Thought for the Day – 13 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Sin
In that we prefer our own wayward whims to the law of God, sin is an abuse of liberty. It is a revolt against right reason, the dictates of which, we refuse to obey. It is an offence against our Creator and Redeemer, whose commandments we despise and whose redeeming grace, we reject by our actions. It is moreover, an act of supreme folly, for it extinguishes, not only the supernatural splendour of grace but, also, the natural light of reason. Through sin, man is brutalised and experiences in himself, as his first punishment, the confusion of his whole being.
In practice, the sinner denies God, Who has created and redeemed him. He upsets the natural order of things and is violently separated from the source of all truth, beauty and goodness. As a result, he experiences, in himself, the hell which he has constructed with his own hands – a hell of emptiness, disgust and remorse. Unless the helping hand of God reaches out to rescue him from the abyss, all this is simply a bitter foretaste of eternal despair. God, as St Augustine has written, has ordained from all eternity, that every dissolute soul will be it’s own punishment. For the sinner, hell begins on this earth! There can be no peace for the wicked.
When we realise, the gravity, stupidity and dire consequences of sin, it seems impossible, that a rational being, enlightened and enriched by divine grace, should continue to sin. Nevertheless, sad experience teaches us that the lives of individuals, families and human society in general, are often distorted by this evil, which is the root of all other evils.”
Quote/s of the Day – 13 September – Readings: Timothy 2: 1-8; Psalm 28: 2, 7-9; Luke 7: 1-10
“Lord, … I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof… but only say the word …”
Luke 7:6,7
‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
Luke 18:13
“’You can make me clean.’”
Matthew 8:2
“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
“What are you afraid of, you men of little faith? That He will not pardon your sins? But with His own hands He has nailed them to the cross. That you are used to soft living and your tastes are fastidious? But He knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2:7). That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain? But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners. Or perhaps that angered by the enormity and frequency of your sins, He is slow to extend a helping hand? But where sin abounded, grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20). Are you worried about clothing and food and other bodily necessities so that you hesitate to give up your possessions? But He knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32). What more can you wish? What else is there to hold you back from the way of salvation? ”
St Bernard (1091-1153) Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
“Aspire to God with short but frequent outpourings of the heart, admire His bounty, invoke His aid, cast yourself in spirit at the foot of His Cross, adore His goodness, treat with Him of your salvation, give Him your whole soul – a thousand times in the day.”
One Minute Reflection – 13 September – Readings: Timothy 2: 1-8; Psalm 28: 2, 7-9; Luke 7: 1-10 – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
“And Jesus went with them but when he was only a short distance from the house, the Centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof…” – Luke 7:6
REFLECTION – “I am not worthy that you should enter my house. I am not capable of receiving the Sun of Righteousness in its entirety; a little radiance from it, is sufficient for me to remove sickness, as it does for the darkness.” When our Lord heard this, He marvelled at him. God marvelled at a human being! He said to those who were near Him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in anyone among the house of Israel have I found this kind of faith.” The Centurion had brought them and he came, so that they would be advocates on his behalf. He rebuked them because they did not possess his faith. To show that the Centurion’s faith was the first of the faith of the Gentiles, He said, “Do not imagine that this faith can be limited to the cCnturion.” For he saw and believed. “Many will believe who have not seen.” “Many will come from the east and from the west and will sit at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” – St Ephrem (306-373) Deacon, Father and Doctor of the Church – (Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron, 6.)
PRAYER – Lord God and holy Father, guard our faith we pray and grace us with Your mercy. Keep us ever faithful to Your precepts and bring us to Your home, to look upon Your Face. May the prayers of Your saints assist us on our journey. In your untiring life of trust in God, And may our Holy and Sorrowful Mother Mary, be our merciful protector. We ask all this through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 13 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
Monday is the day in which we . begin the work week with extra devotion to the Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Trinity to Whom we pray for enlightenment, for wisdom, for the light of inspiration. We ask the Holy Spirit to work in and through us over the course of the day and the week. To remind us we are instruments and help us to seek only the Will of God..
O God, Send forth Your Holy Spirit By St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church
O God, send forth Your Holy Spirit into my heart that I may perceive, into my mind, that I may remember, and into my soul, that I may meditate. Inspire me to speak with piety, holiness, tenderness and mercy. Teach, guide and direct my thoughts and senses, from beginning to end. May Your grace, ever help and correct me, and may I be strengthened now with wisdom from on high, for the sake of Your infinite mercy. Amen
Saint of the Day – 13 September – Saint Notburga (c 1265-1313) Virgin, Laywoman, Servant, Apostle of the poor, Born in c 1265 at Rattenberg, Austria and died on 13 September 1313 at Buch , Austria. Patronages – Servants and peasants. Also known as – Notburga of Rattenberg or Notburga of Eben.
Long revered as the Patron Saint of servants and peasants, Notburga is an example of a Saint whose care for the poor, sprung not out of her own wealth but followed the example of the widow with two mites, whose overflowing generosity compelled her to give all that she had, even though it was little (Lk 21:1-4). Notburga was born circa 1265 at Rattenberg, in the present-day state of Bavaria, Germany. Notburga is a popular German Saint,and three primary legends constitute the core of her biography.
Notburga served as a cook in the family of Count Henry of Rothenburg and used the little authority she had in this position, to assist the poor in the community. Her mistress Ottilia ordered Notburga to feed the leftover food from their dinner table, to the swine but Notburga gave it instead to the hungry. When she was discovered, she instead saved some of her own food and brought it to the poor, especially on Fridays, in observance of the Friday fast and duty of penance. On one such Friday, Notburga encountered her Master on her mission to the poor and Henry commanded her to show him the food that she was carrying. Notburga obeyed but in place of food, Henry saw only wood shavings and sawdust and, when sipping the wine, he tasted only vinegar. As a result, the family dismissed her. But Otilla soon fell dangerously ill. Despite being dismissed from the family service, Notburga remained with her former mistress without pay, to nurse her through her sickness.
Afterward, Notburga entered the service of a peasant in the Town of Eben, with the single condition that she be permitted to go to Mass on holy days. Instead of going during the day and diminishing her hours of work, Notburga would go in the evening. One evening, her master urged her to continue working in the field instead of going to Mass. Seeking some divine assistance to make her case, Notburga threw her sickle into the air and said: “Let my sickle be judge between me and you.” Notburga’s employer watched, astonished, as the sickle remained suspended in mid-air.
St Notburga’s life in pictures
After Notburga left his employ, Count Henry of Rothenburg’s fortunes took a serious turn for the worse. His household suffered endless hardships and bad fortune, which Henry began to ascribe to his dismissal of Notburga. In order to regain his good fortune, Henry sought out Notburga and implored her to return to work for him. Graciously, Notburga agreed and, upon her return, Henry’s estate prospered like never before.
As Notburga approached death, she instructed her Master to place her corpse on a wagon drawn by two oxen and to bury her wherever the oxen would stop. Upon her death, on 13 September 1313, Henry did as she commanded. His oxen drew the wagon to the Chapel of St Rupert near Eben, where she was laid to rest and where she still draws pilgrims who beg her ipowerful ntercession. Her cult was ratified on 27 March 1862 by Pope Pius IX and her feast is celebrated on the 13th of September. Notburga is usually represented with an ear of corn or flowers and a sickle in her hand or suspended in the air.
Saint Notburga, whose generous and faithful love inspired the rich and poor alike—pray for us!
Beata Vergine delle Grazie / Blessed Virgin of Grace, Chieri, Torino, Piedmont, Italy (1630) – Second Monday of September:
The Bubonic Plague that swept Europe in 1630 was especially deadly in northern Italy. The City of Turin lost over 70 percent of its population. The neighbouring City of Chieri appointed a commission to control the epidemic. In the absence of reliable medical solutions, the commission’s first action was to seek divine help, vowing on 26 June to build a Chapel to the Blessed Virgin of Graces in Chieri’s main Church, Santa Maria della Scala (St. Mary of the Stair). Chieri had lost 40 percent of its population. The survivors built the Chapel, where a wooden Statue of the Madonna and Child by Piedmontese sculptor, Pietro Botto, was installed in 1642. The Blessed Virgin of Graces became the Patron Saint of Chieri, which celebrates her with a Novena of special Masses and prayers and a secular program of music, dancing and food, culminating in her festa on the second Monday in September.
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 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 Notburga (c 1265-1313) Virgin 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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