The Remedy of Pain

There are few who are great enough of soul to bear entire prosperity without becoming selfish and worldly. It needs the goad of pain and the sting of adversity to start the soul out from its earthly nest and send it winging towards heaven. The cauterizing fire of grief and of physical pain is the most powerful cure for worldliness and sensuality.

Many a soul has been ruined by too much pleasure and prosperity, and many a heart has been cured of its worldliness and brought back to God by the remedy of pain.

  ~From Your Soul's Salvation, 1920

Secrets of the Saints: How to Inflame Charity

The secret of the saints, the heavenly alchemy by which they turned sorrows into joys, (and) trials into blessings is the great burning eager love of God which filled their hearts. Spiritual reading will inflame our souls with a like charity. For the writings of the saints are text-books of the Love of God.

~ From Your Soul's Salvation, 1920

Saving Your Soul: That Mysterious Number 5

The devil strains every nerve to secure the souls which belong to Christ. We should not grudge our toil in wresting them from Satan and giving them back to God. 
~ St. Sebastian

The unusual picture to the left strikes me as a saved soul, bearing in testimony a candelabra of five burning tapers, symbolizing the five means of salvation.

St. Louis de Montfort, the saint who so clearly taught the "shorter way" of True Devotion to Jesus through Mary, reminds us in his book, The Secret of Mary, that the five means of salvation are as follows:

1) Humility of heart, 2) Continual prayer, 3) Mortification in all things, 4) Abandonment to Divine Providence, and 5) Conformity to the Will of God.

For our own times, afflicted by the synthesis of all heresies (modernism) which only intensifies our struggle against "principalities and powers," Our Lady of Fatima has given us a five-point, peaceful battle strategy which cannot fail.

With a little thought on our own parts, we can easily recognize how the five means of salvation perfectly match with the Virgin's five-point "battle" plan to avert the five warnings/punishments She also foretold if Her requests were not heeded.

Of Our Lady's known Fatima message, the first three warnings have definitely come to pass; the fourth - "persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father "- continues to this day with martyrdoms of good bishops, priests, nuns and lay faithful, and the total chaos resulting from the attempted dismantling of every bastion and every stone of the Catholic City: the Rite of Mass, the catechism, the seven sacraments, authentic Christian education, the Code of Canon Law, you name it. "They" (you know - "they, them") want to tear it all down. (But we can't forget: God allows these tribulations, just as He did in the days recorded in the Old Testament. Some of the arrogant and presumptious souls will repent; the rest will be humbled. As for the faithful, they are given many opportunities to daily practice the virtues, and thus become saints!)

The fifth punishment of which Our Lady of Fatima warned is "the annihilation of nations" - not assimilation of nations, but annihilation...which means total destruction, completely obliterated, a cessation of existence, gone. For these reasons (and more), we really must pray and sacrifice for the Pope to command and lead the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Now, what is Our Lady's five-point peaceful battle plan, you may ask? It has been promoted in various articles, on the Keeping It Catholic list, and on this blog - but it's so important (this is a message from the Queen of Heaven, after all), let's repeat those points again:

1. The daily Rosary (which means just 5 decades every day! Amazing, isn't it? There is that number "five" again!)
2. Faithful accomplishment of daily duty (as Catholics and in our states in life).
3. Sacrifice for the conversion of sinners
4. Wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and living chastely according to our states in life.
5. The "Five First Saturdays" devotion in reparation to God for the five major blasphemies committed against His Virgin Mother, Mary most holy. (Again, we see the number "five.")

What are the five blasphemies which so grieviously offend God (for what offends the Mother, offends the Son)? They are terrible, indeed, because in 1930 Christ Himself revealed them to Sr. Lucia, Servant of God:

"My daughter...there are five kinds of offenses and blasphemies uttered against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:
-Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.
-Blasphemies against Her perpetual Virginity.
-Blasphemies against Her divine Maternity, while refusing at the same time to recognize Her as Mother of men.
-The blasphemies of those who publicly seek to place in the hearts of children indifference or scorn, or even hatred towards this Immaculate Mother.
-The offenses of those who outrage Her directly in Her holy images."

So...let's think about all this.  Five Wounds of Christ. Five means of salvation.  Five requests from Our Lady at Fatima to the entire Catholic world (not counting #6, which only the Pope and bishops can accomplish). Five decades to a daily Rosary, requested by Our Lady. Five First Saturdays in reparation for five heinous blasphemies against God's Chosen Mother. Finally, according to various sources, we live in the Fifth Epoch or "incursion" of historical time.

Coincidences? I think not. What say you?

Lenten Meditations: On the Suffering of Christ

On the Suffering of Christ
by Fr. A. Hubert Bamberg (Edited by Fr. Herbert Thurston, S.J.)


"And He is the propitiation of our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." (1 John 2:2)

The magnitude of Christ's sufferings becomes manifest when viewed in connection with the person of the sufferer. The damned suffer in hell, but they suffer justly, for they revolted against God. The holy souls suffer in Purgatory, but they too have deserved punishment and have need of purification. Men suffer here on earth; sorrow is the portion of mankind in this vale of tears. But in the person of Jesus it was the Son of God, the embodiment of innocence and holiness, the Lord and Creator of all things that suffered.

In time of war, the rank and file of soldiers have to undergo the privation and hardships inciden¬tal to their lot as soldiers; and however much we may admire their endurance we would admire still more the heroism of the leader himself, he who is the head of the whole army, if he were to associate and identify himself with these sufferings, em¬bracing them voluntarily in his own person. In this latter case, the suffering is of immeasurably higher value.

Oh, the magnitude of the sufferings of Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified and died for us! You may reply, that after all Jesus Christ did not suffer in His divine nature, but only in His human nature. That is true. The divine nature is as incapable of suffering as of death, but it is equally true that His human nature belonged to the person of the Son of God.

It was the body and the soul of the Son of God; the pains, the wounds, the sufferings, the death pangs were those of the Son of God; so, we may rightly say, the Son of God suffered, the Son of God died.

II

The depth of suffering which Christ our Lord underwent for our sake is brought home to us very forcibly when we consider in themselves the pains which He endured. All through His life He was never free from suffering, and suffering of such an order that its like has never been experienced on this earth.

I will not ask you to trace step by step the weary road of poverty, toil, and prayer, which our Saviour humbly traveled here below. I want to emphasize one thing only: namely, that His Passion was ever present to Him, that the cross was the central point of all His thoughts.

If He foresaw our life and our death, He foresaw also His own, for He was omniscient and had foretold His passion. Trouble that is foreseen clearly and distinctly presses on the soul in anticipation. When a mother hears from a doctor that a beloved child has only a few weeks or a few months longer to live, every look at her darling child cuts her to the heart, reminding her of the death-struggle, the coffin, the grave that are drawing nearer and nearer. Not a single hour or day of our Saviour's life was free from pain and suffering. "My sorrow is continually before Me" (Ps. 37:18).

It may be urged that the actual passion of our Saviour was compressed into a few hours. Yet, consider what a road of agony Hee traveled in that short space of time: from the Garden of Gethsemani stained with His sweat of blood, to the house of the high priest; from the high priest to Pilate; from Pilate to Herod, and back again to Pilate, who sent Him, laden with His Cross, to Calvary and to death; His way was lined with enemies on all sides, priests and people, pagans and Jews, men of high and low degree: "Many are they who rise up against Me" (Ps. 3:2).

How manifold were His pains, how numerous were His wounds, how cruel the blows with which He was struck, how great His loss of blood! There was no member of His Body, no power of His soul, that did not suffer.

If viewed only from the outside, so to speak, His sufferings are heavy beyond all question, but, in addition to and before everything else, we have to take into account the inward desolation of His soul. To this desolation His friends and His apostles who forsook Him greatly contributed; and it was increased further by the cruelty of His enemies, who, not satisfied with tormenting and torturing Him, mocked and jeered at His anguish.

At the thought of the many souls for whom all His sufferings would not only be in vain, but would constitute even a further occasion of sin, this desolation welled up in His heart like a deep spring whose bitterness was but further increased by the thought of His heavenly Father, for by Him, too, He felt Himself forsaken. Oh, the intensity of the sufferings of Christ!

Added to this, we have to remember that the sacred humanity of Christ was in the highest degree sensitive and sensible. When a war breaks out, swords are polished and sharpened with special care; their whole virtue lying in their capacity to cut. Our Saviour, assuming our human nature with the one object and purpose of suffering and dying, chose to take to Himself, with such an end in view, a body and soul with an organization peculiarly adapted for suffering.

III

Not only are the sufferings of Christ great in themselves, their magnitude is increased and enhanced by the manner in which they were embraced and endured. Our Saviour suffered voluntarily. He said: "Not my will, but Thine be done." At the first appearance of His enemies who had come to apprehend Him, advancing toward them He asked, "Whom do you seek?" and when they answering said, "Jesus of Nazareth," He at once declared Himself: "I am He" (John 18:6). As He spoke these words, in order as it seemed to convince them that the Son of God was subject to no creature against His will, He allowed His almighty power to overcome them, suffering them to fan helpless and impotent to the ground.

His life was one of devoted patience, meekness, and holiness; it was full of strength and resoluteness, and was inspired and animated by the love of God, obedience to the heavenly Father, and love of mankind. Adorned with every virtue, it is the model and example of lives for all time, teaching us that patient suffering is beautiful and lovable, worthy to be admired and imitated; fill¬ing our hearts with love and sympathy and making the patient endurance of pain meritorious and precious in the sight of God and men.

IV

We would have learned but very imperfectly the lessons taught us by the life of Christ if we failed to estimate the fruit of His sufferings. "Why did Christ suffer and die?" asks the catechism. "Christ suffered and died for our sins." The great and wonderful result of the passion of Christ is that it atoned for the sins of the whole world.

We speak of atonement only when there has been some offense, some insult to be made good, and in every single sin that has ever been committed insult has been offered and offense given to the great Law-giver, the high and eternal Judge. When insult has been offered to anyone reparation is demanded and exacted, and almighty God demanded complete and full reparation, such reparation as amply compensated Him for the glory of which He was robbed by sin, making good the offense given Him, and completely restoring the honor due to Him.

The greatness of the reparation must bear some proportion to the status of the person to whom it is offered, and how is an offense against the majesty of almighty God to be measured? To deal a child a blow in the face is a rupture of the peace, and to strike a judge is a criminal offense, but so to treat the majesty of a king would be high treason.

On a certain occasion a captain of the French troops struck Pope Boniface VIII a blow in the face with his mailed hand and the whole of Christendom rang with indignation and horror at such an act.

Now, what is sin? It is an offense against the infinite majesty of God and calls for reparation and atonement of an infinite order. Who is to afford to God this reparation? We are but weak men; sinners ourselves and finite beings; how can we repair an infinite wrong? The angels and the holy Mother of God herself, innocent and pure though they be, are but finite creatures and as such could not restore to the infinite God the honor He had lost.

But Jesus Christ, at one and the same time true God and true man, could do it. As head of the whole human race He could offer in our name full and complete satisfaction for the sins of the world, by suffering whatever the heavenly Father required of Him: "Obedient unto death; even to the death of the cross" (Philipp. 2:8). His sufferings furnished a complete atonement which, vicariously offered, fully satisfied the divine justice. As the Saviour lay dying on the cross the shameful chains laid by the evil spirit upon men were loosened; as His Precious Blood flowed from His Sacred Wounds. the terrible flames of hell were extinguished.

The sufferings of Christ atoned, not only completely, but, superabundantly, to the divine justice: "With Him there is plentiful redemption" (Ps. 129:7). They have won for us all graces; they have restored us to the position of children of God, and opened once more the gates of heaven so long closed against us.

Our Saviour's sufferings were bitter indeed, but to us they are of unspeakable value. Who can estimate the evil they have overcome, or count the blessings which have flowed from them? Never has a tree borne fruit so sweet, so precious as the tree of the holy cross.

Because Christ endured His Passion for all and each one of us have we, then, all a right to consider ourselves saved and blessed? By no means. There remains something for us to do, which some of us are apt to neglect. If we want to have part in the redemption of Christ we must believe in the Saviour, in His Divinity, in His love, His sufferings and merits, fixing in this way all our hopes in Him and His Sacred Passion.

We must gather for ourselves the fruit of the cross, by using with contrite and grateful hearts, and in the spirit of penance and humility, the means of salvation placed in our hands by our Saviour in the holy Sacraments; and earnestly try to follow Him by walking in His footsteps. "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24).

How blessed is he who thus reaps the fruit of the sufferings of Christ! How truly miserable is that soul who, in spite of the grace of God, goes to perdition; it is as though, standing by a fresh spring of water, he were to die of thirst. I thank Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that Thou hast died for me. May I never deserve to forfeit the merits of Thy precious blood, and of Thy infinite sufferings. Amen.
_______________________
Adapted from Popular Sermons on the Catechism, [Vol 1, No.41]
by Fr. A. Hubert Bamberg (Edited by Fr. Herbert Thurston, S.J.
© 1914 by Benziger Brothers. All emphasis (bold, italics, color) added.

Purgatory: The Dogma of God's Mercy and Justice

For the sake of souls living in an age permeated by the modernist heresy, it is not by chance that, at Fatima, Heaven highlighted the Church’s doctrines and dogmas so frequently undermined. Perhaps foremost among these ignored truths is Purgatory, a dogma pertaining to the interior life of the soul and the mercy and the justice of God.

The word purgatory comes from the Latin purgare, which means “to purify” or “to cleanse.” “The word Purgatory is sometimes taken to mean a place, sometimes as an intermediate state between Hell and Heaven,” explains Fr. Schouppe, S.J., author of Purgatory – Explained by the Lives and the Legends of the Saints.[1]

“It is, properly speaking, the condition of souls which, at the moment of death, are in the state of grace, but which have not completely expiated their faults, nor attained the degree of purity necessary to enjoy the Vision of God.” [2] Fr. Schouppe continues, “Purgatory is a transitory state which terminates in a life of everlasting happiness. It is not a trial by which merit may be gained or lost, but a state of atonement and expiation.” [3]

The dogma of Purgatory reinforces the necessity of the three conversions of the interior life, for “it forms one of the principal parts of the work of Jesus Christ, and plays an essential role in the economy of the salvation of man.” [4]

We may think otherwise, but sanctity is not impossible, for Jesus Himself encourages and instructs us, “Be you therefore perfect, as also your Heavenly Father is perfect.” [5] Neither can we reach spiritual perfection by our own efforts, but “with God, all things are possible.” [6] For the living, each day of earthly life is “a time of trial, a time of merit for the soul” [7]- and at the very moment life ends, the immortal soul remains in the state in which death claimed it.

While we hope that our merits will gain us heaven, we must also remember that what we deem as only trivial faults are not small in God’s eyes. In considering Purgatory, our frail human nature frequently tends to think only of God’s mercy, simultaneously preferring to forget His Justice. Regardless of our personal opinions, God has revealed that His two attributes of Mercy and Justice are never separated.

Like the slightest shadow which must disappear before the sun’s bright light, “no shadow of sin can endure before His Face.” [8] Souls who depart this life in a state of sanctifying grace are saved and will attain Heaven, but if there is any debt still remaining for absolved sins – any slight lack of perfect charity in love for God or neighbor – then God’s Mercy and Justice allows the saved soul to expiate its sins in Purgatory.

Purgatory: A Teaching from Antiquity
From the ancient tradition of the Jews, to the time of Christ and from the earliest days of His one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church, “the people of God had no hesitation in asserting the efficacy of prayers offered for the dead in order that those who had departed this life might find pardon for their sins and the hope of eternal resurrection.”[9]

With infallible examples from the Holy Scriptures and Tradition, the witness of the early Church, the Holy Ghost makes clear that forgiven sins can and will be atoned, either in this life or in the next:

• The Old Testament clearly states in Macabees, “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” [10] This passage tells of an offering of silver “to Jerusalem for sacrifices to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection. For if he (Judas of the Macabees) had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead.” [11]

• In Zacharias, the Holy Ghost speaks of the purification of souls in the next life, “I will refine them as silver refined, and I will try them as gold is tried.” [12] Gold and silver are burned in the fire to be freed from dross; similarly, souls are tried and purified in fire by the Lord.[13]

• Our Lord Himself affirms that there is a place of expiation after death, likening it to a prison: “I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing.” [14] Jesus refers not to hell, which is eternal, but teaches “distinctly of a temporary place…of purification, where the souls of the just can be freed…and purified for their entrance into heaven.”[15]

• Our Divine Savior also reveals: “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.” [16]

Repented sins can be forgiven, and expiated in this world or the next, but the sin against the Holy Ghost is the terrible exception of which Christ warned the peoples of all ages - “persistent impenitence, the sin of one who rejects conversion and dies in mortal sin. One guilty of this sin can never obtain forgiveness of God, because at the hour of death he continues to thrust God away from him.” [17] The reason this sin is not forgiven in this world or the next is only because the individual person continues to reject God, even at death! Is it any wonder why Our Lady of Fatima so often stressed sacrifice for the conversion of our fellow sinners?

• St. Paul speaks of the exact way by which souls are freed from repented sins not yet atoned: “For other foundation (sic) no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus…Every man’s work shall be manifest: for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire, and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work burn, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.”[18]

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1911) explains, “While this passage presents considerable difficulty, it is regarded by many of the Fathers and theologians as evidence for the existence of an intermediate state in which the dross of lighter transgressions will be burnt away, and the soul thus purified will be saved.”[19]

• St. John the beloved disciple, in offering hope and consolation to those who live in the valley of tears and faithfully endure all of life’s trials and tribulations, reveals: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and death shall be no more; nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more.”[20] In speaking of Heaven, however, St. John also reminds the elect, “There shall not enter into it anything defiled.” [21]

• St. Augustine of Hippo teaches, “That there should be some fire even after this life is not incredible, and it can be inquired into and either be discovered or left hidden whether some of the faithful may be saved, some more slowly and some more quickly, in the greater or less degree in which they loved the good things that perish – through a certain purgatorial fire.”[22]

• Because the doctrine of Purgatory has been held throughout the ages, the Council of Trent declared: “Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost has, following the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught in sacred councils and very recently in this ecumenical council, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls there detained are aided by the suffrages of the faithful and chiefly by the Acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar, the Holy Council commands the bishops that they strive diligently to the end that the sound doctrine of Purgatory, transmitted by the Fathers and the sacred councils, be believed and maintained by the faithful of Christ, and be everywhere taught and preached.”[23]

• Finally, in recent times, Our Lady Herself referred to Purgatory when, at the first Fatima apparition in May 1917, She was asked by the child Lucia about the souls of two young village ladies who had recently died.

The Virgin answered that the first girl, Maria das Nevas, who died when about 16 years of age, was in Heaven. But of Amelia, a young woman of 18 years at her death, Our Lady said, “She will be in purgatory until the end of the world.” [24]

The Fate of Two Souls Revealed
The latter disclosure about Amelia’s prolonged period of expiation never fails to shock and trouble those who first hear of it. While mere curiosity should not instigate the inquiry, it appears there is one immediate and common question about this revelation:

What did Amelia do? That is, what forgiven sin(s) committed by a young person (a “teenager” by today’s standards), who lived in a remote village without any modern conveniences or amusements, could lead to a Purgatory of such time and duration?

The only answer upon which we can assuredly rely comes from Sr. Lucia when, years later, she was asked by Fr. Thomas McGlynn, O.P, about certain details regarding Amelia. Sr. Lucia’s charitable, prudent, and brief response was befitting of a Servant of God: “Amelia was eighteen years old, Father, and, after all, for one mortal sin a soul may be in Hell forever.” [25]

“Just” one mortal sin! Was Lucia’s response a delicate hint that it was one mortal sin, obviously repented, for which Amelia would endure a Purgatory incomprehensible to our minds? Did Our Lady make this known to Lucia? If such is the case, it still remains that we do not know the details of Amelia’s solitary mortal sin - but neither do we need to know.

Instead, we should consider the reasons why Our Lady allowed to be made public the state of two souls, one who was already in Heaven (a revelation which many overlook) and one who would be in Purgatory until the end of time.

“What is certain is that Our Lady wanted us to know this for our instruction, and it would be foolish presumption to pretend to dispute the judgments of God,” observes Fatima historian, Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité. “He alone, Who intimately knows each soul, the abundance of graces He has given to it, the degree of knowledge it had of its fault and the quality of its repentance, is the judge of the gravity of sin.” [26]

Frère Michel also wisely notes that we may rarely think about Maria das Nevas, the young soul of whom Our Lady said so simply, “She is in heaven.” No, we are not inclined to ponder much about Maria, for today we are misled to believe that Heaven is our natural “right.” Perhaps, too, we make light-hearted jokes like, “Well, at least in Purgatory, I’ll be with friends.” Yet the sufferings of Purgatory are not objects of jest, especially because the straight and sure path to Heaven is made known to us: Pick up your cross daily and follow Me.[27]

Should we not first contemplate the teenaged Maria, if only for a few moments, and wonder: How did she fulfill God’s Commandments? What heroic virtues did she practice? Did she endure Purgatory at all – or was her soul taken straight to Heaven? Were inquiries ever made about the details of her life or death? Is there anything really known about this young lady, other than her name and age? Or was her hidden and humble interior life - in which (as it seems) no one showed interest, even when her glorious state in Heaven became known - meant as a lesson in itself?

Since it appears no questions about Maria were ever asked, we have no details. What we do have, however, is Our Lady’s word that Maria is in Heaven, and that is enough to tell us two simple and beautiful things about Maria – “she was a good girl and a good Christian.” [28]

Out of the Depths I Have Cried to Thee, O Lord…
But we do not forget Amelia, who died in the state of grace and is saved, nor should we forget her. It is, after all, our “sacred duty to pray for and make sacrifices on behalf of the Poor Souls in Purgatory.” [29]

We call these souls “poor” because they can do nothing for themselves, relying always on our charity offered on their behalf; we call them “holy” because there is no question that they are among the saved. Cherished by God and assured of their salvation, they can and do intercede for us with their prayers.

However, while the poor souls can pray for us but no longer gain merit for themselves, and since the saints in Heaven pray for them but cannot acquire any indulgences for them, those who languish in Purgatory rely on the charity of the living.

This is the beautiful “secret” regarding Purgatory, as St. John Chrysostom reminds us, “Not by weeping, but by prayer and almsgiving are the dead relieved.” [30] It is only we, the Church Militant, who can obtain many indulgences (plenary and partial) for the faithful departed. [31]

We have three central means at our disposal to offer them relief and deliverance: The Holy Mass, the Holy Rosary, and almsgiving (fasts, penances, and sacrifices). For the benefit of our own souls and those in Purgatory, there exist many other highly indulgenced prayers and practices, including but not limited to:

The Brown Scapular of Mt. Carmel: To those who wear this Scapular with devotion, Our Lady promises, “Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.” Too, a pious kiss given to the Brown Scapular offers 500 days’ indulgence, which we can offer for the Poor Souls.

The Sabbatine (Saturday) Privilege, also granted to those who wear the Brown Scapular: “I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whosoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them unto the holy mountain of life everlasting.”

A Thousand Souls (the Prayer of St. Gertrude), by which Christ revealed He would release 1,000 souls from Purgatory, each time the prayer is offered: “Eternal Father, I offer thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with all of the Masses said throughout the world today – for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those within my own home and within my own family. Amen.” [31]

Since God’s generosity can never be out-done, He not only allows all of our offerings to help the souls in Purgatory, but He also grants that these same actions “gain us merit, an increase in sanctifying grace, a higher degree of charity, closer union with God, and thus a higher degree of glory in Heaven for all eternity.”[33]

There is much more that Our God has revealed about Purgatory, but what is most important is to follow the charitable advice of the eternal Church, and which is so beautifully summarized by St. Augustine: “Forget not the dead and hasten to pray for them!”[34]

~About this Article and its Author~
Secrets of the Catholic City is the name of Mrs. Bartold's new column, published by Catholic Family News (CFN). "Purgatory: The Dogma of God's Mercy and Justice" was published in CFN's November 2009 issue. All Rights Reserved World-wide by the author.

Marianna Bartold, founder of Keeping It Catholic, is the author of “The Age of Mary” Study Guides, a series of “digitally delivered” Catholic unit studies for homeschooled teens - as well as adults or anyone who wishes to grow closer “to Jesus through Mary.” Her other works include the upcoming digital Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings) Catholic Study Guide. She is the author of the Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guide books (Volumes I and II). Mrs. Bartold was the original homeschool editor of Sursum Corda and the founding publisher of The Catholic Family's Magnificat! Magazine.

~Notes~
[1] Fr. F.X. Schouppe, S.J., Purgatory - Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints [1893 original edition republished in Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1986.]: p.6
[2] Ibid., p.7. (Emphasis in the original)
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid., p. 3.
[5] Matt. 5:48.
[6] Matt 19: 26.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Fr. F.X. Schouppe, S.J., op cit., p. 4.
[9] Edward Hanna, “Purgatory,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 12. [New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911] Accessed Sept. 15, 2009 at
[10] 2 Mach. 12:46.
[11] 2 Mach. 12:43-45.
[12] Zach. 13:9.
[13] “Sermons for the Feast Days of the Year,” anonymous contributor. Included in The Sermons of the Curé of Ars [1901 original republished in Long Prairie, MN: The Neumann Press, 1991]: Part II, p. 10.
[14] Matt. 5: 26.
[15] “Sermons for the Feast Days of the Year,” op. cit., Part II: p. 11.
[16] Matt. 12: 32.
[17] My Catholic Faith: A Manual in Religion [Reprinted from the 1954 edition in Kansas City, MO: Sarto House, 2003.]:p. 151.
[18] 1 Corinthians 3: 11-15. [Emphasis added.]
[19] Hanna, loc. cit.
[20] Apoc. 21:4.
[21] Apoc. 21: 27.
[22] St. Augustine of Hippo, cited by William A. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. 3. [Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1979]: p. 149.
[23] Decree Concerning Purgatory, The Council of Trent, Session XXV (December 4, 1563). Also see Denzinger, "Enchiridon", #983.
[24] Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words: Sr. Lucia’s Memoirs [Fatima, Portugal: Postulation Centre, 1976]: p. 161.
[25] John J. Delaney (editor), A Woman Clothed With the Sun [New York: Image Edition, published by Doubleday, 1990]: p. 184. [Emphasis added.]
[26] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: Science and the Facts, Vol. I [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, English translation copyright by the author, 1989]: p. 128.
[27] Lk. 9:23, Matt. 16:24, Mk. 8:34. (paraphrased)
[28] Frère Michel, op. cit., p. 129.
[29] Fr. F. X. Schouppe, op. cit., Publisher’s Preface, p. xxviii. [Emphasis in the original]
[30] My Catholic Faith, loc. cit. p. 159.
[31] An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. A plenary indulgence remits all punishment; a partial indulgence remits some part of it. That the Church has the power and authority to grant indulgences is a matter of faith, defined at the Council of Trent, Session XXV, December 4, 1563.
[32] Approval and recommendation signed by M. Cardinal Pahiarca at Lisbon, Portugal, March 4, 1936.
[33] Fr. F. X. Schouppe, op. cit., Publisher’s Preface, p. xxix.
[34] “Sermons for the Feast Days of the Year,” op. cit., Part II, p. 13. [Emphasis in the original]

Christ in the Family: The Christian Education of Youth

“The family received from God a threefold mission: The care of the material life, the spiritual life and the supernatural life,” St. John Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars, once said.[1] Recognizing that each human soul needs instruction in that which is good, the saint continued, “For this reason, it is, above all things, necessary that he should know the means that are indispensable for him to this end – and this is the knowledge of the commandments of God or, in one word – Religion.” [2]

With those words, the saint echoed the Church’s doctrine on Christian education and its threefold purpose, a doctrine reinforced in the 1929 encyclical Divini Illius Magistri, on the Christian Education of Youth: “In fact, since education consists essentially in preparing man for what he must be and for what he must do here below, in order to obtain the sublime end for which he was created…there can be no ideally perfect education which is not Christian education.” [3]

In using the term “Christian education,” Church tradition makes clear that the words Christian and Catholic are synonymous. As we know from the Acts of the Apostles (11:26), it was in 1st century Antioch that Jesus Christ’s followers were first called Christians. It was also in 1st century Antioch that the term Catholic Church [i.e., universal Church] flowed from the pen of St. Ignatius, the bishop-martyr known as the Apostolic Father because he was a “hearer” of St. John the Evangelist, as well as the third bishop of Antioch, following St. Evodius who was himself the immediate successor of St. Peter.[4] While more proof could be offered, these two examples from both Scripture and Tradition firmly establish that a Christian is a follower of Christ and a member of the Catholic Church, which bears four infallible marks – one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic. It follows that we can say with gentle confidence that Christian means Catholic, and Christianity means Catholicism.

Once these very important terms and their definitions are accepted for the truth they are, the last sentence quoted from the encyclical Christian Education of Youth translates to “there can be no ideally perfect education which is not Catholic education.”

What Catholic Education Is and Isn’t

“Now in order that no mistake be made in this work of utmost importance, it is necessary to have a clear and definite idea of Christian education in its essential aspects…” [5]

First, it should be said that a Catholic education is not one in which a religion class is “tacked” onto the rest of the curriculum. We know this because the Church’s doctrine on education teaches: “For the mere fact that a school gives some religious instruction (often extremely stinted) does not bring it into accord with the rights of the Church and of the Christian family, or make it a fit place for Catholic students.”[6]

What is it, then, that makes education Catholic? The encyclical Militantis Ecclesiae proclaimed, “Religion must not be taught to youth only during certain hours, but the entire system of education must be permeated with the sense of Christian [meaning Catholic] piety. If this is lacking, if this holy spirit does not penetrate and inflame the souls of teacher and pupil, small benefit will be derived from any other sort of education; instead damage will be done.”[7] Finally, this same encyclical clearly states, “Religion must permeate and direct every branch of knowledge.”[8]

Catholic Education at Home

The Church’s doctrine on Catholic education applies not only to the Catholic school but also to the private Catholic home. Home education has existed since the dawn of creation and, therefore, throughout the Church’s history.

While the phrases “home education” or “homeschooling” will not be found in any Church document, the Church has always recognized and upheld the natural law that parents are responsible for their children’s education. Since the time that God became Man and elevated marriage to a sacrament, the natural necessity of children’s education became supernatural.

Now, more than ever, parental rights and obligations in the Christian education of youth remain necessary. As heretofore stated, the Church is very clear that Catholic education prepares man for three things: “for what he must be and for what he must do here below, in order to attain the sublime end for which he was created.” What he must be refers to the development of the child’s character and the interior life of the soul; what he must do here below refers to an individual’s purpose in life, which is to know, love and serve God, regardless of any aspirations about state in life; and the sublime end for which he is created refers to the eternal happiness of Heaven which God gives to those who have lived a life of faith and good works.

The objective mind, however, understands that Catholic education – whether at school or within the home - is no guarantee of sanctity, for one must not forget “the free will factor,” given by God to every person. St. Jean Marie Vianney was clear on this point when he said, “Christian fathers and mothers, if you wish to have pious, good children, you must first of all yourselves be God-fearing and lead good lives. As the tree, so will the fruit be, says an old proverb, and the divine word verifies this. A good tree brings forth good fruit, a bad tree fruit like itself” to which the saint wisely added, “We know that now and then, even in good Christian families, there are to be found degenerate sons or daughters, but the rule is as our Savior says…”[9]

The Four Pillars of Catholic Education

“The home, therefore, must be in accord with the Church,” the Curé of Ars taught, “so that all harmful influences must be withheld from the souls of children. Where there is true piety in the household, purity of morals reigns supreme, and every agreeable virtue finds a home therein. I turn to you, dear parents, and implore you: To imitate the Holy Family of Nazareth!” [10]

To follow this saintly advice and to keep the home in accord with the Church, we must adhere to the four pillars of Catholic education, which are as follows: 1) teaching, 2) organization, 3) teachers, and 4) syllabus and textbooks. The Church highlights the necessity of these four pillars in Christian Education of Youth, which declares “…it is necessary that all the teaching and the whole organization of the school, and its teachers, syllabus and textbooks in every branch, be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal supervision of the Church; so that Religion may be in very truth the foundation and crown of the youth’s entire training, and this in every grade in school, not only the elementary, but the intermediate and higher institutions as well.” [11]

• The First Pillar - Teaching the Mind, Training the Will: Teaching consists of the instruction of the mind and the training of the will. In fact, teaching instructs the mind in order to motivate the will. As most parents eventually discover, teaching the mind and training the will are essential to all education; a plethora of books could (and have) been written about how to motivate a child’s will toward the good, but ultimately teaching and training centers on the virtue of religion, which elevates the mind and soul to God, the Source of All Good.

• The Second Pillar - Organization: As taught in Christian Education of Youth, organization is addressed in two distinct parts, comprising the following whole: the establishment or the society of the school and its order, design or way of implementation. The organization of the Catholic home and school does well when it imitates those excellent examples traditionally provided by the Church throughout the centuries.

“Accordingly that education, as a rule, will be more effective and lasting which is received in a well-ordered and well-disciplined Christian family; and more efficacious in proportion to the clear and constant good example set, first by the parents, and then by the other members of the household.” [12]

Organization, as it pertains to the establishment or the “society” of the home led by the parents, is founded on one, multi-faceted motto of Catholic Action: Pray, Study, and Act. The organization of family life is firmly founded on daily prayer by parents and children, daily duty of study and work in the Catholic spirit of charity, and regular reception of the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion.

“It requires care, a great deal of care, to conscientiously fulfill the obligations of a father or mother,” St. John Marie Vianney noted. “The parents are a mirror to their children; and the children constantly look into this mirror. Be careful therefore that only the good, and what is worthy of imitation is perceptible in you and graven upon your hearts.” [13]

“Watch particularly over your children when they have grown up,” is another counsel of the saint’s. “Do not allow them to associate with irreligious persons.” [14] This important advice addresses the interior life of “teens,” for there are three periods of the spiritual life, which are compared to the three stages of physical life: childhood, youth, and adulthood.

In general, conscience or “aware” childhood commences at the dawn of reason, about the age of seven but sometimes before, and lasts until the age of puberty. Youth, or adolescence, spans the years of fourteen through twenty. Then follows adulthood, “in which we may distinguish the period which precedes full maturity, about the age of thirty-five, and that which follows it, before the decline of old age sets in.” [15]

“The period of puberty,” explained Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., “is characterized by a transformation not only organic, but also psychological, intellectual and moral. The youth is no longer content to follow his imagination, as the child was; he begins to reflect on the things of human life, on the need to prepare himself for some career or occupation in the future. He has no longer the child’s attitude toward family, social and religious matters; his moral personality begins to take shape, and he acquires the sense of honor and of good repute. Or else, on the contrary, if he passes unsuccessfully through this difficult period, he deteriorates and follows evil courses. The law of nature so ordains that the transition from childhood to youth must follow a normal development; otherwise, the subject will assume a positive bias to evil, or else he will remain a half-wit, perhaps even a complete idiot, for the rest of his life. ‘He who makes no progress loses ground.’” [16]

Those sober words explain why the Church insists that Catholic education must continue throughout the adolescent years and beyond. To accomplish this most important task, parents must themselves continue in the habit of prayer, to study the Faith, and to act by practicing the virtues, while gently and firmly expecting the same of their children.

The second meaning of organization addresses the order, design or way of implementation of Catholic education. When it comes to formally teaching religion, reading, arithmetic or math, science, history and geography, the Church’s traditional practice in instruction is systematic, methodical and cyclical. Such instruction eschews “child-led” learning which means allowing the child to choose what, how and when “subjects” shall be learned. Of course, authentic Catholic education does not preclude helping children develop their God-given talents and interests, but even this path must be tread with care so as to avoid self-indulgence.

“Bring up your children simply, withhold all luxury from them, discourage a too great desire of pleasures, and let them learn only that which is good, useful, and practical,” advised the saintly Curé of Ars. “See to it, that in their childhood, as well as when they are older, they frequent the Sacraments regularly.” [17]

• The Third Pillar – Teachers: Parents are the primary educators of their children, a natural law which the Church recognizes and upholds in Divine Law. The begetting and education of children is the primary end of the marriage sacrament. As Christian Education of Youth elucidates, “Parents are under a grave obligation to see to the religious and moral obligation of their children, as well as to their physical and civic training, as far as they can, and moreover to provide for their temporal well-being.” [18]

The Fourth Pillar – Catholic Text and Syllabus: A priest who understands the purpose and aim of Catholic homeschooling once told me, “Many parents today have no notion of Catholic textbooks and if they do not have that experience, it is a gaping lacuna [hole or gap] in their formation as Catholics.” The selection of materials to study religion and the other subjects must also assist the parents in ensuring that the Catholic religion permeates the curriculum. This is often a daunting task, since for many years too many books considered “Catholic” are doctrinally diluted and, even worse, are peppered with the seeds of modernism, the synthesis of all heresies.

A century ago, the Church warned against “pernicious books” that have “now grown to such an extent that it is hardly possible to subject them all to censure. Hence, it happens sometimes that the remedy arrives too late, for the disease has taken root during the delay;” [19] the Church further warns against books bearing an Imprimatur which “may have been granted through carelessness or too much indulgence or excessive trust placed in the author, which last has perhaps sometimes happened in the religious orders.” [20] This warning is even truer today.

The Secret of Catholic Life

Despite the many obstacles placed before Catholic families, God provides the spiritual and material necessities, a truth of which the Curé of Ars reminded us when he said, “What are the means to renew the family life in the spirit of Christ and the Church? I answer: Keep the commandments of God, and follow the infallible teaching which God has placed in that haven of salvation, the Holy Catholic Church, so that you may walk in the right path which leads to the inheritance of the Saints. If you wish, Christian married people, to imitate St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother of God, you must sanctify yourselves; you must practice the virtues which shine out to us from the life of this most holy couple. Matrimony is a great sacrament, as St. Paul says, but only in Christ and His Church.” [21]

“As long as Our Lord is first served,” St. Joan of Arc was wont to say, in beautiful words that summarize the secret of Catholic life. The Catholic family must be grounded upon the Cornerstone, of Whom St. Jean Marie Vianney rightly exclaimed:

“Christ must come back into the family! Christ must remain in the family! Let this be your motto. Then, with the help of God, a devout, chaste generation will spring up to the joy of the parents and of the Church.”[22]

~+~+~+~+

Secrets of the Catholic City is the name of Mrs. Bartold's new column, published by Catholic Family News (CFN). "Christ in the Family: The Christian Education of Youth" was published in CFN's August 2009 issue. All Rights Reserved World-wide by the author.

Marianna Bartold, founder of Keeping It Catholic, is the author of “The Age of Mary” Study Guides, a series of “digitally delivered” Catholic unit studies for homeschooled teens - as well as adults or anyone who wishes to grow closer “to Jesus through Mary.” Her other works include the upcoming digital Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings) Catholic Study Guide. She is the author of the Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guide books (Volumes I and II, available from Neumann Press). Mrs. Bartold was the original homeschool editor of Sursum Corda and the founding publisher of The Catholic Family Magnificat! Magazine.

~+~+~+~+

Endnotes
[1] St. Jean Marie Vianney, Sermons of the Curé of Ars (Long Prairie, MN: The Neumann Press, 1995]: p. 87.
[2] Ibid, p. 88.
[3] Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri (On the Christian Education of Youth, December 29, 1929; also known as Rappresentanti in Terra): para. 7. [Emphasis added]
[4] St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans, ca. 110 A.D.: “Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” Cited by William A. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. I [Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1970]: p. 25.
[5]Pope Pius XI, loc. cit., para. 10.
[6] Ibid. para. 80.
[7] Pope Leo XIII, Militantis Ecclesia (On St. Peter Canisius, August 1, 1897): para. 18. Here it must be noted that, sometime after 1995, recent English translations of encyclicals have been re-edited, especially those currently available on the Net. See the article “Encyclicals: A Matter of Translation?” at www.keepingitcatholic.blogspot.com
[8] Ibid.
[9] St. Jean Marie Vianney, op. cit., p. 91.
[10] Ibid., p. 90. [Emphasis in the original]
[11] Pope Pius XI, loc. cit.
[12] Ibid, para. 71.
[13] St. Jean Marie Vianney, loc. cit.
[14] Ibid., pp. 91-92.
[15] Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., The Three Conversions in the Spiritual Life [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, Reprinted in 1977 by arrangement with Burnes & Oates, London]: p. 26.
[16] Ibid., pp. 26-27. [Emphasis added]
[17] St. Jean Marie Vianney, op. cit, p. 92.
[18] Pope Pius XI, op. cit., para. 23.
[19] Pope St. Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis (On the Doctrines of the Modernists, September 8, 1907): para. 51
[20] Ibid.
[21] St. Jean Marie Vianney, op. cit, p. 91. [Emphasis added]
[22] Ibid., p. 92. [Emphasis in the original]

Hilaire Belloc, Red Flags, and Those Catholic Bones

Something Hilaire Belloc wrote about the great heresies brings to mind "Red Flags" - a topic I've not written about for quite some time, but which is addressed at length in my books on Catholic home education (the Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guides).

Originally, the "Red Flag List" was intended to assist Catholic homeschooling parents, who buy their curriculum at conferences or via "educational catalogs." However, "Red Flags" in books, television shows, movies, etc. (as in ad nauseum) abound for Catholics everywhere and in every state of life (single, married, young parent or grandparent, priest or nun). Now, unless we live on a desert island, we must be on guard against "the spirit of the world" which is much worse than "The Blob" (in the old "B" movie), a dangerous and seeping entity that literally consumed everything in its path.

At any rate, the primary reason for constructing the "Red Flag List" was a simple but important one: Dangerous novelties (in the form of books) were quickly becoming the "fashion" in Catholic home education, and the alarm had to be sounded.

The main problem began oh-so-innocently, of course, and for a variety of reasons. It started with allegedly "Christian" books that were, in fact, of heretical origin. Much could be said, and has been, on tolerating a few such sources within the home study curriculum (under certain circumstances), so that issue won't be discussed again in this article.

As time passes, the "novelties" become even worse with "fashionable" resources that present themselves as Catholic, are even "hailed" as Catholic (though they are chock-full of subtle phrases or ambiguous terminology), and are then found in Catholic catalogs (for homeschoolers or of general interest to all Catholics).

The problem continues with "catholicizing" heretical books and implementing new or "resurrected" educational methods (Dewey comes to mind, but there are many other educational 'reformers' to avoid). Too, many people still refuse to believe that educational method is simply the means of bringing a philosophy to life.

It is only because we tolerate such errors that such "novelties" are still with us and grow even stronger as they are thus passed onto the next generation. The basic formula to error, which must be recognized in order to avoid its use (especially in Catholic education), might be expressed this way:

"Novelties" + "Fashions-in-contemporary-thought" = "Errors" (Heresies)

A "Red Flag" is (and always has been) the Catholic instinct alerting us that something we've read or heard or are urged to do is not quite right. We may not yet be able to explain the uneasiness, but it is - to paraphrase Hilaire Belloc - something we know in our Christian bones.

Feelings, of course, cannot be trusted, since they are not the same as the Catholic instinct, that sensei fide that makes us wonder about the why's and wherefore's to the questions arising in our minds. Sensei fide keeps nudging at us to pay attention with our reason, illuminated by Divine Revelation. That "sense of the Faith" is what is meant by a "Red Flag"...and when the instinct is particularly strong, the Red Flag is waving!

As for Hilaire Belloc (and to conclude this purposely brief post), ponder - if you will - this observation from none other than the famous Catholic historian and apologist himself:

"Now against the great heresies, when they acquire the driving power of being the new and fashionable thing, there arises a reaction within the Christian and Catholic mind, which reaction gradually turns the current backward, gets rid of the poison and re-establishes Christian civilization. Such reactions begin, I repeat, obscurely. It is the plain man who gets uncomfortable and says to himself, 'This may be the fashion of the moment,
but I don't like it.' It is the mass of Christian men who feel in their bones that there is something wrong, though they have difficulty in explaining it. The reaction is usually slow and muddled and for a long time not successful. But in the long run with internal heresy it has always succeeded; just as the native health of the human body succeeds in getting
rid of some internal infection."

-Hilaire Belloc, The Great Heresies