Day: May 18, 2019

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, The 5th Joyful Mystery-THE FINDING of JESUS in the TEMPLE, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Marian Thoughts – 18 May – Pope Francis – The Fifth Joyful Mystery: The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Marian Thoughts – 18 May – ‘Mary’s Month’ – Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter, C

Mini Series – Pope Francis and the Holy Rosary

“Praying the rosary does not remove us from the problems of life. On the contrary, it demands that we immerse ourselves in the history of each day, so as to grasp the signs of Christ’s presence in our midst. Whenever we contemplate an event, a mystery of the life of Christ, we are asked to reflect on how God comes into our own lives, so as to be able to welcome Him and follow Him.”
Pope Francis

The Fifth Joyful Mystery:

The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

The Holy Family had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover but on the return voyage, Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus, who was only twelve years old, was not in the caravan.
They searched for Jesus for three days, finally finding Him in the Temple amid the doctors of the law.
When they found Jesus, the Gospel says, “they were astonished” and Mary expressed her concern to Jesus, saying, “Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
In the Holy Family, astonishment never failed!
To feel astonishment is the opposite of taking everything for granted… It means opening ourselves to others.
This attitude is important for mending compromised relationships and curing the open wounds within the family.
The anxiety felt by Mary and Joseph, shows the centrality of Jesus in the Holy Family. And so we see, why the family of Nazareth is holy – because it was centred on Jesus, all the attention and care of Joseph revolved around Him.
The anxiety felt by Mary and Joseph, when Jesus was lost for three days, should also be our anxiety, when we are far from Jesus, when we forget Jesus, going without prayer, without reading the Gospel for several days.
Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the Temple and we too, should seek Jesus in the house of God – and especially, in the Liturgy, where we have the living experience of Jesus, in His Word and in the Eucharist, from which we receive the strength to face the difficulties of each day….
Pope Francis 2018

pope francis rosary meditations the 5th joyful finding of jesus in the temple 18 may 2019.jpg

Advertisement
Posted in PRAYERS to the SAINTS

Thought for the Day – 18 May – St John Paul II’s Birthday!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 18 May – St John Paul II’s Birthday!

Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) was born Karol Józef Wojtyla on 18 May 1920, in Wadowice, Poland.   He was ordained in 1946, became the bishop of Ombi in 1958 and became the archbishop of Krakow in 1964.   He was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1967 and in 1978 became the first non-Italian pope in more than 400 years.   His Patronages are: Archdiocese of Kraków, World Youth Day (co-Patron), World Meeting of Families 2015 (co-Patron), Young Catholics, Families, Świdnica, Trecastelli, Borgo Mantovano, Rivignano Teor.

On the Anniversary of his Birth, we ask for his intercession.

Vatican Official Prayer to St John Paul II

Oh, St John Paul, from the window of heaven, grant us your blessing!
Bless the church that you loved and served and guided,
courageously leading it along the paths of the world,
in order to bring Jesus to everyone and everyone to Jesus.
Bless the young, who were your great passion.
Help them dream again, help them look up high again,
to find the light that illuminates the paths of life here on earth.
May you bless families, bless each family!
You warned of Satan’s assault against this precious
and indispensable divine spark that God lit on earth.
St John Paul, with your prayer, may you protect the family
and every life that blossoms from the family.
Pray for the whole world, which is still marked by tensions,
wars and injustice.
You tackled war by invoking dialogue and planting the seeds of love:
pray for us so that we may be tireless sowers of peace.
Oh St John Paul, from heaven’s window,
where we see you next to Mary,
send God’s blessing down upon us all.
Amenprayer-to-st-john-paul-birthday-today-18-may-20181.jpg

St John Paul, Pray for us!st john paul II pray for us 18 may 2019 his birthday 99 years old.jpg

Posted in GOD is LOVE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 18 May – What is Faith?

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 18 May – Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter, C, John 14:7–14 and the Memorial of St Felix of Cantalice O.F.M. Cap.(1515-1587) “Brother Deo Gratias”

What is Faith?

First, faith is simple.
We believe in God – in God,
who is the Beginning
and End of human life.
We believe in a God,
who enters into a relationship
with us human beings,
who is our origin and our future.
Consequently, faith is,
always and inseparably, hope –
the certainty that we have a future
and will not end up as nothing.
And faith is love,
since God’s love is “contagious”.
This is the first thing –
we simply believe in God
and this brings with it,
hope and love.

Pope Benedict XVI

Regensburg Homily Tuesday 12 September 2006what is faith - pope benedict 18 may 2019

and we thank God for our faith with St Felix!

“Deo Gratias”

“Thank God”

St Felix of Cantalice (1515-1587)
“Brother Deo Gratias”deo-gratiasd-thank-god-st-felix-of-cantalice-brother-deo-gratias-18-may-2018

Posted in GOD the FATHER, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 May –  “In His greatness He has let Himself become small.”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 18 May – Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter, C, John 14:7–14

“He who has seen me has seen the Father…”…John 14:9

REFLECTION – “We believe in God.   This is what the main sections of the Creed affirm, especially the first section.   But another question now follow – in what God?   Certainly we believe in the God who is Creator Spirit, creative Reason, the source of everything that exists, including ourselves.

The second section of the Creed tells us more.   This creative Reason is Goodness, it is Love.   It has a face.   God does not leave us groping in the dark.   He has shown Himself to us as a man.   In His greatness, He has let Himself become small.   “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”, Jesus says (Jn 14:9).   God has taken on a human face.   He has loved us even to the point of letting Himself be nailed to the Cross for our sake, in order to bring the sufferings of mankind to the very heart of God.

Today, when we have learned to recognise the pathologies and the life-threatening diseases associated with religion and reason and the ways that God’s image can be destroyed by hatred and fanaticism, it is important to state clearly the God in whom we believe and to proclaim, confidently, that this God has a human face.   Only this can free us from being afraid of God – which is ultimately at the root of modern atheism.   Only this God saves us from being afraid of the world and from anxiety before the emptiness of life.   Only by looking to Jesus Christ, does our joy in God come to fulfilment and become redeemed joy.   During this solemn Eucharistic celebration, let us look to the Lord lifted up before us on the Cross and ask Him to give us the immense joy which, at the hour of His farewell, He promised to the disciples (cf. Jn 16:24)!”…Pope Benedict XVI – Regensburg Homily Tuesday 12 September 2006john 14 9 he who seen me - god does not leave us groping in the dark - pope benedict 18 may 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Since it is from You God, our Father, that redemption comes to us, Your adopted children, look with favour on the family You love, give us true freedom and to all who believe in Christ and bring us all alike to our eternal heritage.   Grant we pray, that by the prayers of Your holy angels and saints, most especially our beloved Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, we may run this race always in prayer, trusting in Your divine Son’s intercession, to attain the Glory of Your Kingdom and the Light of Your Face. Through Jesus Christ, in the union of the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever and ever, amen.mary, mater christi - pray for us - 18 may 2019.jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 18 May – O Blessed Lady, Mediatrix and Advocate

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 May – ‘Mary’s Month” – Saturday Fourth Week of Easter, C

O Blessed Lady,
Mediatrix and Advocate
By St Bernard (1090-1153)

Our Mediatrix and Advocate
O blessed Lady,
you found grace,
brought forth the Life,
and became the Mother of Salvation.
May you obtain the grace for us to go to the Son.
By your mediation,
may we be received by the One
who through you, gave Himself to us.
May your integrity compensate with Him
for the fault of our corruption;
and may your humility,
which is pleasing to God,
implore pardon for our vanity.
May your great charity
cover the multitude of our sins;
and may your glorious fecundity
confer on us a fecundity of merits.
Dear Lady,
our Mediatrix and Advocate,
reconcile us to your Son,
recommend us to Him,
and present us to your Son.
By the grace you found,
by the privilege you merited,
by the mercy you brought forth,
obtain for us the following favour,
O blessed Lady.
Ameno blessed lady mediatrix and advocate - 18 may 2019 by st bernard.jpg

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 18 May – Blessed William of Toulouse OSA (c 1297-1369)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 18 May – Blessed William of Toulouse OSA (c 1297-1369) Augustinian Priest, Preacher, apostle of prayer and charity, spiritual adviser – born in c 1297 in Toulouse, France and died on 18 May 1369 in Toulouse, France of natural causes.bl william

Today we remember a French Augustinian who excelled in preaching the word of God. By means of his own deep interior life and attentiveness to Scripture, his influence on the people of his day through this preaching and pastoral work, as well as through the gift of spiritual direction, was significant and widespread.   He was loved and admired by the people, who recognised his holiness and the power of his intercession.

William was born in Toulouse, France, around the year 1297.   At the age of 19 he entered the Augustinian monastery in his native city and was sent to study in Paris where he received the title of lector in theology.  bl williamtoulouseAfterwards he devoted himself especially to the ministry of preaching, for which he became well known and respected, and through which he drew many others to embrace the religious life.

Except for a brief period when he was Prior in Pamiers, he seems to have spent his whole religious life in Toulouse, in the monastery of Saint’Etienne, where, in 1341, the Order’s General Chapter was held.

William died in Toulouse on 18 May 1369 and was buried in the cemetery of his monastery.   Not long after, because of the veneration of the people who regarded him as a saint and wonder-worker, his remains were transferred to the chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene where he was accustomed to celebrate Mass.    Pope Leo XIII confirmed his cult in 1893.

William’s methodology as a preacher was – pray, contemplate and only then speak of God, otherwise the preacher’s words will not touch the heart of his listeners but become lost in the rafters of the church.   As a man of prayer and recollection, he was much sought after as a spiritual director and after his death, his people continued to revere and pray to him for his intercession.bl_williamtoulouse

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 18 May

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Pope John I (c 470 – 526) – He was Pope from 13 August 523 to his death in 526. (Optional Memorial)
Biography:   https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/saint-of-the-day-18-may-st-pope-john-i/
—
Bl Burchard of Beinwil
St Dioscorus of Kynopolis
St Elgiva of Shaftesbury
St Eric of Sweden
St Felix of Cantalice OFM Cap.(1515-1587)
All about St Felix:   https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/saint-of-the-day-18-may-st-felix-of-cantalice-o-f-m-cap-1515-1587/

St Felix of Spoleto
St Feredarius of Iona
Bl Jan Oprzadek
St Merililaun
St Ortasio of Alexandria
St Potamon of Heraclea
St Serapione of Alexandria
Bl Stanislaw Kubski
St Venantius of Camerino
Bl William of Toulouse OSA (c 1297-1369)
—
Martyrs of Ancyra – 8 saints: Seven nuns martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian and the innkeeper who was executed for giving them a Christian burial: Alexandria, Claudia, Euphrasia, Julitta, Matrona, Phaina, Thecusa and Theodatus. c.304 in Ancyra, Galatia (in modern Turkey)