Day: April 23, 2024

Posted in GOOD RESOLUTIONS, OUR Cross, QUOTES on MEDITATION, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 23 April – The Benefits derived from Meditations on the Cross and the Imitation of the Virtues of Christ Crucified

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 23 April – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

LII: … The Benefits derived from Meditations on the Cross
and the Imitation of the Virtues of Christ Crucified

“GREAT are the ADVANTAGES to be derived from meditating on the Cross, the first of which is, not only a detestation of past sins but also, the firm resolution to fight against our ever-present disorderly appetites which, Crucified our Saviour.
The second advantage is, the forgiveness of sins, obtained from Jesus Crucified and, a wholesome self-contempt which inspires us, forever to forsake offending Him and continually to love and serve Him with all our heart, in acknowledgment of that which He suffered for our sakes.

The third, is the unceasing labour with which we root out all depraved habits, however trivial they may appear.
The fourth consists in our ardent efforts to imitate our Divine Master, Who died, not only to expiate our sins but, to bequeath to us, the sublime example of a life of sanctity and perfection.

The following method of meditation will be highly serviceable, assuming, as I do, that you particularly wish to imitate the patience of your Saviour in carrying your crosses.
Consider well these several points:

What the Soul of Christ suffered for God.
What God did for the Soul of Jesus.
What the Soul of Jesus did, for itself and its Body.
What Jesus did for us.
What we ought to do for Jesus.

  1. Consider in the first place that the Soul of Jesus engulfed in the ocean of Divinity, contemplated that Infinite and Incomprehensible Being, before Whom, even the most exalted of creatures is utterly insignificant – contemplated, I say, in a state so debased as to suffer the vilest indignities of ungrateful man, without the least diminution of its essential glory and splendour.
    And from the depths of its suffering, the Soul of Christ adored its Sovereign Majesty, giving it myriad thanks and accepting all for its sake.
  2. Behold, on the other hand, what God bestowed on the Soul of Jesus – consider that the Divine Will decreed the scourgings, spittle, blasphemies, buffetings, crown of thorns, for love of us and the crucifixion which were meted out to Jesus, the Only and Beloved Son of God.
    See with what delight God, knowing the admirable end to which it was all directed, beheld His Divine Son, loaded with infamy and overwhelmed with affliction.
  3. Contemplate next, the Soul of Jesus and observe with what alacrity it submitted itself to the Will of God, either because of the immensity of its Divine Perfection, or the Infinity of Divine Favour bestowed upon it.
    Who can describe the ardent affection of this Soul for crosses?
    This was a Soul which sought, even new ways of suffering,and failing in this, abandoned itself and the innocent Body to the mercy of miscreants and the powers of Hell.
  4. Turn, then, your eyes to Jesus, Who, from the midst of His Agony, addresses you in this affectionate manner:
    “See to what depths of misery I am reduced by thy ungovernable will, which refuses the least constraint in compliance with mine.
    Behold the horrible pains I endure, with no other purpose than to teach thee a lesson of patience.
    And let me persuade you, by all these sufferings, to accept with resignation, this cross I here present and those which I shall send in the future.
    Surrender your reputation to calumny and your body to the fury of the persecutors whom I shall choose for your trial, however vile and inhuman they may be.
    Oh, that you didst know what delight your patience and resignation afford me!
    But then, how can you be ignorant of it, when you behold these wounds received to purchase for you, those virtues with which I would adorn your soul, more dear to me, than life itself?
    If I have suffered this debasement for you, can you not bear a light affliction, in order to lessen My Agony to some degree?
    Can you refuse to heal those Wounds, I have received, through your impatience, Wounds more cruel to me than physical anguish    ?”
  5. Consider who it is who speaks thus to you – consider that it is Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, true God and true Man.
    Consider too, the magnitude of His torments and humiliations, greater than that deserved by the most vicious of criminals. Be
    astonished to behold Him in the midst of these agonies, not only firm and resolute but even replenished with joy, as if the day of His Passion was a day of triumph.
    Just as a few drops of water sprinkled upon a flame, only adds a fresh intensity to its glow, so did His torments, embraced in a charity which made the burden seem light, serve to augment his joy and desire of suffering still greater affliction.
    Moreover, reflect that throughout His entire life, He was motivated, not by compulsion or self-interest but rather, by pure love alone that you may learn from Him, the manner of practicing patience.
    Endeavour, therefore, to attain a perfect knowledge of what He demands of you and consider His delight at your practice of patience. Then form an ardent desire of carrying this cross and heavier ones, not only with patience but with joy, that you may more exactly imitate Christ Crucified and render yourself more acceptable to Him!

Picture to yourself all the torments and indignities of His Passion and amazed at His constancy, blush at your own weakness.
Look upon your sufferings as merely imaginative, when compared to His and regard your patience as not even the faintest anticipation of His.
Dread nothing so much as an unwillingness to suffer for your Saviour, rejecting such unwillingness as a suggestion from Hell.

Consider Jesus on the Cross as you would a devout book, worthy of your unceasing study and, by which you may learn the practice of the most heroic virtues.
This is the book which may truly be called the “Book of Life” [Apocalypse, III, 5], which, at once enlightens the mind by its doctrines and inflames the will by its examples.
The world is full of books but were it possible for man to read them all, he would never be so well instructed, to hate vice and embrace virtue, as by contemplating a Crucified God!

But remember that there are those who spend hours lamenting the Passion of our Lord and admiring His patience and yet, on the first occasion, betray as great an impatience, in suffering, as if they had never thought of the Cross.
Such men are like untried soldiers, who, in their barracks breathe nothing but conquest but on the first appearance of the enemy, beat
a hasty and inglorious retreat!
What is more despicable after considering, admiring and extolling the virtues of our Redeemer, than to forget them all, in an instant, when an opportunity of practicing them presents itself!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR, SELF-DISTRUST

Quote/s of the Day – 23 April – Blessed Giles of Assisi

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Quote/s of the Day – 23 April – Blessed Giles of Assisi OFM (c1190-1262) Friar and Missionary of the Order of Friars Minor, Friend and the 3rd follower of St Francis.

A Brother said to Brother Giles:
“ Father, I have seen other men who received from God
the grace of devotion and of tears in their prayers
and I cannot feel in myself any such grace,
when I go to worship God.”
To whom Brother Giles answered:
“My Brother, I counsel thee to persevere humbly
and faithfully in thy prayers;
for the fruits of the earth cannot be had without toil
and labour applied beforehand
and even after we have laboured,
the desired fruit does not follow immediately
but only in its season, when the fullness of time has come.”

“Happiness is to do bodily labour
for the love of the Most High
and not to take any lesser wages than Paradise,
for the good work one does.”

“If thou wouldst see well, pluck out thine eyes and be blind;
if thou wouldst hear well, be deaf
and if thou wouldst speak well, become dumb;
if thou wouldst advance, stand still
and advance with thy mind;
if thou wouldst work well, cut off thy hands
and work with thy heart;
if thou wouldst love much, hate thyself;
if thou wouldst live well, mortify thyself;
if thou wouldst gain much and be rich,
first lose all and become poor
and if thou wouldst enjoy peace, afflict thyself
and be ever in fear and suspect thine own self;
if thou wouldst be exalted and have great honour,
humble and abase thyself;
if thou wouldst be held in great reverence, despise thyself
and do reverence to him who reviles thee;
if thou wouldst that it should be well with thee,
suffer all evil things and if thou wouldst be blessed,
desire that all should speak ill of thee
and if thou wouldst have true and eternal rest,
then toil and suffer and desire to have every temporal affliction.
O what great wisdom it is to know how to do
and to work out these things.”

Blessed Giles of Assisi (c1190-1262)

Posted in CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 April – “Abide in Me and I in you.” – John 15:4

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One Minute Reflection – 23 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – St George (Died c 303) Martyr – 2 Timothy 2:8-10; 3:10-12; John 15:1-7 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Abide in Me and I in you.” – John 15:4

REFLECTION – “ [Jesus] is our only Master, who must teach us; our only Lord, on Whom we must depend; our only Head, to Whom alone we should belong; our only Model, Whom we should imitate; our only Physician, Who must heal us; our only Shepherd, Who must feed us; our only Way, Who must lead us; our only Truth, Whom we must believe; our only Life, Who must be our life and our sole sufficiency in all things that in Him, we may have all in All. Except the Name of Jesus, there is no other name given under Heaven, whereby we must be saved and apart from Jesus Christ,

God has given us no other foundation of our salvation, our perfection and our glory: “for other foundation no man can lay but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 3:11). Every house which is not built upon this firm Rock, is founded on the shifting sands and will inevitably fall, sooner or later. Every soul who is not united with Christ, as a branch to the stem of the vine, will fall off, wither and become fit only for the fire. If we are in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ in us, we need not fear damnation; neither Angels in Heaven, nor men on earth, neither demons in hell, nor any other creature, can harm us because they cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (cf. Rm 8:38-39).” – St Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716) Priest, Renowned Preacher, Founder of Religious Communities [Treatise on the true devotion to the Blessed Virgin (Article one; First Truth)]

PRAYER – O God, Who dost gladden us through the worthy deeds and prayers of thy blessed Martyr George, mercifully grant that all they, who seek Thy mercy through him, may effectually obtain the gift of Thy grace. 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).

Posted in BLESSED TRINITY PRAYERS, franciscan OFM, GOD is LOVE, GOD the FATHER, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PEACE

Our Morning Offering – 23 April – Prayer in Praise of God By St Francis of Assisi

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Our Morning Offering – 23 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament”

Prayer in Praise of God
By St Francis of Assisi (c1181-1226)

Thou art Holy, Lord, the only God
and Thine Deeds art wonderful.
Thou art Strong.
Thou art Great.
Thou art the Most High.
Thou art Almighty.
Thou, Holy Father art King of Heaven and earth.
Thou art Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
Thou art Good, all Good, Supreme Good,
Lord God, Living and True.
Thou art Love. Thou art Wisdom.
Thou art Humility. Thou art Endurance.
Thou art Rest. Thou art Peace.
Thou art Joy and Gladness.
Thou art Justice and Moderation.
Thou art all our Riches and Thou art Suffice for us.
Thou art Beauty. Thou art Gentleness.
Thou art our Protector.
Thou art our Guardian and Defender.
Thou art our Courage.
Thou art our Haven and our Hope.
Thou art our Faith, our great Consolation.
Thou art our Eternal Life,
Great and Wonderful Lord, God Almighty,
Merciful Saviour.
Amen

Posted in franciscan OFM, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 23 April – Blessed Giles of Assisi OFM (c1190-1262) The Third Follower of St Francis

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Saint of the Day – 23 April – Blessed Giles of Assisi OFM (c1190-1262) Friar and Missionary of the Order of Friars Minor, Friend and the 3rd follower of St Francis. Giles held a leading place among the original Franciscans and St Francis called him “The Knight of our Round Table.” Giles was unlearned but a man of great wisdom, so much so, that all social classes came to learn aat his feet., he was a Mystic and man of deep contemplation and prayer. Born in c1190 in Assisi, Umbria, Papal States (in modern Italy) and died on 23 April 1262 at Perugia, Italy of natural causes. Also known as – Aegidius, Egidius.

Of Giles’ origins and early life nothing certain is known, other than that he was a simple farmer. In April, 1209, moved by the example of two leading fellow-Assisians and friends, who had already become the first followers of St Francis, he begged permission to join the little band and on the Feast of St George was invested in a poor religious habit which Francis had begged for him. Almost immediately afterwards he set out with Francis to preach in the Marches of Ancona. He accompanied Francis to Rome when the first Rule was orally approved by Pope Innocent III and appears to have then received the monastic tonsure.

Pope Innocent III approves the first Rule

About 1212 Giles made a pilgrimage to the Tomb of St James at Compostella, in Spain. Shortly after his return to Assisi, he started for Jerusalem, to venerate the Holy Places, visiting on his way home, the Italian Shrines of St Michael, at Monte Gargano and St Nicholas, at Bari. He is next found in Rome and still later at Tunis.

In these journeys, Giles was always at pains to procure, by manual labour, what food and shelter he needed. At Ancona he made reed baskets; at Brindisi he carried water and helped to bury the dead; at Rome he cut wood, trod the wine-press and gathered nuts; while the guest of a Cardinal at Rieti, he insisted on sweeping the house and cleaning the knives. He said: “Happiness is to do bodily labour for the love of the Most High and not to take any lesser wages than Paradise, for the good work one does.”

During the course of these travels, Giles, a keen observer of people and events, acquired much valuable knowledge and experience which he turned to good account. He took every opportunity to preach the Gospel. His sermons were brief and heartfelt, replete with homely wisdom. He never eluded truth and spoke to all, with the same love.

After some years of missionary activity, included a period amongst the Muslims in Tunis, Giles was assigned by Francis to the Hermitage of Monteripido, outside Perugia, where he began a life of contemplation and ecstasy which continued until his death.

Giles was a stranger to theological and classical learning but engaged in constant contemplation of heavenly things. Men of all social classes were drawn to Perugia to hear Giles teach. The answers and advice these visitors received were remembered, talked over and committed to writing and thus was formed a collection of the familiar ‘Dicta’ or ‘Sayings’ of Giles. St Bonaventure held these ‘Sayings’ in high esteem and they are cited in the works of many subsequent ascetical writers. They are short, pithy, popular counsels on Christian perfection, applicable to all classes. Known for their mysticism, humanity and originality, they faithfully reflect the early Franciscan spirit and teaching.

It was in 1262, on the 52nd Anniversary of his reception into the Order of Friars Minor that this Blessed Giles died, already revered as a Saint. His immemorial cultus was confirmed by Pope Pius VI in 1777 and his Feast Day is celebrated today, the 23rd of April.

Blessed Giles before Pope Gregory IX by Bartolomé Estéban Murillo
Posted in franciscan OFM, SAINT of the DAY

St George and the Saints for 23 April

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St George (died c 303) Martyr Soldier. St George is commemorated and remembered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and one of the most prominent military Saints, he is immortalised in the myth of Saint George and the Dragon.
St George!
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/23/saint-of-the-day-23-april-st-george-died-c-303-martyr/

St Adalbert of Prague (c 957-997) Bishop and Martyr, Missionary, Apostle of Bohemia, Apostle of the Prussians, Apostle of the Slavs. Patronages – of Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, Czech Republic, Archdiocese of Prague, Prussia.
About St Adalbert:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/23/saint-of-the-day-23-april-st-adalbert-of-prague/

St Achilleus of Vienne
Bl Adalbert III of Salzburg
St Felix of Vienne
St Fortunatus of Vienna
St George of San Giorio
St Gerard of Orchimont

St Gerard of Toul (c 935–994) Bishop of Toul, France, from 963 until his death in 994. St George is commemorated and remembered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.
About St Gerard:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/23/saint-of-the-day-23-april-saint-gerard-of-toul-c-935-994/

Bl essed Giles of Assisi OFM (c1190-1262) Friar and Missionary of the Order of Friars Minor, Friend and the 3rd follower of St Francis.

Bl Giles of Saumur

St Giorgio di Suelli (Died 1117) Italian Bishop of Suelli, Apostle of the poor, Miracle-worker. For the Diocese he was a true shepherd, a lover of the poor whom he helped and of whom he had a list. He was devoted to prayer and fasting and lived a life of penitence and poverty.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/23/saint-of-the-day-23-april-saint-giorgio-di-suelli-died-1117/

Blessed Helen del Cavalanti (Died 1458) Widow, Mother, Third Order Augustinian. Mystic, Miracle-worker. Helen was known for her spirit of penance, obedience, humility, devotion to the Passion of Christ and to the Eucharist and for her love of neighbour.
Holy Helen:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/23/saint-of-the-day-23-april-blessed-helen-del-cavalanti-osa-1396-1458-widow/

St Ibar of Meath
St Marolus of Milan
St Pusinna of Champagne

Martyrs of Africa: A group of Christians murdered for their faith in northern Africa. Little information has survived but their names. The ones we know are – Catulinus, Chorus, Faustinus, Felicis, Felix, Nabors, Plenus, Salunus, Saturninus, Silvius, Solutus, Theodora, Theodorus, Theon, Ursus, Valerius, Venustus, Victorinus, Victurus, Vitalis.