Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 22-23 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1, pt. 2

Psalms 45 ~ Haydock Commentary

Matt. 24:23-44 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

St Mary on the Sabbath

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

Let a man always think that he has God before his eyes.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 14:

“14. Vain self-complacency and the desire of making a show of being spoken of, of having our conduct praised, and of hearing it aaid that we lucceed well and are doing wonders,—this is an eyil which makes us forget God, which infects our holiest actions, and is, of all vices, the moat injurious to progress in the spiritual life. I do not understand how any one can believe and hold it as a truth of faith, that he who exalts himself shall be abased, if he desires to pass for a man of worth, a person of prudence, foresight, and ability. — St. V. de Paul.

The widely-known Franciscan, Brother Justin, entered the Order of St. Francis, after refusing great favors and most honorable offices, which the King of Hungary offered him. He then advanced so far in religion, that he had frequent ecstasies. One day, while dining at the table in the monastery, he was raised in the air, and carried over the heads of the Religious, to pray before a picture of the Virgin, which was painted high on the wall. On account of this wonder, Pope Eugenius IV sent for him and embraced him, not allowing him to kiss his feet; then, seating him by his side, he had a long conversation with him, and gave him many presents and indulgences. This favor made him vain, and St. John Capestran meeting him on his return, said : ” Alas ! thou didst go forth an angel, and thou art come back a demon !” In fact, increasing every day in insolence, he killed a monk with a knife. After a term of imprisonment, he escaped into the kingdom of Naples, where he committed many crimes, and finally died in prison.

A holy monk once passed a night in a convent of nuns, where there was a boy continually tormented by a devil.

Through all that night the child remained undisturbed, and io, in the morning, the monk was requested to take him home to his monastery, and keep him until the cure was complete. He did this, and then, as nothing more happened to the boy, he said to the other monks, with some complacency : ” The devil made light of those nuns in tormenting this boy; but since he has come into this monastery of God’s servants, he has no longer dared to approach him.” No sooner had he said this than the boy, in the presence of them all, began to suffer as he had previously, and the monk bewailed his error.

Another monk once boasted, in presence of his abbot, St. Pacomius, that he had made two mats in one day, when the Saint reproved him, and ordered him to carry the two mats on his shoulders before the other monks, and ask the pardon and prayers of all, because he had valued these two mats more than the kingdom of heaven. He also commanded him to remain five months in his cell without ever allowing himself to be seen, and to make two mats a day for all that time.

From his earliest years, St. Thomas of Aquin was always opposed to receiving praise, and he never uttered a word which might lead to it. Therefore, he never felt any temptation to vanity or self-complacency, as he himself testified to Brother Reginald, saying he rendered thanks to God that he had never been tempted by pride.

St. Vincent de Paul made this resolution to close the path against self-complacency : ” When I am performing some public action, and may complete it with honor, I will perform it indeed, but I will omit those details which might give it lustre or attract notice to myself. Of two thoughts which come into my mind, I will manifest the lower, to humble myself, and I will keep back the higher, to make in my heart a sacrifice of it to God; for it is at times expedient to do a thing less well outwardly, rather than to be pleased with ourselves for having done it well, and to be applauded and esteemed for it; and it is a truth of the Gospel that nothing pleases the Lord so much as humility of heart and simplicity of word and deed. It is here that His spirit resides, and it is in vain to seek it elsewhere.” This resolution he observed carefully. One day, when travelling with three of his priests, he told them, by way of diversion, an adventure which had once happened to him. But in the midst of his story he stopped short, striking his breast, and saying that he was a wretch, full of pride, and always talking of himself. When he reached home, prostrating himself before them, he asked pardon for the scandal he had given them by talking about himself.”

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 20-21 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1, pt. 2

Psalms 44 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1

Matt. 24-1-22 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

Feria

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

Let a man frequent the holy Sacraments, go to sermons, and be often reading the Lives of Saints.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 13:

“13. When one is very remarkable for virtue, and truly great before

Qod, and favored and esteemed by Him, yet, -with all this, remains little and vile in his own eyes,—here is that humility so grateful to God and so rare among men, which was found most perfect in the Blessed Virgin, who, on hearing herself chosen to be the mother of God, acknowledged herself to be a servant and handmaiden.—St. Bernard.

St. Mary Magdalen di Pazzi was an admirable example of this. Though she had arrived at high perfection and sanctity, and saw herself enriched by God with extraordinary graces and favors, even to the power of working miracles, yet, with all this, she had so low an esteem and so poor an opinion of herself as to astonish those who knew her. Nor was this a matter of pure imagination or of mere words, but true and sincere, and was clearly shown by an ecstasy, in which the Lord showed her the strength and virtue He intended to communicate to her against the fierce temptations she had endured from the devil, and she broke forth with these words:” What confusion for me ! that upon the lowest and vilest creature upon earth, as I am, Thou designest to bestow the immensity of the treasures of Thy liberality and mercy !”

It was the same with St. Vincent de Paul. Though his virtues were known to all, in spite of the contrivances that he used to conceal them, yet, to him alone they remained unknown; because, by putting his own baseness continually before his eyes, he cut off the view of them; so that, although he was rich and abounding in virtues an 1 celestial gifts, he always esteemed himself poor, needy, and destitute of all spiritual good. Thence came the title that he usually gave himself,—” This poor wretch.”

When St. Teresa reflected upon the favors she received from God in such great abundance, she humbled herself the more on account of them, saying that the Lord sustained her extreme weakness in this way, and that these supports proved how great was her tendency to fall, as a house is shown to be tottering, by the props set up to hold it”

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 18-19 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1, pt. 2

Psalms 42-43 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1, pt. 2

Matt. 23:23-39 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

Seven Holy Founders, Confessors

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

There is nothing more to the purpose for exciting a spirit of prayer, than the reading of spiritual books.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 12:

“12. Do not believe that thou hast made any advance in perfection, unless thou considerest thyself the worst of all, and desirest that all should be preferred to thee ; for it is the mark of those who are great in the eyes of God, to be small in their own eyes ; and the more glorious they are in the sight of God, the more vile they appear in their own sight. — St. Teresa.

One day, when St. Anthony was praying, he heard a voice saying, ” Anthony, thou hast not reached the perfection of a man named Coriarius, who lives in Alexandria.” The Saint went immediately to find him, and inquired about his life. Coriarius answered : ” I do not know that I have ever done anything good, and so, when I rise in the morning, I say in my heart that all the people in this city will be saved by their good works, and I alone shall be lost for my sins; and I say the same thing in the evening, in all sincerity, before going to rest.” ” No ! no ! no !” replied St. Anthony,” thou hast secured heaven for thyself by thy wise practice ; but I have unwisely failed to attain this excelleuce of thine.”

In the Lives of the Fathers, a certain monk is mentioned, who, in giving an account of his interior to the Abbot Sisois, said that he kept continually before his mind the thought of God. The Abbot answered : ” That is nothing great. The great thing would be that you should see yourself below every creature.”

One of the chief men of Alexandria having been received into a monastery, the Abbot judged, from his appearance and other signs, that he was a hard man, haughty, and inflated with worldly pride. Wishing to lead him by the safe road

of humility, he placed him in the porter’s lodge, with instructions to throw himself at the feet of all who passed in or out, and to beg them to pray to God for him, because he was a great sinner. He obeyed with exactness, and persevered in this exercise for seven years, acquiring thereby great humility. The Abbot then thought it time to give him the habit, and admit him to the society of the other members of the Order. But when he heard of this, he implored and entreated to be left as he was for the short time, which, as he said, remained to him of life. His request was granted, and he proved to be a true prophet, for, after ten days he died, in great peace and confidence in regard to his salvation. This is related by St. John Climacus, who says that he had spoken with this man, and when he inquired how he occupied himself in all that time when he was remaining at the gate, he replied: ” My constant exercise was to consider myself unworthy to stay in the monastery, and to enjoy the sight and company of the Fathers, or even to raise my eyes to look at them.”

We read of the venerable Maria Seraphina di Dio that she seemed to have no eyes except to see and exaggerate her own defects, and to admire the virtues of others. So, when she saw others performing any good action, she would say, with feeling: ” How happy they are ! All, except me, attend to the service of God !” When she saw any going to the confessors, she thought they would only have to hear and speak of God, while she reproached herself that she went solely to tell her errors and sins. If she ever saw any one commit a fault, she always found means to excuse or palliate it, and thus, she was able, in spite of the sins of others, to retain the opinion which she held of herself as being the worst of all.”

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 16-17 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1, pt. 2

Psalms 41 ~ Haydock Commentary

Matt. 23:1-22 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

Apparition of Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

Every one ought to give in readily to the opinion of another, and to argue in favour of another and against himself, and take things in good part.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 11:

“11. Our Lord says that whoever wishes to become greatest of all, must make himself least of all. This is a truth that all Christians believe ; how happens it, then, that so few practise it?—St. V. da Paul.

The same Saint was one of these few. As he had always but a low opinion of himself, and had taken so much pains to lower himself beneath all, God continually exalted him, by the many great works which He entrusted to him, by the high regard in which he was generally held, and by the abundant benedictions which God bestowed on all his actions.

St. Paula, by the testimony of St. Jerome, excelled so much in self-abasement, that if a stranger attracted by her fame had come to visit her, he would never have recognized her, but would rather have supposed her to be one of the least of her own servants. And when she was surrounded by bands of young maidens,—in dress, speech, and manner, she al ways seemed the humblest of them all.”

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes & Saint Bernadette

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 15 ~ Haydock Commentary

Psalms 40 ~ Haydock Commentary

Matt. 21:23-46 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

St. Scholastica ~ Virgin

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

We must always remember that God does everything well, although we may not see the reason of what He does.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 10:

“10. We ought always to consider others as our superiors, and to yield to them, even though they be our inferiors, by offering them every kind of respect and service. Oh, what a beautiful thing it would be, if it should please God to confirm us well in such a practice. — St. V. de Paul.

This was precisely the practice of this Saint. He made great account of all, and considered all better than himself, more prudent, more perfect, more capable, and more fit for any employment, and therefore he felt no difficulty in yielding his own opinion to any one. We read of a good nun, named Sister Rachel Pastore, who had formed such an humble opinion of herself, that she regarded all persons, without exception, as her superiors, and with this sen- ntiment deeply fixed in her heart, she abased and humbled herself in the presence of all.”

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes & Saint Bernadette (Day

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 13-14 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1, pt. 2

Psalms 39 ~ Haydock Commentary

Matt. 21:1-22 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

St. Cyril of Alexandria

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

We must accept the adversities which God sends us without reasoning too much upon them, and we must take for granted that it is the best thing which could happen to us.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 9:

“9. we are to consider ourselves, in all sincerity, worthy of the contempt of men ; secondly, to be glad that others should see what is imperfect in us and what might cause them to despise us ; thirdly, when the Lord works “Vf good in us or by our means, to conceal it, if possible, at the sight of our baseness, and if this cannot be done, to ascribe it to the Divine Mercy, and to the merits of others. Whoever shall attain to this humility, happy is he ! and to him who shall not attain it, griefs will never be wanting.—St. V. de Paul

The first condition was certainly to be found in the heart of St. Clare, who used to say to her companions : ” Oh, Sisters, if you knew me well, you would abhor and avoid me, like one stricken with the plague, because I am not what you believe me, but a wicked woman.” The venerable Sister Maria Crucifixa, who considered herself the vilest creature upon earth, often spoke thus of herself to her companions, and with feelings of such sincere and perfect humiliation as excited her to a high degree of compunction. This even led her to ask leave to retire to a convent of Penitents, which she said was a fitting place for her, as she ought to live the life of a penitent. St. Francis Borgia, too, was so deeply grounded in a low opin

ion of himself, that he wondered how the people could salute, and not rather stone him, as he passed through the streets.

The second condition was also possessed, in a high degree, by St. Clare. She revealed the greatest faults of her life to all her confessors, intending that they should conceive a bad opinion of her; but when she found this plan failed, she changed her confessors often, in the hope of finding one who would consider her the wretched creature that she really believed herself to be. St. Catherine of Bologna, likewise, not only told all her sins to her confessors, but even intentionally dropped the paper on which they were written, that she might be despised by all. St. John of the Cross, too, when he went to Granada, where he was sent as Provincial Vicar, happened to meet there a brother of his, who was so poor that he lived by alms. When he saw him with his cloak all torn, he was as much pleased as another would have been to see his brother in a rich dress ; and when the Grand Duke came to visit him, he brought him forward, saying that was his brother, who was working in the monastery. The third condition was possessed, in the highest degree, by St. Mary Magdalen di Pazzi, who, when asked or commanded by her Superior to make the sign of the cross over the sick, or to offer a prayer for any one in need, always called another to join her in this action or prayer, so that when the favor came, it might be attributed not to her, but to the virtue of the other, as she always attributed it herself. The same may be said of an Abbess named Sara, of whom it is related, in the Lives of the Fathers, that she had been assailed by a demon for thirteen years, but was finally liberated by her fervent prayers. Then the demon said to her, ” Thou hast conquered me, Sara I” But she replied, ” It is not I who have conquered thee, but truly it is my Lord Jesus Christ,”

Monseigncur de Palafox showed that he possessed in a singular degree this beautiful quality of attributing to God all the good he did. For he looked upon hia good actions not as his own choice, but as pure effects of grace; and so, instead of believing, as people in general do, that he acquired by them merit before God, he believed that his obligations to God were increased by doing them. And as he thought, so he spoke; for he was accustomed to confess himself to be under the greatest obligations to God, because He had bestowed upon him great peace of mind, constant repentance for his sins, great patience and consolation in vexations and labors, great love and respect for the poor and for his persecutors, and had taken from him all attachment to riches, honors, convenience, and his own judgment, and had also given him the grace to perform with fervor penances, the visitation of the sick, and many practices of devotion, as well as strength and talent to make wise and useful regulations, to build many churches, and to accomplish every one of his actions purely and solely for the honor and service of His Divine Majesty. And what is certainly most to be admired is, that he derived only confusion and fear from so many good and holy works, which ordinarily produce, even in excellent persons, a certain good opinion and esteem of themselves, and make them believe themselves deserving of praise from men and reward from God. He looked upon them, on the contrary, as special graces granted to him by the Divine Goodness, for which he must, one day, give a strict account, and he thought that on the last day, in presence of all the world, they would be so many points of accusation against him, because he had not corresponded to so many divine favors by a better and more perfect life.

The humility of St. Vincent de Paul waa accompanied by all three of these conditions. He had so low an opinion of himself that he considered himself a great sinner, a cause of scandal, and unworthy to remain even in his own Congregation. Wherefore, he often spoke of himself as a hardened sinner, an abominable sinner, unworthy to live, and standing in the utmost need of the mercy of God on account of the abominations of his life. One day, prostrate before his missionaries, he said, with great feeling: ” If you could see my miseries, you would drive me from the house, to which I am a loss, a burden, and a scandal. I am surely unworthy to remain in the Congregation, on account of the scandal that I give.” Because he truly felt thus, he desired that others, too, should feel so ; and, therefore, he was pleased to have his imperfections visible to all, and he even manifested them openly on occasions, to the end that he might be despised and lightly regarded by all. For this reason, he often said that he was the son of a swineherd, a poor grammar-student, and no scholar. For the same cause, he acknowledged as his nephew, before all in the house, and even before some noble visitors, a poor young man who had come to ask his aid. And as he felt at first some unwillingness to acknowledge him when he heard of his arrival, he often accused himself of this to his companions as a great fault, exaggerating, too, the pride that caused it. He could not bear to hear himself praised, or see himself held in high esteem; and so, when a poor woman told him, in presence of some persons of rank, that she had been a servant of his mother, hoping to induce him to give her alms, the Saint, to whom such flattery was unpleasant, answered quickly : ” My poor woman, you are mistaken. My m< ,ther never kept a servant, but she was a servant herself, and afterwards, the wife of a poor peasant.” For this cause, too, he was never heard to speak of the ex

cellent works which he had carried on, nor of the wonderful circumstances in which he had been placed. A remarkable proof of this is, that though innumerable occasions offered themselves to speak of his slavery in Tunis, especially in the exhortations which he addressed to his Congregation and others, to move them to aid the poor slaves in Barbary, he never let fall a word concerning himself, nor about what he had said or done to convert his master, and escape with him from the hands of the Infidels, nor as to anything else that happened to him in that country.

This is a rare case, on account of the pleasure which every one naturally feels in narrating the perils, the dangers and difficulties from which he has happily escaped, especially when his success reveals some virtue, and gives occasion for praise. But when necessity, or the good of others, sometimes constrained him to tell something which he had done for the glory of God, if anything had gone ill, he attributed to himself whatever might cause humiliation, though he had given no occasion for it; but if all went well, he told of it in very humble terms, setting all to the account of the zeal and labor of others, and suppressing, so far as he could, those circumstances which would bring praise to himself; and he always ascribed even the slightest good that he did to God, as its primary and only cause. For example, he never said, ” I did this; I said this; I thought of this ;” but rather, ” God inspired me with this thought; put into my mouth these words ; gave me strength to do this;” and so on. The humility of St. Francis de Sales was, says St. Jane Frances de Chantal, humility of heart. For it was his maxim, that the love of our abjection ought to be with us at every step; and, therefore, he strove to conceal the gifts of grace as much as he could, and endeavored to appear of less account than he really was, so that he was often slow and late in giving his opinion upon subjects with which he was well acquainted.”

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes & Saint Bernadette (Day 7)

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 12 ~ Haydock Commentary

Psalms 38 ~ Haydock Commentary

Matt. 21:23-46 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

Septuagesima Sunday

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

When a man is freed from a temptation or any other distress, let him take great care to show fitting gratitude to God for the benefit he has received.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 8:

“8. Hold thyself as vile ; rejoice to be so held by others ; never exalt thyself by reason of the gifts of God,—and thou shall be perfectly humble. — St. Bonaventure.

A. soul of precisely this type, was St. Mary Magdalen di Pazzi. It is recorded of her that she was so vile in her own eyes, that she constantly looked upon herself as the lowest of creatures, and the most disgraceful and abominable thing upon earth. Being, one day, called to the grate by the Duchess of Bracciano, she said, with great feeling, ” If my lady Duchess knew that Sister Mary Magdalen is the abomination of this convent, she would not think of naming her, much less of sending for her.” In the same light in which she looked upon herself, she desired also to be viewed by others ; and when she was treated contemptuously, or in any way humiliated, she rejoiced so much that in reward for the great gladness with which she received humiliations, she was often rapt in ecstasy after them. For this reason, she could not bear to see that she was honored and esteemed, and that others had a good opinion of her ; and to prevent this, she would often accuse herself in public and in private of her smallest defects, even with exaggeration. And so, with things which were not really faults, she mentioned them in such a way as to make them seem grave faults. For example, in cutting up a pineapple, one day, she ate two morsels that fell from it. Therefore, she accused herself of gluttony, and of eating outside of the refectory, contrary to the Constitution. She took, besides, all possible pains to conceal from others her virtues and holy works, and when she could not do this, she would try to depreciate them, by showing that they were full of defects ; in this way she would make the most perfect actions seem worthy of reproof, or, at least, merely natural, and springing from her own inclination. And as she could neither prevent nor conceal the ecstasies which were granted to her, it displeased her exceedingly to be looked at, or listened to, while they lasted, even to such a degree that she once complained to the Lord, saying : ” O my Jesus ! how is it that Thou hast conferred upon me so much that is known only to Thee and myself, and now Thou wilt have me reveal it ? Hast Thou not promised me that as Thou wast hidden, so should I also be?” Once when her confessor ordered her to report to her companions what happened to her in these ecstasies, she wept bitterly, as she did also in making the relation, so that, finally, she went so far as to entreat the Lord to make her no more communications of the kind. She was so far from drawing any complacency or self-esteem from this source, that, as if she had committed a fault, she would humble herself after these favors, even to the last novice or lay-sister, and set herself to perform the daily exercises with them, and converse with them with so much humility and ch;irity, that it was an admirable thing to see and hear her, first holding communion with the Divine Majesty with such loftiness of ideis, and then, immediately after, to behold her so humble, dependent, and submissive to her neighbors.”

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes & Saint Bernadette (Day 6)

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 10-11 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1, pt. 2

Psalms 37 ~ Haydock Commentary

Matt. 21:1-22 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

Anticipated 5th Sunday after Epiphany

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life; wherefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 7:

“7. One day of humble self-knowledge is a greater grace from the Lord, although it may have cost us many afflictions and trials, than many days of prayer.—St. Teresa.

St. Gertrude, once reflecting upon the benefits she had received from God, blushed for herself, and became so odious in her own eyes, that she seemed unworthy to remain in the sight of God, and she would gladly have found some nook, where she might conceal from man, if not from God, the odor of corruption with which she felt herself tainted. At this, Christ humbled Himself to her with so much goodness, that the whole celestial court stood amazed.

The venerable Mother Seraphina di Dio received, one day, a spiritual light, by means of which (as she states in her account of it to her director) she perceived clearly that God, being by His nature luminous truth, can behold in Himself only that which He really is, that is, infinite perfection, in which He rejoices and delights. Therefore, when He wishes to unite a soul to Himself, He communicates to it a light of truth, by which it sees, without error or deception, its own nature; that is, that by itself it has never done any good, neither is it able to do any; that in itself it has only inclination to evil, and what good it has, is altogether from God. And such a person has no need of much consideration and analysis, because, with such a light of truth, all appears so clear, that to think otherwise, would be mere darkness and deceit. But though the soul, in this clear light, appears ugly, deformed, and odious in its own eyes, yet, in the eyes of God, it seems beautiful and very pleasing, because it becomes like His own most true and luminous nature. It happened that this same servant of God, after leading an innocent and most perfect life, came at one time to know her imperfections with such clearness that they seemed to her to become very grave and frightful sins, so that she experienced great bitterness of spirit, and could obtain no peace; when she was reproved for any failure, she was not at all disturbed, but said in her heart: ” What you see, is nothing. Oh, if you saw all, how you would abhor me !” But the Lord consoled her, by telling her, interiorly, that her past imperfections seemed to her so unusually great, because her soul was in a state of clear light, but that these deformities were no longer in existence, as He had already cancelled them by His blood”

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes & Saint Bernadette (Day 5)

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 9 ~ Haydock Commentary

Psalms 36 ~ Haydock Commentary

Matt. 20:17-34 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

St. Titus ~ Bishop, Confessor

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

Tears are no sign that a man is in the grace of God, neither must we infer that one who weeps when he speaks of holy and devout things necessarily leads a holy life.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 6:

“6. Persons who keep themselves low in their own estimation, nnd love to be considered of little account and despised by others, please God In the highest degree ; and, therefore, He willingly lowers Himself to them, pours upon them the treasures of His graces, reveala to them His secrets, invites and draws them sweetly to Himself. Thus, the more one lowers and abases himself before men, the more he rises and becomes great in the sight of God, and the more clearly he will, one day, behold the Divine Essence.—A. Kempis.

St. Gertrude, one day, hearing the little bell ring for Communion, and not feeling as well prepared as she desired,

said to the Lord : “I see that Thou art even now coming to me ; but why hast Thou not first adorned my heart with some ornaments of devotion, with which I might be more suitably prepared to come and meet Thee ?” But the Lord answered : ” Know that sometimes I am more pleased with the virtue of humility than with exterior devotion.”

A Religious, not being able to understand a passage of Holy Scripture, fasted for seven weeks, and not understanding it then, resolved to go to another monk and inquire about it. But scarcely had he gone out of his cell, when there appeared to him an angel sent expressly from God, who said to him : ” Thy fast has not rendered thee pleasing to God, but rather this humiliation of thine;” and then he solved for him the doubt.

After Tais was converted, she held herself always so low in her own eyes, on account of her past evil life, that she did not dare to utter the holy name of God even in invoking Him, but only said,” My Creator, have mercy on me !” And by this humility she arrived at such a sublime degree of perfection, that when Paul the Simple saw a most beautiful place in Paradise, which he supposed to be intended for St. Anthony, he was informed that it would be occupied by Tais within a fortnight.

St. Bonaventure said : ” I know a thing to do, which will please the Lord. I will consider myself as refuse, I will become intolerable to myself. And when I find myself shamed, degraded, trampled upon, and loaded with insults by others, I will rejoice and exult, because of myself I cannot abase or detest myself as much as I ought. I will call in help from all creatures, desiring to be confounded and punished by them all, because I have despised their Creator. This shall be my dearest treasure—to solicit

suits and slights upon myself, to love above all others those who will help me in this, and to abhor all the consolation and honors of the present life. If I do this, I believe it certain that the treasury of Divine Mercy will open above me, miserable and unworthy as I am.”

St. Francis of Assisi considered himself not only a mere nothing, the greatest sinner in the world, and deserving of hell, but unworthy even that God should give him a thought. One day, while he was speaking in this manner to one of his companions, the latter saw, in spirit, that there was prepared for him in heaven a seat among the Seraphim.”

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes & Saint Bernadette (Day 4)

Today’s Scripture Reading

Exodus 7-8 ~ Haydock Commentary pt. 1, pt. 2

Psalms 35 ~ Haydock Commentary

Matt. 20:1-16 ~ Haydock Commentary

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Today’s Prayers from the Roman Breviary:

St. Agatha ~ Virgin & Martyr

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Maxims and Says of St. Philip Neri for Every Day of the Year:

Perfection does not consist in such outward things as shedding tears and the like, but in true and solid virtues.

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A Year with the Saints, Lessons for Every Day of the Year. February (Humility) –

Whoever humbleth himself, shall be exalted ~ Luke 14:11

February 5:

“5. The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil, is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it. — St. Vincent de Paul

When Macarius was returning, one day, to his cell, he met the devil, who, with a scythe in his hand, tried to cut

him in pieces. But he could not do it, because, as soon as he came near, he lost his strength. Then, full of rage, he said, ” Great misery do I suffer from thee, O Macarius ; for, though I wish so much to hurt thee, I am not able. It is strange ! I do all that thou doest, and even more ; thou dost fust sometimes, and I never eat; thou sleepest little, and I never close my eyes; thou art chaste, and so am I. In one thing only thou surpassest me.” ” And what is that one thing ?” inquired Macarius. ” It is thy great humility,” replied the demon. Saying this, he disappeared, and was seen no more.

The devil once appeared to a monk in the form of the Archangel Gabriel, and said that he was sent to him by God. The monk replied,” See that thou be not sent by another !” And the devil immediately disappeared.

When an old priest was exorcising a possessed person, the demon said that he would never come out, if he did not first tell him what the goats and what the lambs were like. The good priest quickly answered : ” The goats are all those who are like me. What the lambs may resemble, God knows.” At these words, the devil cried out: ” Through your humility I can no longer remain here,” and immediately departed.”

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Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes & Saint Bernadette (Day 3)