Posted in NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to St Anne – Day Six – 22 July

Novena to St Anne – Day Six – 22 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

SIXTH DAY:

Who can describe the joy that came to the house of Anne and Joachim with the coming of Mary?   Never had a sweeter baby smiled into a mother’s face.

Never had a more obedient child grown up to bring happiness to a household.

Her first spoken words were music in their ears.

Her first conscious kiss was a blessing and the sweet mark of her gratitude to her parents.

She listened avidly to Anne’s telling of the story of God’s dealings with His people. From Anne she heard for the first time about the Saviour who was to be born. From Anne she learned the gentle arts that she was later to use as Mother of the Son of God. It was from Anne she learned the dignity of a woman’s work.

Now there was laughter in the house, the happy young laughter of a sinless child. The hearts of Anne and Joachim echoed to that laughter in delight and with a sense of gracious fulfilment.

God had been slow to answer their prayers;  His answer had come in measure far beyond their fondest hopes. In God’s Providence did they put their trust and their trust was not in vain.

To this model set before the child Mary we pray:

Daily Prayer:

O glorious St Anne,
you are filled with compassion
for those who invoke you
and with love for those who suffer!
Heavily burdened with the weight of my troubles,
I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you
to take the present intention
which I recommend to you in your special care.
…………………(make your intention)
Please recommend it to your daughter,
the Blessed Virgin Mary
and place it before the throne of Jesus,
so that He may bring it to a happy issue.
Continue to intercede for me until my request is granted.
But, above all, obtain for me the grace, one day,
to see my God face to face
and with you and Mary and all the saints,
to praise and bless Him for all eternity.
Amen

Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .

O Jesus, Holy Mary, St Anne, help me now and at the hour of my death.

Good St Anne, intercede for me.

SIXTH DAY

Good St Anne,
do not allow my soul,
a masterpiece of God’s creative power,
to be lost forever.
Free my heart of pride, vanity, self-love.
May I know myself as I really am
and learn meekness and simplicity of heart.
God’s great love for me,
often leaves me cold and unresponsive.
I must reflect this love through works of mercy
and charity toward my neighbor.
In your boundless charity, good St. Ann,
help me to merit the glorious crown
which is given for those
who have fought the good fight
against the world, the devil and the flesh.
Assist me to preserve purity of heart and body.
With Mary and her divine Son,
please protect me always.
Amenday six st anne novena - 22 july 2019.jpg

Advertisement
Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST

Thought for the Day – 22 July – Noli me tangere

Thought for the Day – 22 July – Feast of St Mary of Magdala

Noli me tangere (‘Touch me not’)

Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Our Lord says to St Mary Magdalene – “Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended to My Father” (John 20:17) here the question arises …. Why might not our Lord be touched before His ascension and how could He be touched after it?
But Christ speaks, it would seem, thus …

‘Hitherto, you have only known Me after the flesh  . I have lived among you as a man. You have been permitted to approach Me sensibly, to kiss and embrace My feet, to pour ointment upon My head.   But all this is at an end, now that I have died and risen again in the power of the Spirit.   A glorified state of existence is begun in Me and will soon be perfected …  When I am ascended, then the change will be completed.   To pass hence to the Father in My bodily presence, is to descend from the Father to you in spirit.   When I am thus changed, when I am thus present to you, more really present than now though invisibly, then you may touch Me – may touch Me, more really though invisibly, by faith, in reverence, through such outward approaches as I shall assign.   Now you but see Me from time to time, when you see most of Me, I am at best but ‘going in and out among you.’   Thou hast seen Me, Mary but could not hold Me;  though hast approached Me but only to embrace My feet, or to be touched by My hand and you say, ‘O that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat!   O that I might hold Him and not let Him go!’   

Henceforth, this shall be – when I am ascended, thou shall see nothing, thou shall have everything.   Thou shall ‘sit down under My shadow with great delight and My fruit shall be sweet to thy taste.’   Thou shall have Me whole and entire.   I shall be near thee, I shall be in thee, I will come into thy heart a whole Saviour, a whole Christ, – in all My fullness as God and man – in the awful virtue of that Body and Blood, which has been taken into the Divine person of the Word and is indivisible from it and has atoned for the sins of the world – not by external contact, not by partial possession, not in momentary approaches, not by barren manifestation but inward in presence and intimate in fruition, a principle of life and a seed of immortality, that thou may ‘bring forth fruit into God.

jemceforth this shall be thou shall see nothing - bl john henry newman 22 july 2019 st mary magdalene.jpg

RABBONI!
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Let me ever hold communion with You,
my hidden but living God.
You are my innermost heart.
You are the life of my life.
Every breath I breathe,
every thought of my mind,
every good desire of my heart,
is from the presence
within me of the unseen God.
…I see You, not in the material world
except dimly
but I recognise Your voice
in my intimate consciousness.
I turn around and say
Rabboni!
O be ever thus with me
and if I am tempted to leave You,
do not You,
O my God,
leave me.
Amenrabboni bl john henry newman - 22 july 2019 feast of st mary magdalene.jpg

St Mary of Magdala, Pray for Us!st mary of magdala pray for us 22 july 2019.jpg

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 22 July – ‘He knows us by name…’

Quote/s of the Day – 22 July – Feast of St Mary of Magdala

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you, 
I have called you by name, you are mine”

Isaiah 43:1isaiah-43-1

“Mary –
the revolution of her life,
the revolution destined
to transform the existence
of every man and woman,
begins with a name
that echoes in the garden
of the empty tomb…”mary the revolution of her life - pope francis - 22 july 2019.jpg

“…She discovers,
the most shocking event
in human history,
when finally,
He calls her by name!”she discovers the most shocking event - 22 july 2019 st mary magdalene.jpg

“He knows us by name,
He watches over us,
He waits for us,
He forgives us,
He is patient with us.”he knows us by name - pope francis-22 july - st mary magdala.jpg

“Rise,
cease your tears,
because I have come
to free you!”rise, cease your tears - pope francis - 22 july 2019.jpg

“At the time of tears
and abandonment,
she hears the Risen Jesus
who calls us by name
and, with a heart full of joy,
goes to announce – 
I have seen the Lord!”

Pope Francis

17 May 2017at the time of tears and abandonment - pope francis - 22 july 2019

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 22 July – “Rabboni!”

One Minute Reflection – 22 July – Feast of St Mary of Magdala – Readings:  Song of Solomon 3:1-4, Psalm 63:2-68-9John 20:1-211-18

“Jesus said to her:  Mary!   She turned and said to him… Teacher!”… John 20:16

REFLECTION – “The true lover’s delight is centred on his beloved, that is why St Paul treated everything else as “refuse” compared with the high privilege of knowing his Saviour (Phil 3,8).   That is why the bride in the Song of Songs thinks only of her beloved: “All mine, my true love and I all his… Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” (2,16; 3,3)…

That illustrious lover, Mary Magdalene, encountered angels at the tomb, surely they addressed her angelically (gently, I mean), anxious to allay her sorrow.   Utterly disconsolate as she was, however, she could take no comfort from their kindly greeting, their shining garments, their heavenly bearing, or the wondrous beauty of their features; still weeping, “They have carried away my Lord,” she said, “and I cannot tell where they have taken him.”   Turning round, she saw her sweet Saviour but he looked like a gardener, so she was not interested.   Loving thoughts of her Master’s death filled her heart, what need had she of flowers, of gardeners?   Cross, nails and thorns occupied her thoughts; she was looking for her crucified lover.   “If it is you, sir,” she said to the gardener, “if it is you who have carried off my beloved Lord’s body, tell me quickly where you have put him, and I will take him away.”

But no sooner did He breathe her name than her grief dissolved into delight – “Rabboni!” she said, “Master!”…   To magnify her royal lover still further, the soul must have eyes only for Him, in other words, with an ever-growing, anxiously eager attentiveness. the soul must study all the details of His beauty, His perfections, must keep on discovering motives for finding ever-increasing gratification in the ineffable Beauty with which it is in love.” … St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) – Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church Treatise on the love of God, 5, 7rabboni john 20 16 st mary magdalene 22 july 2018.jpg

PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ made Mary of Magdala the first herald of Easter joy.   Grant that, following her example and helped by her prayers, we may, in this life, proclaim the living Christ and come to see Him reigning with You in glory.   Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.st-mary-of-magdala-pray-for-us-3-22-july-2017.jpg

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 22 July – O Lord, Bless and Sanctify Us

Our Morning Offering – 22 July – Feast of St Mary of Magdala

O Lord, Bless and Sanctify Us
By St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father & Doctor of the Church

O Lord,
bless those who bless You
and sanctify those who trust in You.
save Your people and bless their inheritance
and keep Your household, the Church,
under Your protection.
Sanctify those who love the beauty of Your house,
reward them with glory through Your divine power
and do not forsake those who hope in You.
To the sick,
give Your aid, healing and comfort.
Keep safe all who travel by land or water.
Send us seasonable weather
and bless the fruits of the earth.
Keep peace in the world
and among all Your people.
Grant rest to the departed
and remember those
who have offered gifts to You.
Save those who are in any way
afflicted or distressed
and grant us all Your heavenly grace.
Ameno lord bless and sanctify us st john chrysostom - 22 july 2019.jpg

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the day – 22 July – Blessed María Inés Teresa of the Blessed Sacrament

Saint of the day – 22 July – Blessed Manuela de Jesus Arias Espinosa (1904-1981) her religious name “María Inés Teresa of the Blessed Sacrament” – Sister and Founder of both the Poor Clare Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (1945) and the Missionaries of Christ for the Universal Church (1979), of which orders, she is the Patron. She is known as “Manuelita”.   Born on 7 July 1904 in Ixtlán del Rio, Nayarit, Mexico and died on 22 July 1981 in Rome, Italy of natural causes.

Manuela de Jesús Arias Espinosa was born in Mexico in 1904 as the fifth of eight children to the pious Eustaquio Arias Arroniz and María Espinosa López Portillo, she made her First Communion in 1911.

Her religious calling blossomed in 1924 after attending a religious congress in October 1924 and received inspiration after reading a life of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux but her firm decision to enter the religious life did not come until the Feast of Christ the King in 1926.

She entered the “Ave Maria” convent in Los Angeles on 5 June 1929. Espinosa made her initial vows on 12 December 1930 and she made her perpetual vows on 14 December 1933 and lived the cloistered life in the religious name of “María Inés Teresa of the Blessed Sacrament”.   Her time in the cloistered life lasted until 1949.

Maria founded – on 23 August 1945 – the Poor Clare Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Cuernavaca in Morelos and received the papal decree of praise in 1949 and the full approval of Pope Pius XII on 22 June 1951, she received the affectionate name of “Manuelita”.

Her next and final order founded was titled the Missionaries of Christ for the Universal Church and was established on 23 November 1979 in Nievo León.   On 9 December 1980 she had an audience with St Pope John Paul II in Rome.

In time, the nuns extended their evangelical activity to several countries of Asia and Africa, the US and several Latin American and European nations.

The Congregation of the Claretian Missionaries was further strengthened on 5 January 1953, when the Holy See authorised the formation of the Claretian Vanguards, a lay movement that has developed in step with the religious order.

The nuns are a Eucharistic, Marian and Missionary Congregation leading a contemplative-active life and adhering to the Divine Will, source of joy, with Jesus Christ as their centre.

They take the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience and witness fraternal love “always in a spirit of understanding and service, lived in love and peace, charity being what stimulates them to live not for themselves but for all souls in need.”PrayerCard bl maria teresa of the blessed sacrament

By the time of her death in Rome in 1981, she was over-seeing 36 missionary houses in 14 countries.

Over six thousand of her spiritual writings still remain.

Mother Maria Inés Teresa of the Most Blessed Sacrament was beatified on Saturday 21 April in Mexico City by the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes, Card. Angelo Amato, who represented Pope Benedict XVI.   The Beatification ceremony, was held in the main Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Feast of St Mary of Magdala and Memorials of the Saints – 22 July

St Mary of Magdala (Feast) “The Apostle of the Apostles” (St Thomas Aquinas)
About St Mary:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/22/saint-of-the-day-22-july-the-feast-of-st-mary-of-magdala-apostle-to-the-apostles/

St Anastasius of Schemarius
St Andrea of Antioch
St Andreas Wang Tianqing
St Anna Wang
Bl Augustine Fangi O.P. (1430-1493)  Biography:  https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/22/saint-of-the-day-22-july-blessed-augustine-fangi-o-p-1430-1493/

St Baudry of Montfaucon
Bl Benno of Osnabruck
St Claudius Marius Victorinus of Saussaye
St Cyril of Antioch
St Dabius
Bl Jacques Lombardie
St John Lloyd
St Joseph of Palestine
St Lewine
St Lucia Wang Wangzhi
Bl “María Inés Teresa of the Blessed Sacrament” / Manuela de Jesus Arias Espinosa (1904-1981)
St Maria Wang Lishi
St Meneleus of Ménat
St Movean of Inis-Coosery
St Pancharius of Besancon
Bl Paolo de Lara
St Philip Evans
St Plato of Ancyra
St Syntyche of Philippi
St Theophilus of Cyprus
St Wandrille of Fontenelle

Martyrs of Marula/Massylis: – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names – Ajabosus, Andrew and Elian. They were martyred in Massylis (Marula), Numidia (in modern Algeria).

Martyrs of Massilitani: A group of Christians martyred together in northern Africa. Saint Augustine of Hippo wrote about them.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Jaime María Carretero Rojas
Bl Joaquin Rodríguez Bueno
Bl José María Mateos Carballido
Bl Juan Durán Cintas
Bl Ramón María Pérez Sous