The Spiritual Life

Expecting Purgatory Can Be a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Purify Your Soul Now with the Fire of Divine Love

November 1, 2024

A Sermon Preached by Rev. Fr. Bernard Uttley, OSB, on November 9, 2012 The entire month of November is dedicated to the remembrance of the poor suffering souls in Purgatory. As we know, the holy souls in Purgatory are completely unable to alleviate their sufferings in any way. But God, in His goodness and loving mercy, has made us who are still “in the flesh” almost all-powerful in their regard, for we have the ability to relieve them of some, or all, of their sufferings by our prayer and penance. It is good to meditate on the sufferings of Purgatory, which we know are more painful than anything that we can suffer here on earth, but perhaps it is even more beneficial for us to know that we need not go there at all. Does God Desire Us to Suffer in Purgatory? It is within our power to bypass Purgatory

Striving to Make Jesus and Mary More Real to Ourselves Makes Our Love for Them Deeper and More Meaningful

October 18, 2024

A Sermon Preached by Rev. Fr. Casimir Puskorius, CMRI on August 23, 2009 Recognizing Our Lord and Our Lady as Real Persons Like Ourselves is a Great Blessing Venerable Brothers and Sisters, dear parishioners, I would like to speak to you today about the blessings hidden in the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I gave a sermon on this topic yesterday for Her Feast, but since the whole month of August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart, I wish to speak more in-depth about this very vital devotion. My dear brethren, our Catholic Faith (including particular devotions) is often difficult to practice on a fundamental level because we don’t see the Mysteries or devotions as relating to a person; i.e. – to Christ as a Person, or in this case, to our Blessed Mother as a person. Alice von Hildebrand brings up an excellent point in her book, The Privilege of

Staying Close to Mary, Queen of Martyrs, Ever Transforms Us in the Love of Jesus

September 25, 2024

From the Servite magazine, “Queen of the Missions” (June-July 1955 Edition), and TV Scripts of “Behold Thy Mother” Studying the Mystery of the Incarnation Leads to Contemplation of the Cross and Jesus Crucified What is the greatest event in history? The Incarnation. That God became man is, as St. Bernard called it, “the affair of the centuries.” That a man should be God exhausts even divine power. Higher than that not even Almighty God could raise a man. And what is the supreme aspect of the Incarnation? The Passion, Crucifixion, and Death of this Incarnate God. In the last hours before the death of Jesus on the Cross are culminated all the supremacies of Christianity: Redemption, divine love, Holy Mass, the Sacred Heart, etc. Therefore, one cannot long study Jesus, or meditate upon Him, or love Him, without arriving at the Cross. All contemplation of Him comes to rest in

Quotes from 10 Mystics That Help Us Meditate on Mary’s Sorrows

September 15, 2024

by Alexis M. Lepicier, OSMtranslated by Marge Radford (Winter, 2017) What good can come from our meditating on the sorrows of the mother of God and her Most Holy Son? St. Alexis Faconeri (+1310), one of the seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order. A 14th century historian cites him as having said these memorable words: “The spirit of our foundation and order is to meditate often, or better still continually, on the sorrows of the Most Holy Mother of God, leaving no stone unturned to make the rest of the world meditate also. . . . The Most Holy Virgin is waiting for us not only to move our hearts to sympathy for her in her sorrows, but to go much further: not add to them by offending God; that is to say, she wants us to fear God and be free from sin. . . so that we

The Blessings that Come With Enthroning the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts as King and Queen of the Home

August 30, 2024

by Rev. Fr. Gregory Drahman, CMRI (Summer, 2007) A Brief History of the Sacred Heart Devotion and Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS. CC. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is nothing new; it comes to us from the pages of Sacred Scripture itself. The significance of St. Longinus’ piercing Christ’s side on Mt. Calvary helps us reflect on the mystery of the love of Our Lord’s Sacred Heart for men. Providence always indicates, especially by the establishment of new feasts and ceremonies, the specific devotion that God knows we need in any particular day and age. Popes, saints, and even Christ Himself have enjoined upon us the need for a deeper devotion to the Sacred Heart as an antidote for the evils of our day. As we celebrate the Centenary Anniversary of the Ceremony of the Enthronement of the Home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us take a

The picture depicts the Virgin Mary on an early 20th century painting (the painter is unknown). It is exhibited in the Greek Catholic Cathedral of Hajdúdorog, Hungary. This painting decorates the Western wall of the Southern side-nave. It represents the typical symbols of the Blessed Virgin: the crescent under her feet that symbolizes Mary's chastity and the sunbeams that appear as a halo around the Virgin Mother's head.

“Mary, My Mother, Help Me Love My God; Help Me to Fight for Him and for Souls!”

August 1, 2024

by Rev. Fr. Eugen RisslingTranslated from the original German by a Marian Sister (Fall, 2015) Being Able to Invoke Mary as Our Mother in All Our Needs is a Great Blessing for Us (The following article pertains to a German prayer that may or may not be familiar to English-speaking Catholics; nevertheless, these reflections can be applied to a vast number of Marian prayers which help promote a more intimate conversation with our Heavenly Mother.) We all know the ancient and beautiful popular prayer to the Mother of God which begins with the phrase, “Virgin Mother of God and mine, let me be entirely thine.” Perhaps it enjoys a great popularity among the faithful for the very reason that in our various needs we can pray to the Mother of God, who in turn will intercede for us with her Son. Upon delving into other prayers, one comes across a

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Expecting Purgatory Can Be a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Purify Your Soul Now with the Fire of Divine Love

Striving to Make Jesus and Mary More Real to Ourselves Makes Our Love for Them Deeper and More Meaningful

Staying Close to Mary, Queen of Martyrs, Ever Transforms Us in the Love of Jesus

Quotes from 10 Mystics That Help Us Meditate on Mary’s Sorrows

The Blessings that Come With Enthroning the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts as King and Queen of the Home

“Mary, My Mother, Help Me Love My God; Help Me to Fight for Him and for Souls!”

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