Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on ANGER, QUOTES on DESPAIR, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SUFFERING

Thought for the Day – 18 March – Privation

Thought for the Day – 18 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Privation

“We must all experience privation, because everybody, has to do without something, in this life.
Some people are never in good health.   Besides their actual sufferings, they have to put up with their inability to work or to enjoy themselves.
Others, have no means of earning their livelihood.   Their lives are a daily battle, not merely against poverty but against squalor and wretchedness.   They have not enough bread to eat, nor have they homes where they and their families, can live.
In families where there is no such want, on the other hand, there may be no peace in the home.
Individuals, too, can lack peace of soul, because they are ridden by false ambition or jealousy.
Other people have a plentiful supply of this world’s comforts but, are destitute of the most necessary thing in life, which is goodness.
They are depressed because they have become slaves to sin.

Is there any remedy for all these privations and sorrows?
Yes! we must embrace our cross.
We must turn confidently to God and ask Him that may be resigned to doing without, those temporal things, of which we are deprived.
We must ask Him for the grace to rise from our sins and climb towards Christian perfection.
There is no use in revolting, nor, in despairing.
There is no real happiness in this world.
If we are vexed and rebellious, our cross grows heavier.
If we accept privation from God’s Hands, we are soon consoled.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

 

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY MASS, Uncategorized

Quote/s of the Day – 18 March – St Cyril of Jerusalem

Quote/s of the Day – 18 March – The Memorial of St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 313-386) Father and Doctor of the Church

“After all, He saved the thief
on the holy hill of Golgotha
because of one hour’s faith,
will He not save you too,
since you have believed? “

after all he save the good thief st cyril of jerusalem - 18 march 2020 no 2

“Since Christ Himself has said,
“This is My Body”
who shall dare to doubt
that It is His Body?”

since christ himself has said - st cyril of jerusalem 18 march 2020

On how to receive Holy Communion in the hand in the Fourth Century:

“Approaching,
do not come with thy palms stretched flat
nor with fingers separated.
But making thy left hand a seat for thy right
and hollowing thy palm,
receive the Body of Christ,
responding Amen.”

St Cyril of Jersualem (315-386)
Father and Doctor of the Church

st cyril of jerusalem on how to receive holy communion in the hand in the 4th century 18 march 2020

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2020, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on TRUTH, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD, THOMAS a KEMPIS

Lenten Reflection – 18 March – Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ

Lenten Reflection – 18 March – Wednesday of the Third week of Lent, Readings: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20, Matthew 5:17-19

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

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law
and the prophets, I have come,
not to abolish them but to fulfil them.”…Matthew 5:17

wed-of-the-third-week-lent-matthew-5-17-27-march-2019 and 18 march 2020

Daily Meditation:
The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

“In Him the promise made through the shadows of prophecy stands revealed, along with the full meaning of the precepts of the law.   He is the one who teaches the truth of prophecy through His presence and makes obedience to the commandments possible through grace.
In the preaching of the holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith.   No-one should be ashamed of the Cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.
No-one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice, no-one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised.   The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death.   Christ has taken on Himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature.   If then we are steadfast in our faith in Him and in our love for Him, we win the victory that He has won, we receive what He has promised.
When it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears – “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.”St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) – An excerpt from Sermo 51the way to rest is through toil the way to life is through death - st pope leo the great 18 march 2020

He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 147:20

Intercessions:
Blessed be God, the giver of salvation, who decreed that mankind should become a new creation in Himself, when all would be made new. With great confidence let us ask Him:
Lord, renew us in Your Spirit.

Lord, You promised a new heaven and a new earth; renew us daily through Your Spirit,
– that we may enjoy Your presence forever in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Help us to work with You to make this world alive with Your Spirit,
– and to build on earth a city of justice, love and peace.
Free us from all negligence and sloth,
– and give us joy in Your gifts of grace.
Deliver us from evil,
– and from slavery to the senses, which blinds us to goodness.
Closing Prayer:

O Sweet Name of Jesus
By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

O sweet Name of Jesus,
holy above all names
in heaven and on earth
and to which every knee,
both of men and of angels in heaven,
on earth and in hell bends.
You are the Way of the just,
the Glory of the saints,
the Hope of those in need,
the Balm of the sick,
the Love of the devout
and the Consolation
of those that suffer.
O, Jesus be to me a help and a protector
so that Your Name may be blessed for all times.
Ameno sweet name of jesus - thomas a kempis - 6 jan 2018

“Where can we fix our gaze, then, throughout this Lenten journey?
Upon the Crucified One.
Jesus on the cross is life’s compass, which directs us to heaven.
The poverty of the wood, the silence of the Lord, His loving self-emptying,
show us the necessity of a simpler life, free from anxiety about things.
From the cross, Jesus teaches us the great courage involved in renunciation.”

Pope Francis

Basilica of Santa Sabina
Ash Wednesday, 6 March 2019where can we fix our gaze - upon the crucified one - pope francis 18 march 2020

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2020, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY SPIRIT, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 March – ‘…it is in human hearts, that He writes’

One Minute Reflection – 18 March – Wednesday of the Third week of Lent, Readings: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20, Matthew 5:17-19 and the Memorial of St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 313-386) Father and Doctor of the Church

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.”…Matthew 5:17

REFLECTION – “Grace, which was formerly veiled, so to speak, in the Old Testament, has been fully revealed in the Gospel of Christ by a harmonious disposition of the times, just as God usually disposes of everything with harmony…  But within this wonderful harmony we notice a great difference between the two ages.   On Sinai the people did not dare draw near the place where the Lord was giving His Law;  in the Upper Room, the Holy Spirit comes down on all those assembled there, while waiting for the fulfilment of the promise (Ex 19:23; Acts 2:1).   In the first instance, the finger of God inscribed the laws on tablets of stone but now, it is in human hearts, that He writes it (Ex 31:18; 2 Cor 3:3).   Formerly the Law was written without and brought fear to sinners but now, it has been given to them within, to make them righteous…

Indeed, as the apostle Paul says, everything written on the stone tablets, “you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill…, you shall not covet” and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this saying:  “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.   Love does no evil to the neighbour, hence, love is the fulfilment of the Law” (Rm 13:9f.; Lv 19:18)…   This charity has been “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rm 5:5)….St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor On the spirit and the letter, 28-30matthew-5-17-think-not-that-i-have-come-to-abolish-the-law-st-augustine-in-the-first-instance-27march2019-1 and 18 march 2020

PRAYER – Protect Your family, Lord and strengthen us with Your consoling presence. Help us in our way to follow Your commandments and live as disciples of love.   Look now on Your chosen people, grant us the light of Your Spirit and bring us forever to eternal life.   May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Your Son and our Mother, be ever our protective shield.   St Cyril of Jerusalem, pray for us all that we may always remain true to the Cross of Christ and our Holy Mother Church, amen.  Through Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.salve-regina-pray-for-us-mary-27-march-2019 and 18 march 2020

ST CYRIL OF JERUSALEM PRAY FOR US 18 MARCH 2020

Posted in Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 18 March – I Want to Love You, My God

Our Morning Offering – 18 March – Wednesday of the Third week of Lent

I Want to Love You, My God
By St Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870)

I want to love You, my God,
with all my heart,
with all my being,
with all my strength.
I consecrate to You,
my thoughts, desires,
words and actions,
whatever I have
and whatever I can be.
Let me use what I have
for Your greater honour and glory,
according to Your will.
Amen

I WANT TO LOVE YOU MY GOD ST ANTHONY MARY CLARET - 18 MARCH 2020

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 18 March – Saint Anselm of Lucca the Younger (1036-1086)

Saint of the Day – 18 March – Saint Anselm of Lucca the Younger (1036-1086) Bishop, Confessor – born in 1036 at Mantua, Italy and died on 18 March 1086 at Mantua, Italy of natural causes.   Patronage – Mantua, the city of his birth and death, honours him as its patron.

Anselm was a medieval Bishop of Lucca in Italy and a prominent figure in the Investiture Controversy amid the fighting in central Italy between Matilda, countess of Tuscany and Emperor Henry IV.   His uncle, Anselm preceded him as Bishop of Lucca before being elected to the papacy as Pope Alexander II, owing to this, he is sometimes distinguished as Anselm the Younger or Anselm II.Sant'_Anselmo

He was nephew of Anselm of Lucca, the Elder, who ascended the Papal throne as Alexander II in 1061.

In the year 1071 Alexander II designated Anselm as Bishop of Lucca and sent him to Germany to take investiture from Henry IV.   Anselm went to Germany but was loath to receive the insignia of spiritual power from a temporal ruler and returned without investiture.

In 1073 Gregory VII, successor of Alexander II, also appointed Anselm Bishop of Lucca but advised him not to accept his ring and crosier from Henry IV.    For some reason, Anselm accepted investiture from Henry but soon felt such remorse that he resigned his Bishopric and entered the Order of St Benedict at Padilirone, a monastery of the Cluniac Reform, situated near Mantua.

Gregory VII ordered him to return to his episcopal see at Lucca.   Anselm returned reluctantly but continued to lead time life of a monk until his death.

St Anselm was Inspired, like Gregory VII, with a holy zeal to reform the clergy, he wished to impose stricter discipline upon the Canons of his Cathedral.   Most of the Canons refused to submit to Anselm’s regulations and in 1081 he was expelled from Lucca with the help of the Emperor and his antipope, Guibert.

Anselm then retired to the castle of the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, whose spiritual adviser he was.   Some time later he was made Papal Legate of Lombardy with instructions to rule over all the Dioceses which, during the conflict between pope and emperor, had been left without Bishops.

St Anselm was well versed in the Scriptures and wrote some exegetical and ascetical works.   In his work “Contra Guibertum et sequaces ejus” he shows the unlawfulness of lay-investiture and defends Gregory against the Antipope Guibert.   He also made a collection of canons which afterwards were incorporated into the well-known “Decretum” of Gratian.

Two biographies were written about the Bishop-saint shortly after his death on 18 March 1086, aged 50.   He was Canonised by Pope Victor III in 1087.   His relics reside in the cathedral of Mantua.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 18 March

St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 313-386) (Optional Memorial)
Father and Doctor of the Church
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/03/18/saint-of-the-day-18-march-st-cyril-of-jerusalem/

Bl Aimée-Adèle le Bouteiller
St Alexander of Jerusalem
St Anselm of Lucca the Younger (1036-1086)
St Braulio of Saragossa
Bl Celestine of the Mother of God
Bl Christian O’Conarchy
St Edward the Martyr
St Egbert of Ripon
St Eucarpius of Nicomedia
St Felix of Gerona
St Finan of Aberdeen
St Frigidian of Lucca
Bl John Thules
St Leobard of Tours
St Narcissus of Gerona
Bl Roger Wrenno
St Salvator of Horta
St Trophimus of Nicomedia

Martyrs of Nicomedia – Commemorates the Christians who were martyred anonymously, either singly and in small groups, by local pagans in the area of Nicomedia prior to the year 300 and who may have been over-looked in the waves of Diocletian persecutions that resulted in the deaths of thousands.