Join the Porters St. Joseph from the of the Diocese of Phoenix in Prayer
Today starts the Novena to Our Lady of Good Success, which runs to the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 2/2. I spoke with our priest and he requested we ask for the following intentions when praying.
• No further restriction on the TLM for our diocese
• No suppression of the FSSP
• Our next Bishop to be a holy man, friendly to the TLM
I invite you all to join our family in praying this novena for these intentions.
Our Lady of Good Success, Pray for us! https://www.ourladyofgoodsuccess.com/pages/9-day-novena-to-our-lady-of-good-success
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES
Sirach, Chapter 21, Verse 11
Those who keep the Law control their thoughts; perfect fear of
the Lord is wisdom.
If you have not had much success with your habitual sins and find yourself always confessing the same sins over and over: perhaps this verse will provide a key to real change for those who control their thoughts keep the law for where the mind goes unchecked the body and the will follow.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of all forms of organic life is the power to adapt itself to the circumstances in which it is placed. It will endeavor under the most altered conditions to live, and, in order to live, it will resort to all kinds of contrivances, sometimes effecting such changes in its outward appearance that none but a trained eye could detect its identity. Yet with all these adaptations, it will preserve its identity.
Man possesses this power in perhaps a higher degree than any other form of life. He can find his home in any country, in any climate, under an almost infinite variety of conditions. He can live and adapt himself to circumstances involving the most violent contrasts and soon settle down and find the means of making himself at home. But man has other needs and another life beside that of his physical nature. He is something more than an animal and needs more than food and shelter.
For the life of man is above all things a mental life. He can never rid himself of the companions of his mind. He is not the mere creature of his outward circumstances. There are other surroundings that are far more intimate and closer to him than any external things, however nearly they may touch upon him. These things can but touch the surface of his being; his thoughts enter into the sanctuary of his soul.
The beast is wholly dependent upon what it finds around it. Man can live a life practically independent of most of these things. In the utmost solitude, he can gather around him a company of his closest and most intimate friends, and in the crowded thoroughfares of life, he can be alone with them. You may tell a man by his friends, but there are no friends so intimate as his thoughts. If you know the companions of his mind, you will know what kind of man he is.
It is not the sufferings or the consolations of life that directly
affect character, but the thoughts that men call around them at such times. No
external thing can in itself affect the inner life of the soul. Men are
material; the soul is spiritual.
Choose which thoughts to listen to
We often attribute to such things some moral characteristic, but in themselves they are neither good nor bad. The same things do harm to one person and good to another: suffering has been a curse to some and a blessing to others; poverty has closed the door of Heaven to some, and to others it has been the source of beatitude. The value of these things comes from the thoughts the soul calls around itself when it encounters such things. Some trouble comes into a person’s life, and instantly there gathers around him, through the door opened by that trouble, a crowd of thoughts, anger, rebellion, bitterness, and discontent and, at the same time, thoughts of penitence, acceptance, and the example of our Lord. The outward trouble has thrown open an unseen door into the spiritual world, and in flow this mixed crowd of thoughts, swarming around the soul and clamoring for a hearing. The soul must choose among them all which it will listen to and which it will reject, and by that choice, it rises or falls. One person chooses thoughts that heal, encourage, and strengthen him; another, those that stir him to bitterness and revolt. The morality lies not in the thing but in the person.
The soul must choose, and what it chooses it will probably choose again and again, until that chosen thought gains the right of entrance, and closes the door to all others, and becomes the constant companion of the soul. And in every event, great and small, it enters and takes its place, instructing its pupil as to its meaning, interpreting it, explaining it — its hidden purpose, its power for good or evil — or misrepresenting it and making the good seem evil and the evil good, and gradually becoming master of its whole life, the molder of its character.
Indeed, it is true. These secret and unseen companions of the soul, intangible and volatile as they are, affect our whole view of men and things around us. The hard, substantial facts of life are interpreted by them; they become plastic in their hands, and change their appearance and coloring at their bidding. These phantom forms that rise out of the darkness and return to it again, colorless, impalpable, ethereal, that speak in inarticulate whispers and touch us with ghostly hands, are more real to us than the solid earth and the strong mountains. They can veil the heavens for us and take the brightness out of the sunshine and deepen the shadows at noonday or make the darkest day seem bright.
For they come from the same land whence the soul comes; they are of closer kinship than any material thing can be. And it is the mind that sees, not the eye. It is in the light that burns within that all outward things are seen. Amid the pleasant laughter and genial companionship of friends, some thought silently enters, holds up its lantern and casts its pale light around, and, seen in that light, all is suddenly turned to ashes, the voices lose their ring, and the laughter becomes hollow and cheerless. One thought in an instant has changed the whole scene from life to death.
It is thus in the thoughts men choose as their companions on their way
through the world that the key to their interpretation of life is to be found.
Different men view the same things in different ways. And the same men, in the
course of a few years, alter their whole view of life. They have simply changed
their companions on the road. Indeed, the breaking with one set of people and
the forming ties of friendship with others of a different type is often but the
outward evidence and result of a hidden and inward change of the more intimate
friendships of the mind.
Drive bad thoughts out with good ones
There is a better way: the positive rather than the negative way. Let not your mind be overcome with evil, “but overcome evil with good.” The emptying the mind of evil is not the first step toward filling it with good. It is not a step in that direction at all. If you succeeded in emptying your mind of every undesirable thought, what then? You cannot empty it and then begin to fill it with better thoughts. No, you must empty it of evil by filling it with good. Nature abhors a vacuum. You drive out darkness by filling the room with light. If you wish to fill a glass with water, you do not first expel the air; you expel the air by pouring in water. In the moral life, there is no intermediate state of vacuum possible in which, having driven out the evil, you begin to bring in good. As the good enters, it expels the evil. Therefore, the effort of the soul must be to fill the mind so full of healthy thoughts that there is no room for others — trying not so much not to think of what is evil as to think of what is good. The mind is ever working, never at rest. It will feed upon whatever food is given it. If it is given wholesome food, it will develop and grow strong.
He, therefore, who wishes to overcome any habit of evil thoughts must do so indirectly rather than directly, trying not so much not to indulge in anger as to fill the mind with loving and kindly thoughts, meeting discontent by rejoicing in the will of God, self-consciousness by wrapping himself around in the presence of God — turning as promptly as possible to think of something bracing when he is conscious of the presence or approach of evil.
This, and the constant effort to keep the mind interested and occupied about healthy subjects that it can enjoy without strain or weariness will do much to recover it from the ill effects of the lack of discipline. It is a great matter to know how to give it relaxation without laxity and, by its studies and recreations, to prepare it for prayer and the more strenuous work of life. A mind that has a wide reach of interests and is constantly kept busy will have no time and no care for morbid thoughts. And the mind that is constantly fed on healthy and nourishing food will turn away from poison, however daintily served.
All this, it will be perceived, can be done with little introspection or self-analysis. It is based on the wisest of all systems: that nature works best if she is not too closely watched. A person who is always anxious about his health will never be healthy. Nature knows her own laws, and it is not good to interfere too much, even for the sake of putting them right. It is not an unknown experience that torturing scruples may take the place of mental laxity and a ceaseless introspection, which is the enemy of all freshness and spontaneity. We must take heed so that, in the efforts to overcome one evil, we do not fall into a worse one. We have to change the habit of the mind without giving it any undue shock, to keep it well in hand without seeming to watch it, to bring it under control without enslaving it and while seeming to leave it in perfect liberty. And to do this we need to have some confidence in its power to rectify itself if it is healthily fed and duly exercised.
By Fr. Basil
W. Maturin (1847–1915) who was an Anglican priest who became a Catholic priest
at age 51. Both before and after his conversion, he was famous for his
preaching and psychological insight: he had a profound gift for guiding souls.
In 1915 he was on board the Lusitania when a German U-boat sank the ship; he
drowned after helping numerous other passengers to safety.
Saint Francis de Sales[1]
Let
us therefore take the advice of St. Francis and prepare ourselves for every
communion.
St.
Francis de Sales says that Our Savior can never be seen more amiable and more
tender, in all that He has done for us, than in Holy Communion, in which He, so
to say, annihilates Himself and becomes food, that He may unite Himself to the
hearts and bodies of His faithful. Therefore, the learned Gerson used also to say,
that there was no means more efficacious than Holy Communion whereby to
enkindle devotion and the holy love of God in our souls. And, indeed, if we
speak of doing something agreeable to God, what can a soul do more agreeable to
Him than to receive communion?
St.
Denis teaches us that love always tends towards perfect union; but how can a
soul be more perfectly united with Jesus than in the manner of which He speaks
Himself, saying: “He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, abideth in
Me, and I in him” (John vi. 57) St. Augustine says that if every day you
receive this sacrament, Jesus will be always with you, and that you will always
advance in divine love. Again, if there be question of healing our spiritual
infirmities, what more certain remedy can we have than Holy Communion, which is
called by the sacred Council of Trent a remedy whereby we may be freed from
daily faults, and be preserved from mortal sins?
Whence
does it come, asks Cardinal Bona, that in so many souls we see so little fruit
with such frequent communions, and that they constantly relapse into the same
faults?
He
replies: The fault is not in the food, but in the disposition of him who
receives. Can a man, says Solomon, hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not
burn? (Prov. vi. 27.)
God
is a consuming fire. He comes Himself in Holy Communion to enkindle this divine
fire; how is it, then, says William of Paris, that we see such a diabolical
miracle as that souls should remain cold in divine love, in the midst of such
flames?
All
comes from the want of proper dispositions, and especially from want of
preparation. Fire immediately inflames dry but not green wood; for this latter
is not disposed to burn. The saints derived great benefit from their communions
because they prepared themselves with great care. St. Aloysius Gonzaga devoted
three days to his preparation for Holy Communion, and three days he spent in
thanksgiving to his Lord. To prepare well for Holy Communion, a soul should be
disposed on two main points: it should
be detached from creatures and have a great desire to advance in divine love.
In the first place, then, a soul should
detach itself from all things, and drive everything from its heart which is not
God. He that is washed, saith Jesus, needeth not but to wash his feet, but is
clean wholly (John xiii. 10); which signifies, as St. Bernard explains it, that
in order to receive this sacrament with great fruit, we should not only be
cleansed from mortal sins, but that our feet also should be washed, that is, be
free from earthly affections; for being in contact with the earth they excite a
sort of repugnance in God, and soiling the soul prevent the effects of Holy
Communion. St. Gertrude asked Our Lord what preparation He required of her for
Holy Communion, and He replied I only ask that thou shouldst come empty of
thyself to receive. In the second place, it is necessary in Holy Communion to
have a great desire to receive Jesus Christ and His holy love. In this sacred
banquet, says Gerson, only those who are famishing receive their fill; and the
most Blessed Virgin Mary had already said the same thing: He hath filled the
hungry with good things (Luke i. 53). As Jesus, writes the venerable Father
Avila, only came into this world after He had been much and long desired, so
does He only enter a soul which desires Him; for it is not becoming that such food
should be given him who has a
loathing for it. Our Lord one day said to St. Matilda: No bee flies with such
impetuosity to flowers, to suck their honey, as I fly to souls in Holy
Communion, driven by the violence of My love. Since then, Jesus Christ has so
great a desire to come into our souls, it is also right that we also should have a great desire to receive
Him and His divine love by Holy Communion. St. Francis de Sales teaches us that
the principal object which a soul should
have in view in communicating should
be to advance in the love of God; since He Who for love alone gives Himself to
us should be received for love.
Life First[2] 9 Days
for Life
9 Days for Life is a "digital
pilgrimage" of prayer and action focused on cherishing the gift of every
person's life. A multi-faceted novena highlighting a different intention each
day provides reflections, bonus information, and suggested actions. Join
to receive the novena through the 9 Days for Life app, daily emails, or daily
texts. See below for information on how else you can get involved! #9DaysforLife #OurPrayersMatter
Day Six:
Intercession: May all victims and survivors of human trafficking find freedom, refuge, and healing.
Prayers: Our Father, 3 Hail Mary’s, Glory Be
Reflection: Those
who are vulnerable are most at risk for being lured into situations where they
are trafficked. Migrants and refugees often face increased risk factors like
changes to language and culture, lack of support systems, and the burden of
poverty. Young people on the margins, especially runaway and homeless youth,
are targeted for sex trafficking and may subsequently be forced to have
abortions. Easily tempted by the false promises of traffickers, victims often
find themselves enslaved with no means of escape. Christ came “to bring good
news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives” (Is 61:1, cf. Luke 4:18). May all who are trapped in situations of
slavery be released from their chains of captivity and find freedom, refuge,
safety, and healing in Christ and His Church.
Acts
of Reparation (Choose one.)
·
Give
up sleeping on your pillow tonight. Allow this small sacrifice to remind you of
the sufferings endured by those in our world who are enslaved.
·
St.
Josephine Bakhita, who was born in Sudan and sold into slavery, has become
known as the patron saint of human trafficking victims. Pray for victims and survivors of human
trafficking, asking the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita.
·
Offer
some other sacrifice, prayer, or act of penance that you feel called to do for
today’s intention.
· Unite
in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Protection of Life from Conception until
natural death.
·
Monday: Litany of Humility
·
Rosary
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