From Our Lady

I have been reading from The Mystical City of God for Lent and wanted to share a quote that I think we really need to imbibe or there will be many souls that won't be making it into the Eternal Reward of Heaven.

For in view of the patience and meekness of my Most Holy Son and my own example, the wicked and all mortals shall be covered with unutterable confusion because they have not pardoned each other with fraternal charity.  The sins of hate and vengeance shall be punished with greater severity than other sins on the judgement day; and in this life these vices will soonest drive away the infinite mercy of God and cause eternal punishment of men, unless they amend in sorrow.
~ Instruction of Our Blessed Mother to Mary Agreda
The Mystical City of God

Let us pray this Lent to be filled with the Divine Love of God, that we may see others as God does, that we may do unto others... so that we do unto Christ, for how we treat others is truly how we treat Christ.  If we were to seek our joy in the thorns we are so often crowned with, we would find true joy and true happiness in this world.

Quote Wake-up Call

I snitched this quote from someone's signature line.  Methinks I'm going to frame this one as a reminder.

Fr. Fredrick Faber:  “We must remember that if all the manifestly good men were on one side and all the manifestly bad men on the other, there would be no danger of anyone, least of all the elect, being deceived by lying wonders. It is the good men, good once, we must hope good still, who are to do the work of Anti-Christ and so sadly to crucify the Lord afresh. Bear in mind this feature of the last days, that this deceitfulness arises from good men being on the wrong side.”

Feast of St. Charles Borromeo

Here is a long but good and interesting read from the Butler's Lives of the Saints on St. Charles Borromeo.

 

Here are some great quotes to live by from St. Charles! 

 

† Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.

 

† Behold Jesus Christ crucified, Who is the only foundation of our hope; He is our Mediator and Advocate; the victim and sacrifice for our sins. He is goodness and patience itself; His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and He never refuses pardon and grace to those who ask it with a truly contrite and humbled heart.

 

† If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves in the presence of God as much as possible and have no other view or end in all our actions but the divine honor.

Don't Worry

Pray, hope and don't worry.

Worry is useless.
God is merciful and will hear your prayers.
Saint Padre Pio

:)

Feast of St. Therese the Little Flower

The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy.  If all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers. And so it is in the world of souls, Jesus' garden. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being what He wills us to be.
St. Therese the Little Flower
Story of a Soul

*Her feast is Oct 1st in the new calendar and Oct 3rd in the old calendar... I'm fine celebrating twice :) 

Feast of St. Jerome

How can you not love a saint who was named Eusebius Hieronymous Sophronius?!  Every day at Mass I get to look at St. Jerome and his lion as he is on a huge mural right above the high altar.

Be sure to read about his life, it is incredible!  But to whet your appetite for information here are some quotes!

The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.

A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept.

They talk like angels but they live like men.  (OUCH!!)

The friendship that can cease has never been real.

Be ever engaged, so that whenever the devil calls he may find you occupied.

Feast of Saint Padre Pio

 Today is the feast of one of my friends-in-Heaven!  Saint Pio, but to me the Padre really goes with the Pio so... Saint Padre Pio.  There are some saints who just set my heart on fire, this is one of them. He was christened Francesco and seemed to follow very closely in living a life like St. Francis of Assisi right down to the stigmata!  He LIVED the life of a saint, so people thought of him as a saint while he was on earth.  The people loved him so much because to them he was their greatest joy on earth next to God Himself!  And how can we resist those who have such a charitable love and desire for souls?  There simply are some very rare souls who make us want to maintain a closeness with God by the way they live. 
 

Awwww, how sweet is that? 

 

Here are some quote from Padre Pio on the Mass to help us prepare ourselves...

 

It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun, than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The Holy Mass is a sacred union of Jesus and myself. I suffer unworthily all that was suffered by Jesus who deigned to allow me to share in His great enterprise of human Redemption.

Then attending Holy Mass, renew your faith and meditate on that Victim who is being immolated for you in order to appease Divine Justice. Do not leave the altar without shedding tears of pain and of love for Jesus who was crucified for your eternal well-being.

Every holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we ourselves, do not know.
I would like to comment on this one as a mother of 11 children.  I think the temptation for parents is to think that they only receive the graces of the Mass when they get a holy feeling during Mass... or something.  That cannot possibly be true or we'd have to cease bringing our children to Mass til they are.. oh... 25 give or take.  Devotion is a movement within one's heart, you know, that area that no one.... even your children :)... can take away from you.  The annoying person next to you or 3 pews in front of you can't take it away from you or any other distraction.  I believe... that devotion stems from an inner peace with oneself that no matter how many times you have to donk your toddler... or teenager... in the head to get them to look in the front, no matter how often you have to take the unruly toddler out, that your devotion is unhindered... challenged, yes, hindered, no.  So don't be afraid of those tempting distractions, you will still receive the graces because your devotion comes from within....

(...this must be true or I haven't ever received any graces from the Mass! :)

Richest Banquet

"How can I be said to fast, while every morning at the altar I receive my God?"
St. Nicholas Tolentino

Feast of St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney is one of our homeschool patrons.  So Happy Feast Day to us! And Happy Feast Day to our wonderful priests!  I'm delighted to share the day!  I'll let St. John Vianney speak for himself...........

♥ 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.

♥ Only after the Last Judgment will Mary get any rest; from now until then, she is much too busy with her children.

♥ I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master.

♥ Upon receiving Holy Communion, the Adorable Blood of Jesus Christ really flows in our veins and His Flesh is really blended with ours.

♥ A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes. Thus the pure soul, which is hidden from the eyes of the world, will one day shine before the Angels in the sunshine of eternity.

♥ The pure soul is a beautiful rose, and the Three Divine Persons descend from Heaven to inhale its fragrance.

A Quote to Make You Smile

I have been following the updates on a caring bridge page for a baby who has had physical difficulties pre-natally (is that a word?  or a sentence?!). He was born on the 18th and doing amazingly well... praise God!  Anyway, I loved this little quote from his father:

God has not taken any blessing away from us, he has only given us a new blessing in a little different package!