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Jesus Statue Moves Its Head During Catholic Mass in Mexico!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VA7Xrkqh6A
8 Easy Steps to be a Good Catholic
1. Be a Catholic of prayer We should be Catholics of prayer. St. Augustine affirmed that prayer is the key that opens the gates of heaven and offers us all of God’s treasures. Just as bread is beneficial for the body, so also prayer is beneficial for the soul. If we do not dedicate ourselves to God and the Queen of Heaven through prayer, we will never be able to keep the Ten Commandments faithfully. 2. Always go to Mass The Holy Mass is the queen of prayers and the highest form of praise, for in it God offers himself on the Cross. When our body is weak and debilitated by some sickness, we find time to go to a doctor to be cured, don’t we? We seek adequate treatment. Well, we find at Mass He who is the doctor and remedy for souls waiting to cure our weaknesses. At Mass, the Passion of Jesus Christ is renewed upon the altar, just as at Calvary. Would we dare leave Jesus alone and suffering, and go have fun at the shopping center on a Sunday or a holy day of obligation? 3. Flee from sin: confession and Easter communion every year Queen Blanche, the mother of St. Louis IX, said, “My son, I prefer to see you dead rather than having stained yourself with mortal sin.” The pious queen’s desire so pleased God that it is said that St. Louis IX never committed a mortal sin in his life. We should pray like this and ask to avoid not only mortal sins, but to flee even from venial, sins so often committed during our lives. However, if we fall, we can go to confession, just as the prodigal son returned to his father’s house. In the Catechism, we learn that one of the commandments of the Church is the obligation of Catholics to go to confession and receive communion at least once a year at Easter. 4. Attend daily mass, when possible As Catholics, we should go to Mass on Sundays. Nevertheless, it is very profitable to visit God in His house every day if possible. Besides ordinary everyday meals for the body, we also have feasts and banquets. In a similar way for the spirit, it is beneficial to have spiritual feasts and banquets during the week besides Sunday Mass. Thus, attending daily Mass is a joyful nourishment and a powerful remedy for us. 5. Pray the Rosary daily with your family St. John Paul II tells us: “The family that prays together stays together. The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth. In this prayer we repeat many times the words that the Virgin Mary heard from the Archangel, and from her kinswoman Elizabeth.” Our Lady is ready to grant our petitions! The Rosary is the means to obtain everything we need, including union in our families, the solution to our problems and even our material necessities. 6. Read a pious book and meditate frequently Pious reading is the sister of prayer and a great help for us. St. Paul recommended Timothy to do so regularly. Reading spiritual literature is so important, that when we wish to help someone who is distant from religion, we normally counsel him or her to read a religious book. Many saints affirmed that spiritual reading is a special nourishment for the soul. It produces good thoughts and desires for heaven, and frees our understanding. Pious literature inflames and enlightens our will, soothing our sadness, and causes true spiritual happiness. Now, let me ask you something: What book are you currently reading to progress spiritually? 7. You are the average of the 5 people closest to you Certainly, you have heard the saying: “You are the average of the five people closest to you.” There is another saying with a similar lesson: “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.” If you wish to be a good Catholic, examine your companions and evaluate your five best friends… Are they the measure of what you wish to be as a good Catholic? If they are, congratulations! You will have great allies to reach your goal. If they are not, your journey on the path to sanctity may be much more difficult. 8. Have a designated confessor and spiritual director We should have a confessor and spiritual director, to whom we give an account of our conscience, our inclinations, our passions, our affections and bad habits, without hiding anything. Actually, a confessor and spiritual director are like gardeners. If we cut the roots of a bad plant or tear out a weed, they soon wither away. But, if we tear them out leaving the roots in the earth, the harmful plant soon starts growing again. So, we should have confidence in our confessor that he can help us definitively to weed out our vices and bad habits. Read more…
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST | READING THE HOLY SCRIPTURE
TRUTH, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part must be read in the spirit in which it was written. For in the Scriptures we ought to seek profit rather than polished diction. Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. God speaks to us in many ways without regard for persons. Our curiosity often impedes our reading of the Scriptures, when we wish to understand and mull over what we ought simply to read and pass by. If you would profit from it, therefore, read with humility, simplicity, and faith, and never seek a reputation for being learned. Seek willingly and listen attentively to the words of the saints; do not be displeased with the sayings of the ancients, for they were not made without purpose.
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST | PRUDENCE IN ACTION
DO NOT yield to every impulse and suggestion but consider things carefully and patiently in the light of God’s will. For very often, sad to say, we are so weak that we believe and speak evil of others rather than good. Perfect men, however, do not readily believe every talebearer, because they know that human frailty is prone to evil and is likely to appear in speech. Not to act rashly or to cling obstinately to one’s opinion, not to believe everything people say or to spread abroad the gossip one has heard, is great wisdom. Take counsel with a wise and conscientious man. Seek the advice of your betters in preference to following your own inclinations. A good life makes a man wise according to God and gives him experience in many things, for the more humble he is and the more subject to God, the wiser and the more at peace he will be in all things.
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST | THE DOCTRINE OF TRUTH
HAPPY is he to whom truth manifests itself, not in signs and words that fade, but as it actually is. Our opinions, our senses often deceive us and we discern very little. What good is much discussion of involved and obscure matters when our ignorance of them will not be held against us on Judgment Day? Neglect of things which are profitable and necessary and undue concern with those which are irrelevant and harmful, are great folly. We have eyes and do not see. What, therefore, have we to do with questions of philosophy? He to whom the Eternal Word speaks is free from theorizing. For from this Word are all things and of Him all things speak — the Beginning Who also speaks to us. Without this Word no man understands or judges aright. He to whom it becomes everything, who traces all things to it and who sees all things in it, may ease his heart and remain at peace with God. O God, You Who are the truth, make me one with You in love everlasting. I am often wearied by the many things I hear and read, but in You is all that I long for. Let the learned be still, let all creatures be silent before You; You alone speak to me. The more recollected a man is, and the more simple of heart he becomes, the easier he understands sublime things, for he receives the light of knowledge from above. The pure, simple, and steadfast spirit is not distracted by many labors, for he does them all for the honor of God. And since he enjoys interior peace he seeks no selfish end in anything. What, indeed, gives more trouble and affliction than uncontrolled desires of the heart? A good and devout man arranges in his mind the things he has to do, not according to the whims of evil inclination but according to the dictates of right reason. Who is forced to struggle more than he who tries to master himself? This ought to be our purpose, then: to conquer self, to become stronger each day, to advance in virtue. Every perfection in this life has some imperfection mixed with it and no learning of ours is without some darkness. Humble knowledge of self is a surer path to God than the ardent pursuit of learning. Not that learning is to be considered evil, or knowledge, which is good in itself and so ordained by God; but a clean conscience and virtuous life ought always to be preferred. Many often err and accomplish little or nothing because they try to become learned rather than to live well. If men used as much care in uprooting vices and implanting virtues as they do in discussing problems, there would not be so much evil and scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations. On the day of judgment, surely, we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived. Tell me, where now are all the masters and teachers whom you knew so well in life and who were famous for their learning? Others have already taken their places and I know not whether they ever think of their predecessors. During life they seemed to be something; now they are seldom remembered. How quickly the glory of the world passes away! If only their lives had kept pace with their learning, then their study and reading would have been worth while. How many there are who perish because of vain worldly knowledge and too little care for serving God. They became vain in their own conceits because they chose to be great rather than humble. He is truly great who has great charity. He is truly great who is little in his own eyes and makes nothing of the highest honor. He is truly wise who looks upon all earthly things as folly that he may gain Christ. He who does God’s will and renounces his own is truly very learned.
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST | HAVING A HUMBLE OPINION OF SELF
EVERY man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars. He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised by men. If I knew all things in the world and had not charity, what would it profit me before God Who will judge me by my deeds? Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very unwise. Many words do not satisfy the soul; but a good life eases the mind and a clean conscience inspires great trust in God. The more you know and the better you understand, the more severely will you be judged, unless your life is also the more holy. Do not be proud, therefore, because of your learning or skill. Rather, fear because of the talent given you. If you think you know many things and understand them well enough, realize at the same time that there is much you do not know. Hence, do not affect wisdom, but admit your ignorance. Why prefer yourself to anyone else when many are more learned, more cultured than you? If you wish to learn and appreciate something worth while, then love to be unknown and considered as nothing. Truly to know and despise self is the best and most perfect counsel. To think of oneself as nothing, and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom. Wherefore, if you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself.