Lord Jesus Christ…have mercy on me, a sinner

Pray “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!” in order that this remembrance of the Name of our Lord Jesus should incite you to battle with the enemy. By this remembrance, a soul forcing itself to do this practice can discover everything which is within, both good and bad. First, it will see within, in the heart, what is bad, and later — what is good. This remembrance is for rousing the serpent, and the remembrance is for subduing it. This remembrance can reveal the sin living in us, and this remembrance can destroy it. This remembrance can arouse all the enemy hosts in the heart, and little by little this remembrance can conquer and uproot them.” ~St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, c. 347-407AD

Flying in the Light of Hope

“Don’t let yourselves be discouraged by failure or anxiousness that wants to remove your dreams, that wants to close you into its dark mentality rather than letting you fly in the light of hope. Please, do not fall into mediocrity, into that mediocrity that lowers and makes us grey, for life is not grey, life is for betting on grand ideas and for great things.” ~Pope Francis to young pilgrims, June 7, 2014

The Church of Pentecost

“Some in Jerusalem would have preferred that Jesus’ disciples, hindered by their fear, stay shut up at home so as not to upset things. Today, too, many want Christians to be like this. But the risen Lord pushes them out into the world: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). The Church of Pentecost is a Church that does not resign herself to being innocuous. No, she does not resign herself to this! She does not want to be just a decoration. She is a Church that does not hesitate to go out to meet people to proclaim the message that she has been given, even if that message disturbs or upsets consciences, even if this message leads, perhaps, to problems and at times also to martyrdom. She is born one and universal, with a precise identity, but open, a Church that embraces the world but does not capture it; she leaves it free. Her embrace is like the colonnade of this piazza: the two arms open to welcome, but they do not close to detain. We Christians are free, and the Church wants us to be free!” ~Pope Francis, Regina Caeli message, Sunday, June 9, 2014

Life is both joy and sorrow…

“No man, whether he be a Christian or not, has an easy life. To be sure, at certain times it seems as though everything goes as we had planned. But this generally lasts for only a short time. Life is a matter of facing up to difficulties and of experiencing in our hearts both joy and sorrow. It is in this forge that man can acquire fortitude, patience, magnanimity and composure.

“The person with fortitude is one who perseveres in doing what his conscience tells him he ought to do. He does not measure the value of a task exclusively by the benefit he receives from it, but rather by the service he renders to others. The strong man will at times suffer, but he stands firm; he may be driven to tears, but he will brush them aside. When difficulties come thick and fast, he does not bend before them.” ~St. Josemaria Escriva, (Friends of God, 77)

Catholicism is Beautiful!

“How beautiful is our Catholic faith! It provides a solution for all our anxieties; it gives peace to the mind and fills the heart with hope.” ~St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #582

Church as Field Hospital

I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars. You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. ~Pope Francis

For Love of God

“When for love of God, we share our goods with our neighbor in need, we discover that the fullness of life comes from love and all is returned to us as a blessing in the form of peace, inner satisfaction and joy.” ~Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus

The Father forgives

“The Father always forgives because he looks at the wounds of Jesus, looks at our sin and forgives it.” ~Pope Francis, June 1, 2014