Posted in HOW to PRAY at ALL TIMES, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER

Thought for the Day – 8 November – IT IS EASY AND AGREEABLETO CONVERSE WITH GOD

Thought for the Day – 8 November – Meditations with Saint A lphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“How to Pray at All Times”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

IT IS EASY AND AGREEABLE
TO CONVERSE WITH GOD
Excerpt from Chapter Two

“… It is a great mistake to speak to God with diffidence – to appear before Him as a timid slave, trembling with alarm before his prince – it would be a still greater mistake, to think that conversing with God is wearisome and unpleasant.

Now, you are not required to apply your mind so constantly to prayer as to forget your ordinary work and recreation. ‘Praying always’ means that, without neglecting your ordinary occupations, you treat God as you treat the friends who love you and whom you love.
God is ever near you, even within you – In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 18:28).
He who would speak to God has no door to open; God is pleased when you speak to Him without reserve.
Tell Him of your business, your plans, your griefs, your fears –
of all which concerns you. Above all, do so (as I have already said) with confidence and entire freedom. For God is not wont to speak to the soul who does not speak to Him; in fact, being unaccustomed to speak to God, the soul would scarcely understand Him when He spoke.

It is the Will of God that we remember His surpassing Power and His rigorous Justice … but, on the contrary, He wishes that we should treat Him as a most affectionate friend, if we love Him and, that we should speak to Him confidingly and without restraint.”

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOMINICAN OP, GOD ALONE!, ON the SAINTS, OUR Cross, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, St Francis de Sales, The COMMUNION of SAINTS, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 8 November – The Octave Day of All Saints

Quote/s of the Day – 8 November – The Octave Day of All Saints

Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.

Matthew 5:8

Remember, that you will derive strength
by reflecting, that the Saints yearn
for you to join their ranks;
desire to see you fight bravely
and, that you behave like true knights
in your encounters with the same adversities
which they had to conquer.
That breath-taking joy is theirs
and your eternal reward
for having endured a few years of temporal pain.
Every drop of earthly bitterness
will be changed into an ocean
of heavenly sweetness
!”

Blessed Henry Suso (1295-1366)

Our greatest fault is, that
we wish to serve God in our way,
not in His way — according to our will,
not according to His will….
To be truly a Saint, it is necessary
to be one according to the will of God.

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

We should honour God in His Saints
and beseech Him to make us partakers
of the graces He poured, so abundantly, upon them.

Perfection consists in one thing alone,
which is doing the will of God.
For, according to Our Lord’s words,
it suffices for perfection to deny self,
to take up the cross and to follow Him.
Now who denies himself
and takes up his cross
and follows Christ better,
than he who seeks not to do his own will
but always that of God?
Behold, now, how little is needed
to become as Saint!?
Nothing more than to acquire the habit of willing,
on every occasion,
what God wills.

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

Holiness consists in love –
not earthly love, of course
but supernatural love.
It consists in seeking God in all things,
in doing His will without reservation,
in aiming at His glory alone.
All else, is dust and ashes!
… Herein lies the explanation of the lives of the Saints,
lives of sacrifice dedicated to God
and to the salvation of souls.
“Everything for the greater glory of God,”
was the motto of St Ignatius Loyola.
“Everything in the Name of God,”
said St Vincent de Paul.
“My God is my All” said St Catherine of Genoa.
“Love God, serve God, everything is in that!”
exclaimed St Clare of Assisi
.

How do my thoughts, desires and ambitions
compare with these
?”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, The BEATITUDES, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 8 November – “Happy are the poor in spirit.”

One Minute Reflection – 8 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – The Octave Day of All Saints – Apocalypse 7:2-12; Matthew 5:1-12 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain… And opening His mouth, He taught them …” – Matthew 5:1-2

REFLECTION – “May it be granted me to sit with Jesus, to sit at His feet on the mountain side and partake of His instruction! When He is in the crowd, He is standing and walking, occupied and wearied and so hard pressed, that neither He, nor His disciples are, as it were, allowed to eat bread, “the bread of life and understanding”,(Mk 6:31) and to drink “the water of wisdom” (Jn 6:35). For this water can only be drunk in a time of leisure and, it is drawn by those who have little to do. For “the well is deep”(Sir 15:3; 38:24) …

Opening His mouth, Jesus speaks to the heart of Jerusalem, talking to her in solitude, or on the mountain and this is what He says: “Happy are the poor in spirit.” He, Who is Happiness speaks of happiness, He Who became poor, of poverty, speaks of repletion, Mercy of mercifulness, He Who is the Purity of hearts speaks of purification of heart, the truly Peaceful of peace-making, the Son by nature speaks of sonship …

Happy are the poor in spirit.” Wisely indeed, He puts first … that which every man seeks … For who does not wish to be happy? Why do men universally quarrel and fight, bargain, resort to flattery and inflict injuries, on one another? Is it not simply in order to obtain, by fair means or foul… something which promises to make them happy? … So the Teacher of all men … begins by redirecting those who have lost the way… He Who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:16; 6:32; 14:6)… begins with the words: “Happy are the poor in spirit.Blessed Isaac of Stella O.Cist. (c1100 – c1170) Cistercian Abbot, Theologian, Philosopher (Sermon 1, for the Feast of All Saints).

PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Who granted us to honour the merits of all Thy Saints in a single solemn festival, bestow on us, we beseech Thee, through their manifold intercession, that abundance of Thymercy for which we yearn. 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 CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, ON the SAINTS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The COMMUNION of SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 8 November – The Octave Day of All Saints – Salutis Aeternae Dator, Giver of Life, Eternal Lord

Our Morning Offering – 8 November – The Octave Day of All Saints

Salutis Aeternae Dator
Giver of Life, Eternal Lord
By St Rabanus Maurus (776-856)

Lauds Hymn for All Saints

Giver of life, eternal Lord,
Thy own redeemed defend.
Mother of grace, thy children save
And help them to the end.

Ye thousand, thousand Angel hosts,
Assist us in our need.
Ye Patriarchs, with the Prophet choir,
For our forgiveness plead.

Forerunner blest and thou who still
Dost Heaven’s dread keys retain.
Ye glorious Apostles all,
Unloose our guilty chain.

Army of Martyrs, holy Priests,
In beautiful array;
Ye happy troops of Virgins chaste,
Wash all our stains away.

All ye who high above the stars
In Heavenly glory reign,
May we through your prevailing prayers
Unto your joys attain.

Praise, honour, to the Father be,
Praise to His only Son;
Praise, Holy Paraclete, to Thee,
While endless ages run.
Amen

St Rabanus Maurus (776-856) Benedictine Abbot and Bishop, Theologian, Poet, Writer – 4 February – author of Veni Creator Spiritus (The Golden Sequence) – https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/04/saint-of-the-day-4-february-saint-rabanus-maurus-osb-776-856/

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 8 November – St Clarus of Tours (Died c397) Priest

Saint of the Day – 8 November – St Clarus of Tours (Died c397) Priest, Disciple of St Martin of Tours (c316-397), Hermit. Also known as – Clair, Chiaro.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Tours, St Clarus, Priest, whose Epitaph was written by St Paulinus.

Monastery in Marmoutier

Clarus was born in Auvergne to an illustrious family. He became a disciple of St Martin at the Monastery in Marmoutier. After being Ordained a Priest, Clarus performed various functions in the education of the Monks, which make him resemble a modern Master of Novices. In this role, Clarus thus gave proof of his prudence and judgement, he wisely selected candidates for the Religious life.

Clarus lived his last years as a Hermit near the Monastery. After his death, St Sulpicius Severus (c363–c425) had him buried in the Church of Primuliacum, south-western France and asked St Paulinus of Nola for an suitable Epitaph for the Tomb. St Paulinus sent him three, to choose from, in which, playing on the name, he praised the merits of Clarus and asked for his intercession. The cult seems to have spread in a very late period: the Roman Martyrology, in which it was introduced, names it on 8 November, a few days before Saint Martin, whom he would have preceded in death by a short period which occurred around 396 or 397.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Octave Day of All Saints, Notre-Dame de Bellefontaine / Our Lady of the Blessed Fountain, (12th Century), Four Crowned Martyrs and all the Saints for 8 November

Octave Day of All Saints

Notre-Dame de Bellefontaine / Our Lady of the Blessed Fountain, Bellefontaine, France (12th Century) – 8 November:
HERE:

https://anastpaul.com/2021/11/08/octave-day-of-all-saints-notre-dame-de-bellefontaine-our-lady-of-the-blessed-fountain-bellefontaine-france-12th-century-and-memorials-of-the-saints-8-november/

Four Crowned Martyrs: Saint Castorus, Saint Claudius, Saint Nicostratus and Saint Simpronian. Skilled stone carvers in the 3rd century quarries. Martyred when they refused to carve an idol of Aesculapius for Diocletian. They were drowned in the River Sava in 305. Patronages – against fever, cattle, sculptors, stone masons, stonecutters.

St Adeodatus I, Pope (Died 618) Bishop of Rome from 19 October 615 to 8 November 618.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “At Rome, St Deusdedit, Pope, whose merit was so great that he cured a leper by kissing him.
The Miraculous Pope Adeodatus I:

https://anastpaul.com/2023/11/08/saint-of-the-day-8-november-saint-adeodatus-i-pope-died-618/

St Clarus of Tours (Died c397) Priest
St Cybi of Caenarvon
St Drouet

St Gervadius

St Godfrey of Amiens OSB (1066–1115) Bishop of Amiens, Reformer, Apostle of Prayer and Charity, Penitent.
About St Godfrey:

https://anastpaul.com/2019/11/08/saint-of-the-day-8-november-saint-godfrey-of-amiens-osb-1066-1115/

St Gregory of Einsiedeln
St Maurus of Verdun
St Moroc of Scotland
St Tysilio of Wales

St Willehad of Bremen (Died 789) First Bishop of Bremen, Germany, Confessor, Benedictine Monk and Priest, a friend of Blessed Alcuin of York, disciple of St Boniface, English Missionary.
His Life:

https://anastpaul.com/2021/11/08/saint-of-the-day-8-november-saint-willehad-of-bremen-died-789/

St Wiomad of Trèves

All Deceased Dominicans
All Saints of Bologna, Italy
All Saints of Wales
Augustinian Martyrs of Spain

All Saints of the Diocese of Evry: A regional memorial of all the Saints and Beati of the calendar who have a connection to the Diocese of Evry-Corbeil-Essonnes, France:

  • Blessed Isabella of France, founded the Longchamp monastery
  • Blessed Nicolas Gaudreau, pastor of Vert-le-Petit
  • Blessed Pierre Bonse, pastor of Massy
  • Our Lady of Good Guard, patron saint of the diocese, venerated in Longpont-sur-Orge, France
  • Saint Corbinian, born in Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon
  • Saint Denis of Paris, evangelizer of part of Essonne and revered ni Longpont-sur-Orge
  • Saint Eloi, who lived in Chilly-Mazarin
  • Saint Germain of Paris
  • Saint William of Bourges, son of Count Baldwin IV of Corbeil
  • Saint William of Aebelholt, pastor of Brunoy
  • Saint Wulfran of Sens, born in Milly-la-Forêt
  • Blessed Nativelle, vicar of Longjumeau
  • Blessed René Le Bris, pastor of Bris-sous-Forges
  • Saint Spire of Bayeux, whose relics are in Corbeil in the cathedral that bears his name