Catholics From Italy

"(About the Milan plague) It was, my children [...] God's great mercy. He wounded and healed; he scourged and consoled; he laid his hand on the rod of discipline and also offered us the stick of support and sustenance."

"Federigo Borromeo, born in 1564, was one of those rare men who, in any era, have employed their exceptional genius, all the means of great wealth, all the advantages of a privileged position, and a continuous intent in the pursuit and exercise of excellence."

"Convinced that life is not destined to be a burden for many and a celebration for some, but rather a task for everyone, for which each person will be held accountable, he began as a child to think about how he could make his life useful and holy."

"Remember that at home and everywhere else, you should accept other people's shortcomings in the same way that you want others to accept you."

"Science owes to him many important discoveries."

"His comparative study of the various systems supplied him with a deeper knowledge of the Scholastics, particularly St. Thomas, and of the intimate connection between their doctrine and that of the Fathers. From that time until the end of his life, his only concern was the restoration of Christian philosophy, in which, not only by his writings, but by his lectures and conversation, he was of supreme assistance to Leo XIII."

"Those who know St. Thomas and are accustomed to savoring the substance of his truth, the clarity of his reasoning, the precision of his method, and even his “discreet Latin” (as Dante said), who are familiar with the magnificent intellectual architecture represented above all by the Summa [...], cannot help but consider with melancholy the fact that St. Thomas has been rejected by Italian thinkers and their consequent aberrations from the golden thread of the Hellenic-Latin philosophical tradition [...]. (p. 577)"

"[...] he [Thomas Aquinas] was neither traditionalist nor rationalist; he did not allow himself to be fascinated by intuitionist subjectivism, nor did he reduce intellectual life to cerebralism; he defended reason against those who, emphasizing its weakness, wanted to deduce the impossibility or danger of a relatively autonomous philosophy, but he was equally decisive and strong in affirming the transcendence of faith and the infinite height of revealed mysteries; he had a marked preference for Aristotle, precisely because of his fidelity to the most obvious data of reason and common sense, but he did not become an idolater to the point of confusing a divine religion with a philosophical system. (p. 575)"

"There has been no shortage of great Italian thinkers. We remember above all Vico and, in his field, Galilei. But when we consider that, even more than these, Giordano Bruno, Nicolò Machiavelli, Ardigò and many others, even recent and living ones, whose most valid claim to fame is that they made history in the era of intellectual confusion, one wonders what we Italians have gained we Italians, in thought and in life, by stubbornly abandoning and banishing a thinker [Thomas Aquinas] who was authentically ours [...]; and what ignorance led us to deny a sublime genius who, together with Dante (who drew inspiration from him), gave us an unsurpassed primacy and an irrepressible influence in the world of thought. (p. 579)"

"[...] if healthy realism, spiritual harmony, and Thomist balance—which became a spiritual attitude and lifestyle through the deepening of thought—flourishing among Italians, had been the backbone of social and political life, perhaps we would have acted more wisely and experienced fewer disasters. (p. 579)"

"And even if I ascend into the sidereal sky, what is this before You, my God? And even if my mind reaches high and, like a cherub with outstretched wings, stretches towards the boundaries of the sky, what has it seen of creation, and what has it been able to intuit about You, my God? If I were to open my arms to the east and west, as Michelangelo's image in the Sistine Chapel has opened and stretched out, and if I were to carry on the tips of my fingers, so to speak, the power of the mind that sees and the love that shapes, as that image seems to carry it, what would I have seen of You, my God, and of Your works? (p. 1616)"

"The sky with all its creation is like a telescope that allows us to glimpse God: it does not magnify Him, it cannot magnify Him to our eyes, because He is infinite, but it can give us a glimpse of His greatness, it can allow us to contemplate a ray of His power, a glimmer of His wisdom, a warm reflection of the infinite flame of His love. (p. 1615)"

"Cardinal Capecelatro, particularly in recent years, was overwhelmed by the course of events and by that Modernist crisis which had long been preparing and so violently burst out in the Church. He remained immured in his old ideal of "God and Liberty", in the old dream of "the pope arm-in-arm with the King of Italy". He did not understand the new movement and the hard lessons which it brought with it."

"Jesus sat at the centre of the table, looking transcendent, divine. His beautiful face was suffused with majesty, love, goodness, peace and a gentle, profound sadness, which was like the shadow of that marvellous picture and made it even more beautiful. His divinity, hidden by his most holy humanity, emerged from those mysteriously sculpted and beautiful features; his eyes shone and reflected the sky, his cheeks were white and ruddy, and his blond beard gave them a golden hue in the splendour of his goodness. His whole Heart, all his love, emerged from that face, and in his composed modesty there was something maternal, immensely maternal. He was the Bridegroom of the Song of Songs who was giving himself at that moment; he opened the door of his charity and exuded the fragrance of love; he embraced the souls of all the centuries; he embraced his Church and gave her his life. (p. 1498)"

"He was already transfigured, but he was transfigured even more... His face was mysterious, very sweet, thoughtful, profound... it was like the face of God: power, wisdom and love. He had the confidence of one who can do anything, the brightness of one who knows everything and does everything with wisdom, and the gentleness of one who gives himself out of pure love. The angels almost held their breath, and the heavens almost stopped their harmony. He took the bread, raised his eyes to heaven, “gave thanks”, that is, he prayed fervently and thanked the Father for the great gift he was giving to [[mankind]; he broke the bread and distributed it to his apostles, and exclaimed calmly with a voice of placid love, before which the laws of creation stopped, adoring and obeying, almost disappearing from his presence: ' This is my body, which is given for you; do this in memory of me'. (p. 1500)"

"O eternal light, I come to You, and in Your words I see truths that transcend all others; I see them, I accept them, I adore them, I absorb them into my life, I make them my norm, my character, the reason and guide for all my actions, the pasture of my mind, the flame of my heart, bliss in exile, happiness revealed in the eternal homeland. (p. 1606)"

"The ecstatic angels admired the work of the Word of God and sang praises of love; they saw far away, on those seas of splendour, what He would be when He became incarnate, they saw in the prophetic light His human nature, shining with the divine nature in the unity of the very Person of the Word, through whom everything was made at that moment, and they felt invited to worship. (p. 1620)"

"Against the current eclipse of moral values and the resulting oppression of the human person in a world dominated by moral relativism, St. Thomas points to conscience as the norm of action, the path to man's redemption from the powers of the age and victory over technocracy, materialism, and idolatry of the State, which, by denying conscience, have suffocated or enslaved the human person. (p. 572)"

"Jesus Christ proclaims himself the conqueror of love through his bloody sacrifice and places love, heroic sacrifice and charity at the foundation of the Christian character. He came to bring “fire” to earth, not that of destruction but that of charity, and he desires only that it be kindled; he came to bring it by submitting himself to complete sacrifice and to the pains that were to flood him like a baptism, and his love makes him desire them with the most vivid anxiety, which keeps him in anguish until he has suffered them all. He leaves this love and sacrifice as a beautiful legacy to his followers, for the conversion of the world will mean that they will suffer persecution and pain even from their dearest family members. (p. 1328)"

"Never has there been so much talk of peace as today, and never has the world been such a theatre of war as today. If glory is not given to God, how can there be peace? (p. 1019)"

"The bread of the body, without that of the soul, reduces man to a beast, and concerns him only with the life that passes, while he wanders the world to attain immortal life. It is an immense sorrow to see that men speak only of material affairs, to see them anxious for gain, and completely or almost completely forgetful of the soul! (p. 1068)"

"Here is Jesus in prayer, alone, prostrate before the Father, with his arms outstretched and his gaze turned to heaven. It was a marvellous sight worthy of God, as the eternal Word, knowledge of the Father, light from infinite light. He was like an eternal lamp before Him. (p. 1102)"

"The night, which seemed to have disappeared for a moment, returned with its cloak of shadows. The firmament shone, but the stars did not look like stars; they were like placid eyes of peace gazing ecstatically at the earth. They passed glistening over the blessed cave as if in a dance of love; it was as if they recognised from afar the powerful voice that created them, and sang a hymn of order to the eternal Incarnate wisdom that had harmonised them. (p. 1014)"

"Contemplation, whereby the soul is lifted up into divine magnificence, is exultation of the spirit in divine light, joy in tasting the fruits of Redemption, and an outpouring of love for God for His infinite beauty and goodness. The soul grows in the ways of love when it humbles itself and recognises its own lowliness; it is then that God lowers himself to it and takes pleasure in it, working wonders of grace. To look at God and be looked at by Him, this is the synthesis of the greatest elevations of love: Respixit. Faith looks at Him, hope and charity look at Him, and He turns to us, enlightening us, elevating us and embracing us; the troubled heart, exiled and groaning in this valley of tears, looks at Him, and He pours out His mercy. (pp. 982-983)"

"Night came. It was cold but clear, and the stars shone in the sky. A great silence surrounded that place, and an even greater solemnity reigned there, because the invisible heavenly court had already come down to earth to court the divine King, and it shone in its placid spiritual light, made entirely of knowledge and love. Men and things slept, and far away only a few glimmers of the fires of the shepherds watching over their flocks could be seen. The stars revolved in the sky, following the laws of order assigned to them by God, and in Mary's immaculate body the laws of procreation were fulfilled with the same precision. The stars shone and the divine Sun shone towards the horizon of earthly life, about to rise like a ray through the immaculate breast of the Mother. (pp. 1004-1005)"

"That little light brings out the beauty of the altar and speaks of the ineffable love that silently burns in the holy Ciborium; it expresses in a delicate symbol the infinite reality of the eternal Word, the light of the Father, and the reality of the Incarnate Word, the victim who perpetually burns and consumes himself. It gathers our soul in faith, which is knowledge of God, and enkindles it with tender love; it is not a simple light, but a complex of hearts enkindled before the love that gives itself. Every vibration of that light expresses the vibration of a soul, every effusion of oil towards the flame expresses the return of life towards God, enkindled with love and consumed with charity; every quiet crackle of the placid light expresses the trepidation of inner charity. The lamp, placed by the Church, is not mute, but is the representation of the Church, generated by the Redeemer and his perennial glorification. (p. 1102)"

"It was a solemn moment: the angelic host, invisible, became visible; it was a choir of light shining in the night to the ends of the horizon. They were figures as bright as lightning and as placid as the dawn; their eyes were turned towards heaven and their bodies were cloaked in glory. They moved like a starry sky, in perfect order, and they sang. Oh, who can imagine what that song was? (p. 1012)"

"Quattro Vangeli commentati dal sac. Dolindo Ruotolo, Casa Mariana Editrice, Napoli, 2005, 4 volumes."

"The Church is a solid wall that no bomb has been able to bring down, because the words of Jesus have formed his children into a phalanx of heroes. (p. 1318)"

"Bartolo Longo, Storia del santuario di Pompei dedicato alla Vergine SS. del Rosario, volume I, Scuola tipografica editrice Bartolo Longo, Valle di Pompei, 1890."

"My soul gathers itself and adores you, O Word of God, for all these wonders sing your praises and glorify the Father through you. You are the ideal heaven of the soul, you are the perennial source of living water that quenches its thirst, you are the flower that sprouted from the rod of the root of Jesse. You are the sun that illuminates our life, and the light that dispels its darkness, You are the Lamb sacrificed for the salvation of all, You are the new Adam, who forms the generation of the righteous, reforms man as God desires, and leads him to eternal bliss. You are my Redeemer, and how could I render your work in me vain? (p. 1621)"

"The Christian life is not and cannot be entertainment, because its goal is not to pass more or less joyfully the time that has been assigned to us by God, but to strive for the conquest of the eternal treasure, of God, infinite greatness and infinite beauty. (p. 318)"

"Bartolo Longo, in homage to the Madonna and the Sanctuary of Pompeii, took in 135 orphan girls and 70 children of prisoners, training them in arts suited to them and in agriculture, mixing asceticism and fetishism for the Madonna modernity in the extensive use of advertising, reports and photographs, and thus managing to place some of the orphan girls in kind and honest families."

"God is patient and long-suffering because He is strong: being almighty, He does not become angry or seek revenge, because everything is subject to Him. He is gentle, good by nature, that is, generous with His riches, but, because of our faults, just in His punishment. He waits for man to repent, but then condemns him if he remains obstinate."

"[Last words] My only desire is to see Mary, who saved me and will save me from the clutches of Satan."

"O great God! What moved you then to wait so long for me, far from you, if not your essential goodness, since all your ways are reduced to mercy and truth? To my rebellions, you opposed infinite patience; to my departures, a most gentle kindness; to the offences against you, the sighs of your living, generous and paternal Heart. Finally, You extended Your hand of help to my unhappy falls. You saw my humiliation and my pains, and then Your mercy triumphed, for in humiliation You raise the mountains of Your grace. And the first fruit of your grace was to inspire in me an ardent, irrepressible, insatiable desire for You, truth, light, food, peace of man, Your creature."

"I felt my heart bursting. In such darkness of soul, a friendly voice seemed to whisper in my ear those words that I myself had read and that my holy friend, now deceased, often repeated to me: If you seek salvation, spread the Rosary. These are Mary's promises."

"With the audacity of despair, I raised my face and hands to Heaven and turned to the heavenly Virgin: "If it is true," I cried, "that you promised Saint Dominic that those who propagate the Rosary will be saved, I will be saved, because I will not leave this Earth without having propagated your Rosary here.""

"O august Queen of victories, Virgin who reignest in paradise, whose mighty name causes heaven to rejoice and hell to tremble, glorious Queen of the most holy Rosary, we, thy happy children chosen by thy goodness in this century to build thee a temple at Pompeii, kneeling at thy feet on this solemn day to commemorate thy latest triumphs on the spot where idols and demons were formerly worshipped, pour out with tears the feelings of our hearts and with a filial confidence lay before thee our miseries. From that throne of mercy where thou sittest as Queen, Mary, turn down thy pitiful eyes on us, on our families, on Italy, on Europe, and the whole Church; take into pity the afflictions which overwhelm us and the cares which embitter our lives. Thou seest, O Mother, how many dangers of soul and body, how many calamities and afflictions press upon us. O Mother, keep back the arm of justice of thy indignant Son, and conquer by thy mercy the hearts of sinners, since they are our brethren and thy children, redeemed through the blood of our sweet Jesus and through the wounds of thy most tender heart pierced with the sword. Show thyself to all in this day, as thou art, the Queen of peace and mercy"

"Those who propagate the Rosary are saved! This thought was like a flash of lightning breaking the darkness of a stormy night. Satan, who held me captive as his prey, saw his defeat and forced me even more into his infernal coils. It was the last struggle, a desperate struggle."

"Let us ask Mary for her blessing. We now ask of thee, O Queen, a last favor which thou canst not refuse on this solemn day. Grant to all of us thy constant love and in a special manner thy maternal blessing. No, we will not leave thy feet today nor cease clasping thy knees till thou hast blessed us. Bless now, Mary, the sovereign Pontiff. To the first laurels of thy crown, to the ancient trophies of the Rosary, whence thou art called Queen of victories, add also this one, Mother, grant triumph to religion and peace to mankind. Bless our bishop, the priests and particularly those who promote the honor of thy Sanctuary; bless finally all those who are associated to thy new temple of Pompeii and who practice and spread devotion to thy most holy rosary. O blessed rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love, which connects us with the angels, tower of safety against the assaults of hell, sure harbor in the universal shipwreck, never more shall we part with thee; thou shall be our comfort in the hour of agony: to thee the last kiss of our life; and the last word of our dying lips shall be thy sweet name, Queen of the Rosary of the Valley of Pompeii. Mother dear, only refuge of sinners, supreme comforter of the afflicted, blessed be thy name, now and forever, on earth and in heaven. Amen."

"It is but too true that we, although thy children, are the first who crucify Jesus in our hearts and wound anew thy heart by our sins. We confess it, we deserve the severest chastisements; yet remember how thou didst receive, on the top of Golgotha, the last drops of that divine blood, and the testament of our dying Redeemer. And this testament of a God, sealed with the blood of a Man-God, appointed thee our Mother, the Mother of sinners. Thus, as our Mother, thou art our Advocate and our Hope. To thee, amidst sighs, do we lift up our hands, crying for mercy! Have pity, good mother, have pity on us, on our souls, on our families, on our relations, on our friends, on our departed brethren, above all, on our enemies, and on so many who claim the name of Christians, yet wound the loving heart of thy Son. Pity, Mother, we now implore thee for pity on the erring nations, on all Europe, on the whole world, that they may repair repentant to thy heart. Be merciful to all, Mother of mercy."

"The ways of divine Love cannot be travelled without Mary; the contrary is absurd, for without her effective mediation there is no vigour of faith to nourish and sustain it. The soul does not marry God without Mary, and does not have the purest wine of love without her. (p. 1656)"

"[Don Dolindo] is a saint. The whole of Paradise [is in his soul]. [...] Why do you come here, you have Don Dolindo in Naples?, Go to him. He is a saint."

"What does it cost thee, Mary, to hear us? What does it cost thee to save us? Did not Jesus entrust to thy hands all the treasures of his graces and mercies? Thou sittest as Queen at the right hand of thy Son, crowned with immortal glory, above all the choirs of angels. Thou extendest thy dominion as far as the heavens expand; the earth and all the creatures that people it are subject to thee. Thy power even reaches Hell, and thou alone, Mary, canst rescue us from the devil’s grasp. Thou art almighty by grace, and therefore thou canst save us. Now if you sayest thou willest not help us because we are ungrateful children and unworthy of thy protection, tell us at least to whom shall we have recourse in order to be released from so many evils? Oh! No, thy maternal heart will never bear to see the ruin of thy children. The divine Child we behold on thy knees, the mystical crown we admire in thy hand, both inspire us with hope that we will be heard. And full of confidence in thee, we throw ourselves at thy feet, we trust ourselves as feeble children into the arms of the tenderest amongst mothers, and today, this very day, we expect from thee the graces we are longing for."

"The Magi, the first pagans called to faith and our forerunners, show us the way that leads to the Redeemer and how we must reach him. They were enlightened by a star, understood that it was a heavenly call, and without delay hurried on their way to Jerusalem, leaded by the same star. So we must walk toward the heavenly Jerusalem: obeying the Lord who invites us to himself, and walking with our eyes fixed on Heaven, in the supernatural light of faith. We do not go to Jesus Christ with human light; we cannot go there by calculating material or political opportunities. The light that leads us to him rises in the sky, and from Heaven leads us to the eternal homeland. (pp. 55-56)"

"True temporal and eternal happiness lies in the possession of God. (p. 127)"

"Far from modernising ourselves in order to keep up with the times, as they say, we must return to the faith and piety of the Fathers (Tradition and the Deposit of Faith) in every way, because modernisation is already a more or less concealed apostasy and leads infallibly to perdition."

"Jesus was alone and praying. What a sight! His soul prayed, and in praying he was like a flame rising from a holocaust, for his body was wholly a sacrifice of love. He prayed and was enveloped in the divine splendour of the divine Person of the Word, almost like a torch in the midday rays. He shone with divine light, and drew his body close to him as if it were a cloud of thymian drawn up by the flame. His centre of gravity was no longer the earth but the eternal splendour of the Word, and he tended upwards, made light as a feather. (p. 1768)"

"We are here to tell the Ukrainians that we are here, that we are here with them to share their pain, that we are on their side, but at the same time we want to dare to promote peace. We have heard many Ukrainian brothers speak of armed resistance and it is an attitude that can also be understood, but we must not give in to what apparently seems to be the only possible reaction. We must work and reflect on paths of peace that start from active and passive non-violence. Can war be counteracted with non-violence? Can war be countered with non-violence? It is a reflection that must engage us in the coming weeks, in the coming months and also in the coming years. We must return to non-violent conscientious objection against everything that is injustice, corruption, whatever goes against the development of man. Jesus still tells us today: Blessed are the builders of peace."