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From the words of an old holy card........Christian remember that thou has today a Jesus to imitate. Remember, Christian soul, that thou has this day a duty: |
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What is a Saint? What is a Mystic? What does it mean to be one or both? A Saint is a person leading a religious or upright life. A Mystic is a person that has deep spiritual experiences. God wants us to become both. Does it mean that you must be perfect? The Saints were Mystics but they were not perfect. They were human beings with flaws just like us. Their struggles, hardships, and temptations the same. However, what set them apart from many was that they loved God with their whole heart and were obsessed with pleasing him. The Saints were not followers of the crowd they were followers of Christ. So is it possible for us to become both a Saint and a Mystic? Yes! With God's help nothing is impossible! God said, "I am the Lord, the God of every person on the earth. Nothing is impossible for me" Jeremiah 32:27. When I read those words I get goose bumps because I know that this life has purpose and meaning. I know that with faith in God I can accomplish great things. And that is what the Saints did they accomplished great things through God for His greater glory. They reached out to many a wretched soul and showed them the love of Christ so that they would be saved from their misery. Only God's love and forgiveness will bring peace to human beings and the Saints knew that. They had already experienced it for themselves and wanted to share it with others. So they devoted their thoughts and actions toward the Will of God. For this they became transformed by the Grace of God and rewarded with unimaginable treasures in Heaven. Earthly pleasures are dead things they can bring only temporary happiness that can never satisfy. There are times when we all become lost and caught up in this world. As a Priest once pointed out people sometimes forget this is Exile. This place and everything it has to offer is temporary. To become truly fulfilled in this life and in the next, JESUS IS ALL WE NEED.
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| "Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you." St. Thomas Aquinas |
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"The saints are our heavenly friends whom when called upon through prayer will pray for us just like our earthly friends with one exception their conversations with the Divine, Our Father, on our behalf will be face to face in Heaven." |
| CLICK HERE to print a Litany of the Saints prayer card |
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| "Prayer ought to be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and accompanied with great reverence. One should consider that he stands in the presence of a God, and speaks with a Lord before whom the angels tremble from awe and fear." Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi |
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St. Louis Marie de Monfort said that if he had not given himself totally to Christ that he would have been the worst criminal the world had ever known. "For Jesus Christ I am prepared to suffer still more." St. Maximilan Kolbe "Christ made my soul beautiful with jewels of grace and virtue. I belong to Him whom the angels serve." St. Agnes of Rome "Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit, for without being seen, they are present with you." St. Francis De Sales "The love of worldly possessions is a sort of bird line, which entangles the soul, and prevents it from flying to God." St. Augustine of Hippo "Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing." St. John of the Cross |
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Featured Saint In 1221 St. Francis held a general chapter at Assisi; when the others dispersed, there lingered behind, unknown and neglected, a poor Portuguese friar, resolved to ask for and to refuse nothing. Nine months later, Fra Antonio rose under obedience to preach to the religious assembled at Forli, when, as the discourse proceeded, “the Hammer of Heretics,” “the Ark of the Testament,” “the eldest son of St. Francis,” stood revealed in all his sanctity, learning, and eloquence before his rapt and astonished brethren. Devoted from earliest youth to prayer and study among the Canons Regular, Ferdinand de Bulloens, as his name was in the world, had been stirred, by the spirit and the example of the first five Franciscan martyrs, to put on their habit and preach the Faith to the Moors of Africa. Denied a martyr’s palm, and enfeebled by sickness, at the age of twenty-seven he was taking silent but merciful revenge upon himself in the humblest of offices of his community. From this obscurity he was now called forth, and for nine years France, Italy, and Sicily heard his voice, saw his miracles, and men’s hearts turned to God. One night, when St. Anthony was staying with a friend in the city of Padua, his host saw brilliant rays streaming under the door of the Saint’s room, and on looking through the keyhole he beheld a little Child of marvelous beauty standing upon a book which lay open upon the table, and clinging with both arms around Anthony’s neck. With an ineffable sweetness he watched the tender caresses of the Saint and his wondrous Visitor. At last the Child vanished, and Fra Antonio, opening the door, charged his friend, by the love of Him Whom he had seen, to “tell the vision to no man” as long as he was alive. Suddenly, in 1231, our Saint’s brief apostolate was closed, and the voices of children were heard crying along the streets of Padua, “Our father, St. Anthony, is dead.” The following year, the church-bells of Lisbon rang without ringers, while at Rome one of its sons was inscribed among the Saints of God. REFLECTION: Let us love to pray and labor unseen, and cherish in the secret of our hearts the graces of God and the growth of our immortal souls. Like At. Anthony, let us attend to this, and leave the rest to God. The Saint Story above is from the book "Little Pictorial Lives of The Saints" and is courtesy of www.holycards.com. St. Anthony is the Patron Saint of Lost Articles, when in need call on him with this prayer: SAINT ANTHONY'S BLESSING Behold, the Cross of the Lord!
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This web site is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And Saint Teresa of Avila has been adopted as the patron Saint of the Saints and Mystics Page. |
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"Let nothing trouble you, let nothing make you afraid. All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains everything. God alone is enough." St. Teresa of Avila |
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A Prayer By Saint Teresa of Avila Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You, always follow Your Plans and perfectly accomplish Your Holy Will. Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, that I may do whatever You require of me. Help me to respond to the slightest prompting of Your Grace so that I may be Your trustworthily instrument for Your Honor. May Your Will be done in time and eternity by me, in me and through me. Amen. |
Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us! |
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