"There is no future without children."

This meme was inspired by an article in the NY Times by Ross Douthat entitled "The Birthrate and America's Future."  It reminded me of this address by Pope Benedict XVI earlier this year:

Pope says no future without children, urges support for large families
Pilgrims cheer during the pope's general audience at the Vatican Feb. 15. (CNS/Paul Haring)
By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI called on governments and communities to help large families, saying children represent hope and the well-being of every nation.

"There is no future without children," he said at the end of his general audience Feb. 15 in a greeting to members of an Italian association of large families.

"In today's social context, a family made up of many children constitutes a witness of faith, courage and optimism," he said. "I hope that adequate social and legislative measures are promoted that safeguard and sustain large families, which represent richness and hope for the whole country," he said. 

To read the whole article, click here: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1200616.htm

 

Martyrdom of Blessed Miguel Pro - November 23, 1927

November 23 is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Blessed Miguel Pro. Following is the Wikipedia entry on Pro's arrest and execution:

An assassination attempt by bombing against Álvaro Obregón (which only wounded the ex-president) in November 1927 provided the state with a pretext to capture Pro and his brothers Humberto and Roberto. A young engineer who was involved and confessed his part in the assassination testified the Pro brothers were not involved. Miguel and his brothers were taken to the Detective Inspector's Office in Mexico City.

On November 23, 1927, Fr. Pro was executed without trial. President Calles gave orders to have Pro executed under the pretext of the assassination, but in reality for defying the virtual outlawing of Catholicism.[5] Calles had the execution meticulously photographed, and the newspapers throughout the country carried them on the front page the following day. Presumably, Calles thought that the sight of the pictures would frighten the Cristero rebels who were fighting against his troops, particularly in the state of Jalisco. However, they had the opposite effect.

Fr. Pro and his brothers were visited by Generals Roberto Cruz and Palomera Lopez around 11 p.m. on November 22, 1927. The next day, as Fr. Pro walked from his cell to the courtyard and the firing squad, he blessed the soldiers, knelt and briefly prayed quietly. Declining a blindfold, he faced his executioners with a crucifix in one hand and a rosary in the other and held his arms out in imitation of the crucified Christ and shouted out, "May God have mercy on you! May God bless you! Lord, Thou knowest that I am innocent! With all my heart I forgive my enemies!" Before the firing squad were ordered to shoot, Pro raised his arms in imitation of Christ and shouted the defiant cry of the Cristeros, "Viva Cristo Rey!" -"Long live Christ the King!". When the initial shots of the firing squad failed to kill him, a soldier shot him point blank.

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Pro

The heart of the problem...

As long as the Republican Party is run by people that don't believe in the platform and who aren't willing to articulate and fight for the beliefs of the base, then conservatives can expect defeat after defeat. It's time to demand new leadership.

The definition of insanity...

...is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

If the Republican Party isn't going to be a home for conservatives anymore, we're going to need a new party.

Feast of Pope Saint Leo the Great

"The envoys had been well chosen to satisfy that punctilious pride which insisted that only men of the highest dignity among the Romans should be sent to treat with the Lord of Scythia and Germany (Attila). Avienus, who had, two years before, worn the robes of consul, was on of the ambassadors. Trigetius, who had wielded the power of prefect and who, seventeen years before, had been dispatched upon a similar mission to Gaiseric the Vandal, was another. But it was not upon these men, but upon their greater colleague that the eyes of all the barbarian warriors and statesmen were fixed. Leo, Bishop of Rome, had come on behalf of his flock, to sue for peace from the idolater....We cannot withhold a tribute of admiration from the high temper of this Roman Bishop, who in the ever-deepening degradation of his country still despaired not, but had the courage and endurance to work for a far-distant future...The barbarian king had all material power in his hand....The Pontiff had no power but in the world of intellect...Leo's success as an ambassador was complete." [Hodgkin: Italy and Her Invaders, Vol. II, 1880]

Lukewarm Catholics

"All the evils of the world are due to lukewarm Catholics." ~Pope Saint Pius V

Hard to argue with this following the result of the 2012 election with pro-abortion zealot Barack Obama getting somewhere north of 52% of the “Catholic” vote.  Disgraceful.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha -- Canonized, October 21, 2012

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This quote is taken from Kateri Tekakwitha: The Iroquois Saint, a biography of the Saint Kateri written by Fr. Pierre Cholonec in 1696. Fr. Cholonec knew Kateri personally and his biography would go on to become one of the primary documents which helped advance her canonization.

Here is the quote in context:

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It was then the end of Autumn, when the Indians are accustomed to form their parties to go out to hunt during the winter in the forests. The sojourn which Catherine had already made there, and the pain she had suffered at being deprived of the religious privileges she possessed in the village, had induced her to form the resolution, as I have already mentioned, that she would never during her life return there.

I thought however that the change of air, and the diet, which is so much better in the forest, would be able to restore her health, which was now very much impaired. It was for this reason that I advised her to follow the family and others who went to the hunting grounds. She answered me in that deeply devotional manner which was so natural to her, “It is true, my Father, that my body is served most luxuriously in the forest, but the soul languishes there, and is not able to satisfy its hunger. On the contrary, in the village the body suffers; I am contented that it should be so, but the soul finds its delight in being near to Jesus Christ. Well then, I will willingly abandon this miserable body to hunger and suffering, provided that my soul may have its ordinary nourishment.”

The photo in the image above is one that I took of a statue of Saint Kateri in Auriesville, NY.

Feast of the North American Martyrs

Today is the feast of the much beloved North American Martyrs, those hearty priests and lay apostles who braved the rigors of the American wilderness and suffered so much for the love of Christ and the conversion of poor souls. Here is an extract from the Jesuit Relations of the martyrdom endured by one of these intrepid men, Saint Jean de Brébeuf, who may be seen in the image above as the bearded figure on the right with his hands bound before him.

Father Jean de Brébeuf and Father Gabriel L'Alemant had set out from our cabin, to go to a small Village, called St. Ignace, distant from our cabin about a short quarter of a League, to instruct the Savages and the new Christians of that Village. It was on the 16th day of March, in the morning, that we perceived a great fire at the place to which these two good Fathers had gone. This fire made us very uneasy; we did not know whether it were enemies, or if the fire had caught in some of the huts of the village. The Reverend Father Paul Ragueneau, our Superior, immediately resolved to send some one to learn what might be the cause. But no sooner had we formed the design of going there to see, than we perceived several savages on the road, coming straight toward us. We all thought it was the Iroquois who were coming to attack us; but, having considered them more closely, we perceived that they were Hurons who were fleeing from the fight, and who had escaped from the combat. these poor savages caused great pity in us. They were all covered with wounds. One had his head fractured; another his arm broken; another had an arrow in his eye; another had his hand cut off by a blow from a hatchet. In fine, the day was passed in receiving into our cabins all these poor wounded people, and in looking with compassion toward the fire, and the place where were those two good Fathers. We saw the fire and the barbarians, but we could not see anything of the two Fathers.

This is what these Savages told us of the taking of the Village of St. Ignace, and about Fathers Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel L'Allemant:

"The Iroquois came, to the number of twelve hundred men; took our village, and seized Father Brébeuf and his companion; and set fire to all the huts. They proceeded to vent their rage on those two Fathers; for they took them both and stripped them entirely naked, and fastened each to a post. They tied both of their hands together. They tore the nails from their fingers. They beat them with a shower of blows from cudgels, on the shoulders, the loins, the belly, the legs, and the face—there being no part of their body which did not endure this torment."

The savages told us further, that, although Father de Brébeuf was overwhelmed under the weight of these blows, he did not cease continually to speak of God, and to encourage all the new Christians who were captives like himself to suffer well, that they might die well, in order to go in company with him to Paradise. While the good Father was us encouraging these good people, a wretched Iron renegade—who had remained a captive with he Iroquois, and whom Father de Brébeuf had formerly instructed and baptized—hearing him speak Paradise and Holy Baptism, was irritated, and said to him, "Echon," that is Father de Brébeuf's name in Huron, "thou sayest that Baptism and the sufferings of this life lead straight to Paradise; thou wilt go soon, for I am going to baptize thee, and to make thee suffer well, in order to go the sooner to thy Paradise." The barbarian, having said that, took a kettle full of boiling water, which he poured over his body three different times, in derision of Holy baptism. And, each time that he baptized him in this manner, the barbarian said to him, with bitter sarcasm, "Go to Heaven, for thou art well baptized." After that, they made him suffer several other torments. The 1st was to make hatchets red-hot, and to apply them to the loins and under the armpits. They made a collar of these red-hot hatchets, and put it on the neck of this good Father. This is the fashion in which I have seen the collar made for other prisoners: They make six hatchets red-hot, take a large withe of green wood, pass the 6 hatchets over the large end of the withe, take the two ends together, and then put it over the neck of the sufferer. I have seen no torment which more moved me to compassion than that. For you see a man, bound naked to a post, who, having this collar on his neck, cannot tell what posture to take. For, if he lean forward, those above his shoulders weigh the more on him; if he lean back, those on his stomach make him suffer the same torment; if he keep erect, without leaning to one side or other, the burning ratchets, applied equally on both sides, give him a terrible torture.

After that they put on him a belt of bark, full of pitch and resin, and set fire to it, which roasted his whole body. During all these torments, Father de Brébeuf endured like a rock, insensible to fire and flames, which astonished all the bloodthirsty wretches who tormented him. His zeal was so great that he preached continually to these infidels, to try to convert them. His executioners were enraged against him for constantly speaking to them of God and of their conversion. To prevent him from speaking more, they cut off his tongue, and both his upper and lower lips. After that, they set themselves to strip the flesh from his legs, thighs, and arms, to the very bone; and then put it to roast before his eyes, in order to eat it.

While they tormented him in this manner, those wretches derided him, saying: "Thou seest plainly that we treat thee as a friend, since we shall be the cause of thy Eternal happiness; thank us, then, for these good offices which we render thee—for, the more thou shalt suffer, the more will thy God reward thee. "

Those butchers, seeing that the good Father began to grow weak, made him sit down on the ground; and, one of them, taking a knife, cut off the skin covering his skull. Another one of those barbarians, seeing that the good Father would soon die, made an opening in the upper part of his chest, and tore out his heart, which he roasted and ate. Others came to drink his blood, still warm, which they drank with both hands—saying that Father de Brébeuf had been very courageous to endure so much pain as they had given him, and that, by drinking his blood, they would become courageous like him.

Feast of Saint Teresa of Avila

To celebrate the feast of one of the great Carmelites and a Doctor of the Church, here is a quote from St. Teresa of Avila. In context:

When I see people making great progress, and being resolute and detached and courageous, I conceive a great love for them and should be glad if I could see more of them: I think they are a help to me. People who I see to be timid and who appear to be making half-hearted attempts to do things which so far as human reason can judge they can do perfectly well seem to distress me and make me pray to God for them and to the saints who accomplished these very things which now frighten us. Not that I am good for anything, but I believe that God helps those who set out to do great things for His sake and never fails those who trust in Him alone. And I should like to find someone who would help me to believe this to be so, and to have no anxiety about what I am to eat and put on, but leave it to God.

Taken from The Spiritual Relations, 1560 (The Complete Works of St. Theresa, Volume 1, [1946] Sheed and Ward, pg. 309).

"He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly."

The quote in this image was taken from Archbishop Sheen's "Life of Christ", Chapter 46: At the Bottom of the List.

Here is the complete quote in context:

"The hatred of Judas against Our Blessed Lord was due to the contrast between his sin and the virtue of the Divine Master. Iago says of Cassio: "He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly." Judas' disgust with himself was vented on One Who made him uncomfortable by His Goodness. The hatred against Divinity is not the result always of unbelief, but very often the effect of antibelief. Conscience, Christ, and the gift of faith make evil men uneasy in their sin. They feel that if they could drive Christ from the earth, they would be free from "moral inhibitions." They forget that it is their own nature and conscience which makes them feel that way. Being unable to drive God from the heavens, they would drive his ambassadors from the earth. In a lesser sphere, that is why many men sneer at virtue--because it makes vice uncomfortable. A chaste face is a judgment. Judas was more zealous in the cause of his enemies than he ever was in the cause of Our Lord. When men leave Christ, they seek to redeem their reputation by going to extremes."

St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Joan of Arc

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“At last, I have found my vocation. My vocation is love!”

~Saint Thérèse Martin, The Little Flower

The photo is of St. Thérèse in costume from a performance of her play, Joan of Arc Fulfills her Mission.

St. Thérèse had a devotion to St. Joan and prayed actively for her canonization. Here is a canticle which St. Thérèse wrote for that purpose (copied from the Maid of Heaven website). Joan of Arc was declared a saint of the Catholic Church in 1920, twenty-four years after St. Thérèse's death.

Canticle To Obtain The Canonization Of The Venerable Joan of Arc

1. God of hosts, the whole Church
Soon wishes to honor at the altar
A martyr, a warrior virgin,
Whose sweet name resounds in Heaven.

Refr. 1 Refrain
By Your power,
O King of Heaven,
Give to Joan of France
The halo and the altar. Repeat

2. A conqueror for guilty France
No, that is not the object of her desire.
Joan alone is capable of saving it.
All heroes weigh less than a martyr!

3. Lord, Joan is Your splendid work,
A heart of fire, a warrior's soul:
You gave them to the timid virgin
Whom You wished to crown with laurels.

4. In her humble meadow Joan heard
Voices from Heaven calling her into combat.
She left to save her country.
The sweet child commanded the army.

5. She won over the souls of proud warriors
The Divine luster of Heaven's messenger,
Her pure gaze, her fiery words
Were able to make bold brows give way....

6. By a prodigy unique in history,
People then saw a trembling monarch
Regain his crown and his glory
By means of a child's weak arm.

7. It is not Joan's victories
We wish to celebrate this day.
My God, we know her true glories
Are her virtues, her love.

8. By fighting, Joan saved France.
But her great virtues
Had to be marked with the seal of suffering,
With the divine seal of Jesus her Spouse!

9. Sacrificing her life at the stake,
Joan heard the voice of the Blessed.
She left this exile for her homeland.
The savior Angel re-ascended into Heaven!...

10. Joan, you are our only hope.
From high in the Heavens, deign to hear our voices.
Come down to us, come convert France.
Come save her a second time.

Refr. 2 Refrain
By the power
Of the Victorious God
Save, save France
Angel Liberator!... repeat

11. Chasing the English out of all France,
Daughter of God, how beautiful were your steps!
But remember that in the days of your childhood
You tended only weak lambs...

Refr. 3 Refrain
Take up the defense
Of the powerless
Preserve innocence
In the souls of children. repeat

12. Sweet martyr, our monasteries are yours.
You know well that virgins are your sisters,
And like you the object of their prayers
Is to see God reign in every heart.

Refr. 4 Refrain
To save souls
Is their desire.
Ah! Give them your fire
Of apostle and martyr! repeat

13. Fear will be banished from every heart
When we shall see the Church crown
The pure brow of Joan our Saint,
And then we shall be able to sing:

Refr. 5 Refrain
Our hope
Rests in you,
Saint Joan of France,
Pray, pray for us! repeat

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, to be canonized on October 21, 2012

“Ah, my father, I am not any longer my own. I have given myself entirely to Jesus Christ and it is not possible to change masters.”

~Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, who will be canonized on October 21, 2012

This quote is taken from Kateri Tekakwitha, The Iroquois Saint written by Fr. Pierre Cholonec, 1715

Sayings of Jesus 4

“He that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." -Jesus Christ.” [Matthew 10:33]

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen on courtship

“When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her.” ~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen in Life is Worth Living, page 61

Here's another one for Bishop Sheen. I particularly like this quote as it was very true in my case. Feel free to share.

An image for the Feast of St. Gregory the Great, September 3

I'm having fun making up these "memes" and posting them around. Here's one for Pope Saint Gregory the Great. I tried to find a quote that really jumped out at me from The Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great, but nothing seemed to fit this image I found, painted by Goya in the late 18th century.

This quote, on the contrary, really seemed to work well. It was written as a remonstrance to Theodolinda, the Queen of the Lombards, after news had reached Gregory that the queen had broken off communion with the Church because some rogue bishops had told her that the Roman Church had renounced the Council of Chalcedon.

In the modern context, this quote made me reflect on the plight of parents who endeavor to raise virtuous, high-character Christian children, only to see them snatched away by the false promises of the world. Indeed, one can clearly hear in Gregory's rebuke the stern but loving tone of a father attempting to dissuade his spiritual daughter from the error of her ways.  His careworn and patient appearance in Goya's painting meshes nicely with this sentiment.

The full text of Gregory's letter may be found here:

The Feasts of Saint Monica and Saint Augustine

I put this together in honor of the feast of St. Monica today, and St. Augustine tomorrow. Here's the complete quote in context:

CHAPTER I

1. “Great art thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is thy power, and infinite is thy wisdom.” And man desires to praise thee, for he is a part of thy creation; he bears his mortality about with him and carries the evidence of his sin and the proof that thou dost resist the proud. Still he desires to praise thee, this man who is only a small part of thy creation. Thou hast prompted him, that he should delight to praise thee, for thou hast made us for thyself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee. Grant me, O Lord, to know and understand whether first to invoke thee or to praise thee; whether first to know thee or call upon thee. But who can invoke thee, knowing thee not? For he who knows thee not may invoke thee as another than thou art. It may be that we should invoke thee in order that we may come to know thee. But “how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe without a preacher?” Now, “they shall praise the Lord who seek him,” for “those who seek shall find him,” and, finding him, shall praise him. I will seek thee, O Lord, and call upon thee. I call upon thee, O Lord, in my faith which thou hast given me, which thou hast inspired in me through the humanity of thy Son, and through the ministry of thy preacher.

Taken from: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confessions.iv.html

Sayings of Jesus 3

 Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: "Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?"

Who said: "No man, Lord."

And Jesus said: "Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more"

The Gospel according to Saint John, chapter 8, verses 10-11.

Book Review: Saint Helena and the True Cross

The daughter of a British petty king, the princess Helena is the lawful wife of the Roman governor, Constantius Chlorus. When Britain is treacherously taken over by a usurper, Helena is separated from her husband and forced to live in secret with her son, Constantine. When Constantius returns, however, it is with a new wife and a new title—Caesar of the western empire. Dejected, Helena finds comfort in the words of the Christian priest, Albanus. But Christianity is officially illegal under the persecuting emperor Diocletian, and Helena soon finds her new friends in grave danger. Summoning all her courage, Helena decides to confront her former husband and in doing so, possibly change the course of history forever.

For some time, I have had my eye out for a historical fiction treatment of the life of Constantine—preferably one that I could read with my kids. Though focusing on Constantine's saintly mother, Saint Helena and the True Cross fit the bill very well. I read it with my older kids and, as it turned out, everyone except the 15 month old listened in. The story was interesting and full of historical detail which allowed me to to diverge at certain points to give lessons about Roman and Christian history.

Re-released in 2012 by Ignatius Press, Saint Helena and the True Cross is not a new book. It was originally published in 1958 by Vision Books as part of their renowned series for younger readers. Written by Louis de Wohl, it contains all of the historical detail and narrative drive that one would expect from the author of such classics as Citadel of God and The Restless Flame. The book is an engaging retelling of the life of one of history's most amazing women, as well as a history lesson on the life of her famous son, Constantine the Great. Young readers and old will appreciate the epic sweep of the tale—from Britain, to Italy, to Jerusalem--all brought together via Louis de Wohl's masterful skill as a storyteller.

Helena herself is presented as an audacious, impetuous woman who was never to be denied when she had her mind set on something. And from what we know about her life, she must have been just that. De Wohl does take some liberties with the history concerning Helena's background, but this does not impact the story overmuch. Helena's search for the True Cross at the end of the novel is drawn almost entirely from sacred and historical tradition (particularly the account found in The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine by the Church historian, Eusebius Pamphilus) and makes for very compelling reading.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed Saint Helena and the True Cross and found it a fitting tribute to a great saint of the Church, I still think that Constantine deserves a sympathetic novel of his own--probably several. His life was simply epic. For more about Constantine's incredible life and career, feel free to check out my article from a recent issue of Catholic Men's Quarterly, Constantine: Military Hero and Christian Emperor, or the outstanding biography by Charles M. Odahl entitled Constantine and the Christian Empire.

August 15 - Feast of the Assumption of our Blessed Lady

"[T]he Apostles took up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb; and they guarded it, expecting the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; and the holy body having been received, He commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise: where now, rejoined to the soul, [Mary] rejoices with the Lord's chosen ones."

~Saint Gregory of Tours, Eight Books of Miracles 1:4 [AD 575]

Sayings of Jesus Christ #2

Here's the second in the series.