Day: February 13, 2024

Posted in QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on JUDGING, QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SLOTH, QUOTES on VANITY

Thought for the Day – 13 February – Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh (Part Two of Section I)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 13 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XIX: … Of the Way to Resist the Sins of the Flesh
(I) Before the Temptation
(Part Two)

“Once more I say to you, Fly! for you are as stubble!
Trust not to being bathed and filled with the water of a good and strong purpose and resolve and ready to die rather than offend God; for, inflamed by frequent stirring, the heat of the fire will gradually consume and evaporate the water of thy good resolution and, when you are least on your guard, it will so enkindle you that you will respect, neither friends nor kindred, nor fear God, nor regard life or honour, nor all the pains of hell!
Therefore fly, fly, unless you would be overtaken, captured and slain!

Secondly, avoid idleness and be awake and vigilant and busied with the thoughts and deeds which befit your state of life.

Thirdly, never resist the will of your superiors but show them a ready obedience, promptly fulfilling all their commands and most willingly — such as humble you most and are most opposed to your natural will and inclination.

Fourthly, beware of forming rash judgements of your neighbour, especially with regard to this vice and if he has manifestly fallen, have pity on him; be not bitter against him, nor hold him in contempt but rather gather from his fall, the fruit of humility and self-knowledge, confessing yourself to be but dust and ashes, drawing nearer unto God in prayer and shunning more carefully, than ever, all connections wherein there may be even the shadow of danger.
For if you are quick to judge and despise others, God will correct you to your cost and suffer you to fall into the same fault, in order to convince you of your own weakness that, by such a humiliation, both sins may be cured.
And even if you should escape this sin, yet, unless you lay aside your uncharitable judgement of others, your state will be very insecure.

Fifthly and lastly, beware, lest, finding yourself favoured with some enjoyment of spiritual delights, you feel a certain vain complacency therein and imagine yourself to be something special and, that your enemies are now no longer able to assault you because you seem to yourself to regard them with disgust, horror and detestation.
If you are incautious in this matter, you will easily fall.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/12/thought-for-the-day-11-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-sins-of-the-flesh-part-one/

Posted in CARMELITES, DOCTORS of the Church, The HOLY FACE

Quote/s of the Day – 13 February – The Holy Face of Jesus

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 February – The Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus

Prayer to the Holy Face
By St Thérèse of the Child Jesus
and the Holy Face (1873-1897)

O Jesus, Who, in Thy cruel Passion
didst become, the ‘reproach of men
and the Man of Sorrows,’
I worship Thy divine Face.
Once it shone with the beauty
and sweetness of the Divinity
but now, for my sake,
it is become as ‘the face of a leper.’
Yet, in that disfigured Countenance,
I recognise Thy infinite love
and I am consumed with the desire
of making Thee loved by all mankind.
The tears that flowed so abundantly
from Thy Eyes are, to me,
as precious pearls which I delight to gather,
that with their worth,
I may ransom the souls of poor sinners.
O Jesus, Whose Face is the sole beauty
which ravishes my heart,
I may not see, here below,
the sweetness of Thy glance,
nor feel the ineffable tenderness of Thy kiss,
I bow to Thy Will—but I pray Thee,
to imprint in me, Thy divine likeness
and I implore Thee,
so to inflame me with Thy love,
that it may quickly consume me
and that I may soon reach the vision
of Thy glorious Face in Heaven.
Amen.

The Eight Promises of Jesus
To Those Who Honour His Holy Face

  1. All those who honour My Face in a spirit of reparation, will by so doing, perform the office of the pious Veronica. According to the care they take in making reparation to My Face, disfigured by blasphemers, so will I take care of their souls which have been disfigured by sin. My Face is the seal of the Divinity, which has the virtue of reproducing in souls, the image of God.
  2. Those, who by words, prayers or writing, defend My cause in this Work of Reparation, I will defend before My Father and will give them My Kingdom.
  3. By offering My Face to My Eternal Father, nothing will be refused and the conversion of many sinners will be obtained.
  4. By My Holy Face, they will work wonders, appease the anger of God and draw down mercy on sinners.
  5. As in a kingdom, they can procure all that is desired with a coin stamped with the King’s effigy, so, in the Kingdom of Heaven, they will obtain all they desire, with the precious coin of My Holy Face.
  6. Those who, on earth, contemplate the wounds of My Face shall, in Heaven, behold it radiant with glory.
  7. They will receive in their souls, a bright and constant irradiation of My Divinity, that by their likeness to My Face, they shall shine with particular splendour in Heaven.
  8. I will defend them, I will preserve them and I assure them of Final Perseverance.
Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, The HOLY FACE, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 13 February – ‘ … We must understand the miracles of our Lord ,,,’

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One Minute Reflection – 13 February – Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus – Ferial Day – 1 Cor. 13:1-13; Luke 18:31-43 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And immediately he saw and followed him, glorifying God.” – Luke 18:43

REFLECTION – “Our Redeemer foresaw that the hearts of His disciples would be greatly disturbed by His Passion. He foretold to them, far ahead, of both the agony of His Passion and the glory of His Resurrection (Lk 18:31-33). Then, when they beheld Him dying, as had been foretold, they would not doubt that He was to rise again. But since the disciples, still worldly as they were, were entirely unable to grasp, the Words of the Mystery (v.34), there was need of a miracle! A blind man received the Light before their eyes, so that a heavenly deed might strengthen the faith of those who failed to grasp the Words of the heavenly Mystery.

We must understand the miracles of our Lord and Saviour, dearly beloved, so as to believe that they have been truly effected and that their meaning, nevertheless, still signifies something else too … We do not know the historical identity of the blind man but we do know whom he mystically denotes. The blind man is the human race. In our first parents it was driven from the joys of paradise and ignorant of the brightness of the Divine Light, it suffered the darkness of its condemnation. But yet, it is enlightened by the presence of its Redeemer, to see already, the joys of inward light, by desire and to direct the footsteps of its good works, in the way of Life.” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermons on the Gospels).

PRAYER – O Lord, we beseech Thee, mercifully hear our prayers; loose us from the chains of our sins and keep us from all adversity. 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).

An Aspiration to the Eternal Father
to be Frequently Recited During the Day …

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Holy Face of Jesus,
covered with blood, sweat, dust and spittle,
in reparation for our sins
and the sins of the whole world.

Posted in CARMELITES, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, LENT 2024, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPARATION/EXPIATION, The HOLY FACE

Our Morning Offering – 13 February – Offering in Reparation, of the Holy Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to God the Father

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Our Morning Offering – 13 February – Feast of the Hoily Face of Jesus and Shrove Tuesday

As part of the preparations for Lent, it is appropriate to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Face by spending some time before the Blessed Sacrament and reciting the prayers of reparation.
In addition, the repetition of this Devotion each Tuesday in Lent maybe a means of drawing closer to Our Lord during this time of more intense prayer and conversion.

TAKEN FROM THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF SR MARY OF ST PETER OCD (1816-1848).

“Do you see how I suffer? Yet, very few understand Me. Those who say they love Me are very ungrateful! I have given My Heart as the sensible object of My great love to men and I give My Face as the sensible object of My sorrow for all the sins of men. I wish that it be venerated by a special Feast on Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. I wish that the Feast be preceded by a Novena in which the faithful make reparation with Me, joining together and sharing in My sorrow.”

Offering in Reparation,
of the Holy Face of Our Lord
Jesus Christ to God the Father

Eternal Father,
turn away Thy angry gaze from Thou guilty people
whose face has become unsightly in Thy eyes.
Look instead upon the Face of Thy beloved Son,
in Whom Thou art well pleased.
We now offer Thee,
this Holy Face, covered with shame
and disfigured by bloody wounds,
in reparation for the crimes of our age,
in order to appease Thy anger,
justly provoked against us.
Because, Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer,
hast taken upon His Head
all the sins of His members
that they might be spared,
we now beg Thee, Eternal Father,
to grant us mercy.
Amen.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 13 February – Saint Stephen of Rieti (Died c590) Abbot

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Saint of the Day – 13 February – Saint Stephen of Rieti (Died c590) Abbot
Died in c590 of natural causes. Also known as – Stefano, Stfan, Stefanus.

The Roman Martyrology reads: “At Rieti, the Abbot St Stephen, a man of wonderful patience, at whose death, as is related by the blessed Pope, St Gregory, the holy Angels were present and visible to all.”

The Monastery in Rieti

We know almost nothing about Stephen of Rieti. The only sources in which the Saint is mentioned, are the “Dialogues” and a sermon of Saint Gregory the Great.

In this last text Stephen is indicated as an example of perfect patience, a contemporary of St Egli (?) and originally from Rieti.

He was the Abbot in the Monastery of San Eleuterius of Rieti which was founded by St Equitius (5th-6th Century).

Tradition has it that St Stephen was a man of “rude (plain) manners” of a holy life and who loved to spend long periods in prayer. Furthermore, his patience was proverbial, so much so that, Saint Gregory mentions it in an episode when an evil man set fire to the wheat on the threshing floor of the Monastery.

Even for those who harassed him, he always had a good word, considering him a friend and collaborator.

Posted in CARMELITES, DOMINICAN OP, LENT, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY FACE

The Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus, Shrove Tuesday, Mother of Mercy, Notre-Dame de Pellevoisin / Our Lady of Pellevoisin, France (1876) and the Saints for 13 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

The Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus:
In the 19th Century Jesus expressed His wishes to Sister Mary of St Peter (1816-1848), a Carmelite Nun in Tours, France, that there be an actual Devotion to his Holy Face. Our Lord wanted this in reparation for blasphemies against Him and His Holy Name as well, as for the profanation of Sunday (when people engage unnecessarily in commerce and other such labours and chores on Sunday, a day meant for rest and reflection on God). In August of 1843 He dictated to her the well-known Golden Arrow Prayer. He also gave her Promises for those who would honour His Holy Face.
The first Holy Medal of the Holy Face was given to Ven Pope Pius XII, who approved the Devotion and the Medal. In 1958 he formally declared the Feast of the Holy Face of Jesus as Shrove Tuesday for all Catholics.
https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/01/feast-of-the-holy-face/

Shrove Tuesday: Shrove is the past tense of the word Shrive, which means “to hear a confession, assign penance and absolve from sin.”
In the Middle Ages, especially in Northern Europe and England, it became the custom to confess one’s sins on the day before Lent began in order to enter the penitential season in a repentant spirit.

Mother of Mercy, Notre-Dame de Pellevoisin / Our Lady of Pellevoisin, France (1876) – 13 February:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/13/mother-of-mercy-our-lady-of-pellevoisin-france-1876-and-memorials-of-the-saints-13-february/

St Adolphus of Osnabruk
St Aimo of Meda

Blessed Archangela Girlani O Carm (1460-1494) Virgin, Carmelite Nun, Mystic with the gift of levitation.
Her Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/13/saint-of-the-day-13-february-blessed-archangela-girlani-o-carm-1460-1494/

St Benignus of Todi
Bl Berengar of Assisi
St Castor of Karden

Blessed Jordan of Saxony OP (1190-1237) Religious Priest, Preacher, the Second Master-General of the Order of Preachers, after St Dominic.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/saint-of-the-day-13-february-blessed-jordan-of-saxony-o-p-1190-1237/

St Catherine de Ricci OP (1522-1590) Virgin, Tertiary of the Order of Preachers, Mystic, Stigmatist, Ecstatic, Counsellor to many in both secular and spiritual matters, a highly admired Administrator and Advisor,blessed with many mystical charism including visions of Christ, both as a Baby and Adult, bilocation and miracles. Her body is incorrupt.
A Mighty Handmaid:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/13/saint-of-the-day-13-february-saint-catherine-de-ricci-op-1522-1590/

Blessed Christine of Spoleto OSA (1435-1458) Widow, mother, Nun of the Order of Saint Augustine.
About Blessed Christine:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/13/saint-of-the-day-13-february-blessed-christine-of-spoleto-osa-1435-1458/

St Dyfnog
St Ermenilda of Ely
Bl Eustochium of Padua OSB (1444-1469) Virgin

St Fulcran of Lodève (Died 1006) Bishop of Lodève, Reformer, especially within the Clergy and Religious Orders, builder of many Churches, Convents and Hospitals, Apostle of the poor and needy, Miracle-worker.
St Futeran’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/13/saint-of-the-day-13-february-saint-fulcran-of-lodeve-died-1006-bishop/

St Fusca of Ravenna
St Gilbert of Meaux
St Gosbert of Osnabruck
St Guimérra of Carcassone
St Huno

St Julian of Lyon
St Lucinus of Angers
St Marice
St Martinian the Hermit
St Maura of Ravenna
St Modomnoc
St Peter I of Vercelli
St Stephen of Lyons
St Stephen of Rieti (Died c590) Abbot