Quote/s of the Day – 9 July – The Memorial of Blessed Adrian Fortescue T.O.S.D. (1476-1539) Martyr
“In Husbands Bosworth Hall, the residence of Miss Fortescue-Turville, the last direct descendant of the blessed martyr, was found some years ago a very precious relic, being nothing less than the Book of Hours which he habitually used.
The manuscript has suffered a good deal from time and careless handling but on the outer leaf can still be read another series of maxims, a kind of rule of life written and signed by the martyr’s own hand. It will be seen how, while yet in the days of his prosperity, this truly Christian knight was preparing all unconsciously for the martyr’s crown and palm.
The Book of Hours is now reverently preserved as a relic in the beautiful little Catholic church adjoining the old hall of Husbands Bosworth :”
Quotations (slightly updated – from his famous Book of Hours)
…”Pray often. Also enforce yourself to set your house at quietness. Resort to God every hour.”
“Be pitiful unto poor folk and help them to your power, for there you shall greatly please God.”
“Give fair language to all persons and especially to the poor and needy.”
“Banish from yourself all grudging and detraction and especially from your tongue.”
“In prosperity be meek of heart and in adversity patient.”
“Pray for perseverance. Continue in dread and ever have God before your eye.”
“Also apply diligently the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, whatsoever you have therein to do.”
“If by chance you fall into sin, despair not and if you keep these precepts, the Holy Spirit will strengthen you in all other things necessary and this doing you shall be with Christ in Heaven, to Whom be given laud, praise and honour everlasting.”
One Minute Reflection – 9 July – The Memorial of Blessed Adrian Fortescue T.O.S.D. (1476-1539) Martyr
“Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.” And all the disciples spoke likewise”…Matthew 26:35.
REFLECTION – “The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.”…St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – O God, You specially strengthened Blessed Adrian Fortescue with a wonderful spirit of holiness and courage. Hear the prayers of Your people and from his renowned example, may we learn to be obedient to You rather than to human authority. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen
Sunday Reflection – 8 July – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
“What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist?
It is God who, as our Saviour, offers Himself each day for us to His Father’s justice.
If you are in difficulties and sorrows, He will comfort and relieve you.
If you are sick, He will either cure you or give you strength to suffer so as to merit Heaven.
If the devil, the world and the flesh are making war upon you, He will give you the weapons with which to fight, to resist and to win victory.
If you are poor, He will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and eternity.
Let us open the door of His sacred and adorable Heart and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of His love and we shall see what a God who loves us can do.
Quote/s of the Day – 8 July – The Memorial of Sts Priscilla and Aquila – Patrons of Catholic Marriage and Families
Speaking of Marriage and the Family
“Authentic married love is caught up into divine love . . . so that this love may lead the spouses to God . . . and in God, they find the strength, to carry on their roles and responsibilities.”
Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World), 48
“Merciful love is supremely indispensable between those who are closest to one another: between husbands and wives, between parents and children, between friends and it is indispensable in education and in pastoral work.”
“The future of humanity passes by way of the family. It is therefore indispensable and urgent, that every person of good will should endeavour to save and foster the values and requirements of the family. I feel that I must ask for a particular effort in this field, from the sons and daughters of the Church. Faith gives them full knowledge of God’s wonderful plan, they, therefore, have an extra reason for caring for the reality that is the family in this time of trial and of grace. They must show the family special love. This is an injunction that calls for concrete action.”
St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)
“We speak a lot about behavioural problems, mental health, the well-being of the child, the anxiety of the parents and the children— but do we even know what a wound of the soul is? Do we feel the weight of the mountain that crushes the soul of a child in those families, where members mistreat and hurt one another to the point of breaking the bonds of marital fidelity? What effect do our choices — often poor choices— have on the souls of children?”
Pope Francis
24 June 2015
“During these days, we will reflect in particular on the family, which is the fundamental cell of society. From the beginning the Creator blessed man and woman, so that they might be fruitful and multiply and so the family then, is an image of the Triune God in the world.”
One Minute Reflection – 8 July – – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – “He was not able to perform any mighty deed there because of their lack of faith”...Mark 6:4
And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief...Mark 6:5-6
REFLECTION – “Father, Almighty God, keep, I pray, my faith undefiled and till my last breath, grant that I may always confess my deepest convictions. May I ever hold fast to everything which I professed in the creed of my new birth, when I was baptised in the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. May I always adore You our Father and your Son who is one with You; give me always Your Holy Spirit, who proceeds from You, through Your Only-begotten Son.
For I have a convincing witness to my faith, who says, “Father, everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine” (Jn 17:10). This witness is my Lord Jesus Christ, forever God in You and from You and with You, who are blessed forever and ever. Amen”…Saint Hilary (c315-367) Bishop of Poitiers, Father & Doctor of the Church (De Trinitate, XII, final prayer)
PRAYER – Lord Holy God and Father of all, hold us always in Your Heart, keep us near to Your Son, that our faith may never fail us! Grant that by the prayers of Sts Aquila and Priscilla, we may hold fast to our Saviour, even in times of distress, hardship, persecution and humiliation, when this world assails us. Through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 7 July – The Memorial of Maria Romero Meneses F.M.A. (1902-1977)
“My secret: Live making continuous Acts of love of God.”
“Prayer is like air is for the lungs. For this reason, the one who prays is saved.”
“As God gave all the animals the instinct of self-defence, He gave humans that of prayer.”
“To remain at peace, it is necessary to love while suffering and to suffer while loving.”
“Faith produces miracles, it is not miracles that produce faith.”
“Give to whoever asks you. And what can I give? I must give myself, I must give my intelligence to teach those who do not know and to correct those in error. I must give my life. I must give my time so that all the thirsty can drink…”
One Minute Reflection – 7 July – Saturday of the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 9:14-17.
And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast...Matthew 9:15
REFLECTION – “However, our mourning is right if we burn with desire to see Him. How happy they were who were able to enjoy His presence before His Passion, to question Him as they wished and listen to Him as necessary… As for us, we see the fulfilment of what He said: “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it” (Lk 17:22)…A little while and you will no longer see me and again a little while and you will see me” (Jn 16:19). But now this is the hour of which He said: “You will weep and mourn but the world will rejoice… But, He added, I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy away from you” (v.22). The hope thus given us by Him, who is faithful in His promises, never now leaves us, without a certain joy — until that overwhelming joy comes on the day when we will be like Him because we will see Him as he is (1Jn 3:2)… “When a woman is in labour, she has pain because her hour has come,” says the Lord, “but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world” (Jn 16:21). This is the joy no one can take away from us and with which we will be satisfied when we pass to eternal light from our present conception in faith. So let us fast and pray since we are still on the threshold of birth.“…St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor
PRAYER – Father almighty, as we wait and work and pray and fast in joyful hope of our eternal life with You, grant we pray that we may always remain steadfast in Your love. Blessed Maria Romero Meneses, pray for us that we will fully utilise the many gifts our Almighty God has bestowed on us as we journey home. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord, in union with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 5 July – The Memorial of St Anthony Mary Zaccaria (1502-1539)
Compassion for the sick and the poor led Dr Anthony Mary Zaccaria to see beyond the sick bodies of his patients and recognise the need for a different kind of healing. After becoming “Fr” Zaccaria, he tried to fill that need and dedicated the rest of his life to doing so. …….the Pauline ardour of his preaching would probably “turn off” many people today. When even some psychiatrists complain at the lack of a sense of sin, it may be time to tell ourselves that not all evil is explained by emotional disorder, subconscious and unconscious drives, parental influence and so on. The old-time “hell and damnation” mission sermons have given way to positive, encouraging, biblical homilies. We do indeed need assurance of forgiveness, relief from existential anxiety and future shock. But we still need prophets to stand up and tell us, “If we say ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). (Fr Don Miller OFM). St Anthony was such a prophet, he let God step in and lead him to a whole new set of plans. May we too allow God room in our boat to navigate us to a new way of life!
“We are fools for Christ’s sake:
our holy guide and most revered patron, was speaking about himself and the rest of the apostles and about the other people who profess the Christian and apostolic way of life.
But there is no reason, dear brothers, that we should be surprised or afraid; for the disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us, rather than abhor and despise them, since they harm themselves and do us good and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory while they incite God’s anger against themselves. And even more than this, we should pray for them and not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by goodness.
We should heap good works like red-hot coals of burning love upon their heads, as our Apostle urges us to do, so that when they become aware of our tolerance and gentleness they may undergo a change of heart and be prompted to turn in love to God.”
Quote/s of the Day – 5 July – The Memorial of St Anthony Mary Zaccaria (1502-1539)
“The centre and the source from which everything begins and to which everything returns.”
“The Eucharist is the living Crucifix!”
“If you want to obtain what you pray for, adapt yourself to it, that is, if you want humility, do not avoid humiliations.”
“Let them keep in mind, therefore, that there can be no humility without reproaches and mockery and anyone who feels ashamed of them … may as well abandon all hope, of being able to achieve perfection.”
“That which God commands seems difficult and a burden. The way is rough; you draw back; you have no desire to follow it. Yet DO SO – and you will attain glory.”
“What good thing could God deny us when He is the one who invites us to ask?”
One Minute Reflection – 5 July – The Memorial of St Anthony Mary Zaccaria (1502-1539)
But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfil your ministry……2 Timothy 4:5
REFLECTION – “In His mercy, God has chosen us, unworthy as we are, out of the world, to serve Him and thus to advance in goodness and to bear the greatest possible fruit of love in patience……We should keep running steadily in the race we have started, not losing sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.”……….St Anthony Mary Zaccaria (An excerpt from a letter of Saint Anthony to his congregation).
PRAYER – Lord, enable us to grasp in the spirit of Saint Paul, the sublime wisdom of Jesus Christ, the wisdom which inspired Saint Anthony Zaccaria to preach the message of salvation in Your church. Grant this, we pray, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Anthony Mary Zaccaria, pray for us amen.
Thought for the Day – 4 July – The Memorial of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati T.O.S.D. (1901-1925) “Man of the Eight Beatitudes”
Once after visiting a badly disfigured leper he explained to a friend his rationale for his selfless giving:
“How rich we are to be in good health. The deformation of that young man will disappear in a few years when he enters Paradise. But we have the duty of putting our health at the service of those who haven’t it. To act otherwise would be to betray the gift of God. No human being should ever be left abandoned. But the best of all charities is that consecrated to the sick. That is an exceptional work: few have the courage to face its difficulties and dangers, to take on themselves the sufferings of others, in addition to their own needs and their own precautions and cares.”
Pier Giorgio was famous in Turin but his family regarded him as a problem . His father, Alfredo Frassati, editor of the daily La Stampa, seems to have resented his largesse. And his mother was inconvenienced by his frequent absences and his lateness to meals. Only after his death did they come to appreciate their son.
A virulent form of poliomyelitis attacked Pier Giorgio in July 1925 and he died within a week. He was twenty-four years old.
Once a friend observed that when Pier Giorgio finished praying in church, he waved a little farewell towards the tabernacle. I like to imagine the scene when this jovial saint said hello to Christ in heaven. My thought is this, on the Memorial of his beautiful saint, Bl Pier Giorgio, that the greatest gift and the only glory of my life is being a Catholic and striving each day, to grow in those greatest of all commandments, to love God above all and to love my neighbour as myself. St Edmund Campion (1540-1581), put it so well, “to be a Catholic is my greatest glory.”
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us!
LET US PRAY:
PRAYER FOR THE CANONISATION OF BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI
O merciful God,
Who through the perils of the world
deigned to preserve by Your grace
Your servant the blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
pure of heart and ardent of charity,
listen, we ask You, to our prayers, and
if it is in Your designs that he be glorified by the Church,
show us Your will,
granting us the graces we ask of You,
through his intercession,
by the merits of Jesus Christ, Our Lord,
in union with the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever.
Amen
Quote/s of he Day – 4 July – The Memorial of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati T.O.S.D. (1901-1925) “Man of the Eight Beatitudes”
“I urge you, with all the strength of my soul, to approach the Eucharistic Table as often as possible. Feed on this Bread of the Angels, from which you will draw, the strength, to fight inner struggles.”
“Jesus comes to me every morning in Holy Communion, I repay Him, in my very small way, by visiting the poor. The house may be sordid but I am going to Christ.”
“Verso l’alto,”
“To the Heights”
Blessed Pier Giorgio’s famous motto, “Verso l’alto,” Italian for “To the heights,” meant reaching for God as well as the mountain peaks. His regular habit was to attend Mass before heading to the mountains and of visiting the Blessed Sacrament upon his return. He loved the Eucharist. He would often spend whole nights in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
“You ask me whether I am in good spirits. How could I not be so? As long as Faith gives me strength, I will always be joyful. Sadness ought to be banished from Catholic souls… the purpose for which we have been created shows us the path; even if strewn with many thorns, it is not a sad path. It is joyful even in the face of sorrow.”
One Minute Reflection – 4 July – The Memorial of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati T.O.S.D. (1901-1925) “Man of the Eight Beatitudes”
If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth…..1 John 3:17-18
REFLECTION – “Everyone of you knows, that the foundation of our religion is charity. Without it all our religion would crumble because we would not truly be Catholics, as long as we did not carry out, or rather shape our whole lives, by the two commandments in which the essence of the Catholic Faith lies: to love God with all our strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves.”…….Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati
PRAYER – Loving Father, teach me to see the face of Your Divine Son in all those I meet especially those in need. Help me to realise that love is the most powerful force in the world. Saint Elizabeth of Portugal and Blessed Pier Georgio are an inspiration to us all, teaching us by their actions, that it is only in living love in charity that we can be true Catholics. Saint Elizabeth of Portugal and Blessed Pier Georgio pray for us, amen.
Saint of the Day – 4 July – St Elizabeth of Portugal T.O.S.F. (1271-1336) Queen Consort, Franciscan Tertiary, Apostle of Charity and Peace, political negotiator and mediator – also known as Elizabeth of Aragon, Elisabet in Catalan, Isabel in Aragonese, Portuguese and Spanish and The Peacemaker, born in 1271 at Aragon, Spain and died on 4 July 1336 at Estremoz, Portugal of a fever. Patronages – Coimbra, Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Cathedral of La Laguna.
Elizabeth means “Promise of God”
Saint Elizabeth was the daughter of King Peter III of this kingdom and niece of King James the Conqueror, great-niece of Emperor Frederick II of Germany. They gave her the name Elizabeth after her aunt, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
Her formation was formidable and from the time she was very young she had a notable piety. She was taught that, in order to be truly good, she ought to include mortification of her likes and whims along with her prayer. She was careful to order her life toward the love of God and neighbour, disciplining her habits of life. She did not eat between meals.
She was married at the age of 12 to King Dionysius of Portugal. This was a great cross for Elizabeth because he was a man of little morals, being violent an unfaithful. But she endured heroically this trial. She prayed and offered many sacrifices for him. She always treated him with goodness. They had two sons: Alfonso, the future king of Portugal and Constance, future king of Castille. Saint Elizabeth even educated the natural sons of her husband with other women. The king, for his part, admired her and permitted her to live an authentic Christian life, to a certain degree. She would rise very early in the morning and read six psalms, attend Holy Mass and dedicated herself to manage the duties of the palace. In her free time she met with other women to make clothing for the poor. She dedicated the afternoons to visiting the elderly and ill.
She made possible the construction of hostels, a hospital for the poor, a free school, a home for women repenting from a sinful life and a hospice for abandoned children. She also constructed convents and did other good works for the people. She would lend her beautiful dresses and even one of her crowns for the weddings of poor young women.
Saint Elizabeth would frequently distribute coins from the Royal Treasury to the poor so that they could buy their daily bread. On one occasion, King Dionysius, suspicious of her actions, began to spy on her. When the queen began to distribute money among the poor, the king saw and, infuriated, went to reclaim it. But the Lord intervened, in such a way that, when the king ordered that she showed him what she was giving to the poor, the coins turned to roses.
The Peacemaker:
The son of Elizabeth, Alfonso, had a violent character like his father. He was filled with anger at the preference his father showed to his natural children. On two occasions he promoted a civil war against his father. Elizabeth strived for reconciliation between father and son. On one occasion she went on pilgrimage to Santarem, a Eucharistic miracle and, dressed as a penitent, implored the Lord for peace.
Then she went to present herself on the field of battle and, when the armies of her spouse and son were about to engage in battle, the queen kneeled between them and, on her knees, asked her husband and son to be reconciled.
Some of her letters have been preserved, which reflect gospel values and audacity of our Saint. To her husband:“Like an infuriated wolf that is going to kill your Little son, I will fight so that the arms to the King are not unleashed against our own son. But at the same time, I will first make sure that the arms of the army of my son are destroyed, before they are fired against the followers of his father.”
To her son: “By the Blessed Virgin Mary, I ask that you make peace with your father. See, the soldiers are burning houses, destroying crops and breaking everything in pieces. Not with weapons, my son, we cannot fix the problem with weapons, but rather with dialogue, continuing negotiations to fix these conflicts. I will make the troops of the king go away and that the demands of the son be attended to but please remember, that you have a most serious duty to your father as his son and as a subject to his king.”
She obtained peace on more than one occasion, and her husband died repentant, without a doubt due to prayers of his wife.
Because Saint Elizabeth had such a great love for the Eucharist, she dedicated herself to study the lives of the Saints who were most notable in their love for the Eucharist and especially Saint Clare. After becoming a widow, Saint Elizabeth divested herself of all her riches. She went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, where she surrendered her crown to the Archbishop in order to receive the habit as a Claretian tertiary. The Archbishop was so moved by this act of the Saint that he gave her his pastoral cross to help her on her return to Portugal. She lived her last years in the convent, dedicated to Eucharistic adoration.
When a war broke out between her son and her son-in-law, the King of Castille, Saint Elizabeth, despite her old age, undertook a long journey by dangerous roads and obtained peace. Nevertheless, the trip cost her life. Feeling herself close to death, she asked to be taken to a Claretian convent that she herself had founded. There she died invoking Our Lady on 4 July 1336.
God blessed her tomb with miracles. Her body can be venerated in the Claretian convent in Coimbra. She was Canonised on 25 May 1625 by Pope Urban VIII.
Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, pray for peace in our world!
St Elizabeth on the Colonnade at St Peter’s, Rome St Elizabeth on the 50 Escudos Note, prior to the Euro
Thought for the Day – 3 July – Feast of St Thomas Apostle
The weakness of Thomas’s faith
is a source of our Lord’s great blessing for the Church
We must not suppose that St Thomas differed greatly from the other apostles. They all, more or less, mistrusted Christ’s promises when they saw Him led away to be crucified. When He was buried, their hopes were buried with Him and when the news was brought them, that He was risen again, they all disbelieved it. On His appearing to them, He “upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart.” (Mark 16:14)… Thomas was convinced latest, because He saw Christ latest. On the other hand, it is certain that, though he disbelieved the good news of Christ’s resurrection at first, he was no cold-hearted follower of his Lord, as appears from his conduct on a previous occasion, when he expressed a desire to share danger and to suffer with Him…: “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (Jn 11:16)… It was at the instance of Thomas that they hazarded their lives with their Lord.
St Thomas then loved his Master, as became an apostle and was devoted to His service; but when he saw him crucified, his faith failed for a season with that of the rest… and more than the rest. His standing out alone, not against one witness only but against his ten fellow disciples, besides Mary Magdalene and the other women is evidence of this… He seems to have required some sensible insight into the unseen state, some infallible sign from heaven, a ladder of angels like Jacob’s (Gn 28:12), which would remove anxiety by showing him the end of the journey at the time he set out. Some such secret craving after certainty beset him. And a like desire arose within him on the news of Christ’s resurrection.
While our Saviour allowed Thomas his wish and satisfied his senses that He was really alive, He accompanied the permission with a rebuke: “Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.”… All His disciples minister to Him even in their weaknesses, that so He may convert them into instruction and comfort for His Church….Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)PPS II, Sermon 2. “Faith without Sight”
“My Lord and my God!”
St Thomas, Pray for us that we too may so love our Lord and our God and “follow Him” to the end of time!
Quote of the Day – 3 July – Feast of St Thomas Apostle
“For by your doubting, I am taught to believe, by your forked-tongue, that revealed the wound on the divine body that was pierced, I harvest the fruit for myself without pain.”
One Minute Reflection – 3 July – Feast of St Thomas Apostle – Today’s Gospel: John 20:24-29.
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”...John 20:24-25
REFLECTION – “This was, therefore, a work of divine providence, that the separation of the disciple, would become a harbinger of increasing safety and surety. For if Thomas had not been absent, he would not have doubted; and, if he would not have doubted, he would not have sought strangely; and, if he would not have sought, he would not have felt; and, if he would not have felt, he would not have been convinced of the Lord and God; and, if he did not call Him Lord and God, then neither would we have been taught to hymn Him thus. For Thomas, by not being present, has led us towards the truth and later, became more confirmed regarding the faith.”… St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor
PRAYER – Father, let our celebration on the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, be the source of his unfailing help and protection. Fill us with Your life-giving grace through our faith in Your Son, Jesus the Christ, whom Thomas acknowledged to be his Lord and his God. We make our prayer, through our Lord Jesus in union with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever and ever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 2 July – Monday of the Thirteenth Week, Year B – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 8:18-22
“The poverty that makes rich.”
Excerpt from the “Sacrum Commercium” – “The Sacred Exchange between St Francis and Lady Poverty”
“And when He had fulfilled all those
Things of which you have spoken,
and desired to return to the Father Who had sent Him,
He made me a Testament to His Elect
and confirmed it by irrefragable Decrees :
Lay not up Gold nor Silver, nor Money.
Carry neither Purse, nor Scrip, nor Bread, nor a Staff, nor Shoes, nor two Coats.
And if any Man will contend with thee and take away thy Coat,
let go thy Cloak also. And whoever shall compel thee to go a mile,
go with him other twain.
Lay not up unto yourselves Treasures upon Earth,
where Rust and Moth doth corrupt
and where Thieves break through and steal.
Take no thought, saying:
What shall we eat, or what shall we drink,
or wherewithal shall we be clothed?
And take no thought of the morrow,
for the morrow will take thought for itself.
Sufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof.
Whosoever doth not renounce
all that he hath, cannot be my
disciple . . . And many the
like sayings, which are all to
be found in the Gospels.”
The Sacred Exchange between Saint Francis and Lady Poverty, is one of the richest texts of the early Franciscan movement, “the single most brilliant example of the simple but lapidary allegory which was to become a major mode of spiritual writing in the later Middle Ages.” An allegory offering insights into Francis’s vision of poverty, the Sacred Exchange weaves a luxuriant tapestry of images held together by the strong threads of a biblical theology. For all of its richness, however, no text of these first hundred and fifty years is more mysterious. Like the weaver of an undated tapestry, the author of the Sacred Exchange is content to hide obscurely making sure that the ends and threads are in their proper place that the beauty and exactness of his work may be seen. Although there are many names suggested, the author of the Sacred Exchange still remains unknown. The same holds true for the date of its composition though it is believed by solid historical explorations, to date from late 13th century.
The allegory is an exhortation written to encourage Francis’s followers to live in the authentic way of the saint’s biblical vision of poverty. The central figure of the work is Lady Poverty, the personification of biblical Wisdom and, at times, of the Church. The Passage above is one of the most profound, as each word is taken from scripture and bound together into a poem of immense richness.
This is a lesson we now need to embrace, as difficult as it would seem in the world in which we live, the world led only by riches. For this is a true desire for sanctity, with Christ alone as our riches!
One Minute Reflection – 2 July – Monday of the Thirteenth Week, Year B – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 8:18-22 and the Memorial of Blessed Peter of Luxembourg (1369-1387)
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”…Matthew 8:20
REFLECTION – “Hence the blessed apostle Peter, when he was going up to the temple and was asked for alms by a lame man, said, “I have neither silver nor gold but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, rise and walk” (Acts 3:6)… And Peter, that poor man, who did not have anything to give him who asked for alms, bestowed so great a gift of divine grace that, not content with setting one man upright on his feet, he healed those many thousands of believers in their hearts by giving them faith.”…St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father & Doctor
PRAYER – Lord God, be the beginning and the end of all that we are and do and say. Prompt our actions with Your grace, may Your light be our only way, may Your commands be our only need and complete all, with Your all-powerful help. Blessed Peter of Luxembourg, who was the rich young man made poor, pray for us! We make our prayer through Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever and ever, amen.
Sunday Reflection – 1 July – By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
O my dear Jesus, what can You do to make me love You?
Make me understand, what an excess of love You have shown me, by reducing Yourself to food,
in order to unite Yourself to poor sinners!
You, my dear Redeemer, have so much affection for me,
that You have not refused to give Yourself, again and again, entirely to me in Holy Communion.
And yet, I have had the courage to drive You away from my soul on so many occasions!
You do not despise a humble and contrite heart.
You became human for my sake.
You died for me.
You even went so far as to become my food.
What more can there remain for You to do in order to gain my love?
Oh, that I could die with grief, every time that I remember, that I have despised Your grace.
I repent, O my love, with my whole heart for having offended You.
I love You, O infinite goodness! I love You, O infinite love!
I desire nothing but to love You and I fear nothing but to live without Your love.
My beloved Jesus, do not refuse to come to me.
Come, because I would rather die a thousand times than drive You away again.
I will do all that I can to please You.
Come and inflame my whole soul with Your love.
Grant that I may forget everything, to think only of You,
and to desire You alone,
my sovereign and my only good.
One Minute Reflection – 1 July – The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Mark 5:21-43
“I say to you, arise!”...Mark 5:41
REFLECTION – “Then He entered the room where the child was and, taking the child by the hand, said to her: ‘Talitha koum’. The girl arose immediately and walked around.’ Let us desire Jesus to touch us and at once we too will walk. Whether we are paralysed or whether we commit wrongful deeds, we find ourselves unable to walk. Perhaps we are lying on the bed of our sins as if on a real bed. No sooner will Jesus touch us than we shall at once be healed.”…St Jerome (347-420) Father & Doctor
PRAYER – “By Your grace, Lord, touch our hands, we who are lying down; raise us up from the bed of our sins; cause us to walk. When we have walked, give the command that we should be given something to eat. Lying down, we cannot walk and, if we are not upright, we cannot receive the body of Christ, to whom be glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for endless ages. Amen”…St Jerome (347-420) Father & Doctor
Quote/s of the Day – 30 June – The Memorial of Blessed Raymond Lull T.O.S.F. (c 1232 – c1315) Martyr
“The Beloved created and the Lover destroyed. The Beloved judged and the Lover wept. Then the Beloved redeemed him and the Lover again had glory. The Beloved finished His work and the Lover remained forever, in his Beloved’s companionship.”
“Death has no terrors for a sincere servant of Christ, who is labouring to bring souls to a knowledge of the truth.”
One Minute Reflection – 30 June – Saturday of the Twelth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 8:5-17 – The Memorial of The First Holy Martyrs of the Church of Rome & Blessed Raymond Lull T.O.S.F. (c 1232 – c1315) Martyr
“I say to you, many will come, from the east and the west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven.”…Matthew 8:11
REFLECTION – “And the saints who preceded us are also waiting for us, slow and lazy as we are. Their joy is not perfect so long as there is reason to weep over our sins. The apostle testifies to this for me when he says: “Without us, they were not to be made perfect.” (Heb 11:40) So see: Abraham is waiting. Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets are waiting for us to possess perfect beatitude with us… If you are holy, you will have joy when you leave this life but that joy will only be complete when not one of the members of the Body we are all to form together is missing anymore. You will also wait for others in the same way as you were awaited. Now if you who are only one member cannot have perfect joy if another member is absent, how much more our Lord and Saviour, who is both the author and the head of the entire Body… Then we will have come to the maturity of which the apostle Paul said: “The life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me.” (Gal 2:20) Then our pontiff will drink the new wine in the new heaven, on the new earth, in the new human person, with the new human persons, with those who sing the new song.”…Origen (c185-253)
PRAYER – Grant us Lord, a true knowledge of salvation, so that freed from fear and from the power of our foes, we may serve You faithfully, all the days of our life and attain the light and joy of our heavenly home. By the blood of the Martyrs and the glory of the Communion of Saints, strengthen us with their faith and endurance. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in unity with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 29 June – The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
“Their sound has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world”
Psalm 19
“Where Peter is, there is the Church. Where the Church is, there is Jesus Christ. Where Jesus Christ is, there is eternal salvation.”
St Ambrose (340-397)
One of the original four Doctors of the Church
“There is one day for the passion of two apostles. But these two also were as one; although they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, Paul followed. We are celebrating a feast day, consecrated for us by the blood of the apostles. Let us love their faith, their lives, their labours, their sufferings, their confession of faith, their preaching.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
“There must be general rejoicing, dearly beloved, over this holy company whom God has appointed for our example in patience and for our confirmation in faith. But we must glory even more in the excellence of their fathers, Peter and Paul, whom the grace of God has raised to such a height among all the members of the Church that He has set them like twin lights of eyes in that Body whose head is Christ.”
St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father & Doctor of the Church
Today the Lord repeats to me, to you…: Follow Me! Waste no time in questioning or in useless chattering; do not dwell on secondary things but look to what is essential and follow Me. Follow Me without regard for the difficulties. Follow Me in preaching the Gospel. Follow Me by the witness of a life shaped by the grace you received in baptism….. and holy orders. Follow Me by speaking of Me, to those with whom you live, day after day, in your work, your conversations and among your friends. Follow Me by proclaiming the Gospel to all, especially to the least among us, so that no one will fail to hear the word of life, which sets us free from every fear and enables us to trust in the faithfulness of God. Follow Me!
One Minute Reflection – 29 June – The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 16:13–19
And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” …Matthew 16:18-19
REFLECTION – “And so it is with Rome, where the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, gave with their blood their final witness. The vocation of Rome is of apostolic origin and the ministry which it is our lot to exercise here, is a service for the benefit of the entire Church and of mankind. But it is an irreplaceable service, because it has pleased the Wisdom of God to place the Rome of Peter and Paul, so to speak, on the road that leads to the eternal City, by the fact that Wisdom chose to confide to Peter—who unifies in himself the College of Bishops—the keys of the kingdom of heaven. What remains here, not through the effect of man’s will but through the free and merciful benevolence of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, is the soliditas Petri, such as our predecessor Saint Leo the Great extolled in unforgettable terms: “Saint Peter does not cease to preside over his See and preserves an endless sharing, with the Sovereign Priest. The firmness that he received from the Rock which is Christ, he himself, having become the Rock, transmits it equally to his successors.”…Blessed Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) – Exhortation on Christian Joy, 1975
PRAYER – Lord our God, You give us the great joy of devoting this day to the honour of the apostles Peter and Paul. Provide us, by their intercession, with help for our eternal salvation. Grant that Your Church may follow their teaching to the full, because these are the men who first taught us to worship You in Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 28 June – The Memorial of St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 135 – c 202) Father of the Church
Catechism of the Catholic Church
III. Only One Faith (#172-175)
172 Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples and nations, the Church has constantly confessed this one faith, received from the one Lord, transmitted by one Baptism and grounded in the conviction, that all people have only one God and Father. St Irenaeus of Lyons, a witness of this faith, declared:
173 “Indeed, the Church, though scattered throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, having received the faith from the apostles and their disciples. . . guards [this preaching and faith] with care, as dwelling in but a single house and similarly believes as if having but one soul and a single heart and preaches, teaches and hands on this faith with a unanimous voice, as if possessing only one mouth.”
174 “For though languages differ throughout the world, the content of the Tradition is one and the same. The Churches established in Germany have no other faith or Tradition, nor do those of the Iberians, nor those of the Celts, nor those of the East, of Egypt, of Libya, nor those established at the centre of the world. . .” The Church’s message “is true and solid, in which one and the same way of salvation appears throughout the whole world.”
175 “We guard with care the faith that we have received from the Church, for without ceasing, under the action of God’s Spirit, this deposit of great price, as if in an excellent vessel, is constantly being renewed and causes the very vessel that contains it to be renewed.”
From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus
“The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of God came down upon the Lord and the Lord in turn gave this Spirit to His Church, sending the Advocate from heaven into all the world into which, according to His own words, the devil too had been cast down like lightning. If we are not to be scorched and made unfruitful, we need the dew of God. Since we have our accuser, we need an Advocate as well.
And so the Lord in His pity for man, who had fallen into the hands of brigands, having Himself bound up his wounds and left for his care two coins, bearing the royal image, entrusted him to the Holy Spirit. Now, through the Spirit, the image and inscription of the Father and the Son have been given to us and it is our duty to use the coin committed to our charge and make it yield a rich profit for the Lord.”
Quote/s of the Day – 28 June – The Memorial of St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 135 – c 202) Father of the Church
“Our way of thinking, is attuned to the Eucharist and the Eucharist in turn, confirms our way of thinking.”
“Jesus Christ, in His infinite love, has become what we are, in order that He may make us entirely what He is.”
“It is not you that shapes God. It is God that shapes you. If then you are the work of God await the Hand of the artist who does all things in due season. Offer Him your heart, soft and tractable and keep the form in which the artist has fashioned you. Let the clay be moist lest you go hard and lose the imprint of His Fingers.”
“As long as anyone has the means of doing good to his neighbours and does not do so, he shall be reckoned a stranger to the love of the Lord.”
The business of the Christian is nothing else but to be ever preparing for death.
“The universal Church, that is, the faithful everywhere, must be in agreement with this Church because of her outstanding superiority.”
“Being obedient she (Mary) became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race. The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.”
AnaStpaul 
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