DO NOT BE AFRAID!

Author Spotlight and St. Therese of Lisieux

I have recently heard of Heather King, and am very interested in reading two of her memoirs, including Shirt of Flame (her walk with St. Therese of Lisieux), and Redeemed (her story). This video clip is from a recent interview WordOnFire posted. Check out her website and blog to learn more.

A Martyr for Christ

"Does our life become from day to day more painful, more oppressive, more replete with afflictions? Blessed be He a thousand times who desires it so. If life be harder, love makes it also stronger, and only this love, grounded on suffering, can carry the Cross of my Lord Jesus Christ. Love without egotism, without relying on self, but enkindling in the depth of the heart an ardent thirst to love and suffer for all those around us: a thirst that neither misfortune nor contempt can extinguish…

I believe, O Lord; but strengthen my faith… Heart of Jesus, I love Thee; but increase my love. Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee; but give greater vigor to my confidence. Heart of Jesus, I give my heart to Thee; but so enclose it in Thee that it may never be separated from Thee. Heart of Jesus, I am all Thine; but take care of my promise so that I may be able to put it in practice even unto the complete sacrifice of my life." 

~Blessed Padre Miguel Austin Pro SJ (composed shortly before he was martyred.)

¡Viva Cristo Rey!

Immaculate Conception Novena

Starting November 29th, I am joining over 6,000 Catholics to pray the Immaculate Conception Novena.

I’m looking forward to the answered prayers from this amazing saint! With so many faithful Catholics around the world praying this novena, I thought you’d like to join too. :)

Do you have any special petitions to bring to Mary?

You can sign up for handy email reminders to get the the novena prayers here: Immaculate Conception Novena

Let’s get all the Catholics we know to pray this novena together for the Immaculate Conception!

Quote of the Day: Mercy

"...It becomes more evident that love is transformed into mercy when it is necessary to go beyond the precise norm of justice...

Mercy - as Christ has presented it in the parable of the prodigal son - has the interior form of the love that in the New Testament is called agape. This love is able to reach down to every prodigal son, to every human misery, and above all to every form of moral misery, to sin. When this happens, the person who is the object of mercy does not feel humiliated, but rather found again and "restored to value." The father first and foremost expresses to him his joy that he has been "found again" and that he has "returned to life. This joy indicates a good that has remained intact: even if he is a prodigal, a son does not cease to be truly his father's son...

The parable of the prodigal son expresses in a simple but profound way the reality of conversion. Conversion is the most concrete expression of the working of love and of the presence of mercy in the human world. The true and proper meaning of mercy does not consist only in looking, however penetratingly and compassionately, at moral, physical or material evil: mercy is manifested in its true and proper aspect when it restores to value, promotes and draws good from all the forms of evil existing in the world and in man. Understood in this way, mercy constitutes the fundamental content of the messianic message of Christ and the constitutive power of His mission. His disciples and followers understood and practiced mercy in the same way. Mercy never ceased to reveal itself, in their hearts and in their actions, as an especially creative proof of the love which does not allow itself to be "conquered by evil," but overcomes "evil with good."

The genuine face of mercy has to be ever revealed anew. In spite of many prejudices, mercy seems particularly necessary for our times."

~Blessed John Paul II, Dives en Misericordia

PRAYER

Funny and witty, practical and helpful.
All in all an excellent talk by Dr. Peter Kreeft on prayer:

(Click on the link below)

7 Reasons to Pray
7 Problems in Prayer
14 Ways to Pray

Fr. Barron comments on All Saints Day

Bl. JPII on St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Widsom of Her Doctorship

"One can say with conviction about Thérèse of Lisieux that the Spirit of God allowed her heart to reveal directly to the people of our time the fundamental mystery, the reality of the Gospel...Her "Little Way" is the way of "holy childhood". There is something unique in this way, the genius of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. At the same time there is the confirmation and renewal of the most basic and most universal truth. What truth of the Godspel message is really more basic and more universal than this: God is our Father and we are His children?" ~Blessed John Paul II (Visit to Lisieux - 1980)

"Thérèse is also a contemplative. In the hiddenness of her Carmel she lived the great adventure of Christian experience to the point of knowing the breadth, length, height and depth of Christ's love (cf. Eph 3:18-19)...By her life Thérèse offers a witness and theological illustration of the beauty of the contemplative life as the total dedication to Christ, Spouse of the Church...Hers is a hidden life which possesses a mysterious fruitfulness for spreading the Gospel and fills the Church and the world with the sweet odor of Christ. (cf. LT 169 2v) ~Bl. JPII (Divini Amoris Scientia: The Science of Divine Love)

"Thérèse possesses an exceptional universality. Her person, the Gospel message of the "Little Way" of trust and spiritual childhood have received and continue to receive a remarkable welcome, which has transcended every border..." ~Bl. JPII (Divini Amoris Scientia)