AnaStpaul

Saints of the Day – 21 August – Saint Bernard of Lérida, Saint Gracia of Lérida, Saint Maria of Lérida

Posted on August 21, 2026August 21, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Siblings, and children of Almanzor, Muslim caliph of Lerida, Catalonia, Spain, during the Moorish Occupation in the 12th century. Saint Bernard converted and became a Benedictine Cistercian monk at Poblet, taking the name Bernard. He then converted his two sisters Gracia and Maria, and together they attempted to convert their other brother, Almanzor, who turned them over to Moorish authorities. They were martyred in 1180.

The exact circumstances surrounding their deaths are not known. Bernard, Gracia and Maria are venerated as the patron saints of Alcira, Valencia, Spain.

Stand fast in the faith, and love one another, all of you, and be not offended at my sufferings.

St Perpetua

Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 21 August – Prayer of Abandonment By St Jane Frances de Chantal

Posted on August 21, 2026August 20, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 21 August – The Memorial of St Jane Frances de Chantal VHM (1572-1641)

Prayer of Abandonment
By St Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

O sovereign goodness
of the sovereign Providence of my God!
I abandon myself forever to Thy arms.
Whether gentle or severe,
lead me henceforth whither Thou will.
I will not regard the way
through which Thou will have me pass
but keep my eyes fixed upon Thee,
my God, who guides me.
My soul finds no rest without the arms
and the bosom of this heavenly Providence,
my true Mother, my strength and my rampart.
Therefore I resolve with Thy Divine assistance,
0 my Saviour,
to follow Thy desires and Thy ordinances,
without regarding or examining
why Thou does this rather than that
but I will blindly follow Thee,
according to Thy Divine will,
without seeking my own inclinations.
Hence I am determined to leave all to Thee,
taking no part therein,
save by keeping myself in peace in Thy arms,
desiring nothing, except as Thou incites me to desire,
to will, to wish.
I offer Thee this desire, 0 my God,
beseeching Thee to bless it.
I undertake all it includes,
relying on Thy goodness,
liberality and mercy,
with entire confidence in Thee,
distrust of myself,
and knowledge of my infinite misery and infirmity.
Amen.

MARIAN TITLES

The 11th Sunday after Pentecost, Our Lady of Knock, Ireland (1879) and Memorials of the Saints – 21 August

Posted on August 21, 2026August 20, 2026 by AnaStpaul

The 11th Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday within the Octave of the Assumption

Our Lady of Knock, Ireland (1879) – 21 August:

The Apparition in County Mayo in Ireland of Our Lady of Knock is reported to have occurred on the evening of 21 August 1879, the Vigil of the Octave of the Feast of the Assumption. Those who witnessed the miracle, ranged in age from five years old to seventy five.

The Apparition was described as follows:
“Our Lady was wearing a large, brilliant crown and clothed in white garments. On her right was Saint Joseph, his head inclined toward her and on her left Saint John the Evangelist. To the left of Saint John was an Altar on which stood a Crucifix and a lamb.”

Standing only a few feet off the ground, the Blessed Virgin wore a white cloak and was described by witnesses as being incredibly beautiful. She wore a bright golden crown and appeared to be praying with her eyes looking toward Heaven with her arms bend in front of her with her palms facing inward.”

Fifteen parishioners stood, before the Apparition, for two hours as they recited the Rosary. Although it was daylight when the Apparition began, the weather changed and it began to rain heavily. The area around the Apparition appeared unaffected, however, as the ground remained dry, as long as the vision lasted. Our Lady did not speak but the gable of the Church where the Apparition occured was covered with a cloud of light.

Saint Joseph, also wore white robes and stood on the Virgin’s right. He inclined his head respectfully toward the Blessed Virgin. Saint John the Evangelist wore a miter and appeared to be preaching as he held a book in his left hand.

Since then thousands of people have made pilgrimages to Knock to pray to Our Lady. Their prayerful, penitential and reverential spirit, has been commended again and again by visitors from other lands. No sign of commercialism detracts from the purely religious atmosphere of that hallowed spot. People from all walks of life kneel in humble supplication before the Shrine of Our Lady, fully confident that she has sanctified that spot by her appearance there.

Organised pilgrimages from various Diocese are conducted frequently to the Shrine The Holy Rosary comprises the main portion of the devotion – the Shrine is, therefore, appropriately called the Rosary Shrine. The “Knock Shrine Annual” relates many wonderful accounts of cures and conversions effected at the Shrine.

St Jane Frances de Chantal VHM (1572-1641) – Mother, Widow, Foundress of the Congregation of the Visitation. Close friend of St Francis de Sales and St Vincent de Paul, both of whom guided and assisted her and her foundation, spiritually.

St Abraham of Smolensk (Died c 1222) Monk, Abbot, Priest, apostle of the poor, Preacher, Biblical scholar and spiritual adviser.

St Agapius of Edessa
St Agathonicus of Constantinople
St Anastasius Cornicularius
St Aria of Rome
St Avitus I of Clermont
St Bassa of Edessa
Bl Beatrice de Roelas
St Bernhard of Lérida
St Bernard de Alziva
St Bonosus
St Camerinus of Sardinia
St Cameron
St Cisellus of Sardinia
St Cyriaca
St Euprepius of Verona
St Fidelis of Edessa
Bl Gilbert of Valenciennes
St Gracia of Lérida
St Hardulph
St Joseph Nien Vien
Bl Ladislaus Findysz
St Leontius the Elder
St Luxorius of Sardinia
St Maria of Lérida
St Maximianus the Soldier
St Maximilian of Antioch
St Natale of Casale Monferrato
St Paternus of Fondi
St Privatus of Mende
St Quadratus of Utica

St Sidonius Apollinaris (c 430 – 489) Bishop, Copnfessor, Poet, Diplomat, Writer, Scholar, Apostle of the poor and of exiles.

St Theogonius of Edessa
St Zoticus the Philosopher

ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 21 August – “They hauled it ashore and sat down to put what was worthwhile into containers”

Posted on August 21, 2026August 20, 2026 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 21 August – The 11th Sunday after Pentecost and the Memorial of St Jane Frances de Chantal VHM (1572-1641) – Readings: Ps 118:75; 118:120, Ps 118:1, Prov 31:10-31, Matt 13:44-52

I know, O Lord, that Your ordinances are just, and in Your faithfulness You have afflicted me. Pierce my flesh with Your fear; I fear Your ordinances.

Ps 118:75; 118:120

REFLECTION – “He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his truth.” Which justice and which truth? He will gather to him his chosen ones; the others he will separate, for he will place the former at his right and the latter at his left. What will be more just, more true than that? Those who did not want to practice mercy before the judge came, will not expect mercy from the judge. Those who wanted to practice mercy, will be judged with mercy. For he will say to those whom he has placed at his right: “Come. You have my Father’s blessing! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.” And he will attribute acts of mercy to them: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink” and all that follows.

Because you are unjust, will the Judge not be just? Because you sometimes lie, will Truth not be truthful? If you want to meet a merciful judge, be merciful before he comes. Forgive if someone has offended you; give away the possessions of which you have an abundance. Give what you have received from him: “Name something you have that you have not received.” These are the sacrifices that are very pleasing to God: mercy, humility, gratitude, peace, charity. If that is what we bring in sacrifice, we will await with assurance the coming of the Judge, of him who “shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his truth.”

Saint Augustine

PRAYER – Almighty and merciful God, Who endowed St Jane Frances, burning with love of Thee, with a wondrous strength of spirit through all the paths of life, in the way of perfection and willed through her, to ennoble Thy Church, by a new religious family, grant by her merits and prayers, that we who are aware of our weakness, may trust firmly in Thy power and, by the assistance of divine grace, overcome all obstacles in our way. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen

CATHOLIC Quotes

Quote/s of the Day – 21 August – St Jane Frances de ChantaL

Posted on August 21, 2026August 20, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 21 August – The Memorial of St Jane Frances de Chantal VHM (1572-1641)

“All God wants is our heart.”

“We think not enough of this Truth –
that God is present with us
that He sees our thoughts,
even long before we have them.
That He knows what we think
and shall think, better than we ourselves
that He sees the folds and recesses,
of our heart
and of this other Truth –
that NOTHING HAPPENS to us
but by the order of Providence.
We should all be Saints,
if we well apprehended these Truths.
And truly, it is a great consolation,
to know that God sees
the bottom of our heart.”

“Suffering borne … quietly and patiently,
is a continual, very powerful prayer,
before God.”

“Hold your eyes on God
and leave the doing to Him.
That is all the doing,
you have to worry about.”

“Follow your own way of speaking to our Lord,
sincerely, lovingly, confidently and simply,
as your heart dictates.”

“In prayer one must hold fast and never let go,
because the one who gives up, loses all.
If it seems that no-one is listening to you,
then cry out even louder.
If you are driven out of one door,
go back in by the other.”

“Must you continue to be your own cross?
No matter which way God leads you,
you change everything into bitterness
by constantly brooding over everything.
For the love of God,
replace all this self-scrutiny,
with a pure and simple glance at God’s goodness.”

AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Thought for the Day – 21 August – Mary’s Heart, the Hill of Calvary

Posted on August 21, 2026August 20, 2026 by AnaStpaul

St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Hill of Calvary

Last in my series of symbolic pictures of the holy Heart of the spotless Virgin I show you Calvary, as it reveals the sorrows of the crucified Heart of Mary at the time of her Son’s Passion.

What is Calvary? It is a mountain, the most important and notable mountain of the Holy Land. What is the Heart of the Mother of God? Is it not also a mountain, the most illustrious mountain of that blessed land referred to in these words of Sacred Scripture: “Lord, thou has blessed the land.” This land is the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her Heart is the noblest and highest peak of her body and of her soul.

What is Calvary? It is Mount Moriah on which God commanded Abraham to slay his son, Isaac. The Hebrew rendition of the twenty second chapter of Genesis reads: “Go into the land of Moriah,” instead of the usual version: “Go into the land of vision.” ? It is the place where King David raised an altar and offered sacrifice that God might stop the plague that ravaged his people, and also the site on which Solomon erected the Temple of Jerusalem, for Mount Sion is the same as Mount Moriah, and Calvary is part of the same chain of hills.

What is Calvary? It is the place where the Cross of Jesus was raised. And was the Cross of Salvation not raised first of all in Mary’s holy Heart? What is Calvary? It is the place stained with the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. But Mary’s Heart was bathed with It through love and compassion and the Precious Blood of her beloved Son penetrated and impregnated His Mother far more than it soaked the soil of Calvary.

On Calvary, we behold the thorns that wounded the adorable head of our Saviour, the nails that pierced His hands and feet, the lance that opened His Heart, the ropes that bound Him, the gall and vinegar He was given to drink, and the wounds which covered His body from head to foot. We can see the same wounds in the maternal Heart of His saintly Mother. “The Cross and the nails which crucified the Son’s body, crucified the Mother’s Heart as well.” St. Jerome quotes St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, as saying: “All the wounds which covered the body of Jesus, had their counterpart in Mary’s Heart. The whips, the thorns, the nails which pierced and tore the Saviour’s body, ran through His holy Mother’s Heart and shattered it. Every blow rending the body of the Son had its cruel echo in the Heart of His Mother.”

“O my Queen,” exclaims St. Bonaventure, “Thou art not only standing near the Cross, but thou art with Thy Son on the Cross; Thou dost suffer, thou art crucified with Him, the only difference being that while He suffers in His body, thou dost suffer in thy loving Heart. All the wounds scattered over His body are united in thy Heart, because the sword of sorrow has pierced thy very soul. Thy virginal Heart, O my sovereign Lady, is wounded by the lance, pierced by the nails and thorns, heaped with opprobrium, ignominy and imprecations, saturated with vinegar and gall. Why wouldst thou, most honored Lady, be immolated for us? Is not our Saviour’s Passion sufficient for our salvation? Must the mother also be crucified with her Son? O sweetest Heart, so full of love, must thou then be changed into bitter sorrow? I seek to behold thy loving Heart, my dearest Mistress, but it seems to have vanished and in its place I find only the bitterness of gall, myrrh and absinth. I seek the Mother of God and I find only thorns, nails, a lance, a sponge and vinegar. I look for Mary on the Cross, and I see only spittle, insults, lashes and wounds, so truly has she been overwhelmed by outrages.” I see my Redeemer crucified, suffering, agonizing, dying and finally dead on Calvary. I also behold His sorrows, suffering, agony and death in His Blessed Mother’s Heart. “She had lived of her Son’s life, and when He died on the Cross, she died with Him,” says a holy Premonstratensian Abbot.

“Both Mother and Son were nailed to the Cross, the Son in the body, the Mother in her Heart,” exclaims St. Lawrence Justinian,’ the sainted Patriarch of Venice. “Could not Mary die in her Heart, as Jesus died in His body?” asks St. Bernard.

On Calvary, the only Son of Mary gave us an inestimable gift, when in the excess of His incomprehensible goodness He addressed Himself to each one of us in the person of St. John and speaking of His holy Mother, said to us: “Behold thy Mother.” And from Calvary, the Mother of Jesus, whose sentiments and will are one with those of her beloved Son, gives herself to us to be our Mother with the same Heart and with an equal love. Having enshrined the words of her Son in her maternal Heart, she echoes them again, and adopts each one of us in particular. Thus both Jesus and Mary say to us: “Behold thy Mother.”

SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 20 August

Posted on August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Within the Octave of the Assumption

St Bernard O.Cist. (1090-1153) Abbot of the Order of Citeaux (the Cistercians), Confessor, “Doctor Mellifluus” of the Church and the Last Father of the Church,“The Bard of Mary”- Theologian, Reformer, Writer, Mystic, Preacher, Mariologist, Advisor, Mediator, Poet. St Bernard, the Founding Abbot of Clairvaux Abbey in Burgundy, France, was one of the most commanding Church leaders in the first half of the twelfth century, as well as, one of the greatest spiritual masters of all time and the most powerful propagator of the Cistercian reform.

St Amadour the Hermit
St Bernard of Valdeiglesius

St Bernardo Tolomei (1272 – 1348) Founder, Theologian, Mystic, Hermit, Lawyer, Soldier, Politician.

St Brogan
St Burchard of Worms
St Christopher of Cordoba
St Cristòfol Baqués Almirall
St Edbert of Northumbria
Bl Georg Hafner
Bl Gervais-Protais Brunel
St Gobert of Apremont
St Haduin of Le Mans
St Heliodorus of Persia
St Herbert Hoscam
St Leovigild of Cordoba
Bl Louis-François Lebrun
St Lucius of Cyprus
St Maximus of Chinon

Blessed Maria de Mattias ASC (1805-1866) Founder of the religious Congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Mystic, Teacher, Preacher, Catechist

St Oswine of Deira (Died 651) King, Martyr, King of Deira in northern England.

St Philibert of Jumièges (c 608–684) Abbot and Monastic Founder, particularly of Jumièges Abbey.

St Porphyrius of Palestrina
St Ronald of Orkney
St Samuel the Patriarch
Bl Wladyslaw Maczkowski
St Zacchaeus the Publican

Uncategorized

Saints of the Day – 20 August – St Zacchaeus & St Amadour the Hermit

Posted on August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Saint Zacchaeus the Publican, also known as Zaccheo, whose name means “pure, innocent”, was a chief tax-collector at Jericho, who climbed a tree in order to see Jesus because he couldn’t see over the crowd. Jesus decided to go to the man’s house, and when the locals grumbled that Christ was friendly with sinners, Zacchaeus showed his conversion by making retribution to any he had harmed, and by giving largely to charity.

Jesus invites Zacchaeus to come down from the sycamore tree

Many things are reported of him after this, including that he married Saint Veronica, that he became bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, and that he is Saint Amadour who was an early hermit in France. At Jericho there is a large, square tower, which by tradition is named the House of Zacchaeus.

Saint Amadour, also known as Amadour of Lucca, Amadour of Rocamadour, Amadoro, Amator, Amatore. In 1126 or 1162 (records vary), the body of this saint was found, possibly incorrupt, in a tomb with indications that the person had died about 1000 years earlier. No doubt for good reasons, people at the time decided that he was Saint Zacchaeus the Publican who changed his name when he converted to Christianity. Tradition records that he was a servant in the house of the Holy Family. He married St. Veronica, going with her to Gaul where they spread the Christian faith around Bordeaux. Amadour is also recorded as having gone to Rome to witness the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul. He returned to Gaul and after the death of St. Veronica he became a hermit at Quircy, France, where he built a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

There is also a pilgrimage path closeby to his shrine, and some relics enshrined at the Saint Michelotto Franciscan convent.

Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 20 August – To Thee We Cry, O Queen of Mercy! By St Bernard

Posted on August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 20 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the Memorial of St Bernard (1090-1153) Confessor, “The Bard of Mary”

To Thee We Cry,
O Queen of Mercy!
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

To thee we cry,
O Queen of Mercy!
Return, that we may behold
thee, dispensing favours,
bestowing remedies,
giving strength.
Ah, tender Mother!
Tell thy All-powerful Son
that we have no more wine.
We are thirsty after the wine of His Love,
of that marvellous wine,
which fills souls with a holy inebriation,
inflames them
and gives them the strength
to despise the things of this world
and to seek, with ardour,
Heavenly goods.
Amen.

ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 20 August – “In order that the Scripture might be fulfilled”

Posted on August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 20August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the Memorial of St Bernard (1090-1153) Confessor – Readings: Sir 15:5, Ps 91:2, Ecclus 39:6-14, Matt 5:13-19

Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

Matt 5:13-19

REFLECTION – “I have come not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it”… Indeed, at that time, by his own power and in his own person, the Lord fulfilled all the mysteries the law foretold concerning himself. All prophecies were fulfilled by his passion. When, as holy David predicted, a sponge full of vinegar was offered him on the cross, he accepted it and said: “It is fulfilled”; and bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.

Now as well as carrying out himself all that had been prophesied, he also gave us commandments to carry out. Of old the easier commandments laid down by the law were not observed, but we, by grace and the power of the cross, are expected to observe more difficult ones.

Epiphanius of Benevento (5th-6th centuries)

PRAYER – O God, Who gave to Thy people, blessed Bernard, as a minister of salvation, grant, we beseech Thee, that we, who cherished him on earth as a teacher of life, may be found worthy to have him as an intercessor in Heaven.Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen

AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, CATHOLIC Quotes

Quote/s of the Day – 20 August – St Bernard

Posted on August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 20 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the Memorial of St Bernard (1090-1153) Abbot, Confessor, “Doctor Mellifluus” of the Church and the Last Father of the Church,“The Bard of Mary”

With good reason is Mary called the center of the earth, for all the inhabitants of Heaven, and those of hell, those who come before us, and those who will come after us, their children’s children and their entire posterity look to her as to the midst and the center of the earth. She is, in fact, next to her divine Son, the mediator between God and Man, between the Head and the members of the Mystical Body, the Church, between the Old and New Testament, between Heaven and earth, between justice and mercy. They look to her as to the Ark of God, Ark of the Covenant and of peace between God and His people, as the cause of all that is good and the masterpiece of all ages, past and to come.

Very desirable is the virtue of virginity, yet humility is more necessary. We are counselled to embrace the former, but the latter is a matter of precept. To the one we are invited, to the other we are constrained. Concerning virginity the Saviour only says, ‘He that can take it, let him take it’, whereas He speaks thus of humility: ‘Unless you be converted and become as little children you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ The first, therefore, is commended with the promise of a special reward, whilst the second is exacted as a debt.

Virginity is a virtue that is found with few, but far fewer are they who combine it with humility. If therefore thou be one who can only admire the virginity of Mary, apply thyself with zeal to copy her humility, and that will be enough for thee. But if thou art both a virgin and a humble virgin, thou hast attained to true greatness, whosoever thou mayest be.

Nevertheless, there is something further for thee to admire in Mary, something even more wonderful than this union of humility with virginity. I refer to that prerogative by which she unites integrity with fruitfulness. For ‘from the beginning of the world it hath not been heard that any” woman was at one and the same time a mother and a virgin. And oh! If thou remeberest Whose Mother she was, what bounds shalt thou set to thy admiration of her incomparable grandeur? Shalt thou not be brought to understand that thou canst never admire her as much as she deserves?

Is not the God of the universe and the Lord of the angels called Son by Mary, who, as the Evangelist St Luke, tells us, once said to Him, “Son, why hast Thou done so to us?” Which of the celestial princes would dare to use such language? Mary, remembering that she is His Mother, gives with confidence the name of Son to that awful Majesty Whom angels are happy to serve with lowly reverence.

The inhabitants of Heaven, that is, the angels, look to her as to the one through whom the losses inflicted on them by sin will be repaired; those who are in the fiery torment, which here means purgatory, look to her as to the one through whose mediation they will be delivered, those who came before us see in her the fulfilment of the ancient prophecies, those who shall follow us consider her as the means whereby they will one day be crowned with immortal glory.

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AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Thought for the Day – 20 August – Mary’s Heart, the Fiery Furnace of Babylon

Posted on August 20, 2026August 19, 2026 by AnaStpaul

St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Fiery Furnace of Babylon

Another symbolic picture of the admirable Heart of the most Holy Mother of God is the miraculous furnace described in the third chapter of the Prophet Daniel. St. John Damascene and many other holy Doctors affirm that the fiery furnace was a figure of the sinless Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary and its burning fire a reflection of the heavenly fire in the holy breast of the Mother of Fair Love. Here are St. John Damascene’s words: “Is it not true,” he says addressing Our Lady, “that this furnace, filled with a fire at once burning and refreshing, was a faithful image of thee and an excellent picture of the divine and eternal fire dwelling within thee?”

But you may well ask how anything so noble and holy as the Heart of the Queen of Heaven could be represented by the furnace of Babylon, an instrument of torture designed by the wickedness and cruelty of King Nabuchodonosor? Remember that the three young men, Sidrach, Misach and Abdenago, thrown into the furnace to be burnt to ashes, belonged to the people of Israel, and everything that happened to the Israelites was a figure and a foreshadowing of the great miracles that were to be fulfilled in Christianity, and in the Father and Mother of Christians. “All these things happened to them in figure.” Remember also that St. Augustine and St. Gregory the Great tell us that Sacred Scripture mentions many objects which though profane and wicked in themselves, are nevertheless a representation of good and holy thoughts.

Certainly that furnace was the product of Nabuchodonosor’s impious rage, but divine Providence, without whose order and permission nothing can happen, designated it to show the extent of the power of God and the marvels of His goodness, through the miraculous protection given to His faithful friends.

In the furnace of Babylon we behold many marvels wrought by God’s omnipotence. Consider that in the midst of the furnace filled with fire and flame, there should be a refreshing wind, likened to fragrant dew. “The angel made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind bringing dew.” What a marvel it is to behold a burning furnace whose flames protect those inside its crucible, while they destroy those who remain outside! What a miracle to see fire comforting and refreshing those cast into the sevenfold heat of its flames, while burning to death those standing at a safe distance! How miraculous for three young men to survive in a furnace whose flames leapt to a height of forty-nine cubits, not suffering injury but walking about with joy as in a place of delight! The three gladly sang the praises of Almighty God and emerged from their ordeal with greater strength and vigor than before while the fire could not so much as singe a single fibre of their clothing. Great indeed are the marvels to be found in Babylon’s furnace; yet they merely foreshadow the miracles which we find in the furnace of the glowing Heart of the Queen of Angels.

It is a great miracle to witness fire and water subsisting side by side in the furnace of Nabuchodonosor. The fire did not turn the cooling water into steam nor did the water quench the burning heat of the fire. What manner of fire is this? It is the fire of divine love burning in the Virginal Heart of Mary. What is the cooling dew? It is the water of tribulation, which so often flooded the holy Heart of the Mother of Sorrows. The fire of love did not dry up the waters of affliction; and the waters of tribulation were unable, I shall not say to extinguish, but even to diminish in the least degree the divine ardor of that heavenly fire.

Love has the virtue of fire, that it may unceasingly inflame the Virgin Mother’s purest Heart with its sacred ardour, and also the properties of water, as it extinguishes entirely the fire of self-love and of attachment to vain and perishable things. Is it not a great miracle to behold a fire refreshing, consoling and filling with joy the children of the Mother of God, while it pursues, burns, devours its enemies? Her virginal Heart, which is ablaze with love for her true children, directs the fire and flame of its anger against those who injure or scandalize her loved ones.

Three Hebrew children walked safely in the first furnace; yet the prophet saw there four, and the fourth was like the Son of God. “The form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Actually it was an angel, representing the Only-begotten Son of God in the Babylonian furnace, but this same Son of God resides and dwells in person in the glowing Heart of His most holy Mother. He is all fire and flame of love and charity. “The Lord thy God is a consuming fire.”

We also notice that the three young men were bound hand and foot when thrown into the furnace, but immediately their bonds were consumed by the fire and they were freed within the furnace. Come, come, poor slaves of sin and of the world! Come, slaves of passion, of self-love and self-will, chained in the irons and fetters of Babylon! Fear not to plunge into our sacred furnace! These flames will not harm you; instead they will destroy your fetters and establish you in the holy liberty of the children of God and of His loving Mother. They will inflame your hearts with the fire of heavenly love, they will transform them into divine fire itself.

Your hearts must become furnaces of eternal love, if they would avoid being ranked with the miserable hearts of the wicked against whom the terrible sentence was uttered: “Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire, in the time of thy anger.” What dost Thou will to do, O Lord, with the ungrateful wretches, whom Thou didst create to love Thee, whose obligations to love Thee are boundless, yet who have loved everything but Thee, and have even kindled fires of insult and heaped outrages upon Thee? Thou shalt make of them furnaces of wrath, in the time of Thy terrible vengeance. Thou shalt hurl them into the eternal fire prepared for Satan and his minions, where they will be swallowed, burned and penetrated by the infernal fire. In life these souls would not permit the sweet and radiant flames of Thy holy love to burn within them, so they shall be yielded to the eternal torments of devouring fire in endless hell.

Would you avoid this tragedy, the greatest of all misfortunes? Then give your hearts to your admirable Queen, imploring her to offer them to her beloved Son with the prayer that He may kindle in them the fire He came to spread on earth, the fire He so greatly desires should be lighted. On your part, correspond by removing every obstacle from your hearts, and if this sacred flame is already burning there, make every effort to increase it more and more, by the practice of Christian virtues, the meditation of the gospel and especially the exercise of divine love and charity.

SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 19 August

Posted on August 19, 2026August 18, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Within the Octave of the Assumption

St John Eudes (1601-1680) Confessor, Priest, Missionary, Founder, Preacher, Writer, Mystic, he founded the Congregation of Jesus (The Eudists) and Mary and the Order of Our Lady of Charity and was the Author of the propers for the Mass and Divine Office of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Known as “The Apostle of Two Hearts.” Beatified on 25 April 1909 by Pope Pius X and Canonised on 31 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

St Andrew the Tribune
St Badulf of Ainay
St Bertulf of Luxeuil
St Calminius
St Credan of Evesham
St Donatus of Mount Jura
St Elaphius of Châlons
St Guenninus
Bl Guerricus
Bl Hugh Green

Blessed Jordan of Pisa OP (c 1255–1311) Dominican Friar, Theologian, Professor, renowned Preacher, Founder of the Confraternity of the Holy Redeemer at Pisa, Visionary, Marian devotee, promoter and daring innovator of the vernacular Italian language as a ‘church’ language and a tool for evangelisation. On 23 August 1833, Blessed Jordan’s cultus was confirmed by Pope Gregory XVI and in 1838 he was Beatified by Pope Gregory XVI.

St Julius of Rome

St Louis of Toulouse OFM (1274-1297) Prince and Bishop, Neapolitan Prince of the Capetian House of Anjou, Franciscan Friar and Priest, Apostle of Prayer, of Penance and of the poor and the sick. He had received the last sacraments on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady and on the 19th of August, 1297, while pronouncing the holy name of Mary, he yielded his soul to God. Because of the many miracles that were wrought at his tomb, he was Canonised as early as 1317, during the lifetime of his mother.

St Magnus of Anagni
St Magnus of Avignon
St Magnus of Cuneo
St Marianus of Entreaigues
St Marinus of Besalu
St Magino of Tarragona
St Mochta
St Namadia of Marsat
St Rufinus of Mantua
St Sarah the Matriarch
St Sebaldus
St Thecla of Caesarea
St Timothy of Gaza

Martyrs of Nagasaki – 15 Beati: A group of missionaries and their laymen supporters who were executed for spreading Christianity in Japan.
• Antonius Yamada
• Bartholomaeus Mohyoe
• Iacobus Matsuo Denji
• Ioachim Díaz Hirayama
• Ioannes Miyazaki Soemon
• Ioannes Nagata Matashichi
• Ioannes Yago
• Laurentius Ikegami Rokusuke
• Leo Sukeemon
• Ludovic Frarijn
• Marcus Takenoshita Shin’emon
• Michaël Díaz Hori
• Paulus Sankichi
• Pedro de Zúñiga
• Thomas Koyanagi
They were beheaded on 19 August 1622 at Nagasaki, Japan and Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 19 August – Saint Sarah the Matriarch

Posted on August 19, 2026August 18, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Saint Sarah the Matriarch, also known as Sari, Sarai, Sara, the wife of the Patriarch Abraham and also his step-sister. Her name means ‘princess’. A pious woman, renowned for her hospitality and beauty, she was a convert from paganism, the first female convert to the faith of Abraham. With her husband she was a nomad in the desert of Canaan.

When Abraham goes down to Egypt because of the famine, he induces Sara, who though sixty-five years of age is very beautiful, to say that she is his sister; whereupon she is taken to wife by the King of Egypt, who, however, restores her after a Divine admonition. In a variant account, she is taken in similar circumstances by Abimelech, King of Gerara, and restored likewise to Abraham through a Divine intervention.

After having been barren till the age of ninety, Sara, in fulfilment of a Divine promise, gives birth to Isaac (A name which means ‘Laughter’). Later, through jealousy, she ill-treats her handmaiden Hagar the Egyptian, who had borne a child to Abraham, and finally she forces that latter to drive away the bond-woman and her son Ishmael. Sara lived to the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years, and at her death her husband mourned greatly and buried her in the cave of Macphelah in Hebron. This was the first land owned by the Israelites in Canaan, which became known as the Cave of the Patriarchs. Isaiah alludes to Sara as the mother of the chosen people, and St. Peter praises her submission to her husband. In Galatians Paul also uses her as an allegory of the new covenant.

“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother…Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise…Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.”

Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 19August – To the Two Loving Hearts By St John Eudes

Posted on August 19, 2026August 18, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 19August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the Memorial of St John Eudes (1601-1680) Confessor, “The Apostle of Two Hearts.”

To the Two Loving Hearts
By St John Eudes (1601-1680)

O Jesus, only Son of God, only Son of Mary,
I offer You the most loving Heart
of Your divine Mother
which is more precious
and pleasing to You than all hearts.

O Mary, Mother of Jesus,
I offer you the most adorable Heart
of your well-beloved Son,
who is the life and love and joy of your Heart.

Blessed be the Most Loving Heart
and Sweet Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ
and the most glorious
Virgin Mary, His Mother,
in eternity and forever.
Amen

ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 19 August– “You are the light of the world”

Posted on August 19, 2026August 18, 2026 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 19 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the Memorial of St John Eudes (1601-1680) Confessor, “The Apostle of Two Hearts”– Readings: Ps 36:30-31, Ps 36:1, Sir 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40

The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom, and his tongue utters what is right. The law of his God is in his heart.

Ps 36:30-31

REFLECTION – How blessed, how happy are those servants, “whom the lord when he comes shall find watching!” Blessed watch, in which they watch for God the Creator of the universe, who fills all things and surpasses all!

Would that me also, wretched though I be, yet his poor servant, he might deign so to arouse from the sleep of idleness, so to kindle with that fire of divine love, that the flame of his love, the longing of his so great charity, would mount above the stars, and the divine fire would ever burn within me! Would that I were of such deserving, that my lamp might ever burn by night in the temple of my Lord, that to all entering the house of my God it might give light. Lord, grant me, I pray you in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, my God, that love which knows no fall, so that my lamp may feel the kindling touch and know no quenching, may burn for me and for others may give light.

Saint Columbanus

PRAYER – O God, Who wondrously enkindled St John, Thy Confessor, to promote the religious veneration of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and through him, willed to found new religious families in the Church, grant, we beseech Thee that we may honour his holy merits and may learn from the example of his virtues. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Quote/s of the Day – 19 August – St John Eudes

Posted on August 19, 2026August 18, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 19 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – and the Memorial of St John Eudes (1601-1680) Confessor, “The Apostle of Two Hearts”

“The crosses with which our path
through life is strewn,
associate us with Jesus
in the Mystery of His Crucifixion.”

“No-one who shall invoke
this Mother of Grace,
with devotion and perseverance,
can possibly perish forever.”

“Let infidels and heretics,
let the relatives and the friends
of bad Catholics,
weep without consolation
and weep unceasingly,
for the death of their departed ones!”

Thy royal heart is our pure light, our refuge safe. Why should I fear? Her goodness is firm support of our lives, Nothing can trouble our hearts.

Consider how strange it is! The world offers nothing but crumbs and dregs of feasting, empty fame, wealth and fleeting pleasure, but it sells you these stale crumbs and dregs at the costly price of worry, pain, bitterness, restlessness, anguish, often even at the price of your very life. On the other hand, the Divine Son of God and of Mary offers you the refreshment and rapture of the fountain of the fulness of the House of God, of which you are free to drink forever. O what blind, blind folly it is to choose the goblet of sin instead of the chalice of Our Saviour!

Blessed indeed are the hearts of the true children of Mary, who strive to live in conformity with the most holy Heart of their Mother most admirable!

AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Thought for the Day – 19 August – Mary’s Heart, the Temple of Jerusalem

Posted on August 19, 2026August 18, 2026 by AnaStpaul

St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Temple of Jerusalem Part Two

St. Epiphanius and St. John Damascene, together with several other Doctors, tell us that the golden candlestick is a figure of the Holy Mother of God. Next to Jesus, her beloved Son, Mary is the most luminous torch and the brightest light of the House of God. “O virginal candlestick,” says St. Epiphanius,” which enlightened those who sat in the shadow of death! O virginal torch, which dissipated the gloom of hell, and caused the brilliance of heaven to shine in our souls! O radiant lamp, ever filled with the oil of grace and light, with the fire of divine love, lighting our minds and inflaming our hearts! This virginal light has spread its splendour throughout the world!”

The remarkable table in Solomon’s temple, described in the twenty fifth chapter of Exodus, was made by divine command from the wood of Setim, not a common variety of cedar, but according to the Septuagint, a most rare and altogether incorruptible wood. The table was completely covered with gold-plate and edged with a gold-plated cornice or border surrounding it like a crown while two additional golden crowns embellished it. It was designed to hold the loaves of proposition that were offered to God daily by the priests, and were thus named because they lay in the temple as a perpetual sacrifice proposed or exposed to the Divine Majesty. Afterwards they were consumed by the priests.

The Fathers of the Church all agree that the loaves of proposition were a figure of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the royal bread that came down from Heaven. Christ is the bread of the angels, the bread of God, the bread of the children of God, a bread which is the nourishment and life of the Christian soul, and all Christians are called priests in Sacred Scripture: Fecisti nos Deo nostro sacerdotes. Some are priests by office and bear the special character of consecrated priesthood; others share it by participation. What is the table bearing this divine bread, prefigured by the table carrying the loaves of proposition? St. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, answers that it was the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Epiphanius confirms his words.

Is not the table designed to receive the bread and food laid on it? Is it not true that the Heart of the Mother of God was the first to receive Our Lord as He came forth from the bosom of the Eternal Father? Did she not receive Him in order to give Him to us? Is it not true that the Eternal Father carries His Beloved Son in His all-glorious Heart from all eternity and that the Blessed Virgin will carry her Son in her Heart for all eternity? Hence we hear the words which the Holy Ghost puts on Mary’s lips: “I was with him,” that is, with the Eternal Father, “forming all things.” In the Hebrew version this passage reads: “I was with Him and near Him as a nurse,” which reveals Mary’s role as the Mother who gives nourishment to mankind.

Several learned interpreters of Sacred Scripture teach us that the altar of perfumes of the Mosaic temple represents the hearts of the faithful, which are symbolized as altars on which each one should offer a perpetual sacrifice of prayer and praise to God. Now if the hearts of the children of God were figured by this altar, how much more truly does it symbolize the Heart of the Mother of God, which is after the Heart of Jesus, the first and holiest of all altars? It is “the golden altar, which is before the throne of God,” mentioned in the eighth chapter of the Apocalypse. On this altar the Mother of the Saviour offered to God a sacrifice of love, adoration, praise, thanksgiving and prayer far more to His Divine Majesty than all the sacrifices that ever were or ever shall be offered on all other altars.

If we consult the Fathers of the Church we learn particularly from St. Ambrose that the Ark of the Covenant was a figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and therefore of her most holy Heart, the holy Heart, the first and noblest part of her person. “Yes,” exclaims the seraphic St. Bonaventure “the Ark of Moses was merely a reflection of the Virgin’s Heart. Her Heart is the true ark containing within itself the secrets of the divine Word and the treasure of the law of God.” A holy Abbot of the Cistercian Order calls Mary the Ark of Sanctification, containing revelations written by the hand of God. She is the holy Ark of the Covenant, the Covenant by which God reconciled us with Himself and pledged His alliance with us forever. Next to God, Mary’s Heart should be the first object to which we look up when we pray.

But let us remember that the Heart of Mary is a tower of ivory, zurris eburnea, which does not suffer within its precincts anything defiled and unclean. It is the tower of David, open only to those who follow the meekness of Jesus Christ, the true David.

St. Gregory of Nyssa states that the Tables of the Mosaic Law kept in the temple of Solomon were a figure symbolic of the hearts of the Saints. Now, if the hearts of the Saints are real tables of the evangelical law, what shall we say of the holy Heart of the Queen of Saints, who is the Mother of the Saint of saints? Her glorious Heart is the first and holiest table of the Christian law. It is not made of stone, but of gold, or better still, of diamond; it is not dead but living; not breakable like the tables of Moses but indestructible. On it the Holy Ghost, the finger of God, has written and engraved in golden letters, not merely the will of God and His laws, but all the counsels, maxims and-truths of the gospel as well. They are so deeply engraved that the united forces of hell and of earth could more easily snatch the sun from the sky and-destroy the world than remove a single iota or tarnish a single letter of this sacred writing.

The Propitiatory is regarded as another figure symbolic of the glorious Virgin because by her intercession the flame of God’s wrath was extinguished, His Divine Majesty was turned to look upon mankind with favor and His infinite mercy moved Him to compassion for our infirmities. For this reason St. Ildephonsus calls the Mother of Grace; Propitiatio humanae salutis. “The propitiation of man’s salvation.” St. Andrew of Crete styles Mary: Universi mundi commune propitiatorium. “The universal propitiatory of the entire world.”

St. Augustine, St. Gregory the Great, and several other Fathers say that the Altar of Holocausts also symbolized the hearts of all the Saints, who are the real altars on which God is honored by the spiritual sacrifices offered day and night to His Divine Majesty. Yet much more truly can this be said of the Holy Heart of Mary. “Her Heart is the true altar of holocaust,” says the illustrious John Gerson, “and on it the sacred fire of divine love blazed day and night.” The Mother of the Sovereign Priest constantly offered to God sacrifices of love, praise, thanksgiving, expiation for the sins of the world and every possible sacrifice. On the altar of her Heart Mary sacrificed to God all the things of the world and every creature of the universe as so many different victims. She sacrificed her being, life, body, soul, all her thoughts, words and actions, the employment of her senses and faculties, and in general, all that she was, all that she possessed and every power of her soul. She offered to the Divine Majesty the very sacrifice that her Son Jesus Christ offered on Calvary. Our adorable Saviour offered Himself to the Eternal Father only once on the altar of the Cross, but His holy Mother immolated Him ten thousand times on the altar of her pure Heart.

What veneration is then due to this sacred altar! Be thou blessed, O God of my heart, for having consecrated this most worthy altar to the glory of thy most adorable majesty. Deign to transform our cold hearts into glowing altars on which we may offer Thee an unremitting sacrifice of praise and love.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 18 August – Saints Florus and Laurus

Posted on August 18, 2026August 17, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Saints Florus and Laurus were twin brothers who worked as stonemasons. They were originally from Byzantium but settled in Ulpiana, Dardania, south of modern Pristina, Kosovo. They were educated in masonry by two men named Maximus and Proculus, who were Christians, and who were later sentenced to death for being so.

Likaion, the prefect of the district, employed the brothers in the construction of a pagan temple. The brothers gave their salaries to the poor. When the son of a local pagan priest named Mamertin was blinded by a chip of stone from the saints’ temple, Florus and Laurus cured the boy after he converted to Christianity. Mamertin also converted to Christianity as a result of his son’s recovery.

After the temple was finished, the twins brought together many local Christians. The group smashed all of the statues of the pagan gods, and a cross was set up in the temple, then they spent the whole night in prayer within it. As a result of this action, the local authorities had 300 Christians, including Mamertin and Mamertin’s son, burned to death.

Florus and Laurus were executed differently; Likaion had them thrown down an empty well, which was then covered with earth. Many years later their relics were recovered and transferred to Constantinople.

See how you lie prostrate unto death, while John who was killed is alive. You have lost the purple that received its colour from dye, John is forever gloriously clothed with the radiant purple from his blood.

St Peter Chrysologus

SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 18 August

Posted on August 18, 2026August 17, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Within the Octave of the Assumption of Our Lady

St Agapitus the Martyr (c 259- c 274) Roman Youth aged 15

St Helena (c 250 – c 330) Mother of Constantine the Great

St Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850) Monk, Abbot, Defender of Icons, Miracle worker

St Crispus of Rome
St Daig Maccairaill
Bl Domenico de Molinar
St Eonus of Arles
St Ernan
St Evan of Ayrshire
St Firminus of Metz
St Florus of Illyria
Bl Francus of Francavilla
Bl Gaspar di Salamanca
St Hermas of Rome
St John of Rome
St Juliana of Myra
St Juliana of Stobylum
St Laurus of Illyria
St Leo of Myra
Bl Leonard of Cava
St Maximus of Illyria
Bl Milo of Fontenelle
St Polyaenus of Rome
St Proculus of Illyria

Blessed Rinaldo of Concorezzo (c 1245 – 1321) Bishop of Vicenza from 1296 until his 1303 appointment as the Archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia holding that until his death, Doctor of Canon Law, Papal envoy, Arbitrator and Peace-maker. Archbishop Rinaldo was also a close friend of Dante Alighieri.

St Ronan of Iona
St Serapion of Rome

Massa Candida: Also known as Martyrs of Utica and the White Company: Three hundred 3rd century Christians at Carthage, who were ordered to burn incense to Jupiter or face death by fire. Martyrs. Saint Augustine of Hippo and the poet Prudentius wrote about them. They were forced to cast themselves into a pit of burning lime c 253 at Carthage, North Africa.

Happy, indeed, is she
to whom it is given to share this sacred banquet,
to cling with all her heart to Him
whose beauty all the heavenly hosts admire unceasingly,
whose love inflames our love,
whose contemplation is our refreshment,
whose graciousness is our joy,
whose gentleness fills us to overflowing,
whose remembrance brings a gentle light,
whose fragrance will revive the dead,
whose glorious vision will be the happiness
of all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem

St Clare of Assisi

Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 18 August – To Thee, O Master

Posted on August 18, 2026August 17, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the Memorial of St Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850)

To Thee, O Master
Morning Offering
By St Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850)

To Thee, O Master,
who loves all mankind
I hasten on rising from sleep.
By Thy mercy,
I go out to do Thy work
and I make my prayer to Thee.
Help me at all times and in all things.
Deliver me from every evil thing of this world
and from pursuit by the devil.
Save me and bring me to Thy eternal Kingdom,
For Thou art my Creator,
Thou inspire all good thoughts in me.
In Thee is all my hope
and to Thee I give glory,
now and forever.
Amen

ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 18 August – The love of God produces love of our neighbour

Posted on August 18, 2026August 17, 2026 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 18 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Within the Octave of the Assumption – Readings: Ps 69:2-3, Ps 69:4, 2 Cor. 3:4-9, Luke 10:23-37

‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I, on my way back, will repay you.’

Luke 10:23-37

REFLECTION – As God created man to his own image and likeness, so did he appoint for man a love after the image and resemblance of the love which is due to His own divinity. He said: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart; this is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Why do we love God? “The cause for which we love God,” says S. Bernard, “is God Himself;” as though he had said: we love God because He is the most sovereign and infinite goodness. And why do we love ourselves in charity? Surely because we are the image and likeness of God; and whereas all men are endowed with the same dignity, we love them also as ourselves, that is, as being holy and living images of the divinity.

For it is on that account that He makes no difficulty about calling Himself our father and us His children; it is on that account that we are capable of being united to His divine essence by the fruition of His sovereign goodness and felicity; it is on that account that we receive His grace, that our spirits are associated to His most Holy Spirit and made, after a fashion, a participant of His divine nature. And therefore the same charity which produces the acts of the love of God produces at the same time those of the love of our neighbour. And even as Jacob saw that one same ladder which touched heaven and earth serving the angels both for descending and ascending, so we know that one same charity extends itself to both the love of God and our neighbour.

Saint Francis de Sales

PRAYER – O Lord, we beseech Thee, forgive the transgressions of Thy servant, and, forasmuch as by our own deeds we cannot please Thee, may we find safety through the prayers of, the Mother of Thy Son and our Lord. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen

CATHOLIC Quotes

Quote/s of the Day – 18 August – Let us run to Mary

Posted on August 18, 2026August 17, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 18 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Within the Octave of the Assumption

“No matter how sinful
one may have been,
if he has devotion to Mary,
it is impossible that he be lost.”

St Hilary of Poitiers

“The very fact
that God has elected her,
proves, that none was ever
holier than Mary;
if any stain had disfigured her soul,
if any other virgin
had been purer and holier,
God would have selected her
and rejected Mary.”

St Jacob of Sarug

At the mention of this name
[the Blessed Virgin Mary],
the Angels rejoice
and the devils tremble.
Through this invocation,
sinners obtain
grace and pardon.

St Peter Canisius SJ

Let us run to Mary
and, as her little children,
cast ourselves into her arms
with a perfect confidence.

St Francis de Sales

It is Mary alone to whom God has given the keys of the cellars of divine love, and the power to enter into the most sublime and secret ways of perfection, and the power likewise to make others enter in there also. It is Mary alone who has given to the miserable children of Eve, the faithless, the entry into the terrestrial paradise, that they may walk there agreeably with God, hide themselves there securely against their enemies, and feed themselves there deliciously, without any more fear of death, on the fruit of the trees of life and of the knowledge of good and evil, and drink in long draughts the heavenly waters of that fair fountain, which gushes forth there with abundance; or rather she is herself that terrestrial paradise, that virgin and blessed earth, from which Adam and Eve, the sinners, have been driven, and she gives no entry there except to those whom it is her pleasure to make Saints.

St Louis de Montfort

St. Bonaventure says that Mary sends the archangel Michael, with all the angels, to the defence of her dying servants, to protect them from the assaults of evil spirits, and to receive the souls of all those who have especially and constantly recommended themselves to her.

St Alphonsus Liguori

AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Thought for the Day – 18 August – Mary’s Heart, the Temple of Jerusalem

Posted on August 18, 2026August 17, 2026 by AnaStpaul

St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Temple of Jerusalem Part One

In the time of the Mosaic Law one of the greatest wonders of the world was the temple of Jerusalem. Yet this stupendous temple was merely a figure and an image of the multitude of temples to be found in the Christian world. It prefigured particularly the Sacred Humanity of the Son of God, for Christ referring to His own body said to the Jews: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

The temple of Jerusalem was a figure of Holy Church and a figure of each Christian. It prefigured our churches and cathedrals, but was also a representation of a temple far more holy and august than any material structure. What then is the true temple? It is the Holy Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church says of her person that Mary is “the temple of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Holy Ghost,” and we can apply these words with still better reason to her admirable Heart, having seen that it is the source of all the qualities and excellences with which she is adorned. If, according to the divine Word, the body of each Christian is the temple of God, who will dare to deny this characterization to the most worthy Heart of the Mother of all Christians? I affirm, therefore, that the Holy Heart of Mary is the true temple of the Divinity, the sanctuary of the Holy Ghost, the Holy of Holies of the Blessed Trinity.

This temple was not like Solomon’s built by a host of workmen, but by the Almighty Hand of God, Who can achieve greater wonders in a single instant than all the powers of Heaven and earth can accomplish during the whole of eternity. The temple of Mary’s Heart was consecrated by the Sovereign Pontiff, Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It was never profaned by the slightest sin and stood adorned with a tremendous wealth of ordinary and extraordinary graces, and by all Christian virtues practised in the highest degree.

Not only is her Heart entirely covered with King Solomon’s gold, but it is itself wrought of the finest and purest gold, of a metal infinitely more precious than all the material gold to be found in the universe. The Heart of our amiable Mother is filled with love of God and charity towards us. It is entirely transformed into love and charity, and completely identified with the purest love and the most perfect charity. Its love is more ardent, more pure and divine, its charity more fervent, holier and more excellent than the love and charity of all the Seraphim. The temple of Mary contains all the riches of God together with all the treasures of Heaven and earth because it keeps within its cloister all the mysteries of the life of the Son of God. “His Mother kept all these words in her heart.” Her Heart possesses the very Son of God Himself, the treasure of the Eternal Father, Who encompasses all the wealth and beauty of the Most Holy Trinity.

In this temple Christ, the Sovereign Priest, offered His first sacrifice at the time of the Incarnation. Christ, the Doctor of doctors and the Preacher of preachers, Who taught and preached so often in the temple of Jerusalem, imparts to us from the temple of His Mother’s Heart as many instructions and lessons as there are virtues exemplified in this virginal Heart.

In this temple God is adored more profoundly and worthily, praised and glorified more perfectly than in all other material or spiritual temples that ever were and shall be in Heaven and on earth, the sacred humanity of Jesus alone excepted. The smallest acts of virtue and even the prayerful thoughts of Mary’s holy Heart are more agreeable to the Divine Majesty and render God greater honor and glory than the greatest actions of the foremost among the Saints.

The Heart of the heavenly Mary is indeed a temple and a temple filled with rarest marvels. God entrusted to King David a description of the temple of Jerusalem written by His own hand, as recorded in the words: “All these things came to me written by the hand of the Lord.” The Eternal Father willed to place several remarkable objects in this temple to foreshadow and represent many great and wondrous mysteries that were to be found in the admirable Heart of His holy Mother. Among them I notice seven principal objects that add significance to this symbolic picture, namely: the golden candlestick, the table with the loaves of proposition, the altar of perfumes, the Ark of the Covenant, the Tables of the Law, the Propitiatory and Oracle which reposed on the Ark, and the Altar of Holocausts.

MARIAN TITLES

Victory of the King of France (Philip the Fair), imploring the help of Our Lady of Chartres (1304) and Memorials of the Saints – 17 August

Posted on August 17, 2026August 15, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Victory of the King of France (Philip the Fair), imploring the help of Our Lady of Chartres (1304) – 17 August:

It was on this day in the year 1304 that “Philip the Fair” gained a signal victory over the Flemish after recommending himself to Our Lady of Chartres.

The eldest son of King Philip and Isabella of Aragon, he was nicknamed Philip the Fair while yet a Prince for his handsome features. He became King of France at only 17 years of age and married Joan of Navarre in 1284, which enlarged his Kingdom.

In the year 1302, Philip sent an inadequate army into Flanders to suppress the Flemish, who were making incursions into his realm at will. His army was soundly defeated at the Battle of the Golden Spurs. Philip responded by winning a naval victory over the Flemish at Zierichzee and then met the Flemish army at the Battle of Mons-en-Pevele, also known as Mons-en-Puelle, on 17 August 1304.

The battle was furious, lasting all day in extreme heat. Eventually the majority of the French army fled the field, leaving Philip alone with only ten Knights fighting desperately to save themselves and their King. Philip’s horse collapsed, having been killed under him and his life was in great danger of being lost. At that moment, while facing death and certain defeat in battle, Philip turned to the Queen of Heaven, Our Lady of Chartres, begging her assistance to save the day and his life.

Suddenly the French Knights, who had been fleeing the field, turned and saw the King’s Royal Standard still stood, and that he, himself, fought like a Knight of great renown amidst a sea of raging enemies. Racing to the scene with their swords and lances, they turned the Flemish and drove them from the field in what became a resounding victory for the King of France. The Battle of the Golden Spurs was well compensated.

In gratitude for this victory and favour of Our Lady of Chartres, King Philip went at once to do homage to the Virgin Mary at her Cathedral. He took off his own armour and gave it to the cathedral at the Altar. He also gave to it, in perpetuity, the land and lordship of Barrus, founded a daily Mass forever and left to this church ,all of the other accoutrements which he had worn on that day of victory. This feast is kept in the Church of Notre Dame, at Paris, on the following day, the 18th and the office is double. This armour is formerly exhibited in the church, on the Anniversary of the battle.

St Amor of Amorbach
St Anastasius of Terni
St Beatrice da Silva Meneses OIC (1424-1492) Virgin, Nun, Founder

St Benedicta of Lorraine
St Carloman
St Cecilia of Lorraine

St Clare of the Cross of Montefalco (c 1269-1308) Augustinian Nun and Abbess, before becoming a nun, St Clare was a member of the Third Order of St Francis (Secular), Mystic, Penitent, Spiritual adviser.

St Donatus of Ripacandida
St Drithelm
St Elias the Younger
Bl Enric Canadell Quintana
Bl Eugenio Sanz-Orozco Mortera
St Pope Eusebius
St Eusebius of Sicily

St Hyacinth OP (1185-1257) ) “Apostle of Poland” and “Apostle of the North” also known as “the Polish St Dominic”– Religious Priest of the Order of Preachers, Confessor, Doctor of Law and Divinity, Missionary, Preacher, Miracle Worker, Mystic.

St Jacobo Kyushei Gorobioye Tomonaga
St James the Deacon

St Jeanne of the Cross Delanoue (1666-1736) Virgin, Sister and Foundress of the Congregation of St Anne de la Providence

St Jeroen of Noordwijk
St Juliana of Ptolemais
St Leopoldina Naudet
St Mamas
Bl Marie-Élisabeth Turgeon
St Michaël Kurobyoie
St Myron of Cyzicus

St Nicolò Politi (1117-1167) Basilian Monk and Hermit. He was known for his miracles even during his childhood and was Venerated as a saint even before his death.

Bl Noël-Hilaire Le Conte
St Paul of Ptolemais
St Theodore of Grammont
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Bl Antoni Carmaniú Mercarder, Bl Facundo Escanciano Tejerina, Bl Eugenio Sanz-Orozco Mortera, Bl Enric Canadell Quintana, Florencio López Egea and see below –
Martyrs of Malaga – 8 beati: A priest and seven brothers, all members of the Hospitallers of Saint John of God, all martyred together in the Spanish Civil War.

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 17 August – Pope St. Eusebius

Posted on August 17, 2026August 15, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Saint Eusebius (died 21 October 310) was the bishop of Rome from 18 April 309 until his exile on 17 August 310. Not much is known about Eusebius’s early life, but he was probably Greek. His reign was short. The Liberian Catalogue gives its duration as only four months, from 18 April to 17 August, 309 or 310.

We learn some details of his career from an epitaph for his tomb which Pope Damasus ordered. It appears that the grave internal dissentions caused in the Roman Church by the readmittance of the apostates (lapsi) during the persecution of Diocletian, and which had already arisen under Marcellus, continued under Eusebius. The latter maintained the attitude of the Roman Church, adopted after the Decian persecutions (250-51), that the apostates should not be forever debarred from ecclesiastical communion, but on the other hand, should be readmitted only after doing proper penance.

This view was opposed by a faction of Christians in Rome under the leadership of one Heraclius. It is likely that Heraclius and his supporters sought to compel by force their admittance to divine worship, which was resented by the faithful gathered in Rome about Eusebius. In consequence both Eusebius and Heraclius were exiled by Emperor Maxentius. Eusebius was deported to Sicily, where he died soon after. Miltiades ascended the papal throne, 2 July, 311. The body of his predecessor was brought back to Rome, probably in 311, and was placed in a separate cubiculum of the Catacomb of Callistus. His firm defense of ecclesiastical discipline and the banishment which he suffered therefore caused him to be venerated as a martyr, and in his epitaph Pope Damasus honours Eusebius with this title.

Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 17 August – Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts By St Bernard

Posted on August 17, 2026August 15, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 17 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart”

Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
and the last Father of the Church

Jesus, joy of loving hearts,
You Fount of life,
You Light of men,
from the best bliss that earth imparts
we turn unfilled to You again.
We taste You,
O You living Bread,
and long to feast upon You still.
We drink of You, the Fountainhead,
and thirst our souls from You to fill.
O Jesus, ever with us stay,
make all our moments calm and bright;
chase the dark night of sin away,
shed o’er the world Your holy light.
Amen, Amen

ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 17 August – “Be vigilant at all times and pray”

Posted on August 17, 2026August 15, 2026 by AnaStpaul

You also must be ready, because at an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man is coming.

Luke 12:35-40

REFLECTION – My beloved, that a person should do the will of God is what constitutes prayer. That is how prayer seems to me to excel. Above all, be eager for prayer and do not weary in it, as it is written that our Lord said: “Pray and do not weary.” You should be eager in wakefulness and remove far from yourself drowsiness and sleep; you should be watchful both by day and by night and not be disheartened.

Now I shall show you the different occasions for prayer. There is petition, thanksgiving, and praise. In petition one asks for mercy for one's sins, in thanksgiving you give thanks to your Father who is in heaven, while in praise you praise Him for his works. At a time when you are in trouble, offer up petition, and when you are well supplied with good things, you should give thanks to the Giver, and when your mind rejoices, offer up praise. Make all these prayers of yours with discernment to God. See how David was always saying: “I have risen to give thanks to you for your judgments, O Just One.”. And in another psalm he said: “Praise the Lord in heaven, praise him in the heights”. Again he says: “I will bless the Lord at all times, and at all times his praises are in my mouth”. Do not pray using only one kind of prayer, but all separately according to circumstance. I am convinced, my beloved, that everything people ask for with diligence, God will grant them. But he takes no pleasure in the person who offers up prayer in mockery. As it is written: “This is required of the person who prays, offering up prayer: that he turn over and inspect his offering well, lest some blemish be found on it; only then should he offer it” , so that your offering does not remain on earth. What is this offering if not prayer? Of all offerings pure prayer is the best.

Aphrahat (?-c.345) monk and Bishop near Mosul

PRAYER – Father of might and power, every good and perfect gift comes to us from You. Implant in our hearts the love of Your Name and Your creatures. Increase our zeal for Your service by following behind Your Son with determination and joy. Nourish in us what good and tend it with watchful care. Grant that the prayers and caring love of the Blessed Virgin, our Mother, may help us to follow Jesus our Saviour unreservedly and thus attain eternal life. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord in the union of the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.

CATHOLIC Quotes

Quote/s of the Day – 17 August – Happy the man found without fault

Posted on August 17, 2026August 15, 2026 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 17 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart” – Readings: Ps 36:30-31, Ps 36:1, Sir 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40

Happy the man found without fault, who turns not aside after gain, nor puts his trust in money nor in treasures! Who is he, that we may praise him? For he has done wonders in his life.

Sir 31:8-11

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!
Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!
Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance!
And transform your whole being
into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation!
So that you too may feel what His friends feel
as they taste the hidden sweetness
which God Himself has reserved
from the beginning
for those who love Him.

St Clare

For those who cross by the Bridge, being still in the darkness of the body, find light, and, being mortal, find immortal life, tasting, through love, the light of Eternal Truth which promises refreshment to him who wearies himself for Me, who am grateful and just, and render to every man according as he deserves. Wherefore every good deed is rewarded, and every fault is punished. The tongue would not be sufficient to relate the delight felt by him who goes on this road, for, even in this life, he tastes and participates in that good which has been prepared for him in eternal life. He, therefore, is a fool indeed, who despises so great a good, and chooses rather to receive in this life, the earnest money of Hell, walking by the lower road with great toil, and without any refreshment or advantage.

The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena

Yet they were consoled by seeing that the saint often turned his eyes, as if seeking help, towards a devout image of Mary, for they remembered that he had often said in life, that in the hour of his death, Mary must be his refuge. It finally pleased God to terminate this struggle by a glorious victory, for the agitation of his body ceased, his countenance gained its natural shape and color, and fixing his eyes tranquilly on that image, he devoutly bowed his head to Mary, who, it is believed, then appeared to him, as if to thank her, and quietly breathed forth in her arms his blessed soul, with heavenly peace depicted on his countenance. At the same time a Capuchin nun, in her agony, turned to the religious who were with her and said: “Say an Ave Maria, for a saint has just died.”

St Alphonsus Liguori

Truly beyond the power of words is the sweetness of contemplation You give to those who love You.

Thomas a Kempis

It would be unwise were we to attempt to describe the gratification it will be to the ear to hear the canticles of the Angels, and the soft music of their harps. The nine choirs of Angels will sing the praise of God, and the blessed will join them not only in heart, for they will mingle their voices also in the sweet harmony. Thus the powers of both soul and body will be exercised, and the praises of God will ascend in melodious hymns and celestial songs. For if we mortals are impelled by fervent love and heartfelt joy to lift our voice in song, how much more will the holy Angels and blessed Saints do so, who are all aflame with the love of God, and filled with joy unspeakable. Their hymns of praise will resound without ceasing through the courts of Heaven.

AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Thought for the Day – 17 August – Mary’s Heart, the Throne of King Solomon

Posted on August 17, 2026August 15, 2026 by AnaStpaul

St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Throne of King Solomon

Among the many beautiful qualities attributed by the Holy Ghost to the Blessed Virgin Mary, one stands out preeminently. It is contained in these words of the eighty-sixth psalm, which Holy Church and her Doctors apply to the Mother of God: “Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God.” Mary is indeed the great and glorious city of God, the holy city, the city of Jerusalem, the city of peace, the royal city, “the city of the great King.” The King of Kings built this city with His own hands; He exempted her entirely from the infamous tribute of sin; He honored her with countless great and extraordinary privileges; He enriched her with inestimable gifts and treasures and He established His first and most glorious abode within her Heart. In her He chose to reveal the rarest marvels of His power and royal magnificence.

Now, if Mary is the palace of the King of Kings, her heart must be the King’s imperial throne. This magnificent throne is perfectly represented by the throne of King Solomon, as described in the Book of Kings. We read there that this great king erected a throne of ivory in his house on Lebanus and covered it with brilliant gold. Six steps led up to this throne; the top of it was rounded at the back, and there were two hands on either side to hold the seat, with two large lions standing near, while small lions stood upon either side of the six steps. Never was any similar throne made in any kingdom of the world.

The throne and the couch of Solomon symbolize the same representation, namely the holy Heart of the Queen of the world, the couch representing the Heart in contemplation, the litter describing in it action. Mary’s Heart is at once the throne and the bed of the true Solomon, Jesus Christ, Our Lord. It is the bed on which He rests in the sweetness and calm of contemplation. It is the litter in which love and charity that set Him on this throne, carry Him from place to place, that He may reign everywhere for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

St. Gregory of Nyssa tells us that this throne of Solomon is “a figure of the heart of every faithful Christian,” and a famous Doctor says that “the heart of the true Christian is the litter of the Son of God, because it goes where the one it bears wills that it should go, and never elsewhere.” This was fulfilled more perfectly in the Heart of the holy Virgin than in the hearts of even the holiest of creatures. Her virginal Heart never experienced inclinations or affections other than those it derived from the Master who held absolute sway over it.

Solomon’s throne was made of incorruptible wood of the cedar of Libanus, to show that the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God was not only preserved from the corruption of sin, but also that its superabundance of heavenly graces rendered it incapable of sin by grace, as God is incapable of sin by nature.

The four columns of Solomon’s throne are the four cardinal virtues, which sustain the throne of the true Solomon, namely justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance. The pillars made of silver denote the candor of innocence preserved in the heart that possesses them. This symbol was eminently verified in the most pure and innocent Heart of the Queen of all virtues.

The gold seat represents free-will transformed by love into the adorable love of God. It Every human will attaining this state of submission becomes the seat of the throne of Jesus, and in the will of His Blessed Mother this was accomplished in a most perfect manner. Therefore St. Peter Damian calls her “the golden seat on which, after the tumult and disorder occasioned by the sins of angels and men, He sought and found His rest.” The “going up” or back of purple represents ardent desire for the glory of God, for the sanctification of His name and the accomplishment of His will on earth as it is accomplished in heaven. It symbolizes the divine love that constantly urged the zealous Heart of the Mother of Love upward and onward to do and suffer great things towards the fulfillment of the designs of the Creator.

Finally, our beloved Christ prefigured by Solomon, filled His throne with Charity for the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, for all souls, especially for each Christian soul, and more particularly still for the beloved children of His Blessed Mother’s Heart. These are the humble, pure and charitable souls who entertain a singular devotion towards her maternal Heart. Yes, our lovable Solomon filled the virginal Heart with charity towards us, for He did everything for us. In like manner, if He willed to have a true Mother on earth, it was for our sake. If He made her so good, so wise, so powerful, so full of incomparable privileges and extraordinary powers, it was that she might possess the knowledge, power and desire to protect and assist us in all our necessities.

He gave her a Heart filled with charity, benignity, zeal, care and vigilance towards us, that we might profit thereby, if we but invoke it in our needs with utmost confidence. Our Lord grants with extraordinary goodness the requests presented by those who render to Him, in the Heart of His most honored Mother, the homage He desires to receive there. He wishes to be praised and glorified in the hearts and even in the bodies of His saints and “Glorify and bear God in your body.” How much more, then,should we not honor and magnify Our Saviour in the Heart of His Blessed Mother?

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St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Hill of Calvary

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St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Fiery Furnace of Babylon

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St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Temple of Jerusalem Part Two

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St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Temple of Jerusalem Part One

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St John Eudes – The Admirable Heart of Mary

Mary’s Heart, the Throne of King Solomon

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