We can learn from the Saints!

[koralstratz]

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“The most powerful weapon to conquer the Devil is humility. For as he does not know at all how to
employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it."

(St. Vincent de Paul)

[earthhomescebu]

Sainthood if declared by man is biased because we can never really read minds & hearts..we just see actions. Kabantay mo naay mga maayo kaayo sa simbahan pero ang kinaiya kay dli makaon? Mao rasad na.

[petite fleur]

"Lord, grant that I might not so much seek....to be loved as to love."

Saint Francis of Assisi

[petite fleur]

Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.

St. Anthony of Padua

[libraun]

By the way, the Ecce Homo is on display right now at the basilica Minore del Sto. Nino.. Although wala pako kakita ani, i would love to visit the basilica maybe this long weekend.. @petitefleur, church tour ta this monday!! whatdoyouthink?

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

Sainthood if declared by man is biased because we can never really read minds & hearts..we just see actions. Kabantay mo naay mga maayo kaayo sa simbahan pero ang kinaiya kay dli makaon? Mao rasad na.

That is true thats why a very long process takes place before one a is being canonized .

Tanan tao naay kina-iya na di makaon , wala pa lang nato ma unleashed pod .

[petite fleur]

"Damned money! Alas! How many religious did it blind! How many cloistered religious did it deceive! Money is the 'droppings of birds' that blinded the eyes of Tobit." (Tob 2:10-12)
- St Anthony of Padua


"The saints are like the stars. In his providence Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive in their heart the invitation of Christ."

[koralstratz]

St. Monica
Patron of Wives and Abuse Victims
(Feast Day Aug 27 )



St. Monica was married by arrangement to a pagan official in North Africa, who was much older than she, and although generous, was also violent tempered. His mother Lived with them and was equally difficult, which proved a constant challenge to St. Monica. She had three children; Augustine, Navigius, and Perpetua. Through her patience and prayers, she was able to convert her husband and his mother to the Catholic faith in 370· He died a year later. Perpetua and Navigius entered the religious Life. St. Augustine was much more difficult, as she had to pray for him for 17 years, begging the prayers of priests who, for a while, tried to avoid her because of her persistence at this seemingly hopeless endeavor. One priest did console her by saying, "it is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish." This thought, coupled with a vision that she had received strengthened her. St. Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose in 387. St. Monica died later that same year, on the way back to Africa from Rome in the Italian town of Ostia.


Patience, Endurance, Charity, Prayer and Conversion
(These five words where so much the life of St. Monica)

Patience - The waiting must have been terrible for St. Monica who watched her son, St. Augustine drift into paganism and eventually come back to the Catholic faith.

Endurance - Having to marry a cruel, pagan man whom she didn't know or love. Knowing that she must obey her parents and there choice for her suitor.

Charity - She had been taught to love the poor and the suffering, and to serve them at her own expense and inconvenience, and the service of others makes one unselfish. She showed this charity to her servants and to her aging mother-in-law who was a very controlling woman.

Prayer - The unceasing prayers of St. Monica helped many including her husband, Patricius; his mother, her children - Navigius, Perpetua and her eldest son, Augustine. Never underestimate the power of prayer.

Conversion - Her constant prayers and intercessions brought about the conversions of her mother-in-law, her husband and finally her son, Augustine; who came back to the faith and was baptized at the age of 33 by St. Ambrose.

[wenlove24]

Sainthood if declared by man is biased because we can never really read minds & hearts..we just see actions. Kabantay mo naay mga maayo kaayo sa simbahan pero ang kinaiya kay dli makaon? Mao rasad na.

That is why it can never be biased bec. it isn't declared by man. True indeed men cannot read minds and hearts but the Holy Spirit can. If one could only examine it closely, canonization is a long and extremely difficult process and requires authentic miracles.
As far as religion is concerned, it goes hand in hand with Sacred Scripture because it is Sacred Tradition. When we look at the Church (any for that matter), we don't judge it by its mistakes but by its capacity to bring people closest to the Truth. She (the Church) remains and will remain faithful to her Bridegroom who is Christ Himself. We, as members of His broken body strive to achieve perfection despite the odds.
As a Catholic myself, I am at times deeply troubled by the many heresies and blasphemies committed against the Church but instead of lingering on criticism, I contemplate each situation carefully and see what and how these things draw me closer to God. "You are Peter and upon this rock I will buid my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."
Sometimes it's very astonishing how I find myself unscathed by what I see and hear on the news. Keeping my eyes fixed on the Lord and His overflowing graces allowed me to continue to travel, although at times with honest trepidation, towards the eternal goal.
Fervent prayer helps. Work in silence, "let your left hand not know what the right is doing." Charity and forgiveness especially to those who do not deserve it. It is difficult but nothing is impossible with God's grace. The good Lord will always keep His promises of bringing true peace, true joy and everlasting life. All we have to do is persevere.

[petite fleur]

~little Therese Martin

"I always want to see you behaving like a brave soldier who does not complain about his own suffering but takes his comrades' wounds seriously and treats his own as nothing but scratches."

--Saint Therese of Lisieux, to her novices