Mary's Catholics

Don't complain if you suffer.  It is the prized and valued stone that is polished.   Does it hurt?  Allow yourself to be cut, gratefully, because God has taken you in His hands as if you were a diamond.  An ordinary pebble is not worked on like that.  - St. Josemaria Escriva      Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace.  The gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase.                                                                             -  St. Rose of Lima Do as the storekeeper does with his merchandise; make a profit on every article.  Suffer not the loss of the tiniest fragment of the true cross.  It may only be a sting of a fly or the point of a pin that annoys you, an ec...

We are now in the season of Lent, and fasting is one of the very important elements of its observance.  But what is the true essence of fasting?  The saints knew very well the real meaning of fasting, saints such as St. Maximus of Turin and St. Francis de Sales just to name a few.  Let's learn from what these saints taught about fasting. Excerpts from St. Maximus of Turin's Sermo. 35 on Fasting. 1.  By fasting we control the passions of the body; by prayer we nourish the soul. 2.  There is a useless and empty fast that empties the stomach and the intestines but does not empty the mind of worldliness and the heart of wickedness. 3.  What's the use of abstaining from food while the soul is indulging in sin.  The body is weakened by fasting while the soul grows stronger in wickedness. The body refrains from strong wine while the thoughts wallow in the wine of avarice.  Such fasting weakens the body but does not save the soul. 4.  True fasting ...

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus I had wondered for a long time why God had preferences and why all souls did not receive an equal amount of grace.  I was astonished to see how He showered extraordinary favors on saints who had sinned against Him, saints such as St. Paul and St. Augustine.  He forced them, as it were, to accept His graces. I was just as astonished when I read the lives of saints to see that Our Lord cherished certain favored souls from the cradle to the grave and never allowed any kind of obstacle to check their flight towards Him.  He bestowed such favors on them that they were unable to tarnish the spotless splendor of their baptismal robe.  I also wondered why such vast numbers of poor savages died before they had even heard the name of God. Jesus saw fit to enlighten me about this mystery.  He set the book of nature before me and I saw that all the flowers He has created are lovely. The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of t...

Today, March 25th is the feast of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38). The Annunciation was the beginning of a vast and wonderful repair work to be done by God on the destruction caused by Adam and Eve. A woman caused the downfall of the human race; a woman will raise man back to God. A devil approached Eve; an angel appeared to Mary.  The devil tempted Eve to disobey and cast down the human race; an angel appeared to Mary to receive her obedience and raise up the human race.  The devil urged infidelity; the angel fidelity to God's will. The first woman believed the tempter; Mary believed her Maker. Eve brought destruction; Mary salvation. Mary was deserving to receive God the Son physically in her womb because she has first received Him spiritually in her heart. - St. Peter Chrysologus _____________________________________________ - Excerpted from St. Peter Chrysologus Sermo. 140 on Luke 1:26-29. Source:  Winnowing Fan, Vol. XI, No. 1, January 1994

Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus from Joseph and refers to him as the husband of Mary.  But he does not allow us to have misconceptions about Christ's birth by immediately narrating the unusual manner in which Christ was born. Mary, being espoused or betrothed to Joseph was living in the bridegroom's house for her protection.  It was the practice of the ancients.  The practice being such, Joseph was going to be very certain that nothing amiss could take place. We, too, must live our lives in such a way so no one can attribute wrongdoing to us. Finding Mary with child, he who should be jealous and suspicious, he who should degrade her, in fact cherished her. So convinced was he that what was done was done by God. Though how it was done exactly, he was not sure until confirmed, not explained, by the angel. So instead of setting her aside, he kept her with him after he was assured and he ministered to her.  St. Joseph said to himself, this was done by ...

 St. Claude de la Colombiere It is usually the case that other people can see better than we can ourselves what is good for us.  It would be foolish to think that we can see better than God Himself, who is not subject to any of the passions that blind us, knows the future and can foresee all events and the consequences of every action. Experience shows that even the gravest misfortunes can have good results and the greatest successes can end in disaster.  A rule also that God usually follows is to attain His ends by ways that are the opposite to those human prudence would normally choose. Joseph was sold into slavery and thrown into prison.  If he had felt aggrieved at these apparent misfortunes, he would really have been feeling aggrieved at his happiness for they were the steps to the throne of Egypt.  Saul loses his father's assess and has to go on a long vain hunt for them.  But if he had felt annoyed at the great waste of time and energy it ca...