Author Archives: monks4christ

How the Psalms comfort the Heart

The Psalms

There’s no greater book in the Bible than the Psalms to teach you how to pray with the heart. The Psalms are a collection of prayers and songs that have shaped Jewish and Christian traditions for centuries holding profound insights into prayer. These are the prayers that Jesus himself said. They were and still are the pulse of daily prayer for many including the Holy Family.

Praying with the Heart . WEB

Dedication of St Peter and St Paul

Basilicas of St Peter and Paul

This feast combines the standard celebration of the dedication of a church for St. Peter’s Basilica and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, which were both built by the Emperor Constantine the Great during the 4th century. These sites had already been visited by pilgrims for over a century when the basilicas were built to honor the apostles traditionally believed to have been buried there.

Their significance in the Catholic Church is emphasized in the reference made to them in the obligation on Catholic bishops to make a Quinquennial visit ad limina in which they are required to go “to the tombs of the Apostles” in Rome every five years to report on the status of their dioceses or prelatures.

This requirement was initially set out in 1585 by Pope Sixtus V, who issued the papal bull Romanus Pontifex, which established the norms for these visits.

Happy Founders Day . Boniface Wimmer

Wimmer Statue . St Vincent Abbey Basilica

Man’s adversity is God’s opportunity.

You must renew your faith in Divine Providence, which wisely and miraculously directs and orders everything, even the smallest event, and which brings about our temporal and spiritual well-being.

We cannot do stupid things except when we deviate from obedience to the Rule, since the Rule gives us the surest guarantee for peace and assures the final attainment of our goal and destination. The fact that we sometimes think we would be more at peace and happier if things happened according to our own desires has its origin in the fact that we lack the experience of a life of true freedom, or else those who have had this experience have paid too little attention to it.

Indeed, we know that no Christian is perfect. None of us is without shortcomings… There will always be disappointments, but they will never disturb our peace significantly or for a long time. Disappointments will further our salvation, not endanger it.

Archabbot Boniface Wimmer

.

St Frances Cabrini

They who pray with faith have fervor and fervor is the fire of prayer. This mysterious fire has the power of consuming all our faults and imperfections, and of giving to our actions, vitality, beauty and merit.

Speak often of Heaven to those who approach you, make them love it as well as the virtues which are required before we can be admitted to our beloved country. For if you know how to draw souls there by your zeal, your good example and your exemplary religious conduct, you may be assured the gates will be opened for you also.

St Frances Xavier Cabrini

St Martin of Tours

In the name of the Lord Jesus and protected only by the sign of the cross, without shield or helmet, I shall penetrate the enemy’s ranks and not be afraid.

Hitherto I have served you as a soldier; allow me now to become a soldier to God. Let the man who is to serve you receive your donative. I am a soldier of Christ.

Everything, even sweeping, scraping vegetables, weeding a garden and waiting on the sick could be a prayer, if it were offered to God.

St Martin of Tours

Veterans Day . Saturday

Veterans Day gives all Americans a special opportunity to pay tribute to all those men and women who, throughout our history, have left their homes and loved ones to serve their country.

Their willingness to give freely and unselfishly of themselves, even their lives, in defense of our democratic principles has given our great country the security we enjoy today. From Valley Forge to Vietnam, through war and peace, valiant, patriotic Americans have answered the call, serving with honor and fidelity.

On this special day, our hearts and thoughts turn to all the Nation’s veterans. Let us reflect on the great achievements of those whose sacrifices preserved our freedom and our way of life. With a spirit of pride and gratitude, let us recall their heroic accomplishments and thank them for their unselfish devotion to duty. They are indeed worthy of the solemn tribute of a grateful Nation.

I invite all Americans to join me in observing Veterans Day — through appropriate ceremonies, activities, and commemorations on November 11.

In order that we may pay fitting homage to those men and women who have proudly served in our Armed Forces, the Congress has provided that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor America’s veterans.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, November 11, 1986, as Veterans Day. I urge all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and private prayers. I also call upon Federal, State, and local government officials to display the flag of the United States and to encourage and participate in patriotic activities throughout the country. I invite the business community, churches, schools, unions, civic and fraternal organizations, and the media to support this national observance with suitable commemorative expressions and programs.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh.

Ronald Reagan