Catholic
Saints
Holy Rosary
Please
Click here to see our new website: www.vaticancatholic.com
Prayers to Catholic Saints
It’s also very important and effective
to have devotion to certain Catholic saints.
Here are some great Catholic saints to have a devotion to:
Prayer to St. Francis Solanus, Apostle to
South America [Also interesting quotes on his miracles]
More will be added as time permits.
The Bible on
Praying to and Venerating Saints
[New 53 min. audio]
This audio contains
powerful evidence. It covers this
important issue from new angles and with unique points. In addition to covering the biblical basis
for the communion of saints, this audio covers the Bible’s teaching on
venerating relics, images and statues.
St. Francis Solanus (Apostle to South America)
St. Francis Solanus
lived from 1549 to 1610. He was a
Spanish Franciscan missionary to South America.
Though he is not well-known in the United States, he is indeed to be
classified among the extraordinary Catholic saints. He was gifted with an abundance of
miracles. He converted and baptized
many natives and explored uncultivated regions. Here is a prayer to one of the
great Catholic saints.
Prayer to him:
“O powerful St. Francis Solanus,
thou who explored and evangelized in the wilds of South America, please assist
me in the wilds of this world and obtain for me, through our Lord Jesus Christ,
the grace I ask of thee. Amen.”
(Specify your petition and then say
one Hail Mary in honor of St. Francis Solanus)
Here are some quotes about the life of one of the Catholic saints
St.
Francis Solanus miraculously heals the mangled face of a five-year-old girl and
raises her to life:
“…the five year-old Maria Monroy had fallen from the second story of her
parents’ home. An iron latticework,
which she had dragged down with her in the fall, had put out one of the nina’s
eyes, destroyed her face, and split her skull.
When picked up, she was dead. The
desperate screams of the grief-crazed mother immediately brought the entire
neighborhood to the scene; but nothing anyone could do or say served to console
the woman or assuage the shock incurred when she had first glimpsed the ruin of
her baby’s head and features.
“Above the bed of the dead child there hung a likeness of Fray Francisco
[St. Francis Solanus]. Only when the
mother’s eyes lifted to this picture was she somewhat calmed. Beginning to pray before it, she experienced
a sudden wild hope. Loudly she demanded
that someone bring her oil from Padre Solano’s lamps – at once! It must have seemed quite hopeless to the
numerous onlookers, but to pacify the poor mother, this was done, and the oil
was applied to the broken little face and head.
The miracle which followed worked instantaneously! The eye returned to its orbit, the break in
the head closed, and little Maria returned to life with the exclamation,
‘Jesus, remain with me!’” (Fanchon Royer, St.
Francis Solanus – Apostle to America, St. Anthony Guild Press, Patterson,
N.J., 1955, p. 187.)
St.
Francis Solanus miraculously crosses a river: “The river was wide and there was no
boat to carry him to the opposite shore.
How happy were his Indians in their belief that, for this reason, they
would have their padre with them a little longer. But he, it seems, was hearing the voices
which cried to him from the other side.
For a last time he exhorted his dear Indios to persevere in seeking
God’s grace, in the Faith, and in love of neighbor; and he gave them his
blessing. Then, lifting up his eyes to
heaven, he was elevated to ecstasy. He
now spread his mantle upon the water and embarked upon it without fear, and
thus passed over to the opposite shore, leaving those who had accompanied him
as far as the river in the extreme of astonishment.” (Fanchon Royer, St. Francis Solanus – Apostle to America,
St. Anthony Guild Press, Patterson, N.J., 1955, p. 117.)
His extraordinary travels: “The diligent
apostle did not content himself with ministering to his own converts, the
Christian thousands about Socotonio and Magdalena. As soon as he was confident that their feet
were firmly placed upon the Christian path of life, he set his own to another immense tour which, owing to the
rigors of the terrain which he chose to penetrate, was to prove a classic
chapter in the marvelous epic of record-breaking travel and spiritual
adventure… while evangelizing and instructing the natives he might encounter in
the great wastes that stretched between the heroically founded stations. But this tour was so largely devoted to the
Gran Chaco that one imagines he must have known from the start that this vast,
still almost completely unexplored region was the prize for which he would
contest – alone and totally unsupplied with provisions of any sort.” (Fanchon
Royer, St. Francis Solanus – Apostle to
America, St. Anthony Guild Press, Patterson, N.J., 1955, p. 111.)
Witnesses
to his miracles:
“…eight hundred witnesses had presented themselves to testify under oath to the
saint’s prodigies. Among these, five
hundred and twenty were Limenos. The
list included prelates, savants, physicians, army officers of high rank,
religious, and ladies of prominent social standing. Also a witness was the temporal ruler of them
all, the Marques de Montesclaros, Viceroy of Peru.” (Ibid, p. 183.)
St.
Francis Solanus believed that no man is saved without Baptism. In his life, there is a story about a ship on
which he was traveling which came upon a terrible storm. This ship contained many religious, as well
as natives who had received some instruction from him but had not yet been
baptized. “They ran head into a violent
hurricane. Almost immediately the
cumbersome wooden ship went out of control, to become a mere chip on the
frantically churning seas… Water was now passing freely through the hold. In the midst of the tempest’s fury, the ship
was falling to pieces beneath them; and as there was but a single lifeboat
aboard, the disaster could only mean death for the majority of the company… the Captain made all haste to get the
Franciscans and some of the more prominent passengers over the side, that they
might be given this one last slim chance of survival [on a lifeboat]. Seeing that Fray Franciso made no move to
join his brothers in the boat, Juan de Morgana implored him to hurry. There was space for but one more. But
the missionary had already decided that he could not leave his stricken
Negritos [the natives] to die abandoned in their agony. Who could say that he might not be granted
the time to administer Baptism to some of them?... [He said]: ‘God will not allow me to save myself by
leaving my poor brothers to lose not only the life of the body, but also that
of the soul, which is eternal.’” (Ibid, p. 71.)
Thus, he clearly believed that they would not
be saved without Baptism, despite the knowledge or “desire” they had. So he risked his life to stay, to make sure
they were convinced of the faith and baptized.
He immediately went to work. “…
imploring [God] for the time to complete his holy mission, the priest
immediately went to work. There were so
many to whom he must administer the Sacrament [of Baptism], and under
circumstances which almost anyone else would have found quite impossible!” (Ibid, p. 73.)
As he continued to baptize, the ship was actually
broken into two by the hurricane. “When the vessel had cleft in twain, Fray
Francisco [St. Francis] was hastily baptizing his Negritos. He barely looked up as he heard the noise…
Quite naturally there were many who were still hysterical from fright and the
misery of their half-submerged positions.
But Fray Francisco was perfectly calm; and as the fragment of the ship
miraculously continued to stay afloat, one by one, the frightened men edged
into their places before him and the crucifix still held high by an arm which
should by now have broken beneath it. In this manner the hours dragged on, and
finally the Sacrament had actually been administered to all who wished to
receive it.” After days of
struggling on the seas in the face of the hurricane, God intervened with a
number of extraordinary events which allowed the vessels to survive. (Ibid, pp. 70-77.)
Important Spiritual Information: Praying the Rosary and
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Pray the Rosary Each Day
How to
Pray the Rosary
We recommend that Catholics pray the entire 15-decade Rosary
each day, if possible. One set of mysteries at three different times
in the day is the recommendation of St. Louis De Montfort as a good way to get
that accomplished. Frankly, many
Catholics who are home most of the day are not getting this accomplished, when
they easily could. Thus, they are
missing out on tremendous graces, and the opportunity to help save other souls
by their prayers.
Devotion to Our
Lady and the Hail Mary are essential.
Catholics must come to learn and understand the power of devotion to Our
Lady and the Hail Mary.
St. Louis De Montfort
(+1710): “Blessed Alan de la Roche who was so deeply devoted to the Blessed
Virgin had many revelations from her
and we know that he confirmed the truth of these revelations by a solemn
oath. Three of them stand out with
special emphasis: the first, that if
people fail to say the Hail Mary (the Angelic Salutation which has saved the
world) out of carelessness, or because they are lukewarm, or because
they hate it, this is a sign that they
will probably and indeed shortly be condemned to eternal punishment.” (Secret of the Rosary, p. 45)
St. Louis De Montfort (+1710): “….there are some very sanctifying interior
practices for those whom the Holy Ghost calls to high perfection. These may be expressed in four words: to do
all things by Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary; so
that we may do them all the more perfectly by
Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus.” (True
Devotion to Mary #257)
We
strongly recommend that Catholics make the consecration to the Blessed Virgin
Mary which St. Louis De Montfort explains in his book, True Devotion to Mary.
St.
Louis De Montfort, True Devotion to Mary
#39: “We must not confuse devotion to
the Blessed Virgin with devotions to the other saints, as if devotion to her
were not far more necessary than devotion to them, and as if devotion to
her were a matter of supererogation [extra special devotion].”
St.
Louis De Montfort (+1706): “Make for me,
if you will, a new road to go to Jesus, and pave it with all the merits of
the blessed, adorn it with all their heroic virtues, illuminate and embellish
it with all the lights and beauties of the angels, and let all the angels and saints be there themselves, to escort, defend
and sustain those who are ready to walk there; and yet in truth, I say boldly,
and I repeat that I say truly, I would prefer to this new, perfect path the
immaculate way of Mary.” (True
Devotion to Mary #158)
It is
precisely because most don’t understand Mary’s unique connection to Jesus, and
her role in the Incarnation and the salvation of souls, that they never make
much progress in the way of perfection.
St.
Louis De Montfort: “As there are secrets of nature by which natural operations
are performed more easily, in a short time and at little cost; so are there secrets in the order of grace
by which supernatural operations, such as ridding ourselves of self, filling
ourselves with God, and becoming perfect, are performed more easily. The practice which I am about to disclose
[of true devotion to Mary] is one of these secrets, unknown to the greater number of
Christians, known even to few of the devout, and practiced and relished by a
lesser number still.” (True
Devotion to Mary #82)
St. Louis De Montfort (+ c. 1710): “By this practice [the True Devotion to Mary
which he teaches], faithfully observed, you will give Jesus more glory in a
month than by any other practice, however difficult, in many years…” (True Devotion to Mary #222)
St. Louis De Montfort: “… many
others have proved invincibly, from the sentiments of the Fathers (among
others, St. Augustine, St. Ephrem,
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Germanus,
St. John Damascene, St. Anselm, St. Bernard, St. Bernardine, St. Thomas
and St. Bonaventure), that devotion to
Mary is necessary to salvation, and that… it is an infallible mark of
reprobation to have no esteem and love for the holy Virgin.” (True Devotion to Mary # 40)
Regarding the Holy Rosary, Sister
Lucia told Father Fuentes in a famous 1957 interview:
"Look, Father,
the Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new
efficacy to the recitation of the Holy Rosary. She has given this efficacy to
such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether
temporal or above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of
our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or
even of the life of peoples and nations that cannot be solved by the Rosary.
There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot
resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save
ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console Our Lord and obtain the
salvation of many souls."
We also recommend that all Catholics
obtain and read the following books. If
one reads and thinks about the four last things, one will most likely avoid
sin, the occasions of sin, and live a good life. We consider these books to be essential for
proper spiritual formation, and we believe that one will gain more from reading
them than one will from reading many other books.
-True Devotion to Mary by
St. Louis De Montfort
-The
Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis De Montfort
-Preparation for Death
by St. Alphonsus
(abridged version)
-Our
Lady of Fatima by William Thomas Walsh (get to know and live the message
Our Lady delivered at Fatima)
Most of these books are available
from our online store.
Our Benedictine Community
The Founder of our
Benedictine community:
Brother
Joseph Natale O.S.B.
Brother
Joseph Natale was trained at
Bro. Michael Dimond
O.S.B.
Raised in a
family with no religion, Bro. Michael Dimond converted to Catholicism at the
age of 15. Brother Michael Dimond entered
Most Holy Family Monastery in 1992 at the age of 19, a short time after
graduating from high school. Brother
Michael Dimond’s father graduated from
About Benedictine
communities
The following
information is taken from the articles on “St. Benedict” and “Benedictine” in
the 1907 Catholic Encyclopedia:
A
Benedictine community is a community that lives under the Rule of St.
Benedict. In the Benedictine order there
is no general or common superior over the whole order other than the pope, and
the order consists, so to speak, of what are practically a number of orders,
called “congregations”, each of which is self-governing; all are united, not
under the obedience to one general superior, but only by the spiritual bond of
allegiance to the same Rule, which may be modified according to the
circumstances of each particular house or congregation.(1)
“According to Saint Benedict’s idea,
each monastery constituted a separate, independent, autonomous family, the
members of which elected their own superior.”(2) Each Benedictine monastery is unique in so
far as they take upon themselves whatever work is necessary for the well-being
of their community and of the Church.
“Thus during the life of the saint (Benedict) we find what has ever
since remained a characteristic feature of Benedictine houses, i.e. the members
take up any work which is adapted to their particular circumstances, any work
which may be dictated by their necessities. Thus we find
Benedictines teaching in the poor schools and in the universities, practicing the
arts and following agriculture, undertaking the care of souls, or devoting
themselves wholly to study.”(3)
“The hours
ordered by the Rule to be devoted daily to systematic reading and study, have
given to the world many of the foremost scholars and writers, so that the term
‘Benedictine learning’ has been for long centuries a byword indicative of the
learning and laborious research fostered in the Benedictine cloister. The regulations regarding the reception and
education of children, moreover, were the germ from which sprang up a great
number of famous monastic schools and universities which flourished in the
Middle Ages.”(4) The work of education
and the cultivation of literature have always been looked upon as belonging by
right to the Benedictines.(5)
Besides being
the chief educational centers during the Middle Ages, the monasteries were,
moreover, the workshops where precious manuscripts were collected, preserved,
and multiplied. To the monastic
transcribers the world is indebted for most of its ancient literature, not only
the Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, but those of the classical
authors also.(6)
Early Constitution of the
Order of St. Benedict
During the first four or five centuries
after the death of St. Benedict there existed no organic bond of union among
the various monasteries other than the Rule itself and obedience to the Holy
See. According to St. Benedict, each monastery
constituted an independent family,(7) the members of which elected their own
superior.(8) Each monastery was to be
self-contained, self-governing, managing its own affairs, and subject to no
external authority except that of the local diocesan bishop, whose powers of
control were, however, limited to certain specific conditions.(9)
So intimately
connected with domestic life is the whole framework and teaching of the Rule
that a Benedictine may be more truly said to enter or join a particular
household than to join an order. The
Benedictine ideal of poverty is quite different from the Franciscan. The Benedictine takes no explicit vow of
poverty; he only vows obedience according to the Rule. The Rule allows all that is necessary to each
individual, together with sufficient and varied clothing, abundant food (except
the flesh meat of four footed animals), and ample sleep. Possessions could be held in common, they
might be large, but they were to be administered for the furtherance of the
work of the community and for the benefit of others. While the individual monk was poor, the
monastery was to be in a position to give alms, not to be compelled to seek
them. It was to relieve the poor, to
clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to bury the dead, to help the afflicted,
to entertain all strangers. The poor
came to St. Benedict to get help to pay their debts, they came for
food.(10) Abbots came to see and advise
with St. Benedict. Men of all classes
were frequent visitors, and he numbered nobles and bishops among his intimate
friends. There were nuns in the
neighborhood whom the monks went to preach to and to teach. There was a village nearby in which St.
Benedict preached and made many converts.(11)
In the
Concerning Members of
Benedictine Communities
In 1907, the
Catholic Encyclopedia pointed out that, “At the present day there is hardly a
congregation, Benedictine or otherwise, that has not its lay brethren, and even
amongst numerous orders of nuns a similar distinction is observed, either
between the nuns that are bound to choir and those that are not so
enclosed. The habit worn by the lay brethren
is usually a modification of that of the choir monks, sometimes differing from
it in color as well as in shape; and the vows of the lay brethren are in most
congregations only simple, or renewable periodically, in contrast with the
solemn vows for life taken by the choir religious.”(13)
Our Community
As is obvious
from our website, our community is heavily involved with educating people about
what they must know and do in order to save their souls, which is the most
important work of charity with which anyone could be involved. “Without faith it is impossible to please
God” (Heb. 11:6). And without the
Catholic faith it is impossible to be saved.
Therefore, our work as Catholic Benedictine monks – especially in this
time of the great apostasy – necessarily involves educating Catholics about the
true dogmas of the Church and condemning the heresies that are rampant
today. Our work also deeply involves
exposing the counterfeit Catholic Church of the Vatican II sect, which is
deceiving millions of those who profess to be Catholic. This counterfeit Vatican II sect – with its
antipopes – is the primary enemy of Jesus Christ today. It is most dangerous for the salvation of
souls because it purports to be the Catholic Church but it is not. This is why we dedicate much effort to
exposing it.
We also work
and pray for the salvation of all non-Catholics, producing and distributing
mass quantities of information with the goal of converting them to the one true
faith, outside of which no one can be saved.
In our apostolic work (called an “apostolate”), we have distributed
almost 1 million copies of our videos, audios, DVDs and books. The material that we have distributed and
continue to distribute covers a wide variety of topics that are essential,
including (to name a few): the necessity of prayer; the eternity and pains of
Hell; the shortness of life; miraculous conversion stories; the authenticity of
Sacred Scripture; the special creation of the earth; the refutation of the
theory of evolution; the miracles and marvels of the Catholic saints; the
importance of the message of Fatima; the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin;
the Communist and Freemasonic plot against the Catholic Church; the evils of
Rock Music; the false and invalid New Mass; the false Second Vatican Council;
the false Vatican II antipopes; the dogma outside the Church there is no
salvation; and many others.
We also have
spoken personally to thousands concerning the true Catholic faith and a
person’s obligation to profess it.
Our Community
is dedicated first and foremost to Jesus Christ, our Savior, and the worship of
the Most Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost)– the One True God – and the
profession of the Catholic faith whole and inviolate. Secondly, our Community is deeply dedicated
to the promotion of the Holy Rosary as the primary private devotion for a
Catholic. Just as without the faith it
is impossible to please God, so it is true that without a strong prayer life it
is impossible to be saved. We especially
promote the 15 decade Rosary, which the monks recite each day. We believe that the 15 decade Rosary is the
key to the salvation of many souls and we encourage everyone to attempt to say
it and promote it to others. The monks
have personally witnessed the incredible transformation in the lives of many
people through the 15 decade Rosary. The
power of the Holy Rosary is truly amazing, and God has revealed that He has
conferred even more efficacy upon the Holy Rosary in our dark days. St. Louis De Montfort recommends one set of
mysteries at three different times in the day as an effective way to say the
entire Rosary each day. We believe that
the salvation of millions of souls hinges upon the practice of a true devotion
to the Mother of God and the necessary foundation of a pure profession of the
true Catholic faith.
In addition
to the above, our community practices (and encourages others to practice)
devotion to saints, not only by getting to know their extraordinary devotion to
God by learning about their lives, but also by praying to them to intercede
with God for us. We have posted on our
website a few prayers to saints that we recommend (and we plan to add
more). At Most Holy Family Monastery we
recite at least one prayer each day to St. Benedict (our founder), St. Therese
of Lisieux, St. Michael the Archangel, Jacinta the shepherdess of Fatima, St.
Joseph, and St. Jude.
Promises
made to St. Benedict regarding the destiny of his order and that of its friends
and enemies:
1) His order will continue to exist to
the End of the World.
2) It will, at the End of the World, in
the final battle, render great services to the holy Church and confirm many in
the faith.
3) No one shall die in the Order whose
salvation would not be assured. And if a
monk begins to lead a bad life and does not amend, he will fall into disgrace,
or be expelled from the Order, or will leave it of his own accord.
4) Everyone who persecutes his order and
does not repent will see his days shortened or meet with an unfortunate end.
5) All, however, who love his order will
obtain a happy death.(14)
* Note:
Promise number#3 obviously does not apply to the “Benedictines” of the Novus
Ordo/Vatican II sect, who claim to be Benedictines but aren’t. Likewise, it
does not apply to any heretical group which claims to be a Benedictine
community.
Most Holy Family Monastery, 4425
Schneider Rd., Fillmore, NY 14735, (800)275-1126 or (585)567-4433. www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com
Endnotes
1)
The Catholic Encyclopedia,
2)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
458
3)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
471
4)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
440
5)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
456
6)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol, 2, p.
457
7)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
444
8)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
458
9)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
444
10)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
469
11)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
471
12)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
470
13)
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p.
453
14)
The Life of