SAINT ANNE; Mother of the Blessed Virgin ~ Feast: July 26

Of St. Anne we have no certain knowledge. She is not mentioned in the New Testament, and we must depend on apocryphal literature, chiefly the Protoevangelium of James, which dates back only to the second century.

We are told that Anne, wife of  Joachim, was advanced in years and that her prayers for a child had not been answered. Once as she prayed beneath a laurel tree near her home in Galilee, an angel appeared and said to her, "Anne, the Lord hath heard thy prayer and thou shalt conceive and bring forth, and thy seed shall be spoken of in all the world." Anne replied, "As the Lord my God liveth, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it shall minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life " And thus Anne became the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The devotion of St. Anne was known in the East in the fifth century, but it was not diffused in the West until the thirteenth. A shrine at Douai, in northern France, was one of the early centers of the devotion. In 1382 her feast was extended to the whole Western Church, and she became very popular, especially in France. Her two most famous shrines are at St. Anne d'Auray in Brittany and at St. Anne-de Beaupre in the province of Quebec.
She is patroness of housewives, women in labor, cabinet-makers, and miners. Her emblem is a door. St. Anne has been frequently represented in art, and the lovely face depicted by Leonardo da Vinci comes first to mind in this connection. The name Anne derives from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning "grace."

St Anne Prayer (To Obtain Some Special Favor)

Glorious St. Ann, filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present affair which I recommend to you under your special protection.

St. Ann, please, recommend to your daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue.
St. Ann cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. (Here ask for favor you wish to obtain.)

Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, and with You and Mary and all the saints, praising and blessing Him through all eternity. Amen.
Good St. Ann, mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray to her for us and obtain our request. (Three times).

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The Miraculous Discovery of St. Ann’s Relics
 
According to a most ancient and uninterrupted tradition, the body of St. Ann was carried to Gaul [a province of the Roman empire which included what are now the countries of France and upper Italy] by the same vessel which carried Lazarus and his sisters there. During the first century of the Christian era, these friends of Our Lord were banished from Palestine because of their faith. From their hands St. Ann’s precious remains were taken for safekeeping to the city of Apta Julia, which in our own times is the city of Apt, France.

In those stormy days of persecution, it was necessary to hide the relics of the Martyrs and Saints.  Consequently, the body of St. Ann was buried in an underground church or crypt. The martyrology of Apt, one of the most ancient in existence, mentions this fact.

The first bishop of Apta Julia, St. Auspicius, who died before 118, took further precautions to guard this holy treasure from desecration and had the body buried still deeper in the subterranean chapel. All approach to it was carefully concealed till persecutions and invasions should have ceased. For centuries, the country was repeatedly overrun by hordes of barbarians, and it was only natural that during these agitated years the precise spot where St. Auspicius had carefully hidden his treasure became lost in obscurity.

After Charlemagne’s decisive victory over the Saracens at the close of the eighth century, peace and security returned to Gaul. It was then that the people began to restore and rebuild the holy places destroyed or desecrated by the invaders. Priests and bishops of Apta Julia began to seek for the exact spot in the deep crypt where St. Auspicius had hidden and walled up the sarcophagus of St. Ann.

Charlemagne’s first care on his arrival at Apt was to have the cathedral re-consecrated. This took place during the Easter solemnities, in the presence of an enormous crowd of nobles, clergy and people. But there was one cause of sadness amid all the rejoicing, namely, that every effort to find the remains of St. Ann had proved fruitless. A miracle, however, was to lead to the discovery of her resting place, as is related by Charlemagne in a letter to Pope Adrian I.

Among the young nobles who accompanied their parents on this occasion was John, a lad of fourteen, the son of Baron Casanova, deaf, dumb and blind from birth. People near the boy in the sanctuary remarked that during the services he was carried away by some overpowering emotion.

With rapt and upturned face he seemed to be listening to voices from above. Presently, he moved toward the high altar, struck with his staff the steps leading up to it and made signs that they should dig there. His persistence caused considerable disturbance amid the solemn rites, but neither the clergy nor the royal guards could quiet or restrain the youth.

Charlemagne was deeply impressed. After Mass, he commanded that the excavation desired by the boy should be made. The altar steps were removed and a door, closed up with huge stones, was revealed. This was the door of the ancient crypt in which St. Auspicius had been accustomed to celebrate the holy Mysteries and to feed his flock with the Bread of Life. Its size and adornments reminded one of the Roman catacombs.

No sooner had this door been opened and the flight of steps leading down from it disclosed than the blind boy rushed forward, as if his eyes had been suddenly opened, and led the way into this underground church. Charlemagne now held the boy’s hand and gave orders to keep back the excited multitude. John made signs that they should search farther, and he struck the wall of the crypt, indicating that what they sought lay beyond. When the wall was broken down, another and lower crypt was discovered at the end of a long and narrow corridor.

As they came in view of this crypt, a bright light flashed upon the Emperor and his assistants. They beheld, in front of a walled recess, a burning lamp, which flooded the place with unearthly splendor. No sooner, however, had the Emperor and his cortege entered this place, than the lamp went out. But, more wonderful still, at that very moment the blind boy could see, speak and hear.

“The body of Saint Ann,mother of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, is in yonder recess,” were his first words. The awe-stricken Emperor and his followers, at first dumb with amazement, gave vent to their emotion in words of praise and thanksgiving. The walled recess was thrown open, a sweet fragrance like that of oriental balm filled the air, and a casket of cypress wood was discovered containing the body of St. Ann wrapped round and round with folds of precious cloth. On the casket was the inscription: “Here lies the body of Blessed Ann, mother of the Virgin Mary.”

Charlemagne, with all those present, venerated the sacred deposit thus brought to light. Afterward he had an exact narrative of the discovery drawn up by one of his notaries and a copy sent to the Pope with the royal letter. This letter and the Pope’s answer are still extant.

The miraculous discovery at once made the Cathedral of Apt the center of attraction for Christian pilgrims from every part of Gaul. In the wars which followed the reign of Charlemagne down to our own times, the clergy and people of Apt have watched with never failing love over the sacred treasure which is the glory of their city. Travelers visiting the venerable Cathedral of St. Auspicius will find piles of ex votos, the indisputable testimonies during eleven centuries of the wonders wrought there by Christ at the intercession of His sainted Grandmother. The chief cities of Gaul hastened to solicit from the church of Apta Julia portions of the hallowed body thus miraculously discovered. Fragments detached from the head found their way to various places through the favor of sovereigns or powerful prelates, but the greatest portion of St. Ann’s sacred body still reposes in Apt. Vienna, Austria, possesses the right hand of St. Ann, which is devoutly venerated in the beautiful church which bears her name.
An arm of the Saint was solicited and obtained by the Popes and placed under the care of the Benedictine monks in the magnificent monastery church of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls in Rome.

In May, 1960, the Benedictines gave the forearm to the Shrine of St. Anne de Beaupré in Canada [pictured above]. In the Cathedral of Bologna, Italy, a large portion of the Saint’s head is venerated.

Through these precious relics, which have proved efficacious in every kind of distress, miracles have been wrought up to the present day.

Prepare For Combat ....

....... By Learning The Devil’s Tactics & Strategies 

Ephesians 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood; but against principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

St. Michael the Archangel

One of the key elements in any contest is to understand the tactics of your opponent and to recognize the subtleties of the strategy or moves they may employ. In the spiritual battle of life we need to develop some sophistication in recognizing, naming, and understanding the subtleties of common tactics of the Devil. A 2011 book by Fr. Louis Cameli, The Devil You Don’t Know is of great assistance in this matter. Having read it recently, I think it would be of value to reflect on four broad categories of the Devil’s tactics that Fr. Cameli analyzes.
While the four categories are Fr. Cameli’s, the reflections here are largely my own, but surely rooted in Fr. Cameli’s excellent work, so recently read by me. I recommend the work highly to you where these categories are aptly and fully described more than my brief reflection here can do.

And thus we examine four common tactics of the devil.

I. Deception – Jesus says The devil was a murderer from the beginning he does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks according to his own nature, he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44).
The devil deceives us with many false and empty promises. Most of these relate to the lie that we will be happier and more fulfilled if we sin, or deny aspects of the truth. Whatever passing pleasures come with sin, they are in fact passing. Great and accumulated suffering eventually comes with almost all sinful activity. Yet, despite this experience, we human beings remain very gullible, we seem to love empty promises and put all sorts of false hopes of them.

The devil also deceives us by suggesting all sorts of complexities, especially in our thinking. And thus he  seeks to confuse and  conceal the fundamental truth about our action. Our minds are very wily and love to indulge complexity as a way of avoiding the truth and making excuses. So we, conniving with the devil, entertain endless complications by asking “But what if this….and What about that….??!”  Along with the devil, we project all sorts of possible difficulties, exceptions, or potential sob stories, to avoid insisting that we or others behave well and live according to the truth.

The devil also seeks to deceive us with “wordsmithing.” And thus the dismemberment and murder of a child through abortion becomes “reproductive freedom” or “Choice.” Sodomy is called “gay” (a word which used to mean “happy”). Our luminous Faith and ancient wisdom is called “darkness” and “ignorance.”  Fornication is called “cohabitation.”  And the redefinition of marriage as it is been known for some 5000 years, is labeled “marriage freedom.”  And thus, through exaggerations and outright false labeling, the devil deceives us, and we too easily connive by calling good, or “no big deal,” what God calls sinful.

The devil also deceives us through the sheer volume of information. Information is not the same is truth, and data can be assembled very craftily to make deceitful points. Further, certain facts and figures can be emphasized, in exclusion to other, balancing truths. And thus even information or data which is true in itself  becomes a form of deception. The news media, and other sources of information, sometimes exercise their greatest power in what they do not report. And this too is a way that the devil brings deceptions upon us.

We do well to carefully assess the many ways Satan seeks to deceive us. Do not believe everything you think or hear. While we ought not be cynical, we ought to be sober, and seek to verify what we see and hear and square it with God’s revealed truth.

II. Division – One of Jesus’ final prayers for us was that we would be one (cf John 17:22). He prayed this, at the Last Supper just before he went out to suffer and die for us. As such, he highlights that a chief aspect of his work on the Cross is to overcome the divisions intensified by Satan. Some argue that the Greek root of the word “diabolical” (diabolein) means to cut, tear, or divide. Jesus prays and works to reunify what the devil divides.

The devil’s work of division starts within each one of us as we experience many contrary drives, some noble, creative, and edifying, others base, sinful, and destructive. So often, we struggle within and feel torn apart, much as Paul describes in Romans chapter 7:  The good that I want to do, I do not do…, and when I try to do good, evil is at hand. This is the work of the devil, to divide us within. And as St. Paul lays out in Romans 8, the chief work of the Lord is to establish within us the unity of soul and body, in accordance with the unity of His truth.

And of course the devil’s attack against our inner unity, spills out into many divisions among us externally. So many things help drive this division, and the devil surely taps into them all: anger, past hurts, resentments, fears, misunderstandings, greed, pride, and arrogance. There is also the impatience that we so easily develop regarding those we love, and the flawed notion that somehow, other more perfect and desirable people should be sought. And thus many abandon their marriages, family, churches and communities,  always in search of the elusive goal of finding better and more perfect people and situations.

Yes, the devil has a real field day tapping in to a whole plethora of sinful drives within us, but his goal is always to divide us within ourselves, and among ourselves. We do well to recognize that, whatever our struggles with others, we all share a common enemy who seeks to divide and destroy us. As St Paul writes, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12). Feuding Brothers reconcile when there is a maniac at the door. But step one is notice the maniac, and then set aside our lesser divisions.

III. Diversion – To be diverted is to be turned away from what is our primary goal or task. And for all of us, the most critical focus is God and the good things waiting for us in heaven. Our path is toward heaven, along the path of faith and obedience to the truth, love of God and love of neighbor.  And thus the devil does all that he can to divert, that is, turn us away from our one true goal.

Perhaps he will do this by way of making us to be absorbed in the passing things of the world. So many claim that they are so busy that they have no time to pray, or get the church, or seek other forms of spiritual nourishment. They become absorbed in worldly things which pass, and ignore lasting reality which looms.

Anxieties and fears also cause us many distractions. And by these, the devil causes us to fixate on fears about passing things, and thereby not to have a proper fear of the judgment which awaits us. Jesus says Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt 10:28). In other words, we should have a holy reverence and fear directed towards the Lord, and in this way, many of our other fears will be seen in better perspective, or will go away altogether. But in this matter of fear, the devil says just the opposite: we should fear 10,000 things that might afflict us on this passing earth, and not think at all of the one most significant thing that awaits us, our judgment.

At the heart of all diversion is that the devil wants us to focus on lesser things to avoid focusing on greater things, such as a moral decisions, and the overall direction of our life.

Once again, we must learn to focus on what matters most, and decisively refuse to be diverted to lesser things.

IV. Discouragement – As human beings, and certainly as Christians, we ought to have high aspirations. This is good. But as in all good things, Satan often seeks to poison that which is good. For having high aspirations, it is also true that we sometimes lack the humility that recognizes that we must make a journey to that which is good, and best. Too easily then, Satan temps us to impatience with our self or others. And,  in our aspirations, expected in unreasonably quick time, there comes a lack of charity toward our self or others. Some grow discouraged with themselves or others and give up on the pursuit of holiness. Others give up on the church because of the imperfections found there.

The devil also discourages us, because aspirations are generally open-ended. The fact is, there is always room for improvement, and we can always do more. But here the devil enters, for, when we can always do more, it is also possible to think we’ve never done enough. And thus the devil discourages us, sowing thoughts of unreasonable demands within us as to what we can or should do they day by day.
The devil also discourages us through simple things like fatigue, the personal failings that we all experience, setbacks, and other obstacles that are common to our human condition, and common to living in a fallen world with limited resources.

In all these ways to devil seeks to discourage us, to make us want, at some level, to give up. Only a properly developed sense of humility can  help to save us from these discouraging works of Satan. For the fact is, humility, which is reverence for the truth about ourselves, teaches us that we grow and develop slowly and in stages, and that we do in fact have setbacks, and live in a world that is hard, and far from perfect. Recognizing these things, and being humble, helps us to lean more on the Lord, and trust in his providential help, which grows in us incrementally.

 Originally posted at:  http://blog.adw.org/

Benedict XVI joins Pope Francis in consecrating Vatican to St Michael Archangel

To the joy of Vatican City State workers, Friday morning Pope Francis was joined by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in the gardens for a ceremony during which the Holy Father blessed a statue of St Michael Archangel, at the same time consecrating the Vatican to the Archangel’s protection.

Following a brief ceremony, Pope Francis addressed those present noting how St. Michael defends the People of God from its enemy par excellence, the devil. He said even if the devil attempts to disfigure the face of the Archangel and thus the face of humanity, St Michael wins, because God acts in him and is stronger: "In the Vatican Gardens there are several works of art. But this, which has now been added, takes on particular importance, in its location as well as the meaning it expresses. In fact it is not just celebratory work but an invitation to reflection and prayer, that fits well into the Year of Faith. Michael - which means "Who is like God" - is the champion of the primacy of God, of His transcendence and power. Michael struggles to restore divine justice and defends the People of God from his enemies, above all by the enemy par excellence, the devil. And St. Michael wins because in him, there is He God who acts. 

This sculpture reminds us then that evil is overcome, the accuser is unmasked, his head crushed, because salvation was accomplished once and for all in the blood of Christ. Though the devil always tries to disfigure the face of the Archangel and that of humanity, God is stronger, it is His victory and His salvation that is offered to all men. We are not alone on the journey or in the trials of life, we are accompanied and supported by the Angels of God, who offer, so to speak, their wings to help us overcome so many dangers, in order to fly high compared to those realities that can weigh down our lives or drag us down. In consecrating Vatican City State to St. Michael the Archangel, I ask him to defend us from the evil one and banish him. "

"We also consecrate Vatican City State in St. Joseph, guardian of Jesus, the guardian of the Holy Family. May his presence make us stronger and more courageous in making space for God in our lives to always defeat evil with good. We ask Him to protect, take care of us, so that a life of grace grows stronger in each of us every day. " 


Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/07/05/benedict_xvi_joins_pope_francis_in_consecrating_vatican_to_st_michael/en1-707709

Want Religious Liberty? ....

 ..... Live Your Faith!!!

From the standpoint of Catholicism there is no more important right than religious liberty. It is the first of our freedoms.

As Catholics, we cherish religious liberty because we have been made by God and for God—our hearts are restless, as Saint Augustine wrote, until they rest in Him. God gave us freedom so that we might pursue him ardently. We have a right to religious liberty because we first have the duty to know, love, and serve Him. We have the solemn responsibility to order our intellects, our wills, our actions and indeed our very person toward God who is Love and Truth. Religious liberty allows us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and any curtailment of religious liberty is not only a radical affront to our rights, but more importantly, to our ability to be faithful Catholics in pursuit of eternal life.
Within the context of considering the redemption of man, Blessed John Paul II wrote in his first encyclical that “the curtailment of the religious freedom of individuals and communities is…a painful experience…an attack on man’s very dignity…a radical injustice with regard to what is particularly deep within man, what is authentically human” (17).

Sadly, these attacks seem to grow exponentially. The most immediate cause of consternation is the HHS mandate: the requirement that individuals and institutions opposed to contraception and abortion-inducing drugs cooperate in providing them to others. On June 28 the mandate’s final language was published. As Archbishop Lori notes in a jointly signed letter, “HHS continues to deny many Americans the freedom to manifest their beliefs through practice and observance in their daily lives.”
But as great a threat as this is to religious liberty, there is no current and impending threat that is graver than what is happening in the realm of homosexuality and the redefinition of marriage.

The Catholic teaching on sexuality and marriage is described as “hateful” and “draconian,” and Catholics who proclaim it are increasingly ostracized as “bigots” and “haters.” This sort of description does not come only from overly-ambitious advocates of redefining marriage, but from Justice Kennedy’s words in the majority opinion overturning a key statute of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Kennedy indicated the traditional understanding of marriage is invalid because it “demeans the couple,” “humiliates tens of thousands of children,” and “for no legitimate purpose [has] the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect.”

Catholic teaching, rooted in God’s law, the words of Jesus, natural law, and common sense serves “no legitimate purpose” than to unjustly demean, humiliate, disparage, and injure. Here, in an opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States, we have the actuation of John Paul’s words from 1979: “believers are, as though by principle, barely tolerated or are treated as second-class citizens” (17). Joseph Ratzinger echoed this very concern specifically when he warned in his book, Crisis of Cultures that “[v]ery soon, it will no longer be possible to affirm that homosexuality (as the Catholic Church teaches) constitutes an objective disordering in the structure of human existence.” We have good reason to fear further efforts to deprive Catholics of the rights we possess by virtue of our citizenship or even our humanity.
If we want to protect religious liberty we must first live our faith. When religion goes untried, religious liberty is merely a token. What purpose does it serve, and why should the State protect religious liberty, if religion is ignored in the personal lives of citizens? Archbishop Chaput recently noted that religious liberty “has political force only to the degree that ordinary people believe and practice their faith—and refuse to tolerate anyone or anything interfering with faith.”

To be frank: If you want religious liberty, then act like it. And remember John Paul’s rejoinder that “[n]o privilege is asked for, but only respect for an elementary right. Actuation of this right is one of the fundamental tests of man’s authentic progress in any regime, in any society, system or milieu.” A society that is hostile to religious liberty creates a cultural milieu in which religion is increasingly difficult to embrace and live. Conversely, when people of faith fail to know, live and defend their faith a militant secularism is enabled and empowered so that religion is easily confined to a private affair or worship alone. Catholics must love their faith and have the courage to pursue God and His truth with their whole heart, mind, and soul. Only then will religious liberty have meaning and merit protection.
 by Arland K. Nichols

It’s time to fight for your Church and your country!

Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lighting from the sky.”  Most modern progressive Catholic thinkers would say, that Jesus was using some very colorful language to make His point about evil and its existence but – He did not mean this literally.

Satan falling from the sky like lighting.

So the question remains, does personal evil really exist?
I mean the modern Catholic, who is uneducated in their faith, would say; that isn’t the devil just some story or tool invented by the Church to control people?  You know to make us afraid so we will follow blindly whatever the Church says – so the popes, bishops and priests could control us?
Can’t all those stories in the Bible about Jesus casting out demons be explained away by modern psychology and its understanding of psychological disorders – or religious fanatical behavior?  Aren’t Hell and the devil just childhood stories told around the campfire, to entertain us with a little bit of fear?  Or maybe just the reoccurring plot – of too many horror movies?
Didn’t the Second Vatican Council with its new modern liberal mindset bring us out of a backward medieval belief system to make us modern progressive thinkers capable of realizing that hell and Satan are just the products of ignorance, superstition, or an over active imagination?

Well, lets think about this for a moment.  Here is what Gaudium et Spes, one of the Second Vatican Council documents has said; “The whole of man’s history has been the story of our combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield, man has struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God’s grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity” (Gaudium et Spes, 37).
Some Catholics maybe surprised in this day and age, that the existence of evil, the devil as well as hell, are all truths of our Catholic Faith. All one has to do is pick up a copy of the Catechism and look it up and you will find that the Church officially teaches – from paragraph #1033 through paragraph #1037 – that evil does exist, that there is a person, a fallen Angel to be exact, who wants nothing more than to destroy humanity and if that is not possible then at least to get as many people away from God, away from salvation to spend eternity in hell with him.

Pope Paul IV, taught that “evil is not merely a lack of something, but an effective agent, a living spiritual being, perverted and perverting.   A terrible reality – mysterious and frightening – who goes about acting in a way contrary to the teaching of the Bible and the Church.”
Of course there is the New Testament, which alone refers to the devil and his wickedness nearly 300 times as a warning to us of his presence and activity in our world.
This leads us to the Gospels, where Jesus talks more about the devil and evil then anything else except His divinity.  We also heard in today’s Gospel, that the disciples were overjoyed because – demons were subject to them through the Holy Name of Jesus.  This power of the name of Jesus was given not only to the disciples but to the whole Church to fight against and overcome any and every evil in this world.   This power is the authority of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, built on the authority of Jesus Christ Himself, which causes the gates of hell to tremble.

What we learn from the New Testament, is that the main purpose of Jesus’ ministry was to destroy the works of the devil and to bring about the Kingdom of God, which will destroy the Kingdom of Satan. Christ came to cast out, bind up and deliver humanity from its slavery to sin and death as well as from the chief works of the devil – called vices.  According to the Old Testament, the devil gets his foot hold in this world and in our lives through things like fortune-tellers, soothsayers, charms, diviners, and spells as well as when we consult with ghosts and spirits or seek oracles and revelations from the dead.  In our day and age, He still uses these things including horoscopes, the new age movement, Gnosticism, moral relativism, or even more explicitly through Satanism and the worship of the devil.

Everyday we see his evil played out right in front of our eyes and then we ignore what we see and the underlying cause.  We fail to recognize that there is a very real enemy, who likes to remain hidden, while he plots our destruction and doom.  This evil is increased with the destruction of Fatherhood, marriage and traditional family life. In the increase in war, murder, and suicide.  The devastation of our youth through drugs and sexual addiction.  The massive diffusion by the media of corrupting errors and sinful practices.  And most especially in our day, with the ruinations of our religious freedoms and those individuals who bravely speak up for them.

Satan’s progressive and the new modern family

Nowadays, objective evil is displayed out in the open – all of which are meant to destroy us – caused by a malicious Angel who wants nothing more than to eradicate us from the face of the earth.   Satan has gone so far as to attack humanity at its source with the sin of abortion, birth control, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning – as well as using the cumulative forces of this world’s sinfulness to redefine life and marriage as we know it and calling it – progress and the new modern family.  Nothing can escape from the rebellious forces of hedonism and secularism in their violent march throughout the world trying to force us to believe that sinfulness and evil rebellion against our Creator and His definition of morality is normal and warranted.
We have come so far that not to follow this march of evil to our own destruction is to be portrayed as crazy, abnormal or ignorant. We have come so far that good is bad and evil is really good. Good people are boring and evil people are fun. We defend the criminal and imprison the lawful. Our daily poor example to our children teaches them that magic and fairy tales are real and that God, His angels and Saints, do not exist – but somehow all humans and dogs go to heaven. No wonder our world is so confused and ignorant of what God really says and teaches.

So it goes without saying, with all certainty, that those of us who want to be truly holy and virtuous, who want to wholeheartedly embrace the Catholic Church’s authentic teaching and mission to save souls, will live a very difficult life.  One full of challenges and at times real sorrows, but at the same time, a life of immense blessings and graces, which all those who follow Christ enjoy for all eternity.
If we really want to be God’s saints and His holy people, we need not fear what is coming or what is already here, we need not fear the other sheep or those wolves among us dressed up like them – for God will not be mocked or made a fool of – in the end all will be revealed and He does not deal lightly with the devil or his unrepentant companions,  be they angelic or human.  That is why He created hell, just for them.
We are in the midst of a war – a war between good and evil – and the worst thing you can do in any combat situation is to believe that you’re not in one and that this fight has nothing to do with us. This, sadly, has been the mindset of us humans, us Christians, and us Catholics, for far too long.

Pope Leo XIII stated it boldly, “Catholics are born for combat!”  So, we the people must become we the Saints. We must once again become the Church Militant – soldiers and warriors of Jesus Christ. The devil certainly knows that his time is short and that it would be even shorter should the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church ever take the call to spiritual warfare and authentic holiness seriously.
The Liturgy of the Hours for the Martyrs states; “We are warriors now, fighting in the battlefield of faith, and God sees all we do; the Angles watch and so does Christ. What honor and glory and joy, to do battle in the presence of God, and have Christ approve our victory.”  Let us arm ourselves in full strength – with Rosary in hand; and prepare ourselves – through Eucharistic Adoration for the ultimate struggle with blameless hearts, true faith, and unyielding courage.

The venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen taught, “Christ demands fire – he demands zeal for His followers.”  In the scriptures, Christ commands us to go out and preach the gospel, to live virtuous holy lives, to convert the nations – and to cast out evil.  When we pray the “Our Father,” we ask God to deliver us from evil – this is the normal daily petition said in the Church’s greatest prayer.
Don’t we think that maybe it is time for us to make this petition part of our daily actions and not just part of our prayers?
Praying for the deliverance from evil,working for its destruction, is at the very center of our Catholic faith because when we act this way we recognize that only God can truly save us from the power of the devil, who enslaves us with sin and evil. So be at peace, be unafraid, as St. Paul tells us, “we bear the marks of Christ on our bodies” through baptism and the Holy Eucharist, as we are being“sent out into the world as lambs among wolves” where “the harvest is rich and the laborers are few”  where “the world is crucified to me and I to the world.”  So rejoice because “your names are written in Heaven” and “as a mother comforts her child – so God will comfort you.”

It is time, my brothers and sisters, to get up and fight for your Church and your country before both are gone!!

 by Fr. Daniel E. Doctor

Feast day of St. Maria Goretti

Today is the feast day of St. Maria Goretti

She was the daughter of a poor Italian tenant farmer, had no chance to go to school, never learned to read or write. When she made her First Communion not long before her death at age 12, she was one of the larger and somewhat backward members of the class. 

On a hot afternoon in July, Maria was sitting at the top of the stairs of her house, mending a shirt. She  was not quite 12 years old, but physically mature. A cart stopped outside, and a neighbor, Alessandro, 18 years old, ran up the stairs. He seized her and pulled her into a bedroom. She struggled and tried to call for help. “No, God does not wish it," she cried out. "It is a sin. You would go to hell for it.” Alessandro began striking at her blindly with a long dagger. 

She was taken to a hospital. Her last hours were marked by the usual simple compassion of the good—concern about where her mother would sleep, forgiveness of her murderer (she had been in fear of him, but did not say anything lest she cause trouble to his family) and her devout welcoming of Viaticum, her last Holy Communion. She died about 24 hours after the attack. 

Her murderer was sentenced to 30 years in prison. For a long time he was unrepentant and surly. One night he had a dream or vision of Maria, gathering flowers and offering them to him. His life changed. When he was released after 27 years, his first act was to go to beg the forgiveness of Maria’s mother. 

Devotion to the young martyr grew, miracles were worked, and in less than half a century she was canonized. At her beatification in 1947, her mother (then 82), two sisters and a brother appeared with Pope Pius XII on the balcony of St. Peter’s. Three years later, at her canonization, a 66-year-old Alessandro Serenelli knelt among the quarter-million people and cried tears of joy.

Pope Francis: Preparing for the End of Time

Discover How to Live in the Last Judgement 

Pope Francis General Audience:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Morning!
In the Creed we profess that Jesus “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” Human history begins with the creation of man and woman in God’s likeness and ends with the Last Judgement of Christ. These two poles of history are often forgotten; and, at times, especially faith in Christ’s return and in the Last Judgement, are not so clear and firm in Christian hearts. In his public life Jesus frequently reflected on the reality of his Final Coming. Today I would like to reflect on three Gospel texts that help us to penetrate this mystery: those of the ten virgins, of the talents and of the Last Judgement. All three are part of Jesus’ discourse on the end of time which can be found in the Gospel of St Matthew.

The Immediate Time

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Let us remember first of all that in the Ascension, the Son of God brought to the Father our humanity, which he had taken on, and that he wants to draw all to himself, to call the whole world to be welcomed in God’s embrace so that at the end of history the whole of reality may be consigned to the Father. Yet there is this “immediate time” between the First and the Final Coming of Christ, and that is the very time in which we are living. The parable of the ten virgins fits into this context of “immediate” time (cf. Mt 25:1-13). They are ten maidens who are awaiting the arrival of the Bridegroom, but he is late and they fall asleep. At the sudden announcement that the Bridegroom is arriving they prepare to welcome him, but while five of them, who are wise, have oil to burn in their lamps, the others, who are foolish, are left with lamps that have gone out because they have no oil for them. While they go to get some oil the Bridegroom arrives and the foolish virgins find that the door to the hall of the marriage feast is shut.
They knock on it again and again, but it is now too late, the Bridegroom answers: I do not know you. The Bridegroom is the Lord, and the time of waiting for his arrival is the time he gives to us, to all of us, before his Final Coming with mercy and patience; it is a time of watchfulness; a time in which we must keep alight the lamps of faith, hope and charity, a time in which to keep our heart open to goodness, beauty and truth. It is a time to live in accordance with God, because we do not know either the day or the hour of Christ’s return. What he asks of us is to be ready for the encounter — ready for an encounter, for a beautiful encounter, the encounter with Jesus, which means being able to see the signs of his presence, keeping our faith alive with prayer, with the sacraments, and taking care not to fall asleep so as to not forget about God. The life of slumbering Christians is a sad life, it is not a happy life. Christians must be happy, with the joy of Jesus. Let us not fall asleep!

Now is the Time for Action

The second parable, the parable of the talents, makes us think about the relationship between how we use the gifts we have received from God and his return, when he will ask us what use we made of them (cf. Mt 25:14-30). We are well acquainted with the parable: before his departure the master gives a few talents to each of his servants to ensure that they will be put to good use during his absence. He gives five to the first servant, two to the second one and one to the third. In the period of their master’s absence, the first two servants increase their talents — these are ancient coins — whereas the third servant prefers to bury his and to return it to his master as it was.
On his return, the master judges what they have done: he praises the first two while he throws the third one out into the outer darkness because, through fear, he had hidden his talent, withdrawing into himself. A Christian who withdraws into himself, who hides everything that the Lord has given him, is a Christian who… he is not a Christian! He is a Christian who does not thank God for everything God has given him!

This tells us that the expectation of the Lord’s return is the time of action — we are in the time of action — the time in which we should bring God’s gifts to fruition, not for ourselves but for him, for the Church, for ;xxc ,c m,v vm others. The time to seek to increase goodness in the world always; and in particular, in this period of crisis, today, it is important not to turn in on ourselves, burying our own talent, our spiritual, intellectual, and material riches, everything that the Lord has given us, but, rather to open ourselves, to be supportive, to be attentive to others.

Lastly, a word about the passage on the Last Judgement in which the Lord’s Second Coming is described, when he will judge all human beings, the living and the dead (cf. Mt 25: 31-46). The image used by the Evangelist is that of the shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. On his right he places those who have acted in accordance with God’s will, who went to the aid of their hungry, thirsty, foreign, naked, sick or imprisoned neighbor — I said “foreign”: I am thinking of the multitude of foreigners who are here in the Diocese of Rome: what do we do for them? While on his left are those who did not help their neighbor. This tells us that God will judge us on our love, on how we have loved our brethren, especially the weakest and the neediest. Of course we must always have clearly in mind that we are justified, we are saved through grace, through an act of freely-given love by God who always goes before us; on our own we can do nothing. Faith is first of all a gift we have received. But in order to bear fruit, God’s grace always demands our openness to him, our free and tangible response. Christ comes to bring us the mercy of a God who saves. We are asked to trust in him, to correspond to the gift of his love with a good life, made up of actions motivated by faith and love.

Dear brothers and sisters, may looking at the Last Judgement never frighten us: rather, may it impel us to live the present better. God offers us this time with mercy and patience so that we may learn every day to recognize him in the poor and in the lowly. Let us strive for goodness and be watchful in prayer and in love. May the Lord, at the end of our life and at the end of history, be able to recognize us as good and faithful servants. Many thanks!

The Way of Divine Love, by Sister Josefa Menendez

(Selections)
A Call To Souls
Hidden in the silence of her convent in Poitiers, France, Sister Josefa Menendez who had left her home in Spain to follow her vocation, became the chosen instrument of Christ's love.
Jesus, His Heart on fire, revealed himself to her, spoke to her, molded her as He pleased, and gave her a share in his work of redemption. Then he entrusted his desires to her, and asked her to transmit them to the world.
The aim of this page is to respond to that appeal, by spreading the message to as many souls as possible.
May they accept and read the message; may they find in it light and strength for each day as it comes; may they become collaborators in this work of love; may they be fuel for the fire that our Lord came to enkindle throughout the whole earth.
According to his desire, may they be a chain of souls whose hearts will be more and more on fire with love, love that trusts and expects everything from Him, so that, aflame with this fire, they will communicate it to the whole world.

NOTICE. -- In 1923 Christ said that he wanted his words to be made known, and that his grace would accompany his words and those who made them known. (June 19, 1923. Way of Divine Love, p. 369). Please help to spread the writings of Josefa Menendez. Five leaflets, suitable for distribution in church racks, will be sent free of charge to anyone who requests them. Please send your request to: editor@atonementbooklets.20m.com --- A free prayer card may also be obtained upon request. --- This website does not give addresses to third parties.

 --- "I tell you once more that grace will accompany my words, and those who make them known. Truth will triumph, and peace will reign over souls and the world, and my kingdom will come!" (1923, Poitiers, France).

More Precious Than Gold, Part 1, by Josefa Menendez -- Download PDF
The trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, will be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. - 1 Peter 1:7 -- “Gold is purified in the fire. So tribulation purifies and fortifies the soul.” “Gaze well and long on this Heart. It is the Crucible in which the most defiled are purified, and afterwards inflamed with love.” --- Words of Christ to Sister Josefa Menendez. Words of Our Lord about the purification of the soul and related topics.

More Precious Than Gold, Part 2, by Josefa Menendez --Download PDF
In June, 1923, Our Lord said: “I tell you once more that grace will accompany My words and those who make them known. Truth will triumph, and peace will reign over souls and the world, and My kingdom will come!” --- "When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."  Job 23:10 ----- Our Lord reveals the secrets of His Heart to Josefa, and to all souls of good will.

A Cup of Cold Water, by Josefa Menendez -- A Cup of Cold Water --- The value of daily actions, offered in union with the actions and merits of Christ. ---- "Write for my souls," He said. "The soul who constantly unites her life with mine glorifies me and does a great work for souls. Thus, if engaged in work of no value in itself, if she bathes it in My Blood or unites it to the work I Myself did during My mortal life, it will greatly profit souls... "I so much want souls to understand this! It is not the action in itself that is of value; it is the intention with which it is done. When I swept and laboured in the workshop of Nazareth, I gave as much glory to My Father as when I preached during My public life.
Three Recommendations, by Josefa Menendez -- Three Recommendations -- Advice Our Lord gave to Josefa and to all souls of good will. How the Church will triumph. = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

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A  Cup  of  Cold  Water
The  Value  of  Daily  Actions "And whoever shall give to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward."   –   Matthew 10:42
THE Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31). The same apostle wrote to the Colossians, "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3:17)
In the Scriptures, Christ promised that he would pour out his spirit upon men and women of all conditions (Acts 2:17-18). The wisdom of God can do all things, and remaining itself the same, renews all things, and through nations conveys itself into holy souls, making them friends of God and prophets. (Wisdom 7:27). In 1922 Christ revealed himself to Josefa Menendez, a sister at the convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, in Poitiers, France.
"Write for my souls," He said. "The soul who constantly unites her life with mine glorifies me and does a great work for souls. Thus, if engaged in work of no value in itself, if she bathes it in My Blood or unites it to the work I Myself did during My mortal life, it will greatly profit souls, more perhaps, than if she had preached to the whole world, and that, whether she studies, speaks or writes, whether she sews, sweeps or rests, provided first that the act is sanctioned by obedience or duty and not done from mere caprice; secondly, that it is done in intimate union with Me, with great purity of intention and covered with My Blood.
"I so much want souls to understand this! It is not the action in itself that is of value; it is the intention with which it is done. When I swept and labored in the workshop of Nazareth, I gave as much glory to My Father as when I preached during My public life.
"There are many souls who in the eyes of the world fill important posts, and they give My Heart great glory; this is true. But I have many hidden souls who in their humble labors are very useful workers in My vineyard, for they are moved by love, and they know how to cover their deeds with supernatural gold by bathing them in My Blood. My love goes so far that My souls can draw great treasure out of mere nothing. When as soon as they wake they unite themselves to me and offer their whole day with a burning desire that My Heart may use it for the profit of souls, when with love they perform their duties, hour by hour and moment by moment, how great is the treasure they amass in one day!
"I will reveal My love to them more and more. It is inexhaustible, and how easy it is for a loving soul to let itself be guided by love." (Nov. 30, 1922).
Jesus was silent. Josefa laid down her pen, and for a few instants remained in adoration before Him who thus opened His Heart so widely before her. "Adieu," He said at last, "go back to your work; love and suffer, for love is inseparable from suffering. Abandon yourself to the care of the best of Fathers, and to the love of the tenderest of Partners."
This was ever the lesson dearest to God Our Savior. His Cross is a choice gift, surpassing the most precious of favors. On this First Friday He left it to Josefa, who carried it both day and night.
On Saturday, December 2, she noted simply: "With great difficulty I managed to go to meditation, for my strength is gone." At eight o'clock, however, she was at her post, and Jesus soon joined her.
"Write for souls," He said, as on the preceding day.
Josefa knelt at her small table, and Our Lord spoke, standing beside her.
"My Heart is all love and it embraces all souls, but how can I make My chosen souls understand My special love for them, and how I wish to use them to save sinners and so many souls who are exposed to the perils of the world? For this reason I would like them to know how much I desire their perfection, and that it consists in doing their ordinary actions in intimate union with Me. If they once grasped this, they could divinize their life and all their activities by this close union with My heart, and how great is the value of a divinized day!
"When a soul is burnt up with desire to love, nothing is a burden to her, but if she feels cold and spiritless everything becomes hard and difficult. Let her then come to My Heart to revive her courage. Let her offer Me her dejection, and unite it to My fervor; then she may rest content, for her day will be of incomparable value to souls. All human miseries are known to My Heart, and My compassion for them is great.
"But I desire souls to unite themselves to Me not only in a general way.
I long for this union to be constant and intimate, as it is between friends who live together; for even if they are not talking all the time, at least they look at each other, and their mutual affectionate little kindnesses are the fruit of their love.
"When a soul is in peace and consolation, doubtless it is easier for her to think of Me, but if she is in the throes of desolation and anguish, she need not fear. I am content with a glance. I understand, and this mere look will draw down on her special proofs of my tenderness.
"I will repeat again to souls how My Heart loves them, for I want them to know Me thoroughly, that they may make Me known to those I place in their care.
"I ardently desire My chosen souls to fix their eyes on Me, and never turn them away, and among them there should be no mediocrity, which usually is the result of a misunderstanding of My love. No! it is neither difficult nor hard to love My Heart, but on the contrary, it is sweet and easy. They need do nothing extraordinary to attain to a high degree of love; purity of intention, be the action great or small, intimate union with My Heart, and love will do the rest."
Jesus stopped; then bending down towards Josefa who was prostrate at His feet: "Go," He said, "and have no fear. It is I who cultivate this little flower, that it may not perish! Love Me in peace and joy."


Carrying the Cross at Night
Every night the Master brought Josefa His Cross which He asked her to carry for the soul that was causing Him such sorrow.
"Will you carry My Cross?" He asked her.
And instantly she offered herself to take it from His sacred shoulders.
On Friday, Sept. 8, 1922, towards evening He came "as a poor man hungry and begging," she wrote, thus accurately describing the atmosphere of sad appeal that seemed to envelop His whole person.
"O slake My thirst to be loved by souls, especially to be loved by those I have chosen. That soul is oblivious of My love," he went on. "It is his ingratitude that puts me into this state."
"Then," wrote Josefa, "I begged Him to accept all the little acts done here, the sufferings of the house, and above all the very real desire we all have to comfort and please Him. I asked Him to purify and transform these very little things, and give them some value in His sight.
"I do not look at the act itself, I look at the intention," He replied. "The smallest act, if done out of love, acquires such merit that it gives Me immense consolation. I want only love, I ask for nothing else."
Others besides Josefa had a share in this ransom: there were at that time at the convent in Poitiers several sisters who by their acceptance of illness or infirmity were closely united to Our Lord crucified. Speaking of them Our Lord said on Sept. 13:
"Many are willing to entertain Me when I visit them with consolation. Many receive Me with joy in Holy Communion, but few welcome Me when I visit them with My Cross. When a soul is stretched on the cross, and is surrendered to My will, that soul glorifies me, and consoles Me, and is very close to Me."
He then made His meaning clearer still: "It is because of the sufferings of My religious that that sinner has not fallen lower still; but yet more must be undergone for his conversion. When he has come back to Me, Josefa," He added, so that she might not lose sight of her mission, "I will tell you the secret of My love for souls, for I want them all to know how great it is."
Days and nights passed during which Josefa had no relief from her sufferings of soul or body.
"Be not dismayed," said Our Lord to her on Sept. 21, "for that soul will not be lost. He will soon be returning to My Heart, but when a soul is to be saved, much suffering is needed."
This none knew better than Josefa. The devil set himself against her in furious assaults, as if he had guessed the redemptive character of her suf-ferings for the soul he thought to have securely in his clutches. Descents into hell were added to the other painful afflictions she underwent, and night after night the Cross of Jesus lay heavy on her shoulder. On Sept. 25, after a more than usually painful night, Our Lord manifested Himself to her. His Heart had no wound and was transfused with light and beauty.
He said, "See! that soul has come back to Me and has allowed grace to triumph. O love Me, and refuse Me nothing to obtain for Me the love of many other souls."
Who on reading this account can doubt that the lost sheep is ever the best loved-- the prodigal son the most eagerly sought and the most tenderly received?
But Our Lord did not allow Josefa any long respite. Her mission ceased neither day nor night, since souls are in peril, and the world is full of sin. Such is the lesson He seems to be teaching us through her.
Saints' Quotes
Saints' Quotes
Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell
Four Last Things

All for the Glory of God 
The apostle Paul wrote, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31). Our Lord gave a practical lesson about this passage to Josefa in 1922:
On Tuesday, June 14, Jesus the all beautiful came. He bore in His hands the Crown of Thorns, and He asked Josefa with an expression of mildness: "Will you comfort Me?"
She assented at once, and He continued: "I want you to work at bringing back to Me a much-loved soul. Direct your attention and offer all you do for him. Often present My Blood to the Father. Kiss the ground, in reparation for this outraged Blood, trampled underfoot by the souls I so dearly love. If you obtain leave, I will tell you all you can do for him."
Then He laid out a plan for days of oblation:
"When you awake, enter at once into My Heart, and when you are deep down in It, offer My Father all your actions united to the beating of My Heart. Unite all your actions to Mine, so that it will no longer be you, but I, that act in you."  (Galatians 2:20)
"During Mass, present this soul that I want to save to My Father, so that He may pour over him the Blood of the Victim that is about to be immolated.
When you go to Holy Communion, offer the divine wealth you then possess to pay that soul's debt.
During your prayer, place yourself beside Me in Gethsemane, share My anguish, and offer yourself to My Father as a victim, ready to endure all that your soul is able to bear.
When you take your food, think that you are giving Me that alleviation, and do the same whenever you take pleasure in anything whatsoever.
Do not be separated from Me, even for one instant. Often kiss the ground. Do not omit to make the Stations a single day. If I need you, I will tell you.
Look solely to My will in all you do, and accomplish it with the greatest submission.
Humble yourself profoundly, but always joining confidence and love to your humility.
Do everything out of love, and do not lose sight of what I suffered for souls.
During the night you will rest in My Heart. Mine will hearken to the beats of yours, which will stand as so many acts of love and desire. Thus you will bring back to Me that soul that so offends Me."
I asked Him to be indulgent with me, if one or other of these points is not done exactly as He wishes, for I am very weak.
In the evening, during my adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, He came with bleeding hands and feet, and looking up to heaven, He said: "Offer My Father the divine Victim and the Blood of My Heart for that soul."
He repeated the same words three times. I told Him of my desire to comfort Him and to carry out all He had explained to me.
"Do not be over-anxious; you possess My Heart for all I ask you to do." (June 14, 1921. Poitiers, France)

The  Value  of  Good  Desires 
"Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble; you will prepare their heart, you will cause your ear to hear." --Psalms 10:17
"Those souls must come back to Me without further delay. Pray hard that they may allow grace to penetrate them. Although you can do no more than desire to see Me loved, this is already much. It relieves My Heart. For this longing is love. Offer yourself for those souls, that love may pierce them through and through."
I prayed to Him for all those souls, begging of Him to make many of them know the goodness of His Heart and love Him.
"It pleases Me to see you famished for My love and burnt up with longing to see Me loved. That by itself is consolation to My Heart. Yes, pray for the souls of which I have given you charge. A few more sacrifices, and they will return to Me."
On Saturday, Nov. 20, He came to her, as a beggar, destitute and asking for love. Many little wounds were lacerating His Heart.
"Tell Me, would you not attempt the impossible to comfort Me, Josefa? Share with Me for a moment the bitterness of My heart."
Then helpless distress seemed to overpower my soul. He was still there, and gradually His Heart lit up, and all His wounds disappeared.
"Listen," He said, "I want you to give Me souls. Only love in all you do is required. Suffer because you love, work because you love, and above all abandon yourself to love. When I let you feel anguish of spirit and great loneliness, suffer in love. I want to make use of you, as a tired man uses a stick to lean upon. I want to possess you, to consume you entirely, but all in great sweetness, so that enduring a martyrdom of love, you thirst to suffer more."

 Our Lord Seeks Victims
On Oct. 27, 1920, Our Lord told Josefa Menendez, in France: “I shall make of you a victim, for you must resemble Me if you are to be My Bride, and can you not see what I am like?”

On Dec. 18, 1920, He said: “I use your helplessness to save souls, Josefa; I want you to be the victim of this Heart. Do not refuse Me anything; comfort Me when I need comfort, and remember that I spared nothing to prove My love for you.”

On June 30, 1921, Our Lord appeared to Josefa after communion and showed her the wounds in His hands and feet, and taught her to discover the invisible wound of love. “Look at My wounds,” He said. “Adore them; kiss them; they were caused not by souls, but by love.” She was mute, not knowing what to say. He repeated, “Yes, they are caused by the love I have for souls, a love of compassion for sinners. Ah! Did they but know.” He continued: “The greatest reward I can give a soul, is to make her a victim of My love and mercy, rendering her like Myself, who am the divine Victim for sinners.” (Way of Divine Love, p. 103).

On Nov. 25, 1921, Our Lord showed her His Heart surrounded by flames, and He said: “See how My Heart is consumed with love for souls! You, too, must burn with desire for their salvation. I want you to go deep into this heart today, and to make reparation with It. Yes, we must repair,” He repeated. “I am the great Victim, and you are a very little one, but if you are united to Me, My Father will listen to you.” (p. 123).

On Feb. 11, 1923, Our Lord told her: “I need victims to repair the bitterness inflicted on My Heart and to relieve My sorrow. How great is the number of sins committed! How many the souls that are lost!” (p. 233)

On March 2, 1923, Our Lord said to her: “My Cross is heavy. That is why I come here to rest, and to give a share of it to each of My well-beloved souls. My Heart is in search of victims to lead the world to love, and I find them here.” [the convent in Poitiers, France]. (Way of Divine Love, p. 249)

On June 12, 1923, Our Lord said: “To make reparation for the crimes of the world, I will choose victims who will obtain pardon, for there are in the world many whose desire is to please me, and there are moreover generous souls who will sacrifice everything they possess, that I may use them according to My will and good pleasure.” (p. 354).



"The Way of Divine Love, the Message of the Sacred Heart to the World," by Josefa Menendez, Sister of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1890--1923. This book is more than an account of extraordinary graces granted to a humble soul. It is the message that Our Lord wants made known to the world. It is truly a spiritual classic. Approved by Pope Pius XII. 506 pgs. Soft cover. $3.50 + $4.00 shipping.
J.M.J. Book Co.,
P.O. Box 15,
Necedah, WI 54646 --- Tel. (608) 565-2516

The Divine Mercy Devotion and the Second Coming of Christ

Stanley Villavicencio is a Filipino from Cebu who travels all around the world to give his amazing testimony: that he died, and lived again for Divine Mercy. On the morning of 2 March 1993, Stanley’s mother-in-law saw him convulsing in bed, mouth frothing, vomiting blood, and with hardly any pulse. He was rushed to the emergency room of Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City. 

Stanley’s father and sister, both doctors, together with four Cebu medical specialists, concluded that nothing could be done to save Stanley. During the three days that he was in a coma and pronounced clinically dead, Stanley shared that Jesus appeared to him, showed to him a film of his entire life, then told him that he needed to go back to the world to propagate the devotion to Divine Mercy.
Thus, on the third day, Stanley suddenly sat up and took out all of the life support systems attached to him. The nurse who was monitoring him ran away terrified. Stanley was found completely normal. The lead doctor, who proclaimed the case a miracle, was so touched by the experience that he decided to enter the priesthood.
Stanley’s case was thoroughly examined by the Vatican. Stanley quit his job and now goes all around the world proclaiming his testimony on the Divine Mercy a full-time basis, with the blessings of the Church hierarchy and under the guidance of Cardinal Ricardo Vidal of Cebu.

Fruits of His Testimony

Stanley’s testimony has touched the lives of numerous people. A Central Bank employee, conscience-stricken after hearing Stanley’s testimony, decided to return the P400,000 (approximately $8,000) he stole from the bank. A group of prisoners in a jail in Agusan del Sur, who were previously planning to stage a riot, repented after hearing Stanley’s talk. In Cebu, a very depressed Aglipayan woman, who invited Stanley to give a talk in their church, changed her mind on plans to commit suicide, after hearing his testimony.
Muslims and Protestants alike have been moved. He has been invited to speak in many countries on his experience, and the Divine Mercy devotion. In Mexico, in the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Stanley spoke to thousands of people and hundreds of priests and bishops.
The amazing fruits of Stanley’s testimony, as well as the medically-unexplainable manner with which he recovered from a state of clinical death, provide us with ample reason to believe in the authenticity of his experience, and provides a powerful witness to the Divine Mercy devotion.

“You Will Witness My Final Coming!”

Stanley continued to receive messages from Jesus in his dreams, even after his initial encounter with the Lord. On 31 August 1994, he received this striking message: “My son, you will witness My final coming.”
If then we are to believe that Stanley’s mission is authentic, then Jesus has given us, through Stanley, a message that is so profound and so intense that it ought to do nothing less than shake us to the core and wake us up: the Second Coming of Christ will happen in Stanley’s lifetime!
Stanley, born in 1953, is now 56 years old. According to the CIA World Factbook, the average life expectancy of Filipinos, as of 2008, is 70.8 years, with males averaging 67.89 years. If Stanley lives according to the overall Filipino male average, then he has approximately ten years to live. If he is healthy, and manages to live until the ripe old age of 90, then he has approximately 33 years to live. That means, based on Jesus’ statement to Stanley that he will witness the Lord’s final coming, the Second Coming of Christ may very well happen anywhere in the next 10 to 30 years!
Numerous other private revelations have talked about the proximity of the Second Coming of Christ and the need for mankind to repent in preparation for “the great day of the Lord”. In recent apparitions and private revelations, such as Our Lady’s messages to Fr. Gobbi of the Marian Movement of Priests, as well as the apparitions in Akita, Africa and Medjugorje, Our Lady emphasized the urgent need to repent since time is “running out”.
It should be noted also that the Lord Jesus said to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska of Poland: “You will prepare the world for My final coming… let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice.” (St. Faustina’s Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul)

Preparation for the Second Coming of Christ

In the messages to Stanley, as well as in the messages given to St. Faustina, Jesus emphasized that the Divine Mercy devotion is a preparation for His Second Coming. In His message to Stanley on 1 April 1996, Jesus said: “…proclaim My Mercy to all souls, the days of the earth are so short now, so the duration of this devotion will soon come to an end.”
Likewise, in his 4 October 1996 message: “Blessed are those who take advantage of My Mercy while it is still the Day of Mercy, but beware, the Day of Judgment is sooner than everyone thinks.”

Time to Prepare!

If Jesus’ imminent return to the world is near, then our foremost priority should be to prepare for this momentous event! Just like a basketball game, we are in the “last two minutes” — only this time the stakes are much, much higher: the fate of our souls for all eternity.
How do we prepare then? The answer, of course, is prayer, particularly the prayers recommended by Jesus the Divine Mercy Himself. Jesus admonishes us to pray the Chaplet. He said to Stanley: “Pray, pray the Chaplet and recommend it to all, as the last hope of salvation. Encourage people to pray the Chaplet without ceasing.” This message of praying the Chaplet without ceasing was repeated to Stanley numerous times: “Pray, pray, the Chaplet without ceasing, it will be a shield against the enemies.”
Note that Jesus did not say “pray the Chaplet daily.” He encourages us to pray the Chaplet without ceasing. If we are prepared, the Second Coming of Christ should not be a cause for worry or fear but a source of boundless hope and joy! For at last, the time will come when all our toils and sufferings in this world will end; when sickness and death will be no more; when emotional pains and hurts will cease. If we prepare well, it will be the magnificent moment when we will at last claim our glorious crown, and will say with St. Paul (2 Timothy 4:1-8):

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

 by Arthur Policarpio