The Seven Sorrows Novena By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Day Seven – The Seventh Sorrow Jesus is Placed in the Tomb
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation: Hastily the Body is wrapped in a clean linen cloth. Nicodemus has brought myrrh and aloes and the Body is bound in the Shroud with them. Nearby is a new tomb, belonging to Joseph of Arimathea and there they lay Jesus. Mary and John and the holy women follow them and watch as the great stone to the sepulchre is rolled. It is the end.
I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, for the pangs that wrenched thy most loving heart at the burial of Jesus. Dear Mother, by thy heart sunk in the bitterness of desolation, obtain for me the virtue of diligence and the gift of wisdom. And this my special intention ……………………. (mention your intention) Amen
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus: My afflicted Mother, I will not leave thee alone to weep; no, I wish to keep thee company with my tears. This grace I ask of thee to-day – obtain for me a continual remembrance of the passion of Jesus and of thine also and a tender devotion to them, that all the remaining days of my life, may be spent in weeping for thy sorrows, O my Mother and for those of my Redeemer, I hope that these dolors will give me the confidence and strength not to despair at the hour of my death, at the sight of the offences I have committed against my Lord. By these must I obtain pardon, perseverance, paradise, where I hope to rejoice with thee and sing the infinite mercy of my God through all eternity – thus I hope, thus may it be. Amen, amen.
Thought for the Day – 13 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Redemption
“The Incarnation of God, was sufficient to have saved us. It would have been enough for God made man, to have offered Himself to God, for our redemption in a single act of love. Every act of Jesus, the God-Man, had infinite value and was, therefore, sufficient to be offered to the Father as an infinite satisfaction for all our sins.
But, if Jesus had desired to show more clearly His great love for us, He could have offered Hi sufferings as a child in the cold cave at Bethlehem, when He lay whimpering on a wretched straw bed. He could have offered the sorrow of His exile in Egypt, He could have offered a single drop of His Precious Blood , during the ceremony of the circumcision. He could have offered the difficulties and privations of His simple working life at Nazareth, or the fatiguing exertions of His apostolic journeys. All these, would have been more than enough to have made amends to the divine Father for all the sins of humanity, to have ransomed us from the devil and to have restored to us, God’s grace and love. But in God, everything is infinite. His love has no limit. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart,” He as commanded men “and with thy whole soul and with thy whole strength and with they whole mind and thy neighbour as thyself.” He, Himself, did infinitely more than this, however, Jesus was not satisfied merely to love us, His brothers by adoption, as He loved Himself but, He wished to love us “more than He loved Himself. Greater love than this no-one has,” He said, “that one lay down his life for his friends” (1 Jn 15:13). This was what he Himself did. Sinful though we are, He called us friends. “You are my friends” (Jn 15:14). Out of love for us, He gave Himself entirely. He perspired blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and, abandoned by the Apostles, He was bound like a criminal, insulted, scourged, crowned with thorns, condemned to death and burdened with a cross; finally, when He arrived at Calvary, He was nailed to the gibbet, where He shed His Precious Blood and gave His life for our redemption. Such was the extent of Jesus’ infinite love for us.
“Calvary” writes St Francis de Sales,“is the school of love.” The Saints were moved to tears by the strange spectacle of God-made-man, dying on the Cross for men. What is our reaction?”
Quote/s of the Day – 13 September –The Memorial of St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus.”
“Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to His promise and read His message, that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? ‘Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!’”
“Jesus Christ, the God-Man, was born in a manger and is spiritually reborn on the altar. He suffered on Calvary and continues to offer Himself on the altar. In His earthly life, He spread His teaching and worked miracles among the crowds. In the Eucharist, He spans the centuries and communicates Himself to all.”
“When you see the immolated Lord lying on the altar and the priest who, standing, prays over the victim… can you still believe you are among men, that you are on earth? Are you not, on the contrary, suddenly transported to Heaven?”
“By virtue of this Body, I am no longer dust and ashes, I am no longer a prisoner but free, by virtue of this, I hope in Heaven and to receive its goods, the inheritance of the angels and to converse with Christ!”
“Lift up and stretch out your hands, not to heaven but to the poor… if you lift up your hands in prayer without sharing with the poor, it is worth nothing.”
“Jesus, open the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Your word and understand and do Your will. Open the eyes of my mind to the understanding of Your Gospel teachings. Speak to me the hidden and secret things of Your wisdom. Enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of Your knowledge, not only to cherish those things that are written but to do them. Amen”
“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times but seventy times seven.” … Matthew 18:21-22
REFLECTION – “The perfection of brotherly love lies in the love of one’s enemies. We can find no greater inspiration for this, than grateful remembrance of the wonderful patience of Christ. He who is more fair than all the sons of men, offered His fair face to be spat upon by sinful men. He allowed those eyes, that rule the universe, to be blindfolded by wicked men. He bared His back to the scourges. He submitted that head which strikes terror in principalities and powers, to the sharpness of the thorns. He gave Himself up to be mocked and reviled and, at the end, endured the cross, the nails, the lance, the gall, the vinegar, remaining always gentle, meek and full of peace. In short, He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb before the shearers He kept silent and did not open his mouth. Who could listen to that wonderful prayer, so full of warmth, of love, of unshakeable serenity – Father, forgive them – and hesitate to embrace his enemies with overflowing love? Father, He says, forgive them. Is any gentleness, any love, lacking in this prayer? Yet He put into it, something more. It was not enough to pray for them, He wanted also to make excuses for them. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. They are great sinners, yes but they have little judgement, therefore, Father, forgive them. They are nailing Me to the cross but they do not know who It is that they are nailing to the cross, if they had known, they would never have Crucified the Lord of glory. Therefore, Father, forgive them. They think it is a lawbreaker, an impostor claiming to be God, a seducer of the people. I have hidden My Face from them and they do not recognise My glory. Therefore, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
If someone wishes to love himself he must not allow himself to be corrupted by indulging his sinful nature. If he wishes to resist the promptings of his sinful nature, he must enlarge the whole horizon of his love, to contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord. Further, if he wishes to savour the joy of brotherly love with greater perfection and delight, he must extend even to his enemies the embrace of true love. But if he wishes to prevent this fire of divine love from growing cold because of injuries received, let him keep the eyes of his soul always fixed on the serene patience of his beloved Lord and Saviour.” … St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110 – 1167) – Speculum Caritatis 3,5
PRAYER – Lord God, strength of those who hope in You, by Your will, St John Chrysostom became renowned in the Church, for his astounding eloquence and his forbearance in persecution. Grant that we may be enriched by his teaching and thus grow in sanctity, to follow the commandments You set forth in Your Word, Your Son who is our Saviour and Redeemer. By the prayers of St John Chrysostom, may we attain the place You have prepared for us. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever amen.
Our Morning Offering – 13 September – Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
My Lord, I am Unworthy! Prayer before Holy Communion By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church
My Lord, Who are You and who am I, that I should dare to take You into my body and soul? A thousand years of penance and tears would not be sufficient to make me worthy to receive so royal a Sacrament even once! How much more am I unworthy of it, who fall into sin daily, I, the incorrigible, who approach You so often without due preparation! Nevertheless, Your mercy infinitely surpasses my unworthiness. Therefore, I make bold to receive this Sacrament, trusting in Your love. Amen
Saint of the Day – 13 September – Saint Amatus (c 560-c 627) Monk and Hermit, Penitent, miracle-worker, together with St Romaric, he founded Remiremont Abbey. Born in c 560 at Grenoble, France and died on 13 September 627 in Remiremont, Vosges, France of natural causes. Also known as – Aimé, Amad, Amat, Amé.
Amatus was born about the year 560 to a noble family at Grenoble. Around 581, he entered the Abbey of St Maurice Agaunum and at the age of thirty retired into a hermitage, where his reputation for a life of penance and prayer, privileged with the grace of miracle working, drew the attention of St Eustace of Luxeuil, who persuaded Amatus to join his community.
One of his missionary journeys brought him to the court at Metz and there he converted a former Count Palatine of King Theodebert II, the Frankish noble St Romaric.
S. Romaric founded with Amatus a double monastery for men and women at Remiremont Abbey, on land that had been in Romaric’s possession since his days as a Count Palatine.
Remiremont Abbey
Amatus was its first abbot. He ruled this Abbey for many years and established there the difficult pious practice of the “Laus perennis” or Perpetual Praise, which consisted in the maintaining in the Church, an uninterrupted service of Psalmody and Prayer, day and night.
Saint Amatus died in the year 627 and at his own request, was buried just outside the church door. Later, his remains were suitably enshrined under one of the altars of the same church.
Saint Amatus was Canonised on 3 December 1049 by Pope Leo IX. He is greatly venerated in Grenoble, France.
Dedication of the Basilicas of Jerusalem: Commemoration of the dedications of the basilicas built on Mount Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. — St Aigulf St Amatus OSB (c 560-c 627) Monk, Abbot St Amatus of Sens St Barsenorius Bl Claude Dumonet St Columbinus of Lure St Emiliano of Valence St Evantius of Autun St Gordian of Pontus Bl Hedwig of Hreford St Julian of Ankyra St Ligorius St Litorius of Tours St Macrobius St Marcellinus of Carthage Bl María López de Rivas Martínez St Maurilius of Angers (c 336-426) His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/13/saint-of-the-day-saint-maurilius-of-angers-c-336-426/ St Nectarius of Autun
St Notburga (c 1265-1313) St Philip of Rome St Venerius of Tino — Martyrs of Ireland: • Blessed Edward Stapleton • Blessed Elizabeth Kearney • Blessed James Saul • Blessed Margaret of Cashel • Blessed Richard Barry • Blessed Richard Butler • Blessed Theobald Stapleton • Blessed Thomas Morrissey • Blessed William Boyton
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War including the Martyrs of Pozo de Cantavieja – 11 beati: • Blessed Bienvenido Villalón Acebrón • Blessed Emilio Antequera Lupiáñez • Blessed Florencio Arnáiz Cejudo • Blessed Francisco Rodríguez Martínez • Blessed Joaquín Gisbert Aguilera • Blessed José Álvarez-Benavides de La Torre • Blessed José Cano García • Blessed José Román García González • Blessed Juan Capel Segura • Blessed Juan Ibáñez Martín • Blessed Luis Eduardo López Gascón • Blessed Manuel Alvarez y Alvarez • Blessed Manuel Martínez Giménez • Blessed Pío Navarro Moreno • Blessed Ramiro Argüelles Hevia • Blessed Sabino Ayastuy Errasti • Blessed Teófilo Montes Calvo
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