Devotion to Our Lady |
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A special lover of the Holy Name was St. Bernard, who speaks of it in most glowing terms in many of his sermons. But the greatest promoters of this devotion were St. Bernardine of Siena and St. John Capistran. They carried with them on their missions in the turbulent cities of Italy a copy of the monogram of the Holy Name, surrounded by rays, painted on a wooden tablet. The emblem or monogram representing the Holy Name of Jesus consists of the three letters: IHS. Wherever they blessed the sick with this monogram, it produced great miracles. At the close of their sermons they exhibited this emblem to the faithful and asked them to prostrate themselves, to adore the Redeemer of mankind. They recommended their hearers to have the monogram of Jesus placed over the gates of their cities and above the doors of their dwelling (cf. Seeberger, “Key to the Spiritual Treasures”, 1897, 102). Because the manner in which St. Bernardine preached this devotion was new, he was accused by his enemies, and brought before the tribunal of Pope Martin V. But St. John Capistran defended his master so successfully that the pope not only permitted the worship of the Holy Name, but also assisted at a procession in which the holy monogram was carried. The tablet used by St. Bernardine is venerated at Santa Maria in Ara Coeli at Rome.
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Nigeria (94%)
Kenya (73%) Lebanon (69%) Philippines (56%) Colombia (54%) Poland (52%) Ecuador (50%) Bosnia and Herzegovina (48%) |
Mexico (47%)
Nicaragua (45%) Bolivia (42%), Slovakia (40%) Italy (34%) Peru (33%) Venezuela (30%) Albania (29%) |
Spain (27%)
Croatia (27%) New Zealand (25%) United Kingdom (25%) Hungary (24%) Slovenia (24%) Uruguay (23%) Australia (21%) |
Argentina (21%)
Portugal (20%) Czech Republic (20%) United States (20%) Austria (17%) Lithuania (16%) Germany (14%) Canada (14%) |
Ireland (14%)
Latvia (11%) Switzerland (11%) Brazil (8%) France (8%) Netherlands (7%) |
Evidence for the vast majority of US Catholics being in a spiritually comatose state is furnished by the overwhelming non-Catholic views held by Catholics today. Less than 10% of Catholics say that their Catholic Faith is “the most important part” of their life. Only 55% of Catholic say that they pray daily.
As regards marriage, 20% or 1 in 5 Catholic marriages end in divorce. Other surveys claim that anywhere from 28% to 34% of Catholics who have ever married have ended up in a divorce. Over 50% of U.S. Catholics say that living with a romantic partner outside of marriage, and remarrying after a divorce without an annulment, are not sins. Nearly 75% of Catholics in the United States are not opposed to couples cohabiting before marriage, even if they choose not marry eventually, despite the Church’s moral teaching. The number of couples who choose to live together without marriage has risen dramatically in the past fifty years, from near zero to 60%. For Catholics the percentage is almost 50%. And about four-in-ten Catholics (39%) say homosexual behavior is not a sin. Roughly a third of Catholics who attend Mass weekly (34%) say that children being raised by a same-sex couple is acceptable and as good as any other arrangement. More than half of U.S. Catholics (56%) said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Only 8% say contraception is morally wrong, with 89% say it was either morally acceptable or not a moral issue at all. Over 20 years ago, The National Survey of Youth and Religion (NSYR), conducted between July 2002 and April 2003, examined the religious, family and social lives of adolescents. Among the questions teenagers were asked was this: “Do you think that people should wait to have sex until they are married?” Only 51% of Roman Catholic teens said yes. Already back in 1995, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that only about half of high-school-age teens are still virgins―that was nearly 30 years ago! What is the case today? As Our Lady of Good Success warned: “Like a filthy ocean, impurity will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty! There will be almost no virgin souls in the world! Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women!” |
Some typical average costs for common surgeries are:
Heart valve replacement: $170,000 Heart bypass: $123,000 Spinal fusion: $110,000 Hip replacement: $40,364 Knee replacement: $35,000 Angioplasty: $28,200 Hip resurfacing: $28,000 Gastric bypass: $25,000 Cornea: $17,500 Gastric sleeve: $16,000 |
Cost of one-year’s supply of the following medications/drugs:
Myalept $1,260,000 Zokinvy $1,070,000 Danyelza $1,010,000 Kimmtrak $975,520 Folotyn $842,585 Actimmune $819,000 Soliris $764,000 Brineura $755,898 Blincyto $754,720 Ravicti $695,970 |