OUR AIM IN LIFE
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 14, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
'Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God."—MATT. vi. 33.
1. It is natural to seek and desire.
2. But how few, the Kingdom of God!
3. What is meant by the Kingdom of God"? -Christ teaches us.
"It is natural to man to seek after something. There is always a want in the heart, and man seeks after that which he imagines will fill the void. Test this. Usually it is something that will ensure a better income, a position, influence; or maybe just the pleasure and joy of life, variety, excitement, the vogue of the present. Or it may be a loving heart seeks for love; it is ready to give, and yet it yearns for a return of affection. Whatever it may be, a man, worthy of the name of man, is seeking something, is keen after something.
But looking around us in the world, the last thing that would strike us would be that the chief thing that mankind was seeking was "the Kingdom of God." And yet that is the injunction of our Blessed Lord: "Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God." Seek it, yea, seek it first! Seek it above everything else! It is of no avail to own that the world at large utterly neglects this solemn word of Christ. The practical point is to ask ourselves our own soul-are we seeking first this Kingdom of God? Is there not something else in our heart striving to be master there? Is there not something else that dominates our interest, our time, our thoughts? About which we are more keen and anxious, more strenuous and determined, than gaining the Kingdom of God.
But you may object: What is this Kingdom of God? How have we to seek it? Can it be that we have to discard and reject the pursuits and pleasures of the world that lure us on, and are not satisfied without they are supreme in our heart, to banish them utterly and listen to what faith tells us of the Kingdom of God? The message of faith strikes us cold and numbs our heart; for we are told in the book that we dare not doubt nor disobey about the Kingdom of God. The gospel says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." Blessed are the meek: those that mourn: those that hunger and thirst after justice: the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers: yea, "Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven ” (Matt. v. 3, 10)."
Such is the teaching of the God of Truth, God made man for our sakes. These words are in His first sermon, and did not His own life bear them out? He did not teach one thing, and do another. He was born in a stable-poor in spirit. He said, "Learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart" (Matt. xi. 29). He was the Man of sorrows. He was merciful; and the peacemaker, for He came in His mercy to reconcile poor rebel sinners to His Father. He suffered persecution, even to the death of the Cross, and thus He won the Kingdom of heaven. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into His glory?" (Luke xxiv. 26).
And the sacred book teaches us again, what would all the pleasures and glory of the world be to us (and how little shall we ever gain of them !)?—for "the world passeth away" (1 John ii. 17). All that has enthralled the hearts of men with vain hopes is nothing more but merely the short lived glory of a summer's day. Whereas we have immortal souls to satisfy; how can transient joys suffice for them? What a void there would be; and alas, how soon in our deluded souls! Peace and plenty, joy and comfort, friends and love around us only make the thought of death the more to be dreaded, and the leaving them all, the final separation, the more appalling.
Look through the dark and fearful vista of the future, the sacred book comes to our assistance once again. "Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world" (1 John ii. 15). Seek not this world and its joys and its vain happiness, but seek first the Kingdom of God, and then when life is over, what a revelation of glory there will be, a Kingdom of glorious eternity. The cross becomes the crown: the poor take possession of the Kingdom; the meek shall possess the land; those that have mourned and suffered shall rejoice; the merciful shall find mercy; the clean of heart shall see God; the peacemakers and those that have forgiven shall find forgiveness and a welcome to their Father's home; and those that have suffered for Christ's sake, theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Poor, unknown, despised on this earth, we may have been: obedient, humble, and contrite of heart, we have daily done our best to seek first the Kingdom of God, and death will reveal it to us that we have succeeded, and the blessed success will last for ever! No more anxiety and fear of falling into sin; no more crosses and afflictions. We shall be transformed into the children of light and glory, companions of the saints, surrounded by the angels. Children of Mary, we shall then learn what it is to have the Queen of heaven for our Mother. We shall be welcomed by our Lord and Savior, because we have obeyed His words in the holy book. And for ever we shall dwell with our Father in heaven, because we kept that word, "Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God."Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey OSB (14th Sunday after Pentecost)
Saint Amatus, Benedictine Abbot
by VP
Posted on Saturday September 13, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
PERSECUTED VIRTUE.-Persecution seems to be the portion of virtue. God desires or permits it in accordance with His ever-wise designs, which it behoves us to adore without seeking to penetrate. Amatus gave himself up to all the fervor of piety in a cell attached to the monastery of Agaune, near which was built a little oratory that still exists, called "Our Lady of the Rock," whence he was drawn to be raised to the see of Sion, in the Valais. He discharged the functions of this high office for many years with such edification that his reputation for sanctity continued to increase day by day. But the weak-minded , Thierry III swayed by his mistresses and by the atrocious Ebroin, mayor of the palace, allowing himself to be influenced against him, condemned him without appeal, and banished him from his diocese. The pious bishop patiently bore this unjust treatment, and withdrew to a monastery, where he died a holy death towards the year 690. Thierry, having returned to better thoughts, reproached himself bitterly with his mode of dealing, and repaired the mischief by numerous deeds of benevolence.
MORAL REFLECTION.-The just man when persecuted resembles our Savior more nearly: "Let him then take up his cross, and follow" the divine model.-(Mark viii. 34.) Half Hours Pictorial with the Saints by Fr. Lecanu
Recollections of Father Price (August 19, 1860 - September 12, 1919)
by VP
Posted on Friday September 12, 2025 at 12:00AM in Documents
Heavenly Father, You so inspired Father Thomas Frederick Price with love
for You and zeal for the Gospel that he dedicated his life to serve You
and Your Church,
first in North Carolina, his home state, and then in
the foreign missions. Grant that by his example we may grow in holiness
and into a deeper union with Our Lord
Jesus Christ. Help us to be authentic witnesses of
the Gospel and proclaim the Holy Name of Jesus throughout the Diocese of
Raleigh and to all the people and in
all the places we are sent to love and serve.
If it be according to Your Will, glorify Your
servant, Father Thomas Frederick Price, by granting the favor I (we) now
request through his prayerful
intercession (mention your request here).
I (we) make this prayer confidently through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Imprimatur: Most Rev. Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh June 15, 2012
"Rev. Thomas Price: What explanation can be given to the
questions: When a person has been thoroughly educated in the Catholic
Faith, having had great care bestowed on his training, but who when he
reaches manhood falls away from the Church and says he does not believe
in the religion of his childhood?
The general reply is that faith
is a gift of God whereby we trust God and all that He says simply
because He says it, and that a person loses this trust in God because of
his faithlessness to God's grace. Education and training, the very best
education and training, are after all only a means, a great means, but
after all only a means, to strengthen this trust in God and what He
says, and after it is all done a person may and sometimes does through
faithlessness to God's grace fall, that is, lose this belief in God and
God's words. No man ever loses faith in God or the Catholic Church
except by his own fault. The fault may be hidden. It may be pride,
especially of intellect; it may be wilful trifling with temptations
against faith, it may be a loss of grace through immoral life, or it may
be a neglect of the means of grace, the sacraments, etc. But in every
particular case, if the truth can be reached, it will be found to be
faithlessness to God's grace. Neither any amount of education nor
training nor anything else can save a man against his own will, nor
cause him to retain Catholic faith if he is untrue to God's grace. Such
persons as you speak of are usually led away from the Church by pride,
or baneful associations of one kind or another, terminating in
faithlessness to the graces of faith. They often yield to these
influences for a time and then return to God and the Church. Let our
correspondent pray, as St. Monica prayed for St. Augustine, and the same
God who listened to Monica's prayers will not fail our correspondent." Source: Truth Magazine page 74. June 1908 Founded 1897 by Rev. Thomas Frederick Price
Recollections of Father Price by Father W. B Hannon, Buckfast Abbey, England The Field Afar, Volumes 15-16, 1921
"It was a bright day in late spring when I accompanied Father Price and two of his students to open a week's mission to non-Catholics, at a little mission church in Wake County. Large fleecy clouds floated in a blue sky, but the sun was warm. I had been spending a few days at Nazareth, and gladly consented to join in the good work. Some beds and household effects were placed in a farm wagon, and the two priests. and two students took their seats and set out for the place of rendez-vous.
The road was full of ruts, and the passengers received many a jolt on the way. We passed settlements, then quite new and curious in my eyes. The large farm horse went by fits and starts, creeping along at a snail's pace, and then galloping as fast as his cumbersome load would allow. It was a fairly picturesque route, past pine woods, where doves cooed lazily among the trees, and many plantations of white folks, who placidly gazed at "Priest Price" and his luggage and companions, or looked with wonder and suspicion on the advent of the Catholic folk of Nazareth, invading the undisturbed territory of their Protestant creed, whose conflicting and unsightly churches were seen in all directions. I do not know where there are such ugly churches to be found as in the solid Protestant South, save in Wales.
We saluted the people as we passed, and some jerked back a nod of recognition over their shoulders, as if making an effort to return the salutation. The people are well schooled against Catholicism by their spiritual teachers, who revel in all the old exploded scandals and lies concerning the Church. It is easy to see the glint of dislike on their faces when they know that one is a Catholic or a priest. The Southern States are still the happy hunting grounds of prejudice and illiteracy.
I was rather disappointed on seeing the mission chapel or shack, called very appropriately after St. Teresa, who had to put up with such crude structures in her new reform establishments. It presented an interior of confusion, not having been used for months, but it soon changed its appearance. The mattresses were duly laid on the sacristy floor, where we were to sleep, and the novelty was pleasing to us. As for Father Price, he was unconscious of any difference, and was quite as at home in the poorest hut in the backwoods as in the most agreeable city home. One of the students, now a Superior in a Religious Order, went out to the natives, who were viewing from afar the invasion, and bargained with them for milk and other sundries, and so broke the ice.
Father Price, with his truly devotional spirit, was full of the fire of prayer and zeal, but it was truly a barren soil for converts. However, its spiritual distress was an appealing plea to his apostolic heart. I noticed during my sermon that men and women were continually spitting, and felt hurt at the profanity in a Catholic church, even in this poor shack. Afterwards I was informed that the men were chewing big quids of tobacco, and the women were dipping or chewing snuff. They certainly spat with geometrical precision, and never touched one another, but aimed well into an opening on the side of the building, and always reached it with unerring aim.
My thoughts of that mission are half pleasant, half pathetic. To think that the large attendance was untouched, like many millions in the Sunny South, was the sad feature of Catholic failure to reach the people. They go through life in the old circumscribed familiar ways, knowing little of the Church of God, and, in fact, ignorant of the fundamental truths of Christianity; passing from youth to old age, and from the death-bed to the graveyard, missing so much certain hope that the Church gives the peasantry elsewhere. Such has been Catholic endeavor for generations. Even the great heart of Bishop England had to feel the same trial after all the torrents of his fervid eloquence, his poverty, self-sacrifice, and the clouds of suspicion in which his open, generous nature had to be enveloped. It is recorded that this holy and gifted man made few converts in his day.
There was something infinitely beautiful and consoling in a visit that I paid with Father Price to a dying black man one evening. The old fellow had been a slave in his youth, and appeared to have "had religion," as they say. He was also gentle and mannerly. He had known the priest for years, and, like other unsophisticated persons, was able to discern how unworldly his visitor was. He loved the Lord in his own simple creed, and Father Price had the way open to baptize, anoint, and give him the last Sacraments in a few days, after convincing him that the Catholic Church is the true Church of Christ. The death of the old man was an edifying sight. The evening air seemed full of a deep content. Birds fluted softly under the eaves of the cabin, and the few long-leaf pines near by stirred in the wandering breeze as if bending to salute the departing soul. We came away filled with solemn thoughts as the cold stars glittered in the sky, which seemed the footstool of the Almighty. A wistful silence prevented us from speaking, as our spirits had been drawn near to the flight of a soul out of this vale of tears and we were confronted with the mystery of death. God grant us courage and trust, when He calls us to go out to the "great Beyond," like those of Uncle Ike!
Father Price had a rare priestly influence with sinners and lapsed Catholics.
Very few, if any, preached so often and gave so many missions, but as they were unheralded and unknown outside his humble walk of life, they are unrecorded, save by the ministering angels of the souls swayed for good by them.
He never was so cramped and selfish to think that his work was within the confines of a particular territory, and that souls elsewhere had no claim on him. His zeal was truly Catholic, not parochial. It looked to souls, and, like the celebrated Father of the Church, he reckoned one soul worth the ministry of a bishop. He would preach to two black children as earnestly as if they were a large congregation.
He was not eloquent and never went outside the themes of the plain gospel to try and captivate the fancy of of his audience. "Christ and Him Crucified" were his frequent subjects of inspiration, and something generous, honest and sincere seemed to radiate from him. The most illiterate white or black people understood him. He impressed them with the ringing truths of eternal life that came from his lips. He gave them plenty to think about, and they did not forget the divine message when he had finished. He listened patiently to the tiresome talk of conversationalists, but insisted on charity. He had no uneasy questionings, no remorse, no useless melancholy. He was simple and tranquil, and this temperament promoted the rugged health so essential to his arduous missionary life.
What an appropriate and long novitiate Father Price had in his own homeland for the Chinese Mission of his last year on earth! He accepted whatever God sent and recognized that he had to plough the furrows and wait for God to give success or failure. He never repined, but did his utmost, and was cheerful at small results or none at all. Perhaps in years to come the tiny seeds of eternal truths implanted by Father Price will break forth into flower and fruit for the cheerless missions of North Carolina.
A critic may be prompted to say it was a huge mistake for such a man as Father Price to leave a sphere of spiritual activity at home, to waste and shorten his existence in the barren mission fields of the Orient.
It is a hard question to answer, but there are reasons for every action which cannot be discussed in public. Then, again," the spirit breathes where it will." A man must look deep down into his heart and face a situation of the kind, bravely and simply, and pray that the new call may be a summons from God, not a temptation disguised as an angel of light. Father Price acted judiciously, and gave the question of leaving his life work for a new apostolate prayerful consideration. He acted on the judgment of venerable and holy advisers.
He left no interpretation with us. Not a word comes out of the silence to show what he thought of his long ministry with its light and shade as he lay dying so far away from his own Sunny South.
What an inspiration, to find the old priest dying in another and more fruitful apostolate, after a life of labor and sacerdotal virtues in his native State! Others would have yearned for rest and retirement after a comparatively fruitless career. One apostolate is usually sufficient for even the most pious and energetic. But Father Price was in the spring of life at fifty-nine years of age, ready to encounter untold hardships fit to overwhelm the youngest and most fervent Levite. Like the Apostle, he always looked on himself as the unprofitable servant.Martyrdom was his desired goal, and the subject of years of prayer. He met it not as sought for, but in the mysterious way designed by Providence, according to the accounts given of his sickness. The desired death was the highest expression of his love for God.
Ah, he was "a visionary" and "had China enough in North Carolina," sneer critics who flee from labor and sufferings. How we realize the meaning of the eloquent denunciation of the poisonous powers of the tongue given by St. James, when we hear such language from effeminate believers! He will be long remembered and live anew in his good deeds, when their names are long forgotten.
A verse of an old hymn heard in an ancient church comes floating down the aisles of years to me, and I apply it to the great but humble priest:
Without the people stood,
While unseen and alone,
With incense and with blood,
He did for them atone.
Death was no distressing thought to Father Price, and hence when it came on a foreign strand he could meet it like another Xavier."
Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
by VP
Posted on Friday September 12, 2025 at 12:00AM in Prayers
Blessed Virgin Mary, Sacred Heart Raleigh NC
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Son of Mary, hear us.
Son of Mary, graciously hear us.
Heavenly Father, of Whom Mary is the Daughter, have mercy on us.
Eternal Word, of Whom Mary is the Mother, have mercy on us.
Holy Spirit, of Whom Mary is the spouse, have mercy on us.
Divine Trinity, of Whom Mary is the Handmaid, have mercy on us.
Mary, Mother of the Living God, pray for us
Mary, daughter of the Light Eternal, pray for us
Mary, our light, pray for us
Mary, our sister, pray for us
Mary, flower of Jesse, pray for us
Mary, issue of kings, pray for us
Mary, chief work of God, pray for us
Mary, the beloved of God, pray for us
Mary, Immaculate Virgin, pray for us
Mary, all fair, pray for us
Mary, light in darkness, pray for us
Mary, our sure rest, pray for us
Mary, house of God, pray for us
Mary, sanctuary of the Lord, pray for us
Mary, altar of the Divinity, pray for us
Mary, Virgin Mother, pray for us
Mary, embracing your Infant God, pray for us
Mary, reposing with Eternal Wisdom, pray for us
Mary, ocean of bitterness, pray for us
Mary, Star of the Sea, pray for us
Mary, suffering with your only Son, pray for us
Mary, pierced with a sword of sorrow, pray for us
Mary, torn with a cruel wound, pray for us
Mary, sorrowful even unto death, pray for us
Mary, bereft of all consolation, pray for us
Mary, submissive to the law of God, pray for us
Mary, standing by the Cross of Jesus, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady, pray for us
Mary, Our Queen, pray for us
Mary, Queen of glory, pray for us
Mary glory of the Church Triumphant, pray for us
Mary, Blessed Queen, pray for us
Mary, advocate of the Church Militant, pray for us
Mary, Queen of Mercy, pray for us
Mary, consoler of the Church Suffering, pray for us
Mary, exalted above the angels, pray for us
Mary, crowned with twelve stars, pray for us
Mary, fair as the moon, pray for us
Mary, bright as the sun, pray for us
Mary, distinguished above all, pray for us
Mary, seated at the right hand of Jesus, pray for us
Mary, our hope, pray for us
Mary, our sweetness, pray for us
Mary, glory of Jerusalem, pray for us
Mary, joy of Israel, pray for us
Mary, honor of our people, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of the Assumption, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Loreto, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Czestochowa, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Dolors, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Victory, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of La Trappe, pray for us
Mary, Our Lady of Divine Providence, pray for us
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord Jesus.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord Jesus.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord Jesus.
Son of Mary, hear us.
Son of Mary, graciously hear us.
I will declare thy name unto my brethren.
I will praise thee in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Us Pray
O Almighty God, Who beholds Thy servants earnestly desiring to place
themselves under the shadow of the name and protection of the Most Holy
Virgin Mary, grant, we beseech thee, that by her charitable intercession,
we may be delivered from all evil on earth, and may arrive at
everlasting joys in Heaven, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
St. Paphnucius, Bishop of Egyp
by VP
Posted on Thursday September 11, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"HONOURABLE WOUNDS. - St. Paphnucius, the disciple of St. Anthony, and one of the most holy bishops of Upper Egypt, nobly confessed the faith during the persecution of Maximinus. He was grievously wounded in the ankle and thumb, and had his right eye torn out previous to being sent to labor in the mines with the other martyrs. On peace being restored to the Church by Constantine the Great, he reappeared in his diocese with all the more authority, because the halo of the martyr surrounded him. This glorious title, as well as his personal sanctity, attracted towards him the reverent homage of the fathers of the Council at Nicea, where he was anxious to be present, despite his state of suffering. Constantine, who loved to converse with him and consult him as a parent, never parted from him without respectfully kissing his cheek or the scars in his hand. Paphnucius was present likewise at the council of Tyre, and there brought about a reconciliation between Maximus, patriarch of Jerusalem, and St. Athanasius, who had been calumniated by the enemies of the faith. The precise date of his death is not recorded.
MORAL REFLECTION.-If to fight for one's country be
glorious, "it is likewise great glory to follow the Lord," saith the
Wise Man.(Eccles. xxiii. 38.)" Pictorial Half Hour with the saints by Fr. Augustine Lecanu
#8 Acts of Adoration Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in reparation for all the offenses committed against Him by mankind
by VP
Posted on Thursday September 11, 2025 at 12:00AM in Thursday Reparation
8. We adore Thee, Sovereign Lord of the universe, to Whom all knees both in heaven and earth should bend, all reverence be paid! And in order to repair the many blasphemies against thy honor, we offer up to Thee the praises and homage of the Principalities. Eternal praise and thanksgiving be to the Most Holy and Most Divine Sacrament.
O Queen of heaven and earth, hope of mankind, who adores thy Divine Son incessantly! We entreat thee, that, since we have the honor to be of the number of thy children, thou would interest thyself in our behalf and make satisfaction for us, and in our name, to our Eternal Judge, by rendering to Him the duties which we ourselves are incapable of performing. Amen
Source: CAPG
Remembering 9/11
by VP
Posted on Thursday September 11, 2025 at 12:00AM in Documents
Public domain
Remembering 9/11
Prayer of Benedict XVI
O God of love, compassion, and healing, look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions, who gather today at this site, the scene of incredible violence and pain. We ask you in your goodness to give eternal light and peace to all who died here—the heroic first responders: our firefighters, police officers, emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel, along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy simply because their work or service brought them here on September 11, 2001.
We ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to those who, because of their presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness. Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope. We are mindful as well of those who suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.
God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the Earth. Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred. God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events. Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain. Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all.
St. Nicholas of Tolentino, CONFESSOR, A.D. 1306.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday September 10, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
- Weekly Devotion to St. Nicholas of Tolentine (Perpetual Novena) For the suffering Souls in Purgatory
- Prayer to St. Nicholas of Tolentino (Augustinian order, Philippines)
"THIS saint received his surname from the town which was his residence for the greater part of his life, and where he died. He was piously educated, and gave early signs of a virtuous life. In his childhood, he spent hours together at his prayers, with wonderful application of his mind to God. He had a tender love for the poor, and from his tender age had a habit of fasting three days in the week on bread and water. When grown up he became a religious of the Order of the reformed Augustins; and here he lived a wonderful example, not only of great austerity, but also of charity, patience, and humility. He suffered very much in his devotions from the malice of a subtle enemy, without being discouraged. Thus he went on, till he was called to a better life, in the year 1306.
What can you now learn from the method of this
saint? You are not to oblige children at his tender years to fast. But
if you will be kind to them, flatter not their appetites with choice
bits; give them what is wholesome, but teach them not to be nice. For by
courting their palates, you would teach them to love themselves, make
them unfit for the penitential way of the Gospel, and very miserable, if forced at any time to struggle with the difficulties of the world. Observe the rigors of this
saint: for though you cannot follow them, they will yet serve as a
reproach to your selfish way, in seeking every thing that pleases. Did
he think Heaven worth all his self-denials; and will you suffer nothing
for it? Reflect well on this point: for all who follow Christ being commanded to deny themselves, he can be no true disciple, who is a stranger to the practice of self-denial. Learn something as to prayer. Be not discouraged with the distractions of wandering thoughts; and let no temptations frighten you from your usual exercise. Do the best you are able, and hope that God will pardon your weakness. Endeavor to prevent the growth of tares; but do not think your labor unprofitable if there be some tares among the corn.The harvest may turn to good account notwithstanding this mixture." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
St. Peter Claver, of the Society of Jesus.
by VP
Posted on Tuesday September 09, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
"At the beginning of the seventeenth century the Jesuit College of Majorca was blessed with the presence of a holy lay brother, called Alphonsus Rodriguez, whose name has lately been added to the catalogue of the Saints. Though holding the humble office of college porter, he was able by his admirable example and burning words, issuing from a heart inflamed with Divine love, to exercise a powerful influence for good upon the students. Among these was a youth of noble birth, a native of Catalonia, named Peter Claver, whom he inflamed with so ardent a zeal for the salvation of the poor abandoned negro slaves in the Spanish colonies of South America, that the labours and sacrifices of this painful apostolate became the object of his longing desires and his highest ambition. Almighty God responded to his generous aspirations, and in the year 1615 he was sent by his superiors to reinforce the mission at Carthagena, the principal seaport of Peru.
Upon his arrival at his destination, Father Claver was moved with the most tender compassion on beholding the sufferings of the poor negroes who were landed at this port from the slave ships, and bought and sold like cattle. Their fate was indeed a hard one, for no sooner were they discharged from the vessel where they had been crowded together for weeks beneath the hatchways, enduring all the horrors of hunger, thirst and foul air, than they found that their sufferings were just commencing. The silver mines where they had to labour in the bowels of the earth, and the plantations where they had to toil beneath the burning sun, were to be the scene of their life-long misery; and when exhausted by excessive labours and debilitated by hardship and disease, they became no longer of service to their brutal masters, they were often thrust aside and left to perish uncared for either in soul or body. It was to alleviate the cruel sufferings of these poor outcasts and ensure them the enjoyment of eternal happiness hereafter that Claver devoted the forty years of his missionary life.
During the long course of his laborious apostolate the following was the routine of his daily life. As soon as a slave ship anchored in the harbour, Father Claver hastened on board, carrying with him a supply of biscuits, lemons, brandy and tobacco, for the use of the unhappy negroes. Upon these poor creatures, already half brutalized by the hardships and cruelties which they had endured during the course of their long voyage, he lavished the most tender affection. He spoke to them-exiles from their native land and dearest friends of their Heavenly Father who loved them tenderly, and of a happy home beyond the skies which was still within their reach. He nursed the sick, he baptised the infants, he encouraged every one, assuring them that he would be ever at their service, ready to share their sorrows, to advise and instruct them, and in a word to devote to them his time, his means, his labour and his whole existence.
To supply their wants he was not ashamed to beg from door to door, and to stand with his hand stretched out in the public places. But he was not content with assisting them on their first arrival. With staff in hand, and bearing on his shoulders the supplies intended for them, he followed them to the mines and plantations, enduring incredible hardships, and braving every danger in order to bring them consolation and relief.
Upon his arrival at a slave settlement, his first care was to visit the quarters of the sick, whom he considered to have the earliest claim upon his charity. After washing their hands and faces and dressing their wounds, he would distribute among them remedies for their ailments, and various little delicacies, at the same time raising their thoughts and hearts to God, and exhorting them to bear their sufferings patiently for the love of Jesus who had shed all His Blood for them. When he had soothed and calmed the minds of all, he assembled them before a little Altar which he had set up and decorated, and over which he had placed a picture of Jesus crucified. He arranged the men on one side and the women on the other upon seats or mats which he had prepared, and then in the midst of these degraded beings, naked and covered with vermin, he with a smiling countenance and in simple and loving words began to explain to them the truths of our holy Faith, especially the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, and that of a God made man who shed his Precious Blood for the salvation of all, master and slave, negro and European.
When taking his four final vows Father Claver added
a fifth, intended to bind him more closely to his heroic work. It is
expressed by the words in which he signed his solemn act of profession, "Peter,
slave of the negroes for ever." Faithful to his vow he wore himself out
by his unceasing labours in their behalf, until at length, utterly
exhausted in body and paralysed in all his limbs, he breathed out his
soul to God on September 8, A.D. 1654, at the age of seventy-four." Short lives of the saints, for every day in the year, Volume 3,Catholic Truth Society By Rev. Fr. Henry Gibson, 1897 p. 29
Nativity of our Lady: Mary's Sublime Vocation
by VP
Posted on Monday September 08, 2025 at 12:00AM in Meditations
Giotto di Bondone: Scenes from the Birth of Our Lady
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
GIVE God thanks for all the graces and privileges bestowed on the Blessed Virgin. Rejoice in spirit on this day of her birth, and for the approaching mercy of the incarnation, which was then drawing near. While God is liberally pouring forth his graces on her, step in, and beseech him to give you a blessing also. Let his bounty confirm your hope, and make you earnest in your prayers.
Pray in particular for that virtue, of which you are most in want. How far are you from her humility, her purity, charity, and patience? Be not then dull and slothful, when you see your wants, and have encouragement enough to hope for remedy.
The memory of past blessings ought to be a subject of perpetual joy and thanksgiving. Heaven is the place, where these holy affections are to be perfected; but here on earth we are not to be wanting in those exercises, which we hope will be our employment for ever. Bow down therefore, and with a true sense of gratitude, bless and adore the infinite goodness of your God, for the rich present which he made this day to the earth, in the birth of the Blessed Virgin, of whom was to be born the Saviour of the world. Repeat your thanks; and see that the real sentiments of your heart exceed the expressions of your lips. And having sincerely performed this part of your devotion, then turn your thoughts, and see what lessons the present festival affords.
"Mary was born in order to be the Mother of Jesus. : "Of whom was born Jesus." This is the principle of all her privileges, the summing up of all her praises. (...) It is as the Mother of the Redeemer of mankind that she will be the refuge and advocate of sinners. She is the aurora which precedes and ushers in the morning sun. (...) Certain it is that if men had known the blessings which Mary's nativity drew upon them, there would have been throughout the whole world a repetition of that which occurred among the Jews at their having been preserved from death through the meditation of Ester. "A new light seemed to rise, you, honor, dancing in all peoples...wonderful rejoicing." (Est. viii. 16,17). You also, O Priests, were born for a sublime destiny! Accomplish it faithfully, and you shall be the cause of an unspeakable joy for heaven and earth. To give Jesus to the world, and with Jesus to give it all blessings, such is your vocation, and such was the vocation of Mary. This is the reason why the holy Virgin has such a warm affection for good priests and lavishes upon them such truly maternal cares. Source: September 8, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin p444. Meditations for the Use of the Secular Clergy, from the French of Father Chaignon, S.J. Volume 2. 1907
