St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin, Carmelites 1582
by VP
Posted on Tuesday October 14, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Wake Forest, NC
"(...)
All the Discalceates of both sexes suffered great and terrible
persecutions, from the heavy accusations and violent oppositions of
almost all the brethren of the mitigated Rule, and from the Pope's
nuncio, Sega, who succeeded Hormaneto, the great favorer of the
Reformed. This new nuncio seemed to be resolved upon the ruin of the
Reformation; and hereupon began with extreme rigor to condemn, imprison
and banish those whom he conceived most likely to make resistance.(...)
As
the holy mother had a great share in this persecution, not only by the
sufferings she endured in her own person, but also by the fellow-feeling
she had for all her children, so it is not to be doubted but that the
happy issue of the whole, to God's greater glory, and the great
advancement of her Order, is in a great measure to be attributed to her
prayers." Source: The life of the Holy Mother Saint Teresa
Prayer for priests by Saint Teresa of Avila
O my Most Sweet Jesus, O Jesus, Eternal High Priest, keep Thy priests in
the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart, where no one can hurt them. Keep their
anointed hands unsullied, which daily handle Thy Sacred Body. Keep pure
the lips which are reddened with Thy Precious Blood. Keep pure and
unworldly their hearts which are sealed with the sublime token of Thy
glorious priesthood.
Cause them to grow in love and loyalty to
Thee and protect them from the contamination of the world. With their
power of transforming bread and wine, give them the power of
transforming hearts. Bless their work with rich fruit and grant them one
day the crown of eternal life. Amen. Source: Cure d'Ars Prayer Group
At the age of eighteen, she obtained leave of her father to take the habit of the Carmelite nuns; and being professed, she became an example to the rest in the exercises
of humility, patience, prayer, and 'mortification. Here God was pleased
to try her with violent temptations and tedious sickness for above
twenty years. In all which time she remitted nothing of her usual
devotions or austerities; being always accustomed to say: Either suffer, or die!
She undertook to reform the Order of the Carmelites, and bring it to its
primitive austerity; and though she met with great opposition, and many
jealousies, she accomplished her design, and saw two-and-thirty
monasteries built of this institution. Having finished this work, she endeavored to approach still nearer to God in prayer and penance;
making a vow of doing whatever she judged to be most perfect; ever
lamenting the blindness of infidels and
sinners, but above all, her own misery, in being at so great a distance
from God.
Her writings discover what her spirit was, which God was likewise pleased to evidence by many miracles; though of all these, her life was the greatest. She exchanged this for a better, in the year 1582.
Learn from this saint to accustom yourself and those under your care to the reading of good books; and to be careful in the choice of company. Good conversation edifies, but that which is evil and worldly, makes ill impressions, and corrupts the soul.
If you have youth under your charge, be still more solicitous in this
point; and never expose them to bad company on any pretext of education,
preferment, or the like.
Learn not to be discouraged with sickness, temptations, troubles, or opposition. These are often the effects of God's greatest mercy and means for the greater perfection of those who sincerely seek him. Learn to be diligent in humility, charity, prayer, and penance. Pray that you may practice these holy lessons; and pray in particular for all the religious who follow the holy institution of St. Teresa." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John GOTHER
Traditional Carmelites:St. Callistus, Pope and Martyr A.D. 222 (16th pope)
by VP
Posted on Tuesday October 14, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"He was bishop of Rome, under the Emperor Heliogabalus, and governed the Church five years and two months. He every way promoted exceedingly true religion and virtue, during his administration of the Church in very difficult times. The Emperor Alexander Severus who succeeded Heliogabalus, never persecuted, the Christians, but several martyrs suffered in his reign, through the implacable hatred borne to the Christians by his officers and magistrates. The apostolic labors of St. Callistus were thus crowned with martyrdom, in the year 222.
Pray for the Pope, and for all the pastors of the church; that being watchful over their flocks, they may lead all in the way of salvation.
Beg patience for all who are in troubles, and see that you be not dejected under the difficulties ordained for your portion. Humble yourself under them in the acknowledgment of your unworthiness; and confess God to be just in all his ways. Seek comfort in him who afflicts you, and pray for your persecutors. Keep your eyes on that crown, which is prepared for all who suffer with patience. By this method, your troubles may turn to much better account, than that quiet and peace which you so much desire.
Above all, be careful that your troubles hinder you not from prayer, and the exercise of other spiritual duties: for this would be yielding to the designs of your greatest enemy. But then seek God most, when you stand most in need of his help. All lawful states are capable of a religious spirit. If you make your ill circumstances your plea for neglect of religious duties, the fault is not in your circumstances, but in yourself; and if these were changed, there is too much reason to fear that you would be still the same. Patience is the best preservative of peace in all troubles; and if this proves no remedy to them, it will however crown you." The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Fr. John GOTHER
Saint Edward the Confessor: Piety and Grandeur of Soul
by VP
Posted on Monday October 13, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
King Edward the Confessor, holding a ring and a sceptre. Engraving by J. Smith, 1732.
Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.
"PIETY AND GRANDEUR OF SOUL.-In the estimation of worldlings the word "piety" denotes littleness of mind; but this betokens littleness of judgment on their part, for religion shows forth the contrary by illustrious examples. No man was ever more pious, mortified, chaste, and charitable than St. Edward, king of England; but side by side with these purely Christian qualities he displayed a grandeur of soul worthy of the throne. He established a wisely-planned code, which still forms the groundwork of public law in England, and organized an administration so complete that the nation seemed to govern itself as of its own free will; and he proved himself fully able to repel his enemies by armed force whenever it was found needful to engage in war. His subjects loved him like a father. Providence seemed to have singled him out to repair the disasters resulting from forty years of invasion, and to restore his country. He died in 1066, after having founded the abbey of Westminster. "Weep not," he said to his queen Editha; "I am not about to die, but am beginning to live eternally."
MORAL REFLECTION.-"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and thereby "a wise man will increase his wisdom."(Prov. i. 5, 7.) Pictorial half hours with the saints. By Rev. Fr. Auguste François Lecanu
Saint Wilfrid, Bishop and Confessor, A.D. 709
by VP
Posted on Sunday October 12, 2025 at 12:29AM in Saints
St. Wilfrid, St Etheldreda's, Ely
"But as for you and your companions, you certainly sin if, having heard the decrees of the Apostolic See and of the Universal Church, and that the same is confirmed by Holy Writ, you refuse to follow them; for, though your fathers were holy, do you think that their small number, in a corner of the remotest island, is to be preferred before the Universal Church of Christ throughout the world? and if that Columba of yours (and I may say, ours also, if he was Christ's servant) was a holy man and powerful in miracles, yet could he be preferred before the most blessed prince of the apostles, to whom our Lord said, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and to thee I will give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven." Lives of the English Saints. St. Wilfrid, Bishop of York p35
"Saint Wilfrid was bishop of York, in the beginning of the eighth century. He consecrated his youth to Almighty God, going into the monastery of Lindisfarne, at the age of fourteen. After some years, observing some remissness there, he went to Rome, that he might be there instructed in the rules of greater perfection. Returning into England, he made some stay at Canterbury, and thence carried the rule of St. Benedict into the North, which had not yet been received in those parts. His virtue and learning recommended him to the see of York. Egfrid soon after succeeding to the crown, this prelate's constancy was not accommodated to the temper of that prince, who therefore drove him from his see. But being again admitted, he died there in peace, having labored in all the duties of a good pastor nearly fifty years.
The good seed sown in his youth appeared afterwards in a plentiful harvest. Take the same method, if you have any under your care. Season youth with good principles; for thus only can you hope to secure it against the uncertain, vain, or vicious inclinations of those years, and against the infinite snares of a treacherous and corrupt world. They who are sensible of the many dangers to which these are exposed, will find all the care that they can take little enough to prevent their going astray. Therefore as for those, whose principal solicitude is for a fashionable education, and who for accomplishing this, venture their children into the midst of corruption; it is but too evident, that they are more concerned for this world, than for the next. If they live to see their children miserable, they can only thank themselves. But how will they make reparation for their fault, when it is beyond their power? Good education and example teach children to be saints; but to bring them up to the usual vanities and follies of the world, is putting them into the broad way, even the way of hell." The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Rev. Fr. John GOTHER
Saint Francis Borgia S.J., Confessor, Priest 1572
by VP
Posted on Friday October 10, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Saint Francis Borgia praying at an altar.
How much the considerations of the things which we see on the earth ought to increase our humility:
"And, to commence with Bishops, I say that a Bishop has great matter for confusion before God, seeing how little care he takes of his people, despite the example of our Savior, who did not hesitate to give His life for the souls which His Father had confided to Him. Alas! how can anyone render an account of each individual under his charge, who does not even know his flock by sight?
What shall I say of the priest? What should be his confusion when he hears these words of Jesus Christ: "So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be My disciple;" (Luke xiv. 26) and when he compares the recklessness of his behavior with the sanctity of the Victim which he holds in his hands, and of which he is the sacrificer?
What ought also be the confusion of the preacher, when he reflects that he is called to the ministry of the Redeemer of the world, and that his life is so different from that of his Master? Let him consider the life which Jesus Christ led in the desert before He preached the Gospel, and let him form himself on this model. Unhappy is he who does not take care to make his conduct conformable to the doctrine which he teaches. Let him remember that the word of God is a holy word, and that an impure mouth is unworthy to announce it. Let him fear this terrible reproach that God made to the preachers by His Prophet: "But to the sinner God hath said: Why dost thou declare My justice, and take My covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hast hated discipline and hast cast My words behind thee." (Psalm xlix. 16, 17.) If the great Apostle feared to be a reprobate and a castaway when teaching others the way of salvation, should not the preacher tremble and keep himself in humility?" Spiritual Works of St. Francis Borgia, 1875 p 55."He was duke of Gandia in Spain. Having been educated in great piety by the archbishop of Saragossa, he was sent at the age of eighteen, by his father, to the court of the Emperor Charles V. There, being recommended by his singular piety, he was preferred by the emperor, and afterwards married to a Portuguese lady. Amidst these distractions at court, and a married life, he learned to contemn the world. After long soliciting, he obtained leave to quit the court; and the death of his lady gave him some release as to the distractions and dangers of the world. Having therefore founded a college for the fathers of the Society of Jesus, he settled his estate on his eldest son, took the habit of the Society, and was ordained priest. He retired into a hermitage; where he subjected himself to the meanest offices of the house, begged alms for the rest, and catechized children. Being taken from this obscure place by St. Ignatius, he was sent to preach through all Spain, which he did with great fruit. Afterwards, being called to Rome, he was chosen general of the Society; and having done great services to the Church, both by his labors and virtues, he made a holy end, in the year 1572. The instances of such a retreat have been rare in these latter ages; which being their reproach, is the commendation of our saint.
Reflect how little you can persuade yourself to leave for
Christ and then you will see reason to admire him. Let his example,
however, raise in you some desires of following it, though at a
distance. For if you take the other way of admiring the world, and seeking its greatness and riches, upon what title can you hope for heaven, which is promised only to the poor in spirit? And is it not an absurdity to live on with the hopes of heaven, while you are out of the way that leads to it? Carefully study the will of Christ, and the maxims of his gospel; and be conformed to them, and not to the world." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother.
"HIS FIRST MASS AND SERMON.
"It is," says Father Cepari, "altogether beyond the
power of words to express the spiritual content, the joy of soul
experienced by Francis, when he realized
the fact that he had now laid aside his title once and for ever, and
divested himself of all his dignities and possessions. He seemed now for
the first time truly to belong to himself, or, to speak more correctly,
to his Creator and his Lord, since there remained nothing which could
prevent him from giving himself altogether to Him.
Seeing himself to be clothed in the garb of poverty, feeling himself to be at last a Religious in very deed, he once more betook himself to the oratory. There prostrate on the ground before the Blessed Sacrament, with abundance of the sweetest tears, he gave thanks to God for having made him His servant, the bondsman of Jesus Christ. "O Lord," he exclaimed, "I am Thy servant; I am Thy servant and the son of Thy handmaid. Those hast broken my bonds; I will sacrifice to Thee the sacrifice of praise." Then, since he had enlisted beneath the banner of Christ, he desired to spread abroad the holy name of Jesus without regard to human respect or the judgments of men."
Francis was not one to allow his grateful joy to evaporate in outpourings of sentiment or bursts of rapture. His eager and energetic character delighted in action, and he now panted to be at work. Not a day did he lose in finding out what he was to do next. Having already, as the reader has seen, completed his studies, his immediate business was to prepare for the reception of Holy Orders. This he did not only by prayer, penance, and mortification, but by a careful and minute study of the ceremonies of the Mass. Even the least and apparently most unimportant of these, were regarded by him with the utmost respect and admiration, on account of the spirit in which the Church has instituted them, and the traditions of the holy Apostles and Pontiffs who have handed them on from age to age.
His
extreme reverence for holy things made him fear lest familiarity should
diminish his sense of the sacredness of the Mysteries of the Altar, and
of his own unfitness to approach them. When, at a subsequent period, his
position in the Society entitled him to speak with authority, he used
to endeavor by every means in his power to instill this reverential awe
into the minds of those who were preparing for the priesthood.
He dwelt with all the greater stress upon the necessity for it, because
he believed it to be too frequently lost sight of. To any one whom he
considered to be deficient in this respect, he would recall the terrible
fate of Oza. With a solemnity of manner which baffles description, he
would repeat and comment upon the words of Holy Scripture: "Oza put
forth his hand to touch the ark. And the Lord was angry with Oza, and
struck him, because he had touched the ark; and he died there before the
Lord." The Life of St. Francis Borgia of the Society of Jesus By A. M. Clarke 1894
St. Dionysius, Rusticus, and Eleutherius, Martyrs, A.D. 272
by VP
Posted on Thursday October 09, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Saint Denis, Saint Rustique et Saint Éleuthère (Louvre)
"Of all the Roman missionaries sent into Gaul, St. Dionysius carried the faith the farthest into the country, fixing his see at Paris. He built a church at Paris, and converted great numbers to the faith. A glorious martyrdom crowned his labours for the salvation of souls, and the exaltation of the name of Christ He seems to have suffered in the persecution of Valerian in 272. After a long and cruel imprisonment, he was beheaded for the faith, together with Rusticus, a priest, and Eleutherius, a deacon.
Pray for all, whose function obliges them to preach the faith; that zeal and courage may make them faithful to what they have undertaken. Pray for the people of the East, that the severity of God's scourge on them may be the correction of all vice and error Let their sufferings make you fearful of the divine anger, and solicitous to prevent its falling on you. Pray for all that are in persecution or other trouble, that the divine grace may be their support, and that by patience in temporal suffering, they may escape that which is eternal. Encourage and comfort the afflicted, not only as occasions shall offer, but even on set purpose going to such as you have reason to think are in want of comfort. Such visits are the best you can make, and truly becoming Christians, as being the exercise of that charity, humility, and self-denial which they profess, but will avail nothing, if not practised in this spirit. Is it not earnestly to be desired that those who have money and time at their disposal, would remember the frequent opportunities which they have of doing good to others and themselves, and not let gaming, idle conversation, and amusements, run away with all their leisure hours? By this method, they would treasure up to themselves heavenly comforts against the day of their trouble, and find the good effects of it in everlasting rewards." Source: The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
"THE WORTH OF BLOOD.-The blood of the martyrs became the seed of Christians, according to the beautiful expression of one of the early Fathers. This truth is fully shown forth by the whole history of the establishment of Christianity. Denys, Rusticus, and Eleutherius, having been sent into Gaul by the Pope St. Fabian, towards the middle of the third century, to bear thither the light of the Gospel, founded the churches of Chartres, Senlis, Meaux, Cologne, and likewise that of Paris, whereof St. Denys became the first bishop. Being seized however by the prefect Sisinnius Fescenninus in the midst of their apostolic labors, they were thrown into prison and beheaded towards the year 280. Their bodies having been thrown into the Seine, were drawn out thence, and buried on the spot where the Basilica of St. Denys was subsequently erected. This martyrdom, far from arresting the progress of the Gospel, as the pagans had hoped, gave such great extension to the faith that the Christians were soon able to defy the efforts of the persecutors, and Christianity at last gained the upper hand, establishing itself on the ruins of paganism.
MORAL REFLECTION.-Take heart, then, all you that suffer for the faith "a long posterity being promised to Jesus Christ as the price of His blood."-(Isa. liii. 10.)" Half Hour Pictorial of the Saints, by Abbe Auguste Lecanu
Saint John Leonard, Confessor
by VP
Posted on Thursday October 09, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Source: Orbis CatholicVs John Paul Sonnen
"Dear brothers and sisters, the luminous figure of this Saint invites priests in the first place, and all Christians, to strive constantly for "the high standard of Christian living", which means holiness, naturally each one in accordance with his own state. Indeed, authentic ecclesial renewal can only stem from faithfulness to Christ. In those years, on the cultural and social threshold between the 16th and 17th centuries, the premises of the contemporary culture of the future began to be outlined. It was characterized by an undue separation between faith and reason that produced, among its negative effects, the marginalization of God, with the illusion of the possible and total autonomy of man who chooses to live "as though God did not exist". This is the crisis of modern thought, which I have frequently had the opportunity to point out and which often leads to forms of relativism. John Leonardi perceived what the real medicine for these spiritual evils was and summed it up in the expression: "Christ first of all", Christ at the centre of the heart, at the center of history and of the cosmos. And, St John said forcefully, humanity stands in extreme need of Christ because he is our "measure". There is no area that cannot be touched by his power; there is no evil that cannot find a remedy in him, no problem that is not resolved in him. "Either Christ or nothing!". This was his recipe for every type of spiritual and social reform.
There is another aspect of St John Leonardi's spirituality that I would like to emphasize. On various occasions he reasserted that the living encounter with Christ takes place in his Church, holy but frail, rooted in history and in its sometimes obscure unfolding, where wheat and weeds grow side by side (cf. Mt 13: 30), yet always the sacrament of salvation. Since he was clearly aware that the Church is God's field (cf. Mt 13: 24), St John was not shocked at her human weaknesses. To combat the weeds he chose to be good wheat: that is, he decided to love Christ in the Church and to help make her, more and more, a transparent sign of Christ. He saw the Church very realistically, her human frailty, but he also saw her as being "God's field", the instrument of God for humanity's salvation. And this was not all. Out of love for Christ he worked tirelessly to purify the Church, to make her more beautiful and holy. He realized that every reform should be made within the Church and never against the Church. In this, St John Leonardi was truly extraordinary and his example is ever timely. Every reform, of course, concerns her structures, but in the first place must have an effect in believers' hearts. Only Saints, men and women who let themselves be guided by the divine Spirit, ready to make radical and courageous decisions in the light of the Gospel, renew the Church and make a crucial contribution to building a better world."
Source: Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, Oct. 7 2009
St. Elizabeth of the Holy Trinity, Carmelite
by VP
Posted on Wednesday October 08, 2025 at 03:00AM in Saints
St. Elisabeth de la Sainte Trinite
Prayer to the Trinity
O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to become utterly forgetful of myself so that I may establish myself in you, as changeless and calm as though my soul were already in eternity. Let nothing disturb my peace nor draw me forth from you, O my unchanging God, but at every moment may I penetrate more deeply into the depths of your mystery. Give peace to my soul; make it your heaven, your cherished dwelling-place and the place of your repose. Let me never leave you there alone, but keep me there, wholly attentive, wholly alert in my faith, wholly adoring and fully given up to your creative action.
O my beloved Christ, crucified for love, I long to be the bride of your heart. I long to cover you with glory, to love you even unto death! Yet I sense my powerlessness and beg you to clothe me with yourself. Identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, submerge me, overwhelm me, substitute yourself for me, so that my life may become a reflection of your life. Come into me as Adorer, as Redeemer and as Saviour.
O Eternal Word, utterance of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, to become totally teachable so that I might learn all from you. Through all darkness, all emptiness, all powerlessness, I want to keep my eyes fixed on you and to remain under your great light. O my Beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may never be able to leave your radiance.
O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, overshadow me so that the Word may be, as it were incarnate again in my soul. May I be for him a new humanity in which he can renew all his mystery.
And you, O Father, bend down towards your poor little creature. Cover her with your shadow, see in her only your beloved son in whom you are well pleased.
O my `Three’, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to you as your prey. Immerse yourself in me so that I may be immersed in you until I go to contemplate in your light the abyss of your splendour!
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, pray for us!
St. Bridget of Sweden, Widow, A.D. 1373.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday October 08, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
Source: Beautiful Pearls of the Catholic Truth, 1897 V2
"The power of the priest, My daughter, is very great; for he is the angel of the Lord, and mediator between God and man. His office is more sublime than even that of the angels, for he holds in his hand the God whose infinite Majesty it is not in any one's power to comprehend; a miserable creature is, when the priest pleases, united to all that is greatest in heaven."
Source: The Revelations of St. Bridget, Princess of Sweden published with the approval of Cardinal Manning 1874"ST. BRIDGET was born in Sweden, and so piously educated, that at ten years of age she was sensibly moved with the thoughts of our Savior's passion, made that the subject of her meditation, and could never speak of it but with tears. Being married by her parents to a nobleman, she faithfully discharged all the duties of a
good wife and a good mother; and by her powerful example obliged both
her husband and children to a virtuous life. Her husband, with her
consent, undertaking a monastic life, she likewise was called by Christ
to a stricter engagement with him. After the death of her husband, she renounced her rank in the world,
divided her estates among her children, and practiced incredible
austerities. Having received very particular favors from Heaven, she
instituted a religious Order of nuns, for God's greater glory, and the good of souls, in which she has had many followers. Going afterwards to Rome, and then to Jerusalem, the example of her virtue shone forth with great lustre; and in Palestine she watered with her pious tears the chief places which Christ had sanctified by his divine steps and precious blood. She was favored with many revelations, chiefly concerning the sufferings of our Blessed Savior: but she always humbly submitted her revelations to the pastors of the Church; and so far from glorying in these favors, she only increased in humility and the love of God. After a whole year's sickness, she died in the year 1373.
In this saint, young people have an instruction to seek God by an early application of their thoughts to Him; and the method of those is reproved, who give those first and better years to vanity and the love of the world.
Parents are taught to be just in all family duties; husband and wife to
each other, to their children and servants. Widows are taught to turn
their thoughts to heaven; and religious, to be strict in all the duties of their state. Pray for all degrees, that the grace of God may attend them, for all good." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Saint Mark, Pope and Confessor AD 336
by VP
Posted on Tuesday October 07, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
The Ointment of the Magdalene (Le parfum de Madeleine) - James Tissot
GOOD USE OF RICHES. -When Magdalen poured over the feet of Jesus the precious spikenard, the spirit of avarice, speaking by the mouth of Judas, blamed the act under the plea that it would have been better to give the price to the poor; but the Savior praised the act and the intention which prompted it. Even thus in our days do worldlings indulge in regrets at the sums expended upon the adornment of the house of God and the splendor of His worship; but pious souls let them say on as they will. The Pope St. Mark, during his short pontificate of eight months and twenty days, in like manner shrank not from withdrawing from the support of the poor, for whom he had withal the greatest charity and pitying tenderness, large sums of money, to expend them in the construction of two churches. All ancient writers laud his generosity, and the solicitude he showed to maintain fervor amongst the faithful while the Church was at peace. Having been elected to succeed Pope St. Sylvester, in 336, he died in the month of October in the same year.
MORAL REFLECTION. -When Judas Macchabæus, triumphing over Gorgias, had "carried away gold, silver, precious furniture, and mighty riches" from the Syrians, he embellished therewith the Temple of Jerusalem." Pictorial half hours with the saints by Rev. Fr. Auguste François Lecanu
"What is more becoming than to adorn the church, which is the shadow of the heavenly Jerusalem, so beautifully described by St. John? Solomon decorated the temple of God with images of cherubim and other representations. "And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. And all the walls of the temple round about he carved with divers figures and carvings." If it was meet and proper to adorn Solomon's temple, which contained only the Ark of the Lord, how much more fitting is it to decorate our churches, which contain the Lord of the Ark? When I see a church tastefully ornamented it is a sure sign that the Master is at home, and that His devoted subjects pay homage to Him in His court.
What beauty, what variety, what charming pictures are presented to our view in this temple of nature which we inhabit! Look at the canopy of heaven. Look at the exquisite pictures painted by the Hand of the Divine Artist on this earth. "Consider the lilies of the field.... I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these." If the temple of nature is so richly adorned, should not our temples made with hands bear some resemblance to it?
How many professing Christians must, like David, reproach themselves for "dwelling in a house of cedar, while the ark of God is lodged with skins." How many are there whose private apartments are adorned with exquisite paintings, who affect to be scandalized at the sight of a single pious emblem in their house of worship? On the occasion of the celebration of Henry W. Beecher's silver wedding several wealthy members of his congregation adorned the walls of Plymouth church with their private paintings. Their object, of course, in doing so was not to honor God, but their pastor. But if the portraits of men were no desecration to that church, how can the portraits of Saints desecrate ours? 1 And what can be more appropriate than to surround the Sanctuary of Jesus Christ with the portraits of the Saints, especially of Mary and of the Apostles, who, in their life, ministered to His sacred person? And is it not natural for children to adorn their homes with the likenesses of their Fathers in the faith?" The Faith of Our Fathers, by Cardinal James Gibbons
