December22

22 December 1870                                                                                                                          

In what is religious, nations unite with the apostasy of their kings - the El Ermitaño writes. The Pope is held prisoner at the Vatican;

Bishops are subjected under the government of their respective countries; the church is attacked. And what awaits us now?

May evil be discovered and fought through faith. The Lord Jesus willl end it. What a joy!

December 21

Sunday, 21 December 1851                                                                                                                                

The next conference will be on the "seed of virtue, its birth and growth in our soul." It has its origin in God. He is the Lord of the virtues. Nature comes from discretion to judge rightly. The Spirit infuses the supernatural. God is the author of the supernatural order, the Lord of nature.

Published in  Áncora and in Diario de Barcelona

December 20

Lerida, December 1868

To Fr. Mariano Puigllat y Amigó, Bishop of Lerida

Tired of waiting for the reply of the bishop, he sends again this letter. He cannot accept expulsion from his diocese, uprooting him from the recesses of his family and depriving him of all his priestly functions...he is being attacked in what is sacred to him: his freedom and honour. He appeals to the tribunal of nation. He says to the bishop: Decide. I have given the first step before the courts. It will not be possible to turn about and retract.  

Sunday, 19 December 1852                                                                                                                                                   

 

All churches are Schools where sound and true doctrines are taught. The team of directors has given the name "School of Virtue"

to this method of teaching. One of our pupils will speak on a person's need to practice virtue. A conference is not the same as a sermon: in the former, there is a discussion or in a catechetical form.

December  18

18 December 1864.                                                                                                                           

 IV Week of Advent

The Eucharist is a revelation and an event of welcoming. Fr. Palau is aware that the purer the truths of the faith received...the greater is the bonding with the members of the church. He discovers the word of God in that of his beloved, capable of transcending  his own limitation. He asks for it this advent: Come, O Orient! Come, O Emmanuel! Come, O God of love!

December  17

 

Rome, 17 December 1866

To his Holiness Pius IX.

He addresses this letter to the Pope as a missionary, sending him a commentary on the report submitted. He strongly asks for authorization to perform the ministry of exorcism. He adds: The procurator of the Order is in the Eternal City tasked to do what is appropriate. He finally asks the blessing of the Pope for the people of Barcelona whom he serves in his preaching ministry.

December 16

16 December 1864. 

Vigils of Christmas:  cave of Sta. Cruz.

Is this dark night a reflection of one's own? It has been days that Fr. Palau has been engulfed by darkness in recognizing his beloved. Turmoil increased. This is what Palau projects in his own soul. I see in me a power to offend you, a freedom to do my own will. This is what frightens me - he groans of his intrinsic poverty. Save me against my own will !

15 December 1864. 

Octave of the Immaculate Conception, 1864

Fr. Palau contemplates her beauty in his heart although momentarily, and said: Illusion! It is not a beauty worthy of love. The next day that beautiful flower had faded and wilted. Palau sought her in the sepulchre...The shadow became as bright as the sun. He joyfully receives the message: I represent the eternal beauty of God communicated to all creatures who make up His Church, His chosen people.

Barcelona, 2 December 1870

To Juana Gratias in Estadilla

He writes her from the jail where he had been detained for one month, a whole long month...He gives her instructions in case they will be called because of him; she has to answer: that they do not constitute a congregation; that the do not have superior authority other than the Pope and the parish priest; that they voluntarily engage in teaching and in the care of the sick; that they help one another in a voluntary association.

Tarragona, 1 December 1867

To Juana Gratias in Salas Altas (Huesca)

Fr. Palau confirms the receipt of her letter and of his response. Some sisters wait for the decisions of Juana. He gives her some hints exposing the situation of the religious family; he tells about the unbecoming attitude of  some members, so that she would know how to act. He also communicates to her of the recent death of his niece Rosa.

Sunday, 30 November 1851

 

Virtue and its Nature

The conference will be on: "Virtue and its nature." It is defined as a quality that does good to the one who possesses it and it makes all his actions good. There are the natural and supernatural, acquired and infused. The natural virtues are sub-divided into moral and intellectual. With the theological virtues, the life of the spirit flourishes.

Published in  Áncora  and in Diario de Barcelona

Barcelona, 29 November 1867

The unevangelical behaviour of a hermit urges Fr. Palau to write to the secretary of the Bishop. At the same time he describes the good accomplishments done in the hermitage of San Honorato, in both material and spiritual dimensions. Adding to the initiative of the prelature they have blended to the heremitical life works of charity, teaching and assisting the sick under the orders of His Excellency, the bishop.