Always take care of the servants as much as of the masters, and of the workers as of the rich: that will be, in the...

by Javier F. Chento | January 11, 2021 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
Part three of four on Almsgiving…a reflection on a full article by Ozanam, which is among Frederic’s most outstanding.
by Javier F. Chento | October 19, 2020 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
Ozanam says, This [social] order rests on two virtues, justice and charity, Love and charity: are they the same? How do we try to promote justice?
by Javier F. Chento | December 31, 2018 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
It is important that we see in this primitive text of Ozanam the passion preserved throughout his life when defending his convictions.
by Javier F. Chento | December 24, 2018 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
That bond, God that unites family in distance, comforts Frederic, gives him “strength and courage.” Did you wish family and friends a Merry Christmas?
by Javier F. Chento | Nov 26, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Always take care of the servants as much as of the masters, and of the workers as of the rich: that will be, in the...
by Javier F. Chento | Nov 19, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Truth has no need of me, but I do need Truth. The Cause of Christian Science, the Cause of Faith, is deep in the roots...
by Javier F. Chento | Nov 12, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Mr. Bailly [...] told me about all the tribulations that the Society [of Saint Vincent de Paul] had to suffer on the...
by Javier F. Chento | Jun 25, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
In Christianity, the primary purpose of marriage is not the birth of children-- St. Augustine says it aptly, and it is also the doctrine of Tertullian, who has been called "the father of Latin Christianity" and "the founder of Western theology." The main purpose of...
by Javier F. Chento | Jun 11, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
You have accustomed us to look upon you as the meeting point, the counselor and the friend of the young Christians; your past goodness has given us the right to count on your future goodness; those you have had with me make me expect similar ones for my friends....
by Javier F. Chento | Jun 4, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
At that time, a number of philosophical and heterodox doctrines were stirring around us, and we felt the desire and need to strengthen our faith amid the attacks that came from the various schools of false science. Some of our young friends were materialistic; some...
by Javier F. Chento | May 28, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
When I say "Let us go over to the barbarians,"Â I am asking that we do as Pope [Pius IX], that we [...] deal with the people, who have too many needs and few rights, who rightly demand a greater part in public affairs, guarantees for work and against the misery, that...
by Javier F. Chento | May 7, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
It's time to share and retrieve our good; I mean: the old and popular ideas of justice, charity, fraternity. It's time to show that we can defend the cause of the proletariat, engage in relief classes suffering, and pursue the abolition of pauperism, without agreeing...
by Javier F. Chento | Apr 30, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
I believe in the progress of Christian times. I do not fear the falls and the gaps which may interrupt it: the chilly nights which follow the hot days do not prevent the summer from following its course and ripening its fruits. [.] When the barbarians levelled the...
by Javier F. Chento | Apr 23, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
In those times we found ourselves invaded by a avalanche of heterodox doctrines and philosophies that were confronting us all around, and we felt the need to strengthen our faith in the midst of the assaults made upon it by the various false systems of knowledge. Some...
by Javier F. Chento | Apr 16, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
God did not make the poor. […] It is human liberty that makes the poor. […] We have put crushing taxes on salt, meat, and all necessaries of life. […] When it was a question of crushing out the last embers of the insurrection, there was no need of delays and...
by Javier F. Chento | Mar 19, 2018 | Formation, Reflections
Help is humiliating when it appeals to men from below, taking heed of their material wants only, paying no attention but to those of the flesh, to the cry of hunger and cold, to what excites pity, to what one succors even in the beasts. [...] It humiliates when there...