FEAST OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - click to read encyclical Ineffabilis Deus

'Immaculate Conception' by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

 The Gospel says that a father left his house early one morning to find hired hands to work in his vineyard. Weren't there people already in that vineyard? Yes, Mary was there; she was born in that vineyard. And what is the vineyard? It is grace.

Yes, Mary was born in it, since she was conceived free of sin. As for us, we were called to it, the Father went looking for us; but Mary was always in it. Oh, such a beautiful worker! She is pure, unspoiled. The Good Lord could have created a more beautiful world than this one, but he could not have created a more perfect creature than Mary. 'St John Vianney and The Immaculate Conception' - after A Moment with Mary)

...God Ineffable -- whose ways are mercy and truth, whose will is omnipotence itself, and whose wisdom "reaches from end to end mightily, and orders all things sweetly" -- having foreseen from all eternity the lamentable wretchedness of the entire human race which would result from the sin of Adam, decreed, by a plan hidden from the centuries, to complete the first work of his goodness by a mystery yet more wondrously sublime through the Incarnation of the Word. This he decreed in order that man who, contrary to the plan of Divine Mercy had been led into sin by the cunning malice of Satan, should not perish; and in order that what had been lost in the first Adam would be gloriously restored in the Second Adam. From the very beginning, and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for his only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, he would be born into this world. Above all creatures did God so loved her that truly in her was the Father well pleased with singular delight. Therefore, far above all the angels and all the saints so wondrously did God endow her with the abundance of all heavenly gifts poured from the treasury of his divinity that this mother, ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and sanctity than which, under God, one cannot even imagine anything greater, and which, outside of God, no mind can succeed in comprehending fully....

...And indeed it was wholly fitting that so wonderful a mother should be ever resplendent with the glory of most sublime holiness and so completely free from all taint of original sin that she would triumph utterly over the ancient serpent...

..The Church made it clear indeed that the conception of Mary is to be venerated as something extraordinary, wonderful, eminently holy, and different from the conception of all other human beings -- for the Church celebrates only the feast days of the saints...

..All are aware with how much diligence this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God has been handed down, proposed and defended by the most outstanding religious orders, by the more celebrated theological academies, and by very eminent doctors in the sciences of theology. All know, likewise, how eager the bishops have been to profess openly and publicly, even in ecclesiastical assemblies, that Mary, the most holy Mother of God, by virtue of the foreseen merits of Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, was never subject to original sin, but was completely preserved from the original taint, and hence she was redeemed in a manner more sublime....

...Even the Council of Trent itself, when it promulgated the dogmatic decree concerning original sin, following the testimonies of the Sacred Scriptures, of the Holy Fathers and of the renowned Council, decreed and defined that all men are born infected by original sin; nevertheless, it solemnly declared that it had no intention of including the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, in this decree and in the general extension of its definition....

...And indeed, illustrious documents of venerable antiquity, of both the Eastern and the Western Church, very forcibly testify that this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the most Blessed Virgin, which was daily more and more splendidly explained, stated and confirmed by the highest authority, teaching, zeal, knowledge, and wisdom of the Church, and which was disseminated among all peoples and nations of the Catholic world in a marvelous manner -- this doctrine always existed in the Church as a doctrine that has been received from our ancestors, and that has been stamped with the character of revealed doctrine....

...These ecclesiastical writers in quoting the words by which at the beginning of the world God announced his merciful remedies prepared for the regeneration of mankind -- words by which he crushed the audacity of the deceitful serpent and wondrously raised up the hope of our race, saying, "I will put enmities between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed"[Gn 3:15] -- taught that by this divine prophecy the merciful Redeemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was clearly foretold: That his most Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, was prophetically indicated; and, at the same time, the very enmity of both against the evil one was significantly expressed. Hence, just as Christ, the Mediator between God and man, assumed human nature, blotted the handwriting of the decree that stood against us, and fastened it triumphantly to the cross, so the most holy Virgin, united with him by a most intimate and indissoluble bond, was, with him and through him, eternally at enmity with the evil serpent, and most completely triumphed over him, and thus crushed his head with her immaculate foot....

...This sublime and singular privilege of the Blessed Virgin, together with her most excellent innocence, purity, holiness and freedom from every stain of sin, as well as the unspeakable abundance and greatness of all heavenly graces, virtues and privileges -- these the Fathers beheld in that ark of Noah, which was built by divine command and escaped entirely safe and sound from the common shipwreck of the whole world; [Gn 6:9] in the ladder which Jacob saw reaching from the earth to heaven, by whose rungs the angels of God ascended and descended, and on whose top the Lord himself leaned' [Gn 28:12] in that bush which Moses saw in the holy place burning on all sides, which was not consumed or injured in any way but grew green and blossomed beautifully;[Ex 3:2] in that impregnable tower before the enemy, from which hung a thousand bucklers and all the armor of the strong;[Sg 4:4] in that garden enclosed on all sides, which cannot be violated or corrupted by any deceitful plots;[Sg 4:12] as in that resplendent city of God, which has its foundations on the holy mountains;[Ps 87:1] in that most august temple of God, which, radiant with divine splendors, is full of the glory of God; [Is 6:1-4] and in very many other biblical types of this kind. In such allusions the Fathers taught that the exalted dignity of the Mother of God, her spotless innocence and her sanctity unstained by any fault, had been prophesied in a wonderful manner....

...In like manner did they use the words of the prophets to describe this wondrous abundance of divine gifts and the original innocence of the Virgin of whom Jesus was born. They celebrated the august Virgin as the spotless dove, as the holy Jerusalem, as the exalted throne of God, as the ark and house of holiness which Eternal Wisdom built, and as that Queen who, abounding in delights and leaning on her Beloved, came forth from the mouth of the Most High, entirely perfect, beautiful, most dear to God and never stained with the least blemish....

....When the Fathers and writers of the Church meditated on the fact that the most Blessed Virgin was, in the name and by order of God himself, proclaimed full of grace [Luke 1:28] by the Angel Gabriel when he announced her most sublime dignity of Mother of God, they thought that this singular and solemn salutation, never heard before, showed that the Mother of God is the seat of all divine graces and is adorned with all gifts of the Holy Spirit. To them Mary is an almost infinite treasury, an inexhaustible abyss of these gifts, to such an extent that she was never subject to the curse and was, together with her Son, the only partaker of perpetual benediction. Hence she was worthy to hear Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaim: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."[Luke:1:28]...

After Apostolic Constitution "Ineffabilis Deus" issued by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854.

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History of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception and Franciscan Champions of the Dogma

"It is unjust to pass over the immense share which... the Order of St. Francis of Assisi, has had in the earthly triumph of our blessed Mother, the Queen of heaven and earth. As often as this feast of the Immaculate Conception comes round, is it not just that we should think with reverence and gratitude on him, who was the first theologian that showed how closely connected with the divine mystery of the Incarnation is this dogma of the Immaculate Conception? First, then, all honour to the name of the pious and learned Blessed John Duns Scotus"  [Dom Prosper Gueranger "The Liturgical Year"]



Bl John Duns Scotus - defender of the dogma of Immaculate Conception

On clicking HERE we will find a brief biography of Bl. John Duns Scotus, Franciscan Priest and Theologian of the Thirteenth Century. Next to St. Bonaventure, Bl. John is perhaps the most important and influential theologian in the history of the Franciscan Order. He was the founder of the Scotistic School in Theology, and until the time of the French Revolution his thought dominated the Roman Catholic faculities of theology in nearly all the major universities of Europe. He is best known for his theology on the Absolute Kingship of Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his philosophic refutation of evolution. He was a student of another great Franciscan theologian and Mariologist, William of Ware, who set forth an argument based on God's ability to do anything and the fittingness of doing it. William of Ware argued that God could create a sinless being: "What he could do, it was fitting that He should do so and from this it follows that He did do it; for the Son should honor the Mother".

Bl John Duns Scotus was a faithful student of William and taught at prominent Universities of Oxford and Paris. He argued that the most perfect form of mediation would be to preserve another from sin. According to Scotus, this is what Christ did: "The most perfect mediator exercises the most perfect act of mediation possible with respect to some person for whom he mediates; therefore Christ had the most perfect form of mediation possible with respect to someone for whom He was Mediator. But for no one did He exercise a more excellent form of mediation than for Mary....But this would not be so if He had not merited to preserve her from original sin." And also: "It is a more excellent benefit to preserve a person from evil than to permit him to fall into it and then deliver him from it."

John Scotus maintains that Mary has received a greater redemption from Christ rather than less redemption: Mary would have had the greatest need of Christ as Redeemer; for by reason of her procreation, which followed the common mode, she would have contracted original sin had she not been kept from it by the grace of the Mediator, and just as others are in need of Christ for the remission, by his merit, of sin which they have already contracted, so Mary would have been in still greater need of a Mediator preventing her from contracting sin."  Scotus' arguments are based on God's sovereign power. To read the fascinating history of the dogma of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, follow the LINK

In a biography of Blessed John, written by the Franciscan Friars, we read about the occasion when the Immaculate Conception herself appeared to the theologian: "During the night of Christmas, 1299 at the Oxford Convent, Bl. John, immersed in his contemplation of the adorable mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, was rapt in ecstasy. The Blessed Mother appeared to him and placed on his arms the Child Jesus who kissed and embraced him fondly. This was perhaps the occasion which inspired Bl. John to write so profoundly and fluently on the absolute primacy of Christ and the reason for the Incarnation. Christ's Incarnation, which is decreed from all eternity even apart from the Redemption, is the supreme created manifestation of God's love.

It was also in Paris that Bl. John came to be called as the "Marian Doctor" after he championed the privelge of Mary's Immaculate Conception. In England, Bl. John taught the truth of this Marian privilege without any opposition. But at Paris the situation was reversed. The academic body of the University admitted only the purification of Mary in the womb of Her mother St. Anne, like St. John the Baptist. Alexander of Hales, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas, the great Parisian Masters, were not able to solve the problem of the universality of original sin and of  the efficacy of Christ's Redemption. They thought that even the Blessed Virgin Mary was included in this universality, and therefore subject to contract the original stain even if only for an instant, so that she may also be redeemed. Scotus in his attempt to introduce and teach a theological position different from that upheld by the university, had to appear in a public dispute before the whole academic body, at the risk of expulsion from the university if he failed to defend his doctrine. Bl. John Scotus prepared himself for the event in prayer and recollection and in total confidence to the Immaculate Virgin, the Seat of Wisdom.

When the fixed day of the dispute arrived, on leaving the convent, he passed before a statue of Our Lady and with suppliant voice entreated her: "Allow me to praise You, O Most Holy Virgin; give me strength against your enemies." Our Lady responded with a prodigious visible sign: the head of the statue moved and bowed slightly before him. It was as if to say: "Yes I will give you all the strength you need."

Two Papal legates presided over the dispute. Then with powerful dialectic and with deep and subtle reasoning, Bl. Scotus refuted all the objections of the learned men in attendance, undermining the foundation of every argument contrary to Mary's Immaculate Conception. Bl. John Scotus pointed out: "The Perfect Redeemer, must in some case, have done the work of redemption most perfectly, which would not be, unless there is some person, at least, in whose regard, the wrath of God was anticipated and not merely appeased." Bl. John triumphed. From that day the University of Paris took up the same cause to defend this privilege of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We need to remember today another devoted servant of Immaculate Mary, St Maximilan Kolbe, founder of Militia Immaculata. Short biographical note may be found HERE
I will conclude this post with beautiful words from St Maximilian: "Truly, the Immaculate is the work of God and, like any work of God, she is less than Him, without comparison, and she depends completely on her Creator. However, she is God's most perfect, and simplest work. According to Saint Bonaventure, God could have created a larger, more perfect world, but He could never have made anything worthier than Mary."

Text based on various sources.

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REGINA SINE ORIGINALI CONCEPTA - ORA PRO NOBIS!

More details on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary HERE

We knew thee to be free from stain

As is the sun's white beam;

We knew God's Mother must be great 

Above what we could dream - Fr Faber

And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (Apoc 12:1)

Behold, thou art fair, O my love; behold, thou art fair. (Cant 1:14)

Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day of thy creation. (Ezec 27:15)

Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God, and every precious stone was thy covering: the sardious, the topaz, and the jasper, the chrysolite, and the onyx, and the beryl, the sapphire, and the carbuncle, and the emerald; gold the work of thy beauty...Thou wast a cherub stretched out, and protecting, and I set thee in the holy mountain of God. (Ezec 27: 13, 14)

Thou art all fair, O My love, and there is not a spot on thee. (Cant 4:7)

WHAT a joy it must have been to the angels and the whole heavenly court to see Mary's soul, which had gone forth radiantly fair from the hand of Creator, return to Him, after a sojourn of sixty or seventy years in this wicked world, not only unspotted by a single stain, but with its beauty and brilliancy increased to an almost incredible degree! And might not Mary have said, what Judith said to the ancients of Israel:  "As the same Lord liveth, His angel hath been my keeper both going hence and abiding there, and returning from thence hither; and the Lord hath not suffered me, His handmaid, to be defiled, but hath brought me back to you without pollution of sin, rejoicing by His victory for my escape and for uor deliverance"? Yes, dearest Mother, thy joy is threefold. Thy sinlessness is a triumph for God's power and goodness, an honour for thyself, and a glory for the whole human race. Thou art indeed the glory of thy people. And we, what can we say of ourselves? Though we were not, it is true, conceived without sin, did we not received a spotless robe of grace at our baptism? Have we not had one of God's angels ever at our side throughout life? Shall we be able to give back our souls unstained to their Creator, and adorned with many graces?

O sinless Mother, obtain for us that, at any rate, they may be washed in the Blood of the Lamb, and purified by tears of contrition. God has said that, though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow, if we cease to do evil and learn to do well. So, Queen conceived without sin, pray for us that we, as children of the Church, Christ's spotless Bride, may have a holy emulation to keep souls unsullied by actual sin, wilful sin. Help us to conquer our evil inclinations, to do penance for the past, that when invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb in the heavenly kingdom, we may be found clothed with the nuptial garment and adorned with the virtues befitting our state.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.

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Second Sunday of Advent

THE Office of this Sunday is filled, from beginning to end, with the sentiments of hope and joy, with which the soul should be animated at the glad tidings of the speedy coming of Him who is her Saviour and Spouse. The interior coming, that which is effected in the soul, is the almost exclusive object of the Church's prayers for this day: let us therefore open our hearts, let us prepare our lamps, and await in gladness that cry, which will be heard in the midnight: `Glory be to God! Peace unto men!'

The Roman Church makes the Station today in the basilica of Holy-Cross-in-Jerusalem. It was in this venerable church that Constantine deposited a large piece of the true cross, together with the title which was fastened to it by Pilate's order, and which proclaimed the kingly character of the Saviour of the world. These precious relics are still kept there; and, thus enriched with such a treasure, the basilica of Holy-Cross-in-Jerusalem is looked upon, in the Roman liturgy, as Jerusalem itself, as is evident from the allusions made in the several Masses of the Stations held in that basilica. In the language of the sacred Scriptures and of the Church, Jerusalem is the image of the faithful soul; and the Office and Mass of this Sunday have been drawn up on this idea, as the one of the day. We regret not to be able here to develop the sublime beauty of this figure; and must proceed at once to the passage, which the Church has selected from the prophet Isaias. There she tells her children how well founded are her hopes in the merciful and peaceful reign of the Messiah. But first let us adore this divine Messiah:

Come, let us adore the King, our Lord, who is to come.



From the Prophet Isaias; Ch. 9

And there shall come forth a branch out of the rod of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and of godliness: and he shall be filled with the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears: but he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of his loins, and faith the girdle of his reins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. The calf and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall rest together: and the lion shall eat straw like an ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp: and the weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk. They shall not hurt, nor shall they kill in all my holy mountain: for the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of people, him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulcher shall be glorious.

How much is contained in these magnificent words of the prophet! The branch; the flower that is to come from it; the Spirit which rests on this flower; the seven gifts of this Spirit; peace and confidence established on the earth; and, throughout the world, one brotherhood in the kingdom of the Messias! St. Jerome, whose words are read by the Church in the lessons of the second nocturn of this Sunday, says that the branch which cometh forth from the root of Jesse, is the blessed Virgin Mary, who had contact with no shrub or plant; and that the flower is the Lord Jesus, who says in the Canticle of canticles: `I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valley.' In every ago of the Christian Church, this wonderful branch and its divine flower have been objects of enthusiastic veneration. In the middle ages the tree of Jesse, with its prophetic branches, was carved on the cathedral porches, was painted on the windows, was embroidered on the hangings of the sanctuary, and the melodious voice of the priests sang its praises in the beautiful responsory composed by Fulbert of Chartres, and put to music by the devout king Robert.

R. The root of Jesse gave out a branch, and the branch a flower; * and on the flower resteth the holy Spirit.

V. The Virgin Mother of God is the branch, her Son the flower. * And on the flower resteth the holy Spirit.

The devout St. Bernard, commenting upon this responsory in his second Advent homily, says: `The Virgin's Son is the flower, a flower white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands; a flower on whom the angels love to look; a flower whose fragrance restores the dead; a flower, as himself assures us, of the field, not of a garden: for the flowers of the field bloom without man's care, no man has sown their seed, no man has cultivated them. Just so the Virgin's womb, a meadow verdant in an endless spring, has brought forth a flower, whose beauty will never droop, whose freshness will never fade. O Virgin, branch sublime, to what a height art thou grown! Even up to Him that sitteth on the throne, even to the Lord of majesty. It was sure to be so, for thou castest deep down the roots of humility. O plant of heaven indeed! precious above all, holier than all. O tree of life indeed! alone worthy to bear the fruit of salvation.'

And of the holy Spirit and His gifts, what shall we say? They rest and are poured out on the Messiah only to the end that they may flow from Him upon us; He needs them not; but we alone need wisdom and understanding, counsel and fortitude, knowledge and godliness, and fear of the Lord. Let us ask with instance for this divine Spirit, by whose operation Jesus was conceived and born in Mary's womb, and let us beg of Him to form Jesus within our hearts. But let us not forget to rejoice at those other glorious things which are told us by the prophet, of the happiness, and peace, and delights, which are to be on the holy mountain. The world has been looking so many ages for peace; it is now coming. Sin had caused enmity and division everywhere; grace will bring unity. A little Child will be the pledge of an alliance between all nations. The prophets have foretold it, the sibyl has announced it, and in Rome itself, buried as it is in paganism, the prince of Latin poets has sung the celebrated poem, which, after all, is but the voice of the old tradition: `The last age foretold by the Cumean Sibyl, is at hand; a new race is being sent down to earth from high heaven. The flock shall no more fear the fierce lions. The serpent shall be no more: the treacherous plant, which yielded poison, shall grow no more.'

Come then, O Messiah, and restore to the world its primitive peace; but remember, we beseech Thee, that it is in the heart of man that harmony has been broken more than elsewhere in Thy creation: cure this heart, enter into possession of this Jerusalem, which Thou lovest, though so unworthy: she has been too long captive in Babylon; lead her out of this strange land. Build up her temple again, and make the glory of this second temple to be greater than that of the first, by having Thee to dwell in it, not in figure, but in the reality of Thy adorable Person. The angel said to Mary: 'The Lord God shall give unto thy Son the throne of David His father; and He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.' What can we do, O Jesus, but say with Thy beloved disciple, at the close of his prophecy: `Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!'

GOSPEL
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Matthew; Ch. 9.

At that time: When John had heard in prison the works of Christ, sending two of his disciples, he said to him: Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another? And Jesus making answer, said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the Gospel preached to them: and blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in me. And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitude, concerning John: What went you out into the desert to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went you out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are clothed in soft garments are in the houses of kings. But what went you out to see? A prophet? Yea, I tell you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: Behold, I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
Thou art He that was to come, O Jesus! We look for no other. We were blind, Thou hast enlightened us; we were lame, Thou hast made us walk; the leprosy of sin disfigured us, Thou hast cleansed us; we were deaf to Thy words, Thou hast given us hearing; we were dead in sin, Thou hast given us life again; we were poor and had none to care for us, Thou hast come to us with every aid and consolation. These have been, and will again be, the blessings of Thy visit to our souls, O Jesus! A visit, silent but wonderful in its work; which flesh and blood cannot understand, but which faithful hearts feel is granted them. Come, my Saviour, come to me, Thy condescension, and familiarity with such poverty as mine, shall not scandalize me; Thy workings in the souls of men are proof enough that Thou art God. He alone, that created souls, can heal them.

After the symbol of faith has been chanted, when you see the priest is about to make the offering of the bread and wine, unite with the Church in asking to be filled with life by the divine Guest, who is so soon to be with her.

Today's picture is Samuel van Hoogstraten "St. John the Baptist in prison receives Christ's answer"(Matt 2:2,6)
Text after Dom Proper Gueranger "The Liturgical Year"

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Mary became for us a Mediator

Through her the old enmity against the Creator is destroyed.
Through her our reconciliation with Him is strengthened,
Peace and grace are given to us, men are the companions of angels,
And we, who were in dishonor, are made the children of God.
 
From her we have plucked the fruit of life.
From her we have received the seed of immortality.
She is the channel of all our goods.
In her God was man and man was God

Saint John of Damascus

Text after 'A Moment with Mary'
Picture - 'Virgin - Immaculate Conception' by Alonso Lopez de Herrera

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And, now meet the other 'Father Z' - who achieved astonishing success evangelizing Muslims - click for link

Patrick Madrid on his blog has a post about Coptic priest, Fr Zakaria Botros who converted large numbers of Muslims with astonishing effectiveness through his popular TV program - please pray for this courageous priest! 

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QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS - PRAY FOR US!

My abode is in the full assembly of the Saints - Ecclus 24

In the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly. And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed, saying: I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God. His inheritance and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.

I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and like a cypress tree on Mount Sion. I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho: as a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the waters was I exalted...as the vine I have brought a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. (Ecclus 24: 3, 4, 16-19, 23)

With reason is Mary styled Queen of All Saints. We have seen that she excelled the angels in purity, the patriarchs in faith, the prophets in knowledge, the apostles in zeal, the martyrs in courage, the confessors in longanimity, the virgins in whole-hearted devotedness to our Lord. Thus surpassing them all in their distinguishing characteristics she was able to sing: "So was I established in Sion, and in the hole city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honourable people, and in the saints. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree in Mount Sion". (Ecclus 24).

"The full assembly of saints". How at home our Lady must have felt from the first moment she entered heaven, where she found every one enamoured of God, as she had ever been, but hitherto with few to sympathize with the inner fire which consumed her! There all is love - love pure and without alloy. See her amazement  at being exalted above even Cherubim and Seraphim, as the  cedars of Libanus overtop all the other trees of the mountain, and how her imagery is drawn from the mount which St Jerome says derives its name from its stainless, glistening whiteness. "I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus."
"I took root in an honourable people." How delightful must be the society in heaven! All that is beautiful, true, noble and intellectual in human nature is to be found there perfected in the highest degree, and without any admixture of littleness, meaness, weakness or other imperfections that mar in some measure even the grandest character in this world.

'This an important point to know

There' no perfection here below,

but there, in our heavenly home, it exists in all its plenitude, and as our Lady had surpassed all the saints on earth by her humility - for it has been said that it was her humility even more than her purity that drew down to her heart the Son of God - so now she would exceed them all in her spirit of praise. We can imagine her singing joyfully the words: "Turn, O my soul, unto thy rest, for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee. For He hath delivered  my soul from death: my eyes from tears, my feet from falling." (Ps 64) "I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart...I will give praise to Thee in the sight of Thy angels."

How lovingly and unassumingly our Lady would take her place amongst all the saints and angels that throng the heavenly court, and how they would welcome her as their Queen, as the Mother of their Most High Creator! How they would praise her, and yet feel, as Dante says, that only the Creator can rightly estimate the beauty of His creature! May we not end fittingly with a quotation from the great St John Chrysostom: "Truly, dearly beloved brethren, the blessed Virgin Mary was a great wonder. What thing greater or more famous than she hath ever at any time been found, or can be found? She alone is greater than heaven and earth. What thing holier than she hath been, or can be found? Neither prophets, nor apostles, nor martyrs, nor partriarchs, nor angels, nor thrones, nor dominations, nor Seraphim, nor Cherubim, nor any other creature, visible, or invisible, can be found that is greater or more excellent than she. She is at once the handmaid and the parent of God, at once Virgin and Mother."

 

O Mary, truly thou a marvel of holiness. Well might Dante excclaim: "In te magnificenza, in the s'aduna quantunaue in creatura e di bontate." (Paradiso, 33:20,21) - In thee is magnificence, in thee is united whatever of good iss to be found in creatures!

QUENN OF ALL SAINTS, PRAY FOR US!

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November devotions to the Holy Souls in Purgaory - click for link

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First Sunday in Advent - click for link

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Jesus living in Mary, Handbook of the Spirituality of St. Louis De Montfort. The Oxford Movement - click to read

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham and not long ago His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, made generous provision for Anglicans to join Catholic Church in his Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. We may remember then the Oxford Movement, "the name given to the actions and endeavors of a group of clergymen at Oxford University in the 1830s who sought to restore Catholic faith and practice within the Anglican Church. Its leaders were the professor of poetry, John Keble (1792-1866); the Regius Professor of Hebrew, Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800-1892); and the vicar of St. Mary’s and fellow of Oriel, John Henry Newman (1801-1890). Keble’s sermon on "National Apostasy" on July 14, 1833, is generally regarded as the movement’s beginning, and Newman’s reception into the Roman Catholic Church on October 9, 1845, as the end of its first phase.....Newman’s conversion was a "parting of friends," the leaving, for the sake of the truth, of almost every person and thing humanly dear to him. On February 22, 1846, he said goodbye to Littlemore, the retreat of his final Anglican years; to Oxford, in which he had hoped for a "perpetual residence"; and to Dr. Pusey, his once close comrade and friend. The two men were not to meet again for another twenty years. When they did, it would be in a tense atmosphere of controversy, and the name of Louis de Montfort would figure in the debate." On September 12, 1865, Newman visited Kolbe for dinner and was "taken aback to discover that Pusey was also paying a visit.....At dinner Pusey was "full" of a new book, which would soon provoke a masterly rejoinder from Newman. It was a work of high polemic with the surprising title An Eirenicon. Pusey argued that the reunion of Canterbury and Rome was impeded by the excesses of Catholic piety, not least in relation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Newman was astonished by the title of Pusey’s book. In a letter to Kelbe, he says that if Pusey "is writing to hinder his own people from joining us, well and good, he had a right to write as he has done—but how can he fancy that to exaggerate, instead of smoothing contrarieties, is the way to make us listen to him?" Pusey offers the bread of peace but delivers the stone of polemic.

In the fragments below is the example of Newman's Marian apologetics:

"The Fathers made me a Catholic, and I am not going to kick down the ladder by which I ascended into the Church." In similar fashion, St. Louis Marie regularly quotes from the Fathers and claims that his theses on devotion to Our Lady can be supported from their writings. ... "If I were speaking to the great minds of our day, I should prove at greater length from Sacred Scripture and the holy Fathers, from whom I should quote passages in Latin, all that I am saying simply. . . . But I am speaking mainly to the poor and simple, who, being of good will and having more faith than the average scholar, believe with more simplicity and more merit..." (True Devotion 26).

In his Letter to Pusey, and in several other places, Newman confirms the truth of St. Louis Marie’s central doctrine by referring to religious history: "True devotion to the Mother is the ‘easiest,’ ‘shortest,’ and ‘surest’ way to union with the Son, and when devotion to Mary grows cold or dies, faith in Jesus as Lord, God, and Saviour is certain to wither away" (TD 152).

"If we look through Europe, we shall find, on the whole, that just those nations and countries have lost their faith in the divinity of Christ who have given up devotion to His Mother and that those, on the other hand, who had been foremost in her honor have retained their orthodoxy.  In the Catholic Church Mary has shown herself, not the rival, but the minister of her Son; she has protected Him, as in His infancy, so in the whole history of the Religion. There is then a plain historical truth in Dr. Faber’s words [in the preface to his translation of TD], which you quote to condemn, ‘Jesus is obscured, because Mary is kept in the background.’"

Newman suggests that the hesitations of some Protestants about Our Lady’s role, under Christ, as intercessor and advocate betray a woefully inadequate Christology. If we take from the Blessed Virgin her intercessory mission and transfer it to Christ, we shall be diminishing, not enhancing, his glory.

"If we placed Our Lord in that center, we should only be dragging Him from His throne and making Him an Arian kind of a God; that is, no God at all. He who charges us with making Mary a divinity is thereby denying the divinity of Jesus. Such a man does not know what divinity is. ....To her belongs, as being a creature, a natural claim on our sympathy and familiarity in that she is nothing else than our fellow. She is our pride—in the poet’s words, ‘Our tainted nature’s solitary boast.’ We look to her without any fear, any remorse, any consciousness that she is able to read us, judge us, punish us. Our heart yearns towards that pure Virgin, that gentle Mother, and our congratulations follow her, as she rises from Nazareth and Ephesus, through the choirs of angels, to her throne on high, so weak, yet so strong, so delicate, yet so glorious, so modest and yet so mighty."

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Breathtaking pictures from Eucharistic procession in Kansas City with over 22,000 young people participating! - click for link to see more pics

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Last Sunday after Pentecost - click for link

Last Judgment by William Blake

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Feast of Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple

...In 1372, Gregory XI permitted the Feast of Presentation tobe kept for the first time by the Roman court at Avignon. Mary in return broke the chains of captivity that had bound the Papacy for seventy years; and soon the successor of St Peter returned to Rome. The feast of the Visitation, celebrated on July 2, was in like manner inserted in teh Western calendar to commemorate the re-establishment of unity after the schism which followed the exile....

....Mary, brought to the Temple to prepare herself - through a retreat, through humility and love - for her incomparable destiny, also received the mission to perfect, at the foot of figurative altars, the prayer of mankind, which was too weak to rain the Savior from the heavens.

She was, says Saint Bernardine of Sienna, the blessed crowning of all expectations and demands of the advent of the Son of God; in her, as in a summit, all the desires of the saints who preceded her found their end and consummation.

By her admirable intelligence of the Scriptures, by her daily and hourly conformity to the smallest teachings and prescriptions of the Mosaic rituals, Mary discovered and adored the Messiah under the letter everywhere; she united herself to him, immolated herself to him in each one of the victims immolated before her eyes; and thus she was paying the God of Sinai the homage - never rendered Him before - of a Law duly understood, obeyed, and as fruitful as the Legislator had planned for it to be.

Then Jehovah was able to say in complete truth: As the rain comes down from heaven and doesn't return to it, but inebriates the earth and causes it to produce its fruits; so will my word be: it will not come back to me barren, but it will have all the happy effects that I willed....

After Dom Gueranguer 'The Liturgical Year'

    
    

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Feast of Our Lady of Ostra Brama - click for link

.....Early in the fifteenth century, the new city walls of Vilnius were built. Above each of the gates the people of the town placed an image of the Blessed Virgin. About a century later, the Carmelite Order took over one of the parish churches in the vicinity of the southeastern gate of the town. In the Lithuanian language this gate was commonly known as 'Auros Vartai' (the gate of dawn). The Polish speaking population knew it as 'Ostra Brama' (the sharp gate).

The Carmelites are known for their special dedication to the Mother of Jesus. They took special care of the image that was placed above the gate near their church (according to new research, the painting was created in Vilnius between 1620 and 1630 by an unknown artist. It was part of a folding diptych, a two-part painting, showing Christ the Savior on the inside and the Mother of God on the outside....

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Dark Night and Living Flame of Love - the stages of spiritual journey to God in Poetry of St John of the Cross

 St John of the Cross is not only mystical Doctor of the Church but also a poet who describes the steps followed by the soul on the way to reach God through classical purgative, illuminative and unitive way. In the first, purgative stage, the soul escapes from the dark night of the senses, annihilating the self through denials and practice of detachments. The next stage allows the soul to see and feel the presence of God and grow in the knowledge and love of the Creator. In the final stage, the soul is consumed in love of God which culminates in mystical union (esposo) when soul becomes one with God and experiences perfect peace and beatitude. The steps of spiritual growth are not easy but full of pain, darkness, aridity and annihilation of self. To get through this journey the seed of love of God must be planted and nourished in the heart of man from the beginning and this is absolutely vital to endure pains of spiritual development. St John describes the experiences of purgative way, or passive night of the soul, and gives the advice to those who are called to make this journey in his books, 'Dark Night of the Soul' and 'Ascend to Mt Carmel'. However, in his poetry, in particular in two poems, "Dark Night" and "Living Flame of Love", we find beautiful, nutshell-description of mystical experiences of the soul reaching to God:

DARK NIGHT - (Songs of the soul delighted at having reached the high state of perfection, the union with God, by way of spiritual negation.)

On a darkened night,

Anxious, by love inflamed,

-- O happy chance! --

Unnoticed, I took flight,

My house at last at peace and quiet.

Safe, disguised by the night,

By the secret ladder I took flight,

-- O happy chance! --

Cloaked by darkness, I scaled the height,

My house at last at peace and quiet.

On that blessed night,

In secret, and seen by none,

None in sight,

I saw with no other guide or light,

But the one burning in my heart bright.

This guide, this light,

Brighter than the midday sun,

Led me to the waiting One

I knew so well -- my delight!

To a place with none in sight.

O night! O guide!

O night more loving than the dawn!

O night that joined

The lover with the Beloved;

Transformed, the lover into the Beloved drawn!

Upon my flowered breast,

For him alone kept fair,

There he slept

There I caressed,

There the cedars gave us air.

I drank the turret's cool air

Spreading playfully his hair.

And his hand, so serene,

Cut my throat. Drained

Of senses, I dropped unaware.

Lost to myself and yet remaining,

Inclined so only the Beloved I spy.

All has ceased, all rests,

Even my cares, even I;

Lost among the lilies, there I die.

THE LIVING FLAME OF LOVE - (Songs that the soul sings in her intimate union with God, her beloved Bridegroom.)

O Love's living flame,

Tenderly you wound

My soul's deepest center!

Since you no longer evade me,

Will you, please, at last conclude:

Rend the veil of this sweet encounter!

O cautery so tender!

O pampered wound!

O soft hand! O touch so delicately strange,

Tasting of eternal life

And canceling all debts!

Killing, death into life you change!

O lamps of fiery lure,

In whose shining transparence

The deep cavern of the senses,

Blind and obscure,

Warmth and light, with strange flares,

Gives with the lover's caresses!

How tame and loving

Your memory rises in my breast,

Where secretly only you live,

And in your fragrant breathing,

Full of goodness and grace,

How delicately in love you make me feel!

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Twenty Third Sunday after Pentecost - click to read

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Montligeon Sanctuary - prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory - click to visit

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montligeon is a pilgrimage-shrine and world center of prayer for the dear departed

Our Lady of Poor Souls

Mary loves the Poor Souls in Purgatory because she has also gone through a kind of purgatory of tribulation - not indeed, in punishment of her sins, for she had none - but that she might have more compassion on us, and be more fully entitled to the name by which she is so well know, "Comforter of the Afflicted. For this reason she descended into a sea of sorrow, into the depths of tribulation, into the furnace of poverty, exile, persecution. For this reason she suffered those pains of mind and soul, which were caused by the loss of her Son, and by His absence during the years she lived after His death. All those sufferings were a real purgatory to her. Its flames but increased her love for the poor souls, and made her more truly the Mother of the Poor Souls in Purgatory.

While we still sojourn in this valley of tears, let us beg Mary to increase daily our ardour, and give us perseverance in good works, to obtain for us a happy death and assure us of her advocacy at the judgment-seat of God. Saint Alphonsus tells us that if we truly venerate Mary and faithfully serve her during life, we can certainly hope, when we die, to be led by her at once into Heaven without having to undergo the pains of purgatory. One of the best means to find God's favor is to imitate Mary's love for the Poor Souls. Pray often to the Mother of Mercy for these suffering souls; those of parents, relatives, friends, acquaintances gone before. Above all, say the Rosary for these holy souls. Our compassion will be most pleasing to the Mother of Mercy, and when our hour shall come, she will remember us and show herself a true mother. That which was but vain conceit among the ancients, is truth and reality among Christians; for the spiritual rose of the Rosary can and do help the souls of the departed.

In the Revelations of Saint Bridget we read that Mary said, "I am the Mother of all those who are in the place of expiation... My prayers wipe away the punishments inflicted on them for their faults."

Saint Peter Damien tells us that each year, on the day of the Assumption, Mary delivers several thousand souls from Purgatory. The more we place ourselves in Mary's care, the more quickly will she lead us to God. Let us call on Mary constantly for our suffering ones; we can feel confident that her tender, loving heart will reach out to those poor, afflicted, helpless ones, free them from their place of exile and lead them to their eternal destiny, the face to face vision of Heaven.

(After 'A Moment with Mary)

To visit the shrine and learn more about history of the shrine, the founder, Fr Paul Bouget click HERE

Montligeon Sanctuary air-view

Please, visit the Sisters of New Alliance affiliated with Montligeon Sanctuary via their BLOG

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Upon the image of death - A Poem by English Jesuit priest and martyr, St Robert Southwell, SJ

BEFORE my face the picture hangs

That daily should me put in mind

Of those cold names and bitter pangs

That shortly I am like to find:

But yet, alas ! full little I

Do think hereon that I must die.

I often look upon a face,

Most ugly, grisly, bare and thin ;

I often view the hollow place

Where eyes and nose had sometime been ;

I see the bones across that lie,

Yet little think that I must die.

My ancestors are turned to clay,

And many of my mates are gone ;

My youngers daily drop away,

And can I think to 'scape alone ?

No, no, I know that I must die,

And yet my life amend not I.

If none can 'scape Death's dreadful dart,

If rich and poor his beck obey ;

If strong, if wise, if all do smart,

Then I to 'scape shall have no way.

Oh ! grant me grace, O God, that I

My life may mend, sith I must die.

St. Robert Southwell, S.J.  (1561-1595) was English Jesuit priest and poet, who was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn for preaching the Catholic Faith under the reign of Queen Bess. He belongs to the number of English Catholic priests who were determined not to abandon the Catholic laity during persecution of Catholics from 1535 to 1713, but to be with them and for the ultimate price of their own life to provide for them as long as possible the consolation of Catholic Sacraments. Robert joined the Jesuits in 1578 and after ordination left Rome for England with Henry Garnet. Both were arrested almost immediately upon landing but escaped capture and went on to work with the Catholics in London. Robert's writings were extremely popular with his contemporaries and the best known of his poems are The Burning Babe  and Saint Peter's Complaint  (1595), in which he made experiments with verse that were further developed by other poets, including Shakespeare. Robert spent six years in zealous and successful missionary work and moved under various disguises traveling from one Catholic house to another. Finally he was betrayed in 1592. Robert never gave any information about other priests or Catholics, even though for three years he was interrogated ten times under atrocious torture. He was transferred to Newgate prison where he was confined in a dungeon swarming with vermin and frequently chained in such a way that he could neither stand, sit nor lie down. His jailers were exasperated at his answers. When asked his age he would reply: "near that of our Blessed Savior." He was martyred at Tyburn on February 21, 1595. He was beatified in 1929 and canonized by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales on 25 October 1970.  

..."Though the resistance of the English as a people to the Reformation compares badly with the resistance offered by several other nations, the example given by those who did stand firm is remarkably instructive.

(1)They suffered the extreme penalty for maintaining the unity of the Church and the Supremacy of the Apostolic See, the doctrines most impugned by the reformation in all lands, and at all times.

(2) They maintained their faith almost entirely by the most modern methods, and they were the first to so maintain it, i.e., by education of the clergy in the seminaries, and of Catholic youth in colleges, at the risk, and often at the cost of life.

(3) The tyranny they had to withstand was, as a rule, not the sudden violence of a tyrant, but the continuous oppression of laws sanctioned by the people in Parliament, passed on the specious plea of political and national necessity, and operating for centuries with an almost irresistible force which the law acquires when acting for generations in conservative and law-abiding counties. 
(4) The study of their causes and their acts is easy. The number of martyrs are many; their trials are spread over a long time. We have in many cases the papers of the prosecution as well as those of the defense, and the voice of Rome is frequently heard pronouncing on the questions of the debate, and declaring that this or that matter is essential, on which no compromise can be permitted; or by her silence she lets it be understood that some other formula may pass"....(after Catholic Encyclopedia). 

More about English Martyrs and Confessors in Penal times (1534-1729) HERE

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FEAST OF ALL SAINTS

Thoughts from St Teresa on Saints:

'O blessed heavenly souls! Help our misery and be our intercessors before the divine mercy that we may be given some of your joy and a share in this clear knowledge you posses' 

'I say, daughters, that we should set our eyes on Christ, our Good, and on His saints. There we shall learn true humility, the intellect will be enhanced, as I have said, and self-knowledge will not make one base and cowardly'

'Look at the multitude of souls God draws to Himself by means of one. He is to be greatly praised for the thousands converted by the martyrs: for a young girl like St Ursula; for those the devil must have lost through St Dominic, St Francis, and other founders of religious orders' 

Why has the Church appointed this feast?

To honor God in His saints, in whom He has shown Himself so wonderful, and to thank Him, as the author of all sanctity, for the benefits He has bestowed upon them.

To put us in lively remembrance of the communion of saints; that is, of all true children of the Church, whether they belong to the Church militant on earth, to the Church suffering in purgatory, or to the Church triumphant in heaven; but more particularly to cause us to consider, with earnestness, the communion of the saints in heaven with us, who are yet combating on earth.

To encourage us to strive for the like sanctity with them, and to teach us that it is by no means impossible; for if thousands of men could become saints, why should not we, who can do all things through Him Who strengthens us, and has sent the Holy Ghost for our sanctification?

To pay honor to those saints to whom no particular day in the year is dedicated.

That, in consideration of so many intercessors, God may grant us perfect reconciliation, may give us a share in their merits, and may grant us the grace of one day sharing in their joy in heaven.

By whom was this feast instituted?

By Pope Boniface IV, who, in the year 610, appropriated the Pantheon (that is, the temple of all gods) to the divine service of Christians, dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin and saints, and commanded this feast in honor of all saints to be celebrated at Rome every year. Gregory IV, in the year 840, extended this feast to the whole Church, and transferred it to the 1st of November.

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12

At that time: Jesus seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain, and when He was set down, His disciples came unto Him. And opening His mouth, He taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake; be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. This gospel is read to-day because it is by practising what it contains that the saints have gained the eternal kingdom.

Explanation of the Eight Beatitudes which are the 'law of entrance' into Heaven:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  
The poor in spirit are: Those who, like the apostles, readily forsake all earthly things, and for Christ's sake become poor. Those who, happening to lose their property by misfortune or in justice, suffer the loss patiently, in resignation to the will of God. Those who, like Jesus (Matthew 8:20), are content with their poor and humble position, seek no higher or happier one, and would rather suffer want than enrich themselves by unlawful acts, by fraud or theft. The rich and noble who set not their hearts upon the riches and greatness of the world (Psalm 61:11; 1Corinthians 7:30), but who use their riches and influence to relieve the misery of the needy and oppressed. Finally, the truly humble, who, convinced of their weakness, their helplessness and misery, think lowly of themselves, and regard themselves but as beggars, who are always in need of the grace of God. To all these, therefore, in whose hearts the world has no place, there is assured, as their inheritance, the kingdom of heaven; here the kingdom of grace, there the kingdom of glory.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land." 
 That man is meek who does not murmur against God for sending afflictions upon him, who is not angry at men who do him injury, but who rather suppresses impatience, anger, envy, and revenge, nay, who seeks to recompense the evil done him by his neighbor with good. Such a one is greater than he who takes by storm fortified cities (Proverbs 16:32); he possesses an unfailing fountain of peace, quiet, and cheerfulness; by his meekness prevails over the most hostile minds, is by such means truly a ruler upon earth, and will one day, for his portion, obtain heaven, the land of the living, there to enjoy eternal peace.

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."  
By them that mourn we are not to understand such as grieve and lament over a death, a misfortune, a loss of worldly goods, or the like; but those who are grieved that God should be in so many ways offended by themselves and by others that His Church should be so heavily oppressed, and thereby so many souls lost that have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. The only evil really to be grieved for is sin, and the tears shed on account of sin are the only tears that are profitable, for they shall be recompensed with everlasting joy.

"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill." 
 Hunger and thirst denote the most ardent longing after those virtues which constitute Christian perfection; such as humility, meekness, the love of God and of our neighbor, penance. Whoever longs for these virtues as the hungry man does for food and drink, and prays to God for them with perseverance and earnestness, shall have his fill; that is, he shall be enriched with them, and one day shall be satisfied with eternal happiness.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."  
The merciful here spoken of are: 1. Those who willingly forgive the injuries done to them. 2. Those who have compassion on their poor neighbors, and, according to their ability, sustain them by alms. These shall obtain mercy; that is, God will forgive them their sins and endow them abundantly with the goods of this world and of the world to come. Thus God deals with us as we deal with others. (Matthew 7:2)

"Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God."  
The clean of heart are those who preserve with care the innocence with which they are invested at holy Baptism, or seek to regain it, when lost, by penance; those who keep their hearts and consciences unspotted from all sinful thoughts, particularly from all unchaste thoughts, desires, words, and acts, and who endeavor in all things to have a pure intention directed to God alone. They shall see God, that is, they shall know Him even here upon earth, for as the eye that is to see must be clean, so only souls that are pure and unstained can behold God. But further, our knowledge is like our hearts; the purer the heart the clearer and greater is the knowledge of God. But in the world above they shall see, know, and possess Him as He is. What blessedness! Strive, therefore, to keep your heart clean.

"Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God." 
By peace-makers we are to understand those who have peace with themselves, that is, a quiet conscience, and who endeavor to maintain peace among others, or to restore it when broken. Such are called the children of God, because they follow God, Who is a God of peace (Romans 15:33), and Who even gave His only Son to reconcile the world with Him (Romans 5:10), and to bring down upon earth that peace which the world itself could not give (Luke 2:14; John 14:27).

"Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  
Hereby all those are declared blessed who, on account of the true faith, of virtue, of the fear of God, of purity, are persecuted, calumniated, and even put to death, and who bear all this with Christian patience and constancy, nay, with joy. Thus have the saints done, and thereby they have gained the heavenly crown. Do we desire to be crowned with them, we must also suffer with them. And in truth, if we would apply ourselves zealously to virtue, occasions will not be wanting to us, for all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2Timothy 3:12)

after Goffine's Devout Instructions

Top of the post painting is 'All Saints' by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528).

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All Saints Day

“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.... [One of the elders] said to me, ‘These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’” (Revelation 7:9,14).

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