Month: December 2021

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on SUFFERING

Thought for the Day – 6 December – The Blessedness of Those Who Suffer Persecution

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Thought for the Day – 6 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Blessedness of Those Who Suffer Persecution

“It would seem impossible, that suffering and persecution, could bring us happiness.
Yet, we have our Lord’s assurance for it.
“Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice’s sake,” He says, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men reproach you and persecute you and, speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you, for MY sake. Rejoice and exult for your reward is great in heaven” (Mt 5:9-12).

Not only is this true of persecution borne in defence of the Faith and of the Church but, it is equally true of any kind of trouble and suffering as long as it is endured for the love of God.
“Rejoice,” writes St Peter, “insofar as you are partakers of the sufferings of Christ, that you may also rejoice with exultation in the revelation of his glory” (1 Peter 4:13).

“It is good for us now and then,” The Imitation of Christ assures us, “to have some troubles and adversities, for oftentimes, they make a man enter into himself, that he may know that he is an exile and place not his hopes in anything of the world.
It is good for us sometimes, to suffer contradictions and to allow people to think ill and slightingly of us, even when we do and mean well.
These are often helps to humility and rid us of vainglory.
For then we more earnestly seek God to be witness of what passes within us, when outwardly, we are slighted by men and incur their discredit” (Bk 1 c 12).

This is a repetition of the teaching of Jesus Christ, Who said: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23).

The happiness which our Lord promises us, is that which results from our own self-renewal and from the acceptance of our cross.
This happiness, is not easy to acquire because, our selfish and sensual impulses, as well as the insults of others, seem to be forever stirring up a nest of vipers inside us.
Too often, our hearts are overflowing, not with happiness but, with rebelion.
How can we remedy this?
There is only one way.
We must love God so much, that we are prepared to endure everything willingly, for love of Him.
Those who suffer are blessed, therefore, only on one condition, namely, on condition that they suffer for love of God.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 December – “Thy sins are forgiven thee …Arise and walk.” – Luke 5:23

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 December – Monday of the Second Week of Advent, Readings: Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalms 85:9 and 10, 11-12, 13-14, Luke 5:17-26

“Thy sins are forgiven thee …
Arise and walk.”

Luke 5:23

“Rise, you who were lying fast asleep…
Rise and hurry to the Church:
here is the Father,
here is the Son,
here is the Holy Spirit.”

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Then the righteous shall shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.”

Matthew 13:43

“So from now on, run well (cf. Gal 5:7)
and may the devil not bewitch you (cf. Gal 3:1)
nor hinder you! …
May mercy, peace, charity,
freedom from envy,
from jealousy and ostentation
come upon you, docility, friendly speech,
solidarity, compassion
towards each other, humility.”

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)

“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

My Lord Jesus Christ,
You have made this journey
to die for me, with love unutterable
and I have so many times unworthily abandoned You
but now I love You with my whole heart
and because I love You,
I repent sincerely for having ever offended You.
Pardon me, my God
and permit me to accompany You on this journey.
You go to die for love of me,
I wish also, my beloved Redeemer,
to die for love of Thee.
My Jesus, I will live
and die always united to You.”
Amen

By St Alphonsus Mary Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SIN, The HEART

One Minute Reflection – 6 December – ‘ … Each day He sees our lack of faith …’

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One Minute Reflection – 6 December – Monday of the Second Week of Advent, Readings: Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalms 85:9 and 10, 11-12, 13-14, Luke 5:17-26

“Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts?” – Luke 5:22

REFLECTION – “Thanks to the faith of others the cripple’s soul would be cured before his body. “Seeing their faith,” the Gospel says. Note here, my brethren, that God is not interested in what foolish people want and does noy expect to find faith among the ignorant … among those who conduct themselves badly. On the other hand he does not refuse to come to the help of others’ faith. Such faith is a gift of grace, at one with God’s will … In His divine goodness, Christ the Physician, strives to draw to salvation, even in spite of themselves, those affected by sickness of soul, those whom the burden of their sins and offences overwhelms, even to delirium. Yet they do not want to submit.

O my brethren, if only we wanted to, if only we all wanted to perceive our soul’s paralysis in all its depth! Then we would see that it is lying on a stretcher of sins, deprived of strength. Christ’s action within us, would be a source of light and we would understand that each day He sees our lack of faith, harmful as it is, that He draws us towards healing remedies and sharply presses our rebellious wills. “My son” He says, “your sins are forgiven you.” – St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon 50 ; PL 52, 339).

PRAYER – Prayer of St Ambrose (340-397)
O Lord, who has mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of Your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore You,
a heart to delight in You,
to follow and enjoy You,
for Christ’s sake.
Amen

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN

Our Morning Offering – 6 December – Pardon Lord, I Ask

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Our Morning Offering – 6 December – Monday of the Second Week of Advent

Pardon Lord, I Ask
By St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Lord Jesus Christ,
Who stretched out Your Hands on the Cross
and redeemed us by Your Blood,
forgive me, a sinner ,
for none of my thoughts
are hidden from You.
Pardon I ask,
Pardon I hope for,
Pardon I trust to have.
You, Who are full of pity and mercy,
spare me and forgive.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 6 December – Saint Asella of Rome , “A Flower of the Lord” (Died c 406)

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Saint of the Day – 6 December – Saint Asella of Rome (Died c 406) Virgin Hermit Friend of St Jerome., Ascetic, Prioress, “A Flower of the Lord.” She died in c 406 of natural causes. Also known as Osella and Ocella.

The Roman Martyrology states: “At Rome, St Asella, Virgin, who according to the words of St Jerome, being blessed from her mother’s womb, lived to old age in fasting and prayer.”

Asella was a disciple and friend of Saint Jerome, who spoke of her in his writings. She was a member of a noble and wealthy Roman Christian family, perhaps the sister of Marcella, another ascetic and saint.

When Asella was ten years old, she heard St Athanasius speak during his third and final visit to Rome and that, already being a “pious child”, inspired her to “dedicate her life to the service of Christ.” At first, her parents would not allow her to wear the garments usually worn by ascetics but she secretly sold a gold necklace, paid for the garment’s production and when she was 12, surprised her parents by appearing to them in “this garb of consecration.”

From that time on, Asella lived in silence and seclusion, living in a small cell, sleeping on the ground or on a stone, upon which she also prayed. She fasted all year, living on bread, salt, and water, often eating nothing for two or three days,and would fast for many weeks at a time during Lent. She lived a life of self-isolation, leaving her cell only to visit the Churches of the Martyrs and often, without being seen by others and rarely by her own sister.

According to historian Claude Fieury, Asella never spoke to any man. As hagiographer Agnes Dunbar stated, “She worked with her hands and sang psalms.” Despite her austere lifestyle, it did not affect her health. Jerome wrote that “with a sound body and even sounder soul, she found for herself a monkish cell in the midst of a busy Rome.” Fleury also said about Asella: “Her life was simple and regular and in the midst of Rome led a life of perfect solitude.”

St Jerome also cited Asella as an example and role model for young women, widows and virgins, calling her “A Flower of the Lord.”

In 405, the Bishop and Historian ,Palladius of Galatia visited Rome and met Asella, who was 70 years old at the time. He called her “the gentlest of women” and reported that she was in charge of a community of nuns.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame de Séez/ Our Lady of Séez, Normandy, France (5th Century) and Memorials of the Saints – 6 December

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Notre-Dame de Séez/ Our Lady of Séez, Normandy, France (5th Century) – 6 December:

Saint Latuinus (Died c 440), the first Bishop of Séez, built the first Cathedral to Our Lady in the Diocese of Seez. The original Cathedral would date back to the middle of the 5th century. A later Church replaced it – one dedicated under the title of Notre-Dame-du-Vivier. The Normans, at the beginning of the 5th century, destroyed this structure. A third Church was built, a hundred meters away on the site of a pagan temple. This one had added to it, the names of the martyrs Saints Fervais and Protase, whose relics were enshrined there. A special Chapel in the Cathedral recalled the memory of the first cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of Seez, for Mary remained the principal Patroness of the Diocese.
Many famous people made pilgrimages to Our Lady of Seez – among them were Saint Germain, Bishop of Paris; Saint Evroult, Founder of the Abbey of Ouche; Saint Osmond, Count of Seez, who became Bishop of Salisbury; Saint Thierry, Abbot of Saint Evroult; Saint Louis IX was there in 1259 and about the same time Blessed Giles, one of the early companions of Saint Francis of Assisi, came to recommend to Mary’s protection, the first French Franciscan Convent, which he was going to found at Seez. The Augustinians served the sanctuary from 1127.
In the latter half of the 18th century, the Bishop of Seez, in response to the wishes of the entire Diocese, repaired and embellished the Chapel of Our Lady at considerable expense. Later the work of redoing the entire Cathedral was undertaken. In June of 1784, the Cathedral chapter asked the Bishop to consecrate the new Altar and the entire Cathedral under the patronage of Our Lady. This was done in 1786.
Mary rewarded the prelates for their zeal in promoting her honour, by granting all of them the grace of Martyrdom in the violent persecution that broke out in 1792.
The beautiful façade of the Cathedral was destroyed in 1795. A revolutionary bought the debris with the intent of building a private property, however, two attempts proved failures and he finally gave up the attempt. After the revolution, a new Cathedral was built when the Diocese was re-established by the Concordat of 1802.

St Nicholas (270-343) (Optional Memorial) Bishop, Confessor, Abbot, Apostle of Charity, Miracle-worker.
Full Biography here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/saint-of-the-day-6-december-st-nicholas-270-343/
More:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/06/saint-of-the-day-st-nicholas-270-343-bishop/

St Abraham of Kratia ( c 474–c 558) Bishop, Monk, Hermit.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/06/saint-of-the-day-6-december-saint-abraham-of-kratia-c-474-c-558/

St Aemilianus the Martyr
Bl Angelica of Milazzo
St Asella of Rome (Died c 406) Virgin Hermit Friend of St Jerome
St Boniface the Martyr
St Dativa the Martyr
St Dionysia the Martyr
St Gerard of La Charite
St Gertrude the Elder
St Giuse Nguyen Duy Khang
St Isserninus of Ireland
Bl Janos Scheffler
St Leontia the Martyr
St Majoricus the Martyr

St Peter Pascual (Died 1299) Bishop and Martyr, Theologian.
His Feast Day should be 23 October – changed in 1969.
His life and death:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/06/saint-of-the-day-6-december-saint-peter-pascual-died-1299-bishop-and-martyr/

St Polychronius
St Tertus
—
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Esteban Vázquez Alonso
• Blessed Florencio Rodríguez Guemes
• Blessed Gregorio Cermeño Barceló
• Blessed Heliodoro Ramos García
• Blessed Ireneo Rodríguez González
• Blessed Juan Lorenzo Larragueta Garay
• Blessed Luis Martínez Alvarellos
• Blessed Luisa María Frías Cañizares
• Blessed Miguel Lasaga Carazo
• Blessed Narciso Pascual y Pascual
• Blessed Pascual Castro Herrera
• Blessed Vicente Vilumbrales Fuente

Martyred Salesians of Guadalajara (Spanish Civil War) – 7 beati:
• Blessed Gregorio Cermeño Barceló
• Blessed Ireneo Rodríguez González
• Blessed Luisa María Frías Cañizares
• Blessed Narciso Pascual y Pascual
• Blessed Vicente Vilumbrales Fuente

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on SIN, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 5 December – The Blessedness of the Peracemakers

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Thought for the Day – 5 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Blessedness of the Peracemakers

“The spirit of peace pervades the Gospel.
When Jesus is born, choirs of angels sing above the stable in Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest ad on earth, peace among men of good will” (Lk 2:14).
When our Saviour has risen gloriously from the dead, He appears to His disciples and greets them with the words: “Peace be to you.”
Finally, when He is departing from this earth, He leaves his peace to His followers as their inheritance. “Peace I leave with you,” He says to them, “my peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled or be afraid” (Jn 14:27).

Exactly what is the peace of Jesus Christ?
It is much different from worldly peace, presuming that the world can give some kind of peace.
St Paul says of the Saviour that “he himself is our peace” (Eph 2:14).
How are we to understand what is meant by this?
The Apostle himself explains when he writes: “Having been justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1).
Jesus Christ, therefore, is our peacemaker.
He has shouldered our iniquities and has offered Himself to the Father as a victim of expiation and of reconciliation.
It is at the price of Christ’s precious blood, that we have regained peace with God and freedom from our sins.
This is the peace which our Lord has given us.
Let us remember, however, that if we return to the slavery of sin, we shall lose at once, the jewel of peace which Jesus Christ has bestowed on us.
“There is no peace to the wicked” (Isa 48:22).
We have experienced on many occasions how true this is.
Sin destroys peace of soul because it deprives us of Jesus, without Whom, peace cannot survive.
Let us resolve, therefore, to remain always close to our Lord and far from sin.
Then only shall we be able to preserve our peace of mind in the midst of temptations and of earthly sorrows.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, NOVENAS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Immaculate Conception Novena – Day Seven – 5 December

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Day Seven – Immaculate Conception Novena

Let us begin:
In the Name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

O most Holy Virgin,
who was pleasing to the Lord
and became His Mother,
Immaculate in body and spirit,
in faith and in love,
look kindly on us
as we implore your powerful intercession.

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God
and our Mother,
from the sublime heights of your dignity,
turn your merciful eyes upon us while we,
full of confidence in your bounty
and fully conscious of your power,
beg of you, to come to our aid
and ask your Divine Son
to grant the favour we earnestly seek
in this novena…
if it be beneficial for our immortal souls
and the souls for whom we pray.
…………………………
(State your intention here… )
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception,
Mother of Christ,
you had influence with your Divine Son,
while upon this earth,
you have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us and obtain for us
from Him the granting of our petition
if it be the Divine Will.
Amen

Say the: Our Father…
the: Hail Mary…
the: Glory Be…

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The HEART, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The WORD, Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 5 December – Prepare the way of the Lord … Luke 3:4

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Quote/s of the Day – 5 December – The Second Sunday of Advent – Readings: Baruch 5: 1-9; Psalm 126: 1-6; Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11; Luke 3: 1-6

“Prepare the way of the Lord
make his paths straight” …

Luke 3:4

“There is still time for endurance,
time for patience,
time for healing,
time for change.
Have you slipped?
Rise up!
Have you sinned?
Cease!
Do not stand among sinners
but leap aside!”

St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Open wide your door
to the One who comes.
Open your soul,
throw open the depths of your heart
to see the riches of simplicity,
the treasures of peace,
the sweetness of grace.
Open your heart and run to meet
the Sun of eternal Light
that illuminates all men.”

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“If we wish to make any progress
in the service of God,
we must begin everyday of our life,
with new eagerness.
We must keep ourselves,
in the presence of God,
as much as possible
and have no other view or end,
in all our actions
but the divine honour.”

St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)

“Come, O come, for without You
there will be no happy day
or hour because You are my happiness
and without You my table is empty.
I am wretched, as it were imprisoned
and weighted down with fetters,
until You fill me with the Light of Your Presence,
restore me to liberty
and show me a friendly countenance.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
(Book 3 Ch 21:1,4-6)

Posted in "Follow Me", ADVENT REFLECTIONS, BAPTISM, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 December – “A pure way will be there, called the holy way”

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One Minute Reflection – 5 December – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” and The Second Sunday of Advent – Readings: Baruch 5: 1-9; Psalm 126: 1-6; Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11; Luke 3: 1-6

“Prepare the way of the Lord” – Luke 3:4

REFLECTION – “Let the desert and the parched land exult! Let the arid ground rejoice and bloom. Let it bloom with abundant flowers” (Is 35:1). What the inspired Scriptures usually call ‘desert’ and ‘waste,‘ is the Church of the pagans. She already existed in former times among the peoples but had not received her mystical Spouse from Heaven, I mean the Christ … Christ came to her, however. Captivated by her faith, He enriched her from the divine river that streams from Him – streams because it is the “fountain of life, stream of delight” (Ps 36[35]:10.9) … At His Presence, the Church ceased to be parched and arid, she encountered her Spouse, brought into the world countless children and was adorned with mystical flowers. …

Isaiah continues: “A pure way will be there, called the holy way” (v. 8). This pure way is the power of the Gospel entering into our lives or, to put it another way, the purifying power of the Spirit. For the Spirit removes the stain imprinted on the human soul, delivers us from our sins and enables us to rise above our uncleanness. Thus, this road is very rightly described as holy and pure, for it cannot be reached by anyone who has not been purified. Indeed, no-one is able to live according to the Gospel who has not first been purified by holy Baptism, no-one, therefore, can do so without faith. …
Only those delivered from the devil’s tyranny can lead the glorious life the prophet describes with these images: “No lion will be there nor beast of prey” (v. 9) on that pure way. Indeed, in former times such fierce beasts, as is the devil, that inventor of sin, used to attack earth’s inhabitants together with the evil spirits. But he was crushed by Christ, driven far away from the flock of believers and stripped of the dominion he used to wield over them. That is why, redeemed by Christ and brought together in faith, they will walk united in heart along this pure way (v. 9). Forsaking their former ways “they will return to Zion,” that is, the Church, “with everlasting joy” (v. 10) that has no end, whether on earth or in Heaven and they will glorify God their Saviour. – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Bishop of Alexandria, Father and Doctor of the Church (On Isaiah, III, 3).

PRAYER – Almighty and merciful God, let neither our daily work nor the cares of this life prevent us from hastening to meet your Son. Teach us Holy Father God, silence and solitude, to hear and learn, then lead us into the company of Your Son, as He comes to save us! And may His Mother and ours, the most pure Virgin Mary be our intercessor and advocate. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, CHRISTMASTIDE!, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Our Morning Offering – 5 December – A Great and Mighty Wonder

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Our Morning Offering – 5 December – The Second Sunday of Advent

A Great and Mighty Wonder
By St Germanus (c 640-c 733)

A great and mighty wonder,
a glorious mystery,
a Virgin bears an Infant
who veils His Deity.
Refrain:
Proclaim the Saviour’s birth,
“To God on high be glory
and peace to all the earth!”
The Word becomes incarnate
and yet remains on high,
and Cherubim sing anthems
to shepherds from the sky. … [Refrain]
While thus they sing your monarch,
those bright angelic bands,
rejoice, O vales and mountains
and oceans, clap your hands. [Refrain]
Since all, He comes to ransom,
by all, be He adored,
the Infant born in Bethl’em,
the Saviour and the Lord. [Refrain]
All idols then shall perish
and Satan’s lying cease,
and Christ shall raise his sceptre,
decreeing endless peace. [Refrain]

St Germanus was one of the Greek hymnwriters and one of the grandest among the defenders of the Icons. He was born at Constantinople of a patrician family, was ordained there and became subsequently Bishop of Cyzicus. He was present at the Synod of Constantinople in 712, which restored the Monothelite heresy but in after years he condemned it. He was made Archbishop of Constantinople in 715. In 730 he was driven from the See, not without blows, for refusing to yield to the Iconoclastic Emperor Leo the Isaurian. He died shortly afterwards in exile at a good old age.
His Life below:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/12/saint-of-the-day-12-may-saint-germanus-of-constantinople-c-640-733/

Posted in CARMELITES, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 5 December – Blessed Bartholomew Fanti O.Carm. (c 1443-1495)

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Saint of the Day – 5 December – Blessed Bartholomew Fanti of Mantua O.Carm. (c 1443-1495) Carmelite Priest renowned Preacher. Born in c 1428 at at Mantua, Italy and died on 5 December 1495 of natural causes. Patronage – Mantua.

Bartholomew became a professed member of the Carmelite Order at the age of seventeen and by the age of 24 was already Ordained as a Priest.

On 1 January 1460, he became the Spiritual Director and the Rector of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and composed their Rule and Statues. Long before he formalised the Confraternity’s Rule, he had been a member and remained so for all his life, serving the Confraternity and the Blessed Virgin faithfully for 35 years in his hometown of Mantua.

He became a spiritual teacher of the Carmelite Priest Blessed John Baptist Spagnuolo, a Poet and Writer who also served as Prior General of the Carmelite Order. Bartholonew became well known for being an effective preacher with an ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

He died on 5 December 1495 in Mantua. His remains were relocated to another chapel in 1516 and again in 1783 to the Church of Saint Mark in Mantua before being relocated for the final time, in 1793.

Humble and gentle, Bartholomew gave an example to everyone of a life of prayer, of loving kindness and generosity to all and of faithful service to the Lord. He was remembered and revered, even during his life, for his great love ot the Blessed Sacrament, which was the source and the summit of his apostolic life, together with his love and devotion to the Virgin Mother.

His Beatification received the papal approval of Pope Pius X on 18 March 1909 (cultus confirmed).

Prayer:
Lord God,
You made Blessed Bartholomew Fanti
outstanding in his zeal for the salvation of souls,
in his devotion to the Holy Eucharist
and to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
May we experience, by his intercession,
the same fullness of devotion and love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God,
forever and ever.
Amen

Posted in JESUIT SJ, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

The Sodality of Our Lady / Our Lady of the Jesuit College, Rome (1584) and Memorials of the Saints – 5 December

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The Sodality of Our Lady / Our Lady of the Jesuit College, Rome (1584) – 5 December:

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “In the year 1584 was instituted, the first congregation of Our Lady at the Jesuits’ college, at Rome, whence is derived their custom of establishing it in all their houses.”

The Sodality of Our Lady, or the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was actually founded in 1563 by a Belgian Jesuit, Father John Leunis, at the Collegio Romano in Rome. It was established for young schoolboys and the Papal Bull Superna Dispositione opened it to adults, under the authority of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
A Jesuit historian recorded that it was originally “made up especially of younger boys from the college, who agreed to go to daily Mass, weekly confession, and monthly Communion, as well as to engage in a half-hour of meditation each day and do some other pious exercises.” The youths who felt drawn to the spirit of the Jesuits and were often called the “Congregation Mariana.” Once formed into a Sodality of Our Lady, they were to do apostolic work in the City of Rome, while also serving the poor. Since the time of its humble beginnings in 1563, twenty-two Sodalists have become Popes.
After Fr Leunis’ death in 1584, Pope Gregory XIII canonically established the Sodality Group of the Roman College in his bull “Omnipotentis Dei.” The sodality of Fr Leunis was declared to be the mother of all such subsequent sodalities. Having attained the status of Prima Primaria, it had gained the right to partner with other similar groups, and through that affiliation ,all could share in the indulgences and privileges of the Prima Primaria, with the General of the Society of Jesus having the authority to grant such an affiliation. These sodalities were established all over Europe, India and Asia, as well as in the Americas and included both sexes. They reached their greatest number in the 17th century, when it was estimated that there were as many as 2500 such groups.
In 1773, Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus and separated the sodalities from their jurisdiction. From that time on it was Catholic bishops who established Marian Sodalities throughout the world.

St Abercius
St Anastasius
St Aper of Sens
Blessed Bartholomew Fanti of Mantua O.Carm. (c 1428-1495) Carmelite Priest
St Basilissa of Øhren
St Bassus of Lucera
St Bassus of Nice
St Cawrdaf of Fferreg
St Christina of Markyate
St Consolata of Genoa
St Crispina
St Cyrinus of Salerno
St Dalmatius of Pavia
St Firminus of Verdun
St Gerald of Braga
St Gerbold
St Gratus

Blessed Jean-Baptiste Fouque (1851-1926) Priest, known as “The Saint Vincent de Paul of Marseilles.” Founder of numerous charitable organisations for the poor, the sick, the elderly, children and orphans.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/05/saint-of-the-day-5-december-blessed-jean-baptiste-fouque-1851-1926-saint-vincent-de-paul-of-marseilles/

St Joaquín Jovaní Marín
St John Almond
Bl Giovanni/John Gradenigo
St Justinian
St Martiniano of Pecco
Bl Narcyz Putz
St Nicetius of Trier
Bl Niels Stenson
St Pelinus of Confinium

Blessed Philip Rinaldi SDB (1856-1931) Blessed Philip was an Italian priest and a professed member from the Salesians of Don Bosco. He founded the Secular Institute of Don Bosco Volunteers.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/12/05/saint-of-the-day-5-december-blessed-philip-rinaldi-s-d-b-1856-1931/

St Sabbas of Mar Saba (439–532) Priest. a Cappadocian-Syrian Monk, founder of several Monasteries, most notably the one known as Mar Saba.
The Life of St Sabbas:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/05/saint-of-the-day-5-december-st-sabbas-439-532/

St Vicente Jovaní Ávila
—
Martyrs of Thagura – (12 saints): A group of twelve African Christians who were martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. The only details about them that have survived are five of their names – Crispin, Felix, Gratus, Juliua and Potamia.
302 in Thagura, Numidia

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Joaquín Jovaní Marín
• Blessed Vicente Jovaní Ávila

Posted in IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, NOVENAS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Immaculate Conception Novena – Day Six – 4 December

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Day Six – Immaculate Conception Novena

Let us begin:
In the Name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that,
as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son,
You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us,
purified through Her intercession,
to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.
Amen

Glorious and immortal Queen of Heaven,
we profess our firm belief
in your Immaculate Conception,
preordained for you,
by the merits of your Divine Son.
We rejoice with you
in your Immaculate Conception.
To the One ever-reigning God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
three in Person, One in nature,
we offer thanks
for your blessed Immaculate Conception.
O Mother of the Word made Flesh,
listen to our petition
as we ask this special grace during this novena…
………………………………..
(State your intention here… )
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception,
Mother of Christ,
you had influence with your Divine Son
while upon this earth;
you have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us and obtain for us,
from Him, the granting of our petition,
if it be the Divine Will.
Amen

Say the: Our Father…
the: Hail Mary…
the: Glory Be…

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The BEATITUDES, The HEART

Thought for the Day – 4 December – The Blessedness of the Pure of Heart

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Thought for the Day – 4 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Blessedness of the Pure of Heart

“Blessed are the pure of heart,” says Jesus in the beatitudes, for they shall see God (Mt 5:8) .
“The sensual man,” adds St Paul, “does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:14).

How true this is.
When the flesh gains control over the spirit and our lower instincts enslave the intellect, we are overcome by confusion and spiritual blindness.
No longer can we see God’s reflection in created things, no longer do we hear His Voice.
Impurity and sensuality, lead to disregard for the law of God, whereas purity of heart, make it easy for us to love His law.

One day, as was his custom, St Joseph Cafasso went to the prison to visit the convicts.
Among them there was a hardened old sinner, who was interested, neither in God, nor in confessing his sins.
The Saint met him and tried to persuade him to kneel down and make his Confession.
“I do not believe in God,” replied the old man.
The Saints simply looked at him, “Kneel down,” he said, “confess your sins and afterwards, you will believe.”
It turned out as he had predicted.
The old crime-hardened sinner told his sins, wept for them and became a new man.
It was as if the scales had fallen from his eyes, which now saw God clearly once more!
Through the forgiveness of his sins, he found again the way of supernatural love.

We should be grateful to God that we are not in the same state as this poor prisoner was but, it is probable, that we have often been disturbed by impure suggestions.
On these occasions, we may have lost sight of God and our high and pure ideals, may have suffered an eclipse.
We must preserve our chastity, however,
With this purpose in view, we should renew our good resolutions in the presence of God and should constantly implore His grace and the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, CHRIST the KING, 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 FASTING, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN

Quote/s of the Day – 4 December – “Golden Words”

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Quote/s of the Day – 4 December – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” – Saturday of the First Week of Advent – The Memorial of St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) “Golden Words” Father & Doctor of the Church

“The Kingdom of Heaven, says the gospel,
is like a mustard seed …
Christ is the Kingdom of Heaven!
Sown like a mustard seed
in the garden of the Virgin’s womb,
He grew up into the Tree of the Cross,
whose branches,
stretch across the world …
Christ is the Kingdom
because all the glory of His Kingdom,
is within Him.
Christ is a Man
because all humanity is restored in Him.
Christ is a Mustard Seed
because the infinitude of divine greatness,
is accommodated to
the littleness of flesh and blood!”

“Fasting is the soul of prayer,
mercy is the lifeblood of fasting.
Let no-one try to separate them,
they cannot be separated.
If you have only one of them,
or not all together,
you have nothing!
So if you pray, fast;
if you fast, show mercy;
if you want your petition to be heard,
hear the petition of others.
If you do not close your ear to others,
you open God’s ear to yourself.”

“If you want God to know that you are hungry,
know that another is hungry.
If you hope for mercy, show mercy.
If you look for kindness, show kindness.
If you want to receive, give.
If you ask for yourself what you deny to others,
your asking is a mockery.”

“Let us offer our souls in sacrifice
by means of fasting.
There is nothing more pleasing
that we can offer to God,
as the psalmist said in prophecy –
A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit,
God does not despise
a bruised and humbled heart.”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
“Golden Words”
Father & Doctor of the Church

MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/07/30/quote-s-of-the-day-30-july-golden-words-st-peter-chrysologus/

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, 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 STRENGTH, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 December – ‘ … If He is within us, who can lead us astray?…’

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One Minute Reflection – 4 December – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” – Saturday of the First Week of Advent – Readings: : Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26; Psalm 147: 1-6; Matthew 9:35-10:1,5a,6-8

“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” – Matthew 9:36

REFLECTION – “From now on we are celebrating, with all our hearts, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and this is nothing other than what we ought to do, since He has not just come TO us but FOR us. As for the Lord, He has no need of good things from us: the greatness of the grace He has shown us, clearly manifests the depth of our need. We assess the gravity of a sickness by what it costs to cure it …

So we needed a Saviour to come to us, for the state in which we found ourselves, rendered His presence indispensable. May the Saviour come quickly, then! May He come to live in our midst, by faith, with all the wealth of His grace. May He come to draw us out of our blindness and free us from our infirmities, taking control of our weakness! If He is within us, who can lead us astray? If He is on our side, what can we not do in Him, Who is our strength? (Phil 4:13). “If he is for us who can be against us?” (Rm 8:31). Jesus Christ is an unfailing Advocate who can neither be deceived not deceive; He is a powerful Helper Whose Strength can never be spent … . He is the very Wisdom of God, the very Strength of God (1 Cor 1:24) … So let us all run together to such a Master, in every undertaking implore His aid, in the midst of our struggles entrust ourselves to so certain a Defender. If He has come into the world, already it is to live in our midst, WITH us and FOR us.” – St Bernard (1091-1153) Cistercian Monk and the last Father and Doctor of the Church – 7th Sermon for Advent

PRAYER – Lord, to free man from his sinful state, You sent Your only Son into this world. Grant to us, who in faith and love, wait for His coming, Your gift of grace and the reward of true freedom. Be born in us O Lord! We ask our most pure Virgin Mary to guide us in her ways. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 4 December – Mother of my God

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Our Morning Offering – 4 December – Saturday of the First Week of Advent – Mary’s Day

Mother of my God,
Lady Mary, Queen of Mercy
By St Alphonsus Ligouri (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

Mother of my God and my Lady Mary,
as a beggar, all wounded and sore,
presents himself before a great Queen,
so do I present myself before you,
who are Queen of heaven and earth.
From the lofty throne on which you sit,
disdain not, I implore you,
to cast your eyes on me,
a poor sinner.
God has made you so rich
that you might assist the poor
and has made you Queen of Mercy,
that you might relieve the miserable.
Behold me then and pity me.
Behold me and abandon me not,
until you see me changed
from a sinner into a saint.
Amen

Posted in DANTE ALIGHIERI!, franciscan OFM, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 4 December – Blessed Pietro Tecelano TOSF (c 1200 – 1289)

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Saint of the Day – 4 December – Blessed Pietro Tecelano TOSF (c 1200 – 1289) Layman, Widower, Franciscan Tertiary, Apostle of the sick and the poor, spiritual and secular adviser, miracle-worker. Born in c 1200 at Campi, Tuscany, Italy and died in early December 1289 in Siena, Italy of natural causes. Patronages – Siena, Italy and Comb-makers. Also known as – Pietro Pettinaio, Peter…. Pier…. Additional Memorials – 16 March, 4 and 11 November, 10 December – Memorials on different Calendars.

The Roman Martyrology states: “In Siena, Blessed Pietro Pettinario, religious of the Third Order of St Francis, distinguished for his particular charity towards the needy and the sick and for his life of humility and silence.”

Pietro was born around 1200 in Campi, a village of Castelnuovo Berardenga near Siena and moved with his parents to Siena at some point during his childhood.

He married but the couple remained childless. In order to provide for his new wife he worked as a comb-maker, that is a merchant of bone and mother-of-pearl combs used in spinning. .. He purchased a house in which vines flourished so as to make wine. Sadly his wife died and Pietro then lived alone and devoted his time to his business and soon became rich and famous.

Perhaps converted thanks to the newly born Franciscan Order, he became famous once more but now for his generosity towards his competitors – on market days he arrived late to sell, so as not to damage them too much. In addition to carrying out his working activity, he also dedicated himself to assisting the sick at the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala where he bound wounds and sores and helps the most needy. In this work he was assisted by eight friends – merchants and lawmen, who he had encouraged to join him in his apostolate.

He lived a simple life, giving excess wealth to the Franciscans and he spent his evenings in meditation and devoting such nights to God in prayer.

Pietro left no writings and is remembered for his silences, we often see him depicted with a finger on his lips. The few things he said and the many he did, were very effective, to the point that some traffickers, after having defrauded the City, returned the money to him, he then returned it to the relevant section of the City administration. The governors, in turn, often called upon him for help and advice – in 1282 , for example, he was asked to choose the five inmates to be amnestied.

When the Franciscans of Siena had doubts about the authentic vocation of their novices , they had them examined by him. His life was inspired by the most rigorous followers of St Francis of Assisi, the spirituals.

The Dominican preacher, Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni, who went to Pietro for spirtual guidance, renounced his election as a Bishop on Pietro’s advice.

Seeking solitude, he sold his home and business, donating the proceeds to the poor and spent the last few years of his life, as a guest of the Franciscans. There, considered himself far too talkative, Pietro aimed at living amongst them in silence.He undertook several pilgrimages to religious sites including Assisi, where Saint Francis of Assisi worked and lived.

During his lifetime he was hailed as a miracle-worker and was considered a great saint. He became a sought after adviser to Priests as well as to the people of Siena and was considered charismatic.

Pietro died in early December 1289 (possilby the 4th) at an advanced age and was buried at the Franciscan Church in Siena. His grave soon became a pilgrimage site and the scene of miracles. A Shrine was built over his grave in 1326 and an annual local feast in his honour was established in 1329. The Shrine was lost to fire in 1655 and remaining relics were preserved when the Poor Clare nuns took them into their care

The people of Siena adored Pietro and called for his Canonisation. Official recognition of Pietro’s holiness led to Pope Pius VII confirming his “cultus” acting as formal Beatification on 18 August 1802.

Dante Alighieri included Pietro in his work (Divina Comedia) in “Canto XIII” through the character of Pier the Comb-Seller.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle d’Abbeville / Our Lady of La Chapelle, at Abbeville, France (1400) and Memorials of the Saints – 4 December

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Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle d’Abbeville / Our Lady of La Chapelle, at Abbeville, France (1400) – 4 December:

The Abbot Orsini wrote: “This Church was built about the year 1400, on a small hill, where formerly they worshipped idols.”

The Town of Abbeville is located in Picardy in the northern region of France. It is located on the Somme River. Fortunately for us, there still exists today a plan for the Town of Abbeville that was etched in the year 1653. Our Lady of La Chapelle can easily be distinguished in the foreground of the etching, dominating the City though built outside the walls.
The church was initially only a Chapel in which there was exhibited a religious icon of Our Lady that earned the Church its name, of Our Lady of the Chapel. The structure was indeed erected on the remains of a temple devoted to paganism. The growing number of the faithful coming to pray there, made it a true Parish, and so, the Church expanded to have 3 naves and 7 Altars, reflecting the expansion of the City.
The Church was built in limestone in the flamboyant Gothic style. It survived numerous dangers and setbacks over the coming centuries, exposed to wind and rough weather at the top of the hill, including being struck several times by lightning. In 1619, the high Bell Tower did not survive a violent storm,and was rebuilt the following year.
All of this is nothing compared to the danger that the Church faced in 1637-1638. At that time, Spain and France were at war. King Louis XIII came to Abbeville, a strategic Town and realised that the Chapel could serve as a type of fortress in case of a siege. Aware of the danger, Cardinal Richelieu gave the order to demolish the Church. The Mayor at the time, Guilaume Sanson and his aldermen, managed to talk him out of it.
The Church was saved, but for how long?
Then, in 1789, came the French Revolution. The Church that had survived so much was destroyed in 1794.
Yet, in 1804 another large Chapel was built to replace the lost church, a building retaining the tower of 1620. (That bell tower has been classified as an Historic Monument since 1901.
The cemetery that once surrounded the Church was preserved and has been significantly expanded to become the cemetery of the City since the year 1844.

The original Bell Tower still remains a part of the new Church

St John Damascene (675-749) Last of the Greek Fathers& Doctor of the Church, Monk, Theologian, Writer (Optional Memorial)
FEAST DAY: 27 March (General Roman Calendar 1890–1969)
St John’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/12/04/saint-of-the-day-st-john-damascene-676-749-last-of-the-greek-fathers-and-doctor-of-the-church/
And Pope Benedict on St John Damascene:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/04/saint-of-the-day-4-december-st-john-damascene-675-749-father-doctor-of-the-church/

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) “Golden Words” Father & Doctor of the Church – Bishop of Ravenna, Italy.
FEAST DAY: 4 December (General Roman Calendar 1729-1969)
https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/30/saint-of-the-day-30-july-st-peter-chrysologus-c-400-450-golden-words/

St Ada of Le Mans
St Adelmann of Beauvais
Bl Adolph Kolping
St Anno II
St Apro

St Barbara (Died 3rd Century) Virgin Martyr. Saint Barbara is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
St Barbara’s Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/04/saint-of-the-day-4-december-saint-barbara-3rd-century-martyr/

St Bernardo degli Uberti
St Bertoara of Bourges
St Christianus
St Clement of Alexandria
St Cyran of Brenne
St Eraclius
St Eulogio Álvarez López
St Ezequiel Álvaro de La Fuente
St Felix of Bologna
Bl Francis Galvez
St Francisco de la Vega González
St Giovanni Calabria
St Heraclas of Alexandria
St Jacinto García Chicote
Bl Jerome de Angelis
St John the Wonder Worker
St Maruthas
St Melitus of Pontus

St Osmund (Died 1099) Bishop of Salisbury, Confessor, Count of Sées, Lord Chancellor.
The Life of St Osmund:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/04/saint-of-the-day-4-december-saint-osmund-died-1099/

Blessed Pietro Tecelano TOSF (c 1189-1289) Layman, Widower, Tertiary of the Order of Friars Minor
St Prudens
St Robustiano Mata Ubierna
St Sigiranus
Bl Simon Yempo
St Sola
St Theophanes

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Eulogio Álvarez López
• Blessed Ezequiel Álvaro de La Fuente
• Blessed Francisco de la Vega González
• Blessed Jacinto García Chicote
• Blessed Robustiano Mata Ubierna

Posted in IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, NOVENAS

Immaculate Conception Novena – Day Five – 3 December

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Day Five – Immaculate Conception Novena

Let us begin:
In the Name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

O Lord, who, by the Immaculate Conception
of the Virgin Mary,
did prepare a fitting dwelling
for Your Son,
we beseech You that,
as by the foreseen death of Your Son,
You did preserve her from all stain of sin,
grant that, through her intercession,
we may be favoured
with the granting of the grace
that we seek for at this time…
………………………………….
State your intention here… )
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception,
Mother of Christ,
you had influence with your Divine Son
while upon this earth;
you have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us and obtain for us
from Him, the granting of our petition
if it be the Divine Will.
Amen.

Say the: Our Father…
the: Hail Mary…
the: Glory Be…

Posted in "Follow Me", DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The BEATITUDES, The GOOD SHEPHERD

Thought for the Day – 3 December – The Blessedness of the Merciful

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Thought for the Day –32 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Blessedness of the Merciful

“Let us meditate now on the mercy of God, which is infinite even as His justice is infinite.
“His mercy” says St Thomas Aquinas, “does not subtract from His justice but is, the fullness and the perfection of that justice.”(Summa Theologiae, I, q.21, a.2 ad2).
All the merits which we can acquire in the sight of God, derive from His gratuitous gift of grace.
God’s mercy and justice, therefore, are fused together in a wonderful harmony, which claims our gratitude and fidelity.

References to the mercy of God are numerous in Sacred Scripture.
“You Lord, are good and forgiving,” says the Psalmist, “abounding in kindness to all who call upon you” (Ps 85:5).
“Blessed be the Lord,” we read elsewhere, “my rock, … my refuge and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer ….” (ps 143:2).
“Goodness and kindness follow me, all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come” (Ps 22:6)

When we leave the Old Testament and open the Gospel, we discover that it is a record of the goodness and mercy of God.
We have only to recall Christ’s forgiveness of the Magdalen when she wept at His feet for her faults; the merciful judgement which He passed on the poor adulteress; His loving glance in the direction of St Peter who had denied Him; the grace so miraculously granted to St Paul on the road to Damascus and, the parables of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son and the good shepherd who went in search of the lost sheep.
Finally, there are the consoling words to the repentant thief: “This day thous shalt be with me in paradise.”
When we read this chronicle of infinite goodness and mercy, we should experience a boundless hope and confidence.
It does not matter how great our sins, or our ingratitude, may have been.
Once we have repented, God is ready to forgive us and to receive us with open arms!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on CHILDREN, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on WORRY/ANXIETY, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 3 December – St Francis Xavier

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Quote/s of the Day – 3 December – The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)

“Give me the child until he is seven
and I’ll give you the man.”

“Learn to seal the dead past,
not to worry about the unborn future
but live and enjoy,
the realistic present.”

“May the grace and charity
of Christ our Lord,
always help and favour us!
Amen.”

St Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/03/quote-s-of-the-day-3-december-st-francis-xavier-2/

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 3 December – ‘ … I was in the world like someone blind … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 3 December – “Month of the Immaculate Conception” – Friday of the First week of Advent – Readings: Isaiah 29: 17-24; Psalm 27: 1, 4, 13-14; Matthew 9: 27-31 and The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)

“And their eyes were opened …” – Matthew 9:30

REFLECTION – “Master, O Christ!, Master Who saves souls,
God, Lord of all Powers both visible and invisible
because You are the Creator of all in Heaven
and under the heavens,
of what is under the earth
but also of what is on earth …:
You hold all things in Your Hand
because it is Your Hand, O Lord, that is the great power
accomplishing Your Father’s will,
shaping, forming, creating
and guiding our lives in an inexpressible way.

This, then, is what created me, too
and called me into being, from nothing.
So I was born into this world
yet wholly failed to know You, You my good Master,
You my Creator, You Who fashioned me.
I was in the world like someone blind
and as though without God, since I did not know my God.

Then You, in person, pitied me and looked upon me,
when You shone Your Light into my darkness, You converted me
and drew me to Yourself, O my Creator.
And when You had snatched me out of the depths of the pit …
of this life’s pleasures and desires,
then You showed me the way and gave me a guide
who would lead me to Your commandments.
I followed him, followed him without a care …
but not only that, when I saw You there – You my Good Master –
together with my guide and my Father,
I experienced inexpressible love and desire.
I was beyond faith, beyond hope
and said: “Now indeed I see the good things to come” (cf. Heb 10:1),
the Kingdom of Heaven is there.
I saw before my eyes those things “that eye has not seen
nor ear heard”(Is 64:3; 1 Co 2:9).” – St Simeon the New Theologian (949-1022) Monk (Hymn 37)

PRAYER – Lord, watch over Your people who come to You in confidence. Strengthen the hearts of those who hope in You. Give courage to those who falter because of their failures. In this holy season of Advent, lead them closer to You in faith and hope, by the power of your Holy Spirit. May they proclaim Your saving acts of kindness here on earth and one day, in Your eternal kingdom and may the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived without sin and Your great Missionaries, St Francis Xavier, and St Birnus bring us light and strength. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in CHRIST the KING, Gerard MANLEY HOPKINS SJ, GOD is LOVE, INCORRUPTIBLES, JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering, POETRY, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 3 December – I Love Thee, God, I Love TheeBy St Francis Xavier

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 3 December – Friday of the First week of Advent and The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)

I Love Thee, God, I Love Thee
By St Francis Xavier (1506-1552)
Translated by Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)

I love Thee, God, I love Thee—
Not out of hope for heaven for me
Nor fearing not to love and be
in the everlasting burning.
Thou, my Jesus, after me
Didst reach Thine arms out dying,
For my sake suffered nails and lance,
Mocked and marred countenance,
Sorrows passing number,
Sweat and care and cumber,
Yea and death and this for me,
And Thou could see me sinning.
Then I, why should not I love Thee,
Jesu so much in love with me?
Not for heaven’s sake, not to be
Out of hell by loving Thee,
Not for any gains I see,
But just the way that Thou didst me
I do love and will love Thee.
What must I love Thee, Lord, for then?
For being my King and God.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 3 December – St Birinus of Dorchester (c 660-650)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 3 December – St Birinus of Dorchester (c 660-650) the first Bishop of Dorchester, England, “Apostle to the West Saxons,” for his conversion of the Kingdom of Wessex to Christianity., Benedictine Monk. Born in c 600 in France and died on 3 December 650 at Dorchester, of natural causes. Also known as – Birinus of Genoa. Apostle of Wessex, Berin, Birin, Birch. Patronages – Berkshire county and Dorcester City and Diocese.

In the 7th century, an Italian Monk, (though probably born in France), named Birinus was consecrated Bishop in Milan by Archbishop Asterius. Subsequently, he was sent to Britain by Pope Honorius I to continue the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity began so courageously by St Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow Missionaries. Our Saint definitely seems to be endowed with a great Missionary spirit, zeal and charism of a great preacher, for in a very short time after his arrival in what is now Southampton, he had endowed the area with a Church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which still remains, although of course, restored many times.

Bishop Birinus’ original plan was to penetrate well into the interior of the country where no teacher had been before. But we know from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History that ‘on arriving in Britain and first coming to the nation of the West Saxons, where he found all to be confirmed pagans, he thought it more useful to preach the word there, rather than to go further looking for people to whom he should preach’.

In 635 King Oswald of Northumbria, who had already been converted to Christianity by Celtic Christians in Iona (Scotland), wanted to marry the daughter of Cynegils, King of the West Saxons and, therefore, came to Dorchester to visit Cynegils. There he found Cynegils receiving instruction in the Christian faith from Birinus. The outcome was that Birinus Baptised Cynegils, with Oswald standing as Godfather. The two Kings then granted land to Birinus in Dorchester for the establishment of his Episcopal See and Cathedral. Birinus thus became the first Bishop of the West Saxons.

St Birnus baptising King Cynegils,

Birinus died in 650 and was buried in Dorchester; he was canonised soon after. His relics (bones) were moved to Winchester around 690 by Bishop Hedda of Winchester but they were moved again to new Shrines in 980, by Bishop Ethelwold and in 1150, by Henri de Blois. In the early part of the 13th century the Augustinian Canons of Dorchester claimed to possess the relics of Birinus and this was accepted on very slender evidence following an enquiry instigated by Pope Honorius III and presided over by Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Whatever the truth about the Birinus relics, the Abbey became a popular place of pilgrimage. This led to an extensive programme of rebuilding including in c1320 the south choir aisle and a marble Shrine dedicated to St Birinus. The Shrine was destroyed and the relics lost in 1536 by the excesses of the English reformation but fragments of the vaulting were found in a walled-up doorway in the 1870s and these were incorporated in the 1960s in the reconstructed shrine that stands today in the south aisle of St Birnus’ Cathedral in Dorchester..

The stained glass roundel below, dated c1225, is in the east window of the St Birinus Chapel. It shows Birinus (spelt Bernius) with bowed head being blessed by an enthroned Archbishop, probably Asterius of Milan who consecrated Birinus for his mission to Britain. The third person is a layman, shown praying.

The Great East Window has a panel depicting Birinus preaching before King Cynegils and some of his people.

St Birinus built many Churches and we have records of him laying the foundations for St Mary’s Church in Reading and others such as the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon, near Reading. Tradition believes that Birinus built the first Church at Ipsden, as a small Chapel on Berins Hill, about two miles east of the present Church. Birinus Baptised King Cynegils’s son Cwichelm in 636 and grandson, Cuthred in 639, to whom he stood as Godfather too. The Catholic Church in Dorchester, one of the first built after the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in the United Kingdom in 1850 by Pope Pius IX and was dedicated to Birinus.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Vergine di Montesanto / Our Lady of the Holy Mountain, Rome, Italy (1659) and Memorials of the Saints – 3 December

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Vergine di Montesanto / Our Lady of the Holy Mountain, Rome, Italy (1659) – 3 December:

On the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, there used to be a small Church run by Carmelite Friars, called St Mary of the Holy Mountain after Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The Church housed a miraculous Madonna and Child, believed to have been painted by a young aspiring female painter, Plautilla Bricci, with supernatural help.
It is said that Plautilla Bricci, a Roman painter but also to become the first female architect, had some difficulties in shading Mary’s face and, at a certain point, decided to put down her brush and rest – upon awakening from sleep, she found the face of the Virgin finished to perfection!

After the painting was canonically crowned on 3 December 1659, Cardinal Gerolamo Gastaldi decided to build the Madonna a more splended Sanctuary. It was the work of three great architects. Gian Lorenzo Bernini modified Carlo Rainaldi’s original plan to give the building an oval shape more in keeping with its site and Carlo Fontana supervised its completion in 1679. Around the same time the “twin” Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli was built next door. The painting, hard to date but typical of the 1500s, occupies a large columned Altarpiece with stucco angels by Filippo Carcani.
In 1953, Pope Pius XII designated the Basilica di Santa Maria in Montesanto the official Church for artists, who still come before the Virgin seeking divine help.

St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552) (Memorial) Priest, Missionary, co-Founder with St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) and St Peter Faber (1506-1546) of the Society of Jesus. One of the Greatest Missionaries since St Paul. His body is incorrupt.

Saint of the Day – 3 December – St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552) – One of the greatest Missionaries since St Paul

St Abbo of Auxerre
St Abran
St Agapius
St Agricola of Pannonia
St Alvaro González López
St Anthemius of Poitiers
St Attalia of Strasbourg
Bl Bernard of Toulouse OP Martyr
St Birinus of Dorchester (c 660-650) Bishop, “Apostle to the West Saxons,”
St Cassian of Tangiers
St Claudius of Africa
St Claudius the Martyr
St Crispin of Africa
St Edward Coleman
St Eloque of Lagny

St Emma of Bremen (c 975–1038) Married Laywoman, Princess, Mother and Widow, Apostle of the poor, founder of Churches.
About St Emma:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/03/saint-of-the-day-3-december-saint-emma-of-bremen-c-975-1038/

St Ethernan
St Francisco Delgado González
St Francisco Fernández Escosura
St Hilaria the Martyr
St Jason the Martyr

Blessed Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer (1777-1860) Bishop of Trent from 1834 until his death, Professor, Apostle of Charity, Reformer, Founder of numerous schools, Seminaries and Churches, negotiator in peace settlements, Writer.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/03/saint-of-the-day-3-december-blessed-johann-nepomuk-von-tschiderer-1777-1860/

St John of Africa
St Juan Bautista Ferris Llopis
St Julián Heredia Zubia
St Lucius
St Lucy the Chaste
St Magina of Africa
St Mamas
St Manuel Santiago y Santiago
St Marcos García Rodríguez
St Maurus the Martyr
St Seleucus
St Stephen of Africa
St Theodore of Alexandria
St Theodulus of Edessa
St Valeriano Rodríguez García
St Veranus
Zephaniah the Prophet

Martyrs of Nicomedia: Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Ambicus, Julius and Victor. c 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey).

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
• Blessed Alvaro González López
• Blessed Francisco Delgado González
• Blessed Francisco Fernández Escosura
• Blessed Juan Bautista Ferris Llopis
• Blessed Julián Heredia Zubia
• Blessed Manuel Santiago y Santiago
• Blessed Marcos García Rodríguez
• Blessed Valeriano Rodríguez García

Posted in IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, NOVENAS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Immaculate Conception Novena – Day Four – 2 December

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Day Four – Immaculate Conception Novena

Let us begin:
In the Name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that,
as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son,
You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us,
purified through Her intercession,
to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, world without end.
Amen

O Mary, Mother of God,
endowed in your glorious
Immaculate Conception
with the fullness of grace;
unique among women,
in that you are both mother and virgin;
Mother of Christ and Virgin of Christ,
we ask you to look down
with a tender heart from your throne
and listen to our prayers
as we earnestly ask,
that you obtain for us the favour
for which we now plead…
…………………………………..
(State your intention here… )
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception,
Mother of Christ,
you had influence with your Divine Son
while upon this earth;
you have the same influence now in Heaven.
Pray for us and obtain for us from him
the granting of our petition
if it be the Divine Will.
Amen

Say the: Our Father…
the: Hail Mary…
the: Glory Be…

Posted in LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on JUSTICE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The BEATITUDES, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The REDEMPTION

Thought for the Day – 2 December – The Thirst for Justice

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Thought for the Day – 2 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Thirst for Justice

“Jesus commands us, in the Beatitudes, to seek justice, that is perfection in the fulfilment of our obligations to God, to ourselves and, to our neighbour.
He commands us, to hunger and thirst for this justice, which is identical to holiness.

When Christ tells us to hunger and thirst for justice, He imposes on us, the obligation of doing our very best to acquire the virtue of Christian justice, which is the sythesis of all the virtues.
We must be aware, therefore, of laziness, apathy, tepidity, or mediocrity, for our advance in spiritual perfection, must be continuous.
There must be no hesitation or backsliding.
The high target which God has set for us, demands hard work and boundless generosity on our part.
Jesus Christ loved us so much that He gave Himself entirely for us and shed His Precious Blood to the last drop, for our Redemption.
How can we possibly be niggardly or half-hearted in our relatioas with Him?

Whenever God’s cause is at stake, whether in our efforts to achieve our own spiritual perfection or in the fulfilment of our obligations towards our neighbour, we should never refuse anything but, should display absolute dedication to God and to our fellowman.
“Let us hunger,” said St Catherine of Siena, “for God’s honour and for the salvation of souls” (Vrev di perfezioe, p81).
The hunger and thirst for justice, nourished by the love of God and of our neighbour, should exclude all mediocrity and selfishness from our lives.
It should urge us on, as it did the Saints, towards the highest pinnacles of sanctity.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WILL of GOD, The WORD, Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 2 December – ‘… This is my firm rock …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 2 December – Thursday of the First week of Advent – Readings: Isaiah 26: 1-6; Psalm 118: 1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27; Matthew 7: 21, 24-27

“Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven
but only the one,
who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

Matthew 7:21

“On each occasion I say:
‘Lord, Thy will be done!
It’s not what this, or that one, wants
but, what You want me to do.’
This is my fortress,
this is my firm rock,
this is my sure support.”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“He who is his own master
is a scholar under a fool.”

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

“Obedience unites us so closely to God
that, in a way, it transforms us into Him,
so that we have no other will but His.
If obedience is lacking,
even prayer cannot be pleasing to God.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor Angelicus
Doctor Communis

“Love Him, then, keep Him as a friend.
He will not leave you as others do,
or let you suffer lasting death.
Sometime, whether you will or not,
you will have to part with everything.
Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death,
trust yourself to the glory of Him,
Who alone can help you
when all others fail.“

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
(Book 2 Ch 7)