Day: March 31, 2026

Posted in LENT 2026, QUOTES on HUMILITY, Thomas Aquinas

Tuesday in Holy Week – 31 March – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas – Christ Preparing to Wash the Apostle’s Feet

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Tuesday in Holy Week – 31 March – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

Tuesday in Holy Week
Christ Preparing to Wash the Apostle’s Feet

“He riseth from supper and layeth aside His garments, and having taken a towel, girded Himself.”
John xiii. 4

  1. Christ, in His lowly office, shows Himself truly to be a Servant, in keeping with His Own Words, “The Son of Man is not come to be ministered to but to minister and to give His Life as a Redemption for many” (Matt. xx. 28).

Three things are looked for in a good servant or minister:
(i) He should be careful to keep before himself, the numerous details in which his serving may so easily fall short.
Now, for a servant to sit or to lie down during his service is to make this necessary supervision impossible.
Hence it is that servants stand.
And, therefore, the Gospel says of Our Lord, He riseth from supper. Our Lord himself also asks us, “For which is greater, he who sitteth at table or he who serveth?” (Luke xxii. 27).

(ii) He should show dexterity in performing, at the correct moment, all which his particular office calls for. Now, elaborate dress is a hindrance to this. Therefore, Our Lord layeth aside his garments. And this was foreshadowed in the Old Testament when Abraham chose servants who were well appointed (Gen xiv. 14).

(iii) He should be prompt, having ready to hand, all he needs.
St Luke (x. 40) says of Martha that she was busy about much serving. This is why Our Lord, having taken a towel, girded Himself with it. Thus, He was ready, not only to wash their feet but also to dry them.
So He (who came from God and goeth to God–John xiii. 3) as He washes their feet, crushes forever our swollen, human self-importance.

  1. “After that, He putteth water into a basin and began to wash their feet” (John xiii. 5).

We are given for our consideration this Service of Christ and in three ways His Humility is set for our example.
(i) The kind of service this was, for it was the lowest type f all!
The Lord of All Majesty bending to wash the feet of his slaves!
(ii) The number of services it contained, for, we are told, He put water into a basin, He washed their feet, He dried them and so forth.
(iii) The method of performing the Service, for He did not do it through others, nor even with others assisting Him.
He accomplished the Service Himself.
“The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things” (Ecclus iii. 20).

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 CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, In the PRESENCE of GOD, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, Quotes Self-Oblation, SELF-DISTRUST, St Francis de Sales, St PETER!

Quote/s of the Day – 31 March – Teach us St Peter!

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Quote/s of the Day – 30 March – Tuesday of Holy Week – Jeremias 11:18-20 – Mark 14:32-72; 15, 1-46– – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Before the cock crows twice,
thou shalt thrice deny Me.
And he began to weep …”

Mark 14:72

“The first time Peter denied,
he did not weep because the Lord
had not looked at him.
He denied a second time and did not weep
because the Lord still did not look at him.
He denied a third time;
Jesus looked at him
and he wept very bitterly (Lk 22:62).
… Teach us what use your tears were to you.
But you taught it without delay for,
having fallen before you wept,
your tears caused you to be chosen to guide others,
you who, to begin with, did not know
how to guide yourself!”

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father & Doctor

“ I am very certain,
it was our Lord’s Holy Look
which pierced his heart
and opened his eyes, to make him
recognise his sin (Lk 22:61)…
From that time on, he never stopped weeping,
above all when he heard the cock crow at night
and in the morning…
In this way, from being a great sinner,
he became a great Saint!”

“A person who is conscious of his misery,
can certainly have great confidence in God.
In fact, he cannot have true confidence in Him,
without this consciousness of his misery.
This knowledge and acknowledgement
of our misery, leads us to the Presence of God.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, St PETER!, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 31 March – Tuesday of Holy Week – Jesus looked at him

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One Minute Reflection – 31 March – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Tuesday of Holy Week – Jeremias 11:18-20 – Mark 14:32-72; 15:1-46– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“ I know not this man of whom you speak. And immediately the cock crew again. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said unto him: Before the cock crows twice, thou shalt thrice deny me. And he began to weep.” – Mark 14:71-72

REFLECTION – “The first time Peter denied, he did not weep because the Lord had not looked at him. He denied a second time and did not weep because the Lord still did not look at him. He denied a third time; Jesus looked at him and he wept very bitterly (Lk 22:62).  Look at us, Lord Jesus, so that we might know how to weep for our sins.  This shows us that even the fall of the Saints may be useful to us. Peter’s denial has done me no wrong, on the contrary, I have gained from his repentance – I have learned to be beware of faithless companions. …

So Peter wept and wept bitterly; he wept so fiercely he washed away his offence with his tears. And you, too, if you would win pardon, wipe out your guilt with tears. At that very moment, in that same hour, Christ will look at you. If some kind of fall happens to you, then He, the ever-present Witness of your intimate life, looks at you to call you back and cause you to confess your lapse. Then do as Peter did, who thrice said: “Lord, Thou knowest I love Thee” (Jn 21:15). He denied three times and three times he also confessed. But he denied by night; he confessed in broad daylight!

All this has been written, to make us understand, that no-one should be puffed up. If Peter fell for having said: “Though all may have their faith in Thee shaken, mine will never be” (Mt 26:33), who is there to count on himself? … From whence then, Peter, shall I call you to mind, to teach me your thoughts as you wept? From Heaven where you have already taken your place among the choirs of Angels, or from the grave? For that death, from which the Lord was raised, did not reject you in your turn. Teach us what use your tears were to you. But you taught it without delay, for having fallen before you wept, your tears caused you to be chosen to guide others, you who, to begin with, did not know how to guide yourself!” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church – Commentary on St Luke’s Gospel, 10,89f.

PRAYER – Almighty and eternal God, grant us so to celebrate thy mysteries of our Lord’s Passion, that we may deserve to obtain forgiveness. 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).

Posted in "Follow Me", GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 31 March – My God, I Love Thee By St Francis Xavier

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Our Morning Offering – 31 March – Tuesday in Holy Week

My God, I Love Thee
By St Francis Xavier (1506-1552) (Attri)
Transr: Fr Edward Caswall CO (1814-1878)

My God, I love Thee, not because
I hope for heav’n thereby,
nor yet for fear, that loving not,
I might forever die
but for that Thou didst all mankind
upon the Cross embrace;
for us didst bear the nails and spear
and manifold disgrace.

And griefs and torments numberless
and sweat of agony;
e’en death itself and all for man,
who was Thine enemy.
Then why, most loving Jesus Christ,
should I not love Thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heav’n,
nor any fear of hell.

Not with the hope of gaining aught,
nor seeking a reward
but as Thyself hast loved me,
O ever loving Lord!
E’en so I love Thee and will love
and in Thy praise will sing,
solely because Thou art my God
and my eternal King!
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 31 March – St Machabeus (Died 1174) Abbot

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Saint of the Day – 31 March – St Machabeus (Died 1174) Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Armagh. Also known by his Irish name of Gilla Mo Chaidbeo.

St Machabeus served in his office as the Abbot for over thirty years.

His death is the last to be commemorated in the Martyrology of Gorman, which was written by his contemporary, Máel Muire Ua Gormáin (Marianus Gorman) sometime in the 2nd half of the 12th Century.

The notes to the Martyrology provide him with this most praiseworthyEulogy:

“Gilla mo-Chaidbeo, Abbot of the Monastery of Paul and Peter in Armagh. The tower of piety and firmness, wisdom and knowledge, labour and prudence of his time.”

Details of our Saint are also to be found in the Irish Annals which give the year of his death:

“THE AGE OF CHRIST, 1174.

Gilla Mochaibeus, Abbot of the Monastery of Sts Peter and Paul at Armagh, a diligent and faithful servant of the Lord, died on the 31st day of March, in the seventieth year of his age.”

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Tuesday in Holy Week, Our Lady of the Holy Cross, Basilica di Santa Croce, Rome and the Saints for 31 March

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TUESDAY in HOLY WEEK

Our Lady of the Holy Cross, Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome – 31 March:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/31/our-lady-of-the-holy-cross-basilica-di-santa-croce-in-gerusalemme-rome-and-memorials-of-the-saints-31-march/

St Abda
St Acacius Agathangelos of Melitene

St Agigulf (Died 751) Martyr, Monk, Abbot of Stavelot, Archbishop of Cologne, Died by being murdered in 751 in Cologne, Austrasia (in modern Germany).
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/03/31/saint-of-the-day-31-march-st-agigulf-died-751-martyr-bishop/

St Aldo of Hasnon

St Amos the Prophet

St Balbina (Died c130) Virgin and Martyr of Rome. Patronage – against Throat Diseases, goitor diseases. Also known as – Balbina the Virgin, Balbine.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Rome, the holy virgin Balbina, daughter of the blessed Martyr Quirinus, who was Baptised by Pope St Alexander and after overcoming the world, was buried on the Appian Road at ther father’s side.”
A Most Efficacious Saint:
https://anastpaul.com/2025/03/31/saint-of-the-day-31-march-st-balbina-died-c130-virgin-and-martyr/

St Benjamin the Deacon (Died c424) Deaco and Martyr. Benjamin was executed during a period of persecution of Christians that lasted forty years and through the reign of two Persian kings: Isdegerd I, who died in 421 and his son and successor, Varanes V. King Varanes carried on the persecution with such great fury, that Christians were submitted to the most cruel tortures.
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/31/saint-of-the-day-31-march-st-benjamin-the-deacon-died-c-424-martyr/

Blessed Bonaventure Tornielli OSM (1411-1491) Priest of the Servite Order, called the “Apostolic Preacher”, Confessor, Biblical expert, Missionary Preacher. His cult was confirmed by Pope Pius X in 1911.
His Devoted Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/31/saint-of-the-day-31-march-blessed-bonaventure-tornielli-osm-1411-1491/

Blessed Daniel of Venice ECMC (1344-1411) Martyr, Layman, Husband, Father, Entrepreneur, Politician, Diplomat, Peace-maker, Apostle of the poor, part-time Monk and Hermit.
His Holy Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/31/saint-of-the-day-31-march-blessed-daniel-of-venice-ecmc-1344-1411-martyr/

St Guy (Died 1046) Monk, Abbot, Hermit, Spiritual Adviser, Ascetic in Pomposa, Italy.
His Life of Penance:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/31/saint-of-the-day-31-march-st-guy-of-pomposa-died-1046/

Blessed Jane O.Carm. (Died 1286?) possibly the first Carmelite Tertiary or a fully professed Nun of Toulousand it is believed, that she received the Veil from the hands of St Simon Stock
Blessed Jane:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/31/saint-of-the-day-31-march-blessed-jane-of-toulouse-o-carm-died-1286/

St Machabeus (Died 1174) Abbot of Armagh
St Mella of Doire-Melle
St Renovatus of Merida

Martyrs of Africa – 4 Saints: A group of Christians Martyred together for their faith. No details have survived except for of their names – Anesius, Cornelia, Felix and Theodulus. They were martyred in Roman pro-consular Africa.