(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.