I understand that each time we contemplate with desire and devotion to the Host in which is hidden Christ’s Eucharistic Body , we increase our merits in heaven and secure special joys.
Angels constantly guard the servants of the
Blessed Virgin from the assaults of Hell.
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
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.
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
Thoughtful men and women, with hearts craving the truth, have come to seek in the Catholic Church the road which leads to eternal life.
There is in the Sacred Heart the symbol and express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love in return.
Our Lord came to the aid of each great tribulation with a special devotion. The present and future tribulations of the Church and of nations are greater than at any other period, and this persecution is more dangerous than those of previous times. Hence, the devotion which God sends to the succor of His Church and of the nations at the present time is the devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist. It is the highest of all devotions.
C.S. Lewis likened the tale ( Lord of the Rings ) to “lightning from a clear sky … with beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron.
Would it be fair to say that, in our times, the powers of the world appear ever on the rise, hope is rather scarce, those who discern patiently and exercise responsibility are few and far between, and the meek continue to be trampled underfoot? Has not a prevailing sense of gloom fallen upon our world? Do we not yearn for a happiness we have forgotten or not yet known?
As Lewis noted in his friend J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece, in “The Lord of the Rings” we are plunged into a darkening world with characters submerged in anguish. But their anguish is of those who desire more than the inevitable doom thrust upon them. They set out on a journey against all odds. And yet, when we have seen them through all their travels and travails across 576,459 words, we, like them, “return to our own life not relaxed but fortified,” as Lewis wrote.
This is the anguish — the heartbreak — that leads to renewal. It is the renewal of one’s own heart. The match that lights that flame is the vision and the witness of those who have hoped great hopes and journeyed great journeys.
