Day: May 13, 2025

Posted in MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, The IMITATION of MARY, Thomas a Kempis

Thought for the Day – 13 May – The GRANDEURS and GLORIES of MARY

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 13 May – The Imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Extracts from The Imitation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
By Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)
Imprimatur 17 February 1947

Chapter IV
The GRANDEURS and GLORIES of MARY

i. Who is she who rises from the emptiness of this world steeped in the delights of Paradise?
O Mary, greater than the heavens, thou hast the world under thy feet and thou art seated close to God, on the throne of honour which Jesus gave to thee.
Thy mercy which surpasses all mercy, draws me to thee, for thou art ever the aid and consolation of those who suffer.
I have need, O Mother, of being consoled and fortified. More than that, I have need of the grace of thy Son because I know, without it, I can accomplish nothing.
Thou art able, O my Mother, if thou wish, to lift me up and help me with thy powerful succour.
Thou canst comfort me with thine abundant consolation.
I feel myself engulfed by temptation, so I run to thee, since I feel that, near to thee, I shall find help as well as pity.

ii. And if I may approach thy majesty and greet thee with reverence and honour, I feel that I must approach thee with love.
There is no praise which I can offer thee; rather, I am forced to present to thee, supplication.
He who wishes to come near thee irreverently, will be confounded, therefore, I wish to come to thee, O Mother, with confidence, with respect, with humility, so as to merit thy clemency and thine aid.
Yes, it is with respect, with love and confidence I come, O Mary, to offer to thee, in my turn, the salutation the kneeling Angel offered thee.
I offer it to thee, arms extended and hands upraised, I offer it to thee, thousands and thousands of times and I beg everyone to offer it for me because, I know of nothing sweeter that I may give.

iii. Prayer: O Mother, More Beloved than All Mothers

O Mother, more beloved than all mothers,
O Mary, if sometimes I have forgotten thee,
I regret and weep for it today.
But thou, oh! do not forget me,
thou who alone brought forth Mercy
by giving birth to Jesus.
Kneeling, I salute thee,
I bow before thee, I join my hands
and prostrate myself,
so that thou may listen
with greater love to my prayer.
I say, before thee and I wish ever to repeat it:
“Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee;
thou art blessed among all women
and Jesus, the fruit of thy womb, is blessed!”

(By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
Soliloquy of the Soul, Chapter XXIII)

Translated by:
Fr & Dr Célestin Albin de Cigala (1865-1928)
Faculty of Paris (1947)
Doctor of Theology and Philosophy

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GUARDIAN ANGELS - Prayers etc, HYMNS, JESUIT SJ, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, MARIAN QUOTES, PRAYERS of PETITION, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FREEDOM, QUOTES on HERESY, QUOTES on LOVE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on TRUTH, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SACRED HEART QUOTES, The HOLY NAME of MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 13 May – St Robert Bellarmine

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 May – St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church

“It is granted to few,
to recognise the true Church,
amidst the darkness,
of so many schisms and heresies
and, to fewer still,
so to love the Truth
which they have seen,
as to fly to it’s embrace!”

“A Pope who is a manifest heretic
automatically (per se),
ceases to be Pope and Head,
just as he ceases, automatically,
to be a Catholic and a Member of the Church.
Wherefore, he can be judged
and punished by the Church.
This is too, the teaching of all the ancient Fathers.”

“Charity is that, with which no man is lost
and without which, no man is saved.”

“Freedom of belief is pernicious,
it is nothing but the freedom
to be mistaken.”

“It seems unbelievable
that a man should perish
in whose favour Christ said to His Mother:
‘Behold thy son’,
provided that he has not turned a deaf ear
to the words, which Christ addressed to him:
‘Behold thy Mother!’”

“When we appeal to the throne of grace,
we do so through Mary,
honouring God by honouring His Mother,
imitating Him, by exalting her,
touching the most responsive chord
in the Sacred Heart of Christ,
with the sweet name of Mary!”

Custodes Hominum Psallimus Angelos
Praise We the Guardian Angels of Men
By St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621)
Archbishop of Capua, Theologian
Doctor of the Church

Angel-guardians of men,
spirits and powers we sing,
Whom our Father hath sent,
aids to our weakly frame,
Heavenly friends and guides,
help from on high to bring,
Lest we fail through the foeman’s wile.

He, the spoiler of souls,
Angel-traitor of old,
Cast in merited wrath
out of his honoured place,
Burns with envy and hate,
seeking their souls to gain
Whom God’s mercy invites to Heaven.

Therefore, come to our help,
watchful ward of our lives:
Turn aside from the land,
God to thy care confides
Sickness and woe of soul,
yea and what else of ill
Peace of heart to its folk denies.

Now to the Holy Three
praise evermore resound:
Under Whose Hand Divine
resteth the triple world
Governed in wondrous wise,
glory be Theirs and Might
While the ages unending run.
Amen

This Hymn by St Robert Bellarmine,was added to the Roman Breviary in 1608, by command of Pope Paul V. It is for Vespers in the Office for “the Holy Guardian Angels. Double of the second class,” 2 October..

St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 13 May – The Lamp and the Lampstand

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One Minute Reflection – 13 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church – Wisdom 7:7-14 – Matthew 5:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“But he who shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” – Matthew 5:19

REFLECTION – “The Lamp on the lampstand is our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Father’s true Light “Who enlightens everyone coming into the world” (Jn 1:9) in other words, the Father’s Wisdom and Word. Having accepted our flesh, He truly became and was called, the “Light of the world.” By our faith and devotion, He is honoured and exalted in the Church. In this way, He is made visible to all nations and shines out for “all the people in the house,” namely the whole world, as He said: “They do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand where it gives light to all in the house” (Mt 5:15).

As we have seen, Christ calls Himself a Lamp. God by nature, He became flesh according to the plan of salvation – a Light held within the flesh, as if in a vase… This is what David was thinking when he said: “Your Word is a Lamp to my feet and a Light for my path” (Ps 118:105). Since He causes the darkness of ignorance and the evil of men to vanish, my Saviour and my God, is called a Lamp in Scripture. And since He is the only one able to obliterate the darkness of ignorance and disperse the shadows of sin, He has become the way of salvation for all. He leads towards the Father, all those who, through understanding and virtue, walk with Him along the path of the commandments, as on a road of righteousness.

The Lampstand is Holy Church because the Word of God shines out through her preaching. This is how the beams of its Truth, can enlighten the whole world… On one condition, however, as long as it is not hidden under the letter of the Law. Anyone who clings to Scripture according to the letter only, is living according to the flesh; he is placing the Lamp under a bushel basket. But when, to the contrary, the Church is set on the lampstand, it enlightens everyone.” – St Maximus the Confessor (580-662) Abbot and Theologian, Father (Question 63 to Thalassius)

PRAYER – O God, Who endowed blessed Robert, Your Bishop and Doctor, with wondrous learning and virtue to repel the deceits of error and to defend the rights of the Apostolic See, grant, by his merits and intercession, that we may ever grow in love of truth and that the hearts of the erring may return to the unity of Your 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 HYMNS, JESUIT SJ, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MAY - The Blessed Virgin MARY'S MONTH, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Ven Servant of God John A Hardon

Our Morning Offering – 13 May – A Hymn to Mary the Virgin By St Robert Bellarmine

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Our Morning Offering – 13 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church

A Hymn to Mary the Virgin
By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621)
Doctor of the Church.

Virgin adored and clothed with the sun,
grant me thine aid.
Virgin most beautiful, mystical rose,
take abode in my heart.
Virgin most chaste, all undefiled,
grant me true peace.
Virgin deserving of all honour and praise,
give me thy love.
Virgin elect and full of all grace,
lead me to God.
Virgin most blessed, star of the sea,
dispel the storms besetting me.
Virgin most virtuous, holy and sweet,
show me the way.
Virgin illustrious, with thy burning light,
enlighten thou my mind.
Virgin more precious than jewels or gold,
make reparation for me.
Virgin most worthy of all praise,
mother, daughter and immaculate spouse.
Virgin and Mother,
make me more pleasing to Jesus thy Son.
Virgin most innocent of any stain or fault,
make me more worthy of God.
Virgin enriched with every gift and grace,
obtain the remission of my sins.
Virgin most pure, grant me to enjoy
the bliss of heavenly love.
Virgin, thou lily among thorns,
I pray thee for the grace of a happy death.
Virgin more rare than the rarest dream,
bring joy to my heart.
Virgin so great, there is none like thee on earth,
bring peace to my soul.
Virgin most true, loving Mother too, Virgin Mary.
Amen

St Robert Bellarmine’s Hymn to Mary the Virgin:
Among St Robert’s extant writing, there is a short poem of twenty stanzas which he composed in the nature of a Litany to the Blessed Virgin.
The text was first published in Italian some fifty years ago and to the best of the writer’s knowledge, has never been translated into English.
Each verse-line begins with the name “Virgin,” joined to a title and petition to Our Lady, starting with the letter “A” and going down the Italian alphabet to “V”
Thus the first seven verses begin with the invocation: “Vergine adorna … Vergine Bella …Vergine casta … Vergine degna … Vergine eletta … Vergine felice … Vergine gradita …”
A translation to this tribute to the Virgin Mother reads as above: – Fr John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000).

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 13 May – Saint Agnes of Poitiers (Died 588) Abbess

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 13 May – Saint Agnes of Poitiers (Died 588) the 1st Abbess og the Convent of Sainte-Croix, a Monastery founded in Poitiers by Saint Radegonde (c518-587) in around 552. The date and place of St Agnes’ birth are unknown but she died at the Sainte-Croix Monastery in Poitiers of natural causes.

We know little about Agnes’ origins except through the life of Saint Radegonde, to whom she would have been very close from a young age and whom she would have accompanied throughout her life.

Agnes, educated as a daughter by the holy Queen Radegunde, when the latter, after retiring from Court, founded the Monastery of the Sainte-Croix in Poitiers. Agnes, being begged by her benefactress, St Radegunde, who did not want this office for herself, became the 1st Abbess, with the abbatial blessing bestowed upon her by Saint Germanus, the Bishop of Paris, in the presence of other Bishops.

St Agnes left St Radegunde, right

After a few years, following conflicts which arose between the Monastery and the Bishop of the City, Merovech, over questions of jurisdiction, the Saint deemed it appropriate to temporarily retire to Arles together with St Radegunde. On her return, Agnes introduced into the Monastery the Rules dictated to her by St Caesarius of Arles, the Bishop there, for a female Abbey.

The prudence with which Agnes exercised the difficult art of government, in addition to attracting more than 200 Nuns, meant that, after the death of Saint Radegundr, she was able to reconcile with Bishop Merovech, who had the final direction of the religious community. The relationship between the two authorities, i.e. the Bishop and the Abbess, improved wonderfully when St Venantius Fortunatus (c530 – c609) , successor of Merovech. The 2 future Saints, Agnes and Venantius became fast friends and St Venantius left us precise testimonies regarding our Saint for today, of her virtues and abilities as Abbess. St Venantius spoke of Agnes in his letters and verses.

Agnes died on 13 May 588, nine months after Radegunde and was buried in the Church of Saint Mary outside the City walls. The new Proper of the Diocese of Poitiers celebrates and commemorates Saint Agnes today on the date of her birthday into Heaven.

For the Life of St Radegunde by St Venantius Fortunatus:
https://sites.uwm.edu/carlin/venantius-fortunatus-life-of-st-radegund/

For the Life of St Venantius:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/14/saint-of-the-day-14-december-saint-venantius-fortunatus-c-530-c-609/

Monastery of the Sainte-Croix in Poitiers
Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621), Our Lady of Fatima 108th Anniversary of the First Apparition, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and more Marian Feasts and the Saints for 13 May

Posted on by AnaStpaul

St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church, Confessor, Bishop, Priest of the Society of Jesus, Bishop, Confessor, Cardinal, Theologian, Professor, Writer, Preacher, Mediator, Doctor of the Church.   Among others patronages, he is the Patron of Catechists and Catechumens.
His body is honoured with pious veneration at Rome in the Church of St Ignatius, near the tomb of St Aloysius, as he himself had desired. Blessed be God in His Holy Saints! Amen.
He was Beatified on 13 May 1923, Rome by Pope Pius XI and Canonised 29 June 1930, Rome by Pope Pius XI – he was named a Doctor of the Church by the same Pope a year later.  He is remembered as one of the most important Cardinals of the Catholic Counter Reformation.
Feast Day today. changed in 1969.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/09/17/saint-of-the-day-17-september-st-robert-bellarmine-s-j-doctor-of-the-church/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/05/saint-of-the-day-5-october-blessed-raymond-of-capua-op-c-1
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/05/13/saint-of-the-day-13-may-st-robert-bellarmine-sj-1542-1621-defender-of-the-church/

Our Lady of Fatima 108th Anniversary of the First Apparition

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (the name she gave herself when Lucia asked her name).
All about Our Lady of Fatima:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/05/13/the-centenary-of-the-apparitions-of-our-lady-of-fatima-our-lady-of-the-holy-rosary-13-may-2017/

Madonna del Soccorso / Our Lady of Succour of Sicily (14th Century):
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/13/104th-anniversary-of-the-first-apparition-of-our-lady-of-fatima-madonna-del-soccorso-our-lady-of-succour-of-sicily-14th-century-our-lady-of-the-most-blessed-sacrament-1800s-and-memorials/

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament: St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868) and Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament:
The Background:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/05/13/feast-of-our-lady-of-the-most-blessed-sacrament-13-may/

Beatissimae Virginis et omnium Angelorum et Martyrum, Dedication of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs (609) – 13 May:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/05/13/13-may-ascension-sunday-feast-of-our-lady-of-fatima-our-lady-of-help-our-lady-of-the-most-blessed-sacrament-dedication-of-saint-mary-of-the-martyrs-and-memorials-of-the-saints/

Rose Petals raining down on Pentecost Sunday in St Mary and the Martyrs (Pantheon), Rome

St Abban (Died c520) Irish Hermit who served the Lord inAbbington, England, Founded a Monastery.

St Agnes of Poitiers (Died 588) Abbess

St André-Hubert Fournet (1752-1834) “The Good Father” – Priest and Co-Founder with St Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Ages of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, Apostle of the poor, needy, children and the aged.
Until his old age, the Good Father kept an expression of simplicity and humility. In the sun of God’s love, the transfiguration of his being continued in deep holiness, charity, humility and zeal.
After the approval of 2 miracles, he was Beatified on 16 May 1926 by Pope Pius XI and Canonised on June 1933 by the same Pope, after a further 2 miracles.
About “The Good Father” St André-Hubert :
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/13/saint-of-the-day-13-may-saint-andre-hubert-fournet-1752-1834-the-good-father/

St Anno of Verona
St Argentea of Cordoba
St Euthymius the Illuminator
Bl Fortis Gabrielli
Bl Gerard of Villamagna
Bl Gemma of Goriano
St Glyceria of Trajanopolis

Blessed Imelda Lambertini (1322-1333) Child Mystic, Virgin. Patronage – First Communicants (named by Pope Saint Pius X).
Dear Little Imelda:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/13/saint-of-the-day-13-may-blessed-imelda-lambertini-1322-1333/

St John the Silent

Blessed Julian of Norwich (c1342-c 1416) (aged 73–74) Anchorite, Mystic, Writer, Ascetic, Spiritual director. At the time of Julian’s death, people from all over Europe travelled to her room, or cell, to ask her advice. Everyone recognised that she was close to God. The Church never formally declared her a saint but through the ages, people have called her “Blessed.”
Lived in Love:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/05/13/saint-of-the-day-13-may-blessed-julian-of-norwich-c-1342-c-1416/

St Lucius of Constantinople
St Mael of Bardsey
Bl Magdalen Albrizzi
St Merewenna of Rumsey
St Mucius of Byzantium
St Natalis of Milan
St Onesimus of Soissons
St Servatus of Tongres
St Valerian of Auxerre

Martyrs of Alexandria: A group of Christians Martyred in the Church of Theonas, Alexandria, Egypt by order of the Arian Emperor Valens. Their names have not come down to us. 372 in Alexandria, Egypt.

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