Day: February 20, 2021

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, ON the SAINTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on THE LIGHT of CHRIST, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 20 February – Doing Everything for the Love of God

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

Doing Everything for the Love of God

“The beginning of perfection consists in doing the will of God, even in our smallest actions.
But, to do everything for the love of God, is the summit of Christian perfection.
If we aimed always at doing God’s will and acting from the motive of love for Him, we should be contented and at peace, because we should be holy.
The saints are the only people who remain calm and undisturbed in the midst of worldly adversity.
They are always content, because they live in God.
Their lives are in full conformity with His Will, guided by His Love and dedicated to His Service.
As a result, they live in a kind of spiritual stratosphere far above the storms of this world.
There they are above the clouds of pride, ambition, avarice and all the other major vices.
There they see and contemplate everything in the Light of God.
Let us become saints.
Then we shall have solved all the problems of life!.” Amen

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Posted in "Follow Me", ARMOUR of CHRIST, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, LENT, LENT 2021, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, The WORD, THOMAS a KEMPIS

Day Four of our Lenten Journey – ‘A man must fight long and bravely against himself …’

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Day Four of our Lenten Journey – 20 February – Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Readings: Isaiah 58: 9-14, Psalms 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, Luke 5:27-32

Imitating Christ with Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)

In Your Light Lord, we see light

“Those who are well, have no need of a physician but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” – Luke 5:31-32

The holy Martyr, Lawrence, with his priest, conquered the world because he despised everything in it that seemed pleasing to him and for love of Christ patiently suffered the great high priest of God, Sixtus, whom he loved dearly, to be taken from him. Thus, by his love for the Creator, he overcame the love of man and chose instead of human consolation the good pleasure of God.
So you, too, must learn to part with an intimate and much-needed friend for the love of God.
Do not take it to heart when you are deserted by a friend, knowing that in the end we must all be parted from one another.

A man must fight long and bravely against himself before he learns to master himself fully and to direct all his affections toward God. When he trusts in himself, he easily takes to human consolation.
The true lover of Christ, however, who sincerely pursues virtue, does not fall back upon consolations nor seek such pleasures of sense but prefers severe trials and hard labours for the sake of Christ. …

In what can I hope, then, or in Whom ought I trust, save only in the great mercy of God and the hope of heavenly grace? For though I have with me good men, devout brethren, faithful friends, holy books, beautiful treatises, sweet songs and hymns, all these help and please but little when I am abandoned by grace and left to my poverty.
At such times there is no better remedy than patience and resignation of self to the will of God.

The devil does not sleep, nor is the flesh yet dead, therefore, you must never cease your preparation for battle, because on the right and on the left are enemies who never rest. (Book 2, Ch9, 2-3,6,8)

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE LIGHT of CHRIST, The HEART, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 20 February – “Follow me.” Luke 5:27 ‘This is the glory of man …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 20 February – Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Readings: Isaiah 58: 9-14, Psalms 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, Luke 5:27-32

“Follow me.”

Luke 5:27

“This is the glory of man –
to persevere and remain
in the service of God.
For this reason,
the Lord told His disciples:
‘You did not choose Me but I chose you.’
He meant that His disciples
did not glorify Him by following Him
but, in following the Son of God,
they were glorified by Him.
As He said:
‘I wish that where I am
they also may be,
that they may see My glory.’”

St Irenaeus (130-202)
Father of the Church and Martyr

From his Against Heresies (Book 4)

“Christ is the artist,
tenderly wiping away
all the grime of sin
that disfigures the human face
and restoring God’s image
to its full beauty.”

St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–C 395)
Father of the Church

“To welcome the Word of God
into the interior depths of one’s heart
is to be revived by food in plenty
and the eternal spring.
It is to hunger and thirst no more (Jn 6,35).”

St Ambrose (340-397)
Bishop of Milan
Father & Doctor of the Church

Commentary on Saint Luke’s gospel, 5, 16 ; SC 45

“Where, then, is true freedom?
It is in the heart of one who loves
nothing more than God.
It is in the heart of one who is attached
neither to spirit nor to matter
but only to God.
It is in that soul which is not subject
to the “I” of egoism,
which soars above its own thoughts,
feelings, suffering and enjoyment.
Freedom resides in the soul
whose one reason for existence is God,
whose life is God
and nothing else but God.”

Saint Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938)
Spanish Trappist Monk

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARTYRS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 February – ‘. I, Levi …’ Luke 5:27-32

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One Minute Reflection – 20 February – Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Readings Isaiah 58: 9-14, Psalms 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, Luke 5:27-32 and the Memorial of St Elutherius of Tournai (c 456-532) Bishop and Martyr and Saints Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta (1910-1920)

“Those who are well, have no need of a physician but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” – Luke 5:31-32

REFLECTION – “The Apostle Paul said: “Take off the old self with its practices and put on the new self” (Col 3,9-10)… This was the work Christ accomplished when He called Levi; He refashioned him into a new man. Similarly, it is as a new person, that the former publican prepares a banquet for Christ since Christ takes pleasure in him and he himself, merits to have a share in happiness with Christ… He followed him now, happy, light-hearted and overflowing with joy.

“I have the aspect of a publican no more,” he said, “I don’t carry around the old Levi any longer; I put off Levi when I put on Christ. I flee from my earlier life; my Lord Jesus, you alone, who heal my wounds, I desire to follow. Who shall separate me from the love of God … ? tribulation? anguish? hunger? (Cf Rom 8,35). I am bound to You by faith as by nails, I am held fast by the worthy bonds of love. All Your commandments will be like a cautery that I will apply firmly to my wound; the remedy stings but it takes away the ulcerous infection. Lord Jesus, with Your powerful sword, cut away the corruption of my sins: come quickly, lance my hidden and varied passions. Purge away all infection in the new bath.

“Listen to me, you people who are fixed to the earth, you whose thoughts are intoxicated by your sins. I, Levi, was also wounded by similar passions. But I found a doctor who dwells in heaven and pours out His remedies on earth. He alone can cure my wounds since He Himself has none. He alone can remove the heart’s pain and the soul’s lethargy, for He knows everything that lies hidden.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church – Commentary on Saint Luke’s Gospel, 5, 23.27

PRAYER – Come my all-powerful, ever-living God, look with compassion on our frailty and for our protection, stretch out to us Your strong right hand. Grant that by the prayers of Mary, our Mother and all your angels and saints we may change our ways, leave everything behind, proclaim the glory of Your kingdom and come safely home to You. St Eleutherius and Sts Jacinta and Francisco, pray for us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CONSECRATION Prayers, DOCTORS of the Church, INDULGENCES, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 20 February –Indulgenced Act of Consecration, Most Holy Mary, By St Francis de Sales

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Our Morning Offering – 20 February – Saturday after Ash Wednesday and always a Marian Saturday

Most Holy Mary,
Virgin Mother of God
Act of Consecration
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Indulgence of 300 days, for each recitation
St Pius X, 17 November 1906

Most Holy Mary,
Virgin Mother of God,
I ………., most unworthy though I am to be thy servant,
yet touched by thy motherly care for me
and longng to serve thee,
do, in the presence of my Guardian Angel
and all the court of heaven,
choose thee this day to be my Queen,
my Advocate and my Mother
and I firmly purpose to serve thee evermore myself
and, to do what I can, that all may
render faithful service to thee.
Therefore, most devoted Mother,
through the Precious Blood thy Son poured out for me,
I beg thee and beseech thee,
deign to take me among thy clients
and receive me as thy servant forever.
Aid me in my every action
and beg for me the grace never,
by word or deed or thought,
to be displeasing in thy sight
and that of thy most holy Son.
Think of me, my dearest Mother
and desert me not at the hour of death.
Amen

Posted in MARTYRS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 20 February – Saint Eleutherius of Tournai (c 456-532) Bishop, Martyr.

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Saint of the Day – 20 February – Saint Eleutherius of Tournai (c 456-532) the first Bishop of Tournai, Martyr. Confessor. Born in c 456 at Tournai, western Belgium and died by being murdered by Arian heretics in 532 while leaving his Church in Tournai. Additional Memorial – 25 August (translation of relics). He was a lifelong friend of St. Medard (c 456-545) and the two saints had been courtiers before becoming Bishops. (St Medard’s life here: https://anastpaul.com/2020/06/08/saint-of-the-day-8-june-saint-medard-c-456-545-bishop/).

Eleutherius is venerated as a Martyr although this legend is considered an invention of the Canon Priest Henri of Tournai, who wrote a Vita of Eleutherius in 1141. At the end of the 11th century the Church of Tournai had been trying to become independent from the Diocese of Noyon and Henri had been motivated by the need to prove the antiquity of the Church of Tournai.

Henri’s account states that Eleutherius was a native of Tournai who was born during the reign of Childeric I. Eleutherius’ parents were Christians and were named Terenus and Blanda; Terenus was a descendant in the family of Irenaeus of Lyons. Persecutions of Christians forced the family to flee to a village named Blandain but after the conversion of Clovis to Christianity, the family built a Church at Blandain.

Church of Saint Eleuthère at Blandain

Eleutherius eventually became Bishop of Tournai and was consulted by Pope Hormisdas on the matter of eradicating Arianism. Eleutherius convened a Church Council and argued effectively against the Arians, who were angered by this.

The Cathedral of Tournai

One day, as he was going to his Cathedral Church, he was beaten by a group of Arians and left for dead. He subsequently died from the wounds he received, on his death-bed confiding, his flock to St Medard.
​
There exists a testimony recording the recovery of his relics during the episcopate of Bishop Hedilo of Tournai, in 897 or 898. Bishop Baudoin translated Eleutherius’ relics in 1064 or 1065. Eleutherius’ relics were translated again in 1247, when the great reliquary shrine was commissioned by Bishop Walter de Marvis. In its gable end. St Eleutherius appears, holding his crozier in one hand and in the other a model of the Cathedral with its five spires.

The Reliquary Shrine of Saint Eleutherius, 1247, in the Cathedral of Tournai

The Monastery of St. Martin at Tours and the Cathedral of Bruges, also claimed some of the saint’s relics.

Posted in DOMINICAN OP, MARIAN TITLES, MARTYRS, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de Bolougn-sur-Mer / Our Lady of Bolougne-sur-Mer, France (633) and Memorials of the Saints – 20 February

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Notre-Dame de Bolougn-sur-Mer / Our Lady of Bolougn-sur-Mer, France (633) – 20 February:

In the year 636, a small group of people standing on the seashore witnessed a ship without oars or sails came into the harbour of Boulogne. It finally came to rest in the estuary, seemingly of its own accord. One of the witnesses boarded the boat and confirmed that there was no-one aboard and that the vessel had no rudder, oars or sails.
The ship, however, bore a luminous statue of Our Lady. Taking hold of it to bring it to land, a voice was heard saying, “I choose your City as a place of grace.” The citizens welcomed Mary to their city by erecting a Shrine to her, which reached its height of glory in the 12th Century.

King Henry VIII is reported to have stolen the Statue of Our Lady of Boulogne and taken it to England. After many negotiations, the French managed to get it back. The image had been stolen and hidden many other times but always saved and returned.
World War II almost completely destroyed the Statue. In modern times, four exact replicas of Our Lady of Boulogne toured France for more than seven years, as a symbol of French devotion to Mary. One of these was taken to Walsingham, England in 1948 and carried in procession by the “Cross-bearing pilgrimate” when many other Statues and images of the Virgin visited England.
Bologne was one of the most important Lady shrines of medieval France; among its noted pilgrims have been: Henry III, Edward II, the Black Prince, John of Gaunt.
Marian Feast Day, 10 July: The dedication of a new Church built in honour of Our Lady of Boulogne was consecrated in the year 1469 by Bishop Chartier of Paris. The confraternity of Our Lady of Boulogne was so celebrated, that six French kings have chosen to belong to it.

At the French Revolution, the Statue was burnt to ashes and the Church pulled down. A new Shrine and Statue was made in 1803 and pilgrimages began again. The image represents the Mother with the Child in her arms, standing in a boat, with an angel on either side. At the Marian Congress in Bolougne in 1938, a custom began to take replicas of this Statue “in turn” in France and abroad. A branch of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Compassion at Bolougne has been established for the reconciliation of the Church of England.
The Sanctuary Church at Bolougne was badly damaged during World War II and Mary’s image smashed but the return, the “Great Return” of one of the copies of the Statue which had been sheltered at Lourdes, took place in 1943 and the occasion will long be remembered by lovers of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The shrine of Our Lady of Boulogne-sur-Mer, built in 1866.

Most remarkable about the Grand Return was the unprecedented avalanche of graces, especially of conversions and penance. Thousands upon thousands of atheists, communists, freemasons and fallen-away Catholics converted on the spot when they saw Our Lady enter their village. One bishop described the effect on the faithful:

“The passing of Our Lady in my Diocese is the most extraordinary contemporary religious event of our times and the most significant. Crowds of people rose up, motivated and enthusiastic. In fact, the confessionals and communion rails were besieged during the holy vigils, while the recitation of the mysteries of the Rosary kept the faithful praying in the Churches. In some Parishes, there were tremendous conversions like never seen before on the missions.”

Young men of the French Boy Scouts, barefoot in the spirit of penance, carry Our Lady of the Grand Return in February 1946.

St Amata of Assisi OSC (Died c 1250)
St Bolcan of Derken
St Colgan
St Eleutherius of Tournai (c 456-532) Bishop and Martyr
St Eucherius of Orleans OSB (c 687-743)
About St Eucherius:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/20/saint-of-the-day-20-february-saint-eucherius-of-orleans-c-687-743/
St Falco of Maastricht
St Francisco Marto (1908-1919)
St Jacinta Marto (1910-1920)
Today (2021) is the Fifth Anniversary of their Canonisation: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/saints-of-the-day-20-february-saints-francisco-1908-1919-and-jacinta-marta-1910-1920
St Leo of Catania
St Nemesius of Cyprus
St Pothamius of Cyprus
St Serapion of Alexandria
St Silvanus of Emesa
Blessed Stanislawa/Julia Rodzinska OP (1899-1945) Martyr
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/20/saint-of-the-day-20-february-blessed-julia-rodzinska-op-1899-1945-martyr/
St Valerius of Courserans
St Wulfric of Haselbury
St Zenobius of Antioch