your son or daughter or parents, but more than anything in the world ‐ since I,
who created you, did not spare any of my limbs in suffering for your sake! Yet,
I love your soul so dearly that, rather than losing you, I would let myself be
crucified again, if it were possible. Imitate my humility; for I, the King of
glory and of angels, was clothed in ugly, wretched rags and stood naked at the
pillar and heard all kinds of insults and ridicule with my own ears. Always
prefer my will before your own, because my Mother, your Lady, has, from the
beginning to the end, never wanted anything but
what I wanted.
Download
PDFSt Bonaventure - Life of St. Francis of
Assisi"Therefore, when he once passed the holy day of Easter in a
distant hermitage, so far from the dwellings of men that it was not possible to
go forth to beg, in memory of Him who appeared on that day in the form of a
pilgrim to the disciples going to Emmaus, he asked alms of his own brethren as a
poor pilgrim, which when he had humbly received, he admonished them in many holy
words, that passing through the desert of this world as pilgrims, and strangers,
and true Hebrews, they should celebrate, in continual poverty of spirit, the
true Pasch fo the Lord, that is this passage from this world to the
Father."
Download
PDFSt Don Bosco - Memoirs of the Oratory"It was
at that age that I had a dream. All my life this remained deeply impressed on my
mind. In this dream I
seemed to be near my home in a fairly large yard. A
crowd of children were playing there. Some were laughing, some were playing
games, and quite a few were swearing. When I heard these evil words, I jumped
immediately amongst them and tried to stop them by using my words and my
fists.
At that moment a dignified man appeared, a nobly dressed adult. He
wore a white cloak, and his face shone so that I could not look directly at him.
He called me by name, told me to take charge of these children, and added these
words: "You will have to win these friends of yours not by blows but by
gentleness and love. Start right away to teach them the ugliness of sin and the
value of virtue."
Download
PDFSt. Francis de Sales - Consoling thoughts of"O
holy, fortunate, and happy crowd of sinners and publicans, who approach to our
Lord! They are not like those invited to the great feast, who excused
themselves: they come, and are welcome. O my Savior, how have these sinners
drawn nigh to Thee since Thou art just? For David says absolutely of the just
man that evil must not approach to him: "Depart from me, ye wicked." Since it is
thus, O Savior, O Redeemer, O good God, I can say to the multitude on Thy Part:
"Approach to God, and you will be enlightened, and your faces will not be
confounded; for he receives sinners"
Download
PDFBlessed Anna Katharina Emmerich - The Dolorous Passion of
Our Lord Jesus ChristThe Jews, having quite exhausted their
barbarity, shut Jesus up in a little vaulted prison, the remains of which
subsist to this day. Two of the archers alone remained with him, and they were
soon replaced by two others. He was still clothed in the old dirty mantle, and
covered with the spittle and other filth which they had thrown over him; for
they had not allowed him to put on his own clothes again, but kept his hands
tightly bound together.
When our Lord entered this prison, he prayed most
fervently that his Heavenly Father would accept all that he had already
suffered, and all that he was about to suffer, as an expiatory sacrifice, not
only for his executioners, but likewise for all who in future ages might have to
suffer torments such as he was about to endure, and be tempted to impatience or
anger.
Download
PDF
St Francis de Sales - Introduction to Devout
Life"Almost all those who have written concerning the devout life
have had chiefly in view persons who have altogether quitted the world; or at
any rate they have taught a manner of devotion which would lead to such total
retirement. But my object is to teach those who are living in towns, at court,
in their own households, and whose calling obliges them to a social life, so far
as externals are concerned. Such persons are apt to reject all attempt to lead a
devout life under the plea of impossibility; imagining that like as no animal
presumes to eat of the plant commonly called Palma Christi, so no one who is
immersed in the tide of temporal affairs ought to presume to seek the palm of
Christian piety.
And so I have shown them that, like as the
mother-of-pearl lives in the sea without ever absorbing one drop of salt water;
and as near the Chelidonian Isles springs of sweet water start forth in the
midst of the ocean and as the firemoth hovers in the flames without burning
her
wings; even so a true stedfast soul may live in the world untainted by
worldly breath, finding a well-spring of holy piety amid the bitter waves of
society, and hovering amid the flames of earthly lusts without singeing the
wings of its devout life. Of a truth this is not easy,"
Download
PDF
St. Robert Bellarmine - The Eternal Happiness
of the Saints "WE may learn how important is knowledge of the
kingdom of heaven from this circumstance, that Christ our heavenly Master began
His preaching with these words: “Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand.” He also delivered nearly all His parables concerning the kingdom of
heaven, saying, " The kingdom of heaven is likened & c. And after His
resurrection, during the forty days before His ascension, appearing to His
disciples, He spoke to them of the kingdom of God, as St. Luke mentions in the
Acts of the Apostles. This kingdom therefore formed the beginning, continuation,
and end of the discourses of Christ. But I do not intend to enter upon all the
points connected with heaven, but only to explain those that relate to the
“place and state" of the Blessed. In the first place, I will endeavour to show
why the “habitation” of the blessed is called the "kingdom of heaven" in the
Holy Scriptures."
Download
PDFSt Peter Julian Eymard - the Divine
Eucharist"PRAYER, incessant prayer, otherwise called the habit of
prayer, is necessary for every Christian. All have received the grace of prayer
in Baptism. It is the Holy Spirit who inspires us to cry to God: "Abba
Fater—Father, Father 1" It is the gift, the grace, the privilege of all. We 'can
do no
good, practise no virtue without prayer, which obtains for us the grace
of goodness and virtue. Prayer is the foundation of all the virtues, and faith
itself, the beginning of justice, it but the exercise of prayer."
Download
PDF
St. Peter Julian Eymard - Month of Our Lady of
the Blessed Sacrament"Because we make profession of especially
honoring the Holy Eucharist, it does not follow that we should have less
devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Far from it! He would be guilty of blasphemy who
would say: "As for me, the Blessed Sacrament suffices. I have no need of Mary."
Where shall we find Jesus on earth if not in Mary s arms. Did she not give us
the Eucharist? Was it not her consent to the Incarnation of the Word in her pure
womb that inaugurated the great mystery of reparation to God and union with us,
which Jesus accomplished by His mortal life, and that He continues in the
Eucharist?"
Download
PDF
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich - Life of the
Blessed Virgin Mary"I saw Anna’s ancestors helping to carry the Ark
of the Covenant with great devotion and piety, and I saw also that they received
from the holy thing therein rays of light which extended to their descendants,
to Anna and the Blessed Virgin. Anna’s parents were rich. This was clear to me
because of their possessions; they had many oxen; but they kept nothing for
themselves alone, they gave everything to the poor. I saw Anna as a child; she
was not particularly beautiful, but yet more so than others. She was far less
beautiful than Mary, but remarkably simple and childlike in her piety; I have
always seen her like that, whether as girl, mother, or old, old woman. Indeed,
whenever I saw a real childlike old peasant woman, it always made me think ‘she
is like Anna’. She had several other brothers and sisters, all married, but she
did not wish to marry. She was particularly fond of her parents, and though she
had at least six suitors, she rejected them all."
Download
PDFThe Imitation of Christ - Thomas a
Kempis"Having a Humble Opinion of Self. EVERY man naturally desires
knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God?
Indeed a humble
rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul
to study the course of the stars. He who knows himself well becomes mean in his
own eyes and is not happy when praised by men. If I knew all things in the world
and had not charity, what would it profit me before God Who will judge me by my
deeds? Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting
and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet
there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul,
and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to
salvation is very unwise."
Download
PDF
Secret of Sanctity - According to Francis de
Sales"OUR great happiness as Christians is to possess, in this
world, through grace and love, Him Who deigns to be our beatitude for all
eternity; and our greatest misfortune, after sin, is not to know or to recognize
this secret of eternal charity. God would have us holy even as He is holy; He
would have us live His very life. It is for this end that He has given us His
divine Son, and with Him the infinite riches of His heart; that is, His merits,
His sacraments, His Church."
Download
PDF
Fathers of the
Desert - Volume 1"The desert had now a well-known road through it,
made by the numbers of people who flocked to Antony and sought for consolation
or instruction from him. Notwithstanding his humility, which made him in his own
eyes the least and the most unworthy of all, he believed at length that he ought
not to refuse them this spiritual alms. Therenown of his discernment, his power,
and his virtue, spread far and wide, and grew so great, that people began to
bring the sick, the crippled, and the possessed to him, that he might heal
them."
Download
PDFFathers of the Desert - Volume 2"The village
of Sis, or Sisan, in which Simeon came into the world in the year 388, was
situated on the borders of Cilicia, in the mountains of Northern Syria. His
parents were wealthy peasants, and good Christians. He received baptism as soon
as he was born. He was early distinguished for his natural talents, his beauty,
his strength, and his ability, and he was, moreover, of a cheerful and kind
disposition, and had such a loving heart that he often deprived himself of his
own food to feed the hungry. Like the patriarchs of old, Jacob and David, Simeon
was a shepherd boy. His parents intrusted to him their flock of sheep, and he
fulfilled all the duties of his state with great care. He loved the solitude of
the hills and valleys where he led his sheep to pasture, for it suited and
nourished the thoughtful tendency of his mind, whilst the images of nature made
pure and peaceful impressions upon his soul. He was completely untouched by
worldliness or sin, and was entirely destitute of instruction and
education."
Download
PDFSt. Catherine of Genoa - Life and
Doctrine"Although of very noble parentage, and very delicate and
beautiful in person, yet from her earliest years, she despised the pride of
birth, and abhorred luxury; so that when only about eight years of age, she was
inspired with the desire to do penance, and beginning to dislike the soft
indulgence of her bed, she laid herself down humbly to sleep on straw, with a
block of hardwood under her head, in the place of pillows of down."
Download
PDFSt Bernard of Clairvaux - On Loving God"You
want me to tell you why God is to be loved and how much. I answer, the reason
for loving God is God Himself; and the measure of love due to Him is
immeasurable love. Is this plain?
Doubtless, to a thoughtful man; but I am
debtor to the unwise also. A word to the wise is sufficient; but I must consider
simple folk too. Therefore I set myself joyfully to explain more in detail what
is meant above.
We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason;
nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable. When one asks, Why should I
love God? he may mean, What is lovely in God? or What shall I gain by loving
God? In either case, the same sufficient cause of love exists, namely, God
Himself."
Download
PDF St. Albert the Great - On Cleaving to God "I
have had the idea of writing something for myself on and about the state of
complete and full abstraction from everything and of cleaving freely,
confidently, nakedly and firmly to God alone, so as to describe it fully (in so
far as it is possible in this abode of exile and pilgrimage), especially since
the goal of Christian perfection is the love by which we cleave to God. In fact
everyone is obligated, to this loving cleaving to God as necessary for
salvation, in the form of observing the commandments and conforming to the
divine will, and the observation of the commandments excludes everything that is
contrary to the nature and habit of love, including mortal sin. Members of
religious orders have committed themselves in addition to evangelical
perfection, and to the things that constitute a voluntary and counselled
perfection by means of which one may arrive more quickly to the supreme goal
which is God."
Download
PDFSt. Therese of Lisieux - Autobiography, Story of a
Soul"I often asked myself why God had preferences, why all souls did
not receive an equal measure of grace. I was filled with wonder when I saw
extraordinary favors showered on great sinners like St. Paul, St. Augustine, St.
Mary Magdalen, and many others, whom He forced, so to speak, to receive His
grace. In reading the lives of the Saints I was surprised to see that there were
certain privileged souls, whom Our Lord favoured from the cradle to the grave,
allowing no obstacle in their path which might keep them from mounting towards
Him, permitting no sin to soil the spotless brightness of their baptismal robe.
And again it puzzled me why so many poor savages should die without having even
heard the name of God."
Download
PDFSt Therese of Lisieux - Letters"DEAREST
CÉLINE, - There are moments when I wonder whether I am really and truly in the
Carmel; sometimes I can scarcely believe it. What have I done for God that He
should shower so many graces upon me?
A whole month has passed since we
parted; but why do I say parted? Even were the wide ocean between us, our souls
would remain as one. And yet I know that not to have me is real suffering, and
if I listened to myself I should ask Jesus to let me bear the sadness in your
stead! I do not listen, as you see; I should be afraid of being selfish in
wishing for myself the better part – I mean the suffering. You are right – life
is often burdensome and bitter. It is painful to begin a day of toil, especially
when Jesus hides Himself from our love. What is this sweet Friend about? Does He
not see our anguish and the burden that weighs us down? Why does He not come
and
comfort us?"
Download
PDFSt Therese of Lisieux - Counsels and
ReminiscencesOne of the novices, greatly discouraged at the thought
of her imperfections, tells us that her mistress spoke to her as follows:
“
You make me think of a little child that is learning to stand but does not yet
know how to walk. In his desire to reach the top of the stairs to find his
mother, he lifts
his little foot to climb the first stair. It is all in vain,
and at each renewed effort he falls.
Well, be like that little child. Always
keep lifting your foot to climb the ladder of holiness, and do not imagine that
you can mount even the first step. All God asks of you is good will. From the
top of the ladder He looks lovingly upon you, and soon, touched by your
fruitless efforts, He will Himself come down, and, taking you in His arms, will
carry you to His Kingdom never again to leave Him. But should you cease to raise
your foot, you will be left for long on the earth."
Download
PDF
St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori - Prayer, the
Means of Salvation and Perfection"Hence it is that the generality of
theologians, following St. Basil, St. Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, St.
Augustine, and other Fathers, teach that prayer is necessary to adults, not only
because of the obligation of the precept (as they say), but because it is
necessary as a means of salvation. That is to say, in the ordinary course of
Providence, it is impossible that a Christian should be saved without
recommending himself to God, and asking for the graces necessary to salvation.
St. Thomas teaches the same: 'After baptism, continual prayer is necessary to
man, in order that he may enter heaven; for though by baptism our sins are
remitted, there still remain concupiscence to assail us from within, and the
world and the devil to assail us from without.'"
Download
PDFBrother Lawrence Mary - Practice of the Presence of God
"That we should establish ourselves in a sense of GOD’s Presence, by
continually conversing with Him. That it was a shameful thing to quit His
conversation, to think of trifles and fooleries.
That we should feed and
nourish our souls with high notions of GOD; which would yield us great joy in
being devoted to Him. That we ought to quicken, i.e., to enliven, our faith.
That it was lamentable we had so little; and that instead of taking faith for
the rule of their conduct, men amused themselves with trivial devotions, which
changed daily. That the way of Faith was the spirit of the Church, and that it
was sufficient to bring us to a high degree of perfection."
Download
PDFSt Louis de Montfort - Letters to Friends of the Cross
"Friends of the Cross, you are like crusaders united to fight
against the world; not like Religious who
retreat from the world lest they be
overcome, but like brave and valiant warriors on the battle-field, who refuse to
retreat or even yield an inch. Be brave and fight courageously.
You must be
joined together in a close union of mind and heart, which is stronger and far
more formidable
to the world and to hell than are the armed forces of a great
nation to its enemies. Evil spirits are united to
destroy you; you must be
united to crush them. The avaricious are united to make money and amass
gold
and silver; you must combine your efforts to acquire the eternal
treasures hidden in the Cross. Pleasureseekers
unite to enjoy themselves; you
must be united to suffer."
Download
PDFSt. Louis de Montfort - True Devotion to
Mary"God the Father willed that she should perform no miracle during
her life, at least no public one, although he had given her the power to do so.
God the Son willed that she should speak very little although he had imparted
his wisdom to her. Even though Mary was his faithful spouse, God the Holy Spirit
willed that his apostles and evangelists should say very little about her and
then only as much as was necessary to make Jesus known. Mary is the supreme
masterpiece of Almighty God and he has reserved the
knowledge and possession
of her for himself."
Download
PDFSt Louis de Montfort - The Secret of the Rosary"So
by all means we should eagerly crown ourselves with these roses from heaven, and
recite the entire
Rosary every day, that is to say, three rosaries each of
five decades, which are like three little wreaths or
crowns of flowers. There
are two reasons for doing this: first of all, to honour the three crowns of
Jesus and
Mary - Jesus' crown of grace at the time of his Incarnation, his
crown of thorns during his passion, and his crown of glory in heaven, and of
course the three-fold crown which the Blessed Trinity gave Mary in
heaven.
Secondly, we should do this so that we ourselves may receive three
crowns from Jesus and Mary, the first a
crown of merit during our lifetime;
the second, a crown of peace at our death; and the third, a crown of glory
in
heaven."
Download
PDFSt Louis de Montfort - Secret of Mary"Chosen
soul, living image of God and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ,
God wants you to become holy like him in this life, and glorious like him in the
next .
It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation.
All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake must lead
you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God in not doing the work for
which he created you and for which he is even now keeping you in being. What
a marvellous transformation is possible! Dust into light, uncleanness into
purity, sinfulness into holiness, creature into Creator, man into God! A
marvellous work, I repeat, so difficult in itself, and even impossible for a
mere creature to bring about, for only God can accomplish it by giving his grace
abundantly and in an extraordinary manner. The very creation of the universe is
not as great an achievement as this."
Download
PDFSt John of the Cross - A Spiritual Canticle of the
Soul"Where have You hidden Yourself,
And abandoned me to my
sorrow, O my Beloved!
You have fled like the hart,
Having wounded me.
I
ran after You, crying; but You were gone.
IN this first stanza the soul,
enamored of the Word, the Son of God, the Bridegroom, desiring to be united to
Him in the clear and substantial vision, sets before Him the anxieties of its
love, complaining of His absence. And this the more so because, now pierced and
wounded with love, for which it had abandoned all things, even itself, it has
still to endure the absence of the Beloved, Who has not released it from its
mortal flesh, that it might have the fruition of Him in the glory of
eternity."
Download
PDFSt John of the Cross - Dark Night"Begins the
exposition of the stanzas which treat of the way and manner which the soul
follows upon the road of the union of love with God.
Before we enter upon the
exposition of these stanzas, it is well to understand here that the soul that
utters them is now in the state of perfection, which is the union of love with
God, having already passed through severe trials and straits, by means of
spiritual exercise in the narrow way of eternal life whereof Our Saviour speaks
in the Gospel, along which way the soul ordinarily passes in order to reach this
high and happy union with God. Since this road (as the Lord Himself says
likewise) is so strait, and since there are so few that enter by it,19 the soul
considers it a great happiness and good chance to have passed along it to the
said perfection of love, as it sings in this first stanza, calling this strait
road with full propriety 'dark night,' as will be explained hereafter in the
lines of the said stanza."
Download
PDFSt John of the Cross - Ascent of Mount
Carmel"IN order to expound and describe this dark night, through
which the soul passes in order to attain to the Divine light of the perfect
union of the love of God, as far as is possible in this life, it would be
necessary to have illumination of knowledge and experience other and far greater
than mine; for this darkness and these trials, both spiritual and temporal,
through which happy souls are wont to pass in order to be able to attain to this
high estate of perfection, are so numerous and so profound that neither does
human knowledge suffice for the understanding of them, nor experience for the
description of them; for only he that passes this way can understand it, and
even he cannot describe it."
Download
PDFSt John of the Cross - The Living Flame of
Love"The soul now feels that it is all inflamed in the divine union,
its palate is all bathed in glory and love, that in the intimate part of its
substance it is flooded with no less than rivers of glory, abounding in
delights, and from its depths flow rivers of living water [Jn. 7:38], which the
Son of God declared will rise up in such souls. It seems, because it is so
forcefully transformed in God, so sublimely possessed by him, and arrayed with
such rich gifts and virtues, that it is singularly close to beatitude - so close
that only a thin veil separates it.
Download
PDF St Teresa of Avila - Interior Castle"In a
state of grace the soul is like a well of limpid water, from which flow only
streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising
from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree. Otherwise it
would produce neither leaves nor fruit, for the waters of grace nourish it, keep
it from withering from drought, and cause it to bring forth good fruit. But the
soul by sinning withdraws from this stream of life, and growing beside a black
and fetid pool, can produce nothing but disgusting and unwholesome
fruit."
Download
PDFSt Teresa of Avila - the Life of"My mother
also was a woman of great goodness, and her life was spent in great infirmities.
She was singularly pure in all her ways. Though possessing great beauty, yet was
it never known that she gave reason to suspect that she made any account
whatever of it; for, though she was only three-and-thirty years of age when she
died, her apparel was already that of a woman advanced in years. She was very
calm, and had great sense. The sufferings she went through during her life were
grievous, her death most Christian. We were three sisters and nine brothers.
All, by the mercy of God, resembled their parents in goodness except myself,
though I was the most cherished of my father. And, before I began to offend God,
I think he had some reason,—for I am filled with sorrow whenever I think of the
good desires with which our Lord inspired me, and what a wretched use I made of
them. Besides, my brothers never in any way hindered me in the service of
God."
Download
PDFSt Teresa of Avila - Way of Perfection"It is
certain, my Lord, that in these days withdrawal from the world means no
sacrifice at all. Since worldly people have so little respect for Thee, what can
we expect them to have for us? Can it be that we deserve that they should treat
us any better than they have treated Thee? Have we done more for them than Thou
hast done that they should be friendly to us? What then? What can we expect --
we who, through the goodness of the Lord, are free from that pestilential
infection, and do not, like those others, belong to the devil? They have won
severe punishment at his hands and their pleasures have richly earned them
eternal fire. So to eternal fire they will have to go, though nonetheless it
breaks my heart to see so many souls travelling to perdition. I would the evil
were not so great and I did not see more being lost everyday."
Download
PDF Autobiography of St. Gemma Galgani"The first
thing I remember is that when I was a little girl not seven years old, my mother
used to take me into
her arms and often when she did this she cried and said
to me: "I have prayed so much that Jesus would give me a little girl. He has
given me this consolation; it is true, but too late. I am ill," she would say to
me, "and I must die. I must leave you. Oh, if I could only take you with me!
Would you come?" I understood very little of this but I wept because I saw my
mother weeping. "And where are you going?" I asked her. "To heaven with Jesus
and the angels," she replied. It was my mother, dear Father, who first made me
want to go to heaven when I was just a little child. And when I still show this
desire, I am reprimanded and receive an emphatic "No" for an answer."
Download
PDFSt. Leonard of Port Maurice - The Hidden Treasure of the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass"In what does the chief excellence of the
Mass consist? In this, namely, that it is essentially the same, nay the very
same sacrifice that was offered on the cross of Calvary, with this sole
difference, however, that the sacrifice of the cross was bloody, and was offered
once, and did, on that one tremendous moment, satisfy fully for all the sins of
the world; while the sacrifice of the altar is an unbloody sacrifice, which can
be repeated throughout all times, and was insituted in order to apply to each of
us that universal atonement which Christ made for us on Calvary."
Download
PDF St Francis of Assisi - Works of the Seraphic
Father"I strictly command all the brethren that they do not hold any
suspicious intercourse or counsel with women, nor enter the convents of nuns,
except those to whom special licence is granted by the Apostolic See. Nor shall
they be godfathers to men or women, lest on this account any scandal should
arise among the Brethren or concerning them."
Download
PDFVenerable Mary Agreda - Mystical City of God Volume
1"I confess to Thee (Matth. 11, 25) and magnify Thee, King Most
High, that in thy exalted Majesty Thou hast hidden these high mysteries from the
wise and from the teachers, and in thy condescension hast revealed them to me,
the most insignificant and useless slave of thy Church, in order that Thou
mayest be the more admired as the omnipotent Author of this history in
proportion as its instrument is despicable and weak."
Download
PDFVenerable Mary Agreda - Mystical City of God Volume
2"Her garments were humble and poor, yet clean,
of a dark silvery
hue, somewhat like the color of ashes,
and they were arranged and worn
without pretense, but
with the greatest modesty and propriety. At the
time
when, without her noticing it, the embassy of heaven
drew nigh unto
her, she was engaged in the highest
contemplation concerning the mysteries
which the Lord
had renewed in her by so many favors during the
nine
preceding days. And since, as we have said above, the
Lord himself
had assured her that his Only begotten
would soon descend to assume human
form, this great
Queen was full of fervent and joyful affection in the
expectation of its execution and inflamed with humble love, she spoke in her
heart :" Is it possible that the blessed time has arrived, in which the Word of
the eternal
Father is to be born and to converse with men?"
Download
PDFVenerable Mary Agreda - Mystical City of God Volume 3
"The five disciples of the Lord begged Him to grant them the
consolation of seeing and reverencing his Mother. In accordance with their
petition, He journeyed directly to Nazareth through Galilee, continuing to
preach and teach publicly on the way and proclaiming Himself as the Master of
truth and eternal life. Many, carried away by the force of his doctrines and by
the light and grace overflowing into their hearts, began to listen to Him and to
follow Him; though He did not, for the present, call any more to be his
disciples.
"
Download
PDF Venerable Mary Agreda -
Mystical City of God Volume 4Through this sermon all the converts
were inspired with additional fervor ; for their dispositions were altogether
sincere, the words of the Apostles full of life and penetration, and the
interior grace very abundant.
Then the Apostles themselves began to baptize
amid the
most devout and orderly attention of the others. The catechumens
entered one door of the Cenacle and after being baptized, they passed out
through another, while the disciples and others of the faithful acted as ushers.
The most holy Mary was present at the entire ceremony, although keeping to one
side of the hall. She prayed for all of them and broke forth in canticles of
praise.
Download
PDF
Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman - Apologia
Pro Vita Sua"I
T may easily
be conceived how great a trial it is to me to write the following history of
myself; but I must not shrink from the task. The words, "Secretum meum mihi,"
keep ringing in my ears; but as men draw towards their end, they care less for
disclosures. Nor is it the least part of my trial, to anticipate that, upon
first reading what I have written, my friends may consider much in it irrelevant
to my purpose; yet I cannot help thinking that, viewed as a whole, it will
effect what I propose to myself in giving it to the public."
Download
PDF Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman - Loss and
Gain"C
HARLES R
EDING was the only son of a clergyman, who was
in possession of a valuable benefice in a midland county. His father intended
him for orders and sent him at a proper age to a public school. He had long
revolved in his mind the respective advantages and disadvantages of public and
private education, and had decided in favour of the former. "Seclusion," he
said, "is no security for virtue. There is no telling what is in a boy's heart;
he may look as open and happy as usual, and be as kind and attentive, when there
is a great deal wrong going on within. The heart is a secret with its Maker; no
one on earth can hope to get at it or to touch it. I have a cure of souls; what
do I really know of my parishioners? Nothing; their hearts are sealed books to
me. And this dear boy, he comes close to me; he throws his arms round me, but
his soul is as much out of my sight as if he were at the antipodes. I am not
accusing him of reserve, dear fellow; his very love and reverence for me keep
him in a sort of charmed solitude. I cannot expect to get at the bottom of
him."
Download
PDFBlessed John Henry Cardinal Newman - Holy Eucharist, A
comfort to the penitent"And Holy Scriptures hints, that the blessed
Angels who never fell, shall in some way to us unknown, gain by the mystery of
the Incarnation, being with us gathered together under One Head, our Incarnate
Lord, into His One Body, the fulness of Him who filleth all in all. Certainly,
Scripture seems to imply that, although He "took not the nature of angels" but
"of man," yet all created beings, "thrones and dominions and principalities and
powers," shall, if one may reverently say it, be more filled with God, when,
this His body being perfected, there shall be no check or hindrance to the full
effluence of His Divine Nature, circulating through the whole Body into which He
shall have, "knit things in heaven and things in earth," "the innumerable
company of the Angels," and "the just made perfect;" and the whole glorified
Church shall be clothed and radiant with Him, the Sun of
Righteousness"
Download
PDFBlessed John Henry Cardinal Newman - The Dream of
Gerontius
"JESU, MARIA - I am near to death,
And Thou art calling me; I know it now.
Not by the token of this faltering breath,
This chill at heart,, this dampness on my
brow,— (Jesu, have mercy! Mary, pray for me!)
'tis this new feeling, never felt before,
(Be with me, Lord, in my extremity!)
That I am going, that I am no more.
‘Tis this strange innermost abandonment,
(Lover of souls! great God! I look to Thee,)"
"For what purpose has it been
committed to writing that I visited St. Catherine in her prison, and encouraged
her by these words : Be firm and immovable, My daughter, for I am with you 1
What purpose does it serve that it should be known how I visited John, My
favourite, and said to him, Come to Me, my beloved ? What purpose does it serve
that these and many other things concerning them and others of My Saints are
known, unless it be to enkindle the zeal of those who read and hear them, and to
manifest to all men the greatness of My love ? In this manner," added the
Saviour, "the desire of obtaining the same favours those which they shall see
you have obtained from Me will produce devotion in the hearts of those who,
considering the effusion of My grace and the excess of My mercy, shall endeavour
to change their present life for one more perfect."
"From Gabara Jesus went to the
estate of the officer Zorobabel near Capharnaum. The two lepers whom at His last
visit to Capharnaum He had healed, here presented themselves to return Him
thanks. The steward, the domestics, and the cured son of Zorobabel also were
here. They had already been baptized. Jesus taught and cured many sick. In the
dusk of the evening, after His disciples had separated and gone to their
respective families, Jesus proceeded along the valley of Capharnaum to the house
of His Mother. All the holy Women were here assembled, and there was great
joy."
