This advice is needed more today than ever! There are so many accessible distractions that can enter the heart ~ first in little ways and then, when we are caught unawares, they have seized our heart, led us down paths that tainted our souls and relaxed our zeal for the Catholic life!

from True Womanhood – Rev. Bernard O’Reilly

The Spaniards say, “Shut the door and the Devil passes by.” The true woman who understands this, will know how to preserve her home-sanctuary from evil.

It is, comparatively, an easy task to cultivate and cherish in one’s own life and in the souls of those nearest and dearest to one, all the sweet virtues and holy habits indicated above, or connected with true piety. But how hard it is, when once evil habits have been formed, to resist or reform them!

There are certain horrible skin diseases to which persons of the purest blood and most refined nature are most liable.And the terrible poison, sometimes caught by a breath or a touch of the hand, once deposited in blood hitherto untainted, will spread instantaneously, and commit the most fearful ravages.

So is it with souls highly privileged: a single voluntary act of sin may be followed by such a state of spiritual leprosy, that all their former beauty and glory appear changed into hideous deformity and seemingly incurable corruption.

Be careful to keep evil far away from the hearts of your dear ones; and close and bar the door of your home at all times, when you know that wickedness is abroad in the street or on the highway.

Keep out the fatal influences which might weaken or destroy the precious boon of Christian faith in your household; bar and bolt your door against uncharitableness, immodesty, and that odious spirit of irreverence toward age, authority, and all that our fathers have taught us to respect and love.

And, O women who read this, learn here how to make your home, though never so poor and bare, lovely to your dear ones and an object of respect and envy to all who know you.

The Old-Fashioned Parents

 

The good old-fashioned mothers and the good old-fashioned dads,

With their good old-fashioned lassies and their good old-fashioned lads,

Still walk the lanes of loving in their simple, tender ways,

As they used to do back yonder in the good old-fashioned days.

They dwell in every city and they live in every town,

Contentedly and happy and not hungry for renown;

On every street you’ll find ’em in their simple garments clad,

The good old-fashioned mother and the good old-fashioned dad.

There are some who sigh for riches, there are some who yearn for fame,

And a few misguided people who no longer blush at shame;

But the world is full of mothers, and the world is full of dads;

Who are making sacrifices for their little girls and lads.

They are growing old together, arm in arm they walk along,

And their hearts with love are beating and their voices sweet with song;

They still share their disappointments and they share their pleasures, too,

And whatever be their fortune, to each other they are true.

They are watching at the bedside of a baby pale and white,

And they kneel and pray together for the care of God at night;

They are romping with their children in the fields of clover sweet,

And devotedly they guard them from the perils of the street.

They are here in countless numbers, just as they have always been,

And their glory is untainted by the selfish and the mean.

And I’d hate to still be living, it would dismal be and sad,

If we’d no old-fashioned mother and we’d no old-fashioned dad.

~Edgar A. Guest

The Crowning

“Hail, King!”

Jesus was always Master of His enthusiasm. When He drove the marketeers out of the temple, He was careful not to break the cages of the doves and pigeons, less they be lost to their owners.

The crowd exalted when He raised a dead girl to life, but Jesus calmly ordered her to be fed.

When the people held Him king, Jesus was especially unimpressed; once He hid in a mountain, and once He wept.

He knew He was a King, but a king in exile.

“My kingdom is not of this world.”

And so, when His royalty was made sport of in His Passion, Jesus bore the humiliation patiently.

Jesus knew He had only to wait a little while and then He would enter His Kingdom.

The thought of heaven should make me patient, too.

“There is an old legend circulating in the old country, still fervently believed by the children, that all the bells fly to Rome on Holy Thursday, where the Holy Father blesses them; they return in time for the Gloria on Holy Saturday…..”

ST. BENEDICT BRACELETS! Spiritual Protection

Available here.

One of the powerful weapons in spiritual combat is the St. Benedict medal. Used for centuries, this medal has been associated with many miracles, as well as with powers of exorcism.

St. Benedict medals are used in many ways, but always as a protection against evil. Some people bury them in the foundations of new buildings to keep them free from evil influences, while others attach them to rosaries or hang them on the wall in their homes. But the most common way to use the St. Benedict medal is to wear it. The medal can be worn by itself or embedded in a crucifix.

Regardless of how it is used, the medal should always be blessed with the special St. Benedict blessing. While, in former times, only Benedictines could bless the medal, now any priest can.

 

This is a unique book of Catholic devotions for young children. There is nothing routine and formal about these stories. They are interesting, full of warmth and dipped right out of life. These anecdotes will help children know about God, as each one unfolds a truth about the saints, the Church, the virtues, etc. These are short faith-filled stories, with a few questions and a prayer following each one, enabling the moral of each story to sink into the minds of your little ones. The stories are only a page long so tired mothers, who still want to give that “tucking in” time a special touch, or pause a brief moment during their busy day to gather her children around her, can feel good about bringing the realities of our faith to the minds of her children in a childlike, (though not childish), way. There is a small poem and a picture at the end of each story. Your children will be straining their necks to see the sweet pictures! Through these small stories, parents will sow seeds of our Holy Catholic Faith that will enrich their families all the years to come!

This revised 1922 classic offers gentle guidance for preteen and teenage girls on how to become a godly woman. Full of charm and sentiment, it will help mother and daughter establish a comfortable rapport for discussions about building character, friendships, obedience, high ideals, a cheerful spirit, modest dress, a pure heart, and a consecrated life.

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