Thought for the Day – 2 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Intercession of Our Lady
“Holy Mary, my loving Mother, hear my supplications and obtain for me, from your Divine Son, all the graces of which I am in need. Obtain for me, more of all the grace to become holy. Grant that I may do always and in all circumstances, whatever Jesus tells me to do. Grant that my will may be in harmony with His most Holy Will and, that my actions may be in accordance with His Divine Commandments, Amen”
Quote/s of the Day – 2 August – St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church
“He loves you as though He had no-one else to love but you alone. You, too, should love Him alone and all others for His Sake. Of Him you may say and, indeed, you should say: My Beloved to me and I to Him (Cant, 2:16). My God has given Himself all to me and I give myself all to Him; He has chosen me for His beloved and I choose Him, above all others, for my only Love.”
“Sacrilegious tongues blaspheme the God Who preserves their existence! … you should be damned forever and, instead of thanking Him for His goodness, you, at the very time that He bestows His favours upon you, YOU blaspheme His Holy Name!”
“Let us read the lives of the Saints; let us consider the penances which they performed and blush to be so effeminate and so fearful of mortifying our flesh.”
“Since we all must die, we should cherish a special devotion to St Joseph that he may obtain for us a happy death.”
Jesus, My Saviour, Help Me! By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor of the Church
Jesus, my Saviour, help me! I am resolved truly to love Thee and to leave all, to please Thee. Help me to free myself from everything which hinders me from belonging wholly to Thee, Who has loved me so much. By thy prayers, O Mother Mary, which are so powerful with God, obtain for me this grace, to belong wholly to God. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 2 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – The Feastday of St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor – 2 Timothy 2:1-7 – Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The Lord appointed seventy two others and sent them forth, two-by-two before Him, into every town and place, where He, Himself was about to come.” – Luke 10:1
REFLECTION – “The names of the Apostles of the Saviour, are clear to everyone from the Gospels but no list of the seventy [two] disciples is in circulation anywhere. Some have said, to be sure, that Barnabas was one of them and the Acts of the Apostles and Paul writing to the Galatians, have made special mention of him. They say Sosthenes was of these too. Together with Paul, he wrote to the Corinthians. Tradition also holds that Matthias, who was listed among the Apostles in place of Judas and Joseph Justus, who was honoured with him at the same casting of lots, were considered worthy of the same calling among the seventy [two]. They say that Thaddaeus was also one of them, about whom I shall presently relate a story which has come down to us. On observation, you would find that the disciples of the Saviour appear to have been more than the seventy (two). Paul says that after the Resurrection from the dead, Cephas saw Him first, then the Twelve. After these saw Him, He was seen by more than five hundred brothers all at once, some of whom he says, had fallen asleep, although the majority were still alive at the time that this account was being composed by him.” – St Eusebius of Caesarea (c260-339) Bishop of Caesarea, Historian, Theologian, Father (Ecclesiastical History 1.)”
PRAYER – O God, Who through blessed Alphonsus Maria, Thy Confessor and Bishop, fired with love for souls, enriched Thy Church with a new family; we beseech Thee that, taught by his saving counsels and strengthened by his example, we may be enabled, happily to come to Thee. Through the same 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).
Our Morning Offering – 2 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – The Feastday of St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor
O Mother Blest By St Alphonsus Maira Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor of the Church Trans. Fr Edmund Vaughn C.SS.R. (1827 – 1908 )
O Mother blest, whom God bestows On sinners and on just, What joy, what hope thou givest those Who in thy mercy trust. Thou are clement, thou are chaste, Mary thou art fair, Of all mothers, sweetest best, none with thee compare.
O heavenly Mother, mistress sweet! it never yet was told that suppliant sinner left thy feet, unpitied, unconsoloed. Thou are clement, thou are chaste, …
O Mother, pitiful and mild, Cease not to pray for me; For I do love thee as a child, And sigh for love of thee. Thou art clement, thou art chaste, …
Most powerful Mother, all men know Thy Son denies thee nought; Thou askest, wishest it and lo! His power thy will hath wrought. Thou art clement, thou art chaste, …
O Mother blest, for me obtain, Ungrateful though I be, To love that God who first could deign To show such love for me. Thou art clement, thou art chaste, Mary, thou art fair. Of all mothers, sweetest, best, None with thee compare.
Saint of the Day – 2 August – Saint Maximus (3rd/4th Century) Bishop of Padua, Miracle-worker. Born and died in Padua. Also known as – Massimo, Maxime.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Padua, St Maximus, the Bishop of that City, who ended his blessed life in peace with a reputation for miracles.”
I believe, St Maximus top row 3rd from the left next to Christ. The Artist is Andrea Mantegna in 1453/1453
Maximus appears as the immediate successor to Saint Prosdocimus (Died c100) being the 1st Bishop and Patron of Padua, in the oldest known list of Paduan Bishops.
Maximus’ name is contained in the 1487 chronilogy of Padua makes him a citizen of the City, who succeeded Saint Prosdocimus in 141 or 143 according to the Venetian Chronicle by Andrea Dandolo, whose life and works he recounted, unfortunately unavailable to us.
He appears on the Altarpiece of Saint Luke kept in the Brera Art Gallery in Milan, with Paduan Saints whose Relics were kept in the Church of Saint Justine in Padua for which Church this painting was intended. See the Altarpiece above.
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