Category: CATHOLIC Quotes

Posted in "Follow Me", ACT of LOVE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, I BELIEVE!, OUR Cross, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, St Francis de Sales, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 12 April – Imprint the Cross of faith …

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Quote/s of the Day – 12 April – Saturday in Passion Week – Jeremias18:18-23, John 12:10-36 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“He who loves his life, loses it
and he who hates his life
in this world,
keeps it unto life everlasting.
If anyone serves Me,
let him follow Me
and where I am,
there also shall My servant be.”

John 12:25-26

“For he who will save his life, will lose it
and he who will lose his life
for My sake, will find it. ”

Matthew 16:25

“Let us detach ourselves in spirit
from all that we see
and cling to that which we believe.
This is the Cross
which we must imprint
on all our daily actions and behaviour.”

St Peter Damian (1007-1072)
Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

O My God, I Thank Thee
An Act of Abandonment
to the Divine Will
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

O my God, I thank Thee
and I praise Thee
for accomplishing Thy Holy and all-lovable Will
without any regard for mine.
With my whole heart,
in spite of my heart,
do I receive this cross I feared so much!
It is the cross of Thy choice,
the cross of Thy Love.
I venerate it;
nor for anything in the world
would I wish it had not come,
since Thou hast willed it.
I keep it with gratitude and with joy,
as I do everything which comes from Thy Hand
and I shall strive to carry it
without letting it drag,
with all the respect
and all the affection
which Thy works deserve.
Amen

“My soul, live henceforward
amid the scourges and the thorns
of thy Saviour and there,
as a nightingale in its bush, sing sweetly:
Live Jesus, Who didst die
that my soul might live!
Ah, Eternal Father!
What can the world return Thee
for the gift Thou hast made it of Thy only Son?
Alas! to redeem a thing so vile as I,
the Saviour delivered Himself to death
and, unhappy me!
I hesitate to surrender my nothingness to Him,
Who has given me everything!”“

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

Posted in QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on MEEKNESS, QUOTES on PHYSICAL SICKNESS, ILLNESS, QUOTES on SUFFERING, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 12 April – The Good Thief

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Lenten Meditations – 12 April – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Saturday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent
The Good Thief

Read St Luke xxii:39-43

[39] And one of those robbers, who was hanged, blasphemed Him, saying: If thou be Christ, save Thyself and us. [40] But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art condemned under the same condemnation?
[41] And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this Man hath done no evil. [42] And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy Kingdom. [43] And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. [Luke 23:39-43]

+I. Among those who mocked and derided Jesus were the two thieves crucified with Him.
But very soon, His unspeakable gentleness and meekness, touched the heart of one of the two.
Firstly. he ceased his words of insult, then, he boldly reproved his companion and bore testimony to the innocence of Jesus and to His authority as King and Lord. What a Divine power there is in weakness!
The sight of the uncomplaining patience of Christ, convinced this robber that He was King of all the earth and, He, Who was now dying on the Cross, would soon reign forever and ever.
“Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy Kingdom.”

+2. Remember me! This was his simple prayer.
But we know that it was enough. If Christ remembers us, all will be well! That which we have to dread, is lest He forgets us by reason of our having forgotten Him!
This prayer should often be on our lips :
“O Lord , remember me! In the hour of temptation, remember me! When sorrow bears painfully upon me, remember me!
In sickness and in my last agony, O Lord, remember me!”

+3. Our Lord answers the gocd thief’s prayer with Divine generosity. All his sins are forgiven him and as soon as his agony is over, he is to be received into the company of the blest and to be with Christ in Paradise.
What a rich reward for his confession of Christ!
With what a glorious answer to his prayer, will Christ remember him!

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 April – “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” – John 12:21

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One Minute Reflection – 12 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – – Saturday in Passion Week – Jeremias18:18-23 – John 12:10-36 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” – John 12:21

REFLECTION – “At Jerusalem the crowd cried out: “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel” (cf Mk 11:10). The phrase “He Who comes.” is well said because He is always coming, He never fails us – “The Lord is close to those who call upon Him in truth. Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord” (Ps 144:18; 117:26). The gentle King of peace stands at our door … Soldiers here below, Angels in Heaven, mortals and immortals … cry aloud: “Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel.” The Pharisees, however, stand aloof (Jn 12:19) and the priests are incensed by it. But the voices which sing God’s praises ring out without ceasing – creation is full of joy…

That is why, on this very day, some Greeks, prompted by this tremendous acclamation to worship God with devotion, approached one of the Apostles, named Philip and said to him: “We would like to see Jesus.” Note well, it is the whole crowd who carries out the task of herald and prompts these Greeks to be converted. Straightaway, these latter address Christ’s disciples – “We would like to see Jesus.” Those gentiles are imitating Zachaeus, not that they climb a sycamore tree [to see Jesus] but, they make haste to rise up in their knowledge of God (Lk 19:3). “We should like to see Jesus” not so much to behold His Face but, to bear His Cross. For Jesus, Who could see their desire, had unambiguously declared to those who were standing by: “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” calling “glory” the conversion of the gentiles.

And He gave the name “glory” to the Cross. For, from that day to this, the Cross is glorified. Indeed, it is the Cross which still today, Consecrates Kings, adorns Priests, protects virgins, gives constancy to hermits, reinforces the marriage bond and strengthens widows. It is the Cross which makes the Church fruitful, brings light to the peoples, guards the desert, opens paradise!” – St Proclus of Constantinople (Died c446) Archbishop of Constantinople, Confessor, Defender of the Church and of the Blessed Virgin, Writer, renowned Preacher, Father of the C hurch (Sermon for Palm Sunday).

PRAYER – O Lord, may the people dedicated to Thee desire to serve Thee more and more that, taught by these sacred rites, they may be enriched by more precious gift,s as they grow in favour with Thy majesty. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on HYPOCRISY, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SACRILEGE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 11 April – The Betrayal of Judas

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Thought for the Day – 11 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Betrayal of Judas

“It is quite certain, that Judas did not commit this sacrilegious act of betrayal on the spur of the moment.
Evil, like goodness, is arrived at step-by-step.
Perhaps it was some motive of self-interest, rather than of pure love,which led Judas to become one of Jesus; Apostles.
Covetousness, “the root of all evils,” (Cf 1 Tim 6:10) seems to have been his dominant passion.
As the Gospel tells us, he kept the money offerings which those who had been converted, gave to Jesus for His support and for that of His Apostles.
Judas did not know how to suppress his dominant passion at times.
On one occasion, he complained about Mary Magdalen, when she anointed the feet of Jesus with precious ointment.
The passion grew and he became a thief, “He was a thief and holding the purse used to take what was put in it” (Jn 12:6).
In spite of the extraordinary grace he had received, he fell into sin.
Finally, he was guilty of the betrayal, of the sacrilegious communion at the last supper and of the kiss of hypocrisy in Gethsemane.

The example of Judas is a lesson to us.
It is disastrous to begin to yield to our passions and to fall into evil habits.
The Holy Spirit warns us that anyone who makes little account of small things, will fall into bigger (Cf Ecclus 19:11).
Let us remember, that even a tiny spark can set off a conflagration.
Likewise, a single mortal sin can lead us to Hell!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/09/thought-for-the-day-9-april-the-betrayal-of-judas/

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CHRISTMASTIDE!, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on WEALTH/RICHES, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Quote/s of the Day – 11 April – St Leo I, the Great (c400-461) Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 April – St Leo I, the Great (c400-461) Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church

Grant to Us, O Lord
By St Leo I, the Great (c400-461)
Pope, Confessor,
Father and Doctor of the Church

Grant to us, O Lord,
not to mind
earthly things
but rather, to love
heavenly things
that while, all things
around us pass away,
we may even now,
hold fast to those things
which last forever.
Amen

“Our Saviour, dearly beloved,
is born today;
let us rejoice!
It is not right to be sad today,
the natal day of Life –
He Who has dispelled the fear of mortality
and brought us to the joy of promised eternity.
Let no man be cut off from a share in this rejoicing.
The cause of our joy is common to every man
because, our Lord, the destroyer of sin and death,
Who finds none guiltless, Comes to free all.
Let the holy exult, he draws near his palm;
let the sinner rejoice, he is invited to pardon;
let the Gentile be quickened, he is called to Life!”

“The obedience of the Star
calls us to imitate its humble service:
to be servants, as best we can,
of the grace which invites all men
to find Christ.”

“No-one, however weak, is denied
a share in the victory of the Cross.
No-one is beyond the help
of the prayer of Christ.”

“What is a man’s treasure
but the heaping up of profits
and the fruit of his toil?
For, whatever a man sows,
this too will he reap and each man’s gain,
matches his toil and where delight
and enjoyment are found,
there the heart’s desire is attached.
Now, there are many kinds of wealth
and a variety of grounds for rejoicing –
every man’s treasure is that, which he desires.
If it is based on earthly ambitions,
its acquisition makes men not blessed but wretched.
… By distributing what might be superfluous
to support the poor, they are amassing
imperishable riches, so that what they have
discreetly given, cannot be subject to loss.
They have properly placed those riches,
where their heart is – it is a most blessed thing,
to work to increase such riches,
rather than to fear that they may pass away.”

St Pope Leo the Great (400-461)
ather and Doctor of the Church

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/11/quote-s-of-the-day-11-april-st-pope-leo-the-great/

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARY, MATER ECCLESIAE, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 April – “Behold, thy mother” – John 19:27

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One Minute Reflection – 11 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Friday of Passion Week – St Leo I, the Great (c400-461) Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church – Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows – Judith 13:22, 25 – John 19:25-27–Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Behold, thy mother” – John 19:27

REFLECTION – “Woman, this is thy son. This is thy mother.” By what right is the disciple. whom Jesus loved, the son of the Lord’s mother? By what right is she his mother? By the fact that, without pain, she brought into the world the salvation of us all, when she gave birth in the flesh to the God-Man. But now, she is in labour, with great pain as she stands at the foot of the Cross!

At the hour of His Passion, the Lord Himself rightly compared the Apostles to a woman in childbirth, when He said: “When a woman is in labour she is in anguish because a child is born into the world” (cf Jn 16:21). How much more, then, might such a Son compare such a Mother, the Mother standing at the foot of His Cross, to a woman in labour? What am I saying? “Compare?” She is indeed truly a woman and truly a mother and, at this hour, she is truly experiencing the pains of childbirth. When her Son was born she did not experience the anguish of giving birth in pain as other women do; it is now that she is suffering, that she is crucified, that she experiences sorrow; like a woman in labour because her hour has come ( Jn 16:21; cf 13:1; 17:1). …

When this hour has passed, when the sword of sorrow has completely pierced her soul in labour (Lk 2:35), then, no more will she “remember the pain because a child has been born into the world” – the new Man Who renews the entire human race and reigns forever over the whole world, truly born, beyond all suffering, immortal, the Firstborn from the Dead. If the Virgin has thus brought the salvation of us all into the world, in her Son’s Passion, then she is, indeed, the Mother of us all!” – Rupert of Deutz (c1075-1130) Benedictine Monk, Theologian, Exegete and Writer – (Commentary on Saint Johns Gospel, 13).

PRAYER – O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her piercing through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits of all the Saints faithfully standing by the Cross, obtain the abundant fruit of Thine Passion. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Our Morning Offering – 11 April – O Mother of Sorrows ,Stand by Me in My Last Agony

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Our Morning Offering – 11 April – Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady of Sorrows

O Mother of Sorrows,
Stand by Me in My Last Agony
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

O Mother of Sorrows,
by the anguish and love
with which thou didst stand
at the Cross of Jesus,
stand by me in my last agony.
To thy maternal heart
I commend the last three hours of my life.
Offer these hours to the Eternal Father
in union with the agony of our dearest Lord,
in atonement for my sins.
Offer to the Eternal Father
the Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
mingled with your tears on Calvary,
that I may obtain the grace
of receiving Holy Communion
with the most perfect love and contrition,
before my death
and that I may breathe forth my soul
in the adorable Presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother, when the moment
of my death has at last come,
present me as your child to Jesus.
Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him,
for I knew not what I did!
Beg Him to receive me into His Kingdom of Glory
to be united with Him forever.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, The INCARNATION, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 10 April – The Passion of Our Lord

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Thought for the Day – 10 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Passion of Our Lord

“The Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, is one of the most profound Mysteries of our religion.
It is a Mystery of Infinite Goodness and Mercy, which, out of love for fallen humanity, the Eternal Word of God, should have assumed a human form and become Man, in order to show us the way to Heaven and to enable us, to reach it.
Jesus came amongst us, to instruct us, to call us, to perfection and to give us, an example and the necessary assistance.
But, He did much more than this.
He came also to bear the weight of our offences and to offer Himself, as a spotless Victim of Love and suffering in expiation of our sins.
All this, seems too great a Mystery, almost inconceivable, in fact, until we consider that, the charity of God is as Infinite as His nature.
This is why, the Saints experienced hours of ecstasy contemplating the Passion and Death of our Divine Redeemer.
Whenever St Gertrude looked upon the figure of Jesus nailed to the Cross, she could not restrain her tears.
She was accustomed to say, that God was specially merciful towards those who meditated on the Passion and Death of Jesus.
St Bernard writes, that even as the rocks were rent asunder at the Death of Our Redeemer, so, our sin-hardened hearts, should feel as if they were breaking, when we meditate on His Sufferings.
Let us meditate, therefore, on the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we are sinners, as unfortunately, we all are, we shall be moved to weep for our sins.
If we are imperfect and lukewarm, we shall be set on fire with love and a determination, to requite, as far as possible, the Infinite charity of Jesus Christ.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, Holy Name PRAYERS, In the PRESENCE of GOD, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE, The HOLY NAME, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 10 April – ‘Forgiven … Because she has loved much …’ Luke 7:47

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 April – Thursday in Passion Week –Ferial Day – Daniel 3:25, 34-45 – Luke 7:36-50 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“She began to bathe His feet with her tears
and wiped them with the hair of her head
and kissed His feet
and anointed them with ointment.”

Luke 7:38

“Wherefore I say to you,
her sins, many as they are,
shall be forgiven her
because she has loved much.
But he, to whom little is forgiven,
loves little.”

Luke 7:47

“Remember not our former iniquities,
let Thy mercies speedily prevent us,
for we are become exceeding poor.
Help us, O God, our Saviour
and for the glory of Thy Name, O Lord,
deliver us and forgive us our sins,
for Thy Name’s Sake.”

Psalm 78:8-9

“A servant of the Lord
stands bodily before men
but mentally,
he is knocking at the gates of Heaven.
with prayer.”

St John Climacus (c 525-606)
Father of the Church

“For, just as water extinguishes a fire,
just so, does charity blot out our sins.”

St John of God (1495-1550)

“ I shall spend every moment loving.
One who loves, does not notice her trials;
or perhaps, more accurately,
she is able to love them.
I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home.
There, I shall find my Mother,
in all the splendour of her glory.
I shall delight with her
in the joy of Jesus Himself,
in perfect safety.”

St Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on DESPAIR, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 10 April – ‘ … He spoke to her alone but, He was drawing all creation to His grace. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 10 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Thursday in Passion Week –Ferial Day – Daniel 3:25, 34-45 – Luke 7:36-50 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” – Luke 7:50

REFLECTION – “A sinful woman has proclaimed to us that God’s Love has gone forth in search of sinners. For when He called her, Christ was inviting our whole race to His Love and, in her person, He was drawing all sinners to His forgiveness. He spoke to her alone but, He was drawing all creation to His grace. …

Who would not be struck by the Mercy of Christ, who accepted an invitation to a Pharisee’s house, in order to save a sinner! For the sake of the woman, who hungered for forgiveness, He, Himself felt hunger for the table of Simon the Pharisee and all the while, under the guise of a meal of bread, He had prepared for the sinner, a meal of repentance! …

In order that you may have the same experience, reflect within yourself that your sin is great but that it is blasphemy against God and an injury to yourself, to despair of His forgiveness because your sin seems to you to be too great. He has promised to forgive your sins, however many they are; will you tell Him you cannot believe this and dispute with Him, saying that your sin is too great and He cannot heal your sickness? Stop at that point and cry out with the prophet: “Lord, I have sinned against you” (Ps 50:6). At once He will reply, “As for Me, I have overlooked your fault, you shall not die.” Glory to Him from us all, through all ages! Amen, Amen.” ~ An Anonymous Christian Syrian Writer of the 6th Century [ACW} (From a collection of Sermons on the sinful woman, 1, 4.5.19.26.28).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the dignity of human nature, weakened by excessive self-indulgence, may be restored by the earnest practice of healing self-denial. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CHRIST the JUDGE, GOD ALONE!, In the PRESENCE of GOD, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 9 April – The Presence of God

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Thought for the Day – 9 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Presence of God

“A man who lives always in the Presence of God. cannot sin.
When we find ourselves in the presence of a high-ranking worldly personality, do we dare to behave any other way but correctly and respectfuly?
How should we dare then to behave in any other fashion, in the Presence of the Infinite Majesty of God, our Creator and Redeemer, Who will one day also be our Judge?!
Could He not, in a single instant, snap the thread of our mortal life and call us before His judgement-seat, even while we are in the act of offending Him?!

Let us remember St Paul’s stern warning: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10-:31).
Let us remain always in the Presence of God and we shall be at peace and strong in His grace.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/30/thought-for-the-day-30-march-the-presence-of-god/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/27/thought-for-the-day-27-march-the-presence-of-god/

Posted in OUR Cross, QUOTES on JOY, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, STATIONS of the CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT, The STATIONS of the CROSS

Lenten Meditations – 9 April – Simon of Cyrene

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Lenten Meditations – 9 April – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Wednesday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent
Simon of Cyrene

Read St Mark xv:21

[21] And they forced one Simon a Cyrenian coming out of the country, who passed by, the father of Alexander and of Rufus, to take up His Cross. [Mark 15:21]

+1. Our Blessed Lord falls again and again, beneath the weight of the Cross until it becomes evident to the soldiers that He will never be able to drag it to the place of execution.
They accordingly lay hold of a heathen passing by, Simon the Cyrenian and him they compel to carry the Cross. How little Simon knew the happiness in store for him when those rough soldiers seized him and force him, to the ignominious task, of carrying the instrument of His punishment. for a public criminal!
How often we too fail to recognise God’s wonderful designs of mercy, in the sudden disagreeable and contradictory events and circumstances we encounter!

+2. Simon at first, bore the Cross angrily and reluctantly, chafing under the hardship inflicted upon him. But, as he carries it, somehow an unaccountable change embraced him.
It has the power to change his heart and, to make of him, a devoted follower of the Crucified, one of the pillars of the Apostolic Church.
Thus, many a cross which we reluctantly carry, proves to be really the means of our sanctification and salvation!

+3. Before Simon arrives at the summit of Calvary, the Cross had endeared itself to him.
He has recognised that, to carry it for Jesus, was no hardship but a privilege and a joy. In fact the greatest of his life!
So too, the Saints learn to love their cross, to embrace it, to seek it, to carry it with all joy, to be almost discontented if they are without it. This is the very height of peace and felicity; for those who find their joy in the cross, find cause for rejoicing and happiness, everywhere around them.

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, St Francis de Sales, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The SECOND COMING

Quote/s of the Day – 9 April – Christ, the Word, the Voice, the Message …

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Quote/s of the Day – 9 April – Wednesday in Passion Week – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25; John 10:22-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“My sheep hear My Voice;
I know them and they follow Me.”

John 10:27

“And as for that in the good ground
they are those who, hearing the Word,
hold it fast in an honest and good heart
and bring forth fruit with patience.”

Luke 8:15

“… Blessed are they who hear
the Word of God and keep it.”

Luke 11:28

“For just as from the Heavens,
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there,
until they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to him who sows
and bread to him who eats.”
Isaias 55:11

“So the Word that He shall send through His Christ,
Who is Himself, the Word and the Message,
shall return to Him with great power.
For when He shall come and bring it,
He shall come down like rain and snow
and through Him all that is sown shall spring up
and bear righteous fruit …
And this is the Voice through which
the dead shall live.”

St Aphraates “the Sage” (Died c 345)
Abbot, Father of the Church

“What a happy day they spent!
What a blessed night!
Who can say what it was they heard
from the Lord’s mouth?
Let us, too, build a dwelling in our hearts,
construct a house
where Christ can come
to teach and converse with us.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“Always (read and) listen to it (the Scriptures)
with attention and reverence;
make good use of it;
do not let it fall to earth
but take it into your heart
like a precious balm.
Do all this after the example
of the most holy Virgin,
for she carefully kept in her heart
all the words spoken in praise of her Child.
Remember that our Lord gathers up
the words we speak to Him in prayer,
in measure with the way
we gather up those He speaks to us
by His preaching.”

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

(Introduction to the Devout Life
Part 2 Chapter 17)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection –9 April – ‘You owe your whole life to Christ Jesus’…’ St Bernard

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One Minute Reflection –9 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Wednesday in Passion Week – Ferial Day – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25 – John 10:22-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Jews then took up stones to stone Him. Jesus answered them: Many good works I have shown you from my Father. For which of those works, do you stone Me?” – John 10:31-32

REFLECTION – “You owe your whole life to Christ Jesus, for He gave His Life for your life and endured bitter torments that you might not have to endure eternal torment … Is there anything which will not seem sweet to you, after you have gathered into your heart, all the bitter sufferings of your Lord? … As the heavens are higher than the earth (Is 55:9) so is His Life higher than our life and yet, it has been given for our life. As mere nothingness cannot be compared to any other thing, so our life cannot be measured against His…

When I have dedicated to Him, all that I am, all of which I am capable, it will still be like a star compared to the sun, a drop of water to a river, a single stone to a tower, a grain of sand to a mountain. I have nothing but two small things, very small indeed – my body and my soul or, rather, only one, small thing – my will. And am I not going to give it to Him, Who has gone before; so small a being as I, with such blessings, to Him Who, in giving Himself wholly, has wholly redeemed me? Otherwise, were I to keep my will for myself, with what face, what eyes, what spirit or conscience, would I take my refuge in the merciful heart of our God? How could I dare to pierce that strong rampart guarding Israel and cause, not just a few drops but torrents of the Blood to flow which flows from the five parts of His Body, as the price of my Redemption?” – St Bernard (1091-1153) Cistercian Abbot, Father & Doctor of the Church (Selected Sermons).

PRAYER – In Thy mercy, O Lord, may this hallowing fast enlighten the hearts of Thy faithful people and since Thou have given them the desire to serve Thee, lend a gracious ear to their prayers.Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in GOD ALONE!, Holy Name PRAYERS, In the PRESENCE of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS to THE HOLY GHOST, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HOLY GHOST, The HOLY NAME, The IMITATION of CHRIST, Thomas a Kempis

Our Morning Offering – 9 April – The Love of Thy Name

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Our Morning Offering – 9 April – Wednesday in Passion Week

The Love of Thy Name
By Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)
The Imitation of Christ
(Book 3 Ch 26:1-4)

My God, Sweetness beyond words,
make bitter all the carnal comfort
which draws me from love of the eternal
and lures me to its evil self,
by the sight of some delightful good
in the present.
Let it not overcome me, my God.
Let not flesh and blood conquer me.
Let not the world and its brief glory
deceive me, nor the devil trip me by his craftiness.
Give me courage to resist,
patience to endure
and constancy to persevere.
Give me the soothing unction of Thy spirit,
rather than all the consolations of the world
and in place of carnal love,
infuse into me,
the love of Thy Name.
Amen

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on TEMPTATION

Thought for the Day – 8 April – The Consolation of Prayer

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Thought for the Day – 8 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Consolation of Prayer

“We can gain strength and comfort from prayer, especially when we are tempted and in danger of yielding to sin.
God may not answer us immediately because He may wish to try our faith and love.
But, if we persist and tell Jesus that we would die rather than offend Him, He will take pity on us.
He will stretch out His Hand as He did in the storm tossed boat with the Apostles and over us too, will come “a great calm” (Mt 8:26, Mk 4:39, Lk 8:24).
Any sacrifice on our part is amply repaid by the peace which follows victory over temptation.

Let us not be afraid!
Let us pray and God will console us.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/17/thought-for-the-day-17-march-the-consolation-of-prayer/

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 8 April – “The world … hates Me … John 7:7

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Quote/s of the Day – 8 April – Tuesday in Passion Week – Ferial Day – Daniel 14:27-42 – John 7:1-13 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The world … hates Me
because I bear witness concerning it,
that its works are evil.”

John 7:7

“… THE WORLD HATES Christians,
so why give your love to it,
instead of following Christ,
Who loves you and has redeemed you?
A man cannot love the Father
and love the world at the same time.
All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition.
The world and its allurements will pass away
but the man who has done the will of God
shall live forever.
Our part, my dear brothers,
is to be single-minded, firm in faith
and steadfast in courage, ready for God’s will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death
and think of the eternal life which follows it.
That will show people that we really live our faith.”

St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258)
Bishop of Carthage, Martyr
Father of the Church

(An excerpt from On Man’s Mortality).

“Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in Heaven.”
Matthew 5:12

“ Rejoice, ardent travellers,
at undergoing exile and maltreatment
in a foreign land in the name
of the commandment of God!
Rejoice, you who are last in this world
but lords of blessings
which exceed our understanding (cf Phil 4:7).
Yet a little while and we shall have vanquished.
And blessed shall we be;
blessed also, it shall be said,
are the places, family and countries
which have borne you (cf Lk 11:27-28).”

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)

Posted in CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, DOCTORS of the Church, franciscan OFM, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 8 April – “The Jews sought to kill Him.” – John 7:1

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One Minute Reflection – 8 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Tuesday in Passion Week – Ferial Day – Daniel 14:27-42 – John 7:1-13 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Jews sought to kill Him.” – John 7:1

REFLECTION – “I am the true vine,” Jesus says (Jn 15:1)… People dig trenches around this vine; that is to say, cunningly dig traps. When they plot to make someone fall into a snare. it is as if they dug a pit in front of Him. That is why He mourns about it, saying: “They have dug a pit before Me” (Ps 56:7)…

However, they discovered that these traps caused no harm to the vine. To the contrary, in digging these pits, they themselves fell into them (Ps 56:7)… Then they kept on digging – not just His Hands and His Feet (Ps 21:17) but they pierced His Side with a lance (Jn 19:34) and uncovered the interior of that Sacred Heart, which had already been wounded by the spear of love. The Bridegroom says in the song of His love that: “You have wounded my heart, my sister, my spouse” (Sg 4:9 Vg.). O Lord Jesus, Thine Heart has been wounded with love by Thy spouse, Thy friend, Thy sister. Why, then, was it necessary for Thy enemies to wound Thee again?  O you enemies, what are You doing?… Do You not know that this Heart of our Lord Jesus, already pierced, is already dead, already open and cannot be touched by any other suffering? The Heart of the Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus, has already received the wound of love, the death of love. What other death could touch Him?… The martyrs also laugh when they are threatened, rejoice when they are struck, triumph, when they are killed. Why? Because they have already died through love in their hearts, “dead to sin” (Rm 6:2) and to the world!

Thus Jesus’ Heart has been wounded and put to death for our sake… Physical death triumphed for a moment but only to be conquered forever. It was blotted out when Christ rose from the dead because “death has no power over Him anymore” (Rm 6:9). – St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Doctor of the Church (The Mystical Vine, ch. 3, § 5-10).

PRAYER – O Lord, we beseech Thee, make holy our fasting and graciously lavish forgiveness upon us, for all our sins. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS of PETITION, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The HEART, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The SEVEN PASSION Feasts

Our Morning Offering – 8 April – O Most Merciful Lord, Engrave Thy Wounds Upon My Heart by St Gertrude

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Our Morning Offering – 8 April – Tuesday in Passion Week

O Most Merciful Lord,
Engrave Thy Wounds Upon My Heart
By St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
grant that I may aspire to Thee
with my whole heart, with yearning desire
and with a thirsting soul,
seeking only Thy sweetness and Thy delights,
so that my whole mind
and all that is within me,
may ardently sigh for Thee,
Who art our true Beatitude.
O most merciful Lord,
engrave Thy Wounds upon my heart
with Thy most Precious Blood
that I may read in them,
both Thy Grief and Thy Love.
May the memory of Thy Wounds
ever remain in my inmost heart,
to excite my compassion for Thy sufferings
and to increase my love for Thee.
Grant too that I may despise all creatures
so that my heart may delight in Thee alone.
Amen.

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MEDIOCRITY, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on SUFFERING, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 7 April – The Passion of Our Lord

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Thought for the Day – 7 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Passion of Our Lord

“Meditation on the Passion of Jesus” writes St Albert the Great, “is more profitable than fasting on bread and water or than scourging ourselves.”

This is because, when we meditate with love and gratitude on the Passion of our Redeemer, we have the experience of being transformed and set aglow with charity.
We realise the truth of St Paul’s words, “The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that will be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18)).

Let us cast ourselves, therefore, into the merciful arms of God and be prepared to suffer everything, even death, for the love of Jesus.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/01/thought-for-the-day-1-april-the-passion-of-our-lord/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/27/thought-for-the-day-27-march-the-passion-of-our-lord/

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, OUR Cross, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, STATIONS of the CROSS, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The HOLY CROSS, The SIGN of the CROSS, The STATIONS of the CROSS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 7 April – ‘ … By the Cross, we put on Christ …;

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Quote/s of the Day – 7 April – Monday in Passion Week

“By the Cross, death was slain
and Adam was restored to life.
The Cross is the glory of all the Apostles,
the Crown of the Martyrs,
the Sanctification of the Saints.
By the Cross, we put on Christ
and cast aside our former self.
By the Cross we, the sheep of Christ,
have been gathered into one flock,
destined for the Sheepfold of Heaven.”

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)
Abbot, Confessor, Father of the Church

“He who findeth his life, shall lose it
and he, who shall lose his life for Me,
shall find it. ”
Matthew 10:39

“My dear child, accept this cross from God and bear it –
it will turn into a truly lovable cross,
if you would hand these trials over to God,
accept them from Him with true abandonment
and thank God for them:
“My soul magnifies the Lord”
in everything (cf Lk 1:46).
Whether God takes or gives, the Son of Man
must be raised up on the Cross …
Dear child, leave all that behind;
rather, give your attention to true abandonment …
and think about accepting to bear
the cross of temptation, rather than going
in search of spiritual sweetness …
Our Lord has said: “If anyone wishes to come after Me,
let him take up his cross and follow Me” (Lk 9:23).”

Fr JohannesTauler OP (c1300-1361)
Dominican Priest and Friar,
renowned Preacher and Theologian

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Quotes on SALVATION, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN

One Minute Reflection – 7 April – ‘ … It is yours if you want it, if your choice is set upon God. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 7 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Monday in Passion Week – Ferial Day – Jonas 3:1-10 – John 7:32-39 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And God saw, by their actions, how they turned from their evil ways and the Lord, our God, had mercy upon His people.” – Jonas 3:10

REFLECTION – “Let us therefore repent, and pass from ignorance to true knowledge, from foolishness to wisdom, from unrighteousness to righteousness, from godlessness to God. The enjoyment of many other good things comes from this, to which God Himself alludes, speaking by Isaiah: “There is an inheritance for those who serve the Lord” (54:17). Not gold and silver, nor that which moth destroys and thieves steal (Mt 6:19) but the inestimable treasure of salvation … This is the inheritance with which God’s eternal covenant invests us, assuring us of His gifts and thus, our tenderly loving Father ceases not to exhort, to train, to love and to save us. “Become righteous” says the Lord. “All you who are thirsty, come to the water and you who have no money, come buy without money and drink” (Is 55:1). He invites us to the purifying bath, to salvation, to illumination … The Saints of the Lord shall inherit the glory of God and His power, a glory which “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, and which has not entered the human heart” (1Cor 2,9)…

You have this Divine Promise of grace; you have heard, on the other hand, of the threats of punishment – by these two ways the Lord saves … Why do we delay? Why do we not receive the free gift? Why do we not choose the better part? … “Behold,” He says, “I have set before you death and life” (Dt 30:15). The Lord tries to make you choose life. He counsels you like a father …

To whom shall the Lord say, “Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven”? (Mt 5:3) It is yours if you want it, if your choice is set upon God. It is yours, if you will only believe and follow the essence of the message, just as the Ninevites obeyed the message of the Prophet and obtained a gracious salvation thanks to their sincere repentance, instead of the destruction which threatened them!” – St Clement of Alexandria (c150-c215) Father, Theologian and Philosopher, Professor who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. (Against the Heathen Ch 10 ).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who have celebrated the Paschal Feast, may, by Thy bounty, retain its fruits in our daily habits and behaviour. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, OUR Cross, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS

Our Morning Offering – 7 April – A Prayer to Seek the Consolation of the Cross

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Our Morning Offering – 7 April – Monday in Passion Week

This is My Joy, To Follow My Saviour
A Prayer to Seek the Consolation of the Cross
By St Alphonsus Rodriguez SJ (1532-1617)

Jesus, love of my soul,
centre of my heart!
Why am I not more eager to endure pains
and tribulations for love of Thee,
when Thou, my God,
have suffered so many for me?
Come, then, every sort of trial in the world,
for this is my delight,
to suffer for Jesus.
This is my joy,
to follow my Saviour
and to find my consolation
with my Consoler on the Cross.
This is my happiness,
this my pleasure –
to live with Jesus,
to walk with Jesus,
to converse with Jesus,
to suffer with and for Him,
this is my treasure!
Amen

Posted in DYING / LAST WORDS, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on DEATH, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 7 April – Blessed Ralph Ashley (Died 1607) SJ Lay Brother, Martyr.

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Saint of the Day – 7 April – Blessed Ralph Ashley (Died 1607) SJ Lay Brother, Martyr. Unknown birth date or place but in England and died on 7 April 1607 by being hung, drawn and quartered in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. He was Beatified on 15 December 1929by Pope Pius XI. Also known as – Ralph Sherington, George Chambers.

Ralph Ashley is first recorded working as a cook at the College in Douai in France. On 28 April 1590, he left for the English College, Valladolid, in Spain and became a Jesuit Lay-brother.

In 1598, Ralph returned to England to serve Blessed Father Edward Oldcorne SJ. Eight years later in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, he and Fr Oldcorne were arrested at Hindlip Hall near Worcester and committed to the Tower of London.

Ralph patiently and constantly endured all the tortures inflicted on him without revealing any person or place of his master’s acquaintances. They were both remanded and tried for treasonin Worcester, condemned and executed on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill, Worcester.

When Ashley came to die he prayed and asked for forgiveness and noted that like Oldcorne, he was dying for his religion and not for being a traitor.

Prior to his execution, his last words were:
“What a happy man am I, to follow the steps of my Father unto death.”
Ralph Ashley was Beatified in 1929 with Fr Oldcorne..

Posted in LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OUR Cross, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 6 April – THE CRUCIFIX

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Thought for the Day – 6 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

THE CRUCIFIX

“Let us weep for our sins and increase in love for our Divine Redeemer.
When we are oppressed by the weight of our own cross, we shall look at the Crucifix and find comfort.
When we are tempted, we shall grasp the Crucifix and turn away with horror from thoughts of sin and ingratitude.

The Crucifix will teach us, as it taught the Saints, the lesson of charity towards God and towards our neighbour.
It will teach us to hate sin and to love virtue.
If we cherish it during life, it will be our consolation to kiss the Crucifix at the moment of death.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/08/04/thought-for-the-day-4-august-the-crucifix/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/09/25/thought-for-the-day-25-september-the-crucifix/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TIME, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, St Francis de Sales

Quote/s of the Day – 6 April – How to escape death …

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 April – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Amen, amen, I say to you,
if anyone keep My word,
he will never see death.”

John 8:51

“Your purity of life, your devotion,
deserve and call for a reward
because you are acceptable
and pleasing to God.
Your purity of life must be made purer still,
by frequent buffetings,
until you attain perfect sincerity of heart.
If, from time to time, you feel the sword
falling upon you with double or treble force,
this also should be seen as sheer joy
and the mark of love!”

St Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275)

“We must live a dying life
and we must die a living death
in the life of our Lord.”
(The Spirit of St. François de Sales, XV, 6 )

“Unhappy is death,
without the love of Christ;
unhappy is love,
without the Death of Christ!”

(Treatise on the Love of God,
Book 12, Chapter 13)

“We are dying,
little by little;
so, we are to make
our imperfections die
with us, day by day. ”

(Letters to Persons in the World I:5)

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“Consider the shortness of time,
the length of eternity
and reflect, how everything here below
comes to an end and passes by.
Of what use is it then, to lean upon that
which cannot give support?”

St Gerard Majella (1726-1755)

Posted in OUR Cross, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, STATIONS of the CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 6 April – Jesus on the Way to Calvary

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Lenten Meditations – 6 April – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Passion Sunday – The Fifth Sunday in Lent
Jesus on the Way to Calvary

Read St Matthew xxvii:31

[31] And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and gave His own garments and led Him away to crucify Him. [Matthew 27:31]

+1. It was not really Pilate who condemned Jesus to death, says St Bernard, it was His love for us.
He had been longing all His life through for that moment when He was to carry out His Father’s Will and redeem the world by dying for us.
He knew that the divine mandate meant that without the shedding of blood, there would be no remission of sin. Pilate’s voice, sentencing Him to death, was but the expression of His own love for sinners and of His joyful acceptance of the Cross for their sake.
O Jesus, may I love Thee in return, for such love for me!

+2. The Cross has been prepared beforehand and, as soon as the sentence has been passed, they bring it forward to be laid upon the shoulders of their Victim. Jesus takes the Cross and kisses the instrument of His Agony, as a welcome friend.
He did this, not merely because He loved us and, therefore, loved the Cross but, to teach us to love our crosses, to accept them as gifts from God to be welcomed, not to be feared and rejected, or regarded with aversior and dislike.
How can we dislike them when they make us like unto Jesus and must be borne after Him, if we are ever to share His joy in Heaven?

+3. On Jesus’ Shoulder, there was already, a large, open wound, scarcely covered by the garments thrown upon Him. The weight of the Cross rested on this wound, causing Him the most excruciating agony. It was by this agony, He was earning patience for us, under our bodily sufferings. However severe, they are nothing compared, to that which, the Son of God endured on His Road to Calvary.
Jesus, I implore, grant me patience in my sufferings!

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, I BELIEVE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on WATCHING, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 April – Abraham rejoiced to see My day

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One Minute Reflection – 6 April – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15 – John 8:46-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, he saw it and was glad.” – John 8:56

REFLECTION – “Since Abraham was a Prophet he saw the day of the Lord’s coming in the Spirit, as also the designs of His Passion, through which, both he and all those like him, who believed in God, would be saved. And he was seized with great joy. Thus, the Lord was not unknown to Abraham, since he longed to see His day… He longed to see His day, so that he, too, might clasp Christ to himself and having seen Him, prophetically in the Spirit, he rejoiced.

That is why Simeon, who was of his descendants, fulfilled the Patriarch’s joy and said: “Now, Master, Thou may let Thy servant go in peace, according to Thy Word, for my eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou prepared in sight of all peoples”… And Elizabeth said : “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”  Abraham’s rejoicing descended, as it were, on those who were watching and who saw Christ and believed in Him. And this rejoicing returned to Abraham through his children.

So it was altogether fitting that our Lord bore witness to him when He said: “Your father, Abraham rejoiced to see My day,. he saw it and was glad.” Nor was it only with regard to Abraham that He said this but of all those who, from the beginning, had come to know God and prophesied of Christ’s coming. For they had received this revelation from the Son Himself that Son, Who, in these, the last days, became visible and palpable and talked with men, so that He might raise up sons from Abraham out of stones and make his posterity to be like the stars of the heaven.” – St Irenaeus (c130-c202) Martyr, Father of the Church, Bishop of Lyons, Theologian (Against the heresies IV, 5-7).

PRAYER – Look graciously upon Thy household, Almighty God, we beseech Thee that by Thy grace, we may be governed in body and by Thy protection, safeguarded in mind. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.Amen (Collect).

Posted in Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES for CHRIST, St Francis de Sales, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 6 April – Hail, Sweet Jesus!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 6 April – Passion Sunday

Hail, Sweet Jesus!
Prayer to Christ
in His Passion and Death
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

Hail, sweet Jesus!
Praise, honour and glory be to Thee, O Christ,
Who, of Thou own accord, embraced death,
and recommending Thyself to Thy heavenly Father,
bowing down Thy venerable Head,
did yield up Thy Spirit.
Truly thus giving up Thy life for Thy sheep,
Thou hast shown Thyself, to be the Good Shepherd.
Thou died, O Only-begotten Son of God.
Thou died, O my beloved Saviour,
that I might live forever.
O how great hope,
how great confidence have
I reposed in Thy Death and Thy Blood!
I glorify and praise Thy Holy Name,
acknowledging my infinite obligations to Thee.
O good Jesus,
by Thy bitter Death and Passion,
give me grace and pardon.
Give unto the faithful departed,
rest and life everlasting.
Amen.

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on WATCHING, The IMITATION of CHRIST, Thomas a Kempis

Thought for the Day – 5 April – TEMPTATION

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 5 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

TEMPTATION

“Still we must watch,” The Imitation of Christ continues, “especially in the beginning of temptation, for then the enemy is more easily overcome, if he be not suffered to enter the door of the mind but, is withstood upon the threshold, the very moment that he knocks. Whence a certain one has said: ‘Resist beginning; all too late the cure, when ills have gathered strength, by long delay’ (Ovid. Remedia Amoris 5:91). For first there comes into the mind a simple thought, then a strong imagination afterward delights and the evil notion [gains power] and [then come] consent” (Bk 1 c 13).

It is worth meditating on this vivid description of the psychology of temptation and of the simplest remedy, by which it can be combated.
Every temptation is first presented to the mind as a simple thought.
If a man is determined enough, it is quite easy to reject it immediately.
If there is any delay, however, the concept is clothed by the imagination and projected in vivid colours until it arouses the evil inclinations of the senses.
In this way, the idea takes possession of the mind, so that it is almost impossible to set it free.

We must be ready to face such an idea before it takes possession of us.
We should treat it as we would a serpent, not pausing to examine it but, taking to flight at once!
If we are resolute, the grace of God will ensure our safety!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/03/31/thought-for-the-day-31-march-temptation/