Day: August 16, 2022

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 16 August – Lapsing into Sin

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

Lapsing into Sin

“When we have spent many years fighting our evil inclinations, praying and forming resolutions, it saddens us when we fall into grave sin once again.
A lapse like this can be very discouraging and can make us feel that it is impossible to resist temptation.
We may even feel that we are not destined by God to enjoy everlasting happiness!
This is a very dangerous temptation which could lead us into ruin.
It is part of the tactics of the devil, to tempt us to sin and, when we have fallen, to persuade us that our fall was unavoidable and, that we may as well resign ourselves to sinning because, we are predestined to hell!

Predestination is a gigantic theological problem which has tormented the minds and consciences of many.
It is a difficult question but, in practice, it can be answered in a few words.
It is certain that “God … wishes us all to be saved” (1 Tim 2:4).
It is certain that God became Man and shed His Precious Blood for our salvation.
How then could we be predestined to hell?
How could we be denied the graces necessary for salvation?
Our constant falls do not indicate that God has abandoned us but rather show that we have abandoned Him!
If we sincerely do everythingof which we are capable, God will not deny us His assistance.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Posted in AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on THE LIGHT of CHRIST, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 16 August – Mary, Mother of Grace

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”

Mary, Mother of Grace
St Athanasius (297-373)
Father & Doctor of the Church

It becomes you to be mindful of us,
as you stand near Him who granted you all graces,
for you are the Mother of God and our Queen.
Help us for the sake of the King,
the Lord God and Master, Who was born of you.
For this reason,
you are called full of grace.
Remember us, most holy Virgin,
and bestow on us gifts
from the riches of your graces,
Virgin full of graces.
Amen

“Go to Mary and sing her praises
and you will be enlightened.
For it is through her,
that the true Light
shines on the
sea of this life.”

St Ildephonsus (607-670)

“… The design of the Redeemer of our race
was to bring about a birth and, as it were,
a new creation to replace the one that went before.
Therefore, just as in Paradise,
He had taken a little clay
out of the pure and spotless earth,
to fashion the first Adam (Gn 2,7),
so, at the moment of bringing about
His Own Incarnation,
He made use of another earth, so to speak,
namely, this Pure and Immaculate Virgin,
chosen from among all other beings He had created.
It is in her that He, Adam’s Creator,
has remade us in our very substance
and become a new Adam (1Cor 15,45)
that the old might be saved by the new and eternal.”

St Andrew of Crete (660-740)

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 16 August – O blessed couple, Joachim and Anna

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One Minute Reflection – 16 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – St Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Ecclesiasticus 31:8-11, Matthew1:1-16

“And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary and of her was born Jesus, Who is called Christ.” – Matthew 1:16

REFLECTION – “Let all creation celebrate and sing the holy childbirth of a holy woman, for she has brought a lasting treasure into the world. … Through her, the creative Word of God has been united to the whole creation and we celebrate the ending of human barrenness, the ending of the sickness that kept us from possessing all our good. … Nature has given way to grace … As the Virgin Mother of God had to be born of barren Anna, so nature remained without fruit until grace had produced its own. It was to open the womb of its mother, she who would give birth to “The Firstborn of all creation” in whom “all things hold together” (Col 1:15,17).

O blessed couple, Joachim and Anna! All creation owes you thanks; through you it has offered the Creator the best of all His gifts: a Mother worthy of veneration, the only Mother worthy of the One who created her. ”- St John Damascene (675-749) Monk, Theologian, Father and Doctor of the Church – Homily on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, 1-2 (cf SC 80, p. 48).

PRAYER – O God, Who, willed St Joachim to be the father of Thy Son’s Mother; grant, we beseech Thee that we may ever enjoy the spiritual help of him whose feast we celebrate. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in ARMOUR of CHRIST, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 16 August – Save Us, O Mary!

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Our Morning Offering – 16 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”

Save Us, O Mary!
By Venerable Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
(Pontiff 1939-1958)

O Virgin, fair as the moon,
delight of the Angels and Saints in Heaven,
grant that we may become like you
and that our souls may receive a ray of your beauty,
which does not decline with the years
but shines forth into eternity.
O Mary, sun of Heaven,
restore life where there is death
and enlighten spirits, where there is darkness.
Turn your countenance to your children
and radiate on us your light and your fervour.
O Mary, powerful as an army,
grant victory to our ranks.
We are very weak
and our enemy rages with uttermost conceit.
But under your banner
we are confident of overcoming him. ….
Save us, O Mary,
fair as the moon,
bright as the sun,
awe-inspiring as an army set in battle array
and sustained not by hatred
but by the ardour of love.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 16 August – St Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Saint of the Day – 16 August – St Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St Joachim is regarded as the Father of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, our Lord Jesus and Saviour. Tradition has it that St Joachim was a retired Priest or Holy man of his time. He is the Patron Saint of Fathers, Grandfathers, Grandparents, Married Couples, Cabinet Makers, Puerto Rico, Dolores, Eastern Samar; Fasnia (Tenerife). The name Joachim in Hebrew means, “God Prepares.”

At the temple, Joachim’s sacrifice was rejected, as the couple’s childlessness was interpreted as a sign of Divine displeasure. Joachim consequently withdrew to the desert, where he fasted and did penance and prayed for 40 days. Angels then appeared to both Joachim and Anne to promise them a child.

Joachim returned to Jerusalem and embraced Anne at the City gate, located in the Walls of Jerusalem. An ancient belief held that a child born of an elderly mother who had given up hope of having offspring was destined for great things. It is also tradition that Joachim would give Mary to the service of the Temple when the girl was only three years old.

Joachim is neither mentioned in historical or canonical writings but is still widely revered and is the namesake of many Church institutions. The only source of information regarding St Joachim, is the non-biblical Gospel of James, an apocryphal book that was, nonetheless, widely read.

St Joachim meets St Anne at the City Gate

In the 1500 – 1600’s, Joachim’s image appeared on many European coins ,including , in about 1520, the famous Joachim’s Taler, a silver coin in Bohemia. Some of those coins are still seen today, in the hands of collectors.

We know St Joachim as the Father of Our Lady.  Although little is actually known about this Saint, one can imagine the love he had for his child, who came late in life to he and St Anne.  The tradition tells us he was a Priest or Holy man of God and much can be taken from that.  We too, may not always know what God may have in store for us – but one thing is certain, if we stay close to God, serve Him with all our strength, we too can merit life eternal, like St Joachim. 

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Nuestra Señora de las Gracias de Torcoroma / Our Lady of Graces of Torcoroma, Colombia (1711) and Memorials of the Saints – 16 August

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Nuestra Señora de las Gracias de Torcoroma / Our Lady of Graces of Torcoroma, Ocaña, Norte de Santander, Colombia (1711) – 16 August:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/08/16/nuestra-senora-de-las-gracias-de-torcoroma-our-lady-of-graces-of-torcoroma-colombia-1711-and-memorials-of-the-saints-16-august/

St Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary

St Roch (1295-1327) “Pilgrim,” Confessor, Hermit, Apostle of the Sick, Miracle Worker.
The story of St Roch here:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/08/16/saint-of-the-day-16-august-st-roch/

Blessed Angelo Agostini Mazzinghi O.Carm. (1385-1438) was an Italian Priest and a professed member of the Carmelite Order. He was a noted Preacher, Prior and Reformer, Teacher of theology and was known for his pious devotion to the Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Carmelite Rule of Life and to the profession of the Gospel.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/16/saint-of-the-day-16-august-blessed-angelo-agostini-mazzinghi-o-carm-1385-1438/

St Armel of Brittany (Died c 570) Priest, Monk, Missionary, Confessor, Evangeliser, spiritual adviser, Miracle-worker .,
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/08/16/saint-of-the-day-16-august-saint-armel-of-brittany-died-c-570/

St Arsacius of Nicomedia
St Frambaldo
Bl Iacobus Bunzo Gengoro
Bl Jean-Baptiste Menestrel
Bl John of Saint Martha
Bl Laurence Loricatus
Bl Magdalena Kiyota Bokusai
Bl Maria Gengoro
Bl Ralph de la Futaye
St Serena
Bl Simon Kiyota Bokusai
Bl Thomas Gengoro
St Titus the Deacon

St Ugolina of Vercelli (c 1239-c 1300) Anchorite, Recluse, Penitent, Spiritual advisor. The very strange story that of this Blessed Ugolina who shut herself in a hermitage, representing herself as a man and remained there for forty-seven years! The aim of her subterfuge was to escape the aims of her father, who wished her to marry. In order not to reveal her secret, she called herself Ugo without revealing her identity to anyone. for nearly fifty years
Her Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/08/16/saint-of-the-day-16-august-saint-ugolina-of-vercelli-c-1239-c-1300/

Martyrs of Palestine – 33 Saints: Thirty-three Christians Martyred in Palestine; they are commemorated in old martyrologies but the date and exact location have been lost.