Christianity, Judaism, Protestantism, and other religions teach men to seek out truth. The following very basic facts of life seem to indicate that pure logic (Nature) agrees:
What follows is a collection of quotes from the Bible, and from some
distinguished people who have given time and thought to the above basics. It
behooves a person to take some time to hear what the Bible and these very
special people had to say about truth and other related
subjects.
Truth (Light)One need not look far to see the hand of God.
TRUTH: - - - - - - Back to index
"What is the
truth?"
(Pontius Pilate)
There are two kinds of truths. An outer truth, and an inner truth. An
outer truth is something that I master. For example, 2 + 2 = 4. An inner truth
is something that masters me.
(Bishop Sheen)
Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me.
(John 14:6)
The soldier who pierced the chest of Jesus while hanging on the cross, is symbolic of those people who will stare at truth right in the face, and will not recognize it or will deny it.
Whoever says, "I know him," (Jesus) but does not keep his commandments is
a liar, and the truth is not in him.
(1 John 2,5)
Our Lord affirmed that not human truth in the mind, but a rebirth of the
soul, purchased through His death, was essential for being one with Him. This
new birth escapes the senses and is known only by its effects on the
soul.
(Bishop Sheen)
Two classes of people make up the world; those who have found God, and
those who are looking for Him thirsting, hungering, seeking! And the great
sinners come closer to Him than the proud intellectuals! Pride swells and
inflates the ego; gross sinners are depressed, deflated and empty. They,
therefore, have room for God. God prefers a loving sinner to a loveless "saint".
Love can be trained; pride cannot. The man who thinks that he knows will rarely
find truth; the man who knows he is a miserable, unhappy sinner, like the woman
at the well, is closer to peace, joy, and salvation than he knows.
(Bishop
Sheen)
Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.
(John 18,37)
He who is of God hears the words of God.
(John 8,47)
He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory. But he who seeks
the glory of the one who sent him is truthful.
(John 7,18)
Teaching is one of the noblest vocations on earth, for, in the last
analysis, the purpose of all education is the knowledge and love of
truth.
(Bishop Sheen)
The purpose of human life is to become aware of truth.
(Janice T.
Connell)
Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms
of science. Truth is what stands the test of experience.
(Albert
Einstein)
I know that you seek eagerly two things: happiness, and truth-that is,
God. The first thing you seek is impossible, not only for you, but for anyone
else, because the earth is a valley of tears where each bears his Cross, so
that, in short, happiness is not of this world. The second thing, that is, God,
you can find if you want, but at the moment you are on the wrong path, one of
falsehood and vanity. It is not science that can give you the One Who is.
Science, even at its greatest, is a small thing. It is less than nothing
compared to the formidable mystery of the Divinity. You must take another path.
Drop passions from your heart and humble yourself in dust, and pray. In this
manner you will surely find God-serenity, and peace in this life and eternal
beatitude in that other life.
(Padre Pio)
As a child, when you sat at your mother's feet on a small stool, what did
you see of her embroidery? From the wrong side you saw nothing that you could
make out and understand, zig zag lines, threads this way and that. It made no
sense to you at all. You were sitting on a low stool. You were looking at the
embroidery from the wrong side. All the threads were confused in your eyes, and
so you asked your mother what she was doing, what design, what pattern. You
asked, 'Mother, may I know?' And you said, 'I can't make it out.' To answer you
then, your mother lowered the embroidery, turning it for you to the right side.
Then you were able to see the design and finally you understood it. So, there.
We see the wrong side of the work because we are sitting on a low
stool.
(Padre Pio)
Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a
sign of truth.
(Blaise Pascal)
Unless the mind of a man is nourished on truth, his heart is shrunken and
starved. If error, not truth, is the diet of the mind, then the heart gorges
itself on poison and is doomed to bloated frustration and the writhings of
despair. We can reach out only for what we know; if the light of knowledge be
false, we can make nothing but missteps.
(St. Thomas)
Without truth, there is no way for a man's feet to walk, no light for his
eyes to see, no goal for his living. He is a slave of the lie that has usurped
the throne of truth. Perhaps truth has been denied him with ruthless malice,
perhaps the denial came through a teacher's naive, wide-eyed, well meaning
stupidity, perhaps it was the individual's own cowardly fear of his own humanity
and its demands for courageous living. Whatever the reason, culpable or not,
malicious or well meant, the utter, fundamental destruction of the lives of men
is exactly the same. We must have truth.
(St. Thomas)
The justice of God is no more terrible than truth. For in actual fact, the
justice of God is the truth of God at work.
(St. Thomas)
A healthy mind welcomes nourishing truth as enthusiastically as a healthy
stomach welcomes a hearty meal; with the difference that there is no such thing
as a stuffed mind. The more truth we learn the hungrier we get, though the
happier and more satisfied we are.
(St. Thomas)
Both angels and men bow down in humble union in matters of faith. Here
every truth is God's secret not to be discovered by anyone less than God, not to
be known unless God Himself make the truth known.
(St. Thomas)
Each man can find something of truth for himself, moving by way of
discovery from the little he knows to what has been until then unknown. Or,
profiting by the wisdom gathered by others, he can learn by instruction. However
he attains to it, a man must have truth to live.
(St. Thomas)
From the beginnings of his life each man has a desperate dependence on the
light of truth. Without it, in a condition of ignorance or in the distorted
gloaming of truth's perversion, a man faces all the helplessness of the blind,
all the terrors of impenetrable darkness, all the misery of the misguided and
betrayed.
(St. Thomas)
The students sit at the feet of the teacher, not in the hope of getting a
slice of his knowledge, nor of watching the parade of the professor's own
wisdom. The student must see for himself, must know for himself, must possess
the truth personally or he is still blind.
(St. Thomas)
Truth is crucial to men's living; so crucial, that the Lord could say of
Himself: "For this I was born, and for this came I into the world; that I should
give testimony to the truth." To His disciples He promised: "You shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free." Man perishes in the darkness for he
was made for truth's kingdom of light.
(St. Thomas)
The goal of all human acts is happiness. In this life the happiness of the
individual man consists in the pursuit of truth and goodness. In the next life
individual happiness consists principally in the vision of God, Who is all Truth
and all Goodness.
(St. Thomas)
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it and ignorance may
deride it, but in the end, there it is.
(Winston Churchill)
The truth will ultimately prevail where there are plans taken to bring it
to light.
(George Washington)
Happy are those who fear the Lord, ..., they shine through the darkness, a
light for the upright, ...
(Psalms 112:1 & 4)
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RESPECT: - - - - - -
Back to index
The
beginning of wisdom is the fear (respect) of the Lord.
(Proverbs
10,10)
Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from
beasts?
(Confucius)
Fifty or so years ago the cop on the street got respect. Presidents, congressmen, doctors, lawyers, priests, nuns, and teachers all got respect. Great men of history like George Washington were put on a pedestal and given respect. The dead as well as the living were given respect. Many people believe there has been in the last fifty or so years, a gradual decline of people's respect for one another, whether the person be living or dead. For example, there are modern historians who are telling tales of an affair that George Washington may have had. Even if it were true, what purpose would this information serve? Would this knowledge prove helpful to anyone? It is interesting to note that in the past fifty or so years, there has been a reduction in the number of statues of saints in the church. It seems that even the saints are getting less respect. Could this be a sign of the times? Could it be that the root cause of this decline, is that in the last fifty years or so, there has been a decline in respect for God.
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WISDOM: - - - - - - Back to index
The beginning
of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.
(Proverbs 10,10)
The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord which is formed with the
faithful in the womb.
(Sirach 1,12)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who live
by it.
(Psalms 110,10)
He that knows what he doesn't know is a wise man. He that knows what he
knows is a fool.
(A man who once was found lying in a gutter stone
drunk)
Fools have a great advantage over the wise: they are always
self-satisfied.
(Napoleon I)
Jesus was born in a manger. Only two classes of people found the Babe; the
shepherds and the Wise Men; the simple and the learned; those who knew that they
knew nothing, and those who knew that they did not know everything. Not even God
can tell the proud anything! Only the humble can find God!
(Bishop
Sheen)
Judge not by appearances.
(John 7,24)
Never never never judge a book by its cover or its color.
Knowledge is acquired, wisdom is infused.
(Bishop Sheen)
If you have nothing good to say, then remain silent.
Worldly wisdom comes from where we expect it, in the best-sellers, the
"standard brands" and the universities. Divine Wisdom comes from the unsuspected
quarters, which the world holds in derision.
(Bishop Sheen)
The foundation of obedience to man, He taught, is obedience to God. The
elders who serve not God find that the young serve them not.
(Bishop
Sheen)
Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have anxieties of its
own. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
(Matthew 7,34)
Take one day at a time.
He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me
scatters.
(Matthew 12,30)
The order of priority in every person's life should be: 1.God, 2.spouse,
3.family, 4.job, 5.friends.
(A Protestant Minister)
If you know Christ, it does not matter if you know nothing else; but if
you know not Christ, it is as nothing to know everything else.
(Bishop
Sheen)
The only difference between a sinner and a saint is found in their
attitude toward sin-the one persisting in them; the other weeping
bitterly.
(Bishop Sheen)
He who corrects an arrogant man incurs opprobrium. Reprove not an arrogant
man, lest hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Instruct a wise
man, and he becomes wiser; teach a just man, and he advances in
learning.
(Proverbs 10,7)
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and
the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and
observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their
example.
(Matthew 23,1)
A wise man examines another man's words for truth, regardless of what the other man does. A wise man examines another man's actions for truth, regardless of what the other man says.
All is vanity except to love God and serve Him alone.
(Padre
Pio)
Hope with all your heart in the Lord, and never lean on your own
caution.
(Padre Pio)
Do not reject the corrections of the Lord and do not be impatient when He
punishes you.
(Padre Pio)
Who loves danger will fall into danger.
(Padre Pio)
The wise man fears and avoids evil, while the fool goes on and knows
little fear.
(Padre Pio)
My son, while you step closer to the Lord prepare your soul against
temptation.
(Padre Pio)
Great men are those who find what they ought to do and want to do are the
same thing.
(Frank A. Clark)
Where there is no knowledge, there is no wisdom.
(Sirach 3:24)
No wise man is the cause of another man becoming worse.
(St.
Augustine)
As the years roll by, we may become learned, or even wise; but our
knowledge and wisdom are the products of the years and of our labors with many a
weed harvested along with the good grain of truth.
(St. Thomas)
Until a man has learned to listen, he has no business teaching; until he
realizes that every man has something of truth and wisdom to offer, he does not
begin to learn; it is only when he sees how each of his fellows surpass him that
a man begins to be wise, to himself and to his fellowmen.
(St.
Thomas)
Wisdom is that intellectual virtue which enables the mind of man to see
everything in order in its proper place. Wisdom gives man the ultimate
explanation of all things. Through wisdom man sees the relation of one truth to
another, of one science to another, and of all truths and sciences to the
ultimate truth which is God.
(St. Thomas)
We have been led to believe that the advancements of the positive sciences
such as chemistry, physics, and mathematics will produce heaven on earth for
man. The sciences are certainly intellectual virtues that make man perfect. But
without wisdom-the highest of all the sciences-they cannot make man as perfect
as he should and can be. Wisdom alone gives man the ultimate explanation of
things. Wisdom alone answers the ultimate questions: Where did the world come
from? Where did man come from? Where is man going? The astronomer may be able to
explain how the earth revolves in its orbit around the sun. But without wisdom,
he cannot explain the origin or the existence of either the sun or the earth.
The virtue of wisdom should be the goal of all human effort in the acquisition
of knowledge.
(St. Thomas)
Both servile fear and filial fear are the first effects of wisdom.
(St.
Thomas)
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GRACE: - - - - - - Back to index
Padre Pio told
his spiritual daughter, Raffaelina Cerase, to pray to her Guardian Angel and to
the saint whose name she bore for grace and wisdom. This heavenly light is the
finest grace one could ask for. It cannot be acquired by prolonged study or
through human teaching, but is directly infused by God.
Heaven is natural only to God Himself. To all the rest of us, angels
included, the glory of heaven is the final fruit of the seed of grace, the
reward to be merited by our own actions flowing from the life-giving principle
of grace. It does not belong to us, it is not thrust upon us, but by the
kindness of God it can be had for the taking. The angels had the same terrifying
responsibility of a final choice between heaven and hell, between God and
creatures; not all of them chose well.
(St. Thomas)
Human reason can discover the existence of God, the immortality of man's
soul, the precepts of the Natural Law, and so on. But human reason alone cannot
discover the truths of the supernatural order, such truths as the existence of
the Trinity of God, the Incarnation, the Redemption of men by Christ, man's
actual call to the vision of God, the grace which makes the vision possible, and
so on. To learn these truths the mind of man needs the light of faith which is
called the light of grace.
(St. Thomas)
To keep the commandments perfectly in the way that leads to the vision of
God, man needs the elevating power of grace. For no purely human act is capable
of gaining the vision of God. It is only through the power of grace that man can
merit the vision of God.
(St. Thomas)
Man needs grace even to avoid sin. It follows that man requires the help
of God's grace to persevere in the state of grace. For he needs the divine
assistance to guard him against the attacks of passion.
(St.
Thomas)
Habitual Grace must be a quality infused in the soul of man by God. It
enables man to act in the order of supernatural knowledge and love. Since these
are spiritual actions, grace, the source of these actions must be in the soul
rather than in the body of man. Moreover, since grace transforms man's soul by
making it capable of sharing in the life of God, it is a quality infused in the
soul. It is a quality because it gives the soul a special form or manner of
existing and acting. It gives the soul a participation in the very life of
God.
(St. Thomas)
It is true that men prepare themselves for the reception of habitual grace
by turning freely to God. In this way men can be said to be disposing causes of
grace. They put their own souls in proper order for the reception of grace. But
even this turning of man's will to God is due to God's grace. Therefore, from
beginning to end, grace is a gift of God.
(St. Thomas)
The man who prepares himself for grace by a more perfect repentance for
sin or by a more perfect love of God, will receive more habitual grace. Even in
this case, though, the more perfect preparation for grace will be due to God's
action in the soul of man. Consequently the different degrees of grace in men's
souls are ultimately traceable to God.
(St. Thomas)
If men do what they can to attain and to retain God's grace, that is, if
they receive the sacraments which God has instituted to give grace to men, and
if they strive to keep the commandments, then they can make a reasonable
conjecture that God has given them grace.
(St. Thomas)
Where grace is, serious sin cannot exist. When grace enters a soul, then
sin must depart from the soul.
(St. Thomas)
Grace is superior to creation. For work of creation brings into
being a changeable creature. But grace results ultimately in the eternal vision
of God. The gift of the vision of God-which is called the gift of glory-which is
given to the saints in Heaven, is a greater thing in itself than the gift of
grace to sinful men. But glory is due, in God's plan, to those who die in grace.
On the other hand, grace, which leads men to glory, is far beyond the
unworthiness of sinful man. Grace is a great mystery of God's love for
men.
(St. Thomas)
Grace is the power of God in us moving us to the vision of
God.
(John 4,14)
If men are in the state of grace, they are the friends of God. Since they
are God's friends, it is true to say that if they perform good works for the
salvation of other men, it is fitting that God will grant their
desires.
(St. Thomas)
It is important to notice that merit is possible only to those who are in
the state of grace.
(St. Thomas)
The wise man is careful not to lose the grace of God once he has received
it.
(St. Thomas)
Far from risking the loss of grace through sin, the wise man seeks to
increase his grace and charity through good works. Through grace God moves man
to eternal life in the vision of God. But this movement or preparation for the
vision of God is progressive. As man makes use of the grace already given him,
his good use of grace brings further supernatural illumination of his mind and
strength to his love of God. By his good works man thus merits an increase of
grace and charity in his soul.
(St. Thomas)
It is always possible for man to lose grace through sin. If a man dies
while in the state of grace, he merits the vision of God as his reward. But man
himself cannot provide infallibly for the happy conjunction of death and the
state of grace in his soul. Only God, the Master of life and death, can give to
man the privilege of dying while in the state of grace. This shows that grace is
a precious gift that man must guard carefully. He must persevere in the
performance of good works, in the avoidance of sin, in prayers for the great
gift of final perseverance in grace until death. If he perseveres in the life of
grace, he will receive the reward of grace, the vision of God.
(St.
Thomas)
Everything that we know about grace seems mysterious to us. This is not
surprising. The mystery of grace is one of the mysteries which God has revealed
to us. We may not understand it completely, but we have God's word for its
truth.
(St. Thomas)
Men love one another because they find good in one another. But God does
not love men because He discovers good in them. Rather God's love for us makes
us good. Love is caused in men by the good they find in others. But God's love
for men is the cause of all the good which is in men.
(St.
Thomas)
The maturity of grace is realized in the next world, where the saints
enjoy the vision of God. But in this world grace must grow into maturity as the
child grows into manhood. And this growth takes place through the exercise of
the theological and moral virtues.
(St. Thomas)
God has given man through grace two gifts of the Holy Spirit which enable
the believer to think out, as it were, the meaning of God's revelation of
Himself. The first of these gifts is the gift of understanding. Through this
gift God moves the mind of man to penetrate into the inner meaning of revealed
truth. Through this gift man begins to understand the truths he accepts by
faith.
(St. Thomas)
The second gift of the Holy Spirit which perfects faith is the gift of
knowledge. Through this gift God moves the believer to judge rightly and with
certainty about the true relationship between creatures and God. It enables man
to see creatures in their proper perspective. The value of this gift in
successful living is almost incalculable. Man is inclined to turn from God to
creatures because he is attracted by the beauty and the goodness of creatures
and the happiness they seem to promise. But in turning to creatures instead of
turning to God man loses his only real happiness. Through the gift of knowledge
God moves man to see creatures in their real place in the universe, to see them
as pale reflections of the beauty and the goodness which is God, to see that
they are used when they lead to God, and avoided when they take man away from
God.
(St. Thomas)
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GOOD & EVIL:
- - - - - - Back to
index
You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin
of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me
and keep my commandments.
(Exodus 20: 5-6)
Evil is contagious, but so is goodness and kindness.
Gods' definition of Himself is "I AM WHO AM.", the devils' definition of
himself is "I am who am not.". Those people who do not believe in the devil, are
already controlled by him.
(Bishop Sheen)
The Child would create terrible strife between good and evil, stripping
the masks from each, thus provoking a terrible hatred. He would be at once a
stumbling block, a sword that would divide evil from good, and a touchstone that
would reveal the motives and dispositions of human hearts. Men would no longer
be the same once they had heard His name and learned of His life. They would be
compelled either to accept Him, or reject Him. About Him there would be no such
thing as compromise: only acceptance or rejection, resurrection or death. He
would, by His very nature, make men reveal their secret attitudes toward God.
His mission would be not to put souls on trial, but to redeem them; and yet,
because their souls were sinful, some men would detest His
coming.
(Bishop Sheen)
There are those people who say the world is evil, and there is no good in it. Then there are those who say the world is good, and there is no evil in it. Both are badly mistaken.
The nearer Christ comes to a heart, the more it becomes conscious of its
guilt; it will then either ask for His mercy and find peace, or else it will
turn against Him because it is not yet ready to give up its sinfulness. Thus He
will separate the good from the bad.
(Bishop Sheen)
Evil can tolerate mediocrity, but not supreme goodness.
(Bishop
Sheen)
The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us
from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
(Abraham
Lincoln)
All human conceptions have good and bad, no matter what the origin of the
conception. One must have the ability to assimilate, to take all good and offer
it to God, eliminating the bad at the same time.
(Padre Pio)
If Christians were more Christian there would be no need for
Communism.
(Padre Pio)
Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil;
our great hope lies in developing what is good.
(Calvin
Coolidge)
The demon is like a dog on a chain; beyond the range of the chain it
cannot bite anyone. And you, therefore, keep your distance. If you get too near
it will get you. Remember the demon has only one doorway by which to enter your
soul: your will. There are no secret or hidden doors.
(Padre
Pio)
Joy is a stranger to hell, not because it primly avoids so evil a place
but because, paradoxically, the miserable in hell will not tolerate its
presence.
(St. Thomas)
The radical and climactic perversion of human nature is to be found in the
man who tempts others for the ends of the devil: invading the integral goodness
of innocence and, from sheer wickedness, disfiguring its pure beauty. Here is
the perfect agent of hell who reaps hell's rewards: deeper misery for himself
and ruin for those defiled by his touch.
(St. Thomas)
One generation of ignorant or wicked teachers who feed the minds of men on
falsehood instead of truth can corrupt a whole nation; nor is the power of good
teachers any less.
(St. Thomas)
There is love and hate in the world of the angels, love and hate that
separates angels into the world of heaven and the world of hell, bringing home
to us the humbling lesson that even the greatest of God's creatures can fail, it
is only God who cannot.
(St. Thomas)
There are people who hate some things that are good and love some things that are evil. And there are those who love some things that are good and hate some things that are evil. Christian maturity demands that we love all things that are good and hate all things that are evil.
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SUFFERING: - - - - - -
Back to index
God does
not always spare the good from grief.
(Bishop Sheen)
There is a law written across the universe, that no one shall be crowned
unless he has first struggled.
(Bishop Sheen)
Ice deserves no credit for being cold, nor fire for being hot; it is only
those who have the possibility of choice that can be praised for their acts. It
is through temptation and its strain that the depths of character are
revealed.
(Bishop Sheen)
It is part of the discipline of God to make His loved ones perfect through
trial and suffering. Only by carrying the Cross can one reach the
Resurrection.
(Bishop Sheen)
If you knew the value of suffering you would never give it
up.
(Padre Pio)
One day a man who had been blind for several years, was brought to Padre Pio. His friends asked the Padre to cure him. He looked at the blind man and said: "Choose for yourself! If you want to be happy on earth, you cannot be happy in heaven." The man thus addressed underwent a dreadful mental conflict, but after a short pause he had made up his mind. With a voice choked with tears he said: "Father, Father, I prefer to be happy in the other world." And the kind Father lovingly comforted him, blessed him and caressed him and dismissed him, with his soul strengthened to take up his heavy cross.
Padre Pio's own nephew, who was epileptic for many years, was not cured. The Padre said to his nephew: "God would grant me the favor of your cure, if I asked Him for it, but I would not be able to answer for it before the Lord. You would love the world too much and thus go astray, and your soul would be lost."
Once a woman asked Father Pio whether his wounds ached. He replied: "Do you think the Lord gave them to me as a decoration?" Another woman asked: "Father Pio how do they ache?" He answered: "Just as though you took a nail, drove it into the hand and turned it round."
What did Father Pio say about his great pain, which he suffered daily? "These are flames of divine love: I suffer gladly." He knew that he could save many souls by his suffering.
All unhappiness (when there is no immediate cause for sorrow) comes from
excessive concentration on the past or from extreme preoccupation with the
future.
(Bishop Sheen)
"I promise salvation to those who embrace devotion to my Immaculate Heart.
Their souls will be loved by God as flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.
Those souls will suffer a great deal but I will never leave them. My Immaculate
Heart will be their refuge, the way that will lead them to God."
(The
Blessed Mother at Fatima)
The Cross is always ready and will wait for you
everywhere.
(Padre Pio)
At times the Lord lets you feel the weight of the Cross. It seems
unbearable, but you carry it because the Lord, in His love, gives you the
strength to carry such a weight.
(Padre Pio)
The more a man loves God, the less he fears punishment. For the more he
loves God the less he thinks of himself, even from the point of view of
punishment. And the more he loves God, the more confident he is that he will
escape punishment and attain happiness.
(St. Thomas)
THE POSITIVE VALUE OF CHRISTIAN
SUFFERING Pope Paul
VI
| |
|
| |
| The Pope celebrated Mass in St. Peter's on Sunday May 26th for
more than 1,500 sick people belonging to the "Centro della Sofferenza",
who came from all over Italy and the "Ticino" Canton for the 20th
anniversary of the foundation of the centre. There were great numbers of
pilgrims also from abroad, and from Salerno, Benevento, Como and Gorizia.
This is the Holy Father's speech.
"We reserve Our first greeting to a particular section of this great and varied assembly gathered around the Altar of St. Peter; it is made up of the numerous and moving ranks of the 'Volontari della Sofferenza', (the Volunteers of Suffering), this unusual and admirable association of the faithful, marked by pain, and countersigned by love. We greet you, dearest children, the sick and infirm who surround Us, and who represent so many of your fellows absent in the flesh, but present in spirit at this singular and spiritual meeting. We greet you with the esteem, the predilection, the compassion which your trials deserve from Us, minister and representative as We are of Jesus whose mysterious destiny and incomparable glory it was to be called "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Is. 53, 3). We greet you one by one, regretting that We cannot draw near to each one of you, because of your great numbers and the time granted for this meeting. But We are fortunate to have and to feel you near Us, to pray with you and for you, to console you in so far as We can, to bless you all with a full heart. The Dignity of SufferingDear sick brethren, you are doubly Our brothers both because of the charity We owe to all, and also because of your special claim upon Our spiritual office to consider you, more than others, participants in the mystery of the Cross and Redemption. Dear children, pain confers on you a dignity that earns you greater charity and affection from Us. Dear treasures of Holy Church, which benefits from your example of patience and piety, which is consoled by the gift of your sufferings, and which is edified by your union with the crucified Christ. Dear pilgrims on the hard road to heaven, not with the slow and tired paces that your condition of physical disability might make one expect, but with a swift and exemplary step on the rough and bitter way that leads to paradise. We welcome you all in the name of the Lord, and in his name We bless you. "Volunteers of Suffering" Suffering not in Vain So great is the value that We must recognise in physical infirmity transformed into spiritual efficacy, that We Ourself think of profiting by it, by asking you, sons and daughters of Christian suffering, to let Us participate in your merits, so that the Lord may make Us less unworthy than We are of the task with which He has entrusted Us; so that the great needs of the Church and the world—which are the subject of Our constant prayers—may be equally present in your prayers, and so receive the prodigious help of the prayerful offering of your sanctified afflictions. You can well understand how We are weighed down by the disorders, the conflicts, the wars, the competition and the hates that disturb the peace of the world, and seem to render the attainment of peace more difficult, almost as if it were not sincerely desired. Pray, Volunteers of Suffering, pray for peace, for true peace, in sincerity, justice, freedom and brotherhood. Your Suffering Our Treasure Volunteers of Suffering, now We widen the horizons of your generosity; do not refuse Us the precious gift of your prayers and sacrifices. We will make them a treasure before the Lord, and We are sure that you yourselves will be the first to receive their merit and reward. As a pledge of which We grant you Our Apostolic Blessing. |
******************************
HUMILITY: - - - - - -
Back to index
Because
Jesus was born in a cave, all who wish to see Him must stoop. To stoop is the
mark of humility. The proud refuse to stoop and, therefore, they miss
Divinity.
(Bishop Sheen)
Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall
be exalted.
(Matthew 23,12)
Humility is not something that is directly cultivated, otherwise one
becomes proud of his humility. It is a by-product, the more Christ is in the
soul, the less the "I" weighs it down.
(Bishop Sheen)
******************************
SIN: - - - - - - Back to index
Two kinds of
people: sinners who consider themselves sinners, and sinners who consider
themselves just. Sin is not the worst thing in the world. The worst thing in the
world is the denial of sin. The denial of sin is the unforgivable sin, for it
makes redemption impossible.
(Bishop Sheen)
Nothing in the human experience is as efficacious in curing the memory and imagination as confession; it cleanses us of guilt, and if we follow the admonitions of Our Lord, we shall put completely out of mind our confessed sins.
Alms atone for sins.
(Sirach 3:29)
Charity and the infused moral virtues are lost through any mortal sin. To
preserve them man must avoid mortal sin. Faith and hope are lost only by sins
opposed to them and are to be preserved by avoiding such sins. The natural
virtues are lost either by neglect or by a series of actions contrary to them.
They are preserved and strengthened by acting in accordance with
them.
(St. Thomas)
Sin is both the cause and the effect of vice.
(St.
Thomas)
The primary cause of unhappiness in human life is sin.
(St.
Thomas)
Sin is a thought, word, or deed contrary to the eternal law.
(St.
Augustine)
Sin and virtue cannot be at peace within man's soul. They will be at war
with one another until one or the other is expelled from the soul.
(St.
Thomas)
Mortal sin means that a man prefers some creature to God.
(St.
Thomas)
It is worse to sin directly against God than it is to sin against a human
being. Likewise it is more serious for a king or president to steal from the
public treasury than it is for a private citizen to steal from his
neighbor.
(St. Thomas)
Every sinful act is an act of the will.
(St. Thomas)
To avoid unhappiness intelligently it is necessary to see clearly the true influence of the various causes of sin. (St. Thomas)
Since every sin is a voluntary act, involuntary ignorance excuses a man
from sin altogether.
(St. Thomas)
Sins of passion are due to an excessive love of self. A man commits sins
of passion because he has an excessive desire to acquire good things for
himself.
(St. Thomas)
A man with a bad will has a more or less permanent inclination to
evil.
(St. Thomas)
The lack of order in the sinful act comes only from the defective or
sinful will of the sinner.
(St. Thomas)
The devil leads man to sin only by proposing temptations to men. He can
act on men's imaginations or their sense appetites. But he cannot get inside the
reason or will of man to force him to sin.
(St. Thomas)
No one can escape the responsibility of his own sins by saying that other
men tempted him.
(St. Thomas)
There are seven capital sins (vices): pride, covetousness, gluttony, lust,
envy, anger, and sloth. The proud man will lie and cheat to better his own
reputation. Covetousness is an inordinate desire for wealth. The glutton
overeats or drinks to excess. The lustful man pursues excessively the good of
sex. The man who is eaten by envy sorrows at the good fortune of others. The
angry man will seek by any means to injure others because he considers their
good a threat to himself. The slothful man will neglect his own spiritual
welfare because he is afraid of the labor involved in seeking true
happiness.
(St. Thomas)
A sinful man loses his ability to judge what he should and should not
do.
(St. Thomas)
Sin has broken the order of God's world and the damage must be paid for.
The sinner can do this by inflicting some punishment on himself or by accepting
the punishments which God may send him in this life or in
Purgatory.
(St. Thomas)
Many men sin against faith in an even more subtle way through the sins
against the Holy Spirit, namely, the sins of despair, presumption, impenitence,
obstinacy, resisting the known truth and envy of someone else's spiritual good.
The sins against the Holy Spirit are not sins of weakness or ignorance. They are
sins of certain malice. By despair a man rejects God's goodness and mercy. By
presumption he rejects God's justice. By impenitence he refuses to turn from sin
to God. By obstinacy a man hardens his will in sin. A man sins in resisting the
known truth because he does so in order to sin more freely. Lastly a man sins by
envying someone else's spiritual good because he hates the increase of God's
grace in the world. In all these sins there is great danger for man because
these sins mean that man is deliberately refusing to consider those truths and
motives which would keep him from sin and enable him to turn to God. It is for
this reason that the sins against the Holy Spirit are said to be unforgivable.
It is not that God is unwilling to forgive any sin. It is rather that in these
sins a man shows that he does not wish forgiveness.
(St.
Thomas)
The last of the sins against faith are sins against the gifts of knowledge
and understanding which perfect faith. They are the sins of blindness of mind
and dullness of heart. Blindness of mind rises from lust. For lust withdraws a
man's mind from the thought of God and immerses it in the maddening welter of
sensual pleasure. This prevents man from knowing or understanding God as he
ought. Dullness of heart arises from gluttony which deadens the power of the
mind to penetrate to the meaning of truth. Both are great dangers to faith
because they withdraw the mind of man from God and plunge his mind and his heart
into the base, temporary pleasures of this world.
(St. Thomas)
Of the three great sins against the three theological virtues of faith,
hope, and charity, unbelief and hatred of God are more grievous than despair.
But despair is more dangerous.
(St. Thomas)
Despair is caused chiefly by either lust or sloth. Lust blinds a man
strongly to the pleasures of the flesh. Hence he has no taste or desire for
spiritual good. Or he considers it too difficult to attain. Nothing is left him
but despair. Sloth or spiritual laziness casts a pall over man's mind. It makes
the pursuit of good seem too difficult and so it leads man to despair.
(St.
Thomas)
A man is guilty of the sin of presumption when he hopes to obtain
happiness even though he has no intention of giving up his sinful way of
life.
(St. Thomas)
The great sin of the world of today is the sin of despair. Militant
atheism in the world has robbed men of faith and destroyed their hope.
(St.
Thomas)
Where there is no real hope in God, there is no love of God. Where there
is no love of God, there is no real love of men.
(St. Thomas)
******************************
WORKS: - - - - - - Back to index
My mother and
my brethren are they who hear the Word of God and act upon it.
(Luke
8,21)
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and
sister and mother.
(Matthew 13,50)
He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves
me.
(John 14,21)
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he who does the will of my Father in heaven shall enter the kingdom
of heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and work many miracles in thy name?
And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers
of inequity!'
(Matthew 7,2)
Head knowledge is worthless, unless accompanied by submission of the will
and right action.
(Bishop Sheen)
Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshipper
of God, and does His will, him he hears.
(John 9,31)
No man comes to the end of his days devoid of influence on the lives of
others; in this sense, no man lives alone, no life is a purely private affair.
The number of those we have pushed towards heaven or turned towards hell is
known only to God.
(St. Thomas)
******************************
FAITH: - - - - - - Back to index
In order to
believe, it is essential to want to believe.
In the affairs of this world, men are saved not by faith but by the want
of it.
(Benjamin Franklin)
Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.
(John
20,29)
We believe in order to understand because if we should want to understand
first and then believe, we would not succeed either in believing or
understanding.
(St. Augustine)
To believe in God, is for us, the most important thing in our
lives.
(NAS Newsletter April 1995)
The world of God as He is in Himself is not a world naturally open or
accessible to man. But the infused virtues of faith, hope, and charity open up
this world of God to man.
(St. Thomas)
Faith is concerned with the mysteries of God in Himself and in His actions
in the world which men could never discover for themselves.
(St.
Thomas)
Faith is an enlargement of the horizons of the human mind. It lifts the
mind of man above the world of nature and sets it free in the limitless world of
the divine being.
(St. Thomas)
Because man does not completely understand the things he believes, there
is always some obscurity in the act of faith. This is not surprising. The
principal truths of the faith are mysteries of God beyond human understanding in
this life. Even those natural truths which God has revealed are in fact beyond
the present understanding of those who have not yet discovered them naturally.
But man needs the truths of the faith if he is to achieve the vision of God. In
order to attain the vision of God man must first of all believe in God, as a
disciple believes the master who is teaching him.
(St. Thomas)
Belief in God's Word is a necessary preliminary to the vision of God. As
St. Paul says that this belief must be at least explicit or conscious belief in
the existence of God and in the fact that God rewards those who seek
him.
(St. Thomas)
Faith means the acceptance of truths which man cannot fully understand,
faith is a test of man's good will. Reason is not compelled to accept what God
reveals about Himself. In faith reason must be moved by man's will to accept
truth, not on evidence clearly seen, but on God's Word. Hence the act of belief
can be meritorious. When man's will, under the influence of grace and the love
of God, moves man's reason to accept God's revelation in faith, the act of
belief is meritorious in God's sight.
(St. Thomas)
Whenever a man's silence about his inner faith would injure God's honor in
the world or scandalize men, then the believer must profess his faith
openly.
(St. Thomas)
Faith is a habit of mind whereby eternal life is begun in us, making the
intellect assent to truths that are not apparent. This definition is equivalent
to St. Paul's statement that "Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for,
the evidence of things that appear not."
(Heb. XI, 1) (St.
Thomas)
Faith puts a man in possession of truth, of the First Truth which is God,
faith is a habit which perfects man's reason or intellect.
(St.
Thomas)
Faith is an acceptance of truth on God's Word. But God is Truth itself and
he cannot lie to men.
(St. Thomas)
When a man accepts truth on God's Word, he is certain of the
truth.
(St. Thomas)
Man's free acceptance of the truths of faith sets man on the road to God.
More than this, faith, so to speak, establishes the conditions or mood necessary
for the successful completion of the journey. If a man were to set out for
Washington to ask a favor of the President of the United States, two attitudes
of mind would be necessary for success in his mission. First of all he would
need to respect President. If he had no respect for the President, at least for
the powers possessed by the President, his behavior would antagonize the
President and make the mission a failure. Secondly he would need to have his
mind clear so that he could present his case clearly and forcefully. If his mind
is distracted so that he cannot judge properly either the reasons for his own
request or the motives which might move the President to grant it, then he will
be unable to present his case successfully. Now when man seeks God, his mind
must respect God and be clear in its estimate of the goal he seeks and the means
to attain it. Faith gives man both of these qualities of mind in man's search
for God. Through faith man recognizes the insignificance of man in the face of
the magnificence of God. So it instills in man not only a respect for God, but
even a wholesome fear of God.
(St. Thomas)
In the sinner whose faith is not moved by charity, this fear is servile fear, the fear of being punished by God for sins against God. This servile fear is good because it can move man to repentance for sin and so turn man back to God. In the good man, whose faith is moved by charity, this fear is filial fear, the fear of losing the supreme good which is God. Filial fear-the fear a son has for a father whom he loves -moves man to avoid anything which would cause him to lose God's love. This loving fear or awe of God is good for man because it makes him humble. He realizes the perilousness of his journey and the need of God's help. He relies not so much on his own strength for the journey as on God's goodness and power to lead him safely to eternal life. (St. Thomas)
Faith gives man the clarity of mind necessary for the successful
prosecution of his journey to God. Men, as we know them, are inclined to debase
their nobler powers and aspirations by seeking happiness in things below them,
in food, drink, clothing, illicit sexual gratifications, and so on. These things
clutter up the mind of man. They beget in man's mind a confusion of conflicting
desires and ambitions. But faith lifts a man's mind up to God and proposes to
Him the true goal of his existence-the vision of God. In this way faith begins
the purification of man's mind from errors and conflicting desires which would
cause him to lose God. It puts him on the right road to happiness.
(St.
Thomas)
By faith man accepts truth from God, in fact he accepts God, Who is
Truth.
(St. Thomas)
With faith, understanding, and knowledge, man is intellectually equipped
to seek his happiness in the vision of God. In fact, happiness is already partly
his. For in the faith which is moved by the love of God, God is already present
in the mind of man. Faith is the beginning of happiness in the mind of
man.
(St. Thomas)
If faith is the beginning of happiness, then infidelity, or lack of faith,
is the beginning of unhappiness.
(St. Thomas)
There are different kinds of infidelity. First of all it is conceivable
that a man might never come to know that God has spoken to man by way of divine
revelation. In this case he simply does not accept God's message in faith
because he is ignorant of the message. This kind of unbelief is called negative
infidelity. Secondly there is a positive infidelity. This occurs when a man
knowingly rejects the faith. This can occur in a number of ways. First of all
there is the pagan or heathen who rejects the faith when it is preached to him.
Secondly there are those, who have accepted the revelation which God made
through the patriarchs, Moses, and the prophets, but have rejected the
revelation made in and through Jesus Christ. Lastly there are those men who once
accepted the totality of God's revelation but have since rejected one or another
of the revealed truths-which is the sin of heresy-or have given up the faith
entirely-which is the sin of apostasy.
(St. Thomas)
It is possible that a man may reject the faith without sin because he
personally does not know that a particular truth or all of the truths of faith
have been revealed by God. However, St. Thomas is inclined to believe that this
case is impossible. He thinks that, if necessary, God would make a special
revelation of the necessary truths of faith to any man who had not previously
heard them. In that case such a man would have the free choice of accepting or
rejecting the faith, and so he would have the free choice of accepting or
rejecting God as his happiness. In the case of positive infidelity it seems
clear that original believers or heretics knowingly reject the faith which is
preached to them or which they once accepted. Hence their lack of faith is
sinful and if they persevere in infidelity they will lose God. In the case of
their children or descendants it seems possible that they may be mislead by
their parents or leaders or be so poorly instructed that they do not recognize
God's word in the world. If this is their real situation then their infidelity
is not formally sinful.
(St. Thomas)
As everyone knows lack of faith in Christ's teaching is widespread in the
world. This constitutes a double danger for men. It is dangerous for the
unbelievers themselves because they run the risk of losing God. It is dangerous
even for those who have the faith because unbelievers fight against the faith.
Believers, especially if they are not too well educated or instructed in the
truths of faith, run the risk of losing their faith in the face of the bad
example, false arguments, or persecutions with which unbelievers attack the
faith.
(St. Thomas)
Though unbelief is one of the greatest of sins because it separates a man
from his God, until a man dies it is always possible, through the grace of God,
for a man to gain or regain the faith.
(St. Thomas)
Blasphemy is also a sin against faith. In blasphemy man denies the
goodness or perfection's of God.
(St. Thomas)
The man of wisdom and good will is a happy man because he accepts God in
the loving obedience of faith. His mind is fixed on the far horizons of God
where happiness awaits him. Through the gifts of understanding and knowledge
nothing can swerve him from the path to God. "Without faith it is impossible to
please God." (Heb. XI, 6) With and through faith man is happy because he has
already begun to possess God.
(St. Thomas)
Faith makes us cling to God as the source of knowledge.
(St.
Thomas)
Men are not saved, as some heretics have said, simply because they believe
in God's goodness.
(St. Thomas)
Fear of the Lord is the "beginning of wisdom". Actually it is faith which
gives man the essence of wisdom, for it is faith which tells man the truth about
God, the cause of all things.
(St. Thomas)
******************************
HOPE: - - - - - - Back to index
Because man is
imperfect, he can hope for too much or too little from God. The man steeped in
sin may hope to attain the vision of God while remaining a sinner. This is a
presumption-hoping for more than he deserves from God. Or the man who can still
turn from sin to God may not do so because he fears that God, Who is all
merciful, will not forgive him. This is despair-hoping too little from
God.
(St. Thomas)
To hope perfectly in God's goodness a man must love God and be in union
with God's will.
(St. Thomas)
Hope makes us cling to God as the source of our happiness, the goodness
and power from which we hope to receive happiness.
(St. Thomas)
Since hope moves man to seek God, neither the saints in Heaven nor the
damned in Hell can have hope. The saints have no hope because they already
possess God. A man does not hope to attain what he already possesses. The damned
in Hell have no hope because they already lost God.
(St.
Thomas)
Hear and let it penetrate into your heart, my dear little son: Let nothing
discourage you, nothing depress you. Let nothing alter your heart or your
countenance. Also do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not
here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not
your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle, in the crossing of
my arms? Is there anything else that you need?
(Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego, Dec. 12, 1531)
******************************
LOVE (Charity): - - - - - -
Back to index
Divine
love is nothing but a strong will for good.
(St. Bernard)
Love is giving without expecting anything in return.
The grace of God is enormous, and a single act of love toward God has so
much value in His eyes that He would consider small things given as big as the
universe. Love is the spark of God in men, the very essence of God personified
in the Holy Spirit.
(Padre Pio)
Love cannot do without the Word. How can you express love if not with
words which lift the ill spiritually?
(Padre Pio)
Be certain that the more a soul loves God, the less he feels
it.
(Padre Pio)
Charity is the measure by which Our Lord judges all
things.
(Padre Pio)
And this is love's best definition: to will good to another, and to get it
done.
(St. Thomas)
Believing in God without loving Him does not effectively lead a man to
God. Similarly hope cannot be perfect without charity or the love of
God.
(St. Thomas)
Charity itself is impossible without faith and hope. Could anyone love a
man if he did not believe it was possible to be or become his friend? Or if he
despaired of ever gaining his friendship? So it is with man in relation to God
as He is in Himself. Man must believe it is possible to attain a perfect
friendship with God in heaven and he must hope to attain this friendship through
God's power before he can love God as his supernatural destiny.
(St.
Thomas)
Faith, Hope, and Charity cannot remain in Hell because the condemned
sinner cannot believe or hope that he will be united to God in love. He has
rejected God forever. Faith and Hope cannot remain in Heaven. In Heaven a man
does not believe blindly in God. He sees God face to face. In Heaven a man does
not hope to possess God. He already possesses Him. But charity is love of God
and man will go on loving God for all eternity in Heaven.
(St.
Thomas)
Charity, or love of God above all things, is the root of all the other
infused virtues.
(St. Thomas)
Charity makes us cling to God for His own sake.
(St.
Thomas)
Charity cannot be acquired by any purely human effort. It is a gift of God
infused in man's soul by God's goodness and generosity. Charity, like the other
theological virtues, is a supernatural virtue infused in the will by God
Himself. God gives charity to men according to His own will. The degree of
charity-the love of friendship for God-depends not on man or his natural virtue
but on God's generosity. As long as man is in this present world his friendship
with God can increase.
(St. Thomas)
Man's love for God can be perfect when man loves God as much as he
can.
(St. Thomas)
It is the love of God which is the source of all good in this life and in
the next.
(St. Thomas)
When a man loves God more than anything else, he finds everything else in
God, everything else that can really make him happy.
(St. Thomas)
Man will love the whole world because it gives glory to God. Animals,
plants, stones, rivers, and mountains-he will love them all because God has
created them out of love.
(St. Thomas)
Man will hate the weakness of the flesh which takes him away from
God.
(St. Thomas)
Because man loves God most of all, then he loves everything else in the
order in which God loves them.
(St. Thomas)
Faithfulness is an expression of love. "I don't believe it is
necessary to tell you how much I thank God that I am disposed to obey any order
whatever that is given to me by my superior. Their voice is the voice of God for
me. I wish to remain faithful to this voice until my death, and with the help of
God, I will obey any command, no matter how painful it may be for me."
(Padre Pio)
******************************
PRAYER: - - - - - - Back to index
There are many believers who do not pray; faith cannot be alive without prayer.
(Blessed Mother at Medjugorje)
Please
pray to Jesus. I am His mother and I intercede for you with Him. But all prayer
goes to Jesus. I will help. I will pray, but everything does not depend only on
me. It depends also on your strength, the strength of those who pray.
He who prays saves himself, he who does not pray, damns himself. He who prays little receives
little, he who prays much, receives much; he who prays a great deal, becomes a
saint. Close the door behind you and call God. In books we look for God, in prayer we find God. I realize that this is a great grace by which Our Lord makes me remember
only those things which He Himself wishes. He indeed, on several occasions puts
before me persons that I have never seen nor even heard spoken about for the
sole reason that I should pray in their favor, and does not bother if He does
not listen to my supplications. On the other hand when the Lord does not wish to
grant me my request, He makes me forget even to pray for the person although I
had the best and firmest intention of doing so. ****************************** The WORLD: - - - - - -
Back to index The world cannot tolerate the extremely bad and the extremely good. The
world is content with mediocrity. (Bishop Sheen) Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can
prevail in exclusion of religious principle. Man is made of such pride that when he is rich and has health he believes
himself to be a God, if not altogether superior to God Himself, but when a thing
happens toward which he and people like him are powerless, then he remembers
that there is a Supreme Being. A river takes the path of least resistance. That is why it is
crooked. Because it is so much easier to start a thing than to finish it, much of
men's lives never get beyond the level of the senses; so sin is easily common to
the majority of men. "This is the divine unalterable law, that inferior things are led to God
by the superior ones." These profound words of Dionysius give the basis of every
creature's nobility and humility. Superiority is not a title to service but a
commission of serious responsibility; on the other hand, inferiority is not a
relegation to labor that superiors might have ease, but a title to the
superior's utmost help. The least are led to God by the greatest; talent is not
a mere personal favor but a social responsibility. " I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service, and not be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable
, and perfect, will of God". Click here
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(Blessed Mother at Medjugorje)
(St. Alphonsus)
(Padre Pio)
(Padre
Pio)
(Padre Pio)
You
believe that which you please and reject that which you do not like, you do not
believe in the Gospel, but in yourselves. You want to put yourselves in the
place of authority.
(St. Augustine)
(George Washington)
(Padre Pio)
(Abraham Lincoln)
(St. Thomas)
(St. Thomas)
(Romans 12: 1, 2)
