When St. Anthony of the Desert thought about the depths of the judgments of God, he asked:
'Lord, how is it that some die when they are young, while others drag on to extreme old age? Why are there those who are poor and those who are rich? Why do wicked men prosper and why are the just in need?' He heard a voice answering him, 'Anthony, keep your attention on yourself; these things are according to the judgment of God, and it is not to your advantage to know anything about them.'
'Lord, how is it that some die when they are young, while others drag on to extreme old age? Why are there those who are poor and those who are rich? Why do wicked men prosper and why are the just in need?' He heard a voice answering him, 'Anthony, keep your attention on yourself; these things are according to the judgment of God, and it is not to your advantage to know anything about them.'
As for me, I say that those who are tormented in hell are tormented by the invasion of love
What is there more bitter and violent than the pains of love? Those who feel they have sinned against love bear in themselves a damnation much heavier than the most dreaded punishments.
The suffering with which sinning against love afflicts the heart is more keenly felt than any other torment. It is absurd to assume that the sinners in hell are deprived of God's love. Love is offered impartially. But by its very power it acts in two ways.
It torments sinners, as happens here on earth when we are tormented by the presence of a friend to whom we have been unfaithful. And it gives joy to those who have been faithful. That is what the torment of hell is: remorse.
But love inebriates the souls of the daughters and sons of heaven by its delectability.
St. Isaac the Syrian
What is there more bitter and violent than the pains of love? Those who feel they have sinned against love bear in themselves a damnation much heavier than the most dreaded punishments.
The suffering with which sinning against love afflicts the heart is more keenly felt than any other torment. It is absurd to assume that the sinners in hell are deprived of God's love. Love is offered impartially. But by its very power it acts in two ways.
It torments sinners, as happens here on earth when we are tormented by the presence of a friend to whom we have been unfaithful. And it gives joy to those who have been faithful. That is what the torment of hell is: remorse.
But love inebriates the souls of the daughters and sons of heaven by its delectability.
St. Isaac the Syrian
"Four Last Things: Hell, Fr. Ripperger"
The doctrine of hell is so frightening that numerous heretical sects end up denying the reality of an eternal hell. The Unitarian-Universalists, the Seventh-day Adventists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christadelphians, the Christian Scientists, the Religious Scientists, the New Agers, and the Mormons—all have rejected or modified the doctrine of hell so radically that it is no longer a serious threat. In recent decades, this decay has even invaded mainstream Evangelicalism, and a number of major Evangelical figures have advocated the view that there is no eternal hell—the wicked will simply be annihilated.
But the eternal nature of hell is stressed in the New Testament. For example, in Mark 9:47–48 Jesus warns us, “[I]t is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” And in Revelation 14:11, we read: “And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs” (CCC 1035).
https://youtu.be/ZRWXvwUxRlM
The doctrine of hell is so frightening that numerous heretical sects end up denying the reality of an eternal hell. The Unitarian-Universalists, the Seventh-day Adventists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christadelphians, the Christian Scientists, the Religious Scientists, the New Agers, and the Mormons—all have rejected or modified the doctrine of hell so radically that it is no longer a serious threat. In recent decades, this decay has even invaded mainstream Evangelicalism, and a number of major Evangelical figures have advocated the view that there is no eternal hell—the wicked will simply be annihilated.
But the eternal nature of hell is stressed in the New Testament. For example, in Mark 9:47–48 Jesus warns us, “[I]t is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” And in Revelation 14:11, we read: “And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs” (CCC 1035).
https://youtu.be/ZRWXvwUxRlM
YouTube
Four Last Things: Hell ~ Fr. Ripperger
The 3rd talk on the 4 Last Things. This one's subject is Hell. For more sermons & lectures please visit
http://sensustraditionis.org/ & remember to do the PenanceWare Fr asks for
Fr Ripperger's order of exorcists http://dolorans.org/
***Donations to…
http://sensustraditionis.org/ & remember to do the PenanceWare Fr asks for
Fr Ripperger's order of exorcists http://dolorans.org/
***Donations to…
"Chartres Cathedral - Medieval Cathedrals of France - Documentary"
The Chartres Cathedral is a milestone in the development of Western architecture because it employs all the structural elements of the new Gothic architecture: the pointed arch; the rib-and-panel vault; and, most significantly, the flying buttress.
The cathedral is also celebrated for its many stained-glass windows and sculptures. Because most of its 12th-and 13th-century stained glass and sculpture survives, Chartres Cathedral is one of the most completely surviving medieval churches.
Its spiritual intensity is heightened by the fact that no direct light enters the building. All the light is filtered through stained glass, so that the whole experience of visiting the Chartres Cathedral seems out of this world
The interior of the Chartres cathedral is remarkable. The nave, wider than that of any other cathedral in France (52 feet, or 16 meters), is in the purest 13th-century ogival style.
In its center is a maze, the only one still intact in France, with 320 yards (290 meters) of winding passages, which the faithful used to follow on their knees.
The Chartres Cathedral was built following a fire that largely destroyed the previous church in 1194, the new choir being complete by 1221 and the whole building consecrated in 1260 as one of the most compelling expressions of the strength and poetry of medieval Catholicism.
The city of Chartres owed its prosperity to its bishop and chapter, who had established four annual trade fairs on the feasts of the Virgin Mary, to whom the cathedral was dedicated – her Nativity, Annunciation, Purification and Assumption.
Chartres Cathedral ranks as a triple masterpiece. Equally superb are its architecture and sculpture, survivors of two major fires and numerous wars and revolutions.
Its last narrow escape from total destruction occurred on a warm June night in 1836, when an unexplained fire destroyed the roof timbers and melted the lead.The timbers over the nave were replaced by an iron structure and then roofed over with copper.
Chartres has become the focus of a new type of pilgrimage dedicated to the preservation of the Latin Mass, which, following the Second Vatican Council, was replaced in 1969 by the graceless new liturgy. Thousands of pilgrims travel to it on foot, saying the rosary, to hear the timeless words of the old Mass in this darkly glowing interior.
read more:
https://chartrescathedral.net/
architectural analysis (short video):
https://youtu.be/Jk3VsinLgvc
sacred geometry of the cathedral (2 min clips):
https://youtu.be/XzqVxU6jVPc
https://youtu.be/1uktDIrFTMg
documentary:
https://youtu.be/AgICy_RHFaY
#architecture
The Chartres Cathedral is a milestone in the development of Western architecture because it employs all the structural elements of the new Gothic architecture: the pointed arch; the rib-and-panel vault; and, most significantly, the flying buttress.
The cathedral is also celebrated for its many stained-glass windows and sculptures. Because most of its 12th-and 13th-century stained glass and sculpture survives, Chartres Cathedral is one of the most completely surviving medieval churches.
Its spiritual intensity is heightened by the fact that no direct light enters the building. All the light is filtered through stained glass, so that the whole experience of visiting the Chartres Cathedral seems out of this world
The interior of the Chartres cathedral is remarkable. The nave, wider than that of any other cathedral in France (52 feet, or 16 meters), is in the purest 13th-century ogival style.
In its center is a maze, the only one still intact in France, with 320 yards (290 meters) of winding passages, which the faithful used to follow on their knees.
The Chartres Cathedral was built following a fire that largely destroyed the previous church in 1194, the new choir being complete by 1221 and the whole building consecrated in 1260 as one of the most compelling expressions of the strength and poetry of medieval Catholicism.
The city of Chartres owed its prosperity to its bishop and chapter, who had established four annual trade fairs on the feasts of the Virgin Mary, to whom the cathedral was dedicated – her Nativity, Annunciation, Purification and Assumption.
Chartres Cathedral ranks as a triple masterpiece. Equally superb are its architecture and sculpture, survivors of two major fires and numerous wars and revolutions.
Its last narrow escape from total destruction occurred on a warm June night in 1836, when an unexplained fire destroyed the roof timbers and melted the lead.The timbers over the nave were replaced by an iron structure and then roofed over with copper.
Chartres has become the focus of a new type of pilgrimage dedicated to the preservation of the Latin Mass, which, following the Second Vatican Council, was replaced in 1969 by the graceless new liturgy. Thousands of pilgrims travel to it on foot, saying the rosary, to hear the timeless words of the old Mass in this darkly glowing interior.
read more:
https://chartrescathedral.net/
architectural analysis (short video):
https://youtu.be/Jk3VsinLgvc
sacred geometry of the cathedral (2 min clips):
https://youtu.be/XzqVxU6jVPc
https://youtu.be/1uktDIrFTMg
documentary:
https://youtu.be/AgICy_RHFaY
#architecture
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral - Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral is probably the finest example of French Gothic architecture. said by some to be the most beautiful cathedral in France.
Ecce Verbum
"Chartres Cathedral - Medieval Cathedrals of France - Documentary" The Chartres Cathedral is a milestone in the development of Western architecture because it employs all the structural elements of the new Gothic architecture: the pointed arch; the rib-and…
Lecture
"The meaning of the Chartres Cathedral"
by prof. Edward Tingley
Chartres Cathedral, south of Paris, is revered as one of the most beautiful and profound works of art in the Western canon.
But what did it mean to those who constructed it in the 12th and 13th century- and why was it built at such immense hight and with such glorious play of light, in the soaring manner we now call gothic?
Objectives:
- appreciate the beauty and the meaning of the Cathedral
-examine the way in which the medieval relate to the world
- understand the culture of the 12th century, including philosophy, science, technology, politics and religious debates
https://youtu.be/uqaPpos9T9M
#architecture
"The meaning of the Chartres Cathedral"
by prof. Edward Tingley
Chartres Cathedral, south of Paris, is revered as one of the most beautiful and profound works of art in the Western canon.
But what did it mean to those who constructed it in the 12th and 13th century- and why was it built at such immense hight and with such glorious play of light, in the soaring manner we now call gothic?
Objectives:
- appreciate the beauty and the meaning of the Cathedral
-examine the way in which the medieval relate to the world
- understand the culture of the 12th century, including philosophy, science, technology, politics and religious debates
https://youtu.be/uqaPpos9T9M
#architecture
YouTube
Stone Bible: the Cathedral of Chartres
This lecture by Edward Tingley was part of our 2013 Summer conference: The Roots of Medicine | Module IV - The Late Middle Ages.
Chartres Cathedral, south of Paris, is revered as one of the most beautiful and profound works of art in the Western canon.…
Chartres Cathedral, south of Paris, is revered as one of the most beautiful and profound works of art in the Western canon.…
Ecce Verbum
What is a Father 2. Fatherhood- a life of prayer and servitude ..Then the husband and the wife walk out of the church to see each other through life to eternal life. Their life together is to be a prayer-a sacrament; a sacramental way of life, as a priest's…
What is a Father
3. Fatherhood- a mirror of Love
Children, are especially drawn toward God when they are drawn toward their father. And this is natural enough, although it is also supernatural-because the father is the embodiment in his home of the Fatherhood of God. The father, therefore, must mirror God as accurately as possible.
Let him remember always that God's first approach to man is not the approach of fear, but the approach of loving man and of wanting to be loved in return. The first thing God did toward man, after creating him, was to place him in a paradise.
He provided everything for man's happiness, for his joy, for his comfort. He was lavish in meeting all man's needs. There was food and warmth and security in paradise; and beauty for eye and ear; and everything to delight man so that his days and nights were things of joy and cheer. Only when man rejected God was there trouble. What happened was that man refused to trust God. Man believed the tempter who said that God was lying in saying that there was one thing man must not do. But children will not think that their father, who gives them home and food and clothing and jollity, is a liar. If he approaches them with love, they will respond to love. Truth will attract their minds. Goodness will attract their wills.
Punishment should be his last thought, not his first. And he should never resort to it unless it is dictated by love as being necessary. He must never punish in anger, nor should strive to act as St. Joseph would act. even in cold calculation. He has no right to punish at all unless he punishes in love. This means that he first gets the whole story; he tries to understand; he puts himself in the child's place and comprehends the child's childlikeness and inexperience and impetuosity. A father should be as considerate and courteous toward his children as he would be toward the most respected and exalted person in the community.
The father should emulate God in approaching God's children and his by making of the home a little paradise for them, and making of himself a mirror of God's goodness toward them. A father should insist in prayer that God have a hand in everything he does for his children. The father should not ask,What do I want for my children? He should ask, 'What does God want?
The father who does that will have few problems with his children, assuming that his judgment about what is good for them is a right judgment.
Forming that right judgment is part of his obligation as a father. And that means that he forms himself rightly-he lives up to himself as an image of God, as a partner with God in fatherhood, and as a brother of Christ in virtuous manliness.
The children should be attracted to virtue, first through seeing virtue in their parents; and then also, of course, by being taught virtue through gentle explanation. Few fathers realize the tremendous effect upon children of virtue in themselves. When the child sees such strength united with patience, tenderness, kindness, understanding, thoughtfulness and helpfulness, the youngster, even though subconsciously, is profoundly moved.
One of the effective ways of showing virtue to children is through good books. A father should read to them, should help them to learn to read, and within his financial means should see to it that they have the right things to read. A child will be what he reads and sees and hears and feels-plus what in him is unique because he is a person in his own right; a being who will never be duplicated.
If he schemes for their happiness they will embrace virtue. It is a father's business to surround his youngsters with everything possible that is good for them, as God surrounded man with good things in paradise. No father knows what destiny awaits his sons and daughters. but one thing he can know-and one thing he should deeply realize: each child sent to him has a work to do which is important in the divine plan.
Bernard O'Connor, Imprimatur:
Archbishop Justin D. Simonds, 30th April, 1965.
#fatherhood
3. Fatherhood- a mirror of Love
Children, are especially drawn toward God when they are drawn toward their father. And this is natural enough, although it is also supernatural-because the father is the embodiment in his home of the Fatherhood of God. The father, therefore, must mirror God as accurately as possible.
Let him remember always that God's first approach to man is not the approach of fear, but the approach of loving man and of wanting to be loved in return. The first thing God did toward man, after creating him, was to place him in a paradise.
He provided everything for man's happiness, for his joy, for his comfort. He was lavish in meeting all man's needs. There was food and warmth and security in paradise; and beauty for eye and ear; and everything to delight man so that his days and nights were things of joy and cheer. Only when man rejected God was there trouble. What happened was that man refused to trust God. Man believed the tempter who said that God was lying in saying that there was one thing man must not do. But children will not think that their father, who gives them home and food and clothing and jollity, is a liar. If he approaches them with love, they will respond to love. Truth will attract their minds. Goodness will attract their wills.
Punishment should be his last thought, not his first. And he should never resort to it unless it is dictated by love as being necessary. He must never punish in anger, nor should strive to act as St. Joseph would act. even in cold calculation. He has no right to punish at all unless he punishes in love. This means that he first gets the whole story; he tries to understand; he puts himself in the child's place and comprehends the child's childlikeness and inexperience and impetuosity. A father should be as considerate and courteous toward his children as he would be toward the most respected and exalted person in the community.
The father should emulate God in approaching God's children and his by making of the home a little paradise for them, and making of himself a mirror of God's goodness toward them. A father should insist in prayer that God have a hand in everything he does for his children. The father should not ask,What do I want for my children? He should ask, 'What does God want?
The father who does that will have few problems with his children, assuming that his judgment about what is good for them is a right judgment.
Forming that right judgment is part of his obligation as a father. And that means that he forms himself rightly-he lives up to himself as an image of God, as a partner with God in fatherhood, and as a brother of Christ in virtuous manliness.
The children should be attracted to virtue, first through seeing virtue in their parents; and then also, of course, by being taught virtue through gentle explanation. Few fathers realize the tremendous effect upon children of virtue in themselves. When the child sees such strength united with patience, tenderness, kindness, understanding, thoughtfulness and helpfulness, the youngster, even though subconsciously, is profoundly moved.
One of the effective ways of showing virtue to children is through good books. A father should read to them, should help them to learn to read, and within his financial means should see to it that they have the right things to read. A child will be what he reads and sees and hears and feels-plus what in him is unique because he is a person in his own right; a being who will never be duplicated.
If he schemes for their happiness they will embrace virtue. It is a father's business to surround his youngsters with everything possible that is good for them, as God surrounded man with good things in paradise. No father knows what destiny awaits his sons and daughters. but one thing he can know-and one thing he should deeply realize: each child sent to him has a work to do which is important in the divine plan.
Bernard O'Connor, Imprimatur:
Archbishop Justin D. Simonds, 30th April, 1965.
#fatherhood
"Fatherhood is a great honor, a great proof of God’s trust. For all fatherhood on earth comes from God’s fatherhood, and the fulfillment of a father’s duties resembles God’s fatherhood so much that we are convinced that our fathers are the representatives of God’s will for us."
"In a man’s soul masculine values must determine quick decision and expressive will in the process of mental inquiry and great achievements. But woe to the man of great mind and powerful will if he were heartless."
Bl. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński
#fatherhood
"In a man’s soul masculine values must determine quick decision and expressive will in the process of mental inquiry and great achievements. But woe to the man of great mind and powerful will if he were heartless."
Bl. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński
#fatherhood
Custody of the eyes
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light. But it your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23
"The thought follows the look, delight comes after the thought; and consent after delight.
Do not say that you have a chaste mind if your eyes are unchaste, because an unchaste eye betrays an unchaste heart."
St. Augustine
"The evil thought that proceeds from looks, though it should be rejected, never fails to leave a stain upon the soul. When men avoid occasions of sin, God preserves them; but when they expose themselves to danger, they are justly abandoned by the Lord, and easily fall into some grievous transgressions."
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"The beauty of a woman is the greatest snare. Or rather, not the beauty of a woman, but unchastened gazing! For we should not accuse the objects, but ourselves, and our own carelessness. Nor should we say, Let there be no women, but Let there be no adulteries. We should not say, Let there be no beauty, but Let there be no fornication.
We should not say, Let there be no belly, but let there be no gluttony; for the belly makes not the gluttony, but our negligence. We should not say, that is because of eating and drinking that all these evils exist; for it is not because of this, but because of our carelessness and insatiableness."
St. John Chrysostom
#chastity
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light. But it your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23
"The thought follows the look, delight comes after the thought; and consent after delight.
Do not say that you have a chaste mind if your eyes are unchaste, because an unchaste eye betrays an unchaste heart."
St. Augustine
"The evil thought that proceeds from looks, though it should be rejected, never fails to leave a stain upon the soul. When men avoid occasions of sin, God preserves them; but when they expose themselves to danger, they are justly abandoned by the Lord, and easily fall into some grievous transgressions."
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"The beauty of a woman is the greatest snare. Or rather, not the beauty of a woman, but unchastened gazing! For we should not accuse the objects, but ourselves, and our own carelessness. Nor should we say, Let there be no women, but Let there be no adulteries. We should not say, Let there be no beauty, but Let there be no fornication.
We should not say, Let there be no belly, but let there be no gluttony; for the belly makes not the gluttony, but our negligence. We should not say, that is because of eating and drinking that all these evils exist; for it is not because of this, but because of our carelessness and insatiableness."
St. John Chrysostom
#chastity
Ecce Verbum
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Thomas Aquinas identifies four obligations that every man owes to God indefinitely 1. To praise and honour His infinite majesty 2. To satisfy for the many sins commited against that infinite majesty 3. To thank Him for all…
All masses have an equal sacrifice but not all masses have equal effects
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, "The Hidden Treasure"
Although the Mass is of infinite value, God accepts it in a manner limited and finite, conformed to the greater or lesser perfection in the dispositions of him who celebrates or assists at the sacrifice.
This means that the satisfaction applied on our behalf is determined by the disposition of the celebrant and the people assisting at the Mass.
"It is certain, that all sacrifices, as sacraments, are equal in dignity, but they are not equal, however, as far as regards the effects that flow from them; hence, the greater habitual or actual piety of the celebrant, the greater shall also be the fruits of the application of the holy sacrifice, so that to make no distinction between a tepid and a devout priest in the function of celebrant is to be indifferent whether the net with which you would catch fish is big or little. All this is equally applicable to those who assist at Mass."
St. Thomas
A Mass conducted with little or no devotion and no zeal does not have the equal effects of one conducted with great devotion or great zeal.
Is the priest tepid or devout? The greater the piety of the celebrant equals greater fruits of application. The same applies to the attendees. Hearing one Mass with great devotion is of more benefit than hearing fifty without devotion.
The Mass is a great pearl beyond all price. To obtain in great abundance the fruits of Holy Mass, you must hear it with deepest devotion. Attend as many Masses as possible with all the devotion possible.
The opinion of St. John of the Cross was that the Eternal Judge will, in the case of priests, make, before everything else, a most rigorous scrutiny into all the Masses they have celebrated.
"God has no need for our worship. It is we who need to show our gratitude for what we have received."
St. Thomas Aquinas
#mass
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, "The Hidden Treasure"
Although the Mass is of infinite value, God accepts it in a manner limited and finite, conformed to the greater or lesser perfection in the dispositions of him who celebrates or assists at the sacrifice.
This means that the satisfaction applied on our behalf is determined by the disposition of the celebrant and the people assisting at the Mass.
"It is certain, that all sacrifices, as sacraments, are equal in dignity, but they are not equal, however, as far as regards the effects that flow from them; hence, the greater habitual or actual piety of the celebrant, the greater shall also be the fruits of the application of the holy sacrifice, so that to make no distinction between a tepid and a devout priest in the function of celebrant is to be indifferent whether the net with which you would catch fish is big or little. All this is equally applicable to those who assist at Mass."
St. Thomas
A Mass conducted with little or no devotion and no zeal does not have the equal effects of one conducted with great devotion or great zeal.
Is the priest tepid or devout? The greater the piety of the celebrant equals greater fruits of application. The same applies to the attendees. Hearing one Mass with great devotion is of more benefit than hearing fifty without devotion.
The Mass is a great pearl beyond all price. To obtain in great abundance the fruits of Holy Mass, you must hear it with deepest devotion. Attend as many Masses as possible with all the devotion possible.
The opinion of St. John of the Cross was that the Eternal Judge will, in the case of priests, make, before everything else, a most rigorous scrutiny into all the Masses they have celebrated.
"God has no need for our worship. It is we who need to show our gratitude for what we have received."
St. Thomas Aquinas
#mass
"The devil has always attempted, by means of the heretics, to deprive the world of the Mass, making them precursors of the antichrist, who, before anything else, will try to abolish and will actually abolish the Holy Sacrament of the altar, as a punishment for the sins of men, according to the prediction of Daniel 'And strength was given him against the continual sacrificer'."
St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church
#mass
St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church
#mass
On this day, 3rd August 1901 - Blessed Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński was born.
Spirituality of the nation
„If they come to destroy this nation, they will start with the Church, because the Church is the strength of this nation.”
Primate Wyszyński was the creator of an original concept of the “‘theology of the nation”, based on the assumption that the nation is a natural community, just like the family; it is a specific “family of families” and a temporal vehicle of certain supernatural values. He understood the Baptism of Poland not only as the fact of baptizing every Pole but as a form of sacramental and spiritual transformation of the entire Polish community under the influence of the act of 966.
In Cardinal Wyszyński’s thought, the Polish nation was inseparable from the Church. Cutting the nation off from the Christian tradition is like cutting a tree from its roots. The Primate was a great patriot, yet his patriotism was rooted in the awareness of the universality of the Church and Christian unity. He rejected a patriotism marked by a dislike of and hostility towards others.
Cardinal Wyszyński was aware that he was the Primate of all Poland, that is, of all Poles, not only Catholics or those living in Poland. Speaking “in the name of the nation”, he also defended the rights of non-Catholics and non-believers. Recognizing in time that there was no political authority representing the interests of Poles, he assumed the role traditionally played by the Catholic Church during the Partitions or the wartime occupation. “I was not a politician, nor did I want to be one,” he wrote. Yet, “in spite of my will, I had to get involved in the affairs of both the Church and the Homeland”.
Teaching about the spirituality of the nation was not merely theoretical. Leading the Church in Poland, the Primate guided the nation through important spiritual and collective experiences.
Primate Stefan Wyszyński’s life path was symbolically concluded with the words he spoke on his deathbed on 16 May 1981: “I am completely submissive to the will of the Father and the will of the Son, who alone has the eternal priesthood and assigns and conveys it to others. I am submissive to the Holy Spirit because my interior life was in the Holy Trinity. And I am submissive to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom I entrusted everything when in prison at Stoczek, and I have offered everything through her hands for the glory of the Holy Trinity”.
Spirituality of the nation
„If they come to destroy this nation, they will start with the Church, because the Church is the strength of this nation.”
Primate Wyszyński was the creator of an original concept of the “‘theology of the nation”, based on the assumption that the nation is a natural community, just like the family; it is a specific “family of families” and a temporal vehicle of certain supernatural values. He understood the Baptism of Poland not only as the fact of baptizing every Pole but as a form of sacramental and spiritual transformation of the entire Polish community under the influence of the act of 966.
In Cardinal Wyszyński’s thought, the Polish nation was inseparable from the Church. Cutting the nation off from the Christian tradition is like cutting a tree from its roots. The Primate was a great patriot, yet his patriotism was rooted in the awareness of the universality of the Church and Christian unity. He rejected a patriotism marked by a dislike of and hostility towards others.
Cardinal Wyszyński was aware that he was the Primate of all Poland, that is, of all Poles, not only Catholics or those living in Poland. Speaking “in the name of the nation”, he also defended the rights of non-Catholics and non-believers. Recognizing in time that there was no political authority representing the interests of Poles, he assumed the role traditionally played by the Catholic Church during the Partitions or the wartime occupation. “I was not a politician, nor did I want to be one,” he wrote. Yet, “in spite of my will, I had to get involved in the affairs of both the Church and the Homeland”.
Teaching about the spirituality of the nation was not merely theoretical. Leading the Church in Poland, the Primate guided the nation through important spiritual and collective experiences.
Primate Stefan Wyszyński’s life path was symbolically concluded with the words he spoke on his deathbed on 16 May 1981: “I am completely submissive to the will of the Father and the will of the Son, who alone has the eternal priesthood and assigns and conveys it to others. I am submissive to the Holy Spirit because my interior life was in the Holy Trinity. And I am submissive to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom I entrusted everything when in prison at Stoczek, and I have offered everything through her hands for the glory of the Holy Trinity”.
Ecce Verbum
On this day, 3rd August 1901 - Blessed Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński was born. Spirituality of the nation „If they come to destroy this nation, they will start with the Church, because the Church is the strength of this nation.” Primate Wyszyński was the creator…
Sexual education
Sexual education, or as we say: education for family life cannot be based on the propaganda for divorce, contraceptives, the power to terminate a pregnancy, on learning about venereal diseases, on how to avoid the consequences of a couple’s life together. This overturns the order. On the contrary, it is necessary to talk about how, in the range of the most diverse powers of the human person’s life—the spiritual, psychological, physical, physiological powers—, the coexistence of a couple also occupies a proper place in the Creator’s plan. It has noble tasks that must be accomplished according to the laws of nature. If a man were to reverse this order and wanted to take advantage of the values of life in a couple, excluding the right to life of a new person, then the whole psyche—and not only of the couple—would be completely distorted. A nation in which such customs are strengthened would soon bring up a generation that counts only on security, defending itself against the consequences of the noble mission of transmitting life. Such a generation, rejecting its vocation, would lead the nation to the grave.
Bl. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński
Sexual education, or as we say: education for family life cannot be based on the propaganda for divorce, contraceptives, the power to terminate a pregnancy, on learning about venereal diseases, on how to avoid the consequences of a couple’s life together. This overturns the order. On the contrary, it is necessary to talk about how, in the range of the most diverse powers of the human person’s life—the spiritual, psychological, physical, physiological powers—, the coexistence of a couple also occupies a proper place in the Creator’s plan. It has noble tasks that must be accomplished according to the laws of nature. If a man were to reverse this order and wanted to take advantage of the values of life in a couple, excluding the right to life of a new person, then the whole psyche—and not only of the couple—would be completely distorted. A nation in which such customs are strengthened would soon bring up a generation that counts only on security, defending itself against the consequences of the noble mission of transmitting life. Such a generation, rejecting its vocation, would lead the nation to the grave.
Bl. Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński
Ecce Verbum
On the vice of impurity St. Alphonsus Liguori First point Delusion of those who say that sins against purity are not a great evil It is a mortal sin; it cannot be a small evil. It is more sinful than theft or detraction or the violation of the fast. God…
Preservation of chastity
1. Distrust yourself and your senses
"In the matter of purity there is no greater danger than the not fearing the danger; when a man does not distrust himself, and is without fear, it is all over with him."
"We should be less alarmed for one who is tempted in the flesh, and who resists by avoiding the occasions, than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid the occasions."
St. Philip Neri
"Be extremely prompt in turning away from all that leads and lures to impurity, for this evil works insensibly, and by small beginnings progresses to great mischief. It is always easier to avoid than to cure this".
St. Francis de Sales
2. Choose your company wisely
"If young men would preserve their purity, let them avoid bad company."
St. Philip Neri
"Never permit anyone to trifle with you. Either from folly or vanity, although chastity may be preserved amidst such actions, which are rather light than malicious, still the flower and freshness of chastity suffer some hurt and damage: but all impure contact is the utter ruin of chastity".
" It is impurity to behold, to hear, to speak of, to touch impure things, if the heart takes delight therein".
"And such should the devout soul be, chaste, pure, and modest in hands, lips, ears, eyes, and the whole heart."
"Do not associate with immodest persons, above all if they are imprudent, as for the most part is the case: for just as the stag causes the sweet almond tree to become bitter by licking it, so these infected souls can scarcely speak to anyone without injuring their purity."
"Associate with chaste and virtuous persons: read and often think on sacred things, for the Word of God is chaste, and renders those who take delight therein chaste also: wherefore David compares it to the topaz, which has the property of deadening the ardor of concupiscence."
St. Francis de Sales
3. The Law of Presumption
"Let us consider the question of impure thoughts. It is morally impossible for a person who is habitually careful about purity to give consent to impure thoughts without being fairly certain of it... Uncertainty is, therefore, a clear sign that there was no full consent. In this matter we should go by what the theologians call "the law of presumptions". If a person regularly gives way to sins of impurity, in case of doubt it is morally impossible that there was serious sin, for the reason just given."
Bad or impure thoughts are only sinful when we consent to them, or entertain them.
Saint Francis de Sales says: "Do not be disturbed about bad thoughts; it is one thing to have them and quite another to consent to them."
4.Charity
"Chastity without charity is a lamp without oil."
St. Bonaventure
5. Prayer
"To preserve chastity unstained neither vigilance nor modesty suffice. Those helps must also be used which entirely surpass the powers of nature, namely prayer to God, the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist, a fervent devotion to the most Holy Mother of God."
Ven. Pope Pius XII, Sacra Virginitas
“He who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.”
“What does it cost us to say, ‘My God help me! Have mercy on me!’ Is there anything easier than this? And this little will suffice to save us if we be diligent in doing it.”
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"Abide ever nigh to Jesus Christ crucified, spiritually, in meditation, and actually in Holy Communion...If you rest your heart upon our Lord, who is the chaste and Immaculate Lamb, you will speedily find that your heart and soul will be purified from all stains and lusts."
St. Francis de Sales
"In temptations, a Christian ought to have immediate recourse to God, make the sign of the cross over his heart three times and say; "Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."
St. Philip Neri
6. Discipline your body
"Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity."
St. Augustine
#chastity
1. Distrust yourself and your senses
"In the matter of purity there is no greater danger than the not fearing the danger; when a man does not distrust himself, and is without fear, it is all over with him."
"We should be less alarmed for one who is tempted in the flesh, and who resists by avoiding the occasions, than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid the occasions."
St. Philip Neri
"Be extremely prompt in turning away from all that leads and lures to impurity, for this evil works insensibly, and by small beginnings progresses to great mischief. It is always easier to avoid than to cure this".
St. Francis de Sales
2. Choose your company wisely
"If young men would preserve their purity, let them avoid bad company."
St. Philip Neri
"Never permit anyone to trifle with you. Either from folly or vanity, although chastity may be preserved amidst such actions, which are rather light than malicious, still the flower and freshness of chastity suffer some hurt and damage: but all impure contact is the utter ruin of chastity".
" It is impurity to behold, to hear, to speak of, to touch impure things, if the heart takes delight therein".
"And such should the devout soul be, chaste, pure, and modest in hands, lips, ears, eyes, and the whole heart."
"Do not associate with immodest persons, above all if they are imprudent, as for the most part is the case: for just as the stag causes the sweet almond tree to become bitter by licking it, so these infected souls can scarcely speak to anyone without injuring their purity."
"Associate with chaste and virtuous persons: read and often think on sacred things, for the Word of God is chaste, and renders those who take delight therein chaste also: wherefore David compares it to the topaz, which has the property of deadening the ardor of concupiscence."
St. Francis de Sales
3. The Law of Presumption
"Let us consider the question of impure thoughts. It is morally impossible for a person who is habitually careful about purity to give consent to impure thoughts without being fairly certain of it... Uncertainty is, therefore, a clear sign that there was no full consent. In this matter we should go by what the theologians call "the law of presumptions". If a person regularly gives way to sins of impurity, in case of doubt it is morally impossible that there was serious sin, for the reason just given."
Bad or impure thoughts are only sinful when we consent to them, or entertain them.
Saint Francis de Sales says: "Do not be disturbed about bad thoughts; it is one thing to have them and quite another to consent to them."
4.Charity
"Chastity without charity is a lamp without oil."
St. Bonaventure
5. Prayer
"To preserve chastity unstained neither vigilance nor modesty suffice. Those helps must also be used which entirely surpass the powers of nature, namely prayer to God, the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist, a fervent devotion to the most Holy Mother of God."
Ven. Pope Pius XII, Sacra Virginitas
“He who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.”
“What does it cost us to say, ‘My God help me! Have mercy on me!’ Is there anything easier than this? And this little will suffice to save us if we be diligent in doing it.”
St. Alphonsus Liguori
"Abide ever nigh to Jesus Christ crucified, spiritually, in meditation, and actually in Holy Communion...If you rest your heart upon our Lord, who is the chaste and Immaculate Lamb, you will speedily find that your heart and soul will be purified from all stains and lusts."
St. Francis de Sales
"In temptations, a Christian ought to have immediate recourse to God, make the sign of the cross over his heart three times and say; "Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."
St. Philip Neri
6. Discipline your body
"Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity."
St. Augustine
#chastity
Ecce Verbum
Chastity is the lily of virtues, and makes men almost equal to Angels. Everything is beautiful in accordance with its purity. Now the purity of man is chastity, which is called honesty, and the observance of it, honor and also integrity; and its contrary is…
"Purity of heart is a quality which attracts everybody, even those who are evil themselves. It makes a man seem like an angel in human form, for it shines from his countenance. Unfortunately, the virtue of purity is as difficult as it is beautiful. It is fatal for anyone to cast himself into the mire. The first sin of impurity is a disaster, because it is often the first link in a tragic chain which makes him a slave of his lower impulses and of the tyrannical enemy of souls, the Devil."
Cardinal Antonio Bacci
#chastity
Cardinal Antonio Bacci
#chastity
St. Bonaventure-The Minds Road to God.pdf
185.8 KB
The Mind's Road to God
St. Bonaventura
St. Bonaventura,was born Giovanni di Fidanza, Tuscany in 1221. He entered the Franciscan order about 1242 and in the short space of fifteen years rose to be seventh general of that order. Professor of theology at the University of Paris, Bishop of Albano, and created a cardinal by Gregory X shortly before his death in 1274, he was widely
venerated during his lifetime and is mentioned as a saint in Dante's Paradiso. He was canonized in 1482.
Many historians and theologians consider Bonaventure’s essay a masterpiece among the shorter works of medieval philosophy. It contains an interpretation of a vision St. Francis of Assisi had. In the vision, he receives the wounds of Christ from a six-winged seraph. As Bonaventure saw it, the six wings symbolized six steps along the road to perfection and the divine. The steps or stages he details integrates the Neoplatonic hierarchy of being with Christian doctrine concerning God’s relationship with his creation.
Audiobook link
St. Bonaventura
St. Bonaventura,was born Giovanni di Fidanza, Tuscany in 1221. He entered the Franciscan order about 1242 and in the short space of fifteen years rose to be seventh general of that order. Professor of theology at the University of Paris, Bishop of Albano, and created a cardinal by Gregory X shortly before his death in 1274, he was widely
venerated during his lifetime and is mentioned as a saint in Dante's Paradiso. He was canonized in 1482.
Many historians and theologians consider Bonaventure’s essay a masterpiece among the shorter works of medieval philosophy. It contains an interpretation of a vision St. Francis of Assisi had. In the vision, he receives the wounds of Christ from a six-winged seraph. As Bonaventure saw it, the six wings symbolized six steps along the road to perfection and the divine. The steps or stages he details integrates the Neoplatonic hierarchy of being with Christian doctrine concerning God’s relationship with his creation.
Audiobook link
Ecce Verbum
St. Bonaventure-The Minds Road to God.pdf
The mind's road to God
"How does the human person come to know God? This core question of life rests at the heart of many of my reflections for The Catholic Astronomer. One of Catholicism’s foundational principles is that natural reason and Divine Revelation are the two wings on which the soul ascends to God. In this reflection on Saint Bonaventure, we will explore an understanding of spiritual ascent that is aided by six wings revealed through an intense, mystical experience. As we explore Saint Bonaventure’s mysticism, we will come to see how Franciscan spirituality, greatly influenced by the thought of Saint Bonaventure, affirms the exploration of the natural world and how this exploration leads us to the knowledge of God. Second, I will compare Bonaventure’s ascent with recent scientific speculations on the possibility of a Creator due to String Theory."
https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/minds-road-god-st-bonaventure-string-theory/
"How does the human person come to know God? This core question of life rests at the heart of many of my reflections for The Catholic Astronomer. One of Catholicism’s foundational principles is that natural reason and Divine Revelation are the two wings on which the soul ascends to God. In this reflection on Saint Bonaventure, we will explore an understanding of spiritual ascent that is aided by six wings revealed through an intense, mystical experience. As we explore Saint Bonaventure’s mysticism, we will come to see how Franciscan spirituality, greatly influenced by the thought of Saint Bonaventure, affirms the exploration of the natural world and how this exploration leads us to the knowledge of God. Second, I will compare Bonaventure’s ascent with recent scientific speculations on the possibility of a Creator due to String Theory."
https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/minds-road-god-st-bonaventure-string-theory/
Ecce Verbum
"Four Last Things: Hell, Fr. Ripperger" The doctrine of hell is so frightening that numerous heretical sects end up denying the reality of an eternal hell. The Unitarian-Universalists, the Seventh-day Adventists, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christadelphians…
The Church Fathers speaking of Hell
Lactantius
“[T]he sacred writings inform us in what manner the wicked are to undergo punishment. For because they have committed sins in their bodies, they will again be clothed with flesh, that they may make atonement in their bodies; and yet it will not be that flesh with which God clothed man, like this our earthly body, but indestructible, and abiding forever, that it may be able to hold out against tortures and everlasting fire.The same divine fire, therefore, with one and the same force and power, will both burn the wicked and will form them again, and will replace as much as it shall consume of their bodies, and will supply itself with eternal nourishment” (Divine Institutes 7:21 [A.D. 307]).
Cyprian of Carthage
“An ever-burning Gehenna and the punishment of being devoured by living flames will consume the condemned; nor will there be any way in which the tormented can ever have respite or be at an end. Souls along with their bodies will be preserved for suffering in unlimited agonies.The grief at punishment will then be without the fruit of repentance; weeping will be useless, and prayer ineffectual. Too late will they believe in eternal punishment, who would not believe in eternal life” (To Demetrian 24 [A.D. 252]).
Minucius Felix
“I am not ignorant of the fact that many, in the consciousness of what they deserve, would rather hope than actually believe that there is nothing for them after death. They would prefer to be annihilated rather than be restored for punishment. . . . Nor is there either measure nor end to these torments” (Octavius 34:12–5:3 [A.D. 226]).
Irenaeus
“[God will] send the spiritual forces of wickedness, and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, and the impious, unjust, lawless, and blasphemous among men into everlasting fire” (Against Heresies 1:10:1 [A.D. 189]).
“The penalty increases for those who do not believe the Word of God and despise his coming. . . . [I]t is not merely temporal, but eternal. To whomsoever the Lord shall say, ‘Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire,’ they will be damned forever” (ibid., 4:28:2).
Theophilus of Antioch
“ [God] will examine everything and will judge justly, granting recompense to each according to merit. To those who seek immortality by the patient exercise of good works, he will give everlasting life, joy, peace, rest, and all good things. . . . For the unbelievers and for the contemptuous, and for those who do not submit to the truth but assent to iniquity, when they have been involved in adulteries, and fornications, and homosexualities, and avarice, and in lawless idolatries, there will be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish; and in the end, such men as these will be detained in everlasting fire” (To Autolycus 1:14 [A.D. 181]).
Justin Martyr
“No more is it possible for the evildoer, the avaricious, and the treacherous to hide from God than it is for the virtuous. Every man will receive the eternal punishment or reward which his actions deserve. Indeed, if all men recognized this, no one would choose evil even for a short time, knowing that he would incur the eternal sentence of fire” (First Apology 12 [A.D. 151]).
“We have been taught that only they may aim at immortality who have lived a holy and virtuous life near to God. We believe that they who live wickedly and do not repent will be punished in everlasting fire” (ibid., 21).
“[Jesus] shall come from the heavens in glory with his angelic host, when he shall raise the bodies of all the men who ever lived. Then he will clothe the worthy in immortality; but the wicked, clothed in eternal sensibility, he will commit to the eternal fire, along with the evil demons” (ibid., 52).
#hell
Lactantius
“[T]he sacred writings inform us in what manner the wicked are to undergo punishment. For because they have committed sins in their bodies, they will again be clothed with flesh, that they may make atonement in their bodies; and yet it will not be that flesh with which God clothed man, like this our earthly body, but indestructible, and abiding forever, that it may be able to hold out against tortures and everlasting fire.The same divine fire, therefore, with one and the same force and power, will both burn the wicked and will form them again, and will replace as much as it shall consume of their bodies, and will supply itself with eternal nourishment” (Divine Institutes 7:21 [A.D. 307]).
Cyprian of Carthage
“An ever-burning Gehenna and the punishment of being devoured by living flames will consume the condemned; nor will there be any way in which the tormented can ever have respite or be at an end. Souls along with their bodies will be preserved for suffering in unlimited agonies.The grief at punishment will then be without the fruit of repentance; weeping will be useless, and prayer ineffectual. Too late will they believe in eternal punishment, who would not believe in eternal life” (To Demetrian 24 [A.D. 252]).
Minucius Felix
“I am not ignorant of the fact that many, in the consciousness of what they deserve, would rather hope than actually believe that there is nothing for them after death. They would prefer to be annihilated rather than be restored for punishment. . . . Nor is there either measure nor end to these torments” (Octavius 34:12–5:3 [A.D. 226]).
Irenaeus
“[God will] send the spiritual forces of wickedness, and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, and the impious, unjust, lawless, and blasphemous among men into everlasting fire” (Against Heresies 1:10:1 [A.D. 189]).
“The penalty increases for those who do not believe the Word of God and despise his coming. . . . [I]t is not merely temporal, but eternal. To whomsoever the Lord shall say, ‘Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire,’ they will be damned forever” (ibid., 4:28:2).
Theophilus of Antioch
“ [God] will examine everything and will judge justly, granting recompense to each according to merit. To those who seek immortality by the patient exercise of good works, he will give everlasting life, joy, peace, rest, and all good things. . . . For the unbelievers and for the contemptuous, and for those who do not submit to the truth but assent to iniquity, when they have been involved in adulteries, and fornications, and homosexualities, and avarice, and in lawless idolatries, there will be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish; and in the end, such men as these will be detained in everlasting fire” (To Autolycus 1:14 [A.D. 181]).
Justin Martyr
“No more is it possible for the evildoer, the avaricious, and the treacherous to hide from God than it is for the virtuous. Every man will receive the eternal punishment or reward which his actions deserve. Indeed, if all men recognized this, no one would choose evil even for a short time, knowing that he would incur the eternal sentence of fire” (First Apology 12 [A.D. 151]).
“We have been taught that only they may aim at immortality who have lived a holy and virtuous life near to God. We believe that they who live wickedly and do not repent will be punished in everlasting fire” (ibid., 21).
“[Jesus] shall come from the heavens in glory with his angelic host, when he shall raise the bodies of all the men who ever lived. Then he will clothe the worthy in immortality; but the wicked, clothed in eternal sensibility, he will commit to the eternal fire, along with the evil demons” (ibid., 52).
#hell
Ecce Verbum
Christ Died for All Men God loves all things that He has created: "For Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things that Thou hast made" - Wisdom 11:25. Now love cannot be idle: "All love has a force of its own, and cannot be idle", says…
God wishes all men to be saved
"So what must we do, we who know that the greater number is going to be damned, and not only out of all Catholics? What must we do? Take the resolution to belong to the little number of those who are saved. You say: If Christ wanted to damn me, then why did He create me? Silence, rash tongue! God did not create anyone to damn him; but whoever is damned, is damned because he wants to be."
First let us take these two undeniable truths as a basis: "God wants all men to be saved," "All are in need of the grace of God." Now, if I show you that God wants to save all men, and that for this purpose He gives all of them His grace and all the other necessary means of obtaining that sublime end, you will be obliged to agree that whoever is damned must impute it to his own malice, and that if the greater number of Christians are damned, it is because they want to be. "Thy damnation comes from thee; thy help is only in Me."
In a hundred places in Holy Scripture, God tells us that it is truly His desire to save all men. "Is it My will that a sinner should die, and not that he should be converted from his ways and live?... I live, saith the Lord God. I desire not the death of the sinner. Be converted and live." When someone wants something very much, it is said that he is dying with desire; it is a hyperbole. But God has wanted and still wants our salvation so much that He died of desire, and He suffered death to give us life. This will to save all men is therefore not an affected, superficial and apparent will in God; it is a real, effective, and beneficial will; for He provides us with all the means most proper for us to be saved. He does not give them to us so they will not obtain it; He gives them to us with a sincere will, with the intention that they may obtain their effect.
Far more, because God sees that we could not even make use of His grace without His help, He gives us other aids; and if they sometimes remain ineffective, it is our fault; for with these same aids, one may abuse them and be damned with them, and another may do right and be saved; he might even be saved with less powerful aids. Yes, it can happen that we abuse a greater grace and are damned, whereas another cooperates with a lesser grace and is saved.
Saint Augustine exclaims, "If, therefore, someone turns aside from justice, he is carried by his free will, led by his concupiscence, deceived by his own persuasion." But for those who do not understand theology, here is what I have to say to them: God is so good that when He sees a sinner running to his ruin, He runs after him, calls him, entreats and accompanies him even to the gates of hell; what will He not do to convert him? He sends him good inspirations and holy thoughts, and if he does not profit from them, He becomes angry and indignant, He pursues him. Will He strike him? No. He beats at the air and forgives him. But the sinner is not converted yet. God sends him a mortal illness. It is certainly all over for him. No, brothers, God heals him; the sinner becomes obstinate in evil, and God in His mercy looks for another way; He gives him another year, and when that year is over, He grants him yet another.
Now I ask you, if that man is damned, is it not true that he is damned against the Will of God and because he wants to be damned? Come and ask me now: If God wanted to damn me, then why did He create me?
St. Leonard of Port Maurice
#salvation #freewill
"So what must we do, we who know that the greater number is going to be damned, and not only out of all Catholics? What must we do? Take the resolution to belong to the little number of those who are saved. You say: If Christ wanted to damn me, then why did He create me? Silence, rash tongue! God did not create anyone to damn him; but whoever is damned, is damned because he wants to be."
First let us take these two undeniable truths as a basis: "God wants all men to be saved," "All are in need of the grace of God." Now, if I show you that God wants to save all men, and that for this purpose He gives all of them His grace and all the other necessary means of obtaining that sublime end, you will be obliged to agree that whoever is damned must impute it to his own malice, and that if the greater number of Christians are damned, it is because they want to be. "Thy damnation comes from thee; thy help is only in Me."
In a hundred places in Holy Scripture, God tells us that it is truly His desire to save all men. "Is it My will that a sinner should die, and not that he should be converted from his ways and live?... I live, saith the Lord God. I desire not the death of the sinner. Be converted and live." When someone wants something very much, it is said that he is dying with desire; it is a hyperbole. But God has wanted and still wants our salvation so much that He died of desire, and He suffered death to give us life. This will to save all men is therefore not an affected, superficial and apparent will in God; it is a real, effective, and beneficial will; for He provides us with all the means most proper for us to be saved. He does not give them to us so they will not obtain it; He gives them to us with a sincere will, with the intention that they may obtain their effect.
Far more, because God sees that we could not even make use of His grace without His help, He gives us other aids; and if they sometimes remain ineffective, it is our fault; for with these same aids, one may abuse them and be damned with them, and another may do right and be saved; he might even be saved with less powerful aids. Yes, it can happen that we abuse a greater grace and are damned, whereas another cooperates with a lesser grace and is saved.
Saint Augustine exclaims, "If, therefore, someone turns aside from justice, he is carried by his free will, led by his concupiscence, deceived by his own persuasion." But for those who do not understand theology, here is what I have to say to them: God is so good that when He sees a sinner running to his ruin, He runs after him, calls him, entreats and accompanies him even to the gates of hell; what will He not do to convert him? He sends him good inspirations and holy thoughts, and if he does not profit from them, He becomes angry and indignant, He pursues him. Will He strike him? No. He beats at the air and forgives him. But the sinner is not converted yet. God sends him a mortal illness. It is certainly all over for him. No, brothers, God heals him; the sinner becomes obstinate in evil, and God in His mercy looks for another way; He gives him another year, and when that year is over, He grants him yet another.
Now I ask you, if that man is damned, is it not true that he is damned against the Will of God and because he wants to be damned? Come and ask me now: If God wanted to damn me, then why did He create me?
St. Leonard of Port Maurice
#salvation #freewill
Ecce Verbum
God wishes all men to be saved "So what must we do, we who know that the greater number is going to be damned, and not only out of all Catholics? What must we do? Take the resolution to belong to the little number of those who are saved. You say: If Christ…
"You will be saved if you want to be"
Brothers, I want to send all of you away comforted today. So if you ask me my sentiment on the number of those who are saved, here it is: Whether there are many or few that are saved, I say that whoever wants to be saved, will be saved; and that no one can be damned if he does not want to be. And if it is true that few are saved, it is because there are few who live well. As for the rest, compare these two opinions: the first one states that the greater number of Catholics are condemned; the second one, on the contrary, pretends that the greater number of Catholics are saved. Imagine an Angel sent by God to confirm the first opinion, coming to tell you that not only are most Catholics damned, but that of all this assembly present here, one alone will be saved. If you obey the Commandments of God, if you detest the corruption of this world, if you embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ in a spirit of penance, you will be that one alone who is saved.
Now imagine the same Angel returning to you and confirming the second opinion. He tells you that not only are the greater portion of Catholics saved, but that out of all this gathering, one alone will be damned and all the others saved. If after that, you continue your usuries, your vengeances, your criminal deeds, your impurities, then you will be that one alone who is damned.
What is the use of knowing whether few or many are saved? Saint Peter says to us, "Strive by good works to make your election sure." When Saint Thomas Aquinas's sister asked him what she must do to go to heaven, he said, "You will be saved if you want to be." I say the same thing to you, and here is proof of my declaration. No one is damned unless he commits mortal sin: that is of faith. And no one commits mortal sin unless he wants to: that is an undeniable theological proposition. Therefore, no one goes to hell unless he wants to; the consequence is obvious. Does that not suffice to comfort you? Weep over past sins, make a good confession, sin no more in the future, and you will all be saved. Why torment yourself so? For it is certain that you have to commit mortal sin to go to hell, and that to commit mortal sin you must want to, and that consequently no one goes to hell unless he wants to. That is not just an opinion, it is an undeniable and very comforting truth; may God give you to understand it, and may He bless you. Amen.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice
#salvation
Brothers, I want to send all of you away comforted today. So if you ask me my sentiment on the number of those who are saved, here it is: Whether there are many or few that are saved, I say that whoever wants to be saved, will be saved; and that no one can be damned if he does not want to be. And if it is true that few are saved, it is because there are few who live well. As for the rest, compare these two opinions: the first one states that the greater number of Catholics are condemned; the second one, on the contrary, pretends that the greater number of Catholics are saved. Imagine an Angel sent by God to confirm the first opinion, coming to tell you that not only are most Catholics damned, but that of all this assembly present here, one alone will be saved. If you obey the Commandments of God, if you detest the corruption of this world, if you embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ in a spirit of penance, you will be that one alone who is saved.
Now imagine the same Angel returning to you and confirming the second opinion. He tells you that not only are the greater portion of Catholics saved, but that out of all this gathering, one alone will be damned and all the others saved. If after that, you continue your usuries, your vengeances, your criminal deeds, your impurities, then you will be that one alone who is damned.
What is the use of knowing whether few or many are saved? Saint Peter says to us, "Strive by good works to make your election sure." When Saint Thomas Aquinas's sister asked him what she must do to go to heaven, he said, "You will be saved if you want to be." I say the same thing to you, and here is proof of my declaration. No one is damned unless he commits mortal sin: that is of faith. And no one commits mortal sin unless he wants to: that is an undeniable theological proposition. Therefore, no one goes to hell unless he wants to; the consequence is obvious. Does that not suffice to comfort you? Weep over past sins, make a good confession, sin no more in the future, and you will all be saved. Why torment yourself so? For it is certain that you have to commit mortal sin to go to hell, and that to commit mortal sin you must want to, and that consequently no one goes to hell unless he wants to. That is not just an opinion, it is an undeniable and very comforting truth; may God give you to understand it, and may He bless you. Amen.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice
#salvation