Blessed are the Peacemakers - Cardinal Bacci

Blessed Are Those Who Love Peace

1. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” Our Lord says, “for they shall be called children of God.” (Mt. 5:9)

All those who are in the state of grace, and therefore living on the supernatural plane, are the adopted sons of God and sharers in His divine nature, (Cf. 2 Peter 1:4) which they will enjoy one day in the Beatific Vision. Our Saviour, however, refers to those who love peace as being in a special way the sons of God. Why is this? St. Augustine offers the real explanation. (Cf. De Serm. Domini, lib. I, Cap. 2) God is perfect peace and harmony. In Him there is no conflict. His being and His activity are identical. He is perfect unity and simplicity, eternal and unaffected by the limitations of space and time. Now, the son should be a living image of the father. Those who reflect, although necessarily in a limited way, this peace, harmony and serene activity in their own personality, deserve to be called in a special way the sons of God. They are the true lovers of peace.

2. How can one achieve this calmness of approach and manner of behaviour? We can consult St. Augustine again. (Ibid.) It is particularly necessary that the faculties and movements of our lower nature should be under control and subjects to right reason. It is reason which should govern us. It should guide us constantly and exercise complete control over all those parts of our nature which are common to men and animals. It is disastrous if the desires of the flesh rebel against the spirit, and worse still if they gain the upper hand. Then there can be no more peace of heart. There is no longer that reflection of the divine harmony which the grace of God had bestowed on us. There is only slavery, the slavery which takes away liberty and peace. It is very necessary, therefore, that "that part of man which is the highest and most perfect should rule without opposition the remaining parts which are common to men and animals; but in its turn this supreme faculty, that is, the intellect or reason, should be subject to God Almighty." (Ibid.)

It is clear from these words that peace in us is the result of two kinds of necessary obedience, the obedience to right reason of the lower faculties, and the obedience of right reason to God, our Creator.

"This is the peace which God gives on earth to men of good will; this is the most perfect wisdom." (Ibid.)

3. Peace is especially opposed to sentiments of anger and hatred against our brothers. It commands us to love and help them. Hatred is the heritage of Cain, because God says that “he who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (I John 3:15). A man who hates his brother may not actually kill him, but he is guilty of murdering him in his heart. As a result he loses peace of soul, because, as St. Augustine points out, (Sermon 82) by hating somebody you create disorder in yourself and destroy that divine harmony which was the gift of divine grace and charity.

If we wish to preserve interior peace, we must cast out from our hearts every vestige of hatred for our neighbour and entertain love, understanding and forgiveness for all. By loving our enemies we place ourselves above them by an act of true Christian nobility. We imitate Jesus, Who forgave His executioners and prayed for them from the Cross. A fit of anger is like a moment of madness. It is a great misfortune for anyone to yield to it. He speaks and acts like a man who has lost his reason and allows himself to be carried away by blind passion. When the moment of insanity is over, he will be ashamed of himself and of all that he has said and done.

It is necessary to be masters of ourselves and of our feelings. Never speak or act until anger has subsided within you. By persevering in co-operation with the grace of God, preserve that inward calmness which is a reflection of the peace of God.

Pray for those in mortal sin

"To pray for those who are in mortal sin is the best kind of almsgiving. For the love of God, always remember such souls when you pray."

- St Teresa of Avila

How to Guard Holy Purity - Cardinal Bacci

How to Guard Holy Purity

1. Purity of heart is a quality which attracts everybody, even those who are evil themselves. It makes a man seem like an angel in human form, for it shines from his countenance. Unfortunately, the virtue of purity is as difficult as it is beautiful. It is fatal for anyone to cast himself into the mire. The first sin of impurity is a disaster, because it is often the first link in a tragic chain which makes him the slave of his lower impulses and of the tyrannical enemy of souls, the devil.

We must resist the earliest suggestions of the flesh by every means in our power, both natural and supernatural.

St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that none of the passions dethrones reason so much as sensuality. (Summa, II-II, q. 53, a. 6) St. Augustine warns us also in his Confessions that lust has its cause in a perverse will and if anybody surrenders to it he acquires the evil habit. If this habit is not resisted, the sin becomes a frightening necessity. Resist from the beginning if you wish to avoid ruin and the slavery of the devil, who cunningly uses this passion to capture souls. If a man is overcome by violent temptation and falls into sin, however, he should not lose courage. God is infinitely good and merciful. He knows our weakness. When anyone falls, let him rise immediately. Let him return to God by repenting and making a good confession. Let him resolve to make any sacrifice rather than fall again.

2. Because it is so difficult to preserve the angelic purity of the soul, it is absolutely essential to make good use of the measures favoured for this purpose by the masters of the spiritual life. The first of these is prayer; the spirit of prayer will keep us close to God. If our mind and heart are united to God in the performance of every action, we will never allow ourselves to be separated from Him by impurity. This spirit of prayer must be based on humility and the consciousness of our continual need of God, and must be kept alive by love for Him.

The second measure is to avoid the occasions of sin. "Sensuality is best conquered by flight,"(Summa, I-II, q. 35) St. Thomas advises us. "He who loves danger will perish in it." (Ecclus. 3:25) Battles like this, said St. Francis de Sales, are won by the soldiers who retreat. As soon as an impure thought or image intrudes itself, drive it away as if a serpent were attacking you. It is fatal to allow the thought or image to gain ground, for at this stage victory becomes extremely difficult.

Thirdly, it often helps to occupy the mind and imagination immediately with things in which we are interested. The greatest danger of all in these moments of temptation is idleness.

3. Let us examine our conscience now and we shall perceive that every time we have fallen in any way it was always because we did not put into practice the remedies suggested. So let us not lose courage but renew our determination to employ at the first sign of danger the necessary means of defending our purity. It will be a hard struggle at times. But the grace of God will never let us down as long as we do our best to co-operate with it. Each one of us should remember that God “is faithful and will not permit you to be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also give you a way out that you may be able to bear it.” (I Cor. 10:13) Our first reward will be the exhilaration of having fought hard and won.

God's will for me - Bl. Cardinal Newman

1. God was all-complete, all-blessed in Himself; but it was His will to create a world for His glory. He is Almighty, and might have done all things Himself, but it has been His will to bring about His purposes by the beings He has created. We are all created to His glory—we are created to do His will. I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created; I have a place in God's counsels, in God's world, which no one else has; whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man, God knows me and calls me by my name.

2. God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his—if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.

3. Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me—still He knows what He is about.

O Adonai, O Ruler of Israel, Thou that guidest Joseph like a flock, O Emmanuel, O Sapientia, I give myself to Thee. I trust Thee wholly. Thou art wiser than I—more loving to me than I myself. Deign to fulfil Thy high purposes in me whatever they be—work in and through me. I am born to serve Thee, to be Thine, to be Thy instrument. Let me be Thy blind instrument. I ask not to see—I ask not to know—I ask simply to be used.

Newman Reader

Flashmob - L'Arlesienne, Bizet

I do like flashmobs, especially when they don't do obvious things. Although obvious things can be good too!

This is one I would class as not obvious:

Blessed are the Clean of Heart - Cardinal Bacci

Blessed are the Clean of Heart

1. Understood in its entirety as embracing its higher grade, that is, perpetual virginity consecrated to God, purity of heart is a gift which only Christianity can give. (Encyclical, Sacra Virginitas, Pope Pius XII, 1954) If we have been called to receive this wonderful gift, let us humbly thank God. It is a sublime dignity to belong, body and soul, to God.

Sacred Scripture says of men: “What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? You have made him a little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honour. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet.” (Ps. 8:5; Heb. 2:7) But under a certain aspect those who are living in virginity can be said to be superior to the angels. Since an angel has no body, he offers God only the homage of his spirit. A virgin, on the other hand, must bear the burden of an earthly body. He must offer continually on the altar of his heart (and often after a heroic battle) not only his soul with its appetites and will, but also all the impulses and lower faculties “which wage war against the soul.” (I Peter 2:11)

This is a double sacrifice, which St. Ambrose calls a continual martyrdom of body and soul. But the reward lies in the joy and peace which flow from this perpetual offering of soul and body to the Immaculate Lamb. This happiness is a compensation for any conflict which must be endured, and is a foretaste of the joys of Heaven.

2. There is a purity of heart and chastity which is an obligation for everybody, even for those who are married or preparing for marriage. Everybody is obliged to avoid any act of impurity in so far as it is opposed to his own particular state, to the natural law and to the divine law. Do not think that this degree of chastity is any easier than the first. Sometimes the obligations it imposes are even more difficult than those of absolute virginity.

There is only one remedy for impurity. It is the practice of virtue to the point of sacrifice. Only a man who is ready with the help of God to make any sacrifice can preserve purity of heart. It is a hard struggle, but only those who win can see God. Our Lord has said: “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.” (Mt. 5:8). Only the clean of heart will be able to see and enjoy Him forever in Heaven and by means of His grace will be able to see Him in a less perfect manner on earth. St. Thomas says that mental blindness is the main effect of impurity. (Summa, II-II, q. 53, a. 6) This is because anyone who gives himself up to impurity loses all spiritual enlightenment and easily loses his faith as well. He no longer sees God, and he does not believe any more, because his heart is steeped in the mire of impurity. “The sensual man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God, for it is foolishness to him and he cannot understand...” (I Cor. 2:14) He is like the blind mole which creates its own dark little underground world and cannot see the sky any more.

3. St. Paul warns us in the following words: “Do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought at a great price. Glorify God and bear him in your body.” (I Cor. 6: 19-20)

We who are temples of the Holy Ghost, redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus, must keep unsullied the purity of our hearts, the lily of our innocence. We must do this no matter what sacrifices it may cost us. Those stern words from the Gospel, “if thy right eye is an occasion of sin to thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee,” (Mt. 5:29) refer in a special way to the obstacles we must overcome and the sacrifices we must make to preserve this beautiful virtue. There can be no half-measures. We must be prepared to go to any length, even to accept death if necessary, like St. Maria Goretti. Even as we should be ready to face martyrdom for the faith, so we must be ready to face martyrdom in order to preserve purity of soul.

Nice People - Archbishop Fulton Sheen

...
A distinction must be made between "nice" people and "awful" people.

The nice people think they are good; the awful people know they are not. The nice people never believe they do wrong, or break a commandment, or are guilty of any infraction of the moral law. If they do anything that reason would call wrong, they have various ways of explaining it away. Goodness is always their own, but badness is due to something outside of themselves. Some say that it is due to economic circumstances: one will say, "I was born too rich," and another, "I was born too poor." Psychology also comes in handy to explain away their faults, for example, "I have an Oedipus complex," or an "Electra complex."

The awful people, on the contrary, generally are not rich enough to be psycho-analysed; they have never been introduced to their subconscious; and they think themselves just plain bad. Nice people, if they are guilty of intemperance, will call themselves alcoholics. Awful people just call themselves drunkards - sometimes just plain "bums". The nice people say they have a disease. The drunkards say, "I am no good." The nice people judge themselves by the vices from which they abstain; the awful people judge themselves by the virtues from which they have fallen...

Society has no place either for those who are too good or for those who are too bad. It is only the mediocre who survive. That is why on the Hill of Calvary Our Lord was crucified with two thieves. They were too bad for conventional morality; Our Lord was too good. Often during His lifetime, Our Lord always associated with "those awful people". He tells the story of the  prodigal son who was preferred before his virtuous brother. He praises a son who rebelled and repented, rather than the one who professed loyalty and then failed. He rejoices in the lost sheep that was found and the lost coin that was recovered, because the Gospel that He preached was not a condemnation of obvious badness, but rather a condemnation of obvious goodness.

...
The nice people do not find God, because, denying personal guilt, they have no need of a Redeemer. The awful people, who are passionate, sensual, warped, lonely, weak, but who nevertheless make an attemot at goodness, are quick to realise that they need another help than their own; that they cannot lift themselves by their own bootstraps. Their sins create an emptiness. From that point on, like the woman taken in sin, it is "Christ or nothing".

What surprises there will be on the Last Day when the awful people are found in the Kingdom of Heaven: "The harlots and the publicans will enter the Kingdom of Heaven before the Scribes and the Pharisees." The surprises will be threefold: first, because we are going to see a number of people there whom we never expected to see. Of some of them will we say, "How did he get here? Glory be to God, look at her!" The second surprise will be not seeing a number of the nice people whom we expected to see. But these surprises will be mild compared with the third and greatest surprise of all, and that surprise will be that we are there.

From Life Is Worth Living (Second Series).

Blessed are the Merciful - Cardinal Bacci

Blessed are the Merciful

1. If we want God to show mercy on us, we must be merciful to those who are in material or spiritual distress.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Mt. 5:7)

Let us recall the Gospel parable about the king who was making out the accounts of all his servants. One man was brought before him who owed him the enormous sum of ten thousand talents. He had no means of paying the debt. In order to obtain at least some compensation, the king ordered that this servant should be sold, together with his wife and children. But the servant wept and implored, so that the king was moved with pity and pardoned him completely. When the servant had left the king's presence, he met a fellow servant who owed him a small sum, namely, one hundred pieces of silver. He threw himself angrily upon him and caught him by the throat, demanding that he should pay the debt immediately. The unfortunate fellow began begging for mercy with tears in his eyes, but it was no use. He was flung into prison and condemned to forced labour until such time as the debt would be paid. Soon afterwards the king came to hear of this incident. He was furious with the cruel servant and ordered him to be put in prison and severely punished. (Mt. 18:23-25)

This parable refers to all of us. What debts we have contracted before God! Nevertheless, He is prepared to forgive us everything, provided that we are also merciful towards our fellowmen. This should be a comforting assurance.

2. Some day each one of us will stand before the judgment seat of God and will have to render an account of all his actions. Are we anxious that God will be merciful to us at that crucial moment? Let us be forgiving and charitable towards others now. It is clear from the words of the Gospel that we shall be pardoned or condemned largely in accordance with the measure of our mercifulness and charity. God will show mercy towards us as we show mercy towards others. In fact, the Eternal Judge will say to the good: "Come, blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you covered me; sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me." Then He will turn to the wicked and deliver this terrible sentence. "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked and you did not clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me... Amen I say to you, as long as you did not do it for one of these least ones, you did not do it for me." (Mt. 25: 34-46)

These are terrifying words. They should persuade us to exercise charity towards all who are suffering in any way.

3. Works of mercy can be either corporal or spiritual. The former cannot be practised much by those who are poor, but any generous-minded Christian can perform the latter. Sometimes there is greater charity in speaking a kind word than in giving a large alms. Often it is worth more in the sight of God to comfort a sorrowful heart or to revive in some soul a dying hope than it is to fill a hungry belly. There are so many spiritual miseries which are crying out to be assuaged. The suffering of the soul is much deeper than that of the body. This is why anything done to soothe and encourage the soul is so valuable before God. We can also do something about the remorse, disgust and darkness which are the result of the state of sin. If we can succeed in enlightening or healing one of these poor souls, we shall have accomplished a work of mercy which is most beautiful and meritorious in the eyes of God.

Lord Alfred Douglas's conversion

The subject of Oscar Wilde's conversion to the Catholic Church often crops up in discussions and articles. We don't often read about the conversion of his erstwhile, er, friend Lord Alfred Douglas though.

His conversion story is included in a compilation called Conversions to the Catholic Church (1933) and I reproduce it here:

I have been asked to give an account of my conversion, and I find great difficulty in putting into other words what I have already recorded in my Autobiography. Accordingly I quote from my own book as follows:

'A year after I sold The Academy I became a Catholic (in 1911). During the time I was editing The Academy I was a High Church Anglican, and I ran the paper from that point of view, as far as religion was concerned.

From the time I went up to Oxford right up to the time when I became editor of The Academy, a period of about eighteen years, I really had no religion. I was what most Englishmen actually are, whether they admit it or not, a pagan. (I am not exaggerating. I saw the other day a table of statistics which gave the number of people in England - outside the Church of Rome - who went to church on Easter Sunday last year as seven per cent of the whole nation.)

Soon after I started editing The Academy I began to get contributions from Mr. Arthur Machen. It was these contributions of his which sent me back to Christianity...

What changed me from High Anglicanism to Catholicism was simply that reading of history, and finding out all the lies that had been taught to me as truth at School and at Oxford, convinced me that that High Anglican position, however attractive it may be, does not hold water.

The theory that the Church of England is a "branch of the Catholic Church," and that the continuity was never broken at the Reformation, seems to me to be demonstrably false. I held it for a long time, and abandoned it reluctantly, only because the evidence was too strong for me. What finally converted me to Catholicism, though I did not actually become a Catholic till more than a year after I read it, was Pope Pius X's Encyclical Against Modernism.

This stately and magnificent piece of argument was, I suppose, sent round to the papers for notice. At any rate, a copy of it was sent to The Academy. The original is, of course, written in Latin, but the copy I got was an English translation. I thought of sending it for review, but picking it up and reading a few lines I became interested, and took it home to read it myself. It had the effect of convincing me that the Catholic Church in communion with the See of Rome, is the only true Church. I definitely made up my mind to become a Catholic, but I put it off chiefly because, as appears from what I have just written, my conversion had come entirely from the intellect. I felt no emotion about it. On the contrary, I felt in some ways that to become a Catholic would be a tiresome necessity. I would have avoided it if I could. "At any rate," I thought, "there is no particular hurry."

The emotional side of Catholicism did not reach me till some time after I had been in the Church. When I first joined it, I was cold about it. The ritual, although I always liked it and thought it beautiful, did not influence me in the very slightest degree, nor has it ever done to this day. When I had been a Catholic for about eighteen months I underwent the most violent persecution, which lasted on and off, for at least ten years. The result of this persecution was to force me deeper and deeper into my religion. For years that religion was my only support and consolation in a succession of almost unbearable miseries.

Instead of being cold I became very devout and mystical. I lived on reading The Lives of the Saints, and such mystics as St. Theresa and St. John of the Cross. I got to the stage of glorying in the persecution I was undergoing, and regarding it as a special sign of grace, which, of course, it undoubtedly was. I even had supernatural experiences, but I cannot speak of them in this book, except in one instance which I will refer to later on, although I am not definitely sure that it was really supernatural.

It is with deep regret that I say that I am now less devoutly religious than I was during those years. I have never, as far as I know, fallen out of a state of grace, and I am just as determined to live and die a Catholic as I ever was. But the wonderful feelings I used to have are gone. So have the supernatural experiences; and though a priest in confession told me that this was simply because I no longer needed them, and that it was greater merit for me to go on simply being a good Catholic without them, I believed in my heart that that is not really what has happened. The fact is that, at the time I am speaking of, I intended to become a saint, which was a perfectly laudable ambition, at any rate, however hopeless it may have been. Now I do not want to be a saint, I am afraid. When one considers this, it is enough to make one shed tears of blood, but it is the plain truth. Perhaps I shall change again. Meanwhile, I have become, I fear, much more worldly than I was during those terrible years when I was, apparently, "hated of all men," and persecuted and even cast into prison more than once'....

Thus concludes the quotation from my Autobiography which was written in 1928 and published in 1929. Looking back at it now I see a gap in the narrative between the time I read the Pope's Encyclical, which was I believe in 1910 or the end of 1909, and the actual date of my reception by Monsignor Bickerstaffe Drew in the private chapel in his house on Salisbury Plain in May 1911. More than a year elapsed between these two events, and when I was writing my Autobiography I had evidently forgotten all about that year. My impression at the time I was writing the Autobiography was that my misfortunes did not begin till eighteen months after I became a Catholic, but I realise now that, from a worldly point of view, the trouble began when I lost my paper, The Academy, in June 1910. As long as I was in the powerful position which the editorship of a weekly paper bestows on a man, my enemies, of whom I had a great many, were afraid of me. But when I was deprived of this weapon of defence they immediately began to start operations. (They are all dead now!)

Although from a worldly point of view the years 1910 amd 1911 were the most successful of my life, I was during that time drawing nearer every day to a cataclysm which broke up my home, devastated my life and turned me for many years into a harried, tormented and hunted man.

The trouble was brewing all through those two years and the storm burst upon me in 1912. I weathered it solely because I was a Catholic, for if I had not been one I would inevitably have decided that life was not worth living, and would have taken the quickest way out of it.

I refer to all this now simply because it brings out the supernatural element in my conversion. Of course, all conversions have their supernatural side but it is not often so obvious as it was in my case. Here was I strangely and suddenly converted, without emotion, without enthusiasm and almost reluctantly to Catholicism, and shortly afterwards hurled into a fiery furnace of affliction which lasted on and off for ten years. Thenceforward all my help and my consolation came from my religion, for I got no help and no sympathy from fellow Catholics. Quite the contrary! Would any less cruel experience have turned me into a real Catholic? I guess not. Q.E.D.

The Rich - Cardinal Bacci

The Rich

1. Sacred Scripture has some very severe and terrible things to say to the rich. “Woe to you rich! for you are now having your comfort.” (Luke 6:24) “Amen I say to you, with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven. And further I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 19:23-24; Cf. Mark 10:24-25, Luke 18:24-25) St. James adds: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl over your miseries which will come upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted, and their rust will be a witness against you, and will devour your flesh as fire does. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the labourers who reaped your fields, which have been kept back by you unjustly, cry out, and their cry has entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have feasted upon earth, and you have nourished your hearts on dissipation in the days of slaughter.” (James 5:1-5)

These passages are not concerned with the rich as such, for men like Abraham, Job, and St. Louis, the King of France, were very wealthy. They are directed against those who have become absorbed in their wealth (Mark 10:24) and have grown deaf to the rightful promptings of justice and of charity.

Nevertheless, it is not only the wealthy and unjust who should reflect seriously on these stern words, but also those who have more than they need in life and are never moved by compassion for their less fortunate fellowmen. Can we be counted amongst these?

2. Wealth is a gift from God. Therefore it is good, like everything else which comes from God. Worldly wealth, as St. Thomas says, can be an instrument of virtue. But it is good only in so far as it leads to holiness. If it interferes with the practice of virtue, it is evil. (Summa Contra Gentiles, Bk. III, 134)

God created the wealth of the earth, not for a few, but for all mankind. All men have the right, therefore, to draw their means of subsistence from the earth. If any individual with large private possessions, however lawfully acquired, battles against this right to live, he commits a grave sin. This could happen either because a man is lacking in justice or in charity. Both justice and charity are commanded by God, however, and it matters very little whether a man goes to hell because he has offended against justice or because he has offended against charity. Hell is Hell in either case.

Let us examine ourselves and see if we are lacking in either of the virtues. It is certain that there would not be so much misery and want in the world if the Gospel teaching on the virtues of justice and charity had ever really triumphed.

3. A very rich man who was convinced that he was a good Christian went to confession one day. He discussed his doubts and worries about the passages in Sacred Scripture which have just been quoted. The penance which he received from the confessor was that he should go and read and meditate in a certain city suburb. This area was full of cabins and caves where large numbers of poor, abandoned people were seeking out an existence. He drove there in his large streamlined car. He stopped and began reading slowly. After a while he became greatly affected and wept... He left his car and, as if driven by some irresistible force, began to distribute all the money which he had with him to those poor people. At last he understood fully, and without the need of any glossary, the command of Our Lord: “Give that which remains as alms; and behold, all things are clean to you.” (Luke 11:41) From that day he was no longer a self-complacent Christian, but a just and charitable rich man.

We can all learn a lot from this story. Even if we are not rich, we certainly have a little more than we need. Let us give it to the poor. They are suffering members of the Mystical Body of Christ. We shall never be worthy members of this Mystical Body if we do not see the image of Jesus Christ in His poor.

Child Eyes petition

Please sign this petition against the displaying of porn (which is what it effectively is) at children's eye level in supermarkets and the like.

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/david-cameron-make-it-illegal-to-display-porn-around-children

Child Eyes

Blessed are the Poor - Cardinal Bacci

Blessed are the Poor

1. "Blessed are the rich." This is the judgment of the world. But Jesus says: “Blessed are you poor.” (Luke 6:20). Whom are we to believe? Naturally, we must believe Jesus. A certain amount of confusion could arise, however, in our understanding of this maxim. It becomes clear from the context of St. Luke, and still clearer in the words of St. Matthew, who writes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” (Mt. 5:3) It is necessary, therefore, as St. Jerome and others have commented, to be poor in our detachment from our possessions.

If a poor man longs for riches, and envies and hates the wealthy because of their possessions, he is not poor in spirit. So he cannot receive the blessing of which Our Lord spoke. In the same way, a rich man may be attached to his great wealth. Perhaps he aims at nothing else but to increase it and, because he is thinking of it all the time, neglects his duty to God and to his neighbour. Above all, love of riches may cause him to be lacking in justice and charity. The behaviour of such a man is contrary to the law of God. Meditate carefully on this point and do not neglect to make whatever resolutions seem necessary.

2. Detachment from riches implies the obligation of using them as a means of reaching eternal life and in accordance with the principles of justice and charity. This is a positive command of God which nobody can ignore without falling into sin to a greater or less extent. But over and beyond this general rule there is an evangelical counsel to which only the privileged few are called in their search for perfection. This evangelical counsel says to us: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Mt. 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 12:33, 18:22)

If we have received this great call to evangelical perfection, we must listen to it and follow Jesus promptly and generously. But even if our vocation does not lie in that direction, let us take care not to become too attached to the passing things of this world. Our hearts were not made for them, but for God.

Remember the striking words of St. Paul: “Brethren, the time is short; it remains that those who have wives be as if they had none; and those who weep, as though not weeping; and those who rejoice, as though not rejoicing; and those who buy, as though not possessing; and those who use the world, as though not using it, for this world as we see it is passing away.” (I Cor. 7:29-31)

3. Those who are really poor should not be too disturbed. If they are resigned to their poverty and are not consumed by the desire for riches, the blessing of the Gospel is theirs.

Let them remember that when Jesus became Man in order to redeem us, He did not choose to be wealthy. He chose to be the poorest of men. Similarly, Our Blessed Lady, St. Joseph and all the Saints were free from all desire of worldly possessions, so that there was room in their hearts only for God, their supreme good.

Let them remember also for their consolation that it is much easier for them to gain Heaven, because they are not weighed down by worldly cares.

Let us all love and aim at acquiring the true riches of the spirit, which are to be found now in the practice of virtue and later in Heaven.

St Francis of Assisi - G K Chesterton

I have said that St Francis deliberately did not see the wood for the trees. It is even more true that he deliberately did not see the mob for the men. What distinguishes this very genuine democrat from any mere demagogue is that he never either deceived or was deceived by the illusion of mass-suggestion. Whatever his taste in monsters, he never saw before him a many-headed beast. He saw only the image of God multiplied but never monotonous. To him a man was always a man and did not disappear in a dense crowd any more than in a desert. He honoured all men; that is, he not only loved but respected them all. What gave him his extraordinary personal power was this; that from the Pope to the beggar, from the sultan of Syria in his pavilion to the ragged robbers crawling out of the wood, there was never a man who looked into those brown burning eyes without being certain that Francis was really interested in him; in his own inner individual life from the cradle to the grave; that he himself was being valued and taken seriously, and not merely added to the spoils of some social policy or the names in some clerical document. Now for this particular moral and religious idea there is no external expression except courtesy. Exhortation does not express it, for it is not mere abstract enthusiasm; beneficence does not express it, for it is not mere pity. It can only be conveyed by a certain grand manner which may be called good manners....

Mediocrity - Cardinal Bacci

Mediocrity

1. A Christian cannot be satisfied with mediocrity. He must strive for perfection. This is the command of Jesus. “You therefore are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt. 5:48) The same counsel is given in the Old Testament. “You shall make and keep yourselves holy, because I am holy.” (Lev. 11:44) The Apostles had the habit of referring to all the Christians of their time as holy. For instance, St. Paul addresses the faithful of the church of Ephesus in this way, (Eph. 1:1) while St. Peter describes the Christian community as “a holy nation, a purchased people.” (I Peter, 2:9)

We cannot be content with half-hearted efforts, but must work hard to become holy. “I come,” says Jesus, “that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Some day we shall either be saints in Heaven or among the damned in Hell. Whoever is satisfied with mediocrity betrays the mission of Christ. He returns ingratitude for His infinite goodness and squanders His divine grace.

2. There is no such thing as half-way virtue.

Virtue is a struggle and a sacrifice. It presupposes a generous heart which gives itself to Jesus without reserve. Did He not give Himself completely for our sakes? Did He not die upon the cross for our salvation and reopen Heaven, which had been closed to us by sin? Moreover, did He not remain hidden in our midst under the Eucharistic species in order to become our sustenance and our support?

When we are faced with such goodness and generosity, can we be so niggardly as to offer God only a part of ourselves and perhaps a part which is worthless and perishable, as Cain did when he offered sacrifices from his fields and flocks? God would certainly turn away from us and refuse our gift. And then we should be lost forever.

3. Mediocrity in the spiritual life inevitably paves the way for sin. Indifference at prayer, listlessness in practicing charity, and habitual neglect of our duties in life lead first to deliberate venial sin and finally to mortal sin. If we are not generous with Jesus, Jesus will cease to be generous with us. He will no longer shower us with His graces. Deprived of this heavenly dew, our souls will grow dry and incapable of producing fruits worthy of eternal life.

Let us get rid of any tendencies toward lassitude. Let us revive the divine charity in ourselves. Let us make firmer resolutions and pray more fervently that the grace of God will make us capable of greater effort.

Mortal sin prevention!

What a work then will it be for the interests of Jesus to prevent one mortal sin! Yet how easy! If every night, before we go to sleep, we begged our dear Lady to offer up to God the Precious Blood of her dear Son for grace to hinder one mortal sin, somewhere in the world, during that night, and then renewed the same offering in the morning for the hours of daylight, surely such an offering, and by such hands, could not fail to win the grace desired; and then each one of us might probably hinder seven hundred and thirty mortal sins every year...

So suggested Fr Faber in his book All For Jesus.

Well, it can't hurt and it's worth getting into the habit of doing!

O Mary, Immaculate Mother of Jesus, offer, we beseech thee, to the Eternal Father, the Precious Blood of thy Divine Son to prevent at least one mortal sin from being committed somewhere in the world this day.

(Or evening, or night, etc.)

Following Jesus - Cardinal Bacci

(I shall often be posting Cardinal Bacci's meditations. This is today's.)

Following Jesus

1. When we have renounced ourselves and have embraced our cross with resignation and love, we must follow Jesus. We must follow Him in a special way as the infallible Teacher of truth. The teachings of men cannot satisfy our intellects. Still less can they satisfy our hearts. What they teach is either incomplete or false. This is proved by the fact that the doctrines of men have succeeded and replaced one another down through the centuries, while "the word of the Lord endures forever." (I Peter, 1:25)

The teaching of Christ produces an extraordinary renovation in the individual, in the family, and in society. It is this renewal which we call Christianity and Christian civilisation. There is a wide chasm between paganism and Christianity. This gulf would be even wider only for the fact that Christianity has not yet been fully put into practice throughout the universe. There is only one reform necessary. This is to realise the Christian ideal everywhere. We must begin by carrying it out ourselves. Let us follow Jesus, Who is saying to us: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." (John 14:6) "He who follows Me does not walk in darkness." (John 8:12)

Let us follow our divine Master and we shall be sure that we are travelling towards Heaven.

2. Jesus is not only Truth; He is also Life. He is not only our Teacher: He is our Saviour as well. He has given us something which human philosophers could never give. For He has given us more than doctrine; He has also given us the means of putting it into practice in our lives. He has given us grace and the Sacraments. He has given us Himself in the Blessed Eucharist. It would be impossible for us to carry out His divine precepts if He did not give us the necessary spiritual strength to do so. We should be grateful to Jesus for His goodness and mercy. We should cherish the gifts which He has given us for our sanctification.

Follow Jesus, the Giver of grace and holiness. Make advantageous use of His Sacraments. Above all, receive the nourishment of His Divine Body with fervour and with love. In this Sacrament we can discover the unique spiritual force which makes men saints.

3. Jesus is also the Divine Model whom we ought to follow and imitate. In Him the virtues possess both the infinite splendour of the Divinity and the gentle appeal of glorified Humanity. Jesus does not dazzle us with His brightness, but kindly invites us to love and follow Him. “Learn from me” He says, “for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mt., 11:29) After He has indicated humility, meekness and interior peace as the foundations of the spiritual life, He invites us to take up the yoke of His law and assures us that we shall find it light. (Mt. 11)

If we follow Jesus, even though we are bowed with Him beneath the weight of the Cross, we shall experience even in this life a reflection of the peace and joy which will be our reward in Heaven.

Doctor, please break me

Imagine you go to your doctor complaining, "Doctor, it's my walking. It's quite good.  Is there something you can give me to make me limp?"

Or, "Doctor, my eyesight is pretty good. Could you give me some glasses so I can see less well? Better still, a blindfold would be good."

Or, "Doctor, it's my hearing. It's perfect. Could you arrange for something to be put in my ears, so things sound muffled?"

What would any doctor say to any of these requests? Is he likely to do what his patient asks?

To be honest, I've never tried asking, so I don't know for sure. But I would guess that he would say "No!"

Yet, when patients ask to have their fertility broken, doctors are only too happy to help. They'll give drugs to stop ovulation occurring normally, and they'll arrange for surgeons to tie up women's fallopian tubes, and break men's vas deferenses!

That is not what medicine and surgery are for. They are to fix things that are broken; that aren't working properly. Contraception and sterilisation do the exact opposite.

Topsy-turvy world we're living in.

The Mark of the Beast

Having just seen another (presumably hoax) story about mandatory microchipping being on the horizon, I started pondering...

And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak; and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain.
And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name
- Apocalypse 13: 15-17

Fr Charles Arminjon refers to this passage in his book, The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life (available online here):

Again, St. John speaks of a strange, mysterious character which all, "both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen," will be obliged to have on their right hand or on the forehead; this mark will be a sign of apostasy, attesting that all those who bear it, whether to please the master, or to escape his wrath, have renounced the true Christ, and enlisted for ever under the banner of His enemy.

Now, it takes just one unrepented mortal sin to go to Hell.

For a mortal sin to be committed there need to be three conditions met:

1. Grave matter
2. Full knowledge
3. Deliberate consent

Yet, if everyone is obliged to bear this mark of apostasy, there is surely no real consent. But they are enlisted forever under the banner of Christ's enemy.

However, while there is life there is opportunity for repentance, so can anyone who bears this mark repent of it? Or is the character imprinted as indelible as that of Baptism? Presumably they can co-exist in a soul. I would have thought that Baptism, being of God, was stronger than the devil's effort.

Anyway, a quick google shows I'm not the first to raise this issue! Is there an authoritative answer anywhere out there though?

When all else fails...

"When faced by our limitations, we must have recourse to the practice of offering to God the good works of others."

- St Therese of Lisieux

Pope St Pius X and Modernists

St Pius X apparently once said of Modernists, "Kindness is for fools! They want them to be treated with oil, soap, and caresses but they ought to be beaten with fists! In a duel you don't count or measure the blows, you strike as you can! War is not made with charity, it is a struggle, a duel."

As my fellow trads have been getting quite a kick out of that quote since it came to light, let's take a look at the saint's treatment of Modernists, as reported in St Pius X: Restorer of the Church by Yves Chiron, so we can get a clear idea of what "beating with fists" entails:

From his very first encyclical, Pius X urged charity even towards "those who oppose us and persecute us, and perhaps seem worse than they really are." This charity was not a sign of weakness, but was grounded in hope: "the hope," wrote the Pope, "that the flame of Christian charity, patient and kind, will dissipate the darkness of their souls and bring God's light and peace."

Pius X also had this hope - of seeing the Church's adversaries mending their ways and renouncing their errors - as regards the Modernists. The testimonies we shall quote will prove this beyond dispute. But Pius X did more: he directly gave financial assistance to some of them or found them other posts; in other cases, he showed himself prudent before condemning them....

We now turn to this question of Pius X's personal attitude towards the Modernists, and will cite a number of cases.... Modernism's historians do not mention Pius X's gestures of charity or justice, or only in passing. The number and consistency of these deeds show, however, that they were not the result of exceptional decisions on his part, but manifested a state of mind and a spiritual attitude. In the struggle against the phenomenon of Modernism, all methods were used, and without pity, because Pius X considered that the faith of believers was in danger, and that what was at stake was the Church's future; on the other hand, where the fate of Modernists was concerned, Pius X, when he knew of it, was at pains to be just, prudent and charitable as possible.

An examination of Pius X's relations with Loisy, the most famous of the Modernists, gives us a good idea of his profound feelings. As we have already seen, when Loisy manifested willingness to submit, Pius X was demanding, insisting that the French exegete should make a complete and sincere submission "with his heart." Loisy, who persisted in his errors after Pascendi, was finally excommunicated. He lived in retirement at Ceffonda in the Haute-Marne, and would soon be elected to the College de France. However, Pius did not regard him as a son lost to the Church. In 1908, receiving the new Bishop of Chalons, Msgr Sevin, Pius X commended Loisy (whom he had excommunicated some time previously) to him. The Pope's words were reported by Loisy himself: "You are going to be Fr Loisy's bishop. If you have the opportunity, treat him kindly; and if he makes one step towards you, make two towards him."

Another case the book mentions is that of Fr Murri, who, having been excommunicated, suffered financial difficulties, whereupon Pius X arranged for him to receive a monthly subsidy!

Yves Chiron concludes the section of his book regarding Pius X's treatment of Modernists thus: 

Pius X felt it his duty, as the guardian of the faith, to combat Modernism, and to do so using the most varied methods and without weakness, because, as he saw it, the very existence of the Church was threatened. At the same time, without making any concession to error, he was at pains to help people who were incriminated or under suspicion, and he took care to limit the excesses of the anti-Modernists. One of his favourite maxims was, "we must combat error without injuring the persons concerned."

Not as exciting as beating with fists!

(These, and more examples, can be found on pages 236-242 of Yves Chiron's St Pius X: Restorer of the Church.)

Introduction

"But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment." - Matthew 12:36

I shall try to keep these words in mind as I post.

What is the purpose of this blog?
Edification, Inspiration, Amusement. (Not necessarily in that order, as the saying goes.)

It should also serve as an aide-memoire for me! Somewhere for me to share, and be able to find again, edifying, inspiring, and amusing quotes, so that I don't have to keep racking my brains so much to remember where I read something and who said it. I've a fair bit of catching up to do on that score.

So, I'll be saying stuff here periodically, as and when. And I'll try to keep idle words to a minimum. If I concentrate on mainly sharing things brighter minds than I have said, I should be ok!