Allow God to use you without first consulting you.
“
| — | Mother Teresa (via heroicvirtue) |
“I am a Catholic man and a priest. In that faith have I lived and in that faith do I intend to die, and if you esteem my religion treason, then I am guilty. As for any other treason, I never committed. I stand condemned for nothing but the saying of Mass, hearing confessions, preaching and such like duties and functions of priesthood.”
-St. Edmund Campion, Martyr. (Said at the time of his execution, 1581)
If you believe what you like in the Gospel and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.
“
| — | Saint Augustine (via fathershane) |
The deeds you do today may be the only sermon some people will hear today.
“
| — | Saint Francis of Assisi (via fathershane) |
You cannot be half a saint. You must be a whole saint or no saint at all.
“
| — | St. Therese of Lisieux (via fathershane) |
Christmas Cards. France.
A collection of holy cards printed by Bouasse-Lebel and Bouasse-Jeune, French publishers of religious images.
———————————————-
with thanks to Holy Card Heaven
Our Lady of Damascus
[Our Lady of Soufanieh]
Mary Kourbet Al-Akhras, known as Myrna, was born in Damascus in 1964. Myrna spent her childhood and adolescence between Beirut, Lebanon and Damascus at the rhythm of her family’s traveling. And had a quite normal upbringing together with her two brothers and two sisters.
On a journey to Bulgaria In July 1980, Nicolas visited the Alexander Nevsky Orthodox church in Sofia, where he bought 10 small replicas of the icon of the Virgin of Kazan.
On November 22, 1982, Myrna was praying at the bedside of her sister-in-law Layla, who was seriously ill. An Orthodox and a Moslem woman were there also.
Suddenly Myrna felt that her body was shivering as if some force was coming out from inside her. The Moslem woman, Mayada Kowzaly, then noticed a strange light radiating from Myrna’s hands, and a moment after, an oily substance, which seemed to flow right out of her skin. Mayada shouted at her to look at her hands. But Myrna was utterly confused and couldn’t comprehend what was happening or what to do. Mayada then quickly told her to put her hands on her sister-in-law. And to everyone’s amazement and joy, the sick woman instantly felt better and after a while her illness miraculously disappeared altogether.
In the evening Myrna was picked up by her husband, Nicolas. The women excitedly told him what had happened, but Nicolas was rather skeptical and didn’t really know what to make of it. The phenomenon occurred again on November 25 and Myrna’s mother was cured in the same manner.
The Miraculous Icon
On November 27, 1982, a three-inch tall picture of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child began exuding oil. It flowed out from the bottom of the image and onto the floor next to Nicolas and Myrna’s bed. When oil also began appearing on Myrna’s hands, Nicholas decided to call all his relatives to come and witness what was happening.
Everyone came and they all began praying together. Within the first hour, four large dishes full of oil extruded from the Icon. Suddenly all sound began to disappear, like a vacuum, from Myrna’s ears and soon she could hear nothing at all. She then heard a woman’s soft voice, as if it came from inside a seashell, saying: “Do not be frightened. I am with you. Open the doors and do not deprive anyone from seeing me. Light a candle for me”. Myrna thought she was imagining things and was afraid to tell anyone about the experience.
Word soon spread and in these first days, thousands visited the Icon day and night. Among them were non-Christians, Moslems, Orthodox, and Catholics of every rite. Many sick people were healed by the miraculous oil.
From November 27, 1982 until November 26, 1990, the icon regularly oozed oil, following the rhythm of the liturgical cycle.
During Holy Week 2001, the icon began exuding oil again. January 24 is Feast of Our Lady of Tears and Our Lady of Damascus.
The occurrences have been determined by the local Bishops to belong to the supernatural.
The Communion of Saints has something to do with the fact that the burdens we bear because of someone else, we can also bear for someone else.
“
| — | Flannery O’Connor (via dailyflanneryoc) |
If you only ate one meal a week would you survive? It is the same for your soul. Nourish it with the Blessed Sacrament. A nice dish is set there for us, with something good on it — we don’t pay any attention to it.
“
| — | Saint Brother André Bessette (via fathershane) |
