Christian brethren, if there be times in store for the already afflicted Church of Jesus Christ, in the midst of which, with fear and trembling, we, her children, are to work out our salvation, to whom can we turn with more confidence than to His "divine" Mother whom the Church has never invoked in vain...
But what will prayer, alms, fasting, even the life-giving sacraments avail, if we listen not to the warning of Our Savior; if we do not avoid the occasions of sin? "He that loves the danger shall perish in it" (Eccl 3:27) is a maxim of Our Redeemer which no change of fashion can affect; a gracious admonition which should never be absent from our thoughts; above all in times and circumstances like the present. Fly, therefore, from all evil company...
Frequent the church and not the taverns. Banish from your homes dangerous books, the bane of purity in every age, the scourge of modern society. Watch over the children whom God has confided to you...
And since the Church in the United States has solemnly chosen the Mother of Our Lord as its special patroness and protector, setting apart the Feast of her Immaculate Conception to be our national festival, ...first devoutly learn, and then teach your children from their earliest ears, to cultivate true, filial piety towards her, letting no day pass without respecting the Archangel's salutation.
St. John Neumann
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