Online text: “The Church and the Elderly” by Saint John Paul the Great et al.

See this online text:

• Dolentium Hominum: Journal of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, No. 40, Year XIV – No. 1 (1999): The Church and the Elderly: Proceedings of the XIII International Conference Organised by the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, October 29-30-31, 1998, New Synod Hall. Vatican City. With contributions by Saint John Paul the Great, Dr. Mary Healey-Sedutto, Monsignor [later Cardinal] Angelo Scola, and other authors. Available in pdf format at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

On the Feast of Saints Anne and Joachim in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. For other texts and ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title), the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject), the List of Worth-It Catholic Books & eBooks, and the main page of the Catholic eBooks Project.

Online text: “Contemporary Scientifically Validated Miracles”

See this online text:

• “Contemporary Scientifically Validated Miracles Associated with Blessed Mary, Saints and the Holy Eucharist” (© Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.) (Magis Center, December 2016). Available in pdf format on this page of the Magis Center.

See also these related texts:

Online text: “The Healthy and the Holy”, by D. C. Schindler

See this online text:

• “The Healthy and the Holy”, by D. C. Schindler, Communio, Volume 41, No. 3 (Fall 2014): pp. 544-563. Available in pdf format on this page of Communio: International Catholic Review.

See also these related texts:

Online ebook: “Universal Access to Medicines”, from the Caritas in Veritate Foundation

See this online ebook:

• Universal Access to Medicines: Ethical Reflections on Ending Pediatric HIV; With a Selection of Recent Documents from the Church’s Engagement on Universal Access to Medecines [sic], edited by Alice de La Rochefoucauld and Dr. Carlo Maria Marenghi, electronic document prepared by Margarete Hahnen (Chambésy: Caritas in Veritate Foundation, 2018). Available in pdf format at the Caritas in Veritate Foundation.

On the Feast of Saint Bernardo Tolomei, and on the secular observance of World Humanitarian Day. For other texts and ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title), the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject), the List of Worth-It Catholic Books & eBooks, and the main page of the Catholic eBooks Project. Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints!

“Justice is promoted when one welcomes the life of the other and assumes responsibility for him, responding to his expectations, for in him one perceives the very Face of the Son of God who for our sake became man. It is on the divine image imprinted in our brother and sister that the most exalted dignity of every person is founded and inspires the need for respect, care and service. Justice and charity, in the Christian perspective, are very closely linked…

“To bend down, like the Good Samaritan, over the wounded man left by the roadside is to fulfil that ‘greater justice’ which Jesus asks of his disciples and practised in his life, because the fulfilment of the Law is love…”

(Pope Benedict XVI, Message to Participants in the 25th International Conference Organized by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, 15 November 2010)

Free ebook: “Heroines of Charity”, by Aubrey De Vere

See this legally free ebook:

• Heroines of Charity; Containing the Sisters of Vincennes, Jean Biscott, Mlle. Le Gras, Madame De Miramion, Mrs. Seton, the Little Sisters of the Poor, etc., by Aubrey De Vere (New York: P.J. Kenedy, 1904). May be read online, and is available in pdf, mobi, epub, and other formats, at Internet Archive.

See these other texts on the impact of Catholic Christians on health care, especially the beneficial and epochal role of religious sisters devoted to the care of the sick:

• “Caring for the Sick: The Catholic Contribution and Its Relevance”, by Thomas J. Paprocki, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, Vol. 25, Issue 2, p. 447 (2012). Available in PDF format at the University of Notre Dame.
• “The Contribution of the Grey Nuns to the Development of Nursing in Canada: Historiographical Issues”, by Pauline Paul, Canadian Bulletin of Medical History, Volume 11 (1994): pp. 207-217. Available in pdf format at the University of Toronto Press Journals.
• “The Sister Nurses”, by Suzy Farren, in Health Progress (March – April 2003): p. 38. May be read online, and available in pdf format, at the Catholic Health Association of the United States.
• Sisters of Mercy: The Walking Nun’s Siouxland Journey and Experiences in Nursing (1890-1965) (Dissertation), by Diane L. Smith (2015). Available in pdf format at South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE.
• “Unassuming Heroines: The Catholic Sister Nurses Who Transcended Cultural Boundaries during the Civil War,” by Keely Smith, Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History, vol. 7, no. 2 (Nov. 2017). May be read online at the Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History.

In remembrance of Blessed María Ascensión Nicol y Goñi, O.P. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“The word of Jesus Christ is fruitful, it stirs many souls to dedication and fidelity. The life and conduct of those who serve God have changed history. Even many of those who do not know our Lord are motivated, perhaps unconsciously, by ideals which derive from Christianity.” (Saint Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By)

Online audiobook & ebook: “Penance”, by Peter Kreeft

See this online audiobook and ebook:

• Penance, by Peter Kreeft (New Haven CT: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, 2001). With Imprimatur. The ebook may be read online and is available in pdf format, and the audiobook may be listened to online and is available in mp3 format through this page of the Knights of Columbus.

On the Feast of St. Mateo Correa Magallanes of the Knights of Columbus, and of the Saints of the Cristero War, in earnest prayer that all nations may reject the counterfeit compassion whispered by the world, and surrender to the sanctifying and saving mercy proclaimed by our divine Lord Jesus Christ.

“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” (St. John xxi, 21-23 KJV)

Update (22 May 2018): We just learned that this is our 1000th post. Therefore, unto the Lord our God, in Whom we live, move, and have our being, we join in the thanksgiving of the one true Church:

 

Online ebook: “Devotions and Prayers for the Sick-Room”, by Rev. Joseph Alois Krebs

Image from Wikipedia

See this online ebook:

• Devotions and Prayers for the Sick-Room; with an Appendix Containing Prayers and Exercises for the Use of Religious Sick-Nurses, from the original of Rev. Jos[eph] Alois Krebs, C.Ss.R. (New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1899). With Imprimatur. Available at Hathi Trust Digital Library; and in pdf, epub, mobi/kindle etc. formats at Internet Archive, with a 2^nd copy at Internet Archive.
• See also: The Consoler; or, Pious Readings Addressed to the Sick and to All Who are Afflicted, by Rev. Father Joseph Lambilotte, S.J., translated by the Right Reverend Abbot Burder, O.Cist. (London: R. Washbourne, 1873). With approbation. Available in various formats at Internet Archive.
• On the spirituality of illness and suffering, see also these essays:
  • “Saint Paul Teaches We Can Offer Up Our Personal Suffering To God For The Spiritual Benefit Of Others”, by Tom Mulcahy, M.A., at Catholic Strength.
  • “Question; Offering up Suffering” by Charles Johnston, at Now that I’m Catholic.
  • “On the Mystery of Offering Up Our Sufferings”, by Dr. Robert Stackpole, STD, at The Divine Mercy.
  • “How to Offer up Your Suffering like St. John Vianney”, by Brandon Vogt, August 04, 2016 at the Word on Fire Blog.
  • “Redemptive Suffering” at The Defender.

On World Cancer Day, 2018. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online text: “Novena for Forgiveness”

See this online text:

• Novena for Forgiveness to St. Josemaria Escriva, by Father Francisco Faus (São Paulo, Brazil, March 19, 2012). With ecclesiastical authorization. Available in various formats (pdf, epub and kindle [.azw3]) through this page of Opus Dei.

On the Feast of Saint Pantaleon. From the text:

“Lord, you know how much I desire to have your peace within me. But I know very well that I cannot obtain it as long as I harbor bitterness and resentment in my heart, like wounds that never heal over… Without your help, Lord, by my efforts alone, I will never be able to attain that peace… And so I humbly beg you, through St Josemaria’s intercession, for the grace to be able to forgive.”

Online audiobook: “A Widow’s Walk with Christ”, by Ronda Chervin with Anne Lassiter

See this online audiobook:

• A Widow’s Walk with Christ, hosted by Ronda Chervin with Anne Lassiter. Available in mp3 format (through this page) at the EWTN Audio Library (through the Series Index). The subjects discussed include: Doubt and Faith; Financial Problems, Single Parenting, and Grandparenting; Loneliness; Church Support for Widows; New Roles for Widows; and Widow Saints: Sisters and Foundresses.

On the Feast of St. Louise de Marillac in the Roman Rite.

O God, our refuge and our strength, look down with mercy upon the people who cry to Thee; and by the intercession of the glorious and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Saint Joseph her spouse, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, in Thy mercy and goodness hear our prayers for the conversion of sinners, and for the liberty and exaltation of the Holy Mother the Church. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen. (From Sancta Missa)

Online ebook: “Weeping with Jesus: The Journey from Grief to Hope”, by Ronda Chervin

See this online ebook:

• Weeping with Jesus: The Journey from Grief to Hope, by Ronda Chervin (2006). Available in PDF format (on this page) of The Books of Ronda Chervin. 90 pages including front pages.
  • [N.B.1, the text states on the 2^nd page that: “Excerpts or the whole of this e-book can be printed by any reader for personal use or to share with friends.”]
  • [N.B.2, the text includes chapters on “The Pain of Loss”, “Doubt and Depression”, and “Living in the Lord ‘until we meet again’”, and has an appendix with various prayers for the dead.]

On the Feast of Saint Frances of Rome in the Roman Rite. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).