addendum to Anthony Mary Claret

November 1, 2008
[0930 – 1111]
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Anthony Mary Claret quotes

All Saints Day. Used to be a Holy Day of Obligation. A worthy way to spend the day after all hallows eve!  More than the usual Saturday Morning group at mass this morning. And we got to sing as part of our celebration…. I recommend the day’s readings to you.

I was editing the Anthony Mary Claret entry for posting and got caught up in meditating on the following sections in particular - - connected to today’s holyday, connected to today, connected to us…. Read the quotes through yourself, pause to meditate on any of the messages you receive….

“At any cost I must discharge the ministry I have received from God Our Lord, which is to preach the Gospel... I have no worldly end in view, but... that God may be known, loved and served by all the world... that sins and offenses against Him may be hindered as much as possible... Another thing that spurs me on to preach ceaselessly is the thought of the multitude of souls which fall in the depths of hell... ….If you had a beloved brother who, sick and in the throes of delirium, were to insult you with all the angry words imaginable, would you abandon him? I am certain you wouldn't. You would have even more compassion for him, do your utmost for his speedy recovery. This is how I feel in regard to sinners. …. You may say the sinner doesn't think of hell, nor even believe in it. So much the worse for him. Do you by chance think he will escape condemnation because of his unbelief? Truth is independent of belief... I must warn sinners and make them see the precipice which leads to the unquenchable fires of hell, for they will surely go there if they do not amend their ways.”

“Woe to me if I do not preach and warn them, for I would be held responsible for their condemnation…”

“How often I pray, with St. Catherine of Siena: 'O my God, grant me a place by the gates of hell, that I may stop those who enter there saying: Where are you going, unhappy one? Back, go back! Make a good confession. Save your soul. Don't come here to be lost for all eternity!"



Father Claret explains the necessity of poverty …. “Noticing that such abnegation edified everyone and made a deep impression, I did all in my power to continue the practice."


The pastor in the city reported to the bishop: “This town has never seen the like of it. The bitterest of enemies have made peace. Scandals, both public and private, have been terminated, and amends made. Broken marriages have been mended. Restitutions have been made… Because no one can withstand the fire of his preaching, the kindness and liveliness of his manner, his forceful reproofs... and the impact of his reasoning.”



Now, for my feeloughts….


“At any cost I must discharge the ministry I have received from God Our Lord,

This is a mouthful and a half! I restarted my meditations on this sentence fragment at several spots in his declaration. This is not a linear expression. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, in this one blurb, jumps with both feet into the core of our existence.

God. Each starting point starts with God: our belief in God; our relationship with God; who He is to us and who we are to Him. Who is God to you? How do you know God? In the very Biblical sense  ! To daily get to know the unknowable [not unlike a spouse]. So many ways to know God; so many role relationships with Him – infinite I suppose [not unlike a spouse, either]

God our Lord. Note the pronoun! In writing I’d say that verbs are the most important part of speech. In relationships, it’s pronouns. Our Lord. By being God’s children, we necessarily have a familial, communal relationship with Him, He is Ours…. Lord? A touch of reality about who we are vis a vis God.

God gave Anthony Mary Claret [and, us] his ministry, his vocation. Vocation is not something we make up for ourselves. We discern this precious gift from God. It is imperative, for us to be all that we can and should be, for us to fulfill our selves, to maximize our relationship with God, it is imperative for us to do the right thing with this special gift. In the beginning, we have a responsibility to learn how to discern God’s will for us. And before that, to recognize the reason for our creation – to knowloveserve God in this world so that we will be with Him forever in heaven. And before that, to acknowledge our creatureness – that God did create us, gave us life, infused into us our purpose…..

I must discharge the ministry. Given our relationship with God. [think about this also vis a vis spouse.] God is giving. And for each and every gift, we have a responsibility, a duty, a must do. For each talent. For each resource. For each grace. For each ministry we have a duty to God, to our relationship with God, to fulfill that Ministry, to optimize that gift, as with all other gifts. Must. There is the responsibility to the giver to do with the gift what it is meant for. Must!

At any cost, I must discharge the ministry. No matter what. At any cost. Our relationship with God requires us to do our ministry, to fulfill our vocation, at any cost. This is not a negotiable experience; I’ll do my ministry under certain conditions. [Marriage is a vocation. It is a ministry that God gives you (maybe). Therefore, once you discern it is your vocation, you Must live it out, at any cost, no matter what, from the beginning to the end, the very end. The same is true of your other ministries. The other time, talents, treasures that God has given to you. Each of the roles and responsibilities God has given to you. At any cost. Do it! No matter what….




“At any cost I must discharge the ministry I have received from God Our Lord, which is to preach the Gospel...

I suggest to you that each of us has a ministry to preach the Gospel – especially those of us who are baptized and confirmed. To preach the Gospel as model for Catholicity. To preach the Gospel in word – to family, within the Church, for the community of friends and neighbors, all Gentiles and Jews…. Our sacraments of initiation obligate us to fulfill those blessings in our preaching the Gospel….





I have no worldly end in view, but... that God may be known, loved and served by all the world... that sins and offenses against Him may be hindered as much as possible...

Not only do we have our personal obligation to knowloveserve God, we have also been created to bring all others to do the same --- that is one essential ingredient in any sacred, loving relationship [i.e. every one], especially with spouse. Just imagine one of your duties to those you love, and it’s a greater duty the more you love the person, is to bring them, lead them, help them, facilitate them to knowloveserve God. Seeing that as your spousal duty, infused in every interaction, will increase the holiness and positiveness of your marriage.

Another end that Anthony Mary Claret sees in his relationship with every single person is to prevent sins and offenses against God. First, help each person to do what is right and good, to knowloveserve. Also, and equally necessary, we are to help others not do those things that will land them in hell [or even purgatory]. These are two criteria for assessing how well we personally behave with others.




Another thing that spurs me on to preach ceaselessly is the thought of the multitude of souls which fall in the depths of hell...

We know that this possibility scared the heebie jeebies outta the young boy Anthony Claret. This pious boy could not stand to see people suffer – to be sick, to be injured, to be hungry, to be in prison, to suffer. Once this boy began to get an inkling of what hell is, he expanded his humanist concern for others into a personal, holy love for each and every person. One of our duties to those whom we love [and to those who love us], is to do no harm; moreso, to be sure no harm comes to them. Protect and defend them not only from the hurt we might do to them, but also ensure that no harm comes to them whatsoever. How do you keep your family members from going to Hell? How do you keep your friends from winding up in Hell? You have a responsibility to each of these people. How will you do this for your spouse? How will you preach [not, in your case, necessarily sermonize] to these people to effect their avoiding ending up in Hell?




….If you had a beloved brother who, sick and in the throes of delirium, were to insult you with all the angry words imaginable, would you abandon him? I am certain you wouldn't. You would have even more compassion for him, do your utmost for his speedy recovery. This is how I feel in regard to sinners. ….

How do we deal with sinners? Here’s where WWJD is most appropriate as a first, last and middle consideration. We are given the charism of healing with the grace of baptism and confirmation. It is the healing of souls we are to attend to – how do you absolve the sinfulness of your family, friends, neighbors, et al.? How do you act vis a vis sinners? The least of the sheep….?




You may say the sinner doesn't think of hell, nor even believe in it. So much the worse for him. Do you by chance think he will escape condemnation because of his unbelief? Truth is independent of belief...

Truth is independent of belief. Chew on that one for a while!
Truth is independent of belief.
Truth is independent of belief.
Our responsibility in our relationship with God, our duty to fulfill ourselves, is to bring our beliefs to the Truth. [The Way, the Truth, and the Light. That’s a hint.]

How do you get between your unbelieving, unCatholic family members and hell? Your friends? Neighbors? Those unbelieving, unCatholic others God brings into your life?



I must warn sinners and make them see the precipice which leads to the unquenchable fires of hell, for they will surely go there if they do not amend their ways.”

This kind of certitude is uncommon in our time, in our Church’s pulpits. Shift the focus to the marriage metaphor for a moment? The more you do not knowloveservehonorobey your spouse, the more likely the marital bonds will crack, potentially (probably) break. [I will refrain from the divorce, annulment diversion here.]

And as the person who stops moving toward knowing, loving, serving, honoring, obeying his spouse finds himself further and further separated from his spouse, at some point it happens that the separation becomes permanent. That is truly a hell on earth experience, such separating oneself from one’s spouse.

Return the metaphor to God. To sin is to separate oneself from God. And the infinite separation from God after death is Hell.




“Woe to me if I do not preach and warn them, for I would be held responsible for their condemnation…”

There are sins of omission….
Remember the secret of a Father’s Love – a father’s love is forever, no matter what….
You are your brother’s keeper – literally and metaphorically. You are responsible for how others end up because you are given the opportunity and the duty to help people not get run over by the bus. If you refuse to help those in your world come closer to God, to stay with God, to avoid being cast into Hell, if you sit back and do nothing, if you ignore your responsibilities to your family, friends, neighbors, church, et al., you are responsible for adverse outcomes due to your omissions and, as Moriarity reminds us, such omissions are also the source of ‘negative waves’ and, thus, are sins of commission as well.



“How often I pray, with St. Catherine of Siena: 'O my God, grant me a place by the gates of hell, that I may stop those who enter there saying: Where are you going, unhappy one? Back, go back! Make a good confession. Save your soul. Don't come here to be lost for all eternity!"

I suggest you get to know the doctor of the church, and mystic, Catherine of Siena. Your grandmother’s name is Catherine. Catherine of Siena is a Dominican – and you know some Dominicans who are holy and doctoral  Catherine of Siena is the epitome of one’s personal efforts to knowloveserve God!

Make a good confession. Make a good confession [the ‘good’ is really redundant, or should be]. Bishop Curlin says he goes to confession at least twice a month. JPII was said to go to confession daily – a not uncommon practice for Popes who have a full time confessor/spiritual advisor as part of their entourage. This speaks to our relationship with God. When we do something that separates us from God, from our greatest Lover, the One who loves us the most, the One to whom we owe our greatest love, to be a faithful lover, we must confess that we done wrong and ask for forgiveness. Remember my teaching you “I’m sorry” and, must do in return, “I forgive you.” That is the dance of any people who love one another.

Take the time, be a man, admit you’ve done something that has separated you from the One you love, the One’s whose love you want, need, cherish more than any other’s. Name it. See it. Resolve to not do that ever again. Express your love by promising to not commit again your sins of omission and commission. And, in that sacrament of reconciliation, receive the forgiveness, the mulligan that renews the relationship even stronger.




The pastor in the city reported to the bishop: “This town has never seen the like of it. The bitterest of enemies have made peace. Scandals, both public and private, have been terminated, and amends made. Broken marriages have been mended. Restitutions have been made… Because no one can withstand the fire of [Fr. Claret’s] preaching, the kindness and liveliness of his manner, his forceful reproofs... and the impact of his reasoning.”

This description of Anthony Mary Claret is a blueprint for optimizing relationships – making peace, stopping scandalous behavior, keeping marriage together, making restitution…. Narrow it down for yourself for each individual relationship – e.g., fraternal, friends, spouse, even with your pater. The formula includes several ingredients.

Fire imbued preaching. For yourself and the other, be passionate in the faith. Preach to yourself. Preach to your significant others. Preach in all ways wherever you are.

Be kind.

Walk with a bounce in your step, a smile in your eyes, the Spirit of Life exuding from you…..

Be forceful with reproofs. It is just as important to communicate what is not to be done [ultimately to prevent people for an eternity in hell]. Being forceful in reproofs is part of our duty to one another.

Infuse your communications with reason.



I love you,
Dad