Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the Good Shepherd…. My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me…. But a stranger they follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers.” You must discern between the voice of the Master and the voice of the “Father of Lies” (John 8:44). Nobody can do this for you. You must cultivate two things: 1) the Catholic devotions (especially the Rosary), and 2) Solid knowledge of the Catholic faith. Put everything to the test, which is this: “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16).

Devotions

The Prayers and Devotions of Fatima

A Prayer to the Wounds of Christ

An Example of Devotion to the Holy Wounds

O Jesus, dying on the cross for love of poor sinners, by Your sacred head crowned with thorns I beg You to have mercy on the Pope, all bishops, priests, and Religious Orders.

Through the wound in Your right hand I recommend to You my father, mother, brothers, sisters, relations, friends, and benefactors.

Through the wound in Your left hand, my enemies, all poor sinners, and those who have never been baptized. Help Your servants who are trying to convert them.

Through the wound in Your right foot I pray for the poor, the sick, and the dying, and for all who are in any kind of pain, temptation, or trouble.

Through the wound in Your left foot I beg of You mercifully to grant eternal rest to the souls of the faithful departed, especially N.N.

Through the wound in Your sacred Heart, O Jesus, I offer myself to do and suffer all things for Your love. Give me all the graces I stand in need of to do what is most pleasing to You and especially the grace of perseverance.

Source: Father F. X. Lasance. My Prayer-book. “Mass in Honor of the Passion of Our Lord and the Sorrows of Our Lady.”

The Chaplet of Saint Michael

A Means to Cultivate Devotion to the Angels

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art All Good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, by the help of Thy Grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.

On the medal:

V. O God, come to my assistance.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

On the beads:

1. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim, may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.
2. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim, may the Lord vouchsafe to grant us grace to leave the ways of wickedness to run in the paths of Christian perfection. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.
3. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones, may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.
4. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Dominions, may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and subdue our unruly passions. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.
5. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Powers, may the Lord vouchsafe to protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.
6. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues, may the Lord preserve us from evil and suffer us not to fall into temptation. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.
7. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities, may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.
8. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels, may the Lord give us perseverance in faith and in all good works, in order that we gain the glory of paradise. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.
9. SALUTATION. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels, may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted hereafter to eternal glory. Amen. Our Father. 3 Hail Marys.

On the four concluding beads, say one Our Father for St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and your Guardian Angel.

Antiphon. O glorious Prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King, and our admirable conductor, thou who dost shine with excellence and superhuman virtue, vouchsafe to deliver us from all evil, who turn to thee with confidence, and enable us by thy gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.

V. Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ
R. That we may be made worthy of His promises.

Prayer. Almighty and Everlasting God, who by a prodigy of goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, hast appointed the most glorious Archangel, St. Michael, Prince of Thy Church, make us worthy, we beseech Thee, to be delivered by his powerful protection from all our enemies, that none of them may harass us at the hour of death, but that we may be conducted by him into the august presence of Thy Divine Majesty. This we beg through the merits of Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Good Reading

By no means a comprehensive list. There are thousands of titles to choose from.

Essential Reading

• The Catechism of the Council of Trent
• The New Testament (Douay-Rheims Version)
• The Imitation of Christ (Thomas a Kempis)
• Lives of the Saints (Alban Butler)

Spiritual Guides

Here are some of the works that have had the greatest impact over the centuries:

• Introduction to the Devout Life (St. Francis de Sales)
• Spiritual Exercises (St. Ignatius of Loyola)
• The Spiritual Combat (Dom Lorenzo Scupoli)
• The Sinner’s Guide (Venerable Luis de Granada)
• Divine Intimacy (Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.)
• The Manna of the Soul (Fr. Paolo Segnari, S.J.)
• Any work by a saint.

On Devotions

• True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Louis-Marie de Montfort)
• Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Fr. John Croiset, S.J.)

Papal Teaching (Encyclicals)

• Quo Primum, Pope Pius V.
  Granting the privilege, in perpetuity, of saying and hearing the Mass of the Roman Rite.
• Mirari Vos, Pope Gregory XVI.
  On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism.
• Quanta Cura, Pope Pius IX.
  Condemning Current Errors.
  
• Syllabus of Errors, Pope Pius IX.
  A List of Those Errors.
• Libertas, Pope Leo XIII
  On the Nature of Human Liberty.
• Humanum Genus, Pope Leo XIII
  On Freemasonry.
• Our Apostolic Mandate, Pope Pius X.
  Exposé and condemnation of errors creeping into the Church.
• Pascendi Dominici Gregis, Pope Pius X.
  On the Doctrine of the Modernists.
• Lamentabili Sane, Pope Pius X.
  Syllabus Condemning the Errors of the Modernists.
• Oath Against Modernism, Pope Pius X.
  Oath sworn by all clergy until 1967.
• Quas Primas, Pope Pius XI.
  On the Feast of Christ the King.
• Divini Redemptoris, Pope Pius XI.
  On Atheistic Communism.
• Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII.
  Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine the Foundations of Catholic Doctrine.
• Mystici Corporis, Pope Pius XII.
  On the Mystical Body of Christ.