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Sanctity means separation from the spirit of the world, with immersion in the activity of the world. Saints would be in the world, not of it; they would have no public relation boosters to publicize them; they would never ask for money; perhaps the one venture which would stand out most in their lives would be poverty of spirit. Since they would have nothing, others would look to their being for their real worth and wish they had their joy and contentment. "The Communist hates God; the poet seeks God; the preacher proclaims God; the saint exhibits God."
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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The world today needs saints. We have plenty of knowledge, power and education. But our education is not bringing us to the knowledge of the truth, and power is preparing to destroy all power. It is not enough to have one or two men in the world who are saints, but dozens. These men would not hide themselves in the desert or cloister or sanctuary, except for the early hours of the morning and the late hours of the night; but all the rest of the day they would be spending themselves and being spent on neighbour. Their preaching would be in their example, and their arguments would be their own inner joy. Their reputation would be such that the others would say of them as the girl said of Peter: "You have been with the Galilean."
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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Courtesy which is shown on the surface, without love, is like giving alms for the sake of being seen, It may make a little difference to the give, but it makes much difference to the receiver. Politeness that degenerates into flattery or a hypocritical gentleness adds no content to the sum total of the world's love.
General Lee was one day in a railway car going to Richmond and was seated at the end farthest from the door. The other seats were filled with officers and soldiers. An old woman, poorly dressed entered at one of the stations and, finding no seat and none having been offered her, she went to the rear of the car. Lee immediately stood up and gave her his seat. Instantly, one officer after another arose to offer the seat to Lee who said: "No gentlemen, if there was no seat for this infirm old lady, there can be none for me."
Familiarity is always in danger of swallowing up courtesy. A husband and wife who become used to each other are apt to slip into a rudeness, and later on, to a brutality which is born of not appreciating the blessings that are daily. Some men who are bears at home appear as gentle as lambs when they meet their superior in the business world. But such gentleness is not benevolence, for no greatness can awe politeness into servility, and no intimacy can sink it into coarse familiarity. Religion should make us the most polite creatures in the world, and he who is not polite may well have his religion suspected, for if the heart is in love with God, how can it not show that love to every man?
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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One often wonders what a saint is like. A saint is one who puts forth the same amount of energy in developing justice, charity, joy and peace as the very prosperous business man puts forth in making money. It may even take less energy to be a saint than to be a millionaire, because the saint is assured of the help of God, while the millionaire is not because he has to rely on his own efforts. Leon Bloy once wrote that the greatest tragedy in all the world is not being a saint. He did not put the sanctity very far beyond the reach of anyone when he added: "One step beyond mediocrity, and we are saints."
Even the most ordinary life is filled with impressive experiences. Every temptation to an evil temper is an opportunity to decide whether we shall gain the calmness and rest of Christ, or whether we shall be tossed by the restlessness and agitation of the world. Infinite as are the varieties of life, so manifold are the paths to saintly character; and he who has not found out directly or indirectly to make everything converge toward his soul's sanctification has as yet missed the meaning of life - and its happiness too.
This does not mean the saint does not busy himself with the world. He does, but not in the same way as a worldly man. The saint treats the world like a ship. The world must not be in him as the water must not be in the ship; but he makes spiritual progress in the world as the ship advances thanks to the water. Two extremes are possible in deciding what is relevant to our life. One is: "I am too busy to pray." The other is to say: "It is time to pray. I cannot help you out of the ditch." The one who never prays will soon give up helping the fallen out of ditches, as he who neglects loving his neighbour will eventually cease loving God. The one supreme business of life is saving our soul. If that is lost, everything is lost. But by a curious paradox, they serve the world who are most impressed with the words of our Lord: "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole World and suffers the loss of his soul?"
The busy man, being used to doing things is never taken by surprise by a request.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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IN SINU IESU
(Our Lady)
I am your Mother, the Mother given you by my Son Jesus, from the Cross, in the solemn hour of His sacrifice. And you are my son, dear to my Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, precious to me, and ever under the mantle of my protection. Let me live with you as I lived with John, the second son of my Heart and the model for all my priest sons down through the ages. Speak to me simply and with complete trust in the compassion of my maternal Heart and in the power given to my maternal intercession. p. 109-110.
Blessings.
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In the realm of the religious and moral, one of the most interesting examples of a man who failed to carry through what his mind saw was Agrippa, who said to Paul: "You have almost persuaded me to become a Christian." Life is a visitation; some opportunities are of a richer, rarer kind, in which we receive calls more solemn, weighty and decisive. Such was the summons to Agrippa, but he proved to be one of that great army of the "almost persuaded", among whom were Lot's wife; Pharaoh; the rich young ruler who would not give up his property; the foolish virgins; Herod who beheaded John; Judas and Pilate who confessed the innocence of Our Lord and betrayed and condemned Him; Felix who trembled; and now Agrippa, who was called upon not so much to decide the prisoner's fate as his own.
Nothing makes for the committed mind as faith, and nothing leaves a man so singularly defenceless against the violence of others as those who accept no authority and no moral standards. If one point of view is just as good as another, then the crude man of strength, the dictator, will make up their minds. Pragmatism, or the denial of truth, is the vestibule to Communism.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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...What he has is not love, but sex. For love concentrates on the object, sex concentrates on the subject. Love is directed to someone else for the sake of the other's perfection; sex is directed to self for the sake of self- satisfaction. The ego in sex pleads that it loves the alter ego, but what it loves is really the possibility of its own pleasure in the other ego. The other person is necessary for the return of the egotist upon himself. Refusing to be related to anything else, he soon sees that nothing is for him.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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Multiple lose their peace of soul on earth and their soul for eternity, not just because of the evil they have done, but also because of the good that they have left undone. A man who is poisoned may have the antidote alongside his bed, but if he neglects to take it, he perishes.
The muscles unused stiffen; the talents unused are taken away; flight from battle turns into defeat. The self-indulgent indolence makes one indifferent to duty and eventually prepares for that slow descent into the region of the darkened spirit. Nations and persons do not become reprobates and delinquents all at once. The process of decay is usually gradual and proceeds from one lost opportunity to another, until the fate is sealed and the doom goes forth. "Curse ye Meroz." Could this be the reason that the Last Judgement is pictured in Scripture as sudden, and without warning – because there had been so many little twinges of conscience ignored, that a great warning would not change them any more than it did the multitudes at the time of the Flood? There may be a profound spiritual therapeutic in the nightly examination of conscience; it enables us to take two steps backward for the one we stepped forward to the abyss.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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Praying my Rosary is my sweetest occupation and a true joy, for I know that as I pray it I am speaking to the kindest and most generous of Mothers.
San Francisco of Sales.
Mary Queen Of The Blessed Rosary... Pray for us 🙏
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Moral decline often brings with it mental indecision. This is illustrated in the history of the Israelites at the time they were led by the great prophetess, Deborah.
Barak, the great soldier that he was, refused to lead the 10,000 men against the enemy unless Deborah went with him to victory. But there was one town, Meroz, which hung back and refused to fight. Hidden away in a safe valley, it ignored patriotic duty even in time of danger. The Angel of the Lord pronounced a curse upon that village which had neglected its duty: "Curse ye the land of Meroz. Cursed the inhabitants thereof because they have not come to the help of the Lord, to help His most valiant men." The land of Meroz was not a traitor nor a spy, nor did it aid the foe. It did not quickly pass from light to darkness, but rather it slowly took a position in which it was neither on this side nor that. It did nothing. And for that reason will it always appear as a shirker. Vice sometimes conquers because the virtuous are inactive.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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Because one cannot do much, one is not excused from doing little. Condemnation awaits the man who refuses to help because he could not lead. The miserable fear of being mediocre cripples good work and the great reward. What is not increased, decreases. The man who improves his gifts, however small, will surely obtain the Kingdom of God. Only what we use becomes crystallized into character. To do no harm is praise fit for a stone, but not for a man.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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The committed mind, with a purpose and a faith, limits all those possibilities which distract from attaining his goal; he knows that the grain of seed must fall into the ground and die in a certain fashion before new life can spring forth.
Nothing that drifts can reverse itself except by a force outside itself. A ball thrown across the room will not be reversed in direction except by a power greater than itself. In like manner, a Divine Power called "grace" is necessary to stop decay. Nor does this come unless asked for: "Ask and you shall receive." Paul, who was drifting into a violent persecutor, became a zealous apostle; Peter, who was drifting into apostasy, became the Rock and the Shepherd. No one need remain what he is. A saint asked God why He did not pardon the devil. God answered: "Because he never asked Me."
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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SAINTS OF THE DAY
FRIDAY, 14 APRIL, 2023
1) SAINT LYDWINE OF SCHEIDAM
2) SAINT PETER GONSALEZ
1) SAINT LYDWINE OF SCHEIDAM
STIGMATIST AND VICTIM SOUL
(18 March, 1380 - 14 April, 1433)
Saint Lydwine was born in present day Scheidam, Holland, near Rotterdam, in 1380. She was the only daughter of nine children in a poor working family. Little is known about the childhood of Lydwine, with the exception that she took a private vow of virginity at age 15. One year later, when Lydwine was 16, she was ice skating with a group of friends, when she suffered a fall and collision, causing her to break a small rib in her right side. A hard abscess grew around the broken rib which never healed. From that moment on, Lydwine lived in constant pain, such that no position of her body (sitting, standing, reclining) could relieve her suffering.
She became bedridden following her accident, and a host of bodily ailments followed. These sufferings included headaches, fever, thirst, bedsores, toothaches, spasms of the muscles, neuritis, pieces of her body falling off, coughing up blood, ulcers and tumours, could not eat or drink without vomiting and many others.
She also fractured her forehead, which extended to the middle of her nose and a cleft from her lower lip to her chin that would often bleed. She could not see from her right eye and had a weak left eye. For thirty-three years, until her death, St Lidwina's body deteriorated, and became a spectacle of pure suffering, defying the laws of nature. She is believed to be the first recorded patient suffering with Multiple Sclerosis.
Several years passed. Lidwina was deprived of a spiritual director, receiving communion Holy Communion only at Easter when she was carried to Church. She laid in darkness and spent many nights sobbing to herself. Like a forsaken home that was once a place of excitement and warmth, so too did Lidwina temporarily depart from her joyful and lively self, for suffering and abandonment moulded her into a vessel of despondency and despair. But St. Lidwina's world was set on fire when she finally understood the potent mystery of love: love that is willing to suffer is life-giving.
By meditating upon the Passion of Christ with the aid of her new-found spiritual director, Fr. John Walters of Lyden, a spark ignited within St Lidwina, allowing her to find happiness in her pain through fortitude, patience and trust in God's will. True peace came upon St. Lidwina after she received the gift of tears. She then comprehended God's unconditional love and care, which opened the floodgates to renewal and consolation.
One day after receiving the Eucharist, she cried uncontrollably for fourteen days. This experience inundated her her spirit with perfect consolation. Like a spring of cleansing water, Lidwina's discovery of the redemptive strength of love allowed her to recommit to prayer, fasting and penance. The more suffering she endured, the closer she was to the Cross of Christ. After eight years of suffering, she said: “It is not I who suffer; it is my Lord Jesus who suffers in me!”
Saint Lydwine came to realize that there was no earthly reason for her suffering, and that it must be a gift from the Lord. She eagerly consecrated herself to enduring the pain and suffering for the good of others, in atonement for their sins. Lydwine fasted in earnest, receiving only the Holy Eucharist as sustenance in the last 19 years of her life. Lydwine further gave away all her possessions to the poor, sleeping on a mound of hay.
Saint Lydwine became known as a holy woman, a healer of the sick who visited her, and a mystic. Her body, despite being covered by awful sores, emitted the sweet perfume of heaven. Her touch was known to heal those whom doctors had given up on. She was visited frequently with visions and ecstasies of Jesus, and herself exhibited the Stigmata on many occasions. In one such vision, she was greeted by the presence of Jesus, and saw a rosebush which was not in bloom. Above the bush, an inscription read, "When this shall be in bloom, your suffering will be at an end."
Lydwine spoke to Our Lord and Our Lady and the saints and angels on a daily basis. Her lifelong illness which was recognized to be of supernatural origin. Her body became covered with sores and abscesses and virtually came apart into three pieces-symbolically representing the condition of the Church.
One day the victim soul asked Our Lord for the conversion of a notoriously immoral young man in Schiedham. Jesus replied that His grace was sufficient and that this person habitually rejected grace. “He is sinning right now,” Jesus said, “as we speak.” Lydwine would not have “no” for an answer. She wanted a special grace. She wanted his soul. Jesus refused, “My justice will not allow it.” She then started to complain. “Look at what I suffer for souls,” she said, “I suffer your Passion, all for you. Is your mercy not loving enough to win this wretched one back to grace?” Jesus would not be moved. “My justice will not allow it, enough now.” “If that it is the case,” Lydwine protested, “I will have a word with your Mother.” Jesus disappeared and Mary came and answered her prayer. The young man came knocking at the door seconds later asking the blessed saint to send for a priest. She sent for a priest and this great sinner made a sincere confession in tears. The Mother will have her way. And that is the way the Son wants it.
Lydwine suffered for thirty-eight years, after which time she was greeted with another vision in which Jesus, Himself, administered her the Last Rites. She stated, “I see the rosebush in bloom,” and died later that evening, alone, as she preferred.
Multiple miracles and mystical gifts have been attributed to Lydwine, including bilocation. As Huysmans wrote in 1923, “She was given to be in two places at once, when Jesus asked her to be with him at Golgotha. In answer to His request, Lydwine replied: ‘O Savior, I am ready to accompany you to that mountain and to suffer and die there with you!' He took her with Him, and when she returned to her bed, which corporeally she had never left, they saw ulcers on her lips, wounds on her arms, the marks of thorns on her forehead and splinters on her limbs, which exhaled a very pronounced perfume of spices."
PATRON: of sickness; chronically ill, ice skaters, town of Schiedam.
PRAYER TO SAINT LYDWINE: O Glorious Saint Lydwine of Schiedam,you were chosen by Christ to suffer immense pain for poor sinners and to offer up all your sufferings to Him.Intercede on our behalf and help us through our small sufferings that cannot be compared to yours.Grant us the grace to trust completely in Jesus even during times of deep sorrow and confusions.Help us to always place our petitions in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary who on our behalf will offer up our petitions to Jesus like how she did kindly for you.May we be given the grace to persevere in sufferings until the Lord calls us home to enjoy the Glory of Heaven. Amen.
St. Lydwine, whose life was filled with intense sufferings for poor sinners, pray for us!
2) SAINT PETER GONZALEZ
DOMINICAN PRIEST
(1190 - 15 April, 1246)
Peter González, also referred to as Pedro González Telmo, Saint Telmo, or Saint Elmo, was born in 1190 in the city of Astorga, Spain, of an illustrious family. After studies in which he excelled, he was named canon of the Cathedral. His uncle, the Bishop of Astorga, obtained for him from Rome the position of dean of the chapter of canons.
He became a priest as a step to high office. One Christmas Day, it was planned for Peter to take possession of the dignity at Christmas. A vain youth filled with the spirit of the world, Peter desired that the ceremony should take place with great pomp before the whole city. Astride a magnificent horse in full harness, he rode through the streets of the city. When he reached a place crowded with onlookers, he spurred his horse to make it prance more elegantly and raise the applause of the people. But the horse tripped and threw the rider into a puddle of mud. The applause immediately changed into derision and laughter.
Embarrassed and knowing that his parishioners thought he was a fake, Peter withdrew from the world for a period of prayer and meditation. During this time, he had a conversion and spent the rest of his life making up for his lost youth. He joined the Dominicans and shunned those who tried to convince him to return to his old ways, saying: "If you love me, follow me! If you cannot follow me, forget me!"
He served as the confessor and court chaplain to King Saint Ferdinand III of Castile, and reformed court life. He also worked for the crusade against the Moors, went into the battlefields, and worked for humane treatment of Moorish prisoners.
Fearing that the honors and easy life offered by the king's court would lead him to return to his previous ways, he left the court and evangelized to shepherds and sailors. He became apostle and preacher to the poor, and especially to sailors. He received the gift of miracles. He preached without stop until his last days and foretold his own death, which took place on April 15, 1246. The sailors of Spain and Portugal still invoke him in every storm under the name of St. Elmo (Elm or Telm).
"Public humiliation led Peter Gonzalez to a true conversion experience and set him on the road to sainthood."
He died in 15 April, 1246 and was beatified in 1254 by Pope Innocent IV.
PATRON: Spanish, Mariners and Portuguese sailors.
PRAYER: Almighty God, you bestowed the singular help of Blessed Peter on those in peril from the sea. By the help of his prayers may the light of your grace shine forth in all the storms of this life and enable us to find the harbor of everlasting salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. - General Calendar of the Order of Preachers. Amen.
St. Peter Gonsalez: Pray for us!
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A PRAYER FOR FINANCIAL HELP TO ST. JUDE:
Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of.
Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly – I pray to ask for enough money to pay off all our debts and to help our children and to have peace of mind for our future. To help those that I know need financial assistance. I promise to use it wisely.
I come to you in great despair and feel hopeless in terms of my debt. I can’t see any way out of our dismal situation. Right now we are barely able to keep up with our bills. I pray that you would pray for my family in this time of crisis.
Amen
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The Four Roads
by Archbishop Fulton J Sheen
There are four types of persons who miss their mark in the world, as revealed in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coins, and the prodigal son and the elder son.
Some are lost through stupidity and thoughtlessnesS, like sheep who do not intentionally go astray.
The second type of errant soul is illustrated in the parable of the lost coins. Sheep may lose themselves, but a coin is not lost through its own fault, but generally through carelessness of others. To this group belong many delinquent children whom parental carelessness allowed to roll into the streets and to become lost.
A third class, described in the parable of the prodigal son, is composed of those who go astray neither through heedlessness nor through the fault of others, but with deliberate choice. Refusing to accept parental discipline, they ask for a share of money to enjoy what is called their "own freedom" and to make their "own life" as the prodigal did who went off into a foreign country.
The fourth class is illustrated in the same parable by the elder son who is unconscious that he is a sinner, though all too conscious of the sin of his brother. There was no record in the story as told by Our Lord that the younger son had wasted his substance on harlots, but when the elder son protested he inserted that charge.
Neither does he speak of his brother, but he speaks of the "father's son", thereby indicating that he had lost all social sense. The parable of the prodigal son is, therefore, the story of two sons who lost their father's love: one because he was too good and the other because he was too bad.
But there is hope for each one of them. In the first instance, the shepherd, when he finds the lost sheep, puts it upon his shoulders and rejoices, though there was no record that he rejoiced in the possession of the ninety-nine that were not lost. What is it that makes the Divine Shepherd so agitated and sad in heart at the loss of just one, when he has so many? Very likely because it was his property, and also because of his great compassion for men who have lost their way. Putting it upon his shoulders was a rest-giving act, very likely needful to the poor sheep which could go no further and was faint and weary.
The parable of the lost coin in part implies that every coin bore upon itself some image, as the Roman coin had Caesar's image upon it and the coin which Jacob paid for a debt was stamped with a lamb, The implication here is that every man is made to the image and likeness of God, and once again what is introduced is the note of proprietorship. The woman who found the coin lighted the candle and swept the house, which would represent the disturbance of settled opinion and practices, and the turning of the soul upside down to indicate a willingness to have a present order disturbed in order to save one lost man. When the coin is found all the neighbours are called in to rejoice, though there is no indication that there was such a celebration in the possession of the other nine. Joy is necessarily social, or as someone has put it: "Happiness is born a twin!" and we must share it with others.
The prodigal son returned to the father's house because of emptiness in his soul. Recognition of his guilt preceded a true restoration. Up to this point he had lived "outside" of himself; now in the language of the Gospel he "enters into himself", that is, begins to reflect and to see his true nature.
When he starts back, he finds that the father is not in his own house, but is out on the roadway ready to welcome him back. Forgiveness meets us more than halfway. The kiss of welcome is extended before one word of penitence or request had been spoken. Then comes the feast where Heaven keeps holiday, when some poor waif comes slinking back to the Father.
The elder son represents those who are rather resentful of the mercy extended to others. Even though the elder son had remained home, it was a thankless service; there was no glow of family love to warm it and never once did he realize the beauties of sonship. Many are cradled in the sacred associations of the Church, but it is not a loving service, but only a duty. There are souls within the Kingdom of God who are not fully in sympathy with the greatness of Divine Love.
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