Happy October! 

(A representation of first vision St. Catherine Laboure received.

Miraculous Medal Shrine, Philadelphia, PA)

Life often overwhelms us with its sorrows and trials. To whom shall we turn?

St. Catherine Laboure was one of the few saints who actually prayed to see Our Lord and Our Lady in this life. One night, her guardian angel woke her and bid her come to the church, where Our Blessed Mother visited her. She seated herself in a chair (which can still be seen in Paris), and Sister Catherine knelt beside her. Sister Catherine rested her hands on her Heavenly Mother's knee, and spoke with her for two hours about her personal matters and her soul. Later, Our Lady appeared to her again to give her the message of the Miraculous Medal for all mankind.

Our Blessed Mother is there for us. She is God's Mother and our Mother too.

Fr. Fulgence Meyer, an inspirational Franciscan writer, told the story of a little girl, watching a Passion Play and seeing the horrible, tragic despair of the traitor Judas. She cried out in an anguished tone, "Why doesn't he go to Mary?"

"Whenever we feel faint in virtue, and notice our love of God is waning, and temptations are gaining in proportion as our will power is losing in momentum; or when because of whatsoever sins we have committed we re inclined to grow discouraged and despondent; we are tempted to despair of ever recovering God's grace and the luster of virtue and the peace of a good conscience; and we are on the point of giving up the struggle for the higher and better things in pusillanimity and disgust, and to be resigned to our spiritual doom: in all such and similar instances that may and sometimes do occur we should imagine we are hearing the child's voice, giving us a message of Heaven, saying, 'Why doesn't he or she go to Mary?'"

~ Rev. Fulgence Meyer, OFM, Who is She? A Treatise on the Blessed Mother, imprimatur 1935.

This is the Month of the Holy Rosary...

Why don't we go to Mary?

(Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland)

One hundred and thirty-nine years ago today, Our Lady appeared at Knock, County Mayo, Ireland. She appeared with St. Joseph and St. John, the two men who always remained faithful to her, like the Irish. The image above, though Irish, shows her with Saints Patrick and Brigid. It makes me think of Our Lady of Knock because she held her hands like that when she appeared, and seemed to be praying.

At Guadalupe, Our Lady asked that a church be built. At Rue du Bac, she asked that a medal be made. At La Salette, she asked that people stop offending God by abuse of His Name and His Sabbath. At Lourdes, she asked for prayer, penance, and processions. At Fatima, she asked for the rosary, sacrifices, prayer for poor sinners, the consecration of Russia, and offering our daily duties and trials to God. At Knock, she didn't speak. The Irish were already praying, were already suffering with love, were already devoted to the Mass and the rosary. She came to comfort and encourage her faithful children.

"Our Lady of Lourdes, of Fatima, of Knock, Ireland, Mother of men, Queen of the Universe, look down with love and mercy upon this willful, sinful world. Pour forth the abundance of God's grace promised and predicted in so many places, so many times. Sweet Mother of God give to each of us all that Thy motherly heart sees we need. Amen."

~ Rev. William J. Smith, S.J., Novena to Our Lady of Knock, Paulist Press, 1954.

(Image of St. Philomena in the side chapel of the Cure d'Ars' original church, Ars, France)

"St. Philomena was powerfully aided by God in her combats...She could then pass, with fearless courage, through torments, and dare those who inflict them. O St. Philomena, will not God do also for me what He did for you? Am I not His child, like you? Alas! Why should I harbor discouraging doubts? Why fear being abandoned?...Away, then, with these vain and unjust fears! In my tribulations I will call upon my God; in the tempest I will cast in His Bosom the sure anchor of unshaken confidence. O holy protectress, strengthen me..."

~ Life and Miracles of Saint Philomena, Virgin and Martyr,  P. O'Shea Publisher, 1865.

Mother Cabrini in Colorado

Today's post is a little longer than usual...I wrote an article about why we honor 

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in Colorado. 

I hope you enjoy!

 (This is the Stone House, that Mother Cabrini planned, and ordered built)

(This is one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, facing westward from the Shrine in Golden)

(This is the path up to the Sacred Heart statue, in winter)

“Not to the East but to the West”

 Mother Cabrini in Colorado

by

Rosemary McGuire Berry

St. Frances Cabrini was born in 1850 in Italy, died in Chicago, and is buried in New York. So why do we have a Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colorado?

Francesca Saverio Cabrini longed, from childhood, to be a missionary to China. A true successor of her patron Saint Francis Xavier, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. But in 1888, she met with Pope Leo XIII, and told him her dream. He said, “Not to the East but to the West. Go to the United States and there you will find a great field for labor.”

She had struggled to know what God willed for her life and her institute. Now she was sure. The Holy Father had spoken. In 1889, she sailed for New York, setting foot on American soil for the first time on March 31, 1889. This mighty little woman (you can see her tiny habit and shoes in the museum in Golden) was destined to cross the ocean by ship thirty times in her missionary work.

“Taking for herself the motto of the Apostle, ‘I can do all things in Him Who strengtheneth me,’ she opened schools, colleges, kindergartens, hospitals and free clinics in New York, New Orleans, Chicago, Seattle, Denver and Philadelphia. She did not confine her work to the United States but extended it to Nicaragua, South America, Spain, France, and England,” wrote the Most Rev. Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, D.D., in his biographical sketch of the saint. She also left her mark on New Jersey, Mississippi, California, and her homeland of Italy. She was a powerhouse of endless energy, once asking someone, “Do you think God only asks of us what is possible?”

In 1902, Bishop Nicholas Matz of Denver asked St. Frances Xavier Cabrini to come to Colorado. Many Italian immigrants were laboring in the mines and on the railroad, without spiritual support. She wrote, “I had not the heart to refuse him the work of the Institute when the greater glory of God was in question.” She sent two Sisters to Denver in June, and came herself with four more on October 24, 1902. So many souls to save! So many children to teach! So many poor to console and inspire and uplift!

The first school of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart here was at the corner of Navajo Street and 34^th Avenue and operated on a shoestring. Two hundred children showed up the first day. Mother Cabrini wrote that the Colorado children “surprised us by their brightness, docility, good nature and lovely simplicity.”

The bishop dedicated the new school on November 17th, only three and a half weeks after the Sisters arrived. Mother Cabrini wrote of the ceremony, “The hall presented a beautiful and consoling sight, which struck me as being the first-fruits of a Mission which will develop under the fructifying patronage of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.” In 1906, the school was moved to 1726 W. 34^th Avenue.

Mother Cabrini loved the Rocky Mountains. She told one of the Sisters that she remembered studying them in Geography as a child, and wishing to someday see them! She wrote home to Italy, “If one were to see this scene painted, those enormous masses that appear to hang by a thread, with the railway cars running zig-zag between the folds of the mountains up to the highest peaks, and then precipitating themselves down into the valleys below, and running through the gorges called canyons, whose walls are inaccessible, and, because of their marble-like colors and beautiful forms seem like an enchanted castle, one would imagine the whole thing was simply a creation of the painter’s brush.”

She told the Sisters in her letter that there was so much work to be done here in the West, that she must stay longer than intended. “It is not time lost, however, so accompany me with your prayers and sacrifices, so that all our works may prosper to the greater glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For if the whole world is obliged to love and make reparation to this loving Heart, which beats only with love for us, how much more so should the Missionary, who bears His name…”

The Sisters ministered to the Colorado miners in Pueblo, Central City, Cripple Creek, Trinidad, and other places. The nuns descended in terrifying small cages 900 feet into the earth, to visit them at work. Mother Cabrini told the men, “My good brothers, we come down into the bowels of the earth to you in the name of your Creator, He Who pines for your filial love.”

Mother Cabrini used the example of the hard-working Colorado miners to inspire her nuns in Italy thus: “The Sisters, who are performing this Mission for the good of others, find it also advantageous to themselves [to visit the laborers in the mines], for they realize what the world does for temporal gain, and the thought of this fills them with greater zeal to work for the glory of the Sacred Heart and the diffusion of our Holy Religion. To work for the extension of the Kingdom of God on this earth, there is no necessity to go in search of veins of gold, for the smallest act sanctified by a pure intention, and in our case by Holy Obedience and performed according to the spirit of our Institute, is the purest gold, and deposited where thieves cannot steal.”

The Sisters visited the Denver General Hospital to comfort and inspire the patients, particularly the Italian-speaking ones. They visited the prisons in Canon City. They ministered to the people of Colorado Springs. Mother Cabrini wrote, “I want Colorado to be one of my best missions.”

With wisdom, prudence, and Heavenly guidance, though against man’s advice, Mother Cabrini bought a property on the outskirts of Denver for her orphanage. Many children had been orphaned in mining accidents. In 1904, she opened Queen of Heaven Orphanage for the first thirty orphans, at 4825 Federal Boulevard in Denver. The bishop didn’t think it was a good location because it was so far out of town, but Mother Cabrini loved the view and the space for orchards and green fields. She also foresaw that the city would grow westward.

They began with a frame house, but Mother Cabrini planned an impressive brick building that was dedicated in 1918 and inaugurated in 1921. It housed as many as 317 children at a time.

One of their first orphans was a baby they found in a poor miner’s hut, six months old, all by herself. The Sisters cared for the baby for the day, waiting for someone to come home. When the grimy, exhausted dad returned, he explained that his wife had died in childbirth, and that he was doing the best he could to take care of baby Giselle by himself. He mixed whiskey with her milk so that she would sleep most of the day. The Sisters offered to take her to the orphanage, and a few weeks later, the father died in a mining accident. The little girl stayed with the Sisters for the rest of her life. She had been affected by the alcohol in infancy, and so remained a simple, loving child of God, who loved to visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament. She lived with the Sisters until her death in 1978.

On August 7, 1909, Mother Cabrini and Mother Luigina Albertini, the orphanage superior, drove a horse and buggy to Golden and bought land for a summer camp for her girls. They got a good price for the land because of the poor water supply. The deed shows a date of August 10, 1909. The following April, she bought additional land, and in November 1912, she bought a third parcel of land, making a total of 900 acres!

In September 1912, Mother Cabrini miraculously found water for the Sisters and the girls. One of the Sisters wrote, “Our Mother walked around as though looking for something, then said, ‘Surely there has to be a spring here. Look for it daughters and find it… I say a spring has to be here.’ She walked over to a large red rock and touched it with her cane. She then said, ‘even here beneath this rock there is true water, pure and good, for children to keep clean. Dig a small hole, for beneath this rock is water fresh and light that all can drink, a marvelous mineral water.’”

The water sprang forth and can still be drunk from the spigots through which it now flows. A Lourdes shrine was built over it, suggested by Monsignor Della Chioppa, who visited the shrine in 1928 during the beatification process of Mother Cabrini. He said that it was a “miracle of a Saint.” Cures have been reported here. A grateful parent built a crucifix at the base of the mountain. Clifford Bohannan donated it in 1954 in thanksgiving for the cure of his son from polio, which he attributed to the boy being bathed in the spring water from the shrine.

Mother Cabrini also chose a spot for the Stone House, intended as a vacation cabin for the orphans. She told the Sisters and girls to collect stones for this purpose. She told them how she wanted it, and it was finished in 1914. It is now used as a retreat house.

On November 15, 1912, Mother Cabrini visited the property for the last time. They climbed to the highest point of the land, where the 22-foot statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus now stands on an eleven-foot base. After they enjoyed a picnic together, Mother Cabrini asked the Sisters and children to find white stones, and with them, Mother Cabrini formed a heart, a cross, and a crown of thorns. This beautiful marker can be still be seen at the foot of the Sacred Heart statue, which was erected in 1954. Mother Ignatius Miceli, a successor of Mother Cabrini at the Denver orphanage, writes, “She then spoke of the goodness and beauty of God, of His great kindness, telling them ‘the Heart is a symbol of the great love Jesus has for each of you.’ She then dedicated the mountain to the Sacred Heart.”

The Sisters’ exemplary work with children continued through the decades. Mother Ignatius Miceli remembers, “At 2:00 am on a snowy morning [in 1958], Stapleton Airport called and said they had a plane load of Cuban girls who had been put on the plane at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I accepted all of them and taught them English. Their ages ranged from first graders to high school girls.”

In 1965, the Highway Department decided they needed some of the land to build I-70. Unfortunately, in 1967, all the orphans were moved to foster homes and lost the shelter and guidance of the Sisters. That same year, the state bought the property and a few years later, they tore down the magnificent building.

Mother Cabrini, a little sickly immigrant lady from northern Italy, founded 67 schools, orphanages, and hospitals in her lifetime. In 1909, in Seattle, Washington, she became an American citizen. Twenty-nine years after her death, she became the first canonized American citizen saint.

Monsignor Aristeo V. Simoni, Vice-Postulator of her canonization, wrote: “It would seem that God wished to give the Catholics of America a saint typically American. If Yanks are known throughout the world for getting things done efficiently and with the utmost dispatch, then St. Frances Cabrini is indeed a typical American. She accomplished wonderful things, surmounted obstacles that would baffle ordinary persons.”

On Friday, December 21^st, 1917, sick from complications from malaria, she pushed herself to make her usual hour of Adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament in Chicago. She spent the rest of the day helping the Sisters fill Christmas candy bags for the 500 children at an Italian school, which she had bought with her own money. She worked intensely, and repeatedly urged, “Hurry! Hurry!” Did she know that this was to be her last project to help the children? The next morning, she was worse, and around midday, her soul flew to Heaven. On the 100^th anniversary of her death last year, the governor of Colorado proclaimed Mother Cabrini Day for the whole state.

Mother Cabrini was beatified in 1938, and a Solemn High Mass was offered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver by a prelate who knew her. In 1946, she was canonized, and the Archbishop offered a Solemn High Mass in the Denver Cathedral. Fifty priests, many nuns, and eighty-two girls from the Queen of Heaven orphanage joined the 1,500 people present. The first church in the world to take the name of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was in Littleton, Colorado. The first pilgrimage to Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden took place in 1947 with a group of 10,000 pilgrims.

The saint wrote from Colorado in 1902, “The days fly, souls are being lost. Death is approaching more quickly than we realize, and then the time for work is over. Work, then, while you have time. Work with energy, and especially with the spirit of sacrifice…This storms the Heart of Jesus, and draws from It, as it were, the most precious graces for those souls who are the hardest and most obstinate in resisting His love….Continue, my dear daughters, to procure the greater glory of the Sacred Heart, in which I leave you, so that He may inflame you with His Divine and Holy Love.”

Sources for this article:

Travels of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (a collection of her letters), with a biographical sketch by the Most Rev. Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, D.D., Apostolic Delegate to the United States, published by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1944.

Mother Francesca Saverio Cabrini Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart by C.C. Martindale, S.J., Benziger Brothers, 1931.

Too Small a World: The Life of Francesca Cabrini by Theodore Maynard, published by the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in New York, 1945.

Francesca Cabrini: Without Staff or Scrip by Lucille Papin Borden, Macmillan Company, 1945.

The Saint and the Citizens by Sister Gabriel Quast, M.S.C., R.N., Archdiocese of Chicago, 1968.

Mother Cabrini by Sister Joan Mary, D.S.P., Apostolate of the Press, Daughters of St. Paul, 1952.

Cabrinian Colorado Missions by Mother Ignatius Miceli, M.S.C., D & K Printing, 1996.

Novena Prayers and Sketch of the Life of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini by the Mother Cabrini League (no date)

Litany to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini – FOR PRIVATE USE ONLY

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the World, have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

Holy Mother of God, pray for us.

Holy Virgin of Virgins, pray for us.

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us.

Faithful Servant of God, pray for us.

Missionary of the Sacred Heart, pray for us.

Lover of Jesus, pray for us.

Holy Teacher, pray for us.

Guardian of children’s innocence, pray for us.

Apostle of youth, pray for us.

Seeker of souls, pray for us.

Patroness of Catholic Action, pray for us.

Hope of the sick, pray for us.

Mother of the poor, pray for us.

Mother of orphans, pray for us.

Mother of immigrants, pray for us.

Refuge of the homeless, pray for us.

Comforter of prisoners, pray for us.

Example of obedience, pray for us.

Lover of poverty, pray for us.

Angel of purity, pray for us.

Exemplar of humility, pray for us.

Mirror of patience, pray for us.

Victim of Divine Love, pray for us.

Consoler in every human misery, pray for us.

Model of devotion to the Vicar of Christ, pray for us.

Messenger of Peace, pray for us.

Pilgrim of Christ, pray for us.

Symbol of unity among nations, pray for us.

Glory of America, pray for us.

Benefactress of humanity, pray for us.

Consolation of those who invoke thee, pray for us.

Our advocate with the Sacred Heart, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!

Pray for us, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, that we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us Pray: O Lord Jesus Christ, Who having inflamed Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini with the fire of Thy Divine Heart didst lead her through many nations to gain souls to Thee, and through her didst enrich Thy Church with a new family of Virgins, grant that by her intercession we may be adorned with the virtues of Thy Divine Heart and attain to eternal happiness. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

(from a leaflet from the Mother Cabrini League, Chicago)

Annecy, France, the town of Saints Francis de Sales, and Jane de Chantal

(Photo Courtesy of Patricia Hiatt)

"If we patiently accept through love all that God allows to happen, then we will begin to taste even here on earth something of the delights the saints experience in Heaven." ~ St. Jane de Chantal

"Our Lord does not come down from Heaven every day to lie in a golden ciborium. He comes to find another Heaven which is infinitely dearer to Him -- the Heaven of our souls, created in His image, the living temples of the Adorable Trinity."
                 ~ St. Therese of Lisieux







Our Lord wants to come to us in Holy Communion as much - no, more - than we want to come to Him! What an astounding thought to ponder. Let us not leave Him lying in a golden ciborium. Let us cleanse our souls by a good Confession, and receive Him into the Heaven of our hearts.

(First Mass of a new priest)

"How consoling, how sweet, the presence of Jesus to the longing, harassed soul! It is instant peace, and balm to every wound." ~ St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Happy Feast of St. Anthony!

The church built over the birthplace of St. Anthony - in Lisbon, Portugal

So is today the feast of St. Anthony of Lisbon, or St. Anthony of Padua? The answer to that depends on where you are. The Portuguese claim him because he was born there, and the Italians claim him because he spend many years there and is buried there. But both titles refer to the same man.

Our words of encouragement today from the pen of St. Anthony reference the Blessed Virgin Mary, his mother and ours:

"O name of Mary! Joy in the heart, honey in the mouth, melody to the ear!"

~ St. Anthony of Padua/Lisbon

Happy Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

(The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Paris. Photo courtesy of Ron McGuire.)

"The sorrows of Our Savior were greater for His Heart than for His Body -- His Soul suffered far more intensely and bitterly...Yes, my God, it is on this interior Passion of Thine that I wish to meditate. It is upon this afflicted Heart that I wish to bestow all my tenderness....Oh, Jesus, who can console this grief of Thine? If only we could save from Thy enemy the souls of which he would deprive Thee. Lord! We have each a soul, which up to this time has drawn little fruit from Thy sufferings. We will work to save it, so that Thou mayest not have the sorrow of seeing it perish with so many others...We will spare nothing, so that Thou mayest be spared the grief of losing [our souls]. O noble motive, worthy of a great and tender heart. In this way there can be nothing but sweetness in working out our salvation."

~ St. Claude de la Colombiere, in a sermon in the Chapel Royal of St. James' Palace, London.

Father Claude de la Colombiere was the blessed Jesuit to whom St. Margaret Mary confided Our Lord's wishes that a Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus be established, and devotion to His Heart spread. He preached, publicly and privately, this beautiful message of love and reparation.

Happy Feast of St. Joan of Arc!

Pictures of St. Joan of Arc from the Basilique du Sacre Coeur in Paris.

Photos Courtesy of Ron McGuire.

This doesn't have anything to do with the saint for today, but when I look at this picture, I remember sitting on the curb in front of this basilica. I was looking up at the statues (there's one on each side: St. Joan and St. Louis IX), against a very blue sky, and eating a dripping crepe filled with Nutella and Chantilly creme. It was - amazing. The view, the sunshine, the crepe: all of it. :)

"I do not fear the soldiers, for my road is made open to me; and if the soldiers come, I have God, my Lord, who will know how to clear the route that leads to Monsieur the Dauphin. It was for this that I was born!" ~ St. Joan of Arc

How can we apply her inspiring words to our own lives? Do we not have God, our Lord? Of course we do. Will He not clear the route to what He wants us to do? Yes, of course. And for this we were born! To do what God has given us to do. To be a mother; to be a father; to be a religious, or a doctor, an author, or a grandmother. God has given us work to do...for this we were born - let us look on it as Joan did: our glorious mission to perform for His glory!

(Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris. Photo courtesy of Ron McGuire)

This image always reminds me of the fact that St. John, an eyewitness of this moment in history, said that Our Lord's Side was "opened", not "stabbed" or "pierced". His Heart was opened - to us!

"May the Heart of Jesus, then, be our school. Let us dwell in It... Let us study Its movements and try to conform ourselves to It. Yes, divine Jesus, I wish to dwell in Thy Heart and to pour all my bitterness into It. Thy love will consume it all. I do not fear impatience when sheltered in Thy Heart. There I can keep silence; there I can become resigned to Thy Divine Will, and learn an invincible constancy."

~ from a sermon of St. Claude de la Colombiere.

As the summer begins, and the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus approaches, let us enter into the Heart that was opened on the Cross for us.

Statue of St. Patrick in St. Patrick's Church, Cork City

"And on another night [I heard] these words, 'He who gave His life for you, He it is Who speaks in you,' and at that I woke up full of joy." ~ St. Patrick.

Thinking today of the joy that comes when you find God's Will and follow it wholeheartedly!

Image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the church in Annecy, France,

 where the mother of St. Francis de Sales prayed to have a baby. 

(Photo courtesy of Miss Patricia Hiatt)

"What are you thinking of when you fear Our Lord will abandon you? He did not do so when you fled from Him, and do you think He will leave you when you seek Him? Chase away the devil, who suggests thoughts to you which are such an outrage to the mercy of God, and do Our Lord the justice of believing that He is infinitely good, after all the proofs He has given you of His Love."

~ Father Claude de la Colombiere, Letter 16.

(Side Altar, Cataldo Mission in Idaho)

Today's quote is once again from the great Claude de la Colombiere. I'm going to take it apart instead of showing it as a block so we can talk about it:

"Would you see what occasions we have of imitating Jesus Christ, Who submitted Himself without reserve to the Will of His Father?"

Ah yes...although He was God Himself, as Man, Our Lord completely immolated His Will to that of God the Father. Everything He did as Man, was because it was the Will of His Father. He shows how to submit to the Will of God.

"We shall find them in the changes of the season, in public calamities,"

Who among us is innocent of having complained (perhaps at length) about the weather or about something in the news? Don't answer that. 😉 We all have. But we could use it as an opportunity to submit ourselves to God's Will!

"in illness,"

I always think of these statements as referring to something like - finding out your child has leukemia. But it also applies to the stomach flu, a bad cold, chronic sinusitis...and chicken pox. :)

"in the worries of business, in all that concerns our relations, our children, our friends; we shall find them in the faults of others, of children, of servants."

Okay, so I don't have servants. :) But I've had affairs that thwart my will in all those other categories! Have I looked on them as an opportunity, or as a frustration of what I wanted?

"What a vast field we have before us for the exercise of virtue!"

Whoa! I've rarely thought of it in that light!

"And if we look at ourselves the horizon is wider still: what occasions occur for self-denial in our own weakness and imprudence! We fall, we are wounded, we speak when we should have kept silence, or we say that which we should never have said: on the one hand, what weakness! But on the other, what a source of spiritual riches!"

I love the thought that we can actually benefit from our failures...that we can offer up the humiliation that they caused, and find in them a wealth of spiritual gain!

"If only we profited by the occasions we should become holy in a very short time."

What are we waiting for? Let's get started!

(This quote was taken from his Fifth Meditation on the Passion.)

(Church of St. Thomas Beckett, Veneta, Oregon)

"Whatever enemy persecutes you,

whatever sorrow weighs you down, 

however weak you may find yourself, 

lean on God; 

throw yourself boldly into His Arms, 

He will never withdraw them and let you fall."

~ St. Claude de la Colombiere, Sermon on Confidence.

Do we believe Our Lord loves us? Do we believe He is all-powerful? Then how could a loving Father let us fall if we throw ourselves into His Arms with confidence?

This doesn't mean that we don't think and pray and act with prudence. But when we have done all of that, we must leave the rest to Him. He will not fail us. It is not in His Nature to fail us. He loves us too much.

 Sunflowers in the South of France

(Photo courtesy of Miss Patricia Hiatt)

Depending on the part of summer in which you visit the south of France, you are either delighted by the sight and fragrance of fields of lavender, or sunny spreads of bright cheerful sunflowers. Either way, the view is relaxing yet vibrant.

Father Claude de la Colombiere, the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary, is the blessed Frenchman from whom today's Words of Encouragement are culled. He wrote to Sister Marie Rosalie in the convent at Paray-le-Monial:

"How good our God is, my dear Sister! He is touched by our sorrows and does not permit them to last forever. He takes pleasure in proving our love for a time because He sees that these trials purify us and make us worthy to receive greater graces. But He adapts Himself to our weakness; one would almost think He suffered with us, so anxious is He to relieve us. May He be eternally blessed and praised by all His creatures."

~ quoted by Sister Mary Philip, in her A Jesuit at the English Court, 1922.

(Stained-glass windows from St. Patrick's Church, Newcastle, Maine)

I made this photo the lock screen background on my phone, finding so much comfort in just a glance. I want to be the little girl who is clinging to His robe...with the ribbons on her hat flowing in the wind like she just ran up to Him while playing. ;) Other days, I want to be the mother in purple (with the beautiful braided hair by the way), who presents her child trustingly to Him. It's a gentle reminder that they're His children, not ours, and He will care for them if we bring them to Him.

It makes me think of Our Lord's words to St. Margaret Mary, "Can a child perish in the Arms of an Almighty Father?" If we are in His Arms, we are safe. If we run away from Him, then we will lose our souls and our eternal happiness.

Here's a quote from the joyous saint whose feast is coming up on May 26th:

"Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you the strength." ~ St. Philip Neri

"God commands you to pray, 

but He forbids you to worry." 

~ St. John Vianney

(St. Patrick's in Newcastle, Maine, the very first church named for St. Patrick in the United States)

These short, simple, profound quotes say it all. They make a great meditation point too..."I am commanded to pray...I am forbidden to worry..." 

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being offered in Marseilles, France

Beautiful churches remind us to lift up our hearts to God and to the things of Heaven, instead of being dragged down by the worries of earth. One of the greatest worries many people suffer is that of wondering what people are thinking of them. Liberty of spirit comes when we only aim to please God and not care about what others say or think.

"'It is a strange and unhappy servitude to seek to please men...I find myself elevated above all the kings of earth by the honor which I possess of belonging to God.'

~ Venerable Claude de la Colombiere: Notes of Retreat."

~ Sister Mary Philip, A Jesuit at the English Court, 1922.

Happy Feast of St. Catherine of Siena!

(My moment of prayer before the body of St. Catherine of Siena in Rome)

"If anyone should earnestly desire to know what was the secret of this woman's power, the answer is: her humility. Humility, not pride, can scale the battlements of the city of God. Humility raises the saints high, and seats them on the thrones left vacant by the fallen cherubim. Humility is strength: she is the mother of greatness."

~ from the chapter on St. Catherine of Siena in Maidens of Hallowed Names, 

copyrighted by Charles Piccirillo in 1881.

Some of the saints in Heaven, depicted by Fra Angelico (public domain)

"There is no fallacy more fatal to the generality of us than that the Saints were cast in a different mold to ourselves, or that the age of Saints is passed. It is not and cannot be so: the Arm of God is not shortened -- there is no age without its Saints. All around us are men and women living lives closely united to God -- Saints in the making; only our eyes are held and we see not, for the beauty of their souls is hidden from us."

~ Sister Mary Philip, A Jesuit at the English Court, imprimatur 1922.

As a mother, I find it inspiring to talk to other women who face the same challenges that I do, and who set themselves the same goal - to get our families to Heaven! Likewise, it uplifts the soul and revitalizes the heart to talk to someone - male or female, lay or religious, who is struggling along the path to Heaven just like us: falling down, picking ourselves back up, praying, fighting, striving, sweating, laughing, crying, and just never surrendering. Take courage!

 Beautiful Lac d'Annecy, in St. Francis de Sales Country

Sitting on a bench looking at this view, it seems easier to think of doing one thing at a time...doing what God puts in front of me to do. Let us pull back from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives and focus on this quote of the dear saint...

"Let us do the smallest thing that God ask of us today. Tomorrow we shall see what else He will give us to do."

 ~ St. Francis de Sales

 Blessed Eastertide!

(Here you can see the reliquary containing the skull of St. Mary Magdalene, being carried up from the crypt where it is normally kept. Cathedral of St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Beaume, southern France)

Father Pichon, S.J., the spiritual director of St. Therese of Lisieux, like other holy Jesuits, preached that sadness and discouragement come from the devil. In the following quote, he relates it to the meeting of Our Lord and St. Mary Magdalene on Easter morning:

"Unexpectedly, He shows Himself to her, but Magdalen does not recognize Him. Sadness acts as a veil which robs her of the clear sight of God. Sadness and worry are the devil's masterpieces. We are incapable of great deeds while we are sad... The devil desires nothing so much as to rob us of our peace and joy of soul. Magdalen was sad; therefore, she did not recognize Our Lord."

~ Almire Pichon, S.J., Seeds of the Kingdom, imprimatur 1961.

(Pieta in the Cathedral of Lisbon, Portugal)

During this week that we particularly meditate on Our Lord's Passion and Death, we are drawn to the confessional..to make a good Confession of all our sins, and draw closer to Our Lord. The following quote applies to every one of us, not just those who have been away from the Sacraments:

"The Lord Jesus said to St. Bridget of Sweden, '...Therefore let sinners who wish to be reconciled to Me and to obtain My grace and friendship, first grieve with their whole hearts that they have offended Me, their Creator and Redeemer; then, let them purify themselves before the priest by an humble, sincere confession, and amend their lives, and make satisfaction according to the advice and discretion of the priest. If they have done this I will draw near to them and the devil will have to stay away. Next, it will benefit them to receive Holy Communion with devotion and true love, since they now have the will never more to return to their former sins and are resolved to persevere in well-doing to the end. Such as are thus minded, I will advance to meet as a mother runs to meet her erring children, and will receive them most gladly. I will be in them, and they shall be in Me and shall live and rejoice in Me throughout all eternity.'"

~ Consoling Revelations collected by the Ven. Benedictine Abbot Blosius

(Altarpiece in the home of St. Ignatius at Loyola, Spain. Photo Courtesy of Ron McGuire)

Today is the "other" feast of Our Lady of Sorrows...in addition to the one on September 15th. As a mother, I've come to understand my own mother's devotion to Our Lady under this title. Her seven Sorrows reflect what she suffered as a mother.

Mother of Sorrows, for the love of this Son, pray to Him for me!

"To the Virgin St. Catherine of Sienna, God the Father once spoke thus: 'Out of reverence for the Incarnate Word, My Goodness has granted to the glorious Mother of My only-begotten Son that every sinner who has recourse to her with devout veneration, shall in no wise become the prey of the infernal spirit. For she has been chosen, prepared and intended by Me to serve as a most sweet allurement with which to captivate men, and especially the souls of sinners.'"

~ Consoling Revelations collected by the Ven. Benedictine Abbot Blosius

(Beautiful statue of St. Joseph in the chapel of the Carmelite Fathers, Segovia, Spain)

The following quote should be tattooed on my arm! Okay, so we shouldn't tattoo our bodies, the temples of the Holy Ghost...so perhaps I could put these words on a large poster board so I could read them daily?

"All that troubles, confuses, or saddens, arises from the machinations of the demon. All thoughts that bring with them true joy, a veritable expansion of the heart, of well-being, come from God. Trouble of soul is the unique sign by which we can recognize the work of the demon. The thought that makes us downhearted, that grips us as in a vise, that upsets and throws our soul into discouragement, into worry, into anguish, infallibly comes from the demon."

~ Almire Pichon, S.J. (spiritual director of St. Therese of Lisieux),

Seeds of the Kingdom, imprimatur 1961.

"Go to Joseph" ~ St. Teresa of Avila

(Statue of St. Joseph, treasured by St. Teresa of Avila, Monastery of the Incarnation, Avila, Spain)

I was told that the above statue is miraculous. Apparently, one day St. Teresa of Avila was praying before this statue of St. Joseph, and the saint was answering her. Another Sister came down the corridor, and heard two voices, one male, one female. Alarmed, she turned the corner, and found only Mother Teresa de Jesus and the statue of St. Joseph. But the statue's mouth was open. It has remained so to this day.

"I am filled with amazement when I consider the great favors which God has given to me through this blessed Saint; the dangers from which he has delivered me, both of body and soul...O, that I could persuade all souls to be devoted to this glorious Saint!" ~ St. Teresa of Avila

Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!

(Slemish Mountain, where St. Patrick tended livestock as a slave)

"But after I came to Ireland -- every day I had to tend sheep, 

and many times a day I prayed -- 

the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, 

and my faith was strengthened."

~ St. Patrick, the Apostle to the Irish

(St. John the Apostle, represented in stained-glass, Kildare, Ireland)

"There is much to be said on the subject of charity. Let us beg Our Lord to inspire us with a great love of this virtue. St. John, in his old age, repeated the same words over and over: 'Little children, love one another.'" ~ Almire Pichon, S.J., Seeds of the Kingdom, 1961.

The world has stolen the word "peace" and redefined it. They've also absconded with the word "love" and turned it into something immoral, or at the very least, only of the flesh. Let us think today of how we can love those around us in the true spirit which Our Lord inspired in the beloved disciple St. John. Let us "love each other to Heaven"!

(Sacred Heart Statue in St. Peter's Church, Drogheda, Louth, Ireland.)

(Photo courtesy of Ron McGuire)

In our meditation today, let us strive to know His Heart. This is all we need....

"A soul which has not learned to know the Heart of God profoundly, which is moved only by fear, has neither strength nor vigor; but once it has plunged its regard into the Heart of God, once it enters into the way of love, that soul is conquered. Oh, the happy conquests of the Heart of Jesus! 
"We have but this one thing to do: study to comprehend His adorable Heart, to penetrate the mysteries of His tenderness, and to unite our poor hearts with His Heart. In that will consist our happiness for life and for eternity." 

~ Almire Pichon, SJ, Seeds of the Kingdom, 1961.

The peaceful town of Annecy, where St. Francis de Sales spent most of his life.

As I constantly must remind myself, God only gives us the graces for today. So of what use is it to worry about what's coming tomorrow? God puts in front of us what He wants us to do today, and asks us to trust Him for tomorrow.

"Let us do the smallest thing that God asks of us today. Tomorrow we shall see what else He will give us to do." 

~ St. Francis de Sales

Happy Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas!

 The Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse, France, where St. Thomas Aquinas is buried

Today is the feast of the mighty and brilliant St. Thomas Aquinas. In his Summa Theologica, he addresses so many important issues...and so many little things too! Did you know, for example, that in Question 38, Article 5, he discusses whether getting more sleep and taking a bath will help the soul when we are discouraged?

"Augustine says, 'I had heard that the bath had its name from the fact of its driving sadness from the mind.' And further on, he says: 'I slept, and woke up again, and found my grief not a little assuaged:' and quotes the words from the hymn of Ambrose, in which it is said that 'Sleep restores the tired limbs to labor, refreshes the weary mind, and banishes sadness.'"

~ St. Thomas Aquinas

So, if you're struggling a little this Lent, maybe try taking a nap, a bath, or a long, hot shower. The greatest theologian of all time suggests that it may help! :)

Image of Our Suffering Lord in Avila, Spain

"His eyes never grow old or worn. Even though the lids are blackened from punches and the slaps of the reed, the bloodshot eyes of Christ are still deep vaults of riches for those who would plumb their pleading inviting depths."

~ Rev. Maurice B. Kennedy, The Complete Rosary, imprimatur 1949.

Let us meditate today on the "deep vaults of riches" in the loving Eyes of Our Suffering Savior...those Eyes that converted St. Peter after his three-fold denial. Let us search "their pleading inviting depths." Imagine the soul-stirring experience of seeing His Eyes look into ours! Words would be unnecessary. He would just know. And I would just know... all that He wanted me to know... with just one look.

(Sacred Heart statue in the Basilica of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spain)

(Photo courtesy of Ron McGuire)

St. Ignatius, of course, founded the Jesuit Order. Hundreds of years later, Fr. Almire Pichon, a Jesuit, was the spiritual director of St. Therese, as we talked about on Wednesday. He had been raised with Jansenist tendencies...thinking that God was a frightening and threatening God, Who didn't love His people, and wished to keep them in distanced subjection. When he learned the truth through holy Jesuits, he couldn't wait to spread the news. He made it his mission in life. 

Here is a quote from this holy priest, suitable for this First Friday of March. He quotes one of the twelve promises Our Lord made to St. Margaret Mary for those who make the nine First Fridays:

"'Sinners will find in My Heart an infinite source of mercy.' At the moment that I am most culpable, even before repentance has touched my heart, You, even then, invite me to have recourse to You. Does it require an ocean to wash away my sins? Your Heart is that boundless ocean, without shores, without limits. As a spark thrown into the waves of the sea disappears without leaving a trace, so it is with the transgressions of the most culpable soul, once embraced within that Divine Heart."

~ Almire Pichon, S.J., Seeds of the Kingdom, imprimatur 1961.

Statue at Lourdes of St. Therese of Lisieux

Photo courtesy of Ron McGuire

Fr. Pichon was the gifted spiritual director who helped to guide St. Therese of Lisieux to great heights of sanctity. If his advice worked for her, will it not work for us? Here is today's simple but profound thought from this Jesuit retreat master:

"You are designed for perfection -- 

[have] patience, perseverance." 

~ Almire Pichon, S.J., Seeds of the Kingdom, imprimatur 1961.

(The Pyrenees)

"Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet." ~ St. Augustine.

The supply of quotes about self-mastery is endless, but sometimes short and sweet (from a saint) is best! :) Lent is a wonderful time for us to work on our self-mastery. If we are faithful in the small things, Our Lord will give us strength and perseverance for the big things. Let's choose one small way in which to conquer ourselves today.

(The miraculous image in Segovia, Spain, of Our Lord carrying His Cross)

"The Cross is the way to Paradise, but only when it is borne willingly." ~ St. Paul of the Cross

How blessed we are that Our Dear Lord came and showed us in Person! He didn't stay on His throne in Heaven and send us an angel to tell us to suffer for our sins with willingness and cheerfulness. He came and suffered for us first, to show us the Way. Let us take up our cross daily and follow Him!