"Whoever does not accept Holy Mary as the Mother of God has no relation with the Godhead"
St. Gregory Nazianzen, Letters, Against the Apollinarians
Monastery of Santa María de San Salvador de Cañas
It was one of the first Cistercian abbeys founded in Spain, when, in the year 1169, Don López Díaz de Haro and his wife donated the villages of Cañas and Canillas to the nuns of the monastery of Hayuela so that they could found an abbey in this place. Also known as "monastery of the light'', due to the impressive alabaster windows of its church, its interior is also notable for the beautiful Gothic façades of the cloister, its impressive museum and its valuable collection of relics.
COMMENTARY
The Omniscience of God. He knows the mind and feelings of man. He knew David better than his own father knew him.
The Wisdom of God. It was by the guidance of Divine Providence that, on account of his musical talents, David was summoned to the court of the king, who naturally had no suspicion that the young shepherd was destined to be his successor. The simple youth, who was then about twenty years old, learnt at court the art of government and the duties of a king, and was thus prepared for his future position.
The Faithfulness of God. Almighty God, by choosing David of the tribe of Juda to be king, fulfilled that which He promised by the mouth of the dying Jacob, i. e. that there should be a sceptre in Juda, which should not depart from him till the Messias Himself came.
Obedience. Samuel was obedient to God, for though he was very sorry that Saul was rejected, he obeyed when commanded to anoint another king. David was obedient to his father. He did not murmur at the humble task set him by his father of guarding and feeding the flocks in the fields of Bethlehem.
The value of virtue. God rejected the proud Saul and chose the young and humble David to be his successor. Even David’s father, to whom Samuel had confided that one of his sons was chosen to be king, had not the remotest idea that David, the shepherd-boy, could be the chosen one. He had not even thought it worth while to mention his youngest son to the prophet, when he asked to see his sons. He said to himself: “God will be sure to have chosen one of my elder, fine, warlike sons.” But the eyes of God were fixed on the young, modest David, for He does not look to the appearance, but to the heart. David was pious, humble, steadfast, and pure; therefore God loved him, and chose him to be the shepherd of His people. Beauty, fine clothes, riches are nothing in the eyes of God; the only thing that is of value in His sight is a virtuous heart. He who wishes to be well-pleasing to God must strive to be virtuous.
The pious shepherd-boy. David did not waste his time while he was watching his sheep. He prayed and meditated on the attributes of God, which were revealed to his holy mind in the works of creation; and in the joy of his heart he composed and sang holy psalms and canticles. The stars of heaven, the flowers of the field, the songs of the birds, all raised his heart to God, and so he lived constantly in God’s presence, having God before his eyes and in his heart. By his holy and innocent youth this humble, though highly gifted boy was prepared to be God’s chosen instrument.
The pain of a bad conscience. Woe to the man who forsakes God, and who is too proud to do penance for his sins, and return contritely to God! For such cannot be happy either now or hereafter. We see this in the case of the God-forsaken Saul. Neither his high position nor his riches could make him happy, because he had no peace in his heart. His bad conscience gave him no rest; it drove all cheerfulness from his mind, so that he grew discontented and melancholy. “There is no peace for the wicked” (Is. 48:22). “Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil” (Rom. 2:9). Man can find true happiness in God alone, i. e. in the love of God and in doing His will.
APPLICATION. Do you like thinking about God? Do you pray and work as David did? Do you like to sing sacred canticles? The Psalms which we sing at Vespers were mostly written by David. Assist when you can at Vespers, and sing the Psalms devoutly, as David used to sing them, in honour of God. Never degrade the noble gift of music by singing bad, low songs.
“He who interprets doubtful matters for the best, may happen to be deceived more often than not; yet it is better to err frequently through thinking well of a wicked man, than to err less frequently through having an evil opinion of a good man, because in the latter case an injury is inflicted, but not in the former.”
Hermeneutic principle of charity. ST II-II:60:4 ad 1.
"HYMN
The just ire of the Creator did erst the guilty world submerge beneath the vengeful rain of waters, Noe, in the Ark sequestered safe the while. But yet more wondrous still the violence of love that hath the world in Blood now laved.
The happy world, watered by such salubrious rain, now buds forth fair flowers, where erst sprang naught but thorns: yea, now hath wormwood nectar’s savory sweetness e’en assumed.
The cruel serpent hath suddenly laid aside his poison dire, and vanished is the wild ferocity of beasts: such the victory of the wounded Lamb all meek!
O depth inscrutable of heavenly wisdom! O benignant tenderness of love Thus every heart aloud proclaims: The slave was worthy of death, and the King, in goodness infinite, did undergo the punishment.
When by his sin we provoke the wrath of the judge divine, then by the pleading of this eloquent Blood may we be protected.
Then may the throng of threatened evils pass from us away!
Let the ransomed world praise thee, bringing her grateful gifts, O thou, the leader and loving author of eternal salvation, who, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost, dost possess the blessed kingdom. Amen."
Pray for our French Catholic brothers and sisters as they deal with violent brown people 🙏
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APPLICATION. After crossing the Jordan the Israelites had to fight for a long time before they acquired the Promised Land. Thus we, after our holy Baptism, must fight against the enemies of our souls, especially against evil inclinations and passions. “Labour as a good soldier of Christ Jesus … He also that striveth for the mastery is not crowned except he strive lawfully” (2 Tim. 2:3, 5). As a reward, we shall receive the everlasting possesion of heaven. Fight especially against your besetting sin. Make a good resolution to overcome it every day, and let it be the object of your particular examination of conscience.
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God’s Omnipotence is shown by His forcing Balaam to bless the Israelites against his will.
God’s Omniscience is shown by His revealing to Balaam what would happen in the far future.
The sixth promise of the Messias. The prophecy of Balaam points to the Divine Redeemer, and reveals, firstly, that He would not come for a long time; secondly, that He would be one of the children of Israel; thirdly, that He would come, like a star, from above, shedding light around Him; fourthly, that He would be a king; and fifthly, that He would overcome the enemies of His kingdom. Let us see how this prophecy has been fulfilled. Firstly, the Redeemer did not come till 1450 years after Balaam spoke; secondly, He was, as Man, descended from Jacob, and was born in Judea; thirdly, He came down from Heaven to be the Light of the world; fourthly, He has founded the Church, the kingdom of God, which, fifthly, overcomes all His enemies, and will last till the end of time. The brazen serpent foreshadowed our Lord’s humiliation; the prophecy of Balaam foreshadowed His majesty.
Faith in God’s word. Balaam said to Balak that he could not alter the word of the Lord; and this rule applies to every word of God revealed to us. Nobody can or dare alter God’s word, either by adding to it or by taking away from it. We must believe and accept revelation just as it is.
Superstition. Balak did not believe in the true God, but he cherished the foolish, superstitious idea that Balaam’s curse could injure the people of God.
The star out of Jacob and the three kings from the East. Balaam’s home was in the east, that is, east of the Promised Land. There, the prophecy of Balaam was well known, and during the hundreds of years which elapsed before our Lord’s Incarnation, the tradition of this prophecy was preserved, and there existed a living expectation of the rising of a wonderful star, and at the same time of a sceptre, i. e. a king who should spring up out of Israel. Therefore, the three kings from the east, as soon as they had seen the wonderful star, went straight to Judea, to look for Him, the new-born king, whose birth was heralded by the star.
APPLICATION. Do not curse! Say to yourselves: “There is a God, who cannot be mocked.”
COMMENTARY
The Justice, Mercy and Omnipotence of God are all shown in this story.—God punished both the doubt of Moses and the murmuring of the people: but He gave the ungrateful Israelites water, listened to Moses’ prayer for them, and healed them from the bites of the snakes. By His almighty power He called forth the water from the rock; and, through one glance cast at the brazen serpent, He restored the dying to life and health.
Murmuring against God is a great sin, as we can learn by the severe punishment which it brought on the murmuring Israelites. We must submit humbly to the will of our God and Creator, and never resist or murmur against Him and His divine decrees.
The use of sufferings. Whenever God visited the Israelites with sufferings, they acknowledged their grievous sins and repented.
Temperance. The sensuality of the Israelites was the cause of all their grumbling. They craved for other food than that which God fed them on, and refused to put up with any hardship. Instead of subduing their appetites and submitting themselves to God’s will, they were discontented, and were always complaining and murmuring. They did not possess the virtue of temperance.
Doubts about faith. Moses and Aaron did not doubt Almighty God’s power, but, for one moment, they doubted His mercy. They were righteously angry when they perceived that the new generation of Israelites, who from their youth up had witnessed the miracles of God, and who had been daily fed with manna, should be as wavering and refractory as their fathers had been before them. They felt that these thankless people were not worthy that God should again perform a miracle for their benefit. But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His mercy is infinitely great. God, who is the very truth, had said: “Speak to the rock and it shall yield waters”; so they ought to have believed unconditionally and not doubted for a single moment. Anyhow, their doubt was a sin.
Venial sins. Wilful unbelief is a grievous sin. But as the doubt of Moses and Aaron was only a passing one, and as they did not give their full consent to it, but, in spite of it, obeyed God’s command by going to the rock &c., their sin was not mortal, but only venial: nevertheless they were severely punished for it. If a person has laboured for a long time to attain a certain object and has nearly reached it, it would be a very severe trial to him to be told that he must renounce it. Moses and Aaron had during forty years trained the Israelites and prepared them for their entrance into the Promised Land; they longed to complete their work and return to the land of their forefathers. But now, at the end of their labour, care and toil, they were told that they must die without setting foot in the long wished for country! It was indeed a severe punishment! But they humbly submitted to God’s will, and preferred to expiate their sin in this world rather than in the next. This severe punishment of one venial sin teaches us to know and fear God’s justice, and shows us that even venial sin is a great evil, and must be expiated either here or in the world to come.
The intercession of the saints. The sinful people knew well that they did not deserve that their petition should be heard by God; therefore they begged His faithful servant, Moses, to intercede for them, and to him God hearkened. For this same reason we call on the Saints in heaven, the friends of God, to intercede for us.
The Justice of God was shown by the punishment of the Sabbath-breaker, as well as by that of Core and his adherents.
God’s omnipotence worked a great miracle in connexion with Aaron’s rod, which, in one night, brought forth not only leaves, buds and flowers, but also ripe almonds.
Sabbath-breaking. The severe punishment of the Sabbath-breaker teaches us that the profanation of the Sabbath is a great sin. This sin often calls down temporal punishment, and it will certainly bring eternal punishment. “Remember”, i. e. do not forget “to keep the Sabbath-day holy.”
The divine institution of the Priesthood. By the terrible punishment of the rebels, and the blossoming of Aaron’s rod, God again declared that the priesthood of the Old Testament was instituted by Him.
Rebellion against authority. The rising of Core and his adherents was a rebellion against both spiritual and temporal authority, against throne and altar, for they refused to acknowledge that God had ordained Moses to be their leader, and Aaron to be their High Priest. The rebellion was, therefore, really against God, who had called Moses and Aaron, and who had attested their divine vocation by so many miracles. Hence Moses was right in saying: “Why do you stand against the Lord?” The terrible punishment of Core and those with him shows us how great a sin it is to rebel against those whom God has put in authority over us. “He that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation” (Rom: 13:2).
Pride is a capital sin. Core, being proud, was offended at the idea that he was only a Levite, while Aaron and his sons were priests; and the family pride and ambition of Dathan and Abiron were injured by the fact that men of the small tribe of Levi were the representatives before God of the whole people. Their pride developed into envy, and this again developed into rebellion against the authorities ordained by God.
Aaron’s rod, a type of the Cross. Aaron’s rod, which blossomed and bore fruit, is a type of the holy Cross, which by the Blood of Christ has brought forth such wonderful fruits of grace and virtue.
The Priesthood of the New Testament. We Christians are all called to be holy, and were all sanctified in baptism; but all Christians are not priests, for Jesus Christ has instituted a special priesthood in His Church, for the sanctification of all the faithful. If, even in the Old Testament, a special priesthood was necessary for the care of the things of God, how much more necessary is it that there should be a priesthood in the New Testament to look after the sacred mysteries of the Church! “Honour God with all thy soul, and give honour to the priests” (Ecclus. 7:3).
Union of temporal and spiritual authority. God, by entrusting the highest spiritual and the highest temporal authority to the two brothers, Aaron and Moses, gave it to be understood that in all ages spiritual and temporal authority, Church and State, ought to work together for the good of mankind.
APPLICATION. Do you show reverence for your spiritual and temporal superiors, your priests and teachers? Are you unruly or obstinate? Do you ever pray for them?
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St. Maria Goretti, pray for us! Maria died July 6, 1902, the day after the stabbing, from blood loss and infection.
As she suffered, Maria said about her attacker, “I forgive Alessandro Serenelli … and I want him with me in heaven forever.”
Prayer to forgive: “Jesus, I release [offender’s name] from his debt to me and I give that debt to you. I ask you to give [offender’s name] a blessing instead.”
COMMENTARY
God’s Providence directed that the asses should be lost and that Saul, while seeking them, should meet Samuel. By God’s command Samuel anointed Saul king, and presented him as such to the people. God commands and directs everything as He wills.
God’s Goodness to the Israelites is shown by His granting their request to have a king. It was Saul, however, whom he especially loaded with proofs of His love. Saul acknowledged his unworthiness in the words which he used to Samuel: “I am of the least tribe of Israel, and my kindred the least among all the families of the tribe of Benjamin!” And yet God chose him to be king over His people, turned the hearts of the Israelites towards him, and gave him the victory over all his enemies.—What more could God have done to ensure Saul’s unbounded gratitude and willing obedience?
The Justice of God. Saul was ungrateful and disobedient to God, and therefore the punishment of divine justice fell on him. He was rejected by God; God’s blessing left him; and his throne passed, not to his son, but to David.
Pride. Saul’s misfortunes sprang from pride. He became proud on account of his high dignity, and on account of the victories which God gave him, so that he began to trust in himself and did not give glory to God. Being proud and arrogant, he no longer obeyed God’s commands, but kept back the best of the flocks of the Amalekites. Pride leads to disobedience. When Saul, by his grievous sin, had forsaken God, then God forsook him. “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Obedience to God. To Saul’s excuse that the flocks and herds had been kept to offer as sacrifices, Samuel, filled with the Holy Ghost, replied: “Obedience is better than sacrifice”, i. e. sacrifices of beasts are good and pleasing to God if they are offered with a right intention; but still better and more pleasing to God is obedience, whereby a man offers to God the spiritual sacrifice of his own will, on the altar of his heart. By sacrifices man gives to God something which he possesses; by obedience he offers himself, and his free will, the noblest of all his possessions. He who loves God will love and do His holy will.
Jesus Christ or the Anointed. In the Old Testament kings, as well as High Priests, were the anointed of the Lord. In the New Testament Jesus, being both High Priest and King, is indeed the Christ, i. e. the Anointed.
The kingdom of Israel belonged to God. It was a theocracy which means that hitherto the Lord God had been the immediate King, Lawgiver and Leader of His people. Now it was His will to give them an earthly king to be His representative, and to govern them in His name, and according to His laws. He did not let them choose their own king, but set over them one whom He chose, in order to show the Israelites that He Himself still remained their supreme King and Lord. He established the kingdom of Israel in order, firstly, to bind the twelve tribes into a closer unity than had existed under the Judges; secondly, to show the people that even under kings they could prosper only if they observed the laws of God; and thirdly, to foreshadow the kingdom of the Messias. Kings, princes, and all heads of States reign “by the grace of God”: because they receive the power from Him and govern in His name; therefore their subjects ought to honour, love and obey them, as the representatives of God. “Fear God; honour the king” (1 Petr. 2:17).
APPLICATION. Ask yourself whether you are proud or self-willed? Do you give glory to God when you succeed in anything? Do you boast? Are you fond of talking about yourself? Do you take pleasure in praising others, or is it more pleasing to you to find fault with them? No other virtue is of any value in God’s sight, without humility. You owe to God everything that you are, or have, or can do; therefore, thank God and do not offend Him by pride. Be very careful to-day to utter no word in self-praise. Do not tell an untruth nor feign piety as Saul did.
"HYMN
Let the streets re-echo with festive song, let the brow of every citizen beam gladsomeness; let young and old file along, in order due, bearing lighted torches.
Being mindful of that Blood which Christ, upon the cruel tree, did dying shed for many a thousand wounds, let us at least, the while, pour forth our mingling tears.
Grave loss befell the human race, by the old Adam’s sin. The new Adam’s sinlessness and tender love have life restored to all.
If the eternal Father heard on high the strong cry of his expiring Son, far more is he appeased by this dear Blood and is thereby enforced to grant us pardon.
Whosoever in this Blood his robe doth wash, is wholly freed from stain, and roseate beauty gains, whereby he is made like unto angels well-pleasing to the King.
Henceforth, let none inconstant from the straight path withdraw but let the furthest goal be fairly touched. May God, who aideth them that run the race, bestow the noble prize.
Be though propitious to us, O almighty Father, that those whom thou didst purchase by the Blood of thine only-begotten Son, and whom thou dost re-create in the Paraclete Spirit, thou mayest one day transfer unto the heavenly heights.
Amen."
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Another Catholic priest was murdered amid Emmanuel Macron's ongoing genocide of White Catholic Frenchmen.
Please pray for France.
🇲🇫 A Catholic priest was recently assaulted by a violent mob outside his church in Puteaux, Paris.
— "For your information, I just got attacked in Puteaux on my way to see if Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church was safe."
Pray for Father Olivier! 🙏🏻
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COMMENTARY
The Omnipotence of God. By God’s will the running waters of the Jordan rose up like rocks; at His bidding the strong walls of Jericho fell down; and by His command the light of day was prolonged. Nothing can resist God’s omnipotence, nothing can hinder the workings of divine Providence.
The Faithfulness of God. The promise which God had made to Abraham six hundred and fifty years before was now fulfilled, and by His wonderful guidance, Abraham’s descendants were now given possession of the Promised Land. God also fulfils what He threatens. Not one of those men who departed from Egypt, except Josue and Caleb, entered the Promised Land. They all died in the desert, as God said they should die. God has promised us everlasting happiness if we keep our baptismal vows, that is, if we stand fast in faith, keep the commandments, and use the means of grace given to us: if we neglect to do this, we shall not go to heaven, but to hell.
The object of miracles. During the journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land God worked great miracles for His people. Now that it was a case of completing the great work, and putting His people in possession of the Promised Land, He worked still greater miracles. By doing this the Lord wished to confirm His people’s faith in His omnipotence, and their confidence in His loving care. He wished them also to learn that they could do nothing by their own strength and numbers, and that it was only by His help they could attain to the Promised Land, and that they therefore owed Him an everlasting debt of gratitude. Neither can we reach the promised land of heaven by our own strength, but only by the help of God’s grace.
The folly of idolatry was proved to the Chanaanites by the miracle which made the sun to shine on the earth for a longer time than was its wont, and this for the purpose of bringing defeat upon them. The Chanaanites worshipped the sun and moon as gods, and the fact that these heavenly bodies obeyed the command of Josue, the servant of God, ought to have proved to them that the God of Israel was infinitely more powerful than their self-made deities which, far from being able to help them, were compelled to help their enemies.
The power of prayer. Full of faith, Josue prayed, and at his prayer the day was prolonged.
The power of faith. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down” (Hebr. 11:30). The Israelites knew very well that their marching round the town, the blowing of the trumpets and the shouting of the multitude could not, of themselves, overthrow the walls; but full of faithful confidence in God, they did exactly everything that He commanded, and through their faithful obedience God worked the miracle.
Josue, the ninth type of Jesus Christ. He was this, inasmuch as he led the Israelites into the Land of Promise, and triumphantly conquered it. Jesus Christ, by His Death and Resurrection, has overcome sin, Satan and death, and has opened to us the kingdom of heaven. He leads us there by His doctrine, His example and His grace, and especially by holy Baptism.
The passage of the Jordan (as well as that of the Red Sea) is a type of Baptism, by which we enter the kingdom of God upon earth, i. e. the holy Church, and acquire a claim to those priceless means of grace which Jesus Christ bequeathed to His Church.
The Promised Land was a figure of heaven. As the Israelites did not obtain possession of Chanaan till they had toiled, fought, and suffered much, so Christians cannot enter heaven, the true land of promise, unless they contend bravely against the enemies of their salvation.
Processions. By God’s command the Israelites went in procession round Jericho thirteen times. These were religious processions, in which the Ark of the Covenant was carried.
It is the warmth of the beach today for the scouring fires of Hell tomorrow, its not worth the game
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The brazen serpent, a type of our crucified Lord. The brazen serpent set up on a pole is a type of our Divine Saviour. He Himself, in His discourse with Nicodemus, told him that it was so (New Test. XV): “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” As the brazen serpent was raised up on high, so Jesus Christ (who, by the mouth of David, said of Himself: “I am a worm and no man”; Ps. 21:6) was raised up on the Cross. Whoever was bitten by a poisonous snake was cured by turning his eyes in faith to the brazen serpent. So we, when our souls are wounded by the infernal serpent, shall be healed of our sins, if we, being full of faith, turn our eyes to our crucified Saviour.
The Israelites bitten by the fiery snakes were a type of mankind. The infernal serpent has wounded all men, and has kindled in them the flame of sinful passions, and caused them to be subject to everlasting death. It is of great significance that He who redeemed us from sin and death should be typified by a (brazen) serpent. How is it that the serpent, the very type of sin, should also be a type of the Redeemer, and a means of salvation? Because the brazen serpent, hanging on the tree, was not poisonous, even though it had the form of a poisonous snake. Thus Jesus Christ, though free from the poison of sin, being “holy, innocent, undefiled” (Hebr. 7:26), took the form of sinful man, loaded Himself with the sins of the world, and suffered Himself to be raised on and nailed to the Cross in order to save all men from sin and eternal death. The brazen serpent, therefore, foreshadowed the fact that the Redeemer would appear in the form of sinful man, would be raised on and nailed to a Cross, and by this very means would redeem man from the death of sin, and from eternal loss.
Jesus Christ, the source of salvation. The brazen serpent being a type of the Saviour of the world, God promised that “whosoever should look on it should be saved”. The wonderful healing power of the lifeless serpent did not lie in itself, but in the crucified Saviour, of whom it was a type.
The necessity of faith. Even as none of the mortally stricken Israelites could be cured unless, full of faith, they looked at the brazen serpent, which was set up as a sign of salvation, so no man can be saved unless, full of faith, he turns to the crucified God made Man. Only they who believe in Him will have life everlasting.
Christ the Rock. The waters which flowed from the rock in the wilderness to refresh the Israelites and slake their thirst, were emblematic of the divine graces, which flow to mankind through the Sacraments of the Church of Jesus Christ. “And all drank the same spiritual drink, and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4).
APPLICATION. You have often done wrong, and said to yourself: “Oh, it is only a venial sin!” But think, even a venial sin is an offence against God, and is deserving of punishment. Ask yourself to which sin you are most prone, whether anger, lying, greediness, or so forth, and firmly resolve to overcome it.
"Now, while we deplore hasty, improvident, ill-considered marriages, and hold that their consequences are very sad, there is a very supreme kind of selfishness in this over-cautiousness to marry which is not delightful to contemplate....the fear lest self should be inconvenienced or deprived in the very slightest degree; and all this does not tend to the highest development of human nature, but rather the reverse, since the spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice is one of the loveliest attributes of human character."
- Annie S. Swan, Courtship and Marriage And the Gentle Art of Home-Making, 1894
He must increase: but I must decrease.
John 3:30
