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easy thing to do, but it is wretchedly
ignoble. Yet, there have always been
truly noble souls, the Saints of God,
canonized and uncanonized who, by
their works and their words, have
inspired their fellow man, saved them
from unending ruin and taught them
the way to life that knows no death.
Working in union with the Holy Ghost,
they have helped to renew the face
of the earth. Their weapons have
been the love of God and love of
neighbor, meekness, purity and the
pursuit of truth.
The Curé of Ars, when a child of three,
began to show a strong inclination to
prayer. His mother fostered this in
him in every way possible. The homespun
instruction which made his pulpit
famous, he would repeat over and over
again: “Virtue passes from the
heart of a mother into the hearts
of her children, because they
willingly do what they see done.”
Our life is a struggle. Our Faith means
a fight. We must be in readiness to shed
our blood in defense of God’s interests
and our immortal souls. Hell hates
Christ! Sin hates Christ! Paganism hates
Christ! But, we love Christ because we
are His; therefore, we must expect a
conflict unto death. Persecution is a
part of our heritage. The Church of God
cannot change; what She was, that She
is! What our forefathers were, such
are we; we look like other men but we
have that in us which no others have,
the latent element of an indomitable
fortitude. This may not be the age of
Saints, but it is the age of Martyrs!
In Japan, during the years of struggle
and persecution for a period of 200
years, they kept the faith. What was
the secret of this perseverance? Mothers
taught their children prayers and the
truths of our holy religion. They
trained them to be catechists so they
might later instruct others. The crucifix
which could not be shown in public
was engraved
in their loyal
hearts! This is
the function of
Catholic mother-
hood in all ages,
to give to Christ
and His Church
children whose
belief in the
Master and love
for Him would
surmount all
hatred and
conquer all the
allurements of
a surrounding
paganism.
On Nov. 27, 1927, in Mexico City, Father
Miguel Pro
was shot to
death because
he had ministered
to the
spiritual
needs of his
oppressed
brethren in
Christ. He
was a modern-day apostle and martyr.
Disguised as a taxi driver or business
man, he would go about to groups of
hunted Catholics, bringing them the
consolation of the Sacraments. Who
can explain the greatness of being the
mother of a priest? Who can tell the
consolation which floods her heart as
she kneels to receive his first blessing,
to receive Holy Communion at his
first Mass? Then starts his earthly
campaign for souls: the sin-hardened
in the confessional, the sick in the
hospitals, little children, young folks,
the old at the Communion rail. The
zest of the battle grows keener with
the years. A mother shares each
struggle and each victory with her
priest son.