ST JEROME FEASTDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER

St. Jerome was a Roman Christian who lived in the fourth century. His father taught him his religion well, but sent him to a famous pagan school. There Jerome grew to love pagan writings and lost some of his love for God. Yet, in the company of a group of holy Christians, with whom he became great friends, his heart was turned completely to God. Later, this brilliant young man decided to live alone in a wild desert. He was afraid that his love for pagan writings would lead him away from the love of God. He welcomed the hard penance and the scorching hot desert. Yet even there, he suffered terrible temptations. The immoral entertainment held in Rome seemed fresh in his imagination and memory. Jerome did not give in, however. He increased his acts of penance and wept for his sins. He also went to study Hebrew with a monk as his teacher. This he did to get rid of the bad thoughts that kept attacking his mind. He became such a great scholar of Hebrew that he could later translate the Bible into Latin. Many more people were then able to read and enjoy it.

MAN'S OLDEST FOE

 Warnings from Pope Francis on Man's Oldest Foe, the Devil

1) “When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil.”

2) “The Prince of this world, Satan, doesn’t want our holiness, he doesn’t want us to follow Christ. Maybe some of you might say: ‘But Father, how old fashioned you are to speak about the devil in the 21st century!’ But look out because the devil is present! The devil is here… even in the 21st century! And we mustn’t be naïve, right? We must learn from the Gospel how to fight against Satan.”

3) “[The Devil] attacks the family so much. That demon does not love it and seeks to destroy it. […] May the Lord bless the family. May He make it strong in this crisis, in which the devil wishes to destroy it.”

4) “It is enough to open a newspaper and we see that around us there is the presence of evil, the Devil is at work. But I would like to say in a loud voice ‘God is stronger.’ Do you believe this, that God is stronger?”

5) “Let us ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to fight for our salvation. He won against the devil! Please, let us not do business with the devil! He seeks to return home, to take possession of us… Do not relativize; be vigilant! And always with Jesus!”

6) “The presence of the devil is on the first page of the Bible, and the Bible ends as well with the presence of the devil, with the victory of God over the devil.”

7) “Either you are with me, says the Lord, or you are against me… [Jesus came] to give us the freedom… [from] the enslavement the devil has over us… On this point, there are no nuances. There is a battle and a battle where salvation is at play, eternal salvation. We must always be on guard, on guard against deceit, against the seduction of evil.”

8) “The devil plants evil where there is good, trying to divide people, families and nations. But God… looks into the ‘field’ of each person with patience and mercy: he sees the dirt and the evil much better than we do, but he also sees the seeds of good and patiently awaits their germination.”

9) “The devil cannot stand seeing the sanctity of a church or the sanctity of a person, without trying to do something.”

10) “Note well how Jesus responds [to temptation]: He doesn’t dialogue with Satan, as Eve did in the terrestrial Paradise. Jesus knows well that one can’t dialogue with Satan, because he is so cunning. For this reason, instead of dialoguing, as Eve did, Jesus chooses to take refuge in the Word of God and to respond with the power of this Word. Let us remind ourselves of this in the moment of temptation…: not arguing with Satan, but defending ourselves with the Word of God. And this will save us.”

11) “We too need to guard the faith, guard it from darkness. Many times, however, it is a darkness under the guise of light. This is because the devil, as saint Paul, says, disguises himself at times as an angel of light.”

12) “Behind every rumor there is jealousy and envy. And gossip divides the community, destroys the community. Rumors are the weapons of the devil.”

13) “Let us always remember… that the Adversary wants to keep us separated from God and therefore instills disappointment in our hearts when we do not see our apostolic commitment immediately rewarded. Every day the devil sows the seeds of pessimism and bitterness in our hearts. … Let us open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit, who never ceases to sow seeds of hope and confidence.”

PRAYER TO ST MICHEAL ON HIS FEAST DAY

St. Michael the Archangel, 

defend us in battle. 
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. 
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, 
and do thou, 
O Prince of the heavenly hosts, 
by the power of God, 
thrust into hell Satan, 
and all the evil spirits, 
who prowl about the world 
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen..

OUR LADY OF RANSOM

Our Lady ransoms us from the slavery of our sins, and brings us the grace of conversion.

ST VINCENT DE PAUL FEAST DAY 27 SEPTEMBER SOME SHORT NOTES

Vincent, the son of poor French peasants, was born in 1581. When he became famous, he loved to tell people how he had taken care of his father’s pigs. After finishing his studies, Vincent became a priest. At first, he was given an important position as the teacher of rich children, and he lived rather comfortably. Then one day, he was called to the side of a dying peasant. In front of many people, this man declared that all his past confessions had been bad ones. Suddenly Father Vincent realized how badly the poor people of France needed spiritual help. When he began to preach to them, crowds went to confession. He finally decided to start a congregation of priests to work especially among the poor. The charities of St. Vincent de Paul were so many that it seems impossible for one person to have begun so much. He took care of criminals who worked on the sailing ships. He started the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity with St. Louise de Marillac. He opened hospitals and homes for orphans and old people. He collected large sums of money for poor areas, sent missionaries to many countries, and bought back prisoners from the Mohammedans.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE CHURCH

 Scattered about the entire earth, your mother the Church is tormented by the assaults of error. She is also afflicted by the laziness and indifference of so many of the children she carries around in her bosom as well as by the sight of so many of her members growing cold, while she becomes less able to help her little ones. Who then will give her the necessary help she cries for if not her children and other members to whose number you belong? 

St. Augustine

HOW TO STRIVE FOR CHASTITY

Chastity is a daily commitment, not an end goal.  The change 

from bondage to sin to freedom to despise it, is a long road.

  The more you commit every day, the more you will push 

your sins behind you.  

Keep up the good work!  Pray endlessly and keep Christ 

close! 

 Your Mother and friends in Heaven are rooting for you!  You 

can do this!  Even when you stumble, you can still pick 

yourself up and race onward towards Heaven!

LET US TAKE HEED BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

“If my people will not obey, I shall be compelled to loose my Son’s arm. It is so heavy, so pressing that I can no longer restrain it.” - Our Lady of La Salette

OUR FINAL TEST

On the last day, when the general 

examination takes place, there will be no 

question at all on the text of Aristotle, the 

aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs

 of Justinian. 

Charity will be the whole syllabus. 

–St. Robert Bellarmine

HAVE YOU EVER PRAYED GOD TO SNED MORE LABOURERS IN HIS VINEYARD?

Prayer for Seminarians

O Jesus, Eternal High Priest, I offer You through Your Immaculate Mother Mary, Your Own Precious Blood, in all the Masses throughout the world, as petition for graces for all seminarians, Your future priests. Give them humility, meekness, prudence, and a burning zeal for souls. Fill their hearts with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to know and love the Church, that they may always and everywhere speak, act, and think with her, the glorious spouse of Christ. Teach them generosity and detachment from worldly goods; but above all, teach them to know You and to love the One and Only Eternal Priest.

Good Shepherd of Souls, hear this my prayer for saintly priests. Amen.

~~ taken from “Prayers for Today,” published by Leaflet Missal Co.

WHY DO WE FAIL TO HEAR GOD?

 We are no longer able to hear God. There are too many frequencies filling our ears.

“

—	Pope Benedict XVI

WHAT TORMENTS THE DEVIL?

THE BIBLE

WAY TO GOD

 Anything that does not lead you to God is a hindrance. Root it out and throw it far from you. 

St Josemaria Escriva

WHERE SHOULD WE PUT CHRIST?

 Christ is not valued at all, unless he is valued above all. 

St. Augustine

CLOSENESS TO GOD

.St John Chrysostum

“God is everywhere.
You decide whether you are close to Him or not.”

…………………………………………..St John Chrysostum

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS

OUR LADY OF SORROWS

A painting of Our Lady of Sorrows from a private collection in Puebla, Mexico.

The Arma Christi, the objects of Christ’s Passion, have been embroidered onto Mary’s dress.

““Holy Mother, 

pierce me through, in my heart each wound renew,

 of my Savior crucified.”

EXALTATION OF THE CROSS

Exaltation of the Holy Cross - Feast Day September 14

“How splendid the cross of Christ! 

It brings life, not death; light, not darkness; 

Paradise, not its loss.

It is the wood on which the Lord, like a great warrior, 

was wounded in hands and feet and side, 

but healed thereby our wounds.

A tree has destroyed us, a tree now brought us life" 

THE DOOR

ST JOHN OF THE CROSS

No one can advance in virtue except by following Jesus 

Christ. He is the truth, the life and the only door through 

whom everyone who wants to be saved must 

enter………………………St John of the Cross

WHAT WOULD I ANSWER?

Sometimes wonder why God allows abortion, racism, poverty, famine, and more when He could do something about it. But the thing is, I am afraid to ask Him because He might just ask us the same question.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

 We should not ask, “What is wrong with the world?” for that diagnosis has already been given. 

Rather, we should ask, “What has happened to the salt and light? "

SUFFERING

Christ did not come to abolish suffering, but to show us how to suffer.  

We must become like little Christs; He was crucified with His arms wide open, a sign of His love.”

REST IN GOD'S HANDS

Never put limits on what God 
wants to do in your life. 
The Holy Spirit may appear as a dove
but that does not mean he’s fit for a cage.

PRAYER

To neglect prayer is to neglect 

the only means given us to remain 

in touch with Almighty God; 

if we lose hold of him, 

we necessarily fall back onto ourselves, 

and in ourselves we can find nothing 

that can advance us towards eternal life.

WHAT A VISIT TO JESUS IS WORTH

ENCOURAGEMENT

 If you happen to do something you regret, humble yourself before God and try to regain your gentle composure. Say to your soul, ‘We have made a mistake, but let’s go on now and be more careful.’ Then don’t miss the opportunity to perform as many acts of gentleness as you can—and as frequently as you can—no matter how small these acts may seem, for, as our Lord says: ‘To the person who is faithful in little things, greater ones will be given.’ 

St. Francis de Sales

WHAT AM I WORTH?

 …that while through His strength I may move mountains, all I may do upon my own is dig a very shallow grave. 

JESUS THE BEGINING AND THE END

HUMILITY

 Remember that He is the artist and you are only the picture. You can’t see it. So quietly submit to be painted. 

PRAYER

Never give up prayer, and should you find dryness and difficulty, persevere in it for this very reason. God often desires to see what love your soul has, and love is not tried by ease and satisfaction.“

— St. John of the Cross

Daily reminder: if you haven’t prayed this morning, pray! Your day /will/ be better after you check in with Jesus.

DISCOVERING GOD

“Thou hast made us for thyself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” - St. Augustine, Confessions