Month: April 2017

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 17 April

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Our Morning Offering – 17 April

LORD, I AM YOURS
by St Francis de Sales (Doctor of the Church)

Lord, I am Yours,
and I must belong to no one but You.
My soul is Yours,
and must live only by You.
My will is Yours,
and must love only for You.
I must love You as my first cause,
since I am from You.
I must love You as my end and rest,
since I am for You.
I must love You more than my own being,
since my being subsists by You.
I must love You more than myself,
since I am all Yours and all in You.
Amen.

LORD I AM YOURS - ST FRANCIS DE SALES

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 17 April – St Stephen Harding

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Saint of the Day – 17 April – St Stephen Harding O.Cist. (1050-1104) Monk, priest, writer, teacher and co-founder of the Cistercian Order – Patron of the Cistercians Attributes:  Dressed in the Cistercian habit, abbot’s crozier, holding the Carta caritatis (“Charter of Charity”), a founding document for the Cistercian Order.

Harding was born in Sherborne, Dorset, in the Kingdom of England, and spoke English, Norman, French and Latin.   He was placed in Sherborne Abbey at a young age, but eventually left the monastery and became a travelling scholar, journeying with one devout companion, into Scotland and afterwards to Paris and then to Rome.    He eventually moved to Molesme Abbey in Burgundy, under the Abbot Robert of Molesme (c. 1027-1111).

When Robert left Molesme to avoid what he perceived to be the abbey’s increasing wealth and overly strong connections to the aristocracy, Harding and Alberic of Cîteaux went with him.    Seeing no hope of a sufficient reformation in Molemse, Robert appointed another abbot for the abbey and then, with Alberic, Harding and twenty-one other monks, received permission from Hugh, the Archbishop of Lyons and legate of the Holy See, to found a new monastery in Citeaux, a marshy wilderness five leagues from Dijon.    There, they formed a new, more austere, monastery.    Eudes, afterwards Duke of Burgundy, built them a little church, which was placed under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin, as all the churches of the Cistercians from that time have been.

Stephen became the third abbot of Cîteaux.    However, very few were joining the community and the monks were suffering from hunger and sickness.    In 1112, Bernard of Clairvaux entered the community, bringing with him thirty companions.    Between 1112 and 1119, a dozen new Cistercian houses were founded to accommodate those joining the young order. Harding’s organisational skills were exceptional; he instituted the system of general chapters and regular visitations.    In 1119, he received official approbation for the Carta Caritatis (Charter of Charity), an important document for the Cistercian Order, establishing its unifying principles.

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St Bernard of Clairvaux received by St Stephen Harding

Stephen Harding served Cîteaux Abbey as abbot for twenty-five years.    While no single person is considered the founder of the Cistercian Order, the shape of Cistercian thought, and its rapid growth in the 12th century were arguably due to Harding’s leadership. Insisting on simplicity in all aspects of monastic life, he was largely responsible for the severity of Cistercian architecture and the simple beauty of the Order’s liturgy.   He was an accomplished scribe for the monastery’s scriptorium; his highest achievement is considered to be the Harding Bible, famous among medieval manuscripts.    In 1133, he resigned as head of the order because of age and infirmity.   He died on 28 March 1134, and was buried in the tomb of Alberic, his predecessor, in the cloisters at Cîteaux.

In a joint commemoration with Robert of Molesme and Alberic, the first two abbots of Cîteaux, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates Stephen Harding’s in a joint feast day on 26 January too.

Holy-Fathers-of-Citteaux

The north aisle of the Church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in London was formerly a chapel dedicated to him.

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St_Sepulchre-without-Newgate_Interior,_London,_UK_-_Diliff

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints – 17 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Bl Ambrose of Massa
St Anicetus, Pope
St Arnoald of Metz
St Donnan of Eigg
St Elias of Córdoba
St Fortunatus of North Africa
Bl Gervinus of Aldenberg
Bl Henry Heath
St Hermogenes of Melitene
St Innocent of Tortona
St Isidore of Córdoba
Bl James of Cerqueto
St Kateri Tekakwitha
St Landericus of Soignies
St Marcian of North Africa
Bl Mariana of Jesus
St Pantagathus of Vienne
St Paulus of Córdoba
St Peter of Antioch
St Peter of Melitene
St Robert of Chaise Dieu
St Stephen Harding
St Usthazade
St Villicus of Metz
St Wando of Fontenelle

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, Uncategorized

Wishing our Holy Father Emeritus Papa Benedict XVI a Blessed 90th Birthday

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Wishing our Holy Father Emeritus Papa Benedict XVI a Blessed 90th Birthday

POPE BENEDICT 90TH BIRTHDAY

A “modest” 90th birthday party is being planned for Benedict XVI, who stunned the Catholic Church by resigning as pope in 2013.

His personal secretary and long-time aide, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, told an Italian Catholic news agency Saturday that Benedict’s birthday, which falls on Easter Sunday this year, will be celebrated on Monday in Bavarian style, in keeping with the emeritus pontiff’s roots.

“There will be a small moment of celebration in keeping with his strength,” Gaenswein said about the frail churchman.

Benedict cited fading strength when announcing his decision to become the first pontiff to resign in 600 years.

Attending the party will be a delegation from Bavaria and Benedict’s elder brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger. The sibling’s visit will be “the most beautiful” birthday gift, Gaenswein added.

The former Joseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, in southern Germany. Trained as a theologian, he was a long-time Vatican official in charge of ensuring doctrinal orthodoxy when elected as pontiff in 2005.

Past recent birthdays have seen Benedict celebrate the day with a pint of beer.

Gaenswein told the S.I.R. news agency that Benedict is “serene, in good humor, very lucid.”

“Certainly, his physical strength is lessening. It’s hard for him to walk. However, he uses a walker, which ensures autonomy in movement and safety,” the aide said.

The rhythm of Benedict’s retirement in a monastery on Vatican City grounds consists of “prayer, meditation, reading, study, correspondence,” Gaenswein said. “He has visitors, too. Music certainly still has its place, together with a daily walk.”

Posted in EASTER, MORNING Prayers

Wishing you all a Holy, Blessed and grace-filled Easter – 16 April 2017

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Wishing you all a Holy, Blessed and grace-filled Easter – 16 April 2017

EASTER WISHES 2017

Easter is the feast of feasts, the unalloyed joy and gladness of all Christians.

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In the very centre of the Mass, the great prayer of thanksgiving, from the first words of the Preface, expresses the unrivalled motive for this joy: if it is right to praise You, Lord, at all times, how much more so should we not glorify You on this day when Christ our Passover was sacrificed, for He is the true Lamb who took away the sins of the world, who by His Death destroyed our death and by His Resurrection restored our life. Easter means, then, Redemption obtained — sin destroyed, death overcome, divine life brought back to us, the resurrection of our body which is promised immortality.   With such a certitude, we should banish all trace of sadness.

Haec dies quam fecit Dominus:   “This is the day which the Lord has made.” Throughout the octave we shall sing of the unequalled joy which throws open eternity to us.   Every Sunday will furnish a reminder of it and from Sunday to Sunday, from year to year, the Easters of this earth will lead us to that blessed day on which Christ has promised that He will come again with glory to take us with Him into the kingdom of His Father.

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“Look into Peter’s wide open eyes and John’s intense gaze.  Their eyes contain a mix of anxiousness and hope, the way a parent or grandparent’s eyes look at the news of an impending birth.  A new life is about to emerge, but there is still uncertainty because it is a mystery beyond full human comprehension or control. Peter and John’s faces capture the same sense of anticipation.

Burnand created a sparse, simple painting capturing two of the most important players in the greatest story ever told. Meditate upon their faces as Burnand intended you to do and through them discover the empty tomb.” Elise Ehrhard

THE GREATEST EASTER PAINTING - ELISE EHRHARD CRISES MAG

 

 

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 16 April

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Thought for the Day – 16 April

In a modern inner city, one local character kneels for hours on the sidewalk and prays. Swathed in his entire wardrobe winter and summer, he greets passersby with a blessing. Where he sleeps no one knows but he is surely a direct spiritual descendant of Benedict, the ragged man who slept in the ruins of Rome’s Colosseum.   These days we ascribe such behaviour to mental illness or worse.   Benedict’s contemporaries called him holy. Holiness is always a bit mad by earthly standards.  St Benedict Joseph discovered his own way to holiness, it might seem strange and “mad” but he realised that he could find God in his own unique way.   Whatever the circumstances of our lives, we too can find God there, for holiness is possible anywhere.

St Benedict Joseph Labre, pray for us!

ST LABRE PRAY FOR US 2

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 16 April

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Quote of the Day – 16 April

“God afflicts us because he loves us; and it is very pleasing to him, when in our afflictions he sees us abandon ourselves to his paternal care.”

St Benedict Joseph Labre

GOD AFFLICTS US - LABRE

Posted in EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

One Minute Reflection – 16 April – Easter Sunday

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Through baptism into (Christ’s) death we were buried with him, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead….we too might live a new life………Romans 6:4

REFLECTION – “Christ is our life.   Let us therefore look to Christ.   He came to suffer in order to merit glory;  to seek cotempt in order to be exalted.   He came to die but also to rise again.”……………St Augustine

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, through my baptism, I was buried with Christ and rose to a new life of grace.   Let me rejoice in the Easter glory of Your Son and so guard my life that I will enjoy it fully in heaven with Him.   St Benedict Joseph Labre, you so rightly are called the “Beggar of Perpetual Adoration”, you so perfectly adored our risen Lord who is always with us in the Blessed Sacrament, please pray for us, amen!

ROMANS 6-4CHRIST IS OUR LIFE-ST AUGUSTINE

ST LABRE PRAY FOR US

Posted in EASTER, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS

Divine Mercy Novena – Day Three – Easter Sunday – 16 April 2017

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Divine Mercy Novena – Day Three – Easter Sunday

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday.    He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:
“These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives.    It was on their account that I said: ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.’    The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy.”
During the Solemn Novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday,
the Chaplet of Divine Mercy should be offered each day for the
day’s intentions.

DMNOVENA-DAY THREE

DAY THREE – EASTER SUNDAY

“Today bring to Me all Devout and Faithful Souls, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were a drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.” 

Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all.    Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It.   We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son.    For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection.    Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.

PRAY THE CHAPLET here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/divine-mercy-novena-day-one-good-friday/

 

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 16 April – Easter Sunday

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Our Morning Offering – 16 April – Easter Sunday

EASTER PRAYER OF
ST Pope Gregory the Great

It is only right,
with all the powers of our heart and mind,
to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension
of Loving-Kindness toward us, Your servants,
You gave up Your Son.
Dear Jesus You paid the debt of Adam for us
to the Eternal Father by Your Blood
poured forth in Loving-Kindness.
You cleared away the darkness of sin
by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection.
You broke the bonds of death
and rose from the grave as a Conqueror.
You reconciled Heaven and earth.
Our life had no hope of Eternal Happiness
before You redeemed us.
Your Resurrection has washed away our sins,
restored our innocence and brought us joy.
How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love!
We pray You, Lord,
to preserve Your servants in the peaceful enjoyment
of this Easter happiness.
We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with God The Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever
AmenEASTER PRAYER OF ST GREGORY THE GREAT

 

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, Of BACHELORS, Of BEGGARS, the POOR, against POVERTY, Of PILGRIMS, PATRONAGE - MENTAL ILLNESS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 16 April – St Benedict Joseph Labre TOSF (1748-1783)

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Saint of the Day – 16 April – St Benedict Joseph Labre TOSF (1748-1783) “Beggar of Perpetual Adoration” – Patronages – against insanity and mental illness,bachelors, beggars, homeless people, mentally ill people, people rejected by religious orders, pilgrims – Attributes – beggar in a tri-cornered hat sharing his alms.

St Benedict Joseph Labre was born in 1748 in the village of Amettes, near Arras, in the former Province of Artois in the north of France.    He was the eldest of fifteen children of a prosperous shopkeeper, Jean Baptist Labre and his wife, Anne Grandsire.

Labre had an uncle, a parish priest, living some distance from his family home;   this uncle gladly received him and undertook his early education for the priesthood.    At the age of sixteen, he approached his uncle about becoming a Trappist monk but his parents told him he would have to wait until he grew older.    When Benedict was about eighteen, an epidemic fell upon the city, and uncle and nephew busied themselves in the service of the sick.    While the uncle took care of the souls and bodies of the people, Benedict went to and fro caring for the cattle.    He cleaned their stalls and fed them;   exchanging the life of a farm labourer for that of a student under his uncle’s roof.    Among the last victims of the epidemic was the uncle himself.

Labre set off for La Trappe Abbey to apply to the Order but did not come up to their requirements.   He was under age, he was too delicate, he had no special recommendations.    He later attempted to join the Carthusians and Cistercians but each order rejected him as unsuitable for communal life.    He was, for about six weeks, a postulant with the Carthusians at Neuville.    In November 1769 he obtained admission to the Cistercian Abbey of Sept-Fonts.    After a short stay at Sept-Fonts his health gave way and it was decided that his vocation lay elsewhere.

Labre, according to Catholic tradition, experienced a desire, which he considered was given to him by God and inspired by the example of Saint Alexius of Rome and that of the holy Franciscan tertiary pilgrim, Saint Roch, to “abandon his country, his parents, and whatever is flattering in the world to lead a new sort of life, a life most painful, most penitential, not in a wilderness nor in a cloister but in the midst of the world, devoutly visiting as a pilgrim the famous places of Christian devotion”.

Labre joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and settled on a life of poverty and pilgrimage.    He first traveled to Rome on foot, subsisting on what he could get by begging.    He then travelled to most of the major shrines of Europe, often several times each.    He visited the various shrines in Loreto, Assisi, Naples, and Bari in Italy, Einsiedeln in Switzerland, Paray-le-Monial in France and Santiago de Compostela in Spain.    During these trips he would always travel on foot, sleeping in the open or in a corner of a room, with his clothes muddy and ragged.    On one occasion he stopped at the farmhouse of Matthieu and Marie Vianney, who would later become the parents of the future saint, the Curé d’Ars.    He lived on what little he was given and often shared the little he did receive with others.    He is reported to have talked rarely, prayed often and accepted quietly the abuse he received.

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Benedict Joseph Labre depicted by Antonio Cavallucci (1752–1795)

In so doing, Labre was following in the role of the mendicant, the “Fool-for-Christ” . He would often swoon when contemplating the crown of thorns, in particular, and, during these states, it is said he would levitate or bilocate.    He was also said to have cured some of the other homeless he met and to have multiplied bread for them.    In the last years of his life (his thirties), he lived in Rome, for a time living in the ruins of the Colosseum and would leave only to make a yearly pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Loreto.   He was a familiar figure in the city and known as the “saint of the Forty Hours” (or Quarant’ Ore) for his dedication to Eucharistic adoration.

The day before he died, Labre collapsed in the church of Santa Maria ai Monti, blocks from the Colosseum and despite his protestations was charitably taken to a house behind the church at Via dei Serpenti 2.    He died there of malnutrition on 16 April, during Holy Week, in 1783 and was buried in the Church of Santa Maria ai Monti.

S.Maria ai Monti: Tomb of St Benedict Joseph Labrerome2007_img_1029-1

Church_of_Santa_Maria_ai_Monti_in_RomeSanta_Maria_in_Monticelli_(Rome)_-_interiorSanta_Maria_in_Monticelli_interno_d0

Posted in EASTER, SAINT of the DAY

Saints and Feasts – 16 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Easter Sunday (2017)
—
Bl Arcangelo Canetoli
St Benedict Joseph Labre
St Bernadette of Lourdes
St Drogo
St Elias
St Fructuosus of Braga
St Herveus of Tours
Bl Joachim Piccolomini
St Lambert of Saragossa
St Lambert of Saragossa
St Magnus of Orkney
St Turibius of Astorga
St Vaise
St William Gnoffi
—
Martyrs of Avrillé – 26 beati: – A group of lay people who were executed together for their faith during the anti-Christian persecutions of the French Revolution.

• Blessed Anne Maugrain
• Blessed François Micheneau veuve Gillot
• Blessed François Suhard veuve Ménard
• Blessed Jean Ménard
• Blessed Jeanne Gourdon veuve Moreau
• Blessed Jeanne Leduc épouse Paquier
• Blessed Jeanne Onillon veuve Onillon
• Blessed Jeanne Thomas veuve Delaunay
• Blessed Madeleine Cady épouse Desvignes
• Blessed Madeleine Sallé épouse Havard
• Blessed Marguerite Robin
• Blessed Marie Forestier
• Blessed Marie Gingueneau veuve Coiffard
• Blessed Marie Lardeux
• Blessed Marie Piou épouse Supiot
• Blessed Marie Rechard
• Blessed Marie Roger veuve Chartier
• Blessed Marie-Genevieve Poulain de la Forestrie
• Blessed Marthe Poulain de la Forestrie
• Blessed Perrine Bourigault
• Blessed Perrine Laurent
• Blessed Perrine Pottier épouse Turpault
• Blessed Pierre Delépine
• Blessed Renée Bourgeais veuve Juret
• Blessed Renée Rigault épouse Papin
• Blessed Renée Sechet veuve Davy
16 April 1794 at Avrillé, Maine-et-Loire, France – Beatified: 19 February 1984 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy

Martyrs of Corinth – 9 saints: A group of nine Christians who were tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than three of their names – Callistus, Charisius and Leonide. They were thrown into the sea at Corinth, Greece c.250

Martyrs of Saragossa: Group of eighteen martyrs murdered in 304 in Saragossa, Spain in the persecutions of Diocletian and the prefect Dacean. We know little more than the names – Apodemus, Caecilian, Caius, Crementius, Engratia, Eventius, Felix, Fronto, Gaius, Julia, Lambert, Lupercus, Martial, Optatus, Primitivus, Publius, Quintilian, Saturnius (4 men of this name), Succesus and Urban. Their graves re-discovered in 1389 in the crypt under the church of San Encrazia in Saragossa

Posted in NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Divine Mercy Novena – Day Two – Holy Saturday

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Divine Mercy Novena

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday.    He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:
“These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives.    It was on their account that I said: ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.’    The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy.”
During the Solemn Novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday,
the Chaplet of Divine Mercy should be offered each day for the
day’s intentions.

DVMERCYNOVEA-DAY TWO

DAY TWO:  HOLY SATURDAY

“Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind.”

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard — upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing.    For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

* In the original text, Saint Faustina uses the pronoun “us” since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use.

PRAY THE CHAPLET here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/divine-mercy-novena-day-one-good-friday/

 

Posted in NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Divine Mercy Novena – Day One – Good Friday

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Divine Mercy Novena

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday.    He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:
“These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives.    It was on their account that I said: ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.’    The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy.”
During the Solemn Novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday,
the Chaplet of Divine Mercy should be offered each day for the
day’s intentions.

DIVINE MECY NOVENA - DAY ONE GOOD FRIDAY

DAY ONE:  GOOD FRIDAY

“Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners,

and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me.”

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen

THE CHAPLET

chapmap.jpg

1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and The Apostles Creed.
2. Then on the Our Father Beads say the following:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

3. On the 10 Hail Mary Beads say the following:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

(Repeat step 2 and 3 for all five decades).

4. Conclude with (three times):
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

 

 

 

 

Posted in MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 15 April

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 15 April

The life of Blessed Cesar de Bus is one of initial indecision, aimless pursuit of worldly pleasure and return to the grace of the Lord.    Cesar’s life reminds us that we are all called at different times in our lives to serve—even if we feel unworthy or unable, the Lord sees within us the spark of faith and hope and we are called to nurture that spark into a flame of Love – just be awake and aware, do not resist the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!    As we look toward Christ’s Easter triumph over death, we turn inside ourselves, finding our own call to serve others in love.

Blessed Cesar de Bus pray for us!

BL CESAR DE BUS PRAY FOR US

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, Uncategorized

Quote of the Day – 15 April – Holy Saturday

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 15 April – Holy Saturday

“By nothing else except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ has death been brought low: The sin of our first parent destroyed, hell plundered, resurrection bestowed, the power given us to despise the things of this world, even death itself, the road back to the former blessedness made smooth, the gates of paradise opened, our nature seated at the right hand of God and we made children and heirs of God. By the cross all these things have been set aright…It is a seal that the destroyer may not strike us, a raising up of those who lie fallen, a support for those who stand, a staff for the infirm, a crook for the shepherded, a guide for the wandering,a perfecting of the advanced, salvation for soul and body, a deflector of all evils, a cause of all goods, a destruction of sin, a plant of resurrection, and a tree of eternal life!”

St. John Damascene

THE CROSS OF CHRIST-ST JOHN DAMASCENE

Posted in CATECHESIS, HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers, PURGATORY

Holy Saturday – 15 April – The Lord’s descent into hell

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Holy Saturday – 15 April – The Lord’s descent into hell

The Creed proclaims “He descended into Hell.”    This homily for Holy Saturday from the 4th Century treats of the “harrowing of hell” and the rescue of Adam and Eve.  Note the parallels between Adam and Eve’s sin, which lost paradise for us and the passion of Christ, which won for us not simply an earthly paradise, but eternal life.   It was to the Limbo of the Fathers that Christ descended, a place of the dead that was emptied through His Passion, Resurrection and Ascension and no longer exists.   By this “Harrowing of Hell,” as His Descent is sometimes called, the doors to Heaven were swung open so that those who die in a state of grace may enter in, alleluia!   Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the good thief on the cross — all the righteous were illuminated by the Presence of Christ in the place of death, making Sheol itself a paradise.   They remained there with Him until His Bodily Resurrection when the the “bars of Hell” were broken down and they were later able to enter into Heaven itself with His glorious Ascension.
“What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.
entombment

Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam’s son.

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The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.

‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.

‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image.

‘See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.

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‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.

“The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages.”

A reading from an ancient homily for Holy Saturday – prepared by Pontifical University Saint Thomas Aquinas, Rome.   While it appears that this comes from a Holy Saturday homily written in Greek dating back to the fourth century liturgy (PG 43, 439, 462f), the author of this text is unknown.

Note:
For our Edification – what does Hell mean?
Christ is in His tomb. Rather, His Body is in the tomb but when His Soul left His Body, He descended into Hell to “free the captives.”    “Hell” here refers to the place of the dead in general (“Sheol” in the Hebrew, or “Hades” in the Greek), not to the place of torment with which the word “Hell” is most usually associated with today.    The world “Hell” in the loosest, earliest sense includes:
1.     the Limbo of the Fathers, the place for those who were righteous by charity and faith in the coming Messiah and who died before His Coming

2.     the Limbo of Infants, where, possibly, those who are sent who die without personal guilt but without Baptism after the time of Christ, or who died without charity and faith in the coming Messiah before the time of Christ.    This would be a place of beautiful, natural happiness, no punishment and no sensible suffering.

3.     Purgatory, where righteous people go to be cleansed of the temporal effects of their sins

4.     Gehenna, the “Hell of the Lost,” the eternal place of punishment for the damned, the place we usually refer to as simply “Hell” today

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers

Our Morning Offering – 15 April

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Our Morning Offering – 15 April

Holy Saturday Prayer
to Be Joined with Christ in Death

O Lord, Your sorrowing Mother stood by Your Cross;
help us in our sorrows to share Your sufferings.
Like the seed buried in the ground,
You have produced the harvest of eternal life for us;
make us always dead to sin and alive to God.
Shepherd of all, in death You remained hidden from the world;
teach us to love our hidden spiritual life with You and the Father.
In Your role as the new Adam,
You went down among the dead
to release all the just there since the beginning;
grant that all who are dead in sin may hear Your voice
and rise to new life.
Son of the living God,
You have allowed us through baptism to be buried with You;
grant that we may also rise with You in baptism
and walk in newness of life. Amen

HOLY SAT PRAYER

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 15 April – Bl Cesar de Bus

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Saint of the Day – 15 April – Bl Cesar de Bus (1544-1607) Priest, teacher, Founder of two religious congregations: the Secular Priests of the Christian Doctrine and the Daughters of the Christian Doctrine – Patron of Catechists.

Cesar was born at Cavaillon, France and little is known about his early life, with the exception that he was middle child – the seventh of thirteen children and raised as a pious child.lived both piously and virtuously.    At eighteen years old, he joined the French army,and took part in the king’s war against the Huguenots.      Back in his home town of Cavaillon, he took over the position of his late brother as canon of Salon, a position he wanted for its income and connections instead of its spiritual significance. One night while on his way to a masked ball, he passed a shrine where a small light was burning before an image of the Virgin Mary.   He was suddenly overwhelmed by the memory that a friend, Antoinette Reveillade, had prayed fervently for his salvation.   He realised that there was no way he could live a life offending God and then expect to be accepted in the end.   There, on the road, he had a complete conversion.   He returned to his studies, resumed his pious lifestyle and was soon ordained to the priesthood at the age of 38.bl De_Bus_César_(1544-1607)

 

Upon ordination, Cesar immediately distinguished himself by his works of charity, serving all in need.    He was profoundly affected reading a biography of Saint Charles Borromeo and tried to take him as a model in all things, especially his devotion to catechesis.   He worked as a catechist in Aix-in-Provence, France, an area in turmoil following the Religious Wars.   Saint Francis de Sales called him “a star of the first magnitude in the firmament of Catechesis.”    He founded the Ursulines of Province and the Fathers of Christian Doctrine (Doctrinarians).   The Fathers were destroyed during the French Revolution but an Italian branch, the Doctrinarian Fathers continues today with houses in Italy, France and Brazil.   He further demonstrated great effectiveness and zeal in preaching.    He focused primarily on those who would receive the Word of God from no one else—those living in horrible conditions, living out of city in the countryside and those marginalised by society.    He further focused on catechesis of the family, instructing the parents alongside the children, something which had previously not been done.    The congregation was approved by Pope Clement VIII. A few years later, Cesar founded a companion congregation, the Daughters of the Christian Doctrine.

Blessed Cesar wrote five volumes on the Catechism, portions of which continue in use today.    His Instructions for the Family on the Four Parts of the Roman Catechism, was published 60 years after his death.    He died on Easter Sunday, 15 April 1607 in Avignon, Vaucluse, France of natural causes and his remains are interred in the church of Saint Mary in Monticelli in Rome, Italy.    Blessed Pope Paul VI at his Beatification:  “He learned in this way to seek and love sacrifice, for sacrifice configures one with Christ, Suffering and Victory.   To offer himself as a libation, to leave everything in God’s hand at the cost of the greatest renunciations, this seemed to have been the leitmotif, the perpetual aim of his efforts.   And when, at the end of his life, suffering and afflicted with blindness for 14 years, he was at last able to prepare for the supreme gift, he realised how useful asceticism has been to master the old Adam.   He was ready to meet the Lord.   His joy was perfect.”

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He was Beatified on 27 April 1975 by Blessed Pope Paul VI who said at the ceremony:

“The work of Cesar de Bus continues to generate, after three centuries, our admiration. Here’s someone who got it right.    He recognised the needs of his time and he responded with equal generosity and efficiency.    Attracted by his vision and influence, other enthusiastic men were gradually gathered around him, learning how to approach the catechism and taking a lead from him.    Quickly they formed a religious family who, despite the vicissitudes of history, still flourishes today in various countries.    Now located in Cavaillon, France, the Fathers of Christian Doctrine know this day our special concern for them, our esteem and they receive our wishes and encouragement!    We are pleased to honour them now in the person of their founder.

And we wish the pastors and those responsible for catechetical use, who have followed Blessed Cesar’s example and writings, guiding their thinking and their work.    Blessed Caesar de Bus, you who left us the admirable example of a life given to God, who burned with a desire to communicate God’s life with your brothers, now intercede for us with the Lord, for the same Fire consumes us and the same charity urges us.   And you, dear brothers and sons, we entrust you to him and we bless you from my heart.”

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints – 15 April

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Holy Saturday (2017)
—
St Abbo II of Metz
St Abbondio
St Acuta
St Anastasia of Rome
St Basilissa of Rome
Bl Cesar de Bus
St Crescens of Myra
St Eutyches of Rome
St Eutychius of Ferentino
St Huna of Slättåkra
St Hunna of Alsace
Bl Laurentinus Sossius
St Lidwina
St Maro of Rome
St Maximus of Persia
St Mundus
St Nidger of Augsburg
St Olympiades of Persia
St Ortario of Landelles
St Paternus of Vannes
St Paternus of Wales
St Pausilopo of Thrace
St Ruadhan of Lorrha
St Sylvester of Réome
St Theodore of Thrace
St Victorinus of Rome
St Waltmann of Cambrai

Mercedarian Martyrs of Africa: A group of Mercedarian monks sailing to Africa as on a mission to redeem capture Christians. Captured by Moors, they were tortured and executed for their faith. Martyrs. 1393

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers, Uncategorized

Good Friday – 14 April 2017 – A Day of Deep Mourning and Fasting and Abstinence

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Good Friday – 14 April 2017 – A Day of Deep Mourning and Fasting and Abstinence

Today the whole Church deeply mourns the death of our Saviour.   This is traditionally a day of sadness, spent in fasting and prayer.   The title for this day varies in different parts of the world: “Holy Friday” for Latin nations, Slavs and Hungarians call it “Great Friday,” in Germany it is “Friday of Mourning” and in Norway, it is “Long Friday.”   Some view the term “Good Friday” (used in English and Dutch) as a corruption of the term “God’s Friday.” This is another obligatory day of fasting and abstinence.   In Ireland, they practice the “black fast,” which is to consume nothing but black tea and water.

GOOD FRIDAY

Liturgy
According to the Church’s ancient tradition, the sacraments are not celebrated on Good Friday nor Holy Saturday. “Celebration of the Lord’s Passion,” traditionally known as the “Mass of the Presanctified,” (although it is not a mass) is usually celebrated around three o’clock in the afternoon, or later, depending on the needs of the parish.

The altar is completely bare, with no cloths, candles nor cross.   The service is divided into three parts: Liturgy of the Word, Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion. The priest and deacons wear red or black vestments.   The liturgy starts with the priests and deacons going to the altar in silence and prostrating themselves for a few moments in silent prayer, then an introductory prayer is prayed.

In part one, the Liturgy of the Word, we hear the most famous of the Suffering Servant passages from Isaiah (52:13-53:12), a pre-figurement of Christ on Good Friday. Psalm 30 is the Responsorial Psalm “Father, I put my life in your hands.” The Second Reading, or Epistle, is from the letter to the Hebrews, 4:14-16; 5:7-9. The Gospel Reading is the Passion of St. John.

The General Intercessions conclude the Liturgy of the Word.   The ten intercessions cover these areas:

For the Church
For the Pope
For the clergy and laity of the Church
For those preparing for baptism
For the unity of Christians
For the Jewish people
For those who do not believe in Christ
For those who do not believe in God
For all in public office
For those in special need

Part two is the Veneration of the Cross.   A cross, either veiled or unveiled, is processed through the Church and then venerated by the congregation.   We joyfully venerate and kiss the wooden cross “on which hung the Saviour of the world.”   During this time the “Reproaches” are usually sung or recited.

Part three, Holy Communion, concludes the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.   The altar is covered with a cloth and the ciboriums containing the Blessed Sacrament are brought to the altar from the place of reposition.    The Our Father and the Ecce Agnus Dei (“This is the Lamb of God”) are recited.    The congregation receives Holy Communion, there is a “Prayer After Communion,” and then a “Prayer Over the People,” and everyone departs in silence.

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers, Uncategorized

Good Friday – April 14 2017 – Pope Francis’ Via Crucis Prayer: ‘O Cross of Christ’

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Good Friday – April 14 2017 – Pope Francis’ Via Crucis Prayer: ‘O Cross of Christ’ – Vatican translation of the prayer composed and recited by Pope Francis at the Via Crucis at the Colosseum, 2014

O CROSS OF CHRIST

O Cross of Christ!

O Cross of Christ, symbol of divine love and of human injustice, icon of the supreme sacrifice for love and of boundless selfishness even unto madness, instrument of death and the way of resurrection, sign of obedience and emblem of betrayal, the gallows of persecution and the banner of victory.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you raised up in our sisters and brothers killed, burned alive, throats slit and decapitated by barbarous blades amid cowardly silence.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of children, of women and people, worn out and fearful, who flee from war and violence and who often only find death and many Pilates who wash their hands.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those filled with knowledge and not with the spirit, scholars of death and not of life, who instead of teaching mercy and life, threaten with punishment and death, and who condemn the just.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in unfaithful ministers who, instead of stripping themselves of their own vain ambitions, divest even the innocent of their dignity.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the hardened hearts of those who easily judge others, with hearts ready to condemn even to the point of stoning, without ever recognizing their own sins and faults.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in expressions of fundamentalism and in terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those who wish to remove you from public places and exclude you from public life, in the name of a pagan laicism or that equality you yourself taught us.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the powerful and in arms dealers who feed the cauldron of war with the innocent blood of our brothers and sisters.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in traitors who, for thirty pieces of silver, would consign anyone to death.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in thieves and corrupt officials who, instead of safeguarding the common good and morals, sell themselves in the despicable market-place of immorality.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the foolish who build warehouses to store up treasures that perish, leaving Lazarus to die of hunger at their doorsteps.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the destroyers of our “common home”, who by their selfishness ruin the future of coming generations.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the elderly who have been abandoned by their families, in the disabled and in children starving and cast-off by our egotistical and hypocritical society.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas which have become insatiable cemeteries, reflections of our indifferent and anesthetized conscience.

O Cross of Christ, image of love without end and way of the Resurrection, today too we see you in noble and upright persons who do good without seeking praise or admiration from others.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in ministers who are faithful and humble, who illuminate the darkness of our lives like candles that burn freely in order to brighten the lives of the least among us.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of consecrated women and men – good Samaritans – who have left everything to bind up, in evangelical silence, the wounds of poverty and injustice.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the merciful who have found in mercy the greatest expression of justice and faith.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in simple men and women who live their faith joyfully day in and day out, in filial observance of your commandments.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the contrite, who in the depths of the misery of their sins, are able to cry out: Lord, remember me in your kingdom!

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the blessed and the saints who know how to cross the dark night of faith without ever losing trust in you and without claiming to understand your mysterious silence.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in families that live their vocation of married life in fidelity and fruitfulness.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in volunteers who generously assist those in need and the downtrodden.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those persecuted for their faith who, amid their suffering, continue to offer an authentic witness to Jesus and the Gospel.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those who dream, those with the heart of a child, who work to make the world a better place, ever more human and just.

In you, Holy Cross, we see God who loves even to the end, and we see the hatred of those who want to dominate, that hatred which blinds the minds and hearts of those who prefer darkness to light.

O Cross of Christ, Arc of Noah that saved humanity from the flood of sin, save us from evil and from the Evil One. O Throne of David and seal of the divine and eternal Covenant, awaken us from the seduction of vanity! O cry of love, inspire in us a desire for God, for goodness and for light.

O Cross of Christ, teach us that the rising of the sun is more powerful than the darkness of night. O Cross of Christ, teach us that the apparent victory of evil vanishes before the empty tomb and before the certainty of the Resurrection and the love of God which nothing can defeat, obscure or weaken. Amen!

 

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Quote/s of the Day – 14 April – Good Friday

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Quote/s of the Day – 14 April – Good Friday

“The passion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the hope of glory and a lesson in patience.    What may not the hearts of believers promise themselves as the gift of God’s grace, when for their sake God’s only Son, co-eternal with the Father, was not content only to be born as man from human stock but even died at the hands of the men he had created?”

– St. Augustine

THE PASSION-ST AUGUSTINE

“No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross.    No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ.    His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him.   How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance.”

St. Leo the Great

ST LEO THE GREA

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One Minute Reflection – 14 April – Good Friday

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One Minute Reflection – 14 April – Good Friday

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit…………….Luke 23:46

REFLECTION – A Few Drops of Blood Renew the Whole World!
Many indeed are the wondrous happenings of that time: God hanging from a cross, the sun made dark and again flaming out;  for it was fitting that creation should mourn with its creator.   The temple veil rent, blood and water flowing from His side:  the one as from a man, the other as from what was above man;  the earth shaken, the rocks shattered because of the rock;  the dead risen to bear witness to the final and universal resurrection of the dead.
The happenings at the sepulchre and after the sepulchre, who can fittingly recount them?   Yet no one of them can be compared to the miracle of my salvation.   A few drops of blood renew the whole world and do for all men what the rennet does for the milk: joining us and binding us together………..St Gregory Nazianzen – Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – O God, who by the Passion of Christ your Son, our Lord, abolished the death inherited from ancient sin by every succeeding generation, grant that just as, being conformed to him, we have borne by the law of nature the image of the man on earth, so by the sanctification of grace we may bear the image of the Man of heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

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THE MIRACLE OF MY SALVAION-ST GREGORY NAZIANZEN

PIETA

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 14 April – Good Friday

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Our Morning Offering – 14 April – Good Friday

THE PRAYER
“O SACRED HEAD”
By St. Bernard Of Clairvaux

O Sacred Head surrounded
By crown of piercing thorn!
O bleeding Head, so wounded,
Reviled and put to scorn!
Death’s pallid hue comes o’er You,
The glow of life decays,
Yet angel hosts adore You
And tremble as they gaze.

I see Your strength and vigour
All fading in the strife,
And death, with cruel vigour,
Bereaving You of life;
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn Your face on me!

In this Your bitter Passion,
Good Shepherd, think. of me,
With Your most sweet compassion,
Unworthy though I be;
Beneath Your Cross abiding,
‘Forever would I rest,
In Your dear love confiding,
And will Your presence blest.

O SACRED HEAD-BY ST BERNARD

Posted in Of FISHERMEN, FISHMONGERS, SAILORS, MARINERS, NAVIGATORS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 14 April – Blessed Peter Gonzalez OP (1190 – 1246)

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Saint of the Day – 14 April – Blessed Peter Gonzalez OP. (1190 – 1246) also known as -Pedro González Telmo, Saint Telmo, or Saint Elmo, was a Castilian Priest, and Friar of the Order of Preachers, born in 1190 in Frómista, Palencia, Kingdom of Castile and Leon.    Confessor, Preacher – Patron of  mariners, sailors, fisherman, Tui, Spain, Tui-Vigo, Spain, diocese of, Attributes – Dominican holding a blue candle or a candle with a blue flame; Dominican lying on his cloak which is spread over hot coals; Dominican holding fire in his bare hands; Dominican catching fish with his bare hands; Dominican beside the ocean, often holding or otherwise protecting a ship.   Image below – 16th-century painting of the Blessed Peter González, by Alejo Fernández, in the Alcázar of Seville

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Saint Paul had a conversion experience on the road to Damascus.   Many years later, the same proved true for Peter Gonzalez, who triumphantly rode his horse into the Spanish city of Astorga in the 13thcentury to take up an important post at the cathedral.   The animal stumbled and fell, leaving Peter in the mud and onlookers amused.

Humbled, Peter re-evaluated his motivations–his bishop-uncle had secured the cathedral post for him– and started down a new path.   He became a Dominican priest and proved to be a most effective preacher.   He spent much of his time as court chaplain and attempted to exert positive influence on the behaviour of members of the court.   After King Ferdinand III and his troops defeated the Moors at Cordoba, Peter was successful in restraining the soldiers from pillaging and persuaded the king to treat the defeated Moors with compassion.

After retiring from the court, Peter devoted the remainder of his life to preaching in northwest Spain.   Having developed a special mission to Spanish and Portuguese seamen, he is considered their patron.

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Peter Gonzalez died in 1246 and was beatified in 1741.

Although his cultus was confirmed in 1741 by Pope Benedict XIV and despite his common epithet of “saint,” Peter was never formally Canonised. Peter González was Beatified in 1254 by Pope Innocent IV.

The diminutive “Elmo” (or “Telmo”) belongs properly to the Martyr-Bishop Saint Erasmus (died c. 303), one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, of whose name “Elmo” is a contraction. However, as Erasmus is the patron saint of sailors generally and Peter González of Spanish and Portuguese sailors specifically, they have both been popularly invoked as “Saint Elmo.“

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saints and Solemnities – 14 April

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Good Friday (2017)
—
St Abundius the Sacristan
St Antony of Vilna
St Ardalion the Actor
St Benezet the Bridge Builder
St Bernhard of Tiron
St Domnina of Terni
St Eustace of Vilna
St Fronto of Nitria
Bl Hadewych
St John of Monte Marano
St John of Vilna
St Lambert of Lyon
St Lydwina of Schiedam
St Maximus of Rome
St Peter Gonzalez
St Tassach of Raholp
St Thomaides of Alexandria
St Tiburtius of Rome
St Valerian of Trastevere
—
Martyrs of Antioch

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS

HOLY THURSDAY: PRAYER FOR PRIESTS

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Posted in HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers

Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday/The Last Supper of the Lord – 13 April 2017

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Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday/The Last Supper of the Lord – 13 April 2017

Today is Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday or the Last Supper. It’s here, at the Last Supper, that we see: (1) the institution of the Eucharist (2) the institution of the sacramental priesthood and (3) references to Baptism and Confession. Sacramentally, then, it’s important and very beautiful.

I. The Eucharist

The Eucharist is straight-forward (Mt. 26:26-29; Mk. 14:22-25; Lk. 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25).  It’s also of obvious importance to the early Church: it’s one of relatively few events recorded (nearly verbatim) by St. Paul and the Synoptic Gospels.  As Catholics, we believe that when Jesus said, “This is My Body,” and “This is My Blood of the Covenant,” that He meant “This is My Body,” and “This is My Blood of the Covenant,” and not some other thing, like “this is a symbol.”  Suffice it to say that this language is prefigured in the Old Covenant (Exodus 24:8), and wasn’t symbolic then (as Hebrews 9:18-20 notes).

II. Holy Orders
But let’s talk a bit about Holy Orders.   It’s not coincidental that the priesthood and Eucharist are established simultaneously.    The Eucharistic Sacrifice, after all, requires priests:  a priest, is one who offers sacrifice.    But Christ does something interesting with this notion of priesthood in the washing of the feet (John 13:3-17).   This appears to be a deliberate echo of the washing of the hands and feet done by the sacrificial priests of the Old Covenant (Exodus 30:19-21).    This washing was to symbolise the priest’s unworthiness to approach the Lord, so it’s fitting that the washing of feet occurs at the same time that the Apostles are entrusted with the Eucharist (which they’re not worthy to approach).    But notice what’s different: the Old Covenant focused on self-purification.  The New Covenant is focused on sanctifying others.    This is in keeping with the model of clerical governance that Christ imparts to St. Peter and the Apostles at this Last Supper (Luke 22:24-34).
III. Baptism and Confession
Christ Washing the Feet of Peter (11th c.)

And the washing of the feet doesn’t just represent the priesthood.  It also represents Sacramental Confession.  In John 13:6-10, Jesus and Peter have this dialogue:

He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you.”
Obviously, this isn’t about “the removal of dirt from the body” (1 Peter 3:21), but the forgiveness of sins. That’s why Jesus says that Judas isn’t clean, at the end (Jn. 13:10-11).  Well, given that, what’s the bath that Jesus is talking about? It’s Baptism, “the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
If that’s right, what is Jesus saying that the washing of feet represents?  Sacramental confession (CCC 1484, 1486).  It is in this way that we are restored to our Baptismal purity.  And here’s something fascinating: just as Christ doesn’t permit the Disciples to purify themselves, but instructs them to purify one another, the same is true for the priesthood He established, and sacramental confession.
IV. The Priestly Commission
Rogier van der Weyden, Seven Sacraments Altarpiece(detail, right wing) (1450)

Having established all of this, consider Christ’s dual commission.  Immediately after instituting the Eucharist, He orders the Apostles: “do this in remembrance of me” (Lk. 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24).    That doesn’t mean “treat this as a symbol,” by the way.    Once again, the Old Testament provides important context.    The Old Covenant contained what’s called the memorial sacrifice or memorial offering (see, e.g., Leviticus 2:9).  The sacrifice wasn’t a mere symbol: the memorial offering of grain actually was grain. And the memorial offering of our prayers (Acts 10:4) aren’t symbols of prayers, but actual prayers.    Likewise, the memorial offering of Christ’s Body and Blood actually is Christ’s Body and Blood.   But each of these memorial offerings also recalls something: in this case, we’re offering up Christ’s Body and Blood, while recalling His Death on Calvary.

So “do this in remembrance of me,” properly understood, is sacrificial language.   The first Eucharist is offered by Christ, who is both the High Priest (Hebrews 9:11), and the willing Sacrificial Victim (1 Corinthians 5:7).   Jesus makes this clear Himself in John 10:17-18: He is in control over everything, including Calvary. But what’s shocking is that He tells the Apostles to carry on His priestly role. To continue to offer the memorial offering of His Body and Blood.

Only slightly less shocking is the second commission, which comes at the end of the washing of the feet (John 13:12-17),

When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

Rogier van der Weyden, Seven Sacraments Altarpiece(detail, left wing) (1450)

That’s the mandate (mandatum) that gives Maundy Thursday its name.    Now, this doesn’t sound shocking at first, because it sounds like Jesus is just saying, “be humble.”  And surely, that’s part of it.  But remember what we established earlier:  that the washing of feet is about the sacrificial priesthood and about the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus makes that last part really clear in John 13:6-11.    He’s not calling Judas smelly.   He’s saying Judas is still trapped in sin.  So in that context, Jesus Christ is calling the Apostles not only to be humble, but to (a) forgive sins, and (b) pass on the gift of the priesthood.    He’ll later empower the Apostles to carry out this command to forgive sins by imparting the Holy Spirit upon them (John 20:21-23).    But too often, Christians read the washing of feet as simply a nice gesture, when Christ makes it clear that it’s so much more.

So tonight should be a true celebration of the Sacraments that Christ left us and the beautiful manner in which they are, in God’s Providence, intertwined.   Baptism, to wash us free from our sins.  The Eucharist, the food of life, partaking in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  Confession, to restore us to our Baptismal purity and prepare us for the Eucharist.  And Holy Orders, to carry on His priestly ministry, and to ensure that we should always have the Eucharist and Confession.  by

 

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MORNING Prayers

Maundy Thursday of Holy Week – 13 April 2017

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Maundy Thursday of Holy Week – 13 April 2017

O God, who have called us to participate
in this most sacred Supper,
in which Your Only Begotten Son,
when about to hand Himself over to death,
entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity,
the banquet of His love,
grant, we pray,
that we may draw from so great a mystery,
the fullness of charity and of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

MAUNDY THURSDAY 13 APRIL

The Thirteenth Station:
Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross

st 13

My Jesus, it was with deep grief that Mary finally took You into her arms and saw all the wounds sin had inflicted upon You.    Mary Magdalene looked upon Your dead Body with horror.    Nicodemus, the man so full of human respect, who came to You by night, suddenly received the courage to help Joseph take you down from the Cross.    You are once more surrounded by only a few followers.    When loneliness and failure cross my path, let me think of this lonely moment and this total failure – failure in the eyes of men. How wrong they were – how mistaken their concept of success!    The greatest act of love was given in desolation and the most successful mission accomplished and finished when all seemed lost.    Is this not true in my life, dear Jesus?    I judge my failures harshly.    I demand perfection instead of holiness.    My idea of success is for all to end well – according to my liking.
Give to all men the grace to see that doing Your Will is more important than success.    If failure is permitted for my greater good then teach me how to use it to my advantage.    Let me say as You once said, that to do the Will of the Father is my food.    Let not the standards of this world take possession of me or destroy the good You have set for me – to be Holy and to accomplish the Father’s Will with great love.    Let me accept praise or blame, success or failure with equal serenity.
Amen

The Fourteenth Station:
Jesus is Laid in the Sepulcher

ST14

My Jesus, You were laid to rest in a stranger’s tomb.    You were born with nothing of this world’s goods and You died detached from everything.    When You came into the world, men slept and angels sang and now as You leave it, Creation is silent and only a few weep.    Both events were clothed in obscurity.    The majority of men live in such a way. Most of us live and die knowing and known by only a few.    Were You trying to tell us, dear Jesus, how very important our lives are just because we are accomplishing the Father’s Will?    Will we ever learn the lesson of humility that makes us content with who we are, where we are and what we are?
Will our Faith ever be strong enough to see power in weakness and good in the sufferings of our lives?    Will our Hope be trusting enough to rely on Your Providence even when we have nowhere to lay our head?    Will our Love ever be strong enough not to take scandal in the cross?

My Jesus, hide my soul in Your heart as You lie in the Sepulcher alone.    Let my heart be as a fire to keep you warm.    Let my desire to know and love You be like a torch to light up the darkness.    Let my soul sing softly a hymn of repentant love as the hours pass and Your Resurrection is at hand.    Let me rejoice, dear Jesus, with all the Angels in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving for so great a love- so great a God- so great a day!
Amen

Stations of the Cross by Mother Angelica