The seventh commandment requires respect for the universal destination and distribution of goods and the private ownership of them, as well as respect for persons, their property, and the integrity of creation. The Church also finds in this Commandment the basis for her social doctrine which involves the correct way of acting in economic, social and political life, the right and the duty of human labor, justice and solidarity among nations, and love for the poor.
READ MOREAlexandrina Maria da Costa was born on 30 March 1904 in Balasar, Portugal. She became paralyzed after jumping out of a window to preserve her purity from men who broke into her home. God helped her to see that suffering was her vocation and that she had a special call to be the Lord's "victim". From 1938 to 1942, Alexandrina lived the three-hour "passion" of Jesus every Friday, having received the mystical grace to live in body and soul Christ's suffering in his final hours. During these three hours, her paralysis was "overcome", and she would relive the Stations of the Cross, her movements and gestures accompanied by excruciating physical and spiritual pain. She was also diabolically assaulted and tormented with temptations against the faith and with injuries inflicted on her body.
READ MOREPope St. Gregory the Great was a direct eyewitness to this miracle. In the 6th century, it was customary to have the Eucharistic bread prepared by the parishioners. One Sunday, while celebrating the Sacred Mass in an ancient church dedicated to St. Peter, the Pope was distributing Communion and saw among the faithful in line, one of the women who had prepared the bread for the consecration laughing out loud.
READ MOREThe first and greatest Eucharistic Miracle of the Catholic Church occurred during the 8th century in the Church of St. Legontian in Lanciano, Italy, when a Basilian monk doubted Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist. After the consecration in Mass, the host was changed into live Flesh and the wine was changed into live Blood, which coagulated into five globules. The Flesh and the Blood can still be seen today. Various ecclesiastical investigations have been conducted since 1574. In the 1970’s, there was a scientific investigation by the scientist Professor Odoardo Linoli, eminent Professor in Anatomy and Pathological Histology and in Chemistry and Clinical Microscopy. He was assisted by Professor Ruggero Bertelli of the University of Siena. The results of their analyses are as follows:
READ MOREThey are immoral because they dissociate procreation from the act with which the spouses give themselves to each other and so introduce the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person. Furthermore, heterologous insemination and fertilization with the use of techniques that involve a person other than the married couple infringe upon the right of a child to be born of a father and mother known to him, bound to each other by marriage and having the exclusive right to become parents only through each another.
READ MOREThe custom of taking the Eucharist to prisoners and the sick became increasingly dangerous during the reign of Emperor Valerian, who was harshly persecuting Christians in the third century. One day, when the priest asked who in the congregation was prepared to take the Eucharist to the other brothers and sisters who were waiting for it, young Tarcisius stood up and asked to be sent. "My youth", Tarcisius said, "will be the best shield for the Eucharist". Convinced, the priest entrusted to him the precious Bread, saying: "Tarcisius, remember that a heavenly treasure has been entrusted to your weak hands. Avoid crowded streets and do not forget that holy things must never be thrown to dogs nor pearls to pigs. Will you guard the Sacred Mysteries faithfully and safely?". "I would die", Tarcisio answered with determination, "rather than let go of them".
READ MOREInsofar as it is bound to promote respect for the dignity of the person, civil authority should seek to create an environment conducive to the practice of chastity. It should also enact suitable legislation to prevent the spread of the grave offenses against chastity mentioned above, especially in order to protect minors and those who are the weakest members of society.
READ MOREThere are many means at one's disposal: the grace of God, the help of the sacraments, prayer, self-knowledge, the practice of an asceticism adapted to various situations, the exercise of the moral virtues, especially the virtue of temperance which seeks to have the passions guided by reason.
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