2023年8月17日 星期四

st bosco dream part 3

 A Glimpse of Heaven given to Saint John Bosco:(part 3)

  continue...


Summoning my courage, I replied , " I am shaking because I don't know where I am ."


" You are in the abode of happiness," Savio answered," where one experiences every joy, every delight."


" Is this the reward of the just?"


"Not at all! Here we do not enjoy supernatural happiness but only a natural one, though greatly magnified."


" Might I be allowed to see a little supernatural light?"


"No one can see it until he has come to see God as He is. The faintest ray of that light would instantly strike one dead, because the human senses are not sturdy enough to endure it."


Here ends the narrative of Saint John Bosco's dream.


In this vision , the saint was only shown natural aspects of heavenly happiness. He was not able to contemplate the essence of heavenly happiness, which is the beatific vision. It is written that no man can see it until he has come to see God as He is. 


Prayer:

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, 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.


Resolve: Pray the prayer Our Lady taught the children of Fatima to pray : Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy ."


st bosco dream part2

 A Glimpse of Heaven given to Saint John Bosco:(part 2)


continue...


One could tell from the expression of those happy faces that the singers not only took the deepest pleasure in singing, but also received vast joy in listening to the others. The more they sang, the more pressing became their desire to sing. The more they listened the more vibrant became their yearning to hear more....


As I listened enthralled to that heavenly choir, I saw an endless multitude of boys ( St. Bosco's students) approaching me. Many I recognized as having been at the Oratory and in our other schools, but by far the majority of them were total strangers to me. Their endless ranks drew closer, headed by Dominic Savio, who was followed immediately by Father Alasonatti, Father Chiali, Father Guilitto and many other clerics and priests, each leading a squad of boys...


Once that host of boys got some eight or ten paces from me, they halted. There was a flash of light far brighter than before, the music stopped, and a hushed silence fell over all. A most radiant joy aglow with happiness. They looked and smiled at me very pleasantly , as though to speak, but no one said a word.


Dominic Savio stepped forward a pace or two, standing so close to me that, had I stretched out my hand, I would surely have touched him. He too was silent and gazed upon me with a smile... 


At last Dominic Savio spoke, " Why do you stand there silent, as though you were most devitalized?" he asked. " Are not you the one who once feared nothing, holding your ground against slander, persecution, hostility, hardships and dangers of all sorts? Where is courage? Say something!"


I forced myself to reply in a stammer," I do not know what to say , Are you Dominic Savio?"

"Yes, I am . Don't you know me anymore?"


"How come you are here?"I asked still bewildered.

Savio spoke affectionately," I came to talk with you . We spoke together so often on earth! Do you not recall how much you loved me, or how many tokens of friendship you gave me and how kind you were to me? And did I not return the warmth of your love? How much trust I placed in you! So why are you tongue -tied?" Why are you shaking? Come ask me a question or two !"


Part 2 ends. continue....


st bosco dream part 1

 A Glimpse of Heaven given to Saint John Bosco:(part 1)

It suddenly seemed to me that I was standing on a small mound or hillock , on the rim of a broad plain so far-reaching that the eye could not compass its boundaries lost in vastness.


All was blue , blue as the calmest sea, though what I saw was not water. It resembled a highly polished , sparkling sea of glass. Stretching out beneath , behind and on either side of me was an expanse of what looked like seashore.


Broad, imposing avenues divided the plain into grand gardens of indescribable beauty , each broken up by thickets , lawns, and flower beds of varied shapes and colors.


None of the plants we know could ever give you an idea of those flowers , although there was a resemblance of sorts. The very grass, the flowers, the trees, and the fruit-----all were of singular and magnificent beauty. Leaves were of gold, trunks and boughs were of diamonds, and every tiny detail was in keeping with this wealth. The various kinds of plants were beyond counting.


Each species and each single plant sparkled with a brilliance of its own. Scattered throughout those gardens and spread over the entire plain I could see countless buildings whose architecture , magnificence, harmony , grandeur and size were so unique that one could say all the treasures of earth could not suffice to build a single one. If only my boys ( St. Bosco's students) had one such house, I said to myself, how they would love it, how happy they would be, and how much they would enjoy being there! Thus ran my thoughts as I gazed upon the exterior of those buildings , but how much greater must their inner splendor have been!


As I stood there basking in the splendor of those gardens, I suddenly heard music most sweet---- so delightful and enchanting a melody that I could never adequately describe it...A hundred thousand instruments played, each with its own sound, uniquely different from all others, and every possible sound set the air alive with its resonant waves.


I suddenly heard music most sweet.

Blended with them were the songs of choristers. In those gardens I looked upon a multitude of people enjoying themselves happily , some singing, others playing, but every note had the effect of a thousand different instruments playing together. At one and the same time if you can imagine such a thing, one could hear all the notes of the chromatic scale, from the deepest to the highest , yet all in perfect harmony. Ah yes, we have nothing on earth to compare with that symphony....


part 1 ends, continue...


2023年8月16日 星期三

聖女大德蘭選篇

 #聖師大德蘭收心灌注默觀祈禱 36

#收心祈禱-以天主經收心3

#上主的祝福19


收斂心神。

由口禱天主經開始

1先做良心省察。

2告罪

3畫十字聖號


4 #找到一個伴侶

盡力的找到一個伴侶

還有比教我們念祈禱文的老師更好的伴侶嗎?

耶穌親自和我們在一起

祂懷著何等的愛情和謙虛教導我們。


要相信我

我們要盡所能的

和這麼好的朋友相守不離


如果我們習慣

有耶穌在身旁。

而祂也看到我們滿懷愛情

盡力取悅他祂

我們就會離不開祂

祂也絕不會辜負我們


在我們所有的磨難中

祂會幫助我們。


我們到處都有祂

(時時刻刻 分分秒秒注視祂)

我們要習慣耶穌在身旁。

我們要習慣這麼做

(時時刻刻 分分秒秒注視祂)


瞧、我知道你們能做到

這是因為我好多年忍受著磨難

思想無法專注在一件事上

上主不會把我們遺留在如此孤獨中。


如果過了一年,我們得不到所求的。

那就需要多年。

(時時刻刻 分分秒秒注視祂)

不要後悔,把時間耗費在這美好的事上

要習慣注視祂

努力的走,在這位真正老師的身旁。


用靈魂關注祂

用我們的靈魂注視祂

誰能移轉我們靈魂的雙眼?

誰能轉移我看這位上主呢?


我們可以看,非常醜陋的東西。

難道不能看這世間最美的事物嗎?

耶穌的雙眼從不離開我們。

祂忍受成千次,反對祂的事物

要我們注視祂這算過分嗎?


(時時刻刻 分分秒秒注視祂 習慣祂在身旁)


誠如耶穌像新娘所說的。

你們這樣渴望他、也會怎樣找到他。


#祂是那麼看重我們轉身注視祂


祂在那方面,絕對不疏於回應


5 #消除內心陰影

如果我們有磨難。

或是悲傷。

請看走在山園路上的祂

祂的靈魂承受多麼大的折磨。

因為祂已成為痛苦本身。

祂深愛著我們。

祂全身傷痕累累。

有人迫害祂

有人向他吐唾沫

祂的朋友否認祂

拋棄祂

沒有人回到祂身邊

置身於如此的孤獨中

請看揹負十字架的祂

而祂會以這麼美麗的慈愛

淚水滿面的雙眼注視我們


只因為我們以前去向祂求安慰

並回頭看祂

祂會為了安慰

而忘卻自己的悲傷


我們背起十字架吧

既使有踐踏我們。

我們也不要拿,它當一回事。

無論他們對我們說什麼,一概置之不理。


對於流言蜚語,我們要做聾子

我們要和耶穌一起被絆倒在地

也不要離開自己十字架。


耶穌走路的疲憊和磨難

遠超過我們

無論我們現在的磨難有多麼大


我們現在的感受,多麼強烈和多麼痛苦。

我們都會感到安慰。

因為和上主的磨難相比

那是令人嘲笑的


我們跟瑪麗蓮德一同站在十字架下。

看著耶穌死亡

我們跟聖母在十字架下看著耶穌死亡


祂會以這麼美麗的慈愛

淚水滿面的雙眼注視我們


只因為我們以前去向祂求安慰

並回頭看祂

祂會為了安慰

而忘卻自己的悲傷


6. #帶一張我們喜歡的上主聖像


(時時刻刻 分分秒秒注視祂)

用靈魂注視他。

常常跟他說話。


7收斂心神心禱天主經


之前步驟是收斂心神

消除陰影

注視耶穌

習慣耶穌在身旁

這時靈魂注視耶穌

念天主經

口禱就提升境界到心禱了


聖女大德蘭全德之路 26章


聖衣天使善會

加爾默羅平信徒團體

Ignacio Lin 其

https://scapular.carmelangel.org/2023book/

St Michael 's lent

 SAINT MICHAEL'S LENT was begun by St. Francis of Assisi in 1224, and it involves doing or giving up something in honor of St. Michael the Archangel for 40 days (Like the regular Lent, St. Michael's Lent doesn't include Sundays).  


The traditional and ancient 40 Day Consecration Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel from the Basilica Sanctuary of St. Michael in Gargano, Italy may be prayed daily from Aug.15 thru Sept.29 to honor St. Michael as a type of Lent offering to St. Michael the Archangel, or you can also offer some kind of fasting/abstinence, prayer (The Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel), and/or penance.


40 DAY CONSECRATION PRAYER TO ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL (Aug. 15th – Sept. 29th). St. Francis of Assisi did a yearly 40 day Lent in honor of St. Michael the Archangel, and it was during this time that he received the stigmata. 


CONSECRATION PRAYER: "Oh, most noble Prince of the Angelic Hierarchies, valorous warrior of Almighty God, and zealous lover of His glory, terror of the rebellious angels, and love and delight of all the just, my beloved Archangel Saint Michael, desiring to be numbered among your devoted servants, I, today offer and CONSECRATE myself to you, and place myself, my family, and all I possess under your most powerful protection.


I entreat you not to look at how little I, as your servant have to offer, being only a wretched sinner, but to gaze, rather, with favorable eye at the heartfelt affection with which this offering is made, and remember that if from this day onward I am under your patronage, you must during all my life assist me, and procure for me the pardon of my many grievous offenses and sins, the grace to love with all my heart my God, my dear Savior Jesus, and my Sweet Mother Mary, and to obtain for me all the help necessary to arrive to my crown of glory.


Defend me always from my spiritual enemies, particularly in the last moments of my life.


Come then, oh Glorious Prince and succor me in my last struggle, and with your powerful weapon cast far from me into the infernal abysses that prevaricator and proud angel that one day you prostrated in the celestial battle.


Accompany me then to the throne of God to sing with you, Archangel Saint Michael and all the angels, praise, honor and glory to the One who reigns for all eternity. AMEN."


(An indulgence of two-hundred days is granted to everyone who devoutly says this 40 DAY CONSECRATION PRAYER TO ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL once a day, praying for the needs of the holy Church and the Supreme Pontiff.)

Medjugorje and exorcism

 Our Lady of Medjugorje’s Stones & Exorcism 


By Italian Exorcist Msgr. Ferruccio Sutto


I had received a gift from a friend who was on pilgrimage in Medjugorje. It was a piece of rock from Mount Podobro where it is said Our Lady has been appearing and giving messages to alleged visionaries for more than 25 years. Whether that is a blessed place like Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe, there is no definitive judgment on the part of the Church. I thought that if it were, the reactions of a person possessed by a demon should be the same for a relic that comes from Medjugorje as for those that came from the aforementioned sanctuaries. I wanted to do a test. At the appointment with Lorena, I brought the secret in my little sac. Nobody knew of it, not even my collaborators. One could only see paper through the transparent cellophane. At a certain moment during the exorcism, when the woman was already in a trance, I moved towards her. She was lying on a little bed. I started to insert the little plastic bag under her sweater. It contained, enveloped in paper, the piece of rock from Mount Podobro. As soon as the sac touched the hem of the skirt of Lorena and the little package was in contact with her blouse, she jumped. It was as if she wanted to get away from the hands of the four men who were holding her. She cried, "Take it away!"


The exorcist asked why he should take it away. The demon, in a convulsion of reactions that manifested his great suffering, then exclaimed several times, "It hurts me! It burns me! It is crushing me. It is crushing me! Take it away! Take it away!" The priest explicitly asked the demon what was in the little sac. And he expressed his refusal to remove it, if the demon would not tell him what it was. At a certain point when the demon could not stand it anymore, he let out a cry with one word: "Gospa!" Monsignor Sutto concludes, "Gospa" is the Croatian term with which one indicates the beautiful lady that appears to the alleged visionaries of Medjugorje and that they affirm to be Our Lady. Even before he said the word "Gospa", though, the response was evident to me in the immediate and violent reactions of Lorena when she was touched by that simple package containing the modest piece of rock from the mountain of the apparitions. ~ Italian Exorcist Msgr. Ferruccio Sutto (The Virgin Mary and the Devil in Exorcism, page 179 -180)

2023年8月15日 星期二

Facebook 108

 Because of the inheritance of original sin, true natural virtue is nearly impossible to attain, though some people who inherit a good disposition and felicitous circumstances might make some show of it . There is , however , another level of dignity , which belongs to the order of grace: the dignity of the children of God. Here there is the dignity of baptismal character, the dignity of sanctifying grace ( received in baptism) , and the dignity of a life of actual faith , hope , and charity, a life of holiness.


In the beginning God created man in his image and likeness. This sharing in the life and nature of God is called sanctifying grace, which was lost to the human race through the sin of Adam,won back for us by the death of Christ on the Cross, and given to us personally through faith and baptism.


Sanctifying grace can be lost again through sin and regained through confession , but the baptismal character , which marks us as belonging to Christ , can never be lost and , so long as we remain in this life, is a perpetual call to remember the height from which we have fallen and so return to God.


The dignity of creation in the image of God is a pure gift received that can never be lost; the dignity of sanctifying grace is an incomparably greater gift, but it can be lost. Vice diminishes the natural dignity of human nature , and mortal sin loses the supernatural dignity of grace . Mortal sin merit punishment , whether in this life or in the next , whether by the judgment of man or of God.


Prayer :

The dignity of being created in the image of God is a pure gift. Lord , help us to live always in the state of grace. And if we should fall , help us to repent and go quickly to Confession and regain our union with God .



" The future belongs to those who worship God in silence ".( Pope St John Paul 2)


Resolve : Pray for the grace to always remain faithful to Jesus and His Church, to spread the truth by word and example.

Facebook 107

 The supernatural motives of monastic obedience can be of varying kinds, more or less elevated . Here are the principal ones:

1. Perfect love for Jesus Christ, Who is the example of obedience to the Father even unto death . He has become the cause of eternal salvation to all that obey Him.

2. Fidelity to one's own vocation and to the holy (monastic) vows.

3. Fear of hell.

4. Desire for the eternal reward.


St John Climacus , the fourth step of his ladder, has a long treatise on obedience . It would be interesting to compare it with that of St Benedict. The spirit is the same.


" Obedience," says the Abbot of Sinai, " means blind faith in God, no fear of death; crossing the ocean of life without anxieties ( My opinion: is to put all hope in God, in both times of desolation and consolation. Not to waver in the storms of life). Obedience buries one's own will ( My opinion: to live the will of God, even if this is harsh. To live a life of poverty in spirit , chastity and obedience to the ten commandments. There is adversary in life. We feel frustrated. We do not want to pursue virtues. Burying one's own will is important in such case). Obedience raises humility ( to God's will) to life. The arms of obedience are psalmody, prayer , and confession." St John Climacus appeals to his experience and recalls monks who, thanks to simple obedience, had taken on the bright appearance of angels, having returned to the absolute simplicity and innocence of little children.


Obedience:

My opinion:

Obey the Ten commandments and the Catholic Catechism attentively.

For the advice of confessor, take them prudently.

2023年8月12日 星期六

聖女大德蘭

 #傾心靜聽  Lectio Divina 聖言頌禱 

#虔敬是富源

#上主的祝福 17


弟前6:6  的確,虔敬是一個獲利的富源,但應有知足的心,

6:7  因為我們沒有帶什麼到世界上,同樣也不能帶走什麼


1.   閱讀(READ)#感動的字詞

選出你要用來做祈禱的聖經章節,開始慢慢地閱讀,直到某個字,某段話或者某個章節打動你,在你的內心產生共鳴•然後濃縮成一個字或詞,當你達到這一狀態的時候,停止閱讀。            


2.默想 REFLECT #停留在感動的字詞上聖神推動

不拘泥文字、讓聖神帶領、不拘泥神學與上下文、讓這個字漣漪、讓聖神推動想像力、重複這個字詞,打動你內心的字,讓這個字詞慢慢地進入你的內心。這樣做的目的不是去思考它們,而是讓它們在你的內心迴蕩一讓它們與你的內心對話,當你這樣做的時候,慢慢地品味和享受你不斷重複的字詞。


3.祈禱(RESPOND) #與聖神同在 

在這個時候,你也許會渴望進入與天主的對話,向他傾訴這段祈禱如何打動了你的內心。或許,你的願望可能是在天主前保持安靜。當你的心靈被天主的愛有所觸動時,祈禱是你的心靈獨特和即席的回應。

繼續保持在天主的臨在中,直到你開始發現要繼續對話有些困難,或者對於祈禱中愛的臨在有所分心時。在這個時候,再次閱讀聖經的章節直到你發現其他的字或者章節打動你的內心、然後不斷地重複。


4. #寧靜正觀 

語言妨礙更深的溝通。這種靜默時刻是另一種語言,另一種說話。愛與靜默之間的共同點超過語言。

祈禱也是一樣。在默想中,我們超越思想和情緒,只是在天主面前「休息」。此時,我們唯一的渴望就是獨自地留存在一種對天主單純的愛的醒覺中。


敏悟主言為叡智

聖三聖愛為極至

聖父聖子聖神事

正視默觀奧蹟實

敏察聖經藏奧妙

聖言經句之聖道

深蘊德能心富饒

正言正行宣世曉


傾心靜聽為啟蒙

LECTIO DIVINA


歸心祈禱棄感官

Centering Prayer


默觀靈悅主灌注Contemplation

infused prayer


凝心釋形悅同冥 

(sleep of the faculties)

聖女大德蘭

 #聖師大德蘭收心灌注默觀祈禱 17

上主的祝福19

我有超過14年的時間

不閱讀善書就無法做默想祈禱

像我這樣沒有被灌注的人還有很多

也有人既使閱讀

仍然無法默想

他們只能念口禱

而且大多數的時間都停留在口禱

有些人的思想漂浮不定

無法專注於眼前

而且常常騷擾不安

擾亂不安

甚至這麼極端

如果他們想停下來想天主

成千的謬論顧慮和疑惑

全部都湧上來

理智 意志 記憶像發瘋一樣

天馬行空


我認識一位老奶奶

生活非常聖善

刻苦修行是天主忠僕

多年以來他長時間只能做口禱

至於心禱則毫無辦法

頂多就只能緩慢地頌念口禱

就是很平常的經文

其他還有許多人也是這樣

但如果有謙德

我不認為到了末了他們會很糟

反而會和那些得到許多愉悅感官上的神慰

靈魂上的靈悅的人

幾乎平等

但如果有謙德他們更加的安全

因為初學的時候我們無法分辨愉悅是來自於天主

或是出自魔鬼的介入

如果不是來自天主

那要經歷更大的危險

魔鬼的工作就是要挑唆我們的驕傲

如果來自天主就無需害怕

隨之而來的是謙遜

捨棄愛近人

沒有得到靈悅的人

懷著謙虛行走


省察懷疑自己的過失所致沒有成就

常常牽掛著向前進步

見到別人流下一滴淚就想起自己留不出淚來

既使在服事天主的世上落後很多

但是很可能他們前進的更多

因為雖然眼淚很好

卻不是所有的眼淚都是成全的

謙虛的

刻苦的

超脫的

成全包括還其他許多美好的德行

只有口禱往往更為穩妥

沒有什麼好怕的

也不用怕達不到深度默觀者那樣的成全

聖女大德蘭全德之路第17章


聖衣天使

Ignacio Lin 其

https://scapular.carmelangel.org/2023book/

Facebook 104

 St. Jane Frances de Chantal spent most of her life plagued by anxiety, doubts, depression, and anger.


After her husband was killed in a hunting accident (when 28-year-old Jane had 4 young children and had already buried 2), Jane was overcome with grief and anxiety and began her lifelong struggle against “suggestions of blasphemy, infidelity, and unbelief.” 


 

In the midst of this, Jane heard St. Francis de Sales preach and was finally able to forgive her husband's killer after 3 years. De Sales counseled her as she dealt with single motherhood, an over-zealous suitor, the pain of living with a cruel father-in-law, the decision to delay entering religious life to care for her children (and then the decision to enter in spite of their opposition), and the anguish of scrupulosity.


Jane also lived through the Bubonic Plague, through calumny and opposition, all while experiencing chronic depression and constant doubts. Late in life, she wrote, “I’ve had these temptations for 41 years now—do you think I’m going to give up after all this time? Absolutely not. I’ll never stop hoping in God.... Most often, there is a confused sort of strife in my soul. Between feelings of being plunged into impenetrable darkness that I am powerless to do anything about, I have a kind of spiritual nausea that tempts me to give up trying." 


 Her friend St. Vincent de Paul wrote, "She was full of faith, and yet all her life long she had been tormented by thoughts against it. Nor did she once relax in the fidelity God asked of her. And so I regard her as one of the holiest souls I have ever met on this earth." 


 This is so important: Jane Frances de Chantal was a Saint not *in spite of* her struggles and temptations and doubts and fears, but BECAUSE OF THEM.


Your struggles do not disqualify you. You are being called to be a saint in your doubts, fears, anxieties, and darkness, in this time of sorrow and confusion and turmoil and anger. This is your path to holiness, and when (by God's grace) you persevere, you will become a far greater saint because of these struggles than you ever would have been without them.


St. Jane Frances de Chantal, pray that our suffering would make us saints!

Facebook 103

 August 12 Feast day

St. Jane Frances de Chantal

(1562-1641)

Jane Frances was wife, mother, nun and founder of a religious community. Her mother died when Jane was 18 months old, and her father, head of parliament at Dijon, France, became the main influence on her education. She developed into a woman of beauty and refinement, lively and cheerful in temperament. At 21 she married Baron de Chantal, by whom she had six children, three of whom died in infancy. At her castle she restored the custom of daily Mass, and was seriously engaged in various charitable works.

Jane's husband was killed after seven years of marriage, and she sank into deep dejection for four months at her family home. Her father-in-law threatened to disinherit her children if she did not return to his home. He was then 75, vain, fierce and extravagant. Jane Frances managed to remain cheerful in spite of him and his insolent housekeeper.

When she was 32, she met St. Francis de Sales who became her spiritual director, softening some of the severities imposed by her former director. She wanted to become a nun but he persuaded her to defer this decision. She took a vow to remain unmarried and to obey her director.

After three years Francis told her of his plan to found an institute of women which would be a haven for those whose health, age or other considerations barred them from entering the already established communities. There would be no cloister, and they would be free to undertake spiritual and corporal works of mercy. They were primarily intended to exemplify the virtues of Mary at the Visitation (hence their name, the Visitation nuns): humility and meekness.

The usual opposition to women in active ministry arose and Francis de Sales was obliged to make it a cloistered community following the Rule of St. Augustine. Francis wrote his famous Treatise on the Love of God for them. The congregation (three women) began when Jane Frances was 45. She underwent great sufferings: Francis de Sales died; her son was killed; a plague ravaged France; her daughter-in-law and son-in-law died. She encouraged the local authorities to make great efforts for the victims of the plague and she put all her convent’s resources at the disposal of the sick.

During a part of her religious life, she had to undergo great trials of the spirit—interior anguish, darkness and spiritual dryness. She died while on a visitation of convents of the community.

Comment:

It may strike some as unusual that a saint should be subject to spiritual dryness, darkness, interior anguish. We tend to think that such things are the usual condition of “ordinary” sinful people. Some of our lack of spiritual liveliness may indeed be our fault. But the life of faith is still one that is lived in trust, and sometimes the darkness is so great that trust is pressed to its limit.

Quote:

St. Vincent de Paul said of Jane Frances: “She was full of faith, yet all her life had been tormented by thoughts against it. While apparently enjoying the peace and easiness of mind of souls who have reached a high state of virtue, she suffered such interior trials that she often told me her mind was so filled with all sorts of temptations and abominations that she had to strive not to look within herself...But for all that suffering her face never lost its serenity, nor did she once relax in the fidelity God asked of her. And so I regard her as one of the holiest souls I have ever met on this earth” (Butler’s Lives of the Saints).

Source: American Catholic..

Fivefold scapular

 Blue scapular 


The Blessed Mother spoke to Ursula with these words: “Cease weeping, Ursula, and turn your sighs into heartfelt joy. Listen closely to what Jesus, whom I am holding in my lap, will say to you.”


Then Jesus revealed to Ursula that she would found a convent where 33 nuns, dressed in the same attire as the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of her vision, would live a life of solitude and seclusion. The Savior promised special graces and many spiritual gifts to those who would zealously follow this way of life.


The Venerable Servant of God besought the Lord to extend these favors also to such people who, living in the world, would have a special devotion to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, observe chastity according to their station in life, and wear a small blue scapular. As a sign that her prayer had been heard, Jesus showed Ursula in a vision a multitude of angels distributing scapulars over the earth. This scene is artistically captured in a fresco at the Theatine Sisters’ Convent in Naples.



https://padrimariani.org/en/the-blue-scapular/



Red Scapular:


Sister Apolline reported that from 26 July 1846 to 14 September 1846 visions of Jesus and Mary appeared to her in the convent in Troyes, France and promised her that those who wear the scapular faithfully and contemplated the Passion of Jesus Christ would be granted a great increase of faith, hope and charity every Friday.[5]


She described the apparition of July 26, 1846:


Being in the chapel in the evening of the octave day of our Holy Father (St. Vincent de Paul), I saw, or thought I saw, Our Lord dressed in a flowing robe of a red color with a blue mantle hanging from his shoulders...He had in his hand a red scapular on which he was represented on the cross..."[6]


She further said that in a subsequent vision on September 14 (the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross) that Jesus told her that


The priests of the Mission alone are to give this scapular, and those who wear it when blessed by them will receive every Friday a full remission of their sins, and a great increase of faith, hope, and charity."[6]


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Scapular_of_the_Passion


Black scapular


The second black scapular is called "The Black Scapular of Our Lady of Dolors" or "The Black Scapular of the Seven Dolors of Mary." It is related to the Marian devotion of the Servites. Our Lady appeared to seven young Florentine noblemen, inviting them to follow Christ through the evangelical counsels. She gave them a black habit, telling them that "these garments shall be to you a perpetual memory of the sufferings of my heart." This is the beginning of the more common black scapular. The scapular witnesses a special dedication to Mary, and indicates her protection for the order. In turn, the members honor Mary in the Seven Dolors of her life:


https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/b/black-scapular.php


White scapular


white scapular with a red and blue cross. It is the badge of the confraternity of the Most Blessed Trinity, said to have originated in a vision given to Pope Innocent III in 1198, when an angel in this garb told him to approve the Trinitarian Order for the redemption of captives among the Moslems.


https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=32197

Facebook 102

 During the Holy Mass celebrated at the parish church of St Anthoy in Sokolka , a consecrated host fell from the hands of one of the priests during the distribution of Communion. The priest picked up the Host, and , in accordance with liturgical norms, placed it in a small container of water. The Host was expected to dissolve in the water. Knowing that the consecrated host would take some time to dissolve, the container was placed in the safe located in the parish sacristy.


A week later, when the pastor was checking on the Host, when the door was opened there was a delicate aroma of unleavened bread. Opening the container , he found in the middle of the Host---- which was still largely intact----- a curved, bright red stain , like a blood stain: a living particle of a body. The water was untainted by the color. The priest brought in the other priests at the parish and the visiting missionary , Fr. Ryszard Gorowski . They were all amazed and left speechless by what they saw.


On March 30,2009, the archbishop created an ecclesial commission to study the phenomenon.


A piece of the altered Host was taken and analyzed independently by two experts. Prof. Maria Sobaniec -Lotowska , MD, an Pro. Stanislaw Sulkowski , MD, in order to ensure the credibility of the results. Both are histopathologists at the Medical University of Bialystok. The studies were carried out at the university 's Department of Pathomorphology.


The results of both independent studies were in perfect agreement. They concluded that the structure of the transformed fragment of the Host is identical to the myocardial( heart) tissue of a living person who is nearing death.


" It is our duty to adore the Blessed Sacrament . No one receives the Blessed Sacrament unless he adores it ... and not only do we not sin by adoring. we do sin by not adoring."


St Augustine writes.


Resolve: I will go to daily Mass as often as I possibly can and receive Jesus in Holy Communion , giving Him many acts of love!

Facebook 101

 If everyone only knew that God's plan for every human person is to raise each one of us to a higher level--- higher than anything humans could accomplish ! His plan is to share with us His divine nature. 

Almighty God, the creator of all things visible and invisible , raises His creatures , those who obey Him , to a supernatural state: it is called living in the state of grace, supernatural grace, above our human nature.


Every earthly affection, even that which seems to be the deepest, is superficial . Our hearts were not made for created things, although these things attract us inasmuch as they are reflections of the divine. But they neither satisfy nor pacify human hearts, nor produce in them the interior movement proper to profound love, the love of God.

If people knew that after years spent in devoting to creatures what they think is a deep and wonderful love, they are still ignorant of the first rudiments of the divine science.They have not even begun to taste the holy , the immense love of God, so ardent that it carries us out of ourselves, so sweet that it enraptures us.

Divine Love comes to us at Baptism. When we are baptized, the immediate result is the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. God dwells in our soul.The virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity are infused into the soul. Our human condition is elevated and we share in the Divine nautre of God.

Read the lives of the saints. Some were quiet and hidden. Others performed great miracles, like healing the sick, and some even raising the dead to life. Share this with your children and grandchildren. This will protect them fom being deceivd by the evil one.


Prayer to be Transformed:

Loving Father, Here I am.

I trust that You have an incredible plan for me.

Transform me. Transform my life.

Everything is on the table.

Take what you want to take and give what you want to give.

Transform me into the person You created me to be,

So I can live the life You envision for me.

I hold nothing back; I am 100 percent available.

How can I help? Amen.


" Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."

( St Mother Teresa of Calcutta)


Resolve: Look up information or watch video about St Josph Cupertino, whose life was filled with superhuman miracles, and pray the prayer to be Transformed as a novena for 9 days.

2023年8月11日 星期五

Facebook 100

 Confession: after confession still remains the punishment


Plenary indulgence: very important for the dying , total remission of punishment of one 's sins.


Reminder: God is fair. If one abuses the use of plenary indulgence, and randomly sin against God in his life. The plenary indulgence at his death may not help that person but rather, this indulgence is beneficial to another soul who is also in need of it.


Therefore, lead a good life. Do not think that before death i can sin randomly and gain a lot of indulgences so i will not be punished in this life and the next . No . We must be sincere in every act of contrition. 


Follow ten commandments. Also frequent the sacraments. 


According to the catholic books, purgatory is divided into three levels. The first one is without fire, a place to be tortured by " an ardent longing for God , still awaiting to get into heaven ".

The souls say it is also very painful


The second is with fire. Fire more intense than any fire on the earth.


The third is nearest to hell. The fire and tortures are very similar to hell. But it is not hell, it is purgatory.


The saints asked the suffering soul what is their most painful torture.

They say it is " separation from God and the ardent longing to see Him but not available to " . Not able to see God is their greatest torture.


The nuns and monks : do confession once a week.

Do the same as for your own benefit.


Repent and convert


Facebook 99

 All people are called to be spouse of Jesus, my priest said, even the married. It depends on whether that person is willing to accept the call . Jesus will not force anyone to accept this offer. Everyone is called to be pure and chaste, especially the Carmelite. Sabbatine privilege: those who wear the brown scapular, observe chastity all their lives, lead a just life, pray five decades of rosary everyday or recite the little office of mary everyday or abstain from meat on wed and sat all their lives, will be released from purgatory on the first Saturday after death. Carmelite emphasizes purity and chastity. I wear a brown scapular everyday. I also pray rosary and lead a good life.



facebook 98

 Every Saint of the Catholic church has been deeply devoted to the Blessed Sacrament.In fact , there is no sanctity without the Eucharist. From the dawn of Christian history, faith in the Holy Eucharist as the living Christ has been continuous.

Our focus should be on growing in our understanding of the Holy Eucharist.

we receive Him no less than the Apostles did at the Last Supper.


He is present, He offers , He comes.


He is present in order to be near us, with us, next to us, present to us. He wants to show us how much He loves us. He wants to teach us:

- Humility, Patience, Obedience, Silence, Selfless Charity.


He wants us to come to Him. He offers Himself in the Mass in order to give us the graces we need to surrender our wills to His. These are the distinctive graces of the Sacrament of the Mass:


The graces are :


- Self-surrender, Self -abandonment, Self-immolation.


He comes to us in Holy Communion in order to give us the graces of selfless charity. It is not coincidental that Christ did two things at the Last Supper:

1. He gave us the New Commandment: Love one another as He loves us , even unto death.

2. he instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.


These two go together. We cannot practice selfless charity without receiving Holy Commuion. ( Servant of God Fr. John . A. Hardon. SJ)


" The love of God and neighbour , the greatest commandment is expressed in, and the fruit of , Eucharistic worship." St John Paul 2


" You will never be happy if your happiness depends on getting solely what you want. Change the focus. Get a new center. Will what God wills, and your joy no man shall take from you ." ( Venerable Fulton Sheen)


Our Eucharistic Lord gives us grace to surrender our lives to Him ----to seek not our own will , but only His will, no matter what the cost.



Resolve: Pray for the grace to thank God for whatever He sends, for He sends only what is best for our souls.


facebook 97

 For those who do not love God, either out of pride , apathy , or a disdain for Him and His commandments, the desire to live forever is today being manifested in an evil , demonic way. Transhumanism is a refusal to submit to God, imagining that man's abilities are not derived from God, but rather from our power . Some believe they can construct a creature superior to man by their efforts to combine human beings with technology. It is a great rebellion against God, with an end goal of being able to control humans. Much time and money are being spent on developing what seems like science fiction.

They will market it so that people will come to believe that doing what they propose will make them much more intelligent , will bring great well-being, happiness, security, and anything else that may lure people into the trap that will make them lose their freedom--- and even their free will. Woe to those who consent. Their lot will be misery.

( e.g : believe in reincarnation , tarot)


On the contrary, what wonderful things God has planned for those who love him. For those who persevere, who are faithful to the end, they will be taken into the Kingdom of God, will see Him as He is , and will be like Him , like Almighty God !


" Trust all things to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians and you will see what miracles are ." St John Bosco.



Resolve: Make a holy hour and pray the rosary for the conversion of sinners.


2023年8月9日 星期三

Facebook 96

 Distractions in prayer:


The imagination is not easily controlled and the devil can assail us with all kinds of representations and may try to allure us even to sin. But we are never to be alarmed when we know our distractions are not voluntary. When we avert to distractions we should turn away from them gently without violence. We are not to conclude that our prayer has been bereft of all value because during most or all of the time we have been subject to distractions . Since we have done our best we must be convinced that God is satisfied with us and our prayer, poor as it may appear to be , will be very profitable. After all , it is a more unselfish act to be content to persevere at our prayer in spite of a weary struggle with distractions than to spend our time in prayer made with sensible sweetness and fervour.It is consequently more meritorious , and we can be certain that perseverance in prayer in spite of distractions, when we are applying the means already indicated to eliminate them, will lead to a prayer free from distractions and to closer union with God. So we must resolve that, no matter how long or weary our struggle with distractions may be, we will persevere in our prayer.


Voluntary distractions are at least serious imperfections, and so every person any way anxious for union with Go will seek to eliminate them.


Facebook 95

 Aridities in prayer:


Another source of difficulty in prayer are aridities. Ariditiy or dryness may test a person devoted to prayer at any stage. But usually with beginners it only lasts for a brief period, and it is especially at the stage that we have reached in our explanations of prayer that aridity of long duration comes to test the fidelity of a soul wishing to love God.Aridity is the incapacity of having any feeling about God or heavenly things. The soul in an arid state has no pleasure or satisfaction in the things of God and will not, or rather, finds she cannot have satisfaction in the things of earth. In a severe state of aridity the soul feels as if she were abandoned by Go or not wanted by God. According to the designs of God on the soul this state is usually accompanied by other trials more or less severe, such as sickness of body , troubles of mind, and misunderstandings with friends or persecutions.



In reality, the soul is not bereft of thought or feeling; there is beneath all a thought and loving longing for God. The thought may be obscure, indeterminate and anxious, the longing frequently painful.The important point is that God is nearer to the soul than ever, and the soul is very dear to God. The explanation of the state is simply that God is detaching the soul from all earthly things to attach it completely to Himself, and is purifying it from its many stains and imperfections to make it purer and more worthy of being completely filled by Himself and of being admitted to the deepest knowledge and sublimest union with Him. The soul is being detached from conceptions and feelings of God which can stand in the way of a truer knowledge and more intimate union.


It is of the utmost importance that the soul will understand the explanation of those severe trials permitted by God and not make the mistake of being discouraged and tempted to give up prayer altogether.

玫瑰經多厲害

 玫塊經:


( From : The secret of the rosary , by st montfort .)


聖母曾說:  我們每唸一遍聖母經, 我們就向她呈上一朵美麗的玫瑰花, 每唸完一串玫瑰經, 就是向她呈上一個花冠. 這花冠是永垂不朽, 直到永遠, 也為我們立下天上的功勞


( 取錄自小冊子: 玫瑰經非常有力的祈禱)


每一遍聖母經就像敲打魔鬼的頭一次


梵蒂岡首席驅魔師加俾厄爾阿莫爾特神父Father Gabriel Amorth寫道:


有一天, 我有一位同事在驅魔時聽到魔鬼說:


“ 每一遍聖母經就像敲打我的頭一次, 如果基督徒知道玫瑰經是如何強而有力, 這會是我的終結者! “


聖母曾對一位聖人說過: “ 你每唸一遍聖母經, 就是加強我所傾注的力量 “


 


玫瑰經是天主給予我們用以摧毀罪惡的特殊強大武器


 


聖母於葡萄牙花地瑪顯現


聖母於花地瑪向其顯現的三位小童之一的聖路濟亞於1957 年的面談中指出:


“ 我們活在末世之中, 聖母對於誦唸玫瑰經賦予新功效.


她賦予的這項功效就是, 無論問題有多困難, 無論是世俗還是靈性上的問題, 無論家庭問題, 世俗中的家庭問題, 教會大家庭問題, 甚至是關乎人命及國家的問題, 沒有問題是玫瑰經解決不到的.


讓我告訴你, 無論問題有多困難, 沒有問題是玫瑰經解決不到的. 透過玫瑰經, 我們將使自己得救, 我們將聖化自己, 使天主感到安慰,並且使許多靈魂得到救贖 ”


Jesus passion 3

 Passion of Jesus 3


Jesus had once said, as a test:


"Come after me

And I will make you fishers of men."


This could only be another such test, a trial of his courage, and at that moment Peter thought he had courage for anything. He would show his Lord that now, as ever, he was constant. He would ask, he would offer himself, be the consequences what they might:


" Peter saith to him

Why cannot I follow thee?

I will lay down my life for thee Lord

I am ready to go with thee

Both into prison and to death."


Poor, brave Peter ! How easy is it to be brave when no danger is near us! How easy to be faithful when there is no temptation to desert, but only sweet attraction to draw us! But not in such a way may those be trained who are destined to guide others. For that end Peter must be allowed his lesson, which only a heavy fall would teach him. In the answer which Jesus gave him there is irony, there is resignation ,there is even hope, there is no less affection;indeed love is the more expressed by the repetition of the name:


" Jesus answered and said to him

Wilt thou lay down your life for me?

Amen Amen I say to thee

Peter

Today even in this night

Before the cock crow twice

Thou shalt deny me thrice."


" Peter!" Before He had said:" Simon , Simon", now it was " Peter!"Then , his ordinary name, now, when his fall is prophesied , he is called " The Rock!" Such is the affectionate irony of Jesus Christ.


There is another thing to be noticed. That night Jesus had to deal with two offenders, Judas and Simon Peter.Judas that night would betray Him but once, Peter would deny Him thrice. Judas had made no special protest of allegiance, Peter had declared his loyalty again and again . Judas had been entrusted merely with the common purse; to Peter had been given the keys , the care of the Universal Church. And yet, after their fall, how differently they were treated ! 


The one repented out of despair, the other , with all his weakness, had never  

ceased to love; and Jesus knew the value of them both.

facebook 94

 Personal causes for a polluted mind include:

1. a lack of serious thinking and study

2. a love for fads, a desire to remain mainstream and socially acceptable.

3. the darkening effects of sin, which clouds the mind

4. submission to political-commercial propaganda

5.ignorance of truths necessary for developing good habits

6.contempt of truths of the faith

7. distraction, especially a lack of attention to spiritual things.


Christ explains the foundational cause :" Out of the heart come evil thoughts."(Mt 15:19; emphasis added). That is , disordered desires of the heart lead to evil thoughts; evil thoughts likewise produce and strengthen evil desires . Thought and desire are like body and soul, closer than twins, affecting each other in inextricable ways


Evagruis wisely notes that to overcome disordered passions, and memories that stir up our passions, we must tame our bodily desiring and assertive appetites ( concupiscible and irascible ) by means of bodily asceticism, such as fasting, vigils, and sleeping on the ground. However, to overcome bad thoughts, one must cultivate good thoughts:

" Evil thoughts cut off good ones, and in turn evil ones are cut off by good ones."Christian thoughts, derived from faith and enlivened by charity, are remedies for disordered interior thoughts that dwell in our intellects. If they are not cultivated , then evil words will eventually spill from our lips.

facebook 93

 St Anthony Mary Claret had a particular love for the saints. In his autobiography , he described how the saints powerfully intensified his own good habits, especially the abiding desire he had to be another apostle:


I frequently read the lives of those saints who were distinguished for their zeal in saving souls, and I felt the good effect of it...In the course of meditating on the lives and works of these saints, I used to feel such a burning within me that I could not sit still. I had to get up and run from one place to another, preaching continually. I cannot describe what I felt inside me. Nothing tired me; I was not terrified at the awful calumnies being leveled against me, or afraid of the greatest persecutions . Everything was sweet to me, as long as I could win souls for Jesus Christ and heaven and save them from hell.


2023年8月8日 星期二

Facebook 92

 We see that the God-focused fire of charity is crucial for heroic habits. By uniting us to God as our highest good and best love, charity focuses on everything in our life on God, including our habits, dispositions, and skills. In the words of St. Paul, it is the " bond of perfection". ( Col 3:15). Charity sets our habits aflame with divine love, acting as a furnace in which they are gradually perfected. As charity becomes more perfect, it also comes to take command of all our acts and habits. The gradual perfection of all habits therefore corresponds to the stages of the perfection of charity. Following ancient tradition, Aquinas describes the growth of charity as belonging to three stages: beginners, the proficient, and " the perfect". Here, then , I will merely summarize the stages, which can be compared to the way fire gradually burns wood.


First, fire acts upon green wood by heating it up and expelling all interior moisture. Through this " purgative" process, wood is " purified" of interior moisture. In this process, the wood becomes black with charcoal , similar to how a person sometimes seems worse in the first stages of the spiritual life as he realizes his imperfections. During this stage, it is important for a person to carefully consider his habits in the light of faith , to pray that they be purified by charity,and to let go of any habits by asceticism if they are contrary to holiness. The person might sigh at the pain of being detached from a disordered love for worldly things.


Second, fire sets the wood alight. In this "illuminative" stage, the soul both receives greater light from God and it begins faintly to shine forth to others. Once some of the obstacles of charity have been cleared away by purification, a person will want to focus more on growth in the virtues, actively cultivating them in a way that helps him accomplish the duties of his state of life. One will avoid lukewarmness by feeding his soul with the sacraments and the prayer of contemplation, as well as with works of charity. He will also avoid burdening himself with excessive spiritual activities, for which his love and energy may not be adequate.


Third, fire transforms wood entirely into flame so that only a blaze remains in this " unitive " stage. Those who have been transformed by charity desire " to be dissolved and to be with Christ". In this stage, purifications and illuminations continue but in a higher register as the soul ascends closer and closer to the state which it will enjoy for eternity. Here , human nature remains, though in an elevated state, such that the person radiates the heat and light of God's love and seems to be another Christ. In this stage, as the developing saint experiences greater transforming union with God , the Gifts of the Holy Spirit become more predominant in his life. A person in this stage spends longer hours in prayer, achieves greater apostolic works, and becomes transformd into a sort of divine fire.

Facebook 91

 Exterior corporal works of mercy , such as feeding the poor, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison, and so on are less manifestly enlivened by love for Christ than the spiritual works of mercy , such as counselling the doubtful, teaching the ignorant, correcting those in error, and so on---- acts that more directly stem from faith. Thus, St Teresa of Calcutta insisted that the merciful charity of her religious order was to be well-ordered by the light of faith. The Missionaries of Charity truly exercise charity, she said. They are more than social workers; they bring the love of Christ to the world and see the face of Christ in those they serve.


The greatness of the saints was not in their miracles. It was in their souls , which achieved a heroism appropriate for their condition, time and place.


It bears repeating that the most heroic heroism is heroism of the soul. The battleground of the soul, a person can find true heroism by conquering the warring hordes of evil within himself, overcoming sin, vice, and even the demons who try to overpower his strength and make him their eternal slave. Each person is a microcosm, a little universe, and a person who conquers himself conquers a world: " he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city."( Proverb 16:32)


2023年8月2日 星期三

Facebook 90

 When the intellect regularly grasps its proper object---- truth --- it becomes habituated to beholding the truth. The mind becomes stamped by the truth, much like the metal of a coin is stamped with the head of a sovereign. This quality of being formed by the truth is good for the intellect. When the intellect has this quality , it is all the stronger for it: a truth-shaped mind can more easily sift through rumor, reject falsehood , discover reality, and so on. Accordingly , the habit of grasping the truth quickly, easily, skillfully, and joyfully is the perfection of the intellect. Seen from the other end of things, when the intellect is properly habituated, it grasps the truth so quickly, easily,etc. that knowledge, insight, understanding , and the rest seem natural to it. The contrary also holds. Falsehood and fantasy weaken the mind, preparing it to wander , darkened, lost in a maze of misshapen mirrors. Gazing into the black hole of unreality destabilizes the intellect and deprives it of the light of truth.


A similar dynamic exists with the will. Its proper object is the authentic good. When the will continually chooses what is truly good, it becomes stronger,more energetic, more stable, more excellent in its choices and loves. Likewise, when the will rejects what is evil and shuns the corruption of immorality, it comes to love and appreciate the good even more.


Fake goods disguised as real goods are to the will as drugs are to the body: at first, they might bring pleasure, but in the long run they destroy the power from within, fostering addiction, weakness, pettiness, and, eventually , hatred of what is truly beneficial.


Our habits take us either downward or upward. When a person's intellect is habituated to what is false, and his will to what is evil, his soul is corrupted.


On the other hand, when a person develops good habits to an extraordinary degree, the soul is perfected.


If by grace one's habits exceed the usual human mode, the soul becomes heroic or even divine by participation in God's own perfection.

Facebook 89

 Gregory the Great argues that " the movements of the flesh" are like beasts, for , " while they gall the mind by prompting conduct contrary to reason, they rise up against us like beasts. But when the heart is bowed down under the Divine Law, even the incitements of the flesh are reduced , so that, though in tempting us they give a low growl, yet they never mount so high as to the execution of the deeds, as to the madness of open biting."He then points to the great apostle to show how everyone is beset by these beasts in some way. St Paul admitted that he suffered from an inner tension as part of himself warred with another part. He said, " I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do ... For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.."( Rom 7:19.22-23)


St Paul lamented that his will delighted in God through charity, as his mind was ruled by faith, whereas his animal appetites, which dwelt in his body, were still moved by the law of sin.


St Thomas: 

The inclination to sin is a punishment for the fault of sins... which has taken mastery over the sinner and imposed its law on him, namely , the inclination to sin. 



He notes that a person who turns his back on God falls under the influence of his sensual impulses similar to those of animals. In humans, that inclination-law is often a deviation and insubordination to the law of reason, and thus fights against his nature, strips him of his proper dignity, and makes him a slave of his lower cravings. Adam and Eve gave us the habitual inclination toward selfishness and away from God, which we call original sin. Our personal sins add further bad habits that turn us in on self and away from the highest good.No wonder that we all fell as if we are at war with ourselves. 

2023年7月31日 星期一

La salette Mary : do not work on Sunday

  

La salette Mary about the sabbatical obligation, should rest 


From

Marian shrine of France

By

Francican friars of the immaculate


La Salette Mary said,

" Come to me , my children, "

" Do not be afraid. I am here to tell you something of the greatest importance." She spoke in French, not in their patois.

"If my people will not obey, I shall be compelled to loose my son's arm. It is so heavy,so pressing that I can no longer restrain it . How long I have suffered for you! If my son is not to cast you off , I am obliged to entreat him without ceasing. But you take not the least notice of that. No matter how well you pray in the future, no matter how well you act, you will never be able to make up to me what I have endured for your sake."


"I have appointed six days for your working.The  seventh I have reserved for myself.And no one will give it to me .This is which causes the weight of my son's arm to be so crushing. The cart drivers cannot sweat without bringing in my son's name. These are the two things which make my son's arm so burdensome."


" If the harvest is spoiled, it is your own fault. I warned you last year by means of the potatoes. You paid no heed. Quite the reverse, when you discovered that the potatoes had rotted, you swore, you abused my son's name.They will continue to rot, and by Christmas this year there will be none left . If you have grain , it will do no good to sow it , for what you sow the beasts will devour, and any part of it that springs up will crumble into dust when you thresh it. "


"A great famine is coming. But before that happens, the children under seven years of age will be seized with trembling and die in their parents' arms.The grownups will pay for their sins by hunger. The grapes will rot, and the walnuts will turn bad ."


"If people are converted, the rocks will become piles of wheat , and it will be found that the potatoes have sown themselves."


A pause, and then, with a searching look , " Do you say your prayers well , my children?"


" No , " they ( Melanie and Maximin) murmured, shamefaced. " We say them hardly at all ".


" Ah, my children, it is very important to say them, at night and in the morning. When you don't have time, at least say an Our Father and Hail Mary. And when you can , say more."


" Only a few rather old women go to Mass in the summer. All the rest work every sunday throughout the summer. And in winter, when they don't know what to do with themselves, they go to mass only to poke fun at religion. During Lent they flock to the butcher shops , like dogs."


Another question," My children, haven't you ever seen spoiled grain?"


Maximin answered,. " No , never."


" But my child, you must have seen it once , near Coin , with your papa. The owner of a field said to your papa : come and see my spoiled grain. 

The two of you went. You took two or three ears of grain in your fingers. You rubbed them , and they crumbled to dust. Then you came back from Coin. When you were but a half hour away from Corps, your papa gave you a piece of bread and said: well , my son, eat some bread this year, anyhow. I don't know who will be eating any next year , if the grain goes on spoiling like that ."


La Salette Mary looked earnestly at them . 

" My children, " 

she charged them,

" You will make this known to all my people."


Slowly she turned away,glided along the ravine, paused, and , without facing them , repeated the command,

" You will make this known to all my people."


--------------------------------------------------

https://www.lasalette.org/about-la-salette/apparition/the-story/705-the-message-of-la-salette.html


The unknown Lady now spoke to the children. “We were drinking her words”, they would say later, adding, “she wept all the time she spoke to us”.

 

“Come near, my children, be not afraid; I am here to tell you great news.

 

“If my people will not submit, I shall be forced to let fall the arm of my Son. It is so strong, so heavy, that I can no longer withhold it.

 

“For how long a time do I suffer for you! If I would not have my Son abandon you, I am compelled to pray to him without ceasing; and as to you, you take not heed of it.

 

“However much you pray, however much you do, you will never recompense the pains I have taken for you.

 

“Six days I have given you to labor, the seventh I have kept for myself; and they will not give it to me. It is this which makes the arm of my Son so heavy.

 

“Those who drive the carts cannot swear without introducing the name of my Son. These are the two things which make the arm of my Son so heavy.

 

“If the harvest is spoilt, it is all on your account. I gave you warning last year with the potatoes (‘pommes de terre’) but you did not heed it. On the contrary, when you found the potatoes spoilt, you swore, you took the name of my Son in vain. They will continue to decay, so that by Christmas there will be none left.”


If you have wheat, it is no good to sow it; all you sow the insects will eat, and what comes up will fall into dust when you thresh it.”

 

“There will come a great famine. Before the famine comes, the children under seven years of age will be seized with trembling and will die in the hands of those who hold them; the others will do penance by the famine. The walnuts will become bad, and the grapes will rot.”

 

Here the Beautiful Lady addressed the children separately, confiding to each a secret. She spoke first to Maximin, and though the little shepherd did not perceive that her tone of voice had changed, Melanie at his side could not hear a word, though she still saw the Beautiful Lady's lips moving. Then came Melanie's turn to receive her secret under like conditions. Both secrets were given in French.

 

Again addressing the two children in the idiom familiar to them, the Lady continued: “If they are converted, the stones and rocks will change into mounds of wheat, and the potatoes will be self-sown in the land.

 

“Do you say your prayers well, my children?”, she asked the shepherds. Both answered with complete frankness: “Not very well, Madam”. “Ah, my children”, she exhorted them, “you must be sure to say them well morning and evening. When you cannot do better, say at least an Our Father and a Hail Mary; but when you have time, say more.”

 

“There are none who go to Mass except a few aged women. The rest work on Sunday all summer; then in the winter, when they know not what to do, they go to Mass only to mock at religion. During Lent, they go to the meat-market like dogs.”

 

“Have you never seen wheat that is spoilt, my children?”, the Beautiful Lady then asked them. “No, Madam”, they replied.

 

“But you, my child”, she insisted, addressing the little boy in particular, “you must surely have seen some once when you were at the farm of Coin with your father. (Coin was a hamlet near the town of Corps). The owner of the field told your father to go and see his ruined wheat. You went together. You took two or three ears of wheat into your hands and rubbed them, and they fell into dust. Then you continued home. When you were still half an hour's distance from Corps, your father gave you a piece of bread and said to you: ‘Here, my child, eat some bread this year at least; I don't know who will eat any next year, if the wheat goes on like that’”.

2023年7月28日 星期五

facebook88

 We are not to bicker, complain, gossip, or attack. Our priority is to love. It is not a love that turns a blind eye to injustice but it is a love that sees the logs in our own eyes instead of the speck in our neighbour's. It is a love that prays for instead of judging , because the charism of love is more powerful than the office of correction. In fact, the first three spiritual works of mercy belong in a particular way to the ordained :to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, and admonish the sinner. Even in those rare instances where we must practice these works such as within our homes , it should always be done with love, and by humbly assuming that we are a greater sinner than the one we are correcting. And it is love rather than correction that draws our hearts to His sacred Heart.

facebook 87

 Abstinence is a form of fasting. Fasting and self-denial are not personal preferences that can be discarded if we find them difficult. Fasting also gives us spiritual authority. Jesus explained in Matthew 17:21 that certain type of evil spirits can only be driven out through prayer and fasting. When we are fasting, we should not put on a sour face or parade around acting pious. It is a hidden thing.


Every Catholic over the age of 14 should abstain from meat on Fridays; during Lent, this is under the pain of sin. Many today present skillfully crafted arguments why they do not have to abstain. " The church no longer requires it." they say. " we can substitute some other form of mortification or do something nice to someone instead." But the church did not abolish Friday abstinence , she decreed that it is no longer a sin not to do so. The reason the church removed the penalty of sin is so that our freely willed mortification would be more efficacious: so that it would produce more grace. Quite the opposite occurred. Hardly a Catholic abstains from meat on Fridays outside of Lent anymore, nor do they acquire the spiritual authority over fallen angels that self-denial affords.


If Sunday is a mini-Easter, then Friday is a mini-Lent. Choosing some other mortification or doing something nice for someone, whatever that means, fails to produce a necessary reality in the Christian life: Spiritual influence. Fasting creates it. 


To increase the austerity of the practice as one accustomed to it, one might eat only the one meal, or partake of only bread and water .( Not suitable for the sick to take only bread and water, eat vegan food on fasting days is enough ). There are many people nowadays who are resorting to extreme fasting for its recently discovered health benefits, and they are doing it for secular reasons. Cannot we, who are doing it for faith reasons, match their intensity?


Sabbatine privilege of brown scapular:

1. Persevered in chastity , observe chastity, the 6 th and the 9th commandment.

2. Everyday recite the Little office of Mary or 

observed the fast days of the Church and abstained from flesh meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays  or

With the permission from your confessor, recite five decades of rosary everyday.

3. Always wear the brown scapular until death.

4. Live a good life.



The privilege:

These people would be released from purgatory on the first Saturday after their death.


Those who cannot fulfill the above requirements but wear a scapular until death:

Mary promises those who wear the brown scapular must not be sent to hell.


Facebook 86

 THE PORTIUNCULA INDULGENCE 


On the night of July, 1216, the great St. Francis was praying in the little church of the Portiuncula devoured by love for God and a thirst to save souls. He prayed for the forgiveness of sins of mankind. 


Suddenly a brilliant light shone all around. In great splendor Jesus and Mary appeared in the midst of a dazzling cloud surrounded by a multitude of radiant Angels. Out of fear and reverence, St. Francis adored Our Lord prostrate upon the ground. Then Jesus said to him:


*"Francis you are very zealous for the good of souls. Ask me what you want for their salvation."*


”St. Francis was rapt in ecstasy before Jesus. When he regained his courage he said:


*"Lord, I a miserable sinner beg You to concede an indulgence to all those who enter this church, who are truly contrite and have confessed their sins. And I beg Blessed Mary, your Mother, intercessor of man, that She intercede on behalf of this grace."*


"Our Lady at once began to beseech Her Son on behalf of Francis. 


Jesus answered:


"It is a very great thing that which you ask Me; but you are worthy of even greater things, Friar Francis, and greater things you will have. So I accept your request, but I want you to go to My Vicar, to whom I have given the power to bind and loose in Heaven and on earth, to ask him on my behalf for this indulgence."


"With one of his companions, St. Francis hastened to Pope Honorius III and prostrate implored him to proclaim that every one visiting the church and confessing their sins with a contrite heart would be as pure from all sin and punishments as he was immediately after baptism.


The Pope granted this petition. *This indulgence has been extended to all parish churches throughout the world.*


The date was set from evening of August 1st until sundown on August 2nd, the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels.*


It is said that St. Francis was given this day by Our Lord because the Feast of the Chains of St. Peter celebrated on August first is the day Peter was released from prison and his chains removed. This is an extraordinary demonstration of God’s mercy in removing the chains of sin from those who devoutly and faithfully seek to gain the indulgence by completing its requirements.


Tell everyone of the magnitude of this gift. Once again, we see the unfathomable Divine Mercy of God. In the words of St. Francis:

"O my Brothers and Sisters, I want you all to go to Heaven.”


#ToInformIsToFraternalize #OFSFilipinas 


(source: The Racolta 698)

Facebook 85

Professed Carmelites observe a limited silence, normally from bedtime until waking, or from the end of night prayer until morning prayer. But for those of us who live in the world, we should observe that which prudence suggests in our circumstances . We must seek out pools of silence in the landscape of our day. The greatest reason why is that without silence, we cannot be recollected. And without recollection, we cannot achieve deep communion with God or approach contemplation. God dwells in silence. If we live in noise, we cannot hear Him. 


God dwells in sacred silence.We must meet Him there. That is why it is important to have a quiet place to go and pray. 


Another important reason why we should practice silence more often is because it is very easy for us to sin with our tongues. When we hear these passages read at Mass or read them for ourselves, we often gloss over them and ignore them. But we do so to our own injury.


Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:35-37 that on the day of judgment we will have to give an account for every idle word we ever spoke. He said that a good man brings forth good things from his stores, and an evil man brings forth evil things, and that we will be justified or condemned based not only on our deeds, but on what we have said. 


St Paul in Colossians3:8-9 tells us that as followers of Christ we must set aside anger, malice,insults,foul language and lies. There are no exceptions.


2023年7月25日 星期二

Facebook 84

 A Religious having wounded charity in regard to St . Louis Bertrand , received a terrible chastisement after death. He was plunged into the fire of purgatory , which he had to endure until he had made satisfaction to divine Justice;nay, more, he could not be admitted into the abode of the elect until he had accomplished an act of exterior reparation,which should serve as an example to the living. The fact is thus related in the Life of the saint:

When St. Louis Bertrand ,of the order of St. Dominic, resided at the convent of Valencia, there was a young religious in the community who attached too much importance to profane science. Doubtless letters and erudition have their value, but, as the Holy Spirit declares, they should yield to the fear of God and the science of the saints. Non super timentem Dominum ---- " There is none above him that feareth the Lord." ( Ecclus.23:13)  This science of the saints, which Eternal Wisdom came to teach us , consists in humility and charity . The young religious of whom we speak, while little advanced in Divine science, allowed himself to reproach Father Bertrand with his little knowledge , and said to him," One can see, Father, that you are not very learned!" " Brother," replied the saint with meek firmness, " Lucifier was very learned, and yet he was damned."


The brother who had committed this fault did not think of repairing it. Nevertheless he was not a bad religious, and some time after , falling dangerously sick, he received the Last Sacrament in very good dispositions, and expired peacefully in the Lord. A considerable time elapsed, and meanwhile Louis was nominated Prior. One day, having remained in choir after Matins, the deceased appeared to him enveloped in flames, and prostrating humbly before him, said, " Father , pardon me the offensive words which I formerly addressed to you . God will not permit me to see His face until you shall have pardoned my fault and offered Holy Mass for me. " The saint willingly forgave him , and the next morning celebrated Mass for the repose of his soul. The following night , being again in choir, he saw the deceased brother reappear , but radiant with glory and going up to Heaven.

Facebook 83

 From St Peter de Alcantara to St Teresa  of Jesus:


..... And if your zeal and fervor draw you to embrace the counsels of Jesus Christ, observe them with the greatest integrity and perfection that you possibly can, seeing they were equally given to both sexes. It cannot be, but the same merit and reward will be rendered unto you as to others that have truly observed them. And if there be seen any want or necessity in the monasteries of poor religious women, it is because they are poor against their wills, and not through fault of their vow of poverty or following of Evangelical counsels. For I account not much of their simple poverty ,but of their patient sufferance of the same for the love of God. But I more esteem that poverty which is desired ,procured , and embraced for the same love. And if I should think or determinately believe otherwise , I should not hold myself a good catholic. I believe in this, and in all other things taught by our Blessed Savior , and that His counsels are good and profitable , as proceeding from God, and though they oblige not to sin, they bind, nevertheless, that man to be more perfect that follows them than if he had not undertaken them at ail. I hold them poor in spirit who are poor in will, as our Savior has said, and myself proved; however, I believe more from God than of my own experience that those who, by the grace of God, are with all their hearts poor lead a life most happy, as confiding and hoping in him alone. His divine majesty give you light to understand this truth and to practice it . Believe not those that shall tell you the contrary , for want of light and understanding , or for not having tasted how sweet our Lord is to those that fear and love Him, renouncing for His sake all unnecessary things of this world, for they are enemies of the cross of Christ, not believing the glory which accompanies the same. ...... in the end reward to those who hope in Him and not in rents and goods of the Earth.


From Avila, this fourteenth day of April 1562

2023年7月24日 星期一

facebook 82

 How profound and far-reaching was the influence that the example of St. Anthony the patriarch of the monastic life exercised on Society! If ever there was a man who dominated history ,dictated to the future, molded the lives of generations yet unborn, it was surely this man. Intent at first only upon the salvation of his own soul, he initiated one of the most amazing movement that history records.


There were certainly hermits before his time. But he is their recognized leader, and the monks of the desert , who at one time numbered hundreds of thousands , looked upon his as the father of monasticism . Indeed he is the father of the technical religious life in every shape and form. That is to say, no Christian name has inspired greater heroism or been productive of deeper and lasting results.


In the calendar of the saints we find a multitude whose very names are suggestive of momentous events, who were real makers of history and of large-scale history at that. A fourteenth-century chronicler says of St. Bridget of Sweden that on the day of her birth, a priest heard a supernatural voice saying, " Tonight there will be born a child to whose words the whole world will one day listen." Equally momentous was the nativity of many other saint.


St Augustine, for example, embodies in his own person that disturbed , uneasy period when paganism and Christianity were engaged in final conflict.


St Telemachus by his heroic sacrifice put an end to an abuse which was the scandal of Christendom. 

2023年7月22日 星期六

Facebook 81

 Let there be no contention among you ---or, at least, put an end to it as quickly as possible-----lest a little anger grow into hatred, and so make of a mote a beam, and render the soul guilty of murder; for you read ," whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer."( 1 John iii. 15)


Whosoever wounds another by offensive language , by wishing her evil, or reproaching her with her faults , should be mindful to make satisfaction as soon as possible; and she who was injured must pardon without many words.


But if both have been offended they must forgive each other . The reason of this is that you may be duly disposed for prayer , which , the more frequent it is, the more holy it should be.


Facebook 80

 But one who is often tempted to anger, and as speedily asks pardon of the one she acknowledges she has injured , is better than one not so soon moved to anger, and yet less inclined to ask pardon. She that will not forgive her sister, must not hope to obtain of God what she asks in her prayers.


If there is anyone who will never ask pardon, or does not ask it from her heart, though she is not put out of the convent, yet her religious life is useless .


" Beware, therefore , of hard words".


Yet, should they chance to escape one's mouth, let the tongue that has caused the wound apply the cure.


2023年7月21日 星期五

Jesus passion 2

 Passion of Jesus


The deed had been done, the signal had been given; Jesus could now submit to whatever was to follow. The plan of Judas had succeeded; Jesus had clearly been deceived. His success gave the rabble courage; Judas now could disappear and leave the rest to them. At once the silence of the night was broken; the mob that till then had been held in check, first by Judas, then by Jesus, now resumed its noisy clamour, that clamour that turns cowards into mock heroes. They came up and pressed upon Jesus of Nazareth; they laid their hands upon Him, and this time He showed no inclination to escape. At last His magic power was gone; the kiss of the traitor had undone Him, as the caresses of Delilah had undone the mighty Samson. Now in His presence they could be very brave indeed:


" They then came up

And laid hands on Him

And held Him."


But for the companions of Jesus this was indeed a new situation. Let it be remembered that, for most of them at least, the action of Judas need not have appeared as anything strange. He had gone out from the supper-room, as they had presumed ,upon an errand, some commission given to him by Jesus. He had come back to them here in the garden;he had gone to salute his Master, and tell Him the commission had been done,nay more, he had owned Him before this threatening crowd. It was a noble act , a good act, a brave act; as before they had always tended to follow the lead of Judas, so they would follow it now. They , too, would renew their courage and be brave. Now they remembered that at the Supper Jesus had forewarned them that they should have swords in readiness for what was to happen that night; and they had said that they would go with Him even to death. Against all these odds they would fight for their Master. On other occasions He had tested their courage , and blamed for their want of faith and trust ; it might be that He was only testng them now. Simon Peter especially; he had been tried before as none of the others , rewarded for his faith and trust as none of them. That night he had committed himself further than the rest, protesting that he would not deny his Lord, that he would die with Him; he must be their leader in courage now.


" And they that were about him 

Seeing what would follow

Said to him

Lord

Shall we strike with the sword ?

Then one of them that was with Jesus

Simon Peter

Stretching forth his hand

Drew his sword

 And striking the servant of the High Priest

Cut off his right ear

And the name of the servant was Malchus."


A few hours before, in the supper-room, the disciples had been discussing among themselves who should  be the foremost in the kingdom;during all that week, since  the Sunday 's triumphal

march, they had been telling themselves that at last the kingdom was at hand. Now was their opportunity to show their prowess; kingdom must be won by battle. It was true they had but two swords among them.


Simon Peter drew the first sword. He struck, it did not matter how or where; he struck one in the vanguard of the crowd , and official in the high priest's household. The blow was partly averted; it cut off the man's right ear.We are told that the man's name was Malchus; if we may judge from other cases, we may conclude that m

Malchus was later a disciple of Peter, a member of the Christian Church.


Facebook 79

 Maria Goretti

If it is true that in the martyrdom of Maria Goretti there stands out above everything else her purity, it is also true that in her and with her the other Christian virtues are not less glorified . For in her virtue of purity, we have the most basic and significant confirmation of the perfect dominion of her spirit over gross matter. In her act of supreme heroism, which was not something unprepared, we see an evidence of her tender and docile love, at once obedient and practical , towards the parents of her flesh. There was also the sacrifice she had made in her difficult daily labor. There was the evangelical poverty to which she freely submitted and in which she was sustained by her confidence in heavenly Providence. There was her religion , to which she tenaciously clung and which she desired to understand better with the passing of every day----which she nourished by the practice of her prayers and which thus became for her a veritable treasure in her life. There was her ardent longing to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Finally, as the crown of her charity, there was the heroic pardon which she granted to the man who had murdered her.A rustic garland of flowers in the field---- these virtues but ever so dear to God, for they adorned the white veil of her first communion, and shortly after, her martyrdom. 


During the past fifty years, coupled with what was often a weak reaction on the part of decent people, there has been a conspiracy of evil practices , propagating themselves in books and illustrations, in theatres and radio programs, in styles and clubs and on the beaches, trying to work their way into the heart of the family and society, and doing their worst damage among the youth ,even among those of the tenderest years, in whom the possession of virtue is a natural inheritance.


Dearly beloved youth, young men and women, who are the special object of the love of Jesus and of Us, tell me, are you resolved to resist firmly,with the help of divine grace, every attempt made to violate your chastity?


You fathers and mothers, tell me, before the image of this young virgin St Maria Goretti,in the presence of her mother who educated her to martyrdom and who, as much as she felt the bitterness of the outrage, never complained about her daughter's death --- tell me , are you ready to assume the solemn duty laid upon you to watch, as far as in you lies, over your sons and daughters, to preserve and defend them against so many dangers that surround them, and to keep them always far away from places where they might learn the practices of impiety and of moral perversion?


2023年7月20日 星期四

Facebook 78

 HOW TO GIVE EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ACCORDING TO AN EXORCIST FATHER


An exorcist priest from Canada gave a lecture explaining the importance of worshiping the Holy One at least one hour a week.


And for people who suffer from severe illnesses or have problems with some of their family members, he said that going to worship half an hour or an hour a day, not only heals; it transforms everything. It's the max. Father also said what is the best way to worship...


Example:

The first 15 minutes go before Jesus in the Eucharist, show us in front of Him and tell Him that you come to love Him and that you want to let yourself be Loved by Him.


In the next 15 minutes. 


Thank him for everything:

For the life.

For the home.

For what we have to eat

For work or business

By the water we have to bathe Etc...

Many, he said, we won't be grateful anymore because we don't value what we have, but we always look at what we don't have.


After 15 minutes of repair


Repairing and delivering for our relatives who don't know him, don't love him..

Reparation for the terrible things happening in the world: Abortion, idolatry, killings, adultery, etc...


And the last 15 minutes is to place the orders


He mentioned that he gave the 15 minutes as a guide, but it doesn't necessarily have to be those times.


He also said that whoever has a disease like cancer, if they go to the Holy One to worship, they will not lose weight, no hair loss, or will feel severe pain. He said that out of an exposed Holy One comes rays of Jesus and people are healing and set free.

facebook 77

 Whosoever therefore fixes her eyes upon a man and seeks to be beheld by him, must not imagine she is not seen by others; she is certainly seen and even by those she least suspects.

( in case the woman is married, and the man is someone she does not know)


But suppose she is not seen by any creature, what can she do to hide her fault from the sight of Him from whom nothing can be concealed? Can she think that He sees it not because He considers it with as much patience as wisdom?


Whenever , therefore, you are together in the church or elsewhere in the presence of men be very careful to help one another to guard modesty and religious chastity.


If you perceive in any of your companions this liberty of sight of which I speak, prudently admonish her of it, to the end that a speedy correction may hinder her from going on in what she had begun.

Jesus passion 1

 Passion of Jesus meditation:


The capture of Jesus:


Away by Caesarea Philippi, not a year before, Judas had heard Simon proclaim,in the name of them all:

" Thou art the Christ

The Son of the living God".


and he had not protested. Jesus could not say of him, as later He could make himself say of His executioners:


" Father forgive him

For he knows not what he does."


He could warn him; He had done so again and again, during the whole of that last year. He could use all manner of endearments to win him from his evil way; He could keep him closer with Him than others, He could trust him as He had not trusted them, he could give him counsel all his own, He could wash his feet, He could call him not a servant but a friend, and allow him to call Him the same, He could give him the power of miracles, send him to preach in His name, see to it that men were won by his preaching,that he shared all honour with the rest of His chosen Twelve.But He could do no more  . If the will of Judas would not bend, if he would abide by his choice, if malice could so possess him, Jesus must let things take their course; it were better for Judas had he never been born.Still even then would Jesus not condemn; condemnation belonged to the Father. He was there to save, not to destroy; He would yield not one tittle of His saving right, not even under such provocation. Judas, traitor as he now was, was still His own, one of those " whom He had chosen Himself", whom the Father had given Him out of the world, who had once stood with Him in His temptations; whom having loved He would love to the end. Whatever Judas did to Him, Jesus would not annul that friendship. He would make a last appeal, even at this eleventh hour. Secretly , as He had done before; affectionately , as He could not but always do; with that love which sought not its own,which endured all things, He answered Judas . While the hands of betrayal still clung about Him, while the sense of the indignity surged within Him, while all nature seemed to cry out against the deed of shame that was being done, Jesus whispered to Judas, the last words he was ever to hear from His lips:


" And Jesus said to him

Friend,

whereto art thou come?

Judas 

Dost thou 

Betray the Son of man 

with a kiss?"


2023年7月19日 星期三

Facebook 75

 "If one member suffer anything, all the members suffer with it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it," says the Apostle. For this reason, since we are one body, we should rejoice with the saints in Heaven, and sympathize with the suffering in Purgatory. But let us also be mindful that because of the communion of saints we are sharers of all merits stored up in the treasury of the Church , as it is called. Unbounded are the graces merited for us by Christ, innumerable those merited by the Queen of Saints and the other saints. It is from this treasury that the Church draws when it offers indulgences. Let us, therefore draw from this treasury as much as we please . But we should endeavour too , as much as possible, always to increase this spiritual treasury by our zeal for virtue and sanctity , bearing humbly whatever God sends us , following the example of St. Paul , who says," Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for His body, which is the Church.".


Therefore, Let us not, I beseech you , be dead members in the body of Christ and in so holy a company; but let us make every effort to live, and to live perfectly the life which Christ has procured for us by His death. In striving after sanctity we shall be a source of profit to all the faithful and a joy to all the Saints. Let nothing sordid enter into our soul, lest we bring disgrace to the Church, for which Christ offered himself that it might be holy and without blemish.

 

Facebook 74

 Jesus openly foretold that His chosen ones would travel with Him by the way of the Cross:

If you had been of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world , therefore the world hateth you . Remember My word that I said to you : the servant is not greater than its master . If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you ...Amen, amen I say to you , that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice ; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.


In fact , we see the Church suffering persecution and battling against the powers of the darkness from its beginning to our own times. So it will continue to the last day. This is characteristics of the true church of Christ. Hence our Lord has consoled us , " Fear not ,little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom ." The more loyal sons of the Church we are , the more we shall greive over this persecution and suffering, and the more certainly we shall share it. Especially priests and religious cannot expect anything else, since it is their wish to be chosen soldiers of the church.


2023年7月17日 星期一

facebook 73

 It is the duty of every one who feels himself called to the state of perfection , to prove himself and to choose the Order he finds most suitable for himself. Here St.Paul's word also applies: Now there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord; and there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all. And the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man unto profit... But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will ( 1 Cor. 12, 4-11)


He, who promptly follows the lead of the Holy Spirit in choosing the religious state, acts very wisely and will accomplish much for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.


Certainly prayer and the interior life should be most intensively cultivated in the orders of the mixed life, and provision made that all , before they are permitted to undertake the active life, be sufficiently imbued with the love and practice of prayer and the interior life,lest among the dangers and distractions of the active life, their spiritual life may ere long collapse . Unless such caution is taken, the foundations collapse , and those apostolic laborers will seek not God or souls but themselves , although they may not be aware of this defect or wish to confess it.

facebook 72

 The concupiscence of the eyes is nothing else than the cursed hunger for gold or that avarice and desire for riches, concerning which the Apostle says," The desire of money is the root of all evils, which some coveting have erred from faith , and have entangled themselves in many sorrows .(1 TIM.6,10). Our Lord gives the warning : " Take heed , and beware of all covetousness."( Luke 12,15) " For they that will become rich , fall into temptation,and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition.( 1. Tim 6,9).


He wishes to possess nothing as his own,not even the slightest thing, and , following the example and teaching of our Lord,to require as few things as possible for life.


2023年7月16日 星期日

facebook 71

 The object of the virtue is more extensive than that of the vows, because the nature of the virtue is different from that of the vow . For the vow, is the promise of a determined thing, action or renunciation. Thus , the object of the vow is necessarily contained within well-defined limits . The virtue , on the other hand, tends to properly regulate the will and direct it toward God and in this sense it cannot be held within limits.


He who observes the vow accurately and carefully , will easily attain the height of the virtue.


The virtue can be injured without injury of the vow: e.g he who being bound by the vow of poverty cherishes voluntary affections for superfluities or for worldly riches, fails against the vow of poverty. He does not, however , commit a sin against the vow of poverty so long as he does not retain such riches or dispose of anything of pecuniary value without permission. But we should know that the vow of perfect chastity is co-extensive with the virtue of chastity; for thoughts and desires are also forbidden by the vow since the precept of chastity already forbids these. Therefore , whoever in any way sins against the virtue or precept of chastity, also sin against his vows and so commits two sins.


Although the vow is a means toward obtaining the virtue , yet it is also true, that unless we also strive after the virtue we shall not long persevere in fulfilling the vow.


Therefore, if you wish to safeguard the vows , expend the greatest care possible upon the virtues . It is for the virtue that you will make the vows if you have not already made them.


facebook 70

 By the vow of poverty we renounce external goods in order to seek everlasting ones; by the vow of chastity we renounce the delights of the flesh, in order to cling to God spiritually .


Usually men think that the more riches they acquire the happier they will be .

But the inspired writer also confesses:" I saw in all things vanity..."

Such a man is not a ruler, but a slave, and he never enjoys true peace and tranquility.


It is the office of the virtue of chastity, therefore, to curb the flesh so that what has been implanted in the human body for a good end, may serve only this end, and that every pleasure not according to the Divine law, be suppressed.

聖神七恩在俗會會規

聖神七恩會規:( 暫訂) 每天必須唸玫瑰經至少四串, 用5 分鐘默想玫瑰經奧跡, 用聖經和聖書默想 每天必須唸 st bridget 15 prayers聖婦碧瑾十五篇禱文, 苦路經 十四處, 用十分鐘默想耶穌苦難。 每天看聖書和聖經共不可少於十五分鐘, 每天必須看 吃飯前唸經,...