Day: February 27, 2026

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, LENT 2026, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The SEVEN PASSION Feasts, Thomas Aquinas

Friday of the First Week of Lent – 27 February – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas – The Feast of the Holy Lance and Nails of Our Lord

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Friday of the First Week of Lent – 27 February – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

Friday After First Sunday
The Feast of the Holy Lance Lance
and the Nails of Our Lord

“One of the soldiers opened His side with a spear and immediately there came forth Blood and Water.”
John xix. 34.

  1. The Gospel deliberately says opened and not wounded because, through Our Lord’s Side, there was opened to us the Gate of Eternal Life.
    “ After these things I looked and behold, a gate was opened in heaven,” (Apoc iv. i). This is the door opened in the ark, through which enter the animals who will not perish in the flood.
  2. But this door is the cause of our salvation.
    Immediately there came forth Blood and Water a thing truly miraculous that, from a dead body, in which the blood congeals, Blood should come forth!

This was done to show that by the Passion of Christ we receive a full absolution, an absolution from every sin and every stain. We receive this absolution from sin through that Blood which is the price of our redemption. You were not redeemed with corruptible things as gold or silver, from your vain conversation with the tradition of your fathers but with the Precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled (i Pet i. 18).

We were absolved from every stain by the Water which is the laver of our redemption.
In the Prophet Ezechiel, it is said, “I will pour upon you clean water and you shall be cleaned from all your
filthiness” (Ezech xxxvi. 28) and in Zacharias,
“There shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for the washing of the sinner and the unclean woman” (Zach xiii. i).

And so, these two things may be thought of in relation to two of the Sacraments, the Water to Baptism and the Blood to the Holy Eucharist.
Or both may be referred to the Holy Eucharist since, in the Mass, water is mixed with the wine. Although the water is not of the substance of the Sacrament.

Again, as from the side of Christ asleep in death on the Cross there flowed that Blood and Water in which the Church is consecrated, so from the side of the sleeping Adam was formed the first woman, who herself foreshadowed the Church.

ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274)
Priest, Theologian, Dominican
Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor)
Doctor Communis (Common Doctor)
Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VOCATIONS, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 27 February – St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin/Gabriel Possenti

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 27 February – St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin/Gabriel Possenti CP (1838-1862) Confessor

“The Infinite Mercy of God
has been able to arrange all things sweetly
and today, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows,
our Protectress and our Mother,
I have put on, with unutterable joy,
this holy religious Habit and taken the name
of Confrater Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows.”

(Letter to his Father,
From Morrovalle on
21 September 1856)

“What caution, in fact, does it not require,
to live as a good Christian in the world!”

(Letter to his Father,
From Morrovalle on
21 September 1856)

“Oh, be assured, he whom God
calls to the religious life
receives a very great favour,
a favour which is impossible to estimate
at its real value.”

“My sole merit lies in Thy Wounds”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/28/quote-s-of-the-day-28-february-st-gabriel-of-the-sorrowful-virgin-gabriel-possenti-cp-1838-1862/

St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin
/Gabriel Possenti CP (1838-1862)

Posted in MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER

Our Morning Offering – 27 February – O Mother of Sorrows, Stand by Me in My Last Agony By St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 27 February – Friday of the First week of Lent, the Memorial of St Gabriel Francis Possenti of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862) and a Marian Saturday

O Mother of Sorrows,
Stand by Me in My Last Agony
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

O Mother of Sorrows,
by the anguish and love
with which thou didst stand
at the Cross of Jesus,
stand by me in my last agony.
To thy maternal heart
I commend the last three hours of my life.
Offer these hours to the Eternal Father
in union with the agony of our dearest Lord,
in atonement for my sins.
Offer to the Eternal Father
the Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
mingled with thine tears on Calvary,
that I may obtain the grace
of receiving Holy Communion
with the most perfect love and contrition,
before my death
and that I may breathe forth my soul
in the adorable Presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother, when the moment
of my death has at last come,
present me as your child to Jesus.
Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him,
for I knew not what I did!
Beg Him to receive me into His Kingdom of Glory
to be united with Him forever.
Amen

Posted in Against ICONOCLASM, SAINT of the DAY

Saint/s of the Day – 27 February – St Basil and St Procopius (8th Century) Monks and Defenders of Sacred Images

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saint/s of the Day – 27 February – St Basil (8th Century) Monk of Constantinople AND St Procopius (8th Century) Monk of Decapolis defenders of Sacred images. Both struggled against and were tortured and imprisoned in their fight against those who denied the veneration of Sared images. Some sources declare them as Martyrs but the Martyrology quoted below does not. Basil did probably die of his sufferings, having survived only a short time after their cessation but Procopius survived to carry on his work as a servant of Christ.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Constantinople, in the time of the Emperor Leo, the holy Confessors Basil and Procoppius, who fought courageously for the worship of holy images.”

Saints Basil and Procopius were Monks, who lived in Constantinople in the 8th Century, during the reign of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian.

Basil was from a noble family, while Procopius was a Soldier who, after leaving the army, had retired to monastic life.

The two Monks were united by a deep devotion to Christ and the belief that the veneration of Sacred images was a fundamental tool and element in the growth of the Christian Faith.

In 726, Emperor Leo III issued an Edict prohibiting the veneration of Sacred images. This decision was strongly contested by the Church, which considered Sacred images a way to honour God and the Saints.

Basil and Procopius joined the fight against the Imperial Edict. They were arrested and subjected to harsh torture but never renounced their Faith. They were eventually imprisoned, where they spent several years.

Upon the death of Leo III in 741, Basil Procopius were freed. Basil died shortly thereafter, while Procopius continued to live and preach the Gospel of Christ.

In the 8th Century, the veneration of Sacred images was the subject of a controversy that divided the Church. Emperor Leo III and his supporters considered Sacred images a form of idolatry, while the Church maintained that they were a legitimate way to honour God and the Saints.

The controversy ended with the Second Council of Nicaea, which in 787 established that the veneration of Sacred images was devotional and in accordance with theteachings of Holy Church.

Posted in EMBER DAYS, LENT 2026, SAINT of the DAY, The PASSION, The SEVEN PASSION Feasts

The Feast of the Sacred Lance and Nails, EMBER FRIDAY of the FIRST WEEK of LENT – Fast & Abstinence, Nostra Signora della Luce / Our Lady of Light, Palermo, Italy, (18th Century), St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows and the Saints for 27 February

Posted on by AnaStpaul

EMBER FRIDAY
of the FIRST WEEK of LENT – Fast & Abstinence
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/16/today-is-an-ember-day-did-you-remember/

The Feast of the Sacred Lance and Nails – Friday after the 1st Sunday in Lent:
The Supreme Pontiff, Innocent VI, in his Decree establishing the Feast and Office of the Lance and Nails which pierced the Body of our Crucified Lord Jesus Christ, exhorts all the faithful to have a special veneration for and devotion to, all the Sacred Instruments of our Saviour’s Passion.
The following are the Holy Father’s words:
“We should honour the most holy Passion of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, in such manner that, meditating on all the mysteries and merits of the same Passion, we venerate also each Sacred Instrument thereof.”
Then this holy and zealous Pontiff, coming more directly to the honour due to the Lance and Nails, says:
“Although the Lance and Nails and the other Sacred Instruments of the Passion, should be enerated everywhere, by the faithful of Christ and although every year the Church celebrates the Solemn Offices of the same Passion, yet, we deem it proper and fitting, that a special Solemn Feast should be instituted and celebrated in honour of those particular Instruments of the Passion, more especially, in those places wherein these salutary Instruments are preserved. Hence, we wish to encourage this devotion by a special Office and privileges.” (Innocent VI in Decret. de Fest. Lane, et Clav. Domini).

The Lance, also known as “The Spear of Longinus” is kept in the Vatican Basilica, given to Innocent VIII in 1492. The Nails were kept with the Crown of Thorns, along with a small piece of the Lance of Longinus at Saint Chapelle, France and were subsequently lost during the French Revolution. The Crown of Thorns was the only Relic saved and is now kept at Notre Dame Cathedral.

Nostra Signora della Luce / Our Lady of Light, Palermo, Italy, (18th Century) – 27 February:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/27/our-lady-of-light-palermo-italy-18th-century-and-memorials-of-the-saints-27-february/

St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin/Gabriel Possenti CP (1838-1862) Confessor, Passionist Religious and student preparing for the Priesthood. Gabriel was known for his great devotion to the Sorrows of the Virgin Mary. St Gabriel was Canonised on 13 May 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.
Loving St Gabriel:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/27/saint-of-the-day-27-february-st-gabriel-of-our-lady-of-sorrows-cp-1838-1862/

St Abundius of Rome
St Alexander of Rome
St Alnoth
St Antigonus of Rome

St Baldomerus of Saint Just (Died c650) SubDeacon, Lay Brother, Blacksmith.
His Devoted Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/27/saint-of-the-day-27-february-saint-baldomerus-of-saint-just-died-c650-subdeacon/

St Basil (8th Century) Monk of Constantinople AND St Procopius (8th Century) Monk of Decapolis
St Comgan
Bl Emmanuel of Cremona Bishop
St Fortunatus of Rome
St Herefrith of Lindsey
St Honorina

St John (c900-976) Abbot of Gorze Monastery, Penitent, Reformer, Diplomat, Apostle of the needy and sick.
His Penitent Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2025/02/27/saint-of-the-day-27-february-saint-john-c900-976-abbot-of-gorze/

St John with the White hair and beard before the Caliph

St Luke of Messina

Blessed Mark Barkworth OSB (c 1572–1601) Priest Martyr – one of the English Martyrs. Mark was Beatified by Pope Pius XI on 15 December 1929.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/27/saint-of-the-day-27-february-blessed-mark-barkworth-osb-c-1572-1601-priest-martyr/
St Thalilaeus

Blessed William Richardson (1572–1603) English Priest, Martyr. He was Beatified on 15 December 1929 by Pope Pius XI. Born in Yorkshire and died by being hanged, drawn and quartered on 27 February 1603 at Tyburn, London, aged just 31. William owns the dubious honour of being the last Martyr under Elizabeth I’s barbaric policy of murdering Catholics and especially Priests, in this manner.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/02/27/saint-of-the-day-27-february-blessed-william-richardson-1572-1603-english-priest-martyr/