Abp.Fulton J.Sheen

Bishop Sheen

(1895-1979)

Born in El Paso, Illinois, omn May 8,1895. Parents: Newton Morris and Delia Fulton Sheen. Moved to Peioria when he was a young boy. B.A. and M>A. from St.viator College, Illinois.Completed Seminary studies at St.Paul, Minnesota.

Ordained for the diocese of Peioria on Sept.20,1919.

Received his STL and JCB from the CatholicUn. In 1920

Went to Louvain for Ph.D. in 1923

Took his STD from Rome in 1924

Appointed as a curate at St.Patrick’s , Peioria after his return

Joined the Catholic Un. In 1926 as a member of the Faculty of Philosophy. Later , became a full Professor of Phil.

An annual Lenten Preacher at St.Patrick’s NY for many years

Made a Monsignor in 1934

Made a Bishop in in 1951

Appointed the National Director of the Prop. Of Faith in 1950

Appointed the Bishop of Rochester in 1966 by Pope Paul VI

Began Radio broadcasting from 1930

Started the TV series “ Life is worth Living” in 1951

Died on Dec.9,1979

In his autobiography “Treasure in Clay”, Sheen mentions that he has held classes for the converts at St.Patrik’s as well as St.Stephen’s school classrooms.

Life is monotonous if it has no goal or purpose. When we do not know why we are here or where we are going, then life is full of frustrations and unhappiness. When there is no goal or overall purpose, people generally concentrate on motion. Instead of working toward an ideal , they keep changing the ideal and calling it "progress."

Life is full of romance and thrill when it has one overall purpose, namely, to be one with a Life that is Personal enough to be a Father; one with a Truth that is personal enough to be the wisdom from whence come all art and Science; and one that is Personal enough to be a Love that is “Passionless Passion, a wild Tranquility.” Life is worth Living when we live each day to become closer to God.(20)

The Infinity of Littleness:

In order to discover truth, goodness and justice, and God, one must be very humble….What is in humility which corresponds to childlikeness? Humility is not servility, not a readiness to be walked on, not a hatred of self, not psychological self-contempt, not a desire to be placed at a disadvantage. Humility is the virtue that tells us the truth about ourselves, that is, how we stand, not in the eyes of men, but before God.

The Philosophy of Communism:

Communists are right in saying this world needs a revolution, but not their cheap kind, which merely transfers booty and loot out of one man’s pocket into another’s. We need the kind of revolution that will purge out of man’s heart pride and covetousness and lust and anger.

For Better or Worse:

Love that always seems to seek its own pleasure is never really satisfied with the love it gets. The penalty of selfishness in love is terrific. In egotistical love, the ego or self, is projected into the other, not to love the other, but to love the self and its pleasures immersed in the other. …The other is loved only because of the pleasure or service which he or she gives, but not because of the person independently of the pleasure.(77)

Though love is not returned, this is no reason for not loving….But to go on loving in the midst of hate, to sow seeds of kindness where there is no hope of harvest, to forgive when hands are being pierced with nails is not only to diminish the hate of others by localizing marital infections and thus preventing them from becoming epidemics; it is also to purchase the recovery of others through love, for some souls can be purchased only by sacrifice….Let there be in the home a respect for the partner, not on the basis of whether the partner gives pleasure, but because the partner is a person, and a gift of God to be loved as one’s own flesh….But to love another for God’s sake , we must really believe in God.

Why work is boring:

Mechanized work can be saved from drudgery by doing it with a Divine intention….There is no work in the world that cannot be sanctified.All kinds of work can be sanctified and made a prayer , provided they are offered up with a Divine intention .Sanctification is possible when the task is offered in the name of God. We all have work to do that is unpleasant, but it becomes pleasant when we love someone. Work done for the love of god makes a man happier and gives him an inner pea e the world cannot take away.

Education:

Students do not get the education they ought to receive; they get only a congeries of unrelated, disconnected, and disjointed subjects, which they and no one else can put together. An encyclopedia is not educated, despite its bursting knowledge, because it lacks the power to coordinate one subject with another. A truly educated man, on the contrary, sees a relationship between subjects, as he sees coordination in his own body and the universe.

Suffering:

Suffering can be used for reparation. Here we offer it up for others, not just for ourselves….If it is possible to transfuse blood, is it not possible to transfuse prayer? If it is possible to graft skin, is it not possible to graft sacrifice and suffering? We live in a world in which we live on the work of others. We do not raise sheep, though we wear woollen clothes. Others do that work for us. So in the great spiritual community of the lovers of God it is possible to offer up pain and suffering in order that others who lack love of God may find it through our efforts. That is reparation(270).

Prayer:

Divine energy of peace and joy is floating through this world, but many are not receiving it because they chose not to tune in by an act of the will. Millions ands millions of favors are hanging from Heaven on silken cords, and prayer is the sword that cuts them. …Prayer does not change God’s will, but it may change ours, that we become receptive to His blessings.