St. Christopher (3rd c.) is a highly popular saint, though little is known about him with certainty. According to one account, a pagan queen prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary for a child, whom she named Offerus and dedicated to the pagan gods. The child grew into a man of exceptional size and strength, and he endeavored to serve only the strongest and most courageous of masters. First he served a heathen king, but soon realized that the king feared the Devil. He then served the Devil, until he saw that the Devil feared the Sign of the Cross. He then decided to serve Christ, reasoning that Christ must be the strongest master of all. Offerus found a Christian hermit who instructed him in the faith, baptized him, and gave him a new name, Christopher, or "Christ-bearer." From then on Christopher determined to serve Christ by using his great physical strength to assist travelers crossing a treacherous river. One day he helped a small child across the river; as Christopher carried the child he felt his burden becoming strangely heavy, as if the weight of the whole world was upon his shoulders. When he spoke of this, the child replied that Christopher carried not only the whole world, but also Him who made it. The child then revealed himself as Jesus Christ and announced that Christopher's humble service was pleasing to Him, and worked a miracle by turning Christopher's staff into a tree. Due to this miracle many converted to Christianity, which caused Christopher to be imprisoned, tortured, and beheaded for refusing to worship the pagan gods. St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers. His feast day is July 25th.
"Some beginners, too, make light of their faults, and at other times indulge in immoderate grief when they commit them. They thought themselves already saints, and so they become angry and impatient with themselves, which is another great imperfection. They also importune God to deliver them from their faults and imperfections, but it is only for the comfort of living in peace, unmolested by them, and not for God; they do not consider that, were He to deliver them, they would become, perhaps, prouder than ever."
— St. John of the Cross, p.9, Dark Night of the Soul The enemy knows all your weaknesses and is quick to point them out, exploit them and bring you shame. He ants you to feel unworthy of Christ's love and to walk away. Do not walk away from Jesus...RUN TO HIM. Don't you think He knows all your weaknesses too? He does and He chose you despite them. It is in your weakness that you need Jesus, that you seek Him and that you ultimately find Him and adore Him. He knows the very fiber of your being and He love you with an all consuming love. RUN TO HIM.
When God willed to become Man, He had to decide on the time of his coming, the country in which He would be born, the city in which he would be raised, the people, the race, the political and economic systems which would surround Him, the language He would speak and the psychological attitudes with which He would come in contact as the Lord of all of history and the Savior of the world. All these details would depend entirely on the one factor. The Woman who would be His Mother. To choose a Mother is to choose a social position, a language, a city, an environment, a crisis, and a a destiny. His Mother was not like ours, whom we accepted as something historically fixed, which we could not change. He was born of a Mother whom He chose before He was born. It is the only instance in history where both the Son willed the Mother, and the Mother willed the Son. This is what the Creed means when it says: Born of the Virgin Mary. She was called by God as Aaron was, and our Lord was born not just of Her Flesh, but by Her consent. Before taking unto Himself a Human Nature, He consulted with the Woman, to ask Her is she would give Him a Man. The Manhood of Jesus was not stolen from Humanity, as Prometheus stole fire from Heaven, it was given as a Gift. The First Man Adam was made from the slime of the earth. The First Woman was made from a man in ecstasy. The New Adam, Christ, come from the The New Eve, Mary, in an Ecstasy of Prayer and Love of God and the Fullness of Freedom. Bishop Fulton Sheen
Never...as far as I can recall. He has moved me, guided me, inspired me, consoled me and made me joyful. He has made me wonder. He has lifted me when I have fallen, and forgiven me when I have repented. He has given me freedom to accept or reject Him. He has never forced me to believe or to do anything. He has done all these things quietly and moved me along with gentle nudges.in the silence of His Love and Creation, He has made Himself known to me...Bishop Fulton Sheen
Charity is the Yardstick with which the Lord will judge us all
Broken clouds pour rain. Broken soil sets up fields.Broken crop yields seeds, broken seeds give life to new plants. So when you feel you are broken, be rest assured that God is planning to utilize you for something great.
Never trust in yourself, but abandon yourself totally to My Will. In desolation, darkness, and various doubts, have recourse to Me and to your spiritual director. He will always answer you in My Name. Do not bargain with any temptation; lock yourself immediately in My Heart and, at the first opportunity, reveal the temptation to the confessor.(Diary 1760)
A spiritual giant is just little humble soul seated upon the shoulders of Jesus the Good Shepherd! They once were bleeding and bleating from the ground and called an S.O.S.(Savior of small souls!) and He picked them up and carried them...Now they go around together looking for other little lambs to rescue!
This is Spiritual Warfare!
O CANADA! “And I heard the Voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send? And Who shall go for Us? And I said: Lo, here am I, send me.” (Isaias 6:8) When the United States heard the Clarion Call sounding, a few weeks prior to Holy Week, we knew that before us lay a battlefield. We didn’t know what the fight to come would be, but we knew—with so much at stake—the fight would put us to the test. One by one, we each of us embraced our mutual crosses, and echoed the “Fiat” of the Immaculata. Where She goes, we go. The results would be doors flung open to us, in amazing ways…but always with a battle to fight. Some attacks were spiritual. Others were corporal. Yet, all for the Glory of the Immaculata. Our fight was not isolated. Each nation that had engaged already in this Clarion call—from Poland to Ireland, the British Isles and Australia. We are in need of a coordinator for Canada. Do you hear Her calling you? Your countrymen are seeking to rally, will you step up and say “fiat”? No matter if you are young, or old, or just see yourself as insignificant. If you are willing, SHE is able! The only stipulation we ask, is that if you are a layman, you be solidly committed in union with priest. Please contact us—send your name, contact information and why you believe you’re being called to lead Canada’s Rosary initiative, and the name/contact of the priest you’ve connected with. All interested in organizing, contact [email protected]. Our International Coordinator will respond. From there, O Canada, we will help you organize. We know it’s the 11th hour. Canada, your time has come! praying, pray anyway. When you don't feel like giving, give anyway. When you don't feel like loving, love anyway. When you don't feel like letting go and forgiving, trying again, moving forward, do it anyway, even more. When you want to give in to self pity, internal roaring and storming, cursing and put downs, don't, do the opposite. All this and more, Love made Flesh did as Love hung on a Cross for you!...And His Mother watched...and loved with Love.
God does not fit in an occupied heart."
— St. John of the Cross "I do not wish the soul to consider her sins, either in general or in particular, without also remembering the Blood and the broadness of My mercy, for fear that otherwise she should be brought to confusion. And together with confusion would come the devil, who has caused it, under color of contrition and displeasure of sin, and so she would arrive at eternal damnation, not only on account of her confusion, but also through the despair which would come to her, because she did not seize the arm of My mercy. This is one of the subtle devices with which the Devil deludes My servants, and, in order to escape from his deceit, and to be pleasing to Me, you must enlarge your hearts and affections in My boundless mercy, with true humility. You know that the pride of the Devil cannot resist the humble mind, nor can any confusion of spirit be greater than the broadness of My good mercy, if the soul will only truly hope therein."
— St. Catherine Of Siena, p. 94, Taken from Dialogues St. Amelia (741-772 A.D.) was born into a noble and pious Christian family in the land of the Ardennes, bordering what is today Belgium and Luxembourg. Amelia was a devout child of strong character who committed her virginity to Christ from a young age. However, because she was such a beautiful and virtuous woman, she was pursued for several years by the young Charlemagne. In one account, Charlemagne broke her arm in a physical struggle to hold her hand, and afterwards her arm was miraculously healed. His romantic interest was rebuffed, and Amelia was eventually able to realize her desire to enter the convent. She spent the rest of her life in the Benedictine abbey of Münster-Bilzen in Belgium, and helped to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Belgian town of Temsche. St. Amelia is said to have performed many miracles, the most famous is that she crossed the Schelde River miraculously while standing on the back of a giant sturgeon fish. St. Amelia is the patroness of farmers, fishermen, and those suffering from arm and shoulder pain. Her feast day is celebrated on July 10th.
We are so excited to announce the CSE's next Missionary Family! We have recently signed a covenant agreement with James and Dawn Kautz, and their 7 children, who will join the CSE mission family as of mid-August! We will share with you more about them in the coming weeks.
We would also like to sincerely thank Chris and Danielle Kirpluk and their 4 children for their 2 years of service and dedication to the mission and vision of the CSE. As the first ever missionary family, they were able to create a legacy that will endure for many years. Thank you, and many blessings as you pursue the next chapter in your lives! "All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle."
— St. Francis of Assisi St. Maria Goretti (1890–1902) was born in Italy to a humble farming family. Her father died from malaria when she was 9, leaving the family destitute. Her mother and older siblings worked in the fields while Maria managed the household chores and cared for her younger siblings. One summer day while the family was in the fields, Maria was attacked by their neighbor, a 19-year-old boy named Alessandro, who attempted to rape her. Maria wasn't yet 12 years old. She fought back, yelling to him that it was a sin and that he would go to hell for his actions. In a rage over her refusal, Alessandro stabbed Maria fourteen times. Doctors operated to save her life, without anesthesia, and Maria lingered for two days after the attack. She verbally forgave Alessandro for his crime, offered her suffering to God, and died while holding a crucifix. Alessandro went to prison for murder, full of hardness of heart. One day in prison Maria appeared to him in a dream. She placed 14 white lilies, one at a time, into his hands; one for each of the times he stabbed her. This stunning experience of forgivness brought him to repentance, and Alessandro was converted. Upon leaving prison he sought reconciliation with Maria's mother and with the Church. Alessandro called Maria "his little saint" and prayed to her daily. He also attended her canonization Mass in 1950. Alessandro joined the Franciscans as a lay brother until his death in 1970. St. Maria Goretti is the patron saint of children, youth, young girls, the poor, martyrs, purity, poverty, chastity, rape victims, and forgiveness. Her feast day is July 6th.
"Among the various indications that make the holiness of God known to men, the most convincing sign is the holiness of men, who are sanctified by the divine indwelling . . . In teaching us the words, ‘hallowed be Thy name,’ our Lord also bids us, when we pray, to ask that God may be glorified by our lives. The sense of the prayer is this: ‘Grant us so to live, that all men may glorify Thee through us.’ God is sanctified or hallowed in the minds of other men through us, to the extent that we are sanctified by Him. Hence when we say: ‘hallowed be Thy name,’ we pray, as Cyprian remarks, that God’s name may be hallowed in us. Following the lead of Christ, who says: ‘Be holy, because I am holy,’ we beg that we, who have been sanctified in Baptism, may persevere in the state in which we began. Furthermore we pray daily to be sanctified in order that we, who daily fall, may wash away our sins by a constant process of purification."
— St. Thomas Aquinas, p. 350-51, taken from A Shorter Summa "I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Ask yourself, ‘How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?’ Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery."
— St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) was born in Turin, Italy, to a wealthy and prominent family. He was a vibrant, joyful, and athletic youth with an adventurous spirit and a strong zest for life. He loved mountain climbing, the theater, opera, and literature. He also had a deep spiritual life and a strong devotion to the Holy Eucharist and the Virgin Mary, even while his piety provoked criticism from his parents. He challenged his friends to a life of virtue, leading them in spiritual exercises such as daily Mass and the rosary. He joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society in 1918 and became a Lay Dominican in 1922. He was also politically active in resisting fascism and communism; he took part in public demonstrations and joined religious-political organizations such as the Catholic Students Federation and Catholic Action. He also spent much time caring for the sick and poor to a heroic degree, yet his parents punished him when they caught him giving away his money and possessions. While ministering to the sick he contracted polio and died just six days later at the age of 24. His family, thinking he suffered from a mild sickness, did not realize the seriousness of his condition until it was too late. At his funeral his parents were shocked to find thousands of the city's poor, whom their son had helped in some way, arrive to pay their respects. Pope St. John Paul II called Pier Giorgio Frassati a "man of the beatitudes" at his beatification in 1990. His feast day is July 4th.
"We must pray literally without ceasing— without ceasing—in every occurrence and employment of our lives . . . that prayer of the heart which is independent of place or situation, or which is rather a habit of lifting up the heart to God as in a constant communication with Him."
— St. Elizabeth Ann Seton |
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