Regarding the posting on the Forgotten Truths Section about when should Catholics turn the other cheek, we received this confirmation from one of our readers, who recounts this incident involving St. Francis of Assisi.

The Sultan confronted the friar [St. Francis of Assisi] with the words from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, recounted in the Gospel of St. Matthew:

But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other: And if a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him (Matthew 5: 39-40).

The sultan asked Francis why, in the light of this teaching of Jesus, should Crusaders be invading the lands of the Muslims? Since the passage teaches 'turning the other cheek' and repaying evil with good, the sultan was contending that there was no justification for the Crusader invasions, even though he knew that the Muslims had taken the land by force from the Christians centuries earlier.

Once again the response of Francis surprised al-Kamil. He declared that the sultan had not completely studied the Gospel, and pointed out to the king the words Jesus had spoken earlier in the same discourse:

And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell. And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell. (Matthew 5: 29-30).

Francis then proceeded to impart a distinctive interpretation to these lines, by referring them to those who attempt to turn Christians away from their faith and love of God. The sultan was as dear to him as his own eye, he admitted to the potentate. But, explaining Our Lord's words that a person should pluck out his own eye if it is leading him astray, Francis continued.

"Here He wanted to teach us that every man, however dear and close he is to us, and even if he is as precious to us as the apple of our eye, must be repulsed, pulled out, expelled if he seeks to turn us aside from the faith and love of our God. That is why it is just that Christians invade the land you inhabit, for you blaspheme the name of Christ and alienate everyone you can from His worship. But if you were to recognize, confess, and adore the Creator and Redeemer, Christians would love you as themselves. . . ."

When Francis had finished addressing the sultan, "All the spectators were in admiration at his answers."

     Frank M. Rega

From St. Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims,
TAN Books, pp. 68-69

TIA,

In reply to this email on your website, I have to say that my wife and I just returned from Quito, Ecuador and she picked up two books in Spanish on Our Lady of Good Success and one on Gabriel Garcia Moreno:

Mensaje Profetico by Luis E. Cadena y Almeida (1985) and
Madera para Esculpir la Imagen de una Santa (1987) also by Luis E. Cadena y Almeida
Biographia de Gabriel Garcia Moreno by Alfredo Saenz, S.I.

The name and address of bookstore in Quito are:

Fundacion Jesus de Misericodia
A. Eloy Alfaro N29--150 y 9 de Octubre
Tel: (593)(2) 2564 519
Email: fjdm@pi.pro.ec

However right below this address in these books is listed a bookstore in the US, whose name and address are:

Liberia Fiat Voluntas Tua, Inc.
2336 SW 67th Ave.
Miami, FL 33155
Tel: (786) 388-3128 Fax: (786) 388-9698
Email: fiatvtua@bellsouth.net

I haven't read these books as I don't read Spanish well. I have read all the books on Our Lady of Good Success in English though. My wife does read Spanish and is currently reading them. She read the first book and thought that it was excellent.

My wife called this bookstore in the US and she said that they carry the above books as these two bookstores are related.

The many Spanish speakers in our country and abroad would certainly be inspired by these books. We saw the many beautiful Catholic churches, convents and monasteries in the Old Town of Quito and wish that we had the same here. We were at the 5:00 am Rosary procession on February 2nd in Quito and the Conceptionist Church was packed. Deo Gratias!

Quito was cloudy and rainy all week prior, but on Candlemas day the sun came out and it was a beautiful day for Our Lady.

     Sincerely,

     J.K.

Dear Dr. Horvat,

Tradition in Action always provides the helpful assistance needed for me to defend the Faith. I could not begin to thank you and Mr. Guimarães enough.

My question is whether there is a place that I may sign-up to receive regular "new postings" to your site. There is so much wonderful information that I could spend days going through all of it. If I received an email with the hotlink on a regular basis, I could always "be informed", which I would enjoy immensely.

It is a delightful privilege to have you and Mr. Guimarães as resources and most importantly, as role models of what true Catholics "look like" and "sound like."

 May Almighty God reward you for your tireless effort made on behalf of Holy Mother Church.

     Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum,

     C.S.



TIA responds:

Dear C.S.,

We thank you for your encouraging words about our work. They mean a lot to all of us.

Our suggestion is for you to place our website in your favorites sites (when our Home Page is displayed on your screen, right click; and then click on add to favorites). Then you can go there as often as you wish to check for our everyday updates (Latest Updates; the first on the top).

To see other spotlighted articles pertinent to the time, including the Saints of the Day for the week, click on Spotlight (the second from the top).

If you would like to find a particular article or research a topic, just open the Search our Site (third from the top). You may type the name of the author or topic you are looking for in the search box below the picture and click Search, or simply click Enter on your keyboard. Every article on our site that includes that word will appear in some seconds.

This is all you have to do to find new and old topics on our website.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondent desk

TIA,

In reply to your article about childrens adoration, I would like you to review the way the Angel taught the children in Fatima how to prostrate themselves in front of the Holy Eucharist, instead of complaining about Muslims practices in the Catholic Church.

     Thank you!

     M.V.V.

TIA,

Regarding your excellent article by Margaret Galitzin on the Children of Hope: Congratulations. I am sure it is raising a profitable discussion.

I received this from the LeFleur de Lys Too blogsite, and since he asked to send it on, I'm doing so. [He writes:]

I am breaking my own rule here today. I was hoping to provide some information about the Revolution in France and confine myself to history, but unfortunately some things are so appalling that they must be let into the open. There was a time when all we had to worry about was the spiritual murder of our young by certain men who should never have been allowed to be priests. Today I found on Elena Maria Vidal's "Tea at Trianon" an article which is about a parish which is showing children to pray as Muslims.

All I have to say is THIS IS WRONG! This priest is heretical. Obedience to a heretic is a sin.

Send this everywhere there is a Catholic.

Richard, Sieur de Brantigny dit Boisvert

In a later blog, he commented:

Ok, here is the big picture. The way you believe is the way you pray. This is not the way Catholics pray. It is the way Muslims pray. If you wish to pray like a Muslim be a Muslim, and depart in peace. It is not a matter of being ecumenical it is a matter of the proper attitude in the Presence of the Living God. Muslims do not believe this. Trying to make an Eucharistic Adoration into a Jumah is WRONG.

     Please keep up your good work.

     E.J.

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