The chief cause of inner unhappiness is egotism or selfishness. He who gives himself importance by boasting is actually showing the credentials of his own worthlessness. Pride is an attempt to create an impression that we are what we actually are not. How much happier people would be if instead of exalting their ego to…
Sacred Scripture speaks of pride as one of the two primary roots of sin. Various Catholic theologians and writers have seen it as one of the greatest sins, for it gives birth to many other evil impulses. St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope St. Gregory the Great called pride “the queen of all vices.” Pride is an…
The voice of Jesus—My Child, one thing above all others is necessary, to save thy soul. For if she is lost, all is lost; but if she is saved, all else is saved. Yet, thou shalt not attain thy eternal salvation, if thou do not imitate My Heart. For those whom God did foreknow, He…
If we wish to discern what belongs to God and that which is our own, it is sufficient for us to reflect that by rendering to God all that is His, nothing is left to ourselves but nothingness, so that we can truly say with the Prophet: “I am brought to nothing.” (Ps. 72:21). This…
Pride was the first sin committed. It was the sin of Lucifer. It was also the root of the Original Sin committed by Adam and Eve. Pride is the greatest of sins because it is the summit of self-love and is directly opposed to submission to God. It is, therefore, the sin most hated by…
All the children of Israel actually departed from Egypt, but they did not all depart heartily, wherefore in the desert some of them regretted the flesh, the melons, the leeks, and onions of Egypt. (Num. 11). And so some penitents, though they forsake sin outwardly, do not forsake the love of sin; that is to…
It is thus that on this memorable day [Feast of Corpus Christi] faith triumphs, hope is enhanced, charity shines, piety exults, our temples re-echo with hymns of exultation, pure souls tremble with holy joy, the faith of the lukewarm is awakened, whilst infidelity and heresy are confounded. It cannot be doubted, therefore, that the institution…
Christ: My Son, hear My words, words most sweet, exceeding all the learning of the philosophers and of the wise men of this world. My words are spirit and life (John 6:69), and not to be estimated by the sense of man. They are not intended to gratify a vain self-complacency, but are to be…
If our readers were to admit now that the doctrine put forward in this book is a matter of considerable importance, we would already achieve a good result; but that is not enough. The real purpose of this work is to get the reader to resolve: “I am going to live according to this doctrine.”…
Five years after Saints Louis and Zélie Martin entered the covenant of marriage, another couple would do so across the Atlantic Ocean: Bernard and Ellen Casey, who would become the parents of Blessed Solanus Casey. Connections can play a significant role in forming marriages. Besides physical attraction and virtue, which was seen in the Martins,…
One of the great women of the Catholic Church, Saint Gertrude the Great, born in Germany in the year 1256, was a Benedictine mystic, writer, and intellect, but most especially she was a great lover of both Jesus and Mary. Her literary masterpiece, Herald of Divine Love, is highly recommended to enrich your spiritual life…
Sensible devotion is sometimes produced by dispositions of our nature, sometimes by artifices of the devil, and sometimes by an influx of grace. You may discern its origin in a particular case by studying the effects; for if no amendment follows, you may well suspect the devil or your own infirm nature to be at…
Wisdom is something which we all naturally value, desire, and seek in this present life. Yet our wisdom in this present life, even for the most learned and astute of people, is always partial, fragmentary, and uncertain. But in the next life, the blessed souls in heaven shall possess wisdom which is of such a…
“The sins that sprout forth from sloth are contempt for commands, and because one throws himself into the prey of vice, he despairs of doing good, and as a result they become rancorous against those that strive to avoid sin and take up a good life.” – St. Robert Bellarmine “These are the daughters of…
There remains, Dear Reader, one more subject to treat of before my task is ended: It is unworthy Communion. It is not so agreeable a subject as those with which we have been hitherto engaged; but reverence for our Divine Saviour, as well as zeal for the salvation of souls, require that the truth should…
The Apostles wrote that part of Revelation which is contained in the Scriptures, while their disciples wrote what the Apostles preached, taught or instituted in the Church, but which had not been written by the Apostles. It is a mistake to dream only of an oral tradition carried on from generation to generation through the…
In the preceding Part, we considered the supernatural, mysterious union with God which grace effects in us. We saw how it makes us living temples of the Holy Ghost and of the entire Holy Trinity and begets divine life in our soul. We saw how it procures for our soul the ineffable dignity of a…
Although a true servant of Jesus Christ, aspiring to the heights of perfection, should set no limits to his spiritual advancement, he should nevertheless exercise prudence as regards those excesses of fervor to which he is prone, and which at first seem feasible. For first fervor is apt to cool and may be entirely extinguished.…Preparation 1. Place thyself in the presence of God. 2. Prostrate thyself before Him, and seek His aid. Reflections 1. Once more imagine yourself in a wide plain alone with your good angel; and on the left hand behold the devil sitting on a high and lofty throne, surrounded by infernal spirits, and by a…
Once the Emperor Henry besieged a certain city for a considerable time. The inhabitants were unwilling to surrender; so he notified them that he would give orders to his soldiers to take the city by assault, and massacre all its inhabitants to a man, even the little children. Alarmed at this proclamation, and seeing no…