Day: May 21, 2025

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

Thought for the Day –21 May – On the BEAUTY and LINEAGE of MARY

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day –21 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 VIII
On the BEAUTY and LINEAGE of MARY

i. O Mary, illustrious Virgin, engendered from the fruitful race of Patriarchs, nourished by the holy descendants of priests, O Mary, honoured with the dignity of Pontiffs, announced by the choir of Prophets, heiress of the grandeur of Kings, illustrious daughter of the House of David, supreme glory of the Tribe of Juda.
Sacred heroine of the valiant people of Israel, living symbol of a holy nation, miraculous child of blessed parents, thou merit glory and praise, thou merit tenderness and love.
Thou art a treasure among all women, thou, who even before the beginning of time had been chosen as the Mother of God.
The Patriarchs desired thy birth, O Mary, the wise Prophets announced thee, the just men and the Kings bore witness to thee, the people of Israel sighed for thee, until the day, when at last, thou appeared, O Mary, for the salvation of this dying world.

ii. Thy name is proclaimed in the whole universe, O Mary! from the rising to the setting of the sun, among all nations, Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and Latins, Romans and Scythians, everywhere thy name is announced with the Gospel.
Everywhere, too and everyday, thy name is preached in Churches and Chapels, in cloisters, in fields, in deserts.
It is repeated by the little and the great, by priests and doctors and preachers, who all equally seek to praise thee.
Yes, O Mary, together the choir of the just unites its harmonies and its voices, in order to chant thy attractions, thy grace and thy holiness.
Its love is so great, its love is so gentle that it can, without ever tiring, chant, contemplate, meditate and fete thy mysteries.
Mindful of the words of Wisdom:
‘Those who eat of me yet hunger for this bread,
those who drink of me still thirst for this wine.’

iii. Prayer: Come then, O Mary, Sweet Virgin Whom I Love!

Come then, O Mary, sweet Virgin whom I love!
Come then, my hope and my consolation!
Come, for when I am near thee,
when I hear thy voice,
it seems, I already possess all good,
it seems, I am sheltered from all evil,
recalling thy sweet clemency,
I come to seek refuge under thine aegis,
O Mary, thou who knowest how to give,
to the weak – strength,
to the captive – freedom,
be for me, all merciful,
be, by thy love, a mother to me.
Thus I shall know,
through having experienced it.
All those who arc faithful in serving thee,
how thou console, with charm
and how thou defend, with assurance.

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

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

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The LITTLE OFFICE of MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 21 May – Hail full of grace!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 21 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

“Hail full of grace!”

Luke 1:28

“By a woman came the flood of our ills
and, by a woman too,
our blessings have their spring.”

St Gregory Thaumaturgus (c213-c270)
“the Wonder-Worker” Bishop, Confessor, Father

“Through a woman, [Eve]
a curse fell upon the earth;
through a woman, [Mary]
there returned to the earth,
a blessing!”

St Peter Damian (1007-1072)
Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

“The Blessed Virgin was chosen
to be the Mother of God
and, therefore, it is not to be doubted,
but that God fitted her for it
by His graces.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor Angelicus / Doctor Communis

“Give thanks to Almighty God
Who resists the proud
and gives grace to the humble
and offer Him all the glory
that this Maiden accorded to His Majesty
by her practice of the richest humility
during her childhood
and throughout the rest of her life.”

St John Eudes CO (1601-1680)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), GOD is LOVE, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The HOLY GHOST, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection– 21 May – ‘ … We are lovingly embraced by means of the Holy Ghost, in eternal Love!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 21 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Ferial Day – James 1:17-21 – John 16:5-14– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I will send Him to you.” – John 16:7

REFLECTION – “The going forth of a contemplative is a heavenly life … for by means of blissful love, he transcends his creaturely state and finds and savours, the riches and delight which God is Himself and which He causes ceaselessly, to flow forth into the hidden depths of the spirit, where the spirit bears a likeness to God’s own nobility. When an interior, contemplative person has thus attained his eternal image and, in this purity and by means of the Son, has possessed the Father’s bosom, then he is enlightened with Divine Truth…

You should know that, the heavenly Father, as a Living Ground and with all that lives in Him, has turned actively toward His Son, as toward His own eternal Wisdom (Pr 8:22) and, this same Wisdom, together with all which lives in it, has actively turned back toward the Father, toward that same Ground from which it comes forth. In this meeting between the Father and the Son, there arises the third Person, the Holy Ghost, Who is the Love of Them Both and Who is One with Them in the same nature. In a way, characterised by both activity and blissful enjoyment, the Holy Ghost embraces and penetrates the Father and Son and all which lives in both of Them, with such great riches and joy, all creatures must remain silent before this, for the incomprehensible wonder which resides in this Love, eternally transcends the understanding of all creatures.

But when a person understands this wonder and savours it without amazement, then has his spirit been raised above itself and been made one with the Spirit of God; it savours and sees without measure, like God Himself—the riches which it has itself become in the Unity of the Living Ground where it possesses itself in accordance with the mode of its uncreated being … Now this blessed meeting is actively renewed in us … For just as the Father ceaselessly sees all things anew, in the birth of the Son, so too, are all things loved anew, by the Father and the Son, in the flowing forth of the Holy Ghost. This is the active meeting of the Father and the Son, in which we are lovingly embraced by means of the Holy Ghost, in eternal Love!” – Bl Jan van Ruysbroeck (1293-1381) Canon Regular (The spiritual espousals III).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servants, that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness and enter into the joy of Thine eternal gladness. 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 DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on MERCY

Our Morning Offering – 21 May – St Jerome Emiliani’s O Mary, Twice Mother of Mercy

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 21 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

O Mary, Twice Mother of Mercy
By St Jerome Emiliani (1486–1537)

O Mary,
thou art twice Mother of Mercy
because thou hast been made
Mother of our most merciful Saviour,
and, furthermore because,
thou hast given to us
so many signs
of thy maternal care and love.
Turn upon us, we beseech thee,
thy glance of compassion
and grant, that we may always
live free from sin,
which is the only impediment
to receiving the fruits
of the Divine Mercies.
Amen.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 21 May – St Hospitius (Died 581) Confessor, Hermit

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 21 May – St Hospitius (Died 581) Confessor, Hermit, Ascetic, Penitent, Spiritual Guide, gifted with the Charisms of Prophecy and physical cures, Miracle-worker. Believed to have been born in Egypt in the 6th Century, he died in 581 in France. Patronage – of the French Town of San-Sospis named after him. Also known as – Sospis, Hospitus, Ospicio, Ospizio.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Nice, in France, St Hospitius, Confessor, distinguished by the virtue of abstinence and the spiorit of prophecy.”

Having retired to a tower near Villafranca, not far from Nice, Hospitius led a life devoted to prayer and the mortification of the flesh. His home, now known as St-Sospis in his honour, was the scene of a life stripped of all comforts – bread, herbs and dates made up his frugal diet, while heavy chains and a rough hair shirt encircled his body.

Hospitius was not only a model of austerity but also, included among his gifts, God had graced him with the ability to foresee the future. Famous is the prophecy he pronounced about the invasion of the Lombards – he accurately predicted the raid which would devastate Nice in 574. Hospitius was seized by these raiders but his life was spared when he worked a miracle in favour of his attacker, who subsequently embraced the Faith and then the religious life and was known personally to St Gregory of Tours. It was from this former Lombardian soldier that St Gregory, to whom we are indebted for the meagre details of the Saint’s life, learned of the austerities and numerous miracles of the saintly Hermit. This Statue of the event is displayed in the Church dedicated to St Hospitius in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (Alpes-Maritimes, France).

Hospitius’ fame spread far beyond the confines of his tower, attracting to his hermitage, countless pilgrims in search of comfort and cures. Numerous miracles were attributed to his intercession, including the cure of a man blind from birth and another, who was deaf and mute. It is said that the very dust of his tomb possessed healing properties.

Hospitius foretold his death and died around 581, surrounded by a devotion which has never waned over the many centuries. Even today, his figure inspires the faithful with his testimony of unshakable faith, strength of spirit and self-denial. He was buried by his friend, Austadius, the Bishop of Nice.

His memory is celebrated every year on 21 May and his Relics are kept in the Cathedral of Nice and in several other Churches in the Diocese.

Information about Saint Hospitius comes to us mainly from the works of Saint Gregory of Tours, his contemporary, who briefly described his life and virtues, much of this information gleaned from a Religious disciple of our Saint. Various biographies dedicated to the Saint were written over time but unfortunately none of them have reached us.

The figure of St Hospitius is closely linked to the history of Provence in the 6th Century, a period marked by barbarian invasions and political upheavals. His prophecy on the arrival of the Lombards makes him an eyewitness to crucial events which shaped the future of the region.

Painting of Saint-Hospice interceding to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the Chapel of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Nostra Signora degli Angeli / Our Lady of the Angels, Arcola, Italy (1556) and Memorials of the Saints – 21 May

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Nostra Signora degli Angeli / Our Lady of the Angels, Arcola, Italy (1556) – 21 May:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/21/nostra-signora-degli-angeli-our-lady-of-the-angels-arcola-italy-1556-and-memorials-of-the-saints-21-may/

St Adalric of Bèze
Bl Adilio Daronch
St Ageranus of Bèze
St Ansuinus of Bèze
St Antiochus of Caesarea Philippi

St Bairfhion of Killbarron
St Berard of Bèze

St Collen (Died c600) Welsh Abbot in Denbighshire, Wales
His Devout Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/05/21/saint-of-the-day-21-may-saint-collen-of-denbighshire-died-c600-welsh-abbot/

St Donatus of Caesarea
St Eutychius of Mauretania

St Genesius of Bèze

St Godric of Finchale (c1070-1170) Hermit, Merchant, Pilgrim, Hymnist, Spiritual Advisor to Saints, both great and small, friend of all animals.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/05/21/saint-of-the-day-21-may-saint-godric-of-finchale-c-1070-1170/

Bl Hemming of Åbo

St Hospitius (Died 581) Confessor, Hermit

St Isberga of Aire
Bl Lucio del Rio
St Mancio of Évora
St Nicostratus of Caesarea Philippi

Blessed Pietro Parenzo (Died 1199) Layman Martyr, Husband, Mayor of Orvieto, Reformer.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/21/saint-of-the-day-21-may-blessed-pietro-parenzo-died-1199-layman-martyr/

St Polieuctus of Caesarea
St Polius of Mauretania
St Restituta of Corsica
St Rodron of Bèze
St Secundinus of Cordova
St Secundus of Alexandria
St Serapion the Sindonite
St Sifrard of Bèze
Bl Silao
St Synesius
St Theobald of Vienne
St Theopompus
St Timothy of Mauretania
St Valens of Auxerre
St Vales
St Victorius of Caesarea

Martyrs of Egypt: Large number of Bishops, Priests, Deacons and lay people banished when the Arian heretics seized the diocese of Alexandria, Egypt in 357 and drove out Saint Athanasius and other orthodox Christians. Many were old, many infirm and many, many died of abuse and privations while on the road and in the wilderness. Very few survived to return to their homes in 361 when Julian the Apostate recalled all Christians and then many of those later died in the persecutions of Julian.

Martyrs of Pentecost in Alexandria: An unspecified number of Christian clerics and lay people who, on Pentecost in 338, were rounded up by order of the Arian bishop and Emperor Constantius and were either killed, or exiled, for refusing to accept Arian teachings. 339 in Alexandria, Egypt.

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