THIS ISSUE'S TOPIC:

       SAINTLY INSPIRATIONS & HELPERS
 

EDITOR’S CORNER                              

It may come as a surprise to some, but God’s truth is that we are all called to be saints. Vatican II termed it “The Universal Call to Holiness”. Does this imply that we must do extraordinary things such as levitate, prophesy, have visions, bi-locate, live on bread and water, or spend the night in prayer? Absolutely not, although some saints have done, and do, these things. In looking at the various shapes & colors of the leaves in a garden, one can easily see how differently they all appear & yet they all reflect the variety of being that God calls forth to reflect His glory. Each human person is unique & is more fortunate than all other beings in creation for each, being in God’s image, has the power, by striving in life, to more and more reflect our Lord Jesus. Hopefully, when God the Father looks at us at the final judgement, He will behold His beloved Son totally reflected in us. If we can accomplish this (and we can with God’s grace), we too will be saints. Need we be glum or dour about it? Not at all. We should be joyous for so great a gift.

                                                            - Barbara Meng, Editor

 

QUARTERLY QUOTE

The difference between a saint and a sinner is, a saint is a sinner who never stopped trying.

 

 

To show great love for God and our neighbor we need not do great things. It is how much love we put in the doing that makes our offering Something Beautiful for God.

                                                   — Mother Teresa of Calcutta

   HELP NEEDED FOR PRISON MINISTRY!!

     As you may know, The Catholic Family Network Newsletter is under the aegis of Catholic Faith Alive! which publishes all the work of Fr. Thomas Morrow, CFN’s Spiritual Advisor. These works: Why Catholicism?, Is Sunday Mass Necessary?, Confession Guide - these in English & Spanish; and Must Religion Be Boring?, Is Chastity Possible?, A Disciple’s Way of the Cross - adult’s & children’s versions - God’s Wakeup Call: Heaven, Hell & Purgatory, World’s Most Powerful Mysteries (Rosary). Also our cassette tape albums Catholic Faith Alive! (Complete Teaching of the Catholic Faith), Marriage & Family for God’s Sake, and  Christian Dating in an Oversexed World have been sent all over the world.

    Within the past year, a new ministry has evolved ,and that is a rather large prison ministry ranging from Florida to New York to California and encompassing a  number of states in between.

    We hear from chaplains who are overwhelmed by large numbers of inmates and few financial resources. But the letters that really touch our hearts are the ones from the prisoners themselves - many in their early 20's. They tell of being baptized Catholic, falling away from the faith (or never having been raised & instructed in it), but by God’s grace, finding the freedom behind bars that only  true Faith can give.

    All speak of the vast amount of Protestant proselytizing that occurs in the prisons. At one point I (your editor) was involved in getting permission for the visits of a Catholic priest for counseling and sacraments. One prisoner was told that if he pushed too hard for this, he would be transferred.

    Many beg for help as the following letter reflects:

I’m Catholic. I was baptized when I was about 4 years old. But of course, like many, I was baptized and grew up not knowing the meaning of the faith.

Since I’ve been in, I’ve started to learn more about the faith. I’ve did [sic] my first confession and first communion. Now I will be doing confirmation pretty soon. I’m writing you to ask if you can help me out. During my 3 years stay here, I’ve had many dialogs with Protestants. They don’t like the idea of us praying to Mary or giving any kind of devotion to her. I was wondering if you could help me out by donating any kind of book or books in English that will help me clearly understand Catholic beliefs about Mary, & help me defend them? The second issue is this: can you maybe throw in a few tracts in Spanish so I can pass them out to our Spanish brothers? You see, I’ve seen many of our Spanish brothers here leave the faith & become Protestants because they were convinced about the Protestant’s attack on our Holy Mother Church.

I promise to be very thankful, grateful & mindful of this help in desperate need.

God bless,

[Name withheld]

 

I have seen some of the materials given out by some of these fundamentalist anti-Catholic bigots. One prisoner sent me a copy. It was filled with lies, & eye-catching art work that would be hard to resist for the uninformed.

Hence, our involvement. Now I ask, I beg, your financial support in this most charitable work. 100% of all money we receive for this ministry will go directly to pay for material to be sent to prisoners & prison chaplains, I promise you.

Remember the words of our Lord: “I was imprisoned and you came to visit me...” This is your chance to visit the Lord in the least of his brothers and sisters.

Please send your contribution to us at Catholic Faith Alive!, 1901 Ventura Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20902. It is tax-deductible. We will keep you posted on how things develop.

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I am glad to recognize that when we love God our heart expands, and we can give incomparably more tender love to those who are dear to us than when our love is selfish and barren...Love is fed by and develops from sacrifice.

                                                           - St. Therese of Lisieux

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SAINTLY INSPIRATIONS & HELPERS

We need the saints and the saints “need” us. They “need” us to pray for... and we need them to intercede for us. Where would we be without St. Anthony when we search for lost or misplaced items? I would hate to deal with life without St. Jude standing as a last resort for brotherly assistance. How many have been consoled upon the death of a child to know that the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux lost 4 children before they had five who lived. Something similar is true for the parents of soon-to-be-Blessed Fr. Solanus Casey. Students  & scholars owe much to the intercession of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph of Cupertino. St. Thomas More provides a tremendous example of integrity in politics for present-day politicians, as does St. John Fisher for present-day Bishops.  St. Jean Vianney is helpful to know and be friends with for general living - as are many of the saints. So here, then, is a listing of books that we have found to be sound, strengthening, and stimulating.

 

BOOKS

(Excerpts are in italics)

 

*The Cure of Ars: St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney by Abbe Francis Trochu. Pub by TAN. 1-800-437-5876. This book about the patron saint of parish priests, has been read and re-read by millions.

–The truth is that whatever is great, be it genius or holiness, alarms and shocks at first those that live in mediocrity and routine.

–Grace has its moments, and it may go by without coming back.

–When I cannot sleep, I take pleasure in looking at my pictures (of the saints).

–In a soul united to God it is always springtime.

–I have been thinking that the reprobate must be very unhappy in hell, separated as they are eternally from God; already on earth we suffer greatly when parted from those we love!

–The saints become saints only after many sacrifices and much violent effort.

–Virtue demands courage, constant effort and, above all, help from on high.

–On the path of penance only the first step costs.

–The greatest cross is to have no cross!

–No, the era of miracles is not over, but to produce them saints are required - and they are too few.

 

The Sadness of Christ by Thomas More ed. by Gerard Wegemer. Pub by Scepter Press. 1-800-322-8773.

–Patience comes from the same root as passion, both meaning to suffer. The greatest sources of suffering are the people closest to us.

–No Christian, especially, as one who hopes for heaven, should pursue the contemptible glory of this world.

–See now, when Christ comes back to His apostles for the third time (in the Garden of Gethsemane) there they are, buried in sleep, though He commanded them to bear up with Him and to stay awake and pray because of the impending danger; but Judas the traitor at the same time was so wide awake and intent on betraying the Lord that the very idea of sleep never entered his mind.

–Reader, let us pause for a little at this point & contemplate with a devout mind our commander lying on the ground in humble supplication. For if we do this carefully, a ray of that light which enlightens every man who comes into the world will illuminate our minds so that we will see, recognize, deplore, and at long last correct, I will not say the negligence , sloth, or apathy, but rather the feeblemindedness , the insanity, the downright blockheaded stupidity with which most of us approach the all-powerful God & instead of praying reverently, address Him in a lazy & sleepy sort of way; & by the same token I am very much afraid that instead of placating Him & gaining His favor we exasperate Him & sharply provoke His wrath.

 

Complete Spiritual Doctrine of St. Therese of Lisieux  by Rev. Francois Jamart, OCD. Alba House Pub.

*The Story of a Soul: the Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux trans. John Beevers. Image Pub.

–A lack of confidence offends Jesus & wounds His heart. To put limits to our desires & our hopes means that we reject the infinite goodness of God.

–If we want to live a life of love of God, we must not fail in our love towards our neighbor.

–It is not enough to live in God’s presence while remaining unconcerned about the lot of so many souls that are heading towards perdition.

–Jesus loves cheerful hearts. He loves a soul that is always smiling.

–A good life consists principally in the acts of virtue & the sacrifices that belong to its daily routine.

The Life of Thomas More by Peter Ackroyd. Doubleday.

Saint Bernadette Soubirous by Abbe Francois Trochu. Pub by TAN.

–Her confessor allowed her frequent Communion. So great was her desire for this that even after the most exhausting bouts of asthma she used to refuse the sip of herb-tea that would have broken her fast and deprived her of the Eucharist.

–I’m seething inside, but they don’t see what’s going on there. There would be no merit if one did not master oneself.

–Trials though keenly felt were, so to speak, dissolved in interior peace and joy. And that is one of the mysteries of God’s grace.

 

Padre Pio: The Wonder Worker by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Park Press, P.O. Box 475, Waite Park, MN 56387.

–Love the Blessed Mother and make her loved. Always say the Rosary. The Rosary is a weapon in our hands.

–The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. Who will gather the harvest in the field of the Church? Will it perhaps be dispersed on the ground because there are so few laborers? Will it be gathered by the messengers of Satan? There are unfortunately very many of these, and they are very active. Oh! May God never permit this! Let us pray for the cause of the Holy Church, our most tender Mother.

–Charity which has not truth and justice for its foundation is faulty.

–The great things in life are paid for with pain.

–It is the Mass that matters, and until its power is again felt in the heart of our civilization, all will not be well.

–Prayer is the best weapon we possess, the key that opens the heart of God. Have patience & persevere.

–We have to do nothing except allow His Holy Will to work within us and surrender ourselves to it blindly & with absolute confidence.

–It is under the Cross that one learns to love.

The Death Camp Proved Him Real: The Life of Father Maximilian Kolbe  by Maria Winowska.. Pub by Franciscan Marytown Press, 1600 W. Park Ave., Libertyville, IL 60048.

–Not everyone is privileged to understand the Immaculata; it is given only to those who ask for this grace on bended knee.

The Kolbe Reader ed. by Fr. Anselm Romb, OFM

–She (Mary) is to live in us just as Jesus lived in her, and the Father in the Son.

–If we could assure our eternal salvation without any difficulty, we would not appreciate it as much as if we won it, thanks only to unceasing efforts.

–The essence of the love of God will always consist not in feeling good, not in remembering or thinking or understanding or imagining, but exclusively in fulfilling God’s will at every moment of our lives & submitting ourselves completely to His will.

St. Teresa of Avila by Marcelle Auclair. St. Bede’s Pub., P.O. Box 545, Petersham, MA  01366

–When you embrace the cross, you do not feel it.

–I see that whoever understands Him more loves & praises Him more.

–If preachers compose their sermons so as not to displease, few will try to amend!

St. Edmund Campion: Priest & Martyr by Evelyn Waugh. Sophia Press Pub.,1-800-888-9344.

Tomorrow Will Be Too Late: A Life of St. Peter Julian Eymard by Norman Pelletier, SSS. Emmanuel Pub., 5384 Wilson Mills Rd., Cleveland, OH 44143.

–Live one day at a time...In fact, there is an important rule for holiness which is steadfast, true & always fruitful, it is: God’s Will for us. In the Will of God, ever present & personal, we discover the grace of the moment which leads to holiness. This grace comes at each moment & with every activity. When the moment passes & the activity is spent, so also the grace.

Mrs. Seton by Joseph Dirvin, CM. Farrar, Straus & Giroux Pub.

–You think you make sacrifices. Look at the sacrifice of Calvary and compare yours with it.

–To enjoy, we must love; and to love, we must sacrifice.

Saint Joseph: His Life & His Role in the Church Today by Louise Perrotta (foreword by Fr. Benedict Groeschel). A new book that is receiving great reviews!

Give Me Souls! Life of Don Bosco by Peter Lappin. Pub by Salesiana, 1-201-986-0503.

–Any boy in trouble is my friend!

St. John of the Cross by Kieran Kavanaugh & Otilio Rodriguez, OCD. ICS Pub., 1-800-832-8489.

–A person is united to God in the intellect through faith and in the will through love.

–Virtue takes root in dryness, difficulty, & labor.

St. Augustine: Man, Pastor, Mystic by Agostino Trape. Catholic Book Pub. Co., NY.

–You will never become what you ought to be unless you are dissatisfied with what you are now.

–Two loves thus established two cities: love of self unto contempt of God built the earthly city, and love of God unto contempt of self built the heavenly city.

–Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.

St. Athanasius: The Father of Orthodoxy  by F.A. Forbes. TAN Pub.

–Let the triumph of truth & the salvation of souls be our primary prayer.

Athanasius - and the Church of Our Time by Dr. Rudolf Graber, Bishop of Regensburg. Pub on the 1600^th anniversary of Athanasius’ death.

The Confession of St. Patrick ed & transl by D.R. Howlett. Triumph Books of Ligouri Pub.314-464-2500.

The Story of a Family: The Home of St. Therese of Lisieux by Fr. Piat, OFM. TAN pub.

–In this family the training of the soul completed that of the body.

–[the home] was governed by three principles: God’s supreme rights; faith in His providence; a trustful, happy, acquiescence in His will.

–You know how liable we all are to pride, and I often notice that those who have made their fortune are, for the most part, intolerably self-sufficient...it is certain that unvarying prosperity draws men away from God.

Saint Maker: The Remarkable Life of Francis de Sales, Shepherd of Kings and Commoners, Sinners and Saints  by Michael de la Bedoyere. Sophia Institute Press.

– Weakness under stress of illness make it clear that his habitual & characteristic spiritual serenity was not just a happy natural disposition, but the result of a strong willpower deliberately turned to God & brushing away the temptations which arose within him when illness enfeebled him. He struggled like the rest of us - only much more successfully.