Last Sunday after Pentecost and St Catherine of Alexandria

Thank you for this very beautiful day, my Jesus and my Mother Mary. :) It was a happy and beautiful day. Thank you to everyone who made it nice and happy. I guess, you know who you all are.

And here's the same post I posted last year, for my sentiments are still the same, last year and this year =D haha.

The Feast Day of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr

Patron Saint of Philosophers

St. Catherine, an illustrious virgin of Alexandria in Egypt, was famous for her learning. The emperor Maximian assembled learned men to bring her to the worship of idols, but they were converted to Christianity. Maximian then ordered her to be beheaded after many cruel torments in 305.

-From the 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

On this the day, Rachel Anne Thérèse would like to offer her humble thanksgivings, for her whole life, to the Most Holy Trinity, to God the Father Almighty, to God the Son, Jesus, the Redeemer of the World, to God the Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit Fount of Love, to the Most Blessed Virgin her Mother, to her Angel and all Angels, especially Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Raphael and Saint Gabriel, and to the most beautiful seraphims, to her patron Saints (here is a list of her favourite saints), especially Saint Joseph (Foster Father of Dearest Jesus), Anne (Mother of the Most Blessed Virgin), Thérèse (The Little Flower, a Great Saint), Elizabeth (Cousin of the Most Blessed Virgin), Pius X (Staunch Anti-Modernist, Pope), Padre Pio (The Stigmatist of our times), Maria Goretti (Virgin, Martyr for Purity), Thomas Aquinas (Patron of Students/Teachers/Educators), Francis De Sales (Patron of Writers), Don Bosco (Patron of Educators), Albert the Great (Patron of Scientists), Catherine of Alexandria (Patron of Philosophers), Alphonsus Ligouri (Doctor of the Church), Anthony of Padua (“Hammer of Heretics”), Ignatius of Loyola (AMDG and the Spiritual Exercises), Philip Neri (Great Lover of Jesus whose heart grew so big for love of the Almighty), Bernadette (Visionary at Lourdes, Incorrupt), Jerome (Doctor of the Church, Translator of the Latin Vulgate), Cecilia (Patron of Musicians), John of the Cross (Doctor of the Church and reformer of Carmel with St. Teresa of Avila), Benedict (Founder of western monasticism), John the Apostle (The Apostle whom Jesus loved), John the Baptist (Jesus's cousin - the "Elias" - the precursor), Francis Xavier (Missionary), Francis of Assisi (Seraphic Doctor), Aloysius Gonzaga and to all the Saints in heaven for guiding her to spiritual salvation, for aiding her always in her wants and fancies, for everything that has happened and that will occur in her life!

She thanks God for giving her many many things, for all the trials and tribulations, all the Crosses, and also for all the graces and favors. She humbly asks Jesus to let her do what only He wills. She thanks God for her family, her close friends, her everything. For she knows she is nothing without Him.

She consecrates her family and herself to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Most Immaculate Heart of Mary.

She asks you humbly, if you have the time, to please offer a small prayer for her intentions, Let us Storm Heaven together! =)

1) For a very important special intention

2) For her family

3) For her close family and friends

4) For those who have asked for her prayers

5) For her coming exams on the 26th of November, 4th and 6th of December

She asks Jesus and Mother Mary dearest to bless all.

She thanks her Daddy, Mummy and her dearest Sister (nisey), her other family members, the dear spiritual fathers, her spiritual director, her god-parents and god-siblings, her fellow brethren, and all very important others (a long list to name) that have helped her so very much, so far, in this her temporary sojourn on earth.

She asks all of whom she has made angry or whom she has displeased for forgiveness and she recommends herself to your prayers.

She thanks you for reading her blog and she asks you to pray for her.

Deo gratias et Mariae!

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Yesterday, the Feast of St. Cecilia

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

Yesterday was the Feast of St. Cecilia! =D Patron Saint of Musicians :)

Here's more that you can read about her, from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

And here's a link to the Sacred Heart Choir blog which has a very beautiful prayer, asking St. Cecilia to pray for us :) which I will reproduce below:

OREMUS

St. Cecilia, glorious Virgin and Martyr of Jesus Christ, I admire the courage with which you professed your faith in the face of severe persecution, and the generous love with which you offered your life in withness to your belief in the Blessed Trinity. I thank God with you for the wonderful graces He had bestowed upon you to make your life holy and pleasing to Him even in the midst of the wealth that was yours. I thank Him for the privilege offered to you of receiving the glorious crown of martyrdom.

Saint Cecilia, I also admire the purity of love that bound you to the Savior, which was greater in your eyes than any human affection, so that you declared yourself before the enemies of the Church, "I am the bride of my Lord Jesus Christ." Pray for me that in imitation of you I may keep my body pure and my soul holy, and that I may love Jesus with all my heart.In these times so full of pleasure seeking and so lacking in faith, teach us to profess our faith courageously and to be willing to sacrifice ourselves in practicing it, so that our good example may lead others closer to Christ and the Church He as founded.

In thanksgiving to God for the graces he bestowed on St Cecilia: Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be. St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr of Jesus Christ, pray for us.

Amen.

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Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today's also the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It's a very beautiful feast and you can read more about it from the book, the Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda. :)

Next, some interesting stuff:

Relics of St. Therese of Lisieux in Rome

The relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus are once again making a pilgrimage across Italy, between November 9 and December 27. The reliquary was taken to St. Peter’s Square on November 14, for the general weekly audience of Benedict XVI.

This pilgrimage commemorates several anniversaries: the journey made to Italy 120 years ago by the little Therese, in order to ask Leo XII if she could enter the Carmel while she was still only 15 years old (1887); the death of St. Therese 110 years ago (1897); the 80th anniversary of her proclamation as Patroness of the Missions by Pius XI (1927).
(Sources: Apic/AMI)

Beautiful ... :)

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I don't like the exams only because everything else seems so much more interesting than actually studying for the exams ... :) it's always the case. Anyway, here's a link to a very interesting article by Sandro Magister, A Great Reunion: Romano Amerio and the Changes in the Catholic Church.

That, is so much more interesting than studying immunology, human physiology and microbiology ... lol. :)

I can't wait for the exams to be over... Deo gratias et Mariae, in the meantime, I need all the prayers I can get, please pray for me dear blog readers as I go back to my notes now.

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

The Cross: The School of Love

† Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

I'd like to spend a little time today, before I start on my examination preparation, to write a little on what I heard and have been thinking about lately, especially the past few weeks, with the sermon last week on our last ends (Heaven or Hell; Death or Eternity; Purgatory) and today's sermon on the last bit of the Pater Noster (Our Father), the Sed libera nos a malo, or the But deliver us from evil.

The Cross is the School of Love.

What then is Love? Saint Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians tells us very beautifully (1 Cor. 13):

Charity is to be preferred before all gifts.

1 If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4 Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; 5 Is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never falleth away: whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But, when I became a man, I put away the things of a child. 12 We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know I part; but then I shall know even as I am known. 13 And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.

Love. The Cross is the School of Love because Love is always mystically tied to suffering.

Of the last words of Jesus, in His last discourse to His Apostles right before His Passion, as recorded by Saint John, the apostle whom Jesus loved, who knew the Heart of Jesus, (John 15:13), Jesus said this:

"Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

And we always remember the last words of a dearest dearest friend, because well, they mean very much to us.

The Cross teaches us that Love is Sacrifice. Love = Sacrifice. Love and Sacrifice are 2 things so interconnected, they cannot be separated. If you say you love someone, you say that you are willing to give your life for that someone. And, how beautiful that love is, so gentle, so warm, so tender, so infinite, that He would give up his life, hanging on something most disgusting, in order to bear the burden of our sins, our iniquities?

The Cross indeed is a treasure:

The Passion and The Death of Jesus Christ

By St, Alphonsus Ligouri

Page 112

II

St. Augustine says, there is no death more bitter than that of the cross: “Among all the different kinds of death, there was none worse.” Because, as St. Thomas observes, those who are crucified have their hands and their feet pierced through, parts which, being entirely composed of nerves, muscles, and veins, are the most sensitive to pain; and the very weight of the body itself which is suspended from them, causes the pain to be continuous and ever increasing in its intensity up to the moment of death.

But the pains of Jesus were far beyond all other pains for, as the Angelic Doctor (St. Thomas Aquinas) says, the body of Jesus Christ being perfectly constituted, was more quick and sensitive to pain – that body which was fashioned for him by the Holy Spirit, expressly with a view to his suffering as he had foretold; as the Apostle testifies, A body thou hast fitted to Me.- Heb. X.5. Moreover, St. Thomas says that Jesus Christ took upon himself an amount of suffering so great as to be sufficient to satisfy for the temporal punishment merited by the sins of all mankind. Tiepoli tells us that, in the crucifixion, there were dealt twenty-eight strokes of the hammer upon his hands, and thirty-six upon his feet.

O my soul, behold thy Lord, behold thy life, hanging upon that tree: And thy life shall be, as it were, handing before thee.-Deut. Xxviii.66 Behold how, on that gibbet of pain, fastened by those cruel nails, he finds no place of rest. Now he leans his weight upon his hands, now upon his feet; but on what part soever he leans, the anguish increases. He turns his afflicted head, now on one side, now on the other: if he lets it all towards his breast, the hands, by the additional weight, are rent the more; if he lowers it towards his shoulders, the shoulders are pierced with the thorns; if he leans it back upon the cross, the thorns enter the more deeply into the head.Ah, my Jesus, what a death of bitterness is this that Thou art enduring! O my crucified Redeemer, I adore Thee on this throne of ignominy and pain. Upon this cross I read it written that Thou art a king: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews – J.N.R.J. – John, xix. 19. But apart from this title of scorn, what is the evidence that Thou dost give of being a king? Ah, these hands transfixed with nails, this head pierced with thorns, this throne of sorrow, this lacerated flesh, make me well know that Thou art king, but king of Love! With humility, then, and tenderness do I draw near to kiss Thy sacred feet, transfixed for love of me; I clasp in my arms this cross, on which Thou, being made a victim of love, wast willing to offer Thyself in sacrifice for me to the divine justice: being made obedient unto death, the death of the cross – Phil.ii.8. O blessed obedience which obtained for us the pardon of our sins! And what would have become of me, O my Saviour hadst Thou not paid the penalty for me! I thank Thee O my love, and by the merits of this sublime obedience do I pray Thee to grant me the grace of obedience in everything to the divine will. All that I desire paradise for is, that I may love Thee forever, and with all my strength.
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Jesus gives us the Cross but He knows how much we can take since He made us and knows us inside out, thus He gives us only that which we are able to carry.

Father gave this phrase from St Paul's second epistle to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 12: 7-10) which set me thinking. We have Saint Paul here telling us about how he was tempted and how our Crosses are the means to reach our very end, dearest Jesus in Heaven.

"And lest the greatness of the revelations should puff me up, there was given me a thorn for the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me. Concerning this I thrice besought the Lord that it might leave me. And he has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for strength is made perfect in weakness." Gladly therefore I will glory in my infirmities, that the strength of Christ may dwell in me. Wherefore I am satisfied, for Christ's sake, with infirmities, with insults, with hardships, with persecutions, with distresses. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Confounding words, for when I am weak, then I am strong. Confusing words that showcase very well, the irony of the Cross, the beautiful irony of the Cross. Why do I say so? To one who does not understand the Cross, one might see and say why suffer, why this and why that. The school of the Cross teaches us that Love, is something very beautiful, that love is painful, that it is through Love (Charity) that all things can be conquered. Death was conquered by Jesus through His love for us on the Cross. Only true suffering (in the true sense of the word) do we attain true happiness, for our treasure is in heaven alone. There is a certain sense of joy in suffering for someone you love, only because this joy is brought about by the love that you have for that someone.

As Ruysbroeck wrote: “To be wounded by love is the sweetest solace and the most harrowing torture which a soul can bear. To be wounded by love: there is no fuller assurance that the cure is at hand. This spiritual wound causes joy and pain at the same time."

St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri on the Crucifixion and the Love of Jesus the Christ.

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself. But this He said, signifying what death He should die. – John xii. 32

Jesus Christ said that when He should have been lifted up upon the Cross, He would, by His merits, by His example, and by the power of His love, have drawn towards Himself the affection of all souls: “He drew all the nations of the world to His love, by the merit of His blood, by His example, and by His love.” Such is the commentary of Cornelius a Lapide. St. Peter Damian tells us the same: “The Lord, as soon as he was suspended upon the cross, drew all men to Himself through a loving desire.” And who is there, Cornelius goes on to say, that will not love Jesus, who dies for love of us? “For who will not reciprocate the love of Christ, who dies out of love for us?”

Behold, O redeemed souls (as Holy Church exhorts us), behold your Redeemer upon that Cross, where His whole form breathes love, and invites you to love Him: His head bent downwards to give us the kiss of peace, His arms stretched our to embrace us, His heart open to love us: “His whole figure” (as St. Augustine says) “breathes love, and challenges to love Him in return: His head bent downwards to kiss us, His hands stretched out to embrace us, His bosom open to love us.”Ah, my beloved Jesus, how could my soul have been so dear in Thy sight, beholding, as Thou didst, the wrongs that Thou wouldst have to receive at my hands! Thou, in order to captivate my affections, wert willing to give me the extremist proofs of love. Come, ye scourges, ye thorns, nails and cross, which tortured the sacred flesh of my Lord, come ye, and wound my heart; be ever reminding me that all the good that I have received, and all that I hope for, comes to me through the merits of his Passion. O Thou master of love, others teach by word of mouth, but Thou upon this bed of death dost teach by suffering; others teach from interested motives, Thou from affection, asking no recompense excepting my salvation. Save me, O my love, and let my salvation be the bestowal of the grace ever to love and please Thee; the love of Thee is my salvation.

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The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ

St Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri

Pg 217

The Death of Jesus

V.

O God, had the vilest of all men suffered for me what Jesus Christ has suffered; had I beheld a man torn with scourges, fastened to a cross, and made the laughing stock of the people in order to save my life, could I remember his sufferings without feeling for him the tenderest affection? And were the likeness of my expiring lover brought before me, could I behold it with indifference, and say, Oh! the miserable man has died thus in torture for the love of me? Had he not loved me he would not have died for me. Alas, how many Christians keep a beautiful crucifix in their room, but only as a fine piece of furniture! They praise the workmanship an the expression of grief, but it makes as little impression on their hearts as if it were not the image of the incarnate Word, but of a man who was a stranger and unknown to them.

Ah, my Jesus, do not permit me to be one of them. Remember that Thou didst promise that when Thou wouldst be elevated on the cross, Thou wouldst draw all hearts to Thee. Behold, my heart, softened into tenderness by Thy death, will no longer resist Thy calls. Ah, draw all its affections to Thy love. Thou hast died for me, and I wish to live only for Thee. O sorrows of Jesus, O ignominies of Jesus, O death of Jesus, O love of Jesus! May you be fixed in my heart, and may the sweet remembrance of you remain there forever, to wound me continually, and to inflame me with love. O Eternal Father, behold Jesus dead for my sake, and, through the merits of this Son, show me mercy. My soul, be not diffident on account of the sins thou hast committed against God. It is the Father himself that has given the Son to the world for our salvation, and it is the Son that has voluntarily offered Himself to atone for our sins. Ah, my Jesus, since to pardon me Thou hast not spared Thyself, behold me with the same affection with which Thou didst one day behold me, agonizing for me on the cross. Behold me and enlighten me; and pardon particularly my past ingratitude to Thee, in thinking so little of Thy Passion, and on the love Thou hast shown me in Thy sufferings. I thank Thee for the light which Thou givest me, in making me see in these wounds and lacerated members, as through so many lattices, Thy great and tender affection for me. Unhappy me, if, after this light, I should neglect to love Thee, or if I loved anything out of Thee. May I die (I will say with the enamoured St. Francis of Assisi) for the love of Thee, O my Jesus, who hast condescended to die for the love of me. O pierced heart of my Redeemer, O blessed dwelling of loving souls! Do not disdain to receive also my miserable soul. O Mary, O mother of sorrows! Recommend me to thy Son, whom thou dost hold lifeless in thy arms. Behold his lacerated flesh, behold his divine blood shed for me, and see in them how pleasing it is to him that thou shouldst recommend my salvation to him. My salvation consists in loving himl this love thou hast to obtain for me, but let it be a great and eternal love.Commenting on the words of St. Paul, The Charity of Christ presseth us, (Charitas Christi urget nos) – 2 Cor. V.14. St Francis de Sales says: “Since we know that Jesus, the true God, has loved us so as to suffer death, and the death of the cross, for our salvation, must not our hearts be under a press which squeezes and forces love from them by a violence which is strong in proportion as it is amiable?” (Love of God by St Francis de Sales) The saint afterwards says that “the hill of Calvary is the mountain of lovers.” He then adds: “Ah, why, then, do we not cast ourselves on Jesus crucified, in order to die on the cross with him who has voluntarily died upon it for the love of us? I will hold him, we ought to say, and will never forsake him; I will die with him, and will burn in the flames of his love. One and the same fire shall consume this divine Creator and his miserable creature. My Jesus gives himself to me, and I give myself entirely to Him. I will live and die on His bosom; neither life nor death shall separate me from him. O eternal love! My soul seeks Thee, and chooses Thee for eternity. Ah! Come, O Holy Ghost, and inflame our hearts with the love of Thee. Either to love or to die. To die to every other love, in order to live to that of Jesus. O Saviour of our souls! Grant that we may sing for eternity: “Live Jesus; I love Jesus. Live Jesus, whom I love; I love Jesus, who lives forever and ever.”Let us, in conclusion, say: O Lamb of God, who hast sacrificed Thyself for our salvation! O victim of love, who hast been consumed by sorrows on the cross! Oh that I knew how to love Thee as Thou dost deserve to be loved! Oh that I could die for Thee, who hast died for me! By my sins I have been a cause of pain to Thee during Thy entire life; grant that I may please Thee during the remainder of my life, living only in Thee, my love, my all. O Mary, my mother, thou art my hope after Jesus; obtain for me the grace to love Jesus.O Dearest Angels and Saints, please help me!

Jesus invites us to take up our Cross and to follow Him in Charity

As recorded by St John on the island of Patmos near 100A.D. in the Apocalypse (Apocalypse 3:19-21), Jesus said:

As for me, those whom I love I rebuke and chastise. Be earnest therefore and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man listens to my voice and opens the door to me, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he with me. He who overcomes, I will permit him to sit with me upon my throne; as I also have overcome and have sat with my Father on his throne.

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Dear blog readers, please pray for me for a very special intention and also for my upcoming exams. Deo gratias et Mariae. :) My dearest Jesus, Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra!

Dearest Mother dear, beneath thy mantle I kneel, obedient unto death. Help me dear Mother, help me. :)

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Saint Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus)

Today's the Feast of Saint Albert the Great! The patron saint of scientists! =)

The picture on your right shows Saint Albert the Great and Saint Thomas Aquinas, Professor and Student, and very good friends!, wonderful servants of God. :) Saint Thomas is the one on the left while Saint Albert is the one on the right with the bishop's mitre. (Convent of Albertinum in Fribourg Switzerland)

Here’s more about Albertus Magnus from the Catholic Encyclopedia. Very good article on this beautiful saint. :)

I was just about to write about something I heard almost 1 year ago, so here goes my thoughts on time and death again. ;)

Time flies, it doesn’t wait for you. I feel so helpless every time I think of time (because of the way it just slips past you), but at the same time, a sense of strength and confidence that one day, in time to come, my time will come. It’s almost like a paradox, but I think St Peter explains this really well and beautifully if you think about it, in his second epistle: “But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ” (2 Peter 3:8)

I remember some time last year before the men went for their first ever Ignatian retreat, we had Fr. Pfeiffer passing by Singapore en route to Batam to co-preach the men’s retreat together with Fr. Couture. Fr. Pfeiffer gave a Sunday sermon, a very interesting one on Saint Albert the Great and how he became a saint, his life and how Mother Mary helped him in his life. It was hilarious and thought provoking at the same time and o dear me, very very interessant. I will try to relate what I remembered hearing from Fr. Pfeiffer’s sermon, but please forgive me if I do get the facts wrong because, like I said, I heard this 1 year ago. :) Like how one day when Saint Albert was young, he was so very helpless in his studies. He decided to run away from where he was studying, and when he was running away (or something to this extend) Mother Mary dearest appeared to him and told him to go back for she would help him. And when he went back to his studies, he became a genius. Its very amazing how God uses people to fulfill His will. For in this manner, the Mother of God prepared Albertus Magnus, dear saint, to be the teacher of another very dear dear saint, Saint Thomas Aquinas!! Both professor and student, Saint Albert and Saint Thomas Aquinas worked together at the Universität von Köln (Cologne). And of course, my dear reader, you know how great Saint Thomas was and still is. Thomistic Philosophy rocks! Saint Thomas’s Summa has helped the Church in so many ways and it gives the answer to many difficult questions in this our modern times. Thomism is the only answer to Modernism, as Pope Saint Pius X knew very well and as we can see from his encyclical Pascendi. Then, when Saint Thomas died and when after Saint Albert helped to defend his pupil’s writings, Saint Albert reverted back to what he was before Mother Mary appeared to him as a child. (or something like that) For I know he suffered a lapse of memory; his strong mind became clouded and his body weakened.

Saint Albert the Great was beatified by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, his feast is celebrated on 15th November. The bishops of Germany assembled in Fulda in September 1872 and sent to the Holy See a petition for his canonization. Saint Albert the Great, became, finally, Saint Albert the Great (was canonized) in 1931.

Saint Albert trained and directed a pupil (St. Thomas) who gave the world a concise, clear and perfect scientific exposition and defence of Christian doctrine; under God, therefore, we owe to Albertus Magnus the “Summa Theologica” of St. Thomas.

On a side note, St Thomas Summa has also helped me very well when I was writing my history essays. I found the only rational definition of what a war really is from his book, and dear Saint Thomas explains things so rationally, truthfully and beautifully, the dear saint helped me a lot to “grow up”, in a way. =) Deo gratias et Mariae.

Well now, back to dear St Albert Magnus. He’s the patron saint of scientists and a very good and dear saint, I must say. ;) I was having an email discussion with a friend [Anthony Tardiff @ http://hardsayings.blogspot.com/] some time ago and we were talking about Saint Albert and Saint Thomas. Most of what I’m about to post is stuff I took from emails from him, so thus, credit all goes to him. =)

Saint Albert the Great is the patron saint of scientists for a reason.

He was the one who correctly interpreted Aristotle as saying something different from Plato when he spoke of forms. Before, everyone tried to interpret Aristotle in neoplatonic terms, but it was Albert who showed that Aristotle actually disagreed with his teacher, Plato, and had a very different idea of matter and form. This proper understanding of Aristotle allowed Albert to utilize the scientific method to study natural science. Albert was a great natural scientist. Our entire tradition of experimental science can be traced back to Albert and to this period in the 13th century — that was the REAL scientific revolution, not the 17th century like so many people think. It was in the 13th century that the Latin west got the complete works of Aristotle for the first time, and discovered that 80% of his works were natural science, rather than what we think of as philosophy. Using Aristotle as a base, natural science took off. People think the medieval times were "dark ages," but they most decidedly were not — they were very enlightened, far more than the "enlightenment" later on! It was then, in the 13th century that the system of experimental science that is used today first came to be practiced, because of the influx of Aristotle's writings on the natural sciences into the Latin West, and the works of great men like Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas in interpreting Aristotle correctly (others at the time were trying to interpret him as a Platonist, which caused no end of problems).

Of course, with the influx of all this science there was an apparent conflict between the new science and religion. Until that time, the Catholic Faith had always been intellectually articulated in neoplatonic, Augustinian terms, which did not mesh well with the view of the world that Aristotle gave, the view which allowed for the new science. Albert was concerned with finding a way to reconcile the two, arguing that since science and faith both have the same end — truth — they must agree. St. Thomas took up this great work of reconciliation with resounding success, and gave us a new intellectual articulation of the Catholic Faith in Aristotelian terms, including scientific proof of God's existence! (yay, see how Thomistic philosophy rules!)

Saint Albert the Great, together with his contemporary, Roger Bacon, proved to the world that the Church is not opposed to the study of nature, that faith and science may go hand in hand; their lives and their writings emphasize the importance of experiment and investigation.

The 13th century was when the true scientific revolution occurred! =)

“The aim of natural science is not simply to accept the statements [narrata] of others, but to investigate the causes that are at work in nature” (De Miner., lib. II, tr. ii, i).

“In studying nature we have not to inquire how God the Creator may, as He freely wills, use His creatures to work miracles and thereby show forth His power: we have rather to inquire what Nature with its immanent causes can naturally bring to pass” (De Coelo et Mundo, I, tr. iv, x).

Dearest Sancte Albertus Magnus, ora pro nobis!

From the Collect of today’s Holy Mass:

O God, Who didst make blessed Albert, Thy Bishop and Doctor, great by his bringing human wisdom into captivity to divine faith: grant us, we beseech Thee, so to follow the guidance of his teaching that we may enjoy perfect light in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

Deus caritas est.

Deus caritas est - infinitus! =D

I did something "crazy" today. :) With only homework staring straight at me everytime I think of my table in my room (haha, ewww...) and with the nice Saturday afternoon in my hands, I decided to walk home from school. And walked home I did. (!)

It was a beautiful, long walk, but one long walk that I badly needed I think. I was thinking about many things, I saw many things, I laughed (to myself of course and also my darling angel guardian :), for I was alone) at the things I saw and O dear me, I was sincerely happy. The things I saw, really ordinary, but somehow today, they all seemed different and new, and beautiful. I wish I had a camera - for the things I saw, like the many trees, the grass, the fallen branches and leaves etc ... and yes, I was happy that I wasn't in any of the cars that seemed to zoom by me every second, for I walked along the pavement that was beside the road. Some how or rather, I liked the idea of my two legs bringing me home. (really lol, i think i'm getting funnier by the day, haha). The time spent looking and seeing and thinking along the way, was time well spent. Deo gratias et Mariae for the nice long walk. :)

We are constantly surrounded by nature, even in the highly build-up singapore that I live in. The birds, the trees, the grass, the little flowers, the wild mushrooms, the colour of the sky, the little squirrel that we might see along our way, the tree lizards, are to me, very beautiful expressions of the love of God for us. The best expression of the love of God for us, I will say its the Most Holy Eucharist, but God also tells us in many ways that He loves us truly. And here, I remember this, I read, and which gave me great pleasure (it still does make me smile, for it is beautifully written) when I was young:

Ecclesiastes

This book is called Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher, (in Hebrew, Coheleth) because in it Solomon, as an excellent preacher, settled forth the vanity of the things of this world, in order to withdraw the hearts and affections of men from such empty toys.

(Chapter 3)

All human things are liable to perpetual changes. We are to rest on God's providence, and cast away fruitless cares.

1 All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

6 A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. 8 A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace. 9 What hath man more of his labour? 10 I have seen the trouble, which God hath given the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11 He hath made all things good in their time, and hath delivered the world to their consideration, so that man cannot find out the work which God hath made from the beginning to the end. 12 And I have known that there was no better thing than to rejoice, and to do well in this life. 13 For every man that eateth and drinketh, and seeth good of his labour, this is the gift of God. 14 I have learned that all the works which God hath made, continue for ever: we cannot add any thing, nor take away from those things which God hath made that he may be feared. 15 That which hath been made, the same continueth: the things that shall be, have already been: and God restoreth that which is past.

16 I saw under the sun in the place of judgment wickedness, and in the place of justice iniquity. 17 And I said in my heart: God shall judge both the just and the wicked, and then shall be the time of every thing. 18 I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, that God would prove them, and shew them to be like beasts. 19 Therefore the death of man, and of beasts is one, and the condition of them both is equal: as man dieth, so they also die: all things breathe alike, and man hath nothing more than beast: all things are subject to vanity. 20 And all things go to one place: of earth they were made, and into earth they return together.

19 "Man hath nothing more"... Viz., as to the life of the body.

21 Who knoweth if the spirit of the children of Adam ascend upward, and if the spirit of the beasts descend downward? 22 And I have found that nothing is better than for a man to rejoice in his work, and that this is his portion. For who shall bring him to know the things that shall be after him?

21 "Who knoweth"... Viz., experimentally: since no one in this life can see a spirit. But as to the spirit of the beasts, which is merely animal, and become extinct by the death of the beast, who can tell the manner it acts so as to give life and motion, and by death to descend downward, that is, to be no more?

And here's the beautiful opening of the book of Ecclesiastes:

1 The words of Ecclesiastes, the son of David, king of Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes vanity of vanities, and all is vanity. 3 What hath a man more of all his labour, that he taketh under the sun? 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth standeth for ever. (Ecclesiastes 1: 1-4)

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Of one of the many things I thought of, in the 2 hour solid walk, here's it, which will form much of my post for today. Taken from the first epistle of Saint John, beautiful Apostle :) for this Saint John was one of the first few who knew the Most Sacred (and Sweet) Heart of Jesus. This Saint John was the one whom Jesus gave His dearest Mother too, at the foot of the Cross, the one who symbolically represents us: Son, Behold Thy Mother. This Saint John knew and loved wholeheartedly the dearest Hearts of Jesus and Mother Mary. This Saint John is the Apostle whom Jesus loved. Let us read a part of his epistle, which so beautifully explains Deus caritas est, God is love.

Deus caritas est.

Love unites us with God

(Chapter 4)

6 We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 7 Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for charity is of God. And every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is charity. 9 By this hath the charity of God appeared towards us, because God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by him. 10 In this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because he hath first loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.

11 My dearest, if God hath so loved us; we also ought to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abideth in us, and his charity is perfected in us. 13 In this we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he hath given us of his spirit. 14 And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father hath sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known, and have believed the charity, which God hath to us. God is charity: and he that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him. 17 In this is the charity of God perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because as he is, we also are in this world. 18 Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain. And he that feareth, is not perfected in charity. 19 Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us. 20 If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God, whom he seeth not?

18 "Fear is not in charity"... Perfect charity, or love, banisheth human fear, that is, the fear of men; as also all perplexing fear, which makes men mistrust or despair of God's mercy; and that kind of servile fear, which makes them fear the punishment of sin more than the offence offered to God. But it no way excludes the wholesome fear of God's judgments, so often recomended in holy writ; nor that fear and trembling, with which we are told to work out our salvation. Phil. 2. 12.

21 And this commandment we have from God, that he, who loveth God, love also his brother.

(Chapter 5)

The Basis of Love

1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. And every one that loveth him who begot, loveth him also who is born of him. 2 In this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the charity of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not heavy. 4 For whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

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Beautiful.

Here's something from St. Alphonsus, regarding perfection:

Perfection is founded entirely on the love of God: Charity is the bond of perfection; and perfect love of God means the complete union of our will with God's.

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I was thinking of this too, when I reached home, remembering what I read from dinoscopus, on wagner. Very interessant I must say.

My most sweet Jesus, I firmly believe that Thou art truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I love Thee above all things and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. And as though Thou wert already there, I embrace Thee, and unite myself wholly to Thee; permit not that I should ever be separated from Thee. May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ keep my soul unto Everlasting Life. Amen.

(Spiritual Communion, formula by St. Alphonsus Ligouri)

My Most Sweet Jesus, help me to do only what Thou would want me to do. Thy Will is most sweet, most perfect. Fiat voluntas tua.

Dearest Mother Dear, please help me, please pray for me. Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

The Crucifixion

Indulgenced Prayer before a Crucifix:

Behold, O Kind and most Sweet Jesus, I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech Thee to impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment, whilst with deep affection and grief of soul I ponder within myself, and mentally contemplate Thy five most precious wounds; having before my eyes that which David spoke in prophecy of Thee, O good Jesus: "They have pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones."

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Here's a beautiful picture I stole from the book, The Catechism in Pictures, incidentally, my sister's confirmation present. :) I can't seem to find a nice picture of this online thus you see a picture from the copy of the book I have. It's very very beautiful, especially when you think about the sufferings of Jesus on the Cross, and that of the sufferings of Mother Mary at the foot of the Cross. The love that must have passed between them both whom I love very much and whom I am very sure all of you love too. ;)

Here's a link to Chapter VIII of Book 6, Part II of the abridged version of the beautiful book, The Mystical City of God - The Divine History and Life of the Virgin Mother of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda, on the Crucifixion and how Mother Mary joined therein. It's so beautiful, I had to post it up. This book, has been one of my favourites ever since I was introduced to this book. Loads of food for thought, and words directly from our Dear Heavenly Queen and Mother to Ven. Mary of Agreda, the 17th century Spanish nun who saw in ecstasy all the events recorded in the book.

An introduction to this beautiful book: (taken from the back cover of this abridgement)

The Mystical City of God by Venerable Mother Mary of Jesus of Agreda (1602-1665) is a monumental four volume, 2676 page history of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as revealed by Our Lady to this 17th century Spanish nun. Venerable Mary saw in ecstasy all the events recorded here. Later, Our Lady told her to write them down in a book - the result is The Mystical City of God, acclaimed by Popes, cardinals and theologians, a book which has inspired the laity and the clergy for over 300 years and which has gone into sixty editions in various languages.

More than just the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this book also contains information about the creation of the world, the meaning of the Apocalypse, Lucifer's rebellion, the location of Hell, the hidden life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, intimate details about Our Lord's life, and many other enthralling topics.

The translator, Father George J. Blatter, a Chicago priest, first read the book in German and was so impressed that he learned Spanish in order to make a proper translation into English. His first edition appeared in 1912, ten years after he had started work.

The purpose of this popular abridgement is to bring to an even wider readership the sublime truths found in The Mystical City of God.

"Just as I have told you that he who knows Me knows also My Father, so I now tell you that he who knows My Mother knows Me."

-The Mystical City of God, Vol. III, p. 765.

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

The Feast of All Souls

Today's the Feast of All Souls! Here's something I wrote on death. And it being the Feast of All Souls, a little prayer for the dear souls in purgatory. Oh how so many of them just entered heaven today beacause of all the masses offered up for them, its so beautiful. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, (Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine) and let perpetual light shine upon them. (Et lux perpetua luceat eis). May they rest in peace. (Requiescant in pace.) Amen.

Prayer for Mercy for the Souls in Purgatory:

Have mercy, O gentle Jesus, on the souls detained in purgatory. Thou Who for their ransom didst take upon Thyself our human nature and suffer the most cruel death, pity their sighs and the tears shed when they raise their longing eyes toward Thee; and by virtue of Thy Passion, cancel the penalty due to their sins. May Thy Blood, O tender Jesus, Thy Precious Blood, descend into purgatory to solace and refresh those who there languish in captivity. Reach forth Thy hand to them, and lead them into the realms of refreshment, light and peace. Amen.

From the book Alone with God by Fr. J. Heyrmann S.J. here's the meditation for today:

ALL SOULS’ DAY

1. The Martyrology announces this day in the following terms: “This day, the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, by which our loving Mother the Church, immediately after she has endeavoured to glorify with appropriate tokens of homage all her children who enjoy the bliss of heaven, seeks to bring by her powerful intercession with her Lord and Bridegroom, aid and comfort to all who still suffer in purgatory, so that soon they may be admitted to the blessed company of those that are in heaven.”

2. Petition: The grace of a more lively realization of our union in Christ, the Communion of Saints: so that with greater fraternal love we may offer prayer and penance for our departed brethren.

I. The Christian’s Death

“The wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). When God had made man to His image and likeness, and had called him to be a partaker of His divine nature, “He saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good” (Gen. 1:31). In that plan of God there was no room, there could be no room, for death, no more than for sin, of which death is the wages, that is, the punishment. Punishment, by its very nature, is something painful: hence the fact that man shrinks from death. Even the great Apostle could have wished things were otherwise: “For we also, who are in this tabernacle (our body), do groan, being burdened; because we could not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that that which is mortal, may be swallowed up by life” (2 Cor. 5:4).

Death is separation from whatever is on earth; it is the tearing asunder of two things that were naturally made for each other, the body and the soul. But death is not a goal: it is a passage to something else, a transition from one state to another. A poet compared the transition to the swan’s going to the pond: with little grace and much effort the bird waddles down the bank, but as soon as it is on the surface of the water, it sails away swiftly and majestically and pursues its stately course. The soul’s natural environment is God Himself. “Thou hast made us,” said St. Augustine, “Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts find no rest but in Thee.” But to come to God, we must pass through death. Therefore St. Paul, though depressed at the thought of inescapable death, does long for it: “For to me to live is Christ: and to die is gain … I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, a thing by far the better” (Phil. 1:21-23). But death is also the soul’s meeting with Him who is All-Holy.

II. The Final Cleansing: Purgatory

In the prayers for the agonizing, the Church thus addresses her dying children: “Depart from this world, Christian soul, in the name of the Lord… Mayest thou this day abide in the Lord’s peace, and may holy Sion be thy dwelling place.” She is aware that in many cases the full debt has not yet been paid, and that every blemish has not yet been wiped from the soul. Her infallible teaching is that such souls, after death, will pass through a stage of final purification: they love God with their whole heart, and they can will nothing but what God wills. God’s peace fills their soul; still they suffer painful pangs of love.

In her remarkable treatise on purgatory St. Catherine of Genoa wrote: “No peace on earth can be compared with the peace of the souls in purgatory, except the peace of the souls in heaven … Nor can any pain or grief on earth be compared with the pain and grief of those souls.”

Some mystics experience on earth something of the weal and woe of that cleansing beyond the grave. Ruysbroeck wrote: “To be wounded by love is the sweetest solace and the most harrowing torture which a soul can bear. To be wounded by love: there is no fuller assurance that the cure is at hand. This spiritual wound causes joy and pain at the same time.”

The Church does not propose any particular teaching about the other sufferings of purgatory, nor about their duration: one thing she tells us: these sufferings shall come to an end.

In Newman’s Dream of Gerontius the Guardian Angel has guided the soul till the gate of purgatory, and bids farewell thus:

Farewell, but not for ever! Brother dear
Be brave and patient on thy bed of sorrow;
Swiftly shall pass night of trial here,
And I will come and wake thee on the morrow.

III. How to Assist the Souls in Purgatory?

For them the time of earning merit is past; but they patiently bear the cleansing of crucifying love. From Holy Writ, from the practice of the Church (from very early times the liturgy of the Mass contained prayers for the faithful departed), from her doctrine, it is clear that God is pleased to accept prayers and sacrifices made for the deliverance of the souls in purgatory. In what measure and in what manner such suffrages benefit those souls is God’s own secret.

The doctrine of purgatory reminds us that God, who is all-holy, demands complete purity from sin; it should encourage us to bear patiently sufferings and trials; we shall consider, and accept, the pains and sufferings connected with death, as a beginning on earth of our purgatory.

(Note: The so-called “heroic act”, by which a person here on earth forgoes all the expiatory value of his prayers and good works in favour of the souls in purgatory, is founded on sound reason, and theologically justifiable. It is a highly praiseworthy act.)

Prayer: O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Thy servants remission of all their sins, that our pious prayers may obtain for them the forgiveness that they have constantly longed for, who livest and reignest … (For all the faithful departed).

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

p/s: yay, Deo gratias et Mariae!!!, we did our first western blot nicely today. :)

The Feast of All Saints! ;)

Today's the Feast of All Saints'! =D Its a very very beautiful feast. I'm happy because all the saints are happy. I sound so childish, but that's just how I feel now. :P Oh, I can't wait! ...

Wisdom. 3:1-2,3
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and the torment of malice
shall not touch them:
in the sight of the unwise they seemed to die,
but they are in peace. Alleluia. (Offertory of Today's Mass)

yay I have some free time now, in the middle of learning how to do a Western Blot from a friend in the lab :) ...

Here's something from Alone with God by Fr. J. Heyrmann S.J. on the Feast of All Saints:

ALL SAINTS’ DAY

1. Today and tomorrow we ought to foster in our hearts a lively sense of the communion of Saints. Today the Church bids us look up to the Heavenly Jerusalem, our true home, where she triumphs in all her children who enjoy eternal bliss, and where she sings the praises of her Bridegroom; tomorrow she commemorates those of her children, who, for a while, abide in purgatory, where they are being cleansed of the least stain; and she asks us to assist them by prayer and penance.

2. Petition: The grace to rejoice in the Lord over the bliss of the “great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples, and tongues … clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, crying with a loud voice, Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb” (Apoc. 7:9,10).

I. “Many Mansions in Our Father’s House”

Man has never been able to reconcile himself to the notion that for him death is the end of all things, even though he may have failed to grasp the nature of future life, and may not have had the full certitude of its existence.

In this manner too Jesus brought us good tidings from on high. “He that believeth in me, although he be dead shall live: and every one that liveth and believeth in me, shall not die for ever” (John 11:25,26). Shortly before He departed from them, Jesus said to His disciples, “In my Father’s house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you: because I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

All those who believe in Him, who eat His Flesh, who have fed and clothed and nursed Him in the least of His brethren, who have been faithful to Him in little things, all these will enter into the joy of their Lord.

It is true that Jesus did give us solemn warnings: there is danger lest we tread the broad road which leads to perdition; whosoever believes not, is not faithful, does not love his neighbour, will be lost. But today we have beheld “that great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues …” passing before our eyes. This fills us with hope for those that have been dear to us, “God’s servants who, bearing the seal of faith, have gone before us, and rest in the sleep of peace” (Canon of the Mass). Therefore, we all rejoice in the Lord.

II. “What Eye Hath Not Seen”

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard: neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

When Jesus addressed the humble country folk of Galilee, He adapted Himself to their simple ideas, and compared heavenly bliss to a great banquet, or to a wedding feast, to which all are invited. And in St John’s Apocalypse the final victory of the Church Triumphant concludes with the wedding of the Lamb (19:7).

“To enter into the joy of the Lord,” is to enter into a joy, which nothing can disturb, endless and ever fresh; a joy of which on earth we have no adequate concept. The source of this joy will be the sight, face to face, of the eternal Wisdom, eternal Truth, eternal Beauty, eternal Goodness.

St. Augustine concludes his great work “Of the City of God” with these lyrical words, which some one compared to four strokes of the eagle’s wings, “In heaven we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise. That shall be the end without end!” Then “we shall sing with the angels and the archangels, with the thrones and dominations, and with the entire heavenly host, the hymn of Thy glory: saying for ever, Holy, Holy, Holy!” (Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus!)

III. Joy and Confidence

“We all rejoice in the Lord, whilst celebrating this feast in honour of all the Saints;” we rejoice because “they who have gone before us, bearing the seal of faith” are happy for ever; because they, who have reached their true home, are interceding for us, poor wayfarers, and imploring for us protection and perseverance.

“The bliss of heaven belongs to those who will remember it, who labour and suffer for it, who help others to obtain it.” With this glorious prospect before us, “we faint not” but though our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4: 16,17).

We have confidence in God, who has created us that we may for ever be happy with Him; who has sent us His own Son to show us the way, and to open to us the eternal portals; who uses His supreme power, His infinite goodness, and His boundless wisdom to save all.

Prayer: That Thou lift up our minds to heavenly desires, we beseech Thee, Lord, hear us (Litany of All Saints).

Read 3 Imitation of Christ, 48,49.

Chapter 48 point 6: But blessed is the man, who for Thee, O Lord, lets go all things created; who offers violence to his nature, and through fervor of spirit crucifies the lusts of the flesh: that so, his conscience being cleared up, he may offer to Thee pure prayer, and may be worthy to be admitted among the choirs of angels, having excluded all things of the earth both from without and within.

My Jesus, my heart is all Thine own, take it and mould it, let it be more and more so, like unto Thine own Heart, take it and let me only do what Thou wilt want me to do and help me always and only to fulfill it accordingly as only what Thou wilt want me to do it. I love Thee, my Jesus, my King, my Heart, my All.

Dearest Mother Dear, please help me, help me Mother, to will only what Jesus wills, to do what only He wants me to do. Please help me and guide me, give me the grace to persevere. Aid me in this journey, protect me under thy mantle for I am also all thine own. Never cease praying for me until thou dost see me safe at thy feet in heaven, praising, singing and loving Thy Son and thee for all eternity. I love Thee, my Mother, my Mother dearest, who gave me my Jesus.

Deus propitious esto mihi peccatori

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam !