Day: January 20, 2021

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, THOMAS a KEMPIS

Thought for the Day – 20 January – Carrying our Cross

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 20 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Carrying our Cross –

“There is only one way to become holy and to win Heaven.
This is the way of the Cross.
The Imitation of Christ contains some moving thoughts on the subject of the royal road of the Cross.
We shall summarise them here.

The words of Jesus seem hard to many: “Renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow Me.”
But, it would be much harder to hear on the last day those terrible words: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire.”
Those who listen now and accept the message of the Cross, need not be afraid of hearing this irrevocable sentence on that day.
Why avoid the way of the Cross if it is the only road which leads to Heaven?
In the Cross there is salvation; in the Cross there is protection from our enemies.
If we carry our cross with submission and love, we shall find peace of soul.
If we intertwine our cross with the Cross of Jesus, we shall obtain energy of mind, joy of spirit and perfect holiness.
If we die on the Cross with Jesus, we shall live with Him in eternal happiness.
If we are His companions in suffering, we shall also be with Him one day in glory (Rom 6:8).

Everything depends on our dying on the Cross with Jesus.
There is no other way to life and to true interior peace but the way of the Holy Cross and of daily mortification (Imitation of Christ, Bk II ch 12).”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The HEART, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 20 January – Our only “Mask”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 20 January

Our only “Mask”

“Do not let love and fidelity forsake you,
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then will you win favour and esteem
before God and human beings.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
on your own intelligence do not rely.
In all your ways be mindful of him,
and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:3-6

“Whatever you do, do from the heart,
as for the Lord and not for others,
knowing that you will receive
from the Lord
the due payment of the inheritance;
be slaves of the Lord Christ.”

Colossians 3:23-24

“So then let us cast off the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light. …
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ
and make no provision
for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Romans 13:12,14

“He [Christ], protects their faith
and gives strength to believers,
in proportion to the TRUST,
that each man,
who receives that strength,
is willing to place in Him.”

St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258)
Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church

“Remember God
more often
than you breathe!”

St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“… There is one Road
and one only,
well secured against all possibility
of going astray
and, this Road is provided
by One Who is Himself
both God and man.
As God, He is the Goal,
as man, He is the Way.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Bishop of Hippo
Father and Doctor of Grace

“Loving You, O God,
brings its own reward here on earth,
as well as the eternal reward of heaven.
By becoming mirrors of Your love,
by wearing the mask of Your likeness
and by allowing You to make us perfect,
we can know the joy of heaven,
even while we abide here on earth.”

William of St Thierry O.Cist (c 1075 – c 1148)
Cistercian Monk, Mystic, Theologian, Writer

“May He,
Who is the Track of the runners
and the Reward of the winners,
lead and guide you along it –
He, Christ Jesus!”

Bl Guerric of Igny O.Cist (c 1080-1157)
Cistercian Abbot

“Christ is both the way and the door.
Christ is the staircase and the vehicle …”

St Bonaventure (1221-1274)
Seraphic Doctor

“He who wishes for anything but Christ,
does not know what he wishes;
he who asks for anything but Christ,
does not know what he is asking;
he who works and not for Christ,
does not know what he is doing.”

St Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Transform me into Yourself
By St John Gabriel Perboyre (1802-1840) Martyr

O my Divine Saviour,
Transform me into Yourself.
May my hands be the hands of Jesus.
Grant that every faculty of my body
May serve only to glorify You.
Above all,
Transform my soul and all it’s powers
So that my memory, will and affection
May be the memory, will and affections
Of Jesus.
I pray You
To destroy in me all that is not of You.
Grant that I may live
but in You, by You and for You,
So that I may truly say, with Saint Paul,
“I live – now not I – But Christ lives in me.
Amen

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 January – How have you esteemed the benefits bestowed on you?

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 20 January – Wednesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Hebrews 7: 1-3, 15-17, Psalms 110:1, 2, 3, 4, Mark 3:1-6

“Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. – Mark 3:5-6

REFLECTION – “You have not seen God; you have not recognised the Lord; you did not know that it was He, God’s Firstborn, who was begotten before the morning star (Ps 110[109]:3), who caused light to spring up, who caused day to shine forth when He separated it from darkness, who set the first limits, suspending the earth, drying up the great abyss, spreading out the firmament …, who created the angels in heaven, setting thrones there and who shaped man of the earth. He it was who chose Israel and guided it from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Isaac and Jacob and the twelve patriarchs. It was He who led your fathers in Egypt, who protected and fed them. He, who gave them manna from heaven, who quenched their thirst from the rock, who gave them the Law and the promised land, who sent prophets to them and raised up their kings. It is He who has come to you, healing the sick and raising the dead … It is He whom you wanted to put to death, He whom you handed over for money. …

How have you esteemed the benefits bestowed on you? … Esteem now the withered hand He has restored to its body. Esteem now those born blind whom He has restored to the light with a word. Esteem now those dead He has raised from their tombs after three or four days. The gifts He has given you are priceless. And you …, you have repaid Him evil for good, affliction for joy, death for life.” – St Melito of Sardis (Died c 180) Bishop and Apologist – Homily on the Pasch, 82-90

PRAYER – Shed Your clear light on our hearts, Lord, keep us in Your Way, that we too may stretch out our hands and love to those who come our way. May Your law be our light and Your love our only way. Hear the prayers of the Your Angels and Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Our Lord and our mother and lead us to eternal life. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS on FAITH

Our Morning Offering – 20 January – Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 20 January – Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity

ACT of FAITH

O MY GOD,
I firmly believe
that Thou art one God in Three Divine Persons,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
I believe that Thy Divine Son became Man
and died for our sins
and that He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe these and all the truths
which the Holy Catholic Church teaches
because Thou hast revealed them,
Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.
Amen

ACT of HOPE

O MY GOD,
relying on Thy almighty power
and infinite mercy and promises,
I hope to obtain pardon of my sins,
the help of Thy grace
and Life Everlasting,
through the merits of Jesus Christ,
my Lord and Redeemer.
Amen

ACT of CHARITY

O MY GOD,
I love Thee above all things,
with my whole heart and soul
because Thou art all-good
and worthy of all love.
I love my neighbour as myself
for the love of Thee.
I forgive all who have injured me
and ask pardon.
of all whom I have injured.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 20 January – Saint Euthymius (c 377–473)

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Saint of the Day – 20 January – Saint Euthymius (c 377–473) Abbot, Hermit, Ascetic, founder of Monasteries, spiritual teacher. Born in c 377 at Melitine, Armenia (modern Malatya, Turkey) and died on 20 January 473 of natural causes. Also known as Euthymius the Great.

Euthymius was educated by Bishop Otreius of Melitene, who afterwards Ordained him Priest and placed him in charge of all the Monasteries in the Diocese of Melitene.

At the age of twenty-nine he secretly set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and remained for some time with a settlement of Monks, about six miles east of Jerusalem. In 411 he withdrew, with St Theoctistus, a fellow-hermit, into the wilderness and lived for a while in a rough cavern on the banks of a torrent. When many disciples gathered around them, they turned the cavern into a Church and built a Monastery which was placed under the Abbacy of St Theoctistus.

A miraculous cure which Euthymius effected for Terebon, the son of the Saracen chief Aspebetus, spread the fame of the holy hermit far beyond the confines of Palestine. Aspebetus was afterwards Ordained Priest and became Bishop over his area and people, in which capacity, he attended the Council of Ephesus in 431.

When the report of this miracle had made the name of Euthymius famous throughout Palestine and large crowds came to visit him in his solitude, he retreated with his disciple Domitian, to the wilderness of Ruba, near the Dead Sea. Here he lived for some time on a remote mountain called Marda whence he afterwards withdrew to the desert of Zipho. When large crowds also followed him to this place, he returned to the neighbourhood of the Monastery of Theoctistus, where he took up his abode in a cavern.

Every Sunday he came to the Monastery to take part in the Divine services. At length, because numerous disciples desired him as their spiritual guide, he founded, in 420, on the right side of the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, a Monastery made up of separate cells or huts where the hermits met in a communal area for meals, similar to that of Pharan. The Church connected with this Monastery was dedicated in 428 by Juvenal, the first Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The remains of St Euthymius’ Monastery

When the Council of Chalcedon (451) condemned the errors of Eutyches, it was greatly due to the authority of Euthymius that most of the Eastern recluses accepted its decrees. The Empress Eudoxia was converted to Catholic unity through his efforts.

The Church celebrates his feastday on 20 January, the day of his death.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, MARTYRS, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame-des-Tables / Our Lady of the Tables, Montpellier, France (1198) and Memorials of the Saints – 20 January

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Notre-Dame-des-Tables / Our Lady of the Tables, Montpellier, France “Arms of the City of Montpellier” (1198) – 20 January:
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Tables is intimately linked to the history of the city of Montpellier. It is located on the outskirts of town at Montpellier, France. The Shrine is said to have taken its name from the many tables of merchants and money changers who stood about the Church in the Middle Ages, for the Church was a stopping point for pilgrims to pray while on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

There once stood, at this site, a very ancient, renowned Church containing a shrine of Mary – the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her Son in her arms, extended over the City, so to say. She stood upon a byzantine pedestal or table and was fondly called the “Arms of the City of Montpellier.” In 1198, there were a series of miracles connected to devotion to the statue and attributed to Our Lady. The feast dates from the ninth Century and is annually celebrated on 20 January. The final destruction of the ancient Church of Our Lady of the Tables, built in 1230 and known as Arms of the City of Montpelier, occurred during the French Revolution and now only the wreck of the Crypt and burial vaults remain.

The original Church

This Statue housed at the Shrine was a famous Statue of black wood – Notre-Dame-des-Tables. In an attempt to preserve it during the Protestant uprisings the icon was hidden for a long time within a silver Statue of the Blessed Virgin, life-size and screened from the public view. It was stolen by the Calvinists and has since disappeared from history.
The original Church was destroyed by the revolutionaries but the current Basilica was begun, after the French Revolution had ended and the cult transferred to a Jesuit chapel. The Jesuit Church of Montpellier, Notre Dame des Tables, was begun in 1707. Although the statue has disappeared, the people of Montpellier believe Mary still extends her arms over the children of the city, as mentioned above. Her arms of love wield miraculous power, for she is the Mother of God.

The Altar Cloth

St Pope Fabian (c 200 – c 250) Martyr (Optional Memorial)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/01/20/saint-of-the-day-20-january-st-pope-fabian-c-200-c-250-martyr/

St Sebastian (Died c 288) Martyr (Optional Memorial)
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/saint-of-the-day-20-january-st-sebastian-died-c-288/

St Ascla of Antinoe
Bl Basil Anthony Marie Moreau
St Basilides the Senator
St Bassus the Senator
Bl Benedict Ricasoli
Bl Bernardo of Poncelli
Bl Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi
St Daniel of Cambron
Bl Didier of Thérouanne
St Eusebius the Senator
St Eustochia Calafato
St Euthymius (c 377–473) Abbot, Hermit
St Eustochia Smeraldo Calafato OSC (1434-1485)
Her Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/01/20/saint-of-the-day-20-january-st-eustochia-smeraldo-calafato-osc-1434-1485/
St Eutyches the Senator
St Fechin of Fobhar
Bl Francesco Paoli
Bl Jeroni Fábregas Camí
St Maria Cristina dell’Immacolata Concezione
St Molagga of Fermoy
St Neophytus of Nicaea
St Stephen Min Kuk-ka
St Wulfsin