Uniquely among the responsible leaders on all sides of the First World War, Karl had frontline experience. After assuming power he strove to alleviate the horrors of war he saw, and took concrete steps to bring about peace. As emperor he understood peace to be his absolute, kingly duty. In his ascension manifesto, therefore, he named peace as his central goal. Only Karl took up the peace proposal of Pope Benedict XV, incorporating its principles in a set of proposed peace accords (which historians have evaluated as thoroughly realistic and having had great potential).
Social Aid – Informed heavily by Catholic social teaching, he established the world’s first-of-its-kind Ministry of Social Welfare to care for war victims, widows, and orphans.
Charitable Action: He personally distributed his private wealth as alms, used royal carriages and palace resources to deliver coal and food (such as organizing soup kitchens) to the poor in Vienna, and fought against wartime usury.
Take heed often to come together to give thanks to God and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith.
Christianity is not a matter of persuading people of particular ideas, but of inviting them to share in the greatness of Christ. So pray that I may never fall into the trap of impressing people with clever speech, but instead I may learn to speak with humility, desiring only to impress people with Christ himself.
Let nothing Disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing. God does not change. Patience wins all things. For God alone suffices.
Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love for they enkindle and melt the soul.
May today bring you inner peace. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let God’s presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.
Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
In solitude and silence … God gives his athletes the reward they desire: a peace that the world does not know and joy in the Holy Spirit.
When you observe true obedience with prudence and enthusiasm, it is clear that you wisely pick the most delightful and nourishing fruit of divine Scripture.
For the devil may tempt the good, but he cannot find rest in them; for he is shaken violently, and upset, and driven out, now by their prayers, now by their tears of repentance, and now by their alms giving and similar good works.
“I will not allow myself to be so absorbed in the whirlwind of work as to forget about God.I will spend all my free moments at the feet of the Master hidden in the Blessed Sacrament.”
“Suffering is a great grace; through suffering the soul becomes like the Savior; in suffering love becomes crystallized;
“He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God. As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart.”
“’My daughter, have fear of nothing; I am always with you. All your adversaries will harm you only to the degree that I permit them to do so. You are my dwelling place and my constant repose. For your sake I will withhold the hand which punishes; for your sake I bless the earth.’”
It was through his archangel, Saint Gabriel, that the Father above made known to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary that the worthy, holy and glorious Word of the Father would come from heaven and take from her womb the real flesh of our human frailty. Though he was wealthy beyond reckoning, he still willingly chose to be poor with his blessed mother. And shortly before his passion he celebrated the Passover with his disciples. Then he prayed to his Father saying: Father, if it be possible, let this cup be taken from me.
Let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve.
We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God’s sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father’s children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Saint Francis
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the Saint and his Friars
Personal Poverty: Francis emphasized radical poverty, humility, and simplicity, and he respected the official sacramental and liturgical practices of the Catholic Church.
St. Francis of Assisi viewed the sacred liturgy—especially the Eucharist and the Divine Office—as the central source of spiritual life, radical devotion, and apostolic action.
Franciscan Order: Modern and historical Franciscans note that incense symbolizes prayers rising to God (Psalm 141), a tradition embraced by Franciscan friars in liturgical worship.
Reverence for the Eucharist: Francis held an intense, personal awe for Christ’s real presence. He urged priests and brothers to treat chalices, altars, corporals, and the consecrated host with utmost cleanliness and precious care
You should be aware that the word “angel” denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels. And so it was that not merely an angel but the archangel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary. It was only fitting that the highest angel should come to announce the greatest of all messages.
~ St Gregory the Great
“Beside each believer stands an Angel as protector and shepherd, leading him to life.”
~ St Basil the Great
“If we only got to heaven, what a sweet and easy thing it will be there to be always saying with the angels and the saints ‘Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus.’ ”
~ St Philip Neri
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Heavenly Father,
Your infinite love for us has chosen a blessed Angel in heaven and appointed him our guide during this earthly pilgrimage. Accept our thanks for so great a blessing. Grant that we may experience the assistance of our holy protector in all our necessities.
And you, holy, loving angel and guide, watch over us with all the tenderness of your angelic heart. Keep us always on the way that leads to heaven, and cease not to pray for us until we have attained our final destiny, eternal salvation. Then we shall love you for all eternity. We shall praise you in God unceasingly for all the good you have done for us while here on earth. Be a faithful and watchful protector of our family and friends. Lighten, O you perfect servants of God, our task. Guide our family and our Church so that we may become like unto Jesus, may imitate him faithfully, and persevere till we attain eternal life.
