Thought for the Day – 19 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Nature and Grace
“Although there is a contrast between grace and nature, there is also a certain harmony because God made us for Himself, as St Augustine says and our hearts will never be at rest, until they rest in Him. Grace is a supernatural graft, which elevates our nature and makes it capable of attaining everlasting life. It is necessary to take away all the shoots of the old tree stump and to care for the new branches, Only then shall we begin to approach Christian perfection.
“Therefore, O Lord, let Thy grace always go before and follow me and make me ever intent upon good works, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Amen.” (The Imitation of Christ Bk III C 55).”
Quote/s of the Day – 19 July – St Vincent de Paul CM (1581-1660) Confessor, “Holy Hero of Divine Charity.”
“If God is the centre of your life, no words are necessary. Your mere presence will touch hearts!”
“We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of others and pray continually, that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the Spirit of God.”
“We should spend as much time, in thanking God for His benefits, as we do, in asking Him for them!”
“Perfection consists in one thing alone which is doing the will of God. For, according to Our Lord’s words, it suffices for perfection to deny self, to take up the cross and to follow Him. Now, who denies himself and takes up his cross and follows Christ better than he, who seeks not to do his own will but always that of God? Behold, now, how little is needed, to become as Saint? Nothing more than to acquire the habit of willing, on every occasion, what God wills.”
“Humility and charity are the two master-chords: one, the lowest; the other, the highest; all the others are dependent upon them. Therefore, it is necessary, above all, to maintain ourselves in these two virtues; for observe well, that the preservation of the whole edifice depends on the foundation and the roof.”
Prayer for Vocations By St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
O Lord, send good workers to Thy Church, but may they be good! Send good missionaries to work in Thy vineyard, labourers, O my God, such as they ought to be – utterly detached from themselves, their own comfort and worldly goods. Let them even be few in number, provided that they are good! O Lord, grant this grace to Thy Church. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 19 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus” – St Vincent de Paul CM (1581-1660) Confessor, “Holy Hero of Divine Charity” – 1 Corinthians 4:9-14, Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The harvest indeed is great but the labourers are few.Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest that He send labourers into His harvest.” – Luke 10:2
REFLECTION – “Jesus Christ, loaded with scorn and insults by His foes, set Himself still more, to doing them good… He went through towns, villages and synagogues, teaching us not to pay back calumny with calumny but with even greater generosity. If you have God’s good pleasure and not people’s in mind when you do good to your neighbour, whatever they may do to you, do not stop doing good to them! Your reward can only be all the greater… That is why Christ did not wait for the sick to come to Him – He Himself went to them, taking them two essential goods at the same time – the Good News of the Kingdom and the healing of their ills.
Nor even was that enough for Him, He showed His concern in yet another way. “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. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few, so ask the Master of the harvest to send out labourers for His harvest.” Note, once again, His distancing Himself from vainglory. Not wanting to draw everyone to follow Him, He sent His disciples. He wanted to train them, not just for the struggles they were going to undergo in Judea but also, for the battles they will set in motion throughout the earth…
Jesus gives His disciples the power to heal bodies, while waiting before confiding to them, the equally important power to heal souls. Note how He demonstrates both the ease and the necessity of this work, at the same time. What does He say, in fact? “The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.” I am not sending you out to sow but to harvest… In speaking like this, our Lord gave them confidence and showed them that the most important work had already been achieved!” – St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermons on Saint Matthew’s Gospel No 32).
PRAYER – O God, Who endowed St Vincent with apostolic strength, to preach the Gospel to the poor and to enhance the dignity of clerical life; grant, we beseech Thee, that we. who honour his holy merits, may also conform to the example of his virtues. 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 – 19 July – St Vincent de Paul CM (1581-1660) Confessor, “Holy Hero of Divine Charity.” Founder of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) and Co-Founder of the Sisters of Charity, is an outstanding example of great love for the poor and unfortunate and the Celestial Patron of all Catholic Charitable Societies. (added by Pope Leo XIII).
Let Thou Thyself O Lord, Be Thine Eternal Thanksgiving! By St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
O Saviour, Who gave us the law to love our neighbour as ourselves, Who practised it, in such a perfect fashion, towards men. Let Thou Thyself O Lord, Be Thine eternal thanksgiving! O Saviour, how happy I am to be in the state of loving my neighbour! Grant me the grace to acknowledge my good fortune, to love this blessed state and to ensure that this virtue, may be revealed now, tomorrow and always. Amen.
Saint of the Day – 19 July – St Epaphras of Colossae (1st Century) Bishop, Martyr, pagan Convert and Disciple of St Paul. Also known as – Epafra, Epagaphras.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “The birthday of St Epaphras, whom the Apostle St Paul calls his fellow-prisoner. By the same Apostles, he was Consecrated Bishop of Colossae, where, becoming renowned for his virtues, he received the Palm of Martyrdom, for courageously defending the flock commited to his charges. His body now lies at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.”
St Epaphras Statue at St Mary Major in Rome
In St Paul’s letters to the Colossians and the letter to Philemon, he conveyed greetings from Epaphras:
“Epaphras saluteth you, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, who is always solicitous for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect, and full in all the will of God. For I bear his testimony that he hath laboured much for you,and for those who are at Laodicea, and those at Hierapolis.” Colossians 4:12–13
Originally from Colossae (in modern Turkey) and a pagan. Epaphras was converted by St Paul during the three years of apostolate in Ephesus. He is the founder and head of the Church of Colossae. The Apostle praises it twice: in Colossians 1:7 – the Colossians were evangelised by Epaphras “our beloved companion in the ministry, faithful minister of Christ, all devoted to your good.”
Finally, in the Epistle to Philemon, St Paul calls him “my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.” Epaphras, in fact, was in Rome with him, having come there from Colossae to visit and comfort him, with the assurance of the warm affection of all his faithful flock and disciples.
In the fervour of his apostolic zeal, Epaphras also made present to St Paul that heresy was trying to penetrate those Churches and to preserve them from danger, he had the Apostle write to them.
According to some critics, since the name Epaphras is a contraction of Epaphroditus, our Epaphras and the Epaphroditus mentioned by St Paul in the Epistle to the Philippians (3:25-28; 4:18) would be one and the same person. This identification, which rests only on the possible identity of the name, has nothing else on which to base itself and we agree to exclude it.
The tradition formed on this holy disciple of St Paul, was collected by Adonis: “On the birthday of the blessed Epaphras, who was Ordained Bishop of Colossae by the blessed Paul, famous for his virtues, received the Palm of Martyrdom for the sheep commended to him by a courageous struggle. He was buried in the same City but later his body was moved to St Mary Major in Rome.”
St Ambrose Autpertus Bl Antonio of Valladolid St Aurea of Cordoba
St Arsenius the Great (c 354-c 449) Deacon, Hermit, Desert Father, Theologian, writer. Arsenius one of the most highly regarded of the Desert Fathers, whose teachings were greatly influential on the development of asceticism and the contemplative life. His contemporaries so admired him as to surname him “the Great”. His Lifestory: https://anastpaul.com/2021/07/19/saint-of-the-day-19-july-saint-arsenius-the-great-c-354-c-449/
Bl Bernhard of Rodez St Daria of Constantinople St Epaphras of Colosse (1st Century) Bishop, Martyr, Disciple of St Paul St Felix of Verona
St Macrina the Younger (c 327-379) Virgin, Ascetic. With charm and grace, St Macrina ruled the roost in a family of saints. St Basil the Elder and St Emmelia, her parents, had ten children including the younger St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church, St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–C 395) Father of the Church and St Peter of Sebaste Bishop (c 340–391). As the eldest child, Macrina exercised a formative influence on her more famous brothers and even on her mother. Her Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/19/saint-of-the-day-19-july-saint-macrina-the-younger-c-327-379/
St Martin of Trier St Michael the Sabaitè Bl Pascasio of Lyon
St Romain of Ryazan St Pope Symachus (Died 514) Bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 until his death. St Vicente Cecilia Gallardo
Martyrs of Meros – 3 Saints: Three Christians tortured and Martyred together in the persecutions of emperor Julian the Apostate and governor Almachio. We know nothing else about them but the names – Macedoniuis, Tatian and Theodule. They were burned to death on an iron grill in Meros, Phrygia (in modern Turkey).
Martyrs of China: 3 Beati: Beatified on 17 April 1955 by Pope Pius XII. Elisabeth Qin Bianshi Elisabeth Ioannes Baptista Zhu Wurui Simon Qin Chunfu
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