On-the-4th-day-of-christmas-my-true-love-gave-to-me! Enter the Drawing!

Clik the link above to enter the drawing for the 4th day of Christmas Give-a-Way!

In honour of the Holy Innocents we have a few books to give a way today that are about the great St. Anthony who held the most perfect Holy Innocent in is arms, none other than our Infant Lord.

Enter below to win one of the following: The Legend of St. Anthony, the fishes and the Mule Coloring book & The Children's Saint Anthony. Find a review of the books HERE.

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Love is a Garden!!!

                                                +JMJ+

   Fulton Sheen expresses this very well.  Love he says is born in a garden, that is marriage love with Adam and Eve, but they sinned and turned from love.  Love was then weakened, but Love Itself was crucified in a garden and poured out the Grace and Love from His Sacred Side, flowing from His Heart into ours, if we so choose.  This restores and strengthens true Love.

   Love is also like a garden because we must choose what flowers (Virtues) to grow and weed out the vices and sins.  Our garden can be most beautiful and the radiance and perfume that would come from such a loving garden, would be worth more than anything one's heart could ever desire!

I have copied the first part of the three for you to watch.  It is amazing!  May we learn to Love with a true and pure Love, tending to it and growing it everyday!  We must not wary or become negligent, love is more delicate than a red rose and many weeds try to climb up and choke it and if we are not at watch and praying, if we are not at work and praying, then our love can be lost and never grow.  Seek everyday to further your love, water it, feed it, weed it, and always keep it directed to the Source which is God.  Let us ask specifically the Holy Spirit, Who is Love to set our hearts of fire and burn them with that fire of Divine Love, so that we might with the beating Heart of the Son, Love the Father for all eternity!!!  Amen, so I hope, so may it be!

The Importance of Prayer

PRAYER

Prayer is the energy which accords with the dignity of the intellect; it is the intellect's true and highest activity (p.38 of Philokalia). In a way prayer means the shedding of thoughts and entering into desires of our hearts.

Our teacher Jesus Christ, out of pity for mankind and knowing the utter mercilessness of the demons, severely commands us: ‘Be ready at every hour, for you do not know when the thief will come; do not let him come and find you asleep’ (cf.Matt. 24:42-43). He also says: ‘Take heed, lest your hearts be overwhelmed withdebauchery and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and the hour come upon you unawares’(cf. Luke 21:34).Stand guard, then, over your heart and keep a watch on your senses;and if the remembrance of God dwells peaceably within you, you will catch the thieves when they try to deprive you of it. When a man has an exact knowledge about the nature of thoughts, he recognizes those which are about to enter and defile him, troubling the intellect with distractions and making it lazy. Those who recognize these evil thoughts for what they areremain undisturbed and continue in prayer to God.


God the Father also said: "Perfect prayer is not attained through many words but throught affection and desire, the soul raising herself to Me, with knowlledge of herself and My mercy, seasoned the one with the other." Dialogue p. 92

IF YOU FILL YOURSELF DISTANCING FROM GOD, THEN THAT IS A SIGN THAT YOU ARE NOT PRAYING ENOUGH OR AT ALL. FOR JUST AS WE CALL FRIENDS AND TALK TO THEM TO REMAIN CLOSE AND STAY IN TOUCH, WE LOSE THIS WHEN WE DO NOT. THE SAME WITH GOD.

To be Continued....

Triune Love

"DRINK, oh youth, Joy's purest Ray

From thy loved one's eyes all day"

Reflect the Image of that Divine Light!

"Better rule no lover knows,

Yet true rapture greater grows",

We are never sever'd from Their sight!

Powers eternal, distance, time,

Far beyond the might of stars sublime.

Gently rock the blood to rest,

That was disturbed and put to test

"O'er my senses softness steals,

Yet my bosom lighter feels"

And I daily am more blest,

because I within Thy Bosom rest

Though I can forget He is near,

My mind is free from care,

When I can calmly live and move;

by entrusting myself to Him

my mind, soul and every limb,

Unperceived infatuation

Longing turns to adoration,

Turns to reverence my Love.

Ne'er can cloud,  however light

Floating in the Triune regions bright.

When drawn upwards by the Sun,

As my heart in rapturous calm.

Free from envy and alarm,

Oh run run to the Son!

Ever love I The Triune Love alone!

In Their intimate Bosom I am blest

and only there do I find rest.

There I am protected and undefiled

There conceived and loved as a new born Child!

Written by Alexandra Clark

'Caritas in Veritate': Love in Truth

        God is Love, God is Truth, we cannot have one without the other, for God is both. Our

human intellects are hungry, seeking for knowledge and our hearts thirst for His Love. We seek truth

and are satisfied only by Truth. Now, God not only is true and possesses all truths, but is the

uncreated Truth itself.  Moreover, God being infinitely desirable and all good, is also infinitely

loving and lovable, and as St. John says:

                       "He who does not love does not know God: for God is Love."

Why then do we need to have a courageous witness to the truth as we exercise charity? It’s simple,

just as God is both Love and Truth, we must be of both and act using both.



        In these days to be charitable, is to do something and expect something back

in return. Only doing it for profit in this world.  That profit could be from just receiving a 'thank you'

to receiving a payment or even earning respect.  One needs to understand the truth and stand up

for the truth, especially when one is told that they are not "politically correct" or when one is

told that doing that certain thing is just a waste of time. Everyone needs to have great courage

for the truth, especially when it comes down to the true meaning of Charity. As Pope Benedict

XVI says " Love without truth or vice versa is nothing".  God planted in us Charity and Truth

and to act with just one or just the other is to be severing the gifts God has given to us that are

supposed to be used together. Metaphorically speaking, it’s like a bike, God gave us a back

wheel and a front wheel and if one is without the other it does not work and it certainly won’t

drive on that narrow road we need to follow. We need both and have to use both charity and

truth.


         In today's society when you are doing some act of charity, say for example sending a get

well card to someone in the hospital, you are told by the hospital or even sometimes by your

friends, not to include anything so called "religious" in it. They say it might offend them or

something and it’s none of our business what they believe. I say that’s total nonsense, one

must be a Light and a courageous witness to the Truth. No matter if it is offensive or not. If you

truly have Charity then you must always be standing for the Truth and want to bring others to the

Truth, because you love them. Especially if they are on their death bed and you really care for

their soul. You have to be courageous and declare the Truth within the balm of charity.　


This diabolical disorientation of the truth and charity has been all mixed up. What used to

be charity , love of neighbor and love of God, has been turned into an emotional carousal and a

sentimentality jollification. The word love is abused and degraded. Doing good for others only if

it is profitable for you, just doing it for the "feeling" (As thought that is all what Love is, just a

 feeling) and all the other distortions of charity without the truth, without God.

Truth gives value and meaning to charity. Only in Truth does Charity shine forth.  From the

womb to the tomb let us be valorous and brave, loving one another, helping one another, in and

to the Truth, with humble Charity to God.


          True happiness and true development can only come to us if we have True Charity which

is grounded in the Truth. As Pope Benedict as said "Truth filled love is from which true

development and progress in society proceeds." If we truly want to make progress in our country,

then we must do it with Love in Truth, 'Caritas in Veritate'. Environmentalists say we must

 protect our water, natural resources, trees, animals, etc., that is fine, we should take care of the

gifts that are given to us by God, but what about the most important gift He has given us, our

soul?  What of that the most precious gift of all, the one gift that will last through all eternity,

whether in Heaven or in Hell?  Pope Benedict XVI says "The way humanity treats the

environment influence the way it treats itself and vice versa." and "She must above all protect

mankind from self-destruction." How can we stop this self destruction, this loss of countless

souls into the deep abyss, if we are charitable, loving , and kind to our neighbor, but not care to

teach them or show them the truth and lead them to their eternal home, where true Love abides?



           All our kindness and respect we showed them will be of no profit, for after days, after

years, we shown not, nor told no one the truth, through the love we have for them, what will we

have gained by our loving them if we are deliberately letting them walk into that never ending

darkness of hell?  Never let manners rule over morals, let this be thy maxim: morals over manners.

God cannot be put down for the sake of human respect. That is a maxim of this world. We must

courageously be a Light for the Truth and proclaim it with ardent Love.



Today it is more needed than in St. Thomas More’s or St. Joan de Arc’s time, to stand for

the Truth, in the home and most especially in the public, in society. Where the Truth is being

twisted around, now these days what used to be right and just is now bad and evil, and what used to

be evil and bad are now good and right. Thus, this diabolical disorientation needs to be

confronted with undiminished bravery and valor, in solemn Truth, with deep heartfelt Charity. 

"Caritas in Veritate"!!!

Holy Love

Our Lady of Silence--Silence is a virtue

From the archives…a meditation on silence and our Lady’s model of this increasingly absent virtue…
                                            Silence
   There is precious little of it in the world. In the busy life of a mother of many young ones, it is indeed rare. From cell phones, to radios, cds, dvds, mp3 players and a constant barrage of conversation, it seems the contemplative nature of motherhood is struggling for survival. The cacophony has even made its way into the sanctuary of the Church…there are quite a few parishes where the noise and conversation before and after Holy Mass is reminiscent of a rock concert, with a few dear souls struggling to offer prayer and meditation prior to and after receiving Holy Communion.
  How do we keep silence? Our Lady is the perfect example for all of womanhood in this virtue. Holy Scripture reveals very little of what our Lady said throughout the course of her life. A sentence here and there: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to Thy word” “Son…they have no wine…” “your father and I have been anxiously searching for you…” “Do whatever He tells you…” And the way of the cross? Heartbreaking silence revealed what words could not…
During her betrothal, Mary even kept silent when Joseph must have been thinking the very worst. She, whose virtue and holiness was so apparent, was visibly pregnant with a child that was not his. His heart was breaking. He knew the penalty for this “sin” and yet seemed to know Mary was blameless and was going to “put her away quietly”. All this time, Mary knew his pain and knew that public perception would convict her of shame. She didn’t defend. She didn’t explain. She kept her silence and let the Holy Spirit do the work. Words weren’t necessary. She kept her thoughts to herself and maintained a spirit of quiet contemplation…
With one exception.
The Magnificat. The longest speech our Lady gives, is one in which she praises God. Her words, it seems, are reserved for that which is most important…offering praise and adulation for her God:

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

   I find myself, of late, calling upon the Blessed Mother, more and more, to help me hold my tongue…I’m such a chatterbox. I speak too quickly and too much…and while I do relish silence and seek times of contemplation, I don’t feel I live contemplatively. My vocation pulls me this way and that…it is the sweet tug-of-war that every mother experiences throughout her day as she finds the Cross amidst the dishes and the piles of laundry. May our good Lady of Silence help to calm and quiet the noise and distraction of daily life and help us to remember that God’s voice is best heard…when we are listening.
From Holy Father, John Paul II:

“Mary’s example enables the Church better to appreciate the value of silence. Mary’s silence is not only moderation in speech, but it is especially a wise capacity for remembering and embracing in a single gaze of faith the mystery of the Word made man and the events of his earthly life.

It is this silence as acceptance of the Word, this ability to meditate on the mystery of Christ, that Mary passes on to believers. In a noisy world filled with messages of all kinds, her witness enables us to appreciate a spiritually rich silence and fosters a contemplative spirit.”

And from the book of 1 Kings 19:12

Then the LORD said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD–but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake–but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake there was fire–but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound…Blessings,

ALL THE GLORY OF THE KING'S DAUGHTER IS WITHIN  St. John Eudes 

Infinite goodness compels God the Holy Spirit to disclose to us the inestimable treasures hidden in the marvelous Heart of Mary and to proclaim them through Sacred Scripture, the inspired word of God. The first significant text that I shall point out is taken from the 44th Psalm: "All the glory of the king’s daughter is within" (Ps. 44:14), where the Holy Spirit reveals that the admirable Heart of Mary is a source of benefactions without number and of every kind.

To explain this truth, I shall stress three thoughts that are most glorious for the magnificent Heart of our great Queen and founded on these divine words: "All the glory of the king’s daughter is within," and from her Heart.
Who is this daughter of the King? We know full well that she is the Queen of Heaven and earth, the daughter of the King of kings. But why does all her glory proceed from her Heart? It is because her Heart is the source and principle of all the grandeur, excellence and prerogatives that adorn her, of all the eminent qualities that exalt her above every creature namely her position as eldest daughter of the Eternal Father, as Mother of the Son, as Spouse of the Holy Spirit, as the Temple of the most Holy Trinity, as Queen of angels and men, as the Mother of Christians, and as Empress of the universe. It also means that this most holy Heart is the source of all the graces that accompany the privileges bestowed on her, of the holy use she made of those graces, and of all the sanctity of her thoughts, words, works, sufferings and of the other mysteries of her life. It means, finally, that her Heart is the source of the eminent virtues she practiced on earth, of her perfect exercise of the faculties and powers of her soul and of her body, and of the glory and felicity she now enjoys in heaven.

How is her Heart the source of all these things? In the following ways. We know that the humility, purity, love and charity of her Heart have rendered her worthy to be made Mother of God, and consequently have enriched her with all the advantages and privileges that belong to so high a dignity. We know further that the Heart is the seat of love and charity, and that love and charity are the principle, rule and measure of all the sanctity on earth, and therefore of all glory in Heaven. Hence, God, Eternal Truth, tells us in the Gospel that, as the heart of man is the origin of all evil, so it is also the source of every good. The Son of God teaches us that from the heart proceed evil thoughts, homicides, and blasphemies (Mt 15:19). Our Savior further tells us that the heart of the good man is a treasure from which He draws all sorts of good things, and the heart of the wicked man a treasure from which He draws all evil things (Lk 6:46). We may conclude therefore that the supremely good Heart of God’s most loving Mother is the source of all that is great, holy, glorious and admirable in her.

I say further, and this is the second of the three thoughts I promised you, that Mary’s Heart is the source, after God, of all the excellence, sanctity, glory, felicity and other great and precious marvels to be found in the Church Militant, Suffering and Triumphant.

The reason of this is clear. We all agree that every grace and blessing possessed by the Church, all the treasures of light, holiness and glory that abide in her, on earth as well as in Heaven, are due to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "All graces," says the learned and devout Abbot Rupert, "every gift that the world has received from Heaven, are as streams which issue from that sacred fountain, as fruits belonging to that holy tree" (1). "It was decreed by God in His eternal counsel," writes St. Bernard, "to give nothing to anyone except through Mary’s hands. Through her He was pleased to give us every good. Yes, indeed, because through her He gave the first principle of every good, Jesus Christ, Our Lord" (2).
But how did Mary make herself so holy and so pleasing to the divine Majesty, that He should choose her to be the intermediary of this infinite gift, from which are derived all the other gifts ever made to His Church? It was by the sanctity of her most humble, pure and charitable "Heart.
Let us acknowledge, then, that her Heart is the origin of everything noble, rich and precious in all the holy souls which form the universal Church in Heaven and on earth. We can therefore say of her marvelous Heart, and with greater reason, what St. John Chrysostom says of the heart of St. Paul, when he calls it the fount and principle of numberless graces: Fons et principium innumerorum bonorum (3)? Shall we stop here? No, we must go further and explain the third that I promised you, which is that the Heart of the Mother of the Savior is, in a certain sense, the fountain and source of all that is holy and admirable in the life and the successive mysteries of our Divine Redeemer Himself.

Was not this represented by the river described in the second chapter of Genesis, which came out of the fountain created by God at the beginning of the world (4). This fountain is a figure of the Holy Heart of Mary, and Jesus, the Son of Mary, is designated by the river springing from the fountain. Do we not hear Eternal Wisdom, that is, the Son of God, saying: "I came out of paradise," out of the Virginal Heart of Mary, which is the true paradise of the new Adam, "like a channel of a river," (Sir 24:41) that is, like the river that flowed out of the earthly paradise. 

Let us acknowledge, then, that her admirable Heart, being the fountain from which that great river originated, is the miraculous source of all the treasures of the great and priceless wonders contained in that divine stream. We must conclude that Our Lady’s Heart is the fountain principle of numberless goods: Fons et principium omnium bonorum. St. Irenaeus asking why the mystery of the Incarnation did not take without Mary’s consent, answers that it was because God sought her to be the principle of every good (5). What does he mean by that, if not that the Son of God wished the Heart of His Blessed Mother to be the source and origin of all the blessings and graces derived from the Incarnation, and that He wished to become man only by her consent? "She is the perennial fount of every good," declares St. Andrew of Crete (6).

O most loving Heart of Mary, O abyss of miracles, who can tell the unfathomable marvels that God has worked in and through thee! O boundless Sea, God alone can know the inestimable riches hidden in thee! O Heart most Holy, thou art Heaven’s own heaven, for, after the Heart of the Eternal Father, thou are the most magnificent and glorious abode of Jesus, who is Himself the highest Heaven: "The Heaven of heaven is the Lord’s" (Ps 113:16). Next to the Heart of Jesus, thou art the highest throne of glory and majesty of the Blessed Trinity. What honor and praise should be rendered unto thee! Oh, may every human and angelic heart recognize and honor thee as its Sovereign after the adorable Heart of our Savior!

Dearest Jesus, what thanks we owe thine infinite goodness for having given thy Blessed Mother to us, and for having endowed her with a maternal Heart so full of love and tenderness towards her most unworthy children! Grant, dear Savior, that we may have truly filial affection for so good a Mother, and may the hearts of her children bear the image and likeness of the love, charity, humility and all the other virtues that reign in the Heart of their most loving Mother!
"A Bundle of Myrrh is My Beloved to Me"
"A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; he shall abide between my breasts." (Song 1:12) These words are taken from the first chapter of the Song of Songs, which is referred entirely to the Blessed Virgin Mary by many serious and learned authors. We can therefore say that it is the book of the Virginal Heart of Mary and of her ardent love. It is a book filled with inspired words, revealing that her incomparable Heart is ablaze with love of God and filled with charity for men.

"My beloved is like a bundle of myrrh to me: he shall abide between my breasts," and in my Heart. Who utters these words? The Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Who is the Beloved of whom she speaks? It is her only Son, her well-beloved. Why does she call Him a bundle of myrrh? Because she beholds Him crucified and plunged in an ocean of contempt, insults, ignominies, anguish, bitterness and most atrocious torments. This fills her maternal Heart with so much bitterness, pain and suffering that can truly call her desolate Heart a sea of anguish and tribulation, according to the words which can be applied to both Jesus and Mary: "Great as the sea is thy desolation" (Lam 2:13). Thy sufferings, O Jesus, are immense, boundless and bottomless like the sea. And thy dolors, O Mother of Christ, are so exceedingly great that all the afflictions and desolations of world are as nothing compared to thine, as the waters of all fountains and rivers seem but a drop beside the boundless ocean.

To understand this truth perfectly, one would have to comprehend the immense and ardent love of her Son that constantly inflamed the able Heart of our Savior’s Mother. For a mother’s sorrow over the sufferings of her son exists in proportion to her love for Him, and the love of our Redeemer’s Mother was, in a sense, measureless. The Eternal had made her share in His divine Paternity and chosen her to be Mother of His own Son; He therefore communicated to her something of His own inconceivable love, a love befitting the sublime dignity of her divine maternity.

How great is the love of the incomparable Mother for the most perfect of sons. This Mother holds the place of father as well as mother towards her Son, and her Heart is miraculously filled with paternal as well as with maternal love towards Him. His love is so great, that if the love of all the human fathers and mothers that ever have been or shall be were concentrated in a single heart, it would be but a small spark compared to the furnace of Mary’s love for her beloved Son. He is an only son, the sole object of His Mother’s affection. He is an infinitely lovable and loving son and she loves Him without measure. He possesses all that is beautiful, rich, desirable, admirable and lovable in time and eternity. This son is everything to His mother; He is her Son, her brother, her father, her spouse, her treasure, her glory, her love, her delight, her joy, her heart, her life, her God, her Creator, her Redeemer and her all.

From this we may fathom the love of such a mother for such a son, and consequently the most torturing and painful martyrdom of her maternal Heart when she sees Him bathed in blood, covered with wounds from head to foot, and so filled with pain in body and soul, that the Holy Spirit, speaking through Isaiah, calls Him the "Man of Sorrows," (Is 53:3) the man entirely transformed into sorrow.

We shall therefore not be surprised to hear St. Anselm thus addressing the Mother of Sorrows: "All the torments which the martyrs underwent are as nothing, O Virgin, when compared to the immensity of the dolors, which transpierced thy soul and thy most loving heart" (7). "O sweetest Heart of Mary," exclaims St. Bonaventure, "Heart transformed by love, how art thou now changed into a Heart of sorrow, satiated with gall, myrrh, and absynth?" (8) "O admirable prodigy," he adds, "thy heart and mind are plunged in thy Son’s gaping wounds, while thy crucified Jesus dwells and lives in thy inmost Heart" (9).

We should not be surprised, therefore, at the revelation to St. Brigid, that the Blessed Virgin would have died of sorrow during the Passion of her Son, if He had not miraculously preserved her. And Mary herself, speaking to the same St. Brigid, says: "I can presume to say that my sorrow was my sorrow, because His Heart was my Heart" (10). "O Queen," says St. Bonaventure, "thou art not only standing by the cross of thy Son, juxta crucem, but thou art on the cross suffering with Him: In cruce cum Filio cruciaris. He suffered in His body and thou didst suffer in thy Heart, and the wounds scattered over His body were gathered together in thy Heart" (11).

Finally, just as the love of Mary’s maternal Heart for her Son Jesus Christ is past all that can be imagined, so the most painful martyrdom of her amiable Heart is beyond what thought can conceive or words express.
Nullus dolor crudelior,
Nam nulla proles charior.
Non est amor suavior,
Non moeror est amarior (12).

This article was excerpted from St. John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of Mary, Part Six, chapters I and II. Notes

(1) Emmisiones tuae paradises. In illa verba Cant.

(2) Totum nos habere voluit per Mariam. Serm. de Aquaeductu.

(3) In Act. 22, homil. 55; et in Rom. 14, homil. 32, in fine.

(4) See Part II, chapter 5.

(5) Quia vult illud Deus omnium bonorum esse principium. S. Irenaeus citus apud Salazar, in cap. 31, Proverb. vers. 29. num. 179.

(6) In Serm. de Dorm. B. Virg.

(7) Quidquid crudelitatis inflictum est corporibus Martyrum, leve fuit, aut potius nihil comparatione tuae passionis, O Virgo, quae nimirum sua immensitate transfixit cuncta penetralia tua, tuique benignissimi Cordis intima. De excell. Virg. cap. 5.

(8) O suavissimum Cor Amoris, quomodo conversum es in Cor doloris, in quo nihil nisi fel, acetum, myrrha et absynthium. Stimul. Amor. cap. 3.

(9) O mira res, tota es in vulneribus Christi, totus Christus crucifixus est in intimis visceribus Cordis tui. Ibid.

(10) Reve1. lib. I, cap. 35.

(11) Stimul. Amor. cap. 3.

(12) "No sorrow is more cruel than hers, for no Son could be more dear than hers. If her love is most sweet, so is her pain the bitterest of all."

How Feminism has Emasculated the Church

"Men and women obviously have equal worth regarding the roles they play in family life, but their roles are different.  If I have a one dollar bill .. it is equal to .. in its vale and worth .. the same as this stack of four quarters .. but the paper and the coins are not the SAME thing.  Despite their equal worth .. they are different .. not only in substance .. what they are made of .. but also in function. You can’t put a dollar bill into the standard parking meter .. but you can insert quarters for example. Equal worth .. different in kind. Equality does not equal sameness."  Michael Vorris

See the following 7min. video for more on this subject:

http://www.realcatholictv.com/share/watch.php?vidID=vort-2012-01-19

#047 Bishop Fulton Sheen Ladies and Gentlemen 1 of 3

What Has Feminism Done to Women in The Modern World?

   "Modern woman has been made equal with man, but she has not been made happy.  What makes the difference in woman is not therefore a man, but whether a certain God-given qualities which are specifically hers are given adequate and full expression. These qualities are principally, devotion, sacrifice and love. They need not necessarily be expressed in a family, nor even in a convent. They can find an outlet in the social world, in the care of the sick, the poor, the ignorant -in a word- in the seven corporal works of mercy. It is sometimes said that the professional woman is hard. This may in a few instances be true, but it is not because she is in a profession, but because she has alienated her profession from contact with human beings in a way to satisfy the deeper cravings of her heart. It may very well be that the revolt against morality, and the exaltation of sensuous pleasure as the purpose of life, are due to the loss of the spiritual fulfillment of existence. Having been frustrated and disillusioned, such souls first become bored, then cynical, and finally, suicidal. Wherein lies the solution?
   In a return to the Christian concept wherein stress is placed not on equality but equity.
Equality is law. It is mathematical, abstract, universal, indifferent to conditions, circumstances and differences. Equity is love, mercy, understanding, sympathy - consideration of details, appeals, and departures from the fixed rules of courts which law has not yet embraced. In particular, it is the a application of law to an individual person. It places its reliance on moral principles and is guided by an understanding of the motives of individual families which fall outside the scope of the rigors of law.  Our Blessed Mother bore a title which has been forgotten, but it is revived in two modern non-Catholic writers, Henry Adams and Mary R. Beard. Adams described the Lady of Equity in the Cathedral of Chartres. Stretching through the nave of the Church are two sets of priceless stained glass windows, the one given by Blanche of Castile, the other by Pierre de Dreux which seems to "carry across the very heart of the cathedral" a kind of civil war. Over the main altar however sits the Virgin Mary, the Lady of Equity, with the Holy Child on her knees, presiding over the courts, listening serenely to pleas for mercy in behalf of their sins. As Mary Beard beautifully put it: "The Virgin signified to the people moral, human or humane power, as against the stern mandates of God's law." Did women but recognize the truth hidden in the Lady of Equity, love might be restored to homes and families. The reason there is little love now is because in the human order there is never any love between equals. If man is the equal of woman, then she has rights, but what heart ever lived on rights. All love demands inequality or superiority. The lover is always on his knees, the beloved must always be on a pedestal. Whether it be man or woman, the one must always consider himself or herself as undeserving of the other. Even God humbled Himself in His Love to win man, saying He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. And man, in his turn approaches that loving Saviour in Communion with the words: "Lord, I am not worthy."
    No woman is happy unless she has someone for whom she can sacrifice herself, not in a servile way but in the way of love. Added to the devotedness is her love of creativeness. A man is afraid of dying, but a woman is afraid of not living. Life to a man is personal; life to a woman is otherness. She thinks less in terms of perpetuation of self and more in terms of perpetuation of others - so much so that in devotedness she is willing to sacrifice herself for others.
The level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. This is because there is a basic difference between knowing and loving. In knowing something you bring it down to the level of your understanding. An abstract principle of physics can be understood by an ordinary mind only by examples. But in loving we always go up to meet the demand of the one loved. If you love music you have to submit to its laws and disciplines. When man loves woman, it follows the nobler the woman the nobler the love, the higher the demands by the woman, the more worthy a man must be. That is why a woman is the measure of the level of our civilization. It is for our age to decide whether woman shall claim equality in sex and the right to work at the same lathe, or whether she will claim equity and give to the world that which no man can give. In these pagan days when women want to be only equal with men, they have lost respect. To the Lady of Equity once again modern women must look, as even those who have the Faith must see fulfilled in her those spiritual functions which no priest can perform; queen, mother and woman. But she was the inspiration to womanhood, not because she claimed there was equality in sex, for peculiarly enough this was the one equality she ignored, but because of a transcendence in function which made her superior to a man inasmuch as she could encompass a man, as Isaias foretold." ~by  MSGR. FULTON J. SHEEN (Life Is Worth Living)