Thought for the Day – 27 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Passion of Our Lord
“Meditation on the Passion of Jesus” writes St Albert the Great, “is more profitable than fasting on bread and water or than scourging ourselves.”
This is because, when we meditate with love and gratitude on the Passion of our Redeemer, we have the experience of being transformed and set aglow with charity. We realise the truth of St Paul’s words, “The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that will be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18)).
Let us cast ourselves, therefore, into the merciful arms of God and be prepared to suffer everything, even death, for the love of Jesus.”
Quote of the Day – 27 March – The Feast of St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
The Night Prayers before Retiring The Examination of Conscience, Act of Contrition and Resolutions By St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
“ (To be said pointing at the bed:) O Lord, Lover of men, is this bed to be my coffin, or wilt Thou enlighten my wretched soul with another day? Here the coffin lies before me and here death confronts me. I fear, O Lord, Thy Judgement and the endless torments, yet I cease not to do evil. My Lord God, I continually anger Thee and Thy immaculate Mother, and all the Heavenly Powers and my holy Guardian Angel. I know, O Lord, that I am unworthy of Thy love but deserve condemnation and every torment. But, whether I want it or not, save me, O Lord. For to save a good man is no great thing and to have mercy on the pure is nothing wonderful, for they are worthy of Thy mercy. But show the wonder of Thy mercy to me, a sinner. In this, reveal Thy love for men, lest my wickedness prevail over Thy unutterable goodness and mercy. And order my life as Thou wilt. (As sleep is the image of death, at night we pray for the departed) With the Saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of Thy servants where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting.
Kiss your Crucifix and make the Sign of the Cross from the head to the foot of the bed and from two sides and then say the Prayer:
Hail, Most Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord!
Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered and let those, who hate Him, flee from His Presence. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish and as wax melts by the presence of fire, so let the demons perish by the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross and say in gladness: Hail, Most Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, for Thou drives away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ Crucified on thee, Who went down to hell and trampled on the power of the devil and gave us thee, His venerable Cross, for driving away all enemies. O Most Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, help me with our holy Lady, the Virgin Mother of God and with all the Saints throughout the ages. Amen.
(When about to lie down in bed, say:) Lighten my eyes, O Christ God, lest I sleep in death and lest my enemy says: I have prevailed over him.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. Be my soul’s Defender, O God, for I step over many snares. Deliver me from them and save me, O Good One, in Thy love for men. Now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Let us not silently hymn the most glorious Mother of God, holiest of holy Angels but confess her with heart and mouth to be the Mother of God, for she truly bore God Incarnate for us and prays without ceasing for our souls. Amen.
(Just before closing your eyes, say:) Into Thy hands, O Lord Jesus Christ, my God, I surrender my spirit and body; bless me, save me and grant me eternal life. Amen.
Before retiring, The Examination of Conscience: (or if one prefers, before beginning prayers) go through all the points suggested below in your mind and memory.
Give thanks to Almighty God for granting you during the past day, by His grace, His gifts of life and health.
Examine your conscience by going through each hour of the day, beginning from the time you rose from your bed and recall to memory – where you went, how you acted and reacted towards all persons and other creatures and what you talked about. Recall and consider with all care, your thoughts, words and deeds from morning until the evening.
If you have done any good, do not ascribe it to yourself but to God Who gives us all the good things and thank Him. Pray that He may confirm you in this good and enable you to do other good works.
But if you have done anything evil, admit that this comes from yourself and your own weakness, from bad habits or weak will. Repent and pray to the Lover of men that He may forgive you and promise Him firmly, never to do this evil again.
Implore your Creator with tears, to grant you a quiet, undisturbed, pure and sinless night and to enable you, in the coming day, to devote yourself wholly to the glory of His holy Name.
If you find a soft pillow, leave it and put a stone in its place, for Christ’s sake. If you sleep in winter, bear it, saying – Some did not sleep at all!”
St John Damascene (675-749) Father and Doctor of the Church
Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 27 March – Monday of Passion Week
“In love, by love, for love and of love” St Francis de Sales
MONDAY IN PASSION WEEK St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritas
“THE SWEET JESUS was scourged, crowned, condemned, mocked and rejected as man, devoted, destined and dedicated to carry out and endure, the opprobriums and ignominies due in punishment to all sins and He served as a general sacrifice for sin, being made, as it were, an anathema, separated from and abandoned by His Eternal Father.
The Divine Saviour wished to die in the flames of love because of the Infinite Charity He bore towards us and, by the force and power of love, that is to say, He would die in love, by love, for love and of love. This is what He Himself says: “No-one takes away My life but I lay it down of Myself, for I have power to lay it down and to take it up again” .—He was offered, says Isaias because He wished it.” – (Consoling Thoughts of St Francis de Sales).
One Minute Reflection – 27 March – Monday of Passion Week and the Feast of St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church, Confessor, Priest, Monk, Theologian, Writer, Defender of Iconography, Polymath. – Wisdom 10:10-17, Luke 6:6-11 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“On another sabbath, he went into the synagogue and taught and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.” … Luke 6:6
REFLECTION – “Are you angry at me because I have healed the whole man on the Sabbath day?” In this place He revivified,, with the salutary strength of good works, the hand which Adam stretched out to pluck the fruit of the forbidden tree. The hand which had withered through a crime, was healed by good deeds. Christ thereby rebuked the Jews who violated the precepts of the law with evil interpretations. They thought that they should rest even from good works on the Sabbath, since the law prefigured in the present, the form of the future, in which indeed, the days of rest from evils, not from blessings, would come.
Then you heard the words of the Lord, saying, “Stretch forth your hand.” That is the common and universal remedy. You, who think that you have a healthy hand, beware lest it is withered by greed or by sacrilege. Hold it out often. Hold it out to the poor person who begs you. Hold it out to help your neighbour, to give protection to a widow, to snatch from harm one whom you see subjected to unjust insult. Hold it out to God for your sins. The hand is stretched forth, then it is healed. Jeroboam’s hand withered when he sacrificed to idols, then it stretched out when he entreated God.” … St Ambrose(340-397)- One of the 4 original Doctors of the Latin Church – Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 5
PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Who to defend the honour paid to sacred images, filled blessed John with heavenly learning and wondrous strength of soul, grant that, by his intercession and example, we may imitate the virtues of those whose images we honour and may enjoy the help of their patronage. 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).
Our Morning Offering – 27 March – The Feast of St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
This Prayer is part of a very long and most beautiful Night Prayer by St John which I will post shortly.
Hail, Most Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! By St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered and let those, who hate Him, flee from His Presence. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish and as wax melts by the presence of fire, so let the demons perish by the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross and say in gladness: Hail, Most Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, for Thou drives away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ Crucified on thee, Who went down to hell and trampled on the power of the devil and gave us thee, His venerable Cross, for driving away all enemies. O Most Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, help me with our holy Lady, the Virgin Mother of God and with all the Saints throughout the ages. Amen.
Saint of the Day – 27 March – St John of Lycopolis (c305-394) Hermit, Spiritual Advisor, Miracle-worker. graced with the gifts of prophecy and seeing into the hearts of men. John was known and admired by the greats of his time, including Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine, Saint Cassian and others. Born in c305 at Assiut, Egypt and died in 394 of natural causes. Also known as – Johannes av Egypt, John of Egypt, John of the Thebaid, John the Anchorite, John the Egyptian, John the Hermit.
John’s parents were poor and he trained as a carpenter. At the age of 25, he became a Hermit under the guidance of an elderly Recluse He spent a decade with this Hermit, taking direction from him and learning from him. St John Cassian recounts a tale that this spiritual counsellor directed John to water a dry stick every day for a year. After this test of obedience, his superior threw the stick away. When the older Hermit died, John spent the next five years travelling and visiting Monasteries.
John was noted for performing seemingly absurd acts such as rolling rocks from place to place and cultivating dead trees. Finally, he withdrew to the top of a cliff near Lycopolis, Egypt, where he could avoid all human contact. There he carved three small cells within the rock, one for sleeping, one for work and the last for praying. Then he walled them up with himself inside, leaving only a small opening.
He communicated through this opening to those who brought him food and water twice a week. Crowds would gather on those two days to hear him preach.
John never ate until sunset and lived on a diet of dried fruit and vegetables for fifty years. He refused bread and never ate anything cooked. He lived this way well into his nineties.
He possess the spiritual gift of prophecy and often predicting the future and knowing the details of persons he had never met. He predicted future victories to the Emperor Theodosius the Great who became his student, coming to him for advice and counselling.
He avoided seeing women, in particular, to avoid temptation but, he avoided all people for the last fifty years of his life. Saint Augustine wrote that John was tempted by devils and that he performed miraculous cures. St Augustine records that John cured a woman of blindness and then appeared to her in a vision to avoid seeing her in person.
John prayed incessantly and foreseeing his own death, he asked that no-one visit him for three days. He spent these last three days of his life without food or drink or any interaction except with God through prayer. He was discovered dead in his cell, with his body in a position of prayer.
John’s multi-roomed cell was re-discovered in the early 1900s.
St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church, Confessor, Priest, Monk, Theologian, Writer, Defender of Iconography, Poet, a Polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, music, Marian devotee. Also known as Doctor of Christian Art. Feast moved in 1969 to 4 December. Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/04/saint-of-the-day-4-december-st-john-damascene-675-749-father-doctor-of-the-church/
Bl Aimone of Halberstadt St Amphilochius of Illyria St Alexander of Drizipara St Alexander of Pannonia St Alkeld the Martyr St Amator the Hermit
Martyrs of Bardiaboch: A group of Christians who were arrested, tortured and executed together for their faith during the persecutions of Persian King Shapur II. Martyrs. – Abibus, Helias, Lazarus, Mares, Maruthas, Narses, Sabas, Sembeeth and Zanitas. 27 March 326 at Bardiaboch, Persia.
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.