Passionate Catholic.
Being a Catholic is a way of life - a love affair "Religion must be like the air we breathe..."- St John Bosco
Prayer is what the world needs combined with the example of our lives which testify to the Light of Christ.
This site, which is now using the Traditional Calendar, will mainly concentrate on Daily Prayers, Novenas and the Memorials and Feast Days of our friends in Heaven, the Saints who went before us and the great blessings the Church provides in our Catholic Monthly Devotions.
This Site is placed under the Patronage of my many favourite Saints and especially, St Paul.
"For the Saints are sent to us by God
as so many sermons.
We do not use them, it is they who move us
and lead us, to where we had not expected to go.”
Charles Cardinal Journet (1891-1975)
This site adheres to the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church and all her teachings. .
PLEASE ADVISE ME OF ANY GLARING TYPOS etc - In June 2021 I lost 100% sight in my left eye and sometimes miss errors. Thank you and I pray all those who visit here will be abundantly blessed. Pax et bonum! 🙏
Thought for the Day – 24 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
A Christmas Novena IX The Holy Family – Joseph
“The third member of the Holy Family is St Joseph, the most just of men, faithful to his vocation as the foster-father of the Child Jesus and chaste spouse o the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us imitate his purity, his utter dedication to the service of God and his burning love for Jesus, Whom he was privileged to clasp to his breast before any other man. Let us ask him to obtain for us the grace to be able to imitate him in his life so that we may also imitate him in his holy death. May he, who died with Jesus and Mary by his side, obtain peace for us in our final agony, so that we may expire with the names of Jesus and Mary on our lips and in our hearts.”
Quote/s of the Day – 24 December – The Vigil of the Nativity oL Our Lord Jesus Christ
“O Adonai”
“O Lord and Leader of the house of Israel, Who didst appear to Moses in a flame of fire in the bush and didst give to him the law on Mount Sinai, Come to Redeem us with Thine outstretched Arm.”
“ The flame of fire in the burning bush, was a figure of Jesus in Mary’s Sacred womb. Holy indeed was the place where God was present and whence He promised to His people their deliverance from Egypt. So He still speaks, as if concealed in Mary’s womb and reminds us that He has made her holy with a holiness second only to His own and, when we draw nigh to her, we hear His Voice announcing to us that He has heard our prayers offered through her and will come to deliver us from our enemies .”
One Minute Reflection – 24 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ – Romans 1:1-6 Matthew 1:18-21 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep …” – Matthew 1:20
REFLECTION – “How faithful in humility was the great Saint we are celebrating! That cannot be said in all its perfection for, in spite of what he was, in what poverty and lowliness he lived, all the days of his life – a poverty and lowliness beneath which. he kept hidden and concealed, his great virtues and dignity! … Truly, I am free of doubt that the Angels came, beside themselves with admiration, rank upon rank, to behold and wonder at his humility, while he sheltered that dearest Child in the poor workshop where he worked at his employment, so as to feed the little Boy and the mother entrusted to him.
There is no doubt at all that St Joseph was braver than David and wiser that Solomon [who were his ancestors]. Nevertheless, seeing him reduced to the exercise of carpentry, who could have discerned this, unless they were enlightened by a heavenly Light, so hidden did he keep the remarkable gifts with which God had favoured him? And what wisdom did he not have? For God gave him His most glorious Son to care for … the universal Prince of Heaven and earth … Nevertheless, you can see how low and humbled he was brought, more than can be said or imagined … he went to his own Country and Town of Bethlehem and none but he was turned away from all those inns … Notice how the Angel turns him about with both hands. He tells him he has to go to Egypt and he goes; he orders him to return and he returns. God wants him to be always poor … and he submits to it with love and, not only for a while, for he was poor his whole life long!” – St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church (Conferences No 20)
PRAYER – O God, Thou Who gladden us, year after year, with the expectation of our redemption, grant that we, who now welcome with joy Thy Only-begotten Son as our Redeemer, may also gaze upon Him without fear when He comes as our Judge, our Lord Jesus Christ. 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 – 24 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Magnis Prophetæ Vocibus With Mighty Voice the Prophets Cry Unknown Author
With mighty voice the prophets cry that Christ the Lord is drawing nigh; rejoicing, they foresee the grace by which He saves us and redeems.
And so our morning sun shines forth, our hearts ablaze with radiant joy; we hear the faithful voice resound, precursor of God’s glorious gift.
At that first Advent, Christ our God came forth not to condemn the world, but came to cleanse our gaping wound, to seek and save what had been lost.
Christ’s Second Coming warns us all that He is standing at the gates, to give to saints their glorious crowns and open wide the heav’nly realm.
Eternal light is now foretold, the saving star is shining forth, its radiant splendour summons us and calls us to the heav’nly court.
Christ Jesus, Thou alone we seek to see Thee face-to-face as God; may this unending vision be an everlasting hymn of praise. Amen.
Saint of the Day – 24 December – St Euthymius (Died c303) Martyr of Nicomedia in Asia Minor.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Nicomedia, during the persecution of Diocletian, St Euthymius, Martyr, who encouraged and inspired many before him to hold firmly to their Faith during tortures. Being pierced with a sword, he followed them to share their Crowns.” [The image below is St Ste[hen the 1st Martyr].
During the verocious persecutions of Diocletian, Euthymius encouraged Christians to display firm and courageous witness to their faith in Christ and ensured their holy Christian burial to Martyrs.
For this he was in turn arrested and executed for his enduring and loving faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.
The Vigil of the Nativity oL Our Lord Jesus Christ Midnight Mass is the first Liturgy of Christmastide which is celebrated on the night of Christmas Eve, traditionally beginning at midnight when Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day. This popular Christmas custom is a jubilant celebration of the Mass in honour of the Nativity of Jesus Christ.
Christmas Novena to the Divine Infant Jesus By St Alphonsus, THE NINTH DAY
The Miraculous Monthly Novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague The Ninth Day
St Gregory (Died c304) Priest Martyr. Died in Spoleto, Italy after many tortures. The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Spoleto, the holy Priest, Gregory. In the time of the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, he was first beaten with rough clubs and then, after being exposed on the gridiron and improised, was struck on the knees with iron carding instrucments, burned on the sides with firebrands and finally, beheaded.” His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2024/12/24/saint-of-the-day-24-december-saint-gregory-of-spoleto-died-c304-priest-martyr/
St Irmina (Died c716) Virgin Princess, Nun, Abbess, Founder and Co-founder of 2 Monasteries, benefactress of St Willibrord, the great Missionary Saint of Germany. The Roman Martyrology states: “In Trier in Austrasia, in Germany, Saint Irmina, Abbess of the Monastery of Öhren, who, a virgin consecrated to God, gave Saint Willibrord a small Monastery she founded in her villa in Echternach and was a generous giver of her goods.” Her Life: https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/24/saint-of-the-day-24-december-saint-irmina-of-oehren-died-c-716/
St Mochua of Timahoe
St Trasilla (6th Century) Virgin, Aunt of Saint Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Rome, the birthday of the holy Virgin, Trasilla, Aunt of St Gregory, Pope, who writs of her that at the hour of her death, she saw Jesus coming to her.” St Trasilla’s Life: https://anastpaul.com/2022/12/24/saint-of-the-day-24-december-st-trasilla-sixth-century-virgin/
Blessed Mercedarian Brother: Blessed Dionysius Roneo Blessed Philip Claro Blessed Giulio Pons Blessed Peter of Valladolid
Blessed Mercedarian Sisters: Blessed Anna Maria Prieto Blessed Anna de Arrano Blessed Orsola de Larisgoizia Blessed Maguna Mary Blessed Margaret Blessed Mary of the Assumption Sarria
Martyred Maidens of Antioch – 40 Saints: A group of forty Virgins Martyred in the persecutions of Decius. None of their names have come down to us. They were martyred in 250 in Antioch, Syria.
Martyrs of Tripoli – 6 Saints: A group of Christians Martyred together, date unknown. The only details that have survived are six of the names – Drusus, Lucian, Metrobius, Paul, Theotimus and Zenobius. They were martyred in Tripoli, Libya.
Thought for the Day – 23 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
A Christmas Novena VIII What Jesus Wants From Us
“Unless you turn and become like little children,” the Infant Jess says to us, “you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 18:2). He wishes us to be humble, simple and innocent, like children. As we grow older, unfortunately, many of us become proud, complicated and vain. We lose the honest candour of childhood
Worldly pretentiousness cannot possibly appeal to Jesus, since He, Who is truly great, chose to become a tiny Infant. He wishes us to renounce the self-important airs and the intricate methods which we employ, in order to conceal the truth, to disguise our lack of virtue and to assume the appearances of learning and of authority, regardless of the fact that the highest achievement of which we are capable, is to be humble, the most necessary knowledge of all, is to know Jesus Crucified and the best kind of authority, is the ability to control our passions and to subject ourselves to the will of God.
It is, in this sense, that we must become little children before God and before man. Then Jesus Christ will love us and will grant us His favours.”
Quote/s of the Day – 23 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
“O Radix Jesse”
“O Root of Jesse , Who standest for a Sign to the nations, before Whom kings shall close their mouth, of Whom the Gentiles shall entreat mercy; Come to set us free and no longer delay!”
“O Root of Jesse O King and Saviour, Come and set us free; free from all which displeases Thee, free from the snares which entangle our feet, free from our perverse attachment to our own will , free from the power of the devil, free from our apathy in obeying Thy commands and holy inspirations, free from all which hinders us in Thy service; Come and say the Word and we shall be delivered!”
One Minute Reflection – 23 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 – Luke 3:1-6 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Let a man so account of us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the Mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy …” – 1 Corinthians 4:1-2
REFLECTION – “Wishing to emphasise the special office of the servants whom He has placed in charge of His people, the Lord says, “Who, do you think, is the faithful and wise steward, whom the Lord sets over His household, to give to them their measure of wheat at the proper time? Blessed is that servant, whom his Master will find so doing, when He comes.” Who is that Master, brethren? Without a doubt it is Christ, who says to His disciples: “You call me Teacher and Lord and you are right, for so I am” (Jn 13,13). What, too, is the Master’s Household? Doubtless it is the one which the Lord Himself ransomed… This Sacred Household is the Holy, Catholic Church, which is spread throughout the whole earth, with abundant fertility and glories, in the fact, that she has been redeemed by the Precious Blood of her Master.
As He Himself says: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10,45). He is, too, the Good Shepherd, Who laid down His life for His sheep” (Jn 10,11)…
As to who the steward is, who ought to be faithful, as well as wise, the Apostle Paul shows us, when, speaking of himself and his companions, he says: “This is how one should regard us, as the servants of Christ and stewards of the Mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy” (1Cor 4:1-2). Now, lest anyone of us should think that it is only the Apostles who have been made stewards… the blessed Apostle Paul shows us that the Bishops also are stewards, when he says: “For a Bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless” (Tt 1,7)…We, therefore, who are the servants of the Master of the household, we are the stewards of the Lord, we have received the measure of wheat to disburse to you.” – St Fulgentius of Ruspe (c 462-533) Bishop, Father (Homily 1, on the Lord’s servants).
PRAYER – O God, Who, by the message of an Angel, willed to take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Saint of the Day –23 December – Saint Victoria (Died c250) Virgin Martyr of Rome. Born in Rome and died there by being stabbed through the heart. Many believe her body is incorrupt but I can find no conclusive evidence.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Rome, the holy virgin Victoria, a Martyr in the persecution of Emperor Decius. She had been promised in marriage to a pagan names Eugene but because she refused to marry him and to offer sacrifices to idols and because, by working many miracles, she brought many to the service of God, she was at the request of her betrothed, stabbed in the heart with a sword by the executioner.”
Victoria was a Christian noblewoman. She, was forced into an arranged betroyal to a pagan nobleman. Desiring to devote and consecrate herself entirely to God rather than marry, she refused all connections with any man.
Upon this refusal, her suitor denounced her as Christians to the authorities under the persecution of Roman Emperor Decius. Victoria was seized and put under house arrest in order to break her courageous resistance and faith and convince her to marry. Instead of weakening, her faith in Christ, by His grace, became more resolute.
While under house arrest she sold all of her belongings, gave the proceeds to the poor and inspired and converted many young virgins as well as the servants and guards to Christianity.
This so infuriated her rejected suitor, Eugene, he demanded immediate death by stabbing. She was stabbed through the heart. Below is her body in her Shrine in Rome.
St Ivo (c1040-1115) Bishop of Chartres, France from 1090 until his death, Confessor, Reformer, Defender of the Faith, Lawyer, Canon Lawyer, Teacher and Theologian, Writer. The Roman Martyrology states: “In Chartres in France, Saint Ivo, Bishop, who re-established the Order of the Canons and did much work and wrote to promote harmony between the clergy and the civil powers and for the good of the Church.” Ardent Holy Ivo: https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/23/saint-of-the-day-23-december-saint-ivo-of-chartres-c-1040-1115/
St John Cirita St John Stone St Mardonius of Rome St Mazota of Abernethy St Migdonius of Rome
St Servulus (Died c590) Beggar, paralysed by Palsy from birth. Saint Servulus was a perfect model of submission to the Divine Will; it would be difficult to offer a more consoling example to persons afflicted by poverty, illnesses and the other miseries of life. It is Saint Gregory the Great who narrates for us his edifying tale. St Servulus’ Life of devotion: https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/23/saint-of-the-day-23-december-saint-servulus-died-c-590/
Martyrs of Crete – 10 Saints: A group of ten Christians who died in the persecutions of Decius. They were – Agathopus • Basilides • Cleomenes • Eunician • Euporus • Evaristus • Gelasius • Saturninus • Theodulus • Zeticus They were martyred in 250 on the island of Crete.
Thought for the Day – 22 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
A Christmas Novena VII Prayer and Dedication
“As we kneel before the Infant Jesus, let us beseech Him to enable us to grasp the truth of these reflections. Let us take more care of our soul than we do, as of our external talents and possessions. May God occupy the foremost place in our minds and may He be the principal object of our thoughts, desires and affections.
Let us imitate the humble recollection and ardent love for God, of the Holy Infant. Like Him, let us offer ourselves entirely to God. Let us ask Him to make us like Himself, in complete acceptance of the Divine Will, especially when we are in trouble or in pain, for in this way, we shall be able to show God how sincerely we love Him.”
Quote/s of the Day – 22 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Feast Day of St Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)
“I trust in Thee, my Jesus. I place my poor soul in Thy Hands – mould me according to Thy Divine Will.”
“Work in me, oh adorable Heart of Jesus because Thou knowest well, how incapable I am of doing perfectly everything which Thou wishes of me.”
“My God, Thou hast created me for Thyself and I must serve Thee with all my being.”
One Minute Reflection – 22 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Feast of St Thomas, Apostle of Christ (Delayed) – Ephesians 2:19-22 – John 20:24-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Blessed are they who have not seen and yet, have believed.” – John 20:29
REFLECTION – “The disciples’ weakness was so unsteady that, not content with seeing the risen Lord, they still wanted to touch Him if they were to believe in Him. It was not enough for them to see Him with their eyes, they wanted to put out their hands to His limbs and touch the marks of His recent wounds. It was after He had touched and acknowledged His scars that the unbelieving disciple cried out: “My Lord and my God!” Those scars revealed the One Who, where other people were concerned, healed every wound! Could the Lord not have risen without scars? Yet, He saw within His disciples’ hearts, wounds which those scars which He had preserved in His Body, would heal.
And what does the Lord answer that confession of faith of His disciple, who says: “My Lord and my God”? “Have you come to believe because you have seen Me? Blessed are they who have not seen and yet, have believed.” Who is He talking about, my friends, if not of us? And not just of us but of those, too, who will follow us. For shortly afterwards, when He had disappeared from mortal sight so as to strengthen faith in the heart, all those who became believers, believed without seeing and their faith had great merit. To acquire it they reached out to Him, not a hand with which to touch Him but only, a loving heart! ” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (Sermon 88).
PRAYER – O Lord, grant us, we beseech Thee, to glory in the Feast-day of blessed Thomas, Thy Apostle, that we maybe helped continually by his patronage and imitate his faith with a devotion like his. Through 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 – 22 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Feast of St Thomas, Apostle
Exsultet Orbis! Let the World Rejoice! Unknown Author
Now let the earth with joy resound, And Heaven the chant re-echo round; Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
O ye who, throned in glory dread, Shall judge the living and the dead, Lights of the world forever more! To you the suppliant prayer we pour.
Ye close the Sacred Gates on high. At your command apart they fly. O loose for us the guilty chain We strive to break and strive in vain.
Sickness and health your voice obey, At your command they go or stay. From sin’s disease our souls restore; In good confirm us more and more.
So when the world is at its end. And Christ to Judgment shall descend, May we be called, those joys to see Prepared from all eternity.
Praise to the Father, with the Son, And Holy Spirit, Three in One; As ever was in ages past And so shall be while ages last. Amen
(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles) An Office Hymn that was traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time. The Hymn is found as early as the tenth century in a hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
Saint of the Day – 22 December – Saint Ischyrion (Died c250) Martyr of Alexandria, Officier of the Imperial Army in Egypt. Also known as – Ischirione
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Alexandria, the holy Martyr, Ischyrion. Because he despised all the cruelties they made him suffer to force him to sacrifice to idols, they transpierced his bowels with a sharp pointed stake and thus put him to death.”
Ischyrion was a subordinate Officer serving under a Magistrate in Egypt. His master commanded him to offer sacrifice to the idols and because he refused to commit that sacrilege, reproached him in the most abusive and threatening language.
Giving way to passion and superstition, the Commanding Officer at length worked himself up to such a degree of frenzy as to run a stake into the entrails of the meek servant of Christ, who by his patient constancy attained to the glory of Martyrdom.
Reflection: It is not a man’s terrestrial condition but his virtue which can make him truly great and truly happy. However lowly a person’s station or circumstances may be, the road to both greatness and happiness, is open to him. And, there is not a servant or slave, whom God will not sustain, if he is enflamed with the laudable ambition of arriving at the summit of Christian perfection. (Rev Fr Alban Butler).
St Abban of New Ross Bl Adam of Saxony St Amaswinthus of Málaga St Athernaise of Fife St Bertheid of Münster St Chaeremon of Nilopolis
St Flavian (Died 363) Martyr Layman, Prefect of Imperial Rome, Husband of Saint Dafrosa, Father of Saint Bibiana and Saint Demetria. The Roman Martyrology states: “At Rome, ex-Prefect, who, under Julian the Apostate, was condemned to be branded for Christ and banished to Aquae Taurinae, where he gave up his soul to God in prayer.” His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/22/saint-of-the-day-22-december-saint-flavian-of-acquapendente-died-363-martyr/
Blessed Thomas Holland SJ (1600-1642) Priest of the Society of Jesus and Martyr. of England and Wales. With eyes closed in prayer, Fr Holland looked at a Priest secretly in the crowd and received absolution. After he was hanged, his body was beheaded and quartered and exposed on London Bridge. Fr Holland was only forty-two years of age and a Jesuit for eighteen years. Pope Pius XI Beatified him on 15 December 1929. His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2019/12/22/saint-of-the-day-22-december-blessed-thomas-holland-sj-1600-1642-priest-and-martyr-his-faith-was-his-crime/
Martyrs of Ostia – 3 Saints: A group of Christians Martyred together. The only details about them to survive are three names – Demetrius, Florus and Honoratus. They were martyred at Ostia, Italy.
Martyrs of Rhaitu – 43 Saints: 43 Monks Martyred by Blemmyes, in Raíthu, Egypt, date unknown.
Martyrs of Via Lavicana – 30 Saints: A group of 30 Christians Martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. Died in c 303 in Rome, Italy and were buried between two bay trees on the Via Lavicana outside Rome.
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Thought for the Day – 21 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
A Christmas Novena VI The Silence of the Divine Infant
“Evil always attracts a great deal of attention, whereas goodness operates in silence. The reason why evil creates such a stir, is that it is the work of pride and of ambition. It wants to be seen and to be applauded. Goodness, good works, is done for God. It does not seek the world’s applause but, only the approval of God. When an enterprise sets out to look for publicity, there is reason to fear that it does not come from God but is prompted by human motives. As a result, it will prove sterile!
If we sincerely desire to please God, we shall work in silence.
We shall not aim at our own worldly interests but, shall seek our own spiritual good and that of our fellowmen. If it is God’s will. our good work may shine also before men but let us remember that this is for the glory of God and in order to give good example to our neighbour.”
Quote/s of the Day – 21 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Advent IV – 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 – Luke 3:1-6 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.”
Luke 3:4
“As the prodigal son, I will return to my Father’s house and I will be welcomed back home. I shall do the same, as he did – will the Father not grant my prayer too? O forgiving Father, here I am at Thy door and I knock, open to me, let me enter, so that I may not ruin myself, go away and die! Thou made me Thy heir and I neglected my inheritance and squandered my goods – from now on, may I be as a mercenary and as a servant to Thee.”
St Jacob of Sarug (c451-521) Bishop, Theologian, Poet, Writer, Father
“ … Yet only grant me repentance here below That I may make reparation for my sins, … That these tears may extinguish the blazing furnace With its burning flames. …
And, instead of acting like the merciless, Set merciful compassion within me, That, by showing mercy to the poor, I may obtain Your mercy.”
St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173) Armenian Bishop
“By the practice of prayer, we can construct an impregnable citadel, in which we shall be securely protected against all the snares of the enemy.”
St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1455)
“For the sake of obtaining that eternal life, no works of piety, ought to seem too difficult to a true believer, no toil too heavy, no pain too bitter, no time spent in labour and suffering, too long or too wearisome. For, if nothing is sweeter, or more desirable, than this present life which is so full of calamities, how much more desirable, must that other life be deemed which is so far removed from all sense of evil, or fear of it, which will, in every conceivable way, always abound in the unspeakable and unending joys, delight and happiness of Heaven.”
St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1597) Confessor, Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 21 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Advent IV – 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 – Luke 3:1-6 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.” – Luke 3:4
REFLECTION – “When the pagans led the people of Israel into slavery and sent them as captives among the Persians and the Medes, after a long period of captivity, the good King Cyrus resolved to take them out of their enslavement and to bring them back to the Promised Land. With divine poetry, the Prophet Isaias broke into song with these beautiful words: “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says the Lord your God. Your consolation will neither be in vain nor useless. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem … for her sinfulness is complete. And because her iniquity has reached its peak, she will be forgiven.” And that is why that great Prophet told the people of Israel: “Prepare the way of the Lord… Make straight … a highway for our God!” (cf Isa 40:1).
Why does God say He will forgive the people of Israel their iniquity because they have reached the peak of their sinfulness?! The ancient Fathers … teach that these words can be understood … as if God were saying: “When they have reached their greatest affliction and when they intensely feel the burden of their iniquity in enslavement and servitude, after punishing them for their evil ways … I looked at them and I felt compassion for them. When they had reached the worst of their days, I was satisfied with what they had suffered. And that is why now, their iniquity will be forgiven … When they had reached the height of their … ingratitude, when they seemed no longer to remember anything at all of God and His Kindness, then their iniquity will be forgiven.”…
When God in His Providence desired to show humankind His Goodness, it was admirable, for in doing so, He did not want to be motivated by anything. Without being prompted by anything other than His Goodness, He communicated Himself to them in a truly marvelous way.
When He came into this world, it was the time when humankind had reached the peak of its sinfulness; when the laws were in the hands of Annas and Caiaphas … when Herod ruled and Pontius Pilate presided over Judea that was when God came to the world to redeem us and to deliver us from the tyranny of sin and the servitude of our enemy.” – St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church (Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Advent).
PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we, who are heavy-laden under the yoke of sin, maybe delivered from the bondage of old, by the long-awaited new birth of Thy Only-begotten Son. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Rejoice! ejoice! Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel. Amen (Collect)
Saint of the Day – 21 December – St Baudacarius (Died 650) Monk at the Monastery of St Columban in Bobbio, Provincia di Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Miracle-worker. Also known as – Baudachariu.
Bobbio Monastery
Baudacarius lived during the time of Abbot St Bertulf (Died 640) and was one of the 25 Monks whose Relics are venerated in the Crypt of the Basilica of St Columban.
Jonah, his cotemporary, recounts that, as he was the guardian of the Monastery’s vineyards and was unable to keep away the birds and other animals which were damaging the vines, 30 of his fellow Monks were sent to help him. One day, to feed them all, he multiplied the only loaf of bread he had.
Baudacarius died around 650; his Relics were transferred on 16 March 1482. He is remembered on 21 December and 31 October in Bobbio.
St Baudacarius (Died 650) Monk in Bobbio, Italy St Beornwald (8th Century) Priest of Bampton, England. No further information has survived. Bl Bezela of Göda
Thought for the Day – 19 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Christmas Novena V The Swaddling Clothes of the Divine Infant
“The swaddling clothes of the Infant Jesus are, moreover, a symbol of the love which should bind us to Him. If we are not capable of loving Jesus, are we capable of love at all? Perhaps we love wealth, honour and pleasure? Some day, however, we shall have to leave all our wealth behind. Worldly honour and glory are also fleeting and can never satisfy us, while earthly pleasures leave behind a sense of emptiness and disgust.
Jesus Christ alone, can satisfy our hearts, for He alone, has words of everlasting life! “Lord,” let us say with St Peter, “to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of everlasting life” (Jn 6:69).”
Quote/s of the Day – 20 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
“Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. He assumed the worse that He might give us the better; He became poor that we, through His poverty, might be rich.”
“The very Son of God, Older than the ages, the Invisible, the Incomprehensible, the Incorporeal, the Beginning of beginning, the Light of light, the Fountain of Life and Immortality, the Image of the Archetype, the Immovable Seal, the Perfect Likeness, the Definition and Word of the Father: He it is, Who comes to His Own Image and takes our nature, for the Good of our nature and unites Himself to an intelligent soul for the good of the soul, to purify like by Like.”
St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390) Father and Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 20 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Vigil of St Thomas, Apostle – Ember Saturday – Isaias 19:20-22 – Luke 3:1-6 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The voice of one crying in the desert, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.‘” – Luke 3:4
REFLECTION – “Brethren, we prepare the way of the Lord, as we are bidden to do, by walking along it and, we can walk along it only, by preparing it. However far you journey along it, the way is always waiting to be prepared, so that you must start afresh, from the place you have reached and advance along what lies ahead. You are led to do so because, at every stage, you meet the Lord for Whose Coming you are preparing the way and, each time you see Him in a completely new manner and as a much greater figure than you have met before. The just man has the right prayer when he says: “Set your way which justifies as a law for me, Lord and I will always seek after it.” (Ps 118:33).It is, therefore, eternal life which is probably meant because, although a man can study his route, with foresight and determine just how far he can go, from the very nature of goodness, there is no limit to the way along which you travel. And so, when the wise and indefatigable traveller has reached his goal, he will begin again, forgetting, that is, what lies behind him, so that each day he can say to himself: “Now I begin!” (Phil 3:13; Ps 76:11) …
But, if only we, who speak of the course of this way, could understand, even the beginning of it. As far as I can see, a man who has begun, has already gone far, provided he begins properly and “finds the way to the inhabitable city” (Ps 106:4). “How few there are,” Truth says, “who find it” (Mt 7:14). And how many “go astray in the wilderness!” …
O Lord, Thou hast laid down guide-lines for us, if only we would walk properly according to them. Thou hast laid down a law for us, the way of Thy statutes, through Him Whom Thou hast given as the Legislator of this holy way of life. “This is the way,” Thou says, “walk along it, swerving neither to the right, nor to the left” (Is 30:21). Clearly this is the way the Prophet had promised: “A straight way for us, so that no fool can wander from it” (Is 35:8). I was young once, I am now old (Ps 36:25) and if I remember rightly, I have not seen a foolish man go astray because of it, though I have hardly seen any wise man, able to keep straight along it.” – Blessed Guerric of Igny (c1080-1157) Cistercian Abbot (5th sermon for Advent).
PRAYER – O God, Who, by the message of an Angel, willed to take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 20 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
O Jesus, Dear Holy Child By St Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873 – 1897)
O Jesus, dear Holy Child, my only treasure, I abandon myself to Thy every whim. I seek no other joy than that of calling forth Thy sweet Smile. Vouchsafe to me, the graces and the virtues of Thy Holy Childhood, so that, on the day of my birth into Heaven, the Angels and Saints may recognise in Thy Spouse, Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Amen
Saint of the Day – 20 December – St Paul (Died c956) Abbot, Hermit on Mount Latrus near the City of Miletus in Caria (now western Turkey). Born in Pergamon in modern Turkey and died in Samos, Greece in 956 .
van Staveren, Jan Adriaensz.; A Hermit at Prayer
Paul spent most of his religious life as a Hermit on Mount Latrus. He later founded a Monastery there and became its Abbot. He is regarded as the spiritual father of many Monks.
Paul generally avoided the powerful and preferred the company of the humble and meek who sought him out for spiritual counsel but he received letters from Tsar Peter I of Bulgaria and wrote to the Emperor urging the removal of Manichaeans heretics from the territories.
Paul was indefatigable in the exercise of holy prayer and having no other desire than to gain Heaven, laboured seriously to subdue his body by mortification. He never lay himself down to sleep but only leaned his head against a stone or tree. No unprofitable word was ever heard from his mouth and the sight of the fire, which put him in mind of hell, drew tears from his eyes without intermission whenever he was employed in the kitchen.
Towards the end of his life he drew up rules for his Monastery. On the 6th of December in 956, foreseeing his death draw near, he came down from his cell, said Holy Mass earlier than usual, then took to his bed, being seized with a violent fever. He spent his last moments in prayer and in repeating tender instructions to his Monks until his happy death.
St Attala of Strasbourg St Bajulus of Rome St Crescentius of Africa St Damian of Padua St Dominic Bishop and Confessor of Brescia
St Dominic de Silos OSB (1000-1073) Abbot. He was a Spanish Monk, to whom the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos, where he served as the Abbot, is dedicated. The mother of the better-known Saint Dominic de Guzmán, the Blessed Joan of Aza, prayed at his Shrine before she was able to conceive the son she named for him. That son would grow up to found the Dominican Order. Dominic’s special patronage thus became connected with pregnancy and until the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, his abbatial crozier was used to bless the queens of Spain and was placed by their beds when they were in labour. His Namesake is more Renowned than he is: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/20/saint-of-the-day-20-december-st-dominic-de-silos-o-s-b-c1000-1073/
Bl John de Molina St Julius of Gelduba Bl Lorenzo Company St Liberatus of Rome St Macarius of Arabia St Malou Priest at Hautvillers, Marne, France. No other information has survived. St Paul (Died c956) Hermit of Latra, Greece Blessed Peter de la Cadireta
St Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne (c552-c625) Abbot, Hermit, disciple of St Columban (543-615). Born in c552 in either France or Ireland and died on 20 December in c625 near modern St-Ursanne, Jura, Switzerland of natural causes. Patronages – against stiff neck, Besançon in France, in Switzerland – Basel, Saint-Ursanne. A Saint Patron against a Stiff Neck!: https://anastpaul.com/2023/12/20/saint-of-the-day-20-december-saint-ursicinus-of-saint-ursanne-c552-c625-abbot/
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