Mary's Immaculate Heart

The holy Heart of the Blessed Virgin is the living image of the adorable love of the Eternal Father, because as the Son of God has ever dwelt and will never cease to dwell in his Father's love, so, too, he has always lived and will ever live and dwell in the Heart of his Mother.  His Father's divine felicity is a paradise of delight, love, and glory for him, and his Mother's Heart is a heaven, a heaven of heavens, in which he is, in a way, far more loved and glorified than in the empyrean sphere. 

Furthermore, the Father of Mercies and the God of all consolation, in his exceedingly great and Fatherly love, gave us his well-beloved Son at the time of his Incarnation, and gives him to us daily in the most Blessed Sacrament.  So, too, the most Blessed Mother of Mercy and Consolation, in the boundless charity of her maternal Heart, gave us her dear Jesus at his birth, and does so continually in the Holy Eucharist, because being one with him in spirit, in love, and in will, she wills all that he wills and does all that he does.

Finally, the Eternal Father himself accomplished in the holy Heart of his beloved daughter, the glorious Virgin Mary, that which he commands all faithful souls to do when he says:  "Put me as a seal upon thy heart" (Song 8: 6).  With his own hand he has impressed on her Heart a perfect semblance of the divine qualities of his love, which consequently is a perfect image of the sanctity, wisdom, goodness, mercy, benignity, charity, and all the other perfections of the infinite love of our heavenly Father.

Saint John Eudes

-Saint John Eudes (1680) is largely responsible for initiating and popularizing devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Whoever Obeys

Christ did what a dove does in winter when it goes down into the valleys and dwells molting in the hollows of tree trunks; but in the summer the dove returns to the mountains.  So, in the wintertime of unbelief and the frigid weather of demonic persecution, Christ came down into the womb of the lowly Virgin, and dwelt poor and abject in this world as if he were stripped of his feathers.  It is of this turtle-dove that Solomon says in the Canticle:  "The voice of the turtle-dove is heart in our land" (song 2: 12).  The voice of the dove is mourning and plaintive.  Christ came down to mourn and weep - never do we read that he laughed - in order to teach us to mourn and weep.  "The voice of the dove," therefore, "is heard in our land," saying:  "do works of penance" (Mt 3: 2).  But when summer arrived and the cruel persecution began to heat up and the trial of his Passion burst into flames, then he returned to the mountain, i.e., to the Father.  And then he said: "I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me: 'Where are you going'" (Jn 16: 5).  Were we to ask Christ by what way he is going to the Father, he would answer:  "By the way of the cross."  Which is why he said:  "Did not the Christ have to suffer these things, so as to enter his glory?"  (Lk 24: 26).

Christ had two quite different inheritances:  one was from his Mother, and this was struggle and sorrow; the other was from his Father, and this was joy and peace.  From the fact that we are co-heirs with him we must accept the same double inheritance...  In the earth of humanity, founded on the seven pillars of a sevenfold grace, he planted the heavens of the divinity.  Let us, then, take possession of the first inheritance which Christ left us, so that we may deserve to come to the second.

Saint Anthony of Padua

-Saint Anthony (1231) was a renowned Franciscan preacher.

"They will respect my Son"

The fear of the Lord does not originate in terror, but is based on learnings; it has nothing to do with natural timidity, but is gained by observing the commandments, following the prescriptions of a blameless life and by acquiring knowledge of the truth.  For, if God is feared merely because of the numerous fires caused by lightning and the havoc wrought by thunderbolts, or because of the widespread destruction occasioned by earthquakes, when gaping chasms swallow everything up, that fear is in no way related to faith, since it is prompted by the fear of misfortune.  Our fear of God, on the other hand, is wholly rooted in love; in fact, the perfect love of God puts an end to terror.  This love of ours for God, moreover, is fully expressed by our obedience to his commands, our compliance with his statutes, and our confidence in his promises...  Those who fear are not blessed on account of their natural timidity, which engenders fear in other men as well, nor on account of the we they feel before the One who can rightly command their awe; rather their blessing results from their walking in the ways of the Lord.  Fear produces obedience, not panic; submission is the hallmark of fear. 

Many indeed are the ways of the Lord, yet he himself is the Way.  He called himself the Way and then explained his meaning by saying:  "No one can come to the Father except through me..."

How many paths we must inquire into if we would discover the one way that is good!  How many ways we must walk if we would find with the help of numerous guides the only way which leads to everlasting life!...  Blessed are they who walk in them in the fear of God. 

Saint Hilary of Poitiers

-Saint Hilary (367) is called the Doctor of the Divinity of Christ.

How to Approach Christ's Passion

I appeal to you by the mercy of God.  This appeal is made by Paul, or rather, it is made by God through Paul, because of God's desire to be loved rather than feared, to be a father rather than a lord.  God appeals to us in his mercy to avoid having to punish us in his severity.  

Listen to the Lord's appeal.  In me, I want you to see your own body, your members, your heart, your bones, your blood.  You may fear what is divine, but why not love what is human?  You may run away from me as the Lord, but why not run to me as your father?  Perhaps you are filled with shame for causing my bitter passion.  Do not be afraid.  This cross inflicts a mortal injury, not on me, but on death.  These nails no longer pain me, but only deepen your love for me.  I do not cry out because of these wounds, but through them I draw you into my heart.  My body was stretched on the cross as a symbol, not of how much I suffered, but of my all-embracing love.  I count it no loss to shed my blood:  it is the price I have paid for your ransom.  Come, then, return to me and learn to know me as your father, who repays good for evil, love for injury, and boundless charity for piercing wounds.

Saint Peter Chrysologus

-Saint Peter (450), Doctor of the Church, was the archbishop of Ravenna, Italy.

Feeding Christ's Sheep

By the frequent occurrence of his bodily manifestations our Lord wished to show that he is present by his divinity in every place to the desires of those who are good.  He appeared at the tomb to those who were grieving; he will also be present to us when we are salutarily saddened at recalling his absence.  He came to meet those who were returning from the tomb so that, having learned of the joy of his resurrection, they might proclaim it; he will also be present to us when we rejoice in faithfully announcing the good things that we know to our neighbors.  He appeared in the breaking of bread to those who, supposing that he was a stranger, invited him to share their table; he will also be present to us when we willingly bestow whatever goods we can on strangers and poor people; and he will be present to us in the breaking of bread, when we partake with a chaste and simple conscience of the sacrament of his body, namely, the living bread.  He appeared in secret to those who were speaking of his resurrection; he is also present to us now, whenever we do this same thing by his gift; he will always be present to us when, free for a time from outside works, we come together in order to speak of his grace.  He appeared when they were staying inside, with the doors closed out of fear of the Jews; he appeared when this same fear abated and they sought him with steps unconcealed on the top of the mountain.  Formerly he was present in order to comfort his Church with his Spirit when it was oppressed by unbelievers, and was being prevented from coming out in public and being spread abroad; he is present to the same [Church] even now when royal personages in political power are well-disposed toward the faith, the terror of persecution has died away, and the whole superior portion of the world is predisposed to following in the apostles' footsteps.  He appeared to those who were fishing, and, by appearing to them aided them by his divine goodness; he will also be present to us when we are taking care of the necessities of our lives here on earth with an upright intention, and he adds his benevolent help to our righteous labors.  He appeared to those who were reclining [at table]; he will also be present to us when, in accordance with the apostle's suggestions, whether we eat or drink, or whatever else we do, we do all for the glory of God.  

Saint Bede the Venerable

-Saint Bede (735) was an English Benedictine monk, a biblical scholar, and the first English historian.

It was I who chose you

I am convinced, my friend, that in some people God takes over completely...  We have depths reserved to God who alone fully knows our hidden weaknesses, our secret desires and needs...

It's only in the heart of Jesus that we will find the ultimate support, profound strength, and complete understanding of what we need in order to grow closer to him.  One thing is sure, namely, the divine will always wants what is good for us, whether in giving, refusing, or measuring out for us whatever we truly need...

You tell me you are becoming more and more aware of "your powerlessness, your poverty, and your ignorance."  Dear sister, this proves that in contrast to what is occurring with your human vision, your spiritual vision is becoming sharper and stronger.  Do we not make another observation when we examine ourselves seriously, in good faith?  The saints themselves - and we are not saints - cried out in distress and humility when they measured their misery against God's greatness and beauty.  How great and how infinite is the abyss between the Creator and the creature, God's limitless strength and our weakness, God's being and our insignificant selves.  So, dear sister, how peaceful and even joyous it can be for us to examine ourselves with such humility.  Yes, let's rejoice in being nothing since for us God is everything.  Let's be happy in being truly poor, begging for the help of the one who is rich, and let us take pleasure in being ignorant, since divine wisdom knows us and provides for our needs.  Let us be glad at the very thought of our powerlessness.  It is because of this that we can ask our Lord to take on the entire task, using our sufferings, our poor work, and our miserable prayers.  It is only in heaven that we will realize how wonderfully God made us of the labor of these little workers:  the multitude of small duties, the daily acts of self-sacrifice, the acceptance of pain, offered to the heavenly Father, poor worthless metal transformed by God into gold for others, that pure gold of love enriching others and ourselves.

Elisabeth Leseur

-Elisabeth Leseur (1914) was a French married laywoman whose cause for canonization is under way.

Remain in Me

With regard to the fear about whether or not I was in the state of grace, the Lord told me:  "Daughter, light is very different from darkness.  I am faithful.  Nobody will be lost unknowingly.  They who find security in spiritual favors will be deceived.  True security is the testimony of a good conscience.  But people should not think that through their own efforts they can be in light or that they can do anything to prevent the night, because these states depend upon grace.  The best help for holding on to the light is to understand that you can do nothing and that it comes from me.  For even though you may be in light, at the moment I withdraw, the night will come.  This is true humility:  to know what you can do and what I can do..."

In explaining the nature of union to me, he said:  "Don't think, daughter, that union lies in being very close to me.  For those, too, who offend me are close, although they may not want to be.  Neither does it consist in favors and consolations in prayer, even though these may reach a very sublime degree.  Though these favors may come from me, they are often a means for winning souls, even souls that are not in the state of grace."

Saint Teresa of Avila

Saint Teresa (1582), Doctor of the Church, reformed the Carmelite Order.