Our Faith is precious, it fills us with joy and peace even amidst the corruption of this world. But it must be protected…..and our youth need the tools to hold fast to the Truth.

Our Faith needs to be a living, dynamic and joyful force within our homes, so when the tempter comes…..and he will…..the youth will resist and move forward towards their God-given vocation and their heavenly reward.

This is a great book and one that every Catholic girl should own. She can take it to Mass with her and peruse the pages until she knows it well.

From the Catholic Girl’s Guide or hardbound edition here.

In these days when faith has either grown cold or been lost altogether in so many instances, there are persons, and among their number girls of eighteen or twenty, who, when they are exhorted to reflect upon death and eternity merely reply: “I am no child to be frightened by nursery tales; who knows whether everything does not end at death!”

Such expressions in the mouths of young people fill us with horror and compassion. But how can it be possible to speak in this way? It is possible, because in the case of these individuals, faith in the fundamental truth of our holy religion no longer exists, because they either do not know, or refuse to know the true answer to the question: “Whose is this image?” or: “In whose likeness was man created?”

You, dear reader, know the answer, and are firmly convinced of the fundamental truth that man was created in the image and likeness of God.

Yet, placed as you are amid the dangers of un-belief, it is of the very greatest importance that this conviction should be rooted as deeply as possible in your heart….

In the course of my long experience as a director of souls, I have often seen how young girls, even those who have been brought up by respectable parents and amid Catholic surroundings, on being introduced later on into an atmosphere where unbelief prevails, or where faith has grown cold, have not been able to keep straight, but have lost their faith, and with faith also their virtue and innocence.

You will have to go out into society, and at some time or other will find yourself in company where danger threatens your holy faith.
How important therefore, how necessary it is that you should be warned in time against this danger and should keep watch over yourself in regard to it.

St. Paul warned his disciple and friend St. Timothy against this danger in the following words: “There shall be a time, when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: and will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. But be thou vigilant.”

We are living in an age which resembles that depicted by the Apostle. There are in our midst only too many men who, like those he portrays, cannot endure the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, but decry, blaspheme, and ridicule it.

Sometimes they exercise doubts as to particular doctrines of our holy religion, especially its mysteries, sometimes they scoff at abuses, sometimes they pour contempt on the external practices and ceremonies of our holy Church. They seek above all things to inoculate the minds of the young, and especially of young girls, with the germs of un- belief.

How grievous a misfortune would it be if your faith were shaken, or even lost, through the influence of such persons!

And here I will quote the words of a lady who took a deep interest in young girls, and wrote for their benefit an admirable little book, in which she gives them a golden rule of life:

“O that I had the tongue of an angel to warn them, and to bid them be on their guard against the poison of modern unbelief! . . . May your fate never resemble that which formerly overtook the city of Persepolis! It worshiped fire, and by fire it was destroyed.”

This means, beware of following the attraction of the brilliant light, which unbelief too often kindles in order to deceive men; it is as a delusion, a Will-o’-the-wisp, and, were you to follow it, it would destroy you and cast you into the fire of hell.