Saint Cajetan lived in Rome in the early 1500s. He went to Venice and then returned to Rome to found the order of the Theatines.

Saint Teresa of Avila wrote many letters, which are collected here. Her correspondence was most extensive, including bishops, archbishops, kings, ladies of rank, gentlemen of the world, abbots, priors, nuncios, her confessors, her brothers and sisters, rectors of colleges, fathers provincial of the Society of Jesus, nuns and superiors of her convents and monasteries, learned doctors of different religious orders, and even most eminent saints, such as .St. Peter of Alcantara, St. Francis Borgia, St. John of the Cross, &c. In the Letters of St. Teresa it seems to me that all her admirable endowments, both of nature and of grace, can be more clearly discovered than in any of her other works. When we peruse her Life, or The Interior Castle, one is at first inclined to imagine that the Saint was altogether unearthly, unfit for the cares and troubles of life that all her time must have been spent in holding sweet converse with her Beloved, and sighing for the hour when she should be united with Him for ever, and that visions and raptures must have engrossed all the powers of her soul. Others, again, might fancy that the Saint must have been very grave, austere, solemn, exceedingly scrupulous, and given to melancholy. Some might also be inclined to believe that she was quite an enthusiast, led away by the ardent temperament of her character, or the vagaries of an unsteady imagination. But how quickly are such erroneous ideas scattered, when we read her admirable Letters. They soon convince us that the Saint possessed what we call common sense" in a most remarkable manner that so fur from being an enthusiast, she was endowed with a solidity of judgment, and a prudence and sweetness in all her actions, which won the admiration of everyone; that she was so careful to guard against melancholy, as never to allow any one to enter the Order who seemed to be the least infected with it. With regard to herself, we shall see, by perusing her Letters, that she was cheerfulness itself, even in the midst of her greatest trials and afflictions, and withal exceedingly witty, lively, and jocose; indeed, her naivetr is one of the greatest charms of her Letters. These will show us, too, that her raptures and visions did not, in the least, interfere with her ordinary duties, for she was an excellent and most admirable woman of business. Considering her numerous labours, duties, journeys, sicknesses, and infirmities, is it not surprising how she could find time to carry on such an extensive correspondence? Juan de Palafox, the celebrated bishop of Osma, remarks, "that it was principally by her Letters the Saint was enabled to effect the reform of the Carmelite Order."

The doctrine of hell is one of the four last things. Father Schouppe gives a terrifying presentation of this doctrine that will inspire people to avoid this horrible place and to save their soul. We need to study this truth carefully so that we realize just how important it is to become a Saint. Let us consider this story: The following incident happened in 1837. A young under-lieutenant, being in Paris, entered the Church of the Assumption, near the Toilers, and saw a priest kneeling near a confessional. As he made religion the habitual subject of his jokes, he wished to go to confession to while away the time, and went into the confessional. "Monsieur l'abbe," he said, "would you be good enough to hear my confession?" "Willingly my son; confess unrestrained." "But I must first say that I am a rather unique kind of a sinner." "No matter; the sacrament of penance has been instituted for all sinners." "But I am not very much of a believer in religious matters." "You believe more than you think." "Believe? I? I am a regular scoffer." The confessor saw with whom he had to deal, and that there was some mystification. He replied, smiling: "You are a regular scoffer? Are you then making fun of me too?" The pretended penitent smiled in like manner. "Listen," the priest went on, "what you have just done here is not serious. Let us leave confession aside; and, if you please, have a little chat. I like military people greatly; and, then, you have the appearance of a good, amiable youth. Tell me, what is your rank?" "Under-lieutenant." "Will you remain an under-lieutenant long?" "Two, three, perhaps four years." "And after?" "I shall hope to become a lieutenant?" "And after?" "I hope to become a captain." "And after?" "Lieutenant-colonel?" "How old will you be then?" "Forty to forty-five years." "And after that?" "I shall become a brigadier general." "And after?" "If I rise higher, I shall be general of a division." "And after?" "After there is nothing more except the Marshal's baton; but my pretensions do not reach so high." "Well and good. But do you intend to get married?" "Yes, when I shall be a superior officer." "Well There you are married; a superior officer, a general, perhaps even a French marshal, who knows? And after?" "After? Upon my word, I do not know what will be after." "See, how strange it is " said the abbe. Then, in a tone of voice that grew more sober: "You know all that shall happen up to that point, and you do not know what will be after. Well, I know, and I am going to tell you, After, you shall die, be judged, and, if you continue to live as you do, you shall be damned, you shall go and burn in hell; that is what will be after." As the under-lieutenant, dispirited at this conclusion, seemed anxious to steal away: "One moment, sir," said the abbe. "You are a man of honor. So am I. Agree that you have offended me, and owe me an apology. It will be simple. For eight days, before retiring to rest, you will say: 'One day I shall die; but I laugh at the idea. After my death I shall be judged; but I laugh at the idea. After my judgment, I shall be damned; but I laugh at the idea. I shall burn forever in hell; but I laugh at the idea ' That is all. But you are going to give me your word of honor not to neglect it, eh?" More and more wearied, and wishing, at any price, to extricate himself from this false step, the under-lieutenant made the promise. In the evening, his word being given, he began to carry out his promise. "I shall die," he says. "I shall be judged." He had not the courage to add: "I laugh at the idea." The week had not passed before he returned to the Church of the Assumption, made his confession seriously, and came out of the confessional his face bathed with tears, and with joy in his heart.

Wherefore in our country, where aspirants to the priesthood must make a goodly part of their training in colleges where the influence is worldly rather than ecclesiastical, it is the exception that has anything but a hazy notion of his calling. In fact it is not of rare occurrence that the student learns of Tonsure and the character of the clerical state for the first time only after entering the seminary. The development of a true clerical spirit is, however, of absolute necessity, and often this means a radical change. Anything that will help to this is certainly invaluable. This little book has a proven efficacy in this work; for much depends on the preparation made for each successive ordination. The aspirant who has a good understanding of each Order he receives and is imbued with its spirit, is blessed indeed. This book treats exhaustively of the first step in the clerical career, both as to instruction and meditation, being the ripe frui t of a rich experience. To be thoroughly impressed and imbued with the truths of faith, prayer is indispensable. They must be reflected upon at leisure, the reasons seriously weighed, the consequences foreseen as far as possible, firm and definite resolutions as to conformity of thought and act must be taken, and finally fervent aspirations made in order to bring down upon one's self the graces of Heaven, without which it is impossible to strive for or maintain the perfection of the clerical life. For if it is profitable to study and read, still more profitable is it to have recourse to God, to invoke His Holy Spirit, and to render one's self worthy of His communications. Pure and humble souls gain more through prayer than study. A ray of God's illuminating grace which brings a truth home to our souls, a word of that interior voice, feebly uttered perhaps, but which comes from heaven to our groping hearts, or a pious emotion making us to forget self and hasten to God, gives us more light and strength and leads us farther on the road to sanctification than all the tomes and treatises written.

Pope Pius XI wrote as follows in the Encyclical Letter, Divini Redemptoris: "For them (the peoples of the Soviet Union) We cherish the wannest paternal affection. We are well aware that not a few of them groan beneath the yoke imposed on them by men who in very large part are strangers to the real interests of the country. We recognise that many others were deceived by fal1acious hopes. We blame only the system with its authors and abettors who considered Russia the best field for experimenting with a plan elaborated years ago, and who from there continue to spread it from one end of the world to the other." In this pamphlet, I have outlined some of the historical evidence which goes to prove that those "strangers to the real interests of Russia," who are experimenting with this Marxian plan elaborated years ago, are members of the Jewish nation, and that Communism is the latest and, up to the present, the most decadent materialistic phase of the opposition of that nation to the Supernatural Messias.

You have asked me, brother Godfrey, to expand and put in writing the substance of the addresses 'On the Degrees of Humility which I had delivered to the brethren. I admit that, anxious as I was to give to this request of yours the serious answer that it deserved, I was doubtful whether I could comply with it. For with the evangelist's warning in my mind, I did not venture to begin the work until I had sat down and calculated whether my resources were sufficient for its completion. Then when love had cast out the fear that I had entertained of ridicule for failure to complete my work, it was replaced by misgiving of a different kind; for I was apprehensive of greater danger from the credit that might attend success than of the disgrace that might attach to failure. So I found myself, as it were, at the parting of the ways indicated respectively by affection and by fear; and I was long in doubt as to which was the safer choice. For I was afraid that if I said anything worth saying about humility. I might myself be found wanting in that virtue, whereas if, on grounds of modesty, I refused to speak, I might fail in usefulness. And I saw that, though neither of these courses is free from peril, I should be obliged to take one or the other. So I have thought it better to give you the benefit of anything that I can say, than to seek personal safety in the harbour of silence. And I earnestly trust that, if I am fortunate enough to say anything which commends itself to you, I may have in your prayers a safeguard against pride, whereas ifas is more likely-I produce nothing worthy of your attention, there will be no possible cause for conceit. THE TWELVE DEGREES OF PRIDE TAKEN DOWNWARDS 1. Curiosity, when a man allows his sight and other senses to stray after things. which do not concern him. 2. An unbalanced state of mind, showing itself in talk unseasonably joyous and sad. 3. Silly merriment, exhibited in too frequent laughter. 4. Conceit, expressed in much talking. 5. Eccentricity-attaohing exaggerated importance to one's own conduct. 6. Self-assertion-holding oneself to be more pious than others. 7. Presumption-readiness to undertake anything. 8. Defence of wrong-doing. 9. Unreal confession-detected when severe penance is imposed. 10. Rebellion against the rules and the brethren. 11. Liberty to sin. 12. Habitual transgression.

The first lecture, which he has entitled the war of Antichrist with the Church and Christian Civilization, is intended to treat, in as brief space as possible, the whole question of Secret, Atheistic Organization, its origin, its nature, its history in the last century and in this, and its unity of satanic purpose in a wonderful diversity of forms. To do this with effect, it was necessary to go over a large area of ground, and to touch upon a great variety of topics. The writer was conscious that much of this ground and many of these topics would be very much better known to a large n umber of his readers than to himself. Nearly every matter he had to speak about had been already very frequently handled ably and exhaustively in our Catholic revews, magazines and newspapers. But notwithstanding this fact, very few, if any, attempts have been made in our language to treat the subject as a whole. Many articles which he has seen, proposed to treat some one feature only of the A theistic conspiracy-for example, Freemasonry; or the Infidel war upon COhristian education and Christian InstItutions; or the Revolution in Italy; or the efforts of sectaries against the Temporal Power of the Pope, and ag inst the welfare of Christian States generally. Several writers appeared to assume as known that which was really unknown to very many; and few touched at all upon the fact-a fact, no doubt, difficult to prove from the strict and ably guarded secrecy which protects it-of the supreme direction given to the universality of secret societies from a guiding, governing, and even to the rank and file of the members of the secret societies themselves-unknown and invisible junta ceaselessly sitting in dark conclave and guiding the whole mass of the secret societies of the world. The Holy Father, in his late celebrated Bull, Humanum Genus, has, therefore, manifested his desire that the bishops, the clergy, and even the laity of the Church should join in exposing Freemasonry and other such societies. But without a proper knowledge of the conspiracy as a whole that cannot be done. The author attempts to give such knowledge; but he hopes that his efforts may be improved upon by others more able than himself, and that he may have the happiness before long of seeing some compendium of the whole subject in English which might form a text book for seminarists and others to whom the future fate of the people of God in dangerous days is to be committed.

A VERY few words, it is trusted, will suffice to put the reader in possession of the object of the present work, and also of the method pursued in order to attain that object. It has been asserted, that "THE STATUTES OF THE FOURTH GBNERAL COUNCIL OF LATERAN" were first published, as such, in the year 1538, just three hundred and twenty three years after the said Council was held; the object of the following sheets is to shew that these Statutes were well known, and. Recognized, AS "STATUTES OF THE FOURTH GENERAL COUNCIL OF LATERAN," by successive Councils and Synods, from the year 1223 down to the Council of Trent, which com. menced its sessions in the year 1545, and which fully recognizes the Statutes in question. Such is the object of the present work, and in order to attain that object, the following method has been pursued. In fairness to those who have taken a different view of the case, the witnesses, upon whose testimony they rely for proof that the Council passed no acts at all, have been brought forward, and allowed to tell their own story; the reader will, probably, be of opinion that, instead of invalidating the authenticity and genuineness of the Statutes in question, these witnesses bear no slight testimony in their favour, and that a cross examination of their evidence was quite unnecessary. The evidence of Matthew Paris can only be made available, to discredit the Canons of the Fourth General Council of Lateran, by omitting his statement that the Canons seemed pleasing to some, and burdensome to others of the Fathers assembled in Council; and so also with regard to the testimony of Platina and Nauclerus, from which a very important qualification must be left out altogether; Du Pin is strongly in favour of the Canons, and Collier's evidence is as clear as evidence can be he states, and very truly, that the Mazarine copy of the Canons is coeval with the Council in which statement he is borne out by. Labbe and Cossart, no incompetent judges in this matter. Collier is particularly mentioned as repudiating. the THIRD CANON, and this merely on account of an unguarded expression, respecting its not being found in the Mazarine copy that the expression was unguarded, the reader will easily perceive, by inspecting the Canon itself, which is given as it stands in the work of Labbe and Cossart; so far, however, was Collier from repudiating it, that it is one of the Canons which he selects to lay before his readers, and he is, moreover, at some pains to explain its several clauses. Rigordus, who has been mentioned as ascribing the Canons to Innocent rather than to the Council, says nothing about the matter at all.