Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 13 July –St Esdras the Prophet and St Joel the Prophet

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St Esdras the Prophet

Also known as Ezra. In the Greek Septuagint, the name is rendered as Ésdrās (Ἔσδρας), from which the Latin name Esdras comes. He was a descendant of Seraiah, the last High Priest of Israel to serve in Solomon’s Temple, as well as a close relative of Joshua, the first High Priest of the Second Temple.

Also a priest and scribe, he left Babylon in the 7th year of Artaxerxes (458 B.C.) with a caravan of 1,800 Jewish exiles, to return to Jerusalem. The Persian king had given Esdras a letter ordering the satraps beyond the Euphrates to aid him to enforce observance of the Mosaic Law in Judea. Esdras brought with him an exemption from taxation for the temple officials, and gifts from Artaxerxes and the Jews of Babylon. With these the temple worship was to be enhanced and subsidized. When Ezra discovered that Jewish men had been marrying foreign pagan women, he tore his garments in despair. He confessed the sins of Israel before God, then braved the opposition of some of his fellow Judeans to purify the community by enforcing the dissolution of the sinful marriages. Within a year mixed marriages, of which even priests had been guilty, were dissolved.

In 444 B.C., after the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, the Law was read to the assembled multitude, whereupon the Feast of Tabernacles and the Day of Atonement were observed. There followed the renewal of the Covenant, which all solemnly agreed to keep. By Esdras and Nehemias the restoration of the Law was effected. The measures which Esdras himself effected determined in great part the organization and practise of later Judaism.

According to Josephus, Ezra died and was buried “in a magnificent manner in Jerusalem.

St Joel the Prophet

Joel is the second of the Twelve Minor Prophets, and the author of the Book of Joel, which is set in the early Assyrian period. His name combines the covenant name of God, YHWH (or Yahweh), and El (god), and has been translated as “YHWH is God” or “one to whom YHWH is God,” that is, a worshiper of YHWH.

Joel’s statement that “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” was applied by St Peter in his sermon at Pentecost to the events of that day.

According to tradition, Joel was buried in Gush Halav. In the western outskirts of the modern village, there is a structure that has long been considered Joel’s tomb, which contains several ancient rock-cut tombs.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Madonna del Soccorso / Our Lady of Soccorso, Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani, Sicily, Italy ( 1718) and Memorials of the Saints – 13 July

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Madonna del Soccorso / Our Lady of Soccorso, Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani, Sicily, Italy ( 1718)- 13 July

In Castellammare del Golfo, in the Province of Trapani, a miraculous event occurred on 13 July 1718, when the Town was in the midst of war between Philip V and Amedeo di Savoia, for the possession of Sicily. A Spanish ship, pursued by five English ships, arrived to take refuge under the castle, from where the enemy ships were repelled.

The people, frightened, cried out for a miraculous help to their Patron – all fled the City, and despite the blows of the English artillery, no-one was killed or injured. But all of a sudden, to everyone’s amazement, the white-dressed Madonna appeared from Mount delle Scale, followed by a group of Angels, who descended towards Cala Marina. This vision terrified the British who hastened in retreat and left the port.

The name of Madonna del Soccorso derives from this extraordinary event.
Every two years, in fact, on 13 July in the Town of the Gulf the “Historical Re-enactment” of the miraculous intervention of Maria Santissima del Soccorso, in the City of Castellammare.

Devotion to the Madonna del Soccorso is particularly felt in the Magolà hamlet, in Lamezia Terme but also, in the whole area. The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso is located on a green hill overlooking the City of Lamezia Terme and overlooking the plain of Sant’Eufemia, in the most panoramic point . The presence of this Church then gave its name to the whole area. According to a historical research by Don Pietro Bonacci ( 1915 – 2007 ), devotion to the Madonna del Soccorso is very ancient and was initially practiced in the Church of the Reformed Fathers of St Frances (currently the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore) in very remote times. This devotion was also in use in the Church of Santa Lucia , which until the eighteenth century, had the title of Parish of St Maria del Soccorso, then passed to the Church of Magolà. It is said that the Reformed Fathers decorated with great piety and love, a miraculous image of the Madonna painted by St Luke and brought from Jerusalem by a Franciscan Friar who landed in Sant’Eufemia, fell ill and died with the Reformed Fathers. This image was of great veneration for its continuous graces but no trace has been found, it has disappeared.

The current Church was built shortly after the construction of the votive Shrine. In fact, a document reports that it was completed in 1740. . At the beginning of the nineteenth century cholera broke out and a small hospital was built to treat the sick. In the twentieth century everything returned to normal and the celebrations in honour of the Madonna began, which were established on the third Sunday of July, preceded by the Novena. On Saturdays it was customary to celebrate The Rosary and other Marian devotions, in which one spent a whole day with the Madonna and sang traditional hymns. On the day of the festival, after several Masses, the procession with the Statue of the Madonna begins,and looks out from the hill to bless the City. There was also a great fair. Today the festival is held the same way.

St Henry (972-1024) Holy Roman Emperor (Optional Memorial) Henry was well known for his missionary spirit and for his protection of the Pope in times of trouble. Henry ruled with a spirit of great humility and always sought to give the glory to God. He used his position to promote the work of the Church and the peace and happiness of the people.

Bl Anne-Andrée Minutte
St Arno of Würzburg
Bl Barthélemy Jarrige de la Morelie de Biars
Bl Berthold of Scheide

St Clelia Barbieri (1847-1870) Foundress of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Mother of Sorrows, Mystic.

St Dogfan
Bl Élisabeth Verchière
St Emanuele Lê Van Phung
St Esdras the Prophet
St Eugene of Carthage
Bl Ferdinand Mary Baccilleri
St Iosephus Wang Kuiju
Blessed James of Voragine OP (c 1226 – 3 or 16 July 1298) Bishop, Author of the ‘Golden Legend.’
Bl Jean of France
St Joel the Prophet
Bl Louis-Armand-Joseph Adam

Bl Marie-Anastasie de Roquard
Bl Marie-Anne Depeyre
Bl Marie-Anne Lambert
St Mildred of Thanet
St Muritta of Carthage
St Myrope
St Paulus Liu Jinde
St Salutaris of Carthage
St Sarra of Egypt
St Serapion of Alexandria
Serapion of Macedonia
Bl Thérèse-Henriette Faurie
Bl Thomas Tunstal
St Turiaf
—
Martyrs of Cyprus – 300 saints: 300 Christians who retired to Cyprus to live as cave hermits, devoting themselves to prayer and an ascetic life devoted to God. Tortured and martyred for their faith and their bodies dumped in the various caves in which they had lived. We know the names of five of them but no other details even about them – Ammon, Choulélaios, Epaphroditus, Eusthénios and Héliophotos. They were beheaded in the 12th century on Cyprus and their bodies dumped in the cave where they had lived and only rediscovered long afterwards.

Martyrs of Philomelio – 31 saints: 31 soldiers martyred for their faith in the persecutions of prefect Magno, date unknown. The only name that has come down to us is Alexander. In Philomelio, Phrygia (in modern Turkey).

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 13 July – Act of Spiritual Communion by St Bernard

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Our Morning Offering – 13 July – “Month of the Precious Blood”

Act of Spiritual Communion
By St Bernard (1090-1153
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

As I cannot this day enjoy the happiness
of assisting at the Holy Mysteries, O my God,
I transport myself in spirit to the foot of Your Altar.
I unite with the Church, which by the hands of the Priest,
offers You, Your adorable Son in the Holy Sacrifice.
I offer myself with Him, by Him and in His Name.
I adore, I praise and thank You,
imploring Your mercy,
invoking Your assistance
and presenting to You,
the homage I owe You as my Creator
and the love due to You as my Saviour.

Apply to my soul, I beseech You, O Merciful Jesus,
Your infinite merits;
apply them also to those
for whom I particularly wish to pray.
I desire to communicate spiritually,
that Your Blood, may purify,
Your Flesh, strengthen
and Your Spirit, sanctify me.
May I never forget that You, my divine Redeemer,
died for me.
May I die to all that is not You,
that hereafter, I may live eternally with You.
Amen.

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 13 July – Come, children, hear me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

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For as you yielded your members as slaves of uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members as slaves of justice unto sanctification.

Rom 6:19-23

REFLECTION – “Let us cry out with David; let us hear him weep and let us shed tears with him. Let us see how he rises up again and let us rejoice with him: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness.” (Ps 51:3)

Let us place before the eyes of our soul a man who is seriously injured, almost on the point of breathing his last breathe and who is lying naked in the dust. In his desire to see a doctor arrive, he is moaning and begging the person who understands his condition, to have pity. Now sin is a wound to the soul. You who are this wounded person, learn that your Doctor is within you and show Him the wounds of your sins. May He, to whom every secret thought is known, hear the moaning of your heart. May your tears move Him and, if you have to seek Him with some insistence, let deep sighs rise up to Him from the bottom of your heart. May your pain come to Him and may you also be told, like David: “The Lord… has forgiven your sin.” (2 Sam 12:13)…

“Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness.” The people who belittle their fault because they do not know this great tenderness, only draw a little tenderness to themselves. As for me, I fell far, I sinned with full knowledge. But You, Almighty Doctor, correct those who scorn You; You teach those who do not know their fault and You forgive those who admit it to You.” – St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father and Doctor of the Church – Presentation on the seven penitential Psalms

“ It is better to atone for sin now and to cut away vices,
than to keep them for purgation in the hereafter.
In truth, we deceive ourselves
by our ill-advised love of the flesh.
What will that fire feed upon but our sins?
The more we spare ourselves now
and the more we satisfy the flesh,
the harder will the reckoning be
and the more we keep for the burning.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

PRAYER – God our Father, we are Your children and You have set us aside to come home to You by the light of the way of Your divine Son. Fill us with knowledge of our need to turn to You in sorrow and repentance, that we may one day attain our final home with You. Grant we pray, that by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, we may too become lights announcing Your Glory and our great need for repentance. and penance. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus with You in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God forever, amen.

Posted in QUOTES on GRATITUDE

Quote/s of the Day – 13 July – Thanks

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Quote/s of the Day – 13 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 46:2, Ps 46:3, Rom 6:19-23, Ps 33:12, 6, Ps 46:2, Matt 7:15-21

It is truly meet and just, and profitable unto salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to Thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ, our Lord.

(Preface of the Mass)

In this wise have the martyrs shown their power, leaping with joy in the presence of death, laughing at the sword, making sport of the wrath of princes, grasping at death as the producer of deathlessness, making victory their own by their fall, through the body taking their leap to heaven, suffering their members to be scattered abroad in order that they might hold their souls, and, bursting the bars of life, that they might open the. gates of heaven. And if any one believes not that death is abolished, that Hades is trodden under foot, that the chains thereof are broken, that the tyrant is bound, let him look on the martyrs disporting themselves in the presence of death, and taking up the jubilant strain of the victory of Christ. O the marvel! Since the hour when Christ despoiled Hades, men have danced in triumph over death.

 O death, where is your sting! O grave, where is your victory? Hades and the devil have been despoiled, and stripped of their ancient armour, and cast out of their peculiar power. And even as Goliath had his head cut off with his own sword, so also is the devil, who has been the father of death, put to rout through death; and he finds that the selfsame thing which he was wont to use as the ready weapon of his deceit, has become the mighty instrument of his own destruction. Yea, if we may so speak, casting his hook at the Godhead, and seizing the wonted enjoyment of the baited pleasure, he is himself manifestly caught while he deems himself the captor, and discovers that in place of the man he has touched the God. By reason thereof do the martyrs leap upon the head of the dragon, and despise every species of torment.

For since the second Adam has brought up the first Adam out of the deeps of Hades, as Jonah was delivered out of the whale, and has set forth him who was deceived as a citizen of heaven to the shame of the deceiver, the gates of Hades have been shut, and the gates of heaven have been opened, so as to offer an unimpeded entrance to those who rise there in faith.

In olden time Jacob beheld a ladder erected reaching to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. But now, having been made man for man’s sake, He who is the Friend of man has crushed with the foot of His divinity him who is the enemy of man, and has borne up the man with the hand of His Christhood, and has made the trackless ether to be trodden by the feet of man. Then the angels were ascending and descending; but now the Angel of the great counsel neither ascends nor descends: for whence or where shall He change His position, who is present everywhere, and fills all things, and holds in His hand the ends of the world?

St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (On All The Saints)

“Since all the good we have, or all the good we do, is of God and from God, we are bound, in justice, to render Him thanks for every good action done, or every victory won in the battle against self. And, what is more, we are obliged to render thanksgiving for all blessings, general or particular, which we have received from His bounteous Hand.

To do this in a becoming manner, let us consider the end because of which, He has heaped upon us the abundance of His blessings; for from such considerations, we come to learn how God would be thanked.
And, as His principal design, in all His beneficence, is primarily His own honour and the dedication of souls to His Divine service, let everyone reflect within his hearts: “What power, wisdom and goodness has God displayed in bestowing this grace and blessing upon me!”

Then considering the incapacity of finite man, to merit unaided, an Infinite favour – or even man’s utter ingratitude which makes him unworthy of such a blessing – we should say, in deep humility:
“Is it possible, O Lord that Thou shouldst love sinful man, the most abject of creatures? How boundless is a love which grants a multitude of blessings, to him, who deserves it so little!? May Thy Holy Name be blessed now and forever!”

And finally, as such a multitude of blessings requires no more acknowledgment from man, than that he love his gracious Benefactor, let him thank and love God from the bottom of his heart, resolving to obey completely, the dictates of God’s Holy Will.

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 13 July – 13th Day – The Conquests of the Precious Blood

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The Precious Blood – Short Meditations for July

By Rev. Richard F. Clarke

13th Day – The Conquests of the Precious Blood

Victory without conquest is but of little avail to one who invades the territory of the foe. Our Lord came not only to subdue His enemies, but o obtain for Himself a kingdom. By the shedding of the Precious Blood the kingdoms of this world became the kingdoms of Our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. The blood of Jesus sinking into the ground gave to the earth a new life. The curse had departed, the new era had begun which shall culminate in the new heaven and the new earth wherein dwelleth justice. Pray that the King may soon come to take possession of this kingdom.

The shedding of the Precious Blood also won for Christ our King not only a new territory, but a multitude of new subjects. If the material world was sanctified by the Precious Blood, how much more those who dwelt upon it! What must have been the joy of Jesus to look down on whole countries faithful to Him amidst trials and persecutions! Ireland, Belgium, Spain, Catholic Austria, France, Italy, covered with multitudes subdued and held
in joyful captivity by the Precious Blood. Rejoice in the wide spread of the Faith, and pray that it may spread more and more.

Above all, the Precious Blood has subdued to the yoke of Christ priests innumerable, monks, nuns, saints in the world and in religion, all rejoicing to be the very bond-slaves of the Precious Blood. Their chief calls himself the Servant of the Servants of God. Pray that you may rejoice to be a willing slave of Jesus Christ.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame -de- lure / Our Lady of Lure, Avignon, France (1110) and Memorials of the Saints – 12 July

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Notre-Dame -de- lure / Our Lady of Lure, Avignon, France (1110) – 12 July:

At the beginning of the 6th century, a Priest from Orleans, France, named Saint Donat du Val, in search of solitude, made his way into the Alps. The mountain of Lure seemed to be the kind of place he was looking for and with the approval of the Bishop of Sisteron, he settled there. On the side of the mountain he built an oratory for which he himself made the Statue of Our Lady, carving it from native stone. When after 32 years he died, having spent these years in penance and apostolic work, he was replaced by the Benedictines of Val-Benoit.

A Chapel was built to replace the oratory which proved too small to accommodate the many pilgrims. When the Saracens invaded Provence, the religious had to flee and so they hid the Statue. Barbarians ravaged the country several times and the Convent was destroyed.

In 1110, the Countess Adelaide, to whom the land of Lure belonged, gave the place of the original oratory to the Bishop of Sisteron. Several nobles aided in the work of restoring the Monastery of Our Lady of Lure. The ancient sSatue was found and placed above the tomb of Saint Donat. The Church became well known and pilgrimages were well attended. In 1318, Pope John XXII attached the Shrine of Our Lady of Lure, to the metropolitan area or See of Avignon. In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV called back to Avignon the 12 canons at the Shrine. The Church fell into disrepair. For 80 years the place remained desolate. One day a shepherd, who was resting near the ruins, heard a voice saying, “Oh, how many graces I would give to men in this place, if my Sanctuary were rebuilt.”

The ecclesiastics to whom he told his story took the shepherd seriously. The Shrine was rebuilt and the Statue rescued from the debris, was placed on a new Altar which was Consecrated in 1637. Pilgrimages again flourished. During the French Revolution the Chapel was pillaged and the Statue mutilated.

With the return of peace, pilgrims again came. On a number of occasions, Mary granted the miracle of an abundant rain to pilgrims that had come to seek this favour. The largest number of pilgrims were wont to come on Pentecost, the Feast of the Assumption and the Nativity of Our Lord.

St Agnes De
St Andreas the Soldier
St Ansbald of Prum
St Balay
St Clement Ignatius Delgado Cebrian
St Colmán of Cloyne (c 522-600) Priest, Monk
Bl David Gonson
St Epiphana
St Faustus the Soldier
St Felix of Milan
St Fortunatus of Aquileia (1st Century – Died c 66) Deacon
St Hermagorus of Aquileia (1st Century – Died c 66) Bishop, Disciple of St Mark the Evangelist
St Hilarion of Ancyra
St Jason of Tarsus
Bl Jeanne-Marie de Romillon

St John Gualbert (c 985-1073) Abbot, Founder of the Vallumbrosan Order and many Monasteries. “The Merciful Knight.”

St John Jones OFM (c 1574 – 1598) Priest and Martyr, Franciscan Friar, Missionary.

St John the Georgian
Bl Lambert of Cîteaux

Bl Madeleine-Thérèse Talieu
Bl Marguerite-Eléonore de Justamond
Bl Marie Cluse
St Menas the Soldier
St Menulphus of Quimper
St Nabor of Milan
St Paternian of Bologna
St Paulinus of Antioch
St Phêrô Khan
St Proclus of Ancyra
St Proculus of Bologna
St Uguzo of Carvagna
St Ultán

St Veronica – The woman who who wiped the Face of Jesus on the way to His Crucifixion. The cloth is believed to exist today in the Vatican and is considered one of the most treasured relics of the Church.

St Viventiolus of Lyons
—
Martyrs of Nagasaki – 8 beati: Additional Memorial – 10 September as one of the 205 Martyrs of Japan
Eight lay people, many them related to each other, who were martyred together:
• Catharina Tanaka
• Ioannes Onizuka Naizen
• Ioannes Tanaka
• Ludovicus Onizuka
• Matthias Araki Hyozaemon
• Monica Onizuka
• Petrus Araki Chobyoe
• Susanna Chobyoe
12 July 1626 in Nagasaki, Japan
Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Blessed Pius IX.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 12 July – Saint Uguzo of Cavargna

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Also known as Lucio, Lucius, Luguzzone, Uguzon, Uguzzone. Died before 1200. He was a poor shepherd who lived near Cavargna and was extremely generous in charity towards the poor and needy. According to legend, he discovered that the yield from cheese-making is greater if the milk is heated before it is made into cheese. According to another legend, he heated the whey produced during cheese-making and collected the flocculated protein to make cheese.

Uguzo gave the surplus cheese obtained by his discovery to the poor to feed. Suspecting that the shepherd was giving away his property, Uguzo’s employer drove him away, only for his land to go foul and his sheep to stop producing milk. Uguzo’s subsequent employer prospered from the moment he hired him, and he was blessed with a miracle as when he cut cheese from his employer’s cheese rounds to distribute to the needy, the rounds would miraculously be reformed. Hatred and envy of Uguzo and his blessings and reputation drove the first employer to kill the shepherd. The cult of Uguzo was authenticated as early as 1280 at Milan and has been honored by various popes.

The San Lucio Pass, where he was murdered, is named for him, and at the summit is a 14th-century church, dedicated to him. At the place where Uguzo was slain, a spring gushed forth that is said to this day to have healing powers, especially for eye ailments.

He is the patron of cheese-makers and is invoked in cases of cattle and eye diseases, and favorable weather conditions. He appears in iconography with a cheese-cutter and a cheese with a slice cut out of it.

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 12 July – May We Confess Your Name to the End

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May We Confess Your Name to the End
By St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258)
Bishop and Martyr
Father of the Church

Good God,
may we confess Your Name to the end.
May we emerge unmarked
and glorious from the traps
and darkness of this world.
As You have bound us together
by charity and peace
and as together
we have persevered under persecution,
so may we also rejoice together
in Your heavenly kingdom.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 12 July – By their fruits you will know them.

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“By their fruits you will know them. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?”- Matthew 7:16

REFLECTION – We should inquire as to the kind of fruit the Lord wishes us to recognize, so that we may be able to distinguish the tree. Many persons reckon as fruits certain things which are indeed the suitable clothing of sheep, for instance, fastings, prayers, and almsgivings. Such people are deceived by wolves, for, if these things could not be done also by hypocrites, the Lord would not have previously said: “Take heed not to practice your righteousness before men, in order to be seen by them.” Many persons bestow much upon the poor, not through mercy, but for the sake of display; many persons pray-or, rather, they seem to pray-without directing their attention toward God, but seeking to please men; and many persons fast and display a wonderful degree of self-denial before those who think such things difficult and praiseworthy. These are not the fruits by which a tree can be recognized in accordance with the Lord’s admonition. When these things are truly done with a good intention, they are rightly called the clothing of sheep.

The Apostle Paul tells us what are the known fruits by which we may recognize a bad tree. He says: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest: they are immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, witchcraft, enmity, contention, jealousy, animosity, quarrels, heresies, faction, envy, drunkenness, carousings, and such like things”. And the same Apostle goes on to tell us also what are the fruits by which we may recognize a good tree, for he says: “But the fruit of the spirit is: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, modesty, continence.”

So, also, the word ‘joy’ is likewise used in its proper sense here, for evil men are not said to rejoice, but to enjoy pleasure. It is in this proper sense that the good use the word when they say: “Rejoicing is not for the wicked, says the Lord”. The same applies to the true faith. In wicked and deceitful men there are also certain semblances of the other virtues that may thoroughly deceive anyone who does not keep clear and single the eye through which one is able to recognize those virtues.

Saint Augustine 

PRAYER – We humbly supplicate and beseech thee, O thrice blessed Augustine, that thou wouldst be mindful of us poor sinners this day, daily, and at the hour of our death, that by thy merits and prayers we may be delivered from all evils, as well of soul as body, and daily increase in virtue and good works; obtain for us that we may know our God and know ourselves, that in His mercy He may cause us to love Him above all things in life and death; impart to us, we beseech thee, some share of that love with which thou so ardently glow, that our hearts being all inflamed with this divine love, happily depart- ing out of this mortal pilgrimage, we may deserve to praise with thee the loving heart of Jesus for a never ending eternity.  Amen.

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Quote/s of the Day – 12 July – A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

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Quote/s of the Day – 12 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 46:2, Ps 46:3, Rom 6:19-23, Ps 33:12, 6, Ps 46:2, Matt 7:15-21

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.

Matt 7:15-21

“Take heed that you are not led astray,
for many will come in my name,
saying, ‘I am he!’“

Luke 21:8

“If you believe what you like in the Gospels
and reject what you don’t like,
it is not the Gospel you believe
but yourself.”

Saint Augustine (354-430)

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.

Matt 7:15-21

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father in heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matt 7:15-21

 For as some are mentioned in the sacred Hebrew books, as early as the time of Abraham — neither of his fleshly race nor of the people of Israel nor of the foreign society among the people of Israel — who were, nevertheless, sharers in their sacrament, why may we not believe that there were others elsewhere among other people, here and there, although we do not read any mention of them in the same authorities? Thus the salvation of this religion, by which only true one true salvation is truly promised, never failed him who was worthy of it; and whoever it failed was not worthy of it. And from the very beginning of the propagation of man, even to the end, the gospel is preached, to some for a reward, to some for judgment; and thus also those to whom the faith was not announced at all were foreknown as those who would not believe; and those to whom it was announced, although they were not such as would believe, are set forth as an example for the former; while those to whom it is announced who should believe, are prepared for the kingdom of heaven, and the company of the holy angels.

St Augustine (On the Predestination of the Saints)

Brethren: I speak in a human way because of the weakness of your flesh; for as you yielded your members as slaves of uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members as slaves of justice unto sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free as regards justice. But what fruit had you then from those things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of these things is death. But now set free from sin and become slaves to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and as your end, life everlasting. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom 6:19-23

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 12 July – 12th Day – The Victories of the Precious Blood

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The Precious Blood – Short Meditations for July

By Rev. Richard F. Clarke

12th Day – The Victories of the Precious Blood

The Precious Blood has conquered sin and Satan. It was the shedding of it on the cross which gave the death-blow to the kingdom of the devil. It was when the Son of God had by the loss of His Sacred Blood been reduced to the extremity of weakness and of misery, and brought down to the very gates of death, that He triumphed over the tyrant that had enslaved the world, and compelled all the rebel angels to bow the knee before His sacred humanity. Rejoice with your victorious King, and pray that you may deserve to share His triumph.

The Precious Blood has also conquered sinner by thousands, who, if it had not been shed, would have remained hardened sinners unto the end. Who can withstand its silent appeal, as it trickles down from His head, His hands, His feet? Who can refuse to listen to its silent pledgings? Who can turn away from Him Who has thus loved us even unto death? O my Jesus, may I never turn away from Thy voice calling me from Thy throne upon the cross to love Thee and obey Thy voice!

The Precious Blood has also conquered and averted the anger of God, Whose decree of just retribution would but for it have fallen upon sinners. Can the Father resist the pleadings of his co-equal Son when He holds out His hands, still marked with the scars of His sacred wounds, and asks for mercy and forgiveness for the sinner? May Thy wounds, O Jesus, plead for me now and at the hour of death!

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Madonna del Carmine / Our Lady of Carmine, Combarbio di Anghiari, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, (1536) and Memorials of the Saints – 11 July

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Madonna del Carmine / Our Lady of Carmine, Combarbio di Anghiari, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, (1536) – 11 July:

A 12-year-old shepherdess, Marietta Del Mazza, reported apparitions of the Virgin on 11 July 1536 and days following. When news spread through the region, along with reports of miracles attributed to the Virgin’s intercession, the Bishops of Arezzo and Sansepolcro, conducted an investigation and authorised a Shrine at the apparition site.

The Shrine was completed in 1539. The Sanctuary was staffed by the Franciscan order at first, then by the Carmelites until 1782. Since 1987 it has been under the jurisdiction of the local Bishop.

The Sanctuary took the name of Our Lady of Carmel and over the centuries, it has continued uninterruptedly to recall the devotion of the people of the surrounding area. A fervent testimony of trust and love to Our Lady of Carmel occurred on the evening of 11 July 1986, 450 years anniversary from the date of the first apparition.

On the main Altar you can admire a beautiful Florentine school painting representing the Madonna and the Child with Saint John the Baptist pointing to the Lord, from the 16th century.

St Benedict of Nursia OSB (c 480-547) (Memorial) Patron of Europe and Founder of Western Monasticism

Saint of the Day – 11 July – St Benedict of Nursia O.S.B. – Abbot Patron of Europe (Patronus Europae) and Founder of Western Monasticism

St Abundius of Ananelos
St Amabilis of Rouen
St Anna An Jiaoshi
St Anna An Xingshi
Bl Antonio Muller
St Berthevin of Lisieux
St Cindeus
St Cowair
St Cyprian of Brescia
St Cyriacus the Executioner
St Hidulf of Moyenmoutier
St Januarius
St John of Bergamo
Bl Kjeld of Viborg
St Leontius the Younger
St Marcian of Lycaonia
St Marciana of Caesarea
Bl Maria An Guoshi
Bl Maria An Linghua
Bl Marie-Clotilde Blanc
Bl Marie-Elisabeth Pélissier
Bl Marie-Marguerite de Barbégie d’Albrède

St Olga Queen of Kiev (c 890-969) She was known as a ruthless and effective ruler but “when Olga was enlightened, she rejoiced in soul and body. The Bishop, who instructed her in the faith, said to her, ‘Blessed art thou among the women of Rus’, for thou hast loved the light and quit the darkness. The sons of Rus’ shall bless thee to the last generation of thy descendants.”

St Pelagia
St Pius I, Pope (Died c 154) (Martyr?) The ninth successor of St Peter.
St Placid of Dissentis
Bl Rosalie-Clotilde Bes
St Sabinus of Brescia
St Sabinus of Poitiers
St Sidronius
St Sigisbert of Dissentis
Bl Thomas Hunt
Bl Thomas Sprott
St Thurketyl

Blessed Valeriu Traian Frentiu (1875-1952) Martyr Bishop of the Greek-Catholic Rite.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 11 July – Bl Anna Jiao An, Bl Anna An Xin

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Anna Xin An （聖安辛安納）

Anna Jiao An （聖安焦安納）

During the Boxer Rebellion, Christians were persecuted in China. Anna An Jiao was arrested by the rebels on July 11, 1900, along with her family ( Anna An Xin, Maria An Guo, and Maria An Linghua). They attempted to force them to renounce their faith. When they refused, they were tortured and then taken outside the village and murdered.

“If you wish to remain alive, you must give up your western Catholic beliefs.” said the rebels.

This subgrouping of the Martyrs of China incorporates three generations of the An family. They were among the 2,072, killed between June and August 1900. There is a statue of Anna Wang outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing, which was originally built by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century. The cathedral was severely damaged during the Boxer Rebellion, but was later restored. Anna Wang was beatified by Pope Pius XII on November 24th, 1946.

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Our Morning Offering – 11 July – May I Be United With You, Good Jesus By St Peter Canisius

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Our Morning Offering – 11 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”

May I Be United With You, Good Jesus
By St Peter Canisius (1521-1597)
Doctor of the Church

Let my eyes take their sleep
but may my heart always
keep watch for You.
May Your right hand bless Your servants
who love You.
May I be united with the praise
that flows from You, Lord Jesus,
to all Your saints;
united with the gratitude
drawn from Your Heart, good Jesus,
that causes Your saints to thank You;
united with Your Passion, good Jesus,
by which You took away our guilt;
united with the divine longing
that You had on earth, for our salvation;
united with every prayer
that welled from Your divine Heart, good Jesus
and flowed into the hearts of Your saints.
Amen.

Posted in The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

One Minute Reflection – 11 July – “Blessed is the womb which bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27

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“Blessed is the womb which bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27”

REFLECTION – And so you say, O heretic, whoever you may be, who deny that God was born of the Virgin, that Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ ought not to be called Theotocos, i.e., Mother of God, but Christotocos, i.e., only the Mother of Christ, not of God. For no one, you say, brings forth what is anterior in time. And of this utterly foolish argument whereby you think that the birth of God can be understood by carnal minds, and fancy that the mystery of His Majesty can be accounted for by human reasoning, we will, if God permits, say something later on. In the meanwhile we will now prove by Divine testimonies that Christ is God, and that Mary is the Mother of God. Hear then how the angel of God speaks to the Shepherds of the birth of God. There is born, he says, to you this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. In order that you may not take Christ for a mere man, he adds the name of Lord and Saviour, on purpose that you may have no doubt that He whom you acknowledge as Saviour is God, and that (as the office of saving belongs only to Divine power) you may not question that He is of Divine power, in whom you have learned that the power to save resides.

But perhaps this is not enough to convince your unbelief, as the angel of the Lord termed Him Lord and Saviour rather than God or the Son of God, as you certainly most wickedly deny Him to be God, whom you acknowledge to be Saviour. Hear then what the archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary. The Holy Ghost, he says, shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. Do you see how, when he is going to point out the nativity of God, he first speaks of a work of Divinity. For the Holy Ghost, he says, shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. Admirably did the angel speak, and explain the majesty of the Divine work by the Divine character of his words.

If only a mere man was to be born of a pure virgin why should there be such careful mention of the Divine Advent? Why such intervention of Divinity itself?

St John Cassian (On the Incarnation)

PRAYER – Human weakness finds its anchor in You, Lord and our faith is built on You as on a rock. Supported by the teachings, lives and prayers of our fathers, Your Apostles, may we always answer Your call and live in ever-closer union with You. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother and all your Angels, Martyrs and Saints, pray for Holy Mother Church and for us all. Through Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.

Posted in QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE

Quote/s of the Day – 11 July – Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth the King Who rules heaven and earth world without end

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 44:2, Ecclus 24:14-16, Luke 11:27-28

“Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”

Luke 11:27-28

Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth the King Who rules heaven and earth world without end.

Sedulius

“Blessed is the womb that bore you ’”

Luke 11:27

“Do not delude yourselves, my brothers, if you hasten to hear the Word without meaning to put into practice that which you hear … consider carefully – if it is good to hear the Word, it is even better to put it into practice. If you do not listen to it, if you do not do what you have heard, then you are not building anything. If you listen to it and do not put it into practice, then you are building a ruin! “

St Augustine (354-430)

“Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak” (Jas 1;19). Yes, brethren, I tell you frankly… I, who frequently address you at your own request, it is undiluted joy for me, when I take my place in the audience; my happiness is unalloyed, when I listen, rather than speak. Then, it is that I savour the Word in all confidence; my satisfaction is unthreatened by vainglory. When you sit on the solid rock of Truth, how can you fear the precipice of pride? “I will give ear,” says the psalmist, “and you will fill me with joy and gladness” (cf Ps 50:10). So, I am never more delighted, than when I am listening – our position as hearers, is that which keeps us in an attitude of humility.

St Augustine

Posted in The HOLY FAMILY

Thought for the Day – 11 July – 11th Day – The Universality of the Precious Blood

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The Precious Blood – Short Meditations for July

By Rev. Richard F. Clarke

11th Day – The Universality of the Precious Blood

It is of faith that Christ died, not only for the elect, but for all. There was no single individual member of the whole race of men who did not enjoy the privilege of being redeemed by Christ, not the most degraded of heathen, not the most ignorant or the most hardened in sin. The Precious Blood was sprinkled on all, and if they did not avail themselves of its benefits, it was their own fault. None will incur the eternal misery of hell who has not deliberately rejected the forgiveness that the Precious Blood won for us.

What about the innocent child who dies without Baptism? For it, too, the Precious Blood was shed, and if it does not attain to eternal salvation in heaven, this is owing to the willful sin of man, and not to any lack of efficacy in the Precious Blood. It will at least enjoy great natural happiness through all eternity. He who shed His Precious Blood for all is not unmindful of those who through no fault of their own fail of attaining the joy of the beatific vision.

Does the Precious Blood do anything for sinners who have rejected it? Yes, for though their rejection of it excludes them from all right to share in the blessings it won for man, and has deserved for them eternal punishment, yet their punishment, terrible as it will be, will nevertheless be in some way short of what they deserved and this is through the merits of the Precious Blood. Thank God for His infinite mercy, and pray that you may never forfeit any of the graces won for you.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Notre-Dame de Boulogne -sur-Mer , France / Our Lady of Boulogne-Sur-Mer (1469) and Memorials of the Saints – 10 July

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Notre-Dame de Boulogne -sur-Mer , France / Our Lady of Boulogne-Sur-Mer (1469) – 10 July:

In the year 636, a small group of people standing on the seashore witnessed a boat without oars or sails came into the harbour of Boulogne. It finally came to rest in the estuary, seemingly of its own accord. One of the witnesses boarded the boat and confirmed that there was none aboard, and that the vessel had no rudder, oars or sails. The ship, however, bore a luminous Statue of Our Lady. Taking hold of it to bring it to land, a voice was heard saying, “I choose your City as a place of grace.” The citizens welcomed Mary to their City by erecting a Shrine in her honour, which reached its height of glory in the 12th Century.

King Henry VIII is reported to have stolen the Statue of Our Lady of Boulogne and taken it to England. After many negotiations, the French managed to get it back. The image had been stolen and hidden many other times, but always saved and returned.

World War II almost completely destroyed the Statue. In modern times, four exact replicas of Our Lady of Boulogne toured France for more than seven years as a symbol of French devotion to Mary. One of these was taken to Walsingham, England, in 1948 and carried in procession by the Cross-bearing pilgrims.

Boulogne was one of the most important Lady Shrines of medieval France; among its noted pilgrims have been: Henry III, Edward II, the Black Prince, John of Gaunt.
The dedication of a new Church built in honour of Our Lady of Boulogne was Consecrated in the year 1469 by Bishop Chartier of Paris. The confraternity of Our Lady of Boulogne was so celebrated, that six French Kings have chosen to belong to it.

At the French Revolution, the Statue was burnt to ashes and the Church pulled down. A new Statue was made in 1803 and pilgrimages began again. The image represents the Mother with the Child in her arms, standing in a boat, with an angel on either side. At the Marian Congress in Bolougne in 1938, a the custom began, to take replicas of this Statue on visitations through France and abroad. A branch of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Compassion at Boulogne has been established for the reconciliation of the Church of England.

The Sanctuary Church at Boulogne was badly damaged during World War II, and Mary’s image smashed but the return, the “Great Return” of one of the copies of the Statue which had been sheltered at Lourdes, took place in 1943, and the occasion will long be remembered by lovers of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There is an ancient offshoot of this Shrine at Boulogne-sur-Seine.

St Amalberga of Mauberge (Died 690) Wife, Mother of 3 Saints: Gudila, Reinelda, and Emembertus. She and her husband mutually agreed to separate to become a Monk and a Nun, respectively, once the children were grown.

St Anatolia & Victoria (Died 250) Martyrs, Sisters who gave their lives for Christ.

St Antôn Nguyen Huu Quynh

St Apollonius of Sardis
Bl Arnold of Camerino
St Bianor of Pisidia

St Canute IV (c 1042-1086) Martyr, King of Denmark, known as “Canute the Holy.”

St Cuán of Airbhre
St Elilantus
St Etto
Bl Euménios
St Lantfrid
Bl Marie-Gertrude de Ripert d’Alauzier
Bl Parthenios
St Pascharius of Nantes
St Peter Vincioli
St Phêrô Nguyen Khac Tu
St Rufina and St Secunda of Rome (3rd Century) Virgin Martyrs

Seven Holy Brothers and their mother, St Felicitas (Died c 165) Martyrs. The Seven Sons of St Felicitas were the very first victims sacrificed by Emperor Marcus Aurelius to satisfy his false philosophy and the superstitions of his pagan subjects. St Felicitas is also celebrated separately on 23 November .

St Sylvanus of Pisidia
Bl Sylvie-Agnès de Romillon
St Waltram
—
Martyrs of Africa – 4 saints: A group of Christians martyred together in Africa. The only information that has survived are four of their names – Felix, Januarius, Marinus and Nabor.

Martyrs of Antioch – 10 saints: A group of ten Christians martyred together. We have no details about them but the names – Diogenes, Domnina, Esicius, Macarius, Maxima, Maximus, Rodigus, Timoteus, Veronia and Zacheus. They were martyred in Antioch, date unknown.

Martyrs of Damascus – 11 beati: A group of Franciscans and laymen ordered by Druz Muslims to convert to Islam. They refused and were hacked to pieces.
• ‘Abd Al-Mu’ti Masabki
• Carmelo Bolta Bañuls
• Engelbert Kolland
• Francisco Pinazo Peñalver
• Fransis Masabki
• Juan Jacobo Fernández y Fernández
• Manuel Ruiz López
• Nicanor Ascanio de Soria
• Nicolás María Alberca Torres
• Pedro Soler Méndez
• Rufayil Masabki
They were cut to pieces on 9-10 July 1860 in Damascus, Syria.
Beatified on 10 October 1926 by Pope Pius XI.

Martyrs of Nicopolis – 45 saints: A group of 45 Christians tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Licinius. We know nothing else but six of their names – Anicetus, Anthony, Daniel, Leontius, Mauritius and Sisinno. c 329 in Nicopolis, Armenia (modern Koyulhisar, Turkey).

Martyrs of Nitria – 5 saints: Fathers of Nitria – Four monks and the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt who were martyred by heretics. Saint John Chrysostom wrote about them but their names have not come down to us. They were martyred in the 4th century in Nitria, Egypt.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 10 July – St Bianor and Silvanus of Pisidia

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Saint Bianor came from the Pisidia district of Asia Minor. As a confessor of Christianity they brought him to the prefect of the city of Isauria in Lykaonia, who demanded that Saint Bianor renounce Christ. The saint stood steadfast in the true Faith, in spite of the refined tortures applied to him. A man by the name of Silvanus beheld the suffering of the martyr. The endurance and bravery of Saint Bianor inspired Silvanus, and he openly declared his faith in Christ. They cut out his tongue and then cut off his head. Saint Bianor, after long torture, was also beheaded.

The date of the suffering of the holy Martyrs Bianor and Silvanus is not precisely known. It is presumed that they died in Pisidia under the Roman emperor Diocletian (284-305).

The theatre in Termessos, a Pisidian city.

A 15th-century map showing Pisidia

Posted in The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering –10 July – Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Augustine

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Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Augustine

O blessed Virgin Mary, who can worthily repay thee thy just dues of praise and thanksgiving, thou who by the wondrous assent of thy will didst rescue a fallen world? What songs of praise can our weak human nature recite in thy honor, since it is by thy intervention alone that it has found the way to restoration? Accept, then, such poor thanks as we have here to offer, though they be unequal to thy merits; and, receiving our vows, obtain by thy prayers the remission of our offenses.

Carry thou our prayers within the sanctuary of the heavenly audience, and bring forth from it the antidote of our reconciliation. May the sins we bring before Almighty God through thee, become pardonable through thee; may what we ask for with sure confidence, through thee be granted. Take our offering, grant us our requests, obtain pardon for what we fear, for thou art the sole hope of sinners. Through thee we hope for the remission of our sins, and in thee, O blessed Lady, is our hope of reward. Holy Mary, succour the miserable, help the fainthearted, comfort the sorrowful, pray for thy people, plead for the clergy, intercede for all women consecrated to God; may all who keep thy holy commemoration feel now thy help and protection. Be thou ever ready to assist us when we pray, and bring back to us the answers to our prayers. Make it thy continual care to pray for the people of God, thou who, blessed by God, didst merit to bear the Redeemer of the world, who liveth and reigneth, world without end. Amen..

(Indulgence of 3 years)

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 10 July – When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.

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When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.

– Prov 31:10-31

REFLECTION –  Forasmuch as each man is a part of the human race, and human nature is something social, and has for a great and natural good, the power also of friendship; on this account God willed to create all men out of one, in order that they might be held in their society not only by likeness of kind, but also by bond of kindred. Therefore the first natural bond of human society is man and wife. Nor did God create these each by himself, and join them together as alien by birth: but He created the one out of the other, setting a sign also of the power of the union in the side, whence she was drawn, was formed. For they are joined one to another side by side, who walk together, and look together whither they walk. Then follows the connection of fellowship in children, which is the one alone worthy fruit, not of the union of male and female, but of the sexual intercourse. For it were possible that there should exist in either sex, even without such intercourse, a certain friendly and true union of the one ruling, and the other obeying.

This we now say, that, according to this condition of being born and dying, which we know, and in which we have been created, the marriage of male and female is some good; the compact whereof divine Scripture so commends, as that neither is it allowed one put away by her husband to marry, so long as her husband lives: nor is it allowed one put away by his wife to marry another, unless she who have separated from him be dead.

Therefore, concerning the good of marriage, which the Lord also confirmed in the Gospel, not only in that He forbade to put away a wife, save because of fornication, but also in that He came by invitation to a marriage, there is good ground to inquire for what reason it be a good. And this seems not to me to be merely on account of the begetting of children, but also on account of the natural society itself in a difference of sex. Otherwise it would not any longer be called marriage in the case of old persons, especially if either they had lost sons, or had given birth to none. But now in good, although aged, marriage, albeit there has withered away the glow of full age between male and female, yet there lives in full vigor the order of charity between husband and wife: because, the better they are, the earlier they have begun by mutual consent to contain from sexual intercourse with each other: not that it should be matter of necessity afterwards not to have power to do what they would, but that it should be matter of praise to have been unwilling at the first, to do what they had power to do. If therefore there be kept good faith of honor, and of services mutually due from either sex, although the members of either be languishing and almost corpse-like, yet of souls duly joined together, the chastity continues, the purer by how much it is the more proved, the safer, by how much it is the calmer. Marriages have this good also, that carnal or youthful incontinence, although it be faulty, is brought unto an honest use in the begetting of children, in order that out of the evil of lust the marriage union may bring to pass some good. Next, in that the lust of the flesh is repressed, and rages in a way more modestly, being tempered by parental affection. For there is interposed a certain gravity of glowing pleasure, when in that wherein husband and wife cleave to one another, they have in mind that they be father and mother.

Of the Good of Marriage (St Augustine)

PRAYER – 

Dearest Lord,
teach me to be generous;
teach me to serve You as You deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for reward
save that of knowing I am doing Your Will.

(St. Ignatius Loyola)

Posted in Holy Name PRAYERS

Quote/s of the Day – 10 July – Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord (Ps 112:1, 9)

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps 112:1, 9, Ps 112:2, Prov 31:10-31, Ps 123:7-8, Matt 12:46-50

Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord. He establishes in her home the barren wife as the joyful mother of children.

Ps 112:1, 9

Praise the Lord, you children, praise the name of the Lord. He establishes in her home the barren wife as the joyful mother of children.

Ps 112:1, 9

Blessed be the name of the Lord both now and forever.

Ps 112:2

My Jesus, mercy!

(300 days every time said)

“Faith in Jesus and in the power of His Holy Name
is the greatest spiritual force in the world today.
It is a source of joy and inspiration in our youth;
of strength in our manhood,
when only His Holy Name and His grace,
can enable us to overcome temptation;
of hope, consolation
and confidence at the hour of our death,
when more than ever before,
we realise, that the meaning of Jesus is
‘Lord, the Saviour.’
We should bow in reverence to His Name
and submission to His Holy Will.”

Bl Henry Suso (1290-1365)

“Was it not through the brilliance
and sweet savour of this Name,
that God called us into
His marvelous light?”

St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)

“If thou are bound down by sickness,
if sorrows weary thee,
if thou are trembling with fear,
invoke the name of Jesus.”

St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1456)

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 10 July – 10th Day – The Precious Blood on Calvary

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The Precious Blood – Short Meditations for July

By Rev. Richard F. Clarke

10th Day – The Precious Blood on Calvary

In old pictures and engravings of the crucifixion we often see angels holding a chalice to catch the drops of the Precious Blood as they fall from the sacred wounds in the hands and feet of Jesus. We are also told that the angels collected all the blood that Our Lord had shed during His Passion, that not a drop might be lost. How they must have counted each drop as a treasure of infinite value. What were all the treasures of the earth compared with these drops, instinct with the Godhead of Jesus! Pray that you may scorn all earthly things in comparison with the Precious Blood of Jesus.

The angels not only treasure up the Precious Blood, but they pay to each drop their supreme homage. So we kneel and adore the Precious Blood in the chalice upon the altar. In each drop Christ is present whole and undivided. Make an act of faith in this wondrous miracle, and pray that you may adore with a reverent homage like that of the angels present at the crucifixion.

As the three hours advance, the body of Jesus is more and more drained of the Precious Blood. Hence follows a thirst so agonising that it forced from the lips of Jesus the cry, ‘I thirst!’. When our lips are parched and dry in sickness or in the agony of death, may we remember Thee, O Lord, and Thy sacred thirst endured for us, and may we offer up our sufferings in union with Thy unspeakable and agonising thirst upon the cross!

Posted in MARIAN TITLES

Our Lady of Chiquinquirá / La Chinita, Colombia and Memorials of the Saints – 9 July

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Virgen del Rosario / Our Lady of the Rosary (Chiquinquirá, Boyacá, Colombia) (1586) – 9 July, 26 December:

In the mid-16th century the Spanish painter Alonso de Narvaez created a portrait of the Virgin of the Rosary. He painted in pigments from the soil, herbs and flowers of the region of modern Colombia and his canvas was a rough 44 inch x 49 inch cloth woven by local Indians. The image of Mary is about a meter high. She has a small, sweet smile, both her face and the Divine Child’s are light coloured and she looks like she’s about to take a step. She wears a white toque, a rose-coloured robe and a sky blue cape. A Rosary hangs from the little finger of her left hand and she holds a sceptre in her right. She holds the Christ Child cradled in her left arm and looks toward Him. Christ has a little bird tied to His thumb and a small Rosary hangs from His left hand. To either side of Mary stand Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Andrew the Apostle, the personal Patrons of the colonist, Don Antonio de Santana and Monk, Andrés Jadraque, who commissioned the work.

In 1562 the portrait was placed in a rustic Chapel. It was exposed to the air, the roof leaked and soon the damage caused by the humidity and sun completely obscured the image. In 1577 the damaged painting was moved to Chiquinquirá, Colombia and stored in an unused room. In 1585 Maria Ramos, a pious woman from Seville, cleaned up the little Chapel and hung the faded canvas in it. Though the image was in terrible shape, she loved to sit and contemplate it.

On Friday 26 December 1586 the faded, damaged image was suddenly restored. It’s colours were bright, the canvas cleaner, the image clear and seemingly brand new. The healing of the image continued as small holes and tears in the canvas miraculously self-sealed. It still has traces of its former damage and the figures seem brighter and clearer from a distance than up close. For 300 years the painting hung unprotected and thousands of objects were touched against the frail cotton cloth by pilgrims. This rough treatment should have destroyed it but it healed and survives. In 1829, Pope Pius VII declared Our Lady of Chiquinquirá Patroness of Colombia and granted a special liturgy. In 1897 a thick glass plate was placed over it to shield the painting from the weather and the excess zeal of the faithful. The image was canonically crowned in 1919 and in 1927 her sanctuary declared a Basilica.

Patronages – Colombia, Venezuelan National Guard.

St Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Martyr (Died + 1815) and his 119 companions or Martyrs of China (Died 1648–1930, Qing dynasty and Republic of China) (Optional Memorial): 25 priests, friars, nuns, seminarians and lay people. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries, from the mid-17th century to 1930, were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatise.
Many died in the Boxer Rebellion, in which xenophobic peasants slaughtered 30,000 Chinese converts to Christianity along with missionaries and other foreigners.

Blessed Adrian Fortescue TOSD (1476-1539) Martyr,. A husband and father, a Justice of the Peace, a Knight of the Realm, a Knight of Malta and a Dominican Tertiary (Lay Dominican), he was at once a loyal servant of the Crown so far as he could be but still more, he was a man of unshakeable faith.

St Agrippinus of Autun
St Alexander of Egypt
St Audax of Thora
St Brictius of Martola
St Copra of Egypt
St Cyril of Gortyna
Bl Dionysius the Rhetorician
St Everild of Everingham
St Faustina of Rome
St Felician of Sicily
Bl Fidelis Chojnacki
Blessed Giovanna Scopelli O.Carm (1428 – 1491) Virgin, Religious of the Carmelites. Incorrupt.
St Floriana of Rome
St Hérombert of Minden
St Joachim Ho
Bl Luigi Caburlotto
Bl Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher
Bl Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier

St Patermutius of Egypt
St Paulina do Coração Agonizante de Jesus

St Veronica/Ursula Giuliani OSC Cap. (1660-1727) Italian Capuchin Poor Clares nun, Abbot, Mystic, Stigmatist.

Four Holy Polish Brothers – 4 saints: Four brothers who became hermits, Benedictine monks and saints – Andrew, Barnabas, Benedict and Justus. They were born in Poland and died in 1008 of natural causes.

Martyrs of Gorkum – 19 saints: Nineteen martyrs killed by Calvinists for loyalty to the Pope and for their belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. They are –
• Adrianus van Hilvarenbeek • Andreas Wouters • Antonius van Hoornaar • Antonius van Weert • Cornelius van Wijk • Francisus de Roye • Godfried van Duynen • Godfried van Melveren • Hieronymus van Weert • Jacobus Lacops • Joannes Lenaerts • John of Cologne • Leonardus van Veghel • Nicasius Janssen van Heeze • Nicolaas Pieck • Nicolaas Poppel • Petrus van Assche • Theodorus van der Eem • Willehad van Deem •
They werehanged on 9 July 1572 in Brielle, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.
Beatified on 24 November 1675 by Pope Clement X and Canonised on 29 June 1867 by Pope Pius IX.

Martyrs of Orange – 32 beati: 32 nuns from several orders who spent up to 18 months in prison and were finally executed for refusing to renounce Christianity during the persecutions of the French Revolution.
• Anne Cartier • Anne-Andrée Minutte • Dorothée-Madeleine-Julie de Justamond • élisabeth Verchière • élisabeth-Thérèse de Consolin • Jeanne-Marie de Romillon • Madeleine-Françoise de Justamond • Madeleine-Thérèse Talieu • Marguerite-Eléonore de Justamond • Marguerite-Marie-Anne de Rocher • Marguerite-Rose de Gordon • Marguerite-Thérèse Charensol • Marie Cluse • Marie-Anastasie de Roquard • Marie-Anne Béguin-Royal • Marie-Anne Depeyre • Marie-Anne Doux • Marie-Anne Lambert • Marie-Anne-Madeleine de Guilhermier • Marie-Claire du Bac • Marie-Clotilde Blanc • Marie-Elisabeth Pélissier • Marie-Gabrielle-Françoise-Suzanne de Gaillard de Lavaldène • Marie-Gertrude de Ripert d’Alauzier • Marie-Marguerite Bonnet • Marie-Marguerite de Barbégie d’Albrède • Marie-Rose Laye • Rosalie-Clotilde Bes • Suzanne-Agathe Deloye • Sylvie-Agnès de Romillon • Thérèse-Henriette Faurie
They were guillotined between 6 July and 26 July 1794 at Orange, Vaucluse, France.
Beatified on 10 May 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

Martyrs of the Baths – 10,204 saints: A group of Christians enslaved by Diocletian to build the gigantic baths in imperial Rome, Italy. The end of their labours coincided with the beginning of the great persecutions of Diocletian and they were all executed. Ancient records indicated there were 10,204 of them; Zeno of Rome is the only one whose name has come down to us and we know nothing else about any of their individual lives.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 9 July – Sts Victoria, Anatolia and Audax 

Posted on by AnaStpaul

‘In the town of Thora, on lake Velino, in Italy, the martyrdom of
the Saints Anatolia and Audax, under the emperor Decius. Anatolia, a virgin consecrated to Christ, cured, through the whole province of Picenum, many persons laboring under various infirmities, and made them believe in Christ. By order of the judge Fustinian, she was condemned to various
kinds of punishments. She was cured of the sting of a serpent to which she had been exposed; a miracle which converted Audax to the faith. Finally
she was transpierced with a sword, whilst her hands were extended in prayer. Audax was committed to prison, and being without delay sentenced
to capital punishment, obtained the crown of a martyr.’

(The Roman Martyrology)

In the time of the Emperor Decius, Anatolia and Victoria were sisters whose marriage was arranged to two noble, non-Christian Roman men. They resisted this. Their prospective grooms were reluctant to denounce them as Christians as that would mean that the women’s possessions would be forfeited to the state, so instead they received permission to imprison the women on their estates and convince them to renounce their faith. Anatolia’s suitor, Titus Aurelius, gave up, and gave her back to the authorities. Victoria’s suitor, Eugenius, was more persistent, but also ended up returning her to the authorities.

Victoria’s legend states that she was stabbed through the heart in 250 AD at Trebula Mutuesca after chasing away a dragon terrorizing the residents in exchange for their conversion. An elaboration states that her murderer was immediately struck with leprosy, and died six days later. Anatolia was killed, also in 250 AD, at Thora. Her legend states that she was at first locked up with a poisonous snake. The snake refused to bite her, and a soldier named Audax was sent into her cell to kill her. The snake attacked him instead, but Anatolia saved him from it. Impressed by her example, he converted to Christianity and was martyred by the sword with her.

Due to the translation of their relics, their cult spread across Italy. Some relics of Saint Victoria were transferred in 827 by Abbot Peter of Farfa from the Abbey to Mount Matenano in the Picene area because the Abbey was besieged by Saracens. The town of Santa Vittoria in Matenano is named after her. Ratfredus, a later Abbot of Farfa, brought the body from Farfa to Santa Vittoria in Matenano on 20 June 931.

The bodies of Anatolia and Audax were transferred by Abbot Leo to Subiaco around 950. At an unknown date, a scapula of Anatolia was translated to the present-day Sant’Anatolia di Borgorose and an arm of the saint was translated to the present-day Esanatoglia. The bodies of Anatolia and Audax still rest at Subiaco in the basilica of Santa Scholastica, under the altar of the sacrament.

St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny, Ireland also claims to hold St Victoria’s body, preserved in wax, along with a chalice containing some of her blood. These were sent to Kilkenny in 1845 by Pope Gregory XVI.

The Abbey of Farfa

Posted in Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 9 July – Daily Offering to the Father

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 9 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood”

Daily Offering to the Father
Attri To St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)

Eternal Father,
I offer Thee the most precious blood
of Thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family.
Amen

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 9 July – ‘Consider the times.’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

I will go round, and offer in His tent, sacrifices with shouts of gladness; I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.

Ps. 26:6

REFLECTION – “I urge you, by the grace in which you are clothed, to press on in your race and urge everyone to be saved. Assert your office with all the diligence of flesh and spirit. Give your attention to unity, for there is nothing better. Carry your brethren as the Lord also carries you. Patiently, bear with them all in love, as indeed you do bear with them. Devote yourself to unceasing prayer. Ask for greater understanding than you have. Be watchful, possessing a wakeful spirit. Speak to each one individually, concerning God’s way. “Bear the infirmities” (cf Mt 8,17) of each as a perfect athlete. Where there is more toil, there is greater gain. If you only love the good disciples, this wins you no advantage. Rather, subdue by meekness the more annoying. Not every wound is cured by the same salve. Ease sharp pains with a hot compress. In everything “be wise as serpents” and always “harmless as doves”. You who are of flesh and spirit, humour those things visibly present before you but pray, too, that what is invisible may be manifested to you, so that you may lack nothing and may abound in every spiritual gift.

As pilots invoke the winds and tempest-tossed mariners call for haven, this season invites you to return to God. Be temperate, as God’s athlete. The prize is incorruption and life eternal… It is the part of a great athlete to suffer blows and to conquer. It is above all for God’s sake we ought to endure all things, that He too, may endure us. Become more zealous than you are already. Consider the times. Look for Him Who is above all times, Who is timeless, invisible but made visible for our sakes – He Who, beyond the touch of our hands, beyond suffering, yet knew the Passion for our sakes and endured every suffering.” – St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108) Father of the Church, Martyr, Bishop – Letter to St Polycarp (69-155) Bishop and Martyr), 1-3 ; SC 10

PRAYER – Mercifully hear our humble prayers, O Lord, and graciously accept these offerings of Your people, and grant that no prayer may be without effect, no petition in vain, so that what we ask in faith, we may really obtain.
Through our Lord…

Posted in The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR

Quote/s of the Day – 9July – The Lord is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 9July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Ps. 27:8-9., Ps 27:1, Rom 6:3-11, Ps. 89:13, 1, Ps. 30:2-3, Mark 8:1-9

The Lord is the strength of His people, the saving refuge of His anointed. Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance; and rule them forever!

Ps. 27:8-9

We, therefore, both know and confess that God is without beginning, without end, eternal and everlasting, uncreate, unchangeable, invariable, simple, uncompound, incorporeal, invisible, impalpable, uncircumscribed, infinite, incognisable, indefinable, incomprehensible, good, just, maker of all things created, almighty, all-ruling, all-surveying, of all overseer, sovereign, judge; and that God is One, that is to say, one essence ; and that He is known , and has His being in three subsistences, in Father, I say, and Son and Holy Ghost…

An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book I) (St John of Damascus)

Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants!
℣. O Lord, You have been our refuge through all generations.

Ps. 89:13, 1

“Wake up then, believer
and note what is stated here:
“In My Name.”
That [Name] is Christ Jesus.
Christ signifies King, Jesus signifies Saviour.
Therefore, whatever we ask for
that would hinder our salvation,
we do not ask in our Saviour’s Name
and yet, He is our Saviour,
not only when He does what we ask
but also, when He does not.
When He sees us ask anything
to the disadvantage of our salvation,
He shows Himself our Saviour by not doing it.
The physician knows
whether what the sick person asks for,
is to the advantage or disadvantage of his health.
And [the physician] does not allow
what would be harmful to him,
although the sick person himself, desires it.
But the physician looks to his final cure.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace of the Church

“Our Lord Jesus Christ
Has appeared to us from the bosom of the Father.
He has come and drawn us out of the shadows
And enlightened us with His joyful Light.

Day has dawned for humankind,
Cast out the power of darkness.
For us, a Light from His Light has arisen
That has enlightened our darkened eyes.

Over the world He has made His glory arise
And has lit up the deepest depths.
Death is no more, darkness has ended,
The gates of hell are shattered.

He has illumined every creature,
All the shades from times long past.
He has brought about salvation and given us Life;
Next He will come in glory.

Our King is coming in His great glory:
Let us light our lamps
and go out to meet Him (Mt 25,6);
Let us be glad in Him, as He has been glad in us
And gives us gladness, with His glorious Light.

My friends, arise! make yourselves ready
To give thanks to our Saviour King,
Who will come in His glory and make us joyful
With His joyous Light in the Kingdom.”

St Ephrem (306-373)
Father of the Church
(Hymn I on the Resurrection)

For, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. By reason of the agitation and confusion of all these, the Lord of the universe cries in the Gospel, saying, Take heed that you be not deceived; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and the time draws near: go not therefore after them. But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet by and by. Let us observe the word of the Saviour, how He always admonished us with a view to our security: Take heed that you be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ.

On the End of the World (St Hippolytus)

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION

One Minute Reflection – 9 July – I have compassion on the multitude … Mark 8:1-9

Posted on by AnaStpaul

“I have compassion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.” – Mark 8:2

REFLECTION – “ In this account of the miracle we must consider, in one and the same Redeemer, the separate operation of His Divinity and of His Humanity. And the error of Eutyches, who dared to teach that in Christ there is but one operation, must be wholly driven out from Christian lands. Who cannot see that the Lord, in having compassion on the multitude, lest they faint from want of food or from the weariness of the long journey home, was moved by the compassion of human pity but that, feeding four thousand people from seven loaves and a few fish, is a work of Divine Power?

“And they collected seven baskets full of fragments.” That multitude who had just eaten and been fille, did not carry away with them the remains of the loaves but left them to be gathered into baskets by the disciples, as before. And taken literally, this event teaches us to be content with what is necessary and never to look for anything more than that. Then the Evangelist makes known to us the number of those who were satisfied – “Now those who ate were about four thousand and He dismissed them” Here, let us consider that our Lord Jesus Christ does not wish to send anyone away hungry, since to the contrary, He wants to give to everyone the nourishment of His grace.

In a figurative sense, there is this difference between this second miracle and the first multiplication of the five loaves and two fish – the first prefigures the letter of the Old Testament, which was as though full of the spiritual grace of the New, whereas the second, represents the truth and grace of the New Testament fully communicated to the faithful. The multitude who, according to Saint Matthew’s testimony, wait three days for the healing of their sick (Mt 15), represent the elect in the faith of the Holy Trinity, who beg for the forgiveness of their sins, with persevering prayer, or those who are converted to the Lord, through their thoughts, words and deeds.” – St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Monk, Father and Doctor of the Church (Homilies on Mark, Book II, ch8 cf PL 92 – quoted by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the Catena Aurea Vol 4)

PRAYER – O God of the heavenly powers, creator of all good things, implant in our hearts the love of Thy Name and bestow upon us, an increase of godliness, fostering what is good and, by Thy loving care, guarding what Thou hast fostered. 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