(The town of Annecy, France, where things haven't changed much since St. Francis de Sales

walked these streets...)

"We must set our hearts firmly in God and never withdraw them, because God alone is our peace, our consolation, and our glory!"

~ St. Francis de Sales

(The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being offered on the Hill of Slane in Ireland, where St. Patrick is said to have lit the Easter fire, and launched his evangelization of the Emerald Isle.)

Catholic sportscaster Vin Scully was asked by an interviewer if he felt, at 88, that he had one foot in Heaven. He answered, “I don’t feel like I have one foot in Heaven, but I think I can see it from here, especially at Mass.” ~ Catholic Digest, October 2016.

The Holy Mass is our window to Heaven. Please keep in your prayers the soul of Joyce DePass who died of a heart attack today. I saw her at Mass just a week or two ago. May she rest in peace, and may her family be comforted.

A Paschal Candle

"Then Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' And behold Magdalen's great sorrow is turned into joy! Her tears of affliction are changed into tears of love. Scarcely does she hear her name 'Mary', that name so familiar on the lips of the Master, than she feels an unutterable sweetness, the name resounds with such a charm on her ear. Only the Savior could so pronounce it. Immediately she came back to herself, life re-awoke in her heart....O mighty and impatient love, it did not suffice her to see Jesus and to hear Jesus, but more, she must touch Jesus. She knew indeed that virtue went out from Him; and that this virtue went out from Him; and that this virtue healed all that afflicted her." 

~ Origen

(Statue of St. Francis of Assisi in St. Thomas Becket Church, Veneta, Oregon)

Although I try to blog every day, sometimes life happens. :) But there are times when our words are not needed -- our example is. May we set a good example for someone today!

“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.” – St. Francis of Assisi

(Winona, Minnesota)

"Brother, if you commit a sin and take pleasure in it, the pleasure passes but the sin remains. But if you do something virtuous even though you are tired, the tiredness passes but the virtue remains."

~ St. Camillus de Lellis

Push through the tiredness, and do something virtuous today! :)

(The tomb of St. John Vianney, Ars, France)

"We ought to run after crosses as the miser runs after money... Nothing but crosses will reassure us at the Day of Judgment. When that day shall come, we shall be happy in our misfortunes, proud of our humiliations, and rich in our sacrifices!"

~ St. John Vianney

I'd like to add, of course, that we will triumph in our earthly afflictions on Judgment Day *if we have borne them well.* During a Holy Week sermon, I heard a very interesting point being made: two thieves died on Good Friday on either side of Our Lord, and both suffered the same pains. One benefited from his sufferings by uniting them to Christ and humbly begging Our Lord's help, and thereby gained Heaven. The other blasphemed God during his sufferings and made fun of Our Lord's own Sufferings, and thereby gained - well, he probably went to Hell. So we suffer our trials in this life no matter what...we can choose to use them to our benefit, or to our detriment. It's our choice!

“May the God of love and peace set your heart at rest.” 


~ St. Raymond of Pennafort









Photo Credit: 
Margaret Schermann.

Photo Credit: Margaret Schermann. Statue found in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, N. Ireland.

“Let the storm rage and the sky darken – not for that shall we be dismayed. If we trust as we should in Mary, we shall recognize in her, the Virgin most powerful ‘who with virginal foot did crush the head of the serpent.'" – St. Pope Pius X

(The humble rectory of St. John Vianney at Ars, France)

True humility is one of the most essential virtues -- without it, all the others fall apart. There is no point in being full of fortitude, prudence, hope, etc., if we are also filled with pride. St. John Vianney compared humility to the string that holds the rosary beads together...without it, our virtues scatter. This example of the saint's humility tickled me, so I just had to share:

"All his life St. John Vianney was able to laugh heartily at his own lack of talent. Even when he was a student for the priesthood, John didn't take himself too seriously. The more he depended upon God, the more he laughed at his limitations. The professor who examined John before his ordination was exasperated with his seeming dullness. 'This fellow is a complete ass,' moaned the examiner. 'What can he possibly accomplish?'

"The future Saint overheard the professor and cunningly replied, 'If Samson, armed with only the jawbone of an ass, could kill 1000 Philistines, imagine what God could do with a complete ass.'"

~ Robert Eimer, O.M.I., Tilted Haloes, imprimatur 1964.

Happy and Blessed Easter!

(St. Mary Magdalen Church, Drogheda, Ireland. First the penitent Magdalen, then the sorrowful Magdalen anointing Him for His burial a few days before His Passion, and finally a joyful Magdalen on Easter Day)

The more penitential our Lent has been, the more we can rejoice on Easter Sunday! The more deeply we have meditated on His sufferings during Holy Week, the more our heart lifts with joy at His Triumphant Resurrection! Let us fly up on the wings of this joy - rejoicing for Him and rejoicing for ourselves because we will rise glorious with Him one day too if we do His Holy Will here below.

"O good Master!...It was one of Thine unselfish Joys in Thy Resurrection, that Thou mightest [help] Thy friends. I give Thee my hopes, that they may flower into realization in Thee and under Thy loving care, Whose Infinite Wisdom 'reacheth from end to end mightily and ordereth all things sweetly'. I give Thee my fears, that Thou, Who didst console Thy broken-hearted Magdalen with such exquisite Divine tenderness, mayest also comfort and deliver me and mine. I give Thee my sorrows, that Thou mayest unite them to Thine own, and alleviate them -- my joys, that, united to Thine and thankfully received by me, they may help me to the eternal joys Thou, my Risen Lord, art storing up for me in Paradise. I give my friends to Thee -- keep us all in Thy Sacred Heart; I give Thee mine enemies, that they may never be a source of sin or fault to me, or of grief to Thee....And now, O dearest Master, when I leave Thee, grant that I may spread abroad 'the good odor of Christ' among Thine and my brethren, that I may be Thine Apostle as was Magdalen after Thy joyous Resurrection. Fill my soul, as Thou didst hers, with the unselfish joy of Thy Rising from the dead. And may all my thoughts, words, and acts this day be a sweet fragrance unto Thee."

~ part of a prayer after Communion from Sundays in the Garden of Easter by E. Seton, imprimatur 1921.

The evening draws onward...the hours diminish before we celebrate Our Lord's Resurrection from the dead. On the First Holy Saturday, His Mother knew He was going to rise from the grave and the Apostles would have known if they'd really grasped what He had told them repeatedly. But we have the grace to comprehend it, to grasp it, to hold it in the depths of our being as Truth.

We draw comfort and encouragement from the fact that His words always come to pass...Heaven and earth may pass away, but His words will not pass away. He is Risen, as He said He would be.

"And behold there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment as snow. And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men. And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you; for I know that you seek Jesus Who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen, as He said."

~ Matthew 28:2-6

(In the wee hours of the morning, the holy women approach the tomb. Mary Magdalen weeps at not finding Him, and then He reveals Himself. Then she spends the latter part of her life in a cave in France, doing penance for her sins and growing in love and grace. This stained-glass window series is found in the Church of St. Mary Magdalen, Drogheda, Ireland).

(Statue of St. Mary Magdalen at the Feet of her Crucified Lord, Cave of Mary Magdalen, France)

"Keep then the image of your crucified Redeemer ever before your eyes -- ever near you and ready to the pressure of your hand; look upon it often; dwell lovingly upon that anguish and love it so touchingly reveals; love to dwell in spirit at the foot of that Cross where He is bleeding away His life for love of you. Thus the woes of Christ will become as distinct to your mental vision as they were to the bodily perceptions of St. Mary Magdalen, and you will learn as she did to detest those sins which made Him suffer, until, casting yourself on His burning breast, with her you will earnestly seek to bury all your sin and sorrow in the unfathomable love of His most tender, loving and lovable Sacred Heart."

~ Fr. Pius Cavanagh, O.P., Gleanings for Saints and Sinners about St. Mary Magdalen, 1888.

(The Last Supper, depicted in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, Northern Ireland)

Tonight we commemorate the Last Supper, the night before He gave His life to open the gates of Heaven for us. He gave us the gift of Himself in the Holy Eucharist, that He might abide with us forever. His final discourse, as recorded in the Gospel of John, comforts and encourages us down through the centuries.

But to finish our 7 days of the 7 Sorrows of Our Lady:

The Seventh Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary was when Her Son was laid in the tomb.

"There are very few among us who have not already stood at the grave of a loved one. Let us take our place near the afflicted Mother of God at the tomb, and find consolation and courage in her valor and resignation to God's Will in time of trial. The oppressed, harassed heart will find true comfort in her presence. No one leaves her without having obtained relief, for as St. Bernard's prayer says so well: 'Never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection and sought thy help was left unaided.'"

~ Rev. Joseph Lucas, P.S.M., Hand in Hand with Our Mother, imprimatur 1947.

(Pieta Statue in St. Thomas Becket Church, Veneta, Oregon)

The Sixth Sorrow of Our Lady was when the Side of Our Lord was pierced, and then He was taken down from the Cross and laid in her arms.

"Mary's Immaculate Heart is as broad and immense as the ocean because a sea of torments inundated it. And that is also why Mary's heart is so wonderfully capable of consoling other grief-torn souls. The ebb and flow of the ocean is the most glorious lullaby the Eternal Father has ever created. It soothes and sings to sleep the most restless of beings. Great too as the sea, being the sorrows of our Queen, she has as a consequence an illimitable capacity for healing the wounds of the world and she is rightfully called by her devoted children, 'Consoler of the Afflicted'."

~ Rev. David McAstocker, SJ, Herself, imprimatur 1934.

If we think of her suffering at that moment, our trials and tribulations pale in comparison. Not only was He her God, her All, but He was her own Son too. He was Everything to her. No matter what sorrows we experience in this life, she felt worse. Let us go to her for comfort in our worst moments. She will understand.

(Church of Mary Immaculate, Stranorlar/Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, Ireland)

The Fifth Sorrow of Our Lady was when Her Son gave His life upon the Cross for the salvation of mankind.

"Our Beloved Saviour had instituted the Sacrament of Love [on Holy Thursday] that He might remain amid His children. He had poured forth all His Blood for us, and He wished moreover to bequeath us a legacy in the last Testament of His Love. But what more could He give us? He casts a compassionate look upon His tender Mother, who stands immovable at the foot of the Cross with His beloved disciple....'Woman,' says He to her,... 'behold your son!'...She does not refuse it, well knowing that she accepted for her children, in the person of John, all the followers of the Cross of Jesus, and that she was to become the beloved Mother of all Christians."

~ Don Gaspar Gilli, The Month of Mary, According to the Spirit of St. Francis of Sales, imprimatur 1890.

I've read elsewhere that when Our Lady gave birth to the Savior, she suffered no labor pains. He is perfect, and she had no stain of sin in her, so it makes sense. But when she became our Mother, on Calvary, she suffered immensely. 

He never gave her a moment's disappointment, but we disappoint her often. How comforting, though, that she never gives up on us. She accepted the mission of being the Mother of this unruly mob of God's children, and she just keeps picking us back up when we fall and encouraging us to try again. She never gives up on us, right up until the door of death. 

He truly gave us a wonderful gift when He gave us the only thing He had left as Man dying on the Cross -- His loving and beautiful Mother.

(Photo Credit: Margaret Schermann. St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, Northern Ireland)

The Fourth Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary was when she met Her Son on the way to Calvary.

"In the breadth of sorrow which lay heavily upon her, she saw nothing but God only. In that light, all secondary causes vanished. There was no Pilate, no Herod, no Annas, no Caiphas, no Pharisees, no executioners, but only God and His Adorable Will. Hence so much sweetness, so much gentleness, so much patience, so much calmness, so much tender love of sinners....Learn from Mary now an important lesson -- that all our trials and sufferings, even those which come from the wickedness of men, are not without relation to the Will of God, Who orders or permits them all, according to the holy and loving designs of His Wisdom."

~ Behold Thy Mother, Servite Fathers, 1959.

A scene from a recent movie made about Our Lord's life and death often comes to mind when I think of this incident. In it, the actress who plays Our Lady can only stammer, "My Son, My Son." But when He falls, she moves forward and helps Him lift the cross back onto His Shoulder, with a crescendo of movie music, to show us how important this scene is. She does not tear the Cross away from Him, screaming, "No! No!" Instead, she places it back on His Shoulder. She helps him and supports Him in His mighty work of Redemption. Could we be that strong? Could we lift the Cross back onto our own shoulder, or one of a loved one, offering love and encouragement, coupled with a perfect acceptance of God's Will?

(Church of Mary Immaculate, Stranorlar/Ballybofey, Co. Donegal, Ireland)

The Third Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary was when she lost her Son for three days, before finding Him in the Temple. There are so many lessons we can meditate upon in this happening. The simplest one is that when we have lost Our Lord by sin, we should drop everything and seek until we find Him. And no matter how long or hard we search, where will we find Him? In the Church, as His Mother and St. Joseph found Him in the Temple.

"Mary sought Jesus 'sorrowing'; so must you seek God. Seek Him by true contrition, and never stop until you have found Him again."

~ Behold Thy Mother, Servite Fathers, 1959.

(Photo Credit: Nicole Moynihan. 

Window in St. Mary Magdalen Church, 

Drogheda, Ireland)

The Second Sorrow of Our Blessed Lady is when she was asked to get up in the middle of the night to flee into Egypt with her Infant Son. Imagine how she felt! When she had to journey, as an expectant Mother, the many miles to Bethlehem, they could travel openly by day. Now they were fleeing in fear, sneaking out in the night without saying Goodbye to anyone.

"And thus she resigned herself to the Will of God with heroic patience. Learn from the afflicted Mother of God how to endure with resignation the trials which are sent to you. Be not in a hurry to see them come to an end. Do not complain, saying that they are too long, and that God has forgotten you. Faith tells you that this is impossible...Is it not better, then, to abandon yourself to God with a blind submission to His Divine Will?"

~ Behold Thy Mother, Servite Fathers, 1959.

(Art by Tracy L. Christianson...I love her art! She owns all copyrights, and you can buy her wonderful work at www.portraitsofsaints.com.)

Today is the Feast of the Sorrowful Mother. It is commonly accepted that Our Lady suffered seven major sorrows in her life. The first one is when she and Saint Joseph presented Our Lord in the Temple, and she was told by Simeon that a sword would pierce her heart.

"Prayer to Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted:

"O Mary Immaculate, dear Mother of consolation, I take refuge in thy very tender heart with all the confidence of which I am capable....To thee who art the dispenser of Heaven's treasures, I must always have recourse in all my troubles, to find peace, in all my doubts to find light, in my dangers to find protection, in all my needs to obtain help. Be then, O Mary, my consolation, my refuge, my strength, my remedy in distress. Be pleased, at the hour of my death, to receive the last sighs of my heart, and secure for me a place in that heavenly abode, where all are united in praising eternally the adorable Heart of Jesus..."

~ Behold Thy Mother, compiled by the Servite Fathers, imprimatur 1959.

This quote also makes me think of what Our Lady said to the children at Fatima 100 years ago: "My Immaculate Heart will be your comfort, and the path that leads you to God."

(Church of St. Martha in Tarascon, France. This painting depicts the persecutors putting Lazarus, Martha and Mary Magdalen into a boat with their companions and setting them adrift. Their boat came to rest in the south of France, where they converted many souls for God.)

"Happy Lazarus, who had his sisters Martha and Magdalen to pray and weep for him, and to obtain the resurrection of this beloved brother, when he, a lifeless corpse, could no longer do anything for himself!

"And in the Church, the types of Lazarus who are spiritually dead in sin, have the same advantage. These blessed sisters are figures of all the living members of the Church, for all are either innocent or penitent. By the mystery of the Communion of Saints, we are all members of a family beloved by Jesus Christ. Martha and Mary obtained the raising to life of their brother Lazarus, by their tears and supplications...We also, by our faith, our tears and our supplications, can obtain the resurrection of our brethren who are dead in sin and unbelief, so that life may be restored to their souls."

~ Fr. Ventura, quoted in Gleanings for Saints and Sinners about St. Mary Magdalen 

by Fr. Pius Cavanagh, O.P., 1888.

Each of us probably has someone for whom we pray...someone we're worried about...someone who needs our prayers to pray them back to "life". Let us take heart from the story of the two sisters who prayed so hard, so fervently, with so much faith, that Our Lord brought their brother back to life! Lazarus went on to become the first bishop of Marseilles, France.

(Stained-glass window in St. Thomas Becket Church in Veneta, Oregon)

When fighting against the world, the flesh, the devil, and our own unruly passions:

"Be not daunted with their strength and number. In this sort of fight no one is conquered but he that surrenders; neither have your enemies a greater power than your Leader for whose honor you engage. Be assured He never will suffer you to fall into their hands. He will be your Champion; He Who is infinitely superior will crown you with conquest, provided that fighting His battles, you place your confidence, not in your own strength, but in His Almighty Power and Sovereign Goodness."

~ Dom Lawrence Scupoli, The Spiritual Combat

In this sort of fight, no one is conquered but he that surrenders. That's my quote for the day. We cannot be overcome by evil, unless we surrender. As long as we keep fighting with everything we've got, we are guaranteed the victory. God wills it!

(First Communicants at Mass)

The most encouraging and comforting gift we have from Heaven is Our Lord Himself, when we receive Him in Holy Communion.

"After Communion, be profoundly recollected, and shutting out everything else from thy heart, entertain thy Savior with these or the like expressions: 'O Sovereign Lord of Heaven! What can have brought Thee thus low, to visit a poor, wretched, blind creature?'

"He will answer, 'Love.'

"To which you must reply: 'O eternal love! What is it Thou askest of me?'

"'Nothing but love,' He will answer. 'I would have no other fire in thy breast but that of charity.'"

~ Dom Lawrence Scupoli, The Spiritual Combat

"Nothing but love."

(A crucifix in the Basilica at Saragossa, Spain)

In meditation, we can lead our minds (or let the Holy Ghost lead us with His inspirations) from one thought to the next. During Passiontide, we can dwell on the thought of what Our Lord suffered for us, and how He didn't have to shed one drop of Blood if He didn't will it. He *chose* to suffer and die from the depths of His love. From there, we can dwell on the misery and horror of our sins and how sorry we are for them. And finally, we can finish with this joyous and encouraging thought!

"If after contemplating His Passion, you consider its effects; if you observe, that by His death the sins of men were blotted out, the anger of a sovereign Judge appeased, the powers of Hell defeated, death itself vanquished, the places of the fallen angels filled up in Heaven, your grief will be turned into joy -- and this joy will increase by reflecting on the joy which the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin, the Church Militant and Triumphant receive from the accomplishment of the great work of the Redemption of mankind."

~ Dom Lawrence Scupoli, The Spiritual Combat

(St. Mary Magdalen depicted in marble at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Athlone, Ireland).

"As His Passiontide drew near its close and [Mary Magdalen] caught the last murmured expression of His feelings – the dying prayer of pardon for His foes – the sweet promise of Paradise to the penitent thief – the words of tender forethought for His Mother – His cry in His inexpressible anguish to His Father – the last appeal – the parting cry – what, even as it was, must have been Magdalen’s feelings as she knelt and listened; but what would they not have been could she have entirely comprehended, how her sin had brought all this woe; and how, had she been the only sinful creature in the world, Jesus would still have suffered, and suffered for her alone! Much of this no doubt she did feel, and all of it she would have felt, had she possessed the same distinct knowledge of the cause and character of Christ’s death as you possess: and had she known as clearly as you do, that her sins and yours had crucified the Lord Jesus...Then why should you not weep with Magdalen? Why should you not grieve over Jesus with her? If He was her Lord and God, is He not yours? Has He not loved you with an everlasting love as He loved her? Is He not for you as He was for her, Father, Master, Lord and Friend?"

~ Fr. Pius Cavanagh, O.P., Gleanings for Saints and Sinners about St. Mary Magdalen, 1888.

(A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, found in St. Mary Major's in Marseilles, France)

Today is First Saturday, a day reserved to honor the Immaculate Heart of Mary, according to her wishes revealed to Sister Lucia.

"If as often as we approach a great fire, we are affected by its heat, does it not follow, and have we not great reason to believe that whoever approaches Mary, that mother of mercies, that heart ever burning with the most ardent charity, must be the more affected the oftener he addresses himself to her, and the greater his reliance and humility is? No created being ever bore such ardent love to Jesus Christ, nor showed so perfect a submission to His Will, as His Blessed Mother...Let us not hesitate to implore her pity; let us have recourse to her with great confidence in all our necessities..."

~ Dom Lawrence Scupoli, The Spiritual Combat

Put more colloquially, we become like those we hang around. So the more we spend time with the Mother of God, the more like her we become. I love the idea of her heart being a source of heat - the warmth of her love for God. Let us be warmed and inflamed by that fire... a little spark of which would be enough to make us saints.