Remedies For The Passions - Pt 1

Virgin-Born, we bow before thee; Blessed was the womb that bore thee.  

We are concerned, as to our natural life, with two classes of things, good and evil, aids and hindrances. The passions, or the emotions of our endowment, are designed to deal with these. The first division of them embraces the emotions of desire, ardour, hope, striving, love, audacity, enjoyment, which regard such things as are beneficial to our life. These passions are good things in themselves, as conducing to the continuance of divine operation in this world, by aiding us to gain such necessaries as health, food, rest, recreation, posterity, accumulation for future needs, activity, knowledge, etc. These things afford a double ex ercise for our faculties; first they provide for the satisfaction of our legitimate desires; secondly, they furnish the occasion of establishing the mastery of the spirit over sense-impulses, and opportunities for struggle and reward. Our Lord shows us this double use. At one time He sat down to the ban quets of the rich ; again he made His repasts examples of frugality, and yet again He practised mortification by refus ing food at unfitting times. For the most part, however, He deprived Himself of the delights of sense, and showed that moderation and even privation are better than abun dance and indulgence. The activity of His desires was transferred to the spiritual food of doing His Father's will. In like manner transform the natural energies and desires of your character into supernatural qualities, by mortifying them or directing them to spiritual objects.

Continue Reading.

All For Jesus, All for Mary. 

Such shall be our Password 

Gentle Reader - Til Next Time.

The Mortifications of The Passions

Virgin-Born, we bow before thee; Blessed was the womb that bore thee.  

In consequence of the insurgence of the lower elements of human nature and the weakening of the controlling powers, one of the first necessities of natural life, social life, and spiritual life, is that the animal proclivities in man should be held in check. One of the chief functions of education both mundane and religious is to supply such a control; for, without it, there is no providing for the future, no progress, no harmonious common life. We need to be carefully disciplined in order to learn how to renounce a present enjoyment for the sake of a larger one in the future, a lower one for a higher, a material for a spiritual and eternal one. Again, the existence of a community demands the restraint of individual vagaries; there is no liberty or enjoyment of rights without some restraint on the liberties of others, and the enforcement of duties. Discipline and self-control and strict obedience to a guiding authority are essential conditions for all combined action, whether in warfare, in industry and commerce, or in religion; else there is nothing but intestine conflict, the neutralizing of energies, and chaos instead of ordered progress." If you bite and devour one another, take heed you be not consumed one of another" (Gal. v. 15). You need always to keep your passions well in hand like a restive horse. Never relax the tension lest they overcome your power. If your will should lose the habit of mastery over the passions they will hurry you headlong to destruction.

Continue Reading.

The Effects of The Passions

Hail, the Saviour's Blessed Mother, Vase elect, above all other.

In the lower animals the passions do not run to an irregular excess, because there is an automatic check upon them in the shape of irresistible instinct. If man were subject to the same conditions as the brutes, the passions would be to him an advantage pure and simple; so would they be if all our faculties were in the state of equilibrium established in Eden. The necessary compensating check must be applied by man's free-will guided by reason, conscience, and revelation. Failing this, the action of the unbridled passions is destructive : 

1. Because of the prepotent influence which the critical action of Adam under probation exerts on his progeny. 

2. Because man is not stationary like the animals but progressive; and his faculties demand a continual advance of gratification whether it be on good or evil lines. 

 3. Because the intellectual powers of man when wrongly applied, add an enormous energy to the force of the primary emotions. Thus it comes about that human passions possess an abnormal activity which is fatal to the social order of life, to the physical life of the species, and finally even to the individual who has sought his profit in them. "The corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind" (Wisd. ix. 15). You have a source of immense danger within you. Do not suppose that because the passions are natural in origin they can be safely indulged.

Continue Reading.

The Passions

Sweet Mary, while my prayers ascend, be thou my Trust, my Hope, my Friend.

The Passions, in common language, are excessive and perverted impulses towards some particular object; so we speak of the passion of avarice, of gluttony, of lust, etc. Theologically speaking the Passions are the primary bodily emotions which lead us to seek advantages or shun evils which concern our animal and mundane nature. They belong to the divine economy, they are inseparable from our present state, they are good in themselves, and under due guidance, they are for our temporal and spiritual benefit. The Passions are such general impulses as desire, striving, courage, antipathy, avoidance, fear, enjoyment, without reference to any determinate object. These are said to belong to the "sensitive appetite" they are roused by external objects, they affect us through the senses and the brain, and then they excite corresponding movements in the mind and will. Their general purpose is the conservation of life, whether in the individual or in the species. These emotions are the same in character and operation among men as among the lower animals. The fury of the lion, the cruelty of the tiger, the timidity of the hare, the cunning of the fox, the pride of the peacock, are all useful for the conservation of life. Thus you have community not only of origin but of qualities with the beasts. Humble yourself therefore. Take care that these qualities do not lower you to the level of beasts, but utilize them so that they may aid you in attaining the level of the angels.

Continue Reading.

The Actions of The Will

Right Books Yield Big Rewards. 

We have to distinguish two kinds of operation of the will. The first is simply the resolve or determination. It is an immanent action, abiding within the faculty itself, and not proceeding to the execution of the resolve. The intellect judges that a certain object or course of proceeding is desirable; the will approves of this, adheres to it, and elicits an act of determination that precedes the actual steps taken by other faculties to carry out the resolve. After this has been carried into effect, there is a further immanent action of the will, that takes complacency or enjoyment in that which has been done or attained. This action of the will is always perfectly untrammelled; it is there that absolute human liberty has its throne. All demerit and offence against God arises from this inward determination of the will. Thence also merit and fidelity to God take their rise. Without this inward adhesion of the will to goodness there is no real service of God, and even acts of virtue become criminal hypocrisy and selfishness. If the will be fixed on God and the practice of goodness, its influence will sanctify the whole life, and it will lead infallibly in spite of all obstacles to the true service and love of God. "If thine eye be simple, thy whole body shall be lightsome. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be darksome. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great will the darkness itself be?" (Matt. vi. 22-23). How important it is to regulate the will, to give it the habit of turning instinctively at the first moment in the direction of God, and away from selfishness and sin!

Continue Reading.

The Constituents of Human Actions

Human action, like the divine, proceeds from the two great faculties, the intelligence and the will. The intellect first takes cognizance of an object, and then guides the determination of the will to take action regarding it. Full knowledge is the preliminary to deliberation, responsibility, morality, and the eternal results of human actions. It is not itself the motive force, but it supplies the data for action by forming a judgment. If the mind's apprehension be immature or erroneous, then the action proceeding from the will is not fully voluntary in all its bearings, and responsibility is either diminished or ceases to exist. The intellect is a great gift of God and has a great function. "He filled them with the knowledge of understanding. He created in them the science of the spirit; He filled their heart with wisdom and showed them both good and evil" (Eccli. xvii. 5, 6). This great faculty is capable of being made more efficient by cultivation. It is further accommodated by God for its duties in the supernatural guidance of man, by means of the light of conscience as to good and evil in our actions, by the revelation which God has given us, and by a special influx of illuminating grace. Apply your reason to the truths that God has made known to you, and let its judgments be your guide. Never surrender yourself to the reckless impulses of bodily appetite or blind passion. Keep your guiding faculty clear from the mists of self-will, prejudice and ignorance, and ask the Lord to send forth upon it the rays of His light and His truth.

Continue Reading.

Human Acts in General

Our tainted nature's Solitary Boast

Having learnt of the destiny towards which we are moving, the next step is to study the means by which it is to be most surely attained. It becomes necessary for us to acquire the science of human actions, of the nature of our different impulses, of the sources of good and evil influences, and of the laws which regulate human action so as to make it most efficient for its purpose. We have to learn what are the elements that constitute a conscious and responsible human action in the natural and the supernatural spheres, what is the action of God and what the action of man in the general result, what are our dangers, what aids are offered to us, what is the nature and what the kinds of virtue and vice. This science is one of the most practical of all sciences, and bears most closely upon human development. Social life has its attendant sciences that aid its progress, sciences of health, of law, of crime, of education, of politics, of economics. Beyond all these it is important that men should know something of the science which deals with the law of God and the methods of our salvation, which makes our lives advance the glory of God, the highest evolution of our race, and our eternal happiness. Who shall teach us this? God Himself through religion and revelation, through our conscience and intercourse with Him in prayer. Beseech Him that His word may be "a lamp to your feet and a light to your paths" (Ps. cxviii. 105).

Continue Reading.

The Attainment of Beatitude

Click Here to Enlarge

According to the decrees of Divine Providence, the perfection of human nature and the completeness of happiness are not to be attained during this life. The laws of God indeed are such that, if properly observed, they will secure us a high measure of happiness and prosperity here, though not in absolute fulness. But the sins of mankind have so disorganized the world and human society, that we have lost a great part of the temporal happiness which God designed for us. To mankind at large, and even to the just with all the aid and care that God bestows on them, this life is a series of pains, privations and struggles. Yet these may be turned to our profit. They elicit what is good in us, furnish occasions for virtue, train us for the future life, and make our final success more welcome and glorious. In these considerations we may find some alleviation for our troubles, some motives for bearing them patiently, while we look for ward to a future deliverance. At length the end will come, and then, after such purgation as is necessary, we shall enter into the joy of the Lord. We shall not have to await the Resurrection and the Last Judgment, but within a short time, a time of months or days even, we shall have reached the goal of our existence. Nothing is more certain than this, granting your persevering fidelity. Let this thought be your comfort. Be contented with all that happens. Do not murmur at untoward events. Wait for the salvation of God.

Continue Reading.

The Qualities of Beatitude

Click Here to Enlarge

The first of the qualities to be noted in the state of Beatitude is that it will be eternal; according to the word of Scripture: " He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more" (Apoc. iii. 12). Security is necessary for the highest happiness. There is no full possession or full enjoyment of that which may at some time or other be lost. As a possession is more valuable, so does the prospect of losing it cause more anxiety or even misery. In heaven we shall for the first time truly have "peace in our possessions." God will never withdraw the gift He has bestowed. No creature can intervene to deprive us of it, or to move us by terrors or flatteries to reject it. The soul, seeing God, can never recognize a superior attraction in that which is opposed to God and to Beatitude. It will never grow weary or find monotony in the immense variety of heavenly delights and the continual novelty of them during eternity. His " conversation hath no bitterness, nor His company any tediousness but joy and gladness" (Wisd. viii. 16). Human faculties will never wear out, or lose their vigour, or desire a change; the love and enjoyment of God will advance forever with an energy that will never die. How miserable is all that the world can give compared with this! How small are the attainments of our natural abilities, how disappointing when grasped, how brief their tenure, how bitter the loss of them! What folly to devote a lifetime to the pursuit of such objects, and to neglect the supernatural which alone endures!

Continue Reading.

Beautific Love

Click Here to Enlarge

There is a second element of the blessedness of heaven, which completes the happiness arising from the possession of God by the Beatific Vision; this is called Beatific Love. These two operations sum up and contain all the activity of the soul. They correspond to the double operation of the Divinity within Itself. By the action of Divine Intelligence God the Son proceeds from the Father; by the action of Divine Love the Holy Ghost proceeds from Father and Son. In dealing with us, the creative action of God is through His Word, and the action of His love is in the bestowal of the Holy Spirit. The two principal operations of our souls correspond to those in God; with them we make Him the due return for His almighty action on us; they constitute our duty towards Him, and our own perfection and beatitude. We first see and know God by the intelligence, we recognize His excellent claim on us, and then by love we enter into further union with Him, give ourselves to Him, and take possession of Him in a new and better way. Thus our whole being merges in God, and all our faculties are devoted to His service. Love is made possible by the preliminary action of intelligence and free choice of God. Knowledge is sanctified, made effectual, and made living by love. You must begin the practice of beatific action while yet on earth. Be careful not to limit yourself to science, even to the sacred science of God. Mere knowledge is vain and unfruitful, and becomes material for sin. Let it be made practical by means of love.

Continue Reading.

The Beautific Vision

Click Here to Enlarge

The intellect is the great faculty of spiritual beings such as the human soul, and it is the principal domain of human activity. Its powers are wondrously great, and it exercises itself in an endless variety of ways. Even within the limited sphere of this world, and with all the hindrances arising from our personal weakness and external impediments, human intelligence can find scope for a series of most wonderful achievements which will not be exhausted in thousands of generations. Nay more, as time goes on the field of investigation increases instead of diminishing. Granted a wider universe for research, and a hundred-fold multiplication of human powers, what imagination can picture the stores of knowledge that would be opened, or the heights to which the intelligence might rise? No interest is so absorbing, no pleasure so intense and so elevating as a rule, as those which spring from the exercise of the intellectual powers. The human mind is also a source of immense energy; it controls and turns to its purposes most of the great forces of nature; it has produced sublime works in the material sphere as well as in those of art, invention, investigation; further it is the image of that internal action of God by which the Son proceeds from the Father. The satisfaction of this high faculty is one of the great cravings of human nature; and its complete satisfaction by an infinite object must be the first element of supreme beatitude. What wonderful possibilities of delight are suggested by the mere thought of the multiplication of our present powers; infinitely greater must be the delight when God is the object of our enlarged intelligence!

Continue Reading.

The Nature of Beatitude

ENLARGE

By Beatitude is meant the supreme happiness of man, the satisfaction of all the needs of his nature, the perfecting of his being, the attainment of his highest aspirations, the accomplishment of the purpose of his existence. The one object which is capable of satisfying all these requirements is God. God is the Beatitude of man. Man's happiness, considered subjectively, is the consciousness of possessing God. In this state of completion there is no further wanting, no further striving; all that is attainable has been attained; nothing further remains; man enters upon perfect repose and peace. Yet Beatitude is not the repose of inactivity; it does not mean that human faculties have no further exercise; it is not the termination of active life; it is the perfection of our life, and life is essentially action. Further, we enter into a participation in the divine life; and God, while immutable, is pure activity. The action of our future life will differ widely as to its methods from our present activity. Instead of seeking what we do not as yet possess or perhaps can never attain, we shall find employment for all our energies on that which we shall then possess. We shall possess God substantially, we shall see Him face to face, yet we shall never comprehend Him thoroughly; and for all eternity we shall continually progress, drinking more deeply of the fountain of delights, and receiving ever new revelations of the divine perfections, truth, and goodness. So St. John, in describing the abode of our eternal rest, represents the Cherubim as resting not by day or night in their activity (Apoc. iv. 8). As Beatitude is action, so you must prepare for it here by continual activity, never resting in the service of God and man. 

Continue Reading.

All Creation Serves God

 ENLARGE

With the exception of the angels, lost souls, and those in mortal sin, all creation unites in one harmony of service towards God. The unintelligent creation below man serves God in three ways : 

1. Because all things conform to the law of their being as imposed by God: "fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds which fulfil His word" (Ps. cxlviii. 8). They do what is required of them, and help in the gradual progress of the world towards God. Be as regular as they in rendering willing obedience to the law of your being. 

2. Because all things represent something of the attributes of God. "The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Rom. i. 20). Thus are manifested the immensity, the eternity, the power the wisdom of God. Every action, word and thought of yours should in like manner be a manifestation of the beauty of holiness and the excellence of religion. 

3. Because they all help to maintain the human race, afford food for body and mind, and conduce to that intellectual and free service which they cannot themselves render. So all the lower creatures are faithful in their own way. Do not pervert them from their service of God by making them an occasion of sin to yourself. Learn from these inferior beings that the law of your perfection, as of all the rest of nature, is fidelity to the great Creator.

Continue Reading.

God The End of All Things

Chick Here to Enlarge

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God" (Apoc. i. 8). All creation proceeds from an infinite source and aspires to return thither. Development or progress begins in the lowest stages, and rises irresistibly higher and higher, till completeness is attained at the summit of being. Hence it is written, "The Lord hath made all things for Himself" (Prov. xvi. 4). Necessarily so: 

1. Because God is the apex of all being to which all others must aspire. 

2. Because it would be a false progress, a perversion of order, a degradation, for any action to terminate in an object lower than its own source, and for divine energy to find its end in a mere creature. God can operate only for the highest and noblest purpose, for the Infinite in Himself. God is especially the object of human energy, the goal of human development. The desires of human nature are insatiable, its aspirations unlimited; they will never stop short of that which is absolutely highest and best; they will never find their felicity except in the Infinite. It is a perversion of all right order and progress for man to look below himself, or to make any creature the object of his energies, or to expect full enjoyment in any thing finite. In the end he will find nothing but failure; he will have exhausted his energies on that which is utterly unprofitable, and will have lost the only thing that can make him happy in eternity. Here as well as hereafter you will find no satisfaction but in God.

Continue Reading.

The Stages of Man's Development

Click Here to Enlarge

There are three successive stages that lead up to the fulness of human development. First, man is called by God out of nothingness, he receives existence and the due faculties of his nature. The merely natural stage of existence is the first benefit of God; it is the first deliverance wrought by the Word of God, raising man out of the deep abysses of non-being, and imprinting on him the first seal of likeness to the Divinity. As a matter of fact man did not remain in this state; he was not left on the same natural level with the rest of creation, but was raised to a condition that was above ordinary nature. His perversity, however, deprived him of the endowments of the higher state, and thrust him down to the natural level, wounded and depreciated by the uprooting of the tree of supernatural life which had been implanted in his soul. Still we may dwell with wonder and gratitude on the endowments which God has attached to this lower sphere of life, existence first, conscious intelligence, freedom of will, mastery over all lower nature, aptitude for progress and the continual achievements of knowledge, and for an organized social existence with all the mutual aids that it opens to us. Admire the generosity of God; consider the greatness of even natural man; but take care that pride in the lower gifts of God do not make you incapable of appreciating and aspiring to those which are higher.

Continue Reading.

The Final Purpose of Man

Click Here to Enlarge

 

Having considered God as acting within Himself and in His works, we come now to consider Him as the object of man's action, as the end of man, as his beatitude. Rational beings act with knowledge of what they do, and always have some object in view; this guides their actions, this they endeavour to attain. The sailor at sea always remembers the port for which his ship is chartered, and every single action of every day is directed to that end. The soldier in battle thinks only of the object of attack, and he makes everything, including life, subordinate thereto. The merchant buys and sells, always with careful calculation of his gains. Every one but a savage uses articles for their proper purpose, and follows carefully the directions for their use. Every one gives credit to the maker of a machine for knowing exactly its capabilities and the precautions that must be observed with it. Nothing is more important than to ascertain the final purpose of this world, the destiny of man in particular, the laws on which his successful action depends, the manner in which he ought to use the gifts bestowed on him. Yet, in this matter of supreme importance the majority of mankind act without the least forethought or even intelligence. Do not be so negligent. Keep the divine purpose ever before your eyes to guide every detail of your life. "O Lord, make me know my end, and what is the number of my days; that I may know what is wanting to me" 

(Ps. xxxviii. 5).

Continue Reading.

Devotion to The Blessed Virgin

Click Here to Enlarge

Devotion, consisting of veneration, love and imitation, towards the Mother of Jesus is an integral portion of the Christian life. 

1. It is a duty we owe to God. He manifests His perfections to us, not directly, but through creatures. We discern Him in nature, in mankind, in our own mind and conscience, in Holy Scripture; but besides this "God is wonderful in His saints" (Ps. Ixvii. 36). Especially is He wonderful in the Blessed Woman who is the most perfect of all the works of His hand after the Divine Humanity. More than all other creatures, she is calculated to lead our minds towards God. Of her, more than all, we should say: "To me Thy friends, O Lord, are made exceedingly honourable" (Ps. cxxxviii. 17). 

2. Christ and His Mother manifest one another. The more we realize that He is true God of true God, the more shall we appreciate her dignity, who was so closely associated with Him. The greater our esteem for the wonderful privileges of the Mother, the more shall we be impressed by the unapproachable sanctity of Him who demanded so much in her, and conferred so much upon her. She is made great by her Son and for her Son; the honour or the reproach directed towards her are reflected on Him. 

3. As being thoroughly man, and as a model for all the relations of life, Christ's chief human affection was that which He felt for the Mother who gave Him life. By being devout towards her you will fulfil the command: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. ii. 6).

Continue Reading.

The Assumption

Click Here to Enlarge

"Nor wilt Thou give Thy holy one to see corruption" (Ps. xv. 10). The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin's body into heaven was the last of her many earthly privileges. It was saved from the degradation of putrefaction, was raised to life, and united with her soul in glory. The Ark of the Covenant was a figure of Mary. It contained the word of God on the two tables, a portion of the bread which came from heaven, and the brazen serpent which saved the people from death, all of them emblems of Our Lord. That ark was of incorruptible wood, prefiguring her incorruption. The putrefaction of our bodies aptly punishes the corruption which we have deliberately introduced into our souls; it is fitting that all our comeliness and pride should be brought down to the awful hideousness of the tomb. Soul and body mutually act and react. The infinite sanctity of God the Son preserved His Mother from the smallest taint of spiritual corruption; and to this corresponded her preservation from bodily corruption. As "the corruptible body weigheth down the soul" (Wisd. ix. 15), so that soul which never suffered the death of sin, drew the body after it to a renewed life. Keep your soul free from the taint of sin, and its grace will overflow on your body. You will be freed from many of the physical evils of life which proceed from the degradation and foulness of the sinful soul.

Continue Reading.

The Death of the Blessed Virgin

Click Here for History

"Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar; my soul hath long been a sojourner." (Ps. cxix. 5, 6). After the work of Redemption was accomplished, and Our Lord had returned to His Heavenly Father, His Blessed Mother still remained many years on earth before the term of her pilgrimage was reached. This period she passed at Jerusalem and Ephesus under the care of the Apostle St. John, to whom Our Lord had committed her. She lived in seclusion, taking no part in the business or amusements of the great world, conversing with God, meditating on the mysteries of her Son's life and Passion, gaining daily new stores of merit. She had been an example for maidens and mothers, now she became a model to the widowed and the childless, to the lonely and the weary, teaching them to wait patiently for the revelation of the glory to come. Unlike most of Our Lord's immediate friends and relatives, she was not to suffer a martyr's death, but she teaches us to endure the more painful martyrdom of living. She had duties also in the infant Church. She remained for a while as a visible memorial of its Founder, and the sole witness to the early stages of His Incarnation and life; she supplied the details to the Evangelists, and spoke as to the mind of Jesus, and directed and encouraged the Apostles in their work. Even if your life be quiet and retired, it is not therefore useless: it may be made useful to others, glorious to God, meritorious to yourself.

Continue Reading.

The Obscurity of the Blessed Virgin

Click Here to Enlarge

At the commencement of Our Lord's life, the Gospels assign an important position to the Blessed Virgin, and exalt her glory. After this there is the long obscurity of the thirty years at Nazareth, enveloping both Son and Mother. Christ then emerges into full sight, and Our Lady remains in the background, appearing only in the three days loss, at Cana and on Calvary. There are two references to her besides; where Our Lord says that His disciples are to Him both mother and brethren; and again, referring to her: "Yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it" (Luke viii. 21, xi. 28). Further, on some notable occasions the Blessed Virgin is absent, from the glorification of Our Lord on Thabor, and from the last supper; and she is not mentioned in any accounts of Our Lord's appearances after His Resurrection. Thus the Blessed amongst women is passed over, she seems to be purposely ignored and even humbled. This is the mystery of her obscurity. Yet this is the best evidence of her greatness and holiness. She is placed in an exceptional position, and apart from all others who are sinners. Wonderful are the ways of God! He seems to abandon you when He is nearest; He shows His favour by chastening you; He humbles you in order that you may be the more elevated. Submit with faith and resignation.

Continue Reading.

Howdy Neighbor

The Blessed Virgin on Calvary

Click to Enlarge Here

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother" (John xix. 25). The holy Virgin is only mentioned once again in the Gospels up to the hour of her Son's death; and here she is spoken of only by the beloved disciple, who beyond all others, had a deep insight into divine mysteries. Every circumstance here has a special significance. We must not see in this merely the mother overwhelmed by human feeling, and showing a superb fidelity, patience and love. Ordinary maternal instinct would either have kept her aloof from the fearful tragedy, or would have shown itself in excitement, and fainting and tears. But Mary "stood by the cross," silent, outwardly impassive, as fulfilling a part providentially appointed to her in this mystery. She alone knew what was really taking place. To others, the Crucifixion was, variously, either the execution of a disturber of the peace, or the martyrdom of a holy prophet, the triumph of wickedness in high places, the natural failure of another noble enterprise. They had no more spiritual understanding than the ox and the ass in the stable at Bethlehem. Mary alone recognized that the sufferer was God, and that this was the accomplishment of the divine plan for the redemption of mankind. Place yourself beneath the cross with her. Ask for spiritual intelligence of all the mysteries of Providence, so that you may see God acting therein, and that you be not like those who have eyes and see not.

Continue Reading.

Howdy Neighbor