Day: December 11, 2024

Posted in "Follow Me", ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CONFESSION/PENANCE, Meditations for ADVENT, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 11 December – The Forerunner’s Message

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Thought for the Day – 11 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Forerunner’s Message

+1. The refrain of St John’s teaching was a very simple and constant one: “Do penance, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” It seems strange advice . The Coming of the King of Heaven might be a reason for joy, on the part of those who looked for Him and of dread, on the part of His enemies. But why, for doing penance?
Yet the teaching of St John is true now, as it was at the time his words were first spoken.
Penance is the means of preparation for the Advent of our King. This explains the Saint’s love of penance.
What penance do I practice with this object?

+2. Yet, after all it is the natural and most suitable means of preparation. It helps us to bring into subjection, that lower nature which rebels against the sovereignty of our King.
It detaches us from finding our satisfaction in earthly things. It is, in itself, an act of obedience to our King. It renders us humble and teaches us to put our necks under the yoke. It saves us from being separated from the Kingdom we are to share by the long prison of Purgatory.
Learn from all this, to love penance!

+3. Penance is a necessary preparation for receiving our King when He comes to us in humble form in Holy Communion.
This is why Confession is the preliminary of that sacred feast and why, contrition is necessary. We must purge our souls by prayer and penance and sorrow for sins, if we are to rejoice exceedingly in the Bridegroom’s presence and to hear His Voice
sweetly whispering in our ears.
Do I prepare thus for Holy Communion?

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on SACRILEGE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, VENIAL SIN

Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – ‘Make ready then the vessel of your soul …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – Advent Preparation and Penance

“Make ready then the vessel of your soul
that you may become a son of God
and an heir of God
and joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17);
if, indeed, you are preparing yourself
that you may receive;
if you are drawing near in faith
that you may be made faithful;
if of set purpose,
you are putting off the old man!”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“If they, must regard themselves
as useless servants, who have done all their duty,
what must I do, who have done
so small a part of what I ought to have done?”

St Andrew Avellino CR (1521–1608)

“What better penance
can a heart do
which commits faults,
than to submit
to a continual abnegation
of self-will?”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

“What hope would you entertain
of the recovery of the man, who,
instead of taking the medicine prescribed by his physician, drank a cup of poison instead?
God! What can the Sacrament of Penance be
to those who conceal their sins but a deadly poison
which adds to their guilt, the malice of Sacrilege?
What, then, does the sinner do, when he conceals
his sins in Confession?
He tramples underfoot, the Blood of Jesus Christ.
And should he afterwards receive the Holy Communion
in a state of sin, he is, according to St Chrysostom,
as guilty as if he threw the Consecrated Host into a sink …
Accursed shame! how many poor souls
do you bring to hell?
… Unhappy souls! they think only of the shame
of confessing their sins and do not reflect
that, if they conceal them, they shall be
certainly damned!”

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

“Unfortunately, our only return for God’s
continual favours, has been negligence,
ingratitude and sin!
Since it is an offence against God,
Who is infinitely good and amiable,
even venial sin cannot properly be atoned for
by the merits of all the Angels
and of all the Saints of Heaven.
Therefore, it was necessary for the Son of God,
made Man, to offer Himself
as a Victim of Expiation, on our behalf.
Remembering His Infinite Merits,
we should humbly ask God –
‘forgive us our debts.‘ that is, our many sins
and failings and, whatever punishment is owing to us,
for every sin demands some expiation,
either in this life or in the next!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PAPAL SERMONS, St PETER!, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 December – It is always Peter

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One Minute Reflection – 11 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave – St Pope Damasus I (c305-384) Confessor. – 1 Peter 5:1-4, 10-11; Matthew 16:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Upon this rock I will build My Church” – Matthew 16:18

REFLECTION – “You came here on the eve of the day when the Church celebrates the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter in Rome. … Look at the pulpit from which the first Pope spoke to the first Christians, like myself in this moment. It was there, he incited them to vigilance against the devil, who, like a roaring lion, prowls around us and seeks who to devour (1 Pet 5:8-9). It was there, he exhorted them to keep firmness in faith, so as not to be dragged into the errors of false prophets (2 Pet 2:1; 3:17). This Papal teaching continues in his successors and will continue, immutable, through all time because this is the mission which Christ Himself has given to the Head of His Church.

To identify the universal and unwavering character of this teaching, the seat of spiritual primacy was, after a providential preparation, fixed in the City of Rome. God, according to the remark of our predecessor, Saint Léo the Great, united the peoples by his Providence in a single empire, of which Rome was the capital, so that the Light of Truth, revealed for the salvation of all Peoples would spread more efficaciously to all of its members (Sermon LXXXII C, 3-5).

Peter’s successors, mortal like all men, pass, more or less quickly. But the primacy of Peter will always remain, thanks to the special assistance which was promised to him when Jesus charged him to confirm his brothers in faith (Lk 22:32). Whatever the name, the face, the human origins of each Pope; it is always Peter who lives in him, it is Peter who directs and governs, it is Peter especially, who teaches and who spreads to the world, the liberating Light. A great sacred orator said, that God established in Rome, an eternal pulpit: “Peter will always live in his successors and speak in his pulpit.” – Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) Pope from 1939 to 1958 (Pius XII Audience of 17 January 1940).

PRAYER – Look forgivingly on Thy flock, Eternal Shepherd and keep it in Thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Damasus Thy Sovereign Pontiff, whom Thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church. 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 DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Our Morning Offering – 11 December – O Virgin Most Pure, Wholly Unspotted

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Our Morning Offering – 11 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave

O Mary, Mother of God
(O Virgin Most Pure, Wholly Unspotted)
By St Ephrem of Syria (306-373)
Father and Doctor of the Church

O Virgin most pure, wholly unspotted,
O Mary, Mother of God,
Queen of the universe,
thou art above all the saints,
the hope of the elect
and the joy of all the blessed.
It is thou who hast reconciled us with God;
thou art the only refuge of sinners
and the safe harbour of those
who are shipwrecked;
thou art the consolation of the world,
the ransom of captives,
the health of the weak,
the joy of the afflicted
and the salvation of all.
We have recourse to thee
and we beseech thee
to have pity on us.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 11 December – Saint Sabinus of Piacenza (Died c420) Bishop

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Saint of the Day – 11 December – Saint Sabinus of Piacenza (Died c420) Bishop, learned Defender of the Faith against heretics, Miracle-worker. Friend and assistant to St Ambrose. Sabinus was born in Milan around 330 – 340 and died in Piacenza in c420. Initially he was a Deacon of Milan, then became the Bishop of Piacenza for other 50 years. Patronage – of Piacenza. Also known as – Sabino, Savinus, Savino.

The Roman Martyrology states today: “At Piacenza, St Sabinus, a Bishop, renowned for miracles.”

Sabinus was in contact with the great St Ambrose of Milan (340-†397; Feast 7 December). They met again during the Council of Aquilea in 381. There Sabinus was noticed for his resolute attitude against the Arians.

Ambrose even had such a high opinion of Sabinus’ knowledge and skills, he submitted all his writings to him for evaluation. He seems to have been not only a wise man but also an exceptionally holy man.

Is he the Bishop Sabinus of Piacenza about whom Gregory the Great in his Dialogues (III,x) tells a wonderful anecdote? At any rate, he says in passing, that Sabinus was a respected man. This agrees with the reports of our Saint.

St Sabinus’ Statue in Piacenza Basilica

‘[Reliable informants] affirm that there was a Bishop in Piacenza named Sabinus, a man of great miraculous power. One day his Deacon reported that the Po River had overflowed its banks and had flooded the Ecclesiastical lands. The water of that river covered all the fields where food could be grown for the people. Bishop Sabinus, whose way of life commanded respect, answered him: “Go and say to that river: ‘The Bishop orders you to control yourself and to return to your own bed!’” The Deacon heard this but he pretended not to notice and made fun of it. Then the man of the Lord summoned a Notary and dictated to him the following:
“Sabinus, servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, is sending an official warning to the Po. I command you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ not to go beyond your bed in that region again. Do not dare to harm the Ecclesiastical lands any longer.” And, furthermore, he said to the Notary: “Go, make that official document and throw it into the water of the river.” And so it was so done. The water of the river received the command of the holy man, whereupon it immediately respected the Ecclesiastical lands. It returned to its own bed and did not dare to exceed its boundaries any longer in the direction of that area.’ [St Gregory the Great ‘Dialogues. The life of Benedict and other Saints]

His Relics are located in the Basilica of San Savino in Piacenza. Saint Sabinus is venerated in Caselle and Landi, in both of which places the Churches are dedicated to him, in the neighbourhood of Piacenza.

St Sabinus’ Relics in Piacenza
Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Within the Octave, St Pope Damasus I and the Saints for 11 December

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Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

St Pope Damasus I (c 305-384) Bishop of Rome from 366-his death on 11 December 384, Confessor. During his Pontificate, Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman state and Latin became the principal liturgical language as part of the Pope’s reforms.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-st-pope-damasus-i-c-305-384/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-saint-damasus-i-c305-384-pope-confessor/

St Aithalas of Arbela
St Apseus of Arbela
St Barsabas of Persia
St Cian

St Daniel the Stylite of Constantinople (c 409–493) Priest, Hermit, Monk, Abbot, miracle-worker.
His Holy Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-saint-daniel-the-stylite-of-constantinople-c-409-493/

Bl David of Himmerod
Bl Dominic Yanez
St Eutychius the Martyr
St Fidweten

Blessed Francesco Lippi O.Carm (1211-1291) Carmelite Friar, Hermit, Mystic, Penitent, graced with the gift of prophesy.
A Life of Penitence:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-blessed-francesco-lippi-o-carm-1211-1291/

Bl Franco of Siena

Bl Hugolinus Magalotti
Blessed Jean Laurens O. Praem.(1548-1613)

Blessed Jerome Ranuzzi OSM (c 1410-c 1468) “The Angel of Good Counsel,” “The Blessed Bachelor,” Priest and Friar of the Order of the Servants of Mary, the Servites, Theologian, Adviser both spiritual and secular, renowned for his learning and scholarship, Penitent and Hermit with a great love of solitude and silence. His body is incorrupt and is still available for veneration in St Mary of the Servites, Urbano, Italy. His cult was confirmed on 1 April 1775 by Pope Pius VI with the title of Blessed.
The Roman Martyrology states: “In Sant’Angelo in Vado always in the Marches, Blessed Girolamo, Priest of the Order of the Servants of Mary, who in solitude and silence reached the wisdom of holiness.”
The Angel of Good Counsel:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/11/saint-of-the-day-11-december-blessed-jerome-ranuzzi-osm-c-1410-c-1468-the-angel-of-good-counsel/

St Pens
St Sabinus of Piacenza
Blessed Severin Ott O.Praem. (1627-1708) Priest and Friar of the Norbertines or Premonstratensians.

Martyrs of Saint Aux-Bois – 3 Saints: Two Christian missionaries and one of their local defenders who faith in the persecutions of governor Rictiovarus – Fuscian, Gentian and Victoricus. They were beheaded in 287 in Saint Aux-Bois, Gaul (in modern France).

Martyrs of Rome – 3 Saints: Three Christians murdered in the persecutions of Diocletian for giving aid to Christian prisoners – Pontian, Practextatus and Trason. They were imperial Roman citizens. They were martyred in c 303 in Rome, Italy.