Day: February 20, 2018

Posted in LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES on PRAYER, The WORD

20 February 2018 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Posted on by AnaStpaul

20 February 2018 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Isaiah 55:10-11, Psalms 34:4-7, 16-19, Matthew 6:7-15

Isaiah 55:10-11 – “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;  it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Matthew 6:7-15 – “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.   Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.   Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”tuesday of the first week of lent - 20 feb 2018

Today we learn another of Lent’s purposes, perhaps the best of all.   The Opening Prayer instructs us “Father, look on us, your children. Through the discipline of Lent, help us to grow in our desire for you.”   If at Easter, our desire for God is more intense, more demanding, we shall know that our Lent this year, has been a success!

But what nourishes desire for God more than His own word?   The more we know about Him, the greater will be our eagerness to possess and be possessed by Him, who is love in person.   The desire for God is unlike any other desire.   It is its own reward, its own fulfilment but that’s not all.   We are satiated but we still yearn for more.   Infinite abysses in human hearts demand infinite satisfaction, which is a task that only endless eternity can really gratify.   To behold the Face of God!

The prophet Isaiah today provides us with a glorious description of what will happen to us when God’s word becomes our daily nourishment.   He compares the word of God to the rain and snow that refresh the land, make it fertile and give life to the seeds planted there.   In the same way, God wants His word to refresh our hearts and fertilise the seeds of desire for Him that we so need.

But the best is yet to come.   In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that what matters is not the quantity of our responses to God’s words to us, it is the quality.   It is not what we say or think when we pray but HOW we say or think what is in our hearts.
Remember how we prayed in the Opening Prayer, ‘Father, look on us your children…..’ He looks at us and we look at Him, with Jesus’ own prayer on our lips and in our hearts! “Our Father, who art in Heaven ……”

It has been said that the Lord’s Prayer is the summary of the Gospel.   It is Jesus’ own prayer, so it has to be the perfect prayer.   It comes from His heart, it is His personal response to all that the Father is and says to Him.

“In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.   From all eternity, you are God.” (Entrance Antiphon)   Fr E Lawrence OSB _ Daily Meditations for Lent

There is a sermon that is always being preached, not by the tongue of man but by the myriad voices of God’s vast universe.   Day and night, without ceasing, in every land, among all peoples, in the universal language of nature – the language that is foreign to none of the children of men – God is preaching His sermon.  He is whispering it upon every breeze, booming it with every thunderclap, flashing it upon the clouds with the lightnings.   His message is trailing its way in a blaze of fire across the sky “from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof.”   All nature is a panorama created to illustrate the sermon of God, painted in colours gay and sombre by turn to catch the fickle eye of man, the spectator.   All the universe is one vast stage for the enacting of the drama that God has written.   All human history is a pageant, a never-ending procession passing before the bewildered eyes of mankind and upon every banner in that pageant is written the motto that God would have us read.   And yet this obvious lesson is one we never learn.   The sermon is one to which we will not listen.   The pageant passes in review but we gaze as in a stupor, seeing but not understanding.   For the sermon, the lesson, the play, the pageant, the spectacle, is “Life and Death.” Father James M Gillis – A Thought a Day for Lentthe our father - matthew 6 7-15 - lenten reflection 20 feb 2018

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Posted in Blessed JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN, LENT, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, STATIONS of the CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY FACE, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 20 February 2018 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 20 February 2018 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Excerpt from “Behold the Man”, a Lenten Reflection

By Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890)

“I see the figure of a man, whether young or old I cannot tell.   He may be fifty, or he may be thirty.   Sometimes He looks one, sometimes the other.   There is something inexpressible about His face that I cannot solve.   Perhaps, as He bears all burdens, He bears that of old age too.   But so it is;  His face is at once most venerable, yet most childlike, most calm, most sweet, most modest, beaming with sanctity and with loving kindness.   His eyes rivet me and move my heart.   His breath is all fragrant and transports me out of myself.   Oh, I will look upon that face forever and will not cease.

And I see suddenly someone come to Him and raise His hand and sharply strike Him on that heavenly face.   It is a hard hand, the hand of a rude man and perhaps has iron upon it.   It could not be so sudden as to take by surprise, Him who knows all things past and future and He shows no sign of resentment, remaining calm and grave as before;  but the expression of His face is marred;  a great welt arises and in a short time that all-gracious face is hidden from me by the effects of this indignity, as if a cloud came over it.

A hand was lifted up against the face of Christ.

Whose hand was that?   My conscience tells me:  ‘You are the man.’

I trust it is not so with me now.   But, O my soul, contemplate the awful fact.   Fancy Christ before you and fancy yourself lifting up your hand and striking Him!   You will say, ‘It is impossible: I could not do so.’   Yes, you have done so.   When you sinned wilfully, then you have done so.   He is beyond pain now:  still you have struck Him and had it been in the days of His flesh, He would have felt pain.   Turn back in memory and recollect the time, the day, the hour, when by wilful mortal sin, by scoffing at sacred things, or by profaneness, or by hard hatred of your brother, or by acts of impurity, or by deliberate rejection of God’s voice, or in any other devilish way known to you, you have struck the All-Holy One.” (to be continued…………….)

NOTE of Interest:  A second miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed John Henry (2016) is still in progress of investigation by the Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood and if Vatican theologians and doctors conclude the healing is a divine sign of Newman’s sanctity the Pope will be invited to canonise him as the first English saint since 1970 and the first British saint since 1976.a hand was lifted up against the face of christ - john henry newman - 20 feb 2018

Prayer for the Canonisation of Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

God our Father,
You granted to Your servant,
Blessed John Henry Newman,
wonderful gifts of nature and of grace,
that he should be a spiritual light
in the darkness of this world,
an eloquent herald of the Gospel
and a devoted servant
of the one Church of Christ.
With confidence in
his heavenly intercession,
we make the following petition:
………………………………………….
[here make your petition]
For his insight into
the mysteries of the kingdom,
his zealous defense
of the teachings of the Church
and his priestly love
for each of Your children,
we pray that he may soon
be numbered among the Saints.
We ask this through Christ our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God forever.
Amenprayer for the canonisation of bl john henry newman - 20 feb 2018

Posted in MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, ON the SAINTS, PAPAL HOMILIES, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on LOVE, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 20 February 2018 -The First Memorial of Saints Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta (1910-1920) – “The Shepherds of Fatima”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 20 February 2018 -The First Memorial of Saints Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta (1910-1920) – “The Shepherds of Fatima”

“We were burning in that light
which is God and we were not consumed.
What is God like?
It is impossible to say.
In fact, we will never be able to tell people”

St Francisco Marto of Fatima (1908-1919)we-were-burning-in-that-light-st-francisco-marto-20-feb-2018

“Speak ill of no-one and avoid the company
of those who talk (ill) about their neighbours.”

St Jacinta Marto of Fatima (1910-1920)speak-ill-of-no-one-st-jacinta-20-feb-2018.jpg

“Father, to You I offer praise, for you have revealed these things to the merest children”. Today Jesus’ praise takes the solemn form of the beatification of the little shepherds, Francisco and Jacinta.   With this rite the Church wishes to put on the candlelabrum these two candles which God lit to illumine humanity in its dark and anxious hours. …Father, to You I offer praise for all Your children, from the Virgin Mary, Your humble Servant, to the little shepherds, Francisco and Jacinta. May the message of their lives live on forever to light humanity’s way!”

St Pope John Paul (1920-2005) on the Beatification of Francisco and Jacinta, 13 May 2000the church wishes to put on the candlelabrum - st john paul - 20 feb 2018

Posted in LENT, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL HOMILIES, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 February 2018 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent and The First Memorial of Saints Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta (1910-1920)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 20 February 2018 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent and The First Memorial of Saints Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta (1910-1920)

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit..” …John 12:24

REFLECTION – “In Lucia’s account, the three chosen children found themselves surrounded by God’s light as it radiated from Our Lady.   She enveloped them in the mantle of Light that God had given her.   According to the belief and experience of many pilgrims, if not of all, Fatima is more than anything this mantle of Light that protects us, here, as in almost no other place on earth.   We need but take refuge under the protection of the Virgin Mary and to ask her, as the Salve Regina teaches: “show unto us… Jesus”.the three chosen children - pope francis canonisation homily - 20 feb 2018
“The Lord, who always goes before us, said this and did this (Jn 12:24).   Whenever we experience the cross, He has already experienced it before us.   We do not mount the cross to find Jesus.   Instead it was He who, in His self-abasement, descended even to the cross, in order to find us, to dispel the darkness of evil within us and to bring us back to the light.”…Pope Francis at the Canonisation of Saints Francisco and Jacinta on 14 May 2017

the lord, who always goes before us - pope francis - 20 feb 2017 - sts francisco and jacinta

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, just as the little children, Francisco and Jacinta, were chosen to be bearers of Your message, grant we pray, that by their prayers on our behalf, we too may Your bearers of light.   Be with us, holy Mother, during our Lenten journey to the Resurrection of your Son, help us to become like little children and in that new purity, shine with His Light.   Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.sts francisco & jacinta - 20 feb 2018

Posted in Blessed JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 20 February 2018 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 20 February 2018 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Thy Grace – a Lenten Prayer
By Blessed John Henry Newman

O my God,
suffer me still,
bear with me in spite of my
waywardness,
perverseness
and ingratitude!
I improve very slowly
but really, I am moving onto heaven,
or at least I wish to move.
Only give me Thy grace
meet me with Thy grace,
I will, through Thy grace, do what I can
and Thou shall perfect it for me.
Then shall I have happy days, in Thy Presence
and in the sight and adoration of
Thy five Sacred Wounds.
Amenthy grace - a lenten prayer - bl john henry newman - 20 feb 2018

Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MIRACLES, SAINT of the DAY

Saints of the Day – 20 February – Saints Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta Marta (1910-1920)

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Saints of the Day – 20 February 2018 – Today, is the First Memorial of Saints Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta Marta (1910-1920) who were Canonised last year, 13 May 2017 – “The Shepherds of Fatima”

Between 13 May and 13 October 1917, three Portuguese shepherd children from Aljustrel, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near Fátima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon.   At that time, Europe was involved in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was in political turmoil, having overthrown its monarchy in 1910;  the government disbanded religious organisations soon after.STS FRANCISCO AND JACINTA-HEADER

At the first appearance, Mary asked the children to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months.   She also asked them to learn to read and write and to pray the rosary “to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.”   They were to pray for sinners and for the conversion of Russia, which had recently overthrown Czar Nicholas II and was soon to fall under communism.   Up to 90,000 people gathered for Mary’s final apparition on 13 October 1917, when Our Lady of the Rosary asked them to build a chapel on the rocky hillside.   This apparition is now known as the Miracle of the Sun.   The entire crowd saw a remarkable sight.   The sun seemed to dance in the sky.   It was spinning like a top and shooting off brilliant colours of the rainbow. Suddenly the sun dropped treacherously close to earth.   People dropped to their knees and the sun just as quickly returned to its play in the sky.

Less than two years later, Francisco died of influenza in his family home.   He was buried in the parish cemetery and then re-buried in the Fátima basilica in 1952.   Jacinta died of influenza in Lisbon in 1920, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners, peace in the world and the Holy Father.   She was re-buried in the Fátima basilica in 1951, when it was discovered that her body is incorrupt.   Their cousin Lúcia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun and was still living when Jacinta and Francisco were beatified in 2000;   she died five years later.

Pope Francis canonised the younger children on his visit to Fátima to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first apparition, last year, 13 May 2017. fatima canonisation.3fatima canonisation.2fatima canonisationCANONISATION MASS

The shrine of Our Lady of Fátima is visited by up to 20 million people a year.children of fatimaSTS FRANCISCO AND JACINTA.1.PGsts francisco and jacinta and our lady of fatimaSTS FRANCISCO AND JACINTA

For fuller details and more images here is my post from last year:  – https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/saints-of-the-day-20-february-blessed-francisco-and-jacinta-marto/

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 20 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Amata of Assisi
St Bolcan of Derken
St Colgan
St Eleutherius of Tournai
St Eucherius of Orleans
St Falco of Maastricht
St Francisco Marto
St Jacinta Marto

St Leo of Catania
St Nemesius of Cyprus
St Pothamius of Cyprus
St Serapion of Alexandria
St Silvanus of Emesa
St Stanislawa Rodzinska
St Valerius of Courserans
St Wulfric of Haselbury
St Zenobius of Antioch