Fr. Ioannes Petrus

A story from the life of St. Teresa of Jesus; it serves well as a type for our present situation. How hard it is to be in a covered wagon seemingly about to go off a cliff. Do those muleteers really know what they are doing? Do they really know where they are going? What the saints did in tight spots has not changed for us; it still holds. Let us learn from the saints to seek the intercession of the saints, including St. Joseph, the Patron of the Universal Church.

St. John, great Carmelite mystic friar, can be called the Doctor of Detachment. He suffered much throughout his life, but willingly accepted it all for love of Christ. It was because his heart was so detached from all the things of this world that he was able to live for GOD ALONE.

While St. Nicholas is best remembered for giving gifts and helping the youth, he also defended the true doctrine of Christ at the Council of Nicea against the arch-heretic Arius. Today the spirit of Arius is strong, with many attempting to deny the divinity of Christ. Instead let us imitate St. Nicholas: upholding the True Faith and giving gifts that help a person fulfill their true vocation.

Sloth, one of the seven deadly sins, takes its name from the Old English "slow-th", meaning that the slothful man is slow in fulfilling his duties. He can fail in his duties either by being lazy or by being a workaholic in doing many things that ought not be done at this time and place. Thus, sloth is simply defined as not doing what you are supposed to be doing when you are supposed to be doing it. When we are slothful, then we are not under the umbrella of God's grace, and sin comes readily and quickly. We get angry, lustful, [...]

Our Lady in her Immaculate Conception is Virgo Potens: the Virgin Most Powerful. Pope Pius XII tells us her power is nearly infinite. He explains that she has this power not only by divine association but also by conquest. This is because she was conceived immaculate in the Divine Mind at the beginning of the Creation at the same time as Her Lord and King. This places her outside of the 'envelope of sin' opened by the devil and Adam. This places her before the creation of all other things (angels, men, sun, moon, etc.). Thus, she has dominion over them all! This [...]