Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

Do we seek the glory of Christ?
If so, then we must seek the cross.

St. John of the Cross, Mystical Doctor of the Church, teaches:

He who seeks not the cross of Christ seeks not the glory of Christ.

Maxims on Love, #23.

If the above words of the great Mystical Doctor inspire you to seek to be more generous with Our Lord Jesus Christ, you might be aided by praying this short prayer every day:

Dear Lord, I freely choose and beg Thee for a life completely full of trials and tribulations, crosses and difficulties, to imitate Thee, to please Thee, out of pure love for Thee and for the greater honor and glory.

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

Prepare thyself like a man to resist the wicked attacks of the devil; bridle gluttony, and thou shall the easier restrain all carnal inclinations.

My Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, (c)1982, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, 5300 Fort Hamilton Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11219, Bk. 1 ch.19.                                                                          

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

God is more pleased by one work, however small, done secretly, without desire that it be known, than a thousand done with the desire that people know of them.  Those who work for God with purest love not only care nothing about whether others see their works, but do not even seek that God Himself know of them.  Such persons would not cease to render God the same services, with the same joy and purity of love, even if God were never to know of these.

St. John of the Cross, Saying of Light and Love, #20 (emphasis added).

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

We must Show Ourselves to be Valiant Members of the Church Militant And Not Cowards and Quitters.

The teaching of the Mystical Doctor, St. John of the Cross:

Though the path is plain and smooth for people of good will, those who walk it will not travel far, and will do so only with difficulty if they do not have good feet, courage, and tenacity of spirit.

St. John of the Cross, Saying of Light and Love, #3 (emphasis added).

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

Let Us Carry Our Crosses Courageously and Not Shrink Back from Them

And here it ought to be pointed out why so few reach this high state of perfect union with God.  It should be known that the reason is not that God wishes only a few of these spirits to be so elevated; He would rather want all to be perfect, but He finds few vessels that will endure so lofty and sublime a work. Since He tries them in little things and finds them so weak that they immediately flee from work, unwilling to be subject to the least discomfort and mortification, it follows that not finding them strong and faithful in that little [Mt. 25:21, 23], in which He favored them by beginning to hew and polish them, He realizes that they will be much less strong in these greater trials.  As a result, He proceeds no further in purifying them and raising them from the dust of the earth through the toil of mortification.  They are in need of greater constancy and fortitude than they showed.

There are many who desire to advance and persistently beseech God to bring them to this state of perfection.  Yet when God wills to conduct them through the initial trials and mortifications, as is necessary, they are unwilling to suffer them and they shun them, flee from the narrow road of life [Mt. 7:14] and seek the broad road of their own consolation, which is that of their own perdition [Mt. 7:13]; thus, they do not allow God to begin to grant their petition.

St. John of the Cross, Mystical Doctor of the Church, Living Flame of Love, Stanza 2, #27 (emphasis and bracketed words added).

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

The Power of the Sign of the Cross

Let us remember that each time we make the Sign of the Cross:

❖  We offer the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ to the Eternal Father;

❖  We thank Our Lord for dying for us on the Cross; and

❖  We offer the infinite merits of the Passion for our own souls and for the salvation of the world.

Each time we make the Sign of the Cross this way:

➢  we console the Heart of Jesus;

➢  we obtain pardon for our sins; and

➢  we help to save the world from great evils.

Taken from An Easy Way to Become a Saint, Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, O.P., Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., Rockford, Ill., 1990, Ch. 5. p. 36.

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

Trust in Divine Providence

The Voice of Christ:

My child, allow me to do what I will with you.  I know what is best for you.

The Disciple:

Lord, what You say is true.  Your care for me is greater than all the care I can take of myself.

Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis; Book III, Ch. 17.

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, quotes this phrase from Colossians, 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom”.

From this verse, St. John Chrysostom teaches how the priceless treasure of wisdom, helps us in our time of tribulation:

As the rich in money can bear fines and damages, so he that is rich in the doctrines of philosophy will bear not poverty only, but all calamities also easily, yea, more easily than that one [viz., those “rich in money”].

For as for him, by discharging the fine, the man who is rich [in money] must needs be impoverished, and found wanting, and if he should often suffer in that way, will no longer be able to bear it, but in this case [viz., the man rich in this philosophy] it is not so; for we do not even expend our wholesome thoughts when it is necessary for us to bear aught [i.e., anything] we would not choose, but they abide with us continually.

And mark the wisdom of this blessed man [viz., St. Paul].  He said not, “Let the word of Christ” be in you, simply, but what? “dwell in you”, and “richly”.

St. John Chrysostom, Sermon 9 on Colossians, 3:16 (bracketed words added to show context).

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

When thou seest any enemy of God wealthy, with armed attendants and many flatterers, be not cast down, but lament, weep, call upon God, that He may enroll that enemy to become numbered amongst His friends: and the more he prospers being God’s enemy, so much the more do thou mourn for him. For sinners we ought always to bewail, but especially when they enjoy wealth and abundance of good days; even as one should the sick, when they eat and drink to excess. 

Words of St. John Chrysostom, Sermon 39 on 1 COR. 15:27-8.

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

Peace and Happiness Comes from Mortifying our Lower Nature

“True peace of heart, then, is found in resisting passions, not in satisfying  them.”

Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis; Book I, Ch. 6.

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

An Apostolic Spirit in Times of Great Apostasy

As the world becomes more evil, not only should we not cease our efforts to saves the souls of those around us, but we should increase our efforts.

Words of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Sermon 18 on St. John’s Gospel.

Words to Live by – from Catholic Tradition

The Month of the Holy Rosary is upon us!

In 1481, Our Lady appeared to Venerable Dominic, the Carthusian … and said to him: “Whenever one of the faithful who is in a state of grace says the Rosary while meditating on the mysteries of the life and passion of Jesus Christ, he obtains full and entire remission of all his sins.”

Our Lady also said to Blessed Alan [de la Roche]: “I want you to know that although there are numerous indulgences already attached to the recitation of my Rosary, I shall add many more to every fifty Hail Marys (each group of five decades) for those who say them devoutly, on their knees – being, of course, free from mortal sin.  And whosoever shall persevere in the devotion of the Holy Rosary, saying these prayers and meditations, shall be rewarded for it; I shall obtain for him full remission of the penalty and of the guilt of all his sins at the end of his life.”

The Secret of the Rosary, St. Louis Marie Grignone de Monfort, Ch. 28, Twenty-eighth Rose, pages 78 and 79.