Novena to Our Angel Guardian – Day Five – 27 September (Indulgence of 300 days, each day of the Novena)
Opening Prayer
Deus in adjutorium: V/. O God +, come to my assistance R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri…
DAY V.
Most faithful guide, my angel-guardian, I pray thee, by the mission which God has confided to thee to lead me on the road to heaven, obtain for me grace to follow faithfully and constantly the light which thou hast shown me, of the evil which I must avoid and of the good which I must do and do not cease to excite me to the practice of all virtue, till the last moment of my life. And this special intention of virtue which I make unto thy prayers …………………….. (the special virtue you desire). Amen
Thought for the Day – 27 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Seeing God in All Things
“Very often, when things are not going our way, we become restless and irritable. We want health and instead, we are sick. We long for success and high position and instead, God humbles our pride and allows us to fall into sin, again and again. We wish that affairs in our immediate surroundings, would proceed according to our liking but, in fact, everything happens in an entirely different way. What is the remedy for the tension and annoyance which we experience on these occasions? There is only one – we must see God in all the events and circumstances of life and do His will lovingly and generously. Faith, says St Francis de Sales, is a ray of light from Heaven, which makes us see God in all things and all things in God.
It was his great disciples, St Jane Frances de Chantal, who wrote: “To be nothing, to be much; to be small, to command; to obey one person or another; to be humiliated or forgotten; to be poor or rich; to be underworked or overworked; to be alone or to be in company; to receive spiritual consolations or to experience aridity and temptation; to be healthy or to be sick and obliged to languish for years …. to live a long time or to die soon, perhaps immediately; all must be accepted from God. Our life must be like a great Amen which harmonises with that of the heavenly choirs…”
If we see the love of God in all things, in all happenings and in all the troubles of life, nothing will upset us or cause us excessive anguish. We know that we are in good hands and that everything is arranged for our good! Amen”
Quote/s of the Day – 27 September – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
“The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all, how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.”
“Free your mind from all that troubles you; God will take care of things. You will be unable to make haste in this (choice) without, so to speak, grieving the heart of God because He sees that you do not honour Him sufficiently with holy trust. Trust in Him, I beg you and you will have the fulfilment of what your heart desires.”
“He who allows himself to be ruled or guided by the lower and animal part of his nature, deserves to be called a beast, rather than a man.”
“Perfection consists in one thing alone, which is doing the will of God. For, according to Our Lord’s words, it suffices for perfection to deny self, to take up the cross and to follow Him. Now who denies himself and takes up his cross and follows Christ better, than he who seeks not to do his own will but always that of God? Behold, now, how little is needed to become as Saint? Nothing more than to acquire the habit of willing, on every occasion, what God wills.”
“Our business is, to gain heaven; everything else, is a sheer waste of time.”
One Minute Reflection – 27 September – Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 18:25-28, Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:28-32 and the Memorial of St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ … Matthew 21:28
REFLECTION – “My brethren, this is the time for each one of us to go out, for our part, from the place our sin. Let us go out from our Babylon to meet God our Saviour, as the prophet warns us: “Prepare to meet God our Saviour, O Israel, for he comes!” (cf Am 4:12). Let us leave the depth of our sin and consent to set out towards the Lord, who assumed “the likeness of our sinful flesh” (cf Rm 8:3). Let us leave sin’s will and set out to do penance for our sins. Then we shall find Christ – He Himself made expiation for the sin He had certainly not committed. Then He who saves the repentant will grant us salvation: “He shows mercy to those who are converted” (Sir 12:3).
But you are going to say to me (…): “Who is able to depart from sin by himself?” Indeed, it is true, the greatest sin is the love of sin, the desire to sin. Therefore, leave this desire (…), hate sin and see yourself departed from sin. If you hate sin, you have met Christ where He is to be found. To whoever hates sin, (…) Christ forgives their fault while waiting to root out our evil habits.
But you will say that even this is a great deal for you and that, without the grace of God, it is impossible to hate one’s sin and desire justice: “Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, such wondrous deeds for the children of Adam!” (Ps 106[107]:8). (…) O Lord, with a mighty hand, Jesus all-powerful, come to free my captive reason from the demon of ignorance and snatch my sick will, from the plague of it’s lusts. Free my capacities, so that I may act with strength as I desire to do with all my heart.”… Bl Isaac of Stella O.Cist (c 1100 – c 1170) Cistercian Monk, Abbot, Theologian, Philosopher – Sermon for Lent
PRAYER – Lord God, You hold out the Light of Your Word to those who do not know You. Strengthen in our hearts, the faith You have given us and the Credo we profess, so that no trials may quench the fire Your Spirit has kindled in us. May the intercession of St Vincent de Paul, grant us the grace of following the way of the Cross, to stand beneath it with our Mother, the Mother of God, Ave Maria! We make our prayer through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 27 September – Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
Lord, Teach me How to Pray By St Vincent de Paul
Oh Lord, You selected the poor and simple people to be Your Apostles. Look upon Your poor servant kneeling before You now. I recognise that I am simple and poor too. Dear Lord, please teach me how to pray as You taught Your disciples upon their humble request. If it pleases You in Your goodness to grant me that grace, I shall be able to pray well and much better than I could ever hope for if left to my own efforts. Lord, I trust that You will bless me with the fulfilment of this request. Amen
Saint of the Day – 27 September – Saint Bonfilius of Foligno OSB (1040-1125) Bishop of Foligno, Benedictine Monk and Abbot – born in 1040 in Osimo, Italy and died 0n 27 September 1125 of natural causes. Patronage – Foligno, Italy. Additional memorial – 28 September in Folgino, so as not to clash with the feast of St Vincent de Paul on 27 September.
Bonfilius was born in 1040 in Osimo, in the Marche, of a noble family. He entered the Abbey of Santa Maria di Storaco of which, later, he became Abbot.
He was Bishop of Foligno and succeeded Azzo around 1070. His life was written by San Silvestro Guzzolini, Founder of the Benedictine monastic congregation of Silvestrina and his first biographer, a century after the saint’s death.
Bonfilius, as Bishop, took part in the crusade in the Holy Land, where he remained from 1096 to 1104, leading a penitent life in perfect solitude.
Returning to Italy, he went to Rome, then returned to his Diocese of Foligno but found it occupied by the young Bishop Andrea, appointed by the Pope at the request of the people, who for a long time had received no news from their Bishop. Bonfilius humbly recognised the new Bishop’s election and retired to the Abbey of Storaco.
Here, some of his Monks made his life impossible and he was forced to flee to the hermitage of Nostra Signora della Fara, in the Diocese of Cingoli and died, worn out by austerity and penance, on 27 September 1125.
The Roman Martyrology states: In Fara near Cingoli in the Marche, St. Bonfilius, who, after being Bishop of Foligno, spent ten years in the Holy Land. He then returned to Italy, lived as a monk in the Monastery of Storaco, of which he had been Abbot in the past and finally died in solitude.
St Adheritus St Adolphus of Cordoba St Antonio de Torres St Barrog the Hermit St Bonfilius of Foligno OSB (1040-1125) Bishop, Abbot St Ceraunus of Paris St Chiara of the Resurrection Blessed Delphine TOSF St Deodatus of Sora St Elzear TOSF St Epicharis St Fidentius of Todi St Florentinus the Hermit St Gaius of Milan St Hilary the Hermit St Hiltrude of Liessies Bl Jean-Baptiste Laborie du Vivier St John of Cordoba Blessed Lorenzo of Ripafratta OP (c 1373-1456) About Blessed Lorenzo: https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/27/saint-of-the-day-27-september-blessed-lorenzo-of-ripafratta-op-c-1373-1456/ St Marcellus of Saint Gall St Terence of Todi — Martyrs of Aegea – (3 saints)
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Crescencia Valls Espí • Blessed Herminia Martínez Amigó de Martínez • Blessed José Fenollosa Alcaina • Blessed Maria Carme Fradera Ferragutcasas • Blessed Maria Magdalena Fradera Ferragutcasas • Blessed Maria Rosa Fradera Ferragutcasas
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