Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SANCTITY

Thought for the Day – 24 July – Progress in the Love of God

Thought for the Day – 24 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Progress in the Love of God

 

“The entire Christian system is based on the love of God.
This, is “the greatest and first commandment” (Mt 22:38) of Jesus, from which the second commandment, to love our neighbour, naturally flows.
A man who does not observe this first commandment is not a Christian, whereas a man who endeavours to increase, everyday, his love for God, is a saint.
There are may grades of ascent in this love but, the basic step is indicated in the words of our Divine Master:  “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he is is who loves me” (Jn 14:15,21).

The love of God should not consist of an empty and ineffective sentimentality but, should comprise a sincere determinations to please God by carrying out His will, without reserve and by becoming more closely united to Him, by the help of His holy grace.
Progress in the love of God is divided by the masters of the spiritual lfe into three stages:
(1) the period of purification;
(2) the period of illuminations and;
(3) the period of union with God.
We may have advanced no farther than the first stage because there is still so much to be purified in our souls.
Nevertheless, let us ask God’s grace, to help us to begin this work immediately!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Posted in ARMOUR of CHRIST, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on TRUST in GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 24 July – “Good Soil”

Quote/s of the Day – 24 July – Friday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: Jeremiah 3:14-17, Responsorial psalm Jeremiah 31:10-13, Matthew 13:18-23

“Good Soil”

“This, beloved, is the way in which we found our salvation,
Jesus Christ, the High Priest who offers our gifts,
the patron and helper in our weakness (Heb 10:20; 7:27; 4:15).
It is through Him, that we look straight at the heavens above.
Through Him, we see mirrored, God’s faultless
and transcendent countenance.
Through Him, the eyes of our heart were opened.
Through Him, our unintelligent and darkened mind shoots up into the light.
Through Him, the Master was pleased to let us taste
the knowledge that never fades,
He who is “the radiance of His splendour,
who towers as much above the angels,
as the title He has inherited, is superior to theirs.”

St Pope Clement I (c 35 – c 99)

matthew-7-14-the-road-that-leads-to-life-this-beloved-is-the-way-in-which-we-st-pope-clement-i-23-june-2020-and 24 july 2020

O Lord and Master of My Life
Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian (306-373)
Father & Doctor of the Church

O Lord and Master of my life,
give me not a spirit of sloth, vain curiosity,
lust for power and idle talk.
But give to me, Thy servant,
a spirit of soberness, humility, patience and love.
O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own faults
and not to condemn my brother.
For blessed art Thou to the ages of ages.
Amen
O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
O God, cleanse me, a sinner.
O God, my Creator, save me
and for my many sins forgive me!

o-lord-and-master-of-my-life-st-ephrem-17-march-2020 and 24 july 2020

“A Christian is:
a mind through which Christ thinks,
a heart through which Christ loves,
a voice through which Christ speaks
and a hand through which Christ helps.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

a-chrisitan-is-a-mind-through-which-christ-thinks-st-augustine-14-april-2020-easter-tuesday 24 july 2020

“You have the words of eternal life”

John 6:68

“These words surely make quite obvious to us
the necessity for sitting at the feet of Christ,
taking Him as our one and only teacher
and giving Him our constant and undivided attention. …
Keeping with their guide was the Israelites’ salvation then,
just as not leaving Christ is ours now.
… We will stay with You always and hold fast to Your commandments.
We will receive Your words without finding fault,
or thinking Your teaching hard,
as the ignorant do but thinking rather:
“How sweet are Your words to my throat!
Sweeter to the mouth are they, than honey or the honeycomb!”

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father and Doctor of the Church

john 6 68 you have the words - these words sure - st cyril of alex 24 july 2020

“Paul says: I appeal to you by the mercy of God,
to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living and holy.
The prophet said the same thing:
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire
but you have prepared a body for me.
Each of us is called to be both a sacrifice to God and His priest.
Do not forfeit what divine authority confers on you.
Put on the garment of holiness, gird yourself with the belt of chastity.
Let Christ be your helmet, let the cross on your forehead be your unfailing protection.
Your breastplate, should be the knowledge of God, that He Himself has given you.
Keep burning continually, the sweet smelling incense of prayer.
Take up the sword of the Spirit.
Let your heart be an altar.
Then, with full confidence in God, present your body for sacrifice.
God desires, not death but faith;
God thirsts, not for blood but for self-surrender;
God is appeased, not by slaughter but by the offering, of your free will.”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
Bishop, Father & Doctor of the Church
“Doctor of Homilies”

each-of-us-is-called-to-beoth-a-sacrifice-to-god-and-his-priest-st-peter-chrysologus-5-may-2020 and 24 july 2020

“Fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Inflamed with love for us, He came down from heaven to redeem us.   For our sake He endured every torment of body and soul
and shrank from no bodily pain.
He Himself gave us an example of perfect patience and love.
We, then, are to be patient in adversity.”

St Francis of Paola OM (1416-1507)

fix-your-minds-on-the-passion-st-francis-of-paola-2-april-2019 and 24 july 2020

“There is One very near you
Who knocks at your door every hour of the day,
Who begs you to listen to Him
and to keep silence in order to hear Him.”

St Simon-Marie-Just Ranfer de Bretenières (1838-1866)
Martyr

there-is-one-very-near-you-st-simon-ranfer-de-bretenieres-14-nov-2019 and 7 july 2020

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, INCORRUPTIBLES, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 July – The disposition of the ground …

One Minute Reflection – 24 July – Friday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: Jeremiah 3:14-17, Responsorial psalm Jeremiah 31:10-13Matthew 13:18-23 and the Memorial of St Charbel Makhluf (1828-1898)

“As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it;  he indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty and in another thirty.”...Matthew 13:23

REFLECTION – “And yet, if both the land be good and the Sower one and the seed the same, wherefore did one bear a hundred, one sixty, one thirty?
Here again the difference is from the nature of the ground, for even where the ground is good, great even therein, is the difference.
Understand that not the Sower is to be blamed, nor the seed but the land that receives it? not for its nature but, for its disposition.
And herein too, great is His mercy to man, that He does not require one measure of virtue.
… And these things He says, lest they that followed Him should suppose that hearing is sufficient for salvation.
… Yes, both vainglory and all the rest belong to this world and to the deceitfulness of riches, such as pleasure and gluttony and envy and vainglory and all the like.

But He added also the “way” and the “rock,” signifying that it is not enough to be freed from riches only, but we must cultivate also the other parts of virtue.
But what if you are free indeed from riches, yet are soft and unmanly? and what if you are not indeed unmanly but are remiss and careless about the hearing of the word?
No one part is sufficient for our salvation but there is required first, a careful hearing and a continual recollection, then fortitude, then contempt of riches and deliverance from all worldly things.” … St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctormatthew 13 23 - parable of the seed - but what if you are free indeed from riches - st john chrysostom 24 july 2020

PRAYER – A pure heart create for me O God, put a steadfast spirit within me! (Ps 50[51]) Lord God, bestow a full measure of Your grace to us.   Keep us within in the path of Your commandments, help us to work on the earth of our souls, rooting out the weeds and casting forth the stones of malice.   Grant that by the prayers of St Charbel Makhluf, who by Your grace triumphed in all virtues, we may succeed in attaining sanctity.   Through Christ, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever, amen.st-charbel-pray-for-us-24-july-2017-2018-and-2019 and 2020

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS

Our Morning Offering – 24 July – Your Blood, The Fire of Love!

Our Morning Offering – 24 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Friday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time

Your Blood, The Fire of Love!
By St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

O sweet Jesus, my Love,
to strengthen my soul
and to rescue it from the weakness
into which it has fallen,
You have built a wall around it
and have mixed the mortar with Your blood,
confirming my soul and uniting it
to the sweet will and charity of God!
Just as lime mixed with water
is placed between stones to cement them together,
so You, O God, have placed between
Your creature and Yourself,
the Blood of Your only-begotten Son,
cemented with the divine lime
of the fire of ardent charity,
in such a way that there is no Blood
without fire, nor fire without Blood.
Your Blood was shed, O Christ, by the fire of love!
Amenyour blood the fire of love - st catherine of siena 24 july 2020

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 24 July

St Charbel Makhluf OLM (1828-1898) (Optional Memorial)
About St Charbel:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/saint-of-the-day-24-july-st-charbel-makhluf-o-l-m-the-holy-monk-whose-dead-body-radiated-white-light/

The Chaplet of St Charbel:

https://anastpaul.com/2017/07/24/the-chaplet-of-st-charbel-makhluf/

St Aliprandus of Pavia
St Antinogenes of Merida
St Aquilina the Martyr
St Arnulf of Gruyere
Bl Balduino of Rieti
St Boris of Kiev
St Capito
St Christiana
St Christina of Bolsena
St Christina of Tyre
St Christina Mirabilis/the Astonishing (1150-1224)
Her amazing life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/24/saint-of-the-day-24-july-saint-christina-mirabilis-1150-1224/

Bl Cristobal of St Catherine TOSF (1638-1690)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/24/saint-of-the-day-24-july-bl-cristobal-of-st-catherine-t-o-s-f-1638-1690/

St Cyriacus of Ziganeus
St Declan of Ardmore
Bl Diego Martinez
Bl Donatus of Urbino
Blessed Giovanni Tavalli (1386-1446) Bishop
St Gleb
Bl Godo of Oye
St John Boste
Bl Joseph Fernandez
Bl Joseph Lambton
Bl Juan Solorzano
St Kinga
St Lewina of Seaford
Bl Louise of Savoy
Bl Menefrida
St Meneus
St Niceta
Bl Nicholas Garlick
Bl Paulus Yi Do-gi
Bl Pierre de Barellis
St Rainofle
Bl Richard Simpson
Bl Robert Ludlam
Rufinus of Mercia
St Sigolena of Trocar
St Stercatius of Merida
St Ursicinus of Sens
St Victor of Merida
St Victorinus of Amiterno
St Vincent of Rome
St Wulfhad of Mercia

Martyred in England:
John Boste
Joseph Lambton
Nicholas Garlick
Richard Simpson
Robert Ludlam

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Cándido Castán San José
Bl Cecilio Vega Domínguez
St Ignacio González Calzada
St Jaime Gascón Bordas
Bl José Joaquín Esnaola Urteaga
Bl José Máximo Moro Briz
St Josep Guillamí Rodo
St Marcos Morón Casas
Bl Maria Angeles of Saint Joseph
Bl Maria Mercedes Prat
Bl Maria Pilar of Saint Francis Borgia
Bl Teresa of the Child Jesus and of Saint John of the Cross
St Xavier Bordas Piferrer

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 24 July – Blessed Giovanni Tavalli (1386-1446)

Saint of the Day – 24 July – Blessed Giovanni Tavalli (1386-1446) Archbishop, Friar of the Jesuit Friars of Saint Jerome, Spiritual Advisor – born in 1386 in Tossignano, Bologna, Italy and died on 24 July 1446 in Ferrara, Italy of natural causes.

bl Giovanni_Tavelli
Blessed Giovanni Tavelli praying
before the Assumption of the Virgin ( Giacomo Zampa ).   This artwork resides in the Church in Ferrara , the Church of San Girolamo built by Bl Giovanni.

Giovanni was born into a wealthy family, he undertook studies in philosophy and law, first in Tossignano, then at the University of Bologna.   In 1408 he abandoned his studies to enter the Order of the Gesuati  – the Jesuit Friars of Saint Jerome.

In 1426 he was appointed Prior of the Convent of the Order, in Ferrara. In 1428 he built the Church of San Gerolamo, intended for his order.

In October 1431, Pope Eugene IV appointed him Bishop of Ferrara even though he was not yet a Priest.   Initially he refused but accepted after the Pope’s insistence.   He was Ordained a Priest and Consecrated as Bishop on 27 December 1431.Blessed-Giovanni-Tavalli

He visited his entire Archdiocese six times, attended the Council of Basel in 1433 and the Council of Ferrara in 1438.

He extended his help in whatever way he could, to help the citizens of Ferrara during a flood and during the plague.   It was in these circumstances that he conceived the construction of a Hospital where the sick could find comfort.   In 1443 he founded the Sant’Anna hospital to which he dedicated the last years of his life.   Today it is the most important and biggest Hospital in Ferrara and it’s province.

Beato_Giovanni_Tavelli_da_Tossignano_-_Tanzio_da_Varallo
Blessed Giovanni Tavelli by Tanzio da Varallo

He was the Spiritual Advisor to high-level personalities, including Cardinal Niccolò Albergati and Pope Eugene IV .

His cult began immediately after his death and was subsequently approved by Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605).   On 19 August 1729, his remains were transferred to the Church of San Girolamo, built in 1428 by Tavelli himself and placed under the main altar.   Later, in 1947, these were placed under the altar of the Crucifix, in the first Chapel on the left of the church, where they still rest.

576px-09_Chiesa_di_San_Girolamo_-_Ferrara bl giovann tavelli
The side Chapel of the Church of San Girolamo in Ferrara, which contains the remains of Blessed Giovanni Tavelli.   His body is just visible under the Altar.

On 20 July 1748 Pope Benedict XIV granted his permission for Holy Mass to be celebrated in his honour in the whole Archdiocese of Ferrara and, the following year, he extended the concession also to the territory of Tossignano .

In August 1846 , shortly after his election, Pope Pius IX , who had been Bishop of Imola, allowed that the relic of the metacarpus of the right hand of Blessed Tavelli, be kept in the Bishopric of Ferrara, was donated to the Church of Tossignanese.  Since then, it has been kept in the Cathedral of San Michele Arcangelo in Tossignano.   Another relic is preserved in the Diocesan Museum of Pope Pius IX in Imola.

In Ferrara there is also a Parish, in a new neighbourhood, dedicated to Blessed Tavelli.