Day: July 5, 2025

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE

Thought for the Day – 5 July – Living the Gospel

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 5 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Living the Gospel

“The Gospel teaches perfection.
It teaches the perfection of the interior life, as well as the exterior life, of private, as well as of domestic and social life.
There is no problem in the universe which has not been solved in the Gospel.
In regard to the spiritual life, its command is clear. “You are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with they whole mind … Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mt 22:37, Mk 12:30, Lk 10:27).
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).
“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Lk 9:23).
“Blessed are the poor in spirit … the clean of heart … the peacemakers …” (Mt 5:3-10).
“If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast and give to the poor and thou shall have treasure in Heaven” (Mt 19:21).
“Our Father who art in heaven … thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” (Mt 6:10).
“Father … not My will but Thine be done” (Lk 22:42).
Anyone who identifies himself with these maxims, rises above the level of a man, to that of an Angel.
His interior life soars to such a peak, that he seems to be leading a heavenly, rather than an earthly existence.
If he is living the Gospel, moreover, his external behaviour will be a faithful mirror of his interior life, for it is not enough to say “Lord, Lord” but a man must also do the will of the Father (Cf Mt 7:21).
A man’s domestic and social life, will follow the pattern of his private life.

When he has reached the summit of perfection, an invisible force will emanate from him, the force of good example.
This force will transform everything, within him and around him.
Like Mary and the Saints, he will become the loyal and powerful co-worker with Christ in the redemption of the human race and in the Christian transformation of society.
Redemption and restoration, can come only through the Gospel.
Other theories are always bound up with and impeded by, human egoism.
The doctrine of the Gospel is reinforced by the love of God and our neighbour.
In the Gospel, public and private justice is transformed into the charity of Christ which cannot be impeded by any earthly difficulty, nor by any human barrier, not even by death!
“Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ?” (Rom 8:35) asks St Paul.
Let us meditate on this.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 5 July – St Anthony Mary Zaccaria

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 5 July – St Anthony Mary Zaccaria (1502-1539) Confessor, Priest, Founder of the Barnabits – The First Religious Order Named after St Paul The Apostle – Canonised by Pope Leo XIII on 27 May 1897.

“Angel in human form! Angelic man!
Founder of the Clerics Regular of St Paul,
of the Angelic Sisters and of other pious Associations.
Destroyer of vices, Guardian of chastity,
Restorer of the service of God.
Perfect labourer for the salvation of souls,
Preacher of the Word of God,
Faithful disciple of St Paul.
Indefatigable worker in the Vineyard of the Lord,
constant enemy of the world,
of the flesh and of wickedness.
Conqueror of Demons.
Perfect image of the ardent charity of the Holy Ghost.
Today, a citizen of Heaven.
The City of Cremona, rejoicing
and proud of the glory of its children,
filled with admiration for its citizen
now gone to join the Angels,
erects this Monument in token of eternal gratitude
for his saintly life and heroic deeds. Amen!”

Inscription on a Monument in Cremona, Italy
dedicated to Saint Anthony

ST ANTHONY’S WORDS:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/07/05/quote-s-of-the-day-5-july-st-anthony-mary-zaccaria-5/

St Anthony Mary Zaccaria (1502-1539)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on GREED, WEALTH, QUOTES on WEALTH/RICHES, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 July – ‘ … What good are their other virtues to them? …’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 5 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Pentecost IV – Within the Octave of Sts Peter and Paul – St Anthony Mary Zaccaria (1502-1539) Confessor, Priest, Founder of the Barnabits – The First Religious Order Named after St Paul The Apostle – 1 Timothy 4:8-16 – Mark 10:15-21 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Good Master, what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting?” – Mark 10:17

REFLECTION – “The incident of the rich young man and those like him, makes me think of a traveller who, wanting to visit a certain town, arrives at the foot of the walls, finds an inn there, goes down to it and, discouraged by the short distance still to do, loses all the benefit of the difficulties of his journey and prevents himself from visiting the beauties of the town. Such are those who keep the commandments but cannot bear the idea of losing their goods. I know many who fast, pray, do penance and practice all sorts of works of piety very well but, who do not spend a penny on the poor. What good are their other virtues to them?

These will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, for “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Clear words and their Author does not lie but rare are those who let themselves be touched by them. “How will we live when we are stripped of everything?” is what they exclaim. “What sort of life will we lead when everything has been sold and there is no longer any property?” Do not ask me what deep design underlies God’s commandments. He Who made our laws also knows the art of reconciling the impossible with the law.” – St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Father & Doctor of the Church (Sermon 7 on Wealth).

PRAYER – Grant, O Lord God that in the spirit of Paul the Apostle,
we may learn the knowledge of Jesus Christ which surpasses all understanding, wherein the blessed Anthony Mary was marvelously learned, who gathered together in Thy Church new households of Clerics and of Virgins. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, MOTHER of GOD, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, THE FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS DEVOTION

Our Morning Offering – 5 July – Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 5 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood” – First Saturday

Mother of Love, of Sorrow and of Mercy
By St Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)

O Blessed Virgin Mary,
Immaculate Mother of God,
who endured a martyrdom of love and grief,
beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus!
Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption
by thy innumerable afflictions
and by offering to the Eternal Father,
His only-begotten Son, as a holocaust
and victim of propitiation for my sins.
I thank thee for the unspeakable love
which led thee to deprive thyself
of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus,
true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner.
Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession
of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son,
that I may steadfastly amend my life
and never again crucify
my loving Redeemer by my sins
and that, persevering till death in His grace,
I may obtain eternal life
through the merits of His Cross and Passion.
Amen

Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us!

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 5 July – Saint Philomena (Died c500) Virgin

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 5 July – Saint Philomena (Died c500) Virgin of San Severino in Italy. Patronage of San Severino, Centola, Italy. Also known as – Filomena. Additional Feastday – the 1st Sunday in July in Sab Severino.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At San Severino in the Marche of Ancona, St Philomena, Virgin.”

The figure of Saint Philomena, venerated in various Italian locations, presents complex and fascinating aspects, intertwining elements of popular devotion with historical and hagiographic records.

In particular, the Saint discovered in San Severino Marche in 1527 raises questions about her real identity and the cult associated with her.

In 1527, during excavations under the High Altar of the Church of San Lorenzo in Doliolo in San Severino Marche, a female body came to light accompanied by a epithet which attributed the body belonging to Saint Philomena of the Chiavelli lineage. According to the inscription, the Saint was transferred to that place by San Severino the Bishop during the era of the Gothic Kings. In the same year, Cardinal Ciocchi del Monte arranged for the body to be placed under an Altar dedicated to the Saint.

Initially, the Feast in honour of Saint Philomena was celebrated on 5 July, a date present in the Roman Martyrology. Subsequently, the anniversary was moved to the first Sunday of the same month in San Severino.

Despite popular devotion, a rigourous analysis from a historical point of view leads to the conclusion that the body found is not actually that of a holy Martyr. In fact, before the 16th Century, there is no mention in San Severino of the name, cult or relics of Saint Philomena. Furthermore, the content of the inscription which accompanied the body, attributing its deposition to San Severino, does not present historically valid elements.

Therefore, the most likely hypothesis is that it is a ‘holy body’ similar to that of the more famous Roman Saint Philomena, a figure around whom a wide and widespread cult developed.

Posted in INCORRUPTIBLES, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

First Saturday, Within the Octave of Sts Peter and Paul, Our Lady of Mount Athos, Great Lavra, Greece , 8th Century, St Anthony Mary Zaccaria and the Saints for 5 July

Posted on by AnaStpaul

FIRST SATURDAY

Within the Octave of Sts Peter and Paul

Our Lady of Mount Athos, Great Lavra, Greece , 8th Century – 5 July:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/07/05/our-lady-of-mount-athos-great-lavra-greece-8th-century-and-memorials-of-the-saints-5-july/

St Anthony Mary Zaccaria CRSP (1502-1539) Confessor, Priest, Founder, Philosopher, Doctor of Medicine/Physician, Renewal of the Forty Hours’ Adoration Devotion, Preacher, Administrator, one of the early leader of the Counter Reformation. Founder of the The Clerics Regular of St Paul (the Barnabites), the First Order Named after St Paul, Apostle. and the Angelic Sisters of St Paul.
His body is incorrupt.
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/07/05/saint-of-the-day-5-july-st-anthony-mary-zaccaria-c-r-s-p-1502-1539/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/05/saint-of-the-day-5-july-st-anthony-mary-zaccaria-crsp-1502-1539/

St Agatho of Sicily
St Athanasius the Athonite
St Athanasius of Jerusalem
St Cast
St Cyprille of Libya
St Cyrilla of Cyrene
St Domèce
St Domitius of Phrygia
St Edana of West Ireland

Blessed Elias OFM (c1407-1484) Archbishop of Tours and Cardinal, Defender of the Church against the State and a political prisoner because of it, devout son of St Francis of Assisi, living a life of poverty and caring for the poor.
A True Shepherd:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/07/05/saint-of-the-day-5-july-blessed-elias-of-bourdeilles-ofm-c-1423-1484/

St Erfyl
St Fragan
St Grace of Cornwall
St Gwen
St Marinus of Tomi
St Mars of Nantes
St Marthe

St Modwenna (9th Century) Irish Princess, Nun, Founder of Burton Abbey in Staffordshire, Miracle-worker.
The Little we Know of St Modwenna:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/07/05/saint-of-the-day-5-july-saint-modwenna-9th-century-irish-virgin/


St Numerian of Treves
St Philomena (Died c500) Virgin of San Severino
St Probus of Cornwall
St Rosa Chen Aijieh
St Sedolpha of Tomi
St Stephen of Reggio
St Teresia Chen Qingjieh
St Theodotus of Tomi
St Thomas of Terreti
St Triphina of Brittany
St Triphina of Sicily

St Zoe of Rome (Died c286) Married laywoman, Martyr.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Rome, St Zoe, Martyr, wife of the blessed Martyr Nicostratus. Whilst praying at the tomb of the Apostle, St Peter, during the time of Diocletian, she was seized by the persecutors and cast into a dark dungeon, then, being suspended on a tree by her neck and hair and suffocated by loathsome smoke, she yielded up her soul in the confession of the Lord.”
Her Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/07/05/saint-of-the-day-5-july-saint-zoe-of-rome-died-c286-married-laywoman-martyr/