“Do not imagine that in Heaven there is the least regard for a king or an emperor. Just like the poorest rag-picker, they are individually valued and weighed, according to the weight of their charity and of their detachment.”

~ St. Bernadette Speaks, by Fr. Albert Bessieres, SJ, 1956.

As we prepare for Lent to begin tomorrow...let us "weigh" ourselves on our charity and our detachment from worldly things. Of course, we have to deal with worldly things on a day-to-day basis, but we shouldn't be *attached* to them. Charity and Detachment...if we were filled with these two, we would find joy and peace -- even in this world!

"Our great St. Peter, awakened from his sleep by the angel: how many consolations there are in the story of his deliverance (Acts 12:3-11). His soul was transported to such a degree that he did not know whether he was dreaming. May our angel touch our side today to awaken us into a loving attentiveness to God, to deliver us from the chains of self-love and to consecrate us once and for all to this heavenly love so that we might say, 'Now I know that God sent His angel and rescued me.'"

~ St. Francis de Sales

As we prepare for the holy season of Lent, what a great time to "rise from sleep" spiritually, shake off our sloth, and start thinking, loving and acting for God! 

Some say that today is a feast of St. Mechtilde, who had many visions of Our Lord. She died November 19, 1299.

"One day St. Mechtilde saw Our Lord opening the wound of His Loving Heart, and saying to her: 'See the immensity of My love: measure it by those words which I addressed to My brethren: "As My Father hath loved Me, I also have loved you" (John 15:9). 'Hast thou ever heard words which express a stronger or more tender love?'"

~ Very Rev. Andre Prevot, Love, Peace and Joy, imprimatur 1911.

Can we imagine a stronger or more tender love than that which Our Lord Jesus Christ has toward us poor sinners? And He loved us first - with no merit whatsoever on our part. May this flood our souls with comfort, and inspire us to return love for Love....

"Look often to Our Lord, Who watches over you, poor little creature that you are, and sees you surrounded by labors and distractions. He is sending you help and is blessing your affliction. With this in mind, you should patiently and meekly bear annoyances for the love of Him who permits them only for your benefit. Lift your heart to God, call upon His aid, and make your chief consolation be the happiness of belonging to Him. All of the causes of your displeasure will seem slight when you know that you have such a Friend, so great a support, and so excellent a refuge."

~ St. Francis de Sales

Lough Derg, Co. Donegal, Ireland

"One day [St. Francis de Sales] surprised his valet, Favre, sitting at his own writing-desk, composing a letter to a young widow, asking for her hand in marriage. The good man was highly confused, and hid the sheet of paper, but the saint had understood: 'Aren't I your friend?' he said. 'Why are you hiding something from me?' The valet blushed like a cherry, and handed him the letter. The Bishop of Geneva read it slowly and then said: 'You don't know how to do it; leave it to me.' He sat down and wrote out a fine letter: 'Now, copy this, seal it and send it off. You will see that everything will go well!' All went very well. They were married, were very happy, and are said to have had many children."

~ Fr. Albert Bessieres, SJ, Saint Bernadette Speaks, imprimatur 1956.

Maybe you wonder why I would post this as "Words of Encouragement", but I found this little story to be quite heartwarming. A busy and very holy bishop taking time to compose a proposal letter for his servant! Marriage is a vocation, and the bishop knew that this was Favre's calling, and that he wanted to marry a good woman. Therefore the saint used his God-given tact and charm to help the young suitor. 

St. Francis de Sales, pray for us in the sticky situations in our lives...ask Our Lord that we may know what to say or do, and how to say or do it successfully, that things may go "very well" for us, if it's God's Holy Will!

Public Statue of St. Francis de Sales in Annecy, France

It is my considered opinion that crosses that nobody knows about are the hardest to carry. When we have big public crosses, everyone rallies around us and comforts us and admires our courage. But when we have secret crosses, it is much harder to bear up cheerfully. If we show impatience, people wonder, "What's wrong with him? (or her)" People may even think that we have no difficulties, and resent us or envy us. And meanwhile, we are secretly suffering.

But the saints tell us that these secret sufferings are the most meritorious...only God knows about them, and we can offer them to Him as a special gift. The next time that we are suffering secretly, let us remember these words:

"For the love of Jesus I will carry with courage and generosity the cross which is hidden in my heart." ~ St. Bernadette

Today is the feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Antioch. Here are images of Saints Peter and Paul in the Cathedral of that name in Athlone, Ireland.


The quote for today is an encouragement to constancy in prayer. We should never give up on prayer...God always hears us, and the more we pray, the closer we get to Heaven.

"He who says 'I will not stop praying until I am eternally happy,' will certainly be eternally happy."

~ St. John Chrysostom

St. Bernadette wrote in her diary:

"When emotion becomes too strong, I must remember Our Lord's Words: - 'It is I. Be not afraid.' Amidst contempt and humiliations, whether from my superiors or my companions, I must immediately thank Our Lord, as for a grace. The love of this good Master will make the tree of pride disappear with its evil roots. The more I humble myself, the more I shall grow in the Heart of Jesus."

How many of us, when experiencing a humiliation or trial, think of these words of Our Lord: "It is I. Be not afraid."? But truly, when crosses come to us, He has allowed them, He has weighed them and decided that they are just what we need. He knows what will make us reach our full potential. He knows what will get us to Heaven. As an old Irishman once said, "Them crosses get us HOME."

(Sorry about the reflection, but these are the veil, rosary and shoes of St. Bernadette)

Do you ever feel as if you struggle and struggle and struggle against your faults and shortcomings, and never get anywhere? I once heard a priest say that we are not asked to win, we are asked to fight. We must keep fighting those little sins, but we may never fully conquer them.

But why? Why don't we win, when we try so hard to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect? Why do we still keep losing our temper, or gossiping, or boasting, or committing whatever other faults we battle?

These consoling words are from a life of St. Gertrude, who had numerous visions and great mystical experiences from Our Lord:

"Scrupulously careful herself about observance of the Rule (of the order of nuns to which she belonged), negligence on the part of others would bring down on them a reproach, sometimes severe. Then she would humbly beg her Sisters to implore God to grant her the grace of gentleness and meekness. She endeavored to obtain from Our Lord complete deliverance from these faults, but learnt from Him that He leaves these defects to His chosen souls so that they may bear in mind the weakness of their nature and realize that all their purity is only an effect of His free mercy."

~ Wilfred H. Woollen, B.A., St. Gertrude: A Saint of the Sacred Heart, imprimatur 1927.

Of course Our Lord wants us to keep trying to do the right thing, but He may be letting us slip sometimes so that we may remain humble and remember that we are nothing without Him. Every good deed we are able to do is only by His grace and His mercy, and every bad deed is through our own weakness (or, God forbid, our own malice).

So let us pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off (as St. Francis de Sales tells us), and bravely take Our Lord's Hand again, knowing that we are weak and helpless without Him. But we can do mighty things in Him Who strengthens us!

"God is love, love and not domination; that love which is called the Blessed Trinity, that immense effusion of love. Love describes God just as selfishness describes the world."

~ Fr. Albert Bessieres, SJ, Saint Bernadette Speaks, imprimatur 1956.

God is love, and the world is selfishness. That's my thought for today. 

When we're immersed in God, we are giving and receiving love. 

When we are immersed in the world, we find nothing but selfishness - our own and other people's.

Which do we choose?

Today is the feast of St. Bernadette Soubirous.

(True photograph of the saint, hanging in the mill where she was born in Lourdes)

"All of us who approached her during the last days of her illness remarked that her eyes, always bright and limpid, shone with a striking brilliancy," wrote the convent chaplain, Abbe Febvre. "We were indescribably impressed by their eloquence, especially when she raised them to Heaven in the act of breathing, as her bodily strength diminished. It seemed as if, having once gazed upon the supernatural, they burned with increased lustre as the moment approached when the splendors of Paradise were about to be unveiled to her departing soul."
Her last words were: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a poor sinner.... a poor sinner...."

~ Taken from Bernadette of Lourdes by the Sisters of Charity, imprimatur 1926.

But the God of all grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. To him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

~ 1 Peter 5:10-11

(St. Peter, as depicted in the Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul in Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland)

What encouraging words Saint Peter wrote to the early Christians! After we have suffered a little...which in those days often meant torture and death...after we suffer a little, God will make us perfect, will validate us, and will confirm us in virtue. Oh Lord, confirm us in virtue, that we may habitually seek the good and avoid evil.

Let us suffer our tribulations well, with joy and courage, like the early Christians did, so that He may make us saints!

St. Bernadette, who saw the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes in 1858, was constantly pestered by people who wanted her to tell them about it. This was understandable, but it was certainly a trial to her at times. Some were pious; some were skeptical or curious; some were even mocking.

Here is another quote from the same book as yesterday: Saint Bernadette Speaks by Fr. Albert Bessieres, SJ, 1956:

"I used to talk to God in patois (the simple dialect which she spoke), and to Our Lady; I used to offer them my sufferings for the conversion of sinners. One day, one of these sinners came to see me, and asked me, in a mocking tone, to tell him what I had seen;
"I snubbed him: - 'It is no use, since you do not believe.'
"'I am a sinner,' he murmured, 'Perhaps if I were to see how she smiled it would convert me.'
"'That smile is only to be seen in Heaven, sir. But, since you are a sinner, I will try and give you some idea.'
"That poor smile was able to convert him."

Imagine, Bernadette's poor imitation of the beauty of the Blessed Virgin's smile was enough to soften his heart and make him return to God! What would that smile of God's Mother look like? St. Bernadette said sometimes she was serious, sometimes she smiled, and when Bernadette tried to hand her pen and paper to write down her name, she even laughed.

God gave His Mother her smile and her laugh, when He created her. I wonder how often the little Lord Jesus must have elicited them from her in His childhood, purposely doing something charming or cute to see that sweet smile?

I'm reading a lovely book called St. Bernadette Speaks, by Fr. Albert Bessieres, SJ, imprimatur 1956. I read it, and I thoroughly enjoy it, but sometimes if I read it aloud or quote it, I see a bit of a language barrier. Fr. Bessieres wrote it in French, and the Earl of Wicklow translated it. Between the French composition and the Earl translating it into English with an Irish accent, it comes out just a teeny bit funny. :)

He wrote in the "voice" of St. Bernadette. He relates the time that the young teenager St. Bernadette stood up to an official who threatened her with prison if she went back to see the Lovely Lady in the Grotto. She defied him and went anyway.


"Some people said that on that day I had the courage of a Joan of Arc... This proves that God gives courage to whom He wishes, when He wishes, and that one remains strong as long as one only goes on thinking of doing what is required of one, while laughing at everything else."

So we remain strong as long as we focus on what we must do, and laugh at everything else! We may not have courage for everything, but we have courage to do what is right. It reminds me of the quote I read somewhere that "we always have time for God's Will, but not necessarily for other things."

Whether we are a St. Joan of Arc, or a St. Thomas Aquinas, or a St. Isidore the Farmer, God will give us the courage (and the time!) to do whatever He wants us to accomplish. 

(Chapel in Marseilles, France)

Speaking of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament:

"For ever thinking of men -- men never think of Him. When the morning sun shines upon the earth, when the red glare of noon falls upon the world outside, when the shadows of evening fall and the twilight deepens into night and the stars come out in the heavens, and there is sleep upon the world, thinking, in the solitude of His prison on the altar of you and me, when you and I are not thinking of Him. Thinking of the holy souls, that clustered around Him at the morning Mass, thinking of every fervent Communion, of every devout meditation, of every warm aspiration, of every act of reparation and love, and thinking of the surprise and joy of those holy souls when they come to Heaven and find that though no word was spoken to them from the silent tabernacle, no response given to their prayers, that no word or thought of theirs has faded from the memory of Jesus, but that He has treasured them up in His Sacred Heart, with the more than commensurate reward He has attached to each."                  ~ Sermons by P.A. Canon Sheehan, D.D., imprimatur 1920.

What a consoling thought! And so very true. Our Lord will remember (and reward) every thought, word, act, or even intention we had toward Him in life. When I say intention, I mean good intention - as in, we had planned to help that person for His sake, but that person no longer needed our help. Our Lord will still reward us for that! As I read somewhere once, He sees every ripple in the pond of our interior...a fear, a joy, a worry, distrust, love. And He will recompense us for every bit of love we show Him in this life...whether interior or exterior. 

Can we make a visit to Him in the Blessed Sacrament today? Even for a few moments? Let us do so! We will be glad in eternity that we made the time!

Speaking of the love of the Heart of Jesus, Canon P.A. Sheehan, D.D. wrote:

"Who shall measure it or sound its depths? It is like looking up into the blue sky. Infinite azure everywhere, but the mind that attempts to measure its height is sure to lose itself. So it is with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Love, benevolence, charity, kindness everywhere; but 'the breadth and the length and the height and the depth', neither St. Thomas, with his giant intellect, nor the seraphic intelligence of the highest angel, nor the all but infinite mind of Mary, can measure."

~ Sermons of P.A. Canon Sheehan, D.D., imprimatur 1920.

I've always loved that passage...that the love of Christ is so wide and so high and so deep that we can never even comprehend it. Even the Seraphim cannot plumb its depths!

(Statue in Saint-Saveur Church in Aix-en-Provence.)

Today is the Feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order.

The Blessed Mother appeared and gave them the black habit, the habit of mourning, to wear...because they comforted her in her sorrows. They are the Order of the Sorrowful Mother. Listen to these beautiful words, quoted from the Servite Manual, Behold Thy Mother, compiled by the Servite Fathers, imprimatur 1959:

"Devotion to the Dolors of Mary is the source of most abundant graces. From the height of His cross Jesus looks down with love on those who compassionate His sufferings in union with His Mother, as well as on those who feel compassion for her own Sorrows. Seeing them, He can no longer say, 'I looked for one that would grieve together with Me, but there was none; and for one that would comfort Me, and I found none.' (Psalm 48:21) And seeing them faithful to Him in misfortune and humiliation, He opens in their behalf the richest treasures of His Heart, as He did for St. John and St. Mary Magdalen. When in their turn they are in trouble and affliction, He will come to console them lovingly, will pour balm into their wounds, uphold and fortify them, and after their trial give them the purest joy."

The words that really jump out at me from this passage are: If we are faithful to Him in misfortune and humiliation, He will open the richest treasures of His Heart, as He did for St. John and St. Mary Magdalen. It's true...He was the most loving and gentle and comforting to these two saints, and they were the two who stood by to comfort Him in His Passion and Death.

And while we are sympathizing and comforting Him and His sweet mother in their sufferings, we can think on these words that I heard during a Day of Recollection yesterday: "He suffered each stripe of the scourging for me. Has anyone ever before loved me THAT MUCH?"

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes!

(The actual grotto where Our Lady appeared)

Pope Pius IX sent to Lourdes, in the 1870's, "a magnificent, precious palm of massive gold, weighing about five pounds, adorned with enamels and precious stones, and surmounted by the tiara and the keys of St. Peter with the Papal arms. It was composed of two branches, -- the Martyr's and the Confessor's palm united together." He told the person who was to carry it there, "Here is this palm: It is the symbol of victory. Remember then to present it to Mary, because she is triumphant in all adversities."

When the Archbishop of Armata presented the golden palm at Lourdes, he said:

"To Mary is due the palm, because from the very first instant of her Immaculate Conception, she has triumphed over the infernal serpent. To Mary is due the palm, because she is that peerless woman promised by God from the beginning of the world; because she is the Star of Jacob; because all generations have called her blessed; because she has been the companion of Jesus throughout the different stages of His dolorous Passion, and amid all His triumphs. Mary has been victorious in all the adversities of the Church; hers is the palm of triumph."

How beautiful! And we, as her children triumph as well! We rejoice in her victory!

The Archbishop then prayed that Our Lady would "hasten the hour of triumph, you who at the marriage feast of Cana hastened the hour for the public manifestation of the power of your Divine Son." Ah indeed..Our Lady can ask Our Lord that good prevail sooner rather than later. At Cana, He told her that His hour had not yet come, and then He did it for her anyway. May good prevail - may God show His Power and show Himself victorious!

(The Basilica at Lourdes)

Tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, so I offer you another quote from this wonderful old 1878 book entitled, The Immaculate Conception: The History, Trials, and Triumphs of the Work of God at Lourdes by Rev. Hilary Maurice Vigo:

"Consider, moreover, that the Immaculate Virgin Mary is not only the health of the sick, but also the refuge of sinners; - nay, more, the refuge of sinners in a most especial manner, because she is more desirous of converting us and making us saints, than she is of healing our corporal afflictions, -- for these, when borne with patience, gain for us merit in life eternal, which is our last end and true destiny. And, indeed, she even avails herself of temporal blessings and bodily cures, in order to induce us to hold in high estimation and earnestly pray for the spiritual graces of the soul. How many, in fact, having been healed in body by the water of Lourdes, have been converted, and by the aid of the sacraments cured of spiritual evils? Admire the pious, maternal care manifested by the Immaculate Virgin and live in such a way as to deserve to be a recipient of her beneficence."

I truly felt her maternal tenderness when I was at Lourdes. It is strange to say, perhaps, but I felt "mothered." I felt watched over, cared for, and loved.

When Our Lord Jesus had given us everything else, then...right before He died, He gave us His last great gift - He gave us His Mother.

I'm hoping to get my "Words of Encouragement" emails up and running again soon! In the meantime, tell your friends they can read them here on this blog. :)

"Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing ye to the Lord and bless His Name: shew forth His salvation from day to day."

~ Psalm 95: 1-2

Let us glorify Him for all He has done for us: past, present and future blessings!

I have a little sister, named Meghan Maire, who was born on September 9, 1987, and who flew away to Heaven on August 21, 1989. She never had the time (or maturity) to commit a single sin. Her little soul was full of grace and beauty and heavenly joy. A short time before she died, she even tore out the word "Heaven" from a book page, and gave it to our mother. I can't wait to see her again someday.

Today's quote is taken from the words of St. Therese of Lisieux to her sister Leonie, when she was in her final illness. She died when she was 24, in 1897, and was canonized in 1925.

Therese wrote to Leonie:

"You say you wish that in Heaven I would pray for you to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord. Be sure that I will not forget to give Him your messages and to ask from Him all that will be necessary for you to become a saint. Farewell, my little sister, so dear to me, I would wish that the thought of my entry into Heaven would fill you with joy, since I could then love you even more than I do now."

Years later, Leonie told Fr. Albert H. Dolan:

"I never ask her for anything for myself, because she is my sister. And I trust her to obtain for me, her sister, without being asked, all the graces that I need."

~ Fr. Albert H. Dolan, Our Sister is in Heaven.

Those who loved us in life will certainly remember us in Heaven, and intercede for us with Almighty God!

"Since the creation of Heaven and earth I have worked for the redemption of all, more by the wisdom of My benignity than by the power of My majesty. And this benignity of wisdom shines most in My tolerance towards the imperfect, leading them, even by their own free will, into the way of perfection."

~ Our Lord spoke these words to St. Gertrude

The writings of St. Gertrude reveal an astounding side of the Savior -- have you ever read her revelations? He told her so many comforting and encouraging things about the spiritual life. "How good, how kind Thou art, sweet Jesus!"

I'm sorry, I have not yet found a new way to send out my "Words of Encouragement", so I'm just posting them here for now until I work it out...

When someone foolishly told St. Catherine of Genoa that, as a wife and mother, she couldn't love God as much as a nun or priest could, she responded:

"Would God put us anywhere in the world so that we could not love Him? If the love of the husband and children whom God has given should separate any woman from the love of God, it would then be no longer love, but weakness."

God wants us to give Him all our love, and to love others through Him and for His sake, whether we are male or female, secular or religious, young or old.

Our glass of love can be full, no matter the size of our glass. Let us work toward filling our hearts with love of the good God!

For those who subscribe to my email list, I'm afraid I'm having technical difficulties with it. But I will continue to post here on the blog while I try to work it out! :) Please say a prayer that I can!

In the meantime, St. Francis de Sales once again offers us some concrete advice regarding prayer, and especially mental prayer:

"If possible, pray in the morning, which is the best time for spiritual exercises, and think of them during the rest of the day."

It's true...it makes such a difference. If we think and pray deeply about a subject in the morning, we can recall it throughout the day. St. Francis de Sales elsewhere refers to it as picking a little bouquet of flowers to lightly sniff at times, reminding ourselves of the fragrant graces received. If the only time that we can meditate is at night, then so be it. Hopefully, we can remind ourselves of the subject matter in the morning upon waking. But if at all possible, we should pray in the morning.

In another spot, he advises:

"During vocal prayer if you find your heart drawn and invited to interior or mental prayer, don't refuse to take it up. Let your mind turn very gently in that direction and don't be concerned at not finishing the vocal prayers you intended to say. The mental prayer you substitute for them is more pleasing to God and more profitable for your soul."

What a comfort to know this little tip! That gentle tugging of our mind and heart, pulling us toward a holy thought, or beautiful contemplation -- we should follow it and not shrug it off. The Holy Ghost offers His inspirations during prayer, and we can learn to listen to Him. St. Teresa of Avila humbly referred to her closest moments with God as "distractions" - may we all have *that* kind of distraction!

(St. Joan of Arc, as shown in a statue in Aix-en-Provence, France.)

"It is no great merit to serve one's king in the piping days of peace and amid the delights of court life. To serve him during the hardships of war and amid troubles and persecutions is a true mark of constancy and fidelity."

~ St. Francis de Sales

Do we serve our Dear Lord as well amid troubles and crosses as we do when we are filled with delight and consolation? Serving Him loyally in the rough times is the true badge of the courageous and the faithful.

"If you gather and handle the goods of this world with one hand, you must always hold fast with the other to your heavenly Father's Hand and turn toward Him from time to time to see if your actions or occupations are pleasing to Him."

                                       ~ St. Francis de Sales

        (The rosary of St. Francis de Sales)

In this life, we have to deal with the goods of this world (some of us have more of these goods, others less, naturally). St. Jane de Chantal, friend and co-founder of/with St. Francis de Sales, was a Baroness who had to oversee numerous castles and administer her children's inheritance after she was widowed. But she handled all these worldly goods with her eyes on Heaven. An able administrator, she transferred those same skills to running a convent.

We, too, can have one hand on the things of this world as needed, as long as we keep our other hand securely in God's Hand. Let us turn to Him this evening and see if He is pleased with us....

Let us contemplate these beautiful words today:


"Serve God as He wishes. You will see that one day He will do all you wish, and more than you know how to wish."

    ~ St. Francis de Sales

(View of the lovely town of Annecy, in which the saint lived.)

Today is the feast of St. Brigid of Ireland (451-525). 

Daughter of a pagan chieftain and a Christian slave, she started the first religious women (nuns) in Ireland, and went up and down the countryside tending to the poor and sick. She truly exemplified the following two quotes of St. Francis de Sales:

"Ought we not to love dearly the neighbor, who truly represents to us the sacred Person of our Master? And is this not one of the most powerful motives we could have for loving each other with an ardently burning love?"

and:

"It is to those who have the most need of us that we ought to show our love more especially."

The person who most needs our love and care may not be the person that we "feel like" showing love to...but our love should come from God, through us as a channel, into those who need it the most.

I smile inwardly when I think of how Saint Brigid's pagan father brought her to the king one day in frustration because she kept giving away so many of his possessions to the poor and needy. Young Brigid waited patiently in her father's chariot while he went inside. Instead of being intimidated and curtailing her activities, she gave away her father's jeweled sword to a beggar who happened to come by! When Duffy (the English version of her father's name) returned to the chariot, he was infuriated, but the king declared that Brigid was someone special, and that he should give the girl her freedom.

St. Brigid of Ireland, pray for us to have charity like unto yours!