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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 17, 2020 2:27:24 GMT
April 16 - Saint Benedict Labré, confessor
Luxury
Why this vain display of luxury, in your house and on yourself, if not to satisfy your vanity and softness? This slavery to fashion, these thousands of conveniences of your furnishings, this profusion of objects of pure fancy, this searching in your meals, do they have another cause? Reduce yourselves to what is necessary according to your rank and use the rest for almsgiving. You will be all the happier while you live, and then how happy you will be at the hour of death! O Saint Benedict Labré, what a lesson thou teach us! Thou lived homeless, in rags, on the bread of begging; but thy heart was glad. Today, the universe cheers thee, and Heaven crowns thy royal poverty. Glorious beggar, pray for us! Obtain for us the taste of Christian simplicity.
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 18, 2020 1:50:57 GMT
April 17 - Saint Anicetus, Pope, martyr
The great remorse of the damned
We do not console ourselves when we have lost a jewel, a piece of gold, by negligence; and the damned one will have to say to himself: I have lost everything: my soul, paradise, God; and this because I wanted it. He will remember the many means that God gave him to lead him to Heaven; he will remember that God died to obtain his salvation, that He brought him into the bosom of the Church, that He gave him so many graces. And he will see that if all this had been useless, it is by his own fault. This is the cruelest remorse of the damned. Ah Lord, if I have lost Thee and Thy goods, I acknowledge that I have done wrong: but I don't want to have to reproach myself eternally. Now I love Thee more than all things. O Mary, Thou art my hope.
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 19, 2020 3:21:46 GMT
April 18 - Saint Placid, martyr
The school without God and the parents
"He that is not with Me is against Me," said Jesus Christ. You are not with Jesus Christ when you choose for your children the school where it is forbidden to pray to Jesus Christ and teach His doctrine. Sometimes you have to endure this school, which is the fruit of a wicked law, especially when you have no other law. Then, if we are a Christian, we shed bitter tears; but to prefer it is to declare oneself against God and against His Christ. Fathers and mothers, choose: no one forces you to be Christians; but if you claim to be, you cannot be of a party that drives Jesus Christ out of the school: you must hate the school without God and snatch your son from it; you must condemn it in your conversations, and work by all means to destroy it. O glorious child and generous martyr, Saint Placid, protect thy little brothers, our dear children, from tyrants, more cruel than thy executioners, who want to damn them.
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 21, 2020 3:07:19 GMT
April 19 - Saint Emma, widow
Means of resisting temptation
The first way to resist temptations is to flee, as far as possible, from the occasion, that is to say the house, the entertainment, the person, the book, which is likely to bring us to evil. God does not give the strength to resist to the one who exposes himself to danger through his own fault. Another way is to resort to prayer immediately, and not to stop praying as long as the temptation persists. It is necessary to repeat then: "My Jesus, help me! Blessed Virgin, save me!" This invocation alone will be enough to put the all of hell to flight. It is also good to draw the sign of the cross on the forehead or heart. Finally, let us not neglect to reveal our temptations to our director: St. Philip Neri says that a temptation revealed is half defeated.
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 21, 2020 3:09:57 GMT
April 20 - Saint Marcellinus, Bishop
God's mercy awaits the sinner
Who then has more patience for his equals than God has for us, His unworthy creatures? After so many offenses, that we have done to Him, He bears with us and waits for our conversion. Oh, if I had done to one of my brothers or to my father, even, the insults that I have been guilty of towards God, how long would it have been before he drove me out of his presence? And God supported me! O Jesus, break the bonds that hold me in evil. And Thou, Mother of Mercy, do not let me fall into the bondage of sin, into the prisons of hell.
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 22, 2020 2:36:40 GMT
April 21 - Saint Anselm, Bishop, Doctor
The militant Catholic
The pastoral life of St. Anselm was devoted entirely to fighting for the rights of the Church: "Christ," he said, "does not want a slave for a wife; He loves nothing in this world so much as the freedom of His Church." The Church must fight against anyone who claims to prevent Her from saving souls, even against public authorities, even against kings. In this struggle, you must be Her soldiers under the leadership of your leaders, the Pope, the bishops and priests. When therefore the ungodly, the sects and the laws oppress the Church, violate Her monasteries, rob Her religious, forbid Her processions, persecute Her ministers, take away Her children to raise them in impiety, the sick to let them without a priest, you must fight against these ungodly, sects and laws. By good writing, by word and deed, you must make sure that the good come to power and the bad don't come to power. Above all, do not prevent the Church from defending Herself by saying foolishly: "The priest must not play politics". This is as absurd as saying: "A shepherd has no right to cry wolf when the wolf is running over his flock."
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 26, 2020 2:50:55 GMT
April 22 - Saints Soter and Caius, Popes, Martyrs
The divine religion
Fishermen from Galilee come to Rome, the city of great philosophers, great orators and great pleasure seekers. They preach a doctrine that crucifies the passions, and their enterprise succeeds. The emperors had the Christians massacred by the millions; and instead of rejecting this new religion, which was forbidden on pain of death, the whole world threw itself into its arms. The heretics tear the bosom of the Church apart, and the Church continues Her conquests. The false scholars conspire to stifle Her with ridicule: the Church buries them one by one, and remains strong. The powerful persecute Her everywhere, and for two thousand years She has been standing on the debris of the thrones, on the ruins of the oppressive governments, defying Her executioners and saying to them, "I will live in spite of you, until the end of the world." O my God, I believe it, Thy finger is there. Have mercy on the blind who do not see that such a work is of God.
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 28, 2020 2:18:07 GMT
April 23 - Saint George, martyr
Fighting blasphemy
We are the children of God, and a child should not put up with his father being insulted. St. John Chrysostom says that a blasphemer should have his teeth broken with a blow. A father or mother will do a holy work by closing the mouth of a blasphemous son with a strong slap. Wives will rebuke their husbands, young girls their fathers and their brothers, with a gentleness that will not exclude energy. The blasphemy of workers and servants will never be tolerated. A good Christian will give charitable warnings to his neighbor, his friend. To every blasphemy that we hear, we will answer, at least from the bottom of our hearts, and aloud if possible: "God be blessed!"
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 30, 2020 20:52:52 GMT
April 24 - Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, martyr
True contrition
It is impossible to obtain the forgiveness of a single mortal sin unless we have contrition of all those we have committed; therefore, for a good confession, we must have contrition of all our mortal sins without exception. If we have only venial sins to accuse, we must at least have repentance for one of those sins. It would please God if we had repentance for all of them! It is not enough to say that we repent; but repentance must be sincere. Finally, one must hate sin "more than any other evil," because it is the greatest of all evils. Hell deserved, Heaven lost, God offended, what evils can compare to these? My God touch my heart, as Thou touched that of the good Thief.
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Post by Elizabeth on Apr 30, 2020 20:57:18 GMT
25 April - Saint Mark, Evangelist
Procession and Rogations
The processions of the Rogations and that of St. Mark are done to divert plagues, to obtain the cessation of sickness and the preservation of the harvest; finally, to offer to the Divine Justice a compensation for the pride and softness of the world. Let us deplore the neglect of many Christians, even those of piety, who are never seen in these processions. Their private devotions will never be worth the prayer of the Church. How can we be surprised at the evils that afflict us? God is not obliged to consider prayers that are not united together by the people who are called to offer them to Him. Let us piously attend the processions of Saint Mark and the Rogations. Let us brave human respect and any contrary usage in this regard. By our example, we will draw the timid and we will help to restore the splendor to these beautiful Christian manifestations.
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Post by Elizabeth on May 1, 2020 1:38:07 GMT
April 26 - Saints Cletus and Marcellinus, Popes, Martyrs
The question of vocation
The eternal salvation of our young people and their happiness here on earth depends on the kind of life they will embrace. For God calls everyone to one kind of life and not to another: to the religious life, to the priesthood, to marriage or to celibacy in the world. It is only in this state that He prepares each person for the effective help that He has resolved to give them to save them. So that, outside of this state, the Christian will not have this special help, and will have difficulty in saving themselves. See how important it is to know our vocation and to follow it. The Blessed Virgin seems to offer us Her services in this important matter. Children pray to Her every day when the moment comes to choose your way. Parents recommend your sons and daughters to Our Lady of Good Counsel.
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Post by Elizabeth on May 1, 2020 2:45:31 GMT
April 27 - Saint Peter Canisius, Doctor
Domestics and masters
St. Zita had a maxim: "A lazy maidservant cannot be called pious." Christian servants and workers be devoted to the service of your masters, without neglecting piety. Be compassionate for the poor who come knocking at their door; and you will draw God's blessing upon you. As for you, masters and bosses, be careful to give your workers and servants the wages to which they are entitled. Set a good example and make it easy for them to fulfill their religious duties. Treat them kindly, that God may be merciful to you. O my God, let the spirit of charity reign in my house, penetrating the hearts of the great and the small.
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Post by Elizabeth on May 1, 2020 2:47:14 GMT
April 28 - St. Paul of the Cross, confessor
The love of Jesus crucified
Jesus! What greater proof could Thou give me of Thy love for me, than to sacrifice Thy life on an infamous gibbet, on a cross, to expiate my sins and to lead me with Thee into Heaven? Yes, out of love for men and to obey His Eternal Father who wanted Him to die for our salvation, "the Son of God humbled Himself to the point of dying on the cross," and there will be men who believe this truth and who do not love such a good God. Oh, my Savior, how much it has cost Thee therefore to make me understand that Thou dost love so much! And I, an ingrate, have responded to so many favors with insults! But have mercy on me; suffer that I love Thee now; I no longer wish to abuse Thy love. I love Thee, my Sovereign Good, and I want to love Thee forever. Let me never forget what Thou have endured for me, that I may never forget to love Thee.
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Post by Elizabeth on May 1, 2020 2:50:23 GMT
April 29 - Saint Peter of Verona, martyr
Pious practices
See how good Christians are skilled at mixing prayer with all their occupations. They make the sign of the cross and the offering of their actions to God as soon as they wake up. As soon as they are dressed, they recite morning prayer, and at bedtime they recite evening prayer. Before and after meals, they say the blessing and graces, and three times a day, the Angelus. When an agony or the death bell is sounded, when the Holy Viaticum or a funeral passes, they pray for the dying or for the dead; if they encounter a cross, a grave, a cemetery, they sign themselves or reveal themselves without human respect. But what is the use of this multitude of practices? Ah! this is how we make frequent prayer a habit that takes root and that we will probably never lose again. Now, as you well know, he who prays often and until death, that one will certainly be saved. O Mary, always keep these pious customs alive in our families; they are our strength, they will be our salvation.
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Post by Elizabeth on May 1, 2020 2:51:57 GMT
April 30 - St. Catherine of Siena, virgin
General Confession
A general confession is one in which one goes back over past confessions to accuse the sins of one's whole life or a notable part of it; for example, ten years, five years, one year. A general confession is required for anyone who knows that he has made sacrilegious confessions, such as hiding one or more mortal sins; or confessions that are void due to lack of examination, repentance, or sufficient good intention. As for those who, having promised their confessor to flee from a certain occasion, to fight a bad habit, to forgive a person, to restore the good of others while they could, and who have done little or nothing about it, they should fear that they have made a bad confession: a general confession is necessary for them. Tell me, O Lord, what I must do for the peace of my soul and give me the strength to do it.
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