I've never heard Frances being referred to like in this way, how beautiful! Do you know where the expression came from? It's very appropriate for her.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N8P5VDK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 I always like the oldest books best and this one is very,very old. 'The Life of St. Philip Neri by Fr. Pietro Giacomo Bacci was published in 1622, just 27 years after St. Philip’s death in 1595. Fr. Bacci was a member of the Roman Oratory, the Congregation founded by St. Philip, and he based his book on the Processes instituted for St. Philip's canonization. These Processes began just two months after Philip’s death and depended on sworn testimony from hundreds of witnesses to Philip’s extraordinary virtue and his many miracles. The Processes led to Philip’s beatification in 1615 and ultimately his canonization in 1622. While there have been many books written on St. Philip Neri, Fr. Bacci's book is a classic that has been translated into many languages and republished numerous times in the hundreds of years since St. Philip's death. This edition of The Life of St. Philip Neri is based on the 1902 revised edition of Fr. Frederick Ignatius Antrobus of the London Oratory. Minor adjustments to spelling and punctuation have been made where appropriate. For ease of reading and navigation, this version includes an active table of contents. Fr. Bacci's The Life of St. Philip Neri includes six books. This edition includes Books I and II and is being published as the first volume. Book I covers Philip's life from his birth through the founding of the Congregation of the Oratory. Book II gives an account of Philip's virtues. Books III (The gifts God gave Philip) and IV (Philip's sicknesses and death) will be published as the second volume, and Books V (Miracles of Philip's life) and VI (Miracles after Philip's death) as the third volume.'
Somewhere on the forum, recently, it was mentioned that Frances was told by the Good Lord in prayer that there was an emerald in His Crown for Ireland... Maybe someone remembers where?
Thank you! A grand aunt (nun for well over 60yrs.) advised my brother & I years ago to "stick to the old books when you can, they're more reliable."
There are a few Catholic sites on the internet which have lots of old books which can be downloaded absolutely free. Just type in 'Catholic books' should bring up a few sites. The old motto that 'the best things in life are free' certainly applies to books.
C S Lewis said that books from previous eras give a more accurate perspective on contemporary society because they come from times which had to contend with different types of sin than our own. Our world's predominant sinfulness is of a sexual nature, so books from other times would have a more objective viewpoint in this respect.
I like Kindle but there is something to be said for having an honest to goodness, solid Catholic Book in your hands, especially a Classic one that you can read again and again and again and again: https://www.cenacle.co.uk/second-hand-saints
Agreed, nothing like the feel and weight of a good, solid book, especially if it's hardback. However, surreptitious downloads from backwoods places on the internet might be all Catholics will have in the future, if trends continue. Also, there's the issue of affordability. It's a blessing of our modern age, amidst all its curses, that we have access to so much material that we might not have even heard of before. And these archaic saints wrote so clearly and directly. Compare St Augustine with Teilhard de Chardin-the former, from what I've read of him, straight and true and full of information, the latter, from my failed attempts to read him, vague, incoherent, irrational and replete with half-truths.
This reminds me of what Jesus said, 'Let your yes be yes and your no be no.' The easier a person is to understand the better I, personally like it. I did read Teilhard de Chardin in my younger days and it was very,very heavy going. Not least because he invented his own vocabulary. St Augustine is crystal clear of course. Although to be honest for myself not all the Words of Jesus are perfectly clear to me and sometimes have me guessing. I am not off course complaining about this. But sometimes when His words are repeated in Church year after year they have me guessing right through the Mass I don't mind this, Jesus is Jesus the Son of God; I'd be a liar if I said I always understood Him. It's the same with the Mysteries of the Rosary. We call them Mysteries for a reason. A for instance is Jesus being Lost in Temple. I have been meditating it for most of my life now for who knows how many years and I'm not really sure I understand any better than when I started. But I'm fine with that. It's a bit like wrestling with angel. If God wants me to wrestle with an angel, I'll wrestle. I suppose in a way if someone were to say, 'I understand this Scripture perfectly', it's a bit like saying, 'This has nothing else to teach me'...which is maybe not a healthy attitude. The Word of God is always bigger than us. It's always something we have to go reaching for.
I found this quote by Adoremus on this page "My sister was at a talk given by Frances Hogan over the weekend and Frances spoke about a conversation she had with the Lord (as Frances Hogan does!). She asked him whether Ireland still held a special place with him despite how far we have fallen away and he told her that in his crown there is a large beautiful emerald at the front that represents ireland, that is how special it is to him. My sister said Frances got emotional as she told this, and anyone familiar with Frances will know that that rarely happens." I see that I misunderstood your comment and thought the emerald was Frances herself - which is possible that she is one of the saints who will earn it for Ireland. I'm sure this would not occur to her however. I just love that woman, she's not just for you Irish but all of us too ;-)
That's it! I'm looking forward to reading more about her ~ I guess I could have expressed it more clearly, but she does seem to be a "gem" in her own right ~~
