ST. PATRICK
Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 493. [Editor's Note: Other sources say 460 or 461.]
He had for his parents Calphurnius and Conchessa. The former belonged to a Roman family of high rank and held the office of decurio in Gaul or Britain. Conchessa was a near relative of the great patron of Gaul, St. Martin of Tours. Kilpatrick still retains many memorials of Saint Patrick, and frequent pilgrimages continued far into the Middle Ages to perpetuate there the fame of his sanctity and miracles.
In his sixteenth year, Patrick was carried off into captivity by Irish marauders and was sold as a slave to a chieftan named Milchu in Dalriada, a territory of the present county of Antrim in Ireland, where for six years he tended his master's flocks in the valley of the Braid and on the slopes of Slemish, near the modern town of Ballymena. He relates in his "Confessio" that during his captivity while tending the flocks he prayed many times in the day: "the love of God", he added,
and His fear increased in me more and more, and the faith grew in me, and the spirit was roused, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers, and in the night nearly the same, so that whilst in the woods and on the mountain, even before the dawn, I was roused to prayer and felt no hurt from it, whether there was snow or ice or rain; nor was there any slothfulness in me, such as I see now, because the spirit was then fervent within me.
In the ways of a benign Providence the six years of Patrick's captivity became a remote preparation for his future apostolate. He acquired a perfect knowledge of the Celtic tongue in which he would one day announce the glad tidings of Redemption, and, as his master Milchu was a druidical high priest, he became familiar with all the details of Druidism from whose bondage he was destined to liberate the Irish race.
Admonished by an angel he after six years fled from his cruel master and bent his steps towards the west. He relates in his "Confessio" that he had to travel about 200 miles; and his journey was probably towards Killala Bay and onwards thence to Westport. He found a ship ready to set sail and after some rebuffs was allowed on board. In a few days he was among his friends once more in Britain, but now his heart was set on devoting himself to the service of God in the sacred ministry. We meet with him at St. Martin's monastery at Tours, and again at the island sanctuary of Lérins which was just then acquiring widespread renown for learning and piety; and wherever lessons of heroic perfection in the exercise of Christian life could be acquired, thither the fervent Patrick was sure to bend his steps. No sooner had St. Germain entered on his great mission at Auxerre than Patrick put himself under his guidance, and it was at that great bishop's hands that Ireland's future apostle was a few years later promoted to the priesthood. It is the tradition in the territory of the Morini that Patrick under St. Germain's guidance for some years was engaged in missionary work among them. When Germain commissioned by the Holy See proceeded to Britain to combat the erroneous teachings of Pelagius, he chose Patrick to be one of his missionary companions and thus it was his privilege to be associated with the representative of Rome in the triumphs that ensued over heresy and Paganism, and in the many remarkable events of the expedition, such as the miraculous calming of the tempest at sea, the visit to the relics at St. Alban's shrine, and the Alleluia victory. Amid all these scenes, however, Patrick's thoughts turned towards Ireland, and from time to time he was favoured with visions of the children from Focluth, by the Western sea, who cried to him: "O holy youth, come back to Erin, and walk once more amongst us."
Pope St. Celestine I, who rendered immortal service to the Church by the overthrow of the Pelagian and Nestorian heresies, and by the imperishable wreath of honour decreed to the Blessed Virgin in the General Council of Ephesus, crowned his pontificate by an act of the most far-reaching consequences for the spread of Christianity and civilization, when he entrusted St. Patrick with the mission of gathering the Irish race into the one fold of Christ. Palladius (q.v.) had already received that commission, but terrified by the fierce opposition of a Wicklow chieftain had abandoned the sacred enterprise. It was St. Germain, Bishop of Auxerre, who commended Patrick to the pope. The writer of St. Germain's Life in the ninth century, Heric of Auxerre, thus attests this important fact: "Since the glory of the father shines in the training of the children, of the many sons in Christ whom St. Germain is believed to have had as disciples in religion, let it suffice to make mention here, very briefly, of one most famous, Patrick, the special Apostle of the Irish nation, as the record of his work proves. Subject to that most holy discipleship for 18 years, he drank in no little knowledge in Holy Scripture from the stream of so great a well-spring. Germain sent him, accompanied by Segetius, his priest, to Celestine, Pope of Rome, approved of by whose judgement, supported by whose authority, and strengthened by whose blessing, he went on his way to Ireland." It was only shortly before his death that Celestine gave this mission to Ireland's apostle and on that occasion bestowed on him many relics and other spiritual gifts, and gave him the name "Patercius" or "Patritius", not as an honorary title, but as a foreshadowing of the fruitfulness and merit of his apostolate whereby he became pater civium (the father of his people). Patrick on his return journey from Rome received at Ivrea the tidings of the death of Palladius, and turning aside to the neighboring city of Turin received episcopal consecration at the hands of its great bishop, St. Maximus, and thence hastened on to Auxerre to make under the guidance of St. Germain due preparations for the Irish mission.
It was probably in the summer months of the year 433, that Patrick and his companions landed at the mouth of the Vantry River close by Wicklow Head. The Druids were at once in arms against him. But Patrick was not disheartened. The intrepid missionary resolved to search out a more friendly territory in which to enter on his mission. First of all, however, he would proceed towards Dalriada, where he had been a slave, to pay the price of ransom to his former master, and in exchange for the servitude and cruelty endured at his hands to impart to him the blessings and freedom of God's children. He rested for some days at the islands off the Skerries coast, one of which still retains the name of Inis-Patrick, and he probably visited the adjoining mainland, which in olden times was known as Holm Patrick. Tradition fondly points out the impression of St. Patrick's foot upon the hard rock -- off the main shore, at the entrance to Skerries harbour. Continuing his course northwards he halted at the mouth of the River Boyne. A number of the natives there gathered around him and heard with joy in their own sweet tongue the glad tidings of Redemption. There too he performed his first miracle on Irish soil to confirm the honour due to the Blessed Virgin, and the Divine birth of our Saviour. Leaving one of his companions to continue the work of instruction so auspiciously begun, he hastened forward to Strangford Loughand there quitting his boat continued his journey over land towards Slemish. He had not proceeded far when a chieftain, named Dichu, appeared on the scene to prevent his further advance. He drew his sword to smite the saint, but his arm became rigid as a statue and continued so until he declared himself obedient to Patrick. Overcome by the saint's meekness and miracles, Dichu asked for instruction and made a gift of a large sabhall (barn), in which the sacred mysteries were offered up. This was the first sanctuary dedicated by St. Patrick in Erin. It became in later years a chosen retreat of the saint. A monastery and church were erected there, and the hallowed site retains the name Sabhall (pronounced Saul) to the present day. Continuing his journey towards Slemish, the saint was struck with horror on seeing at a distance the fort of his old master Milchu enveloped in flames. The fame of Patrick's marvelous power of miracles preceeded him. Milchu, in a fit of frenzy, gathered his treasures into his mansion and setting it on fire, cast himself into the flames. An ancient record adds: "His pride could not endure the thought of being vanquished by his former slave".
Returning to Saul, St. Patrick learned from Dichu that the chieftains of Erin had been summoned to celebrate a special feast at Tara by Leoghaire, who was the Ard-Righ, that is, the Supreme Monarch of Ireland. This was an opportunity which Patrick would not forego; he would present himself before the assembly, to strike a decisive blow against the Druidism that held the nation captive, and to secure freedom for the glad tidings of Redemption of which he was the herald. As he journeyed on he rested for some days at the house of a chieftain named Secsnen, who with his household joyfully embraced the Faith. The youthful Benen, or Benignus, son of the chief, was in a special way captivated by the Gospel doctrines and the meekness of Patrick. Whilst the saint slumbered he would gather sweet-scented flowers and scatter them over his bosom, and when Patrick was setting out, continuing his journey towards Tara, Benen clung to his feet declaring that nothing would sever him from him. "Allow him to have his way", said St. Patrick to the chieftain, "he shall be heir to my sacred mission." Thenceforth Benen was the inseparable companion of the saint, and the prophecy was fulfilled, for Benen is named among the "comhards" or successors of St. Patrick in Armagh. It was on 26 March, Easter Sunday, in 433, that the eventful assembly was to meet at Tara, and the decree went forth that from the preceeding day the fires throughout the kingdom should be extinguished until the signal blaze was kindled at the royal mansion. The chiefs and Brehons came in full numbers and the druids too would muster all their strength to bid defiance to the herald of good tidings and to secure the hold of their superstition on the Celtic race, for their demoniac oracles had announced that the messenger of Christ had come to Erin. St. Patrick arrived at the hill of Slane, at the opposite extremity of the valley from Tara, on Easter Eve, in that year the feast of the Annunciation, and on the summit of the hill kindled the Paschal fire. The druids at once raised their voice. "O King", (they said) "live for ever; this fire, which has been lighted in defiance of the royal edict, will blaze for ever in this land unless it be this very night extinguished." By order of the king and the agency of the druids, repeated attempts were made to extinguish the blessed fire and to punish with death the intruder who had disobeyed the royal command. But the fire was not extinguished and Patrick shielded by the Divine power came unscathed from their snares and assaults. On Easter Day the missionary band having at their head the youth Benignus bearing aloft a copy of the Gospels, and followed by St. Patrick who with mitre and crozier was arrayed in full episcopal attire, proceeded in processional order to Tara. The druids and magicians put forth all their strength and employed all their incantations to maintain their sway over the Irish race, but the prayer and faith of Patrick achieved a glorious triumph. The druids by their incantations overspread the hill and surrounding plain with a cloud of worse then Egyptian darkness. Patrick defied them to remove that cloud, and when all their efforts were made in vain, at his prayer the sun sent forth its rays and the brightest sunshine lit up the scene. Again by demoniac power the Arch-Druid Lochru, like Simon Magus of old, was lifted up high in the air, but when Patrick knelt in prayer the druid from his flight was dashed to pieces upon a rock. Thus was the final blow given to paganism in the presence of all the assembled chieftains. It was, indeed, a momentous day for the Irish race. Twice Patrick pleaded for the Faith before Leoghaire. The king had given orders that no sign of respect was to be extended to the strangers, but at the first meeting the youthful Erc, a royal page, arose to show him reverence; and at the second, when all the chieftains were assembled, the chief-bard Dubhtach showed the same honour to the saint. Both these heroic men became fervent disciples of the Faith and bright ornaments of the Irish Church. It was on this second solemn occasion that St. Patrick is said to have plucked a shamrock from the sward, to explain by its triple leaf and single stem, in some rough way, to the assembled chieftains, the great doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. On that bright Easter Day, the triumph of religion at Tara was complete. The Ard-Righ granted permission to Patrick to preach the Faith throughout the length and breadth of Erin, and the druidical prophecy like the words of Balaam of old would be fulfilled: the sacred fire now kindled by the saint would never be extinguished.
The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
St. Patrick remained during Easter week at Slane and Tara, unfolding to those around him the lessons of Divine truth. Meanwhile the national games were being celebrated a few miles distant at Tailten (now Telltown) in connection with the royal feast. St. Patrick proceeding thither solemnly administered baptism to Conall, brother of the Ard-Righ Leoghaire, on Wednesday, 5 April. Benen and others had already been privately gathered into the fold of Christ, but this was the first public administering of baptism, recognized by royal edict, and hence in the ancient Irish Kalendars to the fifth of April is assigned "the beginning of the Baptism of Erin". This first Christian royal chieftain made a gift to Patrick of a site for a church which to the present day retains the name of Donagh-Patrick. The blessing of heaven was with Conall's family. St. Columba is reckoned among his descendants, and many of the kings of Ireland until the eleventh century were of his race. St. Patrick left some of his companions to carry on the work of evangelization in Meath, thus so auspiciously begun. He would himself visit the other territories. Some of the chieftains who had come to Tara were from Focluth, in the neighbourhood of Killala, in Connaught, and as it was the children of Focluth who in vision had summoned him to return to Ireland, he resolved to accompany those chieftains on their return, that thus the district of Focluth would be among the first to receive the glad tidings of Redemption. It affords a convincing proof of the difficulties that St. Patrick had to overcome, that though full liberty to preach the Faith throughout Erin was granted by the monarch of Leoghaire, nevertheless, in order to procure a safe conduct through the intervening territories whilst proceeding towards Connaught he had to pay the price of fifteen slaves. On his way thither, passing through Granard he learned that at Magh-Slecht, not far distant, a vast concourse was engaged in offering worship to the chief idol Crom-Cruach. It was a huge pillar-stone, covered with slabs of gold and silver, with a circle of twelve minor idols around it. He proceeded thither, and whith his crosier smote the chief idol that crumbled to dust; the others fell to the ground. At Killala he found the whole people of the territory assembled. At his preaching, the king and his six sons, with 12,000 of the people, became docile to the Faith. He spent seven years visiting every district of Connaught, organizing parishes, forming dioceses, and instructing the chieftains and people. One the occasion of his first visit to Rathcrogan, the royal seat of the kings of Connaught, situated near Tulsk, in the County of Roscommon, a remarkable incident occurred, recorded in many of the authentic narratives of the saint's life. Close by the clear fountain of Clebach, not far from the royal abode, Patrick and his venerable companions had pitched their tents and at early dawn were chanting the praises of the Most High, when the two daughters of the Irish monarch -- Ethne, the fair, and Fedelm, the ruddy -- came thither, as was their wont, to bathe. Astonished at the vision that presented itself to them, the royal maidens cried out: "Who are ye, and whence do ye come? Are ye phantoms, or fairies, or friendly mortals?" St. Patrick said to them: "It were better you would adore and worship the one true God, whom we announce to you, than that you would satisfy your curiosity by such vain questions." And then Ethne broke forth into the questions:
"Who is God?"
"And where is God?"
"Where is His dwelling?"
"Has He sons and daughters?"
"Is He rich in silver and gold?"
"Is He everlasting? is He beautiful?"
"Are His daughters dear and lovely to the men of this world?"
"Is He on the heavens or on earth?"
"In the sea, in rivers, in mountains, in valleys?"
"Make Him known to us. How is He to be seen?"
"How is He to be loved? How is He to be found?"
"Is it in youth or is it in old age that He may be found?"
But St. Patrick, filled with the Holy Ghost, made answer:
"God, whom we announce to you, is the Ruler of all things."
"The God of heaven and earth, of the sea and the rivers."
"The God of the sun, and the moon, and all the stars."
"The God of the high mountains and of the lowlying valleys."
"The God who is above heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven."
"His dwelling is in heaven and earth, and the sea, and all therein."
"He gives breath to all."
"He gives life to all."
"He is over all."
"He upholds all."
"He gives light to the sun."
"He imparts splendour to the moon."
"He has made wells in the dry land, and islands in the ocean."
"He has appointed the stars to serve the greater lights."
"His Son is co-eternal and co-equal with Himself."
"The Son is not younger than the Father."
"And the Father is not older than the Son."
"And the Holy Ghost proceeds from them."
"The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are undivided."
"But I desire by Faith to unite you to the Heavenly King, as you are daughters of an earthly king."
The maidens, as if with one voice and one heart, said: "Teach us most carefully how we may believe in the Heavenly King; show us how we may behold Him face to face, and we will do whatsoever you shall say to us."
And when he had instructed them he said to them: "Do you believe that by baptism you put off the sin inherited from the first parents."
They answered: "We believe."
"Do you believe in penance after sin?"
"We believe."
"Do you believe in life after death?" Do you believe in resurrection on the Day of Judgement?"
"We believe."
"Do you believe in the unity of the Church?"
"We believe."
Then they were baptized, and were clothed in white garments. And they besought that they might behold the face of Christ. And the saint said to them: "You cannot see the face of Christ unless you taste death, and unless you receive the Sacrifice." They answered: "Give us the Sacrifice, so that we may be able to behold our Spouse." And the ancient narrative adds: "when they received the Eucharist of God, they slept in death, and they were placed upon a couch, arrayed in their white baptismal robes."
In 440 St. Patrick entered on the special work of the conversion of Ulster. Under the following year, the ancient annalists relate a wonderful spread of the Faith throughout the province. In 444 a site for a church was granted at Armagh by Daire, the chieftain of the district. It was in a valley at the foot of a hill, but the saint was not content. He had special designs in his heart for that district, and at length the chieftain told him to select in his territory any site he would deemmost suitable for his religious purpose. St. Patrick chose that beautiful hill on which the old cathedral of Armagh stands. As he was marking out the church with his companions, they came upon a doe and fawn, and the saint's companions would kill them for food; but St. Patrick would not allow them to do so, and, taking the fawn upon his shoulders, and followed by the doe, he proceeded to a neighbouring hill, and laid down the fawn, and announced that there, in future times, great glory would be given to the Most High. It was precisely upon that hill thus fixed by St. Patrick that, a few years ago, there was solemnly dedicated the new and beautiful Catholic cathedral of Armagh. A representative of the Holy See presided on the occasion, and hundreds of priests and bishops were gathered there; and, indeed, it might truly be said, the whole Irish race on that occasion offered up that glorious cathedral to the Most High as tribute to their united faith and piety, and their never-failing love of God.
From Ulster St. Patrick probably proceeded to Meath to consolidate the organization of the communities there, and thence he continued his course through Leinster. Two of the saint's most distinguished companions, St. Auxilius and St. Iserninus, had the rich valley of the Liffey assigned to them. The former's name is still retained in the church which he founded at Killossy, while the latter is honoroured as the first Bishop of Kilcullen. As usual, St. Patrick's primary care was to gather the ruling chieftains into the fold. At Naas, the royal residence in those days, he baptised two sons of the King of Leinster. Memorials of the saint still abound in the district -- the ruins of the ancient church which he founded, his holy well, and the hallowed sites in which the power of God was shown forth in miracles. At Sletty, in the immediate neighborhood of Carlow, St. Fiacc, son of the chief Brehon, Dubthach, was installed as bishop, and for a considerable time that see continued to be the chief centre of religion for all Leinster. St. Patrick proceeded through Gowran into Ossory; here he erected a church under the invocation of St. Martin, near the present city of Kilkenny, and enriched it with many precious relics which he had brought from Rome. It was in Leinster, on the borders of the present counties of Kildare and Queen's, that Odhran, St. Patrick's charioteer, attained the martyr's crown. The chieftain of that district honoured the demon-idol, Crom Cruach, with special worship, and, on hearing of that idol being cast down, vowed to avenge the insult by the death of our apostle. Passing through the territory, Odhran overheard the plot that was being organized for the murder of St. Patrick, and as they were setting out in the chariot to continue their journey, asked the saint, as a favour, to take thereins, and to allow himself, for the day, to hold the place of honour and rest. This was granted, and scarcely had they set out when a well-directed thrust of a lance pierced the heart of the devoted charioteer, who thus, by changing places, saved St. Patrick's life, and won for himself the martyr's crown.
St. Patrick next proceeded to Munster. As usual, his efforts were directed to combat error in the chief centres of authority, knowing well that, in the paths of conversion, the kings and chieftains would soon be followed by their subjects. At "Cashel of the Kings" he was received with great enthusiasm, the chiefs and Brehons and people welcoming him with joyous acclaim. While engaged in the baptism of the royal prince Aengus, son of the King of Munster, the saint, leaning on his crosier, peirced with its sharp point the prince's foot. Aengus bore the pain unmoved. When St. Patrick, at the close of the ceremony, saw the blood flow, and asked him why he had been silent, he replied, with genuine heroism, that he thought it might be part of the ceremony, a penalty for the joyous blessings of the Faith that were imparted. The saint admired his heroism, and, taking the chieftain's shield, inscribed on it a cross with the same point of the crozier, and promised that that shield would be the signal of countless spiritual and temporal triumphs. Our apostle spent a considerable time in the present County of Limerick. The fame of his miracles and sanctity had gone before him, and the inhabitants of Thomond and northern Munster, crossing the Shannon in their frail coracles, hastened to receive his instruction. When giving his blessing to them on the summit of the hill of Finnime, looking out on the rich plains before him, he is said to have prophesied the coming of St. Senanus: "To the green island in the West, at the mouth of the sea [i.e., Inis-Cathaigh, now Scattery Island, at the mouth of the Shannon, near Kilrush], the lamp of the people of God will come; he will be the head of counsel to all this territory." At Sangril (now Singland), in Limerick, and also in the district of Gerryowen, the holy wells of the saint are pointed out, and the slab of rock, which served for his bed, and the altar on which every day he offered up the Holy Sacrifice. On the banks of the Suit, and the Blackwater, and the Lee, wherever the saint preached during the seven years he spent in Munster, a hearty welcome awaited him. The ancient Life attests: "After Patrick had founded cells and churches in Munster, and had ordained persons of every grade, and healed the sick, and resuscitated the dead, he bade them farewell, and imparted his blessing to them." The words of this blessing, which is said to have been given from the hills of Tipperary, as registered in the saint's Life, to which I have just referred, are particularly beautiful:
A blessing on the Munster people --
Men, youths, and women;
A blessing on the land
That yields them fruit.

A blessing on every treasure
That shall be produced on their plains,
Without any one being in want of help,
God's blessing be on Munster.

A blessing on their peaks,
On their bare flagstones,
A blessing on their glens,
A blessing on their ridges.

Like the sand of the sea under ships,
Be the number in their hearths;
On slopes, on plains,
On mountains, on hills, a blessing.
St. Patrick continued until his death to visit and watch over the churches which he had founded in all the provinces in Ireland. He comforted the faithful in their difficulties, strengthened them in the Faith and in the practice of virtue, and appointed pastors to continue his work among them. It is recorded in his Life that he consecrated no fewer than 350 bishops. He appointed St. Loman to Trim, which rivalled Armaugh itself in its abundant harvest of piety. St. Guasach, son of his former master, Milchu, became Bishop of Granard, while the two daughters of the same pagan chieftan founded close by, at Clonbroney, a convent of pious virgins, and merited the aureola of sanctity. St. Mel, nephew of our apostle, had the charge of Ardagh; St. MacCarthem, who appears to have been patricularly loved by St. Patrick, was made Bishop of Clogher. The narrative in the ancient Life of the saint regarding his visit to the district of Costello, in the County of Mayo, serves to illustrate his manner of dealing with the chieftains. He found, it says, the chief, Ernasc, and his son, Loarn, sitting under a tree, "with whom he remained, together with his twelve companions, for a week, and they received from him the doctrine of salvation with attentive ear and mind. Meanwhile he instructed Loarn in the rudiments of learning and piety." A church was erected there, and, in after years, Loarn was appointed to its charge.
The manifold virtues by which the early saints were distinguished shone forth in all their perfection in the life of St. Patrick. When not engaged in the work of the sacred ministry, his whole time was spent in prayer. Many times in the day he armed himself with the sign of the Cross. He never relaxed his penitential exercises. Clothed in a rough hair-shirt, he made the hard rock his bed. His disinterestedness is specially commemorated. Countless converts of high rank would cast their precious ornaments at his feet, but all were restored to them. He had not come to Erin in search of material wealth, but to enrich her with the priceless treasures of the Catholic Faith. From time to time he withdrew from the spiritual duties of his apostolate to devote himself wholly to prayer and penance. One of his chosen places of solitude and retreat was the island of Lough Derg, which, to our own day, has continued to be a favourite resort of pilgrims, and it is known as St. Patrick's Purgatory. Another theatre of his miraculous power and piety and penetential austerities in the west of Ireland merits particular attention. In the far west of Connaught there is a range of tall mountains, which, arrayed in rugged majesty, bid defiance to the waves and storms of the Atlantic. At the head of this range arises a stately cone in solitary grandeur, about 4000 feet in height, facing Crew Bay, and casting its shadow over the adjoining districts of Aghagower and Westport. This mountain was known in pagan times as the Eagle Mountain, but ever since Ireland was enlightened with the light of Faith it is known as Croagh Patrick, i.e. St. Patrick's mountain, and is honoured as the Holy Hill, the Mount Sinai, of Ireland. St. Patrick, in obedience to his guardian angel, made this mountain his hallowed place of retreat. In imitation of the great Jewish legislator on Sinai, he spent forty days on its summit in fasting and prayer, and other penetential exercises. His only shelter from the fury of the elements, the wind and rain, the hail and snow, was a cave, or recess, in the solid rock; and the flagstone on which he rested his weary limbs at night is still pointed out. The whole purpose of his prayer was to obtain special blessings and mercy for the Irish race, whom he evangelized. The demons that made Ireland their battlefield mustered all their strength to tempt the saint and disturb him in his solitude, and turn him away, if possible, from his pious purpose. They gathered around the hill in the form of vast flocks of hideous birds of prey. So dense were their ranks that they seemed to cover the whole mountain, like a cloud, and they so filled the air that Patrick could see neither sky nor earth nor ocean. St. Patrick besought God to scatter the demons, but for a time it would seem as if his prayers and tears were in vain. At length he rang his sweet-sounding bell, symbol of his preaching of the Divine truths. Its sound was heard all over the valleys and hills of Erin, everywhere bringing peace and joy. The flocks of demons began to scatter, He flung his bell among them; they took to precipitate flight, and cast themselves into the ocean. So complete was the saint's victory over them that, as the ancient narrative adds, "for seven years no evil thing was to be found in Ireland." The saint, however, would not, as yet, descend from the mountain. He had vanquished the demons, but he would now wrestle with God Himself, like Jacob of old, to secure the spiritual interests of his people. The angel had announced to him that, to reward his fidelity in prayer and penance, as many of his people would be gathered into heaven as would cover the land and sea as far as his vision could reach. Far more ample, however, were the aspirations of the saint, and he resolved to persevere in fasting and prayer until the fullest measure of his petition was granted. Again and again the angel came to comfort him, announcing new concessions; but all these would notsuffice. He would not relinquish his post on the mountain, or relax his penance, until all were granted. At length the message came that his prayers were heard:
• many souls would be free from the pains of purgatory through his intercession;
• whoever in the spirit of penance would recite his hymn before death would attain the heavenly reward;
• barbarian hordes would never obtain sway in his Church;
• seven years before the Judgement Day, the sea would spread over Ireland to save its people from the temptations and terrors of the Antichrist; and
• greatest blessing of all, Patrick himself should be deputed to judge the whole Irish race on the last day.
Such were the extraordinary favors which St. Patrick, with his wrestling with the Most High, his unceasing prayers, his unconquerable love of heavenly things, and his unremitting penetential deeds, obtained for the people whom he evangelized.
It is sometimes supposed that St. Patrick's apostolate in Ireland was an unbroken series of peaceful triumphs, and yet it was quite the reverse. No storm of persecution was, indeed stirred up to assail the infant Church, but the saint himself was subjected to frequent trials at the hands of the druids and of other enemies of the Faith. He tells us in his "Confessio" that no fewer than twelve times he and his companions were seized and carried off as captives, and on one occasion in particular he was loaded with chains, and his death was decreed. But from all these trials and sufferings he was liberated by a benign Providence. It is on account of the many hardships which he endured for the Faith that, in some of the ancient Martyrologies, he is honoured as a martyr. St. Patrick, having now completed his triumph over Paganism, and gathered Ireland into the fold of Christ, prepared for the summons to his reward. St. Brigid came to him with her chosen virgins, bringing the shroud in which he would be enshrined. It is recorded that when St. Patrick and St. Brigid were united in their last prayer, a special vision was shown to him. He saw the whole of Ireland lit up with the brightest rays of Divine Faith. This continued for centuries, and then clouds gathered around the devoted island, and, little by little, the religious glory faded away, until, in the course of centuries, it was only in the remotest valleys that some glimmer of its light remained. St. Patrick prayed that the light would never be extinguished, and, as he prayed, the angel came to him and said: "Fear not: your apostolate shall never cease." As he thus prayed, the glimmering light grew in brightness, and ceased not until once more all the hills and valleys of Ireland were lit up in their pristine splendour, and then the angel announced to St. Patrick: "Such shall be the abiding splendour of Divine truth in Ireland." At Saul (Sabhall), St. Patrick received the summons to his reward on 17 March, 493 [See note above]. St. Tassach administered the last sacraments to him. His remains were wrapped in the shroud woven by St. Brigid's own hands. The bishops and clergy and faithful people from all parts crowded around his remains to pay due honour to the Father of their Faith. Some of the ancient Lives record that for several days the light of heaven shone around his bier. His remains were interred at the chieftan's Dun or Fort two miles from Saul, where in after times arose the cathedral of Down.


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Second Week of Lent. "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD

On 'Imperfections'
PRESENCE OF GOD - O my God, make me understand how necessary it is for the soul to be pure in order to be united to You who are infinite Perfection!
MEDITATION
1. While venial sin always consists in a more or less slight transgression of one of God's laws, imperfection is the omission of some good act to which we are not obliged by any law, but one which charity invites us to do. To illustrate: when I am aware of the possibility of performing a better act suited to my state, in accord with my actual capabilities, in harmony with my duties, and for the accomplishment of which I may reasonably believe that I am inspired by the Holy Spirit, I cannot deliberately refuse to do it without real actual imperfection. In this case, refusal to perform a better act cannot be judged to be good, nor can it be justified by the thought that I am free to omit this better action since no law or commandment obliges me. This would be an abuse of that liberty which was given me my God for the sole purpose of making me capable of adhering to the good, uninfluenced by my passions. In fact, in the last analysis, my refusal to perform the better act always implies a lack of generosity, motivated by a little selfishness, laziness, meanness, or fondness for my own comfort, all of which are evidently contrary to perfection. Viewed from this angle, it is clear that voluntary imperfection can never be conformable to the will of God, and that consequently, like sin, it is contrary to charity which tends to full conformity with the divine will. Hence, it is important for a soul striving for union with God to eliminate from its conduct every voluntary imperfection. In this sense, St. John of the Cross admonishes us: "For the soul to come to unite itself perfectly with God through love and will....it must not intentionally and knowingly consent with the will to imperfections." Furthermore, he teaches that attachment to even one habitual voluntary imperfection suffices to impede the soul" not only from divine union, but also from progress in perfection" (AS I, 11,3).

2. If we wish to go into further detail, we can think of other types of imperfection. Let us consider, first of all, the breaking of a law which of itself does not bind us under pain of sin, as is generally the case with the Constitutions or Statutes of the various Religious Orders and Institutes. In this respect we must note that if there is no reasonable motive - proportionate and sufficient - exempt us from one of these laws, these transgressions may very easily become venial sins through the absence of a morally good end. Indeed, St. Thomas teaches that man is always bound to act through a reasonable motive and for a good end. If the end is vitiated - as would be the case, for example, in breaking the rule of silence, of solitude, or of religious modesty, through curiosity, through regarding one's own convenience, or similar motives - the act becomes sinful; and in general there will be a question of "sin, at least slight ones, such as spiritual sloth, inconstancy, ingratitude, and a certain hardness of heart which does not sufficiently esteem the help God gives us to do better" (Salamanticenses). Another form of imperfection is found in a certain lack of completeness in an act which is substantially good, but which is done, for example, with some reluctance, or without putting into it all the good will and fervour of spirit of which we are capable.
Every kind of imperfection in fact always comes from a want of effort, energy, and fervour in the spiritual life. It is always selfishness which, in one way or another, takes something away from God to satisfy the ego. We are too calculating, afraid of giving too much, and so selfishness clips our wings and keeps us from reaching full union with God.
COLLOQUY
Grant me , I beg You, O my God, a strong, generous charity, capable of destroying my selfishness down to its very roots. Oh! How well I understand that this self-love is the cause of so many of my little infidelities, of so many imperfections into which I habitually fall and which I do not take care to correct, under the pretext that they are not sins!
These faults, however, are not without importance to a soul consecrated to You and bound to strive for perfection, to a soul called by You to sanctity and one whom You invite to complete union with Yourself. How can I pretend to be united to You, infinite Perfection, if I voluntarily commit so many and such great imperfections in my life? How can my will be entirely conformed to Yours, when I desire and love things that You do not desire and absolutely cannot love? O Lord, I feel the weight of my egoism which drags me down.....You who are infinite charity, consuming fire, kindle in my soul a spark of Your love that will destroy and consume my selfishness. If self-love is the weight which slows my progress toward You, grant that Your love will be a weight still heavier to draw me incessantly to You through a total gift of self, without reserve or limit. Read whole post......

Second Week of Lent. From the "Roman Breviary"

TUESDAY at Matins

The reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
Lesson i : c.23, 1-12
At that time: Jesus spoke to the multitudes, and to his disciples, saying: The scribes and Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do, but according to their works do ye not. And so forth.

Homily of St. Jerome, Priest.
Book 4, Commentary on Matthew, cap. 23
Where shall we find one milder, gentler than the Lord? He was tempted by the Pharisees, their snares were broken, and, as the Psalmist says: the arrows of children are their wounds. And yet, nevertheless, because of the dignity of the priesthood and of their title, he exhorts people to be subject to them, not having regard to their works, but to their teaching. For when he says: The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses; by chair, he gives them to understand the doctrine of the law. And therefore, as to what is said in the Psalm: Nor sat in the chair of pestilence; and again: He overthrew the chairs of them that sold doves; we must take it as signifying doctrine.

Lesson ii
For they bind heavy and unsupportable burdens, and lay them on men's shoulders, but with a finger of their own they will not move them. This is spoken generally against all masters, who order hard things to be done, and will not themselves do the least of them. But it is to be noticed, that shoulders, and the finger, and the burdens, and the bonds with which the burdens are tied, are to be understood here in a spiritual sense. And all their works they do for to be seen of men. Whosoever therefore does anything merely that he may be seen by men, he is a scribe and a Pharisee.

Lesson iii
For they make their phylacteries broad, and enlarge their fringes. They love also the first places at the feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-place, and to be called by men, Rabbi. Woe unto us miserable men, to whom the voices of the Pharisees have passed. When the Lord had given the commandments of the law by Moses, at the end he added: Thou shalt bind them upon thy hand, and they shall be fixed before thy eyes. And the meaning is this: Let my commandments be upon thy hand, that they nay be fulfilled in works; let them be before thy eyes, that thou mayest meditate upon them day and night. The Pharisees, wrongly interpreting this passage, wrote out the decalogue of Moses, that is to say, the ten sentences of the law, upon skins, and folding them, bound them upon their foreheads, making, as it were, a crown for the head; that thus the commandments might ever to move to and from before their eyes.

Collect
Perfect within us, we beseech thee, O Lord, in thy mercy, the benefits of this holy observance`; that those things which thou hast appointed for us to do, we may by thy assistance be enabled to fulfill. Through Our Lord. Read whole post......

Second Week of Lent. "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD
On 'Venial sin'
PRESENCE OF GOD - O Lord, inflame me with Your holy zeal, so that I will no longer be able to tolerate in myself the slightest thing which is displeasing to You.

MEDITATION
1. Venial sin, like mortal sin, goes counter to God's will, although with less serious deviation. While it does not destroy charity, it is opposed to it and therefore diminishes its fervour and vigour, hindering its development. This is the disastrous effect of deliberate venial sin committed with the realisation that it is displeasing to God. Once venial sins of this kind become habitual, they increase the soul's tendency toward self-satisfaction and creatures. Thus, little by little the soul loses its fervour, its sense of sin, and falls into tepidity, which is characterised by a certain indifference to venial sin. This puts it in danger of offending God in serious matters also. In this sense, venial sin may be compared to a disease of insidious languor, a kind of spiritual tuberculosis, which undermines the organism slowly but fatally. It is not unusual to meet souls who having at first surrendered themselves to God with sincere fervour, afterwards let themselves fall into continual carelessness, indifference, voluntary omissions, and laziness, because they have given in to selfishness and sought their own comfort. They become incapable of making the generous efforts required to advance on the way they have started. Their spiritual life is reduced to a kind of lethargy which is not yet death, but which has none of the freshness and vigour of a strong, healthy life. It lacks the fervour of charity, for this is continually being lessened by deliberate concessions to venial sin. To put us on our guard against such a state, St. Teresa of Jesus declares, "Always be fearful if you do not feel sorry for the faults you commit, for even venial sin ought to fill you with sorrow to the very depths of your soul.....For the love of God, take care not to commit any deliberate venial sin, even the smallest....And can anything be small if it offends God?" (Con 2 - Way 41).
2. Quite different are the venial sins which we commit through frailty or inadvertence. Very often the soul is determined not to give in at any price; due to its weakness, however, it falls when temptation comes, especially if the attack is unexpected. Nevertheless, once aware of it, the soul feels sincere sorrow, repents at once, asks God's pardon, rise, and sets out again. Such sins cause no great harm to the soul; they are signs of frailty and show that it has not yet reached spiritual maturity. Moreover, if the soul sincerely humbles itself after these falls, it will draw profit from them and a more profound knowledge of its own misery, which will make it mistrust its own strength entirely and place all its confidence in God alone. It will experience in a practical way the profound truth of the words of Jesus, "Without Me you can do nothing" (Jn 15,5). It is not unusual for God to permit these falls, and he does so precisely to give the soul this practical knowledge of its nothingness, and to anchor it firmly in humility, the foundation of all our spiritual life. In regard to faults of this kind, St. Therese of the Child Jesus felt that we can be sure "they do not grieve the good God," because they are not caused by a will intent on sin, b y indifference or by coldness; they spring from the weakness of human nature. If because of our weakness it is impossible for us to avoid these little daily venial faults of inadvertence or frailty, it is important to know how to detest them and to make generous reparation. As to deliberate venial sins, we should be firmly resolved not to commit them for anything in the world.

COLLOQUY
"Paccavi, Domine, miserere mei! Pardon, Father, pardon me a miserable ingrate. I owe it to Your goodness that I am still Your spouse, even though I am unfaithful to You by my falls. Paccavi, Domine, miserere mei. O my soul, what are you doing? Are you not aware that God sees you always? You can never hide yourself from His sight, for noting is hidden from Him....O eternal God, Father of all goodness and mercy, have pity on us becuase we are blind and in darkness, and I, more than anyone else, am miserable and to be pitied....O true Sun, enter my soul and illumine it with Your brightness. Drive out the darkness and give me light; melt the ice of my self-love and kindle in me the fire of Your charity. Paccavi, Domine, miserere mei" (St. Catherine of Siena).....Because of my weakness, I often fall. "Often I lose sight of what is my only care, and straying from Your side, allow my wings to be draggled in the muddy pools of this world. Then 'I cry like a young swallow,' and my cry tells You all, and You remember, O infinite Mercy, that You 'did not come to call the just but sinners'" (T.C.J. St, 13). Read whole post......

Second Week of Lent. "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD.
On 'Conversion' - fragments
PRESENCE OF GOD - O Lord, You have created me for Yourself; grant that, with all my strength, I may tend toward You, my last end.
MEDITATION.
In the Epistle of the Mass (First Week of Lent - Monday) (Ez 34, 11-16), we read: For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I Myself will seek My sheep, and will visit them...and will deliver them out of all the places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day....I will bring them to their own land, and I will feed them in the mountains of Israel....There shall they rest on the green grass.". This is the program which the Lord wishes to accomplish in our souls during the holy season of Lent, in order to lead us by means of it to a life of higher perfection and in closer intimacy with Him. He streches out His hand to us, not only to save us from dangers, but also to help us climb to those higher places where He Himself will nourish us.
The point of departure which will make the realisation of this divine plan possible is a new conversion on our part: we must collect our powers, desires, and affections, which have been scattered and are lingering in the valley of the purely human: putting them all together, we must make them converge on God, our last end. In this sense, our Lenten conversion should consists in a generous determination to put ourselves more resolutely in the way of perfection. It means a new determination to become a saint. The desire for sanctity is the mainspring of the spiritual life; the more intense and real this desire is in us, the more it will urge us to pledge ourselves totally.....we must try to arouse and strengthen our resolution to become a saint. If other efforts in the past have been unsuccessful or have not entirely reached the goal, this is no reason for discouragement. Nunc coepi -"now have I began," or rather: "now I begin"; let us repeat it humbly, and may the experience of our past failures make us place our trust in God alone.....Sanctity is the end of spiritual life; that is why we must propose it to ourselves, not in a reduced, restricted manner, but in all its fullness - which speaks to us of intimate union with God, of the complete invasion of grace, and of entire conformity to the divine will, to the extent that it becomes the only motif of all our actions; for when the soul becomes totally purified of everything contrary to God's will, "then the Lord will communicate His supernatural Being to it, in such a way that it will seem to be God Himself and to have what God possess" (AS II, 5,7). Sanctity is the plenitude of love and grace: it is transformation in God by love, it is deification by grace. What measure of love and grace must we attain? That depends primarily on God's designs on our soul and then on our cooperation. Now on our part, the secret of reaching the goal is never to stop: first, because even if we were to grow in love indefinitely, we would never be able to love God as much as He is to be loved; secondly because we do not know to what degree of sanctity God is calling us. Furthermore, God does not let Himself be outdone in generosity, and the more we give ourselves to Him in the exercise of intense love, the more He will give Himself to us by grace. The measure of loving God is to love Him "without measure"; if we should not set a limit to love, neither should we set one to our conversion. The Lord said, "Be converted to Me with all your heart"(Jl 2,12). This is the indispensable condition for loving God with our whole heart. The cases where total conversion is reached in an instant by a very special grace are rare; ordinarily, we do not at it except by a daily progressive conversion. And if, in this conversion - as in the whole work of sanctification - the initiative is always from God, who prevents us with His grace, our cooperation is nevertheless required; hence we must strive every day with renewed diligence to "be converted to God with our all our heart." Let this be our program for Lent.
COLLOQUY
.......Grant, O Lord, by the infinite merits of Your passion, that I may be converted to You with all my heart. Do not permit me to be discouraged by the continual return of my egoistical tendencies, or by the incessant struggle which I must maintain against them. Make me clearly understand that, if I wish to be completely converted to You, I can never make peace with my weaknesses, my faults, my self-love, my pride. Make me understand that I must sacrifice everything to Your love, and even when I have sacrificed everything I must still say: "I am an unprofitable servant," O Lord, because everything is as nothing, compared with the love which You deserve, O infinitely lovable One! Read whole post......

Second Sunday of Lent

"The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great c.1256-1302, Virgin and Abbess of the Order of St. Benedict" by St. Gertrude and a religious of her Monastery. TAN Books, 2002

Chapter 16. For the Second Sunday of Lent. Of the oblation of the merits of Jesus Christ for the sins of the Church.

On the Sunday Reminiscere ("Remember, O Lord, Thy compassions and Thy mercies," - Introit, Second Sunday of lent), St.Gertrude, being favoured with singular marks of the love and tenderness of her Spouse, such as no human being could describe, besought Our Lord to indicate some practice which might be profitable during this week. Our Lord replied: "Bring me two good kids - "Duos haedos optimos". - I mean the souls and the bodies of all mankind."
The Saint understood from this that she was required to make satisfaction for all mankind; and then, impelled by the Holy Ghost, she said the Pater noster five times, in honour of the Five Wounds of Our Lord, in satisfaction for all the sins which men had committed by the five senses; and three times for the sins committed by the three powers of the soul - namely, by reason, temper, and concupiscence ("Rationali, irrascibili, et concupiscibili."), and for all omissions or commissions: offering this prayer with the same intention, and for the same end, as Our Lord had formed it in His sweetest Heart; that is to say, in satisfaction for all the sins of frailty, ignorance, or malice which man had oppossed to His omnipotent power, His inscrutable wisdom and His overflowing and gratuitous goodness.
When Gertrude offered this prayer, Our Lord appeared to take an incredible pleasure therein, and made the Sign of the Cross from her head to her feet; blessing her, and then embracing her, He led her to His Father to receive His benediction also. God the Father also received her with great condescension and magnificence, and blessed her in so ineffable a manner, that He gave her as many benedictions as He would have given to the whole world if it had been prepared to receive this favour and grace.
This prayer may be offered to God during this week to obtain pardon of our sins and omissions, and in satisfaction for the sins of the Church, that we may obtain the effect of so salutary a benediction through the merits of Jesus Christ, Who with such condescension and goodness has deigned to be the Spouse and Head of His Church. Read whole post......

Saturday - Day of Our Lady

"The Glories of Mary" by St. Alphonsus of Liquori.

'Of Alms given in Mary's honour'
Clients of the Blessed Virgin are accustomed to give alms to the poor in honour of the Divine Mother, especially on Saturdays. That holy shoemaker, of whom Saint Gregory speaks in his dialogues (Lib. iv.c.36) (his name was Deusdedit), used on Saturdays to distribute all his earnings of the past week to the poor. Hence, a holy soul in a vision saw a sumptuous palace, which God was preparing in heaven for this servant of Mary, but its construction only went on Saturdays. Saint Gerard never refused anything at any time for which he was asked in Mary's name. Father Martin Guttierez, of the Society of Jesus, did the same, and in consequence acknowledged that he had never asked Mary for a grace which he had not obtained. This servant of hers having been put to death by the Huguenots, the Divine Mother appeared to his companions, accompanied by virgins, who, by her direction, wrapped the body in linen, and carried it away. Saint Eberhard, bishop of Saltzburg, practised the same devotion and, on account of it, a holy monk saw him as a child in the arms of Mary, who said: 'This is my son Eberhard, who never denied me anything.' Alexander of Hales who had the same devotion, being once asked, in the name of Mary, by a Franciscan lay brother, to join the order, immediately complied, gave up the world, and become a friar. Let, therefore, no client of the Blessed Virgin think it too much to give a trifling alms every day in her honour, and to increase it on Saturdays. If they can do nothing else, they should at least perform some other act for love of Mary; such as visiting the sick, praying for sinners, and for the souls in purgatory, &c. Works of mercy are very pleasing to the heart of this Mother of Mercy. Read whole post......

The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, March 10 by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira - www.traditioninaction.org

Biographical selection:

The story of these martyrs unfolded in the city of Sebaste during the reign of Emperor Licinius in 320 AD. A garrison of Roman soldiers - 40 in number - were stationed in this remote Armenian town. They were bold, courageous Catholic Roman soldiers who preferred to die rather than renounce their Faith. Upon hearing of this, the infuriated Emperor issued an edict, stating that those throughout the Empire who would not worship pagan gods would be tortured and put to death.
The 40 martyrs of Sebaste in Armenia were whipped, tortured and imprisoned, but would not relent. Finally, the governor Lysias devised an extraordinary kind of death which he hoped would shake their constancy. He ordered the soldiers to be placed in a pond of frozen water and left for a whole winter night.
In the morning the bodies of all were supposed to be carted off to be incinerated. However, the youngest of the officials, whom the acts call Melito, was found alive. Seeing this, the pagan soldiers removed him from the cart with hope that he would apostatize when he came to himself.
The mother of Melito, who was present, understood their intention. Rich in faith, this good Catholic approached her son, quite frozen and barely breathing, looking on her with languishing eyes. She exhorted him to persevere to the end. Then she returned his body to the cart with the corpses of his companions. She told him, “Go, go, my son, proceed to the end of this happy journey with your companions, that you might not be the last of them that present themselves before God.” She pronounced these words without a single tear, and with a joyful countenance she followed the cart to the fire.
After the bodies were burned, the ashes were to be dispersed in the wind and their bones thrown into the river, but God conserved them so that the faithful could gather them later and keep these precious relics.

St. Basil imagines all the saints of Heaven coming to its gates to witness the arrival of the 40 martyrs of Sebaste.
Reflecting on these martyrs, St. Basil wrote:
“O sacred troop! O glorious company! O invincible battalion! Flowers of the Church, yes I repeat, human flowers! Stars that shine among the stars! Martyrs worthy of the praise of all the centuries! To you the doors of Paradise were opened, and from the palaces of Heaven the Angels, Prophets, Patriarchs and all Saints came out to witness your triumphal arrival. A sight worthy of the Angelic Army! Forty warriors in the very flower of their youth who have disdained this life, who have loved the Lord above parents, children, wives and relatives. They disregarded this temporal life that they might glorify God in their members .…
"Having raised up the trophy of their victory against Hell, each one received a crown from the hand of Christ Jesus Our Lord, to Whom be glory and dominion to the ages of ages.” Read whole post......

"Words of Life - on the margin of the Missal" by D. Columba Marmion Abbot of Maredsous

Friday of the First Week of Lent - Christ Jesus affirms and proves His Divine Sonship

See how, on the Sabbath day, Jesus heals the paralytic man (Cf. Gospel of the Mass), telling him to take up his bed and walk. Immediately the Jews, scandalized, reproach the Saviour with not observing the Sabbath day. In order to show that He is, by the same right as His Father, the supreme Master of the Law, our Lord replies to the Pharisees: "My Father worketh until now; and I work." His hearers so thoroughly understand that, by these words, He claims to be God that they seek to put Him to death; "because He did not only break the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal to God." Far form contradicting them, Our Lord confirms their interpretation: "Amen, Amen, I say unto you, the Son cannot do anything of Himself, but what he seeth the Father doing; for what things soever He doth, these the Son also doth in like manner. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things which He Himself doth..." In reading the sequel and development of these words, you will see with what authority Christ Jesus proclaims Himself in all things equal to the Father, God with Him and like to Him.
From 'Christ in His Mysteries', p.202. Read whole post......

"Words of life - on the margin of the Missal" by D. Columba Marmion Abbot of Maredsous

Thursday of the First Week of Lent - The soul who lives by faith becomes the object of the Divine complacency

When we read the account of Our Lord's life in the Gospel, we see it is first of all faith that He requires from those who come to Him. Faith is so pleasing to Jesus that it even obtains from Him what appeared not to be His first intention to grant. We have a striking example of this in the cure besought by the woman of Canaan (cf. Gospel of the Mass). Jesus is so touched by her faith that He cannot refrain from extolling it, and immediately granting her what she asks: "O woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt."
From 'Christ the Life of the Soul', p.134

Nothing is more pleasing to God than unshaken faith and confidence in the midst of darkness. It is the property of those whom God calls to union, to more intimate familiarity with Himself, to persist in hoping in Him in spite of every appearance which might tend to make them doubt the Divine promises. Never forget that faith is the beginning, the progress and the consummation of perfection.
From 'Union with God', p.134 Read whole post......

Penitential Psalms continued

4. Psalm 1. Miserere
1.David prays for remission of his sins; 8. For perfect sanctity. 17. God delights not in sacrifice, but in contrite heart. 19. David prays for the exaltation of the Church.

1.Have mercy upon me, O God; according to thy great mercy. 2. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies: blot out my iniquity. 3. Wash me yet more from my iniquity: and cleanse me from my sin. 4. For I acknowledge my iniquity: and my sin is always before me. 5. Against thee only have I sinned, and done evil in thy sight: that thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayest overcome when thou art judged. 6. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities: and in sins did my mother conceive me. 7. For behold, thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest unto me. 8. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. 9. To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that were humbled shall rejoice. 10. Turn away thy face from my sins: and blot out all my iniquities. 11. Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. 12. Cast me not away from thy presence: and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 13. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation: and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. 14. I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted unto thee. 15. Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. 16. O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. 17. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. 18. The sacrifice of God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 19. Deal favourably, O God, in thy good will with Sion: that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up. 20. Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations, and whole burnt-offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thine altars. Glory, &c.

5. Psalm ci Domine, exaudi.
1. The extreme affliction of the Psalmist. 12. The eternity and the mercy of God. 19. To be recorded and praised by future generations. 26. The unchangeableness of God.

1. O Lord, hear my prayer: and let my cry come unto thee. 2. Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am in trouble, incline thine ear unto me. 3. In what day soever I shall call upon thee: oh, hearken unto me speedily. 4. For my days are vanished like smoke: and my bones are dried up like fuel for the fire. 5. I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered: for I have forgotten to eat my bread. 6. Through the voice of my groaning: my bones have cleaved to my flesh. 7. I am become like a pelican in the wilderness: I am become like a night-raven in the house. 8. I have watched: and am become like a sparrow that sitteth alone on the house-top. 9. Mine enemies reviled me all the day long: and they that praised me have sworn together against me. 10. For I have eaten ashes as it were bread: and mingled my bread with weeping. 11. Because of thy indignation and wrath: for thou hast lifted me up and cast me down. 12. My days are gone down like a shadow: and I am withered like grass. 13. But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever: and thy memorial to all generations. 14. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Sion: for it is time that thou have mercy upon her, yea, the time is come. 15. For thy servants have delighted in her stones: and they shall have compassion on the earth thereof. 16. The Gentiles shall fear they name, O Lord: and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 17. For the Lord hath built up Sion: and he shall be seen in his glory. 18. He hath had regard unto the prayer of the lowly: and hath not despised their petition. 19. Let these things be written for another generation: and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord. 20. For he hath looked down from his high and holy place: out of heaven hath the Lord looked upon the earth. 21. That he might hear the groaning of them that are in fetters: that he might deliver the children of the slain. 22. That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion, and his praise in Jerusalem. 23. When the people assemble together: and kings, that they may serve the Lord. 24. He answered him in the way of his strength: Declare unto me the fewness of my days. 25. Call me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are unto generation and generation. 26. Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundations of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 27. They shall perish, but thou endurest: and they all shall grow old as a garment. 28. And as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. 29. The children of thy servants shall continue: and their seed shall be directed for ever. Glory, &c.

6. Psalm cxxix. De profundis.
The cry of a contrite heart imploring the Divine mercy.

1. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. 2. Oh, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. 3. If thou, O Lord, shalt mark my iniquities: O lord, who shall abide? 4. For with thee there is propitiation: and because of thy law I have waited for thee, O Lord. 5. My soul hath relied on his word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord. 6. From the morning watch even until night: let Israel hope in the Lord. 7. For with the Lord there is mercy: and with him there is plenteous redemption. 8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Glory, &c.

7. Psalm cxIii. Domine, exaudi.
1. David prays for favour in judgment. 3. He represents his distress. He prays for grace. 9. for deliverance; 10. for sanctification; 12. for victory over his enemies.

1. Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my supplication in thy truth: hearken unto me for thy justice' sake. 2. And enter not into judgement with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. 3. For thy enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath brought my life down unto the ground. 4. He hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead: and my spirit is vexed within me, my heart within me is troubled. 5. I have remembered the days of old. I have mused upon the works of thy hands. 6. I have stretched forth my hands unto thee: my soul gaspeth unto thee, as a land where no water is. 7. Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit hath fainted away. 8. Turn not away thy face from me: lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. 9. Make me to hear thy mercy in the morning: for in thee have I hoped. 10. Make me to know the way wherein I should walk: for to thee have I lifted up my soul. 11. Deliver me from mine enemies, O Lord: unto thee have I fled: teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. 12. Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land: for thy name's sake, O Lord, thou shalt quicken me in thy justice. 13. Thou shalt bring my soul out of trouble: and in thy mercy thou shalt destroy mine enemies. 14. Thou shalt destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant. Glory, &c.

Ant. Remember not, O Lord, our offences, not those of our parents: neither take thou vengeance of our sins. Read whole post......

The Penitential Psalms. It is the pious custom to recite the seven Penitential Psalms, respectively, by way of prayer against the seven deadly sins.
Ant.Remember not, O Lord, our offences, not those of our parents; neither take thou vengance of our sins
1. Psalm vi Domine, ne in furore
1. David, in deep affliction, prays for a mitigation of the Divine anger; 4. in consideration of God's mercy; 5. His glory; 6. his own repentance. 8. By faith he triumphs over his enemies

1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine indignation: not chastise me in thy wrath. 2.Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, O Lord for my bones are troubled. 3. My soul also is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long?4. Turn thee, O Lord and deliver my soul: O save me for thy mercy's sake. 5. For in death there is no one that remembereth thee: and who will give thee thanks in hell? 6. I have laboured in my groanings, every night will I wash my bed: and water my coach with my tears. 7. My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old among all mine enemies. 8. Depart from me, all ye that work iniquity: for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. 9. The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord hath received my prayer. 10. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them be turned back and be ashamed very speedily. Glory, &c.

2. Psalm xxxi. Beati quorum
1. The blessedness of those whose sins are forgiven. 3. The misery of impenitence. 6. Confession of sin brings ease, 8. safety, 14. joy.

1. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven: and whise sins are covered. 2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin: and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3. Because I was silent, my bones grew old: while I cried aloud all the day long. 4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I turned in my anguish, while the torn was fastened in me. 5. I have acknowledged my sin unto thee: and my injustice have I not concealed. 6. I said, I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord: and thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin. 7. For this shall every one that is holy pray unto thee: in a seasonable time. 8. But in the flood of many waters: they shall not come nigh unto him. 9. Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath surrounded me: my joy, deliver me fromthem that compass me about. 10. I will give thee understanding, and will instruct thee in the way wherein thou shalt go: I will fix my eyes upon thee. 11. Bee ye not like unto horse and mule, which have no understanding. 12. With bit and bridle bind fast the jaws of those who come not nigh unto thee. 13. Many are the scourges of the sinner: but mercy shall compass him about that hopeth in the Lord. 14. Be glad, O ye just, and rejoice in the Lord: and glory, all ye that are right of heart. Glory, &c.

3. Psalm xxxvii Domine, ne in furore
1. David's extreme anguish, 15. He hopes in God, 18. His resignation and grief, 22. Prayer.

1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation; nor chastise me in thy wrath. 2. For thine arrow stick fast in me: and thou hast laid thy hand heavily upon me. 3. There is no health in my flesh because of thy wrath: there is no rest to my bones because of my sins. 4. For my iniquities are gone over my head: and like a heavy burden, press sorely upon me. 5. My wounds have putrefied and are corrupt: because of my foolishness. 6. I am become miserable and am bowed down even to the end: I go sorrowfully all the day long. 7. For my loins are filled with illusions; and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8. I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly: I have roared for the groaning of my heart. 9.Lord, all my desire is before thee: and my groaning is not hidden from thee. 10. My heart is troubled, my strength hath failed me: the very light of my eyes is gone from me. 11. My friends and my neighbours drew near , and stood up against me. 12. They that were once nigh me stood afar off: and they that sought after my soul did violence against me. 13. And they that sought to do me eveil talked vanities: and imagined deceits all the day long. 14. But I, as a deaf man, heard not: and as one that is dumb, who openeth not his mouth. 15. I become as man that heareth not: and that hath no reproofs in his mouth. 16. For in thee, O Lord, have I hoped: thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God. 17. For I said, Let not mine enemies at any time triumph over me: and when my feet slip, they have spoken great things against me. 18. For I am prepared for scourges: and my sorrow is always before me. 19. For I will confess mine iniquity: and will think upon my sin. 20. But mine enemies live, and are strengthen against me: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 21. They that render evil for good spoke against me, because I followed goodness. 22. Forsake me not, O Lord my god: go not thou far from me. 23. Hasten to my help, O Lord God of my salvation. Glory, &c. Read whole post......

First Sunday of Lent

"Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen OCD.
'The Great Combat'
PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, I withdraw in spirit with You into the desert; teach me how to fight the triple concupiscence of the flesh, pride, and avarice.

MEDITATION
1. On this day, which is the real beginning of Lent, the Church invites us to the great combat, the struggle against sin which will bring us to the Easter resurrection. Our model is Jesus, who although exempt from the incitements of concupiscence, willed to be tempted by the devil for us, in order to have "compassion on our infirmities" (Heb 4,15).
After forty days of rigorous fast, while He is feeling the pangs of hunger, Jesus is tempted by Satan to change stones into bread. No one can undertake a serious program of penance or mortification without feeling its discomforts; but that is the time to resist the insinuating voices which invite us to condenscend to the demands of nature; that is the time to reply with Jesus, "not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God" (Gosp.: Mt 4,1-11). Man's life is far more dependent on the will of God than on material food. If we are convinced of this truth, we shall have the courage to submit to privations, trusting in divine Providence for our sustenance. Jesus was next tempted by pride. "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down...and in their hands the angels shall bear thee up." Such a miracle would have aroused the admiration and enthusiasm of the people, but Jesus knew that His Father had chosen an entirely different way for Him - the way of the Cross and of death. Because He had no desire to escape from this way, He resolutely rejected the suggestion to pride. The best means of conquering temptations to pride and vanity is to chose exactly what humiliates us and makes us appear little in the eyes of others.
The devil returns to the attack and tempts Jesus to avarice: "All these will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me." But Jesus replies, "The Lord thy God shalt thou adore and Him only shalt thou serve!" He whose heart is firmly anchored in God will never let it be drawn away from His service by an attraction for, or envy of, earthly things. But if this strong adherence to God is weakened or lost, the temptations to avarice will often succeed in making even those stray who have a special vocation to be "serving God alone".
2. Jesus was tempted because He willed it. We, however, are tempted without willing it, and often against our will. The temptation of Jesus was wholly exterior, for it found no echo within Him; on the contrary, our nature, wounded by the triple concupiscence of the flesh, of pride, and of avarice, is not only an easy prey for the assaults of the devil, but is itself the source of many temptations. It is impossible for us to live without temptations; our virtue does not consist in being exempt from them but in being able to overcome them. It is struggle which none can escape; God even wishes this struggle to be the price of eternal life. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life" (Jas 1,12).
Let us learn from Jesus how to conduct ourselves in temptations. Primarily, He teaches us to have a great confidence in God. Jesus would not satisfy His hunger, nor impress men by means of a brilliant miracle, nor accept kingdoms and wealth because, in a spirit of perfect filial confidence, He had entrusted everything to the Father's care - His life, His mission, and His glory. Those who will fully trust in God and who rely on His Providence, will not be easily enticed by the vain flattery of the devil, the world, or the flesh, because they know that only God can give true blessings and real happiness.
We should extend the practice of this confidence to the moment of temptation. If God permits us to be tempted beyond our strength, and accompanying every temptation, there is always a special actual grace sufficient to overcome it. Therefore, instead of being disturbed by the violence of the struggle, let us use faithfully the grace God always gives and turn to Him in humble, confident prayer.
COLLOQUY
"Lord God, our Father, Life by which all live, without which everything would be as dead, do not abandon me to evil thoughts and to pride; take away from me all concupiscence and do not give me as prey to an irreverent and foolish spirit; but take possession of my heart, that I may always think of You..... Help me now, my Redeemer, I beseech You, so that I will not fall before my enemies, caught in the snares which they set for my feet to abase my soul; but to save me, strength of my salvation, that I may not become a laughing-stock to Your enemies who hate you. Rise, O Lord, my God, my strength, and Your enemies will be dispersed; those who hate You will flee before Your face.
"As wax melts in the fire, so do sinners vanish before Your face. I shall hide myself in You, and rejoice with Your children, satiated with all Your good things. And You, O Lord God, Father of orphans, protecting Mother, spread your wings, that under them we may take refuge from our enemies" (St. Augustine).
I entrust myself to You, my God and Saviour! I wish, particularly in times of struggle, to take refuge in You with redoubled confidence, for "You are my defense and will deliver me from the nets of the fowler and from all misfortune. You will cover me with Your wings and I shall be safe. Your fidelity will surround me like a shield, and I shall fear neither the terrors of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the plaque that roams in darkness, nor the attacks of the noonday devil. You are my hope, Lord; You are my refuge, O Most High! You have commanded Your angels to watch over all my paths, and they will bear me in their hands lest my feet strike against the stone" (cf. Ps 90, 3-12).

Matins Lesson 1
From the second Epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (c. 6, 1-16)

And we helping do exhort you that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For he saith: In an accepted time have I heard thee and in the day of salvation have I helped thee. Behold, now is the acceptable time: behold now is the day of salvation. Giving no offence to any man, that our ministry be not blamed. But in all things let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons, in seditions, in labours, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God: by the armour of justice on the right hand and on the left: by honour and dishonour: by evil report and good report: as deceivers and yet true: as unknown and yet known: as dying and behold we live: as chastised and not killed: as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing: as needy, yet enriching many: as having nothing, and possessing all things.

Blessing for the first Lesson: May the eternal Father bless us with an eternal blessing. R. Amen. Read whole post......

Saturday - Day of Our Lady

"The Glories of Mary" by St. Alphonsus of Liquori
'Of Fasting'
There are many devout clients of Mary who, to honour her, fast on bread and water on Saturdays, and the vigils of her feasts. It is well known that Saturday is dedicated by the Holy Church to Mary, because, as St. Bernard says, on that day, the day after the death of her Son, she remained constant in faith (De Pass. Dom. cap.ii). Therefore Mary's clients are careful to honour her on that day by some particular devotion, and especially by fasting on bread and water, as did Saint Charles Borromeo, Cardinal Tolet, and so many others. Nittardo, Bishop of Bamberg, and Father Joseph Arriaga, of the Society of Jesus, took no food at all that day. The great graces which the Mother of God has dispensed to those who do this are recorded by Father Auriemma in his little book (Tom.i.cap.17). Let one example suffice: it is that of a famous captain of brigands, who, on account of this devotion, was preserved in life after his head was cut off, and was thus enabled to make his confession; for the unfortunate creature was in a state of sin. After confession he declared that, on account of this devotion, the Blessed Virgin had obtained him so great a grace, and immediately expired (Ap. Auriemma, loc.cit). It would not, then, be anything very great, for a person who pretends to be devout to Mary, and particularly for one who has perhaps already deserved hell, to offer her this fast on Saturdays. I affirm that those who practise this devotion can hardly be lost; not that I mean to say that if they die in mortal sin the Blessed Virgin will deliver them by a miracle, as she did this bandit: these are prodigies of Divine mercy which very rarely occur, and it would be the height of folly to expect eternal salvation by such means; but I say, that for those who practice this devotion, the Divine Mother will make perseverance in God's grace easy, and obtain them a good death. All the members of our little congregation, who are able to do so; for if our health does not permit it, at least we should on Saturdays content ourselves with one dish, or observe an ordinary fast, or abstain from fruit, or something for which we have a relish. On Saturdays we should always practise some devotion in honour of our Blessed Lady, receive Holy Communion, or at least hear Mass, visit an image of Mary, wear a hair-cloth, or something of that sort. But on the vigils of her seven principal festivals, at all events, her clients should offer her this fast either on bread and water, or otherwise as best they can. Read whole post......

Friday after Ash Wednesday. "Words of Life - on the margin of the Missal" by Dom Columba Marmion Abbot of Maredsous

The Church and the Lenten penance.

In the course of the holy forty days, the Church prays daily for those who submit to these expiations; she unceasingly beseeches God that these works may be accepted by Him; that He will make them beneficial to us; ; that He will give us strength to perform them with the piety befitting disciples of Christ and with a devotion that nothing can trouble: Ut jejuniorum veneranda solemnia et congrua pietate suscipiant et secura devotione percurrant ...that they [the faithful] may begin the venerable solemnities of fasting with becoming piety, and may persevere to the end with steadfast devotion. (Collect for Ash Wednesday). This constant prayer of the Church for us is powerful over the Heart of God, and becomes a fount of heavenly benediction which makes our mortification fruitful.
If then we wish "to be Christ's," as St. Paul says. Let us accept, with great faith and generosity, these mortifications of the Church; in God's sight, they have a value and a power of expiation which other afflictive practices do not possess. Moreover, these mortifications are very salutary for us. The Church herself tells us, at the beginning of Lent, that she has "instituted them as a salutary remedy not only for our souls but also for our bodies. Be mindful, O Lord, of our supplications, and grant that we may keep with devout service this solemn fast, which Thou hast wholesomely ordained for the healing of our souls and bodies.Through Our Lord. Colect for the Saturday after Ash Wednesday. Read whole post......

Thursday after Ash Wednesday."Meditations for Lent" from St Thomas Aquinas

"Fasting"

1. We fast for three reasons.
(i) To check the desires of the flesh. So St. Paul says in fasting, in chastity (2 Cor. VI 5), meaning that fasting is a safeguard for chastity. As St Jerome says, "Without Ceres, and Bachus, Venus would freeze,"as much as to say that lust loses its heat through spareness of food and drink.
(ii) That the mind may more freely raise itself to contemplation of the heights. We read in the book of Daniel that it was after a fast of three weeks that he received the revelation from God (Dan. X.2-4).
(iii) To make satisfaction for sin. This is the reason given by the prophet Joel, Be converted to me with all your heart, in fasting and in weeping and in mourning (Joel ii, 12). And here is what St Augustine writes on the matter. "Fasting purifies the soul. It lifts up the mind, and brings the body into subjection to the spirit. It makes the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of desire, puts out the flames of lust and enkindles the true light of chastity."

2.There is commandment laid on us to fast. For fasting helps to destroy sin, and to raise the mind to thoughts of the spiritual world. Each mind is then bound, by the natural law of the matter, to fast just as much as is necessary to help him in these matters. Which is to say that fasting in general matter is a natural law. To determine, however, when we shall fast and how, according to what suits and is of use to the Catholic body, is a matter of positive law. To state the positive law is the business of the bishops, and what is thus stated by them is called ecclesiastical fasting, in contradistinction with the natural fasting previously mentioned.

3. The times fixed for fasting by the Church are well chosen. Fasting has two objects in view:
(i) the destruction of sin, and
(ii) the lifting of the mind to higher things.
The times self-indicated for fasting are then those in which men are especially bound to free themselves from sin and to raise their minds to God in devotion. Such a time especially is that which precedes that solemnity of Easter in which baptism is administered and sin thereby destroyed, and when the burial of Our Lord is recalled, for we are buried together with Christ by baptism into death (Rom. VI.4). Then, too, at Easter most of all, men's minds should be lifted, through devotion to the glory of that eternity which Christ in his resurrection inaugurated. Wherefore the Church has decreed that immediately before solemnity of Easter we must fast, and, for a similar reason, that we must fats on the eves of the principal feasts, setting apart those days as opportune to prepare ourselves for the devout celebration of the feasts themselves. Read whole post......

Ash Wednesday

An excerpt from the book "Dreams, Visions & Prophecies of Don Bosco" edited by Rev. Eugene M. Brown, Don Bosco Publications, New Rochelle, New York, 1986, pp. 211-227. The Scriptural quotations are from the 1883 Douay-Rheims Bible.
II. Vision of Hell
On Sunday night, May 3 [1868], the feast of Saint Joseph's patronage, Don Bosco resumed the narration of his dreams: Always, as you know, on the night of April 17 a frightful toad seemed bent on devouring me. When it finally vanished, a voice said to me: "Why don't you tell them?" I turned in that direction and saw a distinguished person standing by my bed. Feeling guilty about my silence, I asked: "What should I tell my boys?" "What you have seen and heard in your last dreams and what you have wanted to know and shall have revealed to you tomorrow night!" He then vanished. I spent the whole next day worrying about the miserable night in store for me, and when evening came, loath to go to bed, I sat at my desk browsing through books until midnight. The mere thought of having more nightmares thoroughly scare me. However, with great effort, I finally went to bed. "Get up and follow me!" he said. "For Heaven's sake," I protested, "leave me alone. I am exhausted! I've been tormented by a toothache for several day now and need rest. Besides, nightmares have completely worn me out." I said this because this man's apparition always means trouble, fatigue, and terror for me. "Get up," he repeated. "You have no time to lose." I complied and followed him. "Where are you taking me?" I asked. "Never mind. You'll see." He led me to a vast, boundless plain, veritably a lifeless desert, with not a soul in sight or a tree or brook. Yellowed, dried-up vegetation added to the desolation I had no idea where I was or what was I to do. For a moment I even lost sight of my guide and feared that I was lost, utterly alone. Father Rua, Father Francesia, nowhere to be seen. When I finally saw my friend coming toward me, I sighed in relief "Where am I?" I asked. "Come with me and you will find out!" "All right. I'll go with you." He led the way and I followed in silence, but after a long, dismal trudge, I began worrying whether I would ever be able to cross that vast expanse, what with my toothache and swollen legs. Suddenly I saw a road ahead. "Where to now?" I asked my guide. "This way," he replied. We took the road. It was beautiful, wide, and neatly paved. "The way of sinners is made plain with stones, and in their end is hell, and darkness, and pains. " (Ecclesiasticus 21: 11, stones: broad and easy.) Both sides were lined with magnificent verdant hedges dotted with gorgeous flowers. Roses, especially, peeped everywhere through the leaves. At first glance, the road was level and comfortable, and so I ventured upon it without the least suspicion, but soon I noticed that it insensibly kept sloping downward. Though it did not look steep at all, I found myself moving so swiftly that I felt I was effortlessly gliding through the air. Really, I was gliding and hardly using my feet. Then the thought struck me that the return trip would be very long and arduous. "How shall we get back to the Oratory?" I asked worriedly. "Do not worry," he answered. "The Almighty wants you to go. He who leads you on will also know how to lead you back." The road is sloping downward. As we were continuing on our way, flanked by banks of roses and other flowers, I became aware that the Oratory boys and very many others whom I did not know were following me. Somehow I found myself in their midst. As I was looking at them, I noticed now one, now another fall to the ground and instantly be dragged by an unseen force toward a frightful drop, distantly visible, which sloped into a furnace. "What makes these boys fall?" I asked my companion "The proud have hidden a net for me. And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling-block by the wayside." (Psalms 139: 6) "Take a closer look," he replied. I did. Traps were everywhere, some close to the ground, others at eye level, but all well concealed. Unaware of their danger, many boys got caught, and they tripped, they would sprawl to the ground, legs in the air. Then, when they managed to get back on their feet, they would run headlong down the road toward the abyss. Some got trapped by the head, others by the neck, hand, arms, legs, or sides, and were pulled down instantly. The ground traps, fine as spiders' webs and hardly visible, seemed very flimsy and harmless; yet, to my surprise, every boy they snared fell to the ground. Noticing my astonishment, the guide remarked, "Do you know what this is?" "Just some filmy fiber," I answered. "A mere nothing," he said, "just plain human respect." Seeing that many boys were being caught in those straps. I asked, "Why do so many get caught? Who pulls them down?" "Go nearer and you will see!" he told me. I followed his advice but saw nothing peculiar. "Look closer," he insisted. I picked up one of the traps and tugged. I immediately felt some resistance. I pulled harder, only to feel that, instead of drawing the thread closer, I was being pulled down myself. I did not resist and soon found myself at the mouth of a frightful cave. I halted, unwilling to venture into that deep cavern, and again started pulling the thread toward me. It gave a little, but only through great effort on my part. I kept tugging, and after a long while a huge, hideous monster emerged, clutching a rope to which all those traps were tied together. He was the one who instantly dragged down anyone who got caught in them. It won't do to match my strength with his, I said to myself. I'll certainly lose. I'd better fight him with the Sign of the Cross and with short invocations. Then I went back to my guide. "Now you know who he is," he said to me. "I surely do! It is the devil himself!" Carefully examining many of the traps, I saw that each bore an inscription:Pride, Disobedience, Envy, Sixth Commandment, Theft, Gluttony, Sloth, Anger and so on. Stepping back a bit to see which ones trapped the greater number of boys, I discovered that the most dangerous were those of impurity, disobedience, and pride. In fact, these three were linked to together. Many other traps also did great harm, but not as much as the first two. Still watching, I noticed many boys running faster than others. "Why such haste?" I asked "Because they are dragged by the snare of human respect." Looking even more closely, I spotted knives among the traps. A providential hand had put them there for cutting oneself free. The bigger ones, symbolizing meditation, were for use against the trap of pride; others, not quite as big, symbolized spiritual reading well made. There were also two swords representing devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, especially through frequent Holy Communion, and to the Blessed Virgin. There was also a hammer symbolizing confession, and other knives signifying devotion to Saint Joseph, to Saint Aloysius, and to other Saints. By these means quite a few boys were able to free themselves or evade capture. Indeed I saw some lads walking safely through all those traps, either by good timing before the trap sprung on them or by making it slip off them if they got caught. When my guide was satisfied that I had observed everything, he made me continue along that rose-hedged road, but the farther we went the scarcer the roses became. Long thorns began to show up, and soon the roses were no more. The hedges became sun-scorched, leafless, and thorn-studded. Withered branches torn from the bushes lay criss-crossed along the roadbed, littering it with thorns and making it impassable. We had come now to a gulch whose steep sides hid what lay beyond. The road, still sloping downward, was becoming ever more horrid, rutted, guttered, and bristling with rocks and boulders. I lost track of all my boys, most of whom had left this treacherous road for other paths. I kept going, but the farther I advanced, the more arduous and steep became the descent, so that I tumbled and fell several times, lying prostrate until I could catch my breath. Now and then my guide supported me or helped me to rise. At every step my joints seemed to give way, and I thought my shinbones would snap. Panting, I said to my guide, "My good fellow, my legs won't carry me another step. I just can't go any farther." He did not answer but continued walking. Taking heart, I followed until, seeing me soaked in perspiration and thoroughly exhausted, he led me to a little clearing alongside the road. I sat down, took a deep breath, and felt a little better. From my resting place, the road I had already traveled looked very steep, jagged, and strewn with loose stones, but what lay ahead seemed so much worse that I closed my eyes in horror. "Let's go back," I pleaded. "If we go any farther, how shall we ever get back to the Oratory? I will never make it up this slope." "Now that we have come so far, do you want me to leave you here?" my guide sternly asked. At this threat, I wailed, "How can I survive without your help?" "Then follow me. We continued our descent, the road now becoming so frightfully steep that it was almost impossible to stand erect. And then, at the bottom of this precipice, at the entrance of a dark valley, an enormous building loomed into sight, its towering portal, tightly locked, facing our road. When I finally got to the bottom, I became smothered by a suffocating heat, while a greasy, green-tinted smoke lit by flashes of scarlet flames rose from behind those enormous walls which loomed higher than mountains. "Where are we? What is this?" I asked my guide "Read the inscription on that portal and you will know." I looked up and read these words: "The place of no reprieve." I realized that we were at the gates of Hell. The guide led me all around this horrible place. At regular distance bronze portals like the first overlooked precipitous descents; on each was an inscription, such as: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25: 41) "Every tree that yielded not good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire." (Matthew 7: 19). I tried to copy them into my notebook but my guide restrained me: "There is no need. You have them all in Holy Scripture. You even have some of them inscribed in your porticoes." At such a sight I wanted to turn back and return to the Oratory. As a matter of fact, I did start back, but my guide ignored my attempt. After trudging through a steep, never-ending ravine, we again came to the foot of the precipice facing the first portal. Suddenly the guide turned to me. Upset and startled, he motioned to me to step aside. "Look!" he said. I looked up in terror and saw in the distance someone racing down the path at an uncontrollable speed. I kept my eyes on him, trying to identify him, and as he got closer, I recognized him as one of my boys. His disheveled hair was partly standing upright on his head and partly tossed back by the wind. His arms were outstretched as though he were thrashing the water in an attempt to stay afloat. He wanted to stop, but could not. Tripping on the protruding stones, he kept falling even faster. "Let's help him, let's stop him," I shouted, holding out my hands in a vain effort to restrain him. "Leave him alone," the guide replied "Why?" "Don't you know how terrible God's vengeance is? Do you think you can restrain one who is fleeing from His just wrath?" Meanwhile the youth had turned his fiery gaze backward in an attempt to see if God's wrath were still pursuing him. The next moment he fell tumbling to the bottom of the ravine and crashed against the bronze portal as though he could find no better refuge in his flight. "Why was he looking backward in terror?" I asked. "Because God's wrath will pierce Hell's gates to reach and torment him even in the midst of fire!" As the boy crashed into the portal, it sprang open with a roar, and instantly a thousand inner portals opened with a deafening clamor as if struck by a body that had been propelled by an invisible, most violent, irresistible gale. As these bronze doors -- one behind the other, though at a considerable distance from each other -- remained momentarily open, I saw far into the distance something like furnace jaws sprouting fiery balls the moment the youth hurtled into it. As swiftly as they had opened, the portals then clanged shut again. For a third time I tried to jot down the name of that unfortunate lad, but the guide again restrained me. "Wait," he ordered. "Watch!" Three other boys of ours, screaming in terror and with arms outstretched, were rolling down one behind the other like massive rocks, I recognized them as they too crashed against the portal. In that split second, it sprang open and so did the other thousand. The three lads were sucked into that endless corridor amid a long-drawn, fading, infernal echo, and then the portals clanged shut again. At intervals, many other lads came tumbling down after them. I saw one unlucky boy being pushed down the slope by an evil companion. Others fell singly or with others, arm in arm or side by side. Each of them bore the name of his sin on his forehead. I kept calling to them as they hurtled down, but they did not hear me. Again the portals would open thunderously and slam shut with a rumble. Then, dead silence! "Bad companions, bad books, and bad habits," my guide exclaimed, "are mainly responsible for so many eternally lost." The traps I had seen earlier were indeed dragging the boys to ruin. Seeing so many going to perdition, I cried out disconsolately, "If so many of our boys end up this way, we are working in vain. How can we prevent such tragedies?" "This is their present state," my guide replied, "and that is where they would go if they were to die now." "Then let me jot down their names so that I may warn them and put them back on the path to Heaven." "Do you really believe that some of them would reform if you were to warn them? Then and there your warning might impress them, but soon they will forget it, saying, 'It was just a dream,' and they will do worse than before. Others, realizing they have been unmasked, receive the sacraments, but this will be neither spontaneous nor meritorious; others will go to confession because of a momentary fear of Hell but will still be attached to sin." "Then is there no way to save these unfortunate lads? Please, tell me what I can do for them." "They have superiors; let them obey them. They have rules; let them observe them. They have the sacraments; let them receive them." Just then a new group of boys came hurtling down and the portals momentarily opened. "Let's go in," the guide said to me. I pulled back in horror. I could not wait to rush back to the Oratory to warn the boys lest others might be lost as well. "Come," my guide insisted. "You'll learn much. But first tell me: Do you wish to go alone or with me?" He asked this to make me realize that I was not brave enough and therefore needed his friendly assistance. "Alone inside that horrible place?" I replied. "How will I ever be able to find my way out without your help?" Then a thought came to my mind and aroused my courage. Before one is condemned to Hell, I said to myself, he must be judged. And I haven't been judged yet! "Let's go," I exclaimed resolutely. We entered that narrow, horrible corridor and whizzed through it with lightning speed. Threatening inscriptions shone eerily over all the inner gateways. The last one opened into a vast, grim courtyard with a large, unbelievably forbidding entrance at the far end. Above it stood this inscription: "These shall go into everlasting punishment." (Matthew 25: 46) The walls all about were similarly inscribed. I asked my guide if I could read them, and he consented. These were the inscriptions: "He will give fire, and worms into their flesh, and they may burn and may feel forever." (Judith 16: 21) "The pool of fire where both the beast and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Apocalypse 20: 9-10) "And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up forever and ever." (Apocalypse 14: 11) "A land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death, and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth." (Job 10: 22) "There is no peace to the wicked." (Isaias 47: 22) "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:12)While I moved from one inscription to another, my guide, who had stood in the center of the courtyard, came up to me. "From here on," he said "no one may have a helpful companion, a comforting friend, a loving heart,a compassionate glance, or a benevolent word. All this is gone forever. Do you just want to see or would you rather experience these things yourself?" "I only want to see!" I answered. "Then come with me," my friend added, and, taking me in tow, he stepped through that gate into a corridor at whose far end stood an observation platform, closed by a huge, single crystal pane reaching from the pavement to the ceiling. As soon as I crossed its threshold, I felt an indescribable terror and dared not take another step. Ahead of me I could see something like an immense cave which gradually disappeared into recesses sunk far into the bowels of the mountains. They were all ablaze, but theirs was not an earthly fire with leaping tongues of flames. The entire cave-walls, ceiling, floor, iron, stones, wood, and coal- everything was a glowing white at temperatures of thousands of degrees. Yet the fire did not incinerate, did not consume. I simply can't find words to describe the cavern's horror."The nourishment thereof is fire and much wood: the breath of the Lord as a torrent of brimstone kindling it." (Isaias 30: 33).I was staring in bewilderment about me when a lad dashed out of a gate. Seemingly unaware of anything else, he emitted a most shrilling scream, like one who is about to fall into a cauldron of liquid bronze, and plummeted into the center of the cave. Instantly he too became incandescent and perfectly motionless, while the echo of his dying wail lingered for an instant more. Terribly frightened, I stared briefly at him for a while. He seemed to be one of my Oratory boys. "Isn't he so and so?" I asked my guide. "Yes," was the answer. "Why is he so still, so incandescent?" "You chose to see," he replied. "Be satisfied with that. Just keep ooking. Besides, "Everyone shall be salted with fire." (Mark 9: 48). As I looked again, another boy came hurtling down into the cave at breakneck speed. He too was from the Oratory. A he fell, so he remained. He too emitted one single heart-rending shriek that blended with the last echo of the scream that came from the youth who had preceded him. Other boys kept hurtling in the same way in increasing numbers, all screaming the same way and then all becoming equally motionless and incandescent. I noticed that the first seemed frozen to the spot, one hand and one foot raised into the air; the second boy seemed bent almost double to the floor. Others stood or hung in various other positions, balancing themselves on one foot or hand, sitting or lying on their backs or on their sides, standing or kneeling, hands clutching their hair. Briefly, the scene resembled a large statuary group of youngsters cast into ever more painful postures. Other lads hurtled into that same furnace. Some I knew; others were strangers to me. I then recalled what is written in the Bible to the effect that as one falls into Hell, so he shall forever remain. ". . . in what place soever it shall fall, there shall it be." (Ecclesiastes 11:3)More frightened than ever, I asked my guide, "When these boys come dashing into this cave, don't they know where they are going?" "They surely do. They have been warned a thousand times, but they still choose to rush into the fire because they do not detest sin and are loath to forsake it. Furthermore, they despise and reject God's incessant, merciful invitations to do penance. Thus provoked, Divine Justice harries them, hounds them, and goads them on so that they cannot halt until the reach this place." "Oh, how miserable these unfortunate boys must feel in knowing they no longer have any hope," I exclaimed. "If you really want to know their innermost frenzy and fury, go a little closer," my guide remarked. I took a few steps forward and saw that many of those poor wretches were savagely striking at each other like mad dogs. Others were clawing their own faces and hands, tearing their own flesh and spitefully throwing it about. Just then the entire ceiling of the cave became as transparent as crystal and revealed a patch of Heaven and their radiant companions safe for all eternity. The poor wretches, fuming and panting with envy, burned with rage because they had once ridiculed the just. "The wicked shall see, and be angry, he shall gnash with his teeth, and pine away. . . " (Psalms 111: 10 "Why do hear no sound?" I asked my guide, "Go closer!" he advised. Pressing my ear to the crystal window, I heard screams and sobs, blasphemies and imprecations against the Saints. It was a tumult of voices and cries, shrill and confuse. "When they recall the happy lot of their good companions," he replied, they are obliged to admit: "We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honour. Behold, how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints. Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding hath not risen upon us." (Wisdom 5:4-6) "We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction, and have walked through hard ways, but the way of the Lord we have not known. What hath pride profited us ? or what advantage hath the boasting of riches brought us ? All those things are passed away like a shadow." (Wisdom 5:7-9)"Here time is no more. Here is only eternity." While I viewed the condition of many of my boys in utter terror, a thought suddenly struck me. "How can these boys be damned?" I asked. "Last night they were still alive at the Oratory!" "The boys you see here," he answered, "are all dead to God's grace. Were they to die now or persist in their evil ways, they would be damned. But we are wasting time. Let us go on." He led me away and we went down through a corridor into a lower cavern, at whose entrance I read: "Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched." (Isaias 66: 24) "He will give fire, and worms into their flesh, and they may burn and may feel forever." (Judith 16: 21) Here one could see how atrocious was the remorse of those who had been pupils in our schools. What a torment was theirs, to remember each unforgiven sin and its just punishment, the countless, even extraordinary means they had had to mend their ways, persevere in virtue, and earn paradise, and their lack of response to the many favors promised and bestowed by the Virgin Mary. What a torture to think that they could have been saved so easily, yet now are irredeemably lost, and to remember the many good resolutions made and never kept. Hell is indeed paved with good intentions! In this lower cavern I again saw those Oratory boys who had fallen into the fiery furnace. Some are listening to me right now; others are former pupils or even strangers to me. I drew closer to them and noticed that they were all covered with worms and vermin which gnawed at their vitals, hearts, eyes, hands, legs, and entire bodies so ferociously as to defy description. Helpless and motionless, they were a prey to every kind of torment. Hoping I might be able to speak with them or to hear something from them, I drew even closer but no one spoke or even looked at me. I then asked my guide why, and he explained that the damned are totally deprived of freedom. Each must fully endure his own punishment, with absolutely no reprieve whatever."And now," he added, "you too must enter that cavern." "Oh, no!" I objected in terror. "Before going to Hell, one has to be judged. I have not been judged yet, and so I will not go to Hell!" "Listen," he said, "what would you rather do: visit Hell and save your boys, or stay outside and leave them in agony?" For a moment I was struck speechless. "Of course I love my boys and wish to save them all," replied, "but isn't there some other way out?" "Yes, there is a way," he went on, "provided you do all you can." I breathed more easily and instantly said to myself, I don't mind slaving if I can rescue these beloved sons of mine from such torments. "Come inside then," my friend went on, "and see how our good, almighty
God lovingly provides a thousand means for guiding your boys to penance and saving them from everlasting death." Taking my hand, he led me into the cave. As I stepped in, I found myself suddenly transported into a magnificent hall whose curtained glass
doors concealed more entrances. Above one of them I read this inscription: The Sixth Commandment. Pointing to it, my guide exclaimed, "Transgressions of this commandment
caused the eternal ruin of many boys." "Didn't they go to confession?" "They did, but they either omitted or insufficiently confessed the sins against the beautiful virtue of purity, saying for instance that they had committed such sins two or three times when it was four or five. Other boys may have fallen into that sin but once in their childhood, and, through shame, never confessed it or did so insufficiently. Others were not truly sorry or sincere in their resolve to avoid it in the future. There were even some who, rather than examine their conscience, spent their time trying to figure out how best to deceive their confessor. Anyone dying in this frame
of mind chooses to be among the damned, and so he is doomed for all eternity. Only those who die truly repentant shall be eternally happy. Now do you want to see why our merciful God brought you here?" He lifted the curtain and I saw a group of Oratory boys -- all known to me -- who were there because of this sin. Among them were some whose conduct seems to be good. "Now you will surely let me take down their names so that I may warn them individually," I exclaimed. "Then what do you suggest I tell them?" "Always preach against immodesty. A generic warning will suffice. Bear in mind that even if you did admonish them individually, they would promise, but not always in earnest. For a firm resolution, one needs God's grace which will not be denied to your boys if they pray. God manifests His power especially by being merciful and forgiving. On your part, pray and make sacrifices. As for the boys, let them listen to your admonitions and consult their conscience. It will tell them what to do." We spent the next half hour discussing the requisites of a good confession. Afterward, my guide several times exclaimed in a loud voice,
"Avertere! Avertere!" "What do you mean?" I asked "Change life! " Perplexed, I bowed my head and made as if to withdraw, but he held me back."You haven't seen everything yet," he explained. He turned and lifted another curtain bearing this inscription: "They who would become rich, fall into temptation, and to the snare of the devil." (1 Timothy 6: 9) (Note: would become rich: wish to become rich, seek
riches, set their heart and affections toward riches.) "This does not apply to my boys! I countered, "because they are as poor as I am. We are not rich and do not want to be. We give it no thought." As the curtain was lifted, however, I saw a group of boys, all known to me. They were in pain, like those I had seen before. Pointing to them, my guide remarked, "As you see, the inscription does apply to your boys." "But how?" I asked. "Well," he said, "some boys are so attached to material possessions that their love of God is lessened. Thus they sin against charity, piety,
and meekness. Even the mere desire of riches can corrupt the heart, especially if such a desire leads to injustice. Your boys are poor, but remember that greed and idleness are bad counselors. One of your boys committed substantial thefts in his native town, and though he could make restitution, he gives it not a thought. There are others who try to break into the pantry or the prefect's or economer's office; those who rummage in their companions' trunks for food, money, or possessions; those who steal stationery and books...." After naming these boys and others as well, he continued, "Some are here for having stolen clothes, linen, blankets, and coats from the Oratory wardrobe in order to send them home to their families; others for willful, serious damage; others, yet, for not having given back what they had borrowed or for having kept sums of money they were supposed to hand over to the superior. Now that you know who these boys are," he concluded, "admonish them. Tell them to curb all vain, harmful desires, to obey God's law and to safeguard their reputation jealously lest greed lead them to greater excesses and plunge them into sorrow, death, and damnation." I couldn't understand why such dreadful punishments should be meted out for infractions that boys thought so little of, but my guide shook me out of my thoughts by saying: "Recall what you were told when you saw those spoiled grapes on the wine." With these words he lifted another curtain which hid
many of our Oratory boys, all of whom I recognized instantly. The inscription on the curtain read: The root of all evils. "Do you know what that means?" he asked me immediately. "What sin does that refer to?" "Pride?" "No!" "And yet I have always heard that pride is the root of all evil." "It is, generally speaking, but, specifically, do you know what led Adam and Eve to commit the first sin for which they were driven away from their earthly paradise? "Disobedience?" "Exactly! Disobedience is the root of all evil." "What shall I tell my boys about it?" "Listen carefully: the boys you see here are those who prepare such a tragic end for themselves by being disobedient. So-and-so and so-and-so, who you think went to bed, leave the dormitory later in the night to roam about the playground, and, contrary to orders, they stray into dangerous areas and up scaffolds, endangering even their lives. Others go to church, but, ignoring recommendations, they misbehave; instead of praying, they daydream or cause a disturbance. There are also those who make themselves comfortable so as to doze off during church services, and those who only make believe they are going to church. Woe to those who neglect prayer! He who does not pray dooms himself to perdition. Some are here because, instead of singing
hymns or saying the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, they read frivolous or -- worse yet -- forbidden books." He then went on mentioning other serious breaches of discipline. When he was done, I was deeply moved. "May I mention all these things to my boys?" I asked, looking at him straight in the eye. "Yes, you may tell them whatever you remember." "What advice shall I give them to safeguard them from such a tragedy?" "Keep telling them that by obeying God, the Church, their parents, and
their superiors, even in little things, they will be saved." "Anything else?" "Warn them against idleness. Because of idleness David fell into sin. Tell them to keep busy at all times, because the devil will not then have achance to tempt them." I bowed my head and promised. Faint with dismay, I could only mutter, "Thanks for having been so good to me. Now, please lead me out of here." "All right, then, come with me." Encouragingly he took my hand and held me up because I could hardly stand on my feet. Leaving that hall, in no time at all we retraced our steps through that horrible courtyard and the long corridor. But as soon as we stepped across the last bronze portal, he turned to me and said, "Now that you have seen what others suffer, you too must experience a touch of Hell. "No, no!" I cried in terror. He insisted, but I kept refusing. "Do not be afraid," he told me; "just try it. Touch this wall." I could not muster enough courage and tried to get away, but he held me back. "Try it," he insisted. Gripping my arm firmly, he pulled me to the wall. "Only one touch," he commanded, "so that you may say you have both seen and touched the walls of eternal suffering and that you may understand what the last wall must be like if the first is so unendurable. Look at this wall!" I did intently. It seemed incredibly thick. "There are a thousand walls between this and the real fire of Hell," my guide continued. "A thousand walls encompass it, each a thousand measures thick and equally distant from the next one. Each measure is a thousand miles. This wall therefore is millions and millions of miles from Hell's real fire. It is
just a remote rim of Hell itself." When he said this, I instinctively pulled back, but he seized my hand, forced it open, and pressed it against the first of the thousand walls. The sensation was so utterly excruciating that I leaped back with a scream and found myself sitting up in bed. My hand was stinging and I kept rubbing it
to ease the pain. When I got up this morning I noticed that it was swollen. Having my hand pressed against the wall, though only in a dream, felt so real that, later, the skin of my palm peeled off. Bear in mind that I have tried not to frighten you very much, and so I have not described these things in all their horror as I saw them and asthey impressed me. We know that Our Lord always portrayed Hell in symbols
because, had He described it as it really is, we would not have understood Him. No mortal can comprehend these things. The Lord knows them and He reveals them to whomever He wills. Read whole post......