The 15 Marks of the Catholic Church

Developed by St. Robert Bellarmine,1542-1621, Doctor of the Church

1. The Church's Name, Catholic, universal, and world wide, and not confined to any particular nation or people.

2. Antiquity, in tracing her ancestry directly to Jesus Christ.

3. Constant Duration, in lasting substantially unchanged for so many centuries.

4.Extensiveness, in the number of her loyal members.

5. Episcopal Succession, of her Bishops from the first Apostles at the Last Supper to the present hierarchy.

6. Doctrinal Agreement, of her doctrine with the teaching of the ancient Church.

7. Union, of her members among themselves, and with their visible head, the Roman Pontiff.

8. Holiness, of doctrine in reflecting the sanctity of GOD.

9. Efficacy, of doctrine in its power to sanctify believers, and inspire them to great moral achievement.

10. Holiness of Life, of the Church's representative writers and defenders.

11. The glory of Miracles, worked in the Church and under the Church's auspices.

12. The gift of Prophecy found among the Church's saints and spokesmen.

13. The Opposition that the Church arouses among those who attack her on the very grounds that Christ was opposed by His enemies.

14. The Unhappy End, of those who fight against her.

15. The Temporal Peace and Earthly Happiness of those who live by the Church's teaching and defend her interests.

www.crossroadsinitiative.com/…/15_Marks_of_the…

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010
DAILY PRAYER WITH REGNUM CHRISTI
[2]
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LOVE IS NOT SNOBBISH
September 17, 2010
Friday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Father David Daly, LC
Luke 8:1-3
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and
proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him
were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits
and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had
gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and
many others who provided for them out of their resources.
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe that you came into this
world to redeem sinners. I hope in you and in your power to transform
my soul, by your grace, from sinfulness to holiness. Lord, I love you
and offer you the longings of my heart to put you truly first in my
life. I want to love you with all my mind, heart, soul and strength.
Petition: Jesus, teach me to live universal charity.
1. "Accompanying Him Were the Twelve" In this rather commonplace
phrase from the Gospel, we perceive Jesus' universal charity. He
chose his twelve apostles from many different backgrounds. Most of
them probably would not have been friends were it not for Christ.
Matthew was a tax collector; Peter, James and John, fisherman. Judas
was more "sophisticated" than the rest. Yet, Jesus called them all to
be his closest collaborators. As a result, they would come to
cooperate with and appreciate each other. When Christ is at the
center of any relationship, differences can not only be overcome,
they can become points of strength as well.
2. Mary, Called Magdalene Not only did he choose men to be his
close collaborators, but as the Gospel says there were also "women
who provided for him out of their resources." Jesus assigned them
different roles, but he saved and transformed their lives all the
same. We think of Mary Magdalene as a close friend of Christ, but we
should also remember that he transformed her, with the power of
God's grace, by expelling seven demons from her.
3. The Wife of Herod's Steward Another of the women following
Jesus was "Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward." It is amazing to
realize that the Gospel took root even in the midst of the fiefdom of
Herod, a man who had absolutely no esteem for our Lord. We, then,
should never ‘write someone off.' Prayer, sacrifice, and
charity can be effective means for the worst sinner's conversion.
Jesus' message was capable of inspiring followers in all societal
conditions and groupings. Similarly, we are called to build the
Kingdom at all levels of our secularized world.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, you give us the
example of unconditional love for each and every person. You do not
care what our background is or how many sins we have committed. Your
mercy is infinite and everlasting! Thank you for your love. I beg
you to teach me to love without limits.
Resolution: I promise to practice universal charity today by being
kind to someone with whom I do not ordinarily associate.
meditation.regnumchristi.org

Robert Bellarmine (full name in Italian: Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino) (4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most important cardinals of the Catholic Reformation. He was canonized (i.e. officially declared a saint) in 1930 and is a Doctor of the Church.
Early years
Bellarmine was born at Montepulciano to a noble – though impoverished – family, son of Vincenzo Bellarmino and wife Cinzia Cervini who was sister of Pope Marcellus II. His abilities showed themselves early; as a boy he knew Virgil by heart and composed a number of poems in Italian and Latin. One of his hymns, on Mary Magdalene, is included in the Breviary.
His father destined him for a political career, hoping that he might restore the fallen glories of the family. His mother however, wished him to enter the Society of Jesus, and her influence prevailed. He entered the Roman novitiate in 1560, remaining in Rome three years. He then went to a Jesuit house at Mondovì, in Piedmont, where he learned Greek.
Bellarmine's systematic study of theology began at the University of Padua in 1567 and 1568, where his teachers were Thomists. But in 1569 he was sent to finish it at Leuven, near Brussels, where he could obtain a fuller acquaintance with the prevailing heresies. There he was ordained, and he quickly obtained a reputation both as a professor and a preacher, in the latter capacity drawing to his pulpit both Catholics and Protestants, even from distant parts.
He was the first Jesuit to teach at the university, where the subject of his course was the Summa of Thomas Aquinas; he also made extensive studies in the Fathers and medieval theologians, which gave him the material for his book "De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis" (Rome, 1613), which was later revised and enlarged by Sirmond, Labbeus, and Casimir Oudin.
In Rome – The Disputations
Bellarmine's residence in Leuven lasted seven years. His health was undermined by study and asceticism, and in 1576 he made a journey to Italy that it might be restored. Here he was detained by the commission given him by Pope Gregory XIII to lecture on polemical theology in the new Roman College; Bellarmine saw this as an honour and graciously accepted.
Society of Jesus

History of the Jesuits
Regimini militantis
Suppression

Jesuit Hierarchy
Superior General
Adolfo Nicolás

Ignatian Spirituality
Spiritual Exercises
Ad majorem Dei gloriam
Magis
Discernment

Famous Jesuits
St. Ignatius of Loyola
St. Francis Xavier
Blessed Peter Faber
St. Aloysius Gonzaga
St. Robert Bellarmine
St. Peter Canisius
St. Edmund Campion
Bellarmine devoted eleven years to this work, out of whose activities grew his celebrated "Disputationes de controversiis christianae fidei", (also called Disputationes) first published at Ingolstadt in 1581–1593. It occupies in the field of dogmatics the same place as the "Annales" of Baronius in the field of history. This monumental work was the earliest attempt to systematize the various controversies of the time, and made an immense impression throughout Europe, the blow it dealt to Protestantism being so acutely felt in Germany and England that special chairs were founded in order to provide replies to it. Nor has it even yet been superseded as the classical book on its subject-matter, though, as was to be expected, the progress of criticism has impaired the value of some of its historical arguments.
Both were the fruits of the great revival in religion and learning which the Catholic Church had witnessed since 1540. Both bear the stamp of their period; the effort for literary elegance (so-called "maraviglia"), which was considered the principal thing at the beginning of the sixteenth century, had given place to a desire to pile up as much material as possible, to embrace the whole field of human knowledge, and incorporate it into theology.
The first volume treats of the Word of God, of Christ, and of the pope; the second of the authority of ecumenical councils, and of the Church, whether militant, expectant, or triumphant; the third of the sacraments; and the fourth of Divine grace, free will, justification, and good works.
New duties after 1589 – controversial writings
Until 1589, Bellarmine was occupied altogether as professor of theology, but that date marked the beginning rounded the new pope in his life and of new dignities. After the murder of Henry III of France, Pope Sixtus V sent Gaetano as legate to Paris to negotiate with the League, and chose Bellarmine to accompany him as theologian; he was in the city during its siege by Henry of Navarre.
The next pope, Clement VIII, set great store by him. Bellarmine wrote the preface to the new edition of the Vulgate, and was made rector of the Roman College in 1592, examiner of bishops in 1598, and cardinal in 1599. Immediately after his appointment as Cardinal, Pope Clement made him a Cardinal Inquisitor. In this capacity he served as one of the judges at the trial of Giordano Bruno, and concurred in the decision which condemned him to be burnt to death as an obstinate heretic.[1]
In 1602 he was made archbishop of Capua. He had written strongly against pluralism and non-residence, and he set an example himself by leaving within four days for his diocese, where he devoted himself to his episcopal duties, and put into effect the reforming decrees of the Council of Trent.
Under Pope Paul V (reigned 1605–1621), arose the great conflict between Venice and the Papacy. Fra Paolo Sarpi, as spokesman for the Republic of Venice, protested against the papal interdict, and reasserted the principles of the Council of Constance and of the Council of Basel, denying the pope's authority in secular matters. Bellarmine wrote three rejoinders to the Venetian theologians, and at the same time possibly saved Sarpi's life by giving him fair warning of an impending murderous attack.
Robert Bellarmine had occasion to cross swords with a more prominent antagonist, King James I of England, who prided himself on his theological attainments. Bellarmine had written a letter to the English archpriest George Blackwell, reproaching him for having taken the oath of allegiance in apparent disregard of his duty to the pope. James attacked him in 1608 in a Latin treatise, which the scholarly cardinal answered, making fun of the defects of the royal Latinity.
King James replied with a second attack in more careful style, dedicated to the Emperor Rudolph II and all the monarchs of Christendom, in which he posed as the defender of primitive and true Christianity. Bellarmine's answer to this covers more or less the whole controversy.
In 1616, on the orders of the then pope, Paul V, Cardinal Bellarmine summoned Galileo Galilei, notified him of a forthcoming decree of the Congregation of the Index condemning the Copernican doctrine of the mobility of the Earth and the immobility of the Sun, and ordered him to abandon it.[2] Galileo agreed.[3] When Galileo later complained of rumors to the effect that he had been forced to abjure and do penance, Bellarmine wrote out a certificate denying the rumors, stating that Galileo had merely been notified of the decree and informed that, as a consequence of it, the Copernican doctrine could not be "defended or held".[4] Cardinal Bellarmine was himself ambiguous about heliocentrism, personally noting that further research had to be done to confirm or condemn it. (In 1633 Galileo would again be called before the Inquisition in this matter.)
In reply to a posthumous treatise of William Barclay, the celebrated Scottish jurist, he wrote another Tractatus de potestate summi pontificis in rebus temporalibus, which reiterated his strong assertions on the subject, and was therefore prohibited in France, where it agreed with the sentiments of neither the king nor the bishops.
In his old age he was allowed to return to his old home, Montepulciano, as its bishop for four years, after which he retired to the Jesuit college of St. Andrew in Rome. He received some votes in the conclaves which elected Pope Leo XI, Pope Paul V, and Pope Gregory XV, but only in the second case had he any prospect of election.
During his retirement, he wrote several short books intended to help ordinary people in their spiritual life: The Mind's Ascent to God (1614), The Art of Dying Well (1619), and The Seven Words on the Cross.
Bellarmine died in Rome on 17 September 1621.
Canonization and final resting place
Over the years, the members of his order worked tirelessly to achieve his canonization. Finally he was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930; the following year he was declared a Doctor of the Church. He died from natural causes in Rome, Italy. His body rests in the Church of Saint Ignatius, the chapel of the Roman College, next to the body of his student, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, as he himself had wished.
Feast day
In the Roman Catholic calendar of saints Saint Robert Bellarmine's feast day is on 17 September, the day of his death; but some continue to use pre-1969 calendars, in which for 37 years his feast day was on 13 May. The rank attributed to his feast has been "double" (1932–1959), "third-class feast" (1960–1968), and since 1969 an "optional memorial", all of them equivalent.