One Minute Reflection -9 February – The Memorial of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824)
“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound, even in heaven. And whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed, even in heaven.”...Matthew 16:19
REFLECTION – “The Church is the only one, the Roman Catholic! And if there were left upon earth but one Catholic, he would be the one, universal Church, the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ against which the gates of Hell shall never prevail.”…
Bl Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824)
PRAYER – We come to You, our heavenly Father and beg You, that by the prayers of Your child, Bl Anne Emmerich, we may stand strongly in defense of our faith and the holy Church of Your Son. Come O Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with courage and love, our minds with the words to defend your beloved Spouse and keep our wills always in uniformity with Yours. We pray through Jesus our Lord, in unity with You, our Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever amen.
Yesterday 7 February 2018, the Vatican Congregation recognised the healing of an unborn child. Pope Francis’ final decision and announcement of canonisation day is the last step
Paul VI will be canonised soon. The meeting of the bishops and cardinals of the Congregation of Saints unanimously approved the recognition of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Giovanni Battista Montini. Now the only thing missing, is Pope Francis’ final signature of approval and the announcement of the date for the canonisation of the Pontiff from Brescia who died in Castel Gandolfo forty years ago.
The miracle needed for Paul VI’s aureole concerns the healing of an unborn child, in the fifth month of pregnancy. A case studied by the postulation in 2014. The mother, originally from the province of Verona, was carrying out a difficult pregnancy and was at risk of miscarriage for a disease that could have compromised the life of the fetus and mother. A few days after Pope Montini’s beatification, which took place in Rome on Sunday 19 October 2014, the woman went to Brescia to pray the new Blessed at the Santuario delle Grazie. The baby girl was born in good health and still is as is the mother.
The miracle had been studied by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The inexplicability of the healing had been decided upon last year by the Medical Council of the Department and then analysed and approved by theologians. The last step was today’s cardinal meeting, which took note of the doctors’ conclusions and theologians’ evaluations. Now the Cardinal Prefect, Angelo Amato, will bring the bishops’ and cardinals’ ballot to Pope Francis. He will have the final word on the matter. The Holy Father will announce -during a consistory- the date of Paul VI’ canonisation, which will probably be celebrated in Rome in October, during the Synod of young people.
Last December, the diocesan weekly magazine of Brescia speculated on potential dates, “At this point, we are more sure than hopeful. The month of October could be the right one. From 3 to 28 October in Rome the 15th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on young people will be celebrated and will converge in the Vatican prelates from all over the world. What better opportunity to canonise, in front of such a great number of Bishops, the other Pontiff – after Saint John XXIII – of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council? It will probably occur on one of the first three Sundays of October, though the most popular one today seems to be that of 21th”.
However, the 50th Anniversary of the Publication of Pope Paul VI’s Encyclical, Humanae Vitae, is on 25 July this year (25 July 1968) – this too could be a very appropriate date.
Pope Montini, born in 1897 and died in 1978, was the Pontiff who brought the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council to completion and succeeded in concluding it practically with the unanimous approval of the documents voted. He began the epoch of apostolic travels in the world, he went through the years of post-conciliar crisis. The day he was beatified, Francis, who often refers to Montini’s Magisterium, had said, “On this day of the beatification of Pope Paul VI, his words return to my mind, with which launched the Synod of Bishops, … By carefully surveying the signs of the times, we are making every effort to adapt ways and methods to the growing needs of our time and the changing conditions of society”.
Pope Francis had thanked Paul VI for his “humble and prophetic witness of love for Christ and his Church! “ and had recalled that “the great helmsman” of the Second Vatican Council and founder of the synod, after the closing of the Council meeting, wrote: “Perhaps the Lord has called me and preserved me for this service not because I am particularly fit for it, or so that I can govern and rescue the Church from her present difficulties, but so that I can suffer something for the Church and in that way it will be clear that He, and no other, is her guide and saviour”.In this humility – Francis concluded – “the grandeur of Blessed Paul VI shines forth: before the advent of a secularised and hostile society, he could hold fast, with farsightedness and wisdom – and at times alone – to the helm of the barque of Peter, while never losing his joy and his trust in the Lord”.
I love you, nearly Saint Paul VI, please pray for the universal Church and for the whole world!
Quote/s of the Day – 8 February – The Memorial of St Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537) & St Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) and the Fourth World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Trafficking in Persons
” God wishes to test you, like gold in the furnace. The dross is consumed by the fire but the pure gold remains and its value increases. It is in this manner, that God acts with His good servant, who puts his hope in Him and remains unshaken in times of distress. God raises him up and, in return for the things, he has left out of love for God, He repays him a hundredfold in this life and with eternal life hereafter. If then you remain constant in faith, in the face of trial, the Lord will give you peace and rest for a time in this world and forever in the next.”
St Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537)
“When a person loves another dearly, he desires strongly to be close to the other: therefore, why be afraid to die?”
“The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone… we must be compassionate!”
“If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today.”
St Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947)
“Rejoice, all of Africa! Bakhita has come back to you: the daughter of the Sudan, sold into slavery as a living piece of merchandise and yet still free: free with the freedom of the saints.”
One Minute Reflection – 8 February – The Memorial of St Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537) – Gospel Mark 7:24-30 Year B
But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone...Mark 7:28-30
REFLECTION – “I urge you to persevere in your love for Christ and your faithful observance of the law of Christ. Our goal is God, the source of all good. As we say in our prayer, we are to place our trust in God and in no one else. In His kindness, our Lord wished to strengthen your faith, for without it, as the evangelist points out, Christ could not have performed many of His miracles.”…St Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537)
PRAYER – Father of mercy, You chose St Jerome Emiliani to be a father to orphans in their need. Grant that through his prayer, we may keep faithfully the spirit of sonship, by which we are not only called but really are Your children. Help us to imitate his love and faith, manifesting by our commitment to Your commandments, our true faith. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 7 February – The Memorial of Blessed Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)
“The chisel is the pen of the sculptor.”
“If we are the heirs of Christ, let us remain in the peace of Christ. If we are the sons of God, we must be peacemakers….” INTER MULTIPLICES – PLEADING FOR UNITY OF SPIRIT: 21 March 1853
” From the very beginning and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for His only-begotten Son, a Mother, in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, He would be born into this world. Above all creatures did God so love her, that truly in her, was the Father well pleased, with singular delight. Therefore, far above all the angels and all the saints, so wondrously did God endow her, with the abundance of all heavenly gifts, poured from the treasury of His divinity, that this mother, ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and sanctity than which, under God, one cannot even imagine anything greater and which, outside of God, no mind can succeed in comprehending fully.”- INEFFABILIS DEUS – THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: 8 December 1854
“In the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass, celebrated by priests, the same life-giving victim is offered up. This entreaty reconciles us to God the Father. It “renews in a mysterious way the death of Christ, who having risen from the dead dies no longer. Death no longer has domination over Him.” Still, He is sacrificed for us in the mystery of this sacred oblation. No unworthiness or wickedness on the part of those offering it can ever defile this oblation.”- AMANTISSIMI REDEMPTORIS – ON PRIESTS AND THE CARE OF SOULS: 3 May 1858
One Minute Reflection – 7 February – The Memorial of Blessed Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)
And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it…Matthew 16:18
REFLECTION – “Now you know well that the most deadly foes of the Catholic religion have always waged a fierce war but without success, against this Chair; they are by no means ignorant of the fact that religion itself can never totter and fall while this Chair remains intact, the Chair which rests on the rock which the proud gates of hell cannot overthrow and in which there is the whole and perfect solidity of the Christian religion.”…Blessed Pope Pius IX
PRAYER – Holy Father God, our eternal praise and thanksgiving are offered to You for this Chair of Peter! The Church instituted by our Saviour, Your divine Son. Grant we pray, that by the prayers of Blessed Pope Pius IX, who faithfully guarded her through times of great difficulty, that we too may live and move and have our being in You and with Jesus, our Lord, in His Holy Church. Amen
Second Thought for the Day – 6 February – The Memorial of St Alfonso Maria Fusco (1839-1910)
“At the start of today’s celebration, we addressed this prayer to the Lord: “Create in us a generous and steadfast heart, so that we may always serve you with fidelity and purity of spirit” (Collect).
By our own efforts, we cannot give ourselves such a heart. Only God can do this and so in the prayer we ask him to give it to us as his “creation”. In this way, we come to the theme of prayer, which is central to this Sunday’s scriptural readings and challenges all of us who are gathered here for the canonisation of new Saints. The Saints attained the goal. Thanks to prayer, they had a generous and steadfast heart. They prayed mightily, they fought and they were victorious.
The saints are men and women who enter fully into the mystery of prayer. Men and women who struggle with prayer, letting the Holy Spirit pray and struggle in them. They struggle to the very end, with all their strength and they triumph but not by their own efforts: the Lord triumphs in them and with them. The seven witnesses who were canonised today also fought the good fight of faith and love by their prayers. That is why they remained firm in faith, with a generous and steadfast heart. Through their example and their intercession, may God also enable us to be men and women of prayer. May we cry out day and night to God, without losing heart. May we let the Holy Spirit pray in us and may we support one another in prayer, in order to keep our arms raised, until Divine Mercy wins the victory.”
Homily of HH Pope Francis – St Peter’s Square – Sunday 16 October 2016 – HOLY MASS AND CANONISATION OF THE BLESSEDS: Salomon Leclercq, José Sánchez del Río, Manuel González García, Lodovico Pavoni, Alfonso Maria Fusco, José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, Elisabeth of the Holy Trinity Catez
Quote/s of the Day – 6 February – The Memorial of St Paul Miki S.J. (1564/65-1597) & Companions – 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki and St Alfonso Maria Fusco (1839-1910)
“The only reason for my being killed, is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason that I die. I believe that I am telling the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to you all once again – ask Christ to help you become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ’s example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.”
“Like my Master I shall die upon the cross. Like Him, a lance will pierce my heart so that my blood and my love can flow out upon the land and sanctify it to His name.”
St Paul Miki (1564/65-1597)
“The Work is God’s; I am His worker; God began it. For God I shall continue it. God wanted this Work done and He obliged me to do it. God will provide.”
“This is the scope of our lives, to sanctify ourselves through love.”
One Minute Reflection – – 6 February – The Memorial of St Alfonso Maria Fusco (1839-1910)
The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to [this] mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’ and it would obey you…Luke 17:6
REFLECTION – “It was a genuine and tenacious faith that guided the work and life of Bl Alfonso Maria Fusco, founder of the Sisters of St John the Baptist. From when he was a young man, the Lord put into his heart the passionate desire to dedicate his life to the service of the neediest, especially of children and young people… For this he undertook the path of the priesthood and, in a certain way, become the “Don Bosco of Southern Italy.” From the beginning, he wanted to involve in his work some young women who shared his ideal and he offered them the words of St John the Baptist, “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Lk 3,4). Trusting in divine Providence, Alfonso and the Sisters of John the Baptist set up a work that was superior to their own expectations. From a simple house for the welcome of the young, there arose a whole Congregation which today is present in 16 countries and on 4 continents working alongside those who are “little” ones and “last”. “…St Pope John Paul – Beatification Homily 7 October 2001
PRAYER – Lord God, source of strength to all the saints, You called St Alfonso and the sisters, to live in total faith, accepting the sufferings and hardships to fulfil Your commandment of love. Let their prayers, help us to keep our faith and total commitment, to the end of our days, so that we may see Your Face and live with all Your saints and angels. Through our Saviour, Your Son, Jesus Christ, one God in unity with the Holy Spirit, amen.
In adoring the Blessed Sacrament, our hearts are enlarged and our minds receive the truth
In Lourdes, most miracles take place during the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Medjugorje is no different. Although so much power and grace radiate from the Blessed Sacrament during heartfelt and worthy Adoration, in the end this is not about getting “something”.
The Curé d’Ars referred to a parishioner who said that during Adoration, “I look at Him. And He looks at me.” It is about two people in love with each other – a creature and its God. The deeper our hunger, the more He gives us; indeed, He gives us this hunger for Him.
What does one do during Adoration? What do lovers do when they gaze with love at each other? We need silence first of all. When Pope Benedict XVI led Adoration in Hyde Park, about 80,000 young people kept silence with the Pope – to the consternation of media broadcasters. Silence apparently does not make for good television. Television requires continuous chatter. Adoration requires silence.
Secondly, Adoration requires attentiveness. It is heart-breaking to see couples sitting opposite each other in restaurants, both gazing avidly at their smartphone screens instead of each other. It doesn’t take much to see who or what dominates that relationship. We attend to that which we prize foremost. In Adoration we attend to the Lord.
And thirdly, Adoration needs receptivity. In our silence and attentiveness, we receive from God. We are stripped of the illusion that we can do God any favours. He longs to lavish Himself on us. Sitit sitiri, He thirsts to be thirsted for; He longs to be longed for. He will guide us and teach us but only if we let Him. In Adoration we receive from God the truth about God and about ourselves.
In my own experience it is powerful. Jesus waits for us with eager longing. And He longs to lavish Himself on us. It’s like a tower made of champagne glasses and when the top glass is filled it overflows and fills the glasses below. In Adoration, when we are open to receive, God enlarges our hearts to love and that love overflows to others, just like the champagne tower.
Sometimes people experience little change, often because of unconfessed sin or hiding ourselves from the Lord. If we are closed, if we keep our hurts and everything about us hidden from the Lord, then very little can change. Then Adoration will be experienced as a burden to be endured or avoided. But when we are open to the Lord, it is very powerful. God has so many graces He wants to give us and He leads and guides us in prayer through Adoration. Sometimes we keep vigil with the Lord during Adoration, and make acts of reparation and love – because the world needs this so much.
JRR Tolkien once said he did not return to fidelity to the Lord by being chased by Francis Thompson’s Hound of Heaven but through hunger for the Blessed Sacrament, as one starving for love. In a letter to his middle son during World War II (the context of the letter is marriage and sex), he wrote:
“Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament. . . . There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity and the true way of all your loves on earth… by the taste of which alone can what you seek in your earthly relationships… take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man’s heart desires.”
Get to the Tabernacle and let Heaven fall on you…for this is what is called “the totally Catholic devotion” (those who are Catholic to their roots, in their blood, whose way of life, whose food is being Catholic – in the words of St Edmund Campion – ‘To be a Catholic is my only glory.”) – we become what we love!
Partially taken from Fr Leon Pereira OP’s post. He is chaplain to the English-speaking pilgrims in Medjugorje, Bosnia & Herzegovina
One Minute Reflection – 5 February – The Memorial of St Agatha (c 231- c 251)
Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong…1 Corinthians 1:27
REFLECTION – “My fellow Christians, our annual celebration of a martyr’s feast has brought us together. Agatha achieved renown in the early Church for her noble victory. For her, Christ’s death was recent, His blood was still moist. Her robe is the mark of her faithful witness to Christ. Agatha, the name of our saint, means “good.” She was truly good, for she lived as a child of God. Agatha, her goodness coincides with her name and her way of life. She won a good name by her noble deeds and by her name she points to the nobility of those deeds. Agatha, her mere name wins all men over to her company. She teaches them by her example, to hasten with her to the true Good, God alone.” – from a homily on Saint Agatha by Saint Methodius of Sicily (c 788-c 847)
PRAYER – Lord God, let St Agatha, who became precious in Your sight through her pure life and valiant martyrdom, plead for our forgiveness. For, with joy and rejoicing, as though to a feast, St Agatha, went to prison and offered her sufferings to You, with many prayers. Through Jesus Christ, Your divine Son, in unity with the Spirit, one God forever. St Agatha, pray for us, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 4 February – 5th Sunday of Year B
“Speaking of the Eucharist/the Holy Mass”
“When Mass is being celebrated, the sanctuary is filled, with countless angels, who adore the divine victim, immolated on the altar.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“The Holy Mass would be of greater profit, if people had it offered in their lifetime, rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls, after death.”
Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922)
“One merits more, by devoutly assisting at a Holy Mass, than by distributing, all of his goods to the poor and travelling, all over the world, on pilgrimage.”
St Bernard if Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church
“The celebration of Holy Mass has the same value as the Death of Jesus on the Cross.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
“When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage, speak to Him about your spiritual life, gazing upon Him in your soul, where He is present, for your happiness, welcome Him as warmly as possible and behave outwardly, in such a way, that your actions, may give proof to all, of His Presence.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
“If someone said to us, “At such an hour a dead person is to be raised to life, ” we should run very quickly to see it. But is not the Consecration, which changes bread and wine into the Body and Blood of God, a much greater miracle than to raise a dead person to life? We ought always to devote at least a quarter of an hour to preparing ourselves to hear Mass well. We ought to annihilate ourselves before God, after the example of His profound annihilation in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and we should make our examination of conscience, for we must be in a state of grace. to be able to assist properly at Mass. If we knew the value of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or rather, if we had faith, we should be much more zealous to assist at it.”
One Minute Reflection – 4 February – The Memorial of St Joseph of Leonissa O.F.M. CAP (1556-1612)
Clearly you are a letter of Christ which I have delivered, a letter written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh in the heart….2 Corinthians 3:3
REFLECTION – “Every Christian must be a living book wherein one can read the teaching of the gospel. This is what St Paul says to the Corinthians. Our heart is the parchment; through my ministry the Holy Spirit is the writer because ‘my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe’ (Psalm 45:1).”….St Joseph of Leonissa
PRAYER – Almighty God, You made Saint Joseph of Leonessa, an illustrious preacher of the gospel. Through his prayers inflame us with love and with his zeal for souls that we may serve You alone. St Joseph of Leonissa, pray for us, amen.
Quote of the Day – 3 February – The Memorial of St Blaise – Martyr (Died c 316)
“Speaking of Prayer”
The heart-rending and beautiful words of another Martyr, St Maximillian Kolbe (1894-1941), on the power of prayer.
The day was long, The burden I had borne Seemed heavier than I could longer bear And then it lifted but I did not know Some one had knelt in prayer; Had taken me to God, that very hour, And asked the easing of the load and He, In infinite compassion, had stooped down And taken it from me. We cannot tell how often, as we pray For some bewildered one, Hurt and distressed, The answer comes, But many times those hearts, find sudden peace and rest. Someone had prayed and Faith, a reaching hand, Took hold of God and brought Him down, that day! So many, many hearts have need of prayer. Oh, let us pray!
One Minute Reflection – 3 February – The Memorial of St Blaise – Martyr (Died c 316) and St Ansgar (801-865)
...Do not use your freedom as an opening for self-indulgence but be servants to one another in love….the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control; no law can touch such things as these…Galatians 5:13,22-23
REFLECTION – “If I were worthy of such a favour from my God, I would ask that He grant me this one miracle: that by His grace He would make of me a good man.”- St Ansgar to a parishioner who was praising him for being a miracle worker
PRAYER – Holy Father, You sent St Ansgar, Monk and Bishop, to bring the light of Christ to many nations of Northern Europe. Through his prayer give us grace to live always in the light of Your truth. Grant too, that by the prayers of St Blaise, we too may be granted the grace to follow Your only Son, no matter our sufferings, to You, in our heavenly home. We make our prayer, through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever amen.
Quote of the Day – 2 February – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life
“The glorious St Simeon also was very happy… to carry Him as did Our Lady… we do this when we endure with love the labours and pains He sends us, that is to say, when the love which we bear to the Law of God makes us find His yoke easy and pleasing, so that we love these pains and labours, and gather sweetness in the midst of bitterness. This is nothing else but to carry Our Lord in our arms. Now if we carry Him in this way, He will, without doubt, Himself carry us.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
Thought for the Day – 1 February – The Memorial of Bl Benedict Daswa (1946-1990) Martyr – The First South African-born to be Beatified
Blessed Benedict Daswa: the saint who stood up to witchcraft
Tzaneen, South Africa, 13 September 2015 – Benedict Daswa, a South African catechist whose Christian opposition to witchcraft led to his murder in 1990, was beatified on Sunday as Catholic leaders praised his heroic witness to the faith. Pope Francis in his beatification decree described him as “a zealous Catechist, all-round educator who gave heroic witness to the gospel, even to the shedding of blood.”
According to the diocese investigation into his death, when Daswa saw a man coming towards him with a club to deliver the final blow, he said, “God, into your hands, receive my spirit.”
Mutshiro Michael, 33, one of Daswa’s sons, reacted to the beatification: “Proud is an understatement to describe what I feel,” he added that he had forgiven his father’s murderers.
Bishop Rodrigues said that Daswa’s death “makes him a hero for all Christians in Africa and elsewhere who are struggling to break free from the enslavement of the world of witchcraft.”
Cardinal Amato also reflected on the beatified man’s life: “The Holy Spirit transformed this young South African into an authentic hero of the Gospel. His heart was full of love for God and neighbour. Benedict Daswa is like the first martyrs of the Church who, during the persecutions of the Roman emperors, defended their faith with prayer, courage and forgiveness of enemies,” he said in an interview.
Blessed Benedict could become a great saint for people who are concerned that friends or family are abandoning the sacraments because they are intrigued by the New Age practices of those modern ‘white witches’, mediums and psychics. Also, remembering that he was slain because he opposed a witch-hunt, he would be the ideal intercessor for innocent people who are falsely accused of taking part in black magic. Lest we forget, St Joan of Arc was accused of witch-craft.
Quote/s for the Day – 1 February – The Memorial of Bl Benedict Daswa (1946-1990) Martyr – The First South African-born to be Beatified.
Would it not have been so simple for Blessed Benedict to pay his share of the required amount to hire the Sangona (Witch Doctor) to “sniff out” the witch who caused the storms? It was not a huge amount of money required by each resident. The temptation to do so must have been quite appealing but he refused and tried to explain that the storms were a natural phenomenon. He did, however, pay the ultimate price for his fidelity, with his blood.
“Speaking of Temptation”
“Virtue is nothing, without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict, without an enemy, no victory, without strife.”
St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father & Doctor of the Church
“There are in truth, three states of the converted, the beginning, the middle and the perfection. In the beginning, they experience the charms of sweetness; in the middle, the contests of temptation; and in the end, the fullness of perfection.”
St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Do not grieve over the temptations you suffer. When the Lord intends to bestow a particular virtue on us, He often permits us first to be tempted by the opposite vice. Therefore, look upon every temptation as an invitation to grow in a particular virtue and a promise by God, that you will be successful, if only you stand fast.”
St Philip Neri (1515-1595)
“The beginning of all temptation lies in a wavering mind and little trust in God, for as a rudderless ship is driven hither and yon by waves, so a careless and irresolute man, is tempted in many ways. Fire tempers iron and temptation steels the just. Often we do not know what we can stand but temptation shows us what we are. Above all, we must be especially alert against the beginnings of temptation, for the enemy is more easily conquered if he is refused admittance to the mind and is met beyond the threshold when he knocks.”
St Francis De Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
“It often happens that we pray God to deliver us from some dangerous temptation and yet, God does not hear us but permits the temptation to continue troubling us. In such a case, let us understand, that God permits even this for our greater good. When a soul in temptation recommends itself to God and by His aid resists, O how it then advances in perfection.”
“He who trusts himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.
St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
“When tempted, invoke your Angel. He is more eager to help you, than you are to be helped! Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him – he trembles and flees, at the sight of your Guardian Angel.”
One Minute Reflection – 1 February – The Memorial of Bl Benedict Daswa (1946-1990) Martyr
Be on guard and pray, that you may not undergo the test………Matthew 26:41
REFLECTION – “Your first task, is, to be dissatisfied with yourself, fight sin and transform yourself into something better. Your second task, is, to put up with the trials and temptations of this world, that will be brought on by the change in your life and to persevere to the very end, in the midst of these things…St Augustine
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help me to work out my salvation in fear and trembling. Let me pray daily that I may withstand temptation and carry out Your will in all things. Blessed Benedict Daswa you who withstood all attempts to sway you into evil ways for the love of God, please intercede for us that we may too be freed when the test comes. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 31 January -The Memorial of St John Bosco (1815-1888)
“Do you want our Lord to give you many graces? Visit him often. Do you want him to give you few graces? Visit him seldom. Visits to the Blessed Sacrament are powerful and indispensable means of overcoming the attacks of the devil. Make frequent visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the devil will be powerless against you.”
“I beg you to recommend to everyone, first, adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and then reverence for most holy Mary.”
“Take refuge often at the feet of Jesus… My dear ones, the Visit to the Blessed Sacrament is an extremely necessary way to conquer the devil. Therefore, go often to visit Jesus and the devil will not come out victorious against you.”
“Jesus could have limited His presence only to the celebration of Mass, but no! He wanted to make a permanent dwelling among us. Night and day He awaits us and offers Himself to us at all times. Like a most tender mother, He opens His arms to us. He is there generously to give us His gifts. He is there to draw us to Him and lead us to paradise with Him.
Oh! Let us go visit Him often.”
“I beg you to recommend to everyone, first, adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and then reverence for most holy Mary.”
“Ask the Blessed Virgin for the grace to receive Communion frequently and worthily… Try to imagine, that the Blessed Virgin herself, will give you the Sacred Host. No one would dare strike at the Heart of Jesus while He is in Mary’s hands.”
“The power of evil men lives on the cowardice of the good.”
“The fullness of love, in all the mothers of this earth, could never equal, the love Mary has, for each one of us.”
One Minute Reflection – 31 January -The Memorial of St John Bosco (1815-1888)
Whoever welcomes one such child for my sake welcomes me….Matthew 18:5-6
REFLECTION – “Let us regard those boys over whom we have some authority as our own sons. Let us place ourselves in their service. Let us be ashamed to assume an attitude of superiority. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of serving them better. This was the method that Jesus used with the apostles. He put up with their ignorance and roughness and even their infidelity. He treated sinners with a kindness and affection that caused some to be shocked, others to be scandalised and still others to hope for God’s mercy. And so he bade us to be gentle and humble of heart.” – from a letter by Saint John Bosco
PRAYER – We praise You, Lord, for calling St John Bosco to be a loving father and prudent guide of the young. Give us his fervent zeal for souls and the graces You granted him, making him in a servant of all. Enable us, O Lord, to live for You alone and to see in all Your image. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever and ever, amen.
“Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.”
“It is simply impossible, to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life.”
“What prayer, could be more true before God the Father, than that, which the Son, who is Truth, uttered with His own lips?”
“You can set up an altar to God in your minds, by means of prayer. And so it is fitting, to pray at your trade, on a journey, standing at a counter or sitting at your handcraft.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor
“Faith furnishes prayer with wings, without which it cannot soar to heaven.”
St John Climacus (579-649)
“It is an old custom of the saints of God, to have some little prayers ready and to be frequently, darting them up to heaven, during the day, lifting their minds to God, out of the mire of this world. He who adopts this plan, will obtain great fruits with little pain.”
St Phillip Neri (1515-1595)
“Without prayer, we have, neither light nor strength, to advance in the way which leads to God.”
“He who prays most receives most.”
St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
“In order to succeed in prayer, it should be done when we first awaken, when our whole being is calm and recollected. We need to make our meditation before anything else.”
“As far as possible, you should pray in quiet silent devotion. Try to have a favourite topic of prayer, such as a devotion to the passion of Jesus, the Blessed Sacrament, awareness of the divine presence, go directly to Jesus without too much fuss.”
One Minute Reflection – 30 January – Gospel of the Day Mark 5:21-43 Year B
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”…Mark 5:27-28
REFLECTION – “The second episode, that of the woman with the haemorrhage, again manifests how Jesus came to liberate human beings in their totality. In fact, the miracle takes place in two stages: first there is the physical healing but this is closely linked to the deeper healing, that which grants God’s grace to those who welcome Him in faith. Jesus says to the woman: ‘Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed of the evil that afflicts you!’ (Mark 5:34). These two stories of healing are an invitation for us to overcome the purely horizontal and materialistic vision of life. We rightly ask God for so many healings from our problems, from concrete necessities. But what we must ask for insistently, is a more solid faith, so that the Lord might renew our life and a firm trust in His love, in His providence that does not abandon us.”…Pope Benedict XVI July 2012
PRAYER – Almighty Father, grant that our trust and faith may grow each day. Help us to be secure in Your unfailing love and help. Even in our times of fear, pain and distress, give us the trust to know that You are always with us and that Your healing grace does indeed work miracles in our lives. Grant us strength, O Lord, to overcome all our fears with confidence in Your loving care. Through Jesus Christ in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 29 January – “Speaking of Repentance”
Catholics have largely deserted the confessional. Our Communion lines are full and our confessionals are empty. Unless there has been some radical change in human nature over the past half century, something I see no evidence for, there is something very, very wrong in all this.
Saint Augustine, who once prayed before his conversion, Lord make me chaste but not now, knew the temptation to put off until some theoretical tomorrow repentance. We know that God will accept our repentance but true repentance means putting away sins we are deeply attached to, or ones we in despair think we cannot summon up the willpower to avoid in future. Saint Augustine, in Sermon 32 responds to this manana mentality by reminding us that while God has promised us forgiveness He has not promised us endless tomorrows to seek His forgiveness. As we enter Lent, let us recall these words of the Bishop of Hippo:
I know and as I do every one knows, who has used a little more than ordinary consideration, that no man who has any fear of God omits to reform himself in obedience to His words but he who thinks that he has longer time to live. This it is which kills so many, while they are saying, Tomorrow, Tomorrow and suddenly the door is shut. He remains outside with the raven’s croak, because he had not the moaning of the dove. Tomorrow, Tomorrow- is the raven’s croak. Moan plaintively as the dove and beat your breast but while you are inflicting blows on your breast, be the better for the beating lest you seem not to beat your conscience but rather with blows to harden it and make an evil conscience more unyielding instead of better.
Moan with no fruitless moaning. For it may be you are saying to yourself, God has promised me forgiveness, whenever I reform myself I am secure – I read the divine Scripture, In the day that the wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does that which is lawful and right, I will forget all his iniquities. I am secure then, whenever I reform myself, God will give me pardon for my evil deeds.
What can I say to this? Shall I lift up my voice against God? Shall I say to God, Do not give him pardon? Shall I say, this is not written, God has not promised this? If I should say ought of this, I should say falsely. You speak well and truly; God has promised pardon on your amendment, I cannot deny it but tell me, I pray you, see, I consent, I grant, I acknowledge that God has promised you pardon but who has promised you a tomorrow?
Where you read to me that you shall receive pardon, if you reform yourself, there read to me how long you have to live. Thou dost confess, I cannot read it there.
You know not then how long you have to live.
Reform yourself and so be always ready. Be not afraid of the last day, as a thief, who will break up your house as you sleep but awake and reform yourself today.
Why do you put it off till tomorrow? If your life is to be a long one, let it be both long and good. No one puts off a good dinner because it is to be a long one and do you wish to have a long evil life? Surely if it is to be long, it will be all the better if it be good; if it is to be short, it is well that its good be as long as possible.
But men neglect their life to such a degree, as that they are unwilling to have anything bad, except it. You buy a farm and you look out for a good one; you wish to marry a wife, you choose a good one; you wish for the birth of children and you long for good ones; you bargain for shoes and you do not wish for bad ones; and yet a bad life you do love. How has your life offended you, that you are willing to have it only bad, that amid all your good things, you should yourself alone be evil?
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church, pray for us and thank you!
To speak of repentance is not fashionable today in a world that prefers to ignore sin, yet we who belong to Christ can testify that repentance is the way to forgiveness and freedom. It is the key that unlocks the mercy of God! The call to repentance is always addressed to ourselves first, since all of us are continually in need of deeper conversion.
“Be ashamed when you sin, don’t be ashamed when you repent – Sin is the wound, repentance is the medicine. Sin is followed by shame; repentance is followed by boldness Satan has overturned this order and given boldness to sin and shame to repentance.”
“Do you fast? Then feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not forget the imprisoned, have pity on the tortured, comfort those who grieve and who weep, be merciful, humble, kind, calm, patient, sympathetic, forgiving, reverent, truthful and pious, so that God might accept your fasting and might plentifully grant you the fruits of repentance.”
“Since it is likely that, being men, they would sin every day, St Paul consoles his hearers by saying ‘renew yourselves’ from day to day. This is what we do with houses: we keep constantly repairing them as they wear old. You should do the same thing to yourself. Have you sinned today? Have you made your soul old? Do not despair, do not despond but renew your soul by repentance and tears and Confession and by doing good things. And never cease doing this.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Repentance is the renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection of carefree self-care. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A penitent is an undisgraced convict. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions. A penitent is the inflicter of his own punishments. Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness.”
St John Climacus (579-649) Father of the Church – The Ladder of Divine Ascent
“To do penance is to bewail the evil we have done and to do no evil to bewail.”
St Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Satisfaction consists in the cutting off of the causes of the sin. Thus, fasting is the proper antidote to lust; prayer to pride, to envy, anger and sloth; alms to covetousness.”
St Richard of Chichester (1197-1253)
“Where sin was hatched, let tears now wash the nest.”
St Robert Southwell (1561-1595)
“We come to confession quite preoccupied with the shame that we shall feel. We accuse ourselves with hot air. It is said that many confess and few are converted. I believe it is so, my children, because few confess with tears of repentance.”
“The saints understood how great an outrage sin is against God. Some of them passed their lives in weeping for their sins. St Peter wept all his life; he was still weeping at his death. St Bernard used to say, ‘Lord! Lord! it is I who fastened You to the Cross!'”
One Minute Reflection – 29 January – Speaking of Repentance
Repent, therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out...Acts 3:19
REFLECTION – “I know and as I do every one knows, who has used a little more than ordinary consideration, that no man who has any fear of God omits to reform himself in obedience to His words but he who thinks that he has longer time to live. This it is which kills so many, while they are saying, Tomorrow, Tomorrow and suddenly the door is shut. He remains outside…You speak well and truly; God has promised pardon on your amendment, I cannot deny it but tell me, I pray you, see, I consent, I grant, I acknowledge that God has promised you pardon but who has promised you a tomorrow?”…St Augustine (354-430) Doctor of the Church, Sermon 32
PRAYER – Lord, my holy God, grant that I may always seek Your forgiveness and strive each moment to live Your will. I am weak and a sinful creature but long to see Your face and reach my heavenly home. Fill me with Your grace that I may live in the Light and footsteps of Your divine Son. Lord, Jesus Christ, son of God, my father, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen
Sunday Reflection – – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor)
Fr Raneiro Cantalamessa OFM – Preacher to the Papal Household – “This is My Body”
The Eucharist is the Father’s gift to the world. The mystery contained in the words: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16) is made present in every Mass. In the priest who offers us the body and blood of Christ at the moment of Communion, we can see, with the eyes of faith, the Father in person, who comes to give us “the bread of heaven, the true bread” and says: “Take, this is the body of my Only Begotten Son, which I have given for you.”
Not only does the Father give us the Eucharist, He also gives Himself in the Eucharist because there is only one indivisible divine nature, in receiving the divinity of the Son, we also receive the Father. “Whoever sees me sees the Father,” also means “whoever receives me, receives the Father.”
One day (it was the Saturday of the Second Week of Lent) after listening to the Gospel passage of the parable of the Prodigal Son, I understood clearly that Communion offered me, there and then, the incredible opportunity of receiving the Father’s forgiving embrace – and not only mentally!
Fr Raneiro Cantalamessa OFM – Preacher to the Papal Household – “This is My Body” (out of interest, this entire book is a series of lectures to the Holy Father and his household, who was St John Paul at the time, (during the Year of the Eucharist 2004-2005) on St Thomas Aquinas, Adore Te Devote.
Thought for the Day – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor)
Pope John Paul II, recalled that “the Church has been justified in consistently proposing St Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology” (n. 43). It is not surprising that, after St Augustine, among the ecclesiastical writers mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, St Thomas is cited more than any other, at least 61 times! He was also called the Doctor Angelicus, perhaps because of his virtues and, in particular, the sublimity of his thought and the purity of his life.
The last months of Thomas’ earthly life remain surrounded by a particular, I would say, mysterious atmosphere. In December 1273, he summoned his friend and secretary Reginald to inform him of his decision to discontinue all work because he had realised, during the celebration of Mass subsequent to a supernatural revelation, that everything he had written until then “was worthless”. This is a mysterious episode that helps us to understand not only Thomas’ personal humility but also the fact that, however lofty and pure it may be, all we manage to think and say about the faith is infinitely exceeded by God’s greatness and beauty which will be fully revealed to us in Heaven.
The life and teaching of St Thomas Aquinas could be summed up in an episode passed down by his ancient biographers. While, as was his wont, the Saint was praying before the Crucifix in the early morning in the chapel of St Nicholas in Naples, Domenico da Caserta, the church sacristan, overheard a conversation. Thomas was anxiously asking whether what he had written on the mysteries of the Christian faith was correct. And the Crucified One answered him: “You have spoken well of me, Thomas. What is your reward to be?”.And the answer Thomas gave him was what we too, friends and disciples of Jesus, always want to tell him: “Nothing but Yourself, Lord!”…Pope Benedict XVI – First in the series of Catechesis on St Thomas Aquinas – 2 June 2010
Quote/s of the Day – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor)
“Nothing created has ever been able to fill the heart of man. God alone can fill it infinitely.”
“It is only God who creates. Man merely rearranges.”
“When the devil is called the god of this world, it is not because he made it but because we serve him with our worldliness.”
“To pretend angels do not exist because they are invisible, is to believe we never sleep because we don’t see ourselves sleeping.”
“Charity is the form, mover, mother and root of all the virtues.”
“To love is to will the good of the other.”
“The greatest kindness one can render to any man consists in leading him from error to truth.”
“Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth, by command of the will, moved by God through grace.”
“He who is NOT angry when there is just cause for anger is IMMORAL. WHY? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you ARE IMMORAL as well as UNJUST!”
“The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable, as the death of Jesus on the cross.”
“Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary’s maternal intercession.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor)
“This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.”…John 15:12-13
REFLECTION – “If you seek the example of love: “Greater love than this no man has, than to lay down his life for his friends.” Such a man was Christ on the cross. And if He gave His life for us, then it should not be difficult to bear whatever hardships arise for His sake. If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross. Christ endured much on the cross and did so patiently, because “when he suffered he did not threaten; he was led like a sheep to the slaughter and he did not open his mouth.” If you seek an example of obedience, follow Him who became obedient to the Father even unto death. “For just as by the disobedience of one man,” namely, Adam, “many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man, many were made righteous.” If you seek an example of despising earthly things, follow Him who is “the King of kings and the Lord of lords, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Upon the cross He was stripped, mocked, spat upon, struck, crowned with thorns and given only vinegar and gall to drink. Do not be attached, therefore, to clothing and riches, because “they divided my garments among themselves.” Nor to honours, for He experienced harsh words and scourgings. Nor to greatness of rank, for “weaving a crown of thorns they placed it on my head.” Nor to anything delightful, for “in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” – from the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas
PRAYER – Lord, our God, since it was by your gift that St Thomas became so great a saint and theologian, give us grace to understand his teaching and follow his way of life. May his great love for Jesus Crucified and His pure adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, be our guide to follow in Your Son’s footsteps and take up our cross and follow Him. Grant that by the prayers of St Thomas, we may grow in love and sanctity, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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