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! 🙏
Our Morning Offering – 28 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – Saturday of the First Week of Lent
The Golden Arrow
This prayer was revealed by Jesus Himself to a Carmelite Nun of Tours in 1843 as a Reparation for Blasphemy. “This Golden Arrow will wound My Heart delightfully” He said “and heal the wounds, inflicted by blasphemy.”
May the Most Holy, Most Sacred, Most Adorable, Most Mysterious and Unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven. on earth and under the earth, by all the creatures of God and by the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen
Saint/s of the Day – 28 February – St Cyra AND St Marana (Circa Mid 5th Century) Virgins and Hermits of Beroea in Syria. Two female Syrian Hermits of noble lineage who led an austere life of fasting, prayer, and silence for 42o years. They also made pilgrimages to holy places in Jerusalem and Isauria.
St Theodoret (c393-c457) devotes a Chapter (the 29th) of his Religiosa Historia to Marana and Cyra, who were still alive when he wrote his work in around 440.
In his word: “Their country is Beroea (modern Aleppo), where they descended from an illustrious race and were educated according to their condition and birth. But despising all the advantages granted them by nature, they shut themselves up in a small site near the City, having the gate walled up.
Wishing to imitate them in this way of life, some of their female servants built them a small house, adjacent to the hermitage, in which they ordered them to live; observing their actions through a small window, they often made them do prayer exercises and inflamed them with the love of God…
Instead of the door, they had a small window through which they received what was necessary for their life and spoke with the women who came to visit them only during the time of the ‘cinquantin’ (= Easter time), spending the rest of the year in constant silence, I mean with regard to Marana, the only one who speaks to these women. As for Cyra, in fact, no one has ever heard her utter the slightest word.
Cyra, who is of a more delicate constitution than the other, is always bent to the ground, unable to stand up. They wear dresses so long that they cover their feet and in front they have a kind of veil that comes down to the waist and completely covers the face, hands and stomach.”
When Teodoreto wrote these lines, Marana and Cyra had already been leading this life of Hermits for 42 years, making it even more painful by wearing heavy chains and sometimes prolonging the fast up to forty days.
“Driven by the desire to see the holy places whichJesus Christ honoured with His sufferings, they went fasting to Jerusalem, eating only after worshiping God. On their return, they resumed fasting, even though it would have taken them no less than 20 days to make such a long journey.”
Another time, they similarly travelled to Isauria to visit the Church of Saint Thecla, the first Martyr of that region. As time passed, Marana and Cyra did not slow domn in this way of life; on the contrary, they continued with ever-renewed ardour toward the crown which Christ would place upon their heads after their victory.
We do not know the date of Marana and Cyra’s death, since Theodoret is our only source.
Martyrs of Alexandria – A number of clerics and layman who died as Martyrs of charity for ministering to the sick during a plague that ravaged Alexandria, Egypt in 261.
Martyrs of Antwerp – 14 Christians who were Martyred together. We know nothing about them but the names Alexander, Anicetus, Cyriacus, Eulalia, Faustus, Genesius, Hirena, Macarius, Mauritius, Modestus, Placidus, Rochus, Symforian and Victorinus. Died in Rome, Italy, date unknown. Their Relics were transferred and enshrined in Antwerp, Belgium.
Martyrs of Corinth – A group of Christians Martyred together in Corinth, Greece. The only information we have about them are the names Basilia, Betha, Caius, Claudius, Diodorus, Donatus, Enuclus, Felix, Hermes, Januaria, Januarius, Maccaris, Maninlia, Mansuetus, Nicophorus, Papias, Quinquianus, Rufunia, Serapion, Servilia, Silvana, Stercola, Tella, Veneria, Victor and Victorinus.
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.
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.
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
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.”
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
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.
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.
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
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/
Thursday of the First Week of Lent – 26 February – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
Thursday of the First Week of Lent It was fitting that Christ should be Crucified with the Thieves
Christ was Crucified between the thieves because such was the will of the Jews and also because, this was part of God’s Design. But the reasons why this was appointed, were not the same in each of these cases.
As far as the Jews were concerned, Our Lord was Crucified with the thieves on either side to encourage the suspicion that He too was a criminal. But it transpired otherwise! The thieves themselves have left not a trace in the remembrance of man, while His Cross is everywhere held in honour. Kings lying their crowns aside, have embroidered the Cross on their Royal robes. They have placed it on their crowns; on their armiur. It has its place on the very Altars. Everywhere, throughout the world, we behold the splendour of the Cross.
In God’s Plan, Christ was Crucified with the thieves in order, for our sakes, He became accursed of the Cross, so, for our salvation, He is Cucified like an evil Man amongst evil men.
The Pope, St Leo the Great, says that the thieves were crucified, one on either side of Our Lord, so that, in the very appearance of the scene of His Suffering, there might be set forth that distinction which should be made in the judgement of each one of us. St Augustine has the same thought. “The Cross itself,” he says, “was a tribunal. In the centre was the Judge. To the one side a man who believed and was set free, to the other side, a scoffer and he was condemned.” Already there was made clear the final fate of the living and the dead, the one class placed at His Right, the other on His Left.
According to St Hilary, the two thieves, placed to right and to left, typify that the whole of mankind is called to the mystery of Our Lord’s Passion. And, since division of things, according to right and left is made with reference to believers and those who will not believe, one of the two, placed on the right, is saved by justifying faith.
As St Bede says, the thieves who were crucified with Our Lord, represent those who, for the faith and to confess Christ, undergo the agony of martyrdom or the severe discipline of a more perfect life. Those who do this for the sake of eternal glory are typified by the thief on the Right Hand. Those whose motive is the admiration of whoever beholds them, imitate the spirit and the act of the thief on the Left Hand.
As Christ owed no debt in payment for which a man must die but submitted to death of His Own Will, in order to overcome death, so also, He had not done anything on account of which He deserved to be put with the thieves. But of His Own Will, He chose to be reckoned among the wicked that by His Power, He might destroy wickedness itself. Which is why St John Chrysostom says, to convert the thief on the cross and to turn him to Paradise, was as great a miracle as the earthquake!
ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274) Priest, Theologian, Dominican Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor) Doctor Communis (Common Doctor) Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568
Our Morning Offering – 26 February – Thursday of the First Week of Lent – Ferial Day
To Thee, O Master Morning Offering By St Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850)
To Thee, O Master, Who loves all mankind I hasten Mn rising from sleep. By Thy Mercy, I go out to do Thy Work and I make my prayer to Thee. Help me at all times and in all things. Deliver me from every evil thing of this world and from pursuit by the devil. Save me and bring me to Thy eternal Kingdom, For Thou art my Creator, Thou inspire all good thoughts in me. In Thee is all my hope and to Thee I give glory, now and forever. Amen
Saint of the Day – 26 February – St Andrew (9th Century) Bishop and Confessor of Florence. Also known as – Andrea.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Florence, St Andrew, Bishop and Confessor.”
Andrea da Firenze, Spanish Chapel, Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Fresco, 1365-1367.
Information regarding St Andrew’s life is scarce and fragmentary. According to tradition, he lived in the 9th Century and was the Bishop of Florence.
The first documented record dates to 18 December 871, when he is mentioned as an Imperial Envoy attended at Court with Margrave Adalbert. In 874, he obtained from Emperor Louis II the German, the privilege of immunity for the Bishop’s property. On 1 March 893, his Envoys are reported to have handed his niece to Bertha, Abbess of the Abbey of Sant’Andrea, to be educated and trained to succeed the Abbess.
This scant information does not allow us to reconstruct Saint Andrew’s life. However, it is possible to hypothesise that he was a man of great faith and profound culture. His presence in Florence is attested by several documents and by his Liturgical Feast celebrated today.
Saint Andrew is considered the protector of the City of Florence. His figure has been depicted in several works of art, including a 15th Century Altarpiece preserved in the Church of Sant’Andrea in Florence.
A Church dedicated to him existed as early as the 13th Century, located in the Square of the same name in the historic center of the City. This Church was replaced and today, the memory of Saint Andrew is preserved in the Cathedral of Florence. A Chapel is also dedicated to him in the Church of San Lorenzo, where the Relics of his predecessor, Saint Zenobius, are preserved.
St Alexander of Alexandria (Died c326) Bishop of Alexandria, Confessor, Defender of the True Faith against heresies, in particular the Arians. The Roman Martyrology states of him today: “At Alexandria, the Bishop St Alexander, an aged man held in great honour who was a successor of the blessed Peter as Bishop of the City. He expelled from the Church, Arius, one of his Priests, tainted with heretical impiety and convicted by Divine Truth and, subsequently, was one of the three hundred and eighteen Fathers, who condemned him at the Council of Nicea.” Holy Father St Alexander: https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/26/saint-of-the-day-26-february-st-alexander-of-alexandria-died-c-326/
St Andrew (9th Century) Bishop and Confessor of Florence St Dionysius of Augsburg
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent – 25 February – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent How Great was the Sorrow of Our Lord in His Passion?
“Attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow.” Lam i. 12.
Our Lord as He suffered felt in reality and in His Senses, that pain which is caused by some harmful bodily injuries. He also felt that interior pain which is caused by the fear of something harmful and, which we call sadness. In both these respects, the pain suffered by Our Lord was the greatest pain possible in this present life. There are four reasons why this was so.
The causes of the pain. The cause of the pain in the senses was the catastrophic injuries to the body, a pain whose bitterness derived partly from the fact that the sufferings attacked every part of His Body and partly, from the fact that, of all species of torture , death by Crucifixion is undoubtedly the most bitter. The nails are driven through the most sensitive of all places, the hands and the feet, the weight of the body itself increases the pain every moment. Add to this the long extentuated agony, for the Crucified do not die immediately as do those who are beheaded. The cause of the internal pain was: (i) All the sins of all mankind for which, by suffering, He was making satisfaction, so that, in a sense, He took them to Himself as though they were His own. The words of my sins, it says in the Psalms (Ps xxi. 2).
(ii) The special case of the Jews and the others who had had a share in the sin of His death and especially, the case of His disciples for whom His death had been a thing to be ashamed of.
(iii) The loss of His Bodily Life which, by the nature of things, is something from which human nature turns away in horror.
We may consider the greatness of the pain according to the capacity, bodily and spiritual, for suffering of Him Who suffered. In His Body He was most admirably formed, for it was formed by the miraculous operation of the Holy Ghost and, therefore, Iits Sense of Touch, the sense through which we experience pain, was of the keenest. His Soul likewise, from Its interior powers, had a knowledge as from experience of all the causes of sorrow.
The greatness of Our Lord’s Suffering can be considered in regard to this that the pain and sadness were without any alleviation. For, in the case of no matter what other sufferer, the sadness of mind and even the bodily pain, is lessened through a certain kind of reasoning, by means of which there is brought about a distraction of the sorrow from the higher powers to the lower. But when Our Lord suffered this did not happen, for He allowed each of His Powers to act and suffer to the fullness of its special capacity.
We may consider the greatness of the suffering of Christ in the Passion, in relationship to this fact, that the Passion and the pain it brought with it, were deliberately undertaken by Christ with the object of freeing man from sin. And, therefore, He undertook to suffer an amount of pain proportionately equal to the extent of the fruit which was to follow from the Passion.
From all these causes, if we consider them together, it will be evident that the pain suffered by Christ was the greatest pain ever suffered.
ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274) Priest, Theologian, Dominican Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor) Doctor Communis (Common Doctor) Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568
Quote/s of the Day – 25 February –– Ember Wednesday – 3 Kings 19:3-8; Matthew 12:38-50 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The sign of Jonah”
Matthew 12:39
“It was, too, to lead the Ninevites to firm repentance and to convert them to Him, Who would deliver them from death, amazed as they were by the sign accomplished in Jonah … In the same way, God permitted man to be swallowed by that great monster, the author of disobedience, not so that he should altogether vanish away and die but because God, had prepared beforehand, the salvation fulfilled by His Word by means of the “sign of Jonah.”
St Irenaeus (130-208) Bishop of Lyons, Martyr and Father
“To do penance is to bewail the evil we have done and to do no evil to bewail.”
“But He still follows behind us and counsels us, although we have despised Him, He still does not cease to call us. We turn our backs on His face, so to speak, when we reject His Words, when we trample His Commandments underfoot but He, Who sees that we reject Him, still calls out to us by His Commandments and waits for us by His patience, stands behind us and calls us back when we have turned away.”
St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church
“What are we doing? If we really love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we should offer penance and sacrifices in order to make reparation for our sins and the sins of others and, to propitiate this adorable Heart, Which ardently desires to bestow new favours upon us.”
Saint of the Day – 25 February – Saint Pope Felix III (Died 492) Papacy from 13 March 483 to his death on 1 March 492. He was the great-grandfather of St Pope Gregory the Great.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Rome, the birthday of Pope St Felix III, great-grandfather of St Pope Gregory the Great, who relates of him that he appeared to St Tharsilla, his niece and called her to the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Felix III Descendant of aristocrats and the son of a Priest, was ahimself a widower with 2 children when he was elected to the papacy in 483.
He was the first Pope to announce his election to the Emperor in Constantinople. The following year, he excommunicated Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople, who was a monothelite.
The Catholics appealed to Felix, who convened a Synod in 487 and sent a letter to the Bishops of Africa, expounding the conditions under which the unwilling apostates were to be allowed to return to the Church. Felix addressed the issue of readmitting to the Church of those who through fear, the Arians had forcibly re-baptised i.e. members of the flock were allowed to return to the fold of the Church after penance and Clergy were allowed to return only on their deathbed.
Felix died in 492 and was buried in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.
St Caesarius of Nazianzen (c329-369) Celibate Layman, a prominent Physician and Politician, Son of Saint Gregory of Nazianzen the Elder and Saint Nonna, Brother of Saint Gorgonia and Saint Gregory of Nazianzen. Patronages – of Physicians and bachelors. His Holy Life: https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/25/131658/
St Donatus the Martyr St Felix III, Pope (Died 492) St Gerland the Bishop St Gothard the Hermit St Herena the Martyr St Justus the Martyr
St Tharasius (c730-806) Bishop of Constantinople from 25 December 784 until his death on 25 February 806, Defender of Sacred images and of the sanctity of marriage against the imperial powers. The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Constantinople, St Tharasius, the Bishop, a man of great erudition and piety, to whom is addressed an epistle of Pope Adrian I, in defence of holy images.” His Fervent Life: https://anastpaul.com/2025/02/25/saint-of-the-day-25-february-saint-tharasius-c730-806-bishop/
St Victor of Saint Gall
Martyrs of Egypt – A group oSeven f Christian men who were exiled to Egypt for their faith and were eventually Martyred for their faith in the persecutions of Numerian. We know little more than their names: Claudianus, Dioscurus, Nicephorus, Papias, Serapion, Victor, Victorinus.
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent – 24 February – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
Tuesday of the First Week : Christ underwent every kind of suffering
“Every kind of suffering.” The things men suffer may be understood in two ways. By “kind” we may mean a particular, individual suffering and in this sense, there was no reason why Christ should suffer every kind of suffering, for many kinds of sufferings are contrary, one to the other, as for example, to be burnt and to be drowned. We are of course, speaking of Our Lord as suffering from causes outside Himself, for to suffer the suffering effected by internal causes, such as bodily illness, would not have become Him. But, if by “kind” we mean, the class, then Our Lord did suffer by every kind of suffering, as we can show in three ways:
By considering the men through whom He suffered. For He suffered something at the hands of Gentiles and of Jews, of men and even of women as the story of the servant girl who accused St.Peter goes to show. He suffered, again, at the hands of Rulers, of their Ministers, and of the people, as was prophesied, Why have the Gentiles raged and the people devised vain things? The Kings of the earth stood up and the Princes met together against the Lord and against His Christ (Ps ii. i, 2). He suffered, too, from His friends, the men He knew best, for Peter denied Him and Judas betrayed Him.
If we consider the things through which suffering is possible. Christ suffered in the friends who deserted Him and in His good name through the blasphemies uttered against Him. He suffered in the respect, in the glory, due to Him through the derision and contempt bestowed upon Him. He suffered in all things, for He was stripped even of His clothing; in His soul, through sadness, through weariness and through fear; in His body through wounds and the scourging.
If we consider what He underwent in His various members. His head suffered through the Crown of piercing Thorns, His hands and feet, through the nails driven through them, His face from the blows and the defiling spittle and His whole body through the scourging.
He suffered in every sense of His body. Touch was afflicted by the scourging and the nailing, taste by the vinegar and gall, smell by the stench of corpses as He hung on the Cross in that place of the dead which is called Calvary. His hearing was torn with the voices of mockers and blasphemers and He saw the tears of His Mother and of the disciple whom He loved. If we only consider the amount of suffering required, it is true that one suffering alone, the least indeed of all, would have sufficed to redeem the human race from all its sins. But if we look at the fitness of the matter, it had to be that Christ should suffer in all the kinds of sufferings.
ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274) Priest, Theologian, Dominican Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor) Doctor Communis (Common Doctor) Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568
Quote/s of the Day – 24 February – Feast of St Matthias, Apostle – Acts 1:15-26, Matthew 11:25-30 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, Who knows the hearts of all men, show which of these two Thou hast chosen, to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath, by transgression, fallen …”
Acts 1:24-25
“You did not choose Me but I chose you…”
John 15:16
“That is amazing grace! For what were we before Christ had chosen us besides being wicked and lost? What then has He chosen in those who are not good? You cannot say, I am chosen because I believed. For if you believed in Him, you had already chosen Him. Nor can you say, before I believed I did good works and, therefore, was chosen. For what good work is there before faith when the Apostle says, “Whatever is not of faith is sin?” What is there for us to say, then but that we were wicked and were chosen, that by the grace of having been chosen, we might become good?”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“Day by day follow God’s path, keeping Him closely attached to you by His promise. In fact, He Himself said, through the mediation of His Apostles, to all those who seek His will and His testimonies that He would be with them until the end of the world (Mt 28:20) where paths and footsteps will be unknown (cf Ps 76:20), as the divine David said in his songs. Yet, in an invisible way, He is present to the eyes of the mind, making Himself seen by those who have a pure heart and conversing with them. So pursue your path …. ”
St Theodore the Studite (759-826) Abbot, Confessor, Father of the Church
Our Morning Offering – 24 February – Feast of St Matthias, Apostle and Martyr
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 traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time. The Hymn is found as early as the 10th Century in a Hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
Saint of the Day – 24 February – St Praetextatus (Died 586) Bishop and Martyr of Rouen who spent a large part of his long 35 year Espicopate in exile, was murdered by the orders of the Queen of the time whilst he celebrated Holy Mass. Also known as – Pretextat, Pretextatus.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Rouen, the Passion of St Praetextatus, Bishop and Martyr.”
The 35 years during which he occupied the position of Bishop, were riddled with troubles involving the Frankish Monarchy, a result of which was a time of exile for the Saint.
Among the players of this political drama. was Fredegund, mistress of King Chilperic, a murderous woman responsible for several deaths in the Royal family.
Fredegund despised Praetextatus and opposed his return from exile but a Council in Rouen overruled her interference and reinstated the holy Bishop to his sSe.
“The time is coming when you shall revisit the place of your exile.” She threatened the Saint shortly before his death.
“I was a Bishop always, whether in exile or out of exile and a Bishop I shall remain but as for you, you shall not always enjoy your crown!” he said, as he urged the Queen to convert.
The wicked Queen refused to reform her life,and in 586 as Praetextatus was offering Holy Mass, Fredegund had an assassin stab him under the arm.
The mortally wounded Bishop managed to drag himself to the Altar and receive Holy Communion before he died.
St Modestus (Died c486) Bishop and Confessor. He was a man assiduous in prayer who systematically practiced fasting. Modestus fought against the discouragement and poverty of all his people. He was also tireless in the fight against the indiscipline of the Clergy and in the fight against all forms of corruption. His Holy Life: https://anastpaul.com/2025/02/24/saint-of-the-day-24-february-saint-modestus-died-c486-bishop-and-confessor/
Statue of Saint Modestus, Bishop of Trier, in Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Church, L
St Peter the Librarian St Praetextatus (Died 586) Bishop and Martyr of Rouen St Primitiva St Sergius of Caesarea Bl Simon of Saint Bertin
Monday of the First Week of Lent – 23 February – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
Monday of the First Week : Christ had to be tempted in the desert
“He was in the desert 40 days and 40 nights and was tempted by satan.” Mark i. 13.
It was by Christ’s Own Will that He was exposed to the temptation by the devil, as it was also, by His Own Will that He was exposed to be slain by the limbs of the devil. Had He not so willed, the devil would never have dared to approach Him.
The devil is always more disposed to attack those who are alone because, as is said in Sacred Scripture: “If a man shall prevail against one, two shall withstand him easily (Eccles iv. 12). This is why Christ went out into the desert, as one going out to a battleground, that there, He might be tempted by the devil. Whereupon St Ambrose says, Christ went into the desert for the express purpose of provoking the devil. For unless the devil had fought, Christ would never have overcome him for me!
St Ambrose gives other reasons too. He says Christ chose the desert as the place to be tempted for a hidden reason, namely, that He might free Adam from his exile who, from Paradise, was driven into the desert and again, that He did it for a reason in which there is no mystery, namely, to show us that the devil envies those who are tending towards a better life.
We say with St Chrysostom that Christ exposed Himself to the temptation because the devil, most of all, tempts those whom he sees alone. So in the very beginning of things, he tempted the woman, when he found her away from her husband. It does not however follow from this that a man ought to throw himself into any occasion of temptation which presents itself.
Occasions of temptation are of two kinds. One kind arises from man’s own action, when, for example, man himself goes near to sin, not avoiding the occasion of sin. That such occasions are to be avoided we know and Holy Scripture reminds us of it. “Stay not in any part of the country round about Sodom” (Gen xix. 17). The second kind of occasion arises from the devil’s constant envy of those who are tending to better things, as St Ambrose says and this occasion of temptation is not one we must avoid. So, according to St John Chrysostom, not only Christ was led into the desert by the Holy Ghost but all the children of God who possess the Holy Ghost are led in like manner. For God’s children are never content to sit down with idle hands but the Holy Ghost ever urges them to undertake for God some great work. And this, as far as the devil is concerned, is to go into the desert, for in the desert, there is none of that wickedness in which the devil’s delight. Every good work is, as it were, a desert to the eye of the world and of our flesh, for good works are contrary to the desire of the world.
To give the devil such an opportunity of temptation as this is not dangerous, for it is much more the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, Who is the promoter of every perfect work which prompts us, than the working of the devil, who hates them all.
ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274) Priest, Theologian, Dominican Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor) Doctor Communis (Common Doctor) Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568
Quote/s of the Day – 23 February – Monday of the First Week of Lent – The Feast of St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Cardinal Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
“Let us detach ourselves in spirit from all that we see and cling to that which we believe. This is the Cross which we must imprint on all our daily actions and behaviour.”
“The best penance is to have patience with the sorrows God permits. A very good penance is to dedicate oneself to fulfill the duties of everyday with exactitude and to study and work with all our strength.”
“We hold our tongues in check because if they are undisciplined they empty the soul of the strength of heavenly grace and weaken its healthful vigour.”
Our Morning Offering – 23 February – The Feast of St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Cardinal Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
Have Mercy, Lord By St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Father & Doctor of the Church
Have mercy, Lord, on all my friends and relatives, on all my benefactors, on all who pray to Thee for me and on all who have asked me to pray to Thee, for them. Give them the spirit of fruitful penance, mortify them in all vices and make them flower in all Thy virtues. Amen
Saint of the Day – 23 February – St Felix (Died c650)Bishop of Brescia, Italy in the 7th Century, a zealous shepherd and a strenuous opponent of the Lombard Arians.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “At Brescia, St Felix, Bishop,”
Unknown Bishop Saint
We have no information on his life bar the fact that he was appointed as the Bishop of Brescia and that he governed this See for more than 40. This fact alone certainly adds a great lustre to his sanctity as a good and holy shepherd of his flock.
Added to this, Felix was an ardent opponent of the Lombard Arians. He protected the Faith of Christ and his flock from the serious incursions of heresy levied by the Arians.
St Alexander Akimetes St Boswell St Dositheus of Egypt St Felix (Died c650) Bishop of Brescia St Florentius of Seville St Giovanni Theristi (1049–1129) Monk Bl John of Hungary
St Lazarus Zographos (c810-c 867) Priest, Monk known as “the Painter and the Iconographer.” Lazarus lived before and during the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. The Roman Martyrology states of him today: “St Lazarus, a Monk, whom the Iconoclast Emperor Theophilus ordered to be put to torture for having painted holy images. His hand was burned with a hot iron but, being healed by the power of God, he painted anew the holy images which had been defaced and finally rested in peace.” The Painter Saint: https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/23/saint-of-the-day-23-february-st-lazarus-zographos-810-865/
St Serenus the Gardener (Died 307) Martyr. Serenus was by birth a Grecian. He left his family estate, friends and country to serve God in celibacy, penance and prayer. With this design he bought a garden in Sirmium in Pannonia, which he cultivated with his own hands and lived on the fruits and herbs it produced. His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/23/saint-of-the-day-23-february-st-serenus-the-gardener-died-307-martyr/
Martyrs of Syrmium – 73 Christians who were Martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know no details about them, and only six of their names – Antigonus, Libius, Rogatianus, Rutilus, Senerotas and Syncrotas.
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The First Sunday of Lent – 22 February – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Doctor of the Church
The First Week of Lent – Sunday
It was fitting that Christ should be tempted
“Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil.” Matt iv. i
Christ willed to be tempted:
That He might assist us against our own temptations. St Gregory says: “That our Redeemer, Who had come to earth to be killed, should will to be tempted, was not unworthy of Him. It was. indeed but just that He should overcome our temptations by His own, in the same way that He had come to overcome our death by His death.”
To warn us that no man, however holy he be, should think himself safe and free from temptation. Whence again, His choosing to be tempted after His Baptism, about which St Hilary says: “The devil’s wiles are especially directed to trap us at times when we have recently been made holy because the devil desires no victory as much as a victory over the world of Grace.” Whence too, the Scripture warns us, “Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear and prepare thy soul for temptation” (Ecclus ii. i).
To give us an example of how we should overcome the temptations of the devil, St Augustine says: “Christ gave Himself to the devil to be tempted that, in the matter of our overcoming those same temptations, He might be of service, not only by His assistance but too, by His example.”
To fill and saturate our minds with confidence in His Mercy. “For we have not a High Priest Who cannot have compassion on our infirmities but One , without sin but ttempted in all things, like as we are, (Heb iv. 15).
ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274) Priest, Theologian, Dominican Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor) Doctor Communis (Common Doctor) Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568
Quote/s of the Day – 22 February – The First Sunday of Lent – 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, Matthew 4:1-11
“Begone, Satan! for it is written: The Lord thy God shalt thou adore and Him only shalt thou serve.”
Matthew 4:10
“Do not, therefore, lose your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of patience that, doing the Will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a very little while and He Who is to come, will come and will not delay.”
Hebrews 10:35-37
“It might even be said that we are fortunate to have temptations, for these are the times of spiritual harvest when we gather up for Heaven. … If we were thoroughly saturated with God’s Holy Presence, it would be easy for us to resist the enemy. With the thought ‘God sees you!’ we would never sin!
There was a Saint who complained to our Lord after being tempted and said to Him: “Where were Thou, my most loveable Jesus, during that awful storm?” Our Lord answered: “I was in the centre of thou heart…”
St John-Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859) The Curé of Ars
“When tempted, turn immediately to your Guardian Angel and ask him, with all your heart, “My Guardian Angel help me now. Do not let me offend my God!”
AnaStpaul 
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