Day: March 29, 2024

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 29 March – The Crucifixion

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Thought for the Day – 29 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Crucifixion

“On either side of Jesus there were two other crosses, to which two robbers had been tied.
When one of these saw how Jesus prayed and forgave, in the midst of His sufferings, he was touched by the grace of God.
He began to hate his crimes and sins and to believe in the Divine Redeemer.
Turning towards Jesus, he begged for forgiveness.
“Lord,” he said, “remember me when Thou comes into Thy Kingdom.”
Jesus returned his gaze at once and replied:
“This day, thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.”

This moving episode holds two main lessons for us.
(1) No matter how great and numerous our sins are, God in His Infinite Mercy, will forgive us if we sincerely repent and resolve to lead better lives.
(2) We should not, on the other hand, put off our conversion until the moment of death.

As St Augustine points out, only one of the two thieves is reported to have been converted.
We are taking a grave risk whenever we abuse God’s Goodness and Mercy!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/02/thought-for-the-day-2-april-the-crucifixion/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/15/thought-for-the-day-15-april-the-crucifixion/

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, GOOD FRIDAY, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, OUR Cross, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The SEVEN PASSION Feasts, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 29 March – Good Friday, By the Cross, we put on Christ

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Quote/s of the Day – 29 March – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John 18:1-40.19:1-42 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And bearing His own Cross,
He went forth to the place which is called Calvary
but in Hebrew Golgotha.”

John 19:17

“By the Cross, death was slain
and Adam was restored to life.
The Cross is the glory of all the Apostles,
the Crown of the Martyrs,
the Sanctification of the Saints.
By the Cross, we put on Christ
and cast aside our former self.
By the Cross we, the sheep of Christ,
have been gathered into one flock,
destined for the Sheepfold of Heaven.”

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)

“O souls!
Seek a refuge, like pure doves,
in the shadow of the Crucifix.
There, mourn the Passion
of your Divine Spouse
and drawing from your hearts,
flames of love and rivers of tears,
make of them a precious balm
with which to anoint
the Wounds of your Saviour.”

“When you are alone in your room,
take your Crucifix,
kiss Its Five Wounds reverently,
tell It to preach you a little sermon
and then listen to the Words of eternal life
that It speaks to your heart.
Listen to the pleading of the Thorns,
the Nails, the Precious Blood.
Oh, what an eloquent sermon!”

St Paul of the Cross CP (1694-1775)

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, GOOD FRIDAY, POETRY

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 29 March – Good Friday – Christ, What am I to Give Thee for my life?

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Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 29 March – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John 18:1-40.19:1-42 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And bearing His own Cross,
He went forth to the place which is called Calvary
but in Hebrew Golgotha.”
John 19:17

“Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judeaorum –
Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.”
John 19:19

GOOD FRIDAY
The Word of the Cross
(Christ,What am I to Give Thee for my life?)

St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431)
Father of the Church

“Look on thy God, Christ hidden in our flesh.
A bitter word, the Cross and bitter sight –
Hard rind without, to hold the Heart of Heaven.
Yet, sweet it is, for God upon that tree
Did offer up His Life upon that rood –
My Life hung, that my Life might stand in God.
Christ, what am I to give Thee for my life?
Unless, take from Thy Hands, the cup they hold,
To cleanse me with the precious draught of death.
What shall I do? My body to be burned?
Make myself vile? The debt is not paid out yet.
Whate’er I do, it is but I and Thou,
And still do I come short, still must Thou pay
My debts, O Christ, for debts Thyself had’st none.
What love may balance Thine? My Lord was found
In fashion like a slave that so His slave
Might find himself in fashion like his Lord.
Think you the bargain’s hard, to have exchanged
The transient for the eternal, to have sold,
Earth to buy Heaven? More dearly God bought me!”

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DYING / LAST WORDS, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOOD FRIDAY, ONE Minute REFLECTION, OUR Cross, POETRY, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION, The SECOND COMING, The SEVEN PASSION Feasts, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 29 March– There they crucified Him – John 19:18

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One Minute Reflection – 29 March – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John 18:1-40.19,1-42. – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“There they crucified Him and with Him two others, one on either side and Jesus between them. ” – John 19:18

REFLECTION – “Truly, you are a hidden God!” (Is 45:15).   Why hidden?   Because He had neither form nor beauty, yet power was in His Hands.   It was there His fortitude was hidden.

Was He not hidden when He submitted His Hands to brutes and His Palms received the nails?   The print of the nails gleamed on His Hands and His innocent Side received the wound.   They shackled His Feet in fetters, the iron pierced His soles and His Feet were fastened to the tree.   These wounds did God suffer on our behalf, at the hands of His own people, in His own home.   O how marvellous are His Wounds by which the wounds of the world were healed!   How victorious His Wounds, by which He slew death and stung hell! … Therefore, O Church, O dove, You have coverts in the rock and a hollow in the wall in which to rest (cf. Sg 2:14). …

And what will you do … when He comes in the clouds with great power and majesty? (cf Mt 24:30)   He will come down with Heaven and earth ablaze and by the terror of His coming, He will dissolve the elements.   When He has come, the Sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky and the beloved One will show the scars of His Wounds and the prints of the nails, by which He was transfixed in His own home!” … St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159) – Cistercian Monk, Bishop

PRAYER – Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present and to come and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul and of all the Saints, mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of Thy mercy we may be always free from sin and secure from all disturbance. 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.
Faithful Cross! above all other, One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thy peer may be.
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee. (Antiphons).

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD ALONE!, GOOD FRIDAY, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The SEVEN PASSION Feasts

Our Morning Offering – 29 March – Membra Jesu Nostri, O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

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Our Morning Offering – 29 March – Good Friday

Membra Jesu Nostri
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
By Blessed Arnulf of Leuven O.Cist. (c1200-1276)

O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory,
what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered,
was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine, was the transgression
but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Saviour!
’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favour,
vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee,
Thou noble Countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee
and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish,
with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy Visage languish
that once was bright as morn!

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished,
their colour once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished
the splendour that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigour,
hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigour,
Thy strength in this sad strife.

My burden in Thy Passion,
Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression
which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee,
wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee;
Redeemer, spurn me not!

What language shall I borrow
to thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never,
outlive my love to Thee.

My Shepherd, now receive me;
my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me,
O Source of gifts Divine.
Thy Lips have often fed me
with words of Truth and Love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me
to Heavenly joys above.

Here I will stand beside Thee,
from Thee I will not part;
O Saviour, do not chide me!
When breaks Thy loving Heart,
When soul and body languish
in death’s cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish,
Thee in mine arms I’ll clasp.

The joy can never be spoken,
above all joys beside,
When in Thy Body broken
I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring
Thy Glory now to see,
Beside Thy Cross expiring,
I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

My Saviour, be Thou near me
when death is at my door;
Then let Thy Presence cheer me,
forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish,
oh, leave me not alone
But take away mine anguish
by virtue of Thine own!

Be Thou my consolation,
my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy Passion
when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee,
upon Thy Cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee.
Who dieth thus dies well!

This Poem/Hymn was incorrectly ascribed to St Bernard of Clairvaux, for they are consistent with his style and his devotion. However, “the external proof for this ascription is so slight as to be negligible” (Hurlbut, VII, 18).
The “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” did appear in St Bernard’s collected works but only two hundred years after his death. When the Monasteries were suppressed in the French Revolution, all of the relevant manuscripts disappeared. The only surviving manuscript, dated 1320, bears Arnulf’s name (Arnulfus de louan). Here is Blessed Arnulf’s story:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/02/saint-of-the-day-2-april-blessed-arnulf-of-leuven-o-cist-c1200-1276-abbot/

Arnulf’s Poem consists of a cycle of seven Poems, each a meditation on one of the Wounds of the Crucified Christ.
The words of the Hymn remind us, not only of the depth of Christ’s love but also how much He suffers because of our sins.

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 29 March – Saint William Tempier of Poitiers OSA (Died 1197) Bishop known as “William the Strong”

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Saint of the Day – 29 March – Saint William Tempier of Poitiers OSA (Died 1197) the 12th Bishop of Poitiers, “William the Strong” Canon Regular of the Augustinian Order. He is remembered as a man of great courage and virile patience in the exercise of his Office in defending the rights of and the property of the Church. Born probably in Poitiers and died on 29 March 1197 in his Diocese of natural causes. Patronages – against haemorrhages and any blood ailments. Also known as – “William the Strong” William of Poitiers, Guillermo

It is not known when and where he was born, although it is believed to be in Poitiers, France. As a young man Willian entered the Augustinian Canons where he practiced the life of virtue such that he was called to lead the Canonry of St Hilary in Poitiers.

In 1183, at the request of the Clergy and people alike, he was chosen to be the Bishop of Poitiers.

He shepherded his flock by his powerful word and stirring example and strove to defend the rights of the Church which were under frequent attack.

We know little more about St William but, for Centuries, his Feast has been celebratei on 29 March and is recorded as such in various Martyrologies.

He is remembered above all for the courage shown in defending the rights and properties of his Diocese, this is also stated in a document from 1185 which indicates William as a defender against the persecutors of the Diocese.
And again in 1191 he is referred to as “William the Strong.”

After thirteen years of an intense Episcopate, he died on 29 March 1197 and was buried in the Church of St Cyprian. Bishop William Tempier,, who in life had been strongly opposed by the notables of the Diocese, was honoured as a Saint in death, which indicates that beyond the energy expressed in conducting the administrative and als, the political life of the Diocese, in the pastoral field, he was a great and holy Bishop, attentive to the spiritual life of the faithful, to whom he was an upright example.

The people of Poitiers went to his tomb to be cured, in particular of haemorrhages and any blood ailments.

Posted in DEVOTIO, GOOD FRIDAY, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

GOOD FRIDAY – FAST and ABSTINENCE, Tre Ore (The Three Hours Devotion), Apparition of Our Lady to St Bonitus (7th Century) and the Saints for 29 March

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GOOD FRIDAY – FAST and ABSTINENCE

Tre Ore (The Three Hours Devotion)
The Three Hours’ Agony on Good Friday from Noon until 3 o’clock to commemorate the three hours of Christ’s Hanging at the Cross.
It includes sermons on the Seven Last Words from the Cross and usually occurs between Noon and 3PM, the latter being the time when Jesus Died on the Cross and the time the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion begins.
In 1815, Pope Pius VII decreed a plenary indulgence to those who practice this devotion on Good Friday.

It is a fine tradition to keep silent
from Noon to 3:00 PM today.

Apparition of Our Lady to St Bonitus (7th Century) – 29 March:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/29/apparition-of-our-lady-to-st-bonitus-7th-century-and-memorials-of-the-saints-29-march/

St Acacia of Antioch
St Archmimus of Africa
St Armogastes of Africa
St Barachasius

Blessed Bertold of Mount Carmel (Died 1195) Priest, Monk, Hermit, Crusader.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/29/saint-of-the-day-29-march-blessed-bertold-of-mount-carmel-died-1195/

St Constantine of Monte Cassino (Died c560) Abbot

St Eustachio of Naples (3rd Century) Bishop
The little we know about St Eustachio:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/29/saint-of-the-day-29-march-saint-eustachio-of-naples-3rd-century/

St Eustasius of Luxeuil (c560–c626),Abbot, Disciple of St Columban, Abbot of Luxeuil Monastery, (after its Founder, St Columbanus) Missionary and Founder of another Monastery in Bavaria, Miracle-worker. Patronages – against blindness and eye diseases, of all illness and sick people.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/03/29/saint-of-the-day-29-march-st-eustasius-of-luxeuil-c560-c626/

St Firminus of Viviers

St Gladys (Sixth Century) Welsh Queen and Hermit, Mother and Widow.
Her Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/29/saint-of-the-day-29-march-saint-gladys-sixth-century/

St Gwynllyw
Bl Hugh of Vaucelles
St Jonas of Hubaham
St Lasar

St Ludolf of Ratzeburg O.Praem. (Died 1250) Bishop and Martyr, Preacher and founder of a community of Norbertine Sisters, Reformer and Counseller. St Ludolf was a Priest of the Premonstratensian (Norbertines) Order, particularly invoked as a Martyr for the freedom of the Church.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/29/saint-of-the-day-29-march-st-ludolf-of-ratzeburg-o-praem-died-1250-martyr/

St Mark of Arethusa
St Masculas of Africa
St Pastor of Nicomedia
St Saturus of Africa
St Simplicius of Monte Cassino
St Victorinus of Nicomedia
St William Tempier of Poitiers OSA (Died 1197) Bishop

Martyrs of Nicomedia: Seven Christians who were Martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know nothing else about them but the names of two – Pastor and Victorinus.