• About
    • Copyright Disclaimer
    • Disclaimer
    • Disclosure Policy
  • My Book List
  • Book List for Catholic Men
  • Book List for the Youth
  • Sermons and Audios
  • Finer Femininity
    • Finer Femininity Meeting
    • Traditional Family Weekend
  • My Morning and Night Prayers
  • Donate to Finer Femininity?
  • Catholic Mother’s Traditional Advent Journal
  • Finer Femininity Magazine!
  • Books by Leane
    • My New Book – Catholic Mother Goose!
    • Catholic Hearth Stories
    • My Book – Cheerful Chats for Catholic Children
  • Toning With T-Tapp
    • Move It! A Challenge for You and Me….

Finer Femininity

~ Joyful, Feminine, Catholic

Finer Femininity

Category Archives: Peace….Leaving Worry Behind

Lessons from Our Lord’s Agony ~ Fr. Daniel Considine

05 Sunday Mar 2023

Posted by Leanevdp in Lent, Peace....Leaving Worry Behind

≈ 1 Comment

From Words of Encouragement, 1934

Notes of Instructions delivered by Rev. Daniel Considine, S.J.

To some of us will come at times some taste of that horrible perplexity Our Lord had in the Garden of Olives. At times it will seem almost impossible to do what we know God wants us to do.

There was a moment when Our Lord seemed to waver and balance as to whether He would go on with His Passion.

It must cost us something, if we mean to do something memorable for God. That is the time of the greatest anguish of mind, when we are balancing the question. Thereafter came that complete calm which Our Lord never lost during His Passion, save in that moment of His dereliction on the Cross.

The devil does his best to mislead us. He says, if you were able to do it, you wouldn’t have all this extraordinary difficulty. On the contrary, the disturbance comes from the world, the flesh, and the devil, and they wouldn’t make such a stir if the matter were not so important.

Therefore, when we have to take resolutions which cost us much, let us look at the Garden of the Agony, and take comfort from Our Lord. And observe, all was in the natural course of events, God allowing creatures to work out their designs. We need not think He interposed to provide special ignominy for Our Lord.

As soon as the conflict had ceased, and Our Lord had fully accepted the sacrifice, He was perfectly self-possessed. Let us too be calm, and united with God, and that will give us strength to endure that suffering we had dreaded and shrunk from.

To all outward appearances Our Lord’s life was a failure; so will it often be with us. Yet it is just then we are most like Him, and in our very failure will He our success in the sight of God.

Our Lord’s agony was an anticipation of suffering: especially helpful in these days, so full of subjective troubles. ‘My soul is sorrowful even unto death.’ ( Matt. xxvi, 30).

A sadness of itself such as to produce death. His soul, generally in such peace and calm, was taken possession of by suffering that was enough to take His life. What was the cause? The knowledge, the anticipation of His Passion. He began to fear and to be heavy (Mark xiv. 33.) -a sickness of heart- agony-fear. Jesus was mortally sad. This fact ought to be of the greatest comfort and consolation to us.

To find a parallel to our sufferings in the Blessed Son of God! It is a lifelong asset of consolation that can’t be prized too highly.

If that most perfect soul of Our Lord could, without grossest injustice, be so dimmed by sadness that there and then the soul might have parted from the body, what right have you or I to think our lot hard? Whatever our trial is, the thought ought to follow us all day, whether our trouble be physical or mental. When I am sad, I am only undergoing the same experience as my Lord and Master.

Much less is it wrong that I should undergo this sadness. It is the very best proof of love I can give Him, and if it knits me nearer to Him, I ought to look upon it as a gift from God.

There are so many of us over whose life hangs a continual shadow. Our lives wrecked-everything gone wrong-got myself into such a mess-impossible I can do anything for God. Jesus in that mortal sadness showed the depth of His love for us more than at any other time.

Some of us think that if we feel sad when we have something to do for God which is hard and unpleasant, we are doing wrong.

If my sorrow comes from anticipated trouble, my Lord’s sorrow was from the same cause. . . . The devil likes us not to humble ourselves, because when the saints did it they were exalted as if they were walking on air. . . .

When Our Lord came to grips with His pain, He did pray, “If it be possible, let this chalice pass from me.” (Matt. xxvi. 39.). When we have no courage, the devil says go back. No; go on. It is nonsense to say the mortifications of the saints cost them nothing.

To feel dreadfully afraid, and as if we cannot do what we have made up our minds to do, proves nothing. Remember Our Lord’s prayer. Finding Himself in this dreadful depression, He set Himself to pray, and cast Himself down on His face.

The repulsion was so great, it set up a kind of wrestling – a struggle, that brought a pressing of the blood from the veins in such abundance that it soaked His garments, and dropped on the grass.

Some people think that the saints drank down pain like a sweet draught. A mistake. Our Lord shrank from the pain presented to Him. The use of the will had to be so strong that His whole Body was bathed in blood.

He began to be afraid.( Mark xiv. 33). Fear seized upon Him by His own permission. He was pale, and shudders went through His Body. There is nothing so terrible as to see a man afraid. They seem to lose the power of guiding themselves.

It might have seemed impossible that Our Lord should have felt fear. If, with great reverence, we could watch Him – how He stoops for love of us!

Learn from this that fearing our trouble is no sign of unfaithfulness to God.

Meanwhile He prays. His very trial consisted in putting aside the consolation He might have had. What makes our darkness so dense is that God does not let us have the consolations we had expected to feel in time of trial.

An angel appeared, strengthening and comforting Him. We come away from the Tabernacle perhaps without an atom of consolation or sweetness, but He always strengthens us.

No matter what sins you may have committed, He forgives you all; and no matter how late you come to His service; He will in one moment help you to amend the past.

When I suffer much, when things that are painful and disagreeable, befall me, instead of assuming an air of sadness, I respond by a smile. At first I was not always successful, but now it is a habit, which I am very happy to have acquired.

True beauty comes from within. If that beauty is lacking, no exercise program, eating plan, or wardrobe update can put it there. No interior decorating scheme can give it to me. “The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit… is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1 Peter 3:4 – Emilie Barnes http://amzn.to/2sKSwHf (afflink)

Do you needs some good reading suggestions? Visit…

My Book List

Book List for Catholic Men

Book List for the Youth

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.


“To Love” Has a Present Tense Only

05 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind, Spiritual Tidbits

≈ 1 Comment

Painting by Eugene de Blaas 1870

by Fr. Jacques Philippe

Treatises on spirituality speak of the stages of the spiritual life. They list three, seven, twelve, or whatever number the particular author prefers. There is much to be learned from these accounts, whether it is the seven mansions of the soul depicted by St. Teresa of Avila or the twelve degrees of humility of the Rule of St. Benedict.

But experience has taught me a different approach. I often say jokingly that the ladder of perfection has only one step: the step we take today.

Without concerning ourselves about the past or the future, we can decide to believe today, place all our trust in God today, love God and neighbor today.

Whether our good resolutions produce success or failure, next day we can begin again, not relying on our strength but only on God’s faithfulness.

This attitude is fundamental in the spiritual life. St. Paul describes it: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus … Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”  It is a basic note of monastic spirituality.

St. Anthony of Egypt (the Father of Monasticism, who died at the age of 105 and who, when he was 100, used to say, “I haven’t yet begun to be converted!”) would repeat St. Paul’s words unceasingly.

His biographer, St. Athanasius, adds: “He also remembered the words of Elijah: ‘The Lord liveth before whom I stand today.’

St. Anthony pointed out that when Elijah said ‘today’ he took no account of the past. And so, as though he were still at the beginning, every day he strove to live as he wished to appear before God: pure of heart and ready to obey God’s will and no other.”

The same attitude has been practiced by all the saints, St. Thérèse of Lisieux being a shining example. She wrote: “To love thee, O Jesus, I have but today.”

“We must live in the present moment. This is the only moment within our hands, the only one that can make us happy. The past exists no more; let us leave it to the Divine Mercy. And, though it does not yet exist, let us entrust the future to God’s loving Providence and live happily in the present.” -Fr. Narciso Irala, S.J., Achieving Peace of Heart http://amzn.to/2soEBXz (afflink)



Do you want some good reading suggestions? Visit My Book List.

Artist: Alfredo Rodriguez

The Loving Dispensations of Divine Providence ~ Fr. Lasance

22 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind, Spiritual Tidbits

≈ 1 Comment

by Father Lasance, Peace, Not as the World Gives

Nothing happens in this world but by the direction or permission of God. “Nothing,” says St. Augustine, “occurs by chance in the whole course of our life. God overrules all.”

“Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, are from God” (Ecclus. xi. 14).

It may, perhaps be said that this holds good in sickness and in death, in cold and in heat, and in all the events of inanimate nature, but not in what depends upon the free will of man.

You say, “if someone speaks evil of me, defrauds me, persecutes and ill-treats me, is that the will of God? How can I see God’s will in that? Does He not forbid such actions? Consequently I can ascribe them only to the evil designs, to the wickedness or to the ignorance of men.”

But, I answer, God Himself speaks clearly and distinctly on this point. On His own Holy Word, we must believe that even what appears to be left to the caprice of men must be attributed to God’s permission.

The Jews imputed their captivity to other causes than the dispensation of Providence. The prophet Jeremias says: “Who is he that hath commanded a thing to be done, when the Lord commandeth it not? Shall not both evil and good proceed out of the mouth of the Most High?” (Jeremias iii. 37).

Therefore, when we are robbed of our good name, despoiled of our wealth, abused or otherwise wronged, we must ascribe it to the will of God. It is His hand that is visiting us; all is the work of His providence.

But, again, you object, “All such actions are sinful. How can God will them? How can He take part therein? God’s essence being holiness itself, He can have nothing in common with sin.”

I answer: In every evil deed two things must be clearly demonstrated; namely, the action itself, or the exterior movement; and the straying of the will from the Divine Law.

Does your neighbor strike you, or calumniate you? You must, on the one hand, distinguish the motion of the arm or of the tongue; and, on the other, the evil intention that directs the movement.

The movement itself is not sinful; therefore God can be the Author of it. And this He really is, for no creature has life or motion of itself; all receive it from God, who works in them and by them.

The evil intention, on the contrary, is entirely the work of the human will, and it alone makes the sin. In this God takes no part. He permits the evil act in order not to do violence to the free will of men.

Accordingly, God shares in the deeds of men only insofar as He contributes to the exterior movement. The bad intention underlying the act proceeds from our will; and in this God has no part.

You have abused your honor, your riches—God wills that you should lose the one or the other; but He takes no part in the sin of either the robber or the calumniator.

Patient endurance should characterize our conduct towards those to whom God has given command over us. We should neither judge their intentions nor harbor aversion against them. We should rest satisfied that, however hostile or inimical they may be toward us, they are only instruments of salvation in the hands of an All-good, All-wise, All-powerful God.

He will give them no more power over us than is for our good. Creatures can do us no harm, unless power is given them from on high. All enlightened souls have been firmly convinced of this truth.

The history of Job presents a beautiful illustration of it. Job is bereft of his children and stripped of all his wealth; from the pinnacle of human happiness he falls to the depths of earthly misery, and what does he say? ‘The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord.”

“Behold,” says St. Augustine, “how this holy man understood the great mystery of God’s providence! He did not say: ‘The Lord hath given me children and riches, and the devil hath taken them from me.’ But he said: ‘The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken. As it has pleased the Lord, and not as it has pleased the devil, also is it done.’

Not less striking is the example of the Egyptian Joseph. His brothers, actuated by hatred and envy, sold him; but he ascribed all to God’s providence.

“God,” he said, ‘sent me before you into Egypt for your preservation, that you may be preserved upon the earth, and may have food to live. . . . Not by your counsel was I sent hither, but by the will of God” (Gen. xiv, 5-8).

Tobias, that faithful servant of God, was made blind while engaged in acts of charity. As we read in the Book of Tobias: ‘This trial the Lord permitted to happen to him, that an example might be given to posterity of his patience, as also of holy Job.

For whereas he had always feared God from his infancy, and kept his commandments, he repined not against God because the evil of blindness had befallen him. But continued immovable in the fear of God, giving thanks to God all the days of his life.

For as the kings insulted over holy Job: so his relations and kinsmen mocked at his life, saying: Where is thy hope, for which thou gavest alms, and buriedst the dead?

But Tobias rebuked them, saying: “Speak not so: For we are the children of saints, and look for that life which God will give to those that never change their faith from Him.”

David, pursued and insulted by Semei, sees the hand of Providence in the insolent behavior of his unruly subject. Twice did he restrain his indignant servant who wished to avenge him, with the words, “Let him alone and let him curse: for the Lord bath bid him curse David” II Kings xvi. Io).

And Jesus Christ Himself, the Holy of Holies, Our Lord and Savior, who came down from heaven to teach us by His word and example, did He not say to Peter, who with inconsiderate zeal urged Him to avert His sufferings and deliver Himself from the hands of His enemies: “The chalice which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” (John xviii. ii).

Jesus attributed the ignominy and pain of His bitter torments, not to their immediate authors, not to the Jews that accused Him, not to Judas who betrayed Him, not to Pilate who condemned Him, not to the executioners who, with most horrible treatment, dragged Him to death, not to the devil, the instigator of the shocking deed: but only to God, in whom He saw, not a cruel Judge, but a loving Father.

We must not attribute our losses, our misfortunes, our sufferings, our humiliations, to the evil spirit or to man; but to their true author, God.

Let us not venture to say: “This one or that one is the cause of my misfortune, my ruin.” No, our trials are not the work of man. They are God’s own work.

This will redound to our greater tranquility, for all that God, the best of fathers, does is full of infinite wisdom; all is subservient to His highest and holiest purposes.

“Parents should remember this: children can get along happily without constantly demanding their parents’ attention, provided there are regular times when Dad or Mom have no concern except being with them.
If we are riddled with anxieties instead of leaving them in God’s hands, we can’t offer our children that kind of time, and they will never feel secure in our love, no matter how many expensive gifts we lavish on them.” -Fr. Jacques Philippe, Interior Freedom, Painting by Alfredo Rodriguez




Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit…

My Book List

Book List for Catholic Men

Book List for the Youth

 

 

 

 

 

The Providence of God ~ Fr. Lasance

15 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind

≈ 2 Comments

Painting by George Hitchcock

by Father Lasance, Peace, Not as the World Gives

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

Not content with offering Himself to us as our last end, God, though respecting our free will, leads us by the hand to that blessed goal. His providence has accompanied us through all the paths of life until this very moment.

Nothing in the world is abandoned to the caprice of chance. Nothing is done except in the sight of God. Being infinite in His knowledge as in His other attributes, God sees everything. “Neither is there any creature invisible in His sight: but all things are open to His eyes” (Heb. iv. 13).

This is a terrible thought for the sinner who offends Thee, O God, for Thou art the sure witness of the wickedness to which he abandons himself; but it is most consoling for the faithful soul whose trials Thou seest, whose sacrifices Thou reckonest, whose cries and prayers Thou hearest.

Nothing is done except by the permission of God. To judge things superficially, it would seem that God is only an idle spectator of the events in the world. His hand is hidden.

Except in some extraordinary circumstances, His activity in the world is not apparent. The power of His creatures appears to possess unrestrained sovereignty.

What makes the intervention of God in things here below even more difficult to perceive is that everything seems given over to the caprice of chance, to the sway of the passions, to the power of physical forces. In appearance, at least, confusion and disorder seem to rule.

Although hidden, the action of God is nonetheless real. While respecting the liberty of creatures, He rules it, directs its exercise, and limits it according to His own pleasure.

The wicked themselves, to whom God has given such astonishing power for evil, accomplish only what He allows them to do. God, while seeming to leave a free field to human activity, confines it within limits which it will never exceed.

Even when it goes astray and gives itself up to the greatest excesses, it is ever subordinated to the supreme will that governs it, against which it can do nothing; which says to it: “Thou shalt go no further” (Job xxviii.

This empire of God over human wills appears most striking in relation to the Church, which wicked men can attack, persecute, even seem to conquer. But they can never succeed in destroying it.

It is on this foundation that the Church places its unshaken confidence in the midst of strifes; and we know this confidence will not be confounded.

Nothing happens except in fulfillment of the providential plan of God. Since He is infinitely wise, God cannot do anything, cannot even admit anything useless or superfluous in His works.

With how much greater reason must He exclude anything that would be an obstacle to the ends that He has prescribed. So, everything in the world has its end, its usefulness, a reason for its existence.

Thus it is in the physical world, and it could not be otherwise in the moral world. Doubtless God does not will everything in the same way. He approves what is good; and, though tolerating evil, He forbids and condemns it.

But since He admits both in His divine plan, He must have found the way to make them both serve the ends that He wills to attain and to make even sin contribute to the beauty and harmony of the universe.

As we well know, in the government of the world God has no other purpose but to sanctify His elect on earth that He may glorify them eternally in heaven. Such is the end that everything realizes after its own manner, and this is why the Apostle could say very truly that everything cooperates for the good of those who love God. “And we know that to them that love God all things work together unto good” (Rom. viii. 23).

Thus, my God, Thou showest that Thou art at once infinitely wise and infinitely good. Infinitely wise, since, without willing evil, Thou hast found the secret of making it serve in the accomplishment of Thy adorable designs; infinitely good, since the end to which Thou dost subordinate everything has been inspired by Thy love for us.

Such is the solid foundation of the peace and joy that sustains the faithful soul amid the strifes and trials that fill our life here below. It is convinced that God, Who directs all, will know how to turn even the saddest trial to its advantage, and that the thorns on the way will some day become jewels in its crown.

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” – Padre Pio

“Sooner or later a man’s habitual thoughts come out in his life and character….” by Father Lasance, 1934, Holiness & Happiness

Are you looking for some good book suggestions? Visit…

My Book List

Book List for Catholic Men

Book List for the Youth

Requiescant in Pace / Heaven, Our Home ~ Father Lasance

20 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind, Spiritual Tidbits

≈ 2 Comments

REQUIESCANT IN PACE

What is heavenly joy? The most concise definition of it we can look to find is contained in the Church’s familiar prayer for her dead: “Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.”

Eternal rest is the negative side of it, perpetual light the positive. Of this latter St. Paul has written, quoting the prophet Isaias: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him” (r Cor. ii. 9).

Now, if heaven meant nothing more than eternal rest; that is, lasting and conscious deliverance from all the ills of this weary pilgrimage, would it not even then be worth all that we are called on to pay down for it?

But it means so much more than this; and if even on this earth the good can for a little space so flood our soul with joy, if an enchanting scene or a strain of exquisite music, or the sense of love returned can so melt our hearts as to make us forgetful of all life’s troubles, how will it be, think you, when the Lord of heaven and earth, the Source of all love and all beauty, lays Himself out to make His creatures happy?

May we not be sure that He knows how to do it? Oh, in very truth: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man what things God hath prepared for them that love Him.”

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seem to die, and their departure was taken for misery, and their going away from us, for utter destruction; but they are in peace, and though in the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality.

“Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded; because God hath tried them, and found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace He hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them, and in time there shall be respect had to them.

“The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds (Wis. I-7). Then shall the just stand with great constancy against those that have afflicted them. . . . These, seeing it, shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation, saying within themselves, repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit:—These are they whom he had some time in derision, and for a parable of reproach.

“We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honor. Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints (Wis. v. /-5). “

HEAVEN, OUR HOME

Naturally enough, the Thessalonians were anxious to learn from the apostle St. Paul what was the Christian teaching about the next world. Where were their beloved dead gone?

The day returned after night, the spring followed winter, the cherry blossom and the apple bloom came back year by year, the skylark and the nightingale were heard when the snow was gone, and the olive and vine put forth their wealth of tender leaves, but alas! the long procession of their dear dead marched slowly to the tomb never to return.

In their anxiety they turned to their Father in God. And he answers them in clear and definite words: “We will not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope.

“For if we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again, even so them who have slept in Jesus will God bring with Him. Wherefore comfort ye one another with these words.”

Look up and realize that in the land very far off there is peace—a peace which comes from the harmony of order, life, and energy. See its symbol, not in the sluggish waters of a pool or a canal, but in the force of the majestic river.

See it, not in the pathless arid desert, or on the rocky height, but in the beautiful valley where flowers fill the air with sweetness and fruit is ripening.

See it, not in the harp unstrung and put to rest, but in the energy and harmony of a perfect orchestra pouring forth a flood of glorious music.

Contemplate life with no shadow of death, health with no token of decay, strength with no sign of weakness, the eternal life, angelic, seraphic, godlike in a multitude of peace ever abiding

—Bernard Vaughan, S.J.: Loaves and Fishes.

Foolish, indeed, are we, not to reflect oftener on the eternal home awaiting us, whose joys will never pall and whose transcendent bliss is everlasting.

When we find it hard to bear “the whips and scorns of time,” let us encourage ourselves with the thought that the longest life is but brief, that no matter how storm-tossed our barque, we have but to keep courageously on our course, confident that He who launched our frail skiff on the seething waters, will guide it safely to the Eternal Shore, where, with gracious words of welcome on His dear lips, He will receive us into His Father’s Home.

Then joy and rest shall be ours for evermore. God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes, and death shall be no more, nor mourning nor crying nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things have passed away.

“From our homes will come the leaders of our country and of the world. A sound economic and social life and enduring world peace will be built from the materials our families supply. You must make every effort to develop the quality of your home life. If you cherish spiritual values, you will bind together domestic ties, for, as a parent, you play a leading part in rebuilding the ideals of a nation through its home and civic life. To a large degree, you form human character.” – Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik, The Catholic Family Handbook, Painting by Richard Sohn (1834 – 1912, German)

We should get used to extracting from ordinary day-to-day life whatever can increase our joy, rest, and legitimate satisfaction, and whatever can fill us with optimism. There is a thrill of joy and satisfaction in the thought that we are the objects of God’s love and can ourselves sincerely love Him…

1896 A.C.W.Duncan

1896 A.C.W.Duncan

Do you need some good book suggestions? Visit My Book List….

 

God Hath Care of You ~ Fr. Lasance

06 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind, Spiritual Tidbits

≈ 1 Comment

by Father Lasance, Peace Not as the World Gives

TRUST IN GOD

Great indeed and very comforting are the promises made to prayer. “Ask, and you shall receive.” It would seem from this that one has only to ask in the name of Christ and he is sure of getting what he wants; yet, common sense tells us that cannot be the meaning intended.

If it were, we Christians should ask for all the good things of life and get them, the hard and bitter things being left to those who had no faith; for, when any affliction threatened us, we should at once pray it away.

It is evident, surely, that prayer is not meant to be simply an escape from suffering. Mark, now, that little clause: “that your joy may be full”; for therein lies the explanation of Our Savior’s words.

What joy is He thinking of? Eternal joy, of course. He binds Himself, therefore, to give us whatever will help us on our road to heaven.

He will indeed hear and answer all our prayers; but if we make foolish petitions, He will answer them in His own wise and fatherly way by giving us something better.

If we let our children have everything they cried for we should soon see them in their graves; and if God were to grant us everything we ask of Him, we should never rise to a better life.

GOD HATH CARE OF YOU

LET US ABANDON OURSELVES WHOLLY TO DIVINE PROVIDENCE!

There is perhaps no maxim which helps more than this to obtain the peace of heart and evenness of mind that belongs to a Christian life. There is perhaps no maxim which, if this is practiced with the simplicity and generosity of heart that it requires, renders the follower of Jesus Christ more dear to our heavenly Father.

For, it implies perfect confidence in Him and in Him alone, complete detachment from all that appears delightful, powerful, and illustrious on earth, and a tender love, reserved for God alone.

It implies a most lively faith, which believes as certain that all things in the world, both great and small, rest alike in the hand of our heavenly Father, and that nothing is done by them unless as disposed by Him for the accomplishment of His adorable designs.

It implies also a belief in the infinite goodness, mercy, bounty, and generosity of our heavenly Father, who disposes all things for the good of them that trust in Him, and whose gifts and favors and care and graces are bestowed in proportion to the confidence of His well-beloved children.

The sure way by which the Christian may know if he is wanting in the full confidence that he is commanded to have in the provident care of his heavenly Father is to examine whether he feels any disquietude about the good and evil things of this world: whether he is always perfectly tranquil and calm, and prepared for whatever may happen; or is subject to anxiety, taking human measures with painful uneasiness as to their result, and, like a man of little faith, hoping and fearing excessively, and continually wavering. —Antonio Rosmini: Maxims of Christian Perfection.

Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to Him: and His wonderful works to the children of men.

They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in the great waters:

These have seen the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.

He said the word, and there arose a storm of wind: and the waves thereof were lifted up.

They mount up to the heavens, and they go down to the depths: their soul pined away with evils.

They were troubled, and reeled like a drunken man; and all their wisdom was swallowed up.

And they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and He brought them out of their distresses.

And He turned the storm into a breeze: and its waves were still.

And they rejoiced because they were still: and He brought them to the haven which they wished for.

Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to Him, and His wonderful works to the children of men.

—Ps. cvi. 21-31.

REQUIESCANT IN PACE

What is heavenly joy? The most concise definition of it we can look to find is contained in the Church’s familiar prayer for her dead: “Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.”

Eternal rest is the negative side of it, perpetual light the positive. Of this latter St. Paul has written, quoting the prophet Isaias: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him” (r Cor. ii. 9).

Now, if heaven meant nothing more than eternal rest; that is, lasting and conscious deliverance from all the ills of this weary pilgrimage, would it not even then be worth all that we are called on to pay down for it?

But it means so much more than this; and if even on this earth the good can for a little space so flood our soul with joy, if an enchanting scene or a strain of exquisite music, or the sense of love returned can so melt our hearts as to make us forgetful of all life’s troubles, how will it be, think you, when the Lord of heaven and earth, the Source of all love and all beauty, lays Himself out to make His creatures happy?

May we not be sure that He knows how to do it? Oh, in very truth: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man what things God bath prepared for them that love Him.”

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seem to die, and their departure was taken for misery, and their going away from us, for utter destruction; but they are in peace, and though in the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality.

Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded; because God hath tried them, and found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace He bath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them, and in time there shall be respect had to them. The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds (Wis. iii. r-7).

Then shall the just stand with great constancy against those that have afflicted them. . . . These, seeing it, shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation, saying within themselves, repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit:-These are they whom he had some time in derision, and for a parable of reproach.

We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honor. Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints. (Wis. V. 1-5)

“After committing a fault of whatever kind, rather than withdrawing into ourselves indefinitely in discouragement and dwelling on the memory, we must immediately return to God with confidence and even thank Him for the good that His mercy will be able to draw out of this fault!
We must know that one of the weapons that the devil uses most commonly to prevent souls from advancing toward God is precisely to try to make them lose their peace and discourage them by the sight of their faults.”
Searching For and Maintaining Peace, Fr. Jacques Philippe https://amzn.to/2pSwDmQ (afflink)

We cannot serve the flesh and the spirit; the two masters. What we are seeking to do is more important than what we seek to avoid. The positive aspects of the Kingdom are good works, piety, prayer and sanctity. Description of Heaven (the Kingdom) which is our goal. Our real life is the eternal life. Everything we do on earth is a merit or a demerit for that end. Discussion of peace. True love of self brings us to true love of God. What is true charity? The tranquility of order. Evil can never put men at rest. The peace of Heaven can exist on earth…

Coloring pages for your children. Click on the individual picture for full size.



 

Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit…

My Book List

Book List for Catholic Men

Book List for the Youth

 

 

 

 

 

What Madness! ~ Father Lasance, Peace Not as the World Gives

29 Saturday Oct 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind, Spiritual Tidbits, Tidbits for Your Day

≈ 2 Comments

Painting by Kathryn Fincher

by Father Lasance, Peace Not as the World Gives

PEACE OF HEART

A great secret for preserving peace of heart is to do nothing with over-eagerness, but to act always calmly, without trouble or disquiet. We are not asked to do much, but to do well. At the Last Day, God will not examine if we have performed a multitude of works, but if we have sanctified our souls in doing them.

Now, the means of sanctifying ourselves is to do everything for God and to do perfectly whatever we have to do. The works that have as their motive vanity or selfishness make us neither better nor happier, and we shall receive no reward for them.

Patience hath a perfect work; that you may be perfect, failing in nothing. —James i. 4.

Whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. —Col. iii. 17.

PEACE IS FOUND IN CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD

God desires only that which is best for us, namely, our sanctification. “This is the will of God,” says the Apostle, “your sanctification” (Thess. iv. 3).

Let us take care, therefore, to subdue our own will, uniting it always to the will of God; and thus also let us endeavor to control our mind, reflecting that everything that God does is best for us.

Whoever does not act thus, will never find true peace. All the perfection which can be attained in this world, which is a place of purification, and consequently a place of troubles and afflictions, consists in suffering patiently those things which are opposed to our self-love; and in order to suffer them with patience, there is no more efficacious means than a willingness to suffer them in order to do the will of God.

Submit thyself then to Him, and be at peace” (Job xxii. 21).

He that acquiesces with the divine will in everything, is always at peace; and nothing of all that happens to him can make him unhappy. “Whatever shall befall the just man, it shall not make him sad” (Prov. xii. 21).

But why is the just man never miserable in any circumstances? Because he knows well, that whatever happens in the world, happens through the will of God. —St. Alphonsus Liguori.

We deceive ourselves greatly if we think that union with God consists in ecstasies and spiritual consolations. It consists alone in thinking, saying, doing that which is in conformity to the will of God.

This union is perfect when our will is detached from everything, attached but to God in such a manner that it breathes but His pure will. This is the true and essential union that I ardently desire, and continually ask of Our Lord. —St. Teresa.

WHAT MADNESS!

Man, being endowed with a will of his own, possesses the awful power of resisting the will of the Almighty; but this he does at his own great peril; for his true happiness both here and hereafter is bound up in submission to that will.

Whenever he refuses to obey his conscience, he sets himself against God, for conscience is the voice of God. In this life he may defy His Maker; but not forever. The Almighty must prevail in the end.

What madness, then, to resist the irresistible! What madness to treat one’s best friend as an enemy!

“Be you humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in the time of visitation, casting all your care upon Him; for He hath care of you” (I Pet. v. 6, 7).

Submission and confidence is my proper attitude, submission to God’s power, confidence in God’s kindness; for thus the divine omnipotence will be placed at my service. “He will do the will of them that fear Him” (Ps. cxliv. 19).

THE INFINITE WISDOM OF GOD

In all His dealings with man God shows Himself infinitely wise. He has given him intelligence to know his duty and free will to do it; and this free will He never takes away, however much it may be abused.

He helps him with His grace to overcome the concupiscence of his corrupt nature and waits for him with unwearied patience, sending him afflictions, indeed, but only to wean him from the dangerous love of this world, which attracts him as the flame attracts the moth; for the one object of this good Father is to save His child from casting himself into eternal misery and to secure his lasting happiness.

Yet, man will not trust himself to God’s guidance. He thinks, poor fool, that he knows his own interests better and can take care of himself. He will put himself unreservedly in the hands of a physician and take cheerfully the remedies he prescribes, however unpleasant, for he holds bodily life and health to be worth any price; but of life and health eternal he reckons little.

For my part, I will leave myself in the care of the good God, Who knows infinitely better than I do what is profitable to me. It would be folly, indeed, not to trust One Who loves me so well.

“The love of parents is made manifest only through sacrifice, respect for the human nature of their children, companionship and a deep interest in the studies, the work, the play and the progress of their children. It does not injure the children by coddling them; it does not stunt them by unreasonable severity in its demands and punishments.” -Fr. Donald Miller, C.SS.R., 1950’s





Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit….

My Book List

Book List for Men

Book List for the Youth

 

 

 

Peace With God, With Our Neighbor and With Oneself ~ Fr. Lasance

16 Sunday Oct 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind, Spiritual Tidbits

≈ 2 Comments

by Father Lasance, Peace Not as the World Gives

PEACE WITH GOD

Reflect that as Our Savior, the night before His passion, bequeathed His peace to His disciples, saying: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you,” so also after His resurrection, on three occasions He wished them His peace, saying: “Peace be to you.”

But what kind of peace is this that He so much inculcates and so earnestly desires to impart to us? Not the peace which the world pretends to give, which is false and deceitful like itself, they say, “Peace, peace, and there is no peace” (Ezech. xiii. 1o), but “the peace of God which surpasseth all understanding” (Philipp. iv. 7).

A threefold peace; namely, a peace of the soul with God, a peace with every neighbor, and a peace with oneself.

And first, whosoever desires any degree of happiness, either here or hereafter, must take care to keep an inviolable peace with God, by ever flying willful sin, which is at enmity with God. For how can there be any good for them that are at war with God.

‘Who hath ever resisted Him and hath had peace?” (Job. ix. 4).

“The wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest, and the waves thereof cast up dirt and mire: there is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord God” (Is. lvii. 20, 21).

PEACE WITH OUR NEIGHBOR

Reflect that the Christian cannot maintain his peace with God if he does not also “follow peace with all men” (Heb. xi. 14); “and as much as lies in him, keep peace with all men” (Rom. xii. i8).

“For as no man can love God that does not love his neighbor” (1 John iv.), so no man can be at peace with God that breaks peace with his neighbor.

It is, then, another branch both of the duty and of the happiness of a Christian to be at peace with every man, at least as far as lies in his power; to renounce all animosity and rancor, all discord and contention, all malice and envy, and whatsoever else is opposite to fraternal charity, and to learn to bear, and to forbear, which are the two great means of keeping peace with our neighbors…

When on our part we forbear giving them any offense or provocation, either by word or deed, and at the same time bear with Christian meekness and charity all the offenses or provocations we receive at their hands, and strive to overcome them by rendering good for evil.

Oh, how much happier is such a soul than one that is always at war with one neighbor or another, and always in a storm at home in his own interior!

PEACE WITH ONESELF

Another necessary branch of the Christian’s peace is, to be at peace within himself, by striving to banish from his own interior whatsoever may disturb the tranquility of his soul. This inward peace, when it is perfect, is a certain foretaste of heaven; it is a kind of heaven; it is a kind of heaven upon earth.

In such souls God is pleased to dwell, of whom the Royal Prophet sings (Ps. lxxv.), that “His place is in peace, and His abode in Sion.”

To come at this happy peace (besides taking care to keep peace with God by a clean conscience, and with every neighbor by concord and charity), we must have our passions mortified, our affections well-ordered and regulated, and our desires restrained; we must banish all hurry and over eagerness; all sadness and melancholy; all scrupulous fears, anxious cares, and uneasiness about the things of this world; and, above all things and in all things, we must conform ourselves to the holy will of God.

Practice these lessons, my soul, and thou wilt be at peace, at least as far as the condition of thy mortal pilgrimage will allow of.

Conclude ever to aim at this threefold peace, with thy God, with thy neighbor, and with thyself; pray daily for it; and whatsoever fear, affection, or desire, or any other thing whatsoever offers to disturb thy heart, shut the door against it as an enemy, as a messenger of Satan, who comes to rob thee of thy treasure, the peace of thy soul.

PEACE WITH JESUS IN THE SACRAMENT OF HIS LOVE

Sweet Jesus! by this Sacrament of Love

All gross affections from my heart remove;

Let but Thy loving kindness linger there,

Preserved by grace and perfected by prayer;

And let me to my neighbor strive to be

As mild and gentle as Thou art with me.

Take Thou the guidance of my whole career,

That to displease Thee be my only fear;

Give me that peace the world can never give,

And in Thy loving presence let me live.

Ah! show me always, Lord, Thy holy will

And to each troubled thought say, “Peace, be still.”

“The one who knows how to profit by his own errors is the one who makes a success of life. To be discouraged over your mistakes is foolish. To disregard them is equally unwise. To face them fearlessly and try to learn from them how to avoid a mistake next time is part of wisdom.” – Fr. Edward F. Garesche, Catholic Book of Character and Success, 1912, Painting by John George Brown

We should get used to extracting from ordinary day-to-day life whatever can increase our joy, rest, and legitimate satisfaction, and whatever can fill us with optimism. There is a thrill of joy and satisfaction in the thought that we are the objects of God’s love and can ourselves sincerely love Him…

Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit…

My Book List

Book List for Catholic Men

Book List for the Youth

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

 

The Gift of Peace ~ Father Lasance

09 Sunday Oct 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind, Tidbits for Your Day

≈ 1 Comment

by Father Lasance, Peace, Not as the World Gives

PEACE, THE GIFT OF THE INFANT JESUS

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. This was the song of the angels in the Holy Night.

Peace, the gift which the divine Child brought with Him from above, will not be bestowed on those individuals who are endowed with a good understanding or a good memory; it will not be granted to those who excel in bodily strength, who are remarkable for their personal beauty or for their noble birth; it will be given solely and exclusively to the men of good will, no matter if all else be lacking to them—intellectual superiority; distinguished beauty, a splendid physique, high position.

And who is the man of good will? He who desires and asks and strives after nothing else but solely and wholly what God wills.

Solomon, having prayed for wisdom, received every other good thing along with it; and we too, if, like good Christians, we leave ourselves in our heavenly Father’s hands and have no other wish but to please Him, shall most certainly have many temporal blessings poured out upon us.

God will never send us a life wholly free from suffering, for that is not the way to heaven; but He will give us peace, that peace which surpasseth all understanding, leading through storm and sunshine to eternal joy. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth do I give unto you” (John xiv. 27).

HEART OF JESUS, OUR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

The peace of our soul depends on the proper observance of four sets of relations—i.e., with God, by love and conformity to His divine will, with men, by justice and charity; with ourselves, by the due subordination of the body to the soul, of the inferior appetites to reason; with inferior creatures, by making them subservient to our last end. The better we observe these four relations, the greater our peace of soul.

In heaven alone shall we enjoy this peace in its perfection. On earth, even its imperfect possession is an unspeakable blessing, the nearest approach to true happiness.

Again and again Christ wished it to His disciples: “Pax vobis” (Peace be to you) was His frequent form of address. “Peace I leave you, My peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.” (John xiv. 27.)

“Learn of Me .. . and you will find rest to your souls.” (Matt. xi. 29.)

The Church in its Liturgy prays again and again for peace. “May the peace of the Lord be always with you.”

Now, the Sacred Heart is called “our peace and reconciliation” in the same sense as, in another invocation, it is called “our life and resurrection”—viz., the Sacred Heart is the cause of our peace and reconciliation.

“He is our peace,” says St. Paul (Eph. ii. 14) “. . . that He might reconcile” us to God. This peacemaking influence of the Savior we attribute to His Sacred Heart.

Our “peace and reconciliation” are the direct result of the shedding of the precious blood, which has its source and well-spring in the Sacred Heart; moreover, the work of pacification and reconciliation is peculiarly the outcome of the love, and therefore of the Heart, of the Redeemer.

The one, great, everlasting longing of the Sacred Heart is our “reconciliation” with His Father and our final admission to the ever-lasting bliss of heaven. For this He lived on earth, for this He died, for this He dwells throughout the ages in the tabernacle.

Peace, says St. Augustine, is serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, simplicity of heart, the bond of charity.

SERENITY OF MIND

Our mind is like the sky, that may be either resplendent with sunshine or darkened with clouds. The clouds are gloomy thoughts, rash judgments, suspicions, uncharitable feelings—all, in short, that destroys interior peace.

TRANQUILITY OF SOUL

Our tranquility is disturbed by thoughts about the past—its faults, failures, and mishaps; the present—its troubles and sorrows; the future—its possibilities and apprehensions. The remedy for all this is confidence in God, conformity to His holy will, abandonment to the guidance and protection of Providence.

SIMPLICITY OF HEART

This may be defined as an active spirit of faith, which makes us simple, sincere, and straightforward in our relations with God and with our neighbor.

THE BOND OF CHARITY

To have peace of heart there must be charity in thought—avoiding envy, suspicion, jealousy, and all that embitters the mind; in word—avoiding calumny, detraction, unkindness of speech: in action—by being kindly and thoughtful in act toward others. even generous and self-sacrificing at times, and free from selfishness.

All these things we shall find in Him who was “meek and humble”; who came to give `peace on earth to men of good will”; and who so often invoked the sweet blessing of peace on His disciples of old.

PRAYER FOR PEACE

Give peace, 0 Lord, in our days; for there is none other that fighteth for us, but only Thou, our God.

Let there be peace in Thy strength, 0 Lord.

And plenty in Thy strong places.

Let us pray…

0 God, from Whom proceed all holy desires, all right counsels and just works; grant unto us Thy servants that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be devoted to Thy service and that, being delivered from the fear of our enemies, we may pass our time in peace under Thy protection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Indulgence: 100 days, every time.—Pius IX. May 18, 1848.

(My note: I say the above prayer each evening.)

PRAYER FOR FIDELITY AND CONFORMITY TO THE DIVINE WILL

O Lord almighty, Who permittest evil to draw good therefrom, hear our humble prayers, and grant that we remain faithful to Thee unto death. Grant us also, through the intercession of most holy Mary, the strength ever to conform ourselves to Thy most holy will. Indulgence: 100 days, once a day.—Pius IX. June 15. 1862; Leo XIII, July 19, 1879.

“Life is too short to spend it doing things that don’t get you where you want to go. For instance, if it’s important to you to read aloud to your kids, but you find yourself rarely doing that, you’ll feel the disconnect and it will discourage you. You’ll feel off track and out of sorts, but might not be able to put your finger on why.
Spend some time thinking about what you DO want in your life. Then make those choices each day. When you live intentionally and with purpose, it will make a tremendous difference in your life and the lives of those you love.” – Charlotte Siems
Sermon on the Battle of Lepanto with events leading up to the battle, who was in the Holy League’s fleet, & why we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Victory aka Our Lady of the Rosary. The great victory over the Muslim Turks…

Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit My Book List.

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

And This Peace Nobody Can Take From Us

04 Sunday Sep 2022

Posted by Leanevdp in Peace....Leaving Worry Behind

≈ 2 Comments

From Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart by Father Jacques Phillipe.

Let us then seek to put into practice all that has been said, with patience and perseverance, and, above all, without becoming discouraged if we don’t arrive at perfection! Permit me to formulate an axiom that is a little paradoxical: above all we must never lose our peace because we can never find or be as much at peace as we would like! Our reeducation is long and it is necessary to have a lot of patience with ourselves.

This, then, is the fundamental principle: “I will never become discouraged!” This is another phrase taken from the little Therese, who is the consummate model of the spirit that we have attempted to describe in these pages. And let us also repeat the words of the great Saint Teresa of Avila, “patience obtains everything.”

Another very useful, practical principle is the following: If I am not capable of great things, I will not become discouraged, but I will do the small things!

Sometimes, because we are unable to do great things, heroic acts, we neglect the small things that are available to us and which are, moreover, so fruitful for our spiritual progress and are such a source of joy: well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things, I will now trust you with greater. Come and share your master’s joy. (Matthew 25:21)

If the Lord finds us faithful and persevering in small things in terms of what he expects of us, it is He Himself who will intervene and establish us in a higher grace.

The application: If I am still not able to remain at peace when faced with difficult situations, then it is better that I should begin to strive to keep this peace in the easier situations of everyday life: to quietly and without irritability do my daily chores, to commit myself to doing each thing well in the present moment without preoccupying myself with what follows, to speak peacefully and with gentleness to those around me, to avoid excessive hurry in my gestures and in the way I climb the stairs!

The first steps on the ladder of sanctity could very well be those of my own apartment!

The soul often is re-educated by the body! Small things done with love and to please God are extremely beneficial in making us grow; it’s one of the secrets of holiness of Saint Therese of Lisieux.

And if we persevere in such a way, in prayer and with the small acts of collaboration with grace, we will be able to live the words of Saint Paul: Don’t be anxious; instead, give thanks in all your prayers and petitions and make your requests known to God, and God’s peace which is beyond all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

And this peace nobody can take from us.

26058e5bbdfbb2b7bb0b13780f78b20e

strawberries

 
“The facts are that Church teaching is supported upon a bedrock of logic and that many of the foremost thinkers throughout history have found her doctrines unassailable. Therefore if you yourself cannot cope with your adolescent’s arguments, you can refer him to Catholic books, literature, and other sources of information.
Do not expect your child to accept a religious teaching simply and solely because the Church says it is so. As an individual with a growing intellectual capacity of his own, he has a legitimate right to know why the Church maintains a certain position.
When helped in a friendly way to understand that position, he will become a stronger Catholic as a result.” – Rev. George A. Kelly, The Catholic Family Handbook, 1950’s
13700105_548936505308364_5492290148623972998_n
“Did you ever bewail losses and mistakes in an exaggerated way, out of all proportion to their magnitude? We have all done so….” Fr. John Carr, C.SS.R., Helps to Happiness

Do you need some good book suggestions? Visit…
My Book List
Book List for Catholic Men
Book List for Catholic Youth
← Older posts

Follow FF on Facebook

Follow FF on Facebook

Follow FF on MeWe

Have Tea With Me!

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

The Catholic Wife and Young Lady’s Maglets!

Beautiful, Feminine Aprons for Sale!

Rosaries, etc.

Recent Posts

  • “Lady Day” ~ March 25th, The Annunciation
  • The Catholic and His Medals
  • High School and Secret Company-Keeping ~ 1955, Fr. Donald Miller, C.SS.R.
  • The “Power” of a Woman
  • A Meditation on St. Joseph

Recent Comments

Leanevdp on The Catholic and His Medals
maryarc on The Catholic and His Medals
Leanevdp on The Catholic and His Medals
maryarc on The Catholic and His Medals
maryarc on High School and Secret Company…

Archives

Categories

  • About the Angels
  • Achieving Peace of Heart – Fr. Narciso Irala
  • Activities
  • Advent/Christmas
  • Alice Von Hildebrand
  • An Easy Way to Become a Saint
  • Attitude
  • Baby Charlotte
  • Be Cheerful/Helps to Happiness
  • Beautiful Girlhood
  • Book Reviews
  • Books by Leane
  • by Alice von Hildebrand
  • by Anne Kootz
  • by Charlotte Siems
  • by Emilie Barnes
  • by Father Daniel A. Lord
  • by Father Daniel Considine
  • by Fr. Edward Garesche
  • by Leane Vdp
  • by Maria Von Trapp
  • by St. Francis de Sales
  • by Theresa Byrne
  • Cana is Forever
  • Catholic Book of Character and Success
  • Catholic Family Handbook – Fr. Lovasik
  • Catholic Family Handbook, Rev. George A. Kelly
  • Catholic Girl's Guide
  • Catholic Hearth Stories
  • Catholic Home Life
  • Catholic Mother Goose
  • Catholic Teacher's Companion
  • Charity
  • Cheerful Chats for Catholic Children
  • Christ in the Home – Fr. Raoul Plus S.J.
  • Clean Love in Courtship – Fr. Lovasik
  • Courtship and Marriage and the Gentle Art of Homemaking
  • Creativity
  • Dear NewlyWeds-Pope Pius XII
  • Educating a Child ~ Fr. Joseph Duhr
  • Education
  • Events
  • Family Life
  • Fascinating Womanhood
  • Father Walker
  • Father's Role
  • Feast Days
  • Femininity vs Feminist
  • FF Tidbits
  • Finances
  • Finer Femininity Maglet!! (Magazine/Booklet)
  • Finer Femininity Podcast
  • For the Guys – The Man for Her
  • Friendship
  • Give-Aways
  • Guide for Catholic Young Women
  • Health and Wellness
  • Helps to Happiness
  • Hospitality
  • How to be Holy, How to be Happy
  • Inspiring Quotes
  • It's the Little Things…
  • Joy
  • Kindness
  • Lent
  • Light and Peace by Quadrupani
  • Loving Wife
  • Marriage
  • Modesty
  • Motherhood
  • My Shop – Meadows of Grace
  • Organization Skills
  • Parenting
  • Patterns
  • Peace….Leaving Worry Behind
  • Personalities/Temperaments
  • Plain Talks on Marriage – Rev. Fulgence Meyer
  • Podcasts – Finer Femininity
  • Power of Words
  • Prayers
  • Praying
  • Printables
  • Questions People Ask About Their Children – Fr. Daniel A. Lord
  • Questions Young People Ask Before Marriage, Fr. Donald Miller, C.SS.R., 1955
  • Reading
  • Recipes
  • Rev. Fulton Sheen
  • Sacramentals
  • Scruples/Sadness
  • Seasons
  • Seasons, Feast Days, etc.
  • Sermons
  • Sex Instructions/Purity
  • Singles
  • Smorgasbord 'n Smidgens
  • Special Websites
  • Spiritual Tidbits
  • Tea-Time With FinerFem – Questions/My Answers
  • The Catholic Youth's Guide to Life and Love
  • The Christian Home ~ Celestine Strub, OFM
  • The Everyday Apostle
  • The Holy Family
  • The Mass/The Holy Eucharist
  • The Rosary
  • The Wife Desired – Father Kinsella
  • Tidbits for Your Day
  • Traditional Family Weekend
  • True Men As We Need Them
  • True Womanhood, A book of Instruction for Women of the World, Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, L.D., 1893
  • Virtues
  • Vocation
  • Will Training by Rev. Edward Barrett
  • Womanhood
  • Youth
  • Youth's Pathfinder
  • Youth/Courtship

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Blogroll

  • Discuss
  • Get Inspired
  • Get Polling
  • Get Support
  • Learn WordPress.com
  • Theme Showcase
  • WordPress Planet
  • WordPress.com News

Disclosure Policy

This site contains affiliate links. Read more details here: Disclosure Policy

Powered by WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...