Day: July 2, 2019

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TRUST in GOD, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 2 July – The Anguish of an Absence

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 2 July – Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week, Year C – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 8:23-37

The Anguish of an Absence

by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord, we are perishing.”
Matthew 8:25

There is a Gospel scene which in an extraordinary way anticipates the silence of Holy Saturday and which again, therefore, seems to be a profile of the moment in history we are living now.   Christ is asleep on a boat which, buffeted by a storm, is about to sink.
The prophet Elijah had once made fun of the priests of Baal who were futilely invoking their god to send down fire on their sacrifice.   He urged them to cry out louder in case their god was asleep.
But is it true that God does not sleep?   Does not the prophet’s scorn also fall upon the heads of the faithful of the God of Israel who are sailing with Him in a boat about to sink?   God sleeps while His very own are about to drown – is not this the experience of our lives?   Don’t the Church, the faith, resemble a small boat about to sink, struggling futilely against the waves and the wind and all the time God is absent?   The disciples cry out in dire desperation and they shake the Lord to wake Him but He is surprised at this and rebukes them, for their small faith.   But are things any different for us?   When the storm passes we will realise just how much this small faith of ours was charged with stupidity.
And yet, O Lord, we cannot help shaking You, God,   You who persist in keeping Your silence, in sleeping and we cannot help crying to You – Wake up, can’t You see we are sinking?   Stir Yourself, don’t let the darkness of Holy Saturday last forever, let a ray of Easter fall, even on these times of ours, accompany us when we set out in our desperation towards Emmaus so that our hearts may be enflamed by the warmth of Your nearness.
You who, hidden, charted the paths of Israel only to become a man in the end with men – don’t leave us in the dark, don’t let Your word be lost in these days of great squandering of words.

Lord, grant us Your help, because without You we will sink. Amen

matthew 8 25 save us lord we are perishing - joseph ratzinger - the anguish of absence - wake up lord 2 july 2019.jpg

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Posted in FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FEAR, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 2 July – “Why are you afraid…?”

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Quote/s of the Day – 2 July – Tuesday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 8:23-37

“Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?”

Matthew 8:26matthew 8 26 - why are you afraid o men of little faith 2 july 2019.jpg

“Whoever has become a servant of the Lord, fears only his Master.
But whoever is without the fear of God,
is often afraid of his own shadow.
Fearfulness is the daughter of unbelief.
A proud soul is the slave of fear,
hoping in itself,
it comes to such a state,
that it is startled by a small noise
and is afraid of the dark.”

St John Climacus (579-649)whoever has become a servant of the lord - st john climacus 2 july 2019

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on TRUST in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 2 July – ‘It is not a calm sky, beloved but the storm which tests a pilot’s skill.’

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One Minute Reflection – 2 July – Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week, Year C – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 8:23-37 and the Memorial of Blessed Eugénie Joubert (1876–1904)

“Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves but he was asleep.”… Matthew 8:24

REFLECTION – “The sea offered its heaving back for Christ to walk upon.   Now it levelled its crests to a plain, checked its swelling and bound up its billows.   It provided rocklike firmness, so He could walk across the waterway.   Why did the seas heave so, and toss and pitch, even as if threatening its Creator?   And why did Christ Himself, who knows all the future, seem so unaware of the present thatHhe gave no thought to the onrushing storm, the moment of its height and the time of its peril?   While all the rest were awake, He alone was fast asleep even with utter doom threatening both Himself and His dear ones.   Why?   It is not a calm sky, beloved but the storm which tests a pilot’s skill.   When the breeze is mild, even the poorest sailor, can manage the ship. But in the crosswinds of a tempest, we want the best pilot with all His skill.”… Saint Peter Chrysologus (c 406 – c 450) (Sermons, 20)matthew 8 24 suddenly a violent sorm..but he was asleep-it is not a calm sky but the storm which tests st peter chryologus 2 july 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, grant me an operative faith – a faith that will move mountains and is strong enough to know that absolutely nothing and no-one here on earth can compare to You. Let me show that faith by lively love and by loving deeds and by conforming myself to Your will in all things – teach me that only YOU are first in line. This is how you lived your life Bl Eugénie Joubert putting only the God who created us first and now you are a Saint. Please pray for us. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and for always, amen.bl eugenie joubert pray for us 2 july 2019.jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 2 July – Prayer for the Gift of Prayer

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Our Morning Offering – 2 July – Tuesday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C

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

O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures;
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amenprayer for the gift of prayer by st alphonsus liguori - 24 feb 2018

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – Blessed Eugénie Joubert (1876–1904)

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Saint of the Day – Blessed Eugénie Joubert (1876–1904) aged 28 – Religious of the Sisters of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart – born on 11 February 1876 in Yssingeaux, Haute-Loire, France and died on 2 July 1904 in Liège, Belgium of tuberculosis.   Her life was noted for her staunch devotion to the Mother of God, her boundless care for the children in her charge and her commitment to her spiritual cultivation was well known and admired.eugnie-joubert-41bcf9f7-6f0e-4c5f-a356-be88ec48009-resize-750.jpeg

Eugénie Joubert was born in 1876 to Pierre Joubert and Antonia Celle as the fourth of eight children in France.

Joubert and her elder sister were placed in a boarding school that the Ursulines managed at Ministrel – both grew fond of their time there and came to like their experiences.   She made her First Communion on 29 May 1887.   On 6 October 1895 she joined a religious order at Aubervilliers (near Paris) and began as a postulant and then commenced her period of the novitiate, her mother bid her farewell and said:  “Don’t look back but become a saint!”.

On 13 August 1896 she received the habit from the order’s founder, Jesuit Louis-Etienne Rabussier and made her profession to him on 8 December 1897.   She followed the Spiritual Exercises twice in her novitiate.  She taught catechism to local children.

Bl Eugénie was assigned to be a catechist in Aubervilliers where she worked with poor children to prepare them for their First Communion.    She was then sent to Rome and later moved to Belgium in May 1904 but died soon after.eugenie joubert

Bl Eugénie began to suffer from tuberculosis in 1902 and died in Belgium in 1904.   She had once collapsed from exhaustion after suffering a haemorrhage.   Her breathing grew much more laboured in her final hours and she was presented with an image of the Child Jesus to which she uttered her final words:  “Jesus … Jesus … Jesus”.

Her remains are interred in the chapel of the Sisters of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart in Dinant, Belgium.

The cause for sainthood started under Pope Pius XI on 1 June 1938 – she was titled as a Servant of God – and the confirmation of her life of heroic virtue allowed for St Pope John Paul II to name her as Venerable on 9 June 1983, that same pope Beatified her on 20 November 1994.eugnie-joubert-87dc5097-0c50-4361-8dba-3e73fe10172-resize-750

Posted in JESUIT SJ, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 2 July

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Bl Benedict Metzler
St Bernadino Realino SJ (1530-1616)
Biography:   https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/02/saint-of-the-day-2-july-st-st-bernadino-realino-sj/
Bl Eugénie Joubert (1876–1904)
Bl Giovanni da Fabriano Becchetti
St Jacques Fermin
Bl Jarich of Mariengaarde
St Jéroche
St Lidanus of Sezze
St Martinian of Rome
St Monegundis
St Oudoceus
Bl Peter of Luxembourg (1369-1387) Bishop and Cardinal
About Blessed Peter:   https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/02/saint-of-the-day-2-july-blessed-peter-of-luxembourg-1369-1387/
Bl Pietro Becchetti da Fabriano
St Processus of Rome
St Swithun
—
Martyred Soldiers of Rome – 3 saints: Three soldiers who were converted at the martyrdom of Saint Paul the Apostle. Then they were martyred, as well. We known nothing else about them but their names – Acestes, Longinus and Megistus. Martyred c68 in Rome, Italy

Martyrs in Carthage by Hunneric – 7 saints: A group of seven Christians tortured and murdered in the persecutions of the Arian Vandal king Hunneric for remaining loyal to the teachings of orthodox Christianity. They were some of the many who died for the faith during a period of active Arian heresy. – Boniface, Liberatus, Maximus, Rogatus, Rusticus, Septimus and Servus.

Martyrs of Campania – 10 saints: A group of ten Christians marytred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details about them to have survived are their names – Ariston, Crescention, Eutychian, Felicissimus, Felix, Justus, Marcia, Symphorosa, Urban and Vitalis. Martyred in 284 in Campania, Italy.

Martyrs of Seoul – 8 saints: Additional Memorial – 20 September as part of the Martyrs of Korea.
A group of eight Christians who were martyred together as part of the lengthy persecutions in Korea.
• Agatha Han Sin-ae
• Antonius Yi Hyeon
• Bibiana Mun Yeong-in
• Columba Gang Wan-suk
• Ignatius Choe In-cheol
• Iuliana Gim Yeon-i
• Matthaeus Gim Hyeon-u
• Susanna Gang Gyeong-bok
They were martyred on 2 July 1801 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea. Beatified on 15 August 2014 by Pope Francis.