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I will not dwell long on this point. You know that all we Catholics acknowledge the Pope as Vicar of Our Lord. The universal Church acknowledged him lately at Trent, when she addressed herself to him for confirmation of what she had resolved, and when she received his deputies as the ordinary and legitimate presiding body of 'the Council. I should lose time also [to prove that] you have no visible head; you admit it. You have a supreme Consistory, like those of Berne, Geneva, Zurich and the rest, which depend on no other. You are so far from consenting...

CHAPTER II. THAT THE CHURCH IS AN INFALLIBLE GUIDE FOR OUR FAITH. THAT THE TRUE CHURCH IS VISIBLE. DEFINITION OF THE CHURCH. Now is it not reasonable that no private individual should attribute to himself this infallible judgment on the interpretation or explanation of the Holy Word? -otherwise, where should we be? Who would be willing to submit to the yoke of a private individual? Why of one rather than of another? Let him talk as much as he will of analogy, of enthusiasm, of the Lord, of the Spirit,-all this shall never so bind my understanding as that, if...

Once when Absalom wished to form a faction against his good father, he sat in the way near the gate, and said to all who went by: ”There is no man appointed by the king to hear thee…O that they would make me judge over the land, that all that have business might come to me, and I might do them justice.(2 Kings xv.). Thus did he undermine the loyalty of the Israelites. But how many Absaloms have there been in our age, who, to seduce and distract the people from obedience to the Church, and to lead Christians into...

Image above taken from In the Sight of Angels blog (The following is excerpted from St. Francis de Sales's sermon for the Feast of the Circumcision, 1 January 1622, as printed in "The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales For Advent and Christmas," published by TAN Books.) "Now, how are we to pronounce the sacred name of Jesus so that it may be beneficial and profitable to us?...This name certainly ought not be pronounced carelessly or thoughtlessly. It is not enough to be aware that is is a two-syllable word, nor even less to speak it merely with the mouth....

Statue of St. Francis de Sales in the parish of the same name in New York City, taken from Catholic Churches of Manhattan "O my Jesus! fill our hears with the sacred balm of thy Holy Name, that so the sweetness of its fragrance may penetrate our senses, and perfume our every action. But that our hearts may be capable of receiving this sweetness, they must be circumcised: take, therefore, from them whatever could displease thy divine sight. O glorious Name! named by the heavenly Father from all eternity, be thou for ever written on our souls; that as thou,...

TREATISE ON THE LOVE OF GOD Book II, Chapter IV By St Francis de Sales Book II. The History Of The Generation And Heavenly Birth Of Divine Love. Ch 4. Of The Supernatural Providence Which God Uses Towards Reasonable Creatures. All God's works are ordained to the salvation of men and angels; and the order of his providence is this, as far as, by attention to the Holy Scriptures and the doctrine of the Fathers, we are able to discover and our weakness permits us to describe it. God knew from all eternity that he could make an innumerable multitude...

"'Judge not, that you may not be judged' were our Saviour's words. Rash judgements are most displeasing to God. Men's judgements are rash, because we are not one other's judges but usurp our Lord's right. But it is necessary to judge ourselves. St. Paul says, 'If we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged' (1 Cor. 11:31). We must ask why we make rash judgements. Some of us are naturally bitter and harsh, and we could do with sound spiritual advice, because this imperfection is hard to overcome. Some judge harshly out of pride, putting themselves up by...

The Virtues of St. Joseph "All virtues and perfections were then reflected absolutely in St. Joseph, so that it almost seemed as if he were as perfect and possessed all virtues in as high a degree as the glorious Virgin our Mistress." Conf XIX, On the Virtues of St. Joseph, p. 368 "Certainly St. Joseph is most justly said to resemble the palm (tree), always constant, persevering, strong, and valiant. There is a great difference between these four virtues. We call a man constant when he remains firm, and prepared to suffer the assaults of the enemy, without surprise or...