Quote of the Day

Here is the best quote I have ever found about hope, and it's from the Bible. (Romans 5:3,4)

Tribulation worketh patience; and patience trial; and trial hope.

Trials produce hope. Without trial there is no hope. Pretty simplistic, isn't it?

Offer your Communion for the Holy Souls

Purgatory is a scene of affliction and anguish, inasmuch as God's justice gains compensation for the portion of sacrifice and love we have refused Him here below.



Holy angels, guardians of those blazing chasms, help me to call to mind those souls, so holy and resigned, from the bowels of flames that torment them. Make us recognize among them our fathers, our mothers, our sisters and brothers. Let their cries, so tender and heart-rending, capable of splitting the mountains and mollifying cruelty itself, reach and penetrate our ears.

All the above text is by Father Charles Arminjon, from the book The End of the Present World. Father Arminjon goes on to say, "Saint Jerome and several Doctors are of the opinion that, when the Holy Sacrifice is being offered for the intention of a deceased person, he ceases to suffer the pains of Purgatory for the whole duration of the ceremony."

It is still October, not quite the month of the Holy Souls, but knowing what we do about the Holy Souls, imagine what your offering of Holy Communion can do for them. They can only participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice by our intercession. Our prayers and good works do much to alleviate their suffering, but it is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that earns them the most relief. Remember them at every Mass throughout the year.

Thought for the Day

Ecclesiasticus 26 7:40 In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.

In case you're undecided

I am no Hilary Clinton fan, but I came across a quote of hers (on Obama's lack of credentials for the highest office in the free world) that I quite like:

I have long said that John McCain will bring a wealth of experience to the campaign trail, and that Barack Obama will bring a speech he wrote in 2002.

Sobering Thoughts

When I was on vacation this week, I logged into the internet briefly, and read this comment by Anita Moore of the blog V for Victory. Her comment was in response to a post I did called Sermon on Salvation and I was struck by the sobering thought that accompanied Anita's message; so much so that all day I thought about how dangerous even one mortal sin is to our salvation.

Anita Moore said... Just the excerpts are extremely sobering by themselves, to say the least! In Preparation for Death, St. Alphonsus Ligouri argues (citing Scripture) that each individual has only a set number of mortal sins that God will forgive, and after that, He will just move in and take vengeance. He also cites private revelations in which certain children are said to have gone to hell after committing their first sin.

I don't know whether any of this is literally true or not; but it is certain that since we never know when we're going to die, it is the height of folly to take a chance of being caught dead in a state of mortal sin. And that, of course, is St. Alphonsus' whole point.

I have been immersing myself in the book The Glories of Mary for the last three months (also by St Alphonsus de Liquori) and right after reading Anita's comment I read this passage from that book:

A wicked soldier every day performed some devotion in honour of our Blessed Lady. One day he was suffering greatly from hunger, when Mary appeared to him and offered him some most delicious meats, but in so filthy a vessel that he could not bring himself to taste them.

"I am the Mother of God," the Blessed Virgin then said, "and am come to satisfy thy hunger."

"But, O Blessed Lady," the soldier answered, "I cannot eat out of so filthy a vessel."

"And how," replied Mary, "can thou expect that I should accept thy devotions offered to me with so defiled a soul as thine?"

On hearing this, the soldier was converted, became a hermit, and lived in a desert for thirty years. At his death, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and took him herself to heaven.

If we only knew with what gravity even one mortal sin offends God, surely we would never sin again!

Pillars of Salt

Gotta love this quote of Bishop Williamson's that I found over at the Catholic Cavemen's blog.

(Speaking of the rampant anti-God, pro-homosexual "lifestyle" that's ever so prevalent in Western culture): "If The Lord doesn't do something soon about this, He's going to owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology."

Lot's wife could soon have company.

Wise Words

It is so easy to notice the faults of others that we often forget our own faults, and Thomas Kempis, is his little book, My Imitation of Christ, makes a good reflection on how to admonish ourselves not to notice the defects of others.

He tells us to be patient in bearing the faults of others, because we also have many things that others have to put up with, even though we tend to overlook our own faults. He goes on to say that if we can't make our own selves perfect, how can we expect others to be able to perfect, and pleasing to us all the time?

"We would willingly have others perfect and yet we mend not our own defects. We would have others strictly corrected, yet we are not willing to be corrected ourselves. The large liberty of others displeases us, yet we would not want to be denied anything we ask for. Thus it is evident how seldom we weigh our neighbour in the same balance we weigh ourselves."

Wise words.

Well Said!

Caveman style, of course!
"I consider all religions equal. And by equal, I mean they're all tied for 2nd place behind Catholicism."