Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Call Upon Our Blessed Mother

"In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary.
Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart.
And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps.
With her for guide, you shall never go astray;
while invoking her, you shall never lose heart;
so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception;
while she holds your hand, you cannot fall;
under her protection you have nothing to fear;
if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary;
if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal."

~ Saint Bernard of Clairvaux,  Doctor of the Church ~

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Hard and Rugged Way to Spiritual Perfection

"Oh, if you only knew how paltry these little nothings are about which some make such a fuss. The devil makes use of these little straws to check the progress of a soul and obstruct all the good that she is called to do. Do not let yourself be caught in these meshes. Have a large heart and pass over all these little miseries without even noticing them. Jesus should be a sufficient attraction for you to prevent your being hindered by anything whatsoever outside of Him. See everything as coming from His bounty, whether He afflicts or consoles you. It is His love that arranges everything for the benefit of His friends. Never allow yourself to be discouraged. In a few hours, or even in the twinkling of an eye, Jesus could bring you to the summit of perfection which He desires for you. But no, He prefers your own efforts and He wants you to see for yourself how hard and rugged is the way to perfection."

~ Sr. M.G., a nun soul from Purgatory: excerpt from An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory ~ 

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Archbishop Fulton Sheen: The Way to World Peace

"As God was physically formed in Mary, so He wills to be spiritually formed in you.
If you knew He was seeing through your eyes, you would see in everyone a child of God.
If you knew that He worked through your hands, they would bless all the day through...
If you knew that He wants to use your mind, your will, your fingers, and your heart,
how different you would be.
If half the world did this, there would be no war!"

~ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, How to Find Christmas Peace ~

Friday, December 3, 2010

St. Francis Xavier and St. Therese: We Are All Called to Be Missionaries

"I'd like to travel all over the world, making Your Name known and planting Your Cross on heathen soil; only I shouldn't be content with one particular mission, I would want to be preach­ing the Gospel on all five continents and in the most distant islands, all at once. And even then it wouldn’t do, carrying on my mission for a limited number of years; I should want to have been a missionary ever since the creation, and go on being a missionary till the world came to an end."

~ St. Therese of Lisieux ~

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Word of God is Reality That Will Never Pass Away

"All things pass and pass quickly.
Do not fret so much about things that will end one day.
Aim at what will never end.
By our holy actions united to Jesus, let us embellish our heavenly throne.
Let us raise it up a few steps nearer to Him
whom we shall contemplate and love throughout eternity."

~ Sr. M.G., a nun soul from Purgatory:  excerpt from An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory ~

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

St. Padre Pio: "I Belong to Everyone."

“I belong to everyone. Everyone can say, ‘Padre Pio is mine’.
I love my exiled brothers very much.
I love my spiritual children as much as my own soul, and even more.
I have restored them to Jesus with pain and with love.
I can forget myself, but not my spiritual children,
and I assure you that, when the Lord calls me, I will say to Him:
‘Lord, I shall remain at the gates of Paradise;
I shall enter only when I have seen the last of my children enter’.”

~ St. Padre Pio ~

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