Day: August 3, 2024

Posted in CHARITY - Fr Richard Clarke SJ, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES: JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE

Thought for the Day – 3 August – The Patience of Charity – “Charity is patient”

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Thought for the Day – 3 August – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

CHARITY
Meditations for a Month

The Patience of Charity
“Charity is patient”

Patience consists in supporting (without murmuring or complaint), injuries hardships, ill-treatment, whether they are deserved or undeserved.
It is thus, a most difficult virtue and cannot be practiced in its perfection, except by those who have attained a high degree of charity.
We are naturally eager to defend ourselves, resentful when accused, angry when some wrong is done us and anxious to take revenge on our impugner. Yet, all this is forbidden by patience and is inconsistent with charity!
Can I stand this test?

Every form of patience is especially difficult for some people. Active, energetic, eager natures, cannot endure to be thwarted or contradicted. Even being kept waiting irritates them. For them, a careful practice of patience is necessary,, if they are to rise high in virtue. They must begin by suppressing the outward expressions. This will help them overcome the internal movement of impatience. They must school themselves carefully in little things with a persevering determination to conquer their natural inclination towards impatience, or they will offend continually against charity.

Patience, like all the virtues, brings its own reward. How much the impatient suffer when corrected!
The inward struggle and desire to be rid of the obstacle in their path, or the person who hinders and annoys them, is painful to them. How they chafe under the restraint which hampers their activity! On the contrary, how full of tranquil peace is one, who allows nothing to make him impatient and who, takes everything as coming from God.
Do I act that way?

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on PRAYER, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 3 August – “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”

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Quote/s of the Day – 3August – The Finding of the Relics of St Stephen, Protomartyr: – Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59; Matthew 23:34-39 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”

Acts 7:60

“Leave there thy offering before the Altar
and go first to be reconciled to thy brother
and then, coming, thou shalt offer thy gift.”

Matthew 5:24

“But I say to you,
love your enemies …”

Matthew 5:44

“Whoever says
he abides in Christ,
ought to walk,
even as Christ walked …”

1 John 2:6

“Behold I send you as sheep
in the midst of wolves.
Be, therefore, wise as serpents
and simple as doves. ”
Matthew – 10:16

“So that you might follow in His Footsteps,”
writes St Peter. The blessed Evangelist John
also says the same thing:
“Whoever claims to abide in Christ
ought to walk as He has walked,” (1 Jn 2:6).
And how has Christ walked?
He prayed for His enemies on the Cross, saying: “Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do,” (Lk 23:34).
They have actually lost their senses
and are possessed by an evil spirit
and while they are persecuting us,
they themselves are undergoing
a far greater persecution from the devil.
Hence, we should be praying more for their deliverance, than for their condemnation.”

St Caesarius of Arles (470-543)
Father of the Church, Bishop

“To the extent that you pray, with all your soul,
for the person who slanders you,
God will make the truth known
to those who have been scandalised
by the slander.”

St Maximus the Confessor (c580–662)

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 3 August – ‘Let us imitate our Lord and pray for our enemies …’

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One Minute Reflection – 3 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – The Finding of the Relics of St Stephen, Protomartyr: – Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59; Matthew 23:34-39 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Lord, do not hold this sin against them” – Acts 7:60

REFLECTION – “Let us imitate our Lord and pray for our enemies … He was Crucified yet, at the same time, prayed to His Father for the sake of those who were crucifying Him. But how could I possibly imitate our Lord, one might ask? If you wish to, you will be able to. If you were not able to do it, how could He have said: “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart”? (Mt 11:29) …

If you have difficulty in imitating our Lord, at least imitate him who is also His servant, His Deacon – I would speak of Stephen. Just as Christ, in the midst of those crucifying Him, without considering the Cross, without considering His own predicament, pleaded with the Father on behalf of His tormentors (Lk 23:34), so His servant, surrounded by those who were stoning him, attacked by all, crushed beneath a hail of stones and, without taking any account of the suffering they were causing him, said: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Do you see how the Son spoke and how His servant prayed? The former said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” and the latter said: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Moreover, to make us better realise, the fervour with which he was praying, he did not just pray, as he stood beneath the blows of the stones but, he spoke on his knees with sincerity and compassion …

Christ said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Stephen cried out: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Paul, in his turn, said: “I offer up this sacrifice for my brethren, my kin according to race” (cf.Rm 9:3). Moses said: “If you would only forgive their sin! And if you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written!” (Ex 32:32). David said: “May your hand fall on me and my kindred,” (2 Sam 24:17). … What kind of forgiveness do we think we shall receive if we ourselves do the opposite of what is asked of us and pray against our enemies, when the Lord Himself and His servants of both Old and New Testaments, direct us to pray on their behalf?” – St John Chrysostom (345-407) Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon for Good Friday “The Cross and the bandit”).

PRAYER – Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to imitate what we celebrate, so that we may learn to love even our enemies because we keep the anniversary of the death of him, who knew how to plead, even for his persecutors with our Lord, Jesus Christ, Thy Son. 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 Hail MARY!, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 3 August – Hail Mary! Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, By St John Eudes

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Our Morning Offering – 3 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and Mary’s Saturday

Hail Mary!
Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
By St John Eudes (1601-1680)
“The Apostle of Two Hearts”

Hail Mary! Mother of God the Son.
Hail Mary! Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary! Temple of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Hail Mary! Pure Lily of the Effulgent Trinity.
Hail Mary! Celestial Rose
of the Ineffable Love of God.
Hail Mary! Virgin pure and humble,
of whom the King of Heaven willed to be born
and, with thy milk to be nourished.
Hail Mary! Virgin of Virgins,
Hail Mary! Queen of Martyrs,
whose soul a sword transfixed.
Hail Mary! Lady most blessed!
unto whom all power in Heaven
and earth is given.
Hail Mary! My Queen and my Mother!
my Life, my Sweetness and my Hope,
Hail Mary! Mother Most Amiable,
Hail Mary! Mother of Divine Love,
Hail Mary! Immaculate!
Conceived Without Sin!
Hail Mary! Full of Grace!
The Lord is with Thee!
Blessed art thou among women!
And blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus!
Blessed be thy spouse, Saint Joseph,
Blessed be thy father, Saint Joachim,
Blessed be thy mother, Saint Anne,
Blessed be thy guardian, Saint John,
Blessed be thy holy Angel, Saint Gabriel,
Glory be to God the Father, Who chose thee,
Glory be to God the Son,
Who loved thee,
Glory be to God the Holy Spirit,
Who espoused thee. AMEN,

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 3 August – Saint Euphronius of Autun (Died after 472) Bishop and Confessor,

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Saint of the Day – 3 August – Saint Euphronius of Autun (Died after 472) Bishop and Confessor, Founder and builder of a Basilica and a Monastery. Also known as – Euphromius, Eufronio. Additional Memorial – 3 June in Autun.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Autun, the demise of St Euphromious, Bishop and Confessor.”

Autun Cathedral

Euphronius, Priest of the Church of Autun, while still young, built a Basilica on the Tomb of the Martyr Saint Symphorian (Died c180) which would later become a famous Monastery.

In 453, Euphronius composed a letter, now lost, to the Bishop of Angers, Talasius. Around 470, when Bishop Perpetuus of Tours was building a new Church to house the remains of St Martin of Tours, Euphronius sent the marble for the covering of the Saint’s Tomb.

The letters of St Sidonius Apollinaris the Bishop of Clermont, notes that around the year 470 our Saint Euphronius, accompanied his great friend, St Lupus of Troyes, whom we celebrated on 29 July, together with the Bishop of Lyons and other Prelates, to Chalon-sur-Saône to Consecrate a new Bishop there.

Also in 472, Sidonius wrote to Euphronius to invite him to attend the Consecration of the new Bishop of Bourges.

Euphronius’ name appears in the Martyrology of Hieronymus but his cult in Autun does not seem to date further backwards beyond the 11th Century. He was celebrated on 3 June in Saint Symphorian’s Basilica and Monastery of Autun where he was buried and in the Church Consecrated and dedicated to him (now disappeared) in the village of Saint-Euphròne (Còte d’Or) mentioned from 865.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

The Finding of the Relics of St Stephen, Protomartyr, Maria Santissima Scala del Paradiso / Holy Mary, Ladder to Paradise, Italy (1498) and Memorials of the Saints – 3 August

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The Finding of the Relics of St Stephen, Protomartyr:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/08/03/saint-of-the-day-3-august-the-finding-of-the-relics-of-st-stephen-protomartyr/
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Jerusalem, the finding of the body of most blessed Saint Stephen, the first Martyr and of the Saints Gamaliel, Nicodemus and Abibo, through a Divine revelation made to the Priest Lucian, in the time of the Emperor Honorius.”

Maria Santissima Scala del Paradiso / Holy Mary, Ladder to Paradise, Noto, Siracusa, Sicily, Italy (1498) – 3 August:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/08/03/maria-santissima-scala-del-paradiso-holy-mary-ladder-to-paradise-noto-siracusa-sicily-italy-1498-and-memorials-of-the-saints/

St Abibas

St Aspren (1st Century) The First Bishop of Naples, Consecrated by St Peter as Bishop. Patronages – Archdiocese of Naples, Italy, against migraine.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/08/03/saint-of-the-day-3-august-st-aspren-1st-century/

Blessed Augustine Gazotich OP (1262-1323) Bishop of Lucera, Croatia, of the Order of Preachers. He was also noted for being the guide for Dante Alighieri as the poet travelled through Croatia. His reputation for personal holiness remained noted long after his death; this resulted in Pope Innocent XII confirming the late Bishop’s Beatification in 1700.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/08/03/saint-of-the-day-3-august-blessed-augustine-gazotich-o-p-1262-1323/

St Benno of Einsiedeln (Died 940) Bishop of Metz, Hermit, Monk, Co-founder of the renowned Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland.
His Holy Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/08/03/saint-of-the-day-3-august-st-benno-of-einsiedeln-died-940-bishop/

St Dalmatius
St Euphronius of Autun (Died after 472) Bishop and Confessor
St Gamaliel
St Gaudentia
Bl Godfrey of Le Mans
Bl Gregory of Nonantula
St Hermellus
St Nicodemus

St Senach of Clonard (Died 6th Century) One of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland

St Trea of Ardtree

St Waltheof of Melrose O.Cist. (c 1095-1159) Monk, Abbot, Apostle of charity, Mystic.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/03/saint-of-the-day-3-august-saint-waltheof-of-melrose-o-cist-c-1095-1159/