What is progress for Frederic? To build a better world for all, with effort and sacrifice. It is not a great program for a politician, but it is the only possible program for a Christian.
Frederic Ozanam
Charity Knows No Limits
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?
The Dangers that Haunt our Mission
If we had to summarize our mission and our priorities as followers of Vincent, Louise, Frederic, etc … in a few items, what would these be?
A Patron Saint to Imitate and Invoke • A Weekly reflection with Ozanam
A patron saint is not, in fact, a trivial insignia for a Society, such as a St. Denis or St. Nicholas for an inn. Nor is it an honorable name under which a good impression can be made before the religious world: it is a model that we must strive to live, as he himself...
Love is the Only Rule • A Weekly Reflection with Ozanam
The only rule to be considered for human actions is that of love: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God above all things, and thy neighbor as thyself"; magnificent law that recognizes three principles of human actions: —the infinite love of God, immense, without limits;...
Marriage and Equality of Spouses • A Weekly Reflection with Ozanam
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...
Accompany the Youth in their Faith Journey • A Weekly Reflection with Ozanam
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....
Let Us Put Our Faith Under the Shelter of Charity • A Weekly Reflection with Ozanam
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...
Let’s Take Care of the People • A Weekly Reflection with Ozanam
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...
Defending the Cause of the Proletariat • A Weekly Reflection with Ozanam
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...
Frederic Ozanam: Hope in the Future…But Working! • A Weekly Reflection with Ozanam
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...
Let’s Go to the Front Lines! • A Weekly Reflection with Ozanam
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...
