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Counsels of Perfection for CHRISTIAN MOTHERS

by Filed Under: Book Review, Meditation, Motherhood

“My God, what will happen to me today, I do not know; but I do know that nothing will happen to me which Thou hast not foreseen and ordained for my greater good.  I accept, then, Thy thrice holy will; I submit myself to it, and desire to delight in it despite all the revolts of my reason, and the repugnances of my nature.” ~ Monsignor P. Lejeun encourages all to recite this morning prayer of Mme. Elizabeth, daughter of a king, and sister of Louis XVI.
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I found this gem last year at my parish’s used book sale.  I spotted it from afar.  I was beyond excited when I saw the price tag of $0.50.  Yet, I will still a bit apprehensive.  I only had $3 cash to spend and I questioned the book’s orthodoxy, given that it was in the used book sale.  I mean, really, if the book was helpful, why was it up for sale.  Just then Mary, a wonderful veteran homeschooling mom of 11 kids stopped me to say, “Lena, I have that book.  It’s wonderful.  I’m currently re-reading it and have it by my bedside.”  That was it, Our Blessed Mother spoke to me through her chosen one, Mary.  

Ad Jesum per Mariam ~ To Jesus through Mary

I haven’t put the book down since and I can’t stop sharing it with others.  I recommend this book to all mothers.  It is packed with precise direction and meditations that seem to be a personal prescription for all my needs.
Here are excerpts taken from Monsignor P. Lejeun’s Counsels of Perfection for CHRISTIAN MOTHERS.

Chapter  II – A CATALOGUE OF SOULS.
What is the state of my soul?  What place do I occupy, with regard to God, in the great family of Christian souls?  These, my daughters, are questions to which you must not be indifferent.  In order to furnish you with the elements of a response to these questions, I intend to draw up a catalogue of souls which will enable you to determine to what category you belong.  My purpose, I must avow, is not solely to satisfy your curiosity.  When you know just where your place is in this catalogue you should aspire to a higher degree of excellence in the hierarchy of souls.  It is my purpose to guide you in your upward march, to point out the halting-places along the way, and to indicate the means by which you can arrive most quickly and most surely at the coveted goal.
Chapter  V – THE NEED OF A RULE OF LIFE.
Let me call your attention to the advantages of a rule of life.  First, it saves you from yourselves, so to speak; from the spirit of caprice which finds its way so easily into your actions, and robs you of the greater part of your merit.  We all are tempted to do only what pleases us, and to avoid sacrifices as much as possible.  An act needs but to take on the appearance of duty to become an object of aversion to us.  The result is that unless you are bound by a rule, your lives will drift unceasingly; they will float along guided only by caprice, and the sense of duty will be almost entirely lost.  In that case it is your own will that you have followed from morning until evening, and not the will of God…..Here is another article that ought to find its place in your rule:  morning and evening prayers should be said kneeling.  Moreover, there is hardly one among you who cannot spend a quarter of an hour each day in spiritual reading.  You should have a special article binding you to that.  Those of you who have the time, and who are unwilling to be satisfied with merely earthly piety, ought to take measures to make a meditation every morning, and also to attend Holy Mass each day, or at least several times during the week

I was sad to learn that this gem is out of print and copies are going for $90+ on Amazon.  My sadness was short lived, I found a PDF copy of the book.  Here is the link to the online book of  Counsels of Perfection for CHRISTIAN MOTHERS.

I urge you to read this gem if you are on the journey of perfection.

**UPDATE**
Here is an updated the link to the online book version. 

There is also a site that offers MP3 audio of the book, JMJsite.

COUNSELS OF PERFECTION FOR CHRISTIAN MOTHERS.  Order No. 12. Father P. Lejuene explains in very practical ways what real Christian Perfection is.  He goes through the various Spiritual Exercises, and explains how to derive the most benefit from them.  He addresses his book to Christian Mothers, but it is very beneficial to all.  Imprimatur 1913.  Three Tapes read by MH. 
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Perfection is accomplishing the will of God in a constant and generous fashion. 
~ Monsignor P. Lejeun, Counsels of Perfection for CHRISTIAN MOTHERS

Daily Meditations

by Filed Under: Lent, Meditation

Here is a wonderful FREE resource that can be used during Lent and all year long.  I forgot to list this resource in my Lenten post. 

You can read the meditations on Colleen Hammond’s site or subscribe to the email loop.

This meditation comes from a set of books written in the 1800s by Fr. M. Hamon. They have been out of print for over 100 years.

Today’s meditation is on the Three Temptations of Jesus in the Desert.

Summary of Today’s Meditation

We will meditate today upon the three temptations of Jesus in the desert, that is to say: first, an excessive care of the body and of health: second, the self-love which presumes upon itself and desires to attract notice; third, ambition and self-seeking. We will then make the resolution: first, to avoid excessive delicacy in the care of our body; second, to seek God only in all things. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the advice of the apostle St. James: “Resist the devil and he will fly from you.” (James 4:7)

Charity is…

by Filed Under: Charity, Meditation, Quotes

 …a friendship between God and man. ~ Fr. Ripperger

Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived. Truth is the light that gives meaning and value to charity. ~ Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas In Veritate

Charity is only possible with sanctifying grace.The two cannot be separated.  ~ Fr. Lyons

Charity is the only thing that has value.  ~ Fr. Lyonscharity

At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity. ~ St. John of the Cross

Charity is a love of friendship, a friendship of choice, a choice of preference, but an incomparable, a sovereign, and supernatural preference which is like a sun in the whole soul, to embellish it with its rays; in all our spiritual faculties to perfect them; in all our powers to moderate them; but in the will, as its seat, to reside there, and to make it cherish and love its God above all things. ~ Saint Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church

Charity is the queen of all virtues. “If you see Charity, you see the Trinity” says St. Augustine. Without it even if one speaks the language of angels it is like “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (Cf. 1 Cor 13: 1-13). It is a very delicate virtue which is like salt in the food. No wonder saints like St. Thérèse of Lisieux resolved to do ordinary things with extraordinary love and not the other way round. The following is a litany to ask forgiveness for the many daily failures in charity, as we know that even the just person falls seven times a day. ~ Father Sebastian Vazhakala M.C.

Charity unites us to God… There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect. ~ Pope St. Clement I

All our religion is but a faimagesCALNENZKlse religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone – for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good.  ~ Saint John Vianney

True charity consists in doing good to those who do us evil, and in thus winning them over.  ~Saint Alphonsus Liguori

To leave our prayer when we are called to do some act of charity for our neighbor, is not really a quitting of prayer, but leaving Christ for Christ. Even in the midst of a crowd we can be going on to perfection. ~ -Saint Philip Neri

"If I . . . have not charity," says the Apostle, "I am nothing." Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I . . . have not charity, I gain nothing."103 Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: "So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity.” ~ CCC 1826

By charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. Charity, the form of all the virtues, "binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Col 3:14). ~ CCC 1844

I conjure you, my daughters, to preserve a strict watch over your tongues, and never to pronounce before your children one single word that is contrary to charity. ~  Monsignor P. Lejeune, Counsels of Perfection for CHRISTIAN MOTHERS

Charity is the queen of virtues. As the pearls are held together by the thread, thus the virtues by charity; and as the pearls fall when the thread breaks, thus the virtues are lost if charity diminishes. ~ Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

St. Paul’s Short Examination of Conscience Regarding Charity (as noted by Fr. Lyons):  Charity is patient, charity is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. ~ 1 Corinthians 13 4-8

Charity is that with which no one is lost, and without which no one is sa5salzbu1ved. also The school of Christ is the school of charity. On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus. ~ St. Robert Bellarmine

Be driven by the love of God because Jesus Christ died for all, that those who live may live not for themselves but for Him, who died and rose for them. Above all, let your charity and zeal show how you love the Church. Your work is for the Church, which is the Body of Christ. ~ Saint John Baptist de La Salle

“‘Make me to know your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths’ (Ps 24:4). We ask the Lord to guide us, to show us his footprints, so we can set out to attain the fullness of his commandments, which is charity.” ~ Saint Josemaría Escriva, Christ is Passing By

The divine seed of charity, which God has sown in our souls, wants to grow, to express itself in action, to yield results which continually coincide with what God wants. ~ Saint Josemaría Escriva, Christ is Passing By, 58

May you know how to put yourself out cheerfully, discreetly and generously each day, serving others and making their lives more pleasant. To act in this way is to practise the true charity of Jesus Christ. ~ Saint Josemaría Escriva, The Forge, 150

We must give alms. Charity wins souls and draws them to virtue. ~ St. Angela Merici

If God gives you an abundant harvest of trials, it is a sign of great holiness which He desires you to attain. Do you want to become a great saint? Ask God to send you many sufferings. The flame of Divine Love never rises higher than when fed with the wood of the Cross, which the infinite charity of the Savior used to finish His sacrifice. All the pleasures of the world are nothing compared with theChristCarriesCrossArt1 sweetness found in the gall and vinegar offered to Jesus Christ. That is, hard and painful things endured for Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ.  ~ Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Peace is the work of justice indirectly, in so far as justice removes the obstacles to peace; but it is the work of charity (love) directly, since charity, according to its very notion, causes peace. ~ St. Thomas Aquinas    

For if we are bidden to honor carnal fathers and mothers, how much more the spiritual? . . . If this virtue of charity has been overlooked, a man will lose any fruit of salvation in any good he may do. ~ Pope Saint Gregory VII, 1020-1085 AD

It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for "God is Charity" (1 John 4:8) ~ Saint Albert the Great

Hold in your hand the lantern of Faith; and let the flame of Charity shine from it, to show you what you must do, and what you must avoid. ~ -Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church

O Sacrament of Love! O sign of Unity! O bond of Charity! He who would have Life finds here indeed a Life to live in and a Life to live by. ~ St Augustine

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Actus Caritatis
Domine Deus, amo te super omnia proximum meum propter te, quia tu es summum, infinitum, et perfectissimum bonum, omni dilectione dignum. In hac caritate vivere et mori statuo. Amen.

Act of Charity
O my God! I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured.

Heroic Act of Charity

O my God, in union with the merits of Jesus and Mary, I offer Thee for the Souls in Purgatory, all my Satisfactory Works, as well as those which may be applied to me by others during my life and after my death. And so as to be more agreeable to the Divine Heart of Jesus and more helpful to the departed I place them all in the hands of the merciful Virgin Mary. Amen

JOY Journal

by Filed Under: 1000 Gifts, JOY Journal, Meditation

I have been graced to be stripped.  I was drawn close to Him.  I was given the grace to see each day as my last.  To find true JOY in all things around and within. 
I have been slowly learning how to share this internal JOY with others, especially my family.  I fail daily but find His grace is sufficient to move forward and try again.
My gifts are not for me alone.  I desire to share with all.  My most recent motivation was found here and here. 
This gratitude journal is not for me alone.  It is for my children, my husband, and for all who desire to find Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
This is my gift of love to you, from Him above.
"To me Jesus is the Life I want to live, the Light I want to reflect, the Way to the Father, the Love I want to express, the JOY I want to share, the Peace I want to sow around me.  Jesus is my everything."  ~Bl. Mother Teresa of  Calcutta

1- Adoration
2 – high school sweet heart, best friend, spiritual advisor, …..husband
3- sleeping baby so i can take care of my sick papi
4- pictures that help me remember just how precious time is
5- the air we breathe.  I’m finding a new-found appreciation for the outdoors despite my severe allergies
6- saints whose feast days we love to celebrate.  orate pro nobis!
7- parents that help where help is needed
8- faithful priests that speak truths for love of God not mammon
9- a working vehicle that gets us to Mass
10- gracefilled Sacraments
11- forgiveness

In the Arms of God

by Filed Under: Marian, Meditation

Why We Experience Our Misery
“The experience of your own misery is given to you precisely so that, without hesitation, you will throw yourself into the arms of your Blessed Mother. You should not doubt that She would receive you with great joy. Only then, when you are embraced and quieted as a child in the arms of God, can you and should you think about your misery.”
(Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock, pg. 93)

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