Day: February 5, 2025

Posted in GOD ALONE!, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, The GREAT TRUTHS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 5 February – God the End of our Life

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 5 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

5th Day – God the End of our Life

Seek ye, therefore. first the kingdom of God.
(St Matthew vi:33)

+1. Our life is a circle – whence it first came thither, it must return. As we proceeded from God, so, we must go back to Him, if our life is to be a success.
We can never find repose or lasting satisfaction in anything except God. As long as we do not tend to Him, we shall be fluctuating, inconstant, uncertain. Until we make Him the End of our life, we shall feel that we are wandering about in the dark.

+2. What do we mean by making God the End of our life? We mean that to do His pleasure shall be the motive which shall be first and foremost and, when there is a choice between God’s pleasure and our own, when the two seem to be opposed, our general disposition shall be to do God’s Will and not our own. In spite of the pain involved in giving up his own will, the man who makes God the End of his life, will deny that own will, without hesitation and so, will draw nearer to God, his last End.

+3. Every time we do this, we break down a barrier between God and ourselves; we come nearer to the enjoyment of Him, we get a bit closer to Heaven.
The self-willed man is never satisfied; the man whose will is perfectly subject to God, is always happy. The Angels are always happy because they have no will but God’s.
If I want to find happiness in this world, or the next, the first thing is to learn to submit my will to God.
Pray God to break your self-will at any cost.

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the FAMILY, St PAUL!, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 5 February – Love above all …

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Quote/s of the Day – 5 February – 1 Corinthians 1 Cor. 1:26-31; Matthew 19:3-12– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… A man shall leave father and mother
and shall cleave to his wife
and they two shall be in one flesh.”
Matthew 19:5

“Say your prayers together.
Let each of you go to Church and, returning home,
let the husband ask an account from his wife
and the wife from her husband,
concerning whatever was said or read …
Learn the fear of God and all the rest will flow,
as from a spring and your house
will be filled with countless blessings.
Let us aspire to those good things
that are incorruptible and
the rest will not pass us by.
“Seek first the Kingdom of God
and all the rest will be added to you”
(Mt 6:33).”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“If any of you should wish
to act out of love, brothers,
do not imagine it to be a self-abasing,
passive and timid thing.
And do not think that love can be preserved
by gentleness – or rather, docile listlessness.
This is not how it is preserved.
Do not imagine that you love your servant,
when you refrain from beating him,
or that you love your son,
when you do not discipline him,
or that you love your neighbour,
when you do not rebuke him.
This is not love, it is feebleness!
Love should be fervent, to correct.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“If I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels
and have not charity,
I am become as sounding brass,
or a tinkling cymbal.
And if I should have prophecy
and should know all mysteries
and all knowledge
and if I should have all faith,
so that I could remove mountains
but have not charity,
I am nothing!”

St Paul
1 Corinthians 13:1-2

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on MARRIAGE, MARRIED LOVE, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 February – ‘ … Through the marriage bond, God makes two, one and one, two …’

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One Minute Reflection – 5 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinity” – St Agatha (c231- c251) Virgin Martyr – 1 Corinthians 1 Cor. 1:26-31; Matthew 19:3-12– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… A man shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they two shall be in one flesh.” – Matthew 19:5

REFLECTION – “Woman is not independent of man, nor man of woman, in the Lord” (1 Cor 11:11) … Man and woman walk hand-in-hand to the Kingdom. Christ calls both man and woman at one and the same time, without distinction, united by God and joined together by nature, giving them a share in the same actions and tasks in wonderful harmony. Through the marriage bond, God makes two, one and one, two, in such a way that another self is discovered, without loss of individuality or mingling in duality.

But why does God appeal thus to man and and to woman, through the images he gives of his Kingdom? (cf Lk 13:18-21). Why does He suggest such greatness by means of seemingly weak and inadequate examples? Oh my brethren! a priceless mystery is hidden under this poverty. As the Apostle Paul says: “This is a great mystery but I speak in reference to Christ and His Church” (Eph 5:32).

These parables suggest humanity’s greatest goal – man and woman have brought an end to the lawsuit against the world, a lawsuit which dragged on for centuries. The first man, Adam and first woman, Eve, are led from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, to the fire … of the Gospel …. Mouths sickened by the fruit of the poisoned tree are healed, by the fiery taste of the tree of salvation, of that tree tasting of fire which, enflames consciences, frozen by the former tree. Here nakedness makes no difference and no longer inspires shame, for man and woman are fully clothed in forgiveness.” – St Peter Chrysologus (406-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon 99).

PRAYER – O God, Who among other wonders of Thy power hast given the victory of mMrtyrdom even to the gentler sex, graciously grant that we, who commemorate the anniversary of the death of blessed Agatha, Thy Virgin and Martyr, may come to Thee, by following her example.Through esus 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 Holy Family PRAYERS, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, MARIAN PRAYERS, Of FATHERS, GRANDfathers, GRANDparents, Of PARENTS & FAMILIES of LARGE Families, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS & NOVENA to St Joseph, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, QUOTES on CHILDREN, QUOTES on the FAMILY, QUOTES/PRAYERS on THE FAMILY, The HOLY FAMILY

Our Morning Offering – 5 February – A Parent’s Prayer to St Joseph

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Our Morning Offering – 5 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinity” – On Wedmesdays, Catholics make a special devotion to St Joseph by going to Mass on the 1st Wednesdays of 9 consecutive months and offering their Communions in his honour and for the salvation of the dying.

A Parent’s Prayer to St Joseph

O holy Joseph,
thou faithful Spouse
of the Blessed Mother,
thou who didst protect her
and her Divine Child with such care
and didst devote thy whole life to them;
I beseech thee to be also my
and my children’s protector
and advocate, with Jesus,
thy adopted Son.
Obtain for me the grace
to fulfil my duties to my children,
as thou and Mary have done to Jesus.

St Joseph Pray for all our Fathers
and for our spiritual Fathers
of Holy Mother Church
Amen.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 5 February – St Luca di Demenna (Died 995) Founder Abbot

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Saint of the Day – 5 February – St Luca di Demenna (Died 995) Founder Abbot of the Monastery of Sts Elia and Anastasius in Carbone, Potenza, Italy, Miracle-worker. Born in Sicily and died on 5 February 995 at his Monastery in in Carbone in the Province of Potenza, Italy, of natural causes.

Luca was born in Sicily, in Demenna and was initiated into the Basilian asceticism in the Monastery of St Philip of Agira, where other famous Greek Monks of the 10th Century were also trained.

To escape the harassment of the invading Saracens, who had conquered the Island, he crossed the strait and went to place himself under the discipline of St Elias Speleota of Reggio. But soon the City of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy also became the target of Saracen raids, so Luca took the road further north. Here he founded a Monastery in the territory of Noepoli, where he restored the crumbling Church of St Peter and lived with his disciples for seven years, practicing the most rigourous asceticism and dedicating himself to working in the fields, so as to change the desert into a garden.

Desiring greater solitude, Luca moved to the territory of Agromonte, near the river Agri, where he restored the Monastery of St Julian. He lent his work of Christian charity to the soldiers wounded in the conflict between the Saracens and the Germans of Otto II; he fortified the castle of Armento and the Church of the Mother of God, leaving their custody to his disciples.

From here, in around 971, the famous Monastery of Sts Elia and Anastasius in Carbone in the Province of Potenza. This Monastery became the headquarters of St Luca, both as a fortified bulwark against the incursions of the Saracens and as a training ground for the many miracles that he worked there.

Here Luca died assisted by St Saba of Collesano on 5 February 995 and was buried in the Monastery Church, where he was publicly venerated as a Saint.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Dedication of the first Church of Our Lady, by St Peter – Tortosa, Italy, St Agatha, Virgin Martyr, St Philip of Jesus, Martyr and Saints for 5 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Dedication of the first Church of Our Lady, by St Peter – Tortosa, Italy – 5 February:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/05/dedication-of-the-first-church-of-our-lady-by-st-peter-tortosa-and-memorials-of-the-saints-5-february/

St Agatha (c 231- c 251) Virgin Martyr
Her Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/saint-of-the-day-st-agatha-c-231-c-251-virgin-and-martyr/

St Philip of Jesus (1572-1597) Martyr
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/05/saint-of-the-day-5-february-st-philip-of-jesus-1572-1597/

St Adelaide of Guelders (c970–1015) Abbess, Apostle of Charity, Miracle-worker, Reformer, Counsellor to the Archbishop of Cologne.
Her Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/05/saint-of-the-day-5-february-st-adelaide-of-guelders-c-970-1015/

St Agatha Hildegard of Carinthia
St Agricola of Tongres

St Albinus of Brixen (Died 1005) Bishop of Brixen, Advisor to both Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Roman Martyrology: states: “In Bressanone (Brixen) in South Tyrol, commemoration of St Albuino, Bishop, who transferred the Episcopal Chair from Sabion to this seat.”
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/05/saint-of-the-day-5-february-saint-albinus-of-brixen-died-1005/

St Anthony of Athens

St Avitus of Vienne (c450-c518) Bishop of Vienne, Poet, Confessor and Defender of the Mysteries of the Faith against heretics, writer.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/05/saint-of-the-day-5-february-saint-avitus-of-vienne-c-450-c-518-bishop/

St Bertulph c640-c705) Priest, Abbot, Miracle-worker, Founder of a Monastery in Renty, France.
Miraculous St Bertulph:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/02/05/saint-of-the-day-5-february-saint-bertulph-c640-c705-priest-abbot/

St Buo of Ireland
St Calamanda of Calaf
St Dominica of Shapwick
Bl Françoise Mézière
St Gabriel de Duisco

St Genuinus of Sabion (Died c605) Bishop, Miracle-worker.
This Holy Shepherd:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/05/saint-of-the-day-5-february-saint-genuinus-of-sabion-died-c605-bishop/

St Indract
St Isidore of Alexandria
St Jesús Méndez-Montoya
Bl John Morosini
St Kichi Franciscus
St Luca di Demenna (Died 995) Abbot


St Modestus of Carinthia

Bl Primo Andrés Lanas
St Saba the Younger
St Vodoaldus of Soissons

Martyrs of Pontus: An unknown number of Christians who were tortured and martyred in assorted painful ways in the region of Pontus (in modern Turkey) during the persecutions of Maximian.

The Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan: 26 Saints – the First Martyrs of Japan. Martyred on 5 February 1597 by Crucifixion, also known as Pedro Bautista Blasquez y Blasquez and 22 companions, along with Paulus Miki and 2 companions, were Beatified on 14 September 1627 by Pope Urban VIII, and Canonised on 8 June 1862 by Pope Pius IX.