Quote/s of the Day – 17 July – Memorial of the 16 Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne
St. Thomas Aquinas
Previous – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/
St Gregory of Tours relates that when he was
a boy his father fell gravely ill and lay dying.
Gregory prayed fervently for his recovery. When
asleep at night Gregory’s Angel Guardian appeared
to him and told him t.o write the Name of Jesus
on a card and place this under the sick man’s
pillow.
In the morning he acquainted his mother with
the Angel’s message which she advised him to
obey. He did so and placed the card under his
father’s head when, to the delight of the whole
family, the patient grew rapidly better.
We could fill pages and pages with the miracles
and wonders worked by the Holy Name at all
times and in all places not only by the Saints but by
all who invoke this Divine Name with reverence
and faith.
Marchese says “I refrain from relating here the
miracles worked and graces granted by Our Lord to
those who have been devout to His Holy Name,
because St. John Chrysostom reminds me that
Jesus is always named when miracles are worked
by holy men; hence to attempt to enumerate them
would be to try to give a list of the countless
miracles which God has performed through all the
ages, either to increase the glory of His Saints
or to plant and strengthen the faith in the hearts
of men”.
Cards of the Holy Name.
The use of cards with the Holy Name inscribed
on them has been used and recommended by the
great lovers of the Holy Name such as Mgr. Andre
Dias (see page 6), St. Leonard of Portmaurice,
St. Gregory of Tours, above mentioned.
Our readers would do well to use the use cards,
carrying them about on their persons during the
day, putting them under their pillows at night and
placing them on the doors of all rooms.
Previous – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/
In the reign of Genseric the Arian King of the
Goths one of his favourite courtiers, the Count of
Armogasto, was converted from Arianism and joined
the Catholic Church.
The King on hearing of the fact fell into a
violent fury and calling the young nobleman to
his presence tried by every means in his power to
induce him to recant and return to the Arian sect.
Neither threats nor promises availed. The Count
refused all overtures and held fast to his new
found faith. Genseric then gave vent to his fury
and ordered the young man to be bound with
strong cords as tightly as the brawny executioners
could draw them. The torment was intense but
the victim showed no sign of pain. He repeated
two, or three times, Jesus. Jesus. Jesus, and lo!
the cords snapped like spiders’ webs and fell at his
feet.
Enraged beyond measure the tyrant now commanded
that the sinews of oxen, hard and tough as
wire, should be brought. The Count was again
bound and the king bade the executioners use
their utmost strength. Once more their victim
invoked the Name of Jesus and the new thongs,
like the old, snapped like threads. Genseric
foaming with rage ordered the martyr to be bound
by the feet and hung from the branches of a tree,
head downwards.
Smiling at this new mode of torture Count
Armogasto folded his arms on his bosom and
repeating the Holy Name fell , into a tranquil
sleep as though he were lying on a soft and
comfortable couch.
D. Melchior smiles at his tormentors.
We have another incident of a similar kind
narrated of the Chinese Martyr, the Venerable
Dominican Bishop, D Melchior.
In one of the many persecutions which raged in
China and which gave so many saints to the
Church, this holy Bishop was seized and, after
having undergone the most brutal torments, was
condemned to a cruel death.
He was dragged to the market place in the
midst of a howling mob who came to gloat over
his sufferings.
They stripped him of his garments and five executioners,
armed with rough-edged swords, proceeded
to chop off his fingers one by one, joint by
joint, then his arms, then his legs, causing him
excruciating agony. Finally they hacked the flesh
from his poor body and broke his bones.
During this prolonged martyrdom no sign of
pain was visible on the Bishop’s countenance.
He was smiling and saying aloud, slowly, Jesus.
Jesus. Jesus, which gave him this wonderful
strength to the amazement of his executioners.
Neither cry nor groan escaped from his lips until
finally after hours of torture he quietly breathed
his last, with the same lovely smile lingering on
his face.
What wonderful consolation would we too not
feel, when confined to bed with sickness, or racked
by pain if we repeated devoutly the Name of Je sus.
Many people find it hard to sleep.
They will find help and consolation by invoking
in these sleepless moments the Holy Name, and
very probably will fall back into a tranquil slumber.
Thought for the Day – 12 July
“Bernice Veronica” – both names referring to the Woman who wiped the Face of Jesus, commonly depicted in every Catholic church, at the Sixth Station of the Cross.
Did she exist? And what does it mean to be “a Veronica?” The Catholic Church tells us that a veil bearing a miraculous image of the Face of Jesus has existed since the earliest centuries, recorded in history and in art. About the time this miraculous veil first appeared in Rome, in the Middle Ages, the name “Veronica” referred to the veil itself–“Veronica” meaning “vera” or true, and “icon” meaning image, or even more precisely, “to be present.” Those who gazed upon the veil bearing the true Face of Jesus stood in God’s presence. They were turned toward His Face.
Legends sprang up sometime later about a woman named “Veronica,” who was sometimes associated with the woman “Berenice” or “Bernice,” the bleeding woman who touches the hem of Jesus’s garment in the Gospel.
“These pious traditions cannot be documented, but there is no reason why the belief that such an act of compassion did occur should not find expression in the veneration paid to one called Veronica.” —The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Pope St. John Paul II expressed the answer to the question of Veronica most beautifully in his poem,
“Name”
In the crowd walking towards the place
[of the Agony]–
did you open up a gap at some point or were you
[opening it] from the beginning?
And since when? You tell me, Veronica.
Your name was born in the very instant
in which your heart
became an effigy: the effigy of truth.
Your name was born from what you gazed upon.
–Karol Wojtyla
When a soul performs an “act of compassion,” Jesus leaves His image on the “veil” of the soul. In other words, while contemplating the Face of Jesus in an image, in the Word of God in the Scriptures, in a person made in the image and likeness of God, or above all, in the Eucharist, the soul places itself in the Presence of God. When we are turned completely toward the Face of God, through a daily face-to-face encounter in prayer–by the power of the Holy Spirit–God gradually transforms the soul into the “True Image” of His Son, Jesus Christ. As Pope St. John Paul II says, our hearts must become an “effigy of truth,” a “true icon.” Then our name too will be born from what we gaze upon. It will be “Veronica.”
St Veronica pray for us!
Parts One and Two – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/the-wonders-of-the-holy-name-fr-paul-osullivan-o-p-revealing-the-simplest-secret-ever-of-holiness-and-happiness/https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/the-holy-name/
A devastating plague broke out in Lisbon in
I432. All who could do so fled in terror from the
city and thus carried the plague to every corner
of the entire country of Portugal.
Thousands of men, women and children, of all
classes, were swept away by the cruel sickness.
So virulent was the epidemic that men died everywhere,
at table, in the streets, in their houses, in
the shops, in the market places, in the Churches. To
use the words of historians, it flashed like lightning
from man to man, or from a coat, a hat or
any garment that had been used by the plague
stricken. Priests, doctors and nurses were carried
off in such numbers that the bodies of many lay
unburied in the streets so that the dogs licked up
the blood and ate the flesh of the dead, becoming
as a result infested with the dread disease and
spreading it still more widely among the unfortunate
people.
Among those who assisted the dying with
unflagging zeal was a venerable Bishop, Monsignor
Andre ‘ Dias who lived in the Convent of St. Dominic.
This holy man seeing that the epidemic,
far from diminishing, grew every day in intensity
and, despairing of human help, urged the
unhappy people to call on the Holy Name of
Jesus. He was seen wherever the disease
was fiercest, urging, imploring the sick and the
dying as well as those who had not as yet been
stricken down, to repeat Jesus. Jesus. “Write it
on cards”, he said, “and keep those cards on your
persons, place them at night under your pillows,
place them on your doors but above all constantly
invoke with your lips and in your hearts this most
powerful Name”.
He went about as an Angel of peace filling the
sick and the dying with courage and confidence.
The poor sufferers felt within them a new life and,
calling on Jesus, they wore the cards on their
breasts or carried them in their pockets.
Then summoning them to the great Church of St.
Dominic he once more spoke to them of the power
of the Name of Jesus, blessed wafer in the same
Holy Name, ordering all the people to sprinkle themselves
with it and sprinkle it on the faces of the sick
and dying. ‘Wonder of wonders! the sick got well,
the dying arose from their agonies, the plague
ceased and the city was delivered in a few days from
the most awful scourge that had ever visited it.
The news spread to the whole country and all
began to call, with one accord, on the Name of
J esus. In an incredibly short time all Portugal
was freed from the dread sickness.
The grateful people, mindful of the marvels they
had witnessed, continued their love and confidence
in the Name of our Saviour, so that in all their
troubles, in all dangers, when evils of any kind
threatened them they invoked the Name of Jesus.
Confraternities were formed in the Churches, processions
of the Holy Name were made monthly,
altars were raised in honour of this blessed Name,
so that the greatest curse that had ever fallen upon
the country was transformed into the greatest
blessing.
For long centuries this great confidence in the
Name of Jesus continued in Portugal and thence
spread to Spain, to France, and to the whole World.
One Minute Reflection – 12 July
You have said, “Seek my face”. My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek”. Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation………Psalm 27:8-9
REFLECTION – “Veronica- ‘Bernice’ in the Greek tradition, embodies the universal yearning of the devout men and women of the Old Testament, the yearning of all believers to see the Face of God. On Jesus’ Way of the Cross, though, she at first did nothing more than perform an act of womanly kindness: she held out a facecloth to Jesus. She did not let herself be deterred by the brutality of the soldiers or the fear which gripped the disciples. She is the image of that good woman, who, amid turmoil and dismay, shows the courage born of goodness and does not allow her heart to be bewildered. “Blessed are the pure in heart”, the Lord had said in his Sermon on the Mount, “for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). At first, Veronica saw only a buffeted and pain-filled Face. Yet her act of love impressed the true image of Jesus on her heart: on His human Face, bloodied and bruised, she saw the Face of God and His goodness, which accompanies us even in our deepest sorrows. Only with the heart can we see Jesus. Only love purifies us and gives us the ability to see. Only love enables us to recognize the God who is love itself.”…………..Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (24 March 2005)
PRAYER – Lord God, grant us restless hearts, hearts which seek Your Face. Keep us from the blindness of heart which sees only the surface of things. Give us the simplicity and purity which allow us to recognise Your presence in the world. When we are not able to accomplish great things, grant us the courage which is born of humility and goodness. Impress Your Face on our hearts. May we encounter You along the way and show Your image to the world. St Veronica, Pray for us! Amen.
Our Morning Offering – 12 July
The Eucharistic Face of Jesus
By Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity
O Eucharistic Face of Jesus,
brightness of the glory of my God
and figure of His substance,
I want to spend my life gazing upon You,
to become totally impressionable
so that I might bear Your likeness
and become an effigy of Your countenance.
Through all darkness,
all emptiness,
all powerlessness,
I want to keep my eyes fixed on You
and to remain under Your great light.
O my beloved Sun,
so fascinate me
that I may never be able to leave Your radiance.
Amen
Part One – here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/the-wonders-of-the-holy-name-fr-paul-osullivan-o-p-revealing-the-simplest-secret-ever-of-holiness-and-happiness/
St. Paul tells us that we must do all we do
whether in word or work in the Name of Jesus.
“Whether you eat or whether you drink or
whatever else you do, do all in the Name of our
Lord Jesus Christ”.
In this way every act becomes an act of love
and of merit and moreover we receive grace and
help to do all our actions perfectly.
We must therefore do our best to form the
habit of saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus very often
every day. We can do so when dressing, when
working – no matter what we are doing – when
walking, in moments of sadness, at home and in
the street, everywhere.
Nothing is easier if only we do it methodically.
We can say it countless times every day.
Bear in mind that each time we say Jesus 1) we
give God great glory, 2) we receive great graces
for-ourselves 3) and we help the souls in Purgatory.
We shall now quote a few examples to show
the power of the Holy Name.
In the year 1274 great evils threatened the World.
The Church was assailed by fierce enemies from
within and without. So great was the danger
that the Pope Gregory X, who then reigned called
a Council of Bishops in Lyons to determine on the
best means of saving society from the ruin that
menaced it. Among the many means proposed
the Pope and Bishops chose what they considered
the easiest and most efficacious of all,
viz. the frequent repetition of the Holy Name of
Jesus.
The Holy Father then begged the Bishops of
the World and their priests, to call on the Name
of Jesus and to urge their peoples to place all their
confidence in this all-powerful Name, repeating
it constantly with boundless trust. The Pope
entrusted the Dominicans especially with the
glorious task of preaching the wonders of the
Holy Name in every country, a work they accomplished
with unbounded zeal.
Their Franciscan brothers ably seconded them.
St Bernardine of Siena and St. Leonard of PortMaurice
were ardent Apostles of the Name of
Jesus.
Their efforts were crowned with success so
that the enemies of the Church were overthrown,
the dangers that threatened society disappeared
and peace once more reigned supreme.
This is a most important lesson for us because
in these our own days dreadful sufferings are
crushing many countries and still greater evils
threaten all the others.
No government, or governments seem strong
and wise enough to stem this awful torrent of
evils. There is but one remedy and that is prayer.
Every Christian must turn to God and ask Him
to have mercy on us. The easiest of all prayers,
as we have seen, is the Name of Jesus.
Everyone without exception can invoke this
Holy Name hundreds of times a day, not only
for bis own intentions, but also to ask God to
deliver the World from impending ruin.
It is amazing what one person who prays can
do to save his country and save society. We
read in Holy Scripture how Moses saved by his
prayer the people of Israel from destruction, how
one pious woman, Judith of Betulia, saved her city
and her people when the rulers were in despair
and about to surrender themselves to their enemies.
Again we know that the two cities of Sodom
and Gomorrha, which God destroyed by fire for
their sins and crimes, would have been pardoned
had there been only ten good men to pray for
them!
Over and over again we read of kings, emperors,
statesmen and famous military commanders who
placed all their trust in prayer thus working
wonders. If the prayers of one man can do much
what will not the prayers of many do?
The Name of Jesus is the shortest, the easiest
and the most powerful of prayers. Everyone can
say it even in the midst of his daily work. God
cannot refuse to hear it.
Let us then invoke the Name of Jesus, asking
Him to save us from the calamities that threaten us.
You will remember a while ago I posted the entire book by Fr Paul O’Sullivan “How to Avoid Purgatory” – you will find the entire Booklet in chapters here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/category/purgatory/
Again I wish to share one of Fr Paul’s wonderful booklets which are such amazing works to grow our faith and inspire our daily lives. The byline states “revealing the simplest secret ever of holiness and happiness.” Although January is the Month of the Holy Name – we can never learn this devotion too soon, by January we will be totally ready to give praise, honour and glory to His Name!
We have been hearing and have been repeating
from childhood the Holy Name of Jesus, but alas!
many, very many have no adequate idea of the
great wonders of this Holy Name.
What do you know, dear reader, about the Name
of Jesus? You know that it is a holy name and
that you must bow your head reverently when
you say it. That is very little. It is as if you
looked at a closed book and merely glanced at
the title on the cover. You know nothing of all
the beautiful thoughts in the book itself.
Even so when you pronounce the Name of Jesus
you know very little of the treasures hidden in it.
This Divine Name is in truth a mine of riches,
it is the fount of the highest holiness and the
secret of the greatest happiness that a man can
hope to enjoy on this Earth. Read and see.
Devotion to the Holy Name is so easy that
everyone without exception can practice it. It
demands no time so that the busiest man can
repeat it countless times.
It is so powerful, so certain that it never fails
to produce in our souls the most wonderful results.
It consoles the saddest heart and makes the
weakest sinner strong. It obtains for us all kinds
of favours and graces, spiritual and temporal.
Two things we must do: First of all we must
understand clearly the meaning and value of the
Name of Jesus.
Secondly we must get into the habit of saying
it frequently, hundreds and hundreds of times
every day. Far from being a burden it will be
an immense joy and consolation.
The Holy Name of Jesus is, first of all, an
all-powerful prayer. Our Lord Himself solemnly
promises that whatever we ask the Father in His
Name we shall receive. God never fails to keep
His word.
When, therefore, we say Jesus let us ask God for
all we need with absolute confidence of being heard.
For this reason the Church ends her prayers
with the words: “Through Jesus Christ” which
gives the prayer a new and divine efficacy.
But the Holy Name is something still greater.
Each time we say Jesus we give God infinite
joy and glory for we offer Him all the infinite
merits of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ.
St Paul tells us that Jesus merited the Name
Jesus by His Passion and Death.
Each time we say Jesus let us clearly wish to
offer God all the Masses being said all over the
World for all our intentions. We thus share in
these thousands of Masses.
Each time we say Jesus we gain 30O days
indulgence which we may apply to the souls in
Purgatory, thus relieving and liberating very many
of these holy souls from their awful pains. They
thus become our best friends and pray for us
with incredible fervour.
Each time we say Jesus, it is an act of perfect
love for we offer to God the infinite love of Jesus.
The Holy Name of Jesus saves us from innumerable
evils and delivers us especially from
the power of the devil who is constantly seeking
to do us harm.
The Name of Jesus gradually fills our souls
with a peace and a joy we never had before.
The Name of Jesus gives us such strength that
our sufferings become light and easy to bear.
What must we do? – coming tomorrow………………..
Our Morning Offering – 2 July
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son
of the Eternal Father, save us. (after each line)
Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God,
Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament,
Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony,
Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging,
Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns,
Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross,
Blood of Christ, price of our salvation,
Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness,
Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls,
Blood of Christ, stream of mercy,
Blood of Christ, victor over demons,
Blood of Christ, courage of martyrs,
Blood of Christ, strength of confessors,
Blood of Christ, bringing forth virgins,
Blood of Christ, help of those in peril,
Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened,
Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow,
Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent,
Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying,
Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts,
Blood of Christ, pledge of Eternal Life,
Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory,
Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor,
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
V. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy Blood.
R. And made us, for our God, a kingdom.
Let us pray:
Almighty and eternal God, You have appointed Your only-begottSon the Redeemer of the world and willed to be appeased by his blood. Grant, we beg of You, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Litany of the Most Precious Blood pays tribute to the blood our Lord both shed for us in His Passion and offers us in the Eucharist for our salvation.
It is important to remember that the host we consume at Mass is indeed the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ! The host as the body of Christ contains our Lord’s blood as well.
The Litany of the Most Precious Blood was approved for public use in 1960 by Pope John XXIII, although devotion to the Precious Blood goes back centuries. Indeed, as Father Faber wrote in 1860 “the lives of the saints are replete with devotion to the precious blood.” The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood in the Church’s Liturgical Calendar.
May the Litany of the Most Precious Blood inspire you in your efforts to receive Him worthily in Communion and to have Him fortify you in your efforts to serve Him and others on your journey towards Eternal Life!
The HOLY FATHER’S PRAYER INTENTION for JULY 2017
LAPSED CHRISTIANS
That our brothers and sisters who have strayed
from the faith, through our prayer and witness
to the Gospel, may rediscover the merciful closeness
of the Lord and the beauty of the Christian life.
One Minute Reflection – 1 July
“I have betrayed innocent blood!”………..Matthew 27:4
REFLECTION – “The Blood of Christ is His sacrifice applied to us; it enters the souls of the redeemed; it is the inextinguishable source of all heroism!”……St John XXIII
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, You became Man in order by your Passion and Death and the draining of your Blood on the Cross, might prove to us how much You, our God, love us. Protect us, dear Jesus, from ever running away from the sight of blood. Strengthen our weak human wills so that we will not only not run away from the cross but welcome every opportunity to shed our blood in spirit in union with your Precious Blood, so that, dying to ourselves in time we might live with You in Eternity. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 1 July
Constant Prayer of St. Catherine of Siena
to the Precious Blood of Jesus
Precious Blood,
ocean of divine mercy:
Flow upon us!
Precious Blood,
most pure offering:
Procure us every grace!
Precious Blood,
hope and refuge of sinners:
Atone for us!
Precious Blood,
delight of holy souls:
Draw us! Amen.
July Devotion – The Most Precious Blood
July is the month dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. Among devotions to the humanity of Christ (e.g., Divine Infancy, Sacred Heart) the Precious Blood of Jesus has the most biblical precedent since it is mentioned so frequently in the New Testament (over 75 times). Saint Peter, our first Pope, specifically refers to the blood of Christ as “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled” (1 Peter 1:19, D-R). In fact, it might even be said that the entire Old Testament is a lesson in “blood sacrifice” as an anticipation of Christ’s obedient and merciful sacrifice on the wood of the life-giving cross.
St. Paul could rightfully be called the “Theologian of the Precious Blood.” The Apostle even tell us to place our “faith in His blood”:
“Whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former sins” (Romans 3:25 D-R).
This reveals that the Precious Blood of Jesus is not an abstraction, but a true devotion to the Divine Person of Christ.
In Ephesians, the Apostle teaches us that our redemption was purchased “through His blood” (Eph 1:7), and in Hebrews, he teaches that the entire New Covenant is rooted in the Precious Blood of Jesus.
Saint John the Apostle stresses the love of God and the Precious Blood when he writes: “he hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev 1:5, D-R). Elsewhere, Saint John explains that the Blood of Jesus continues to be applied to us: “But if we walk in the light, as he also is in the light, we have fellowship one with another: And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7).
In recent times the devotion has been encouraged by Blessed Gaspar Buffalo, founder of the Congregation of the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. When Pope Pius IX was in exile from Rome in 1849, he had as his companion Don Giovanni Merlini, the third general of that Congregation. This saintly priest suggested to the pope that he make a vow to give the feast of the Precious Blood to the entire church, if he should regain the papal territory. Without binding himself by the vow, the pope immediately extended the feast to the whole Church to be celebrated on 1 July each year.
Our Morning Offering – 4 June
Prayer to the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary
O Heart of Jesus pierced for our sins
and giving us Your Mother on Calvary!
O Heart of Mary pierced by sorrow
and sharing in the sufferings of your divine Son
for our redemption!
O sacred union of these Two Hearts!
Praised be the God of Love who united them together!
May we unite our hearts and every heart
so that all hearts may live in unity and in imitation
of that sacred unity which exists in these Two Hearts.
Triumph, O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Reign, O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
– in our hearts, in our homes and families,
in the hearts of those who as yet do not know You
and in all nations of the world.
Establish in the hearts of all mankind the sovereign triumph
and reign of your Two Hearts so that the earth may resound
from pole to pole with one cry:
Blessed forever be the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Obtain for me a greater purity of heart
and a fervent love of the spiritual life.
May all my actions be done for the greater glory of God
in unions with the divine heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Hear and answer our prayers and intentions
according to Your most merciful will. Amen
Celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – 23 June 2017
“That Christ has come to us with a heart made of flesh tells us a lot about how the Sacred Heart loves us and about the kind of love we need. We are loved by any number of hearts during our earthly lives but one alone among them we call Sacred. We know how it feels to be loved by fallen people—by those who try but cannot love perfectly. But what it is to be loved by a Sacred Heart?
At the outset of the last supper, the Lord gets down on His hands and knees and washes the feet of His disciples. “Do you understand this?” He asks them. Before He tells the Apostles about union with Him, about the great commandment of love, about His joy, Jesus first shows them what it all “looks” like.
“Do you understand this?” This is perhaps the ultimate question as we reflect on what it means to be loved by the Sacred Heart. Perhaps the answer will be an honest, “No, Lord, I do not understand your love for me,” and that could be nearer the truth than anything. “I don’t understand what God is doing on His hands and knees wiping the dirt off of my feet. If I were Jesus, I wouldn’t treat me like He treats me. I wouldn’t be so tolerant and forgiving. I wouldn’t keep on loving someone like me.”
But to spend our lives in contemplation of His love for us, as the apostles surely did, is what will bring us ever closer to the source of the Love that constantly reaches into our lives, showing itself to be subtle, selfless and inexhaustible. If the fire, thorns and blood are the divinely revealed gauge of divine love in a human heart, then the more I welcome His tireless forgiveness, His unflinching friendship in the face of my infidelity, the more I will appreciate the mystery of divine charity which the Sacred Heart reveals.
Now we see imperfectly, in part but the part we do see should teach us why He needed to come to us with a heart of flesh, like ours.”
Friday 23 June 2017 Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – (Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost)
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.
“And He showed me that it was His great desire of being loved by men and of withdrawing them from the path of ruin into which Satan hurls such crowds of them, that made Him form the design of manifesting His Heart to men, with all the treasures of love, of mercy, of grace, of sanctification and salvation which It contains, in order that those who desire to render Him and procure for Him all the honour and love possible, might themselves be abundantly enriched with those Divine treasures of which this Heart is the source. He should be honoured under the figure of this Heart of flesh and Its image should be exposed … He promised me that wherever this image should be exposed with a view to showing It special honour, He would pour forth His blessings and graces. This devotion was the last effort of His love that He would grant to men in these latter ages, in order to withdraw them from the empire of Satan which He desired to destroy, and thus to introduce them into the sweet liberty of the rule of His love, which He wished to restore in the hearts of all those who should embrace this devotion.”
—St. Margaret Mary
This Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was composed by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a 17th Century French nun and mystic, pictured above, who saw our Lord in numerous visions. She was instrumental in spreading devotion to His Sacred Heart after He conveyed His wish for her to do so. In one vision she actually saw Jesus’ Sacred Heart with flames protruding from it to show His great love for us! The burning love He showed her from His Sacred Heart certainly must have inspired her.
Clearly, our Lord wishes us to join our will to His in love for Him and each other on our earthly pilgrimage to Heaven. And what better way than to appeal to our hearts, where our most sincere feelings and desires reside.
So too with Jesus, who we must remember, as man as well as God comes to us in Communion at Mass and in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament with His heart filled with immense love and longing for us! As our Lord said in the Gospels “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Jesus once told St. Margaret Mary something quite similar when He said “Without me you can do nothing, but I will never let you lack help as long as you keep your weakness and nothingness buried in My strength.”
Our Lord wishes us to approach Him for help and love in humility, even when we’re feeling most uncertain or useless. Don’t be afraid to offer up your own weaknesses and anxieties to Him! He’ll be more than happy to fill your “nothingness” with His awesomeness! And the best places are after receiving Him and in Eucharistic Adoration, where His Heart is calling you!
ACT of CONSECRATION to the MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS
by ST MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE
I (Name…………..), give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ,
my person, my life, my actions, my pains and sufferings,
so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being
save to honour, love and glorify the Sacred Heart.
It is my unchanging intention to be all His
and to do all for love of Him.
I renounce at the same time with all my heart whatever can displease Him.
I, therefore, take You, O Sacred Heart,
for the only object of my love,
the protector of my life,
the pledge of my salvation,
the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy,
the atonement for the faults of my life
and the secure refuge at the hour of my death.
Be then, O Heart of goodness,
my justification before God the Father
and turn away from me the punishment of His just anger.
O Heart of love, I put my confidence in You
because I fear everything from my own sinfulness and weakness.
I hope for all things from Your mercy and generosity.
Destroy in me all that can displease or resist Your holy Will.
Let Your pure love impress You so deeply upon my heart
that I may never forget You or be separated from You.
May my name, by your loving kindness,
be written In You
because in You I desire to place all my happiness
and all my glory in living and dying in very bondage to You.
Amen
NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY NINE –22 JUNE
By St Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 from THE HOLY EUCHARIST
MEDITATION IX.
The Faithful Heart of Jesus.
Oh, how faithful is the beautiful heart of Jesus towards those whom He calls to His love: He is faithful Who hath called you, Who also will perform.’ [1 Thess. v. 24].
The faithfulness of God gives us confidence to hope all things, although we deserve nothing. If we have driven God from our heart, let us open the door to Him and He will immediately enter, according to the promise He has made: If anyone open to Me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him. [Apoc. iii. 20]. If we wish for graces, let us ask for them of God, in the name of Jesus Christ and He has promised us that we shall obtain them: If you shall ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it you. [John xvi. 23]. If we are tempted, let us trust in His merits and He will not permit our enemies to strive with us beyond our strength: God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able. [1 Cor. x. 13].
Oh, how much better it is to have to do with God than with men! How often do men promise and then fail, either because they tell lies in making their promises, or because, after having made the promise, they change their minds: God is not as man, says the Holy Spirit, that He should lie; or as the Son of Man, that He should be changed. [Num. xxiii. 19]. God cannot be unfaithful to His promises, because, being Truth itself, He cannot lie; nor can He change His mind, because all that He wills is just and right. He has promised to receive all that come to Him, to give help to him that asks it, to love him that loves Him; and shall He then not do it? Hath He said, then, and will He not do it? [Ibid.].
Oh, that we were as faithful with God as He is with us! Oh, how often have we, in times past, promised Him to be His, to serve Him and love Him and then have betrayed Him, and, renouncing His service, have sold ourselves as slaves to the devil! Oh, let us beseech Him to give us strength to be faithful to Him for the future! Oh, how blessed shall we be if we are faithful to Jesus Christ in the few things that He commands us to do; He will, indeed, be faithful in remunerating us with infinitely great rewards and He will declare to us what He has promised to His faithful servants: Well done, good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. [Matt. xxv. 21].
LET US PRAY – DAY NINE
Oh, that I had been as faithful towards You, my dearest Redeemer,
as You have been faithful to me.
Whenever I have opened my heart to You,
You have entered in, to forgive me and to receive me into Your favour.
Whenever I have called You, You have hastened to my assistance.
You have been faithfu1 with me
but I have been exceedingly unfaithful towards You.
I have promised You my love and then have many times refused it to You,
as if You, my God, Who has created and redeemed me,
were less worthy of being loved than Your creatures
and those miserable pleasures for which I have forsaken You.
Forgive me, O my Jesus. I know my ingratitude and abhor it.
I know that You are infinite goodness;
Who deserves an infinite love, especially from me,
whom You have so much loved,
even after all the offences I have committed against You.
Ah, no, my Love, have pity on me;
suffer me not to forsake You again
and then to damn myself, as I should deserve, to Hell.
O loving and faithful heart of Jesus, inflame, I beseech You, my miserable heart,
so that it may burn with love for You, My Jesus.
It seems to me that now I love You but I love You but little.
Make me love You exceedingly
and remain faithful to You until death.
I ask of You this grace, together with that of always praying to You for it.
Grant that I may die, rather than ever betray You again.
O Mary, my Mother, help me to be faithful to your Son. Amen.
NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY EIGHT –21 JUNE
By St Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 from THE HOLY EUCHARIST
MEDITATION VIII.
The Despised Heart of Jesus.
There is not a greater sorrow for a heart that loves, than to see its love despised: and so much the more when the proofs given of this love have been great, and, on the other hand, the ingratitude great.
If every human being were to renounce all his goods and to go and live in the desert, to feed on herbs, to sleep on the bare earth, to macerate himself with penances and at last give himself up to be murdered for Christ’s sake, what recompense could he render for the sufferings, the Blood, the life that this great Son of God has given for his sake? If we were to sacrifice ourselves every moment unto death, we should certainly not recompense in the smallest degree the love that Jesus Christ has shown us, by giving Himself to us in the most Holy Sacrament. Only conceive that God should conceal Himself under the species of bread to become the food of one of His creatures!
But, O my God, what recompense and gratitude do men render to Jesus Christ? What but ill-treatment, contempt of His laws and His maxims, —– injuries such as they would not commit towards their enemy, or their slave, or the greatest villain upon earth. And can we think of all these injuries which Jesus Christ has received and still receives every day and not feel sorrow for them? And not endeavour, by our love, to recompense the infinite love of His Divine heart, which remains in the most Holy Sacrament, inflamed with the same love towards us and anxious to communicate every good gift to us and to give Himself entirely to us, ever ready to receive us into His heart whenever we go to Him? Him that cometh to Me, I will not cast out. [John vi. 37].
We have been accustomed to hear of the Creation, Incarnation, Redemption, of Jesus born in a stable, of Jesus dead on the Cross. O my God, if we knew that another man had conferred on us any of these benefits, we could not help loving him. It seems that God alone has, to to say, this bad luck with men, that, though He has done His utmost to make them love Him, yet He cannot attain this end, and, instead of being loved, He sees Himself despised and neglected. All this arises from the forgetfulness of men of the love of God.
LET US PRAY – DAY EIGHT
O Heart of Jesus, abyss of mercy and love,
how is it that, at the sight of the goodness You hast shown me and of my ingratitude, I do not die of sorrow? You, O mv Saviour, after having given me my being,
have given me all Your Blood and Your life, giving Yourself up for my sake, to ignominy and death;
and, not content with this,
You have invented the mode of sacrificing Yourself every day for me in the Holy Eucharist,
not refusing to expose Yourself to the injuries which You receive, and which You foresaw,
in this Sacrament of love.
O my God, how can I see myself so ungrateful to You without dying with contrition!
O Lord, put an end, I pray You, to my ingratitude,
by wounding my heart with Your love and making me entirely Yours.
Remember the Blood and the tears that You shed for me, and forgive me.
Oh, let not all Your sufferings be lost upon me.
But though You have seen how ungrateful and unworthy of Your love I have been,
yet You didst not cease to love me even when I did not love You.
Grant that this day may be the day of my thorough conversion;
so that I may begin to love You and may never cease to love You, my sovereign good.
Make me die in everything to myself,
in order that I may live only for You and that I may always burn with Your love.
O Mary, your heart was the blessed altar
that was always on fire with Divine love:
my dearest Mother, make me like you;
obtain this from your Son,
Who delights in honouring and pleasing you,
by denying you nothing that you ask of Him. Amen
NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY SEVEN –20 JUNE
By St Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 from THE HOLY EUCHARIST
MEDITATION VII.
The Grateful Heart of Jesus.
The heart of Jesus is so grateful, that it cannot behold the most trifling works done for the love of Him —–our smallest word spoken for His glory, a single good thought directed towards pleasing Him—–without giving to each its own reward. He is besides so grateful, that He always returns a hundredfold for one: You shall receive a hundredfold.
[Matt. xix. 29] Men, when they are grateful, and recompense any benefit done to them, recompense it only once; they, as it were, divest themselves of all the obligation, and then they think no more of it. Jesus Christ does not do thus. with us; He not only recompenses a hundredfold in this life every good action that we perform to please Him, but in the next life He recompenses it an infinite number of times throughout eternity. And who will be so negligent as not to do as much as he can to please this most grateful heart?
But, O my God, how do men try to please Jesus Christ? Or rather, I will say, how can we be so ungrateful towards this our Saviour? If He had only shed a single drop of Blood, or one tear alone for our salvation, yet we should be under infinite obligation to Him; because this drop and this tear would have been of infinite value in the sight of God towards obtaining for us every grace. But Jesus would employ for us every moment of His life. He has given us all His merits, all His sufferings, all His ignominies, all His Blood, and His life; so that we are under, not one, but infinite, obligations to love Him.
But alas! we are grateful even towards animals: if a little dog shows us any sign of affection, it seems to constrain us to love it. How, then, can we be so ungrateful towards God? It seems as if the benefits of God towards men change their nature, and become ill-usage; for, instead of gratitude and love, they obtain nothing but offences and injuries. Do Thou, O Lord, enlighten these ungrateful ones, to know the love that Thou bearest them.
LET US PRAY – DAY SEVEN
O my beloved Jesus,
behold at Your feet an ungrateful sinner.
I have been grateful indeed towards creatures
but to You, alone I have been ungrateful, Who died fur me
and have done the utmost to oblige me to love You.
My dearest Jesus, I have in times past offended You
but now I love You more than everything —–more than myself.
Tell me what You would have me to do;
for I am ready to do everything with Your help.
I believe that for my sake You dost remain in the Blessed Sacrament;
I thank You for it, O my love.
Oh, permit me not to be ungrateful in future for so many benefits and proofs of Your love.
Oh, bind me, unite me to Your heart
and permit me not, during the years that remain to me,
to offend You or grieve You any more.
O my Jesus, it is time that I should love You now.
Oh, that those years that I have lost would return!
But they will return no more
and the life that remains for me may be short;
but whether it be short or long, my God, I desire to spend it all in loving You,
my sovereign good, Who deserves an eternal and infinite love.
O Mary, my Mother, let me never again be ungrateful to your Son. Pray to Jesus for me. Amen.
NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY SIX – 19 JUNE
By St Alphonsus Liguori
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 from THE HOLY EUCHARIST
MEDITATION VI.
The Generous Heart of Jesus.
It is the characteristic of good-hearted people to desire to make everybody happy and especially those most distressed and afflicted. But who can ever find one who has a better heart than Jesus Christ? He is infinite goodness and has therefore a sovereign desire to communicate to us His riches: With Me are riches, that I may enrich them that love Me. [Prov. viii. 18, 21]
He for this purpose made Himself poor, as the Apostle says, that He might make us rich: He became poor for your sakes, that through His poverty you might be rich. [2 Cor. viii. 9]. For this purpose also He chose to remain with us in the most Holy Sacrament, where He remains constantly with His hands full of graces, to dispense them to those who come to visit Him. For this reason also He gives Himself wholly to us in Holy Communion, giving us to understand from this that He cannot refuse us any good gifts, since He even gives Himself entirely to us: How hath He not also, with Him, given us all things? [Rom. viii. 32]
For in the heart of Jesus we receive every good, every grace that we desire: In all things you are made rich in Christ. . . so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace. [1 Cor. 1. 5, 7]. And we must understand that we are debtors to the heart of Jesus for all the graces we have received —–graces of redemption, of vocation, of light, of pardon, the grace to resist temptations and to bear patiently with contradictions; for without His assistance we could not do anything good: Without Me you can do nothing. [John xv. 5]. And if hitherto, says our Saviour, you have not received more graces, do not complain of Me, but blame yourself, who has neglected to seek them of Me: Hitherto you have not asked anything; . . . ask, and you shall receive. [John xvi. 24]. Oh, how rich and liberal is the heart of Jesus towards everyone that has recourse to Him! Rich unto all that call upon Him. [Rom. x. 12]. Oh, what great mercies do those souls receive who are earnest in asking help of Jesus Christ. David said, For Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild, and plenteous to all who call upon Thee. [Ps. lxxxv. 5]. Let us therefore always go to this heart, and ask with confidence, and we shall obtain all we want.
LET US PRAY – DAY SIX
Ah, my Jesus,
You have not refused to give me Your Blood and Your life
and shall I refuse to give You my miserable heart?
No, my dearest Redeemer, I offer it entirely to You.
I give You all my will – will You accept it and dispose of it at Your pleasure?
I can do nothing and have nothing
but I have this heart which You have given me
and of which no one can deprive me.
I may be deprived of my goods, my blood, my life but not of my heart.
With this heart I can love You;
with this heart I will love You.
I beseech You, O my God, teach me a perfect forgetfulness of myself.
I feel in myself a determination to please You
but in order to put my resolve iinto execution,
I expect and implore help from You.
It depends on You, O loving heart of Jesus,
to make my poor heart entirely Yours.
Oh, grant that my heart may be all on fire with the love of You,
even as Yours is on fire with the love of me.
Grant that my will may be entirely united to Yours
and from this day forth Your holy will may be the rule of all my actions,
of all my thoughts and of all my desires.
I trust, O my Saviour, that You will not refuse me Your grace,
to fulfill this resolution which I now make prostrate at Your feet,
to receive with submission whatever You may ordain for me, as well in life, as in death.
Blessed art you, O Immaculate Mary,
who had your heart always and entirely united to the heart of Jesus;
obtain for me, O my Mother,
that in future I may wish and desire that which Jesus wills and you will. Amen
NOVENA in honour of the SACRED HEART of JESUS – DAY FIVE – 18 JUNE
By St Alphonsus Liguo
(1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Published in 1758 in “THE HOLY EUCHARIST”
MEDITATION V.
The Compassionate Heart of Jesus.
Where shall we ever find a heart more compassionate or tender than the heart of Jesus, or one that had a greater feeling for our miseries?
This pity induced Him to descend from Heaven to this earth; it made Him say that He was that good shepherd Who came to give His life to save His sheep. In order to obtain the pardon of our sins, He would not spare Himself but would sacrifice Himself on the Cross, that by His sufferings He might satisfy for the chastisement that we have deserved. This pity and compassion makes Him say even now: Why will ye die, O house of Israel? return ye, and live. [Ezek. xviii. 31]. O men, He says, my poor children, why will you damn yourselves by flying from Me? Do you not see that by separating yourselves from Me you are hastening to eternal death? I desire not to see you lost; do not despair; as often as you wish to return, return and you shall recover your life: Return, and live.
This compassion even makes Him say that He is that loving Father Who, though He sees Himself despised by His son, yet, if that son returns a penitent, He cannot reject him but embraces him tenderly and forgets all the injuries He has received: I will not remember all his iniquities. [Ibid. 22]. It is not thus that men behave; for though they may forgive, yet they nevertheless retain the remembrance of the offence received and feel inclined to revenge themselves and even if they do not revenge themselves, because they fear God, at least they always feel a great repugnance against conversing and entertaining themselves with those persons who have vilified them.
O my Jesus, You pardon the penitent sinners and never refuse in this world to give them everything in Holy Communion during their life and everything in the other world, even in Heaven, with eternal glory, without retaining the slightest repugnance towards being united to the soul that has offended You, for all eternity. Where, then, is there to be found a heart so amiable and compassionate as Yours, O my dearest Saviour?
LET US PRAY – DAY FIVE
O compassionate heart of my Jesus, have pity on me:
“Most sweet Jesus, have mercy on me.”
I say so now and beseech You to give me the grace always to say to You,
“Most sweet Jesus, have mercy on me.”
Even before I offended You, O my Redeemer,
I certainly did not deserve any of the favours You bestowed upon me.
You created me,
You have given me so much light and knowledge
and all without any merit of mine.
But after I had offended You. I not only did not deserve Your favour
but I deserved to be forsaken by You and cast into Hell.
Your compassion has made You wait for me
and preserve my life even when I had offended You.
Your compassion has enlightened me and offered me pardon;
it has given me sorrow for my sins and the desire of loving You
and now I hope from Your mercy to remain always in Your grace.
O my Jesus Your mercy which I implore of You
is that You would grant me light
and strength to be no longer ungrateful towards You.
No, my Jesus; I love You and I will always love You
and this is the mercy which I hope for and seek from You
“Permit me not to be separated from You, permit me not to be separated from You.”
And I beseech you also, O Mary my Mother,
help me not to be ever again separated from my God.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 18 June – The Solemnity of Corpus Christi
“A word that ought to cover many a Catholic with shame and confusion once came from the lips of a person raised in Protestant tenets and surroundings: “If I believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, I should spend all my life before a tabernacle and no power could tear me away from it.”
Does this not suffice to put to shame our little generosity in visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?
Let us pay Him a visit every day, even when only a short one is possible, particularly if it is our happiness to live with Him under the same roof. Let us not pass by a church where He is kept in the tabernacle, without entering at least for a moment, or without making at least a spiritual visit.
We can multiply spiritual visits at any time, amid our daily occupations and when we awake at night – a practice which growing love will more and more cogently urge upon us. Because after all, who can enchain love? Who can resist the heart? Who can separate what love has joined? Who can prevent, what obstacle can impede our hearts from living in perpetual adoration at the feet of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?
“Where thy treasure is,” said Jesus, “there they heart also will be.” If the Holy Eucharist is our treasure, our heart will live in the tabernacle.”…Fr Jose Guadalupe Trevino (The Holy Eucharist)
ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
“How I loved the feasts!….
I especially loved the processions in honour
of the Blessed Sacrament. What a joy it was
for me to throw flowers beneath the feet of God!…
I was never so happy as when I saw my roses
touch the sacred Monstrance…”
– from St. Therese’s Autobiography Story of A Soul
“It is invaluable to converse with Christ
and leaning against Jesus’ breast like His beloved disciple,
we can feel the infinite love of his Heart.
We learn to know more deeply the One who gave Himself totally,
in the different mysteries of His divine and human life,
so that we may become disciples and in turn enter into
this great act of giving, for the glory of God
and the salvation of the world. Through adoration,
the Christian mysteriously contributes to the
radical transformation of the world and to the sowing of the Gospel.
Anyone who prays to the Saviour draws the whole world with him
and raises it to God. Those who stand before the Lord
are therefore fulfilling an eminent service.
They are presenting to Christ all those who do not know Him
or are far from Him; they keep watch in His presence on their behalf!”
– from St Pope John Paul II’s 1996 letter to the Bishop of Liege,
written on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the first celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi
“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
One Minute Reflection – 18 June – Feast of Corpus Christi
He who abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing……John 15:5
REFLECTION – “Eternal happiness begins now for the Christian who is comforted with the definitive manna of the Eucharist. The old life has gone forever. Let us leave everything behind us so that everything will be new, “our hearts, our words and our actions.” This is the Good News. News, because it speaks to us of a deep love which we never could have dreamed of. Good, because there is nothing better than uniting ourselves to God, the greatest Good of all. It is Good News, because in an inexplicable way it gives us a foretaste of heaven.”……….St Josemaria Escriva (Christ is passing By – On the Feast of Corpus Christ No 153)
PRAYER – In response to Your Presence, O Lord,
I offer You my presence.
In response to Your silence,
I offer You my silence.
In response to the gaze of Your Eucharistic Face,
I offer You my eyes.
In response to Your Eucharistic Heart,
I offer You every heartbeat of mine.
In response to the mystery of Your Eucharistic poverty,
I offer You my poverty.
My one desire is to remain before You
even as You remain before me
in this the Sacrament of Your Love.
(Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration)
Our Morning Offering – 18 June 2017 – The Feast of Copus Christi
ADORO te DEVOTE – HIDDEN GOD
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor
and its most famous English translation
by Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)
Hidden God, devoutly I adore Thee,
Truly present underneath these veils:
All my heart subdues itself before Thee,
Since it all before Thee faints and fails.
Not to sight, or taste, or touch be credit,
Hearing only do we trust secure;
I believe, for God the Son hath said it–
Word of Truth that ever shall endure.
On the Cross was veiled Thy Godhead’s splendour,
Here Thy manhood lieth hidden too;
Unto both alike my faith I render,
And, as sued the contrite thief, I sue.
Though I look not on Thy wounds with Thomas,
Thee, my Lord, and Thee, my God, I call:
Make me more and more believe Thy promise,
Hope in Thee, and love Thee over all.
O Memorial of my Saviour dying,
Living Bread that givest life to man;
May my soul, its life from Thee supplying,
Taste Thy sweetness, as on earth it can.
Deign, O Jesus, pelican* of heaven,
Me, a sinner, in Thy Blood to lave,
To a single drop of which is given
All the world from all its sin to save.
Contemplating Lord, Thy hidden presence,
Grant me what I thirst for and implore,
In the revelation of Thine essence
To behold Thy glory evermore.
Quote of the Day – 17 June
– Pope John XXIII
Our Morning Offering – 17 June
Be my Strength, O Sacred Heart!
By St Margaret Mary Alacoque
O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
I fly to You,
I unite myself with You,
I enclose myself in You!
Receive my call for help, O my Saviour,
as a sign of my horror of all within me
contrary to Your holy love.
Let me die rather a thousand times,
than consent to sin against You!
Be my strength, O God –
defend me,
protect me.
I am Yours and desire forever to be Yours!
Amen
Thought for the Day – 16 June
“How consoling it is to think that in the very moment of the Eucharist’s eternal birth I was present to the mind of God and He foreknew the number of times I would allow Him to come to me in Holy Communion; that, even then, His tender love thankfully appreciated my hospitality, as if not I, a miserable creature of one day but He Himself were to be the favoured beneficiary.
“It was in the beginning . . . ” What, then, will be the duration of His “eucharistic life”?
Christ’s eucharistic life will last till the consummation of the world because until then will men have to eat His flesh to have life everlasting. When He said to His Apostles: “Behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world,” He doubtlessly meant not only His divine and spiritual presence and His moral assistance but also His eucharistic presence.
His enemies may refuse Him rights they would not deny even the lowest pariah, imprisoning Him within the narrow limits of His temples; they may subject Him to the most abominable outrages, thereby making His mystic passion in the Eucharist in some way exterior and visible. Those who call themselves His friends may multiply the traitor’s kiss, deny Him and His works and abandon Him who showered upon them the tokens of His love. But Jesus will stay. His promise and His love keep Him enchained. As long as there will be on earth a tear to wipe away, a sorrow to share and a sinful man in need of His expiatory sacrifice, the Eucharist will continue to pulsate in the silence of our tabernacles.”
“The Holy Eucharist” by Fr Jose Guadalupe Trevino
One Minute Reflection – 16 June
Enter, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us….Psalm 95:6
REFLECTION – “The practice of adoration is not difficult.
It is a gentle abiding in My presence,
a resting in the radiance of My Eucharistic Face,
a closeness to My Eucharistic Heart.
Words, though sometimes helpful, are not necessary,
nor are thoughts.
What I seek from one who would adore Me in spirit and in truth
is a heart aflame with love,
a heart content to abide in my presence,
silent and still,
engaged only in the act of loving Me
and of receiving My love.
Though this is not difficult,
it is, all the same,
my own gift
to the soul who asks for it.
Ask, then, for the gift of adoration.”…………..From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, in all my trials and difficulties, let me have recourse to You through Your Eucharistic and Sacred Heart. Grant me the grace of Adoration and consolation offered by You to all who will abide in You, grant me the grace of of just loving You and through You, finding peace and rest. Give me Yourself dear Lord. Amen
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