Day: September 9, 2023

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on ZEAL, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST

Thought for the Day – 9 September – The Two Standards

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Thought for the Day – 9 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Two Standards

“The well-known meditation of St Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercies on the two standards, remains applicable to our times.
We need only glance at the world to see that it contains two different kinds of people – the good and the bad, the enemies of Christ and His faithful followers.
But, there is also a third group, those who are indifferent and apathetic, those who think of their own comfort and convenience and of nothing else!
When one considers it, it is plain that those people who think only of themselves – and their number seems to grow every year – belong to the rearguard of those, who fight beneath the banner of Satan.
That man is an enemy of Christ, who has no generosity, no spirit of sacrifice, no desire to combat the evil which threatens to submerge the world.
“He who is not with me, is against me,” (Mt 12:30) said Jesus.
He who thinks only of his own convenience and remains indifferent to the spread of evil, is not worthy of Jesus.
One cannot be indifferent when faced with the alternative between good and evil because, indifference is tantamount to a betrayal.
“The Christian,” writes Tertullian, “is another Christ!”

The fact that we are Christians imposes on us, the obligation to fight openly and courageously under the Standard of Christ.
The battle must be waged on two fronts.
On one side, the struggle is internal.
We must resist our rebellious inclinations and self-centred egoism.
At the same time, we must make a constant effort to advance in Christian perfection.
On the second front, the struggle is external.
It is not sufficient to sanctify ourselves but, we must try to sanctify others.
When we consider the sacrifices made in the cause of evil by the enemies of Christ, how can we remain indifferent?
We should work with zeal and with the help of God’s grace, to achieve our own sanctification and the reign of Christ in the universe.
We should examine what we have already done and resolve to be more determined in our future efforts!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, SAINT of the DAY, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 9 September – St Peter Claver

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Quote/s of the Day – 9 September – St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654) Confessor, “Slave of the slaves”

“To do the will of God,
man must despise his own;
the more he dies to himself,
the more he will live to God.”

“I must dedicate myself
to the service of God until death,
on the understanding
that I am like a slave.”

“To love God as He ought to be loved,
we must be detached from all temporal love.
We must love nothing but Him,
or if we love anything else,
we must love it, only for His sake.”

“We must speak to them,
with our hands,
by giving,
before we try to speak to them,
with our lips.”

St Peter Claver (1581-1654)

“No life, except the life of Christ,
has moved me so deeply,
as that of Peter Claver.”

St Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903)
on the occasion of St Peter Claver’s Canonisation.

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, The HOLY NAME of MARY, The NATIVITY of the BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 September – ‘ … Call on her with complete faith … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 9 September –The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Proverbs 8:22-35, Matthew 1:1-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

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

REFLECTION – “She was called Mary, that is, star of the sea, in the foreseeing purpose of God, that she might declare by her name, that which she manifests more clearly in reality. …

Robed in beauty, robed equally in strength, she has girded herself, ready to curb, with a single gesture, the extraordinary tumults of the sea (Ps 92:1,4). For those who sail upon the sea, of the present age and call on her with complete faith, she rescues from the breath of the storm and the raging of the winds and brings them, rejoicing with her, to the shore of their happy country. One cannot tell, beloved, how often some would have struck hard rocks, about to suffer shipwreck, some fall on foul sandbanks, to return no more … did not the star of the sea, Mary Ever Virgin, stand in the way with her mighty aid and, when now the rudder was broken, the deck shattered and they were without human aid, bring them, by her heavenly leading, to the haven of inner peace. Therefore, rejoicing in new triumphs in the new rescue of the boat, in the new additions of peoples, she manifests her joy in the Lord …

Indeed, glowing and and conspicuous, with this twofold love, on the one hand, she is most ardently fixed on God, to whom she clings and she is one spirit with Him (cf. 1 Cor 6:17); on the other, she gently comforts and attracts the hearts of the elect and shares with them, excellent gifts coming from the generosity of her Son.” …  St Amadeus of Lausanne O.Cist (1110-1159) Bishop – Homily VIII in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary

PRAYER – Bestow upon Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace that, as the child-bearing of the Blessed Virgin stood for the beginning of our salvation, so may the solemn Feast of her Nativity, bring about an increase of peace. 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 DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, OUR Cross, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PATIENCE, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS

Our Morning Offering – 9 September – My Sorrowful Mother, Help Me to Bear My Crosses

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Our Morning Offering – 9 September – “Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross”

My Sorrowful Mother,
Help Me to Bear My Crosses
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

My sorrowful Mother,
by the merit of that grief
which you felt
at seeing your beloved Jesus
led to death,
obtain for me the grace
to bear with patience,
those crosses which God sends me.
I will be fortunate
if I also shall know how
to accompany you
with my cross until death.
You and Jesus,
both innocent,
have borne a heavy cross
and shall I,
a sinner who has merited hell,
refuse mine?
Immaculate Virgin,
I hope you will help me
to bear my crosses with patience.
Amen

Posted in MARTYRS, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 9 September – St Gorgonius of Nicomedia (Died c303) Confessor, Martyr,

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Saint of the Day – 9 September – St Gorgonius of Nicomedia (Died c303) Confessor, Martyr, Soldier, Imperial Court Official and companions, St Dorotheus. After many horrific tortures these two were finally strangled to death in 303 in Nicomedia, Bithynia (modern Izmit, Turkey).

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Nicomedia, the holy Martyrs, Gorgontius, Dorotheus and others. The greatest honours had been conferred on them by the Emperor Diocletian but, as they detested the cruelty which he exercised against the Christians, they were, by his orders, suspended in his presence and lacerated with whips; then their skin being torn from their bodies and vinegar and salt poured over them, they were burned on a gridiron and finally, strangled. After some time, the body of the blessed Gorgonius was brought to Rome and deposited on the Latin Way. Thence, it was transferred to the Basilica of St Peter and later some Relics went to France.”

Gorgonius held a high position in the household of the Emperor and had often been entrusted with matters of the greatest importance.

At the onset of the persecution, he was consequently, among the first to be charged and, remaining constant in the profession of the Faith, was with his companions, Dorotheus, Peter and several others, subjected to the most frightful torments and finally strangled.

Diocletian, determined that their bodies should not receive the extraordinary honours which the early Christians were wont to pay the Relics of the Martyrs (honours so great as to occasion the charge of idolatry!) ordered them to be thrown into the sea.

The Christians, nevertheless, obtained possession of them and later, the body of Gorgonius was carried to Rome, whence, in the 8th Century, it was translated by St Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz and enshrined in the Monastery of Gorze. Many French Churches obtained portions of the Saint’s body from Gorze,but in the general pillage of the French Revolution, most of these relics were lost.

Our chief sources of information regarding these Martyrs are Lactantius and Eusebius. Our Saint today and his companions are celebrated today, 9 September. There are many magnificent Churches names for our Saint in Europe, especially in France, Belgium and Germany.

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

Santa María la Antigua / St Mary the Ancient, Panama, 16th Century, St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654) Confessor and all the Saints for 9 September

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Santa María la Antigua / St Mary the Ancient, Panama City, Panama , 16th Century, Patron of the Republic of Panama – 9 September:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/09/09/santa-maria-la-antigua-st-mary-the-ancient-panama-city-panama-16th-century-and-memorials-of-the-saints-9-september/

St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654) Confessor, Priest of the Society of Jesus, Missionary, Confessor, Patron of the missions to African peoples and Human Rights Defender, Apostle of Charity. Also known as “The Apostle of Cartagena” and “The Slave of the Slaves.”
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/09/saint-of-the-day-9-september-st-peter-claver-s-j/

St Alexander of Sabine
St Basura of Masil
St Bettelin
St Dorotheus of Nicomedia (Died c303) Martyr, Soldier
Bl Gaudridus
St Gorgonio of Rome
St Gorgonius of Nicomedia (Died c303) Martyr, Soldier
St Isaac the Great
St Joseph of Volokolamsk (c1439-1515) Abbot, Founder

St Kieran the Younger (c516-c550) Monk, Abbot, One of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. St Kieran, like so many Saints, had a supernatural affinity with animals – there are many legends related to this.
His Holy Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/09/09/saint-of-the-day-9-september-saint-kieran-the-younger-c-516-c-550/

Bl Maria Eutimia Uffing
Bl Mary de la Cabeza
St Omer
St Osmanna
St Rufinian
St Peter of Nicomedia (Died c303) Martyr, Soldier
St Severian
St Straton
St Tiburtius
St Valentinian of Chur
St Wilfrida
St Wulfhilda