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)

Joseph's Lullaby

I know Christmas is far from here, but I was thinking of our Lord as a little baby tonight, and listened to this song. How great is the humility of our God in coming to us as a little Child!

The Lyrics are Beautiful:

Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

Memorial of the North American Martyrs

"My God, it grieves me greatly that you are not known, that in this savage wilderness all have not been converted to you, that sin has not been driven from it. My God, even if all the brutal tortures which prisoners in this region must endure should fall on me, I offer myself most willingly to them and I alone shall suffer them all." 
~St. John de Brebeuf 
(Priest and Martyr)




+French Jesuits, Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Noel Chabanel, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel and laymen Rene Goupil and John de Lalande were the first missionaries preached the gospel to the Iroquois and Huron Indians in Canada and North America.

(Taken from the Office of Readings for the LOTH)

10,000 “Impossible” Novenas to St. Jude!

Starting Wednesday, I am joining over 5,000 Catholics to pray the St. Jude 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 ‘impossible causes’ to pray for?

You can sign up for handy email reminders to get the the novena prayers here: St. Jude Novena

Now that you’ve signed up, I’d like you ask you a little favor. We are trying to get 10,000 people to pray this novena together. Right now, there are about 5,200 signed up. Will you help me get more?

Here’s what you can do:

+ Go to the Facebook event here and invite all your Catholic friends.
+ If you have a website, post about it there!
+ Email your friends and family and get them praying too!

Let’s get all the Catholics we know to pray this novena together to St. Jude!

Feast of the "Servant of Mercy"

Happy Feast of St. Faustina Kowalska!

"You should not worry too much about adversities. The world is not as powerful as it seems to be; its strength is strictly limited.. Know, my daughter, that if your soul is filled with the fire of My pure love, then all difficulties dissipate like fog before the sun's rays and dare not touch the soul. All adversaries are afraid to start a quarrel with such a soul, because they sense that it is stronger than the whole world..." (Jesus to St. Faustina, 1643)

"Satan always takes advantage of [certain moments]; thoughts of discouragement began to rise to the surface - for your faithfulness and sincerity - this is your reward. How can one be sincere when one is so misunderstood? Jesus, ... I cannot go on any longer. Again I fell to the ground under the weight, and I broke out in a sweat, and fear began to overcome me. I had no one to lean on interiorly. Suddenly I heard a voice within my soul, Do not fear; I am with you. And an unusual light illumined my mind, and I understood that I should not give in to such sorrows. I was filled with a certain strength and left my cell with new courage to suffer." (129)

"In the course of this retreat, the Lord has given me the light to know His will more profoundly...This light has confirmed me in profound peace, making me understand that I should fear nothing except sin." (St. Faustina, 1394)

"Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls." (Jesus to St. Faustina, 1602)

"My daughter, just as you prepare in My presence, so also you make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyse what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light." (Jesus to St. Faustina, 1725)

"My child, know that the greatest obstacles to holiness are discouragement and an exaggerated anxiety. These will deprive you of the ability to practice virtue. All temptations united together ought not disturb your interior peace, not even momentarily. Sensitiveness and discouragement are the fruits of self-love. Have confidence, My child. Do not lose heart in coming for pardon, for I am always ready to forgive you. As often as you beg for it, you glorify My mercy." (Jesus to St. Faustina, 1488)

Related Posts: St. Faustina Quotes, Divine Mercy, On the Life of St. Faustina

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

"Lord, make me an instrument 
of your peace;
Where there is hatred, 
let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."
Amen.


St. Francis, Pray for us!

Novena to St. Thérèse of Lisieux

In just a few days, I will be joining over 2,900 Catholics to pray the St. Thérèse Novena. I’m excited to pray this with so many faithful Catholics around the world and I thought you’d like to join too! There are thousands of people praying through this novena website and there will be millions praying around the world.

+ Sign up for handy email reminders to get the the novena prayers here: St. Thérèse Novena
+ If you have a website, post about it there!
+ Email your friends and family and get them praying too!

Let’s get all the Catholics we know to pray this novena together to St. Thérèse!

Bl. John Paul II on Our Lady - Happy Birthday Mama Mary!

Feast of St. Gregory the Great - Pope and Doctor of the Church

Thought this was beautiful and wanted to share it with you all.
~Christina

Hymn for today - Office of Readings - Common of Pastors

The earth is full of the goodness of Christ,
H feeds His lamb and guards His sheep,
He walks abroad as the Shepherd of souls,
And gathers all into His keep

We know the voice of our Pastor, the Lord,
He calls our names eternally,
Our hearts rejoice at the words that He speaks:
"And I know Mine and Mine know Me."

When danger comes all the hirelings will flee,
But Christ remains to guard our sleep,
When evil comes the Good Shepherd of souls
Lays down His life to save His sheep

We shall not want, for our Pastor is Christ,
He makes us lie in fields of Grace,
Where shorn of sin and refreshed by His love,
We gaze in prayer upon His face.


By Michael Gannon

Living the "little way" of St. Thérèse

"We are living now in an age of inventions, and we no longer have to take the trouble of climbing stairs, for, in the homes of the rich, an elevator has replaced these very successfully. I wanted to find an elevator which would raise me to Jesus, for I am too small to climb the rough stairway of perfection. I searched, then, in the Scriptures for some sign of this elevator, the object of my desires, and I read these words coming from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: "Whoever is a LITTLE ONE, let him come to me." And so I succeeded. I felt I had found what I was looking for...The elevator which must raise me to heaven is Your arms O Jesus! And for this I had no need to grow up, but rather I had to remain little and become this more and more." ~St. Thérèse of Lisieux

"...We step into the elevator of Jesus' arms by trying to climb the stairway of perfection. Yes, even if we can't climb these stairs, the way we step into Jesus' arms is by continuing to try to climb, by continuing to try to grow in virtue and holiness. Yet this kind of stepping up (stepping in) requires that we make our efforts with a different attitude than before. For, whereas before we may have gotten discouraged by our inability to climb the stairs, now we try not to. We accept that we might never even climb one stair! Nevertheless, we peacefully keep trying, knowing that Jesus comes down, lifts us up, and eventually carries us to the heights. We might not see him doing it, but he does. We might not feel like we're going anywhere, but we are. We might not think anything has changed, but it has.

Yes, the elevator of the Little Way is a bit strange. It's a way of holiness that doesn't seem to work. In other words, little souls who are in the elevator often look no different than other souls. They have vices and struggles and imperfections just like everyone else, but that's actually part of the Lord's strategy as he works in little souls: He likes to keep them little. He knows that if they were to see themselves bounding with great strides up the steep stairway of perfection, they suddenly wouldn't be so little, and so they wouldn't move hi Heart as deeply. They'd become big souls who don't feel the need to rely completely on Jesus for everything, and so they wouldn't reach those highest heights in heaven reserved for those who accept the lowest places here on earth. Yes, Jesus likes to keep little souls little, so he can give them the biggest gifts, and though it may seem like they don't make any progress, they actually do. Jesus just hides this fact from them.

...Maybe we don't have a single virtue in which we're big. Or do we? By the grace of God, little souls going the Little Way are big on trust. They trust in the mercy of God.They trust God's promise of mercy, the promise he'll satisfy the desires for holiness, even if it seems impossible. They trust in the merciful Heart of Jesus that, they know, can't resist their humble confidence. They trust, they trust, they trust. "

"My virtues are nothing; they are not what give me unlimited confidence that I feel in my heart. They are, to tell the truth, the spiritual riches that render one unjust, when one rests in them with complacence and when one believes they are something great...Ah! I really feel that it is not this at all that pleases God in my little soul; what pleases Him is that He sees me loving my littleness and my poverty, the blind hope that I have in His mercy...That is my only treasure..." ~St. Thérèse of Lisieux

"...understand that to love Jesus, to be His victim of love, the weaker one is, without desires or virtues, the more suited one is for the workings of this consuming and transforming Love...but we must consent to remain always poor and without strength, and this is the difficulty...let us love our littleness, let us love to feel nothing, then we shall be poor in spirit, and Jesus will come to look for us and He will transform us in flames of love...It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to love." ~St. Thérèse of Lisieux




*Excerpts from: Consoling the Heart of Jesus, by Michael E. Gaitley, MIC

He is Risen! Alleluia!

I thought I'd share a beautiful quote I found by Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman from his "Hymn to Lauds Sunday." Certainly seems to ring in the Easter Season.


Rouse we; let the blithesome cry
Of that bird our hearts awaken;
Chide the slumberers as they lie,
And arrest the sin-o'ertaken.



The full text can be found here.

St. Jeanne Jugan, a Saint for Our Time

I recently made a visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor. What a joy to spend time with them! I wanted to share with all of you a wonderful video about their foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, recently cannonized in 2009. For more information on the Sisters visit their website.

"Our Heart Longs for God"

By St. Augustine, Bishop

We have been promised that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. By these words, the tongue has done its best; now we must apply the meditation of the heart. Although they are the words of Saint John, what are they in comparison with the divine reality? And how can we, so greatly inferior to John in merit, add anything of our own? Yet we have received, as John has told us, an anointing by the Holy One which teaches us inwardly more than our tongue can speak. Let us turn to the is source of knowledge, and because at present you cannot see, make it your business to desire the divine vision.

The entire life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied.

Suppose you are going to fill some holder or container, and you know you will be given a large amount. Then you set about stretching your sack or wineskin or whatever it is. Why? Because you know the quantity you will have to put in it and your eyes tell you there is not enough room. By stretching it, therefore, you increase the capacity of the sack, and this is how God deals with us. Simply by making us wait he increases our desire, which in turn enlarges the capacity of our soul, making it able to receive what is to be given to us. 

So my brethren, let us continue to desire, for we shall be filled. Take not of Saint Paul stretching as it were his ability to receive what is to come: Not that I have already obtained this, he said, or am I made perfect. Brethren, I do not consider that I have already obtained it. We might ask him, "If you have not yet obtained it, what are you doing in this life?" This one thing I do, answers Paul, forgetting what lies behind, and stretching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize to which I am called in the life above. Not only did Paul say he stretched forward, but he also declared that he pressed on toward a chosen goal. He realized in fact that he was still short of receiving what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived.

Such is our Christian life. By desiring heaven we exercise the powers of our soul. Now this exercise will be effective only to the extent that we free ourselves from desires leading to infatuation with this world. Let me return to the example I have already used, of filling an empty container. God means to fill each of you with what is good; so cast out what is bad! If he wished to fill you with honey and you are full of sour wine, where is the honey to go? The vessel must be emptied of its contents and then be cleansed. Yes, it must be cleansed even if you have to work hard and scour it. It must be made fit for the new thing, whatever it may be.

We may go on speaking figuratively of honey, gold or wine - but whatever we say we cannot express the reality we are to receive. The name of that reality is God. But who will claim that in that one syllable we utter the full expanse of our heart's desire? Therefore, whatever we say is necessarily less than the full truth. We must extend ourselves toward the measure of Christ so that when he comes he may fill us with his presence. Then we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

*Taken from the LOTH, Sixth Week in OT, Friday Office of Readings, 2nd Reading. Emphasis added.

Reading of the Day: St. Jerome Emiliani

From a letter to his brothers by Saint Jerome Emiliani

"Place your trust in God alone"

Sons of the Society of the Servants of the Poor, and dearly beloved brothers in Christ: Greetings from your poor father. I urge you to persevere in your love for Christ and your faithful observance of the law of Christ. In word and work I set an example for you when I was with you. And so the Lord is glorified in you through me.

Our goal is God, the source of all good. As we say in our prayer, we are to place our trust in God and in no one else. In His kindness, our Lord wished to strengthen your faith, for without it, as the evangelist points out, Christ could not have performed many of His miracles. He also wished to listen to your prayer, and so He ordained that you experience poverty, distress, abandonment, weariness and universal scorn. It was also His desire to deprive you of my physical presence, even though I am with you in spirit as your poor, dear, beloved father.

God alone knows the reasons for all this, yet we can recognize three causes. In the first place, our blessed Lord is telling you that He desires to include you among His beloved sons, provided that you remain steadfast in His ways, for this is the way He treats His friends and makes them holy.

The second reason is that He is asking you to grow continually in your confidence in Him alone and not in others. For God, as I said before, does not work in those who refuse to place all their confidence and hope in Him alone. But he does impart the fullness of His love upon those who possess a deep faith and hope; for them he does great things. So if you have been endowed with faith and hope, He will do great things for you; He will raise up the lowly. In depriving you of myself and everyone else you have loved, He will offer you an opportunity to choose one of these alternatives; either you will forsake your faith and return to the ways of the world, or you will remain steadfast in your faith and pass the test.

Now there is a third reason. God wishes to test you like gold in the furnace. The dross is consumed by the fire, but the pure gold remains and its value increases. It is in this manner that God acts with His good servant, who puts his hope in Him and remains unshaken in times of distress. God raises him up and, in return for the things he has left out of love for God, He repays him a hundred-fold in this life with eternal life hereafter.

This is the way God has dealt with all His saints. So it was with His people Israel after their period of trial in Egypt. He not only led them out of Egypt with many miracles and fed them with manna in the desert, He also gave them the promised land. If then you remain constant in faith in the face of trial, the Lord will give you peace and rest for a time in this world, and forever in the next.


*Taken from the Office of Readings for February 8th, Proper of Saints

"Let us go foward in peace..." ~St. Thérèse of Lisieux

It's been quite a long time since I posted something a bit more personal on here. So, here goes...It seems that God has allowed some very trying times in the past few years. Family issues, health, finances...not to mention inward struggles. I know that above all though, Jesus loves me...deeply, with an intensity I can't fully understand. It is upon this reality, that I base my hope, trust, and continue to seek after the will of God.

It is now some years since I began discerning religious life. I still continue to search, trusting God is preparing a place for me, as well as preparing me. I still sense that He is calling me to this. It's difficult to understand oneself, isn't it? I often find myself confused when trying to figure out how God is working in my soul. But I know He is working. Often, looking back on my life, I see His marvelous plan, and the good He performs. I trust that, years from now, I will look back upon this time, and see the same.

St. Thérèse the Little Flower said once,

"If I did not simply suffer from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient; but I look only at the present moment, forget the past; and I take good care not to forestall the future. When we yield to discouragement or despair, it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future."

And so I strive after this too. To keep my peace in the doing the will of God in the present moment, bearing all I suffer as the Cross of Christ. Offering all to Him. And loving Jesus with all that I am, as I receive His Love each day within my heart.

Benedict XVI: 'Teresa of Avila shows that time spent in prayer is not lost'

Quote of the Day: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

"O my God, forgive what I have been, correct what I am, and direct what I shall be."


~St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Pray for us!

Quote of the Day: St. John of the Cross

"In solitude He guides her, He alone, Who also bears in solitude, the wound of love."

~St. John of the Cross
 Feast day: December 14th

An Interview with Bl. Dominic Barberi - Key Man in Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman's Conversion to the Catholic Faith