Forgotten Truths To Set Faith Afire!

"This mission [evangelization] is not the exclusive preserve of the sacred ministers or religious, but ought to embrace the entire ambit of secular society, of the family, and the school.   Every Christian has to participate in the task of Christian formation, to feel the urgent need to evangelize…" Saint John Paul II (Pope)

 

" In the sacrament of Penance, God extends his forgiveness to us in a very personal way.   Through the ministry of the priest, we come to our loving Savior with the burden of our sins.   We confess that we have sinned against God and our neighbor.   We manifest our sorrow and ask pardon from the Lord. Then, through the priest, we hear Christ say to us: 'Your sins are forgiven' (Mark 2:5); 'Go, and do not sin again' (John 8:11).   Can we not also hear him say to us as we are filled with his saving grace: 'Extend to others seventy times seven, this same forgiveness and mercy?' " St. John Paul II 

(Just one of 1200 challenging, inspiring and instructive quotations you will find in Forgotten Truths To Set Faith Afire: Words to Challenge, Inspire and Instruct )  

 

(St. Vincent Ferrer Parish, NYC)   It is pleasant to spend time with Him, to lie close to His breast like the Beloved disciple (cf. Jn 13:25) and to feel the infinite love present in His heart.   If in our time Christians must be distinguished above all by the "art of prayer”, how can we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament?   How often, dear brothers and sisters, have I experienced this, and drawn from it strength, consolation and support.  St. John Paul II (Pope)

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons )   [Throughout the Gospels] Christ repeats several times. “Do not fear…do not be afraid”.   And at the same time, together with these appeals for fortitude resounds the exhortation: “rather fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell” (Matt 10:28).   We are called to fortitude and at the same time, the fear of God, and this should be a fear that comes out of love, a filial fear.   And only when this fear sinks into our hearts can we be really strong with the strength of the apostles, the martyrs and the confessors.   St. John Paul II (Pope)

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons )     It is urgent to rediscover and to set forth once more the authentic reality of the Christian faith, which is not simply a set of propositions to be accepted with intellectual assent.   Rather, faith is a lived knowledge of Christ, a living remembrance of His commandments, and a truth to be lived out.  St. John Paul II (Pope)

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons )     As the Second Vatican Council observed: “In the depths of his conscience man detects a law which he does not impose on himself, but which holds him to obedience.”   Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience can when necessary speak to his heart, more specifically: “do this, shun that.”   For a man has in his heart a law written by God.   To obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged (cf. Romans 2:14-16).   St. Pope John Paul II

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) We must pray too because we are fragile and culpable.  We need to admit humbly and truly that we are poor creatures, with confused ideas…We are fragile and weak, and in constant need of interior strength and consolation.  Prayer gives us strength for great ideals, for keeping up our faith, charity, purity, generosity; prayer gives us strength to rise up from indifference and guilt, if we have had the misfortune to give in to temptation and weakness.  Prayer gives light by which to see and judge from God’s perspective and from eternity.  That is why you must not give up praying! Don’t let a day go by without praying a little! Prayer is a duty, but it is also a joy because it is a dialogue with God through Jesus Christ! St. John Paul II

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ) It is easy to be consistent for a day or two.  It is difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life.  It is easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm; it is difficult to be so in the hour of tribulation.  And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole of life can be called faithfulness.  Saint John Paul II