Satan In The Light

“I saw the torments of hell and those of purgatory; no words can describe them. Had poor mortals the faintest idea of them, they would suffer a thousand deaths rather than undergo the least of their torments during a single day.”

— St. Catherine of Siena

Modernism is the coming together of many heresies, but if you look carefully you will see that they all share a disbelief in, or disdain of, the supernatural.  The supernatural, of course, is the belief in angels and devils, heaven and hell, sin and salvation.  It is composed of that which is above the natural, that which we can feel only with the soul, and know only through the highest of reason.

Many moderns believe these unseen matters to be foolishness, ignorance, and in so doing they distance themselves from them, endangering their soul for the sake of honor and pride, for the satisfaction of thinking they are the highest authority over their own lives.

Looking at these latest scandals in the Church is to see this principle in action.  If someone believed in heaven and hell, sin and salvation, would they commit these awful sins for years? Would they do so without remorse, without removing themselves from occasions of sin, without recognizing that they are on the path to Hell?  It is hard to believe, but the fact is that once you cut yourself off from supernatural truth, you are simply an unprotected soul behind enemy lines.

On Suffering

Transmute the poor bread of my life into your life;

thrill the wine of my wasted life into your divine Spirit;

unite my broken heart with your Heart;

change my cross into a crucifix.

Let not my abandonment and my sorrow go to waste.

Gather up the fragments,

and as the drop of water is absorbed by the wine

at the Offertory of the Mass, let my life be absorbed in you.

Let my little cross be entwined with your great Cross

so that I may purchase the joys of everlasting happiness

in union with you.

— Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

Consecration To Jesus Through Mary

Rubens, Immaculate Conception, 1628–1629

Just as the light of the moon is actually cast by the sun, devotion to the Mother of God is equally an effort toward a better relationship with her son.  This simple principle has been understood from the earliest ages of Christianity, before the splits away from the Church He founded, indeed before the Bible was even written (reading on the early Church in this regard is highly recommended).  Mary is central to the life of Jesus, and thus central to us, and there simply is no better understanding than that.

Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and Confessor.  In addition, he was one of the great writers on the topic of Mariology.  His grandest work on the topic was his “True Devotion to Mary.”   It has been inspirational to many since, with Pope St. John Paul II saying that reading this work was a “decisive turning point” in his life.