2013 Calendar
Dear friends,
The 2013 Calendar is available for download. This year we have added reminders for the Novenas before the seven major feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary as recommended by Saint Alphonsus. We have explained this in a document on Devotion to Mary.
As always We provide Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat versions of the calendar. We recommend the Microsoft Word version, adding the important days in your family’s life, such as Baptismal Days, Patron Saints Feast Days, Confirmation, Marriage, etc. If necessary, remove the quotes at he bottom of the page to accommodate your notes.
Calendar Microsoft Word
Calendar Open Office
Calendar pdf
Devotion to Mary pdf
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The Spirit of Martyrdom
What follows is taken from Saint John Eudes, The Kingdom of Jesus in Christian Souls:
What truth can there be in the claim that we are Christians and adore a crucified God, a God agonizing and dying upon a Cross, a God who for love of us gives up so noble and excellent life, a God Who sacrifices Himself for us every day, before our eyes upon our altars for our salvation, if we are not ready to sacrifice to Him all that we hold dearest in the world, and even life itself, which in any case belongs to Him by all rights? Surely we are not Christians if we are not in these dispositions. Therefore I say, and this will immediately be clear to anyone who gives a little thought to the truths I have outlined, that all Christians ought to be martyrs, if not in actual fact, at least in intention and in will. So true is this, that if they are not martyrs of Jesus Christ, they will be martyrs of Satan.
Choose whichever of the two you love more. If you live under the tyranny of sin, you will be a martyr to your self-love and your passions, and consequently a martyr to the devil. But if you desire to be a martyr of Jesus Christ, you must strive to live in the spirit of martyrdom.
What is the spirit of martyrdom? It is a spirit that has five excellent attributes:
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It is the spirit of strength and constancy, which fears only God and sin, and cannot be shaken or overthrown, either by promises or threats, by persuasion or violence.
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It is the spirit of deepest humility, which feels only horror for the vainglory and publicity of the world, and loves contempt and humiliations.
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It is the spirit of self-mistrust and of most firm confidence in Jesus Christ our Lord, our Strength, in whom all things can be done.
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It is the spirit of perfect detachment from the world and everything that is in the world. Those who are to sacrifice their lives to God must also sacrifice to Him all else besides.
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It is the spirit of most burning love for our Lord Jesus Christ, who leads those animated by this spirit to do all and suffer all for love of Him, who dies and suffered all for them. It so inflames them that, for love of Him, they consider mortification and suffering to be a paradise of joys, to be sought and desired while they avoid and detest the pleasures of this world as much as they would hell itself.
This is the spirit of martyrdom. Implore, O Lord, who is the King of Martyrs, to fill you with this spirit. Pray to the Queen of martyrs, and all the martyrs, too, that they may obtain this spirit for you from the Son of God, by their holy prayers. Cultivate a particular devotion to the saintly martyrs. Make a point, also, of praying for all those who will have to suffer martyrdom, in order that God may grant them the spirit and grace of martyrdom. Pray especially for those who will have to suffer the persecution of Antichrist at the end of the world, for it will be the most cruel and horrible of all persecutions.
Finally, strive to develop within yourself, by imitation, a perfect image of the lives of the holy martyrs and, what is more, the life of the King and the Queen of martyrs, Jesus and Mary, so that they may make you worthy to resemble them in death.
Comments
I have placed a quote in bold above, because we are suffering under the persecution of Antichrist. And this persecution is unique, since it is not one of blood, but one of persuasion. We are being persuaded that we ought to live an easy life, that it is easy to obtain heaven so we should take it easy on our self and on everyone else. Vatican II taught this lax view in declaring religious liberty and implying that all religions are good and lead to Almighty God. Sacred Scripture is quite clear. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Matthew 11:12) Many more quotes would confirm this. Take some time to consider Saint John Eudes’ words above.
Brother Lawrence
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