July 2019 – Page 3

EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Thought for the Day – 22 July – Noli me tangere

Posted on July 22, 2019July 22, 2019 by AnaStpaul

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.
Amen rabboni bl john henry newman - 22 july 2019 feast of st mary magdalene.jpg

St Mary of Magdala, Pray for Us!

FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

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

Posted on July 22, 2019July 22, 2019 by AnaStpaul

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 43:1

“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…”

“…She discovers,
the most shocking event
in human history,
when finally,
He calls her by name!”

“He knows us by name,
He watches over us,
He waits for us,
He forgives us,
He is patient with us.”

“Rise,
cease your tears,
because I have come
to free you!”

“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 2017

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

One Minute Reflection – 22 July – “Rabboni!”

Posted on July 22, 2019July 22, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 22 July – Feast of St Mary of Magdala – Readings: Song of Solomon 3:1-4, Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9, John 20:1-2, 11-18

“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, 7

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.

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

Posted on July 22, 2019July 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

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.
Amen o lord bless and sanctify us st john chrysostom - 22 july 2019.jpg

SAINT of the DAY

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

Posted on July 22, 2019July 21, 2021 by AnaStpaul

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.”

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.

SAINT of the DAY

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

Posted on July 22, 2019July 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

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

NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to St Anne – Day Five – 21 July

Posted on July 21, 2019July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Anne – Day Five – 21 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

FIFTH DAY:

Joachim and Anne were coming into late middle age. The hope that they would have children seemed almost past. Longingly had they prayed for a child. Now they hardly dared hope any longer.

And then the wonder. Anne conceived and the happy pair knew that they would be parents.

If there had been peace in the house before, now there was deepest joy. God had answered their petitions. God had blessed them with parenthood.

If Anne had hitherto done gladly the simple work of her household, she now did it with new purpose and high happiness. The house must be even more spotless for the coming child. Little dresses must be made, quilts and pillows sewed.

Each Sabbath in the synagogue Anne upon her knees thanked God, who had blessed her.

Each morning and each night, she prayed the Father in heaven, to bless with the fullness of grace and the richness of a life devoted to His service, the child she was to bear.

And Mary, the loveliest infant that the world had ever seen until that day, was born. Anne smiled into the happy eyes of Joachim. Together they loved the little Mary, their gift from God.

To the happy mother of 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.

FIFTH DAY

Hail, all-powerful Lady.
By God’s special favour,
grant consolation to those who invoke you.
Procure for them the eternal riches of heaven
and like a good mother,
success in their temporal affairs as well.
Good St Anne,
obtain my deliverance from the punishment which my sins deserve.
Obtain for me success in my temporal affairs,
especially see to the salvation of my soul.
St Anne, by your influence with Mary’s son Jesus,
you have won the gift of conversion for many sinners.
Will you then abandon me,
who have chosen you as my mother?
No, St Ann.
Your name alone, which signifies grace,
assures me of the help of your prayers
and these prayers, will surely procure pardon
and mercy from Jesus.
Please pray for me now
and at the hour of my death.
Amen DAY FUIVE NOVENA TO ST ANNE - 21 JULY 2019

DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 21 July – “..One thing is needful.”

Posted on July 21, 2019July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 21 July – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 10:38–42

“..One thing is needful.” … Luke 10:42

REFLECTION – “We must become aware that God dwells within us and do everything with Him, then we are never commonplace, even when performing the most ordinary tasks, for we do not live in these things, we go beyond them! A supernatural soul never deals with secondary causes but with God alone. Oh! How it’s life is simplified, how it resembles the life of the blessed, how it is freed from self and from all things! Everything for it is reduced to unity, to that “one thing necessary”, of which the Master spoke to Mary. Then the soul is truly great, truly free, for it has “enclosed its will in God’s.” … St Elizabeth of the Trinity OCD (1880-1906) – The Greatness of our Vocation no. 8 (The Complete Works, vol. 1 luke 10 42 one thing is needful - we must become aware - st elizabeth of the trinity 21 july 2019.jpg

PRAYER – O my God teach my heart where and how to seek You, where and how to find You…You are my God and You are my All and I have never seen You.
You have made me and remade me, You have bestowed on me all the good things I possess, Still I do not know You…
I have not yet done that for which I was made….
Teach me to seek You…I cannot seek You unless You teach me
or find You unless You show Yourself to me.
Let me seek You in my desire, let me desire You in my seeking.
Let me find You by loving You, let me love You when I find You.
Amen
By St Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church

CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 21 July – ‘…In and because of Christ’

Posted on July 21, 2019July 5, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 21 July – The Memorial of St Lawrence of Brindisi OFM Cap (1559-1619) Doctor of the Church

“For Him all things were created
and to Him all things must be subject
and God loves all creature,
in and because of Christ.”

St Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619)

SUNDAY REFLECTIONS

Sunday Reflection – 21 July – ‘As a sound becomes a voice…’

Posted on July 21, 2019July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 21 July – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

“Christ wished to choose this sacred symbol of human life, which bread is, to make an even more sacred symbol of Himself. He has transubstantitated it but has not taken away its expressive power – rather, He has elevated this expressive power to a new meaning, a higher meaning, a mystical, religious, divine meaning. He has made of it a ladder for an ascent that transcends the natural level.
As a sound becomes a voice and as the voice becomes word, thought, truth – so that sign of the bread has passed from its humble and pious being to signify a mystery, it has become a Sacrament, it has acquired the power to demonstrate the Body of Christ present.”

Saint Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)

when Archbishop of Milan from a homily on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi

as-a-sound-becomes-a-voice-paul-vi-21 july-2019-sunday-reflection.jpg

Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, Thomas a Kempis

Our Morning Offering – 21 July – Dear Lord, I Approach You

Posted on July 21, 2019July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 21 July – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Dear Lord, I Approach You
(Prayer before Holy Communion)
By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Dear Lord,
with simplicity of heart,
in good and stable faith
and at Your command,
I approach You,
full of confidence and adoration,
truly believing that You are present
in this Sacrament, God and Man.
It is Your will that I receive You
and bind myself to You in love.
Most merciful Lord,
I beg of You that special grace,
that my soul may melt and overflow
with Your love,
never concerning myself again
with any other comfort but Your own.
Amen dear-lord-i-approach-you-by-thomas-a-kempis-9dec2018

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 21 July – St Victor (3rd century) Martyr

Posted on July 21, 2019July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 21 July – St Victor (3rd century) Martyr and Confessor – also called St Victor of Marseilles – a Christian Roman army officer – Patronages – against lightning, cabinetmakers, millers, torture victims, Marseilles, France, Davoli, Italy. San_Vittore_A

The Emperor Maximian, reeking with the blood of the Thebæan legion and many other martyrs, arrived at Marseilles, where the Church then flourished. The tyrant breathed here, nothing but slaughter and fury and his coming, filled the Christians with fear and alarm. In this general consternation, Victor, a Christian officer in the troops, went about at night, from house to house, visiting the faithful and inspiring them, with contempt of a temporal death and the love of eternal life.

He was caught doing this and brought before the prefects Asterius and Eutychius, who exhorted him, not to lose the fruit of all his services and the favour of his prince, for the worship of a dead man, as they called Jesus Christ. He answered, that he renounced those recompenses, if he could not enjoy them without being unfaithful to Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who vouchsafed to become man for our salvation but who raised Himself from the dead and reigns with the Father, being God equally with Him. The whole court heard him with shouts of rage. saint_victor_of_marseille Victor was bound hand and foot and dragged through the streets of the city, exposed to the blows and insults of the populace. He was brought back bruised and bloody to the tribunal of the prefects who, thinking his resolution must have been weakened by his sufferings, pressed him again to adore their gods. But the martyr, filled with the Holy Spirit, expressed his respect for the emperor and his contempt for their gods. He was then hoisted on the rack and tortured a long time, until, the tormentors being at last weary, the prefect ordered him to be taken down and thrown into a dark dungeon. At midnight, God visited him by His angels; the prison was filled with a light brighter than that of the sun and the martyr sung with the angels the praises of God.

Three soldiers who guarded the prison, Saints Longinus, Alexander and Felician, seeing this light, cast themselves at the martyr’s feet, asked his pardon and desired Baptism. Victor instructed them as well as time would permit, sent for priests the same night and, going with them to the seaside, had them baptised and returned with them again to his prison. The next morning Maximian was informed of the conversion of the guards and in a transport of rage sent officers to bring them all four before him. The three soldiers persevered in the confession of Jesus Christ and by the emperor’s orders were forthwith beheaded. ST VICTOR GLASS SNIP

Victor, after having been exposed to the insults of the whole city and beaten with clubs and scourged with leather thongs, was carried back to prison, where he continued three days, recommending to God his martyrdom with many tears. After that term the emperor called him again before his tribunal and commanded the martyr to offer incense to a statue of Jupiter. Victor went up to the profane altar and by a kick of his foot threw it down. The emperor ordered the foot to be forthwith chopped off, which the Saint suffered with great joy, offering to God these first-fruits of his body. A few moments after, the emperor condemned him to be put under the grindstone of a hand-mill and crushed to death. The executioners turned the wheel and when part of his body was bruised and crushed the mill broke down. The Saint still breathed a little but his head was immediately ordered to be cut off. ST VICTOR HOLY CARD

His and the other three bodies, were thrown into the sea but, being cast ashore, were buried by the Christians in a grotto hewn out of a rock.

In the 4th century, Saint John Cassian (c 360-435), the disciple of St John Chrysostom, built a monastery over the site where their bodies had been buried in a cave, which later became a Benedictine abbey and minor basilica. This is the Abbey of St Victor (Abbaye Saint-Victor), below. 512px-Nef-Saint-Victor-Marseille

saint-victor-abbey-marseille

Saint Victor’s feast day, along with Saints Longinus, Alexander and Felician, is celebrated today, 21 July. ST VICTOR LG

SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 21 July

Posted on July 21, 2019July 20, 2020 by AnaStpaul

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C *2019

St Lawrence of Brindisi OFM Cap (1559-1619) Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/21/saint-of-the-day-21-july-st-lawrence-of-brindisi-ofm-cap-1559-1619-doctor-of-the-church-the-franciscan-renaissance-man/

Our Lady of Kazan:
his miraculous icon, also known as the Theotokos of Kazan, is thought to have originated in Constantinople in the 13th century before it was taken to Russia. When the Turks took Kazan in 1438, the icon may have been hidden. Ivan the Terrible liberated Kazan in 1552 and the town was destroyed by fire in 1579.
The icon was eventually found in the ruins of a burnt-out house at Kazan on the River Volga on 8 July in 1579. According to tradition, the location of the icon was revealed during a dream by the Blessed Virgin Mary to a ten year old girl named Matrona. Matrona told the local bishop of her dream, but he did not believe her. There were two more similar dreams, after which Matrona and her mother went to the place indicated by the Blessed Virgin and dug in the ruins what had been a house until the uncovered the icon. It appeared untouched by the flames, with the colours as vivid and brilliant as if it were new. The bishop took the icon to the Church of Saint Nicholas and immediately there was a miracle of a blind man’s sight being restored to him. A monastery was built over the place where the icon had been found.
Known as the Holy Protectress of Russia, the icon was stolen on 29 June 1904. The thieves were later caught and claimed that they had destroyed the icon after taking the gold frame and jewels attached to the image. In any event, the original has never been found, though there are many copies in existence, thanks to the popularity of the icon. Many of the copies are known to be miracle working.
In 1993 a copy of the icon was given to Pope John Paul II, who kept it in his personal study before it was given to representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2004.

Bl Agrícola Rodríguez García de Los Huertos
St Alberic Crescitelli
St Arbogast of Strasbourg
St Barhadbescialas
St Benignus of Moyenmoutier
Bl Claudius of Avignon
St Claudius of Troyes
St Corona of Marceille
Bl Cristóbal López de Valladolid Orea
Bl Daniel Molini
St Daniel the Prophet
St Eleutherius of Marseille
St Eternus of Evreaux
Bl Gabriel Pergaud
St Iosephus Wang Yumei
St John of Edessa
St John of Moyenmoutier
Bl Juan de Las Varillas
Bl Juan de Zambrana
St Jucundinus of Troyes
St Julia of Troyes
St Justus of Troyes
Bl Parthenius of Thessaly
St Praxides of Rome
St Simeon Salus
St Victor (of Marseilles) (3rd century) Martyr

St Wastrada
St Zoticus of Comana
—
Martyrs of Africa – 6 saints: Six Christians who were martyred together. We know no other details about them but the names – Emilian, Hugal, Motanus, Saphus, Stercorius and Victor. They were martyred in an unknown location in Africa, date unknown.

JESUIT SJ, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to St Anne – Day Four – 20 July

Posted on July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Anne – Day Four – 20 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

FOURTH DAY:

Hope is a beautiful virtue.

Hope without prayer is a wasted thing. It is groundless optimism without root in faith.

We hope because we know that God, in His love, will do what is best for us. We pray so that He may know our desires and that if they are for our good, He may fulfil them.

In the long days of patient waiting before the coming of Mary, Anne prayed from a humble and a loving heart. Her life was a long simple prayer committing her to God’s Holy will.

Of a Sabbath, she and her husband, Joachim, went together to the synagogue to pray with the other faithful Jews, who cried aloud for the long-delayed Saviour.

At daybreak she offered to God in heaven everything that she would do throughout the day.

Before and after meals, she thanked the creator of the universe for the gifts of His Fatherly goodness. At night she looked back upon the day and presented it as a gift to God.

And always, underlying her prayer, was the hope that the Saviour would soon be born and that God would send her a child – perhaps the child who would be nurse to the Messias.

To this model of prayer we pray:

Daily Prayer:

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.

FOURTH DAY:

Good St Anne,
you offered your prayer with hope and love
and our Holy and loving Father
answered them by granting you the Mother of His Son,
as your daughter.
By the happiness which then filled your heart,
I beg you to present me to your Grandson Jesus.
Offered by you, I will be agreeable in His sight.
Kind St. Ann, take me forever under your protection.
Deliver me from the temptations, which continually assail me.
Above all, attend me in my last hour.
As I lie on my deathbed, be present with your daughter
to console and strengthen me.
Holy Mary and good St Anne,
show yourselves to be mothers indeed,
by obtaining for me the grace of a good death.
When my soul goes forth,
lead it to God’s tribunal so that,
by your powerful help and intercession,
it may obtain a favourable judgement.
Amen day four st anne novena 20 july 2019.jpg

QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE

20 July 2019 – The 50th anniversary of Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect, Congregation of Divine Worship

Posted on July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

20 July 2019 – The 50th anniversary of Cardinal Robert Sarah,

Prefect, Congregation of Divine Worship

Today we wish Cardinal Sarah
Congratulations!
as he celebrates the 50th Anniversary of his Priestly Ordination.
We offer our Prayers for your continued immense help to the Church of Christ.
May God shine His Face upon you!

CARD ROBERT SARAH
Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship
“When I was a little boy, I asked myself, ‘What are these men doing in silence, in the dark?’ T his is because there was no electricity in my village. I thought ‘surely they’re talking to someone they see and know.’” “And when one of them asked me, ‘Do you want to go to the seminary?’ I didn’t know what it was. I asked, ‘What do you do there?’ He said ‘There you go to become like us.’ I said yes. I wanted to meet that Person they saw in the silence and darkness of the chapel.”

The years have passed and he still remembers the generosity of these missionaries who came to his land to help the Africans.

CARD ROBERT SARAH
Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship
“They came not to gain anything but to serve us, to save us, just as Christ did. He did not come to gain but to give His life. They gave their life and some died very young.” “Therefore, for me, to be a priest is to imitate these missionaries who communicated their faith to me. I want to be like them.”

The cardinal has worked in the Vatican since 2001. He has collaborated with St John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis. For this reason, he is saddened he is presented as an opponent of the pope.

CARD ROBERT SARAH
Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship
“I’m calm because I’m loyal to the pope.” “They cannot quote a word, a phrase, a gesture with which I oppose the pope. It is ridiculous, it is ridiculous. I am at the service of the Church, the Holy Father and God. This is enough.” “There people write this kind of stuff to create opposition, against the Holy Father, between bishops or cardinals. It is ridiculous. We must not fall into this trap. We must continue to teach. I don’t care what they say.”

The cardinal has just published his third book. In it he deals with the consequences of the crisis of faith in the contemporary world. It is entitled “The Day Is Now Far Spent” and is dedicated to all the priests of the world, to Benedict XVI and to Pope Francis. The book, the last volume of three that he has written with the French author Nicolas Diat, will be “the most important” due to what he says is the “decadence of our time” that has “all the faces of mortal peril.”

The book’s French title is Le soir approche et déjà le jour baisse (Evening approaches and the day is now almost over) and is taken from the New Testament account of the disciples’ encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:28-30):

“As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So, he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.”

EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD is LOVE, GOD the FATHER, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SILENCE

Quote/s of the Day – 20 July – Cardinal Robert Sarah

Posted on July 20, 2019July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 20 July – The 50th anniversary of Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect, Congregation of Divine Worship

“The most important moments in life
are the hours of prayer and adoration.
They give birth to a human being,
fashion our true identity;
they root our existence in mystery.”

“True charity is neither almsgiving
nor humanistic solidarity
nor a form of philanthropy –
charity is the expression of God
and an extension of Christ’s
presence in our world.”

“The foundation of the liturgy
must remain the search for God.
We can only be dismayed by the fact
that this intention of Saints Popes John XXIII
and Paul VI, and of the Council Fathers as well,
is often obscured and, worse yet, betrayed. . . .”

God or Nothing

“The Father waits
for His children
in their own hearts.”

The Power of Silence

Robert Sarah

DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 July – ‘..in his name will the Gentiles hope.’

Posted on July 20, 2019July 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 20 July – Saturday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 12:14–21

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased….
and in his name will the Gentiles hope.”…Matthew 12:18,21

REFLECTION – “My dear souls, let us recognise, I pray you, Christ’s infinite charity towards us, in the institution of this Sacrament of the Eucharist. In order that our love be a spiritual love, He wills a new heart, a new love, a new spirit for us. It is not with a carnal heart but with a spiritual one, that Christ has loved us with a gratuitous love, a supreme and most ardent love, by way of pure grace and charity. Ah! One needs to love Him back with one’s whole, whole, whole, living, living, living and true, true, true heart!!” …… St Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619) Apostolic Doctor behold-my-servant-matthew-12-18-my-dear-souls-let-us-recognise-st-lawrence-of-brindisi-21-july-2018

PRAYER – Lord God, You bestowed on us all the ways of grace in Your Son, so that Your name might be glorified and souls be saved. At the intercession of His Mother, whom He so lovingly gave us, grant that we may see what we have to do and, in Your mercy give us the strength to do it and the courage, love and charity to persevere. Grant above all, that by her prayers we may love You above all and with all we are. Mary, holy Mother of God, pray for us, through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. mary holy mother pray for us 20 july 2019

MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 20 July – Hail Mary, Queen of Mercy

Posted on July 20, 2019July 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 20 July – Saturday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and a Marian Saturday

Hail Mary, Queen of Mercy
By St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)

Hail Mary, Queen of Mercy,
olive-branch of forgiveness,
through whom we receive
the medicine that heals our sickness,
the balsam of pardon.
Virgin Mother of the divine off-spring,
through your Son,
your only Child who stooped
to become the brother of humankind,
you are the true Mother of us all.
For the sake of His love,
take me, unworthy as I am,
into your motherly care.
Sustain, preserve
and enlighten my conversion.
Be for me, for all eternity,
my cherished mother,
tenderly caring for me
throughout my earthly life
and enfolding me in your arms,
at the hour of my death.
Amen hail mary queen of mercy - 20 july 2019.jpg

SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 20 July – St Margaret of Antioch (3rd century) Martyr

Posted on July 20, 2019July 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 20 July – St Margaret of Antioch (3rd century) Martyr – also known as Saint Marina the Great Martyr – Virgin and Martyr – born in Antioch and died by being beheaded, date unknown (3rd century). Patronages – childbirth, pregnant women, dying people, kidney disease, peasants, exiles, falsely accused people, Lowestoft, England; Queens’ College, Cambridge; nurses, Sannat and Bormla, Malta.

Margaret is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and is one of the saints who spoke to St Joan of Arc.

According to the version of the story in Golden Legend, she was a native of Antioch and the daughter of a pagan priest named Aedesius. Her mother having died soon after her birth, Margaret was nursed by a Christian woman. Having embraced Christianity and consecrated her virginity to God, Margaret was disowned by her father, adopted by her nurse and lived in the country keeping sheep with her foster mother (in what is now Turkey). st margaret of antioch header.jpg

Olybrius, Governor of the Roman Diocese of the East, asked to marry her but with the demand that she renounce Christianity. Upon her refusal, she was cruelly tortured, during which various miraculous incidents occurred.

One of these involved being swallowed by Satan in the shape of a dragon, from which she escaped alive when the cross she carried irritated the dragon’s innards. The Golden Legend describes this last incident as “apocryphal and not to be taken seriously” (trans. Ryan, 1.369). st margaret of antioch and the dragon.jpg

Whilst St Margaret is recognised as a saint by the Church, being listed as such in the Roman Martyrology for 20 July. She was also included from the 12th to the 20th century among the saints to be commemorated wherever the Roman Rite was celebrated (on the Liturgical calendar) but was then removed from that list because of the entirely fabulous character of the stories told of her.

She became one of the most popular saints in England in the 9th century when her life was first recorded in English. Some two hundred early churches were dedicated to her, even though her legend had been declared apocryphal by the Pope as early as 494. Be that as it may, the exaggerated miracles told of her life never deny her martyrdom for the faith.

Her remains and shrine are now kept at the Basilica of St Margaret at Monte-Fiascone in Tuscany, Italy – see below. basilica of st margaret.jpg

FATHERS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 20 July

Posted on July 20, 2019July 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

St Apollinaris of Ravenna – Disciple of St Peter – Martyr (Optional Memorial)
About holy St Apollinaris:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/20/saint-of-the-day-20-july-st-apollinaris/

Bl Anne Cartier
St Ansegisus
St Aurelius of Carthage
St Bernward of Hildesheim
St Cassian of Saint Saba
St Chi Zhuze
St Elijah the Prophet
St Elswith
Bl Gregory Lopez (1542-1596)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/20/saint-of-the-day-20-july-blessed-gregory-lopez-1542-1596/
St José María Díaz Sanjurjo
St Joseph Barsabas
Bl Luigi Novarese
St Margaret of Antioch (3rd century) Martyr
St Maria Fu Guilin
St Mère
St Paul of Saint Zoilus
St Rorice of Limoges
St Severa of Oehren
St Severa of Saint Gemma
St Wulmar
—
Martyrs of Corinth – 22 saints: 22 Christians who were martyred together. We know nothing else about them but the names – • Appia • Calorus • Cassius • Celsus • Cyriacus • Donatus • Emilis • Felix • Fructus • Magnus • Maximus • Nestita • Partinus • Pasterus • Paul • Romanus • Spretus • Tertius • Theodolus • Ueratia • Valerian • Victor. They were martyred in Corinth, Greece.

Martyrs of Damascus – 16 saints: 16 Christians who were martyred together. We know the names of six of then, but no details about any of them – Cassia, Julian, Macrobius, Maximus, Paul and Sabinus. They were martyred in Damascus, Syria, date unknown.

Martyrs of Seoul – 8 saints: Eight lay native Koreans in various states of life who were murdered together for their faith.
• Anna Kim Chang-gum
• Ioannes Baptista Yi Kwang-nyol
• Lucia Kim Nusia
• Magdalena Yi Yong-hui
• Maria Won Kwi-im
• Martha Kim Song-im
• Rosa Kim No-sa
• Theresia Yi Mae-im
They were martyred on 20 July 1839 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul.

Martyrs of Zhaojia – 3 saints: Married lay woman and her two daughters in the apostolic vicariate of Southeastern Zhili, China. During the persecutions of the Boxer Rebellion, the three of them hid in a well to avoid being raped. They were found, dragged out, and killed for being Christian. Martyrs. They were – Maria Zhao Guoshi (mother), Maria Zhao and Rosa Zhao (sisters). They were martyred in late July 1900 in Zhaojia, Wuqiao, Hebei, China.

Martyrs of Zhujiahe – 4 saints: Two Jesuit missionary priests and two local lay people who supported their work who were martyred together in the Boxer Rebellion during and immediately after Mass.
• Léon-Ignace Mangin
• Maria Zhu Wushi
• Paul Denn
• Petrus Zhu Rixin
They were martyred on 20 July 1900 in church in Zhujiahe, Jingxian, Hebei, China and Canonised on 1 October 2000 by St Pope John Paul.

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Abraham Furones y Furones
• Blessed Antoni Bosch Verdura
• Blessed Francisca Aldea y Araujo
• Blessed Jacinto García Riesco
• Blessed Joan Páfila Monllaó
• Blessed Josep Tristany Pujol
• Blessed Matías Cardona-Meseguer
• Blessed Rita Josefa Pujalte y Sánchez
• Blessed Vicente López y López

JESUIT SJ, NOVENAS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Novena to St Anne – Day Three – 19 July

Posted on July 19, 2019July 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Anne – Day Three – 19 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

THIRD DAY:

Like all Jewish women of her day Anne dreamed of the promised Saviour. Surely the Messias was sorely needed in her day when the plight of her people was so unhappy.

Never for a moment did she think that such an honour would come to her-but perhaps from her line, the noble line of David, there would come a woman worthy to be the Mother of the Messias.

To Anne was not given the beautiful privilege of motherhood.
She prayed that God would send her and Joachim a son or a daughter.

Neighbours pitied her, as the Jews always pitied a childless woman. Around her grew up a flock of nieces and nephews. But no child of her own came to rest in her arms. She prayed for a child and in the same breath she added: ‘. . . . . if it be thy will, my Father.

No impatience with God. No envy of more fortunate relatives. No self-pity. But a hope that never faded. And faith in God, who would do for her what was for His honour and her happiness.

No wonder that to Anne there was born at length in her old age the beautiful little girl who was Mary, fairest flower of womankind.

To this model of hope we pray:

Daily Prayer:

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.

THIRD DAY

Hail, good St Anne,
who first responded to the needs of Mary,
Mother of our Saviour and Queen of Angels.
Hail to you and to your husband St Joachim,
who watched over her infancy,
presented her to the Lord in the temple and,
according to your promise,
consecrated her to the service of God.
Hail St Anne, good mother!
I rejoice in the marvels you continually perform,
because they encourage all to seek your intercession.
Good St Ann, by the great power that God has given you,
show yourself my mother, my consoler, my advocate.
Reconcile me to the God I have so deeply offended.
Console me in my trials,
strengthen me in my struggles.
Deliver me from danger in my time of need.
Help me at the hour of death
and open to me the gates of paradise.
Amen day three st anne novena day three - 19 july 2019.jpg

FATHERS of the Church, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 19 July – ‘You whom my soul loves’

Posted on July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 19 July – Friday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the memorial of St Macrina the Younger – sister of St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–395) Father of the Church

The Full Prayer as paraphrased in our Morning Offering today – This excerpt from St Gregory of Nyssa’s commentary on the Song of Songs (Cap. 2: PG 44, 802), using the imagery of Psalm 23, appeals to the Lord Jesus Christ for the promised green pastures, restful waters and noonday rest that is the final, eternal destination of those who love God and walk in His ways. It is used in the Roman Catholic Office of readings for Thursday in the 33rd week in ordinary time with the corresponding biblical reading taken from Zechariah 11:4-12:8.

St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–395)

Father of the Church

A Prayer to the Good Shepherd

Where are You pasturing Your flock, O good Shepherd, who carry the whole flock on Your shoulders? (For the whole of human nature is one sheep and You have lifted it onto Your shoulders). Show me the place of peace, lead me to the good grass that will nourish me, call me by name so that I, Your sheep, hear Your voice and by Your speech give me eternal life. Answer me, You whom my soul loves.

I give You the name ‘You whom my soul loves’ because Your name is above every name and above all understanding and there is no rational nature that can utter it or comprehend it. Therefore, Your name, by which Your goodness is known, is simply the love my soul has for You. How could I not love You, when You loved me so much, even though I was black, that You laid down Your life for the sheep of Your flock? A greater love cannot be imagined, than exchanging Your life for my salvation.

Show me then (my soul says) where You pasture your flock, so that I can find that saving pasture too and fill myself, with the food of heaven, without which no-one can come to eternal life and run to the spring and fill myself with the drink of God. You give it, as from a spring, to those who thirst – water pouring from Your side cut open by the lance, water that, to whoever drinks it, is a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

If You lead me to pasture here, You will make me lie down at noon, sleeping at peace and taking my rest in light unstained by any shade. For the noon has no shade and the sun stands far above the mountain peaks. You bring Your flock to lie in this light, when You bring Your children to rest with You in Your bed. But no-one can be judged worthy of this noonday rest who is not a child of light and a child of the day. Whoever has separated himself equally from the shadows of evening and morning, from where evil begins and evil ends, at noon he will lie down and the sun of righteousness will shine on him.

Show me, then (my soul says), how I should sleep and how I should graze and where the path is to my noonday rest. Do not let me fall away from Your flock because of ignorance and find myself one of a flock of sheep that are not Yours.

Thus my soul spoke, when she was anxious about the beauty that God’s care had given her and wanted to know how she could keep this good fortune forever.

Amen

“I give them eternal life”

John 10:27 john 10 27 - i give them eternal life - 12 may 2019 good shepherd sunday.jpg

CATHOLIC Quotes, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PRAYER, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 19 July – Pope Francis

Posted on July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 19 July – Friday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice” … Matthew 12:7

”If our heart is closed,
if our heart is made of stone,
then the stones will end up
in our hands and, then,
we will be ready
to throw them at someone.”

“Think of your own history when you pray
and there you will find much mercy.
This will also increase your awareness
that the Lord is ever mindful of you,
He never forgets you.
So it makes sense to ask Him,
to shed light on the smallest details of your life,
for He sees them all.”

Gaudete et Exsultate

“Christianity is not an ideal to follow,
a philosophy to adhere to,
or a moral to be applied
but is an encounter with Jesus Christ,
that makes us recognise,
in the flesh of brothers and sisters,
His very presence.”

June 2018

“So let me ask you:
Are there moments when you place yourself quietly i
n the Lord’s presence, when you calmly spend time
with Him, when you bask in His gaze?
Do you let His fire inflame your heart?
Unless you let Him warm you, more and more,
with His love and tenderness,
you will not catch fire.
How will you then be able to,
set the hearts of others on fire,
by your words and witness?”

General audience, 13 April 2016

Pope Francis

MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 July – “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”

Posted on July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 19 July – Friday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8 and the Memorial fo St Macina the Younger

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice” … Matthew 12:7 i desire mercy not sacrifice matthew 12 7 19 july 2019

REFLECTION – “I desire mercy”, namely the loyalty of a heart that recognises its own sins, that mends its ways and returns to be faithful to the covenant with God. “ And not sacrifice” – without a penitent heart, every religious action is ineffective! … Pope Francis (General Audience, 13 April 2016) i-desire-mercy-namely-the-loyalty-pope-francis-20-july-2018

PRAYER – Father and almighty God, You have given Your Son to redeem us with complete and absolute love and mercy. He has taken our flesh and given Himself to us and extended endless mercy for all time. He has taught us the path of love and mercy. Grant, we pray, that our hearts may grieve and repent with true sorrow. And may the prayers of St Macrina, assist us to extend mercy to all. We make our prayer through the merits of His saving love and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever, amen. st macrina the younger pray for us 19 july 2019

FATHERS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The GOOD SHEPHERD

Our Morning Offering – 19 July – O Good Shepherd

Posted on July 19, 2019July 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 19 July – Friday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time and the memorial of St Macina the Younger – sister of St Gregory of Nyssa

Below is an edited and simplified version
of St Gregory’s famous
“To the Good Shepherd” prayer.

O Good Shepherd
By St Gregory Of Nyssa (c 335–395)
Father of the Church

O Good Shepherd,
Who carries the whole flock on Your shoulders,
Where are You pasturing Your flock?
Show me the place of peace,
lead me to the good grass that will nourish me,
call me by name so that I hear Your voice,
Answer me,
For You are the One my soul loves.
I call You ‘the One my soul loves’
because Your name is above every name
and above all understanding
and no one can utter or comprehend it.
How could I not love You,
when You loved me so much?
Even though I was stained dark with sin,
You laid down Your life for the sheep of Your flock.
A greater love cannot be imagined,
than exchanging Your life for my freedom!
Show me where You pasture Your flock,
so that I can find that saving pasture too,
and fill myself with the food of heaven
without which no-one can come to eternal life,
and run to the spring
and be filled with the drink of God.
You give it, as from a spring, to those who thirst –
water pouring from Your side,
water that is a spring welling up to eternal life.
If You lead me to pasture here,
You will make me lie down at noon,
sleeping at peace and taking my rest in light
unconquered by any shade.
For the noon has no darkness
and the sun stands far above the mountain peaks.
You bring Your flock to lie in this light,
You bring Your children to rest in You.
Show me how I should sleep
and how I should graze,
and where the path is to my noonday rest.
Do not let me fall away from Your flock
and become lost.
O Good shepherd,
Who carries the whole flock on Your shoulders.
Amen o good shepherd no 1 st gregory of nyssa 19 july 2019.jpg

FATHERS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day -19 July – Saint Macrina the Younger (c 327-379)

Posted on July 19, 2019July 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day -19 July – Saint Macrina the Younger (c 327-379) Virgin, Ascetic – born c 327 at Caesarea, Cappadocia (in modern Turkey) and died in 379 at Pontus (in modern Turkey) of natural causes.

With charm and grace, St Macrina ruled the roost in a family of saints. St Basil the Elder and St Emmelia, her parents, had ten children including the younger St Basil (329-379) Doctor of the Church, St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–C 395) and St Peter of Sebaste Bishop (c 340–391). As the eldest child, Macrina exercised a formative influence on her more famous brothers and even on her mother.

A beautiful young woman, Macrina had been betrothed at age twelve. But when her fiancé died, she chose to remain single to devote herself to Christian service. Emmelia had given her daughter a Christian version of a classic education, training her in Scripture instead of Greek literature. In turn, Macrina conducted the early education of her younger brothers and sisters and formed them in piety.

Gregory of Nyssa, her biographer, reported that when Basil returned from Athens University all puffed up with self-importance, Macrina put him in his place—as only an older sister can. Apparently, she persuaded her extremely talented brother to become a monk and subordinate his gifts to God’s purposes. st macrina the younger img-The-Sister-of-Saint-Basil.jpg

When Naucratius (he was a the famous Christian jurist), the handsome and athletic family favourite, died suddenly, Macrina supported Emmelia through her grief. Later she persuaded her mother to join her in renouncing their high standard of living and embracing the simpler life of their servants. Together they formed a small monastic community of nuns under the younger Basil’s direction on the family estate at Annesi in Pontus in present-day Turkey.

In 379, shortly after Basil died, Macrina fell ill. Gregory came to visit her and found her in a very weakened condition, lying on two planks. Even on her deathbed, Macrina continued to live a life of sanctity, as she refused a bed and instead chose to lie on the ground. Although Macrina could barely talk, she spoke eloquently with her brother about death and the future life. Just before she died she prayed as follows:

“O Lord, You have freed us from the fear of death.

You have made the end of life here the beginning of a true life for us.

You, who compassionately gave paradise back to the man crucified with You, remember me also in Your kingdom.

If I have committed sins in word, deed or thought because of the weakness of our nature, don’t let Your eyes discover them.

You, who have power on earth to forgive sins, forgive me so that I may be refreshed.

May I be found before you once I have put off my body, having no fault in the form of my soul.

May my soul be received into Your hands, blameless and spotless, as an offering before You.”

St Gregory of Nyssa expanded his sister’s deathbed reflections on the future life in his book, “Dialogue on the Soul and Resurrection”

Macrina had a profound influence upon her brothers and her mother with her adherence to an ascetic ideal. Her brother, St Gregory of Nyssa wrote a work entitled Life of Macrina in which he describes her sanctity throughout her life. Macrina lived a chaste and humble life, devoting her time to prayer and the spiritual education of her younger brother, Peter. Gregory presents her, as one who consciously rejected all Classical education, choosing instead devoted study of Scripture and other sacred writings.

Saint Macrina is significant in that her brother, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, was able to set standards for being a holy Early Christian woman. He believed that virginity reflected the “radiant purity of God.”

250px-Macrina_the_Younger

SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints -19 July

Posted on July 19, 2019July 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

St Ambrose Autpertus
Bl Antonio of Valladolid
St Aurea of Cordoba
Bl Bernhard of Rodez
St Daria of Constantinople
St Epaphras of Colosse
St Felix of Verona
St John Plessington (c 1637-1679) Martyr
About St John Plessington:

https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/19/saint-of-the-day-19-july-st-john-plessington/

Bl Józef Puchala OFM Conv (1911-1943) Martyr
Bl Jozef’s Story:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/19/saint-of-the-day-19-july-blessed-jozef-achilles-puchala-ofm-conv-1911-1943-martyr/
St Macrina the Younger (c 327-379)
St Martin of Trier
St Michael the Sabaitè
Bl Pascasio of Lyon
St Romain of Ryazan
St Pope Symachus
St Vicente Cecilia Gallardo
—
Martyrs of Meros – 3 saints: Three Christians tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Julian the Apostate and governor Almachio. We know nothing else about them but the names – Macedoniuis, Tatian and Theodule.
They were burned to death on an iron grill in Meros, Phrygia (in modern Turkey).

Martyrs of China: 3 Beati
Elisabeth Qin Bianshi Elisabeth
Ioannes Baptista Zhu Wurui
Simon Qin Chunfu

JESUIT SJ, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, NOVENAS, PRAYERS to the SAINTS

Novena to St Anne – Day Two – 18 July

Posted on July 18, 2019July 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Anne – Day Two – 18 July

Reflections by:
By Fr Daniel A Lord, SJ

SECOND DAY:

It was in the peaceful little house of Anne and Joachim that Mary, the Mother of God, spent her girlhood. There Mary knew the example of a woman who lived the simple ways of wife and mother.

Unknown, save in the limited circle of Nazareth, Anne prepared the meals for her family, made and mended their plain garments and filled the house with the perfume of her devoted service. She was a model of a wife’s diligence and a mother’s solicitude.

The young Mary watched this model of the simple domestic virtues. This obedient daughter saw perfection in her mother, the perfection of small tasks done out of love for God and devotion to family.

Each day had a time for prayer.

Each day was filled with deeds of neighbourliness and acts of charity quietly and happily performed.

Mary saw in her mother how a woman can be simple yet great, how the deeds that God asks of us – however unnoticed or unimportant, these maybe – are, the deeds that win His gratitude and make us saints before Him and benefactors before the world.

To this model of the simple domestic virtues we pray:

Daily Prayer:

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.

SECOND DAY:

From the depths of my heart, good St Anne,
I offer you my homage this day
and ask you to shelter me under the mantle of your motherly care.
You know, good mother, how much I love you,
how gladly I serve you,
how happy I am to praise you,
how eager I am to call on you in time of distress.
Good St Anne,
be pleased to extend your helping hand in all my wants.
Listen to my prayers, for I place my trust in your gracious bounty.
Make all my thoughts and desires worthy and righteous.
Jesus my God, I thank You for all the graces
which in Your infinite goodness, You have lavished upon St Anne,
for having chosen her, among all women,
to be Your grandmother on earth
and exalted her in heaven with such great and miraculous powers.
In the name of her merits,
I humbly recommend myself to Your infinite mercy.
Amen DAY TWO ST ANNE NOVENA 18 july 2019.jpg

CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on SANCTITY, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 18 July – The Light Burden of the Law of Christ…St Jerome

Posted on July 18, 2019July 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 18 July – Thursday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30.

“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”…Matthew 11:29-30

The Light Burden of the Law of Christ

Saint Jerome (347-420)

Priest, Translator of the Bible,

Father & Doctor of the Church

“Bear one another’s burdens and so you will fulfil the law of Christ.” Sin is a burden as the psalmist attests when he says: “My sins weigh heavy upon me.” But the Lord has carried this burden for us, teaching us, by His example what we ourselves should do. For it is He who bore the burden of our sins. He was stricken for our sake (cf Is 53:8) and invites those who are weighed down by the heavy burden of the Law and of their sins to carry the easy burden of virtue, saying: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light”(Mt 11:30).

Therefore, whoever holds out a hand to the person who begs for support, not despairing of a neighbour’s salvation, who weeps with those who weep, is weak with those who are weak and who regards other’s sins as though they were his own – such a one, fulfils through charity, the law of Christ. What is this law of Christ? “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another” (Jn 13:34). What is the law of the Son of God? “Love one another as I have loved you.” How has the Son of God loved us? No one has greater love than this, “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”(Jn 15:13).

Someone who shows no clemency, who is not clothed with the bowels of mercy and tears, no matter what sort of student he is in spirituality, such a one does not fulfil the law of Christ.

Someone who comes to the assistance of the poor weighed down by the burden of destitution and makes friends with dishonest wealth (Lk 16:9), such a one shoulders the needs of his neighbour. This is the one to whom Jesus will say after the general resurrection: “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink” (Mt 25:34-35). but-the-lord-has-carried-this-burden-for-us-teaching-us-by-his-example-st-jerome-19-july-2018

CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – The Word, Jesus Christ!

Posted on July 18, 2019July 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – Thursday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30.

“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:29-30

“Jesus asks us to go to Him,
for He is true Wisdom,
to Him who is
“gentle and lowly in heart.”
He offers us “his yoke”,
the way of the wisdom of the Gospel,
which is neither,
a doctrine to be learned,
nor an ethical system
but rather a Person to follow –
He Himself, the Only Begotten Son,
in perfect communion with the Father.”

Pope Benedict XVI

General Audience, 7 December 2011

“The WORD
is not a bible verse
BUT living flesh and blood,
Jesus Christ!

Fr Enrico V Parry

the word is not a bible verse - fr enrico 9 may 2019.jpg

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Noli me tangere (‘Touch me not’)

Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

St Mary of Magdala, Pray for Us!

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Isaiah 43:1

Pope Francis

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St Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619)

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Saint Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)

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Today we wish Cardinal Sarah Congratulations! as he celebrates the 50th Anniversary of his Priestly Ordination. We offer our Prayers for your continued immense help to the Church of Christ. May God shine His Face upon you!

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God or Nothing

The Power of Silence

Robert Sarah

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St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–395)

Father of the Church

A Prayer to the Good Shepherd

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Pope Francis

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The Light Burden of the Law of Christ

Saint Jerome (347-420)

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Matthew 11:29-30

Pope Benedict XVI

Fr Enrico V Parry

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Today we wish Cardinal Sarah
Congratulations!
as he celebrates the 50th Anniversary of his Priestly Ordination.
We offer our Prayers for your continued immense help to the Church of Christ.
May God shine His Face upon you!