Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 21 October – Blessed Sancho of Aragon

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Blessed Sancho of Aragon, priest and martyr. Born a prince (infante) of Spain, he was the fourth son of Blessed James I, King of Aragon. Turning from worldly ways, he joined the Mercedarians (Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy), receiving the habit from Saint Peter Nolasco himself.

He became Archbishop of Toledo, Spain n 1266, when he was only 16 years old.

In 1275 he raised troops to engage Marinid armies that had attacked Andalusia. On 21 October 1275 he tried to intercept a numerically superior Marinid army in the battle of Martos but was defeated and taken prisoner. Muslims cut off his hand with the ring of his office, and then martyred him for refusing to apostatise.

But let the world look to this, which accounts banishment a penalty. To them, their country is too dear, and they have the same name as their parents; but we abhor even our parents themselves if they would persuade us against God.

Life and Passion of St. Cyprian (Pontius)

Posted in Uncategorized

Madonna del Rosario / Our Lady of the Rosary, Noepoli, Italy and Memorials of the Saints – 21 October

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Madonna del Rosario / Our Lady of the Rosary, Noepoli, Potenza, Basilicata, Italy – 21 October

The Church of Maria del Rosario, built in 1830, is located in a farmhouse in Noepoli. It has one nave and a marble altar along with a Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary from the seventeenth century and a wooden Crucifix from the sixteenth century.

The community of Noepoli prepares for the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary with a Rosary Novena that begins on 12 October in the Churche. On 20 October, the Holy Rosary of the afternoon is followed by a prayer vigil in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary. The townspeople gather on 21 October for a procession around the village. . The beautiful festa continues with local musicians and dancing and finishes with spectacular fireworks.

St Agatho the Hermit
St Asterius of Périgord
St Asterius of Rome
St Berthold of Parma
St Celina of Meaux

Blessed Karl of Austria (1887 – 1922) King of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia and Croatia & Emperor of Austria, devotee of the Sacred Heart and of the Holy Eucharist, Peacemaker, Social Reformer.

St Cilinia
St Condedus
St Domnolus of Pouilly
St Finian Munnu
St Gebizo

Bl Gundisalvus of Lagos

Bl Hilarion of Moglena
St Hugh of Ambronay
Bl Imana of Loss
Bl Iulianus Nakaura
St John of Bridlington
St Letizia
St Maurontus of Marseilles
St Malchus of Syria

Blessed Peter Capucci OP (1390-1445) Priest, Friar of the Order of Preachers, Confessor, Penitent, Wonderworker, he was called “the Preacher of Death.”

St Petrus Yu Tae-Ch’ol
St Pontius de Clariana
St Raymond of Granada
Bl Sancho of Aragon
Bl Severinus of Bordeaux
Bl Tuda of Lindisfarne
Bl Viator of Lyons

St Wendelin
St William of Granada
St William of Montreal
St Zaira
St Zoticus of Nicomedia
—
Martyrs of Nicaea – 279 saints:

Martyrs of Nicomedia – 3 saints:
Caius of Nicomedia
Dasius of Nicomedia
Zoticus of Nicomedia

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Genaro Fueyo Castañon
• Blessed Isidro Fernández Cordero
• Blessed Segundo Alonso González

Saint Ursula and Companions: (Died c 238) Legendary princess, the daughter of a Christian British king and Saint Daria. She travelled Europe in company of either 11 or 11,000 fellow maidens; the 11,000 number probably resulted from a misreading of the term “11M” which indicated 11 Martyrs, but which a copyist took for a Roman numeral. Ursula and her company were tortured to death to get them to renounce their faith, and old paintings of them show many of the women being killed in various painful ways. Namesake for the Ursuline Order, founded for the education of young Catholic girls and women.
There are other saints closely associated with Ursula and her story –
travelling companions who were martyred with her

Antonia of Cologne
Cesarius of Cologne
Cyriacus of Cologne
Daria
Fiolanus of Lucca
Ignatius of Cologne
James of Antioch
Mauritius of Cologne
Pontius of Cologne
Sulpitius of Ravenna
Vincent of Cologne
Travelling companion, but escaped the massacre:
• Cunera
led by a dove to the lost tomb of Ursula:
• Cunibert of Cologne

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 21 October – O Holy Spirit of God

Posted on by AnaStpaul

O Holy Spirit of God
By Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466-1536)
(Fr Erasmus of Rotterdam)

O Holy Spirit of God
with Your holy breath,
You purify the hearts and minds of humankind,
comforting them,
when they are in sorrow,
leading them,
aright when they have gone astray,
kindling them,
when their hearts are cold,
reconciling them,
whem they are at variance
and enriching them,
with Your many gifts.
By Your working,
all things live.
We make our prayer to You,
maintain and day by day,
increase the gifts which You
have granted us,
so that with Your Light
before us and within us,
we may pass through this world,
without stumbling
and without straying.
Who with the Father and the Son,
are One God,
now and forever.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 21 October – “Should you not have dealt mercifully with your fellow servant, as I dealt with you?”

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One Minute Reflection – 21 October – – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Esth 13:9-11, Ps 118:1, Eph 6:10-17, Matt 18:23-35

And his master, being angry, handed him over to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So also My heavenly Father will do to you, if you do not each forgive your brothers from your hearts.

Matt 18:23-35

REFLECTION – On the one hand, compassion, and on the other the judgment of simple equity; if they dwell in one and the same soul, they are like a person who adores God and idols in one and the same house. Compassion is the contrary to the judgment of simple justice. Judgment that is simply equitable implies the equal sharing out of a similar measure for everyone. It gives to each what he deserves, no more; it does not lean towards one side or the other, exercises no discernment in its distribution. But compassion arises because of grace: it leans towards all beings with the same affection – not accepting to give simple retribution to those who are worthy of punishment – and it fills beyond all measure those who are worthy of good.

Thus compassion is on the side of justice; judgment that is simply equitable is on the side of evil. Just as a grain of sand does not weigh so much as a heap of gold does, God’s equitable justice does not weigh as much as his compassion. The sins of all flesh are like a handful of sand falling into the great ocean compared to God’s providence and mercy. Just as an abundantly flowing spring cannot be stopped up by a handful of dust, so the Creator’s compassion cannot be overcome by the malice of creatures. The person who remains resentful while praying is like a person who sows in the sea and hopes to gather in a harvest!

Isaac the Syrian

PRAYER – Father, grant that we may be,
bearers of Christ Jesus, Your Son.
Allow us to fill with Your light
the world around us.
Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit
to carry out our mission
of living and following
the path of Jesus, our Lord.
Help us to understand,
that by Your grace
Your gifts are Your blessings,
to be shared with others.
Fill us with Your Spirit of love
to give glory to You
in loving all
and preaching by our love.
Nourish in us the desire
to go forth
as the bearers of Your Son
fearless and gentle,
loving and merciful.
Make us true Christ-bearers,
that in seeing us
only He is visible.
Amen (The Christopher Prayer – Unknown)

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes

Quote/s of the Day – 21 October – Take up the armour

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Therefore, take up the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and stand in all things perfect.

Eph 6:10-17

This last judgement will not only be favourable and honourable to, but anxiously longed for by the just and the elect.

Bourdaloue

Truth, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part must be read in the spirit in which it was written. Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said.

The Imitation of Christ

The fruit which I destine for them, constrained by the prayers of My servants, is that I give them light, and that I wake up in them the hound of conscience, and make them smell the odor of virtue, and take delight in the conversation of My servants.

The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena

If now we consider well, there is no person in the world more despised than Jesus Christ. We take more account of a peasant than we do of God; because we fear, if we have offended such a one, lest he being filled with wrath, should avenge himself ; but we commit offences against God over and over again as if God were not able to avenge Himself whenever it pleases Him so to do.

St Alphonsus Liguori

Since the time of Adam until the present, all the saints have had something to suffer, and most of them far more than have we. But they suffered with patience, always subject to the will of God, and soon their troubles were finished, and their happiness, which has begun, will never come to an end.

St John Vianney

Neither will you be deprived of this consolation on account of your sins, if from henceforth you will be careful to live well, and to serve this very grateful and gracious Lady. In the trials and temptations with which the devil will assail you, that he may throw you into despair, she will comfort you, and even come herself to assist you in death.

St Alphonsus Liguori

Posted in OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS

Thought for the Day – 21 October – To labour for the conversion of sinners & the release of souls in Purgatory

Posted on by AnaStpaul

The Glories of the Holy Angels

Venerable Henri Boudon, Archdeacon of Evreux

PRACTICE EIGHTH

To labour for the Conversion of Sinners and the release of Souls from Purgatory—and to practise Virtue in honour of the Angels.

What can we do more agreeable to the Angels than to labour with them for the glory of our common Master? It is his glory which causes this almost infinite number of blessed Spirits to watch so indefatigably over us poor sinners ; and what wonder, when even the shadow of the interests of this divine being should be upheld at the risk of the annihilation of all creatures. O my God ! why are you not known by us ! This world is indeed a land of forgetfulness in your regard. A God-man having sacrificed his life, in the midst of an infinity of sufferings, for your divine interest, we should either renounce Christianity, or endeavour to advance it by every possible means. Here it is we should pour out floods of tears over the insensibility and blindness of men.

Great expenses are incurred for decorating and pampering a body which will in a few days become the food of worms—and nothing, or less than nothing, is done for the soul! Immense revenues are expended for the support of vanity and ambition, and scarcely will a pound be given to advance the glory of God! The greatest ignorance prevails among the peasantry—whole villages are desolated by the reign of sin—the establishment of schools would be the grand remedy —but, alas ! few or none care to contribute towards it. They can find money enough to purchase rich plate and precious furniture !—it is only for the interest of God that they have none. O horror of horrors! I plainly see, my God! the truth of your divine words — that though “many are called, few are chosen.”

The example of the blessed Spirits should animate us to do and suffer all, in order to save our souls : it should also encourage us to labour for the salvation of others. Let us act in concert with these blessed Spirits for this end. The holy Angels faithfully continue their labours, and care for us during 40, or 60, or 80 years, or whatever be the term of our lives, though they are sure the object of them will reap no fruit or advantage, through his own malice. Hence, confessors, preachers, and all who labour in any shape for the extension of the reign of God, should be singularly devout to these holy Spirits. The charity of these blessed Spirits extends beyond the grave. It is doing them a great favour to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. Let us succour them as much as we can, by the holy mass, alms, indulgences, &c. They are truly deserving of our compassion, and the Angels will not fail, as being interested for them, to reward our charity with the most precious graces.

The practice of chastity is absolutely necessary to gain the friendship of the Angels. Virginity is their favourite virtue, as it has been of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the two St. Johns. O Virgins! whoever you may be, remember you possess a treasure of inestimable price—one which assimilates you to the Angels. But, as in proportion to its excellence, you should have a more lively apprehension of its loss, so adopt more earnestly the necessary means in order to its preservation. These are mortification, guard of the senses, flight of the world, and true and sincere humility. This virtue of humility is one which the Angels require in those devoted to them; they cannot bear the proud. The practice of recollection and prayer is also most pleasing to them; they have been visibly seen assisting persons in this holy exercise. St. Bernard saw them noting the manner in which his religious made their prayer. But if we would be truly devout to the Angels, we should once for all take the resolution of avoiding deliberate faults and imperfections, of searching out and overcoming our predominant passion, the source of our most frequent irregularities.

Endeavour every day to sacrifice some inclination of yours in honour of the Angels. If we remembered that our Angel witnesses all our actions, and that he abhors sin, it would be some restraint on us, as even pagan philosophers, who believed that an invisible guide presided over their thoughts and action, acknowledged. If this was the sentiment of a pagan, what ought to be that of a Christian?

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 20 October – Saint Artemius Megalomartyr

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Saint Artemius Megalomartyr, also known as Artemios of Antioch, Artemois the Greatmartyr, Challita, Shallita (‘The empowered one’). Artemius was a noted soldier and military leader under Emperor Constantine the Great. Imperial prefect of Egypt and Duke of Alexandria, appointed by Emperor Constantius; he used his position to spread the faith.

During the reign of Julian the Apostate, Artemius became a fanatical Arian heretic, hunting and persecuting monks, nuns and bishops, including Saint Athanasius. However, through prayer and the horror of the persecutions, Artemius returned to orthodox Christianity, supported the Faith, and turned on pagans, including Julian. He was accused by heathens of destroying idols, arrested, taken to Antioch, tortured and martyred. Julian had Artemius tortured in various fashions while exhorting him to renounce his Christianity, but Artemius repeatedly confirmed his faith, and ultimately had his head cut off.

The coming executioner was instantly looked for who should strike through that devoted neck of the most sacred victim; and thus, in the daily expectation of dying, every day was to him as if the crown might be attributed to each.

Life and Passion of St. Cyprian (Pontius)

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Dedication of the Abbey of Our Lady, Pontigny, France (1114) and Memorials of the Saints – 20 October

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Dedication of the Abbey of Our Lady, Pontigny, France (1114) – 20 October:

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “The Dedication of the Church of Pontigny, four leagues from Auxerre, under the title of Our Lady. This Abbey was founded in 1114 by Thibaud, Count of Champagne.”

The former abbey of Pontigny is nestled in the Serein valley in the north of Burgundy, and is one of the oldest sites of the Cistercian order. Being only the second Cistertian monastery, it was established in the year 1114 by Blessed Hugh of Macon, the companion of Saint Bernard, in this valley north of Auxerre in the French Department of Yonne. It is notable, that Hugh later became the Bishop of Auxerre.

The Monks valued the land, the woods and streams they were surrounded by and cultivated large farms around their Abbey. They raised various crops, bread pigs and sheep and made terracotta bricks. It was that strong economic base that enabled them to construct the great Romanesque style Church that reached an impressive length of 120 metres that still stands intact today.
In the year 1164 the Abbey received the Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of England St Thomas à Becket while he was an exile due to his opposition to King Henry and in 1206 the Queen of France, Alix de Champagne, was buried in the choir of the Abbey.

The wealthy Abbey was looted and burned by the Huguenots in about 1529 during the Wars of Religion. During the French Revolution the Abbey was suppressed, and its buildings largely sold or destroyed, save for the Church. Unlike most Churches during the time of the French Revolution, the Abbey of Pontigny is completely preserved and is now thought to be the largest Cistercian Church in France. The Church is notable for its arches and columns with twin bays, its vaults on two columns and portal with tympanum cross and wrought iron hinges.

Known as the Church of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Edme Pontigny, or Our Lady of Saint Edmond of Pontigny, the old Church Abbey monastery became the Parish Church of the village of the same name after the French Revolution.
The church of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Edme Pontigny is now abandoned and it is used simply as a kind of cultural meeting place.

St Acca (c 660-742) Bishop, Abbot, Missionary, Theologian, Musician.

St Adelina
St Aderald
St Aidan of Mayo
St Andrew of Crete
St Artemius Megalomartyr
St Barsabias
St Bernard of Bagnorea
St Bradan
St Caprasius of Agen
St Cornelius the Centurion (1st Century) traditionally believed to have become th First Bishop of Caesarea

Bl Gundisalvus of Silos
St Irene

Blessed James Strepar OFM (c 1340-1409) Archbishop of Halicz, Poland from 1392 until his death Religious Priest of the Order of Friars Minor, Missionary. St Pius X proclaimed Blessed James, along with St Anthony of Padua, the Patrons of the Conventual Franciscan Order of Krakow Province. He was given the title of “Protector of the Kingdom, Defender and Guardian of the Homeland,” for his exceptional merits, including civil ones. Such was he considered by all. He was Canonised by by Pope Pius VI on 11 September 1791. His body is incorrupt.

St John of Kanty/Cantius (1390-1473) Priest, Theologian, Scholastic Philosopher, Physicist, Teacher, Confessor, Philosopher, Apostle of Charity – Patron of Poland and Lithuania.

St Martha of Cologne
St Maximus of Aquila
St Orora
St Saula of Cologne
St Sindulphus of Rheims

St Usthazanes
St Vitalis of Salzburg

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 20 October – Dies Irae

Posted on by AnaStpaul

The Hymn of the Church, in Meditation of the Day of Judgment (An indulgence of three years for each recitation and a plenary indulgence for reciting the prayer daily for a month.)

That day of wrath,
that dreadful day,
shall heaven and earth in ashes lay,
as David and the Sybil say.

What horror must invade the mind
when the approaching Judge shall find
and sift the deeds of all mankind!

The mighty trumpet’s wondrous tone
shall rend each tomb’s sepulchral stone
and summon all before the Throne.

Now death and nature with surprise
behold the trembling sinners rise
to meet the Judge’s searching eyes.

Then shall with universal dread
the Book of Consciences be read
to judge the lives of all the dead.

For now before the Judge severe
all hidden things must plain appear;
no crime can pass unpunished here.

O what shall I, so guilty plead?
and who for me will intercede?
when even Saints shall comfort need?

O King of dreadful majesty!
grace and mercy You grant free;
as Fount of Kindness, save me!

Recall, dear Jesus, for my sake
you did our suffering nature take
then do not now my soul forsake!

In weariness You sought for me,
and suffering upon the tree!
let not in vain such labor be.

O Judge of justice, hear, I pray,
for pity take my sins away
before the dreadful reckoning day.

You gracious face, O Lord, I seek;
deep shame and grief are on my cheek;
in sighs and tears my sorrows speak.

You Who did Mary’s guilt unbind,
and mercy for the robber find,
have filled with hope my anxious mind.

How worthless are my prayers I know,
yet, Lord forbid that I should go
into the fires of endless woe.

Divorced from the accursed band,
o make me with Your sheep to stand,
as child of grace, at Your right Hand.

When the doomed can no more flee
from the fires of misery
with the chosen call me.

Before You, humbled, Lord, I lie,
my heart like ashes, crushed and dry,
assist me when I die.

Full of tears and full of dread
is that day that wakes the dead,
calling all, with solemn blast
to be judged for all their past. Amen.

Lord, have mercy, Jesus blest,
grant them all Your Light and Rest. Amen.

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 20 October – Dies irae

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One Minute Reflection – 20 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Sir 18:12-13, Ps 1:1, James 2:12-17, Luke 12:35-40

So speak and so act as men about to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to him who has not shown mercy; but mercy triumphs over judgment. What will it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but does not have works? Can the faith save him?

James 2:12-17

REFLECTION – Mark the agreement of prophet with prophet. Acquaint yourself also with another prophet who expresses himself in like manner. For Amos prophesied of the same things in a manner quite in accordance: Thus says the Lord, forasmuch therefore as you have beaten the poor with the fist, and taken choice gifts from him: you have built houses, but you shall not dwell in them: you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions, in trampling justice beneath your foot, and taking a bribe, and turning aside the poor in the gate from their right.

Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it is an evil time. Learn, beloved, the wickedness of the men of that time, how they spoil houses and fields, and take even justice from the just; for when these things come to pass, you may know that it is the end. For this reason are you instructed in the wisdom of the prophet, and the revelation that is to be in those days. And all the prophets, as we bare already said, have clearly signified the things that are to come to pass in the last times, just as they also have declared things of old.

Pseudo-Hippolytus

PRAYER – Holy Father, grant me an operative faith, a faith that will move mountains. Enlighten my soul with Your Light, Goodness, Power and Wisdom. Let my faith be an image of You by lively deeds and love and by conforming myself to Your Will in all things. Blessed Mother, you longed only to serve the God of all, teach us by your prayer, to serve God alone with upright hearts and fight by the Truth against all tyranny and evilh, through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in Uncategorized

Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – Hell

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent.

Ps 1:1

Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels

Matthew 25: 41

First Point – I have deserved hell. Oh, how this realization ought to animate me! Second Point – I have deserved hell. Oh, how this knowledge ought to excite me to penance! Third Point – I have deserved hell, and perhaps I still deserve it. Oh, how I should fear!

Fr François Nepveu

There is, alas! a difference between the sufferings of this world and the torments of hell. The sufferings of this world are limited, and do not affect the whole man, the mind suffers only in proportion to its union with the body, and one member alone endures pain in proportion to its sympathy with the brain: but the tormenting fires of hell enter into every power of the soul, and every member of the body.

Fr Biroat

How is it that you are complaining that your animals are dying? Undoubtedly you must have forgotten all those sins which have been committed in your outhouses and stables during the five or six months of winter. You have forgotten that the Holy Ghost has said that everywhere this sin shall be committed, the curse of the Lord will fall.

St John Vianney

All the senses of the reprobate have each their peculiar punishment; their reason, or intellect, is punished by the pain of loss, as we have seen in the preceding chapter, a punishment far surpassing that of the senses. The memory of the reprobate is tormented by “the worm that dieth not,” that is by a most keen and constant remorse of conscience, which will give them no rest.

Fr Martin Von Cochem

The life in hell, is a life from which there is a total absence of sympathy and love. The life in hell is also a life of terror, and a life too, without pauses, diminutions, or vicissitudes. No angel ever wings his way thither on an errand of consolation. Yet this is the bright side of hell! This is hell, with the hell left out, the crowning woe, the loss of God.

Fr Faber

Posted in OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS

Thought for the Day – 20 October – To have great confidence in the angels

Posted on by AnaStpaul

The Glories of the Holy Angels

Venerable Henri Boudon, Archdeacon of Evreux

PRACTICE SEVENTH

To have a great Confidence in the Angels, and recur to them in all necessities.

“They who trust in the Lord are as mount Sion; God encompasses them with his holy mountains.” These mountains, spoken of by the Psalmist, are the Holy Angels. O! how happy is that soul, whose humble confidence merits such protection! She shall not fear the arrow flying in the dark, nor the noonday devil.

After all we have said, it would seem that you should not want a great confidence in the Angels. “Why would you fear,” says St. Bernard, “having such faithful, wise, and potent friends as the Angels?” “May joy be always with you,” said Raphael to Tobias; “I shall conduct you thither, and reconduct you hither.” The Angels are incessantly watching over us; wherever we go, we are surrounded by these blessed Spirits. Why, then, do we fear? While asleep, there are more eyes open to guard us than there are stars in the heavens; when awake, and in the midst of danger, there are more angels armed in our defence than there are rays in the sun or atoms in the air.

But, unhappy creatures !—nothing moves us but what strikes our senses. Here I must confess my utter astonishment at the little confidence of men in the protection of Heaven. O ! the avariciousness of the human heart! said our Lord once to St. Teresa. It seems to it that the whole world cannot supply its wants; it feels nothing but inquietude, both for temporal and spiritual things. Although there were no Providence, we could not place more reliance on human means. What a pity to see even spiritual persons counting so much on their own industry, and so much occupied with what concerns them. Let us place all our hope in the Lord, and all our confidence in his Providence. Let us beg of him to open our eyes to the protection of the Angels, as he did those of the servant of Elias.

Then seeing that “there is more for us than against us’ we cannot help confiding in such powerful patronage, nor fail to lift our hands, in our spiritual and corporeal dangers, to those holy mountains which the Lord has set for our defence, and appointed for our protection, through a marvellous excess of incomprehensible love.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 19 October – Blessed Agnès of Jesus

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Blessed Agnès of Jesus, also known as Agnès Galand, Agnes of Jesus Galand, Agnes of Jesus of Langeac, Agnes of Langeac, was a was a French nun of the Dominican Order. Born on 17 November 1602 in Le Puy, Haute-Loire, she consecrated herself to the Virgin Mary at age seven.

Agnès Galand was born the third of seven children of Pierre Galand, a cutler by trade, and his wife, Guillemette Massiote. When she was five years old, she was entrusted to a religious institute for her education. Even from that early age, she showed a strong sense of spiritual maturity. Agnes joined the Dominican Monastery of St. Catherine of Siena at Langeac in 1623. At her receiving of the religious habit she took the name Agnes of Jesus. Soon after her own profession, she was assigned to serve as the Mistress of novices for the community. Galand was elected to lead her community as prioress in 1627. She was later deposed from this office, but she accepted her demotion with indifference and grace.

She was a mystic, St Louis de Montfort noted this:

I shall simply relate an incident which I read in the life of Mother Agnes of Jesus, a Dominican nun of the convent of Langeac in Auvergne. … One day the Blessed Virgin appeared to Mother Agnes and put a gold chain around her neck to show her how happy she was that Mother Agnes had become the slave of both her and her Son. And St. Cecilia, who accompanied our Lady, said to her, “Happy are the faithful slaves of the Queen of Heaven, for they will enjoy true freedom.”

In 1631, Agnes experienced the most famous of her visions, in which the Blessed Virgin Mary urged her to pray for an unknown priest with the command, “Pray to my Son for the Abbé of Prébrac.” Jean-Jacques Olier was the current holder of that office, and while at a retreat led by Vincent de Paul, he experienced a vision in which Agnes appeared to him, though he was unacquainted with her. He sought out the nun who had appeared to him in the dream. When he met Agnes, she told him: “I have received orders from the Holy Virgin to pray for you. God has destined you to open the first seminaries in France.” Olier would go on to found the Society of Saint-Sulpice. Before her death, she related to her community her great desire that they pray for priests.

She died on 19 October 1634 in Langeac and was declared venerable on 19 March 1808 by Pope Pius VII.

Posted in Uncategorized

Virgen del Camino / Our Lady of the Way, León, Spain (1505) and Memorials of the Saints – 19 October

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Virgen del Camino / Our Lady of the Way, Valverde de la Virgen, León, Castile and León, Spain (1505) – 19 October:

On 2 July 1505, while watching his sheep, Alvar Simón Fernández saw the Virgin, radiant with light and heard her say: “Go to the city and tell the Bishop to come to this place and install this image my Son wishes to appear here, for the good of this land.” The shepherd answered, “Señora, how will they believe it was you who sent me?” She asked for his slingshot and with it launched a small stone, saying, “When the Bishop sees this stone it will be so large that he will know I have sent you and where you find the stone, is where my Son and I want you to put the image.”

The miraculously-located Shrine was outside the City of León on the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim road to Compostela, hence the title Virgin of the Way The Virgen del Camino was declared Patron of the León region in 1914. The Statue is a 84 centimetre wooden Pietà, which the Basilica’s website dates to 1514. Its coronation, which Pope Benedict XI authorised in 1917, was carried out on 19 October 1930. The large, modern Sanctuary was completed in 1961 and houses the Statue. The Virgin of the Way is honoured today and on 15 September, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

St Paul of the Cross CP (1604-1775) Priest, Mystic, Preacher, endowed with miraculous powers of healing and prophecy, Founder of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ known as the Passionists. Canonised on 29 June 1867 by Blessed Pope Pius IX who placed his Feast on 28 April. It was moved in 1969. So great was his eloquence when he spoke of the Passion that both he and his hearers would shed tears and the most hardened hearts were moved to repentance.

Bl Agnes of Jesus
St Altinus
St Aquilinus of Evreux
St Asterius of Ostia
St Beronicus of Antioch
St Desiderius of Longoret
St Ednoth
St Ethbin
St Eusterius of Salerno
St Frideswide

St Laura of Cordoba
St Lucius of Rome
St Luke Alonso Gorda
St Lupus of Soissons
St Matthaeus Kohyoe
St Pelagia of Antioch

St Peter of Alcantara OFM (1499-1562) Franciscan Friar and Priest, Mystic, Ecstatic, Writer, Preacher, Reformer, Hermit, Apostle of Prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, the Passion and Charity, Miracle-worker.

Bl Philip Howard (1557–1595) Martyr, Married, Layman

St Potenzianus of Sens
St Ptolemy of Rome
St Sabiniano of Sens
St Theofrid

Blessed Thomas Hélye (c 1180-1257) Priest, Penitent, Teacher, Missionary and renowned Preacher.

St Varus of Kemet
St Verano of Cavaillon
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: 18 Beati
• Blessed Antonio Elizalde Garvisu
• Blessed Constantino Miguel Moncalvillo
• Blessed Dionisio Arizaleta Salvador
• Blessed Emiliano Pascual Abad
• Blessed Eusebio de Las Heras Izquierdo
• Blessed Ferran Castán Messeguer
• Blessed Francesc Solá Peix
• Blessed Francisco Marco Martínez
• Blessed Francisco Milagro Mesa
• Blessed Francisco Simón Pérez
• Blessed Josep Ferrer Escolà
• Blessed Josep Ribé Coma
• Blessed Julio Leache Labiano
• Blessed Juan Senosiaín Zugasti
• Blessed Manuel Font y Font
• Blessed Narcís Simón Sala
• Blessed Nicolas Campo Giménez
• Blessed Pere Vives Coll

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 19 October – Prayer for the Gift of Prayer By St Alphonsus Liguori

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Prayer for the Gift of Prayer
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION, Uncategorized

One Minute Reflection – 19 October – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth”

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One Minute Reflection – 19 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Ps 91:13-14, Ps 91:2, Phil 3:7-12, Ps 36:30-31, Luke 12:32-34

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, Do not be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that do not grow old, a treasure unfailing in heaven, where neither thief draws near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Luke 12:32-34

REFLECTION – Why distress yourself and go to such effort to conceal your wealth behind bricks and mortar? “A good name is more desirable than great riches”. The reason you love money is because of the attention it wins you. But think how much greater your renown will be if you can be called the father and protector of thousands of children rather than by keeping thousands of gold pieces in your money-bags. Whether you like it or not, one of these days you will have to leave your money there; whereas you will take with you the glory for all the good things you have done before our sovereign Lord, while a whole lot of people, rushing to your defence before the judge of us all, will call out the names that declare you have fed them, helped them, and shown them kindness.

How thankful, happy and proud must you be for the honor shown you: it isn't you who must go to pester others at their door, others will come flocking to your own. Yet right now you are grumpy, you make yourself inaccessible, you run away from encounters for fear of having to let go of a little of what you are so jealously guarding. And you only have one thing to say: “I haven't anything, I won't give you anything, because I am poor.” You are poor indeed, poor of everything good: poor in love, poor in goodness, poor in trust in God, poor in your everlasting expectations.

St Basil

PRAYER – All-powerful, eternal God and Father, grant us the grace of Your Spirit and fill us with the light of understanding and love. May we learn to truly pray and by our prayers to entreat You to bless us in Your goodness and lead us to true faith in Your eternal light and Word sent to redeem us. May we always be waiting and prepared to open the door of our hearts to Jesus Christ our Lord, who comes in light, love and peace. Grant that by the prayers of all Your Angels and Saints, we may be strengthened. Holy Mother, be our protection and our guide. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes

Quote/s of the Day – 19 October – St Peter of Alcantara

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For, if they have devotion, nothing is more sweet, nothing more pleasant, than to insist to prayer and meditation. But, if that be wanting, nothing more hard, nothing more difficult, nothing more burdensome than to pray.

Devotion doth so far forth obtain the name of virtue, that likewise it is a special gift of the Holy Ghost: a heavenly dew, an assistance obtained by prayer, whose property is to remove all difficulties happening in prayer and meditation ; to expel tepidity, to minister alacrity in the divine service, to instruct the understanding, to roborate the will, to kindle in our hearts heavenly love, to extinguish the flames of unlawful desires, to engender a hatred and loathing of sin, and all transitory things; and, last of all, to him that possesseth it, to infuse a new fervor, a new spirit, a new mind, and new desires to do well.

Nine Helps to Devotion:
-Generous resolution
-Custody of the heart
-Custody of the senses
-Solitude
-The reading of spiritual books
-Continual memory of Almighty God
-Perserverance in good exercises
-Corporal abstinence and austerities
-Works of mercy

Nine Impediments to Devotion:
-Sin
-Extreme remorse of conscience
-Anxiety and inordinate sadness
-Overwork
-Being ‘busy’
-Delights and pleasures of the senses
-Inordinate delight in eating and drinking
-Curiosity
-An intermission in spiritual exercises

It cometh to pass that many, allured with the pleasure of this admirable and unused sweetness, (which is greater than can be comprehended) come to God, and frequent these spiritual actions ; as reading, prayer, meditation, use of the Sacrament, for the great content and delight they take in them, so that for the principal end, wherewith they are moved, is this admirable sweetness which they vehemently desire. This is a great error, and many are plunged into it.

From this error springeth another branch; to wit, that many judge themselves and others, according to the ebbing and flowing of consolations, so far that they are persuaded that a man is more or less perfect, by how much more or less he is visited with divine consolations.This is a great mistake.

Posted in OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS

Thought for the Day – 19 October – Novenas in honour of the holy Angels

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The Glories of the Holy Angels

Venerable Henri Boudon, Archdeacon of Evreux

To make Novenas in honour of the holy Angels—to take certain days to honour them—and to celebrate their Feasts with particular devotion.

The Catholic Church teaches, that we should not superstitiously attach ourselves to certain numbers; but there are some mysterious ones, consecrated by the piety of the faithful, which she sanctions and authorizes as that of three, which is the number of the holy Trinity; that of forty, which is the number of days our Lord spent in the wilderness; that of nine, which corresponds with the number of the angelic Choirs.

Any devotion practised for nine days is termed a Novena. St. Teresa was very partial to this practice, as she herself tells us. It is most useful to perform such a one in honour of the Angels; we ourselves have seen miraculous things effected by it.

It may be as follows : the first day, honour the Angels of the last Choir by some prayer— nine Gloria Patris, for example—and ask them for the grace or favour you want; and thus ascend to all the choirs successively. If your object be the graces peculiar to each Choir, you can on the first day, ask the Angels to obtain for you a lively faith; on the second, beg of the Archangels holy zeal; on the third, honour the Principalities, and beg the extinction of the reign of sin; on the fourth, the Powers, for their support against the malicious efforts of hell; on the fifth, the Virtues, that they may facilitate the practice of that, perfection to which all Christians are by their baptismal engagement bound to aspire; on the sixth, honour the Dominations, that you may know the divine will; on the seventh, the Thrones, that, by a perfect subjection to this blessed will, you may obtain that peace which surpasses all understanding;” on the eighth, honour the Cherubim that, taught from on high, you may renounce in practice the maxims and doctrine of the world ; and, finally, on the ninth, honour the Seraphim, for the establishment of the reign of the love of God in the hearts of all.

This devotion of Novenas is also a useful preparation for the feasts of our Lord and his blessed Mother, as well as of the Angels. It may consist of any pious practice, as of nine acts of mortification, nine genuflections, nine visits to the Holy Sacrament, or nine Ave Marias, a devotion which our Lord revealed to St. Mechtilde. It is well to commence by receiving the Holy Sacraments, that our souls being cleansed from sin, God may be more ready to hear and grant our requests. Thus much for the devotion of the Novena.

Tuesday in each week (since there is no day or week in which we do not experience the protection of the angels) should be sacred to the angelic devotion—as also the 29th of September and the 8th of May, the feasts of St. Michael. In Normandy, they devote the 16th of October to honour the apparition of this glorious Archangel on the Mount of Tornbe, commonly called Mount St. Michael. The church built there in his honour is frequented by crowds of pilgrims on this day, and numberless miracles are operated by his intercession.

The 18th of March is the feast of St. Gabriel; the 24th of October, that of St. Raphael and the 2nd of the same month is consecrated to the Angels Guardians. All these days should be solemn feasts with the devotees of the holy Angels. They would do well to prepare for them by some act of mortification, (St. Francis fasted forty days to prepare for the feast of St. Michael,) or by the Novena, and to celebrate the feast itself by approaching the Sacraments, reciting the Office of and Litany and Beads of these blessed Spirits, each one according to his time and devotion.

Behold another way of honouring the Angels : when about to celebrate the festival of a Saint, form the intention of honouring his or her guardian; thus you will keep a perpetual holiday in honour of the Angels. Love to visit churches and altars dedicated to them; you will thereby obtain, through their intercession, the most precious gifts and graces.

Posted in Uncategorized

Saint of the Day – 18 October – Blessed Domenico of Perpignano

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Blessed Domenico of Perpignano was a Mercedarian (the Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives) friar of the Holy Savior convent on Mallorca, Spain. He freed 153 Christians enslaved and imprisoned by Muslims for their faith in Tunisia.

Members of Blessed Domenico’s order took a fourth vow: to die, if necessary, for a Christian captive who is in danger of losing their faith.

Our Lady of Mercy – From the Generalate of the Mercedarian Order.
Saint Peter Nolasco, founder of the Order

Posted in Uncategorized

Feast of St Luke the Evangelist, Notre-Dame de Reims / Our Lady of Rheims and Memorials of the Saints – 18 October

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St Luke the Evangelist (Feast)

Notre-Dame de Reims / Our Lady of Rheims – Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of Rheims (405) built by St Nicasius – 18 October:

Dedication of Our Lady of Rheims, built by St Nicasius (died c 407), Archbishop of that City period in the year 405. It was Saint Nicasius who prophesised that France would be invaded by the Vandals, telling the people of Rheims to prepare themselves. When the Vandals finally arrived at the City gates, St Nicasius went out to meet them with his sister, a faithful deaconess. All were killed but their sacrifice gave time for more of the people of Rheims to flee to safety.

It is interesting to note, that when St Nicasius was beheaded he was praying Psalm 119. He was slain at the moment when he reached the phrase “Adhaesit pavimento anima mea,” which means, “my soul is attached to dust.” After he was decapitated, his head struck the ground and he miraculously continued the psalm, saying: “Vivifica me, Domine, secundum verbum tuum,” which means, “revive me, Lord, with your words.”

This was the Church where King Clovis humbly confessed his belief in the Triune God and was baptised by St Regimius in 496 and where, all of the subsequent French Kings were crowned. In the Gallery of the Kings there is a magnificent painting of the baptism of King Clovis surrounded by images of all of his successors.

This Church, having fallen to ruins, was later rebuilt by Ebo and Hincmar. It was finished in the year 845 and still remains a place of pilgrimage to the Mother of God. At one time enemies of the Cathedral chapter set fire to a monastery of Rheims. Among the relics which the sacristan tried to save was an ivory statue of the Virgin, containing some of her hair. The sacristan prayed fervently to the Virgin that she would preserve this relic. The Abbot, entering the ruins of the Church, found the Statue upright and unharmed as if placed there reverently. From thence forward, the image was believed to be miraculous.

The present Cathedral takes the place of the older churches, the previous one having been damaged by fire in 1210. It was not completed until the 14th century, and is the beautiful Gothic Cathedral that can still be seen today, after much restoration work after the bombardments of WWI and II.

St Acutius of Pozzuoli
St Amabilis of Auvergne (c 397- c 475) Priest, Confessor
St Asclepiades of Antioch
St Athenodorus
St Brothen
Bl Burchard I
St Cadwaladr of Brittany
Bl Domenico of Perpignano
St Eutychius of Pozzuoli
St Gwen of Tagarth
St Gwendoline

St Julian Sabas the Hermit (4th Century) Hermit, Confessor and miracle-worker.

St Justus of Beauvais (c 278—c 287) Martyr, Child of nine years of age. He is a Cephalophores.

Bl Margherita Tornielli
St Monon of Nassogne
St Proculus of Pozzuoli
Bl Theobald of Narbonna
St Tryphonia of Rome
—
Martyrs of Africa – 9 saints: A group of Christians martryed together in Africa. The only details that have survived are the names – Beresus, Dasius, Faustinus, Leucius, Lucius, Martialis, Victoricus, Victrix and Viktor. They were martyred in c.300 in Africa.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Alfredo Almunia López-Teruel
• Blessed Francisco Roselló Hernández
• Blessed Isidro Juan Martínez

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 18 October – Holy and Learned, Great Saint Luke

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Our Morning Offering – 18 October – The Feast of St Luke, the Evangelist

Holy and Learned, Great Saint Luke
Prayer/Hymn in Honour of St Luke
“Plausibus Luca canimus”
Trans the Benedictines of
Saint Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK

Holy and learned, great Saint Luke,
we praise you,
Closely you followed in the steps of Jesus,
As supreme witness to His life and teaching
Shedding your life-blood.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
You left in writing, for all time to study
Stories unrivalled for their depth and beauty,
Christ’s love revealing.

Yours are the records
which we read with pleasure
Of the beginning of the Church so fervent,
Under the impulse of the true and living
Spirit of Jesus.

Paul’s earnest helper, sharer in his travels,
Zealous as he was, with a heart as loving,
Make our souls also steadfast and devoted
To the Lord Jesus.

Tender physician, use your gift of healing,
Comfort our weakness with a faith unswerving,
So that rejoicing, we may praise forever
God the Almighty.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 18 October – “Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?”

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One Minute Reflection – 18 October – The Feast of St Luke the Evangelist – Readings: Esth 13:9-11, Ps 118:1, Eph 6:10-17, Matt 18:23-35

At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who desired to settle accounts with his servants.

Matt 18:23-35

REFLECTION – What is human mercy like? It makes you concerned for the hardship of the poor. What is divine mercy like? It forgives sinners.

In this world God is cold and hungry in all the poor, as he himself said. What sort of people are we? When God gives, we want to receive, when he asks, we refuse to give? When a poor man is hungry, Christ is in need, as he said himself: “I was hungry and you gave me no food”. Take care not to despise the hardship of the poor, if you would hope, without fear, to have your sins forgiven… What he receives on earth he returns in heaven.

I put you this question, dearly beloved: what is it you want, what is it you are looking for, when you come to church? What indeed if not mercy? Show mercy on earth, and you will receive mercy in heaven. A poor man is begging from you, and you are begging from God: he asks for a scrap, you ask for eternal life. And so when you come to church give whatever alms you can to the poor in accordance with your means.

St Caesarius of Arles

PRAYER – O Lord, we beseech Thee, that Luke, Thy holy Evangelist, who for the honour of Thy Name bore continuously in his body the suffering of the Cross, may intercede on our behalf. 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

Posted in Uncategorized

Quote/s of the Day – 18 October – Perfection

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And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people.

Luke 1:17

If we willfully neglect to seek the road that leads to God, we shall find that we are as far off as earth is to heaven. But if we sincerely try to reach that blessed city, we shall soon find ourselves at its gate.

St John Chrysostom

In seeing and possessing God in heaven, we shall become like to God: holy, pure, wise, powerful and happy, sharing the happiness of God Himself, a pure, constant, universal and eternal happiness. We shall be transformed into Him; our wills, our affections, our desires, will be like God’s.

Fr François Nepveu

God and the soul become one in participant transformation, and the soul appears to be God more than a soul. Indeed, in the Transforming Union it is God by participation.

The Fire Within

Had you worked to gain heaven, every moment of pain would produce an additional lustre to your crown of glory. But because you work for this world, you labour incessantly and gain nothing. All that you have done, all that you have suffered, will be to no avail, all your ridiculous projects will end in smoke, all your works are dead, and with them, you will die.

Pere Crasset

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.

Luke 1: 48-50

Posted in OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS

Thought for the Day – 18 October – To converse interiorly with the Angels

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The Glories of the Holy Angels

Venerable Henri Boudon, Archdeacon of Evreux

PRACTICE FIFTH

To converse interiorly with the Angels

Render familiar to yourselves the converse of the holy Angels, says St. Bernard to his religious, and often call them to mind. We willingly converse with men—and behold the world is full of Angels, and these most amiable and excellent in every point of view, and yet scarcely can there be found a few who think of them. Is it that we doubt of their presence, because we do not behold them with our bodily eyes? Have we not faith?

When you walk through town, salute interiorly the Angels of those whom you meet. When you go to the country, pay homage to the blessed Spirits who are there even more neglected, because of the ignorance of the poor peasantry. When you enter into a church, or a public assembly, let holy faith manifest to you the presence of the Angels. When you make a journey, entertain yourself with the Angels of those who travel with you. When among your friends, say from time to time a little word to their Angels—and when alone with yourself, speak to and entertain these blessed Spirits.

If we exhort you to be familiar with and devout to all the Angels, we are still more pressing in inviting you to honour that holy Spirit to whose care God committed you at the moment of your birth. He thinks continually of you; never lose sight of him. A little prayer, said morning and night, is too slight a testimony of your gratitude towards him. Take then, a quarter or half an hour sometimes to pay this good Angel your homage. Prostrate yourself before him; crave pardon for your past ingratitude; ask his blessing : tell him all you would wish to say to a most faithful friend.: Now speak to him of your weaknesses, miseries, temptations—and then of the obligations you have to him, of his beauty, his perfections, his admirable qualifications. Converse with him as with a good father, a tender mother, an incomparable friend, a vigilant pastor, a charitable guide, a skilful physician, a powerful protector. Entertain your good Angel at different intervals in one of these characters—and be assured that the time will pass much more agreeably and profitably than in the company of creatures. Sometimes you are at a loss for a companion—behold your good Angel always ready to converse with you.

We ought also often visit in spirit heretical and infidel kingdoms, to converse with the Angels of these poor people, and treat with them about their conversion. One day we can honour the Angels of one kingdom—and another, the Angels of some other. Another very delightful practice is, to traverse, in spirit, the Heavenly Jerusalem—now saluting the Cherubim, then the Seraphim, and so the other Choirs. It is also very laudable to salute the Angels our acquaintances when we meet them. This is easier than some may imagine; it is only necessary to make a little compact with yourself, which you will renew at least every month, that, as often as you salute any person, you will also salute his Angel Guardian. On these occasions, when you remember it, say interiorly to these holy Angels, that you salute them.

By this means, the recollection of these blessed Spirits will be gradually facilitated. Some, when writing to friends, salute their Angel Guardians. I know it will be said, that these practices are rare. I admit that they are so—but maintain that they ought to be general. It is an extraordinary thing to see a real Saint: but as this deplorable truth should not hinder us from aspiring to sanctity—so, that want of devotion to the Angels, which is so general, cannot warrant us to refuse them our love and veneration.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 17 October – Saint John the Short

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Saint John the Short, also known as John Colobus, John Kolobos, John the Little, John the Dwarf, Yoannis Pi Kolobos, was a Coptic Desert Father born in 339 at Thebes, Egypt. Born to a poor but pious family, from age 18, John lived in an underground cave he dug in the desert of Skete. He was the spiritual student of Saint Poemen and Saint Ammoes.

Noted for being short of stature, short of temper, and conceited by nature; he did not grow in height, but as his faith increased, so did his gentleness and humility. John lived on only flatbread and vegetables his entire life and ate only one meal a day. In later life he was known for absent-mindedness, his thoughts being on the spiritual life. As a test of his new humble obedience, his director Pambo ordered him to water a walking staff stuck in the sand; John obeyed and went on watering it twice a day even though the water was about 12 miles from where they lived. After three years, the piece of wood sprouted and grew into a fruitful tree. Pambo took some of this tree’s fruits and went around to all the elder monks, saying “take, eat from the fruit of obedience”. John was ordained a priest by Pope Theophilus and became abbot of the monastery he founded around the Tree of Obedience.

To escape Berber invaders around 395, he fled Skete and lived for years as a hermit on Mount Qolzum, near the current city of Suez. He was the spiritual teacher of Saint Arsenius, and died in 405 at Mount Qolzum, Egypt, of natural causes. When Saint John died, his servant, who had been in a nearby village, had a vision of him being carried to heaven by a group of angels and saints.

Posted in Uncategorized

Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost, Könnyezo Szuz Mária / Our Lady of Tears or the Weeping Madonna, Hungary and Memorials of the Saints – 17 October

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Könnyezo Szuz Mária / Our Lady of Tears or the Weeping Madonna (Sajópálfala, Miskolci, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hungary) (1717) – Third Sunday of October, 16 February:

During the Turkish occupation of the late 1600s, the town of Sajópálfala in northeastern Hungary was destroyed and deserted. Not long after Greek Catholics resettled the area. The painting of the Madonna and Child in their village Church perspired and wept bloody tears, from 6 January to 16 February 1717.

The investigating Bishop took the picture to Eger, where it stayed in the Franciscan Church until the Communists dissolved the religious orders in 1950. Then the painting was lost to the faithful of Sajópálfala, who had made an annual pilgrimage to Eger on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

In 1969, they located the original weeping image in a Church in the Diocese of Pécs, where a friar had taken it when the Eger Monastery closed. On 25 October 1973, after 256 years, the Weeping Virgin Mary returned to the Church of the Visitation in Sajópálfala, where the main pilgrimage days are now Pentecost Sunday and the third Sunday in October.

St Margaret Mary Alacoque VHM (1647-1690) Virgin, Nun of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, Mystic, Saint and Apostle of the Sacred Heart. Her feast day was moved to after Vatican II and prior to that was 17 October. (Optional Memorial)

Blessed Balthassar of Chiavari OFM (1420–1492) Priest of the Order of Friars Minor of the strict observance, Confessor, renowned Preacher, Professor of Theology, Superior General of the Order.

Bl Battista de Bonafede
St Berarius I of Le Mans
St Catervus
St Colman of Kilroot
Blessed Contardo Ferrini TOSF (1859-1902) Layman, Third Order Franciscan

St Ethelbert of Eastry
St Ethelred of Eastry
St Florentius of Orange

Bl Francois Isidore Gagelin (1799-1833) Priest and Martyr, Missionary, was a member of the Paris Foreign Missions Society in Vietnam.

Bl Gilbert the Theologian
St Heron of Antioch
Bl Jacques Burin
St John the Short/Dwarf
St Louthiern
St Mamelta of Persia
St Nothelm of Canterbury
St Richard Gwyn
St Rudolph of Gubbio
St Rufus of Rome
St Serafino of Montegranaro
St Solina of Chartres
St Zosimus of Rome
—
Martyrs of Nicomedia – 3 saints: A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details about them that have survived are their names – Alexander, Marianus and Victor. 303 in Nicomedia (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of Valenciennes -5 beati: A group of Ursuline nuns martyred in the persecutions of the French Revolution.
• Hyacinthe-Augustine-Gabrielle Bourla
• Jeanne-Reine Prin
• Louise-Joseph Vanot
• Marie-Geneviève-Joseph Ducrez
• Marie-Madeleine-Joseph Déjardins

Martyrs of Volitani: A group of martyrs who were praised by Saint Augustine of Hippo. In Volitani, proconsular Africa (in modern Tunisia).

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• BlessedFidel Fuidio Rodriguez
• BlessedJosé Sánchez Medina
• BlessedPerfecto Carrascosa Santos
• BlessedTársila Córdoba Belda de Girona

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 17 October – Short Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Short Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ
By St Margaret Mary Alacoque

I give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ
my person and my life, my actions, trials and sufferings,
so that I may no longer wish to make use of any part of my being
except to honor, love, and glorify Him.
This is my irrevocable will,
to belong entirely to Him and to do everything for His love,
and I renounce with all my heart anything that can be displeasing to Him.
I take Thee, then,
O sacred Heart,
as the sole object of my love,
the protector of my life,
the pledge of my salvation,
the remedy of my infirmities,
the reparation for all the sins of my life
and my sure refuge at the hour of my death.
Be, then,
O Heart of Goodness,
my justification with God the Father,
and turn aside the blows of His just wrath.
O Heart of Love,
I place all my confidence in Thee.
I fear everything from my malice
but placing my entire confidence in Thee,
O Heart of Love,
I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness.
May Thy pure love impress Thee so deeply in my heart that I can never forget Thee,
nor never be separated from Thee.
I beseech Thee by Thy boundless goodness to write my name in Thy Sacred Heart,
for I wish to live and die as Thy slave.
Amen.

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 17 October – “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 17 October – “Month of the Most Holy Rosary” – Readings: Cant 2:3, Ps 83:2-3, Eph 3:8-9, 14-19, Matt 11:25-30

At that time, Jesus spoke and said, I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to little ones.

Matt 11:25-30

REFLECTION – Thanks, thanks be to you, eternal Father, that you have not despised me, your handiwork, nor turned your face from me, nor made light of these desires of mine. You, Light, have disregarded my darksomeness; you, Life, have not considered that I am death; nor you, Doctor, considered these grave weaknesses of mine. You, eternal Purity, have disregarded my wretched filthiness; you who are infinite have overlooked the fact that I am finite, and you, Wisdom, the fact that I am foolishness. For all these and so many other endless evils and sins of mine, your wisdom, your kindness, your mercy, your infinite goodness have not despised me. No, in your light you have given me light. In your wisdom I have come to know the truth; in your mercy I have found your charity and affection for my neighbors. What has compelled you? Not my virtues but only your charity. Let this same love compel you to enlighten the eye of my understanding with the light of faith, so that I may know your truth, which you have revealed to me.

Let my memory be great enough to hold your favors, and set my will ablaze in your charity’s fire. Let that fire burst the seed of my body and bring forth blood; then with that blood, given for love of your blood, and with the key of obedience, let me unlock heaven’s gate. I heartily ask the same of you for every reasoning creature, all and each of them, and for the mystic body of holy Church. I acknowledge, and do not deny, that you loved me before I existed, and that you love me unspeakably much, as one gone mad over your creature.

St Catherine of Siena

PRAYER – Holy Father, grant me an operative faith, a faith that will move mountains. Enlighten my soul with Your Light, Goodness, Power and Wisdom. Let my faith be an image of You by lively deeds and love and by conforming myself to Your Will in all things. As the Blessed Virgin, Mother of Your only-begotten Son, longed only to serve the God of all in complete self-denial and humility, may we always strive to imitate her Fiat in serving You, with upright hearts and thus manifest a true faith, through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes, SACRED HEART QUOTES

Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – St Margaret Mary Alacoque

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Accept and suffer in silence everything our divine Master sends you and never say it is enough, no matter how great repugnance nature may feel. That is all. Only one thing is necessary: pure love of God combined with the love of our abjection. We must abandon ourselves to the loving providence of the Sacred and lovable Heart of Jesus and let Him guide and rule us as He wishes. He will be sure to furnish us with all that is necessary for out sanctification if only we are careful to receive it according to His designs. That is sufficient.

Love, then, of our own abjection in the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for us, in order to honor the mysteries of His holy Passion and death. These He wishes us to honor. And we must observe a holy silence, as He did, in all humiliations and sufferings. I assure you that nothing appeals to me so strongly as the silence He kept so perfectly during the whole course of His Passion. In imitation of Him, we should not open our lips except to pray for those who cause us suffering.

You ask me which of the mysteries of His holy passion I like the best. Bearing in mind what I have just told you I would say that it is the Crucifixion. I like to stand with the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross, or rather under the foot of the Cross, in order to attach myself to it and unite myself to all He did for us.

I do not know, dear Mother, whether you understand the nature of this devotion to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ of which I am speaking. The devotion produces rich fruit and makes a great change in those who are devoted to it and earnestly practice it.

I cannot help thinking that the longing I felt to send you this picture of the Sacred Heart came from His desire to establish His kingdom in your community and His reign of love in our hearts. The hearts, my dear Mother, which are in the crown of thorns which encircles this loving Heart are the ones that love it and follow it in suffering. Those in the crown o love-knots ( Lacs d´amour) are the ones that love It with a joyous love.

Moreover, I assure you that I am convinced that persons consecrated to this Sacred Heart will never perish.

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Thought for the Day – 17 October – The Seven Spirits

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The Glories of the Holy Angels

Venerable Henri Boudon, Archdeacon of Evreux

PRACTICE FOURTH

To have a great Devotion to the Seven Spirits who are before the Throne.

The Holy Scriptures assure us, that there are seven of the holy Angels specially appointed to assist before the Throne, and stand continually in the presence of the Most High. In the 1st chapter of the Apocalypse, grace and peace are given in the name of these sublime Spirits. We only know the names of three of them—St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael. Some say that the fourth is called Uriel, of whom there is mention made in the Book of Esdras. E.

But to say something of each in particular: St. Michael, the first of these blessed princes, defended the honour of the Word incarnate against Lucifer. It is supposed he was the first who adored him in the manger. He is the tutelary of the holy Church. He is the guardian of the dying, according to Saints Augustine and Bonaventure. This latter affirms, that he receives orders from the Mother of God, to assist more specially those who are devout to her. St. Michael is the highest among the Seraphim, and the chief of the celestial host. If we love the Church—if we love ourselves—if we are desirous to overcome our self-love, and solicitous to provide against our last hour, we must be devout to him.

St. Gabriel is also one of the Seraphim, though, like St. Michael, denominated an archangel, but this title is common to the most glorious of the blessed Spirits, as that of Angel is to them all, of whatever order they may be. It was this holy spirit that was deputed by God to announce the incarnation of his Son to Mary. It is supposed that he was the Guardian Angel of this blessed Virgin. Hence judge of his superior sanctity and excellence, and learn to honour him as he deserves.

We need only to peruse the history of Tobias, to be devout to St. Raphael, the third Angel—for he rendered this young man most important services, conducting him safely in his journey, and teaching him how to avoid the snares which Satan had so effectually employed to destroy the former husbands of the wife whom he had espoused. Pilgrims and travellers ought to invoke him, and indeed all Christians, as we are all pilgrims and sojourners on earth.

Let us honour all these blessed Seven—let us be but truly devout to them let us beg their prayers, in order that we may avoid the seven capital sins, and obtain the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost.