We can learn from the Saints!

[koralstratz]

---

“The Will of God will never lead you Where the Grace of God cannot keep you.”

(St. Therese)

[petite fleur]

in preparation of St. Edith Stein's Feast. Next month pa man noon Try kog pangita og watch sa Movie "La Settima Stanza" naay dghaaan sa YT but Polish & Italian man
Sa the Passion of Christ nga akong ge tan-aw gabii familiar kau si Mama Mary dito. Siya pd diay si Edith Stein sa Movie.
I love St. Edith Stein.
Here's a YT Clip of the movie

‪LA SETTIMA STANZA (EDITH STEIN AD AUSCHWITZ) THE SEVENTH ROOM‬‏ - YouTube

Ave Crux, Spes Unica (with English Narration)
‪St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross‬‏ - YouTube

[koralstratz]

Guys naa koy nabasahan about spiritual direction i-share lang nako ha bahalag OT gamay he-he
(naay daghan sa net pero kini ako ganahan i-share)

source:Catholic.net - Why Would a Saint Need Spiritual Direction?

Why Would a Saint Need Spiritual Direction?
God chooses to work in our souls in ways appropriate to our human nature.
by Father John Bartunek, LC | Source: Catholic.net



Question: Father John, I have heard that most saints have had spiritual directors in their lives. Why would a saint need spiritual direction? Is there something about the human condition that does not allow spiritual progress without this kind of assistance?

Answer: Let me answer your question with a question: Why did God choose to save us from sin through the incarnation of his eternal Son? Is there something about the human condition that required God to become man in order to redeem us?

You can see that your question about why saints need spiritual direction touches the very core of Christian theology. God is all-powerful, all-loving, and all-knowing. As a result, he could have chosen any number of ways to redeem our fallen world. He was not constricted by some higher law, outside of himself, that forced him to send the Second Person of the Holy Trinity among us through the incarnation. Rather, he chose to do it that way. He chose to administer the redemption through a mediator who was fully human (Jesus Christ). And having chosen that path, he was consistent with that choice; the Church is an extension of this same method of redemption. Through the sacraments and Sacred Scripture, God continues to communicate his grace to us through material realities; he saves and sanctifies us in a manner that respects our human nature, by which we are a unity of spirit and matter (in philosophical terms, that means the human person is a spiritual soul informing a material body).

Granted that choice, the strange phenomenon of saints needing spiritual directors makes more sense. It’s God continuing to reach out to us through a language that we can easily understand, through contact with another human being. And you are right, every saint received their faith and their formation in the faith from God, through the mediation of others. Certainly, they made excellent use of what others were teaching and showing them, unlike so many mediocre Christians, but still, they needed a spiritual director, a spiritual father, a confessor, a mentor… This is how God has chosen to work. As St Augustine put it: “he willed to create us without our assistance, but he wills to save us with our assistance.”

One particularly eloquent example of this divine methodology is found among the women mystics. St. Faustina and St. Margaret Mary, for example, were both privileged with extraordinary visions in which Our Lord himself appeared and spoke to them, conversationally, many times. He entrusted to each of them a difficult mission, and didn’t spare them a healthy share of his cross. Part of their cross consisted in suffering misunderstanding and poor guidance at the hand of inept superiors or confessors. Jesus promised each of them that he would send a worthy confessor (spiritual director) who would be his faithful instrument in guiding them. But why? If the Lord was already communicating directly with these chosen souls, why did he make their spiritual advance depend so heavily on other guidance that would come from a merely human source? These are stark cases of God showing that he chooses to work in our souls in ways appropriate to our human nature.

The beauty of this divine pedagogy is often more apparent when we look at it from a distance than when we are in the middle of it. We have all been irritated, at times, by the all-too-human failings and foibles of priests, confessors, and spiritual directors. Sometimes their imperfections are so glaring that we almost completely forget that God has purposely chosen to work through flawed instruments, to mediate his perfect, divine grace through imperfect, human messengers.

Much theological reflection has gone into probing God’s possible motives for doing things this way. And there is still plenty of room for more. It may be a good topic of meditation for you, and if you like the idea, I would suggest starting with one of the Bible’s most famous verses, in which God himself tells us about hismotives: “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Yours in Christ, Father John Bartunek, LC



@libraun,,,you have associated yourself with the OAD If the good Fr. Luigi is still there, try asking him if he can be your confessor and spiritual director.

[koralstratz]

St. Martha
Patron Saint of cooks and servants
(Feast Day July 29)



"Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus." This unique statement in John's gospel tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Martha, her sister, and her brother.

Apparently Jesus was a frequent guest at Martha's home in Bethany, a small village two miles from Jerusalem. We read of three visits in Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9.

Many of us find it easy to identify with Martha in the story Luke tells. Martha welcomes Jesus and his disciples into her home and immediately goes to work to serve them. Hospitality is paramount in the Middle East and Martha believed in its importance. Imagine her frustration when her sister Mary ignores the rule of hospitality and Martha's work in order to sit and listen to Jesus. Instead of speaking to her sister, she asks Jesus to intervene. Jesus' response is not unkind, which gives us an idea of his affection for her. He observes that Martha is worried about many things that distract her from really being present to him. He reminds her that there is only one thing that is truly important -- listening to him. And that is what Mary has done. In Martha we see ourselves -- worried and distracted by all we have to do in the world and forgetting to spend time with Jesus. It is, however, comforting to note that Jesus loved her just the same.

The next visit shows how well Martha learned this lesson. She is grieving the death of her brother with a house full of mourners when she hears that Jesus has just come to the area. She gets up immediately and leaves the guests, leaves her mourning, and goes to meet him.

Her conversation with Jesus shows her faith and courage. In this dialogue she states clearly without doubt that she believes in Jesus' power, in the resurrection, and most of all that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus tells her that he is the resurrection and the life and then goes on to raise her brother from the dead. Our final picture of Martha in Scripture is the one that sums up who she was. Jesus has returned to Bethany some time later to share a meal with his good friends. In this home were three extraordinary people. We hear how brother Lazarus caused a stir when was brought back to life. We hear how Mary causes a commotion at dinner by annointing Jesus with expensive perfume. But all we hear about Martha is the simple statement: "Martha served." She isn't in the spotlight, she doesn't do showy things, she doesn't receive spectacular miracles. She simply serves Jesus.

[koralstratz]

"Humility and charity go hand in hand. The one glorifies, the other sanctifies."
(St. Padre Pio)



Guys I just happened to view this from you tube (Life of Padre Pio)...I wish to share this to all of you who have not yet seen this video ....This is a very nice movie with ENGLISH subtitle...I hope that our lives will be touched by this

‪Padre Pio - Part 1‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 2‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 3‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 4‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 5‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 6‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 7‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 8‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 9‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 10‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 11‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 12‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 13‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 14‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 15‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 16‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 17‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 18‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 19‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 20‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 21‬‏ - YouTube

‪Padre Pio - Part 22‬‏ - YouTube

[libraun]

I just got a relic (ex indumentis) of St. Pp. John Paul 1 (Papa Luciano)



Pope John Paul I (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. I, Italian: Giovanni Paolo I), born Albino Luciani, (17 October 1912 – 28 September 197, reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes. John Paul I was the first Pope born in the 20th century.
In Italy he is remembered with the appellatives of "Il Papa del Sorriso" (The Smiling Pope)[1] and "Il Sorriso di Dio" (The smile of God).[2] Time magazine and other publications referred to him as The September Pope.[3]

[petite fleur]

Dr. Edith Stein, PhD
Religious Name
Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, O.C.D., (Order of Discalced Carmelite)
Feast: Aug. 9
Born into an observant Jewish family but an atheist by her teenage years, she converted to Christianity in 1922
St. Edith Stein was arrested and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where she died in the gas chamber.



Edith Stein, saintly Carmelite, profound philosopher and brilliant writer, had a great influence on the women of her time, and is having a growing influence in the intellectual and philosophical circles of today’s Germany and of the whole world. She is an inspiration to all Christians whose heritage is the Cross, and her life was offered for her own Jewish people in their sufferings and persecutions.

Born on October 12, 1891, of Jewish parents, Siegried Stein and Auguste Courant, in Breslau, Germany, Edith Stein from her earliest years showed a great aptitude for learning, and by the time of the outbreak of World War I, she had studied philology and philosophy at the universities of Breslau and Goettingen.

After the war, she resumed her higher studies at the University of Freiburg and was awarded her doctorate in philosophy Suma Cum Laude. She later became the assistant and collaborator of Professor Husserl, the famous founder of phenomenology, who greatly appreciated her brilliant mind.

In the midst of all her studies, Edith Stein was searching not only for the truth, but for Truth itself and she found both in the Catholic Church, after reading the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila. She was baptized on New Year’s Day, 1922.

After her conversion, Edith spent her days teaching, lecturing, writing and translating, and she soon became known as a celebrated philosopher and author, but her own great longing was for the solitude and contemplation of Carmel, in which she could offer herself to God for her people. It was not until the Nazi persecution of the Jews brought her public activities and her influence in the Catholic world to a sudden close that her Benedictine spiritual director gave his approval to her entering the Discalced Carmelie Nuns’ cloistered community at Cologne-Lindenthal on 14 October 1933. The following April, Edith received the Habit of Carmel and the religious name of "Teresia Benedicta ac Cruce," and on Easter Sunday, 21 April 1935, she made her Profession of Vows.

When the Jewish persecution increased in violence and fanaticism, Sister Teresa Benedicta soon realized the danger that her presence was to the Cologne Carmel, and she asked and received permission to transfer to a foreign monastery. On the night of 31 December 1938, she secretly crossed the border into Holland where she was warmly received in the Carmel of Echt. There she wrote her last work, The Science of the Cross.

Her own Cross was just ahead of her, for the Nazis had invaded neutral Holland, and when the Dutch bishops issued a pastoral letter protesting the deportation of the Jews and the expulsion of Jewish children from the Catholic school system, the Nazis arrested all Catholics of Jewish extraction in Holland. Edith was taken from the Echt Carmel on 2 August 1942, and transported by cattle train to the death camp of Auschwitz, the conditions in the box cars being so inhuman that many died or went insane on the four day trip. She died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz on 9 August 1942.

We no longer seek her on earth, but with God Who accepted her sacrifice and will give its fruit to the people for whom she prayed, suffered, and died. In her own words: "Once can only learn the science of the Cross by feeling the Cross in one’s own person." We can say that in the fullest sense of the word, Sister Teresa was "Benedicta a Cruce" -- blessed by the Cross.

Pope John Paul II beatified Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross on 1 May 1987, and canonizes her on 11 October 1998.



AVE CRUX SPES UNICA

"God is there in these moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the rasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him. Then you will be able to rest in Him -- really rest -- and start the next day as a new life."

"O my God, fill my soul with holy joy, courage and strength to serve You. Enkindle Your love in me and then walk with me along the next stretch of road before me. I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived where the horizon now closes down, a new prospect will prospect will open before me, and I shall meet it with peace."

"Learn from St. Thérèse to depend on God alone and serve Him with a wholly pure and detached heart. Then, like her, you will be able to say ‘I do not regret that I have given myself up to Love’."

Photos From the Movie
La Settima Stanza (The Seventh Chamber)



Movie Review
The Seventh Chamber: Edith Stein, the Interior Castle and Auschwitz

[kyuusai]

Being good, doing good things to others and fear God . I guess that always have been what Saints do in their lifetime aside from being so humble against all humiliation.

[koralstratz]

I just got a relic (ex indumentis) of St. Pp. John Paul 1 (Papa Luciano)



Pope John Paul I (Latin: Ioannes Paulus PP. I, Italian: Giovanni Paolo I), born Albino Luciani, (17 October 1912 – 28 September 197, reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes. John Paul I was the first Pope born in the 20th century.
In Italy he is remembered with the appellatives of "Il Papa del Sorriso" (The Smiling Pope)[1] and "Il Sorriso di Dio" (The smile of God).[2] Time magazine and other publications referred to him as The September Pope.[3]

Bro,,,,share pud gamay beh sa imong mga experiences about holy relics....basin gi-milagrohan na ka bah....Share pud nag mga inspirational experiences nimo bro.. he he he or pwede pud mga personal insights nimo ana.

[koralstratz]

St. Peter Chrysologus
(Feast Day July 30)



St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Feast-July 30) Born at Imola, Italy in 406, St. Peter was baptized, educated, and ordained a deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola. St. Peter merited being called "Chrysologus" (golden-worded) from his exceptional oratorical eloquence. In 433, Pope Sixtus III consecrated him bishop of Ravenna. He practiced many corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and ruled his flock with utmost diligence and care. He extirpated the last vestiges of paganism and other abuses that had sprouted among his people, cautioning them especially against indecent dancing. "Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil," he remarked, "cannot rejoice with Christ." He also counseled the heretic Eutyches (who had asked for his support) to avoid causing division but to learn from the other heretics who were crushed when they hurled themselves against the Rock of Peter. He died at Imola, Italy in 450 and in 1729 was made a Doctor of the Church, largely as a result of his simple, practical, and clear sermons which have come down to us, nearly all dealing with Gospel subjects.