"Saint Bellarmine Secrets Pursuit To Holiness. . ."

Saint Bellarmine had a secret to his holiness. This great scholar through prayer and extensive research learned these secrets the hard way. Here at Saint Bellarmine Blogspot we will unveil these mysteries to the universe.

So, do you know that one of St. Bellarmine's hidden secrets to reach the highest peaks of holiness is. . .

Well, what do you think?

It actually isn't a hidden secret at all. Righteous Kings did this publicly in the Old Testament. Saint Robert Bellarmine mastered it imitating the lives of the saints.

Heck, King David did this secret so well that drunkards and gate keepers ruthlessly ridiculed him through song for doing it. That's' kinda odd don't ya think? Or is it?

We are not talking about prayer, or alms giving or "kumbya love." Nope.

What is it? ? ?

Well, for one it is not a secret. A better way to say it would be "one of the most rejected keys to holiness. . . " Why? Why is something that was practiced in the Old Testament, then shown to us by Jesus Christ Himself and we also have shining examples in the lives of the saint's like St. Bellarmine, St. Ignatius, St. John Vianney, etc . . . be a secret or worse yet rejected by the Catholic faithful?

SIMPLE

Let me answer by asking you a question. Did you notice the word that comes after the adjective highest in the second paragraph? Yeap, that's right, PEAK! If I recall correctly, to climb a mountain and reach the peak takes a lot of sacrifice, hard work and suffering. Those words make people cringe.

Hmmm? Jesus climbed a peak, didn't He? A little peak called Golgotha.

Do you remember how many followed Him?

So, this not so secret, secret; is so little known because it is not glamourous. It is not understood. It's only taught during Lent (hint, hint). It requires self-discipline and self-sacrifice. It requires work (and that is a four letter word).

This secret is called FASTING, a form of penance.

And St. Robert Bellarmine, like St. Paul before him, bummeled his body in order to subdue. And the fruit of this sacrifice is everlasting.

In our next Saint Robert Bellarmine BlogSpot we will dive deeper into fasting and unlock the mystery known as fasting.

PEACE
Want More Little Known Secrets and Controversies
About St. Robert Bellarmine? Click HERE!

Your Catholic Sunday Homily - July 29th

The following is Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute:


From the Desk of Father Mark,

My Dear People,

Do You Hunger For Jesus?

Everyone hungers for God! Not everyone seeks God to satisfy their "hunger" however. Jesus knew that only the Lord can fill us up. When His Disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. he told them to address God as Father. In today's Gospel, we learn how to reach out to God Our Father in Heaven. Luke tells us that Jesus went to a certain place to pray. Afterwards, He instructed His Apostles to do the same.

Jesus told them when you pray, say Our Father who art in Heaven. Beg for God's Kingdom to come into your life. Ask the Lord for what you need to sustain His Kingdom in you. Go to confession often; then forgive others as God has forgiven you. Pray that God not put us to the test. Beg God to protect you from all harm and evil. God will provide in abundance for our needs. He will not satisfy all of our "wants". All must be done in trust and great humility. That is the most difficult task of all...surrendering ourselves to the Father. When we do so, we will never be the same.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,

Fr. Mark with your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute

Your Catholic Sunday Homily

The following is Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute:
From the Desk of Father Mark,

July 22, 2007

My Dear People,

Martha, Martha, Martha . . .

How come I can't seem to pray? This is a question I have often been asked as a priest. If God loves us so much, and desires for us to be with Him in paradise, why does it seem He is so far away? The short answer is "original sin". Adam and Eve lost their perfect relationship with the Father, as a result of their own choice to abandon Him for Lucifer. We inherit that spiritual defect as children of Eve. The New Eve, Mary the Mother of God, restores that relationship for us most perfectly through Jesus Her Son.

When Jesus corrects Martha, and tells Martha that her sister Mary is seeking after "more important things" than housework, He does not belittle Martha, but raises her up. Mary's heart longed for what we long for in our own heart...union with Jesus. We may not fully recognize that need, but it is deeply rooted in all of God's children. Mary longed to learn from Jesus how to satisfy this desire in union with Him. Jesus continues to instruct both Mary and Martha on how to seek the "greater gifts". Many times we become so distracted by the everyday details of living our lives, that we often miss the opportunity to hunger for Our Lord. When you long for peace of mind and heart, seek Jesus first, as did Mary in our Gospel today. You will not be deprived of it!

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,

Fr. Mark with your Catholic Sunday Homily

"St. Robert Bellarmine Caused Great Division..."

It is true.

As Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, many people absolutely loathed this great saint. He caused great division among Catholics, non-Catholic and unbelievers.

Now The Shocking Truth Is Finally Revealed . . .

This division is why Cardinal Robert Bellarmine became a saint.

Why's that? Why would a God of peace and unity raise to the alter a Cardinal that brought so much discord and strong ill will?

Answer. Because the truth, when spoken in love and with authority, doesn't have a neutral effect. It either will draw you closer to God or farther away. This is were the division comes from. This especially true when preaching about faith and morals.

Do you want scriptural proof?

Matt.10

[34] "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
[35] For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
[36] and a man's foes will be those of his own household.

Heb.4

[12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Jesus Causing Division

Mark.7

[9] And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition!

How many times did Jesus share the truth that caused division? Was that a peaceful statement? Well, no it isn't. He is separating the wheat from the shaft.

Let me explain. The division is the separation of the Truth, Jesus Christ, and lies, Satan. It is this division that is good and holy in the eyes of the Lord. Does this make sense?

Do you cause "holy division?" Saint Bellarmine did.

Don't be afraid to share the Truth when it will cause division. Take Courage. God will give you the amour you need shield off flaming darts of the evil one.

When have you caused "holy division?" Share your comments below.

Peace

St. Innocent I, pray for us.

Want More Little Known Secrets and Controversies
About St. Robert Bellarmine? Click HERE!

Saint Robert Bellarmine Gallery 2

Here is the gallery of the great Cardinal Robert Bellarmine.

Did You Know? Cardinal Robert Bellarmine only had one Cardinal gown. He refused to get a new one. Even his under garment vestments were the same.

Yep, over 20 years with the same clothes.

Even though he loathed being Cardinal Bellarmine he excelled at his position.

Ironic don't you think that every picture has him as a Cardinal Bellarmine. . .








Which one do you like?

Post your comments here.

Want More Little Known Secrets and Controversies
About St. Robert Bellarmine? Click HERE!

More of Cardinal Bellarmine Gallery

Well I do have one picture of St. Robert Bellarmine, not as Cardinal Bellarmine, but Father Robert Bellarmine.







This last one is St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits.

I threw it in there as a reminder to pray for the Jesuits. Like me they need it. Don't you think. . .

St. Ignatius, pray for us.
St. Robert Bellarmine, pray for us.

Want More Little Known Secrets and Controversies
About St. Robert Bellarmine? Click HERE!

St. Robert Bellarmine, Scrutinized By A Fellow Jesuit

Like our beloved Saint Bellarmine, Father John A. Hardon, S.J., was a prolific writer causing quite the ruckus with many groups splintering from the teaching authority of the Catholic Church.

This detailed biography of St. Robert Bellarmine is my first choice for many reasons.

1. It is very thorough and complete.
2. It is original. Most web sites copied the same article or just paraphrased it.
3. Father Hardon is an excellent source for diving deeper into the Faith.

Here is an excerpt of the article:

". . . Cardinal Robert Bellarmine was naturally very brilliant. As a youth of seventeen, his teachers declared he was the best in the school in his studies and not far from heaven. At the age of eighteen, he entered the Society of Jesus and for the rest of his life was plagued with poor health. Because of his poor health, his superiors sent him from one city to another, and from one country to another, in the hope of restoring his health.

Because Cardinal Bellarmine was appointed to preach even before his ordination to the priesthood, everywhere he was sent he would preach. Robert Bellarmine was ordained in 1570 and appointed professor at the University of Louvain in Belgium where he lectured on the work of St. Thomas Aquinas. . . "

Here is the rest of the article. . .

Father Hardon Index

Enjoy


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About St. Robert Bellarmine's Blog

Good Day,

The purpose of Saint Robert Bellarmine's Blog is to share his life, spiritual writings, struggles, secrets and much more . . .

Did you know that even though St. Bellarmine is a Doctor of the Church most of his writings have been hidden for over 400 years. Many of his works are still in Latin.

This must change. It is time for St. Bellarmine's spiritual writings to arise from darkness.

Stay tuned as we go on an exciting adventure learning about this great Doctor of the Church.



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St. Robert Bellarmine life has to offer.