Day: December 9, 2025

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, ORIGINAL SIN, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on PURITY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Thought for the Day – 9 December – Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception, The Virginal Purity of Mary

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 9 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971) – Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception

The Virginal Purity of Mary

“Purity is the most beautiful of virtues.

It is a virtue which is admired by God and by men, even by the most corrupt.
It is often said, that it makes us like the Angels but in fact, looking at it in a particular way, it makes us superior to the Angels.
Since they have no bodies, the angels cannot sin against purity, while we have to fight many battles and overcome many temptations, in order to preserve our chastity.
Jesus had a very special love for this virtue.
He chose to be born of a Virgin and, He showed a particular affection for St John, who was a dedicated celibate.
On one occasion, He placed His Hands on the head of a little child and said: “Unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of Heaven “(Mt:18.3)

Unfortunately, the virtue of purity is as fragile as it is beautiful.
It can be lost in a single moment of weakness.
We must love this virtue as Mary loved it.
We must be prepared to make any sacrifice, even the most heroic, rather than lose it.
Worldly charm and beauty attract us and the devil works ferociously to control our imagination and our affections.
On account of the disturbance of original sin, the flesh is like a terrible weight retarding our spiritual advancement.
Sometimes it seems as if it is irresistibly drawing us towards the abyss of impurity.
But we need not be dragged down, if we are prepared to fly from the occasions of sin and to pray to God and to our heavenly Mother for her intercession.
We must always act at once, for there is no time to dally.
It is fatal to remain inactive and to allow temptation to make its way into our soul.
This kind of battle, said St Francis de Sales, is won only by soldiers who flee.
We must fly from the occasions of sin, no matter what sacrifice this entails.
Jesus has warned us, that it is better to enter Heaven without a hand or a foot, than to be cast into hell.

We know the remedies – instant flight, heroic sacrifice and constant prayer.
We can leave the rest to the grace of God and to the maternal protection of Mary.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Quote/s of the Day – 9 December – ‘O Mother blest! And chosen Shrine … ‘

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 9 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God – Proverbs 8:22-35 – Luke 1:26-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“O Mary,
Conceived without sin,
pray for us
who have recourse to thee.”

“You have guarded the integrity
of the temple [of your body];
you have kept your tabernacle free from all sin,
so that the Father becomes your guest,
the Holy Ghost overshadows you
and the Only-begotten Son Incarnate
is born of you.”

St Hesychius of Jerusalem (Died c450)
Priest, Exegete, Father

“O Mother blest!
And chosen Shrine
wherein the Architect Divine,
Whose Hand contains the earth and sky
vouchsafed in hidden guise to lie;
Blest in the message Gabriel brought;
blest in the work, the Spirit wrought;
Most blest, to bring to human birth,
the long desired of all the earth!”

St Venantius Fortunatus (c530 – c609)
Bishop, Poet, Theologian, Father

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, QUOTES on GRACE, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 December – ‘ … Thou enabled the world to read the Word, the Father’s Son!’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 9 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God – Proverbs 8:22-35 – Luke 1:26-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace …” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “How can I speak? What praises could I possibly make of the holy and glorious Virgin? She surpasses all other beings except for God Himself. She is by nature more beautiful than the Cherubim and Seraphim and the whole Angelic Host. No language, whether of Heaven or earth, or even of the Angels, is enough to praise her. Blessed Virgin, spotless dove, heavenly bride… temple and throne of the Godhead! Christ, the Sun Who shines resplendently in Heaven and on earth, belongs to thee. Thou art the luminous cloud which brought Christ down to earth, He Who is the bright streak of lightening, Who shines across the world.

Rejoice, full of grace, gate of Heaven! It was of thee, the author of the Song of Songs speaks… when he cries aloud: “A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride; an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed” (4:12)… Holy Mother of God, spotless ewe – thou gave birth to Christ, the Lamb, the Word made flesh in thee … How amazing a wonder in the heavens – a woman clothed with the sun (Apoc 12:1), carrying the Light in her arms! … How amazing a wonder in the heavens – the Lord of Angels becomes the Virgin’s Child. Angels judged Eve; now they fill Mary with glory, since it was she who raised Eve from her fall and brought Adam, expelled from Paradise, into Heaven.

Vast is the grace given to this Holy Virgin. Hence Gabriel, first addresses her with this greeting: “Hail, full of grace” resplendent as the Heaven. “Hail, full of grace” Virgin adorned with countless virtues… “Hail, full of grace” thou quench our thirst at the sweetness of the everlasting stream. Hail, holy and Immaculate Mother, thou conceived the Christ Who existed before thee. Hail, royal purple, thou clothed the King of Heaven and earth. Hail, O sealed book, thou enabled the world to read the Word, the Father’s Son!” – St Epiphanius of Salamis (c315-403) Bishop of Salamis,  known as the Oracle of Palestine and Father of the Church (Sermon No 5)

PRAYER – Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Thy only-begotten Son, so that through His coming we may be able to serve Thee with purified minds. Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOGMA, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN Antiphons, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on PURITY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Our Morning Offering – 9 December– Tota Pulchra Es, Maria

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 9 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave

Tota Pulchra Es, Maria
You Are All Beautiful, Mary
Unknown Author – 4th Century

You are all beautiful, Mary,
and the original stain is not in you.
You are the glory of Jerusalem,
you are the joy of Israel,
you give honour to our people.
You are an advocate of sinners.
O Mary, O Mary,
Virgin most intelligent,
Mother most merciful.
Pray for us,
Plead for us,
To the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tota pulchra es, Maria.
Et macula originalis non est in Te.
Tu gloria Ierusalem.
Tu laetitia Israel.
Tu honorificentia populi nostri.
Tu advocata peccatorum.
O Maria, O Maria,
Virgo prudentissima.
Mater clementissima.
Ora pro nobis.
Intercede pro nobis.
Ad Dominum Iesum Christum.

This prayer used by the Church since the 4th Century for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the Purity of the Blessed Virgin. It takes some text from the book of Judith and other text from Song of Songs, specifically 4:7. Many composers have set this prayer to music over the centuries.

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 9 December – Saint Cyprian (Died c586) Abbot of Perigord, France

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 9 December – Saint Cyprian (Died c586) Abbot of Perigord, France, Hermit, miracle-worker. Also known as – Cyprien.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Perigord in France, the holy Abbot Cyprian, a man of great sanctity.”

St Gregory of Tours, after calling Cyprian a man “of great sanctity,” says of him: “He has often cured lame hands, restored the use of limbs to paralytics and restored sight to the blind. Three lepers have recovered their health thanks to his anointings. And nowadays it is not uncommon for the sick to be cured by praying with faith, at his Tomb.”

Adonis, who composed the Eulogy following St Gregory, mentions him in his Martyrology on 9 December, certainly arbitrarily; Usuard placed the Feast of the holy Abbot on the same date, as well as the Churches which celebrated his memory.

Further details of Cyprian are given in the Vitae of Saint Amandus and Saint Sorus – according to these texts, three young men from Auvergne, namely Sorus, Amandus and Cyprian, at the time of Clotaire I (511-561) placed themselves under the direction of Savalone, Abbot of the Monastery of Genouillac. After three years they retired to a secluded place but then separated to live in solitude. Sorus (whose name, from then on, meant “hermit” in the Celtic language) retired to Terranova, Amand and Cyprian to places that later took their names (St Amand-de-Coly and St Cyprien, in the Dordogne). Sorus cured the King of Burgundy, Saint Guntram (561-592), of leprosy and, upon his death, was buried by Cyprian and Amand.

According to another source, Cyprian lived at the time of Carterius, the Bishop of Périgord, who participated in the Council of Mâcon in 585 – accepting these chronological data, it must be admitted that Cyprian was a contemporary of St Gregory of Tours but that he died before 587, the year in which the latter began composing the In Gloria Confessorum.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Within the Octave, Nostra Signora dell’Immacolata Concezione / Our Lady of the Conception, Naples, Italy (1618) and the Saints for 9 December

Posted on by AnaStpaul

WITHIN the OCTAVE of the Immaculate Conception

Nostra Signora dell’Immacolata Concezione / Our Lady of the Conception, Naples, Italy (1618) – 9 December:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/09/nostra-signora-dellimmacolata-concezione-our-lady-of-the-conception-naples-italy-1618-and-memorials-of-the-saints-9-december/

St Auditor of Saint-Nectaire
St Balda of Jouarre
St Budoc of Brittany
St Caesar of Korone
St Cephas

Venerable Clara Isabella Fornari OSC (1697–1744) Virgin, Nun of the Poor Clares, Mystic, Stigmatist.
Her Fervent Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/12/09/saint-of-the-day-9-december-venerable-clara-isabella-fornari-osc-1697-1744-virgin/

St Cyprian (Died c586) Abbot of Perigord, France
St Ethelgiva of Shaftesbury

St Gorgonia (Died c370) Married mother, Sister of St Gregory Nazianzen and St Caesarius, daughter of Saint Gregory the Elder and Saint Nonna.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Nazianzen, St Gorgonia, sister of the blessed Gregory the Theologian, who has related her vitues and miralces.”
Her Holy Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/12/09/saint-of-the-day-9-december-st-gorgonia-died-c370-married-mother-sister-of-st-gregory-nazianzen/

St Julian of Apamea

St Leocadia of Toledo (Died c 304) Virgin Martyr. Hearing of the Martyrdom of St Eulalia, she prayed that God would not prolong her exile but unite her speedily with her beloved Lord in His glory.
Her Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/09/saint-of-the-day-9-december-saint-leocadia-of-toledo-died-c-304-virgin-martyr/

St Michaela Andrusikiewicz
St Nectarius of Auvergne

St Peter Fourier CRSA (1565-1640) “The Good Father of Mattaincourt,” Priest, Founder, Reformer, Confessor, Ascetic, Theologian, Teacher, Preacher, Apostle of Prayer, Penance and Charity, Marian devotee. In 1597, together with the Blessed Alix Le Clerc, St Peter founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Canonesses Regular of St Augustine, who were committed to the free education of children, taking a fourth vow to that goal. St Peter was Beatified on 20 January 1730 by Pope Benedict XIII and Canonised on 27 May 1897 by Pope Leo XIII.
“The Good Father of Mattaincourt” :
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/09/saint-of-the-day-9-december-st-peter-fourier-c-r-s-a-1565-1640/

St Proculus (Died c320) Bishop of Verona.
The Roman Martyrology says today: “In Verona, during the persecution of Diocletian, St Proculus, Bishop, who was buffeted, scourged with rods and driven out of the City. Being at length, restored to his Church, he rested in peace.”
One who survived Diocletian:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/12/09/saint-of-the-day-9-december-saint-proculus-of-verona-died-c320-bishop/

St Syrus (1st Century) The First Bishop og Pavia, Italy, Confessor, Miracle-worker, Defender of the Faith, Evangeliser.
Blessed St Syrus:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/09/saint-of-the-day-9-december-saint-syrus-of-pavia-1st-century/

St Valeria of Limoges
St Wulfric of Holme

Blessed Mercedarian Fathers – (10 Beati): The memorial of ten Mercedarian Friars who were especially celebrated for their holiness:
Arnaldo de Querol • Berengario Pic • Bernardo de Collotorto • Domenico de Ripparia • Giovanni de Mora • Guglielmo Pagesi • Lorenzo da Lorca • Pietro Serra • Raimondo Binezes • Sancio de Vaillo

Martyrs of North Africa – (24 Saints): Twenty-four Christians murdered together in North Africa for their faith. The only details to survive are four of their names – Bassian, Peter, Primitivus and Successus.

Martyrs of Samosata – (7 Saints): Seven Martyrs crucified in 297 in Samosata (an area of modern Turkey) for refusing to perform a pagan rite in celebration of the victory of Emperor Maximian over the Persians. They are – Abibus, Hipparchus, James, Lollian, Paragnus, Philotheus and Romanus. They were crucified in 297 in Samosata (an area in modern Turkey).