'"What is the worst thing in the world?" A little child put up its hand and said, Please, may I answer? Yes, said the teacher. Then, said the child, I think the worst thing in the world is a great pain. The child did not give the right answer. No doubt it is frightful to see any one burnt up with fever, or cramped with cholera, or to see death tearing away the soul from the body. It is a sad thing to say the last "good bye" to those whom we love. These things make tears run down from the eye and draw sighs out of the heart. But there is something which burns more than fever, and cramps more than cholera. There is a last parting more sorrowful than the last parting with father, mother, brother, or sister. What, then, is the great bad thing? The greatest of all evils -- the evil of evils -- what is it? The greatest of all evils is -- Mortal sin. Mortal sin is so great an evil that no man living will be able to understand how great an evil it is.'
Fr. John Furniss - The Great Evil
#daily

There was a young man in Rome who was burdened with sins of #impurity and who was a victim of vicious habits. He went to Fr. Nicholas Zucchi to confession. The confessor received him kindly and assured him that #devotion to Our Lady could deliver him from the miserable habits to which he was addicted.

He therefore imposed this penance on him: to say one Hail Mary to the Blessed Virgin every morning on rising and every evening on going to bed until his next confession. While doing that he was to offer Mary his eyes, his hands, and his whole body, begging her to preserve them as something belonging to herself; also he must kiss the ground three times.

The young man performed the penance, but at first there was only a slight improvement. The confessor continued to impose the same penance, and encouraged him to increase his confidence in the intercession of Our Lady.

In the course of time, the penitent left Rome with some companions and toured the world for several years.

In his return, he again sought out his confessor who, to his great joy and admiration, found that the young man was entirely changed and free from his former evil habits.

“My son,” he asked, “How did God bring about this wonderful change in you?”

The youth replied, “Father, our Blessed Mother obtained this great grace for me because of that little devotion you taught me.”
From St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, Glories of Mary

We shall pray without ceasing to the Creator of all things,
and beg him to preserve the number of his elect throughout the whole world,
through his beloved son Jesus Christ,
and not let a single one of them fall away.

Through him You called us from darkness into light
and gave us the knowledge of the glory of Your name.

He taught us to hope in You,
from whom all creation has its being.
He opened our eyes so that we would recognise You,
most high among the highest,
holy and surrounded by holiness.
You put an end to the pride of the arrogant,
You frustrate the plans of the gentiles,
You raise up the lowly and bring down those who are exalted.
You give riches and give poverty,
You dispense both death and life.
You succour every spirit,
You are the God of all flesh.
You behold what is hidden in the depths,
You see all that men do.
You give help to those in peril
and rescue to those without hope.
You create all that has breath and watch over it;
You multiply the peoples of the earth,
and from among them You choose those who love You
through Jesus Christ Your beloved Son,
through whom You give us wisdom, holiness, and honour.

We beg You, Lord,
to be our help and our support.
Free us from our troubles;
take pity on the lowly;
raise up those who have fallen;
give help to the poor, health to the sick,
and bring home those who have wandered away.
Feed the hungry, ransom captives,
give strength to the weak
and courage to the faint-hearted.
Let all peoples come to know that You alone are God,
that Jesus Christ is Your son,
and that we are Your people
and the sheep of Your flock.

For by Your acts You made visible the everlasting structure of the Universe
and set the Earth on its foundations.
For all generations You have been faithful and just in Your judgements,
and wonderful in Your power and majesty.
Wisely You have created,
and wisely You have kept things in being.
All that we see shows Your goodness;
to all who trust in You, You are faithful, kind, and merciful.
Forgive us our wickednesses and injustices,
our sins and our transgressions.

Do not weigh down Your servants with the burden of their sins,
but purify us and direct the paths we take
so that we go forward in purity and innocence of heart,
so that all that we do is good
and acceptable to You and to those who lead us.

Come, Lord, let Your face shine upon us
so that we may peacefully enjoy all good things.
May Your powerful hand be a roof over our heads
and may Your strength preserve us from all wrongdoing.
Free us, Lord, from those who hate us without cause.
Give peace and harmony to us
and to all the inhabitants of the Earth,
as You gave them to our fathers
who called on You with trust and faith.

You alone can give us these gifts
and confer these favours on us.
We put our trust in You through Jesus Christ,
our high priest, the guardian of our souls.
Through him be glory and majesty to You
now and through all generations until the end of time.

Amen.
#daily

There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is hell.

#theology #popefrancis #today #aquinas