Virgo Potens

In the final days before Christmas, there are many beautiful ways that we can continue to prepare our hearts as a worthy manger for Our Divine Saviour. Christmas Novena December 16th to December 24th Join us for this simple Novena which has its basis in the “O Antiphons”, taken from the Book of Isaiah, and sung by the Roman Church since at least the 8th century. Begins tomorrow at Defende nos in prœlio https://t.me/Defende_nos

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 15th Touch a piece of red-hot iron and see how long you can bear it. Yet the lost souls in hell endure an agony far worse than this, not in one portion of their body, but in all. Their eyes burn in the sockets like molten balls of fire. The fire surrounds them like water; nay, it is within and without them, it dries up their tongue, it consumes their entrails, it penetrates to the very marrow of their bones. My God, may I never incur this agony! 2. This fire is no ordinary fire. It is a supernatural fire; the breath of God kindles it. The torment of burning as known to us is a suffering far less than the torment of hell. If the lost could be transferred to a bath of seething, molten lead, it would be a far less suffering than that of the fire in which they are steeped in hell. 3. About this fire there is none of the light of ordinary fire. It carries with it the blackness of darkness. No ray of light will ever pierce its hideous gloom, no word of comfort, no sort of relief, no hope of change. Nothing to alleviate the eternal misery that comes of sin. Pray that if the love of God or hope of heaven does not keep you from sinning, at least the fear of hell-fire may stop you in time! ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 15th 15th Day — The Eternal Consequences of Sin Whoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the pool of fire. (Apoc. xx. 15.) Try to represent to your imagination the eternal prison-house. Listen to the shrieks and yells and cries of despair that issue thence; see the agony written on the faces of the inmates; approach, if you can, to the devouring flame, taste the burning thirst that longs for one drop of water as an indescribable luxury. 1. What is it that the lost are suffering here? The pain of fire. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 14th 2. We must remember, too, that Adam's sin was forgiven the very day it was committed, and God in His mercy sealed His forgiveness by the promise of the Redeemer. Yet see the consequences of forgiven sin! The long penance, the spread of moral corruption, the disease and death, the misery and sorrow, the banishment from the face of God, all these still remained although the guilt of sin was gone. What reason, then, for me to tremble at the thought of all my past sins! 3. I will glance over my past life and try to recall a few of my many offences. What a career mine has been! What ingratitude to God! What selfishness, what uncharitableness to others, what meanness, what unfaithfulness to grace, what impurity, what low motives of action, what forgetfulness of God, what idle words, what waste of time, what continual following of my own inclinations! How can I hope to escape the just judgments of God ? Pray for shame and contrition at the sight of your sins. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 14th 14th Day — The Sins of Individual Men I will recount to Thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul. (Ps. xxxviii.1 5.) 1. When we look at the sin of Adam and see the consequences it entailed, what shall we say of the consequences that the sins of each one of us are likely to bring upon our heads? Adam's was a single sin, as opposed to our countless offences. He did not appreciate the results of sin as we do, he had not witnessed the misery that comes from it as we do, he had not seen the flames of hell kindled by sin as we do. How much more grievous, then, are the offences of each one of us! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 13th 2. The effects of their sin were not limited to themselves alone. All their descendants inherited from them an inheritance of woe. All the wars, famines, pestilences, all the broken hearts, all the wretched lives of millions, had their source in this one sin. How almost infinite the consequences of sin are! Yet I think so little of my sins, and of the punishment that I shall have to pay for them. 3. If we would behold the full malice of Adam's sin, we must stand beneath the cross, and watch our God dying in unutterable anguish. It was sin that nailed Him to the cross. It was sin that forced from Him His agonizing cry: “My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Pray for a horror of sin corresponding to its intensity of evil.

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 13th 13th Day — The Temporal Consequences of Adam's Sin In Adam all die. (i Cor. xv. 22.) No sooner had this first sin been consummated than a blight fell upon the world. It had become the devil’s empire, for he had made Adam its king, his slave. What are the consequences to the inhabitants of the world? 1. Adam and Eve were cast out of Paradise never again to enter. Their peace was gone, there was confusion within them, concupiscence fought against reason. Pain and sorrow came upon them; and disease, and death. For nine hundred years they toiled painfully in weariness upon the earth, and after their death had to wait three thousand years more before they were admitted to the heavenly Paradise. And all for one sin! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 12th 2. What was it ruined their happiness? The tempter came and suggested to Eve a distrust of God, whispered into her ear motives of disobedience. Eve listened and consented, and in her heart deliberately revolted against God. Pride brought with it concupiscence; she looked at the fruit that God had forbidden, took it, ate it, gave it to Adam. He also ate it, and thus lost for himself and all his posterity the gift of original justice and all the graces and blessings that accompanied it. One single sin ruined the world. How ought I to dread and hate sin! 3. What was the history of this first sin? The same as of every sin. First the listening to the tempter's voice; then a jealousy of God as of one who interferes with our happiness; then a positive revolt and undisguised pride; and after this every other sin, especially the indulgence of bodily appetite and depraved desires. If I examine myself I shall find that each sin I commit follows the same course. Pray to avoid the first beginnings of sin. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 12th 12th Day — Man’s First Sin Pride is the beginning of all sin. (Ecclus. x. 15.) 1. In Paradise before the Fall, Adam and Eve enjoyed a happiness beyond compare. They knew no pain, sickness, sorrow. They were created immaculate, and adorned with a high degree of supernatural grace; they were exempt from all concupiscence; their lives passed in a continual round of unfailing delight; each evening God Himself came to hold sweet converse with them. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 11th 2. Their trial during their time of probation consisted in having to acknowledge their dependence on, and their subjection to, God. The larger number of them did so in a spirit of loyal and unwavering obedience. But a third portion of them, led by Lucifer, refused to obey. They conceived an inordinate love of themselves, and from this arose a desire to be independent with God. They would not humble themselves, they considered it unworthy of them that they should submit to the will of God in all things. Thus pride grew up within them; and they deliberately placed themselves in opposition to God. 3. This open rebellion to God lasted but a moment. In an instant all their supernatural beauty was gone, the malice of their souls corrupted their whole being. All their beauty was turned to loathsome foulness. Cast out of God's heaven, they were hurled down to the lowest hell; outcasts to all eternity, filled with eternal misery and despair. And all this the effect of one sin, and that a sin of thought! Beg of God an appreciation of the unspeakable evil of sin. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 11th 11th Day — The First Sin God spared not the angels that sinned. (2 St. Peter ii. 4.) 1. There was a time when sin was unknown in God's universe. All creatures obeyed Him and were happy and at peace. Thousands and tens of thousands of holy angels showed forth the glory of God by their joyful obedience. Created in a state of supernatural grace they were each in his own degree full of wisdom, of perfect beauty. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 10th 2. What do we mean by sin? We mean any conscious violation of the law of God. Whenever we do that which God has declared to be a serious offence against Him, we become the enemies of God, we forfeit all hope of heaven, except as far as God of His gratuitous compassion may afterwards give us the grace to repent and be forgiven. Have I ever thus lost sight of God and of heaven? And if so, am I sure that I have regained His love? 3. Why is sin so terrible? Because it is an outrage on a God of infinite holiness, of infinite majesty. Because it is an act of ingratitude to one who has laden us with benefits, who loves us with a love that surpasses all bound or measure; because it is a deliberate rejection of the divine friendship, and, as far as we are concerned, forever. Pray for a hatred and detestation of sin. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

LE RETOUR VERS JÉSUS Vous avez éclaire mon Cœur, o mon Dieu, il se rend . . . il est à vous. THE RETURN TO JESUS You have enlightened my Heart, o my God, it surrenders . . . it is yours. Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 10th 10th Day — The Cause of our Failure He that shall sin, shall hate his own soul. (Prov. viii. 36.) Hitherto we have been speaking of the means of reaching the end for which we were created and in which alone we shall find true and lasting satisfaction. We now come to the cause of our failure, and the obstacles in our way. 1. There is only one obstacle in our way, only one real hindrance to our progress towards happiness and peace, only one barrier between us and God. This obstacle is sin. As long as it remains it is an insuperable obstacle. A single mortal sin unrepented of will shut me out forever from the presence of God. A single venial sin unatoned for will prevent me from attaining to happiness until the debt has been paid. (continued)

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas, pray for us. OUR LADY of GUADALUPE Empress of the Americas Feast ~ December 12th A Brief History of OUR LADY of GUADALUPE Being an account of the many layers of miracles associated with her miraculous appearance in the New World in 1531. Begins December 9th at Catholic Universe ~ https://t.me/Catholic_Universe

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 9th 2. We must try to make ourselves ready to accept whatever God sends, whether painful or pleasant. We must take willingly and cheerfully sickness, pain, unkindness, neglect, failure, poverty; and though nature may cry out against it, yet we must keep our will united to God's so as to be always able to say: "Not my will be done, O my God, but Thine." 3. We must try to look on the bright side of everything. There is nothing in the world that has not a bright side. This will make us always patient, and, what is more, always happy. We shall acquire a facility for ignoring or passing over the painful side of things, to look at the joyful and hopeful. Do I try to do this, or do I often grumble and repine? Offer to God your willingness to endure whatever He sees to be good for your soul. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 9th 9th Day — The Dispositions necessary If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. (St. Matt. vi. 22.) In order to make a good use of the various means afforded us of making progress towards true happiness, we must consider what should be our state of mind respecting them. 1. We must be on the watch to see that our inclinations do not run away with us. Most of the foolish things we do are the result of acting on impulse, of being led by our inclinations, of being influenced by wounded self-love. How many a golden opportunity of merit we have missed because we would not accept patiently what wounded us or hurt our self-esteem! (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 8th 2. God has also given me my parents, companions, superiors, all as means to assist me in serving God. They were all created for me; even those who cause me pain are in God's design to be sources of merit and even of happiness to me. They may be my best friends. If, for instance, I am patient towards those who are trying to my patience, kind towards those who treat me unkindly, I derive from them a solid gain: they help me on the way to heaven. 3. All the various circumstances of my life are moreover ordained by Almighty God to aid me in serving and praising Him as He wishes. If they are pleasant, they must teach me gratitude; if painful, resignation. Even if they are a source of temptation to me, by fighting bravely against the temptation I can gain great merit before God. Pray for grace to carry out God's intentions by using aright all the circumstances around you. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 8th 8th Day — The Means provided Thou hast subjected all things under His feet. (Ps. viii. 8.) We are all inclined to overlook our own importance in God's sight. So dearly does He love us, so anxious is He that we should attain our end, that we should succeed in life, that He has heaped around us all kinds of means and helps thereto. 1. All that is lovely and beautiful in the world is intended by Almighty God to help me on my road to heaven, to remind me of Him and of His infinite beauty. God cares more for me than all the material universe together, all irrational creatures. I can give Him more glory by one act of love than by all their natural perfections. (continued)

2 of 2 Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 7th 2. The saints also find a constant joy in showing reverence to God, in falling down in prostrate homage before the throne, in recognizing their dependence upon Him, and their indebtedness to Him for all their joy. This, too, I can copy by great reverence both of body and soul; reverence before the altar, reverence in my prayers, reverence and resignation to the will of God in my thoughts. 3. The saints and angels also serve God by doing His bidding, whether by their homage in heaven, or by carrying His graces and messages to men. Their joy is to do the will of God and finish His work. I, too, in my feeble way can serve God, I can really be of service to Him by every act of love and especially by every act of kindness to others. Pray that your life may prepare you for the company of the saints in heaven. ~ Rev. Richard F. Clarke, S.J., The Devout Year (1893)

Month of the Immaculate Conception ~ December 7th 7th Day — The Models to be imitated They are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple. (Apoc. vii. 15.) Example is better than precept; and we shall often learn more from watching those who do perfectly what we are trying to acquire than by any set of rules. Let us watch the saints in heaven, that we may learn from them. 1. Their continual occupation is the praise of God, the tranquil delight of basking in the light of God. This satisfies every longing of their heart, this fills them with perfect and unfading joy. This is the highest praise they can render toGod. How can I imitate them? By a continual remembrance of God, by visiting the Blessed Sacrament, by a frequent raising of my heart to heaven. (continued)