9th Sunday after Pentecost

This Sunday is the 9th Sunday after Pentecost. We hear about Jesus overlooking the eternal city of Jerusalem. He knows that he is to be condemned and put to death, being nailed to the Cross. He weeps and laments, because He knows that this city will eventually be destroyed. This happened in the year of 70 A.D. Just so it happens, this is a few years after His Apostles, Peter and Paul, we killed on the same day (June 29) in the year of 67 A.D. Coincidence? I think NOT! You mess with God, you will pay.

According to our beloved Abbot Gueranger:

'As the God-Man had said, the terrible day came suddenly, and as a snare, upon this immense assemblage of people. The empire(Roman) was in the hands of Vespasian; the prosperous fortune of Rome was re-established on the whole of the frontiers; and Titus had just reached Caesarea, with orders to put an end to the eastern question. He sent word to the legions then in Judea to effect, from the respective points they occupied, a joint concentration towards the capital. When the tenth legion marched from Jericho and was seen encamped on Mount Olivet--that is, on the very place where Jesus wept as He looked on Jerusalem, and foretold the siege which was to be its ruin--the unexpected arrival of the Romans alarmed the pilgrims, and made them busy themselves with preparations for a battle, rather than for the solemnization of the Pasch(which was nearing). the several parties agreed to forget, at least for a day, their own animosities, and unite all their forces together; they made two desperate sallies, for the purpose of dislodging the enemy form the Mount; but each time they were repelled.

The Pasch which is about to be celebrated is, as ever, and now more than ever, the Passover of the Lord; but the Lord is no longer leading the sons of Jacob to their deliverance by it. Juda has made himself the enemy of the Lamb, whose Blood should be the sign of the redeemed of the Pasch. Whilst the Blood of this divine Lamb is enriching the whole earth, whilst the light of the vanquisher of death is illumining the whole world, Juda is there, obstinately keeping to his figures and shadows. More stiff-necked than the Egyptian, and more guilty than Pharoah, he would, if he could, hold the true Israel in the trammels of his own slavish law, just as he once vainly tried to make the true Son of God an everlasting prisoner in the tomb. As to Jesus, He has, years ago, set Himself free; and now, more terrible than He was in Mesraim, He is passing over, as the avenger both of Himself and of His Church. The Pasch--the feast of feasts, whose memory is every Sunday brought back to us--is now about to receive its final completion. On the Tuesday of our Easter, we were saying: "How terrible will be the passage of the Lord over Jerusalem, when the sword of the Roman legions shall destroy a whole people!"'

This is pure and simple history. When Jesus died on the Cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. (Keep in mind that this veil was approximately 40ft. high). At that moment, the old system of the Old Testament was over, with the new to take over. The obstinate Jews refused to believe in God becoming man, and thus, refused all of His teachings, along with the continued teachings of His Apostles. The high priests had said: "Let it be on our heads and on the heads of our grandchildren." (Okay, have it your way. Good luck with that! What a dumb thing to say!)

On a side note, we here in our diocese had a bishop who had the kids receiving Holy Communion in 2nd grade, and then, 2 years later, receiving 'First Confession', which is 'bass ackwards'. When asked by believers to please change the order, he promptly said: "Let it be on my head." What a dope! Well, he has since passed on. I wonder how that thought progression went for him!?

Anyway, Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and also told them that they had made His temple into a den of thieves. The way I see it, considering what has happened to the Church in the past 60+ years, that they have discarded the Faith, instead of selling it. BEWARE of the wolves who are dressed in sheep's clothing! Some might be dressed in cassocks, or wearing birettas!

On an end note, keep this in mind. This comes from the Epistle for this Sunday; St. Paul writes to the Corinthians:

'Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human: and 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.'

Therefore, what we experience now is a test sent by the Father. He knows how strong or weak we are, and He tests us, sometimes to the limit. So, this is where we find out just how strong our Faith really is.



THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CITY AND TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM

Has our divine Savior's prophecy concerning, the city of Jerusalem been fulfilled?

Yes, and in the most terrible manner. The Jews, oppressed by the Romans their cruel masters, revolted, killed many of their enemies, and drove them out of Jerusalem. Knowing well that this would not be permitted to pass unavenged, the Jews armed themselves for a desperate resistance. The Emperor Nero sent a powerful army under the command of Vespasian against the city of Jerusalem, which first captured the smaller fortresses of Judea, and then laid siege to the city. The want and misery of the inhabitants had already reached the highest pitch; for within the city ambitious men had caused conflicts; factions had been formed, daily fighting each other, and reddening the streets with blood, while the angry Romans stormed outside. Then a short time of respite was granted to the unfortunate Jews. The Emperor Nero was murdered at Rome in the year of our Lord 68; his successor Galba soon died, and the soldiers placed their beloved commander Vespasian upon the imperial throne. He then left Jerusalem with his army, but in the year he sent his son Titus with a new army to Judea, with orders to capture the city at any price, and to punish its inhabitants.

It was the time of Easter, and a multitude of Jews had assembled from all provinces of the land, when Titus appeared with his army before the gates of Jerusalem, and surrounded the city. The supply of food was soon exhausted, famine and pestilence came upon the city and raged terribly. The leader of the savage revolutionists, John of Gischala, caused the houses to be searched, and the remaining food to be torn from the starving, or to be forced from them by terrible tortures: To save themselves from this outrageous tyrant, the Jews took the leader of a band of robbers, named Simon, with his whole gang into the city. John and Simon with their followers now sought to annihilate each other. John took possession of the temple. Simon besieged him; blood was streaming in the temple and in the streets. Only when the battle-din of the Romans was heard from without, did the hostile factions unite, go to meet the enemy, and resist his attack. As the famine increased, many Jews secretly left the city to seek for herbs. But Titus captured them with his cavalry, and crucified those who were armed. Nearly five hundred men, and sometimes more, were every day crucified in sight of the city, so that there could not be found enough of crosses and places of execution; but even this terrible sight did not move the Jews to submission. Incited by their leaders to frenzy, they obstinately resisted, and Titus finding it impossible to take the city by storm, concluded to surround it by walls in order to starve the inhabitants. In three days his soldiers built a wall of about ten miles in circumference, and thus the Saviour's prediction was fulfilled: Thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side.

The famine in this unfortunate city now reached its most terrific height; the wretched inhabitants searched the very gutters for food, and ate the most disgusting things. A woman, ravenous from hunger, strangled her own child, roasted it, and ate half of it; the leaders smelling the horrible meal, forced a way into the house, and by terrible threats compelled the woman to show them what she had eaten; she handed them the remaining part of the roasted child, saying.: "Eat it, it is my child; I presume you are not more dainty than a woman, or more tender than a mother." Stricken with horror they rushed from the house. Death now carried away thousands daily, the streets and the houses were full of corpses: From the fourteenth of April when the siege commenced. to the first of July, there were counted one hundred and fifty-eight thousand dead bodies; six hundred thousand others were thrown over the walls into the trenches to save the city from infection. All who could flee, fled; some reached the camp of the Romans in safety; Titus spared the helpless, but all who fell into his hands armed, were crucified. Flight offered no better security. The Roman soldiers had learned that many Jews had swallowed, gold to secure it from the avarice of the robbers, and therefore the stomachs of many were cut open. Two thousand such corpses were found one morning in the camp of the Romans. The attempts of Titus to prevent this cruelty were unavailing. Finally, when misery had reached its height, Titus succeeded in carrying the fort, Antonia, and with his army forced a passage as far as the temple which had been held by John of Gischala with his famous band. Desirous of saving the temple, Titus offered the revolutionists free passage from it, but his proposition was rejected, and the most violent contest then raged; the Romans trying to enter the temple, and being continually repulsed, at last, one of the soldiers seized a firebrand, and threw it into one of the rooms attached to the temple. The flames in an instant caught the whole of the inner temple, and totally consumed it, so that this prediction of our Lord was also fulfilled. The Romans butchered all the inhabitants whom they met, and Titus having razed the ruins of the temple and city, plowed it over, to indicate that this city was never to be rebuilt. During the siege one million, one hundred thousand Jews lost their lives; ninety-seven thousand were sold as slaves, and the rest of the people dispersed over the whole earth.

Thus God punished the impenitent city and nation, over whose wretchedness the Saviour wept so bitterly, and thus was fulfilled the prediction made by Him long before.

What do we learn from this?

That as this prediction so also all other threats and promises of the Saviour will be fulfilled. The destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem, the dispersion of the Jews, are historical facts which cannot be denied, and testify through all centuries to the truth of our Lord's word: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matt. XXIV. 35.)

And our beloved Abbot Gueranger finishes up. This is just a small portion of the reading for this Sunday in 'the Liturgical Year':

Terrible lesson which the Church learned and has never forgotten, that no blessing, no past holiness, is of itself a guarantee that the place thus favoured will not afterwards draw down on itself desecration and destruction! (I believe that this once blessed country has had its blessing taken away because of all the bad things that happen here. Plus, there's not enough people praying because they think everything is hunky-dory)



Prayer for the Preservation of Faith


O my Redeemer, will that terrible moment ever come, when but few Christians will be found animated with a spirit of faith? that moment when, provoked to indignation, Thou wilt remove from us thy protection? The vices, the evil habits of our children, have perhaps irrevocably moved thy justice this very day to vengeance! O Thou who art the author and finisher of our faith, we conjure Thee, in the bitterness of our hearts, humbled and contrite, not to permit the beautiful light of faith to be extinguished in us. Be mindful of thy mercies of old, cast a compassionate regard upon that vine which Thou hast planted with thy right hand, which was bedewed with the sweat of the Apostles, watered with the precious blood of thousands upon thousands of martyrs and the tears of so many generous penitents, and made fruitful by the prayers of so many confessors and innocent virgins. O divine Mediator, have regard for those zealous souls who incessantly raise their hearts to Thee and pray for the maintenance of that most precious treasure, the true Faith. Suspend, O most just God, the decree of our reprobation, turn away thine eyes from our sins, and fix them on the adorable blood, shed upon the Cross as the price of salvation, and daily pleading for it, on our behalf, upon our altars. Oh, preserve us in the true Catholic Roman Faith. Infirmities afflict us, annoyances wear us away, misfortunes oppress us: but preserve to us thy holy faith ; for, endowed with this precious gift, we shall willingly bear every sorrow, and nothing can affect our happiness. On the other hand, without this supreme treasure of the faith, our misfortunes will be unspeakable and immense. O good Jesus, author of our faith, keep it pure; keep us safe within the bark of Peter, faithful and obedient to his successor, thy True Vicar here on earth, that so the unity of holy Church may be preserved, holiness fostered, the Holy See kept free and protected, and the universal Church extended, to the advantage of souls. O Jesus, author of our faith, humble and convert the enemies of thy Church ; bestow on all Kings and Christian Princes, and on all the faithful, peace and true unity; strengthen and maintain all in thy holy service, to the end that we may live by Thee and die in Thee. Ah! my Jesus, author of our faith, in Thee I would live, and in Thee would I die. Amen.


(Indulgence 300 days--Leo XIII.)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

This is the day when we honor our Blessed Mother as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. It's NOT just 'Our Lady of Saturdays'. Mt. Carmel is a mountain in Israel. The Prophets Elias and Elisha, as well as Jeremiah, went to this mountain to pray and get guidance. They received visions of a cloud when they were there. I'm thinking, that Our Mother was already chosen to conquer the wicked serpent in the book of Genesis, that maybe somehow, her spirit was in this cloud, since she had not been born yet. Our Lady appeared there in person as well in later years. She gave the Brown Scapular to a Simon Stock, an Englishman, in the 13th century. It was given to strengthen those who had built a shrine on Mt. Carmel, and become monks there. This scapular is described as two pieces of wool attached with a double cord, which goes around the neck. It usually has a picture of Our Lady on it as 'Our Lady of Mt. Carmel'. It also has this promise which our Blessed Mother gave to Simon Stock; that "Whosoever dies wearing this scapular will not suffer eternal fire." Pretty neat, huh? There is also what is called the 'Sabbantine' privilege, which comes from the word 'sabbath', which to us is Saturday. She promised that on the first Saturday after our death, that she would herself come to purgatory and take us to eternal happiness. She will strengthen us also by our wearing of the Scapular. I like that. We need all the help we can get. Of course, we have to be in the state of grace to receive this privilege. This only makes sense. (I wear mine thinking of this: Imagine two people on either side of you giving you a hug, their arms intertwining. Now, picture these two people as being Jesus and His Mother! That's how I look at it.)

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us and for the Church

At Lourdes in 1858, the Virgin chose to make Her last apparition on July 16th, feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the day the Church commemorates Her apparition to Saint Simon Stock. And at Fatima on October 13, 1917, it is as Our Lady of Mount Carmel that Mary appeared when She said farewell to the three children. Throughout the ages, the Queen of Carmel has always kept a faithful watch over the destinies of Her cherished children on earth.


Some more thoughts:



Prayer of Petition Our Lady of Mount Carmel

The introductory paragraph of this prayer is attributed to Saint Simon Stock (1165-1265), an English Carmelite who is famed for his part in the propagation of the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.


O beautiful Flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, holy and singular, who brought forth the Son of God, still ever remaining a pure Virgin, assist us in our necessity. O Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Show us that thou art our Mother!

Prayer to the Queen of Carmel:


O glorious Virgin Mary! Queen of Carmel, Mother of God and of poor sinners; special Protectress of all those who wear thy holy Scapular, I supplicate thee, by the glory that has been accorded thee by the Incarnate Word in choosing thee for His Mother, to obtain for me the pardon of my sins, amendment of my life, salvation of my soul, consolation in my pains, and in particular the grace I now ask, provided it be conformable to the will of thy divine Son. Amen.



Here is something I found concerning Our Lady at Mt, Carmel:


The Festival of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1877

Carmel is a mountain, lying between Judea and Syria, of which one part belonged to the tribe of Manasses, the other to the tribe of Aser. The prophet Elias wrought, on Mount Carmel, the great miracle which is circumstantially related in the third Book of Kings, 18th chapter, when he, to prove that the God of Israel, whom he worshipped, was the true God, called down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice. Upon this mountain, according to the Breviary, some pious nun, who had been converted to Christianity, built a church or chapel, dedicated to the Most Pure Virgin, in which they frequently assembled for prayer; and they were called "Brothers of our Lady of Mount Carmel." There exists, at the present day, in the Catholic Church, a celebrated religious Order, whose members take their name from this mount, and hence are called "Carmelites," or "Brothers of our Lady of Mount Carmel." This religious Order was spread many centuries ago, not only in the Holy Land, but also in other countries. Among other things we read that St. Louis of France, on his return from Syria, brought some of these religious with him into his kingdom, and assigned them a dwelling near Marseilles. The Holy Mother who was especially honored by these religious, imparted also especial graces to them, and protected them miraculously in the greatest need and danger.

Among these graces is to be counted the following: The holy man, Simon Stock, who had, during many years served the Lord in England, as a hermit, desired most fervently to be admitted into the Carmelite Order, when he heard that the latter were spreading all over Europe. His desire was complied with, and he endeavoured with such zeal to reach the height of perfection, that after a few years he was deemed worthy to be chosen general of the whole Order. As such, he one day poured out his whole heart, with child-like confidence, before an image of the Blessed Virgin, requesting her to bestow upon his holy Order some especial favor. The Divine Mother appeared to him, and, as it is said in the Roman Breviary, bestowed upon him the habit of the holy scapular, that his Order might be thus distinguished, from all others and protected from all evil. Swanington, the companion of the blessed man, relates that Simon informed him of the apparition in the following words: "The Blessed Virgin appeared to me with a large suite; she held the habit in her hand and said, 'This shall be thy privilege and that of all Carmelites. Those who die, with sorrow for their sins and in the true faith, and clad in this habit, shall not suffer eternal fire.'" Others say that the Divine Mother bestowed the scapular upon the blessed man with these words: "Take, my son, this scapular, as a sign of thy Order, an emblem of salvation. They who die in it, repenting of their sins, shall not suffer the eternal fire."

This consoling apparition and promise gave rise to the confraternity of the scapular, which is now spread over the whole of the Catholic world, with the papal approbation and the grant of many indulgences. It is a consoling belief, which rests upon the words of the Breviary, that the members of this association, who endeavor to live according to its rules, enjoy the special protection of the Blessed Virgin at the hour of death, and are speedily delivered from purgatory, and taken into their heavenly home. Pope Benedict XIV. treating of the Festivals of the Blessed Virgin, says that Pope Paul V. had made a decree, by which he sanctioned the pious belief that the Blessed Virgin would help her clients after death, by her intercession, especially on Saturdays, as this day is consecrated to her by the Holy Church, provided they had died in the grace of God, and had endeavored to follow the rules of the association. The heretics at different periods attacked this pious belief with lies and blasphemies, and ridiculed those who wore the blessed scapular; nor have they discontinued to do this in our day. Some Catholics, though Catholics only in name, agree with them, and reject the revelation of Simon Stock, as a pious fable, or a tale without any foundation. They look upon the promise made to him as something which does not harmonize with the Catholic faith; they are not even ashamed to say that it opens a path to evil; for, if we thought that we can escape hell by wearing a scapular, nothing would be more likely than that we should plunge into all possible vices and continue in them, in the belief that we cannot go to eternal destruction, by reason of our being members of that association.

To this and other such reasonings I will answer only this: As far as the comforting revelation of the blessed Simon Stock is concerned, it is, of course, not an article of faith, as those contained in Holy Writ; but it is not, therefore, only a fable or unfounded tale. It was related by trustworthy men, examined by many historians, and verified by several Popes. Those who doubt it, or denounce it as false, without sufficient cause, act unreasonably. There are thousands of facts, not contained in Holy Writ, which are incontestable on account of the testimony of trustworthy men. Among this number is the one above related. And if, notwithstanding this, a heretic thinks it a fable or an unfounded tale, let him give his reasons for rejecting it; for, a mere contradiction of a fact does not refute it. Respecting the gracious promise of the Blessed Virgin, that he who wears the habit, or blessed scapular, shall escape the fire of hell, it is beyond all doubt that we cannot understand it in such a manner that every one shall most certainly escape the fire of hell and go to heaven, simply because he wears a scapular, no matter how vicious his conduct might be. No, those who would judge in the sense of the Catholic Church, are not allowed to understand the promise in this manner. For, not to mention that, according to the teachings of the Holy Church, we cannot possess in this world, without a divine revelation, an infallible assurance of our future salvation, the Gospel of our Lord declares plainly that to escape hell and gain salvation much more is necessary than the wearing of a scapular. True faith, holy baptism, strict observance of the commandments of God and of the Church, the avoidance of sin, the practice of good works, and, finally penance when we have committed sin; these are the conditions which, according to the teachings of Christ, are necessary for our salvation, and without which all other merits, whatever they may be, are not sufficient to open for us the gates of heaven.

To elucidate the case before us still more, let us suppose that some one, either out of pious simplicity or want of instruction, carried constantly a consecrated Host with him. Now the question arises, will this person escape hell on account of it and surely gain salvation? Can he, because he carries a consecrated Host with him, not commit a mortal sin? Can he, for the same reason, not die in sin and be condemned? From the answer that must necessarily follow, we may draw the conclusion, that the words of the above promise are not to be understood as if every one who wears a scapular must surely be saved, and cannot be condemned, notwithstanding his living a bad life. Just in the same manner are some of the words of Holy Writ to be understood, for instance, where it is said that alms free men from death, that is, from eternal damnation. God, in consideration of alms, gives especial graces to man, in order that he may avoid sin, do penance, and hence not go to destruction. In the same manner, any one who, out of veneration to the Queen of Heaven, wears the scapular, and carefully observes the rules of the association, will, by her intercession, receive the grace to live piously, to escape hell, and to gain heaven. In one word, to wear the scapular, and by so doing to manifest an especial devotion to the Blessed Virgin, will assist us to gain life everlasting. But it is far from being sufficient to open heaven for us, if it is not accompanied by those means which Christ announced as necessary for the salvation of our souls.

The above is surely a proof that devotion to the scapular in no way leads to a wicked life, as the heretics pretend. No Catholic has ever thought of teaching that we gain heaven by merely wearing the scapular; while it is quite certain that the doctrines of heresy lead straightway to sin and vice. For, if any man believes, according to the teachings of the heretics, that faith alone saves, that he is sure of salvation and cannot lose it, if he only believes; or that no transgression of the Commandments can harm him, if he only accepts with a believing mind the grace of Christ, as the catechism of Calvinists teaches; what can follow but that he should plunge into sin and vice, partly because, according to his ideas, he cannot be condemned, partly on account of his wrong opinion, that faith alone saves. The Catholic Church is far from such doctrines. She does not teach that the wearing of a scapular, or any similar observance, is sufficient for our salvation, but that the wearing of a scapular, if it is done piously, assists us to gain salvation, as God, in consequence of it, will bestow upon us many graces through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, which otherwise He might not grant. The Evil One, who knows the great benefits which result from all pious associations, and especially from the veneration of the Mother of our Lord, incites the heretics to reject or to blaspheme them. He also incites Catholics to place more faith in them than they ought to do, and to pay more attention to what is merely an aid than to what is really necessary.

Thus it happens that many think it a greater sin to eat meat on Wednesday, which is forbidden by the rules of the association of the scapular, than to eat meat on the days of abstinence commanded by the Church. A true Catholic ought first to obey the commandment of God, or of the Church, and do all that is absolutely necessary to gain salvation, and after this, what is useful and beneficial. That which aids him to gain salvation he should not neglect, but at the same time he should be careful not to think that he will gain heaven if he omits that which is most needful. Let this suffice for your instruction, and to refute the wicked and the ignorant.

In conclusion, as far as the use of the scapular is concerned, it would be very wrong for a Catholic to despise it. He should, on the contrary, learn to esteem it highly. We find, in many books, instances of miracles which have been wrought on those who have worn it piously. They have been miraculously protected in dangers by fire and water; in battle it has been a shield which averted the strokes of the enemy; in sickness, a life-giving remedy. And who can count the number of hardened sinners, for whom the Divine Mother has obtained grace to do penance, and thus to escape hell, in consideration of the devotion which they manifested to her by wearing the scapular? Hence, whether you are numbered among the sinners or the righteous, let the beneficial use of the scapular be recommended to you. Evince, by wearing it, your devotion towards her who faithfully aids her children in life and in death.


PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS.

To escape hell and gain salvation ought to be the end and aim of all our devotions, of all our actions. You must then employ those means which are indispensable to save your soul and to escape hell. These are: Keeping the true faith; observing the commandments of God and of the Church; worthily receiving the sacraments; avoiding sin; doing penance and other good works; and practicing patience in trials and suffering. If you neglect these means, then everything else is insufficient to lead you to heaven, or save you from eternal destruction. For this reason it is necessary that you prefer the good works commanded by God and the Church to those which are voluntary. It is according to the teachings of the heretics not to do any good works that are not commanded by God: and that those good works which one does voluntarily are not pleasing in the sight of the Lord. But on the other hand, it is also a deceit of the wicked enemy of man, if we practice only voluntary good works, and leave undone those which are commanded us, or if we rather do the former than the latter. Those which are commanded have always to precede the others, and we must be much more careful in practicing those than all others.

CLARIFICATION!

Today's post is going to be a sort of clarification concerning Jesus Christ and the Church He started. I had gotten a comment from, I presume, from someone who is, I believe, from the Muslim sect. This person had kind of a skewed perception of Christ, saying that is impossible for God to have His own Son killed. I beg to differ. Now, I'm NOT a theologian by any means, so this is going to be a short synopsis of the world and its problems since the beginning of the human race as I see it.

In the beginning, God created all things, including man. All was good. He gave them instructions of what they were to do during their lives to please Him. They were, at this time, perfect. They started the entire human race. However, the prince of lies, who at one time was the brightest angel of all, was also present in the world, his bailiwick. Since he had chosen NOT to serve God, along with the other fallen angels, they rebelled and they would now make war with the Almighty Himself and on all that He stands for! The first thing he did was to tempt Eve in the garden of Eden, promising her and all that whosoever would eat of this fruit from the tree of knowledge that they could become like God Himself. This was the wrong thing to do. Adam and Eve were weak, to say the least. God realized what they had done, as well as they had after the fact. They did realize now what they had done, and were ashamed. God now told them that they would now have to work out their salvation through hard work and suffering. Because, remember, our main objective is to know God and serve Him in this life so that we could be with Him at the end of our life and be with Him for all eternity. They had committed the very first sin, Original Sin. Now we all have a share in this, since they are parents of us all. God had now determined to help those who wish to follow the path to eternal salvation. And, there ARE rules to follow.

Fast forward: God had determined that the followers of Israel, not Ishmael because of the blood line through the husband and wife, not through a servant, were to be the chosen ones. Moses had received the Ten Commandments from God, and passed them on to these believers. These are for all of us to follow. Those who don't will be cast into the fires of Gehenna, or hell.

Keep in mind that all of the Prophets of the old set of rules pointed to Someone in the future, who will be born of a Virgin, and be born in the town of Bethlehem, which is in Israel. He will come and hopefully save us all.

Remember that these Israelites have, by the law of Moses, been offering sacrificial Lambs and goats and doves to the All-Mighty in atonement of their sins. However, the people kept displeasing God by their actions. They seemed to know better than God Himself as to what was best for themselves. On the whole, they were lukewarm at best. The only that things could possibly get better is to have God Himself come down from heaven and help. This IS possible, because God can do whatever He wants, and nobody can tell Him any thing different. All believers were waiting for this person to manifest Himself, and take over the earth with the power of a king. God's ways are different. He will come down all right, but He will come as a poor person, not as someone who is rich. God loves the humble and poor people more than those who have everything but refuse to help anyone but themselves.

God had decided that to have a Son come in this Person. When He decided this, He knew that this Man will have to come from someone who is the purest being outside of being God to carry Him. Enter Mary, or Miriam, from the tribe of David. To become clean, God cleansed this person in the womb from the Original Sin which we have all inherited from Adam and Eve. (I mean, if you could make your mother the best that she could possibly be, to be without sin would be the best way. We don't have this luxury, but God does). Remember, Jeremiah was also cleansed before he was born. This is Scriptural. (Jeremiah 1:5) Mary is the NEW Ark of the Covenant; she carries the Son of God, Who was to come.

At the beginning in the garden of Eden, when the serpent tempted our first parents, God, after He told them that they would now have to work, He told the serpent that a Woman would always be at odds with him, and that she would stomp his head with her heel. This is also the mother of Him Who was to come, Mary.

Her Son was Jesus. He was born in Bethlehem, and He grew up in the humblest home in Nazareth. He hid Himself from the world until the time was right. He taught in the temple when He was twelve to the elders who were amazed with the words coming out of this child's mouth. After eighteen more years, when the young men were taught the truths about God, then they are ready to face the world. NOW the time was right, when Jesus was now thirty, the ripe age for young men to go out into the world. The very last Prophet of the Old Law was John the Baptist. He preached repentance to the people of that area, and told them that they need to be baptized to appease God. He was the cousin of Jesus, and when Jesus came to the Jordan river, He asked to be baptized. John said: "Behold the Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world", pointing at Jesus. Now the sacrifices of the temple were soon to be done away with, in a period of three years. Now we are to be sacrificing God Himself, in the way which will be taught.

Isaias called the one to come Saviour, Redeemer, and Deliverer, the Mighty One of God, the Word, the God of all the earth, to name a few of the names this one Who was to come. This is Jesus, the One Who was the One to come, the One that all the olden prophets pointed toward. HE was here as promised in the Flesh! Now, He knows that man is weak, and in need of teaching. This He sets out to do. He reiterates the 10 Commandments to them; He picks out some local men to follow Him and learn from Him the ways of God. The first one, Cephas, who was renamed Peter, was given the lead role among His followers. Peter was given the keys of heaven by Jesus. This doesn't mean that he is standing at heaven's door with a set of keys, ready to open the gate for those who will let in. It means that he, after learning all that Jesus teaches, is to tell all what they need to do to be redeemed, and thus, enter into eternal happiness. He will be the head of Christ's teachings upon earth, a visible head. Jesus's disciples are given the duty to copy Jesus in many ways: They are told to imitate the Last Supper, they are given the power to forgive or retain sins on others, they will eventfully receive the help of another Being, the Spirit of God, Who will help them remember everything that Jesus has taught them. This will come in a few short months.

Now, back to Jesus. Since He IS God, He is perfect in everything. And, being God, does not have of that Original Sin on Him. He knows everything, sees everything, knows people's thoughts and what they are planning to do. You can't fool God in ANYTHING!

Those of the Jewish mind-set didn't like what this John and this Jesus taught. It made them uncomfortable, to say the least. And remember, the father of lies is still around. He hates anyone who tries to learn the eternal Truth, as well as those who teach this Truth, which NEVER changes. He had gotten into the heads of the Jewish believers that this John and this Jesus need to go. They devised a plan. First, Herod has John the Baptist's head cut off, per the request of Salome, who has danced lustfully before him. This is pure history.

Jesus has also incurred the wrath of the Jews, and they have laid out their plan to dispose of Him also. Many people have lied concerning Him and what He has said. One of His own disciples, Judas, has sold Him out for a few pieces of silver. Now, onto the arrest of Him and His death.

Jesus had taken a few of His disciples with Him to the garden of Gethsemani. He prayed for all that was to be done to Him, because He already knew. It had been forecast in the writings of old. He prayed, as a man, to be delivered of these tortures. But, He also prayed that God's will be done. The heavenly Father seemed to have abandoned Jesus at this time; this is why Jesus prayed as only a man, even though He was still God. But, the Father saw all that was and is going to be done.

Jesus, the new Lamb of God, was to be sacrificed, so that His Blood could redeem all who believed in Him. He had left the Apostles the only way that the Father would accept, the sacrifice of His Blood. At the Last Supper, He took bread and changed it into His Body, which, since He is God, He can do. Then He took the wine, not grape juice, and turned it into His Blood, which, since He is God, He can do. NOBODY tells God what He can do and what He can't do. NOBODY!

Malachy in the Old Testament says:

"For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my Name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my Name a clean oblation: for my Name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts."


So, this tells us that a continuing sacrifice is to be done until the end of the world. You can't get a cleaner sacrifice than the Lamb of God Himself. This is God's word, not mine. Read it for yourself.

So, Jesus, Who is God, shed His Blood upon the cross at Calvary. The sacrifice of old is now gone. This new Lamb of God is still shedding His Blood. (All of time is present to God always, so everything is still going on). God did this for all humanity, if we just believe. If we believe, then we can see, not the other way around.

The Prophet Isaias said:

"...Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But He was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed."
Isaias chapter 53: verses 3-5

He died on the Cross for us, and every last drop of His Blood was shed for us. Longinus, with his lance, made sure of that when he thrust it into the Heart of Jesus after HE was already dead, thus draining the remaining drops of Jesus' Blood.

So you see, God has a master plan for all of us to follow. He has given the world the means, and these are based in the Church He has founded. The Apostles followed Him in His teachings, and paid the supreme sacrifice for this with the shedding of their own blood in the Name of Jesus. One was not martyred, however, and his name was also John, who was called the disciple who Jesus loved. This doesn't mean he was homosexual, but that God in the Name of Jesus, loved him very much and knew that he would help the new-found Church get going. He even said at the beginning of his Gospel:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Notice that this says 'that the Word was God', not a god.

John also wrote in the 6th Chapter of his Gospel:

And Jesus said: "I am the Bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall not thirst...I am the living bread which came down from from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give, is my Flesh, for the life of the world...He that eateth this bread, shall live forever. "
Therefore, the bread Catholics receive in Holy Communion is really Him, Body and Blood. It is NOT just a hunk of ordinary bread or regular wine. It is Him! Deal with it!

He was God in the Flesh. He taught what needed to be learned to be saved. He left a visible means of Himself in the world, His Church, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The word 'Catholic' means 'universal', which means it is for all of us to know about. God NEVER asks that innocent human blood be shed in His Name. He asks us to protect these same innocent ones and pray for those who shed this blood. He is the God of love, not of vengeance or submission. He has given us free will, to decide for ourselves what we should do. We should do what's right; to defend Him in His teachings, to love and serve Him, so that we can be with Him forever after we pass from this earth. We will all be judged by Him afterall, so choose wisely!


And His mother, Mary, who is to crush the serpents head with her heel, will help us if we but ask. The old serpent hates her, since, because of his pride, doesn't want to see a mere human person, who he thinks is below himself, do anything to stop him and, in the end, win the battle. She will prevail, because God says so!


Mary, please pray for those who are struggling with the eternal Truth, and bring them into the fold. Amen.

St. Bonaventure, Cardinal/Doctor

Today we honor another great DOCTOR of the Church, St. Bonaventure. He lived in the supposed 'dark ages', at the time that included St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Dominic, St. Francis. Dark ages, indeed?! Following is the story of this Saint, written in the 19th century.

St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Cardinal
by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1877

The Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure, was born in 1221,at Balneoregio, in the State of Tuscany. His parents were very distinguished people, not only on account of their nobility and great riches, but still more for their piety and virtues. When scarcely four years old, Bonaventure became dangerously sick and the physicians despaired of his life. His mother appealed to St. Francis of Assisi, who was still living at that period, begging him to obtain, by his prayers, her son's life from God. She promised to bring him up to the honor of the Almighty, and in the course of time to consecrate him entirely to His divine service in the Order founded by St. Francis. The latter prayed for the sick child and the malady was subdued. In regard to this miracle the holy man cried: "O Buona Ventura! " which means, "Oh happy event!" and from that time they called the child, so miraculously cured, Bonaventure, although at the baptismal font it had received the name of John.

Arrived at the period when reason awakens, Bonaventure heard of the promise his mother had made in regard to him and fulfilled it by entering joyfully into the Order of St. Francis. After having finished his probation, he went to Paris to devote himself to study, and his progress in learning was as great as his advancement in virtue, especially in humility, constant self-denial, perfect obedience, great love of his crucified Lord, and ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He meditated daily on the passion and death of Christ, and spent as much time as he could in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. He seldom received Holy Communion, especially when he himself said Mass, without shedding many tears. His innocence he preserved inviolate. The celebrated Doctor Alexander of Hales, under whom Bonaventure studied, used to say, that it seemed to him that he had not committed any sin in Adam; so strictly did he control his inclinations, so great were his virtue and his piety.

Before he was thirty years old, his superiors appointed him to teach theology in the University of Paris, which he did with immense success. There he and St. Thomas of Aquin received the title of "Doctor", the highest dignity conferred upon Theologians. At the age of 35 years, he was elected General of the whole Seraphic Order, and his election was confirmed by Pope Alexander, who had presided over the assembly. When once installed in his new functions, he was as zealous to preserve the rule of the holy Founder, as he had previously been earnest in declining the dignity. He made the most wholesome regulations, and led all those under him by word and example to great sanctity. During eighteen years he administered his office, with so much wisdom, mildness and strength of character, that he was loved and esteemed by all, and venerated as the second Founder of the Order.

Although occupied with such constant and important labors, he never neglected his devotional exercises or his studies. We possess this day a great many theological works of great learning written by this holy man. Among others, he wrote a book to refute those who slandered the Mendicant Orders, which he entitled: "A Defense of the Poor." He proves in this book the temporal as well as spiritual benefits of such orders. He also wrote several most learned and eloquent books in praise of the Blessed Virgin, whose honor he desired to further to the best of his ability, and whom, from childhood, he had greatly venerated. At one time, when answering somebody, concerning his devotion to the Queen of Virgins, said with his gentle expression: "If anyone prefers otherwise, I will not contend with him, provided he say nothing to the detriment of the Venerable Virgin, for we must take the very greatest care, even should it cost us our life, that no one lessen in any way the honor of our Lady." There is also extant from his pen, the life of St. Francis, Founder of the Seraphic Order. Whilst he was writing this work, St. Thomas Aquinas came to pay him a visit. Hearing in what Bonaventure was occupied, he declined disturbing him, and left with the words: "Let us leave one Saint to work for another."

St. Thomas so highly esteemed Bonaventure, that he did not hesitate to call him a Saint while he was still alive. This holy man was greatly astonished that Bonaventure, being so much occupied with his duties, yet found time to write so many books of such profound learning, and one day asked him where his library was. Bonaventure pointing to a crucifix, said: "This is the library, wherein I find all that I teach to others." Before he began to study, or whenever a doubt or a difficulty during study embarrassed him, he fell down before the Crucifix and humbly prayed for Divine assistance. He said more than once, that by this means, he had obtained more knowledge and wisdom than by all his industry. Not content with all this, the holy man preached publicly in all the places which he visited in the exercise of his functions, exhorting sinners to repentance and the pious to be constant in good works; by which he converted, in a most remarkable manner, the most hardened sinners.

He wrote a treatise, Incendium amoris, where he teaches how to get to true Wisdom: "I offer this book not to philosophers, not the worldly-wise, not to great theologians perplexed with endless questions, but to the simple and ignorant who strive rather to love God than to know much. It is not by disputing, but by activity, that we learn to love. As to those men full of questions, superior in every science, but inferior in the love of Christ, I consider them incapable of understanding the contents of this book; unless putting away all vain show of learning, they strive, by humble self-renunciation, prayer, and meditation, to kindle within them the divine spark, which, inflaming their hearts and dispelling all darkness, will lead them beyond the concerns of time even to the throne of peace. Indeed, by the very fact of their knowing more, they are better disposed to love, or, at least, they would be if they truly despised themselves and could rejoice to be despised by others."

The fame of his great knowledge and holiness, which spread all over the country, was of great benefit to him in his missionary work; whence he received the title of Seraphic Doctor, by which he is still known in our days. Bishops and prelates of the Church honored the Saint still more than other people of a lower degree. Pope Clement IV, desired to reward him for his many services to the Church with the Archbishopric of York; but the holy man throwing himself at his feet, begged so earnestly to be spared the burden of this honor, that the Holy Father acceded to his request. After the death of this Pope, the Cardinals, assembled at Viterbo, could not agree in the election of a new head of the Church, and they at last determined to leave the choice to Bonaventure, promising to accept as Pope, whomsoever he thought deserving to receive the highest of earthly dignities. This was surely the greatest sign of honor which they could confer upon the Saint.

Bonaventure, after having prayed to God, said that, in his opinion, Theobald, archdeacon of Liege, who was not even present, was most worthy to be raised to the Pontifical Throne. The cardinals received his decision and Theobald became the head of Christ's Church. This Pope, who took the name of Gregory X, sent afterwards the hat and insignia of a Cardinal to Bonaventure, nominating him Bishop of Albano, and commanding him at the same time, to obey without any opposition. The papal Nuncios who were to convey this news to the Saint, found him occupied in washing the dishes in the kitchen. He listened with unfeigned surprise to their message, and as he saw that, this time, there was no escape left, he obediently submitted, but nevertheless he finished his humble occupation. The Pope, calling him to Rome, took him to Lyons where a general Council was held, during which he gave new proofs of his great learning, and of his unwearied zeal in promoting the welfare of the holy Church.

It pleased the Almighty, to call His faithful servant, in the midst of his pious labor, and after a short illness, to receive his eternal reward. He died in 1274, only fifty-three years of age. The Pope and all the bishops deeply lamented his early death, but God immediately honored him by many miracles. One hundred and sixty years later, when on account of the erection of a new Church, the relics of the Saint were exhumed, it was found that the flesh of the body was entirely consumed, the head excepted, of which the hair, teeth, tongue, eyes and ears, lips and cheeks, were as perfect as though he had still been living. The head, therefore, was preserved in a rich shrine, and the rest of the body laid into a coffin. After many years, when the Huguenots or Calvinists took possession of Lyons, they publicly burned the body of the Saint and threw the ashes into the river. The holy head, however, was saved from their rage by the care of a priest, who, though most cruelly tortured, to make him confess where the relic was kept, preferred to bear the suffering rather than reveal where the precious treasure was concealed.

O, Seraphic Doctor, lead us in our search of that same Divine Wisdom.


Quotes from St. Bonaventure

"Verily, great is Our Lord's mercy! That we, through fear of our divine Judge, depart not forever from Him, He gave us His own Mother for our advocate and mediatrix of grace."


"God might have created a more beautiful world; He might have made heaven more glorious; but it was impossible for Him to exalt a creature higher than Mary in making her His Mother."

"Of Mary's plenitude, we have all received; the captive liberty, the sick health, the sad consolation, the sinner pardon, the just grace. Therefore, the Church invokes Mary as the mother of mercy, the heath of the sick, the comforter of the afflicted, the refuge of sinners, the help of Christians, in a word, as the cause of our joy."

St. Pius I

We've had 12 Popes named Pius, and today is the first one of that esteemed name, St. Pope Pius I. Pius I, born in the State of Venice, succeeded Saint Hygin in the year 142 as the ninth successor to Saint Peter, during the reign of the emperor Antoninus the Pious. Throughout his pontificate he took great care to make the religion of Christ flourish, and published many beautiful ordinances for the utility of the universal Church. In his decrees he was severe towards blasphemers and with the clergy who showed negligence for the divine Mysteries of the altar. Saint Pius ordained that Easter be celebrated on a Sunday; in this way the custom which the Apostles had already observed became an inviolable law of the Church.

His pontificate was marked by the efforts of various heretics in Rome, among them the gnostics Valentinian, Cerdon, and Marcion, to sow their errors in the Church's center. The last-named, when excluded from communion by Saint Pius, founded the heretical group which bears his name. St. Justin and other Catholic teachers assisted the Pontiff in defending Christian doctrine and preserving it from corruption. After having governed the Church for fifteen years St. Pius I obtained the crown of martyrdom by the sword, in the year of Our Lord 150.




Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira


Biographical selection:

St. Pius I (140-155) was born in the city of Aquilea, He succeeded St. Hyginus (136-140) in the Apostolic See. He was friend of St. Polycarp of Smyrna and St. Justin the Apologist, who fought against the Gnostic heresy that was contaminating the Church. St. Pius I demanded the highest respect for the consecrated species of Bread and Wine in the Eucharist. He made a special decree prescribing that if a negligent priest would let even a drop of the Precious Blood fall on the ground he would have to make 40 days of penance. If the Precious Blood would be spilled on the Altar and not onto the ground, the penance would be between 3-9 days, depending upon the quantity spilled.

One of the places where St. Peter and St. Paul used to work, the palace of St. Pudentiana, was transformed by Pope Pius I into a church. After governing the Catholic Church for 15 years, St. Pius I suffered martyrdom under Marcus Aurelius.

Comments of Prof. Plinio:

One can see that St. Pius I was a Pope who carried out his functions during the period of the Roman persecutions. Thus he counts among those first Popes who were associated with the admirable work of the internal organization of the Church. This is a very important point that historians and scholars habitually overlook.


St Pius I

St. Pius I

During the persecutions, even when she was being stepped on and wounded, even when she was pouring out blood in all her parts, the Catholic Church continued to organize herself. After Constantine’s decree that gave liberty to the Church, she came out of the catacombs, and one could admire her full and perfect organization: she had a Hierarchy, an exact Church Law, all her structures had been made, her liturgy defined, and a wealth of doctrine established. This means that from the time that St. Peter and St. Paul arrived in Rome until the moment the Church left the catacombs, an enormous work of organization had been carried out.

The Catholic Church appeared as the first entity in History claiming a universal character. Until then, this idea was absurd. All the existent religions and other organizations were limited by borders of State. The Church claimed this universality naturally, wisely, and with good sense. She emerged from the catacombs already with her universal character and carried on naturally because everything was already prepared for that.

This means that even while she was suffering persecutions, she was not obsessed by them. At the same time, she was serenely constructing her magnificent structure. One might think that the development of the body of the Church would need to be made in peace and tranquility, that persecuted men could never do such a thing. But the opposite is true.

Throughout that period, those very men who were threatened, persecuted, at constant risk of being brought before the Roman tribunals and receiving their martyrdom, never ceased thinking, praying, and making the Church more perfect – here a point of doctrine was polished, there a part of the liturgy was improved, over there a new custom was being established. Considering this serenity and calm, one is reminded of the serenity and calm of the martyrs in the arena. That tranquility before death was present at the tragic moment when they were facing beasts and tortures. This was a consequence of a state of spirit fostered by the Catholic Church that kept them in a constant state of confidence and calm. This also explains why they were able to calmly and serenely construct, stone by stone, the extraordinary institution that they built.

A precious cloth representing Emperor Constantine, whose famous decree gave liberty to the Church. She emerged from the catacombs with an established structure and organization.

The contemplative state also was born in the Church as another consequence of the persecutions. Many Catholics, fleeing the persecutions of the pagan Roman Empire, found refuge in the desert. There they began to dwell in isolation, living lives of prayer and sacrifice, which became the eremitic life of contemplation.

Here, then, one sees the admirable panorama of the life of the Church at that time: The great ever growing number of martyrs, the apostolate of the Church extending to all corners, her spirit of recollection giving rise to a flourishing contemplative state. It was an admirable growth and development.

Behind all those initiatives was the presence of the Holy Ghost. The Roman Catholic Church is more than a society of defined persons – the Pope, Bishops, Clergy, and faithful. This is the human element of the Church. But there is also that which is called the spirit of the Church. This spirit is the continuity in the Church of a determined mentality, a determined wisdom, a determined Faith, and a determined virtue, which exists not by a work of man, but by a supernatural factor: this is the action of the Holy Ghost. By means of this action, good Catholics everywhere in all centuries understood each other, knew each other, and supported each other. They had a single mentality, and when they died, others came and succeeded them with the same spirit.

Today the faithful who understand and love this same institution, virtue, and tradition have this spirit and represent this continuity. You have certainly seen a fire burning at night, when the flames are more easily seen. Once in a while, a spark shoots out from the fire, flies high above it, and then falls again into the bosom of the burning wood. Those good Catholics of whom I spoke are like those sparks in the fire. Amid the present crisis of the Church, those sparks shine with the light of the Church, with the light that the Church had before the Council, and they fly up and they will return their light and their very existence to her after her restoration. I hope we make up part of these Catholics. Our joy is to be a part of the Catholic Church. Anything good in us comes from our belonging to her, which is a Temple of the Holy Ghost.

There is a certain analogy between the faithful of the time of St. Pius I and today’s faithful. Today’s good Catholics do not suffer a bloody persecution (in most parts of the world, but the 'peaceful' religion is spreading its errors all over). Instead they face a bloodless persecution and are maltreated in many ways. Our Lady helps them, and they continue on, stone by stone constructing their work in that same spirit, until that moment Our Lady will choose for her glorification, and the Reign of Mary will be established. Then future Catholics will see that even amid the worse torments in History, which is the present day crisis, the Church continued to live, to progress, to give good fruit, and, moreover, she continued to be herself.

These are the considerations on the feast of St. Pius that I can offer you.

Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira, deceased 1995.



Read a little about him:

The Saint of the Day features highlights from the lives of saints based on comments made by the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Following the example of St. John Bosco who used to make similar talks for the boys of his College, each evening it was Prof. Plinio’s custom to make a short commentary on the lives of the next day’s saint in a meeting for youth in order to encourage them in the practice of virtue and love for the Catholic Church. TIA thought that its readers could profit from these valuable commentaries.

The texts of both the biographical data and the comments come from personal notes taken by Atila S. Guimarães from 1964 to 1995. Given the fact that the source is a personal notebook, it is possible that at times the biographic notes transcribed here will not rigorously follow the original text read by Prof. Plinio. The commentaries have also been adapted and translated for TIA’s site. (TIA means 'Tradition in Action', a group founded by him in Brazil.

Plinio Corrêa de OliveiraCatholic thinker, writer, university professor, journalist and lecturer — all of these describe the life of Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. However, such a description is somehow incomplete.

Indeed, he is a man who must be seen in light of the times in which he lived. Born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1908, the founder of the Brazilian TFP is a figure that stands tall in a tempestuous century where he emerged as a man of faith, thought and action.

If he is to be defined at all, Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira must first be understood as one who valued his Catholic Faith above all else. The Faith marked his entire life. He turned his back on a promising political career, and put himself at the service of the Church.

This central focus began from his infancy when his mother, Lucilia Corrêa de Oliveira, imparted to him a love of the Catholic Church. That early formation and later his Jesuit education was the foundation of a life of zealous Catholic action.

In 1928 he joined the Marian Congregations of São Paulo and soon became one of its main leaders and orators. In 1933 he helped organize the Catholic Electoral League and was elected to the nation’s Constitutional Convention. As the youngest congressman in Brazil’s history, he garnered the largest number of votes and served as a distinguished leader of the Catholic bloc.

The rest of his life is a long list of service to the Catholic cause. He held the chair of Modern and Contemporary History at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. He was also the first president of the São Paulo Archdiocesan Board of Catholic Action.

From 1935 to 1947 he served as director of the Catholic weekly Legionário, which attained prominence in the Brazilian Catholic press under his tutelage especially for its opposition to Nazism. In 1951 he began his direction of the monthly paper Catolicismo. From 1968 to 1990 he wrote a column for the Folha de S.Paulo, the city’s largest daily newspaper.

However, Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira was more than just a man of Faith and action. His profound analysis of history and world events gave rise to a pole of Catholic thought that opposed communism and Catholic leftism as it rocked Latin America and the world. (Liberation Theology)

An avowed Thomist, he was the author of 15 books and over 2,500 in-depth essays and articles. His works include: In Defense of Catholic Action, Revolution and Counter-Revolution, The Church and the Communist State: The Impossible Coexistence, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII and many others.

Finally, Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira was truly a crusader of the twentieth century, a man who was the very embodiment of his thought. He founded the Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) in 1960 and served as president of its National Council until his death in 1995. His life example and his penetrating treatise Revolution and Counter-Revolution inspired the founding of autonomous TFPs and TFP Bureaus worldwide.

None of his works would be possible without an intense interior life. What impressed those who know Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira was his profound confidence in the Blessed Virgin who was the source of his courage and allowed him to carry on the struggle for Christian Civilization with the absolute certainty of the final victory of good over evil. He was the twentieth century crusader who firmly believed in the words of Our Lady at Fatima: “Finally My Immaculate Heart will triumph!”

8th Sunday after Pentecost

"Redde rationem villicationis tuae"
"Give an account of thy stewardship,"--Luke, xvi. 2

This Sunday is the 8th Sunday after Pentecost. We will hear about being a good and faithful steward of our assets. I always think about the poor widow, who gave a small pittance, but it was a big portion of what she owned. And, Jesus commented that this woman was richer than all the others who pitched into the alms box, probably from an excess. We WILL be held accountable for what we do with what we have. Some people, even family members, decide that they don't want to know more about the Faith, because they don't think they will be held accountable for what they don't know. This isn't a very good excuse. God will, in turn, demand of them why they didn't want to know about Him. We are all held accountable for our actions. And, we will be held accountable all by ourselves; mommy and daddy will not be there to soothe things over.


The Particular Judgment


This takes place at the moment of death--"It is appointed unto man once to die, and after death, the judgment" (Heb. ix. 27). There is a similarity between the end of the world and the death of the individual: (a) both are certain--"my words shall not pass" (Luke xxi. 33) (b) the time of both is uncertain--"the day and the hour no man knoweth" (Matt. xxiv. 36); (c) both are accompanied by temptations and tribulations--"there shall arise false Christs," etc., "the sun shall be darkened," etc. (Matt. xxiv. 24, 29). The similarity between the particular and the general judgments: (a) it is the same person with his whole life who is judged in both cases; (b) the sentence is irrevocable in both cases.




St. Vincent de Paul, whose post follows this, offers his opinion:

"What is done for charity's sake is done for God. It is not enough for us that we love God ourselves; our neighbor also must love him; neither can we love our neighbor as ourselves unless we procure for him the good we are bound to desire for ourselves--viz., divine love, which unites us to our Sovereign Good. We must love our neighbor as the image of God and the object of His love, and must try to make men love their Creator in return, and love one another also with mutual charity for the love of God, Who so loved them as to deliver His own Son to death for them. But let us, I beg of you, look upon this Divine Savior as a perfect pattern of the charity we must bear to our neighbor."


Now, I'm going to let our beloved Abbot Gueranger explain it. He does a far better job at than I do. He's commenting on the readings from St. Paul to the Romans, which we have been hearing over the last few weeks:

'...man, unaided by grace, is incapable of producing perfect justice and absolute good. Experience has proved it, the fathers will, later on, unanimously assert it, and the Church, in her Councils, will define it. True, by the mere powers of his fallen nature, man may come to the knowledge of some truths, and to the practice of some virtues; but, without grace, he can never know, and still less observe, the precepts of even the natural law, if they are taken as a whole.

From Jesus and Jesus alone, comes all justice. Not only is supernatural grace in the sinner's soul, wholly from Him; but even that natural justice, of which men are so proud, and which they say is quite enough without anything else, soon leaves one who does not cling to Christ by Faith and love. Our modern world has a pompous phrase about 'the independence of the human mind'; let those who pretend to acknowledge no other but that, go one with their boasting of being moral and honest men; but, as to us Christians, we believe what our mother the Church teaches us; and, agreeably to such teaching, we believe that 'a moral and honest man'; that is to say, a man who lives up to all the duties which nature puts upon him, can only be such here below by a special aid of our Redeemer and Saviour Christ Jesus. With St. Paul, therefore, let us be proud of the Gospel; for, as he calls it, it is the power of God, not only to justify the ungodly, but also to enrich souls, that thirst after what is right, with an active and perfect justice. 'The just man liveth by faith' says St. Paul; and according to the growth of his faith, so is his growth in justice. Without faith if Christ, the pretension to reach perfection in good, by one's own power and works, produces nothing but the stagnation of pride and the wrath of God.'


GOSPEL (Luke XVI. 1-9.) At that time, Jesus spoke to his disciples this parable: There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said to him: How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for now thou canst be steward no longer. And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me my stewardship? To dig, I am not able: to beg I am ashamed. I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. Therefore calling together every one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first: How much dost thou owe my lord? But he said: A hundred barrels of oil. And he said to him: Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty, Then he said to another: And how much dost thou owe? Who said: A hundred quarters of wheat. He said to him: Take thy bill, and write eighty. And the Lord commended the unjust steward, for as much as he had done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser in their generations than the children of light. And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings.

God is represented by the rich man; the steward is man, to whom God has confided the various goods of soul and body, of grace and nature: faith, intellect, memory , free will; and five senses, health, strength of body, beauty, skill and power over others, time and opportunity for good, temporal riches, and other gifts. These various goods of soul and body God gives us not as our own, but on loan to us to be used for His honor and the salvation of man. He will therefore demand the strictest account of us if we use them for sin, luxury, seduction, or oppression of others.
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'This Gospel reading is perhaps the most perplexing of all the Sunday Gospels. The faithless steward, accused of mismanagement, is praised by his master for preparing himself, and making friends with, “the Mammon of iniquity” by means of a fraudulent contract. Our Lord here is not condoning the fraud of the steward. Rather, the "point" of the parable is that providing for one’s future deserves praise. The lesson we are to learn is to use presently all the talents we have at our disposal so as to prepare for ourselves riches for heaven.
' (St. Jerome’s Letter to Algasia, #121, n. 6)


More Gueranger:

'For the fool, as well as for the wise man, the day will come when his soul will be required of him; and when the rich man, as well as the poor, will be brought before his Maker, exactly as he was on the day of his first entrance into the world, and it will be said to him: "Give an account of thy stewardship!" At that dread hour, the rule observed for the judgment will be that which our Lord revealed to us during His mortal life; "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required; and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more." Woe to the steward who, disregarding the trust assigned to him, has done just what his own whim suggested with the goods of which he was only the dispenser! When the light of eternity shall be upon him, he will understand the error of his foolish pride. He will see the shameful injustice of a life which the world perhaps thought a very decent one, but which was spent without the slightest regard to God's intentions in giving him the riches of which he boasted. He will then be entirely deprived of them all; neither will it be then in his power to make a better use of them for the future---that is, a use more in accordance with the designs of God. It he might, at least, make some restitution for the goods he has abused! if he might sue for aid from those with whom he lived upon earth! But, NO! when time is over, labor is over too. He has nothing to show for all his riches; he is powerless; and when he goes before that dread tribunal, where every man is afraid that he cannot put his own accounts right, whom can he get to help him?'

We should remember these words spoken by our Lord: "Come to me, all ye who labor, and I will give you rest."


'Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.'

- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity



Not only are we incapable, of ourselves, of doing any good work, but, without the help of grace, we cannot even have a thought of supernatural good. Now, the surest means for obtaining the help that is so needed by us to acknowledge humbly before God that we depend entirely upon Him; it is what the Church does in the Collect for this Sunday:

Grant us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the spirit of always thinking what is right; and grant us mercifully the spirit of doing it: that we, who cannot subsist without Thee, may live according to Thee.


"You are not a master, but a steward over the things committed to you; and therefore you are to render an account of them." I will place before your eyes today the rigor of this judgment, which shall be passed on each of us on the last day of our life." (St. Bonaventure)



Strengthen me, O Lord, that I may not live according to the desires of the flesh; but resist them firmly by the power of Thy Spirit, that I may not die the eternal death.

St. Thomas More

This day I have inserted about St. Thomas More, a Martyr in England. He was beheaded on July 6, 1535, but we had St. Maria Goretti on that day this week, so I have entered about St. Thomas today. He pretty much gets an honorable mention these days. And, it still is, Saturday that we think of our Blessed Mother. DON'T FORGET!

St. Thomas More is known as the “Man for All Seasons” – but he is also a man claimed by all ages. Exactly why Sir Thomas More became a saint is a question that seems to draw out competing philosophies. In the petition to have More declared a saint, the petitioners wrote, “He was a martyr of freedom in the most modern sense of the word, for he opposed the attempt of power to command the conscience.” The modern St. Thomas More is often praised for his unconquerable conscience.


His belief that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the Church of Christ cost Thomas More his life. Beheaded on Tower Hill, London, on July 6, 1535, he steadfastly refused to approve Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage and establishment of the Church of England. When the executioner offered to blindfold him, More said that he would do this himself. But after he had stretched his head over the low block—it was merely a log of wood—he made a signal to the man to wait a moment. Then he made his last joke: His beard was lying on the block and he would like to remove it. At least that had committed no treason. The heavy axe went slowly up, hung a moment in the air and fell.



This coloring of St. Thomas More is not a surprise given the aim of modernity. The grand project of modernity is to emancipate the human will from God, nature, history, and even reason. All that remains is the unbridled human will. The modern praise of More seems to have a modern hue. Consequently, he becomes a saint of autonomy – a man who had a “adamantine sense of self” that refused to break.


The unconquerable conscience of More is predicated not on his autonomy but on his fidelity to Holy Mother Church.

It is not that the modern notion is necessarily wrong in what is asserts, but rather its assertion is incomplete. What is missing from these considerations is the ancient notion of a well-formed conscience. The modern sentiments deemphasize whether or not More’s conscience was actually correct and focus primarily on him standing up for what he believes. The traditional praises of More focus on his well-formed conscience. In the modern notion it does not matter if More was Catholic or not. He could be a saint for any individual who stands up for what they believe. In modernity’s project of autonomy, staying true to one’s conscience is admirable, but the contents of one’s conscience are far less important. In contrast, the traditional More – and arguably the authentically Catholic one – begs students of his life to examine his conscience. Unpacking More’s well-formed conscience brings up topics of natural law, the virtues, political engagement, the Church’s role in civil life, and the Catholic Church as Christ’s only Church. Under the traditional view, the unconquerable conscience of More is predicated not on his autonomy but on his fidelity to Holy Mother Church. He had formed his conscience according to the Church, and when the world asked him to betray her, he knew exactly who he was in Christ Jesus. There is little doubt the authentically Catholic Thomas More makes the modern world uncomfortable; thus, there is a push – both inside and outside the Church – to refashion More as a modern hero of autonomy.


Virtues we all could use in our lives:

1. Christian Steadfastness
The Christian steadfastness which Thomas More demonstrated in martyrdom has made his name famous down through the centuries. In his own lifetime, he was already known throughout Europe for his scholarship and his innovative views, which led him, for example, to give his daughters the same education his son received – a revolutionary development in those times.1



2. Utopia – The Intellectual Puzzle
His work as a writer — especially his translations of the Greek satirist Lucian, his collection of original poems, and his great classic Utopia — lent his name incomparable prestige. Utopia continues to be Thomas More’s best-known work. Modeled on Plato’s Republic, this intellectual puzzle is one of the finest case studies ever devised for the political philosopher and the student of human nature. Like the Republic, Utopia is filled with internal contradictions that invite the attentive reader to think deeply about the perennial ethical values which give meaning to personal and social life.



3. Famous Last Words
His last words, “I die the King’s good servant and God’s first,” remain an inspiration for all those who dedicate their lives to the service of the common good.



4. Holiness as the Fullness of Humanity
It reflects, moreover, an admiration which transcends the specific contributions that Saint Thomas More made in the various fields in which he worked — as humanist, apologist, judge, legislator, diplomat and statesman — and focuses on the man himself: the idea that holiness is the fullness of humanity appears, in this case, quite tangibly true.



5. Model of Moral Integrity
Your Holiness’s predecessor in the Chair of Peter, Pope Pius XI, in the Bull of Canonization, presented Saint Thomas More as a model of proven moral integrity for all Christians and defined him as laicorum hominum decus et ornamentum.



6. Faith & Culture
In Saint Thomas More, there was no sign of that split between Faith and culture, between timeless principles and daily life, which the Second Vatican Council laments as “among of the gravest errors of our time” (Gaudium et spes, n. 43). (Even they got SOMETHING right!)



7. Founder of Common Law
As a lawyer and judge, he established the interpretation and formulation of laws (he is rightly considered one of the founders of the study of the English common law) which safeguard true social justice and build peace between individuals and nations.



8. The Patron of the Poor
More eager to eliminate the causes of injustice than to repress it, he did not separate his passionate but prudent advocacy of the common good from the constant practice of charity: his fellow citizens called him the “patron of the poor.” An unconditional and benevolent dedication to justice with regard to the human person and liberty was the guiding rule of his conduct as a magistrate. While serving all men, Saint Thomas More knew well how to serve his king, that is the state, but wanted above all to serve God.



9. World’s Public Servants Call for a Patron
The timeliness of this convergence of political commitment and moral conviction, this harmony between the supernatural and the human, and this seamless unity of life have caused many public servants from various countries to join the Committee for the Proclamation of Sir Thomas More, Saint and Martyr, as Patron of Politicians.



10. Politics – A Difficult Form of Service
Politics was not, for him, a matter of personal advantage, but rather an often difficult form of service, for which he had prepared himself not only through the study of the history, laws and culture of his own country, but also and especially through the examination of human nature, its grandeur and weaknesses, and of the ever-imperfect conditions of social life.



11. A Modern Martyr of Freedom
He was a martyr of freedom in the most modern sense of the word, for he opposed the attempt of power to command the conscience: a perennial temptation — one to which the history of the 20th century bears tragic witness — of political regimes that do not recognize anything superior to themselves.



12. Martyr for Primacy of Conscience
A martyr for freedom, then, precisely because he was a martyr for the primacy of conscience which, firmly grounded in the search for the truth, renders us responsible for our decisions, that is to say, masters of ourselves and thus free from all bonds except that bond — proper to a creature — which binds us to God.



13. We Ask Sir Thomas More to Become a Saint
Therefore, certain that we act for the good of future society and trusting that our petition will find a benevolent welcome with Your Holiness, we ask that Sir Thomas More, Saint and Martyr, faithful servant of the King, but God’s first, be proclaimed “Patron of Statesmen.”


14. Imperishable Example of Moral Integrity
Precisely because of the witness which he bore, even at the price of his life, to the primacy of truth over power, Saint Thomas More is venerated as an imperishable example of moral integrity.



15. Well Ordered House & Life
Throughout his life he was an affectionate and faithful husband and father, deeply involved in his children’s religious, moral and intellectual education. His house offered a welcome to his children’s spouses and his grandchildren, and was always open to his many young friends in search of the truth or of their own calling in life. Family life also gave him ample opportunity for prayer in common and lectio divina, as well as for happy and wholesome relaxation. Thomas attended daily Mass in the parish church, but the austere penances which he practiced were known only to his immediate family.


16. Appointed as Lord Chancellor
Highly esteemed by everyone for his unfailing moral integrity, sharpness of mind, his open and humorous character, and his extraordinary learning, in 1529 at a time of political and economic crisis in the country he was appointed by the King to the post of Lord Chancellor. The first layman to occupy this position, Thomas faced an extremely difficult period, as he sought to serve King and country.



17. Resigned & Reduced to Poverty
In 1532, not wishing to support Henry VIII’s intention to take control of the Church in England, he resigned. He withdrew from public life, resigning himself to suffering poverty with his family and being deserted by many people who, in the moment of trial, proved to be false friends.



18. The Trial
At his trial, he made an impassioned defense of his own convictions on the indissolubility of marriage, the respect due to the juridical patrimony of Christian civilization, and the freedom of the Church in her relations with the State. Condemned by the Court, he was beheaded.


19. Beatified in 1886
In 1850 the English Catholic Hierarchy was re-established. This made it possible to initiate the causes of many martyrs. Thomas More, together with 53 other martyrs, including Bishop John Fisher, was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1886. And with John Fisher, he was canonized by Pius XI in 1935, on the fourth centenary of his martyrdom.


20. Government as an Exercise in Virtue
His life teaches us that government is above all an exercise of virtue. Unwavering in this rigorous moral stance, this English statesman placed his own public activity at the service of the person, especially if that person was weak or poor; he dealt with social controversies with a superb sense of fairness; he was vigorously committed to favouring and defending the family; he supported the all-round education of the young.


21. Politics & Morality
What enlightened his conscience was the sense that man cannot be sundered from God, nor politics from morality.


22. Rights of Conscience
And it was precisely in defense of the rights of conscience that the example of Thomas More shone brightly. It can be said that he demonstrated in a singular way the value of a moral conscience which is “the witness of God himself, whose voice and judgment penetrate the depths of man’s soul” (Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, 58), even if, in his actions against heretics, he reflected the limits of the culture of his time.


23. Freedom from the State
The defense of the Church’s freedom from unwarranted interference by the State is at the same time a defense, in the name of the primacy of conscience, of the individual’s freedom vis-à-vis political power. Here we find the basic principle of every civil order consonant with human nature.


24. St. Thomas More
Therefore, after due consideration and willingly acceding to the petitions addressed to me, I establish and declare Saint Thomas More the heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians, and I decree that he be ascribed all the liturgical honours and privileges which, according to law, belong to the Patrons of categories of people.



Sir Thomas More Quotes and Quotations



"Better 'tis to be fortunate than wise!"
— "The Words of Fortune to the People" (c.1504)


"Divers heads, divers wits.
— "To Them Who Trust in Fortune"


"None falleth far but he who climbeth high."
— "To Them Who Trust in Fortune"


"Men use, if they have an evil turn, to write it in marble;
and who so doth us a good turn, we write it in dust."
— History of King Richard III (c.1513-1518)


What you cannot turn to good, you must at least make as little bad as you can.
— Utopia, Bk. 1. (1516)


"Extreme justice is an extreme injury: for we ought not to approve of those terrible laws that make the smallest offences capital, nor of that opinion of the Stoics that makes all crimes equal; as if there were no difference to be made between the killing a man and the taking his purse, between which, if we examine things impartially, there is no likeness nor proportion."
— Utopia, Bk 1. (1516)


"They have no lawyers among them, for they consider them as a sort of people whose profession it is to disguise matters."
— Utopia, Bk. 2. (1516)


"All things appear incredible to us, as they differ more or less from our own manners."
— Utopia, Bk 2. (1516)


Man's folly hath enhanced the value of gold and silver because of their scarcity; whereas nature, like a kind parent, hath freely given us the best things, such as air, earth, and water, but hath hidden from us those which are vain and useless.
— Utopia, Bk 2. (1516)


"When public judicatories are swayed by avarice or partiality, justice, the grand sinew of society, is lost."
— Utopia, Bk 2. (1516)


"While there is nothing so neat and witty that will not be made insipid by silly and inconsiderate loquacity, so also there is nothing in itself so insipid, that you cannot season with grace and wit if you give a little thought to it."
— A Letter to his Children, 1522.


"Although poets are with many men taken but for painted words, yet do they much help the judgment, and make a man among other things well furnished in one special thing, without which all learning is half lame... a good mother wit."
— A Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1529)


"If any good thing shall go forward, something must be adventured."
— A Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1529)


"A faint faith is better than a strong heresy."
— A Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1529)


"A tale that fleeth through many mouths catcheth many feathers."
— A Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1529)


"I do not care very much what men say of me, provided that God approves of me."
— A Letter to Erasmus, 1532.

"He will bring forth for the plain proof his old three worshipful witnesses, which stand yet all unsworn, that is to wit: Some-say, and They-say, and Folk-say."
— Confutation of Tyndales's Answer (1532)


"He spinneth that fine lie with flax, fetching it out of his own body, as the spider spinneth her cobweb."
— Confutation of Tyndales's Answer (1532)


"Heretics be they that obstinately hold any self-minded opinion contrary to the doctrine that the common known Catholic Church teacheth and holdeth for necessary to salvation."
— Debellation of Salem and Bizance (1533)


"I never saw fool yet that thought himself other than wise."
— A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (1534)


"A fond old man is often as full of words as a woman."
— A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (1534)


"Many a man buyeth hell with so much pain, that he might have heaven with less than the one half."
— A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (1534)


"He that biddeth other folk do well, and giveth evil example with the contrary deed himself, fareth even like a foolish weaver, that would weave a part with his one hand and unweave a part with his other."
— A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (1534)


"I do nobody harm, I say none harm, I thinke none harm, but wish everybody good. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live."
— Letter to his daughter, Margaret, 1535.



Quoted by others:

"We may not look at our pleasures to go to heaven in featherbeds; it is not the way, for our Lord Himself went thither with great pain, and by many tribulations, which was the path wherein He walked thither, and the servant may not look to be in better case than his Master."
— To his wife and children, according to William Roper.


"Where there is no malice there can be no offense."
— Speech in his Defence, to the Lords of the Council, 1535.
Quoted by William Roper


"I die the King's good servant, but God's first."
— Last words on the scaffold, 1535,
according to Paris Newsletter, August 4, 1535:
"qu'il mouroit son bon serviteur et de Dieu premierement."



TRIAL OF SIR THOMAS MORE: Letter to Margaret Roper, his daughter
(July 5, 1535), the day before he was executed.

This letter , written in coal at the Tower of London on the day before his execution, was the last writing of Thomas More.


Our Lord bless you good daughter and your good husband and your little boy and all yours and all my children and all my godchildren and all our friends. Recommend me when you may to my good daughter Cecily whom I beseech our Lord to comfort, and I send her my blessing and to all her children and pray her to pray for me. I send her an handkercher and God comfort my good son her husband. My good daughter Daunce hath the picture in parchment that you delivered me from r my Lady Conyers, her name is on the back side. Shew her that I heartily pray her that you may send it in my name to her again for a token from me to pray for me.

I like special well Dorothy Colly, I pray you be good unto her. I would wit whether this be she that you wrote me of. If not, I pray you be good to the other as you may in her affliction, and to my good daughter Joan Aleyn to give her I pray you some kind answer, for she sued hither to me this day to pray you be good to her.

I cumber you, good Margaret, much, but I would be sorry, if it should be any longer than tomorrow, for it is Saint Thomas' Even and the Vtas of Saint Peter and therefore tomorrow long I to go to God, it were a day very meet and convenient for me. I never liked your manner to­ward me better than when you kissed me last for I love when daughterly love and dear charity hath not leisure to look to worldly courtesy.

Fare well my dear child and pray for me, and I shall for you and all your friends that we may merrily meet in heaven. I thank you for your great cost.

I send now unto my good daughter Clement her algorism stone and I send her and my good son and all hers God's blessing and mine.

I pray you at time convenient recommend me to my good son John More. I liked well his natural fashion. Our Lord bless him and his good wife my loving daughter, to whom I pray him be good, as he hath great cause, and that if the land of mine come to his hand, he break not my will concerning his sister Daunce. And our Lord bless Thomas and Austin and all that they shall have.