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Category Archives: Catholic Girl’s Guide

Faith, That Most Precious Gift

21 Tuesday Sep 2021

Posted by Leanevdp in Catholic Girl's Guide

≈ 1 Comment

Our Faith should never be taken for granted. We’ve heard it before…. if we are not climbing up the ladder, we are most assuredly moving backwards. There is no standing still.

Just lately I have come across the term “the law of gradualism”. It is a daunting thought that if we do not make the effort to protect our faith, if we do not guard it from the onslaught of the world, it will slowly be chipped away until lukewarmness sets in….maybe even loss of the faith. Gradually, gradually…..

We need to take heed those who we hang out with, the books we are reading, etc……making sure they are wholesome choices…..or it can all add up to “the law of gradualism”  that will slowly strangle the taste we have for spiritual things, and lead us out of the Arms of God.

From Father Lasance, The Catholic Girl’s Guide

1. FAITH is certainly so precious and supernatural a possession that no earthly good can be substituted for it. As innocence is the maiden’s fairest ornament, so is faith her most precious possession. It resembles the glorious light of the sun; which cheers and animates all created nature.

How sad and gloomy, how cold and unfruitful would the earth be without this light! But far sadder would our life be without the divine light of the true faith.

Therefore the first and most important affair of your life is to preserve this light, this precious treasure, with the utmost care. And this is no easy matter, especially in the present day, when unbelief is gaining ground with terribly rapid strides. Therefore mark well what you have to do in order to acquit yourself of your most important duty, in order to preserve your most precious possession — the holy faith.

2. The first thing is to attend diligently to religious instruction. In its origin, faith is a gift of grace, and this grace is imparted first of all in holy Baptism, for Baptism makes man a Christian.

But faith is then only a germ, and if this germ is not to be nipped in the bud it must be developed. And it is the Church which develops this germ. This is why St. Paul says: “Faith then comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” and Our Lord Himself reminds us that: “He that is of God, heareth the words of God.”

Consequently you must set a high value on the word of God as announced to you in sermons and religious instructions, and not absent yourself from them on any frivolous pretext.

Whenever you are about to listen to religious instructions be careful to recollect yourself, and invoke the aid of the Holy Spirit, in order that He may prepare your heart to receive the divine word. Afterwards apply what you have heard to yourself, not to other persons, and make it the guide of your life. In this manner you will not merely keep your faith, but be more and more confirmed in it.

3. The second means of keeping the faith is to live in accordance with its teaching. The more earnestly you strive to practice the precepts of the Gospel, the more will your faith be strengthened.

The harder the blows dealt by the hammer, the more deeply the nail is driven in; similarly faith becomes all the deeper, firmer, and stronger, the more carefully its teaching is observed.

The Japanese whom St. Francis Xavier converted in the sixteenth century grew and became strong in the faith in a manner which was nothing short of marvelous. But this was only the natural result of the extreme zeal they displayed in the performance of their Christian duties. For every kind of virtue was practiced by these recent converts in great perfection.

Their holy zeal was wonderful indeed, and so conscientious were they that it was not easy to soothe their distress whenever they fell into even trifling faults.
Do you, my daughter, imitate their bright example, and be earnest in the fulfilment of your religious duties? As soon as you grow careless in this respect, in an equal degree will your firm, undoubting faith become weaker.

4. The third means, namely, the avoidance of sin, is inseparably connected with the second. In order to keep the faith it is indispensably necessary to avoid everything which is of the nature of sin, and to lead a life which is pleasing to God. For faith can never long dwell in a heart defiled by sin.

And here listen to a parable. A wealthy Greek carefully selected a cask and filled it with the choicest wine. In order to protect himself against thieves he affixed his seal to the mouth of the cask.

However, in spite of his precaution, a cunning slave bore a little hole in the bottom of the vessel, and thus succeeded in getting at the wine, being able to close the aperture without much difficulty.

His master frequently broke the seal in order to partake of the wine, but he always replaced it. Ere long he perceived that the wine was rapidly diminishing, but, as the seal remained unbroken, he was at a loss to account for this.

The mystery was solved by a friend, who said to him: “No doubt someone draws out the wine from beneath.” However, the foolish man could not understand this and absurdly protested that the wine was not deficient at the bottom but at the top of the cask.

5. This is a very old story, for it is related by the heathen sage Hierocles. But it constantly repeats itself in regard to a widely different subject.

Faith in God, in His Divine Love and saving doctrine, is the precious wine which renews, elevates, ennobles, gladdens and strengthens the life of man.

Why has this faith so greatly diminished in the Christian world? The wine from above never diminishes; for “Every best gift and every good gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.”

No, it is from beneath that the decline of faith proceeds. It originates in the lower region of life, that, namely, of sensuality and the baser impulses. Guard against them, my child, and beware lest you become their slave, and thus your faith be endangered.

6. But the chief means of preserving a firm and enlightened faith is prayer. Faith is a gift of Divine grace, as Isnard, a Frenchman who lived in the beginning of the last century, learned from experience.

During the great French revolution he totally lost his faith, and became a so-called freethinker.

By a turn of fortune’s wheel he lost his entire wealth, his life being also imperiled. At this juncture he applied himself with great ardor to the study of the truths of the Christian religion. Upon this point he expresses himself as follows in a work which he subsequently published: “I soon perceived that, in searching for the truth, everything depends on the disposition of the heart. Therefore I betook myself to prayer, and my mental horizon speedily cleared, so that I regained my faith.”

Do you also pray diligently for faith, that most necessary virtue, and in seasons of temptations have recourse to God in the words which we find in the Gospel: “I do believe; Lord, help my unbelief?”

7. Christian maiden, on no account must you consider the Catholic faith to be a thing of little moment. For, as St. Augustine says: “There is no greater wealth, no more precious treasure, than the Catholic faith.” Do everything in your power to keep it, so that one day you may be able to adopt the words of the Apostle: “I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice.”

IMG_3313“What a majestic figure is that of the mother in the home as she fulfills her destiny at the cradle side, the nurse and teacher of her little ones! Hers is truly a task full of labor, and we should be tempted to deem her unequal to it were it not for the grace of God which is ever at hand to enlighten, direct, and sustain her in her daily anxieties and toil.” – Pope Pius XII

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Save
Prayers for use by the laity in waging spiritual warfare from the public domain and the Church’s treasury. The book has an imprimatur from the Archdiocese of Denver.

St. John Vianney, the Cure d’Ars, though he was not thought competent to preach or hear confessions, became one of the greatest preachers and confessors of his age.

The 19th century was one of optimism for French Catholicism, but, following the horrors of the French Revolution, there was also a feeling of lukewarmness and an approach to the moral life that felt sin could not be all that bad.

St. John Vianney, on the other hand, would not suffer to see souls be damned for lukewarmness. His preaching permeates with the love of God first and foremost, and clear prescriptions for leading his flock to heaven.

Take Courage! – The Catholic Girl’s Guide

27 Tuesday Apr 2021

Posted by Leanevdp in Catholic Girl's Guide, Virtues

≈ 1 Comment

Painting by Gregory Frank Harris

Take Courage!

In my last instruction I exhorted you to “fight and conquer.” My watchword today is: Take courage! I have attempted to portray the difficult nature of the struggle which must be carried on if chastity is to be preserved; and to describe how terrible a thing it is when a young girl who has hitherto been pious and virtuous falls into the snares of the evil one and is ruined.

When you think of your own future your heart is doubtless filled with dread and anxiety. Let not this dread and anxiety lead you to discouragement, or to despair. Take courage! I say for your consolation only: Take courage! For if, even after living in sin for years, it is quite possible to be truly converted, how much less difficult it is to preserve oneself from leading such a life, and to keep the robe of innocence pure and unstained!

About 400 years after Christ there lived a girl in one of the great cities of Egypt (a virgin I can-not call her, for she was a notorious sinner). Driven by an unclean spirit, she left her parents when she was only twelve years old, so as to be able to give free rein to her passions.

For seventeen years she carried on her life of sin without the vengeance of Heaven falling upon her; for seventeen long years she lived in such a manner that when upon one occasion a stranger asked her who she was, she replied: “If I were to tell you the story of my life you would be filled with such loathing that you would fly from me as from a serpent.”

If anyone had told this poor miserable sinner, in the midst of her evil life, that when she had reached the age of twenty-nine she would begin to lead the life of an angel, while yet in the same body which had been so stained and polluted by sin, and that for forty-seven years she would continue to lead this life; that she would shed floods of tears, doing ceaseless penance, mortifying herself in every way, allowing herself no pleasure or indulgence, but enduring this martyrdom for forty-seven years; if, I say, any one had told her this beforehand she would, no doubt, have laughed aloud, and imagined that a sorry jest was being made at her expense!

Yet that which appeared impossible actually took place. The notorious sinner became the renowned and holy penitent St. Mary of Egypt.

Seventeen years she had been the slave of sin; but at length, touched by divine grace and aided by the Mother of God, she was converted. From that time forth she led a life of angelic purity.

After doing penance for forty-seven years in a remote and desolate wilderness she passed at length into the presence of Him who has said: “I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live.”

Well then, my dear young friend, if it was possible for this penitent, with the help of God’s grace, to burst the strong iron bonds of the worst imaginable habits, and to lead a pure life, how much easier is it for you to preserve the precious treasure of chastity, which as yet you have never lost!

This is indeed a most consoling thought. “With God all things are possible,” and “I can do all things in Him who strengtheneth me.”

God gives no commands which man cannot keep. Look in winter at the dry branches of the trees. If you had not been taught by experience, you would never believe that from the boughs, which to all appearance are dead, there would spring, not a few leaves only, but hundreds of beautiful blossoms and succulent fruits. Yet so it is when the life-giving breath of spring blows over the earth.

Far greater are the wonders worked by the breath of divine grace, which enlightens the understanding and inclines the will to do what is right.

Therefore never think or say, “The tendency to evil is so strong in me I am compelled to yield to it; I cannot do otherwise!” How deeply must such language grieve the fatherly heart of God, how false is the idea which it conveys in regard to Him!

It is an article of faith that God desires the salvation of all men. “It is not the will of your Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”

Such are the consoling words which proceeded from the mouth of the Son of God Himself, and of all the millions of human beings inhabiting the earth there is not one who cannot say to himself that God desires his salvation more earnestly than the tenderest mother could.

Take courage! God means what He says. When a huntsman climbs one rocky peak after another, being daunted neither by thorny thickets nor yawning precipices, nobody can deny that he is in earnest, that he does really wish to capture the game he is pursuing.

And who can doubt that Almighty God does seriously desire our salvation?

The man who could thus think could surely never have seen the picture of an Ecce Homo, or gazed upon a crucifix. From the crown of His sacred head to the soles of His feet this Man of sorrows, our Redeemer, is covered with blood. Each one of His wounds cries to us with a loud voice: ”O child of man, whoever thou mayest be, see how terribly in earnest thy God was in His desire to help and save thee, else would He not have done so much for thee.”

He gives us grace sufficient to overcome temptation; as St. Paul says: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able, but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it.”

Some persons assert that it is too difficult to keep the commandments, and especially to preserve chastity. To this St. Chrysostom replies as follows: “The commands of God are not difficult in themselves; they appear difficult only because of the indolence and cowardice of man.”

Slothful sinners say that it is difficult to avoid occasions of sin. Is it not very wearisome to lie for weeks and months in bed, in compliance with the order of a physician? Yet this is done to recover health.

It is a veritable martyrdom to submit to a painful operation, yet it is undergone that life may be prolonged, and in the time of an epidemic one has to remain in seclusion to avoid contagion; though this is irksome, it is gladly done.

How far more willing ought we to be to make a sacrifice in order to escape eternal death!

Therefore take courage, my dear child! However great may be the temptation, however difficult it may sometimes appear to you to avoid this or that occasion of sin; nay, though sometimes it may seem utterly impossible; though at a later period of your life you may be so unhappy as to yield to temptation, and incur disgrace, misery and want, never give way to despair, never cease to believe in the grace and mercy of God.

 

If fierce temptation’s waves beat high

And threatening clouds obscure the sky,

Let not thy sinking heart despair.

But raise thy voice to God in prayer.

Fear not lest, thus tempest-tost,

Thou should’st be forever lost;

God thy helper sure will be,

Will part the clouds and calm the sea.

Marriage is of the greatest importance for the whole human race. This state of life has very many weighty and permanent duties and burdens. On this account married people need special graces, and they receive them through Christ’s raising marriage to the dignity of a sacrament. -Fr. Lasance, My Prayer Book

 

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“O That I Had the Tongue of an Angel to Warn Them…”

27 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by Leanevdp in Catholic Girl's Guide, Catholic Home Life, Youth

≈ 3 Comments

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.

IMG_1784

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….

09

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.

vigilance 2

swirly-floral-flourish-purple

finer fem quote for the day fall

 
“It follows that in helping your child to satisfy his basic emotional needs to love and be loved, you give something as necessary as food for his full development. So do not be beguiled by aspirations for a worldly career or by the desire to prove yourself as intelligent as men or as capable in affairs of the world as they. You can make your greatest contribution to your family as the heart of your home.” – Rev. George A. Kelly
14233042_568009263401088_5781311448632744229_n

“O That I Had the Tongue of an Angel to Warn Them…”

03 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by Leanevdp in Catholic Girl's Guide, Catholic Home Life, Youth

≈ 5 Comments

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.

IMG_1784

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….

09

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 modem 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.

vigilance 2

A Maiden’s Wreath Begins With the Sunflower of Faith – Catholic Girl’s Guide

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by Leanevdp in Catholic Girl's Guide, FF Tidbits, Virtues, Youth

≈ Leave a comment

356b0798f459fb5f89b602d454c17d1a

This is very beautiful. We are so very blessed to belong to the One, 
Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church! 
May we never take it for granted, but nurture 
our love for it each day! It is from 
the Catholic Girl's Guide and is written 
for young ladies. But it is inspiring for all!

The Sunflower— Faith


1. There is a flower which possesses this 
peculiarity, that it turns constantly 
to the sun, following it in its course; on this account 
it is called the sunflower. 

Our faith may be compared to this flower, since its gaze 
is ever fixed above, and turned toward the glorious sun of 
divine truth. The first flower in the maiden's 
blooming garland of virtues is and ought to be 
the faith of which we speak. For this faith, a 
clear, living, steadfast, unalterable faith is supremely 
necessary and all important for the maiden, es- 
pecially in the present day. Therefore make it 
the subject of your present meditation, my child, 
and consider first how great a blessing it is to 
possess the one true, Catholic faith. 

2. Our Lord said upon one occasion: "Blessed 
are they that have not seen and have believed." 
Why did He thus speak? Why are those blessed 
who possess the true faith? 

The first reason is this: by faith we please God. 
The desire for happiness is deeply implanted in 
every human breast, and the history of mankind 
is merely the recital of a ceaseless search for 
happiness. But where is man to find happiness, 
and where alone? 
The following lines will tell you: 

Would you be happy, this is the way: 
Please God and do His will day by day; 
Saint-like your duty do; fervently pray. 

3. Note well that we must strive to be pleasing 
to God, and it is only by believing in Him that we 
can please Him. This is so true that the Apostle 
Paul says expressly: " Without faith it is impossible 
to please God." 

And if you wish to understand 
the matter more clearly, reflect upon the relation 
in which you stand to your earthly father. When 
do you please him best, when do you honor him 
most? Is it not when you believe in him most 
firmly, and show a childlike confidence in him?
 
And how much more is this the case in regard to 
your heavenly Father, our Lord and God. For 
it is the will of the eternal Father that we should 
believe what He once taught and commanded us 
by the voice of His Son, and now continues to 
teach us by the voice of holy Church. 

And if St.Paul says: "This is the will of God, your sancti- 
fication," it is also the will of God that we should be- 
lieve in Him, for faith is the beginning, foundation, 
and root of all righteousness. Therefore when 
we believe in God we do His will, and by so doing 
we please Him, and are ourselves rendered happy. 

4. Our holy Catholic faith is the source of our 
greatest happiness even while we are yet on earth. 
Simply reflect upon a few ordinary events of life. 
What is the brightest and happiest day of one's - 
life? 

You know quite well; for you are reminded 
of it every year, when you see a procession of 
children entering the church, their heads adorned 
with wreaths, their faces beaming with joy. 

Do you not feel deeply, yet not without a certain tinge 
of melancholy, that the day of your first communion 
was the brightest and happiest day of your life? 
Yet would the external solemnity, the magnificent 
ceremonial of Catholic worship alone make so deep 
an impression upon the heart? Is it not rather 
our holy Catholic faith, which enables us to appre- 
ciate the beauty, and understand the happiness of 
the pure and innocent soul of the girl, who is 
privileged to enter, for the first time, into the 
closest union with the Author of life, with the 
supreme Good, with the Source of all happiness, 
that is, with God Himself? 

5. We will take another example. Have you 
perhaps beheld a pious and believing Catholic 
mother at the moment of her greatest happiness, 
her highest joy, a moment when her heart would 
adopt as its own the language of the Magnificat, and 
her eyes weep tears of joy? But when and where 
was this? 
Was it perhaps on the day when her child 
approached for the first time the table of the 
Lord with a pure and innocent soul, and a heart 
filled with the love of God? No, it was not then. 
Was it on the wedding-day of her son or daughter?
 
It was not on this occasion either. There is yet 
another day which comprises in itself the happi- 
ness of both the others. The greatest joy, the 
highest happiness of the pious Catholic mother, 
is experienced on the day when the bells ring out 
from the church tower with gladsome yet solemn 
voice, calling the faithful to enter the sacred edifice, 
whither a devout and expectant throng is hastening, 
and where her son, the most promising of all her 
children, is about to ascend the steps of the altar, 
in order to offer for the first time the spotless Lamb 
of God to the Eternal Father. What is the source 
of this happiness and joy? In the heart of a pious 
Mother it can be nothing but the holy Catholic 
faith, which teaches her that her son is now the 
representative of Christ, and that he can win so 
many souls for heaven, and save so many poor 
sinners from hell. 

6. But this happiness is vouchsafed only to a 
few mortals. If it is true that sorrow and suffering 
enter into the life of every child of man, and if 
it is equally true that the poor human heart needs 
some solid consolation amid grief and tribulation, 
in this case also it is the Catholic faith which is 
able to supply this consolation, and which can 
impart peace of mind under every form of sorrow 
and suffering. 

You, my daughter, know as yet but little of sorrow 
and suffering. But ask those — and their number 
is large indeed — who have often and painfully 
felt that this world is a valley of tears, ask them 
what has sustained them in their darkest hours of 
sorrow and suffering, what has poured the healing 
balm of consolation into their wounded hearts, 
and even enabled them to rejoice in tribulation. 
Ask them, and they will tell you that it is faith which 
has done all this. 

7. And what will faith do in the decisive moment, 
the supreme and terrible moment of death? When 
the mother of Melancthon was lying on her death- 
bed, she suddenly opened her eyes and asked her 
son, who was standing beside her, whether she 
should keep to the ancient Catholic faith or embrace 
the new one, that of Martin Luther, as he had done. 
With deep emotion Melancthon, though himself 
an apostate, replied as follows: "Dear mother, 
keep to your ancient, Catholic faith. The new- 
faith is indeed easier to live by, but the old faith 
is easier and happier to die by." 

Listen attentively to this, my daughter, and never forget 
that the Catholic faith renders death easier and happier. 
Cling therefore closely to this holy faith, never 
relinquish it, but prize it highly, prize it above 
everything else, as your happiness and consolation 
both in life and in death.
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