Thought for the Day – 15 November – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus 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)
Pray For Your Neighbour Excerpt from Chapter Three:VI
“Recommend to God with confidence not only your own needs but also the needs of others. How pleasing to Him it will be if you sometimes forget yourself and speak to Him of His own glory, of the miseries of others, especially those who mourn in sorrow; of the souls in purgatory, His spouses, who long to behold Him in Heaven and of poor sinners, who live deprived of His grace.
Pray to Him for sinners thus – ‘Lord, Thou art all goodness and worthy of an infinite love – how, then, canst Thou endure in the world, so many souls on whom Thou hast lavished Thy favours and who yet, have no desire to know Thee, who have no desire to love Thee, who even offend and despise Thee?’ Ah, my most amiable God, make Thyself known-make Thyself loved. Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come. May Thy Name be adored and loved by all men. May Thy love reign in all hearts. Do not let me depart from Thee without granting me some grace for the unhappy souls for whom I pray.”
Quote/s of the Day – 15 November – St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church
“The greater and more persistent your confidence in God, the more abundantly you will receive, all you ask for.”
“The surest and quickest way to attain perfection, is to strive for purity of heart. Once the obstacles have been removed, God finds a clear path and does wonders, both in and through, the soul.”
“Govern my heart O Lord, lest it drift into useless and disordered thoughts. Do not permit me to become excessively preoccupied with anything at all, even matters and concerns which are useful and good in themselves. Temper the affections of my soul, so that I may neither love, nor hate anything in a way which exceeds due proportions. Let me neither rejoice, nor be saddened, beyond the measure which is fitting and rational.”
Guide Me Lord By St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who seeks those who stray and receives them when returning, make me approach Thee through the frequent hearing of Thy Word, lest I sin against my neighbour, by the blindness of human judgement, through the austerity of false justice, through comparing his inferior status, through too much trust in my merits or through ignorance of the Divine Judgement. Guide me to search diligently, each corner of my conscience, lest the flesh dominate the spirit! Amen
One Minute Reflection – 15 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church – 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Matthew 5:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“You are the light of the world.” – Matthew 5:14
REFLECTION – “I shall always love and reverence the Apostles sent by Christ and their successors, in sowing the seed of the Gospel, those zealous and tireless co-operators in propagating the Word, who may justly say of themselves: Let a man so account of us as the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the Mysteries of God. For Christ, like a most watchful and most faithful householder, wished that the Gospel lamp should be lit by such ministers and delegates, with fire sent down from Heaven and once lit, should not be put under a measure but set upon a candlestick, so that it may spread its brightness far and wide and put to flight, all darkness and error, rife among both Jews and Gentiles.
Now it is not enough for the Gospel teacher to be a brilliant speaker in the eyes of the people; he must also be as a voice crying in the desert and endeavour, by his eloquence, to help many to lead good lives, lest, if he omit his duty of speaking, he be called the dumb dog that is not able to bark, spoken of by the prophet. Yes, he should also burn, in such a way, that, equipped with good works and love, he may adorn his evangelical office and follow the leadership of Paul. He indeed was not satisfied with bidding the Bishop of the Ephesians: This command and teach: conduct thyself in work as a good soldier of Christ Jesus but he unflaggingly preached the Gospel to friend and foe alike and, said with a good conscience to the Bishops gathered at Ephesus: You know how I have kept back nothing that was for your good but have declared it to you and taught you in public and from house to house, urging Jews and Gentiles to turn to God in repentance and to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Such should be the shepherd in the Church who, like Paul, becomes all things to all men, so that the sick may find healing in him; the sad, joy; the desperate, hope; the ignorant, instruction; those in doubt, advice; the penitent, forgiveness and comfort and finally, everyone, whatever is necessary for salvation. And so Christ, when He wished to appoint the chief teachers of the world and of the Church, did not limit Himself to saying to His disciples: You are the light of the world but also added these words: A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a measure but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all who are in the house. Those churchmen err, who imagine that it is by brilliant preaching, rather than by holiness of life and all-embracing love, they fulfil their office.” – St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church (Sermon excerpt).
PRAYER – O God, Who made blessed Albert, ThyBishop and Doctor, eminent in the submission of human wisdom to divine faith, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to follow the path of his teaching that we may enjoy perfect light in Heaven.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).
Our Morning Offering – 15 November – St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church
Supreme Lord and King of All! By St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Universal Doctor of the Church
We pray to Thee, O Lord, Who art the Supreme Truth, and all truth is from Thee. We beseech Thee, O Lord, Who art the highest Wisdom and all the wise depend on Thee, for their wisdom. Thou are the supreme Joy, and all who are joyous, owe it to Thee. Thou art the Light of minds and all receive their understanding from Thee. We love, we love Thee above all! We seek Thee, we follow Thee and we are ready to serve Thee. We desire to dwell under Thy Power for Thou art the King of all! Amen
Saint of the Day – 15 November – Saint Malo (c520-621) the 1st Bishop of Aleth in Brittany, France, Missionary, one of the Seven Founding Saints of Brittany, disciple and companion of St Brendan the Navigato on his renowned voyages, Founder of Monateries, Churches and a City names after him, Miracle-worker. Born on 27 March c520 at Llancarfan, Wales and died possibly on 15 November 621 (aged 101) in Archambiac, Aquitaine, France. Patronages – of his hometown of Llancarfan, Wales and of Saint-Malo, the City name for him in Brittany, France. Also known as – Malo of Aleth, Malo de Phily, Malo of Brittan, Mac’h Low… Machutus… Maclou… Maclovio… Maclovius… Macuto…
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Bretagne, the birthday of St Malo, Bishop, who was glorious for miracles from his early years.”
Malo was the son of Dervel, sister of Amwn Ddu and, therefore, a cousin to St Samson. He was placed in the Abbot’s care in the Llancarfan Abbey in Wales, at a tender age and grew up at the Abbey, where he was Ordained Priest and assigned the office of preacher.
As a Monk at Llancarfan Abbey, Malo was known for his participation in the voyages of St Brendan the Navigator. Malo became Brendan’s favourite disciple.
This window of St Malo resides in Réguiny Church in Brittany,
A number of legendary tales of the adventures of Brendan and Malo survive. According to the Voyage of St Brendan the Abbot, they and their companions discovered the ‘Island of the Blest.’ Another tale tells of an encounter with Maclovius, a dead giant whom Brendan temporarily revived and baptised.
On a second voyage, Brendan and Malo visited and evangelised locations including the Orkney Islands and the northern isles of Scotland.
They travelled to the coast of France and landed in Brittany . At Aleth, Malo served under a venerable Hermit named Aaron. Upon Aaron’s death in 544, Malo continued the spiritual rule of the district subsequently known as Saint-Malo and was Consecrated as the 1st Bishop of Aleth (now Saint Servan). Many miracles are related of his missionary work there.
In old age, the disorder on the island compelled Malo to leave but the people soon begged him to return. He obliged his faithful and returned to restore order. Feeling near the end of his life, Malo was determined to spend his last days in solitary penance. He died at an advanced age during a journey from Aleth to a neighbouring Town.
The City of Saint-Malo is one of the Seven stages in the ‘Tour of Brittany’ a pilgrimage celebrating the Seven Founding Saints.
Pontoise Cathedral near Paris, is dedicated to Saint Malo. Lesmahagow Priory in South Lanarkshire is also dedicated to him in the Latin form of his name, Machutus. He is the Patron Saint of the Churches of St Maughans and Llanfaenor in Monmouthshire and Llanfechell in Anglesey.
St Anianus of Wilparting St Arnulf of Toul Bl Caius of Korea St Desiderius of Cahors St Eugene of Toledo St Felix of Nola St Findan St Fintan the Missionary St Gurias of Edessa Bl Hugh Faringdon Bl John Eynon Bl John Rugg Bl John Thorne
Blessed Lucia (Lucy) of Narni OP (1476-1544) Virgin, Tertiary of the Order of Preachers, Mystic, Stigmatist, Her body is incorrupt. So many miracles occurred at her Shrine that Lucia was finally Beatified on 1 March 1710 by Pope Clement XI. It is thought that Lucia was the inspiration for th little girl Lucy, who could see many things that no-one else could, in C S Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. Her Life: https://anastpaul.com/2021/11/15/saint-of-the-day-15-november-blessed-lucia-of-narni-op-1476-1544/
St Luperius of Verona St Machudd of Llanfechell St Malo (c520-621) Bishop St Marinus of Wilparting
St Paduinus of Le Mans Bl Richard Whiting Bl Roger James St Shamuna of Edessa St Sidonius of Saint-Saens
Martyrs of Hippo – 20 Saints: 20 Christians Martyred together and celebrated by Saint Augustine. The only details about them to survive are three of the names – Fidenziano, Valerian and Victoria. Hippo, Numidia (in north Africa).
Martyrs of North Africa – 3 Saints: A group of Christians murdered for their faith in imperial Roman north Africa. The only details that have survived are the names of three of them – Fidentian, Secundus and Varicus.
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