Day: March 9, 2020

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE

Thought for the Day – 9 March – The Obedience of Jesus

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 9 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Obedience of Jesus

“Many people are anxious to be in a position to give orders but few wish to have to obey them.
This is because there are so few humble men and so many, who love to make a display.
The moral of the Gospel in this regard, is completely opposed to worldly standards.
The Gospel shows us how the Word of God came down from the glory of Heaven in order to become a man like us and to live for thirty years subject to Mary and Joseph.
He became, moreover, “obedient to death, even to death on a cross” (Phil 2:8).
“Therefore, God also has exalted him and has bestowed upon him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess, that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11).
If we wish to follow Jesus, we must not aim at seeming important but, at becoming humble.
We must not seek to command but to obey.
Then, we shall also be taken up into the glory of God the Father, where we shall be rewarded for our humility and obedience.
If we are placed by Divine Providence in a position of authority, let us accept it as a cross, as St Pius X did when he was elected Pope.
But let us remain essentially humble.
Let us give orders pleasantly and gently and act sternly, only when it is absolutely necessary.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

 

Advertisement
Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2020, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 9 March – Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 9 March – Monday of the Second Week of Lent, Readings: Daniel 9:4-10, Psalm 79:8 -9, 11, 13, Luke 6:36-38

“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:36

Today’s lesson is about mercy –
God’s mercy for us first and our mercy toward others.
We renew our penance –
all the ways we are trying to change
the patterns of our life that need conversion.

Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve.
Remember not, against us, the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve.
Help us, O God our Saviour,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.
Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve.
— Psalm 79monday of the second week - 26 feb 2018

Intercessions:
Blessed be God the Father for His gift of this sacrifice of praise.
In the spirit of this Lenten season, let us pray:
Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.

God of power and mercy, give us the spirit of prayer and repentance,
-with burning love for You and all mankind.
Help us to work with You in making all things new in Christ,
-and in spreading justice and peace throughout the world.
Teach us the meaning and value of creation,
-so that we may join its voice to ours as we sing Your praise.
Forgive us for failing to see Christ in the poor,
the distressed and the troublesome,
-and for our failure to reverence Your Son in their persons.

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
Your commandment of love is so simple
and so challenging.
Help me to let go of my pride,
to be humble in my penance.
I want only to live the way You ask me to love,
to love the way You ask me to live.
I ask this through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who stands at my side
today and always.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

“Christ is the artist, tenderly wiping away
all the grime of sin that disfigures the human face
and restoring God’s image to its full beauty.”

St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–C 395) Father of the Churchchrist-is-the-artist-st-gregory-of-nyssa-9-march-2020

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2020, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ENVY, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on JUSTICE, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 March – ‘O envious one, you injure yourself…’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 9 March – Monday of the Second Week of Lent, Year A, Readings: Daniel 9:4- 10, Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13, Luke 6:36-38 and the Memorial of St Pacian of Barcelona (c 310–391) Father of the Church.

“Judge not and you will not be judged;  condemn not and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven;  give and it will be given to you;  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.   For the measure you give, will be the measure you get back.”...Luke 6:37-38luke 6 37-38 judge not and you will not be judged 9 march 2020

REFLECTION – “O envious one, you injure yourself more than he whom you would injure and the sword with which you wound will recoil and wound yourself.   What harm did Cain do to Abel?   Contrary to his intention he did him the greatest good, for he caused him to pass to a better and a blessed life and he himself was plunged into an abyss of woe.   In what did Esau injure Jacob?   Did not his envy prevent him from being enriched in the place in which he lived and, losing the inheritance and the blessing of his
father, did he not die a miserable death?   What harm did the brothers of Joseph do to Joseph, whose envy went so far as to wish to shed his blood?   Were they not driven to the last extremity and well-nigh perishing with hunger, whilst their brother reigned all through Egypt?   It is ever thus, the more you envy your brother, the greater good you confer upon him. God, who sees all, takes the cause of the innocent in hand and, irritated by the injury you inflict, deigns to raise up him whom you wish to lower and will punish you to the full extent of your crime.   If God usually punishes those who rejoice at the
misfortunes of their enemies, how much more will He punish those who, excited by envy, seek to do an injury to those who have never injured them?”… Saint John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Churchit is ever thus the more you envy your brother the greater good - st john chrysostom luke 6 36-38 9 march 2020

PRAYER – We beseech Your mercy Lord, let Your Spirit come upon us in power and fill us with His gifts, to render our minds and hearts pleasing to You and make us docile and merciful as Your Son has taught us.   May our Lord Jesus, Your Son, guide us and may the prayers of St Pacian of Barcelona teach us Your precepts.   Through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.st pacian of barcelona pray for us 9 march 2020

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering -9 March – Lord Jesus, Think on Me

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering -9 March – Monday of the Second Week of Lent, Year A

Lord Jesus, Think on Me
By St Synesius of Cyrene (375-430), Bishop of Ptolemais

Lord Jesus, think on me,
and purge away my sin,
from earth-born passions set me free,
and make me pure within.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
With care and woe oppressed,
let me Thy loving servant be,
and taste Thy promised rest.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
nor let me go astray,
through darkness and perplexity
point Thou the heav’nly way.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
that, when the flood is past,
I may eternal brightness see,
and share Thy joy at last.

St Synesius, a native of Cyrene, born circa 375. His descent was illustrious. His pedigree extended through seventeen centuries and in the words of Gibbon, “could not be equaled in the history of mankind.” He became distinguished for his eloquence and philosophy and as a statesman and patriot he took a noble stand. When the Goths were threatening his country he went to the court of Arcadius and for three years, tried to rouse it to the dangers that were coming on the empire. But Gibbon says, ”The court of Arcadius indulged the zeal, applauded the eloquence and neglected the advice of Synesius.” In 410 he was made Bishop of Ptolemaïs (modern Libya) but much against his will. He died in 430.

lord jesus think of me - st synesius - 9 march 2020

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 9 March – Saint Pacian of Barcelona (c 310–391) Bishop and Father of the Church.

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 9 March – Saint Pacian of Barcelona (c 310–391) Bishop and Father of the Church.9-San Paciano de Barcelona- header

St Pacian was the Bishop of Barcelona during the fourth century.    He was Bishop from about 365 to 391, succeeding Praetextatus, who had attended a church council at Sardica in 347 and who is the first recorded Bishop of Barcelona.

Considered a Father of the Church, Pacian is eulogised in St Jerome’s De viris illustribus – Catalogue of Illustrious Men, in which Jerome praises his eloquence, learning, chastity and holiness of life.    St Pacian was married and had a son, Flavius Dexter, who served as high chamberlain to Theodosius I and as praetorian prefect to Honorius, the Western Roman Emperor.   St Jerome did not know Pacian personally but knew Pacian’s son, to whom De Viris Illustribus is dedicated.st pacian tapestry

St Pacian gained fame when Barcelona became internationally recognised among the most important dioceses within the history of the universal Church.   His writings – like the breviary or the divine office read by all Catholic priests – are still widely in use today.

Saint Pacian’s writings are extant only in part, in three letters and a short treatise, Paraenesis ad Poenitentiam.   In his writings, he discussed ecclesiastical discipline, baptism, papal primacy and teachings on penance  against Novatianism, which was then flourishing in Spain.

He is also remembered from a phrase from one of his letters – Christianus mihi nomen est, catholicus vero cognomen  -“My name is Christian, my surname is Catholic.”

Inside the Barcelona Cathedral, his seat, is a baroque altarpiece by the sculptor Joan Roig from 1688, representing scenes from the lives of Saint Pacian and of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and St Francis Xavier.    This splendid image of Saint Pacian presides above the altarpiece.

st pacian statue barcelona shrine cathedral
The Shrine below  is of St Francis Xavier

465px-Barcelona_Cathedral_Interior_-_Saint_Pacian_by_Joan_Roig,_and_Joan_Moxíst pacian at barcelona catehdral at night  At the right is a depiction of the election of Saint Pacian as bishop of Barcelon, his visit to the Pope and his burial.541px-Barcelona_Cathedral_Interior_-_Saint_Pacian_in_front_of_the_Pope_by_Joan_Roig,_and_Joan_Moxí

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 9 March

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Frances of Rome Obl.S.B. (1384-1440) (Optional Memorial)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/03/09/saint-of-the-day-9-march-st-frances-of-rome/

St Antony of Froidemont
St Bosa of York
St Candidus
St Catherine of Bologna OSC (1413-1463)
St Catherine’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/09/saint-of-the-day-9-march-st-catherine-of-bologna-osc-1413-1463/

St Constantine of Cornwall
St Cyrion
St Mary of Seyne
St Pacian of Barcelona (c 310–391)
—
Martyrs of Korea: – Ioannes Baptista Chon Chang-un, Petrus Ch’oe Hyong