Thought for the Day – 17 June – The Memorial of St Albert Chmielowski (1845-1916)
At the beatification on 22 June 1983, St Pope John Paul II said: “Brother Albert…reached [the] heights of holiness…by way of love… Adam Chmielowski studied painting and for a number of years engaged in artistic activities before following his vocation, which, after a first attempt in the Society of Jesus, led him to the Third Order Franciscans, from where his Albertine vocation took shape… Brother Albert laid down his life in the service of the very poor and of social outcasts. [He] gave his life completely to Christ. And in Christ [he] discovered the fullness of knowledge, of love and of service….”
Brother Albert confessed: “I look at Jesus in His Eucharist. Could His love have provided anything more beautiful? If He is bread, let us too become bread…let us give ourselves.”Brother Albert did this to the very end, until he died in his “beggars’ refuge” in Krakow in 1916.
On the basis of a new miracle worked by God through the intercession of Brother Albert (beatified 22 June 1983), St Pope John Paul II canonised him only six years later, on 12 November 1989, to the joy of the Polish people and for the consolation of all homeless people, for whom this Polish saint can be a powerful intercessor, just as he was a generous helper to them while on earth.
Quote of the Day – 17 June – The Memorial of St Albert Chmielowski (1845-1916)
“I look at Jesus in His Eucharist. Could His love have provided anything more beautiful? If He is bread, let us too become bread… let us give ourselves.”
One Minute Reflection – 17 June – The Memorial of St Albert Chmielowski (1845-1916)
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”….Matthew 6:19-21
REFLECTION – Reflecting on his own priestly vocation, St Pope John Paul II wrote in 1996 that Brother Albert had played a role in its formation …..“because I found in him a real spiritual support and example in leaving behind the world of art, literature and the theatre and in making the radical choice of a vocation to the charity” ………..St John Paul speaking of St Albert Chmielowski(Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination)
PRAYER – Father of goodness, make me realise and understand that each and all of my brothers represent the face of Jesus and that He is the only way to You for us all! Help me to extend all of myself to my neighbour in loving imitation of Your Son. St Albert Chmielowski, pray for us that we too may be a light in the darkness of this world, to all who call out to us in their pain and suffering. And please pray for us! Amen
Quote of the Day – 16 June – Month of the Sacred Heart and the Memorial of St Lutgarde of Aywières (1182-1246) Mystic – The first known female Stigmatist and one of the first Devotees of the Sacred Heart (St Lutgarde here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/saint-of-the-day-16-june-st-lutgarde-of-aywieres-the-first-known-woman-stigmatic-of-the-church-and-one-of-the-first-promoters-of-devotion-to-the-sacred-heart/)
“So be it, Lord, so long as Your Heart’s love is mingled with mine I have and hold my heart in You. For with You as my shield, my heart is secure for all time.”
Quote/s of the Day – 15 June – June, the Month of the Sacred Heart
“O most Sacred, most loving Heart of Jesus, You are concealed in the Holy Eucharist and You beat for us still.”
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
“I beg and entreat you, by the love of God and by the respect which we owe Him, to apply yourselves to serve Our Lord Jesus Christ with all the fidelity of which you are capable and to venerate His Divine Majesty with the deepest respect, above all in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which He is hidden in all the greatness of His divine and human natures, wherein He is present as entirely, as powerfully and as infinitely, as He is in heaven.”
One Minute Reflection – 15 June – Friday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:27-32
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress and whoever marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.”…Matthew 5:31-32
REFLECTION – “Married love particularly reveals its true nature and nobility when we realise that it takes its origin from God, who is love… Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves alone… develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives. The marriage of those who have been baptised is, in addition, invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it represents the union of Christ and His Church (Eph 5:32).
In the light of these facts the characteristic features and exigencies of married love are clearly indicated. This love is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and sorrows of daily life but also to grow, so that husband and wife become, in a way, one heart and one soul and together attain their human fulfilment.
It is a love which is total—that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner, loves not only for what he receives but loves that partner, for the partner’s own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.
Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage… Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being.”…Blessed Paul VI – Humanae vitae, 8-9
PRAYER – Yours is the day and Yours, the night, Lord God and we are Your children. Grant we pray, that the weakness of our humanity, the drive of our emotions and flesh may not overpower us. Lead us Lord, through the dangers of our day, give us strength and true love, wishing only our final home for those who share our lives, especially our spouse. Mary, pray for us, that we may imitate your faithfulness in all things, St Joseph be a guide and a support to us all. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B
Speaking of: Seeking Thomas à Kempis
“Man sees your actions but God your motives.”
“What else does anxiety about the future bring you but sorrow upon sorrow?”
“He who loves with purity, considers not, the gift of the lover but the love of the giver.”
“Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God’s sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God.”
“Who has a harder fight, than he who is striving, to overcome himself?”
“Habit is overcome by habit.”
“Love wakes much and sleeps little and, in sleeping, does not sleep. It faints but is not weary; it is restricted in its liberty and is great freedom. It sees reasons to fear and does not fear but, like an ember or a spark of fire, flames always upward, by the fervour of its love, toward God and through the special help of grace, is delivered from all perils and dangers.”
“For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step.”
“In the Cross is salvation; in the Cross is life, in the Cross is protection against our enemies, in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the Cross is strength of mind, in the Cross is joy of spirit, in the Cross is excellence of virtue, in the Cross is perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of eternal life, save in the Cross.”
“He will be with you also, all the way, that faithful God. Every morning when you awaken, to the old and tolerable pain, at every mile of the hot uphill dusty road of tiring duty, on to the judgment seat, the same Christ there as ever, still loving you, still sufficient for you, even then. And then, on through all eternity.”
One Minute Reflection – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:20-26.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift...Matthew 5:23-24
REFLECTION – “The Church does not exist for us to remain divided when we come to it but rather so that our divisions might be nullified. That is what the assembly means. Thus if we have come for the Eucharist, let us not do anything in contradiction to the Eucharist, let us not hurt our brother. You have come to give thanks for the kindnesses you have received, therefore, do not separate yourself from your neighbour.
Christ offered his body to everyone without distinction when he said: “Take and eat, all of you.” Why do you not admit everyone to your own table? … You are remembering Christ and you disdain someone who is poor? … You are taking part in this divine meal; you should be the most compassionate of all people. You have drunk the Lord’s blood and you do not acknowledge your brother? But even if you have ignored him until now, at this table you must acknowledge him. We must all be in the Church as in one common house, we form only one body. We have only one baptism, one single table, one single source, as well as one single Father.”…St John Chrysostom (345-407), Father & Doctor of the Church (Homilies on the 1st Letter to the Corinthians, no 27 -cf Eph 4:5; 1 Cor 10:17 )
PRAYER – Lord God, true light and creator of light, grant that faithfully following the instructions of Your Son and pondering all that is holy, we may ever live in the splendour of Your presence. By the gifts of the Holy Spirit, may we always be light to our neighbour. Mary, Mother of Love and our loving mother, by your prayers, may we grow in charity and love. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord amen.
Thought for the Day – 13 June – The Memorial of St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church
Not only the Nativity, a central point of Christ’s love for humanity but also the vision of the Crucified One inspired in Anthony thoughts of gratitude to God and esteem for the dignity of the human person, so that all believers and non-believers might find in the Crucified One and in His image a life-enriching meaning.
St Anthony writes: “Christ, who is your life, is hanging before you, so that you may look at the Cross, as in a mirror. There you will be able to know, how mortal were your wounds, that no medicine other, than the Blood of the Son of God, could heal. If you look closely, you will be able to realise, how great your human dignity and your value are…. Nowhere other than looking at himself, in the mirror of the Cross, can man better understand how much he is worth”(Sermones Dominicales et Festivi III, pp. 213-214).
In meditating on these words we are better able to understand the importance of the image of the Crucified One for our culture, for our humanity that is born from the Christian faith. Precisely by looking at the Crucified One we see, as St Anthony says, how great are the dignity and worth of the human being. At no other point can we understand how much the human person is worth, precisely because God makes us so important, considers us so important that, in his opinion, we are worthy of his suffering; thus all human dignity appears in the mirror of the Crucified One and our gazing upon him is ever a source of acknowledgement of human dignity…..Pope Benedict XVI (General Audience – February 10, 2010)
Quote/s of the Day – 13 June – The Memorial of St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church
“He who is the beginning and the end, the ruler of the angels, made Himself obedient to human creatures. The creator of the heavens obeys a carpenter; the God of eternal glory listens to a poor virgin. Has anyone ever witnessed anything comparable to this? Let the philosopher no longer disdain from listening to the common labourer; the wise, to the simple; the educated, to the illiterate; a child of a prince, to a peasant.”
“Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ just as travelers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey.”
“Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp and its exterior is fair to behold – but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul.”
“The devil is afraid of us when we pray and make sacrifices. He is also afraid when we are humble and good. He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much. He runs away when we make the Sign of the Cross.”
“Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.”
“The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God.”
“Charity is the soul of faith, makes it alive; without love, faith dies.”
“Damned money! Alas! … Money is the ‘droppings of birds’ that blinded the eyes of Tobit.”
St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 13 June – The Memorial of St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves…Phil 2:3
REFLECTION – “The spirit of humility is sweeter than honey, and those who nourish themselves with this honey produce sweet fruit.”…St Anthony of Padua
PRAYER – Almighty, everliving God, You gave St Anthony of Padua to Your people as a preacher and teacher and a patron in their needs. Grant that we may learn from his words inspired by Your Holy Spirit and by his prayers, grow in faith, hope and humility. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, amen.
Quote of the Day – 12 June – The Memorial of Blessed Maria Candida of the Eucharist (1884-1949) (celebrated by the Carmelite Order today)
“I want to be like Mary, to be Mary for Jesus, to take the place of His Mother. When I receive Jesus in Communion, Mary is always present. I want to receive Jesus from her hands, she must make me one with Him. I cannot separate Mary from Jesus. Hail, O Body born of Mary. Hail Mary, dawn of the Eucharist!”
Quote/s of the Day – 11 June – Memorial of St Barnabas, Apostle
Speaking of: “Seeking Sainthood”
“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Teach us to give and not to count the cost.”
“It is not hard to obey when we love the one, whom we obey.”
St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
“Let us begin in earnest to work out our salvation, for no one will do it for us, since even He Himself, Who made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves.”
St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
“You cannot be half a saint; you must be a whole saint or no saint at all.”
St Therese of the Child Jesus/Lisieux (1873-1897) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 11 June – Memorial of St Barnabas, Apostle – Today’s First Reading Acts of the Apostles 11:21b-26.13:1-3.
News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad and he exhorted them all, to remain faithful to the Lord, with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord...Acts 11:22-24
REFLECTION – “While we cannot see God, there is something we can do, to open a way, for the eye of our understanding to come to Him. It is certain that we can see now in His servants, one whom we can in no way see in Himself. When we see them doing astonishing things, we can be sure that God dwells in their hearts… None of us can look directly at the rising sun by gazing at its orb. Our eyes are repelled as they strain to see its rays. But we look at mountains bathed in sunlight and see that it has risen. Because we cannot see the Sun of righteousness (Mal 3,20) Himself, let us see the mountains bathed in His brightness, I mean the holy apostles. They shine with virtues and gleam with miracles… The power of His divinity, is in itself, like the sun in the sky; in human beings it is like the sun shining on earth…”…St Pope Gregory the Great (c 540-604), Father & Doctor of the Church (Homilies on the Gospel, no 30)
PRAYER – O God, who decreed that Saint Barnabas, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, should be set apart to convert the nations, grant that the Gospel of Christ, which he strenuously preached, may be faithfully proclaimed by word and by deed. We pray you Lord, that by the intercession of St Barnabas, we too may grow in faith and love and live to glorify Your kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Sunday Reflection – 10 June -Tenth Sunday of the Year B
“The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass gives boundless honour to the Most Blessed Trinity because it represents the passion of Jesus Christ and because, through the Mass, we offer God the merits of Our Lord’s obedience, of His sufferings and of His Precious Blood. The whole of the heavenly court also receives an accidental joy from the Mass.
Several doctors of the Church—together with St Thomas Aquinas—tell us that, for the same reason, all the blessed in Heaven rejoice in the communion of the faithful because the Blessed Sacrament, is a memorial of the passion and death of Jesus Chris and that by means of it, men share in its fruits and work out their salvation”
St Louis de Montfort (1673-1716)
“Adore and praise the immense love Jesus has for you in this Sacrament of Himself.
In order not to leave you a lonely orphan in this land of exile and misery, He comes from heaven for you personally, to offer you companionship and consolation.
Thank Him, therefore, with all your love and all your strength;
thank Him in union with all the saints!”…Fr Vincent M Lucia “Come to me”
Quote of the Day – 10 June -Tenth Sunday of the Year B
“If we approach with faith, we too will see Jesus… for the Eucharistic table takes the place of the crib. Here, the Body of the Lord is present, wrapped not in swaddling clothes, but in the rays of the Holy Spirit.”
One Minute Reflection – 10 June – Tenth Sunday of the Year B – Today’s Gospel Mark 3:20-35
“But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”…Mark 3:29
REFLECTION – “Why is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit unforgivable? How should this blasphemy be understood? St Thomas Aquinas replies that it is a question of a sin that is “unforgivable by its very nature, insofar as it excludes the elements through which the forgiveness of sin takes place.” According to such an exegesis, “blasphemy” does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers us through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross. If man rejects the “convincing concerning sin” which comes from the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:8) and which has the power to save, he also rejects the “coming” of the Counsellor (Jn 16:7) – that “coming” which was accomplished in the Paschal Mystery, in union with the redemptive power of Christ’s Blood: the Blood which “purifies the conscience from dead works” (Heb 9:15).
We know that the result of such a purification is the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, whoever rejects the Spirit and the Blood (cf. 1Jn 5:8) remains in “dead works,” in sin. And the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists precisely in the radical refusal to accept this forgiveness, of which he is the intimate giver and which presupposes the genuine conversion which he brings about in the conscience. If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this “non-forgiveness” is linked, as to its cause, to “non-repentance,” in other words to the radical refusal to be converted…
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, then, is the sin committed by the person, who claims to have a “right” to persist in evil – in any sin at all – and who thus, rejects Redemption. One closes oneself up in sin, thus making impossible one’s conversion and consequently the remission of sins, which one considers not essential or not important for one’s life. This is a state of spiritual ruin, because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not allow one to escape from one’s self-imposed imprisonment.”… St John Paul II (1920-2005) Encyclical “Dominum et vivificantem”
PRAYER – Lord God strength of those who hope in You, support us in our prayer because we are weak and can do nothing without You. Grant always the help of Your grace so that, in fulfilling Your commandments, we may please You in the depths of our hearts and souls and be free of sin against You. Fill us with the Holy Spirit, who is our refuge, our strength, our truth. Through Christ, our Lord, with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Mark 3:35
Thought for the Day – 9 June – The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
“It was through the body of a young, Jewish girl, living in a tiny village called Nazareth, that Jesus, the divine Word, was made flesh. Mary belonged to that part of the people of Israel, who awaited the Lord’s coming with expectation and longing. She had no doubt read about His coming in the Old Testament Scriptures and prayed for it. But she had no idea how it would come about. Most Israelites thought the Messiah would manifest Himself gloriously.
When the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the “door’ through which the long awaited desire of the nations would be fulfilled, she must have been astonished: “Hail, O favoured one, the Lord is with you! … You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus” (Lk 1.28-31). A new life – filled with risks – opened before her. According to the Church’s tradition, Mary, in an exceptional gesture for a Jewish woman, had decided “not to know man” (Lk 1.34). She had discerned virginity to be God’s will. Her Immaculate Heart – the Feast we keep this day – prompted a total giving of herself to God and included the gift of both her body and her heart. Reassuring her that God had not disdained her vow, Gabriel told Mary that, like the glory of God coming upon the ark, so would the Spirit overshadow her. The young “handmaid of the Lord” contemplated the Angel’s words. She treasured them in her heart. Her response, known as her fiat – “let it be done to me as you say” (Lk 1.38) – shows that she entrusted herself fully to God’s designs. She chose to forgo her own plans for God’s. Through her fiat, the Word of God took flesh in the tabernacle of her womb…..
Today in this Eucharist, on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus knocks at the door of our heart. In us, He wishes to take up His abode and, through our body, enter human history. When we welcome Him, He gives birth to divinity within the crib of our hearts. What answer will our heart give to His divine proposal?”…..Cardinal Robert Sarah (16 June 2012)
One Minute Reflection – 9 June – The Memorial of St Ephrem (306-373) Father & Doctor of the Church
…Show(ing) yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity and sound speech that cannot be criticised, so that the opponent will be put to shame, without anything bad to say about us…Titus 2:7-8
REFLECTION – “Anyone who wants to be an example to others, must first examine himself.”…St Ephrem
PRAYER – O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother; for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen….Prayer of St Ephrem of whom we ask, please pray for us!
Thought for the Day — 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests
The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests 2002 takes its inspiration from the theme of John Paul II’s Letters to Priests for Holy Thursday 2000, 2001, and 2002. Below is an excerpt from the Congregation of the Clergy to all our Priests all over the world.
From St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor
“These are really the ones who are in charge of spiritual travail and responsible for the birth which comes through baptism. Through them we put on Christ and are buried in union with the Son of God and become members, obedient to our blessed Head (cf. Rom 6,1; Gal 3,27). For that reason they should not only be more justly feared than rulers and kings but also, be more honoured, than our parents. For our parents generated us of blood and the will of the flesh (cf. Jn 1,13) but the priests are the authors of our birth from God, even that blessed regeneration which is true freedom and adopted sonship according to grace” (cf. St John Chrysostom, De sacerdotio, III, 6, PG 48, 643-644).
From St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor
“Our altar of gold is the Heart of Christ. We must enter into the Holy of Holies, which is this same Heart of Jesus and gather up the riches of His love” (St Anthony of Padua).
From St John of Avila (1500-1569) Doctor of the Church
“If the Jewish High priest carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his shoulders and on his breast, how much more Christ, our High Priest, carries our names written on His Heart” (St John of Avila).
From the holy Curé of Ars (1786-1859) Patron of Priests
“The Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus” (CCC, n. 1589—St John Vianney, quoted in B. Nodet, Jean-Marie Vianney, Curé d’Ars, 100).
“The priest is not a priest for himself. He does not give absolution to himself. He does not administer the sacraments to himself. He does not exist for himself, he exists for you” (Curé of Ars: Monnin II 453).
From St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)
“Today everything which concerns the Sacred Heart of Jesus has become familiar and doubly dear to me. My life seems destined to be spent in the light shining from the tabernacle and it is to the Heart of Jesus that I must look for a solution to all my troubles. I feel I would be ready to shed my blood for the cause of the Sacred Heart. My fondest wish is to be able to do something for that precious object of my love.
“At times the thought of my arrogance, of my unbelievable self-love and of my great unworthiness alarms and dismays me and robs me of my courage but I soon find reason for comfort, in the words spoken by Jesus to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque: ‘I have chosen you to reveal the marvels of my heart, because you are such an abyss of ignorance and insufficiency’.
“Ah! I wish to serve the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today and always. I want my devotion to His Heart to be the measure of all my spiritual progress. I desire to do everything in intimate union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
“My greatest joy will be to seek and find comfort only in that Heart which is the source of all consolation. I am determined to give myself no peace until I can truly say, I am absorbed into the Heart of Jesus” (Bl. John XXIII, Journal of a Soul, [“During the retreat in preparation for the ordination to the diaconate, 9-18 December 1903”], pp. 208-209, New English Library: London, 1966).
Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, eternal High Priest, who, in an incomparable love for men, allowed Catholic priesthood to issue from Your Sacred Heart, deign to continue to pour out on Your priest, the life-giving streams of Infinite Love. Live in them, transform them into Yourself; Render them by Your grace instruments of Your Mercy; Act in them and through them and grant that they may perform in Your Name and by the strength of Your Spirit, the works which You Yourself accomplished for the salvation of this world. Divine Redeemer of souls, see how great is the multitude of those, who still sleep in the darkness of error; count the number of those unfaithful sheep, who are walking on the edge of an abyss; consider the crowds of the poor, the hungry, the ignorant and the weak, who are groaning in their state of abandonment. Return to us again, dear Sacred Heart of Jesus, live again in very truth in them; act through them and pass again through this world teaching, pardoning, consoling, offering sacrifice, renewing the Bonds of Love between the Heart of God and the hearts of men. We pray through the intercession of Mary, Mother of all hearts. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
...But one soldier thrust his lance into his side and immediately blood and water flowed out...John 19:34
REFLECTION – “When the Church, in the days immediately succeeding her institution, was oppressed beneath the yoke of the Caesars, a young Emperor saw in the heavens across, which became at once the happy omen and cause of the glorious victory that soon followed. And now, to-day, behold another blessed and heavenly token is offered to our sight-the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a cross rising from it and shining forth with dazzling splendour amidst flames of love. …. there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another…”…Pope Leo XII – Annum Sacrum (Holy Year) 1899
PRAYER – “May Your heart dwell always in our hearts! May Your blood ever flow in the veins of our souls! O sun of our hearts, You give life to all things by the rays of Your goodness! I will not go, until Your heart has strengthened me, O Lord Jesus! May the heart of Jesus be the king of my heart! Blessed be God. Amen.”…St Francis De Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
One Minute Reflection – 7 June – Thursday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Mark 12:28-34.
Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” …Mark 12:29-31
REFLECTION – “We cannot truly love God without loving our neighbour, nor can we truly love our neighbour, without loving God. This is why… the Holy Spirit was given a second time to the disciples. First it was given by the Lord, while He was still dwelling on earth and later, while He was watching over us in heaven (Jn 20:22; Acts 2). He was given to us on earth, that we may love our neighbours, from heaven that we may love God. Why first on earth and later from heaven, except for the reason, given us openly by John: “How can anyone who does not love his brother whom he sees, love God whom he does not see?” So let us love our neighbours, my friends, let us love the one who is near us, so that we may be able to attain the love of the one, who is above us.”…St Gregory the Great (c 540-604), Pope, Doctor of the Church (Homilies on the Gospel, no 30)
PRAYER – Lord Almighty God, You sanctify Your Church, by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fulfil in us the words of Your Son that our love for You and Your children may be come to perfection. Grant that by the prayers of St Anthony Mary Gianelli, who served You through his neighbour, with love and zeal, we too may attain our heavenly home. Through Christ our Lord, in union with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, amen.
Thought for the Day – 6 June – The Memorial of St Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840) Founder of the Marist Brothers and St Norbert (c 1080-1134)
Today’s 2 Saints certainly confirm, once again, that there are two sure ways to sanctity – through the Holy Eucharist and the Mother of God. These are the absolute totality of our Faith, these are the Source and the Heart, these are the only ways we will achieve our goal!
The relationship of Marcellin to Mary was deeply marked by an affective and total trust in her, as the “Good Mother” because it was her work that he undertook.
He wrote once: “Without Mary we are nothing and with Mary we have everything because Mary always has her adorable Son within her arms or in her heart.”
This belief remained constant all through his life. Jesus and Mary were the treasure on which Marcellin had learned to place his own heart. This intimate relationship helped shape the Marian dimension of the Marist spirituality. In the Marist tradition, the phrase “Ordinary Resource” has come to encapsulate our constant reliance on Mary. The motto attributed to Champagnat by his biographer, All to Jesus through Mary, all to Mary for Jesus, captures this close relationship between the Son and the Mother and our Founder’s attitude of confidence in Mary, which we are invited to live.
Mary, Mother, Intercede for us!
St Marcellin, Pray for us!
Excerpt from the Thought for the Day last year:
St Norbert was 33 years old before he took God seriously and during the next 20 years he made up for lost time. He did not stop to bewail lost years but gave everything he had to God. It is never too late to begin and God is always waiting for our service. We do not need a bolt of lightening to get started.
Unswerving loyalty to the Church and fervent devotion to the Eucharist, as practiced by Norbert, will continue immeasurably toward maintaining the people of God in accord with the heart of Christ.
Quote/s of the Day – 6 June – The Memorial of St Norbert (c 1080-1134)
On the day of his ordination, St Norbert said:
“O Priest! You are not of yourself because you are of God. You are not of yourself because you are the servant and minister of Christ. You are not your own because you are the spouse of the Church. You are not yourself because you are the mediator between God and man. You are not from yourself because you are nothing. What then are you? Nothing and everything. O Priest! Take care, lest what was said to Christ on the cross be said to you: ‘He saved others, himself he cannot save!”
St Norbert (c 1080-1134)
“All to Jesus through Mary, all to Mary for Jesus.”
One Minute Reflection – 6 June – Wednesday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Mark 12:18-27 and The Memorial of St Norbert (c 1080-1134) and St Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840)
“As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, (the) God of Isaac and (the) God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled.” …Mark 12:26-27
REFLECTION – “How blind are the eyes of the intellect on its own! For they have not noticed that “the blind see, the lame walk” (Mt 11:5) on earth at the Saviour’s word… so that we might believe that the flesh in its entirety will rise again at the resurrection. If He cured diseases of the flesh on this earth and restored wholeness to the body, how much more, will He do so at the moment of resurrection, so that the flesh might rise again wholly and without blemish… It seems to me that such people fail to look, at the divine action in its totality, at the beginning of creation, in the forming of man. They don’t attend to the reason why earthly things were made.
The Word said: “Let us make man in our image and likeness” (Gn 1:26)… Obviously man, formed in the image of God, was flesh. Therefore how absurd it is to claim that flesh formed by God in his own image is despicable and worthless! Clearly flesh must be precious in God’s eyes since it is His creation. And since the culmination of His plan for all the rest of creation is to be found in it, this is what has the greatest worth in the eyes of the Creator.”…St Justin (c 100-160), Martyr, Apologist, Philosopher, Father of the Church (Treatise on the resurrection, 2.4.7-9)
PRAYER – Holy Father, You made us, we belong to You. Grant that by the prayers of all your holy saints, we may attain eternal life with You to praise and worship You for all eternity. May the prayers of St Norbert and St Marcellin, assist us our earthly pilgrimage. We make our prayer through our Lord, Jesus, with You and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Saint of the Day – 6 June – Saint Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840) – Priest of the Society of Mary and Founder of the the Institute of the Little Brothers of Mary (Marist Brothers) ‘FMS’, a religious congregation of brothers devoted to Mary and dedicated to education. St Marcellin was born as Marcellin-Joseph-Benoît Champagnat on 20 May 1789 at Hameau du Rosey, Lyon, France and died on 6 June 1840 in in Saint-Chamond, Loire, France of natural causes.
MARCELLIN CHAMPAGNAT was born on 20th May 1789, in Marlhes, a village in the mountains of east-central France. The Revolution was about to burst upon the scene. He was the ninth child of a very Christian family, from whom he received his basic education. His mother and his aunt, a religious driven from her convent, awoke in him a solid faith and deep devotion to Mary. His father, who was a farmer and merchant, possessed an above-average education and played a significant role in the politics of the village and the region. He imparted to Marcellin his aptitude for manual work, a penchant for direct action, a sense of responsibility and openness to new ideas.
When Marcellin was 14, a priest passing through the village helped him to see that God was calling him to the priesthood. Marcellin, whose formal schooling was practically non-existent, began to study because “God wills it!”, even while those around him, aware of his limitations, tried to dissuade him. The difficult years he spent in the minor seminary in Verrieres (1805-1813) were for him a time of real human and spiritual growth.
Among his companions in the major seminary in Lyons were Jean-Marie Vianney, the future Cure of Ars and Jean-Claude Colin who was to become the founder of the Marist Fathers. He joined a group of seminarians whose goal was to found a congregation bearing Mary’s name and including priests, sisters and a lay third order the “Society of Mary” for the re-Christianisation of society. Deeply aware of the cultural and spiritual poverty of the children of the countryside, Marcellin felt a strong urge to include a branch of brothers for the Christian education of young people. “I cannot see a child without wanting to tell him how much Jesus loves him.” The day after their ordination on 22nd July 1816, these young priests went to consecrate themselves to Mary and to place their project under her protection at the shrine of Our Lady of Fourviere.
Basilica of Our Lady of Fourviere
Marcellin was sent as curate to the parish of La Valla. His ministry there included visiting the sick, catechising the children, helping the poor and helping families to live the Christian life. His simple, direct style of preaching, his deep devotion to Mary and his apostolic zeal, made a profound impression on his parishioners. His encounter with a dying 17-year-old boy, who had absolutely no religious instruction, shook him to his depths and moved him not to delay any longer in putting his plans into action.
On 2nd January 1817, only six months after his arrival in La Valla, Marcellin, a 27-year-old curate, brought together his first two disciples; the congregation of the Little Brothers of Mary, or Marist Brothers, was born in poverty, humility and total trust in God under Mary’s protection. While still carrying on his parish ministry, he went to live with his brothers, whom he trained and prepared for their mission as Christian teachers, catechists and educators of young people. Passionately devoted to the Kingdom of God, conscious of the tremendous needs of young people and an instinctive educator, Marcellin turned these uncultured young country lads into generous apostles. He lost no time in opening schools. Vocations arrived and the first little house, even though enlarged by Marcellin himself, was soon too small. There were many difficulties. The clergy in general did not understand what this inexperienced young priest with no material resources was trying to accomplish. However, the nearby villages continually requested brothers to see to the Christian education of their children.
Marcellin and his brothers shared in the construction of their new house, which could hold more than 100 persons and which would bear the name of “Our Lady of the Hermitage”. Freed from his parish duties in 1825, he thenceforth devoted himself totally to his congregation: the spiritual, pedagogical and apostolic formation and accompaniment of his brothers, visits to the schools and the opening of new ones.
Marcellin, a man of deep faith, never ceased to seek the will of God through prayer and dialogue with the religious authorities and with his brothers . Very conscious of his own limitations, he counted only on God and on the protection of Mary, his “Good Mother”, “Ordinary Resource” and “First Superior”. His deep humility and his acute awareness of the presence of God, helped him to live through many severe trials with great inner peace. He often prayed psalm 126: “If the Lord does not build the house”, convinced that this congregation of brothers was the work of God and Mary. His motto was, “All to Jesus through Mary and all to Mary for Jesus”.
“To make Jesus Christ known and loved” is the brothers’ mission. The school is the privileged setting for this mission of evangelisation. Marcellin taught his disciples to love and respect children and to give special attention to the poor, the most ungrateful and the most neglected, especially orphans. Spending a great deal of time with young people, with simplicity, family spirit and love of work and all of this carried out as Mary would have, were the essential points of his vision of education.
In 1836, the Church recognised the Society of Mary and entrusted to it the missions of Oceania. Marcellin took his vows as a member of the Society of Mary and sent three brothers with the first missionary Marist Fathers to the islands of the Pacific. “Every diocese of the world figures in our plans”, he had written.
Steps for obtaining legal recognition of his congregation made great demands on his time, energy and spirit of faith. He never stopped repeating, “When God is on your side and you rely only on Him, nothing is impossible!”
A lengthy illness gradually wore down his robust constitution. Worn out by his labours, he died at the age of 51 on 6th June 1840, leaving this message with his brothers: “May you be of one heart and one mind. May it be said of the Little Brothers of Mary as of the first Christians: see how they love one another!”…Vatican.va
St Marcellin Champagnat was declared Venerable in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV, Beatified by Pope Pius XII on 29 May 1955 and Canonised by St Pope John Paul II on 18 April 1999.
Canonisation Mass at the General HouseCaonisation celebration poster
Today there are about 5,000 Marist Brothers in 72 countries; their sloganA Heart Without Borders.
Thought for the Day – 5 June – The Memorial of St Boniface (672-754) “The Apostle of Germany” – Martyr
An excerpt from a letter by St Boniface (672-754) “The Apostle of Germany”, Bishop and Martyr:
“Let us stand fast in what is right and prepare our souls for trial. Let us wait upon God’s strengthening aid and say to Him: “O Lord, you have been our refuge in all generations.” Let us trust in Him, who has placed this burden upon us. What we ourselves cannot bear, let us bear with the help of Christ. For He is all-powerful and He tells us: “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” Let us continue the fight, on the day of the Lord. The days of anguish and of tribulation have overtaken us. If God so wills, “let us die for the holy laws of our fathers,” so that we may deserve, to obtain an eternal inheritance with them. Let us be neither dogs that do not bark, nor silent onlookers, nor paid servants, who run away before the wolf. Instead, let us be careful shepherds, watching over Christ’s flock. Let us preach the whole of God’s plan, to the powerful and to the humble, to rich and to poor, to men of every rank and age, as far as God gives us the strength, in season and out of season.”
One Minute Reflection – 5 June – Tuesday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Boniface (672-754) “The Apostle of Germany” – Martyr
“Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”…Mark 9:23-24
REFLECTION – “Faith is a grace: When St Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared to him that this revelation did not come “from flesh and blood” but from “my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 16:17) Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. “Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and ‘makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.’” (Vatican II, DV 5)
Faith is a human act: Believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit. But it is no less true, that believing is an authentically human act. Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths He has revealed are contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason. Even in human relations it is not contrary to our dignity to believe what other persons tell us about themselves and their intentions or to trust their promises (for example when a man and a woman marry) to share a communion of life with one another. If this is so, still less is it contrary to our dignity, to “yield by faith the full submission of … intellect and will to God who reveals,” (Vatican I) and to share in an interior communion with Him.
In faith, the human intellect and will, cooperate with divine grace: “Believing is an act of the intellect, assenting to the divine truth, by command of the will, moved by God, through grace.”…St Thomas Aquinas
PRAYER – Lord, Your martyr Boniface, spread the faith by his teaching and witnessed to it with his blood. By the help of his prayers keep us loyal to our faith and give us courage to profess it in our lives. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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