Day: April 26, 2026

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, HOLY COMMUNION, INGRATITUDE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 26 April – The Manner in Which We Ought to Receive the Blessed Sacrament

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Thought for the Day – 26 April – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

LIV: … The Manner in which We Ought
to Receive the Blessed Sacrament (Part Two)

“You will recall, we are discussing various requirements to be observed for approaching this Divine Sacrament, at three different times:
Before Communion (completed in Part One);
At the moment of reception of Communion (No 2 below);
After Communion (No 3 below).

  1. When we are about to receive the Body of Our Lord, let us quickly consider the faults committed since our last Communion and, in order to conceive a more perfect sorrow, let us remember that we committed them as callously as if Christ had not died for us on Calvary’s tree – such a remembrance should fill us with shame and fear, for having basely preferred a trifling compliance to our own will, to the obedience due to so gracious a Master.
    But when we consider that, in spite of this ingratitude and infidelity, this God of all charity still condescends to visit us and live within us, then let us approach Him with confidence and open hearts; for when He lives within, no tainted affections of the world may steal in.
  2. After Communion, we are to remain in profound recollection, adoring Our Lord with great humility and saying within our souls: “Thou seest, O God, of my soul,
    my wretched propensity to sin;
    Thou seest how domineering is this passion
    and that, of myself, I cannot resist.
    It is Thou Who must fight my battles
    and if I share in the combat,
    it is Thee from Whom I must expect
    the Crown of victory!     ” Then addressing ourselves to the Eternal Father, let us offer to Him, this beloved Son, Who now dwells within our breast; let us offer Him thanksgiving for innumerable benefits and implore Him, for the grace which will make our victory complete.

Finally, let us resolve to fight courageously against the enemy from whom we suffer most.
Thus we may expect victory, since if we are not wanting in petition, God is not wanting in bestowing and, sooner or later, victory will be ours!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/25/thought-for-the-day-25-april-the-manner-in-which-we-oughtto-receive-the-blessed-sacrament-part-one/

Posted in 7 GIFTS of the HOLY GHOST: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Strength, Knowledge, Piety, Fear, AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, In the PRESENCE of GOD, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, QUOTES on DOUBT, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, REDEMPTIVE Suffering, The BEATITUDES, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The REDEMPTION

Quote/s of the Day – 26 April – Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel – “Let not your heart be disturbed…”

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Quote/s of the Day – 26 April – Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel

“Let not your heart be disturbed.
Do not fear that sickness,
nor any other sickness or anguish.
Am I not here, who is your Mother?
Are you not under my protection?
Am I not your health?
Are you not happily within my fold?
What else do you wish?
Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything!”

Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego
1531

“O, that the soul of Mary were in us,
to glorify the Lord!
That the spirit of Mary were in us,
to rejoice in God.
May the life of Blessed Mary
be ever present to our awareness.
In her, as in a mirror,
the form of virtue
and beauty of chastity, shine forth.
She was Virgin, not only in body
but in mind and spirit.
She never sullied the pure affection of her heart
by unworthy feelings.
She was humble of heart.
She was serious in her conversations.
She was prudent in her counsels.
She preferred to pray rather than to speak.
She united in her heart the prayers of the poor
and avoided the uncertainty of worldly riches.
She was ever faithful to her daily duties,
reserved in her conversations
and always accustomed to recognise God
as the witness of her thoughts.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus!”

(On Virginity II 2.7)

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Mary, having merited to give flesh
to the Divine Word
and thus, supply the price
of our redemption
that we might be delivered
from eternal death, therefore,
she is more powerful
than all others,
to help us gain eternal life.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“If you are in danger,
if your hearts are confused, turn to Mary;
she is our comfort, our help;
turn towards her
and you will be saved.”

St Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

Posted in "Follow Me", APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD the FATHER, I BELIEVE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, Quotes on SALVATION, The INCARNATION, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 May – ‘ … Is this not an entire world which is begun for your sake …’

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One Minute Reflection – 26 April – Easter III – St Pope Cletus (c25-c89) The 3rd Bishop of Rome and Martyr and St Pope Marcellinus (Died 304) Martyr and the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel –1 Peter 2:11-19 – John 16:16-22 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“A little while and you shall not see Me and again, a little while and you shall see Me …” – John 16:17

REFLECTION – “Now the reign of life has come and the power of death overturned. Another birth has appeare, together with another life, another way of being, a transformation of our very nature. This birth is not the result of “the will of man, nor the desire of the flesh but of God” (Jn 1:13)…

“This is the day the Lord has made!” (Ps 117:24). It is a very different day from those in the beginning because, on this day, God creates a new heaven and a new earth, as the Prophet says (Is 65:17). Which heaven? The firmament of faith in Christ. Which earth? A true heart, as the Lord says, earth which is saturated with the rain which falls on it and brings forth an abundant harvest (Lk 8:15). In this creation the sun equals the pure life; the stars are the virtues; the air is transparent behaviour; the sea is the rich depths of wisdom and knowledge; the grass and herbage are God’s solid doctrine and teachings where the flock – who are the people of God – finds pasture; the fruit-bearing trees are the practice of the commandments. On this day true man was created, made in the image and likeness of God (Gn 1,27).

Is this not an entire world which is begun for your sake in “the day the Lord has made” … The greatest privilege of this day of grace is that, it has destroyed the sufferings of death and given birth to the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18)… He Who says: “I am going to your Father and to My Father, to My God and to your God” (Jn 20:17). O what excellent, what good news! He Who, for our sakes became like us, to make us His brothers, carries His Own humanity to the Father so as to bear all humankind along with Him!” – St Gregory of Nyssa (c335-c395) Bishop, Brother of St Basil the Great, Father of the Church (First address on the Resurrection ).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servants that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness and enter into the joy of thine eternal gladness. 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 MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS of PETITION, QUOTES on DOUBT, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Our Morning Offering – 26 April – O Mother of Good Counsel By Pope Pius XII 

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Our Morning Offering – 26 April – The Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel

O Mother of Good Counsel
By Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)

O Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led
by our anxious uncertainty in our search for
and attainment of, what is true and good,
invoking thee by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel,
we beseech thee to come to our assistance,
when, along the road of this life,
the darkness of error and of evil
conspire towards our ruin,
by leading our minds and our hearts astray.
O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea,
enlighten the doubtful and the erring
that they, be not seduced,
by the false appearances of good;
render them steadfast in the face of the hostile
and corrupting influences, of passion and of sin.
O Mother of Good Counsel,
obtain for us from thy Divine Son,
a great love of virtue and,
in the hour of uncertainty and trial,
the strength to embrace the way
which leads to our salvation.
If thy hand sustains us,
we shall walk unmolested,
along the path indicated to us,
by the Life and Words of Jesus, our Redeemer
and, having followed freely and securely,
even in the midst of this world’s strife,
the Sun of Truth and Justice,
under thy maternal Star,
we shall come to the enjoyment of full
and eternal peace, with thee,
in the Haven of Salvation.
Amen

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 26 April – Saint Lucidius (4th Century) Bishop of Verona

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Saint of the Day – 26 April – Saint Lucidius (4th Century) Bishop of Verona in Italy. A holy and Zealous shepherd particularly dedicated to teaching the Faith to his flock.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Verona, St Lucidius, Bishop.”

Verona Basilica of St Stephen

We have little knowledge of our Saint’s life and history or his personal life.

Ecclesiastical records do however reveal that he is revered for his holiness and learning, devoting himself in a tirelessly to study and prayer, in order to be the better fitted to instruct his flock.

Lucidius’ Relics are enshrined in the Basilica of Saint Stephen in Verona where he is venerated and honoured particularly on his Feast today.

Posted in MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

EASTER III, Our Lady of Genazzano (1467) / Our Lady of Good Counsel, Saints Cletus and Marcellinus, Popes and Martyrs, Remembering Bishop Daniel Dolan (1951-2022) and the Saints for 26 April

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EASTER III – The THIRD SUNDAY of EASTER

Our Lady of Genazzano (1467) / Our Lady of Good Counsel – 26 April:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/26/our-lady-of-genazzano-1467-our-lady-of-good-counsel-and-memorials-of-the-saints-26-april/

REST in PEACE – The Second Anniversary
of the +Death of Bishop Daniel L Dolan+

St Pope Cletus (c25-c89) The 3rd Bishop of Rome and Martyr
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/saint-of-the-day-26-april-st-pope-cletus/

St Pope Marcellinus (Died 304) Martyr, Bishop of Rome from 30 June 296 to his death in 304.
The Roman Martyrology reads: “In the same City [Rome], in the time of Maximian, St Marcellinus, Pope and Martyr, who was beheaded for the Faith of Christ, with Claudius, Cyrinus and Antoninus. So great was the persecution at this time that, within a month, seventeen thousand Christians were crowned with Martyrdom.”
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/04/26/saint-of-the-day-26-april-saint-pope-marcellinus-died-304-martyr/

Bl Alda of Siena
St Antoninus of Rome
St Basileus of Amasea (Died c319) Martyr Bishop

St Clarence of Venice (12th Century) Bishop and Confessor, a diligent and committed Apostle of the poor, the sick, the outcasts, founding Hospitals and Schools for their care. Clarence was renowned for his great wisdom, piety and humility and his exceptional administrative abilities and for his many miracles.
His Ardent Life of Grace:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/26/saint-of-the-day-26-april-st-clarence-of-venice-12th-century-bishop-and-confessor/

St Claudius of Rome
St Cyrinus of Rome
St Exuerantia Virgin of Troyes. Her relics are venerated in Troyes, France. No other information has survived.
Bl Gregory of Besians
St Lucidius (4th Century) Bishop of Verona in Italy

St Paschasius Radbertus (785–865) Monk, Spiritual writer
His life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/26/saint-of-the-day-26-april-saint-paschasius-radbertus-785-865/

St Pelligrino of Foggia

St Peter of Braga (Died c 50) Bishop and Martyr.
The Roman Martyrology states: “At Braga, Portugal, St Peter, Martyr, the first Bishop of that City.”
His Life and Death:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/26/saint-of-the-day-26-april-saint-peter-of-braga-died-c-60-martyr/

St Primitive of Gabi

St Richarius (c560-645) Priest and Confessor of Celles
St Richarius’ Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/26/saint-of-the-day-26-april-st-richarius-of-celles-c-560-645/

St Trudpert of Munstertal
St William of Foggia Hermit