Saturday, May 30, 2020

Act of Oblation to the Holy Ghost

On my knees, before the great cloud of witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body, to Thee, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Thy purity; the unerring keenness of Thy justice, and the might of Thy love. Thou art the strength and the light of my soul. In Thee I live, and move, and am. I desire never to grieve Thee by unfaithfulness to grace; and I pray with all my heart to be kept free from the smallest sin against Thee. Make me faithful in every thought; and grant that I may always listen to Thy voice, and watch for Thy light, and follow Thy gracious inspirations. I cling to Thee, and give myself to Thee, and ask Thee by Thy compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced feet of Jesus, and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting to His Precious Blood, and adoring His opened side and stricken Heart, I implore Thee, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, so to keep me in Thy grace that I may never become obstinate in sin. Give me grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father, and the Son, to say to Thee, always and everywhere, Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth. Amen.


Saint Joan of Arc, French war heroine and religious martyr Pray for Us

 Saint Joan of Arc is the patron of Captives; France; Imprisoned people; Martyrs; Opposition of Church authorities; People ridiculed for their piety; Prisoners; Soldiers.

Pope Pius X beatified her in 1909 and Pope Benedict XV canonized her in 1920. As patron saint of France and of soldiers.
“Therefore, we must serve God first.”

 “All battles are first won or lost, in the mind”  

“It is better to be alone with God. His friendship will not fail me, nor His counsel, nor His love. In His strength, I will dare and dare and dare until I die”


 “I would rather die than do something which I know to be a sin, or to be against God's will”


The Litany of St. Joan of Arc
Composed by Louis, Bishop of Saint Die

Lord, have mercy on us!
Jesus Christ, have mercy on us!
Lord, have mercy on us!
Jesus Christ, hear us!
Jesus Christ, graciously hear us!

Our Heavenly Father, Who art God,
have mercy on us!

Son, Savior of the world, Who art God,
have mercy on us!

Holy Spirit, Who art God,
have mercy on us!

Holy Trinity, Who art God,
have mercy on us!

Holy Mary, virgin Mother of God,
pray for us. *

Our Lady of the Assumption, principal patron of France, *
Saint Michael the Archangel, patron and special protector of France, *
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and Martyr, *
Saint Margaret of Antioch, virgin and Martyr, *
Saint Joan of Arc, chosen by God at Domremy, *
Saint Joan of Arc, informed [of her mission] by Saint Michael, the Archangel and his Angels, *
Saint Joan of Arc, compliant to the call of God, *
Saint Joan of Arc, confidant [in] and submissive to her voices, *
Saint Joan of Arc, model of family life and labor, *
Saint Joan of Arc, faithfully devoted to Our Lady, *
Saint Joan of Arc, who delighted in the Holy Eucharist, *
Saint Joan of Arc, model of generosity in the service to God, *
Saint Joan of Arc, example of faithfulness to the Divine vocation, *
Saint Joan of Arc, model of union with God in action, *
Saint Joan of Arc, virgin and soldier, *
Saint Joan of Arc, model of courage and purity in the field [of battle], *
Saint Joan of Arc, compassionate towards all who suffer, *
Saint Joan of Arc, the pride of Orleans, *
Saint Joan of Arc, glory of Reims, *
Saint Joan of Arc, liberator of the Country, *
Saint Joan of Arc, abandoned and imprisoned at Compiegne, *
Saint Joan of Arc, pure and patient in thy prison, *
Saint Joan of Arc, heroic and valiant before thy judges, *
Saint Joan of Arc, alone with God at the hour of torment, *
Saint Joan of Arc, Martyr of Rouen, *
Saint Joan or Arc and Saint Therese of Lisieux patronesses of France, *
All the Saints of France, intercede for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, Lord.

Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us, that we may become worthy of the promises of Our Savior Jesus Christ.

Let us pray.
Oh God, Who hast raised up in an admirable manner, the virgin of Domremy, Saint Joan of Arc, for the defense of the faith and our country, by her intercession, we ask Thee that the Church may triumph against the assaults of her enemies and rejoice in lasting peace; through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen. 


Intercessory Prayer to St. Joan of Arc

The intercessory Prayer to St. Joan of Arc is appropriate for anyone to recite, especially in times of adversity.
 




Prayer to Saint Joan of Arc
(Pray novena for 9 consecutive days)

Opening prayer:
Eternal Father, you gave us Saint Joan of Arc through your infinite love and mercy for us.  We humbly ask that you send down your Holy Spirit upon us, as Your Spirit is the intermediary by which the Word goes forth from your lips and reaches the ears of the faithful.  Allow me to be a witness to your Son Jesus Christ just as St. Joan of Arc was. Oh, Jesus, grant me the courage to do your will, that I may be in one accord with our Father in Heaven. I thank you for the gift of your love, which I hope to one day fully understand.

Petition Prayer:
Say 19 Our Fathers, followed by "St. Joan of Arc, by your powerful intercession, hear and answer me."


When you finish, say the following prayer:

Saint Joan of Arc, patron of France, my patron saint, I ask you now to fight this battle with me by prayer, just as you led your troops to victory in battle.  You, who were filled with the Holy Spirit and chosen by God, help me this day with the favor I ask [here say your intention]. Grant me by your divine and powerful intercession, the courage and strength I need to endure this constant fight.  Oh St. Joan, help me to be victorious in the tasks God presents to me.
I thank you and ask you for your continuing protection of God's people.


Closing Prayer:
Sweet Saint Joan, plead for me before the throne of almighty God that I may be deemed worthy to be granted the request I have asked.  Help me, Saint Joan, to be more like you in the attempt to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind. 
Through your guidance and prayer help me to be a truly devout and loving Christian, that I may both know and see the will of God.  Help me now St. Joan, in my time of need. I ask that you may always be near me guiding me closer each day to Jesus.  Thank you Saint Joan for having heard my prayer.
Amen.

Friday, May 29, 2020

Novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague in Urgent Need



(To be said for nine days or nine consecutive hours)
O Jesus, Who said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you," through the intercession of Mary, Your most holy Mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be answered.  (Mention your request)

O Jesus, Who said, "All that you ask of the Father in My Name He will grant you," through the intercession of Mary, Your most holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask Your Father in Your Name that my prayer be granted.  (Mention your request.)

O Jesus, Who said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My word shall not pass," through the intercession of Mary, Your most holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.  (Mention your request) Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving for graces received
from the Infant Jesus 

I prostrate myself before your holy image, O most gracious infant Jesus, to offer you my most fervent thanks for the blessings you have bestowed on me. I shall incessantly praise your ineffable mercy and confess that you alone are my God, my helper, and my protector. Henceforth my entire confidence shall be placed in you! Everywhere I will proclaim aloud your mercy and generosity, so that your great love and the great deeds which you perform through this miraculous image may be acknowledged by all. may devotion to your most holy infancy increase more and more in the hearts of all Christians, and may all who experience your assistance persevere with me in showing unceasing gratitude to your most holy infancy, to which be praise and glory forever, amen. 

Words of encouragement by St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi to improve our spiritual life

Patronage
•against bodily ills
•against sexual temptation
•against sickness
•sick people


“Trials are nothing else but the forge that purifies the soul of all its imperfections.”
“You will be consoled according to the greatness of your sorrow and affliction; the greater the suffering, the greater will be the reward.”
“I do not desire to die soon, because in Heaven there is no suffering. I desire to live a long time because I yearn to suffer much for the love of my Spouse.” 

“O Sisters, if we would only comprehend the fact that while the Eucharistic Species remain within us, Jesus is there and working in us inseparably with the Father and the Holy Spirit and therefore the whole Holy Trinity is there…”
“O what a wonderful and intimate union is established between the soul and You, O lovable Lord, when it receives You in the Holy Eucharist! Then the soul becomes one with You, provided it is well disposed by the practice of the virtues, to imitate what You did in the course of Your life, Passion, and death.”

“The last thing I ask of you — and I ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ — is that you love him alone, that you trust implicitly in him and that you encourage one another continually to suffer for the love of him.”


“Prayer ought to be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and accompanied with great reverence. One should consider that he stands in the presence of a God, and speaks with a Lord before whom the angels tremble from awe and fear.”
 
 





Sins against the Holy Spirit



Hardening of hearts & Tasted the Holy Spirit

Catholic Letters:
Essentially, they are 6 manifestations of one and the same sin: rejecting the grace of God to the point of forbidding Him to forgive us and save us.

The sins against the Holy Spirit consist in the rejection of the grace of God; it is the refusal of salvation, complete rejection of action, unceasing invitations and warnings of the Holy Spirit. They are sins in which the goodness of God is put into question. It is a sin for pure malice, contrary to the goodness which is the Holy Spirit. The will of the person who sins is so hardened that it does not desire the mercy of God and rejects His goodness.



Aleteia:
The Gospel says, in Matthew 12:32, “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
This frightening exhortation refers to the sin of rejecting God’s grace; it is a rejection of God’s offer of salvation—complete rejection of the actions, incessant invitations, and warnings of the Holy Spirit.
The will of a person who could commit this sin is so hardened that he doesn’t want God’s mercy, and he rejects His goodness.
Sin against the Holy Spirit is thus “unforgivable” precisely because it is the sinner himself who keeps God from forgiving him. As God respects the freedom with which He created us, He also respects a sinner’s decision to firmly refuse to be forgiven.
Pope Saint Pius X taught in his Catechism that there are six elements of this sin against the Holy Spirit:

1. Despairing of salvation. This is when a person loses hope of salvation, judging that his eternal life is already lost and that he is condemned, even before Judgment. It means judging divine mercy as being small. It means not believing in God’s justice and power.

2. Presumption of salvation is when a person cultivates in his soul an idea of his own perfection, which implies a feeling of pride. He believes his salvation has been guaranteed by what he has done.


"There are two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon God's almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit, hope of salvation without keeping the Commandments, or expectation of pardon for sin without repentance)." (C.C.C. # 2092)

3. Denying a truth recognized as such by the Magisterium of the Church. When a person doesn’t accept the truths (dogmas) of the faith, even after an exhaustive doctrinal explanation, it is the sin of heresy. He considers his personal understanding to be greater than that of the Church and the teaching of the Holy Spirit that assists the holy Magisterium.

Impugning the known truth. Resisting the truth can take various forms: attacking it by word or argument; resist it, contradicting it;  or even to oppose the known truth or to challenge it as false



4. Envying the grace that God gives to other people.
Envy of another’s spiritual welfare in effect involves questioning God’s judgment about the gifts he distributes. (sadness or repining at another's growth in virtue and perfection)


5. Obstinacy in sin is the firm will to continue in error even after receiving the light and help of the Holy Spirit. This is when a person creates his own criteria for ethical judgment, or simply doesn’t adopt any ethics at all, and in this way separates himself from God’s will and rejects salvation.
To be "obstinate" means to resist the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, to be stubborn, to persist in sin, to be unyielding.  

Obstinacy is resisting the Holy Spirit, being stubborn and persisting in sin. (Willful persisting in wickedness, and running on from sin to sin, after sufficient instructions and admonition)

6. Final impenitence is the result of an entire life of rejecting God. This is when a person persists in error until the very end. It’s the equivalent of consecrating oneself to Christ’s adversary. Even at the hour of death, such a person refuses to approach the Father with humility. He doesn’t open himself to the Holy Spirit’s invitation.

"Impenitence" means to be uncontrite, unrepentant, hardened, unconverted, to be without regret, shame or remorse. 






http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/


Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men,
but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven.--Matthew 12:31




The Holy Ghost and the sin against Him
by Bishop Otto Zardetti, 1888


Man was created free, and free also he remains under the dispensation of divine grace and the ministration of the Spirit. Whilst the union of the Holy Ghost with the mystical body of Christ is indissoluble, the mystical union of the Holy Spirit with the individual soul is liable to be broken as long as man has not yet consummated his pilgrimage on earth. Man in virtue of his free will, even under the dispensation of divine grace, can resist God. He can slight and neglect the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and hereby "grieve the Spirit." He can go farther and by mortal sin he can "extinguish the Spirit," destroy the temple of the Holy Ghost, reduce his soul to the state of darkness and death, from which by regeneration and justification it was redeemed. He can go farther yet and by direct rebellion against the Spirit commit the sin which the Lord emphatically styles "the sin or blasphemy against the Holy Ghost" and which is the consummation of man's infidelity to the merciful condescensions of infinite love.

Our short explanations of the transcendent office of the Holy Spirit in the whole plan of salvation would be incomplete, should we pass over in silence, the "sin against the Holy Ghost." Sin is a great mystery, the "mysterium iniquitatis," and it is only by the illumination of the Spirit that man, viewing the transgressions of the divine law from a supernatural standpoint, can understand something of this great and awful mystery, of the nature and evil consequences of sin, of the hideous character it shows when studied in the light of faith. Our Lord in His farewell discourses explicitly declares that by the Holy Ghost's coming we should learn what sin is, saying: "When He is come, He will convince he world of sin." (St. John, XVI.) Both in the old creation and in the new, both before the Incarnation of the Son of God, and after His Ascension into heaven, it has been, it is, and it will be to the end of the world, the work and the office of the Holy Ghost, to convince the world of sin; that is to say, to convince the intellect, and to illuminate the reason of man to understand what sin is, and also to convince the consciences of men of their sinfulness and make them conscious that they are guilty before God. As in the beginning, before the fall of man, man in the light of the Holy Ghost, knew God, His perfections and holiness, so after the fall, God in His mercy has by His Spirit taught men to know, in some measure at least, His perfections and their own sinfulness; but it was only like the twilight preceeding the noonday. We are in the noonday and if in the noonday we are blind to the perfections of God and to our own sinfulness, woe to us in the day of judgment.


Now, in a general sense, every sin is a sin against the Holy Spirit, as far as sin involves neglect of and resistance against the Holy Ghost's operation by divine grace. As there exists the most direct and intimate relation between the Holy Spirit and divine grace, so also has sin in all its forms and degrees a direct relation to this divine Spirit. Again, we must say that in our judgment no man has brought this truth to the front, and shown sin and its direct opposition to the Author of grace, God the Sanctifier, more clearly than Cardinal Manning in his book: "Sin and its Consequences." (London. Burns and Oates. 1874.) Viewing sin in its direct reference to the Holy Ghost, we will here mention some classes of sins. We can according to the inspired Text either "grieve the Spirit" (Ephes. IV. 30), or "extinguish the Spirit" (I. Thess. V. 19), or finally sin "by blasphemy of the Holy Ghost." (Matth. XII, 31.) Here the three classes of sin, as an act of opposition to the Holy Ghost, are distinctly given: venial sin, mortal sin and the sin against the Holy Ghost.


1. W e can first "grieve the Spirit," and by this we mean to say, we can oppose, slight, neglect in the most various ways and degrees the incessant work of the Holy Ghost for our salvation and perfection. The Apostle writes to the Ephesians: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God: whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephes. IV, 30.) The Holy Spirit has been given us, has been "poured into us," is dwelling in us as in a temple, and His presence, indwelling, inhabitation is not passive, but unceasingly active, so much so that just as the sun never ceases to dart forth its rays, He never desists to shed on us His light and grace. We can, however, at will, neglect or oppose His benignant suggestions. They are the clouds of sinfulness and worldliness that obscure His illumination and neutralize His prolific warmth. The various forms of sin that involve a direct opposition against the Holy Ghost will best be understood when considered in their opposition to the attributes of the Holy Ghost Himself.


The Holy Spirit of God is styled a Spirit of truth. (St. John, XIV, 17.) It is therefore very grieving and vexing to Him, to have a light esteem of divine truth, to be indifferently affected towards it, to be slow in striving to understand more fully the doctrine of Holy Church. Even without directly denying faith, we can be guilty of infidelity. Divine truths are in our days obscured before the eyes of men, because "there is none that considereth in the heart." (Jerem. XII, II.) Faith comes by hearing, but our age which has an open ear for the news of this busy world pays but little attention to the glad tidings of salvation, as preached the year round in the power of the Spirit. Christians themselves hear the word of God, but by not cooperating with the Spirit's power in them, they only verify by their own life the Lord's parable of the seed sown "by the wayside upon stony ground," and "sown amongst thorns." (Matth. XIII.) "Blessed are those," says Jesus Christ "who hear the word of God, and keep it." (Luke XI, 28.)


The most Blessed of all creatures was the Spouse of the Holy Spirit who "kept all the words, pondering them in her heart." (Luke II, 19.) We grieve the Holy Spirit by our light-mindedness and distractions, by not allowing the word of God to take root in our soul, and prove its power "more piercing than any two-edged sword: reaching unto division of the soul and the spirit," (Heb. IV, 12) and by not relishing those things which the animal man does not understand and God has revealed to the little ones.


The Holy Spirit of God is styled a Spirit of grace and holiness (Rom. I, 4.) It is therefore vexing to this blessed Spirit when that grace, of which He is the Author, is rejected, when there are few that express any regard, show any desire or manifest esteem for the Divine boon. A cold heart towards God, a heart that is disaffected to God, that keeps at a distance from Him, that will not be engaged in sweet communion with Him, is a vexing thing to the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Holy Ghost in us ever increases by any faithful use we make of it, and nothing more grieves the Spirit of infinite perfection and holiness than lukewarmness, tepidity and wordliness on the part of those who are called unto His special service; separated from this world, honored by higher vocations, singled out from this wicked world, and consecrated to His ministry.


The Holy Spirit of God is furthermore called a Spirit of power and life. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth," says our Lord. St. Paul tells us, that God hath given us the "Spirit of power." (II. Tim. I, 7.) It is therefore vexatious to this Spirit, when we allow ourselves to be ungenerous, lukewarm, disinterested in things that are of God, when we burn not with apostolic zeal, nor are anxious to fulfil our mission to propagate God's kingdom.


The Holy Spirit of God is especially a Spirit of purity, chastity and virginity. Chastity is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Both the shape of a dove and the form of a fiery, luminous tongue, the two emblems under which the Holy Ghost visibly appeared on earth, suggest the angelic purity of which He is the Author and the Lover. Spirit and flesh have been antagonists from the day of the first rebellion. When God saw that man was flesh, then He said: "My Spirit shall not remain in man forever." (Gen. VI, 3.) Hence, all who wish to live according to the Spirit will first have to endure the struggle with the flesh; for, no sin grieves the Spirit more keenly and directly than sensuality, and yielding to the passions and lusts of the flesh: "The flesh lusteth against the spirit; and the spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary one to another . . Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are, fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury . . . . but the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace . . . chastity" (Gal. II, 19,) and "for he that soweth in the flesh, of the flesh, also shall reap corruption: but he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting." (Gal. VI, 8.)


We have almost touched upon transgressions by which we do not only "grieve," but "extinguish " the Spirit. Even the smaller and slighter faults, by which we "grieve" the Spirit cannot be considered small or slight by those who in the Spirit view the things of God, and bind themselves to war against the "mysterium iniquitatis." It is a general rule that no man sees the nature of sin so clearly as those who are freest from sin; just as no intelligence knows sin with such intensity of knowledge as God Himself. On the other hand, no one is so blind to his own sins, as the man who has most sin upon him. No men know so little of the light of God's divine presence as those whose are covered with sin; and the more sin they have upon them, the less visible it becomes. Sin stupefies the intellect and the heart; it draws a veil and a mist over the brightness of the intelligence, and it darkens the light of the conscience. Sin, like hemlock, deadens the sense, so that the spiritual eye begins to close, and the spiritual ear becomes heavy, and the heart grows drowsy. (According Card. Manning.)


Secondly, we can not only "grieve" the Spirit by venial sin or slighter resistance to His operation, but we can, alas, by the commission of mortal sin even "extinguish" the Spirit, destroy His temple, ruin His work, reduce our souls to the darkness from which they were freed and bring on them that spiritual death which, in line, begets the second death of everlasting doom. It is an article of faith that there are venial sins and mortal sins, and that by committing the latter we lose sanctifying grace and all the great blessings of which it is the source. "If any man shall see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and life shall be given unto him that sinneth not unto death: I do not say for that any man shall ask. All iniquity is sin, and there is a sin unto death." (I, St. John, V, 16-17.) Mortal sin especially is, what we call the "mysierium iniquitatis." Mortal sin, extinguishing the Spirit and utterly destroying His temple, is a mystery as great and incomprehensible here on earth as grace, regeneration and sanctification. It is, however, only by the light of the Holy Ghost that we can somewhat realize the hideous character and evil consequences of this sin, the extinction of the Spirit. It first strikes the soul dead. The grace of God is the life of the soul, as the soul is the life of the body. One mortal sin separates the soul from God. Secondly it destroys all the merits the soul has acquired. One sin unto death, unless afterwards repented of, utterly cancels the merits of a whole life. All the merits are gone as if they had never been.


Thirdly it crushes and kills the very power of serving God and of bringing forth works of supernatural merit. Not all that the sinner does in the state of sin is sin, but he is incapable of bringing forth works unto life eternal. "Just as a tree that has life bears living fruit, and a tree that is dead has nothing but fruit that is also withered and dead, so a soul that is planted in God, as we are all in baptism, strikes its root as the tree by the rivers of water, and increases continually in Faith, Hope and Charity, and in the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, which expand themselves like the leaves upon the branch, and the twelve fruits of the Holy Ghost unfold themselves and ripen. On the other hand, a soul that is separated from God is like the tree that is cut asunder at the root, and as the severed tree withers from the top most spray and every fruit upon it dies, so the soul in the state of mortal sin is separated from God and can bear no fruit unto salvation." (Card. Manning, Sin and its consequences, p. 50, ff.)


Fourthly it involves a man in a double debt with God--it involves him in the debt of guilt and the debt of pain; and he will have to pay both. The debt of guilt he must answer for on the day of judgment. The debt of pain he must suffer for before he can see God, either here, or after death in the state of purification: or in hell for all eternity. Every substance has its shadow in this world. You cannot separate the shadow from the substance. Where the substance moves the shadow follows, so every sin has its pain; it matters not whether we think of it or no, whether we believe it or no." (Card. Manning, Sin, p. 53.) All these things, however, can only be perceived in the light of the Spirit. Though we are the children of God, and yet it has not appeared what we are; so it has not appeared what those of iniquity are who have extinguished in themselves the Holy Spirit and have wilfully returned to the bondage of the evil one. Hence we must earnestly entreat the Holy Ghost, that we may never extinguish Him and that the horror of sin may be increased in our souls.


The world does not know sin and calls those transgressions of the divine law merely the necessary results of human weakness. Men have gone so far as to speak of an independent morality, that is a law of morals separated from the Lawgiver, a proud philosophical claim to account for right and wrong without reference to God. This is, says our Cardinal, the stupidity as well as the impiety of our days. For morals are not the dead, blind, senseless relations that we have to stocks and stones, but the relations of duty and of obligation we have to the living Lawgiver, our Maker and Redeemer. Yet here we strike the last degree of sinning against the Holy Ghost. When man by trespassing on divine law not only forfeits grace and extinguishes the Spirit, but directly fights against the Spirit, then he commits the "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost" mentioned in Holy Writ. Of those the words of Isaias will be verified in the fullest sense: "They rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit. Therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He fought against them." (Isaias, I, XIII, 10.)


3. By sin against the Holy Ghost in the strict sense of the term, we signify a special class of sins. To this sin, mentioned on the same occasion by three Evangelists refer the classical words of St. Matthew: "Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever speaketh a word against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come." (St. Matth. XII, 31, 32.) These are the words that have vexed so many interpreters by the combination of difficulties involved in their exegesis. What is the meaning of this divine utterance? What is this "blasphemy of the Holy Ghost?" What does it mean to say: "Speak a word against the Holy Ghost?" Why does our Lord in seeming contradiction to His promises of a forgiveness of all sins, beyond exception, declare this sin unpardonable, both in this world and in the world to come? We do not here enter upon a detailed exegesis of this famous passage of Scripture. Although interpreters differ in secondary explanations, they more or less all agree as to the nature of this sin and the sense in which it is declared unpardonable.


The occasion on which these words of Christ were spoken was the casting out of a devil that was both blind and dumb, so that the people amazed at the great miracle when witnessing the man who had been blind and dumb, see and speak, concluded from this fact that Jesus must necessarily be the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. The Pharisees, however, to blind themselves and others, to counteract the evidence of the fact and proof of Christ's Messianic dignity, to prevent the people from becoming the disciples of Christ, gave out maliciously, that though Jesus did cast out devils (a fact, which they had to acknowledge), yet it was not by any divine power, but merely by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. The casting out of the devils is here emphatically ascribed to the Holy Ghost. St. Matthew, before giving the narrative of this fact, introduces the Lord, saying: "Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul hath been well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He shall show judgment to the Gentiles." (St. Matth. XII, 18.) Our Lord Himself in His reply to the remonstrances of the Pharisees says: "But if I in the Spirit of God cast out devils, then is the kingdom of God come upon you." (Matth. XII, 28.) According to St. Luke, chap. XL, v. 20, the Spirit of God is called "the finger of God," just as we now address the Holy Ghost in the beautiful Hymn of the "Come Spirit Creator" as "Digitus paternae dexterae." There can consequently be no doubt as to the very nature of this sin or blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. What our Lord in His words, burning with divine wrath, objects to in the inveterate malice of the Pharisees, is their wilful and malicious blindness, their perversity in ascribing a work evidently divine to the enemy of God, the evil one, and their satanic efforts to prevent others from believing in Him and bowing to the evidence of divine truth revealed. Saint Thomas of Aquinas (2a 2ae 9, 14, art. 1), sees therefore the nature of this blasphemy of the Holy Ghost in this wilful blindness of mind and obstinacy of the will, in virtue of which we directly resist divine truth revealed to us, and strive to prevent others from receiving it. Thus is also solved the question as to its incapacity of being ever forgiven.


Because our Lord has explicitly declared to His Apostles that they could forgive all sins and loosen whatsoever is bound, some, to evade the difficulty of this saying, take refuge in the assumption that our Saviour here makes use of an Hebrew form of speech which is frequently met with in Scripture, when the difficulty of a thing coming to pass is expressed; so that, then, the words have to be taken not in an absolute, but in a comparative sense with the meaning: all other sins and blasphemies shall sooner be forgiven, then this blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. Nevertheless, the common and surely the most certain way of explaining it is this, that, although from God's mercy no sin is excluded, if the sinner truly repent of it, still this sin carries in itself such a perversity of mind and heart which ordinarily excludes the spirit of repentance; hence precludes forgiveness, and consequently as a rule is final impenitence anticipated.



This kind of sin is usually accompanied with such obstinacy and such wilful opposition to the Spirit of God, the known truth, that men who are guilty of it are seldom or never converted, and therefore are never forgiven because they will not repent. St. Thomas of Aquinas, (2a 2ae 9,14 a 3), expressly adds that divine omnipotence and mercy can heal this deadly disease, yet only in an almost miraculous way. By no means, however, was this sin confined to the wicked Pharisees of old; on the contrary, it has been propagated by their very seed, nor would we exaggerate in saying, that it has called forth most disastrous results in the history of the Church, and is the prominent sin of our days of infidelity and apostasy from truth divine.







Thursday, May 28, 2020

Dad posts videos teaching basic tasks. Fatherless viewers’ responses are heartbreaking



May 26, 2020 (Intellectual Takeout) — A recent post on Imgur caught my eye for its startling glimpse into the true state of American families.
Seeking to be a help to others, a young man posted a link to his father’s new YouTube channel titled “Dad, how do I?” The channel was born out of firsthand experience of growing up without a father present to teach vital life skills. Among other things, this channel features a father of two grown children demonstrating how to change a tireiron a shirt, and fix a leaking toilet.

The videos clearly fill a void. Within hours of posting the link on Imgur, the channel more than doubled its subscriber base. It is approaching 1 million subscribers as of this writing. [LifeSite editor’s note: As of Tuesday evening, May 26, the channel is approaching 2 million subscribers.] Comments on the post demonstrate both sarcasm and a secret longing, with some suggesting new topic ideas and others expressing their need for a father figure and his wisdom.

Overwhelmed by the outpouring of need and enthusiasm for his advice, the father produced a thank you video, expressing a genuine humility in his parenting skills, but an earnest desire to help others.
Please understand that I didn’t always do everything right with my kids. We were quick to reconcile if I failed, because you’re going to fail as a dad! It’s part of the human experience, you aren’t going to always do things right, so I think it’s very important to ask for forgiveness and not pretend that you’ve got it all figured out because your kids are going to find out sooner or later that you don’t have it figured out when they grow up.
Again, responses to the video were heartbreaking, including this comment:
My father left when I was 6 and have not heard from him sence [sic]. My mother does not help at all. I feel like this [is] an essence of my father, and I almost started crying... Thank you for being the dad I never had. Thank you for being the light in my dark and broken world. Keep it up.
America is a nation full of lost, lonely, and adrift young adults, many of whom are craving the love, support, and interest of the father they never had. Their voices echo the pain expressed in Whittaker Chambers’ Witness as he relates how his own father was often absent, and was unsupportive even when he was around. Chambers admits to loving his father, but the turmoil his inconsistency caused in their home left a void. Perhaps it’s not surprising then that Chambers went on to engage in aggressive political action, eventually becoming a Communist spy. Chambers eventually reconsidered his ways and became a hard-working, honest American, but it took many years and difficult experiences before he got there.

Consider, however, another young boy trained to be an honest, hard-working American from his earliest days. As told in the story Little Britches, Ralph Moody lost his father at age 11 and had to become the man of the family, helping his mother raise and support their crew of six members. Though young, Moody was up to the task because of the love, character, and work ethic his father had instilled in him.
Lacking the strong father Moody had, young Americans today are headed down the path that Chambers took. Dealing with father loss and the uncertainty which it brings, they are forging ahead, seeking answers and ideologies upon which to hang their hat. Never have we so badly needed men to stand up and humbly say, like the aforementioned father with the YouTube channel, “Hey, I’m not perfect, but I’m here to help you in the ways that I can.”
Fathers, and men in general, have been much maligned in recent decades as imbeciles who can’t do anything right. But even as they’re maligned, there seems to be a deep sense that fathers are greatly needed.

Is it time we stop badmouthing fathers and instead step up to support them? If we can have great leaders today in the smallest unit of society — the family — then perhaps the next generation will grow up to fill the void of great leadership in the nation at large.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Inspirational quotes by Saint Philip Neri to improve our spiritual life




Happy is the youth, because he has time before him to do good.

If young men would preserve their purity, let them avoid bad company.

Young men should be very careful to avoid idleness.

When tribulations, infirmities, and contradictions come, we must not run away in a fright, but vanquish them like men.

In order to preserve their purity, young men should frequent the Sacraments, and especially confession.

For young men to make sure of persevering, it is absolutely necessary that they should avoid wicked companions, and be familiar with good ones.

Let young men be cheerful, and indulge in the recreations proper to their age, provided they keep out of the way of sin.






To mortify one passion, no matter how small, is a greater help in the spiritual life than many abstinences, fasts, and disciplines. 

He who wishes to be wise without the true Wisdom, or saved without the Saviour, is not well, but sick – is not wise, but a fool. 


A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one. 


Perfection does not consist in such outward things as shedding tears and the like, but in true and solid virtues. 

When a man is freed from a temptation or any other distress, let him take great care to show fitting gratitude to God for the benefit he has received. 
There is nothing more to the purpose for exciting a spirit of prayer, than the reading of spiritual books. 


Let a man frequent the holy Sacraments, go to sermons, and be often reading the Lives of Saints.




 

Let a man always think that he has God before his eyes.



 
Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer. When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice. Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God that you will be successful, if only you stand fast. 

When a man is in an occasion of sin, let him look what he is doing, get himself out of the occasion, and avoid the sin. 




An excellent method of preserving ourselves from relapsing into serious faults, is to say every evening, “To-morrow I may be dead.”
Beginners in religion ought to exercise themselves principally in meditation on the Four Last Things. 

There is nothing the devil fears so much, or so much tries to hinder, as prayer.

A man without prayer is an animal without the use of reason.

 

The fruit we ought to get from prayer, is to do what is pleasing to the Lord.


The greatest help to perseverance in the spiritual life is the habit of prayer, especially under the direction of our confessor. 

To acquire and preserve the virtue of chastity, we have need of a good and experienced confessor.

The true preparation for prayer consists in the exercise of mortification; for he who wishes to give himself up to prayer without mortification, is like a bird wishing to fly before it is fledged. 

We must pray incessantly for the gift of perseverance. 



We must often remember what Christ said, that not he who begins, but he that perseveres to the end, shall be saved.

Without prayer a man will not persevere long in spirituality; we must have recourse to this most powerful means of salvation every day.

When fathers have given their sons a good education, and put everything clearly and distinctly in train for them, the sons who succeed them, and continue to follow the road marked out for them, will have the advantage of seeing their family persevere in holy ways, and in the fear of God. 


One of the most efficacious means of keeping ourselves chaste, is to have compassion for those who fall through their frailty, and never to boast in the least of being free, but with all humility to acknowledge that whatever we have is from the mercy of God. 


We should be less alarmed for one who is tempted in the flesh, and who resists by avoiding the occasions, than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid the occasions. 

When we go to confession, we should accuse ourselves of our worst sins first, and of those things which we are most ashamed of, because by this means we put the devil to greater confusion, and reap more fruit from our confession.


One of the very best means of obtaining humility, is sincere and frequent confession.

In trying to get rid of bad habits, it is of the greatest importance not to put off going to confession after a fall, and also to keep to the same confessor.

The true way to advance in holy virtues, is to persevere in a holy cheerfulness.  




It is very necessary to be cheerful, but we must not on that account give in to a buffooning spirit.

Buffoonery incapacitates a person from receiving any additional spirituality from God. 

Christian joy is a gift of God flowing from a good conscience.

To preserve our cheerfulness amid sicknesses and troubles, is a sign of a right and good spirit.

As much love as we give to creatures, just so much we steal from the Creator.  

He who wishes for anything but Christ, does not know what he wishes; he who asks for anything but Christ, does not know what he is asking; he who works, and not for Christ, does not know what he is doing.  

Give me ten truly detached men. and I will convert the world with them.   

Not to know how to deny our soul its own wishes, is to foment a very hot-bed of vices.

The perfection of a Christian consists in mortifying his will for the love of Christ. Where there is no great mortification, there is no great sanctity. 


In this life there is no purgatory; it is either hell or paradise; for to him who serves God truly, every trouble and infirmity turns into consolations, and through all kinds of trouble he has a paradise within himself even in this world: and he who does not serve God truly, and gives himself up to sensuality, has one hell in this world, and another in the next. 

He who desires anything but God deceives himself, and he who loves anything but God errs miserably.  


Experience shows that men given to carnal sins are converted sooner than those who are given to avarice.  


He who wishes to attain to perfection must have no attachment to anything.

A virtuous life consists in mortifying vices, sins, bad thoughts, and evil affections, and in exercising ourselves in the acquisition of holy virtues. 


The true servant of God acknowledges no other country but heaven.


Before going to confession or taking counsel with our director, it will be very useful to pray for a sincere good will to become a really holy man. 


In temptations of the flesh, a Christian ought to have immediate recourse to God, make the sign of the cross over his heart three times, and say, “Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”  

As to temptations, some are mastered by flying from them, some by resisting them, and some by despising them.

Christ died for sinners; we must take heart, therefore, and hope that Paradise will be ours, provided only we repent of our sins, and do good.  

Be devout to the Madonna, keep yourself from sin, and God will deliver you from your evils. 




When a man knows how to break down his own will and to deny his soul what it desires, he has got a good degree in virtue. 


Nothing helps a man more than prayer.  


The great thing is to become saints. 

In order to enter Paradise we must be well justified and well purified.


Let the young man look after the flesh, and the old man after avarice, and we shall all be saints together.

The hour is finished – we may say the same of the year; but the time to do good is not finished yet.



“Can you feel the fragrance of Paradise which diffuses Itself from the Tabernacle?"

Maxims and Sayings by Saint Philip Neri

Novena to St. Charbel

  Day 1 O Miraculous Saint Charbel, from whose immaculate body, which overpowers corruption, radiates the scent of heaven, come to my rescue...