Category: ADVENT

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRISTMASTIDE!, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, Meditations for ADVENT, QUOTES for CHRIST, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The O ANTIPHONS

Thought for the Day – 27 December – “O Emmanuel”

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Thought for the Day – 27 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“O Emmanuel”

“O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,
the expectation of the nations and their Saviour,
Come to save us, O Lord our God!”

+1. Emmanuel, God with us, is a Name which in every way belongs to Christ Our Lord. He is with His people in all their needs, ever ready to help and console them. He is with us on every Altar, waiting for us to come and pour out our sorrow and our needs before Him. He is with us, above all, in Holy Communion, when He Comes to dwell in our heart and to bring with Him every grace we need. He is with us in the hour of death and He will be with us forever in Heaven.

+2. He Who thus Comes to dwell with us in familiar friendship is our King; He Who thus condescends to be our companion, is the God Who has an absolute right to our obedience. He is our Lawgiver and the statutes He enacts for us have but one end and aim and object, to lead His subjects into the ways of happiness and the paths of peace .

+3. Come then, O God, our Lord and our Saviour. Come and save us from all the perils of the Evil One and from our own weakness and frailty.
Come and save us in the hour of temptation, for Thou alone art our King and none save Thee shalt rule over us.
Come and bring us safely through this vale of tears to Thy Eternal Kingdom, where we shall dwell forever, O sweet Jesus, in the everlasting delights of Thy blissful Company.

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the KING, Meditations for ADVENT, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The O ANTIPHONS

Thought for the Day – 26 December – “O Rex Gentium”

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Thought for the Day – 26 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“O Rex Gentium”

“O King of the nations and desired of them
and the Cornerstone which maketh both one,
Come and save man, whom Thou didst form of dust.”

+1. Never was there a king who had such a claim to sovereignty as Christ Our Lord. He is King by Divine appointment and His own right.
He is King by the consentient voice of His subjects and by the right of conquest.
He is King by reason of His having purchased us with His Own Blood.
What unnumbered claims He has on me! and besides all the rest, does He not deserve to reign supreme by reason of His having won me by His Love?

+2. Christ was desired by all nations, long before they knew Him Whom they desired. The heathen world felt a craving want which it could not define but which was the desire for the Saviour, Who should free them from the bondage of sin. So now, men of goodwill, outside the Church, feel something of the same strange longing.
Nothing will satisfy it save submission to their King by union with His Mystical Body, the Church of God. Oh, how happy am I, whose desires are fulfilled, in that I am no alien but a servant of that King, Whom to serve, is my own desire!

+3. Christ is the Cornerstone which maketh both one; the King of peace, Whose work it is to unite together, those who love Him in the unity of mutual love of one another, for His sake. Thus He desires that I should be united to those around me that there should be no dissension or disunion.
Do I ,in this, fulfil the pleasure of my King?

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRISTMAS Quotes, Meditations for ADVENT, The O ANTIPHONS

Thought for the Day – 25 December – “O Oriens”

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Thought for the Day – 25 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“O Oriens”

“O Orient, Splendour of Eternal Light and Sun of Justice;
Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death.”

  1. The night of pagan times was long and dark and seemed hopeless. Deeper and deeper the nations were sinking in misery and vice. But at length the Orient, the brightness of the Eternal Light of Heaven, rose and scattered the darkness , changing the gloom into a brilliant day.
    So too for those who have been long shrouded in the dense gloom of sin or sorrow, there waits the same Divine Light, ready to scatter their darkness in a moment, if only they will draw nigh to Him.
    He waits for me, ready to brighten my path, to scatter my sins and sorrows, if I will avail myself of His Love.

+2. That rising Light is the Sun of Justice, Who shall exercise His Justice in delivering the captive and in recompensing His friends a hundred, nay, a thousandfold, for every little service done for Him. For His Justice is virtually identical with His Mercy and rejoices to employ itself in works of pity and of love.

+3. Come then, O Orient, O Sun of Justice; shine upon those who sit in darkness, upon those who are enveloped in the thick mists of heathendom and heresy. Come and enlighten their
ignorance that they may not perish Come and deliver them from the shadow of death, for they cannot deliver themselves. Pour upon them such a flood of Light and Grace, as may guide their feet into the way of peace.

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRISTMAS Prayers & Hymns, CHRISTMASTIDE!, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FATHERS of the Church, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The DIVINE INFANT, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Our Morning Offering – 25 December – Its Christmas Day! – A Solis Ortus Cardine – Afar from Where the Sun Doth Rise

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Our Morning Offering – 25 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and Redeemer – Its Christmas Day!

Afar from Where the Sun Doth Rise
A Solis Ortus Cardine
By Coelius Sedulius (Died c450)
Trans Msgr Ronald A Knox (1888-1957)

Afar from where the sun doth rise
To lands beneath the western skies,
Homage to Christ our King we pay,
Born of a Virgin’s womb this day

Blessed Creator, Thou didst take__
A servant’s likeness for our sake,
And didst in flesh our flesh restore
To bid Thy creature live once more.

Chaste was the womb where Thou didst dwell,
Of heavenly grace the hidden cell;
Nor might the blessed Maid proclaim
Whence her dread Guest in secret came.

Down from on high God came to rest__
His glory in a sinless breast;
Obedience at His word believed,
And virgin innocence conceived.

Ere long, that holy child she bore
By Gabriel’s message named before,
Whom yet unborn, with eager pride,
The swift forerunner prophesied.

Fast doth He sleep, where straw doth spread,
A humble manger for His bed.
A Mother’s milk that strength renewed,
Which gives the birds of heaven their food.

Glory to God, the angels cry;
Earth hears the echo from on high;
Mankind’s true Shepherd and it’s Lord
By shepherd hearts is first adored.

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT PRAYERS, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, Meditations for ADVENT, QUOTES on HEAVEN, The O ANTIPHONS

Thought for the Day – 24 December – “O Clavis David”

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Thought for the Day – 24 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“O Clavis David”

“ O Key of David and Sceptre of the house of Israel,
Who openest and no man shutteth
and shuttest and no man openeth;
Ccome and deliver from the prisonhouse,
the captive who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.”

+1. The Key and the Sceptre, are the symbols of supreme authority; they indicate the sway which the Saviour is to hold over His faithful people and the right which He alone possesses of opening the Gate of Heaven to the children of men and of extending to them the golden sceptre of His mercy and forgiving love.
To me, O Key of David, unworthy though I am, open in Thy Mercy the Door of Heaven; stretch forth to me, all undeserving, the sceptre of Thy favour and Thy love.

+2. Thou shuttest , O Lord and no man opens.
O shut not upon me the Door which will admit me to draw nigh to Thee! Shut not upon me the Door of Thy Mercy and Grace. Shut not the Door which leads me into the inner sanctuary of Thy Love. Shut not the door of that fold wherein Thy favourite children dwell in peace and happiness. Shut not, above all, the Door of Paradise at my last hour!

+3. Come then , O Lord and open to me now, the Door of my captivity. I am a captive to my own self-will; a captive to my want of charity; a captive to my vanity and love of display a captive to my self-indulgence and dislike of mortification; a captive to a thousand faults of which I am scarcely conscious.
Come, O Lord and set the captive free!
I am weak and cannot break my chains, unless I receive from Thee, the necessary strength; Come , O Lord Jesus, Come quickly!

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRISTMAS Quotes, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, MARIAN QUOTES, The DIVINE INFANT, The HOLY NAME, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR

Quote/s of the Day – 24 December – Emmanuel!

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Quote/s of the Day – 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

“… Let us keep the Feast,
not after the manner of a heathen festival
but after a Godly sort;
not after the way of the world
but in a fashion above the world;
not as our own
but as belonging to Him
Who is ours,
or rather as our Master’s;
not as of weakness
but as of healing;
not as of creation
but of re-creation.”

St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Taking up the newborn Emmanuel,
Mary beheld a Light incomparably fairer
than the sun and saw a Fire
that water cannot quench.
She received, in the covering of flesh
Whom she had borne,
the Light Who enlightens all things
and she was worthy,
to carry in her arms,
the Word Who carries the universe!” ”

St Amadeus of Lausanne (1108-1159)
Bishop, Cistercian Monk

(Homilies in praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary IV SC 72)

“She shall bring forth a Son
and thou shall call His Name Jesus;
for He shall save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21

“This great Name is compared to oil by the Holy Spirit:
“Thy Name is oil poured out” (Sg 1,3).
Why? Because, as Saint Bernard explains,
just as oil is both light, food and medicine,
so the Name of Jesus, is light for our minds,
food for our hearts, medicine for our souls.
Light for our minds – it was the brilliance
of this Name which enabled the world
to pass from the shadows of idolatry, to the Light of Faith.
… Food for our hearts … And medicine for our souls …
No-one who is tempted, will fall, if he calls on Jesus
and, for as long as he calls,
he will persevere and be saved (cf Ps 17:4).”

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRISTMAS Prayers & Hymns, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The SECOND COMING

Our Morning Offering – 24 December – Magnis Prophetæ Vocibus, With Mighty Voice the Prophets Cry

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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.

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, Meditations for ADVENT, The O ANTIPHONS

Thought for the Day – 23 December – “O Radix Jesse”

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Thought for the Day – 23 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“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!”

+1. The King Who is to Come is of the Root of Jesse, since He is of David’s Royal line. He is the true David, Who laid low the spiritual Goliath, the prince of darkness, who, in pagan times, defied the power of the living God.
He is above all, the Man after God’s Own Heart , in that the one motive of His Heart is to carry out His Father’s Will.
If this is the motive power of my life, then I too am of the Root of Jesse and in spite of failings, am a man after God’s Own Heart, in proportion as this motive, is ever present to me.

+2. Jesus is a Sign to the nations; a Sign of contradiction to His enemies but before Whom, the most powerful will have to close their mouth in humble subjection; a Sign to His friends, the men of goodwill in every clime and country, who will be drawn to Him to offer their joyful homage at His Feet, entreating of Him that mercy which He is more ready to grant, than they to ask.
To me He is a Sign, either fondly loved, or neglected and treated as of no account!

+3. 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!

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, GOOD RESOLUTIONS, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, The DIVINE INFANT, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Quote of the Day – 23 December – Preparation for the Nativity

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Quote of the Day – 23 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

Preparation for the Nativity

“Our preparation, finally, should also embrace the will.
In other words, we should make good resolutions
during our Christmas Novena.
We should resolve to be more fervent in prayer,
to be more mortified and, to make greater efforts
to practise virtue.

Everyday and, if possible, every hour,
let us think of and invoke the Divine Child.
Let us ask Him to help us to model our lives on His,
so that they may be full of humility,
of love for God and for our fellowmen,
of perfect resignation to suffering
and of voluntary mortification and penance,
designed to prove our love for Jesus
and to expiate our sins.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRISTMAS Prayers & Hymns, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on FEAR, The LAMB of GOD, The SECOND COMING

Our Morning Offering – 23 December – Hark, a Herald Voice Is Sounding

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Our Morning Offering – 23 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

Hark, a Herald Voice Is Sounding
Vox Clare
Unknown Author – 5th or 6th Century
Trans: Fr Edward Caswall C.Orat. (1814-1878)

Hark! A herald voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we hear it say.
Cast away the works of darkness,
all you children of the day!”

2 See, the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from Heav’n.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
one and all, to be forgiv’n.

3 So, when next He Comes in glory
and the world is wrapped in fear,
He will shield us with His mercy
and with words of love draw near.

4 Honour, glory, might, dominion
to the Father and the Son
with the everlasting Spirit
while eternal ages run!
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, Meditations for ADVENT, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The O ANTIPHONS

Thought for the Day – 22 December – “O Adonai”

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Thought for the Day – 22 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“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.”

+1. The Saviour for Whom we look, is also Our Lord (Adonai), the Leader and Chief to Whom we have sworn fealty.
We speak of Him continually under the familiar Name of Our Lord and, each time we do so, we reassert our acknowledgment of the obligation to follow where He leads and, to be subject to Him, in all things.
O happy followers of such a Leader!
If we tread in His Footsteps and obey His Voice, He will set our feet in green pastures and lead us to the fountains of the water of life.

+2. 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 .

+3. What shall be our prayer to Him, when He inspires us to make our request with boldness, at the throne of grace? Come to redeem us with Thine outstretched Arm Come to deliver us from the effects of our past sins. Come to deliver us from the attachment to some sin which still lurks within us. Come to deliver us from all our countless negligences and imperfections.
Come with Thine Arm outstretched toward us; from the foe, O Lord and Lover of our souls!

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 22 December – “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. ” – Luke 3:6

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One Minute Reflection – 22 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Fourth Sunday of Advent – Corinthians 4:1-5 – Luke 3:1-6 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. ” – Luke 3:6

REFLECTION – “And all flesh did see the salvation of God, even of the Father, for He sent the Son to be our Saviour. And in these words by “flesh,” man generally is to be understood, that is, the whole human race. For thus all flesh shall see the salvation of God: no longer Israel only but all flesh. For the gentleness of the Saviour and Lord of all, is not limited, nor did He save one nation merely but rather embraced, within His net, the whole world and has illuminated all who were in darkness. And this is what was celebrated by the Psalmist’s lyre, “All the nations whom Thou hast made, shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord.” While, at the same time, the remnant of the Israelites is saved, as the great Moses also long ago declared, saying, “Rejoice ye nations with His people.” – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Known as “The Pillar of Faith” Archbishop of Alexandria, Father and Doctor of the Church (Homiletic Commentary on Luke 3:1-6 – Fragment).

PRAYER – Put forth Thy power, O Lord, we beseech Thee and delay not and with Thy great might, come to our aid, so that what is hindered by our sins, maybe hastened by Thy merciful goodness. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect)

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to the DIVINE INFANT JESUS, The DIVINE INFANT

Our Morning Offering – 22 December – Saviour of the Nations, Come!

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Our Morning Offering – 22 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Veni Redemptor Gentium
Saviour of the Nations, Come!
St Ambrose’s (340-397)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Saviour of the nations, come!
Virgin’s Son, here make Thy home!
Marvel now, O Heaven and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human flesh and blood;
By the Spirit of our God
Was the Word of God made flesh,
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.

Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child
Of the Virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in Heaven enthroned.

From the Father forth He came
And returneth to the same,
Captive leading death and hell
High the song of triumph swell!

Thou, the Father’s only Son,
Hast over sin the victory won.
Boundless shall Thy kingdom be;
When shall we its glories see?

Brightly doth Thy manger shine,
Glorious is its Light Divine.
Let not sin o’ercloud this Light;
Ever be our faith thus bright.

Praise to God the Father sing,
Praise to God the Son, our King,
Praise to God the Spirit be
Ever and eternally.
Amen!

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, GOD ALONE!, Meditations for ADVENT, PRAYERS of PETITION, QUOTES on WISDOM, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The O ANTIPHONS

Thought for the Day – 21 December – “O Sapientia”

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Thought for the Day – 21 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“O Sapientia”

Before the Feast of Christmas, the Coming Saviour is welcomed in seven Antiphons which greet Him under various titles and entreat Him to Come quickly to enlighten and deliver His people.
“O Wisdom, Who camest forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching in Thy strength from end to end and sweetly disposing all things, Come and teach us the way of prudence.”

  1. The first Title given to Jesus is that of Wisdom. He is the Eternal Wisdom of God and the Source of all wisdom to men from one end of time to the other. With Him, is all wisdom; without Him, is no wisdom.
    Yet I have sometimes fancied myself wise when I was acting quite apart from Him and perhaps, His wishes or commands. What utter folly!

+2. It is the Eternal Word Who disposes all things sweetly.
Everything which happens in Heaven or earth, is arranged by Him and is arranged not unkindly, or harshly, or bitterly but sweetly. Why then do I regret what I ought to know He has arranged sweetly, i.e. with designs of love for me, if I take it in the correct spirit?

+3. Come and teach us the way of prudence.
This is our first petition to Him, Who is to Come.
If only He imparts prudence, all must be well.
Prudence chooses the correct end, that is, the glory of God and the means to that end, – that which we know God asks of us now in our present circumstances. Teach me, O Jesus the lesson of prudence which will guide me safely to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Posted in "Follow Me", ADVENT REFLECTIONS, Meditations for ADVENT, OUR Cross, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 20 December – The Dangers of the Careless Soul

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Thought for the Day – 20 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Dangers of the Careless Soul

+I. There is in human nature a fatal tendency to procrastinate, especially when that which we know we ought to do, is something to which we are naturally disinclined.
All men are naturally disinclined to do violence to themselves and force their pride and self-will, to yield before the sway of Christ, to put on His yoke and carry His cross.
Hence, men put off and make excuses to themselves and fancy that what is difficult to them to-day, will be easy to morrow .
O fatal mistake!
Each day that we postpone the task of submission, it becomes
more difficult, more distasteful.
Why then do I not hasten to submit myself entirely to Christ?

+2. From day-to-day, the careless soul thus goes on putting off, crying: “Tomorrow I will amend my ways” and when tomorrow comes, it still cries: “Tomorrow.” How fatal is this folly!
Tomorrow may never come, or, if it comes, you may have forfeited the grace!
“Today, if ye will hear His Voice, harden not your hearts.‘

+3. This postponement is always accompanied by some deliberate disobedience to the commands or to the holy inspirations of the Spirit of God.
Thus the careless soul becomes more engrossed in earthly things and more and more disinclined to make the necessary effort. Therefore, it is that, so many will be surprised by the Coming of their Judge at the moment when they least expect Him and are quite unprepared to meet Him.
O Jesus, save me at any cost from the deadly state of the careless soul!

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRISTMAS Prayers & Hymns, HYMNS, The DIVINE INFANT, The SECOND COMING

Our Morning Offering – 20 December – “Christ is Near!”

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Our Morning Offering – 20 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

“Christ is Near!”
Vox clara ecce intonas
Hear the Herald Voice Resounding
Unknown Sixth Century
Trans. Fr Edward Caswell C.Orat. (1814-1878)

Hear the herald voice resounding:
“Christ is near!” it seems to say,
“Cast away the dreams of darkness,
Welcome Christ, the Light of day!”

Wakened by this solemn warning,
Let the earthbound soul arise;
Christ her Sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.

See the Lamb so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from Heav’n;
Hasten now, with tears of sorrow,
One and all to be forgiv’n.

So when next He comes with glory,
Shrouding all the earth in fear,
May He then as our Defender
On the clouds of heav’n appear.

Honour, glory, virtue, merit,
To the Father and the Son,
With the co-eternal Spirit,
While eternal ages run.
Amen!

Posted in "Follow Me", ADVENT REFLECTIONS, ArchAngels and Angels, GOD ALONE!, Meditations for ADVENT, OUR Cross, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on JOY, The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 19 December – The Preparation for His Approach

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Thought for the Day – 19 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Preparation for His Approach

Who is there who does not desire to meet Jesus Christ, when He Comes Again, with joy and not with trembling?
To insure this, three things are necessary.

+1. We must have friends among those ,who will come again with Him. Just as few die a happy death, unless they have some advocates in Heaven, so few indeed, will meet Our Lord, with joy, unless they have some who will welcome them as having befriended them for Christ’s Sake.
Unless we have been men of supernatural charity, we shall stand defenceless on that day. Alas! how faint and feeble my charity has been! how little I have done to procure friends, who will plead for me on that day!

+2. We must too, have had the thought of Jesus often present to our minds in life, if His Coming is to be a joyful one to us. He must be no stranger to us. He must have been our Guide, our Friend, our Maste , our Companion!
We must have walked with God on earth, if we are to walk with Him in the Celestial Paradise.
The more familiar has been our friendship with Him, the greater will be our happiness in meeting Him when He Coms again.

+3. We must also, have carried our cross willingly after Him on earth, if we are to meet Him with a well-grounded confidence of a great reward in the Kingdom which He has won for His elect. O how overflowing will be the delight of those who have lived mortified and self-denying lives for His Sake !
What a trifle will all their sufferings then appear in comparison with their abounding joy, when the Archangel’s trumpet sounds!

Posted in CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC Quotes, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CHILDREN, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on MEEKNESS, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on SIMPLICITY, QUOTES on VIRTUE, St Francis de Sales, The DIVINE INFANT, The INCARNATION

Quote/s of the Day – 19 December – This Divine Infant

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Quote/s of the Day – 19 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

“If we would please this Divine Infant,
we too must become children,
simple and humble.
We must carry to Him, flowers of virtue,
of meekness, of mortification, of charity.
We must clasp Him in the arms of our love.”

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

“Our Lord is begotten virginally, from all eternity,
in the bosom of His Heavenly Father.
He shares in the One Divinity of His Eternal Father,
without dividing it or fracturing the Divine Simplicity.
He remains One same God with Him.
The most holy Virgin produced her Son,
Our Lord on earth, as He is produced
by His Father eternally in Heaven that is, virginally.
There is one important difference, however,
she brought Him forth from her womb
and not in her womb,
for once He left it He will no more return there
but His Heavenly Father begets Him
from His bosom and in His bosom
and He will remain there eternally!”

(The Coming of the Divine Infant
24 December 1613
Sermon for Christmas Eve)

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Our Morning Offering – 19 December – Creator Alme Siderum, Creator of the Starry Frame

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Our Morning Offering – 19 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

Creator Alme Siderum
Creator of the Starry Frame
7th Century Advent Hymn

Creator of the starry frame;
Eternal Light of all who live;
Jesu, Redeemer of mankind,
An ear to Thy poor suppliants give.

When man was sunk in sin and death,
Lost in the depth of Satan’s snare,
Love brought Thee down to cure our ills,
By taking of those ills a share.

Thou for the sake of guilty men,
Causing Thine own pure blood to flow,
Didst issue from Thy Virgin-shrine,
And to the Cross a Victim go.

So great the glory of Thy might,
If we but chance Thy Name to sound,
At once all Heaven and Hell unite
In bending low with awe profound.

Great Judge of all, in that last day,
When friends shall fail and foes combine,
Be present then with us, we pray,
To guard us with Thy arm divine.

To God the Father and the Son,
All praise and power and glory be,
With Thee, O holy Comforter,
Henceforth through all eternity.

Also known as Advent Hymn, this translation of the Latin hymn Creator Alme Siderum (Pope Urban VIII’s 1632 revision of the 7th Century Hymn Conditor alme siderum) was first published in Fr Edward Caswall’s Lyra Catholica,

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, Meditations for ADVENT, QUOTES on WATCHING, The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 18 December – The Uncertainty of His Coming

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Thought for the Day – 18 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Uncertainty of His Coming

+1. Ever since Our Lord’s Ascension into Heaven , His servants have watched for His return, crying out: “Come , O Lord Jesus, come quickly!”
In the days of the Apostles, in the early ages of the Church, in mediæval times , men believed that His Coming was close at hand. In these later days, it is true, the expectancy is not as immediate as it once was but, the very fact that we think the world has still [a time] to run, may be an indication that the end is not far away.
Can I, from my heart, offer the prayer that His coming may not be long delayed?

+2. Men sometimes tell us, when six thousand years have passed, the world will have run its course and Christ will return to Judge the living and the dead.
It may be so but rash indeed is he, who ventures thus to fix the time for it is Our Lord Himself Who tells us: “Of that
day and that hour knoweth no man, nor the Angels of God but the Father only.”
One of the essential characteristics of that day will be its suddenness. Hence, learn the importance of being always ready and then you will be always safe and at peace.

+3. We may not live until the Second Coming of Christ surprises the world but, we shall liveuntil the day which is the call for us to Judgement.
That day is not far off; it may be very near and the chance is, it will either come unexpectedly, or will be preceded by a time which will be but a poor time for preparation.
I must be prepared now, I must always be prepared, for the moment when I hear the Voice of God summoning me and then, the sooner that time comes, the better for me.

Posted in ADVENT, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, EMBER DAYS, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, MOTHER of GOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PURITY, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 December – ‘ … She indeed, is Mother of God, divinely named Mary … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 18 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Ember Wednesday – The Feast of Our Lady of Expectation – Isaias 7:10-15; Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “The degeneration caused by sin had obscured the beauty of our original nobility. But when the mother of supreme Beauty is born, our nature finds its purity once more and sees itself moulded according to the perfect model, worthy of God (Gn 1:26)… We had all preferred the world below, to that above. There no longer remained any hope of salvation. The state of our nature cried aloud to Heaven to come to the rescue … Then, at last, in His good pleasure, the world’s Divine Artificer determined to make a new world appear, a different world full of harmony and youth.

Now was it not fitting, that a most pure virgin without stain, should place herself at the service of this mysterious plan, first of all?… And where was this virgin to be found, if not in this woman, alone of her kind, chosen by the world’s Creator before all generations? Yes, she indeed, is Mother of God, divinely named Mary, whose womb gave birth to God Incarnate and whom, He Himself had supernaturally prepared, as His Temple…

In this way, then, the design of the Redeemer of our race was to bring about a birth and, as it were, a new creation to replace the one which went before. Therefore, just as in Paradise, He had taken a little clay out of the pure and spotless earth, to fashion the first Adam (Gn 2:7), so, at the moment of bringing about His Own Incarnation, He made use of another earth, so to speak, namely, this Pure and Immaculate Virgin, chosen from among all other beings He had created. It is in her that He, Adam’s Creator, has remade us in our very substance and become a new Adam (1 Cor 15:45), that the old might be saved by the New and Eternal!” – St Andrew of Crete (660-740) Bishop (Sermon 1 for the Nativity of the Mother of God ; PG 97, 812).

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. 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).

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS to the DIVINE INFANT JESUS

Our Morning Offering – 18 December – Awaiting Baby Jesus

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Our Morning Offering – 18 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Feast of Our Lady of Expectation

Awaiting Baby Jesus
Traditional Catholic Advent Prayer

My heart is beating,
filled with joy,
awaiting Mary’s Baby Boy.
For with this Child, we embrace
the birth of God’s
most precious grace.
Baby Jesus, soon to come!
For us comes the Promised One.
Baby Jesus, God’s own Son,
Thou will be the Chosen One
to lead Thy flock unto salvation.
Our eternal life awaits.
The birth of Jesus brings us nearer
Heaven’s Holy Gates.
Sing with joy
and count the days,
for soon to come,
the Lord we’ll praise.
Rejoice that Jesus
will soon arrive,
the Messiah and our faith alive.
Amen

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, Meditations for ADVENT, The O ANTIPHONS, The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 17 December – The Signs of His Coming

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Thought for the Day – 17 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Signs of His Coming

+1. One of the signs of the Second Coming of Our Lord being nigh at hand, will be that no-one will expect it.
All the world will be satisfied that things will go on as hitherto for many a century and they will ask – “Where is the promise of His Coming?”
In this too, the life of the individual is often a miniature of the history of the world. Christ comes again to many an nexpecting
soul when sudden death, through some accident or nsuspected disease, carries off, in a moment, the man who thought he had long years to live.
“Blessed is he whom his Lord, when He cometh shall find watching.”

+2. Another warning of Our Lord’s approach will be the coming of Antichrist.
He will be one, whose authority and power will be a counterfeit of the Vicar of Christ. His distinguishing marks will be overweening pride, hatred of the Catholic Church, widespread dominion, spirit of rebellion which will enlist, in his service, all who revolt against the authority which comes from God . Examine yourself to see if there lurks in you, any of this dislike of lawful authority and pray for the grace of loyalty to men, for God’s sake.

+3. Before Our Lord’s Coming, there will be a terrible persecution of he servants of God.
In these days, when there is an ever-increasing spirit of tolerance, it is difficult to understand this.
But under the spirit of what is called ‘religious liberalism or ecumenism!‘ lurks a deadly hatred of the Church of Christ. It breaks out from time to time, as in the French Commune. It slumbers but now it blazes up again.
Pray for grace to withstand all the assaults of the persecutor!

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on WORRY/ANXIETY, The NATIVITY of JESUS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 17 December – The Lord is near. Have no anxiety …

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Ferial Day – Philippians 4:4-7; John 1:19-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety …”

Philippians 4:5-6

“In adoring our Saviour’s birth,
it is our origin we celebrate.
Christ’s temporal generation
is, the source of the Christian people,
the birth of His Mystical Body.
All of us encounter in this Mystery,
a new birth in Christ.”

St Pope Leo the Great (400-461)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“May He, Who is the Track of the runners
and the Reward of the winners,
lead and guide you along it –
He, Christ Jesus!”

Blessed Guerric of Igny (c1080-1157)
Cistercian Abbot

Posted in ADVENT, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 December – ‘… The glow of a lantern fades away at the coming of the Sun …’

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One Minute Reflection – 17 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Third Week of Advent – Ferial Day – Philippians 4:4-7; John 1:19-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/ – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“He it is Who is to come after me, Who has been set above me, the strap of Whose sandal I am not worthy to loose. ” – John 1:27

REFLECTION – “When the whole universe was overshadowed by the darkness of the devil and sins’ gloom dominated the world, a new Sun, Christ our Lord, willed in these last days, when night was nearly over, to shine forth the first rays of a new day. But before this Light appeared, that is to say, before the “Sun of righteousness” (Mal 3:20) arose, God had already announced it, like a first gleam through his Prophets: “I sent My Prophets before the Light” (Jer 7:25). Later, Christ Himself, put forth His Rays – that is to say, His Apostles – to make His Light shine out and fill the universe with His Truth, so that none might be lost in darkness…

But so as to finish doing our necessary tasks, before the Sun of this world arises, we mortals anticipate the Light with our lamps. Likewise, Christ the Sun, also has His Lamp to precede His coming, as the Prophet says: “I have prepared a Lamp for My Anointed” (Ps 131:17). And Our Lord shows us what this lamp is, when He says with regard to John the Baptist: “He was a burning, shining light.” And John himself said, as though he were the feeble glimmering of a lantern being carried on ahead: “But One is coming, Who is stronger than I and I am not worthy to undo His sandal strap. He will Baptise you in the Holy Spirit and in fire” (Lk 3:16). And at the same time, knowing that his light was to be eclipsed by the Sun’s Rays, he prophesied: “He must increase; I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). Indeed, just as the glow of a lantern fades away at the coming of the Sun, so the baptism of repentance, preached by John, faded before the coming of the grace of Christ.” – St Maximus of Turin (Died c420) Bishop. Father (Sermon 62, 26).

PRAYER – Put forth Thy power, O Lord, we beseech Thee and delay not and with Thy great might, come to our aid, so that what is hindered by our sins, maybe hastened by Thy merciful goodness. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in ADVENT PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering

Our Morning Offering – 17 December – Prepare for Christ your Saviour!

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Our Morning Offering – 17 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary”

Prepare for Christ your Saviour!
Stanbrook Abbey

Throughout a world in shadow,
John’s urgent voice we hear;
Prepare for Christ your Saviour!
The Son of God is near.

He gives a new beginning
To those who turn from sin,
Who answer love with loving
By turning back to Him.

His veiled but certain splendour
Begins to shine from far;
He comes, His Saints around Him,
The bright and Morning Star.

With all who wait in longing,
Give thanks that never cease,
For Him Whom God is sending
To visit us in peace.
Amen

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the JUDGE, GOD ALONE!, Meditations for ADVENT, The SECOND COMING

Thought for the Day – 16 December – The Second Coming of Christ

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Thought for the Day – 16 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

The Second Coming of Christ

+1. When the Apostles on Mount Olivet were gazing after their Master Who had just ascended into Heaven, two Angels stood by them and announced to them that He, Who had just vanished from their sight would return in like manner
Our Lord Himself had already declared – He would Come Again with power and great glory and would sit upon the throne of His glory. At the sound of His approach, the dead will rise from their graves to meet Him and, the nations of the world, who have not accepted His sway, will be filled with unspeakable terror and dismay.
What will be the dispositions with which I shall rise again to meet Christ? What would they be now, if He were to Come today?

+2. The object of His Coming will be to judge the living and the dead.
All which is now hidden, will be made manifest before the world. All the secret thoughts and whispered words and actions, concealed from the eyes of men, will then be made manifest.
How should I like to have all my base and low motives dragged to light, all my unkind words revealed to those against whom they were spoken, all those actions of which I cannot myself think,. without shame, proclaimed so all may behold them?

+3. Our Lord will Come, radiant in majesty and glory, to crush His enemies under His feet and reward His faithful soldiers and servants.
How great then will be the ignominy and shame of the mighty men of earth if they have not bowed their neck to the King of kings! How full of joy will be the hearts of all who have humbled themselves before Him! How will they be beautiful beyond compare and honoured before His holy Angels!
Learn now to humble yourself under the yoke of Christ!

Posted in DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to the DIVINE INFANT JESUS, The DIVINE INFANT

Our Morning Offering – 16 December – O Jesus, Dear Holy Child By St Thérèse of the Child Jesus

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Our Morning Offering – 16 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

Posted in ADVENT REFLECTIONS, Meditations for ADVENT, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on Love of Self, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 15 December – Rejoice Always!

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Thought for the Day – 15 December – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations for Advent
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Rejoice Always!

+1. St Paul goes beyond the mere command to rejoice and to rejoice in the Lord; he bids us to rejoice always! Is this possible? Yes, it is quite possible. If it were not, the Apostle would not have imposed it upon us.
It is not easy because, our self-love and our selfishness destroy
joy. But the Saints, who had driven self-love out of their hearts, found it a pleasant and an easy task, to be always joyful. If we desire the same, we must do our best to rid ourselves of this hindrance to our joy.

+2. How are we to accomplish this task?
It must be a gradual one. It is to be arrived at by many acts of submission to the Will of God and to the will of others, when opposed to our own and the submission, must have for its motive, not the intellectual conviction that what we ourselves desire is in itself inferior but, the determination to submit, for the sake of submission and, as an act of reverence to God. We must be willing to submit, both will and intellect, to those set over us, without complaining or questioning their command. Do I do so?

+3. When this painful process is over and when, at length we begin to learn the happiness of giving up our own will to the will of others we soon begin to receive the reward of our self-conquest.
We acquire, by degrees, an undisturbed calm of soul and an increasing strength of will, as the fruits of our victory over self and, above all, a happy consciousness that we have been learning the lesson of conforming our will to the Will of God, in which the happiness of Heaven consists.

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on FEAR, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on WORRY/ANXIETY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 15 December – “The Lord is near. Have no anxiety [at all]” Phil 4:5-6

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One Minute Reflection – 15 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Octave Day of the Immaculate Conception – The Third Sunday of Advent “Gaudete” Sunday –Philippians 4:4-7; John 1:19-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“[One is standing] in the midst of you, … Whom you do not know.” – John 1:26

REFLECTION – “The Lord is near. Have no anxiety [at all]” (Phil 4:5-6). This is what God the Father says in the Prophet Isaiah: “I am bringing on My Justice,” – that is to say, His Son; “My Salvation shall not tarry. I shall put Salvation within Zion and give to Israel My glory” (46:13). It is what today’s Gospel says: “One is standing in your midst, One Whom you do not know” Mediator between God and men, a Man (1Tim 2:5), Christ Jesus, arises in the camp of this world, to fight the devil. As victor, He rescues man and reconciles him with God our Father. But you do not know Him!

“Sons have I raised and reared but they have disowned Me. An ox knows its owner and an ass, its master’s manger. But Israel does not know Me and My people have not understood” (Is 1:2-3). How close the Lord is to us! And we do not know Him! “I have fed My children with My Blood,” He says to us, “as a mother feeds her children with her milk. I have raised the human nature I have taken, to which I am united, above the Choirs of Angels.” Could He show us greater honour? “And they have rejected Me. See whether there is any sorrow like Mine” (Lam 1:12) …

So, then, “have no anxiety at all,” for it is anxiety concerning material things which makes us forget the Lord!” – St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Franciscan, Doctor of the Church (Sermons for Sundays and Feast days, 3rd Sunday of Advent).

PRAYER – Put forth Thy power, O Lord, we beseech Thee and delay not and with Thy great might, come to our aid, so that what is hindered by our sins, maybe hastened by Thy merciful goodness. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).