Ite Ad Joseph: St. Clare’s Words of Encouragement

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

St. Clare’s Words of Encouragement

“Gaze upon Christ, consider Christ, contemplate Christ, imitate Christ.”

As you gaze upon the Crucifix,

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!

Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!

Place your heart in the figure of the Divine!

And transform your whole being

into the image

of the Godhead itself

through contemplation.

So that you too may feel what His friends feel

as they taste the hidden sweetness

which God Himself has reserved from the beginning

for those who love Him.

From Clare’s Third Letter to Agnes

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"Hostile men in these lamentable times never stop planting thorns in the Lord's field, first with destructive and ephemeral books and then with monstrous and depraved suppositions plainly opposed to Catholic faith and dogma. Consequently, you rightly understand how you must labor and ever be on your guard to keep the faithful from those poisonous pastures, to urge them on to eternal salvation, and to imbue them in greater measure with the teachings of the Catholic Church." (Pope Pius IX, "Amantissimus", 1862 A.D.)

"We know the great anxieties and difficulties, especially in these evil times, that the episcopal ministry is exposed to; We also know how you must constantly labor and keep watch to fulfill the duties of your vital ministry. But no labor or difficulty must ever keep you from the duty of your proper office. Relying on divine help, act manfully for the glory of God, for the cause of His most holy Church, and for the eternal salvation of men; keep before your eyes the incorruptible crown of glory promised by the eternal Prince of Pastors to those who persevere." (Pope Pius IX, "Probe Noscitis Venerabiles", 1852 A.D.)

"Watch earnestly lest deceitful men and the promoters of novelties continue to spread erroneous doctrines and false dogmas in your flock. Using the pretext of the common good, as is their custom, they take advantage of the credulity of those who are naive and rash, so that they may have them as blind servants and supporters in disturbing the peace of the kingdom and in overturning the order of society. Surely the fraud of these would-be teachers must be uncovered in clear words for the good and the instruction of the faithful. The fallacy of their thought must be refuted courageously everywhere with the words of divine scripture and the testimony of Church tradition." (Pope Gregory XVI, "Cum Primum", 1832 A.D.)

"Therefore it is Our duty to help men and nations who are in distress, and to eliminate all present and threatening evils. For 'Christ has given pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of Christ's Body, until we all come together to the unity of faith and knowledge of God's son.' If ever anything deters, prevents, or delays any one of us from performing this task, what a disgraceful sin he will commit! Therefore, omit no watchfulness, diligence, care, and effort, in order to 'guard the deposit' of Christ's teaching whose destruction has been planned, as you know, by a great conspiracy." (Pope Pius VII, "Diu Satis", 1800 A.D.)

"It is your duty, venerable brothers, sedulously to strive that the seed of heavenly doctrine be sown broadcast in the field of God, and that the teachings of the Catholic faith may be implanted early in the souls of the faithful, may strike deep root in them, and be kept free from the ruinous blight of error. The more the enemies of religion exert themselves to offer the uninformed, especially the young, such instruction as darkens the mind and corrupts morals, the more actively should we endeavor that not only a suitable and solid method of education may flourish but above all that this education be wholly in harmony with the Catholic faith in its literature and system of training, and chiefly in philosophy, upon which the direction of other sciences in great measure depends." (Pope Leo XIII, "Inscrutabili Dei Consilio", 1878 A.D.)

Prayer to Saint Raphael the Archangel

Glorious Archangel, St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, illustrious by thy gifts of wisdom and grace, guide of travelers by land and sea, consoler of the unfortunate and refuge of sinners, I entreat thee to help me in all my needs and in all the trials of this life, as thou didst once assist the young Tobias in his journeying. And since thou art the "physician of God," I humbly pray thee to heal my soul of its many infirmities and my body of the ills that afflict it, if this favor is for my greater good. I ask, especially, for angelic purity, that I may be made fit to be the living temple of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
(Indulgence of 100 days.----Leo XIII., June 21, 1890)

The Divine Praises

Blessed be God. Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy.
Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her Glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the Name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.
O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine,
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

St. Pius X: What this most prudent Virgin said to the servants at the marriage feast of Cana she addresses also to us: "Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye" (John ii., 5). Now here is the word of Jesus Christ: "If you would enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matt. xix., 17). Let them each one fully convince himself of this, that if his piety towards the Blessed Virgin does not hinder him from sinning, or does not move his will to amend an evil life, it is a piety deceptive and Iying, wanting as it is in proper effect and its natural fruit. AD DIEM ILLUM LAETISSIMUM Encyclical Of Pope Pius X On The Immaculate Conception

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

St. Clare’s Words of Encouragement

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Prayer to Saint Charbel for a genuine conversion