Ecce Verbum
Immaculate Conception. — THE DOCTRINE. — In the Constitution "Ineffabilis Deus" of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in…
The Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church Fathers
The primary purpose of this article will be to show that the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is consistently and widely taught by the Church Fathers. It has always been taught that Mary was always a Virgin and it has always taught with zeal, as shall become evident. I shall begin first by laying out some testimony from Holy Scripture about the superiority of virginity itself, as this is often questioned by Protestants I myself have come across who cannot understand why it would matter for Mary to be a virgin. I shall follow this up with a citation from St Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, where he defends the idea that virginity is indeed a virtue. Then we shall come to the main body of the article, wherein I shall provide abundant quotations from the Fathers of the Church affirming the divinely revealed truth that the Virgin Mary is an Ever-Virgin.
https://recta-sapere.blogspot.com/search/label/Mariology?m=0
#mary
The primary purpose of this article will be to show that the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is consistently and widely taught by the Church Fathers. It has always been taught that Mary was always a Virgin and it has always taught with zeal, as shall become evident. I shall begin first by laying out some testimony from Holy Scripture about the superiority of virginity itself, as this is often questioned by Protestants I myself have come across who cannot understand why it would matter for Mary to be a virgin. I shall follow this up with a citation from St Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, where he defends the idea that virginity is indeed a virtue. Then we shall come to the main body of the article, wherein I shall provide abundant quotations from the Fathers of the Church affirming the divinely revealed truth that the Virgin Mary is an Ever-Virgin.
https://recta-sapere.blogspot.com/search/label/Mariology?m=0
#mary
Blogspot
Recta Sapere
Neo-Scholastic Philosophy and Theology
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Relationship between Christianity and Judaism after Christ
1. Christianity is the continuity (fulfilment) of the faith of the Judaism of the Old Covenant.
As regards the substance of the articles of faith, they have not received any increase as time went on: since whatever those who lived later have believed, was contained, albeit implicitly, in the faith of those Fathers who preceded them. (Summa theologiae, II-II, Q. 1, art. 7)
2. Judaism after Christ is not the continuity of the faith of the Judaism of the Old Covenant.
Accordingly we must say that if unbelief be considered in comparison to faith, there are several species of unbelief, determinate in number. For, since the sin of unbelief consists in resisting the faith, this may happen in two ways: either the faith is resisted before it has been accepted, and such is the unbelief of pagans or heathens; or the Christian faith is resisted after it has been accepted, and this either in the figure, and such is the unbelief of the Jews, or in the very manifestation of truth, and such is the unbelief of heretics. Hence we may, in a general way, reckon these three as species of unbelief. (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 10, art. 5)
3. The Old Law was a step, a bridge from the law of nature to the new law of the Gospel. It is inherently temporary and ordered beyond itself.
Hence, the New Law is called a law of love and consequently is called an image, because it has an express likeness to future goods. But the Old Law represents that image by certain carnal things and very remotely. Therefore, it is called a shadow (as in) Colossians 2:17: “These are but a shadow of the things to come.” This, therefore, is the condition of the Old Testament, that it has the shadow of future things and not their image. (Super Heb., X.1, no. 480)
In the present state of life, we are unable to gaze on the Divine Truth in Itself, and we need the ray of Divine light to shine upon us under the form of certain sensible figures, as Dionysius states (Coel. Hier. i); in various ways, however, according to the various states of human knowledge. For under the Old Law, neither was the Divine Truth manifest in Itself, nor was the way leading to that manifestation as yet opened out, as the Apostle declares (Hebrews 9:8). Hence the external worship of the Old Law needed to be figurative not only of the future truth to be manifested in our heavenly country, but also of Christ, Who is the way leading to that heavenly manifestation. But under the New Law this way is already revealed: and therefore it needs no longer to be foreshadowed as something future, but to be brought to our minds as something past or present: and the truth of the glory to come, which is not yet revealed, alone needs to be foreshadowed. This is what the Apostle says (Hebrews 11:1): “The Law has a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things”: for a shadow is less than an image; so that the image belongs to the New Law, but the shadow to the Old. (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 101, art. 2)
4.That the Old Law is said to be “everlasting” and that the call of God is “without repentance” does not establish that the Old Law remains in force as such or that it was not God’s intention to bring it to an end in the fullness of time.
The Old Law is said to be “for ever” simply and absolutely, as regards its moral precepts; but as regards the ceremonial precepts it lasts for ever in respect of the reality which those ceremonies foreshadowed. (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 103, art. 3 ad 1; see also the corpus in full)
In this way one avoids the opinion of the Jews, who believe that the sacraments of the Law must be observed forever precisely because they were established by God, since God has no regrets and is not changed. But without change or regret one who disposes things may dispose things differently in harmony with a difference of times; thus, the father of a family gives one set of orders to a small child and another to one already grown.
1. Christianity is the continuity (fulfilment) of the faith of the Judaism of the Old Covenant.
As regards the substance of the articles of faith, they have not received any increase as time went on: since whatever those who lived later have believed, was contained, albeit implicitly, in the faith of those Fathers who preceded them. (Summa theologiae, II-II, Q. 1, art. 7)
2. Judaism after Christ is not the continuity of the faith of the Judaism of the Old Covenant.
Accordingly we must say that if unbelief be considered in comparison to faith, there are several species of unbelief, determinate in number. For, since the sin of unbelief consists in resisting the faith, this may happen in two ways: either the faith is resisted before it has been accepted, and such is the unbelief of pagans or heathens; or the Christian faith is resisted after it has been accepted, and this either in the figure, and such is the unbelief of the Jews, or in the very manifestation of truth, and such is the unbelief of heretics. Hence we may, in a general way, reckon these three as species of unbelief. (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 10, art. 5)
3. The Old Law was a step, a bridge from the law of nature to the new law of the Gospel. It is inherently temporary and ordered beyond itself.
Hence, the New Law is called a law of love and consequently is called an image, because it has an express likeness to future goods. But the Old Law represents that image by certain carnal things and very remotely. Therefore, it is called a shadow (as in) Colossians 2:17: “These are but a shadow of the things to come.” This, therefore, is the condition of the Old Testament, that it has the shadow of future things and not their image. (Super Heb., X.1, no. 480)
In the present state of life, we are unable to gaze on the Divine Truth in Itself, and we need the ray of Divine light to shine upon us under the form of certain sensible figures, as Dionysius states (Coel. Hier. i); in various ways, however, according to the various states of human knowledge. For under the Old Law, neither was the Divine Truth manifest in Itself, nor was the way leading to that manifestation as yet opened out, as the Apostle declares (Hebrews 9:8). Hence the external worship of the Old Law needed to be figurative not only of the future truth to be manifested in our heavenly country, but also of Christ, Who is the way leading to that heavenly manifestation. But under the New Law this way is already revealed: and therefore it needs no longer to be foreshadowed as something future, but to be brought to our minds as something past or present: and the truth of the glory to come, which is not yet revealed, alone needs to be foreshadowed. This is what the Apostle says (Hebrews 11:1): “The Law has a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things”: for a shadow is less than an image; so that the image belongs to the New Law, but the shadow to the Old. (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 101, art. 2)
4.That the Old Law is said to be “everlasting” and that the call of God is “without repentance” does not establish that the Old Law remains in force as such or that it was not God’s intention to bring it to an end in the fullness of time.
The Old Law is said to be “for ever” simply and absolutely, as regards its moral precepts; but as regards the ceremonial precepts it lasts for ever in respect of the reality which those ceremonies foreshadowed. (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 103, art. 3 ad 1; see also the corpus in full)
In this way one avoids the opinion of the Jews, who believe that the sacraments of the Law must be observed forever precisely because they were established by God, since God has no regrets and is not changed. But without change or regret one who disposes things may dispose things differently in harmony with a difference of times; thus, the father of a family gives one set of orders to a small child and another to one already grown.
Ecce Verbum
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Relationship between Christianity and Judaism after Christ 1. Christianity is the continuity (fulfilment) of the faith of the Judaism of the Old Covenant. As regards the substance of the articles of faith, they have not received…
Thus, God also harmoniously gave one set of sacraments and commandments before the Incarnation to point to the future, and another set after the Incarnation to deliver things present and bring to mind things past. (Summa contra Gentiles, IV.57, 2)
5. Professing “Judaism” after the time of Christ — that is, holding on to the Old Covenant in its oldness after it has been fulfilled — is objectively a grave sin based on a grave theological error:
All ceremonies are professions of faith, in which the interior worship of God consists. Now man can make profession of his inward faith, by deeds as well as by words: and in either profession, if he make a false declaration, he sins mortally. Now, though our faith in Christ is the same as that of the fathers of old; yet, since they came before Christ, whereas we come after Him, the same faith is expressed in different words, by us and by them. For by them was it said: “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,” where the verbs are in the future tense: whereas we express the same by means of verbs in the past tense, and say that she “conceived and bore.” In like manner the ceremonies of the Old Law betokened Christ as having yet to be born and to suffer: whereas our sacraments signify Him as already born and having suffered. Consequently, just as it would be a mortal sin now for anyone, in making a profession of faith, to say that Christ is yet to be born, which the fathers of old said devoutly and truthfully; so too it would be a mortal sin now to observe those ceremonies which the fathers of old fulfilled with devotion and fidelity. Such is the teaching Augustine (Contra Faust. xix, 16), who says: “It is no longer promised that He shall be born, shall suffer and rise again, truths of which their sacraments were a kind of image: but it is declared that He is already born, has suffered and risen again; of which our sacraments, in which Christians share, are the actual representation.” (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 103, art. 4)
6. The Old and New Laws are not parallel; the Old Law was a step in God’s divine economy, in which the New Law is the goal.
Accordingly then two laws may be distinguished from one another in two ways. First, through being altogether diverse, from the fact that they are ordained to diverse ends: thus a state-law ordained to democratic government, would differ specifically from a law ordained to government by the aristocracy. Secondly, two laws may be distinguished from one another, through one of them being more closely connected with the end, and the other more remotely: thus in one and the same state there is one law enjoined on men of mature age, who can forthwith accomplish that which pertains to the common good; and another law regulating the education of children who need to be taught how they are to achieve manly deeds later on. We must therefore say that, according to the first way, the New Law is not distinct from the Old Law: because they both have the same end, namely, man’s subjection to God; and there is but one God of the New and of the Old Testament, according to Romans 3:30: “It is one God that justifieth circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.” According to the second way, the New Law is distinct from the Old Law: because the Old Law is like a pedagogue of children, as the Apostle says (Galatians 3:24), whereas the New Law is the law of perfection, since it is the law of charity, of which the Apostle says (Colossians 3:14) that it is “the bond of perfection.” (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 107, art. 1; see also the responses to the objections)
#judaism
5. Professing “Judaism” after the time of Christ — that is, holding on to the Old Covenant in its oldness after it has been fulfilled — is objectively a grave sin based on a grave theological error:
All ceremonies are professions of faith, in which the interior worship of God consists. Now man can make profession of his inward faith, by deeds as well as by words: and in either profession, if he make a false declaration, he sins mortally. Now, though our faith in Christ is the same as that of the fathers of old; yet, since they came before Christ, whereas we come after Him, the same faith is expressed in different words, by us and by them. For by them was it said: “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,” where the verbs are in the future tense: whereas we express the same by means of verbs in the past tense, and say that she “conceived and bore.” In like manner the ceremonies of the Old Law betokened Christ as having yet to be born and to suffer: whereas our sacraments signify Him as already born and having suffered. Consequently, just as it would be a mortal sin now for anyone, in making a profession of faith, to say that Christ is yet to be born, which the fathers of old said devoutly and truthfully; so too it would be a mortal sin now to observe those ceremonies which the fathers of old fulfilled with devotion and fidelity. Such is the teaching Augustine (Contra Faust. xix, 16), who says: “It is no longer promised that He shall be born, shall suffer and rise again, truths of which their sacraments were a kind of image: but it is declared that He is already born, has suffered and risen again; of which our sacraments, in which Christians share, are the actual representation.” (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 103, art. 4)
6. The Old and New Laws are not parallel; the Old Law was a step in God’s divine economy, in which the New Law is the goal.
Accordingly then two laws may be distinguished from one another in two ways. First, through being altogether diverse, from the fact that they are ordained to diverse ends: thus a state-law ordained to democratic government, would differ specifically from a law ordained to government by the aristocracy. Secondly, two laws may be distinguished from one another, through one of them being more closely connected with the end, and the other more remotely: thus in one and the same state there is one law enjoined on men of mature age, who can forthwith accomplish that which pertains to the common good; and another law regulating the education of children who need to be taught how they are to achieve manly deeds later on. We must therefore say that, according to the first way, the New Law is not distinct from the Old Law: because they both have the same end, namely, man’s subjection to God; and there is but one God of the New and of the Old Testament, according to Romans 3:30: “It is one God that justifieth circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.” According to the second way, the New Law is distinct from the Old Law: because the Old Law is like a pedagogue of children, as the Apostle says (Galatians 3:24), whereas the New Law is the law of perfection, since it is the law of charity, of which the Apostle says (Colossians 3:14) that it is “the bond of perfection.” (Summa theologiae, I-II, Q. 107, art. 1; see also the responses to the objections)
#judaism
Ecce Verbum
Chastisement Sister Elena Aiello This remarkable nun lived in Italy from 1895-1961; her revelations enjoy full Church approval. She was a victim soul, a stigmatist who suffered the bloody sufferings of Our Lord's Passion on the Fridays in Lent from 1923…
"I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel."
Genesis 3:15, DRV
What chastisement more terrible than a hierarchy that has lost its direction! If we can believe Sister Lucy on this: that it is what Our Lady predicted in the third part of the Secret of Fatima: the Church and its hierarchy will undergo a 'diabolic disorientation '( Brother Michael of the Trinity, The Whole Truth on Fatima, Tome III) Yet still, according to Sister Lucy, the crisis corresponds to what the Apocalypse tells us of the combat of the Woman against the Dragon. Now, the Most Holy Virgin assures us that at the end of the struggle, "her Immaculate heart will triumph".
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, They have uncrowned Him
#mary
Genesis 3:15, DRV
What chastisement more terrible than a hierarchy that has lost its direction! If we can believe Sister Lucy on this: that it is what Our Lady predicted in the third part of the Secret of Fatima: the Church and its hierarchy will undergo a 'diabolic disorientation '( Brother Michael of the Trinity, The Whole Truth on Fatima, Tome III) Yet still, according to Sister Lucy, the crisis corresponds to what the Apocalypse tells us of the combat of the Woman against the Dragon. Now, the Most Holy Virgin assures us that at the end of the struggle, "her Immaculate heart will triumph".
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, They have uncrowned Him
#mary
Ecce Verbum
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Relationship between Christianity and Judaism after Christ 1. Christianity is the continuity (fulfilment) of the faith of the Judaism of the Old Covenant. As regards the substance of the articles of faith, they have not received…
Article
The Liturgy and ‘Supersessionism’
This article by Fr. Brian Harrison is on supersessionism, the idea that the New Covenant in the Blood of Jesus Christ replaces the Old Covenant based on the Mosaic Law.
What, then, is supersessionism? The word designates the traditional Christian belief that the covenant between God and the People of Israel, established through the mediation of Moses at Mount Sinai, has been replaced or superseded by the ‘New Covenant’ of Jesus Christ. This implies that the Mosaic covenant, with its ritual and dietary requirements, Sabbath observance, etc., is no longer valid for the Jewish people, since God’s revealed will is for Jews, as well as all Gentiles, to enter into the New Covenant by means of baptism and faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah.
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9168
The Liturgy and ‘Supersessionism’
This article by Fr. Brian Harrison is on supersessionism, the idea that the New Covenant in the Blood of Jesus Christ replaces the Old Covenant based on the Mosaic Law.
What, then, is supersessionism? The word designates the traditional Christian belief that the covenant between God and the People of Israel, established through the mediation of Moses at Mount Sinai, has been replaced or superseded by the ‘New Covenant’ of Jesus Christ. This implies that the Mosaic covenant, with its ritual and dietary requirements, Sabbath observance, etc., is no longer valid for the Jewish people, since God’s revealed will is for Jews, as well as all Gentiles, to enter into the New Covenant by means of baptism and faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah.
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9168
www.catholicculture.org
Library : The Liturgy and ‘Supersessionism’
The Liturgy and ‘Supersessionism’ This article by Fr. Brian Harrison is on supersessionism, the idea that the New Covenant in the Blood of Jesus Christ replaces the Old Covenant based on the Mosaic Law.
St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe- a martyr of charity
8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941
As a child, St. Maximilian had a vision of Mary, in which the blessed Mother offered him two crowns. The first, the white crown of virginity. The second, the red crown of martyrdom. He rarely spoke of the encounter, and even then only obliquely. In 1941, after her son had perished in Auschwitz, Kolbe’s mother recollected her son’s childhood encounter with the Blessed Mother. Hiding under the family’s altar, Maria Dabrowska found her son, “trembling and with tears in his eyes, he told me, ‘When you said to me, ‘What will become of you?’
I prayed very hard to our Lady to tell me what would become of me. And later in Church I prayed again. Then the Virgin Mother appeared to me that night holding in her hands two crowns, one white and one red. She looked at me with love and she asked me if I would be willing to accept either of these crowns. The white meant that I would remain pure and the red one that I would be a martyr. I answered that I would accept them both. Then the Virgin looked at me tenderly and disappeared.'”
The fiat, the yes, of his childhood was confirmed over a life of practice. He made himself ready for the gift of martyrdom through the daily practice of attuning his heart to Christ through the Immaculata until the day came when he could freely offer himself as a sacrifice of love for another. Accepting the crowns offered to him as a child, Kolbe entrusted his love for Christ and His Sacred Heart to Mary and declared his desire to live and die for the Immaculata. The sacrifice of his whole life and the manner of his death affirmed the words of the Apostle John: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jn 3:16).
#august #kolbe #saints
8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941
As a child, St. Maximilian had a vision of Mary, in which the blessed Mother offered him two crowns. The first, the white crown of virginity. The second, the red crown of martyrdom. He rarely spoke of the encounter, and even then only obliquely. In 1941, after her son had perished in Auschwitz, Kolbe’s mother recollected her son’s childhood encounter with the Blessed Mother. Hiding under the family’s altar, Maria Dabrowska found her son, “trembling and with tears in his eyes, he told me, ‘When you said to me, ‘What will become of you?’
I prayed very hard to our Lady to tell me what would become of me. And later in Church I prayed again. Then the Virgin Mother appeared to me that night holding in her hands two crowns, one white and one red. She looked at me with love and she asked me if I would be willing to accept either of these crowns. The white meant that I would remain pure and the red one that I would be a martyr. I answered that I would accept them both. Then the Virgin looked at me tenderly and disappeared.'”
The fiat, the yes, of his childhood was confirmed over a life of practice. He made himself ready for the gift of martyrdom through the daily practice of attuning his heart to Christ through the Immaculata until the day came when he could freely offer himself as a sacrifice of love for another. Accepting the crowns offered to him as a child, Kolbe entrusted his love for Christ and His Sacred Heart to Mary and declared his desire to live and die for the Immaculata. The sacrifice of his whole life and the manner of his death affirmed the words of the Apostle John: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jn 3:16).
#august #kolbe #saints
Ecce Verbum
she_leadeth_me_with_cover(1).pdf
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee, and for all who do not have recourse to thee, especially for the Jews, Freemasons, all enemies of the Church and for those, whom we consecrate to you.
St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe
#prayer
St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe
#prayer
Ecce Verbum
St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe- a martyr of charity 8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941 As a child, St. Maximilian had a vision of Mary, in which the blessed Mother offered him two crowns. The first, the white crown of virginity. The second, the red crown of martyrdom.…
Maximilian_booklet_EN.pdf
1.5 MB
St. Maximilian - His life, apostolate and spirituality
Published by Militia Immaculatae
This book not only portrays St. Maximilian’s great love for the Blessed Mary Virgin, but also includes many examples from his spirituality, his writings, from the prayers he composed and used, and from his publications. Its aim, above all, is to enthuse faithful Catholics, and non-Catholics for that matter, with a love greater than his own for “his Immaculata”, and through her and his own example, to win souls for Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Published by Militia Immaculatae
This book not only portrays St. Maximilian’s great love for the Blessed Mary Virgin, but also includes many examples from his spirituality, his writings, from the prayers he composed and used, and from his publications. Its aim, above all, is to enthuse faithful Catholics, and non-Catholics for that matter, with a love greater than his own for “his Immaculata”, and through her and his own example, to win souls for Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
SCRUPLES.pdf
49 KB
What are scruples?
Explanation and practical solutions
Scruples are a malady that affects the mind: or rather that particular activity of the mind which has to do with judging right and wrong, and which is called conscience.
The scrupulous person has a sick conscience. In other things his mind works perfectly, and even in some matters of conscience it may function correctly. But there is always at least one sphere of conscience in which it is completely unreliable. This unfortunate person is forever hesitating between right and wrong; he can never make up his mind about it. Sin
faces him everywhere. He cannot distinguish between temptation and consent. Every thought that flashes into his mind, every feeling that assails him seems to be a sin, He lives in a kind of straight-jacket that robs him of all freedom.
He is almost afraid to do anything.
#scrupulosity
Explanation and practical solutions
Scruples are a malady that affects the mind: or rather that particular activity of the mind which has to do with judging right and wrong, and which is called conscience.
The scrupulous person has a sick conscience. In other things his mind works perfectly, and even in some matters of conscience it may function correctly. But there is always at least one sphere of conscience in which it is completely unreliable. This unfortunate person is forever hesitating between right and wrong; he can never make up his mind about it. Sin
faces him everywhere. He cannot distinguish between temptation and consent. Every thought that flashes into his mind, every feeling that assails him seems to be a sin, He lives in a kind of straight-jacket that robs him of all freedom.
He is almost afraid to do anything.
#scrupulosity
Audience members’ hearts beat together at the theatre
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/news/2017/nov/audience-members-hearts-beat-together-theatre
When lovers touch, their breathing, heartbeat syncs, pain wanes, study shows
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170621125313.htm
Human Heart Rhythms Synchronize While Co-sleeping
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00190/full
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/news/2017/nov/audience-members-hearts-beat-together-theatre
When lovers touch, their breathing, heartbeat syncs, pain wanes, study shows
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170621125313.htm
Human Heart Rhythms Synchronize While Co-sleeping
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00190/full
Ecce Verbum
Blessed Bartolo Longo - a lawyer, a sinner and a satanic high priest, who converted to Christianity, devoted his life to social work and became known as the "Apostle of the Rosary" “I renounce spiritualism because it is nothing but a maze of error and falsehood.”…
Another article on Bartolo Longo that I found recently.
https://www.returnoftheking.live/poor-in-spirit/from-satanic-priest-to-apostle-of-the-rosary
https://www.returnoftheking.live/poor-in-spirit/from-satanic-priest-to-apostle-of-the-rosary
Return of the King
From Satanic Priest to Apostle of the Rosary — Return of the King
Bartolo Longo was born in 1841 in Latiano; a small town near Brindisi in southern Italy. He was born into a wealthy family of devout Catholics, living in a large house with servants. Bartolo described himself as a child in these words: "A lively and impertinent…
Ecce Verbum
Another article on Bartolo Longo that I found recently. https://www.returnoftheking.live/poor-in-spirit/from-satanic-priest-to-apostle-of-the-rosary
"Just as two friends, frequently in each other's company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddennes, patience and perfection."
Blessed Bartolo Longo
Blessed Bartolo Longo
Saint Andrew Bobola- venator animarum of the Orthodox, a Saint for the difficult
times
(1591-1657) He gave his life during the conflict between Catholics and Orthodox that formed part of the war between Polish and Russian forces in the mid-seventeenth century. Cossacks, opposed to the Jesuit's forceful defense of Catholics, butchered Bobola but could not break his faithful commitment to the Church. The Saint suffered a cruel death by the hands of Cossacks in Janow Poleski on May 16th, 1657.
He was born in southern Poland to a family that was part of the lesser nobility. He studied at a Jesuit school and then entered the novitiate in 1611. After studying philosophy and theology at Vilnius, he was assigned to be the pastor of the Jesuit church in Nesvizh where he made many converts. After two years there, he returned to Vilnius for 16 years during which he became known for his preaching and for developing sodalities whose members performed ministry to prisoners and taught catechism to children. He and the sodalists also acted heroically during two periods when the plague struck Vilnius.
In 1630 he moved to Bobruisk in eastern Poland where the majority of people were Orthodox and many Catholics had given up their faith, partly because they did not have their own priests and churches. Bobola took on a variety of works in various towns, until poor health restricted what he could do and he returned again to Vilnius.
He began his work in Polesia in 1562. Father Bobola went on his mission with the conviction that he would pay for this activity with his life. The apostolate was hampered both by external circumstances and the spiritual atmosphere. The lack of roads and the consequently difficult access to the people, isolated from the world and living on sandy soil amidst marshland, meant that the religious and moral condition of the Poles was deplorable. They followed a variety of superstitions. Although they went to town in large numbers on Sundays, they would only come to church or the Orthodox Church for a blessing before the end of Mass, and would spend the rest of the time in the tavern.
The Orthodox called Andrew the hunter of souls (venator animarum), because under the influence of his teachings many Orthodox were converted to Catholicism. At times, the Orthodox called him "Lach" with revulsion. On more than one occasion, he entered Orthodox churches and there he zealously lectured the people about the holy Catholic Church. He disputed with the Orthodox priests, proving clearly and emphatically the errors and falsities of heresy. His reading of the writings of the Fathers of the Greek Church, aided by his good knowledge of the language from Jesuit secondary school, meant that he emerged victorious from every dispute. One of his greatest achievements was the conversion to Catholicism of two entire villages: Balandichi and Udrozhyn.In proportion to his apostolic achievements, resentment towards Andrew grew in the opposing camp. When, despite his weakened health, he kept going from village to village, he was pelted not only with insults but also with mud and stones.
The agreement of the Union of Brest-Litovsk (1596) had attempted to resolve the conflict between the Orthodox and Catholic churches so they could coexist. Unfortunately some Orthodox joined forces with the Cossack leader Bogdan Chmielnicki who aimed to drive out the Catholics; by 1655 he was successful in controlling large areas of what is now Belarus. At the same time Russia and Poland were at war. On Aug. 8, 1655, the tsar's army marched into Vilnius and sacked the city. Bobola went to Pinsk to encourage Catholics to remain firm, and his success only increased the sectarian conflict. People harassed the Jesuit as he walked around the streets. Two years later the Cossacks occupied Pinsk and forced the Poles and Catholics to flee into the forests. Then they attacked Janów where they massacred Catholics and Jews. Bobola was in a nearby town, but some people told the Cossacks where to find him.
times
(1591-1657) He gave his life during the conflict between Catholics and Orthodox that formed part of the war between Polish and Russian forces in the mid-seventeenth century. Cossacks, opposed to the Jesuit's forceful defense of Catholics, butchered Bobola but could not break his faithful commitment to the Church. The Saint suffered a cruel death by the hands of Cossacks in Janow Poleski on May 16th, 1657.
He was born in southern Poland to a family that was part of the lesser nobility. He studied at a Jesuit school and then entered the novitiate in 1611. After studying philosophy and theology at Vilnius, he was assigned to be the pastor of the Jesuit church in Nesvizh where he made many converts. After two years there, he returned to Vilnius for 16 years during which he became known for his preaching and for developing sodalities whose members performed ministry to prisoners and taught catechism to children. He and the sodalists also acted heroically during two periods when the plague struck Vilnius.
In 1630 he moved to Bobruisk in eastern Poland where the majority of people were Orthodox and many Catholics had given up their faith, partly because they did not have their own priests and churches. Bobola took on a variety of works in various towns, until poor health restricted what he could do and he returned again to Vilnius.
He began his work in Polesia in 1562. Father Bobola went on his mission with the conviction that he would pay for this activity with his life. The apostolate was hampered both by external circumstances and the spiritual atmosphere. The lack of roads and the consequently difficult access to the people, isolated from the world and living on sandy soil amidst marshland, meant that the religious and moral condition of the Poles was deplorable. They followed a variety of superstitions. Although they went to town in large numbers on Sundays, they would only come to church or the Orthodox Church for a blessing before the end of Mass, and would spend the rest of the time in the tavern.
The Orthodox called Andrew the hunter of souls (venator animarum), because under the influence of his teachings many Orthodox were converted to Catholicism. At times, the Orthodox called him "Lach" with revulsion. On more than one occasion, he entered Orthodox churches and there he zealously lectured the people about the holy Catholic Church. He disputed with the Orthodox priests, proving clearly and emphatically the errors and falsities of heresy. His reading of the writings of the Fathers of the Greek Church, aided by his good knowledge of the language from Jesuit secondary school, meant that he emerged victorious from every dispute. One of his greatest achievements was the conversion to Catholicism of two entire villages: Balandichi and Udrozhyn.In proportion to his apostolic achievements, resentment towards Andrew grew in the opposing camp. When, despite his weakened health, he kept going from village to village, he was pelted not only with insults but also with mud and stones.
The agreement of the Union of Brest-Litovsk (1596) had attempted to resolve the conflict between the Orthodox and Catholic churches so they could coexist. Unfortunately some Orthodox joined forces with the Cossack leader Bogdan Chmielnicki who aimed to drive out the Catholics; by 1655 he was successful in controlling large areas of what is now Belarus. At the same time Russia and Poland were at war. On Aug. 8, 1655, the tsar's army marched into Vilnius and sacked the city. Bobola went to Pinsk to encourage Catholics to remain firm, and his success only increased the sectarian conflict. People harassed the Jesuit as he walked around the streets. Two years later the Cossacks occupied Pinsk and forced the Poles and Catholics to flee into the forests. Then they attacked Janów where they massacred Catholics and Jews. Bobola was in a nearby town, but some people told the Cossacks where to find him.
Ecce Verbum
Saint Andrew Bobola- venator animarum of the Orthodox, a Saint for the difficult times (1591-1657) He gave his life during the conflict between Catholics and Orthodox that formed part of the war between Polish and Russian forces in the mid-seventeenth century.…
First they tried to permit Bobola to renounce his religion. When he refused, they stripped him and tied him to a hedge and whipped him cruelly. Mocking his faith, they placed a crown of twigs on his head and then dragged him to his place of execution, a butcher's shop. He still refused to apostatize, so they placed him on the butcher's table and tortured him cruelly, tearing the skin off his chest and back and cutting holes in the palms of his hands. They continued to torture him for two hours. before finally driving an awl into his heart. Then they strung him up by his feet and killed him with a saber blow.
Just as he died, a band of Poles arrived at Janów in a vain attempt to rescue him. They took his body back to Pinsk where they placed it in the crypt beneath the Jesuit church.
The cult of the saint grew, and crowds came to the grave. In the first half of the eighteenth century 300 graces and miracles took place.
In 1714, the Polish Jesuits began efforts to beatify their confrere. Reports of miraculous healings prompted the laity, including King August II, to send requests to Rome for the beatification of Fr. Bobola. In 1808, a coffin with the corpse of Fr. Bobola was transferred to Połock. In the meantime, Poland was annexed. Połock with the grave of Father Bobola was under Russian rule.
It was not until Pope Pius VII officially restored the Jesuit order that the martyr's beatification was renewed. Bobola was beatified by Pope Pius IX in Rome in 1853.
Meanwhile, on June 23rd, 1922, the Bolsheviks took away the body of St. Andrew Bobola from Polotsk to Moscow and after examination they put him on public display at the Museum of Hygiene. This insult outraged the Poles.
In 1924, the papal mission to help the starving Russians regained the relics of the martyr and transported them to Rome. There the body of St. Andrew was placed in the Jesuit church of the Gesù. Confirmed miracles contributed to the canonisation of St. Andrew in Rome by Pope Pius XI in 1938.
After the canonisation efforts were made to bring the relics of St. Andrew Bobola to Poland. On June 8th, 1938, the coffin in procession was transported through Slovenia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia to Poland. The Vatican Congregation for Sacred Rites and Ceremonies said that no martyrdom as cruel as this had been recorded in the history of the Church.
Also Pope Pius XII, Andrew Bobola's apostolic zeal in his encyclical "The Invincible Mighty One of Christ", emphasized with the words: Swordsman of Christ, Soulmaker, that is, hunter of immortal souls, tireless Apostle of Christ, Holy Polish Martyr. Andrew Bobola was all his life on the road, in constant motion. He travelled vast distances, and this at a time when on trackless and dirt roads one travelled by horse-drawn carriage, and more often by cart. It took character and courage to cope with such a pilgrim life in times of constant war. An impetuous, proud nobleman from the Lesser Poland region with vices characteristic of his time and origin, he worked hard on his character, as Pope Pius XII reminded him: "Having in mind this so important admonition of Christ: <Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and, taking up his cross every day, let him follow me> (Lk 9:23), he set about earnestly acquiring Christian humility through self-denial. And because by nature he had a certain tendency to haughtiness and impatience and a touch of stubbornness, he gave himself an unrelenting battle. Through this struggle, as it were, he took the Cross of Christ on his shoulders and walked with it to Calvary, so that at its summit he might attain at the same time, by the grace of God, that perfection of humility longed for and fervently won by prayers, through which one attains to all the splendours of Christian holiness."
Andrew Bobola's desire to follow the way of Jesus, his stubbornness, his consistency, his courage, led him to the heights of Christian charity, to the point of sacrificing his life.
#saints #bobola
Just as he died, a band of Poles arrived at Janów in a vain attempt to rescue him. They took his body back to Pinsk where they placed it in the crypt beneath the Jesuit church.
The cult of the saint grew, and crowds came to the grave. In the first half of the eighteenth century 300 graces and miracles took place.
In 1714, the Polish Jesuits began efforts to beatify their confrere. Reports of miraculous healings prompted the laity, including King August II, to send requests to Rome for the beatification of Fr. Bobola. In 1808, a coffin with the corpse of Fr. Bobola was transferred to Połock. In the meantime, Poland was annexed. Połock with the grave of Father Bobola was under Russian rule.
It was not until Pope Pius VII officially restored the Jesuit order that the martyr's beatification was renewed. Bobola was beatified by Pope Pius IX in Rome in 1853.
Meanwhile, on June 23rd, 1922, the Bolsheviks took away the body of St. Andrew Bobola from Polotsk to Moscow and after examination they put him on public display at the Museum of Hygiene. This insult outraged the Poles.
In 1924, the papal mission to help the starving Russians regained the relics of the martyr and transported them to Rome. There the body of St. Andrew was placed in the Jesuit church of the Gesù. Confirmed miracles contributed to the canonisation of St. Andrew in Rome by Pope Pius XI in 1938.
After the canonisation efforts were made to bring the relics of St. Andrew Bobola to Poland. On June 8th, 1938, the coffin in procession was transported through Slovenia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia to Poland. The Vatican Congregation for Sacred Rites and Ceremonies said that no martyrdom as cruel as this had been recorded in the history of the Church.
Also Pope Pius XII, Andrew Bobola's apostolic zeal in his encyclical "The Invincible Mighty One of Christ", emphasized with the words: Swordsman of Christ, Soulmaker, that is, hunter of immortal souls, tireless Apostle of Christ, Holy Polish Martyr. Andrew Bobola was all his life on the road, in constant motion. He travelled vast distances, and this at a time when on trackless and dirt roads one travelled by horse-drawn carriage, and more often by cart. It took character and courage to cope with such a pilgrim life in times of constant war. An impetuous, proud nobleman from the Lesser Poland region with vices characteristic of his time and origin, he worked hard on his character, as Pope Pius XII reminded him: "Having in mind this so important admonition of Christ: <Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and, taking up his cross every day, let him follow me> (Lk 9:23), he set about earnestly acquiring Christian humility through self-denial. And because by nature he had a certain tendency to haughtiness and impatience and a touch of stubbornness, he gave himself an unrelenting battle. Through this struggle, as it were, he took the Cross of Christ on his shoulders and walked with it to Calvary, so that at its summit he might attain at the same time, by the grace of God, that perfection of humility longed for and fervently won by prayers, through which one attains to all the splendours of Christian holiness."
Andrew Bobola's desire to follow the way of Jesus, his stubbornness, his consistency, his courage, led him to the heights of Christian charity, to the point of sacrificing his life.
#saints #bobola
Prayer To St Andrew Bobola
In this Hour of Darkness – Pray for us.
We pray for your intercession before our Most Glorious Lord Jesus Christ that we may have the strength to endure the unendurable, that we may obtain the Protection of the Great God Almighty in the midst of persecution and
the Grace to accept his will…whatever it may be.
St Andrew Stand with us.
Give us fortitude and peace of soul.
Let not our Faith waiver.
Let us stand faithfully in union with the Sacred Heart of Christ, under the protection of His Immaculate Mother
Always Trusting in the Infinite Mercy and Love of God – Our Father.
Save us from moral corruption, which places people in terrible slavery to Satan, takes away their spiritual strength and leads to ruin. Support us through your intercession so that, with our fruitful participation, the civilisation of love may grow in our homeland, in Europe and in the world, through Christ our Lord.
Amen
#prayer
In this Hour of Darkness – Pray for us.
We pray for your intercession before our Most Glorious Lord Jesus Christ that we may have the strength to endure the unendurable, that we may obtain the Protection of the Great God Almighty in the midst of persecution and
the Grace to accept his will…whatever it may be.
St Andrew Stand with us.
Give us fortitude and peace of soul.
Let not our Faith waiver.
Let us stand faithfully in union with the Sacred Heart of Christ, under the protection of His Immaculate Mother
Always Trusting in the Infinite Mercy and Love of God – Our Father.
Save us from moral corruption, which places people in terrible slavery to Satan, takes away their spiritual strength and leads to ruin. Support us through your intercession so that, with our fruitful participation, the civilisation of love may grow in our homeland, in Europe and in the world, through Christ our Lord.
Amen
#prayer
St. Andrew Bobola- patron saint of evangelisation and unity of the Church
In the time of Andrew Bobola, inter-religious, cultural and social differences were more significant and more tense than in contemporary Europe. The Borderlands, where the Martyr worked, was an area of mutual interpenetration of Eastern and Western cultures, where political-economic, cultural and ethnic boundaries were not clear or permanent, where there were both integrative and disintegrative tendencies.In the east of the Commonwealth (today's Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus) the influences of the Catholic, Orthodox and Uniate Churches intermingled, but many simple people did not know Christ.
This inter-civilisational meeting of people of different nationalities - Poles, Ukrainians, Belarussians, Lithuanians, Jews and Germans, who were characterised by linguistic affinity and common descent, was at the same time a meeting of people of different faiths: Catholic, Orthodox, Uniate or Judaism. Both special bonds and antagonisms arose here. The above-mentioned conditions, together with the vast spaces, the almost universal poverty, the civilisational backwardness and the ruthlessness in the struggle for influence and religious convictions, were a significant challenge for the Catholic missionary advocating the Union of Brest, who was striving for Christlike unity.
The Apostle of Polesie fulfilled his ministry by being present in different cultural and social circles. He transmitted the spirit of the Gospel to the villagers, bringing faith in the Loving Father. He was a member of the Jesuit community and a counsellor at the royal court of John II Casimir Vasa. He entered into dialogue with Orthodox priests. He yearned for the unity of the Church, for which he was ready to give his life, just like the fifty of his confreres who died at that time in Polesie.
Nearly half a century after his death, Orthodox, Catholics and Uniates prayed together at the coffin with his body. Many of them experienced miracles.
The multinational Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was still a power in Andrew's time, although it was weakened by conflict with Russia and ravaged by the Cossack Wars and the Swedish Deluge. Following the thought of his brother Piotr Skarga, the Jesuits in the Commonwealth became involved in winning over the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox dioceses lying within the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian state to an ecclesiastical union of Eastern Rite Christians with Rome, as a result of which they were to recognise the authority of the Pope. The Union of Brest, which was supported by the Jesuits, was an attempt to save not only the community of faith, but also the community of the Republic. The Apostle of Pinsk left traces of his presence all over the country.
During Andrew's lifetime, the Republic was a state with strong social divisions. Andrew overcame them. He - a nobleman by birth - went to the poor, the uneducated, those living in paganism, bringing the Good News and bread, forming a community with them. He did not desire a life of comfort in the courts of the mighty or the royal court, nor the glory of a scholar. Defying his influential family, he chose the wilderness on the outskirts of the Republic, the wilderness and danger, to lead people to Christ.
When, in the summer of 1920, the million-strong Bolshevik army marched on Warsaw, the Polish bishops meeting in Częstochowa sent a fervent request to the Vatican for Blessed Andrew's canonisation, expressing their conviction that his protection would save Poland from annihilation.
In this spirit, a novena was celebrated in the Warsaw archdiocese between 6 and 15 August. On 8 August, the relics of Blessed Andrzej Bobola and Blessed Władysław of Gielniów were carried during a procession in the capital, with the participation of 100,000 people and the sound of the cannons of the armies fighting near Warsaw.
In the time of Andrew Bobola, inter-religious, cultural and social differences were more significant and more tense than in contemporary Europe. The Borderlands, where the Martyr worked, was an area of mutual interpenetration of Eastern and Western cultures, where political-economic, cultural and ethnic boundaries were not clear or permanent, where there were both integrative and disintegrative tendencies.In the east of the Commonwealth (today's Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus) the influences of the Catholic, Orthodox and Uniate Churches intermingled, but many simple people did not know Christ.
This inter-civilisational meeting of people of different nationalities - Poles, Ukrainians, Belarussians, Lithuanians, Jews and Germans, who were characterised by linguistic affinity and common descent, was at the same time a meeting of people of different faiths: Catholic, Orthodox, Uniate or Judaism. Both special bonds and antagonisms arose here. The above-mentioned conditions, together with the vast spaces, the almost universal poverty, the civilisational backwardness and the ruthlessness in the struggle for influence and religious convictions, were a significant challenge for the Catholic missionary advocating the Union of Brest, who was striving for Christlike unity.
The Apostle of Polesie fulfilled his ministry by being present in different cultural and social circles. He transmitted the spirit of the Gospel to the villagers, bringing faith in the Loving Father. He was a member of the Jesuit community and a counsellor at the royal court of John II Casimir Vasa. He entered into dialogue with Orthodox priests. He yearned for the unity of the Church, for which he was ready to give his life, just like the fifty of his confreres who died at that time in Polesie.
Nearly half a century after his death, Orthodox, Catholics and Uniates prayed together at the coffin with his body. Many of them experienced miracles.
The multinational Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was still a power in Andrew's time, although it was weakened by conflict with Russia and ravaged by the Cossack Wars and the Swedish Deluge. Following the thought of his brother Piotr Skarga, the Jesuits in the Commonwealth became involved in winning over the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox dioceses lying within the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian state to an ecclesiastical union of Eastern Rite Christians with Rome, as a result of which they were to recognise the authority of the Pope. The Union of Brest, which was supported by the Jesuits, was an attempt to save not only the community of faith, but also the community of the Republic. The Apostle of Pinsk left traces of his presence all over the country.
During Andrew's lifetime, the Republic was a state with strong social divisions. Andrew overcame them. He - a nobleman by birth - went to the poor, the uneducated, those living in paganism, bringing the Good News and bread, forming a community with them. He did not desire a life of comfort in the courts of the mighty or the royal court, nor the glory of a scholar. Defying his influential family, he chose the wilderness on the outskirts of the Republic, the wilderness and danger, to lead people to Christ.
When, in the summer of 1920, the million-strong Bolshevik army marched on Warsaw, the Polish bishops meeting in Częstochowa sent a fervent request to the Vatican for Blessed Andrew's canonisation, expressing their conviction that his protection would save Poland from annihilation.
In this spirit, a novena was celebrated in the Warsaw archdiocese between 6 and 15 August. On 8 August, the relics of Blessed Andrzej Bobola and Blessed Władysław of Gielniów were carried during a procession in the capital, with the participation of 100,000 people and the sound of the cannons of the armies fighting near Warsaw.
Ecce Verbum
St. Andrew Bobola- patron saint of evangelisation and unity of the Church In the time of Andrew Bobola, inter-religious, cultural and social differences were more significant and more tense than in contemporary Europe. The Borderlands, where the Martyr worked…
On 15 August - on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and at the same time on the last day of the novena to Blessed Andrew - the Polish army won a great victory over the Red Army, and this event went down in history as the 'Miracle on the Vistula'.
In the difficult times of communism, Saint Bobola was the patron of the Jasna Góra Vows of the Polish Nation, which the Primate of the Millennium - Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński wrote on 16 May 1956, the day of his patronal feast. These vows were taken on 26 August, the three-hundredth anniversary of the Lwów Vows of King John II Casimir Vasa, the authorship of which is attributed to Saint Andrew Bobola.It is said that it was on the initiative of Saint Andrew that the Vows of John Casimir concerning the entrustment of Poland to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of the Polish Crown were written. This was recalled by the Primate of the Millennium - Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, when he wrote the Jasna Góra Vows of the Nation on the day of St Andrew's commemoration, 16 May 1956.
"Further, verily I say unto you, If two of you on earth shall ask for anything, all things shall my Father grant unto them. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am among them" (Mt,18,19-20).
May St. Andrew be a guide for us in the times of confusion and crisis in the Church.
Saint Andrew, patron of the unity of the Church, ora pro nobis.
In the difficult times of communism, Saint Bobola was the patron of the Jasna Góra Vows of the Polish Nation, which the Primate of the Millennium - Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński wrote on 16 May 1956, the day of his patronal feast. These vows were taken on 26 August, the three-hundredth anniversary of the Lwów Vows of King John II Casimir Vasa, the authorship of which is attributed to Saint Andrew Bobola.It is said that it was on the initiative of Saint Andrew that the Vows of John Casimir concerning the entrustment of Poland to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of the Polish Crown were written. This was recalled by the Primate of the Millennium - Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, when he wrote the Jasna Góra Vows of the Nation on the day of St Andrew's commemoration, 16 May 1956.
"Further, verily I say unto you, If two of you on earth shall ask for anything, all things shall my Father grant unto them. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am among them" (Mt,18,19-20).
May St. Andrew be a guide for us in the times of confusion and crisis in the Church.
Saint Andrew, patron of the unity of the Church, ora pro nobis.
Dom Lorenzo Scupoli lays down seven methods to benefit from prayer
1. Have a sincere desire to serve God in the manner that is agreeable to Him. God deserves our homage and service. We will only triumph over the devil, master ourselves, and be children of God by observing His law and doing our duty.
2. Have vibrant faith and firm confidence that God will supply the necessary assistance for you to work out your salvation. "A soul rekindled with this holy confidence is like a sacred vessel into which divine Mercy pours the treasures of His grace; and the larger the vessel, the greater the abundance of Heavenly blessings it receives through prayer. "The greater your trust, the more you will receive".
3. The motive of your prayer must be the will of God, not the will of self. We must not wish anything that is not in utter conformity to God's will. Our intention in prayer must be to form the human will in complete harmony with the Divine will. Our intention cannot make the Divine will subservient to our own.
4. For prayer to be efficacious, our actions must suit our petitions. In other words, we must be worthy of the favours we ask. If you ask for a particular virtue, you need to be making an effort to practice it.
5.Before asking things of God, first humbly thank Him for all the benefits He has bestowed upon you. Always ask in a spirit of humility and gratitude.
6. Conclude your petitions by remembering the merits of Jesus Christ and His promise to hear our requests.
7. Be persistent in prayer. Our favors may not be immediately granted- but an infinitely good God cannot ignore our humble perseverance. Do not lose confidence in His goodness. Never forget the immense power that God possesses. Never cease to thank God whether He grants or refuses your petitions.
#mentalprayer
1. Have a sincere desire to serve God in the manner that is agreeable to Him. God deserves our homage and service. We will only triumph over the devil, master ourselves, and be children of God by observing His law and doing our duty.
2. Have vibrant faith and firm confidence that God will supply the necessary assistance for you to work out your salvation. "A soul rekindled with this holy confidence is like a sacred vessel into which divine Mercy pours the treasures of His grace; and the larger the vessel, the greater the abundance of Heavenly blessings it receives through prayer. "The greater your trust, the more you will receive".
3. The motive of your prayer must be the will of God, not the will of self. We must not wish anything that is not in utter conformity to God's will. Our intention in prayer must be to form the human will in complete harmony with the Divine will. Our intention cannot make the Divine will subservient to our own.
4. For prayer to be efficacious, our actions must suit our petitions. In other words, we must be worthy of the favours we ask. If you ask for a particular virtue, you need to be making an effort to practice it.
5.Before asking things of God, first humbly thank Him for all the benefits He has bestowed upon you. Always ask in a spirit of humility and gratitude.
6. Conclude your petitions by remembering the merits of Jesus Christ and His promise to hear our requests.
7. Be persistent in prayer. Our favors may not be immediately granted- but an infinitely good God cannot ignore our humble perseverance. Do not lose confidence in His goodness. Never forget the immense power that God possesses. Never cease to thank God whether He grants or refuses your petitions.
#mentalprayer