Readings from Fr. John Furniss

[Shin]

There was a learned man who wished to save his soul.

For eight long years he prayed to God that he might find somebody who could teach him the best way of saving his soul.  

It happened one morning that he was praying more fervently than usual, and he heard a voice, which said "Go to the door of the church, and you will find someone standing there who will teach you which is the best way to serve me." He knew that this voice came from God, so he set off to the church to find the person who was to teach him how to serve God. When he came to the door of the church, he found no one there except a poor old beggar, who was very dirty and covered with sores. All the clothes the beggar had on were not worth three farthings. He spoke kindly to the beggar, wishing him good morning. The beggar answered: "I do not remember that I ever had a bad morning." "God prosper you." said the learned man. The beggar answered: "God always prospers me."

"But," said the learned man, "I cannot understand you: What do you mean?" "I will tell you what I mean," said the beggar. "You wished me good morning; and I answered, that I had never had a bad morning, as you will see. If I am hungry, and can get nothing to eat, I say: 'My God, may your holy will be done.' If I am cold, and there is no fire, I say: 'My God, may your will be done.' If I am sick, or suffer a pain, I say: 'My God, may your will be done.' If someone injures me, I say: 'My God, may your will be done.' So I am always content, and never have a bad day. I said that God always prospered me, because, whatever God sends me, whether it be joyful or painful, sweet or bitter, I know it is for the best. So I am always prosperous and happy."

Little child, go and do in like manner. Therefore, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, in life and in death, let your prayer be: "My God, may your will be done." There is another beautiful prayer: "May the most just, the most high, and the most amiable will of God be done, praised and eternally exalted, in all things." If you say this prayer once every day, you can gain each day an indulgence of one hundred days, and also a plenary indulgence once a month, and a plenary indulgence when you die.

21. Put your Trust in the Providence of God. -- "Be not solicitous for your life, what yous hall eat; nor for your body, what you shall put on. Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, -- and yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them; and are not you of much more value than they? Seek, therefore, the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you." -- Matthew vi.

22. There was a very rich person who had a little child which he loved very much. He took the greatest care of this child, and never let it want for any thing. He gave it plenty to eat, and always what was best for it; its breakfast, and dinner, and supper, were always ready at the proper time. He had very good clothes made for it, of the best cloth -- clothes for summer, and warm clothes for winter. He had a fine, large house; and this child slept in one of the best rooms in the house. He sent the child to the best school he could find. If the child was sick, he sent for the most skilful doctors to cure it. The father was always thinking, day and night, how he could do good for his dear child.

But the child was very foolish. It was always saying to itself: "Oh! perhaps my father will forget to give me my dinner; or perhaps he will leave me without clothes; or perhaps, if I am sick, he will not send for the doctor." So the foolish child was always fretting itself, and behaving very ill to its good father, making long faces, and looking cross, and giving back answers. Although it remembered that all its life its father had never once forgotten it, still it was always afraid, and it was very unhappy.

The good father is Almighty God; and you are the fretful child. God made you; and he loves you so much, that nobody can tell how much he loves you. He is very wise, and knows what is best for you. He is very rich, for of his riches there is no end; and if he gives away any thing, he is not any poorer; so he is able to give to you what is best for you. He has made you a great promise, that he will every moment of your life give you what is best for you. Very often something happened to you which you thought was not for the best; and yet you found out afterwards that it was really the best for you, or at least you will find out when you are dead. Yet still you are unhappy, often thinking in yourself and saying: "Oh! I am afraid! What am I to do? Perhaps such a thing will happen! -- perhaps it will not be the best for me!" My little child, learn a lesson at least from the birds which fly in the air: they do not trouble themselves about what may come; they expect to have food to eat -- and God always feeds them. So, my dear child, "cast your care on God, for he hath care of you," II Peter v.; and let your daily prayer to Almighty God be: "Give us this day our daily bread." Expect and feel sure, that God will, in every thing, do what is best for you. Psalm ciii. 28. "All expect of thee, O God, food in season: Thou openest thy hand and fillest every living creature with blessings."

[Therese]

Yes, whatever God gives us is best for us. This reminds me of how during the golden age of the Faith, we hear about how medical arts were not advanced as it is in these times. All in God's plan. . . People bore their pains, and for these they did not suffer in vain. . . 

Exactly, their suffering made them capable of great merit.

[Patricia]

Put your Trust in the Providence of God.

I need to remember these words every morning and be like the beggar who was cheerful despite his circumstances.

[Therese]

Put your Trust in the Providence of God.

I need to remember these words every morning and be like the beggar who was cheerful despite his circumstances.

Yes.

[martin]

Fr Furnis is so inspiring.
I need to remeber this quote always. 

[Therese]

I agree that Fr. Furniss is so inspiring.  Is he still alive?  Who is he?

[Shin]

I agree that Fr. Furniss is so inspiring.  Is he still alive?  Who is he?

He's a Redemptorist priest, a children's missioner, the missions to whom he devoted his life. He would go from parish to parish delivering 3 week missions of for the boys and girls. He always riveted the attention of the children, being a wonderful story teller, and would move them deeply, often to tears. He was born in England near Sheffield, and very popular with the Irish and Irish immigrants to America, who took many of his tracts with them. He was born June 19th 1809 and died in the year of Our Lord, 1865 on September 16th.  

He wrote a number of books, most for children. So far the list of his works I have discovered is: Almighty God, God Loves Little Children, The Great Question, The Great Evil, Stumbling Blocks, The House of Death, The Book of the Dying, The Terrible Judgment and The Bad Child, The Sight of Hell, Holy Communion, Schools in which Children Lose their Holy Faith, How to Teach at Catechism, What Every Christian Must Know and Do, God and His Creatures, The Book of Young Persons, Confession, Companion to How to Teach at Catechism How to Teach at Catechism - Hymns, 'Tracts for Spiritual Reading, Designed for First Communion, Retreats, Missions', The Sunday School or Catechism, and Hand-book for Sunday School Teacher.

So far I have managed to acquire a compilation of his works from the list above from the start up to 'What Every Christian Must Know and Do', the rest I have not yet found. They are very rare and hard to find. I had to search antiquarian book sellers to find what I have, I want to acquire and preserve them all, some can be found in university libraries.

This despite the fact more than four million of his booklets were produced.

His works remind me of the wonder writing of Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P., though I think I like Fr. Furniss's writing even better.

You can see how much he loves God and children and all people. A Catholic Encyclopedia article on him says his maxim was "Suffer the little children to come to me." I believe he's a hidden saint.

[Shin]

Looking at the compilation volume, we appear to have just finished 'God and His Perfections'.

The next piece is 'Almighty God Loves Little Children'.  

[Shin]

ALMIGHTY GOD LOVES LITTLE CHILDREN

1. God loves little children so much that he wanted to be like them, so he became a little child in the arms of Mary his mother. Jesus used to lay his hands on children and bless them. "They brought infants to Jesus that he might touch them." Luke xviii. He was very angry with those who would not suffer little children to come to him, and with those who scandalize them. Jesus says, "He that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depths of the sea." Matt. xviii.

2. When the blessed Lucy of Narni was a very little child, her mother gave her a Rosary beads, with an image of the infant Jesus. She made an altar in her room, and put the infant on it. She loved to be in her room along with the image of the little infant.

When she got into any trouble, she would go to her altar, and cry there, and sometimes the image of the infant Jesus, by a miracle would lift up its little hand, and wipe away her tears.

One day her mother took her to the chapel, and she saw there a fine large image of a lady, with an infant in her arms, made of stone. When her mother saw her looking at this image, she said: "Lucy, that beautiful lady is the blessed Virgin Mary, and the infant is the little Jesus, her son. If you like, you may come here sometimes and say your Rosary before the blessed Virgin Mary."

Lucy was delighted, and whenever she could get away from home, she came with her beads, and said the Rosary. One day she thought that she would like very much to hold the infant in her arms, like she held her baby brother sometimes, so she spoke to the image and said: "Mary, my dear mother, I want very much to hold the infant Jesus in my arms."

When she had said this prayer, the image of Mary stooped down, and put the infant really into her arms; but she found that instead of a baby made of stone, it was a living baby -- the real child Jesus. Full of joy, she got up off her knees, and went home as fast as she could with the infant Jesus in her arms. She went into the room where her altar was, and for three days and nights she held the infant in her arms, without eating or sleeping. At the end of the three days she fell asleep and when she awoke, the infant Jesus was gone away. She cried bitterly when she found that the infant was gone, so her mother took her to the church, where they found the little child of stone in the arms of Mary again, although for three days it had not been seen there.

3. Do not wonder that Jesus gave himself to the little Lucy, for he loves to hear children speak to him in prayer, because out of the mouths of infants comes forth perfect praise of God. Psalm viii. The prayer of a little child goes up to heaven quicker than the prayer of anybody else.

[Shin]

These last passages put a gleam in my eye. 

[Therese]

Thanks, Shin, for Fr. Furniss' background. 

What a beautiful story about Lucy and the infant Jesus!

[Shin]

There was a town called Bethulia. One time a great many thousand soldiers came round this town. They wanted to get into the inside of it to kill the people and destroy the town. But there was something stronger than the soldiers, and see what it was!

The little children were made to come into the chapel, and kneel down to the ground, and to pray to Almighty God to save the town. The prayers of the little children went up to Heaven, those cruel soldiers were obliged to go away, and many of them were killed. Judith iv. 8.

4. Heaven is for children only, if they are good, or those who become like little children, simple meek and humble.

One day Jesus took a little child by the hand, and showed it to all the people, and told them that they could not go into Heaven unless they became like that little child, that is, simple, meek, and  humble.

Children were the first martyrs of Jesus Christ. Before anybody else had died for Jesus -- Even before St. Stephen, who is called the first martyr, had been stoned -- a great many babies were killed in Bethlehem for the faith of Jesus Christ, and they are called the Holy Innocents, and the blood of those dear babies told the world that the infant Jesus was the Son of God.

A little while before Jesus died, the children were crying out his praises in the Temple of Jerusalem.

5. God loves to speak to children, he has often spoken words to children which he would not speak to anybody else.

There was a very old priest, and a good child, who lived with the priest. Almighty God wanted to say something to the priest, but he liked better to say it to do the child, and let the child tell the priest. So one night when the child was asleep, God called the child by his name, Samuel. 

The child awoke, and heard somebody calling his name, but he did not know that it was God who called him. he thought in himself, perhaps it is the priest who calls me. He got up directly and wen to the priest, and said: "Please your reverence, I heard somebody calling my name, and I thought perhaps it was your reverence who called me." Then the priest said: "No, my child, I did not call you; go back again and sleep." So the obedient child went back to sleep. But after a little while the child heard the same voice calling him again and again. Each time he went to the priest, and at last the priest said, "Perhaps, my child, it is the voice of God which calls you, so, if you hear it again, say: 'Speak, O Lord, for thy servant heareth.'"

Then God spoke to the child, and commanded him to tell the priest what he had heard. So God loves to speak to good children; and as God spoke to the the child Samuel, he will speak to you also, my child, if you will only let him. You will not hear his voice with your ears, as the child Samuel did, but you will hear it in your heart.

[Shin]

One day Jesus took a little child by the hand, and showed it to all the people, and told them that they could not go into Heaven unless they became like that little child, that is, simple, meek, and  humble.

Simple, meek, and humble.

[Therese]

We can work on being simple, meek and humble this Lent.  We could even pray daily to be simple, meek, and humble.  The prayer "Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours" (or "like unto thine") would be a good prayer to pray every day.

[Brigid]

I like that idea, Therese.

[Therese]

I like that idea, Therese.

Brigid, I'm also going to try to frequently pray the prayer "Jesus, Mary, I love you.  Save souls."  I'd love to use more ejaculations/acts of love this Lent.