Day: November 18, 2022

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SACRAMENTS

Thought for the Day – 18 November – Our Parish

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 18 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Our Parish

“Just as every Christian belongs to a family, so also, he belongs to a Parish.
The Parish should be the necessary complement of the family, in which everyone can receive the complete formation which he needs.
The family is the first cell in the organism of the Church.
The parents should regard their duties as Sacred and, in a way, Priestly.
They are joined together, not only for the purpose of procreating children but, also of educating them.
This is a lifty honour and responsibility.
They do not possess, however, the means of completing the education of their children.
They can do a great deal but they cannot do everything, for they are not, in fact, Priests possessing the necessary means of communicating the supernatural life through the Sacraments and through the authoritative Word of God.

Parents are the natural guardians of their children but, in the Church, there is a spiritual father to assist them, namely, the Parish Priest.
No good Catholic should ignore the existence of his Parish Priest and of his Parish.
In his Parish Church, he has received the priceless gift of supernatural life through the Sacrament of Baptism.
There too, he recited his childhood prayers, obtained forgiveness for his sins in the Confessional, received the Sacrament of Confirmation, made his First Holy Communion and received, perhaps, the Nuptial blessing at his marriage.
There will come a day when he will be borne to his Parish Church for the last time, to receive from the Priest, his final blessing and prayers for the repose of his soul.

We should love our Parish, therefore, in the same way as we love our family and, we should cherish our Parish Church.
It is not enough to visit any Church but, we should give pride of place to our own, which houses our spiritual family and our spiritual history and holds, for us, so many precious memories of the past.
We ought to make a special point of attending it, for our own benefit and that of our children and in order to give good example.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on the CHURCH, St PAUL!, St PETER!, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE

Quote/s of the Day – 18 November – Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul – ‘… These are the gates of our true country, …’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 18 November – Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul

“The present Feast, therefore, deserves to be more than a local solemnity, its extension to the Universal Church, is a subject for the world’s gratitude.
Thanks to this Feast, we can all make together in spirit today, the pilgrimage, which our ancestors performed with such fatigue and danger, yet never thought they purchased, at too high a price, its holy joys and blessings.
“Heavenly mountains, glittering heights of the new Sion!”
These are the gates of our true country, the two lights of the immense world.
There Paul’s voice is heard like thunder;
there Peter withholds or hurls the bolt .
The former opens the hearts of men, the latter opens Heaven. Peter is the foundation-stone, Paul the architect of the temple where stands the Altar, by which God is propitiated.
Both together, form a single fountain which, pours out its healing and refreshing waters”

St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)
Bishop, Father o the Church

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, GOD the FATHER, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on TRUTH, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 November – ‘ … We must do this too, when we are feeling low … ‘

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 18 November – Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul – Apocalypse 21:2-5. Luke 19:1-10 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“ … He climbed up into a sycamore tree that he might see Him …” – Luke 19:2

REFLECTION – “I’m writing with the desire to see you, a bold and good shepherd, pasturing and guiding the sheep entrusted to you with perfect zeal and thus, imitating the sweet Master of Truth, Who gave His life for us who are His sheep, who have strayed away from the path of grace. True…, we cannot do this without God and we cannot possess God while remaining on earth. But here is a sweet remedy – when our hearts are reduced to nothing and feeling small, we must do as Zacchaeus did. He was not tall and he climbed a tree to see God. This zeal of his, allowed him to hear these sweet words: “Zacchaeus, go home, for I must dine with you today.”

We must do this too, when we are feeling low, when our hearts are constricted and lacking in charity. We must climb the tree of the most holy Cross and there we shall see, we shall touch God. There we shall find the fire of His inexpressible charity, the love that propelled Him, even to the humiliation of the Cross that raised Him up and made Him desire His Father’s honour and our salvation, with the craving of hunger and thirst… If this is what we want, if our carelessness does not get in the way, we can, in mounting the tree of the Cross, fulfill in ourselves, this word issuing from the mouth of Truth: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all things to Myself” (Jn 12,32 Vg). Indeed, when the soul is thus raised up, it sees the blessings of the Father’s goodness and power…, it sees the mercy and lavishness of the Holy Spirit, that is to say, the inexpressible love holding Jesus bound to the wood of the Cross. Nails and bonds cannot hold Him there, only charity… O climb this most holy tree where hang, the ripe fruits of all the virtues that the body of the Son of God bears, ardently hasten. Dwell within the holy and sweet love of God. O sweet Jesus, Jesus love.” – St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church (Letter 119, to the prior of the Olivetan Monks).

PRAYER – O God, Who for us brings each year, the recurrence of the Consecration day of this Thy holy temple and always brings us back safely to the sacred rites, hear the prayers of Thy people and grant that whoever enters this temple, to pray for blessings, may rejoice in having obtained whatever he sought. Through 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 BLESSED TRINITY PRAYERS, BREVIARY Prayers, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Our Morning Offering – 18 November – Æterna Cæli Gloria, Eternal glory of Heaven

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 November – Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul

Æterna Cæli Gloria
Eternal Glory of Heaven
By St Ambrose (340–397)
Father and Doctor of the Churh
Trans. John Mason Neale, (1818-1866)

Eternal glory of the sky,
Blest hope of frail humanity,
The Father’s Sole-begotten One,
Yet born a spotless Virgin’s Son!

Uplift us with Thine arm of might,
And let our hearts rise pure and bright
And, ardent in God’s praises, pay
The thanks we owe Him everyday.

The Day-star’s rays are glittering clear
And tell that day itself is near:
The shadows of the night depart;
Thou, holy Light, illume the heart!

Within our senses ever dwell,
And worldly darkness thence expel;
Long as the days of life endure,
Preserve our souls devout and pure.

The faith that first must be possessed,
Root deep within our inmost breast;
And joyous hope in second place,
Then charity, Thy greatest grace.

All laud to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete.

Beloved Saint Ambrose was a Roman citizen, son of a Roman prefect in Gallia Narbonensis.
At age 33 or 34, (374) he was appointed governor of northern Italy.
In the same year, Ambrose was selected as Bishop of Milan by popular acclaim.
His Hymns first came to widespread not­ice during a public altercation between St Ambrose and Empress Justina, who had sent soldiers to arrest him. Ambrose and his faithful flock stayed in the Sanctuary of the Church for days, singing and praying. The Empress lost the test of wills and Ambrose’ Hymns have lived for millennia. Alleluia!

Posted in MARTYRS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 18 November – Saint Romano of Antioch (Died c 303) Deacon Martyr

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 18 November – Saint Romano of Antioch (Died c 303) Deacon Martyr . Died by strangulation in prison in Antioch, Syria. Also known as – Romanus of Caesarea, Romano.

The Roman Martyrology reads: “At Antioch, the birthday of St Romanus, Martyr in the time of the Emperor Galerius. When the Prefect Asclepiades broke into the Churches and strove to destroy them completely, Romanus exhorted the Christians to resist him and, after being subjected to dire torments and the cutting out of his tongue (without which, however, he spoke the praises of God), he was strangled in prison and crowned with a glorious Martyrdom. Before him suffered a young boy, named Barula, who, being asked by him. whether it was better to worship one God, Whom the Christians adore, was scourged and beheaded.”

In 303 or 304, at the beginning of Diocletian Persecution, a Deacon called Romanus, served in Caesarea in Palestine. He was living in Antioch, where, in the midst of the persecutions, he encouraged the Christians to stand firm.

During a pagan festival, he upbraided the participants for worshiping idols. Taken prisoner, he was condemned to death by fire and was bound to the stake. When rain extinguished the flames, Romanus was brought before Emperor Galerius who was then in Antioch. At the Emperor’s command, Romanus’ tongue was cut out. Tortured in various ways in prison, he was finally strangled.

Eusebius speaks of his Martyrdom in De martyribus Palaestinae. Prudentius relates other details and gives Romanus a companion in Martyrdom, a Christian boy by name Barulas.

he Church of San Román in Seville is dedicated to Romanus. Prudentius wrote a 1140 line Hymn to Romanus, the Romane Christi fortis, the tenth hymn in his Peristephanon.

Posted in FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARTYRS, SAINT of the DAY

Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul and Memorials of the Saints – 18 November

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul:
From the twelfth century the Dedications of the Vatican Basilica of St Peter and the Basilica of St Paul on the Via Ostiense, have been celebrated on this day, as the anniversary of their dedication by St Pope Silvester and St Pope Siricius in the fourth century. In more recent times, this feast has been extended to the whole Roman Rite. As the anniversary of the Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (5 August) honours the motherhood of Our Lady, so this Feast honours the memory of the two Princes of the Apostles.
About this Feast:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/11/18/feast-of-the-dedication-of-the-basilicas-of-sts-peter-and-paul-at-rome-18-november/

St Amandus of Lérins
Bl Andreas Murayama Tokuan
St Anselm of Lérins
St Augusto Cordero Fernández
St Barulas
St Constant
Bl Cosmas Takeya Sozaburo
Bl Domingos Jorge
St Emiliano Martínez de La Pera Alava
St Esteban Anuncibay Letona
St Francisco Marco Alemán
St Germán García y García
Bl Guilminus
Bl Ioannes Yoshida Shoun
St José María Cánovas Martínez
St Keverne
Bl Leonard Kimura
St Mawes
St Maximus of Mainz
St Modesto Sáez Manzanares
St Mummolus of Lagny
St Nazarius of Lérins
St Noah the Patriarch

St Odo of Cluny (c 880–942) Monk and Abbot, Reformer.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/11/18/saint-of-the-day-18-november-saint-odo-of-cluny-c-880-942/

St Oriculus
St Patroclus of Colombier
St Romfarius of Coutances
St Romanus of Antioch (Died c 303) Deacon Martyr
St Teofredo of Vellaicum
St Thomas of Antioch
St Vidal Luis Gómara