Marmion - Charity for neighbor: avoid judging others

Lessons from the letters of spiritual direction of Blessed Columba Marmion

The love of God bears within it the love of neighbor. The first commandment is to love God with our whole soul, with our whole mind,  with our whole heart and with our whole strength. The second commandment is similar to the first: “You are to love your neighbor as yourself.” Therefore, the life of union with God implies , as a necessary consequence, love toward our neighbor.

In Dom Marmion’s correspondence, few pages are to be found relating to fraternal charity, but these deserve to be borne in mind; we come across more than one characterized by that  by that fine psychology full of truth and of that luminous clearness which are part of the charms of his teaching: 

Advent: time of faithfulness. Faithfulness: proof of love

In order not to run the risk of being illusory, love must be transformed into works and generously command all the activity of the soul. 

Recalling the words of Jesus: If you love me, observe my commandments” (Jn. 14:15). Dom Marmion affirms that “Faithfulness is the only touchstone of true love.”

Pilgrimages in Ireland in honor of St. Paul

Upon the request of our friends in the St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association, we are posting the following announcements:

The first pilgrimage will be to Dublin on Saturday, 24th January, 2009, where Mass will be celebrated in the Gregorian Rite at 11 a.m. in St. Paul's Church on Arran Quay on the banks of the River Liffey. Blessed Columba Marmion was baptised in this Church, which was home for many years to the Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Dublin.

The second pilgrimage will be to Kilcock, Co. Kildare, on Saturday, 21st March, 2009, where Mass will be celebrated in the Gregorian Rite in St. Coca's Church. Kilcock, on the bank of the Royal Canal, stands upon the site of the foundation of St. Coca, another ourstanding lady Saint of Kildare, of whom more in June about the time of her feastday.

The third confirmed pilgrimage is to the village of Vicarstown, Co. Laois, on Saturday, 25th April, 2009, where Mass will be celebrated in the Gregorian Rite at 11 a.m. in the Church of the Assumption. Vicarstown lies on the banks of the Grand Canal, near the ancient monastic settlement of Clonenagh, home of St. Fintan, known as the Father of Irish Monks, and St. Aengus the Culdee, author of the Felire and co-author with Maelruain of the Martyrology of Tallaght.