Category: CATHOLIC Quotes

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD

Our Morning Offering – 27 April – I Beg You, O Lord

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 27 April – The Memorial of St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1397) Doctor of the Church

I Beg You, O Lord
By St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1597)
Doctor of the Church

I beg You, O Lord
to remove anything
which separates me from You,
or You from me
Remove anything
that makes me unworthy of Your sight,
Your control,
Your reprehension,
of Your speech and conversation,
of Your benevolence and love.
Cast from me,
every evil that stands in the way
of my seeing You,
hearing, tasting,
savouring and touching You,
fearing and being mindful of You,
knowing, trusting, loving
and possessing You,
being conscious of Your Presence
and as far as maybe, enjoying You.
This is what I ask for myself
and earnestly desire from You.
Amen

Posted in HOLY SATURDAY, INGRATITUDE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The PASSION, The SEVEN LAST WORDS of CHRIST

Thought for the Day – 16 April – The Death of our Saviour

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Thought for the Day – 16 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Death of our Saviour

“Jesus had now come to the last morning of His earthly life.
The Blood had been drained from His Body as a result of His fatal Wounds and He felt a great thirst, “I thirst,” He murmured in a weak voice.
He expressed in these words, not only His physical thirst but also, His spiritual thirst for souls.
He had given everything for the eternal salvation of men, yet, He realised with Divine foresight, that many would refuse to co-operate with His infinite love,
His thirst was a burning love for us and it was answered, on the physical level, by the vinegar which was given to Him to drink and in the moral order, by our ingratitude.

Seeing that His mission was fulfilled with His last breath, Jesus entrusted His soul to His Heavenly Father, “Father, into Thy Hands, I commend My spirit” (Lk 23:46).
Then, in order to show that His Death was voluntary, He cried out in a loud Voice, “It is consummated!” (Jn 19:30).
Jesus was dead!

Let us prostrate ourselves before His lifeless Body covered with sores and furrowed with blood.
Let us vow, never to offend Him again.
Let us give Him our minds, our hearts, our souls, our whole being.
Let us love Him more and more!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/14/thought-for-the-day-14-april-the-death-of-our-saviour/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/03/thought-for-the-day-3-april-the-death-of-our-saviour/

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, HOLY SATURDAY, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The LAST THINGS, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION

Holy Saturday – 16 April – The Lord Descends into Hell

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Holy Saturday (Vigil Mass of Easter) – 16 April – Matthew 28:1-7

“When Christ should appear, Who is your Life, then you also shall appear with Him, in glory.” – Colossians 3:4

“And at the end of the Sabbath,
when it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week,
came Mary Magdalen
and the other Mary,
to see the sepulchre.”

Matthew 28:1

Ancient Christian Writer
Anonymous
(An excerpt from Homily on Holy Saturday)

The Lord Descends into Hell

SOMETHING STRANGE IS HAPPENING — there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept even since the world began. God has Died in the Flesh and hell trembles with fear!

HE HAS GONE TO SEARCH for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow, the captives Adam and Eve, He Who is both God and the Son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the Cross, the Weapon that had won Him the Victory. At the sight of Him, Adam, the first man He had created, struck His breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper and rise from the dead and Christ will give you light.”

I AM YOUR GOD, Who, for your sake, have become your Son! Out of love for you and for your descendants, I now by My Own Authority, command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness, to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the Life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in My image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in Me and I Am in you; together, we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

FOR YOUR SAKE I, your God, became your Son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, Whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden and I was Crucified in a garden.

SEE ON MY FACE the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in My Image. On My Back see the marks of the scourging I endured, to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See My Hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I SLEPT ON THE CROSS and a sword pierced My Side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My Side has healed the pain in yours. My Sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

RISE, LET US LEAVE THIS PLACE.
The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise but I will enthrone you in Heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life but see, I Who am Life itself, am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The Kingdom of Heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity!

Posted in CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY SATURDAY, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 16 April – Holy Saturday

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 April – Holy Saturday

“…He Slept,
so that We might be
Awakened,
He Died,
so that We might
Live.”

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

“The Lord, although He was God, became man.
He suffered for the sake of those who suffer,
He was bound for those in bonds,
condemned for the guilty,
buried for those who lie in the grave
but He rose from the dead and cried aloud:
“Who will contend with Me? Let him confront Me.”
I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life,
raised men from their graves.
Who has anything to say against Me?
I, He said, Am the Christ, I have destroyed death,
triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot,
bound the strong one and taken men up to the heights of Heaven.
I Am the Christ.
Come, then, all you nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you.
I Am your Forgiveness.
I Am the Passover which brings salvation.
I Am the Lamb Who was immolated for you.
I Am your Ransom, your Life, your Resurrection, your Light, I am your Salvation and your King.
I will bring you to the heights of Heaven.
With My own Right Hand I will raise you up
and I will show you the Eternal Father.”

St Melito of Sardis (Died c 180)
Bishop, Father

Posted in GOOD FRIDAY, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 15 April – The Crucifixion

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Thought for the Day – 15 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Crucifixion

“When Jesus had been nailed to the Cross and the executiioners had dug a hole nearby, they lifted the heavy piece of wood and thrust it into the ground.
The whole weight of Jesus’ Body was borne by His Hands and Feet, so that the shock caused by the Wounds made by the nails, to become enlarged and sent an acute quiver of pain through His suffering Members.
He raised His glazed Eyes towards Heaven and murmured a prayer offorgiveness and love.

For three long hours, Jesus hung suspended between earth and sky as a Victim of reparation for our sins.
His Precious Blood fell drop by drop from the Wounds in His worn-out Body.
He gasped for breath in an ever-increasing agony, while His Heart throbbed with infinite love.
He looked down and saw His most Holy Mother and the beloved disciple.
Having sacrificed everything for us, He desired to leave us the last precious possession which remained to Him – His Mother.
He turned to her and then to the beloved disciple, “Woman, behold thy son,” He said.
“Son, behold thy Mother.”
We were all present in the person of St John and so, we were all entrusted to the loving maternal care of Mary.
From that moment, we were taken into her protection.

Let us turn to her, therefore, in sorrow and in temptation.
Let us be faithful to her during this life and she will be always at our side, especially at the hour of death!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/02/thought-for-the-day-2-april-the-crucifixion/

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOOD FRIDAY, HOLY WEEK, HYMNS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION

Adoration of the Holy Cross – 15 April – Good Friday

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Adoration of the Holy Cross – 15 April – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ – Faithful Cross!

Faithful Cross! Above All Other
By St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)

Faithful Cross! above all other,
one and only noble tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
none in fruit thy peer may be;
sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
sweetest weight is hung on thee.

Bend thy boughs, O tree of glory!
Thy relaxing sinews bend;
for awhile the ancient rigour
that thy birth bestowed, suspend
and the King of heavenly beauty
gently on thine arms extend.

Praise and honour to the Father,
praise and honour to the Son,
praise and honour to the Spirit,
ever Three and ever One:
One in might and One in glory
while eternal ages run.

The Passion of Our Lord
St Leo the Great (400-461) Pope, Father & Doctor
(Excerpt from a Sermon on the Passion and Cross of Christ)

“TRUE REVERENCE for the Lord’s Passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus Crucified and recognising in Him our own humanity.
The earth – our earthly nature – should tremble at the suffering of its Redeemer.
The rocks – the hearts of unbelievers – should come forth, the massive stones now ripped apart. Foreshadowings of the future Resurrection, should appear in the Holy City, the Church of God – what is happening to our bodies should now take place in our hearts.

NO-ONE, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the Cross. No-one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against Him. How much more ,does it bring to those, who turn to Him in repentance.
Ignorance has been destroyed, obstinacy has been overcome. The Sacred Blood of Christ has quenched the flaming sword that barred access to the tree of life. The age-old night of sin has given place to the true Light.
The Christian people are invited to share the riches of paradise. All who have been reborn, have the way open before them, to return to their native land, from which they had been exiled. Unless indeed, they close off for themselves, the path that could be opened, before the faith of a thief.

THE BUSINESS of this life should not preoccupy us with its anxiety and pride, so that we no longer strive, with all the love of our heart, to be like our Redeemer and to follow His example. Everything that He did or suffered, was for our salvation – He wanted His body to share the goodness of its Head.

in taking our human nature while remaining God, so that the Word became Man, He left no member of the human race, the unbeliever excepted, without a share in His mercy. Who does not share a common nature with Christ, if He has welcomed Christ, Who took our nature, and is reborn in the Spirit, through Whom Christ was conceived?
Again, who cannot recognise in Christ, his own infirmities? Who would not recognise that Christ’s eating and sleeping, His sadness and His shedding tears of love, are marks of the nature of a slave?
It was this nature of a slave that had to be healed of its ancient wounds and cleansed of the defilement of sin. For that reason the Only- Begotten Son of God, became also, the Son of Man. He was to have both the reality of human nature and the fullness of the Godhead.

THE BODY WHICH LAY LIFELESS in the tomb is ours!
The Body which rose again on the third day is ours!
The Body which ascended above all the heights of Heaven to the right hand of the Father’s glory, is ours!
If then, we walk in the way of His commandments and are not ashamed to acknowledge the price He paid for our salvation in a lowly Body, we too, are to rise to share His glory. The promise He made, will be fulfilled in the sight of all – Whoever acknowledges Me, before men, I too will acknowledge him before My Father, Who is in Heaven.”

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, NOTES to Followers, POETRY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 15 April – Good Friday – ‘Put on Christ’

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 April – Friday of the Passion of the Lord

GOOD FRIDAY
A Day of Deep Mourning,
Fasting and Abstinence!

The Word of the Cross

“Look on thy God, Christ hidden in our flesh.
A bitter word, the Cross and bitter sight –
Hard rind without, to hold the Heart of Heaven.
Yet, sweet it is, for God upon that tree
Did offer up His Life upon that rood –
My Life hung, that my Life might stand in God.
Christ, what am I to give Thee for my life?
Unless, take from Thy Hands, the cup they hold,
To cleanse me with the precious draught of death.
What shall I do? My body to be burned?
Make myself vile? The debt is not paid out yet.
Whate’er I do, it is but I and Thou,
And still do I come short, still must Thou pay
My debts, O Christ, for debts Thyself had’st none.
What love may balance Thine? My Lord was found
In fashion like a slave that so His slave
Might find himself in fashion like his Lord.
Think you the bargain’s hard, to have exchanged
The transient for the eternal, to have sold,
Earth to buy Heaven? More dearly God bought me!”

St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431)
Father of the Church

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

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)
Father, Abbot, Theologian, Writer

“On whose dear arms, so widely flung,
The weight of this world’s ransom hung,
The price of humankind to pay
And spoil the spoiler of his prey
All hail, O Cross, our only hope!”

St Venantiu Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SILENCE, QUOTES on SIN, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 14 April – The Night of the Passion

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Thought for the Day – 14 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Night of the Passion

“Caiphas, the High Priest, could not gather any solid and unconflicting evidence which would convict Jesus and further his own evil plans.
At last, he solemnly commanded Jesus in the name of the living God, to say whether He was really the Christ, the Son of God.
“Thou hast said it,” Jesus replied: “Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming upon the clouds of heaven.”
At this, the High Priest tore his garments.
“He has blasphemed,” he cried, “He deserves to die” (Cf Mt 26:63-66).

The unjust sentence was met with general acclaim and Jesus was handed over to the soldiers, as if He were a common criminal.
For the rest of the night, these ruffians humiliated and ill-treated Him in the worst possible fashion.
Some spat in His face, others slapped and struck Him and still others, blindfolded Him and jeeringly asked: “Prophecy to us, O Christ! Who is it who struck thee?” (CF Mt 26:67-68)
Jesus suffered in silence.
He suffered because of the blows and insults but, most of all, because of the sad spectacle of so much sin and ingratitude.
He was offered as a Victim of expiation for us all.

When we realise tbe vast number of sins which are committed , what do we do about it?
Do we pray that poor sinners may repent and return to console the Heart of Jesus?
Do we offer our pain and sorrows on their behalf?
If we really love God, we should do this much.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/13/thought-for-the-day-13-april-the-night-of-the-passion/

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, The PASSION, The WORD

Maundy Thursday – 14 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – THAT WAY has no room for dirty feet!

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Maundy Thursday – 14 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – 1 Corinthians 11:20-32, John 13:1-15

“May God have mercy on us and bless us:
may He cause the light of His countenance, to shine upon us and may He have mercy on us.” – Psalm 66:2

Jesus answered him,
“What I am doing you do not know now
but afterward, you will understand.” P
eter said to him,
“You shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him,
“If I do not wash you,
you have no part in me.”

John 13:7-8

O WHAT WAS JESUS DOING in washing the feet of His disciples ? By washing them and wiping them with the towel around His waist, was not Jesus making their feet beautiful, at the moment when they were going to have to proclaim the good news?
It was then, in my opinion, that the prophetic word was fulfilled: “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news!” (Is 52:7; Rm 10:15).
But if, by washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus makes them beautiful, how can we express the genuine beauty in those whom He immerses fully “in the Holy Spirit and in fire” (Mt 3:11)?

THE FEET of the Apostles were made beautiful, so that … they might set out along the holy road and walk in Him Who said: “I am the Way” (Jn 14:6).
For whoever has had his feet washed by Jesus and he alone, follows that living Way that leads to the Father.

THAT WAY has no room for dirty feet! … In order to follow this living, spiritual Way (Heb 10:20) … they had to have their feet washed by Jesus, Who set aside His garments … so as to take upon His own Body, the dirtiness of their feet, with the towel, which was His only garment, for “he bears our infirmities” (Is 53:4). … ” – Origen Adamantius (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father (Commentary on St John’s Gospel)

Posted in CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, MAUNDY THURSDAY, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 14 April – This is Jesus Christ

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Quote/s of the Day – 14 April – Maundy Thursday – 1 Corinthians 11:20-32, John 13:1-15

“He loved them unto the end.”

John 13:1

“Born as a Son,
led forth as a Lamb,
sacrificed as a sheep,
buried as a man,
He rose from the dead as a God,
for He was by nature God and man.

He is all things –
He judges and so, He is Law.
He teaches and so, He is Wisdom.
He saves and so, He is Grace.
He begets and so, He is Father.
He is begotten,and so, He is Son.
He suffers and so, He is Sacrifice.
He is buried and so, He is Man.
He rises again and so, He is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs glory for all ages.”

St Melito of Sardis (Died c 180)
Bishop, Early Church Father

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MAUNDY THURSDAY, QUOTES on The SOUL, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 April – ‘… Place all your trust in the Blood of Christ Crucified …’

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One Minute Reflection – 14 April – Maundy Thursday – 1 Corinthians 11:20-32, John 13:1-15

“Jesus, knowing that his hour was come, … he loved them unto the end.” – John 13:1

REFLECTION – “Be obedient to the death, following the example of the spotless Lamb who obeyed His Father even to a shameful death on the Cross. Reflect that He is the way and the rule you are to follow. Always hold Him present before the eyes of your spirit. See how obedient He is, this Word, this Utterance of God! He does not refuse to take up the burden of suffering laid on Him by His Father; to the contrary, He throws Himself into it, spurred on by His great desire. Isn’t this what He reveals during the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, when He says: “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Lk 22:15)? By “eat this Passover” He means, the accomplishment of the Father’s will and His desire. Seeing that scarcely any time lies before Him (He was already looking ahead to the end, when He would sacrifice His body for our sake), He rejoices, He is glad and joyfully says: “I have greatly desired.” Here is the Passover He is speaking about – that which consists in giving His own self as food, in laying down His own body in obedience to the Father.

Jesus had celebrated many another Passover with His disciples but never this one, O unspeakable, sweet and burning charity! You think neither of Your suffering nor of Your humiliating death – if You had thought of them, You would not have been so joyful, You would not have called it a Passover. The Word sees ,that it is He Himself Who has been chosen, He Himself Who has received all our humanity as His spouse. He has been asked to give us His own Blood so that God’s will might be accomplished in us, so that it might be His Blood that sanctifies us. This is, indeed, the sweet Passover, this Lamb without blemish accepts (cf. Ex 12:5) and it is with great love and great desire that He fulfils the Father’s will and wholly carries out His design. What unspeakably sweet love! …

That is why, my beloved, I beg you never to entertain the least dread and to place all your trust in the Blood of Christ Crucified … May all servile fear be banished from your spirits. You will say with Saint Paul …: “I can do all things through Christ crucified, since he is within me by desire and love and he strengthens me” (cf. Phil 4:13; Gal 2:20). Love, love, love! By His Blood, the gentle Lamb has made an unassailable rock of your soul.” – St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Dominican tertiary, Doctor of the Church, Co-patron of Europe – Letter 129

PRAYER – O God, from whom Judas received the punishment of his guilt and the thief the reward of his confession: grant unto us the full fruit of Thy clemency, that even as in His Passion, our Lord Jesus Christ gave to each a retribution according to his merits, so having taken away our old sins, He may bestow upon us the grace of His Resurrection. Who with Thee lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, HOLY WEEK, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on TRUTH, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 13 April – The Night of the Passion

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Thought for the Day – 13 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Night of the Passion

“The night of the Passion of Jesus Christ began in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Here the tired Apostles left Him to pray alone and to endure the agonising pre-vision of the torments and death which awaited Him, as well as of the ingratitude with which men would repay His Infinite love.
Soon afterwards, abandoned by everyone, He was led before the Sanhedrin as a criminal and a disturber of the public peace.
Not only was the accusation false but, it was, of course, a complete inversion of the truth.

Jesus had, in fact, taught the noblest and most elevating of doctrines for all humanity.
He had proved the truth of His teaching by His miracles.
He restored sight to the blind, health to the lepers, to the lame and to the paralysed and even, life to the dead.
He had stated quite clearly, “Render to Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s and to God, the things that are God’s” (Mt 22:21).
Nevertheless, in the presence of His wicked judges, He showed Himself to be meek and humble.
But when He was confronted with an obvious falsehood, He spoke out in defence of the truth of His teaching.
For this, He was struck by one of the High Priests’s attendants , who said: “Is that the way thou dost answer the high priest?”
“If I have spoken ill,” Jesus replied quietly, “bear witness to the evil but if well, why dost thou strike me?” (Jn 18:19-23).

Let us learn from our Divine Redeemer to conquer self-love and to bear insults humbly and peacefully.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK 2019, LENT 2022, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TRUTH, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The HEART, The WORD

Spy Wednesday in Holy Week – 13 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – We do the same thing as Judas …

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Spy Wednesday in Holy Week – 13 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Isaias 53:1-12, Luke 22:39-71; 23:1-53

“And turn not away thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble, hear me speedily. Save me, O God, for the waters are come in, even unto my soul.” – Psalm 68:2

“And Jesus said to him:
Judas, dost thou betray
the Son of man with a kiss?”

Luke 22:48

“LET US CONSIDER what Judas said to the Jewish priests: “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?” He was willing to take money in exchange for handing over the Word of God!

THEY DO THE SAME THING, who accept sensual or worldly goods, in exchange for handing over and casting out from their souls, the Saviour and Word of Truth, Who came to dwell with them. Indeed, it would be fitting to apply Judas’ example to all who show contempt for the Word of God and betray Him, as it were, by committing sin for the sake of money, or for any selfish motive.
People who behave in this way, appear openly to be calling out to the powers of the enemy, who offer worldly gain in return for the sin of betraying God’s Word, saying: “What will you give me if I hand Him over to you!?”
“And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.”

THE NUMBER OF COINS they gave Judas, was equivalent, to the number of years the Saviour had sojourned in this world. For at the age of thirty, He was Baptised and began to preach the gospel, like Joseph was thirty years old when he began to gather grain for his brothers. Just as at that time the grain was prepared by God for the sons of Israel but given also to the Egyptians, so also, the gospel was prepared for the saints but preached also to the unfaithful and wicked.” – Origen Adamantius (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father (Commentary on Matthew 78)

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, The HEART, The HOLY NAME

Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Betrayal!

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Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Spy Wednesday in Holy Week – Isaias 53:1-12, Luke 22:39-71; 23:1-53

“And Jesus said to him:
Judas, dost thou betray
the Son of man with a kiss?”

Luke 22:48

“O God, fullness of goodness,
You do not forsake any,
except those who forsake You.
You never take away Your gifts,
except when we take away our hearts.
We rob the goodness of God,
if we claim the glory of our salvation for ourselves.
We dishonour His mercy,
if we say He has failed us.
… We blaspheme His goodness,
if we deny that He has helped and assisted us.
In short, O God, cry loud and clear into our ears:
“your destruction comes from you, O Israel.
In me alone is found your help” (Hos 13:9).

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis
Treatise on the Love of God, Ch 9

“Sacrilegious tongues blaspheme the God
who preserves their existence!
… you should be damned forever
and, instead of thanking Him for His goodness,
you, at the very time
that He bestows His favours upon you,
YOU blaspheme His Holy Name!”

St Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 13 April – But Jesus he delivered up to their will. – Luke 23:25

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One Minute Reflection – 13 April – Spy Wednesday in Holy Week – Isaias 53:1-12, Luke 22:39-71; 23:1-53

“And he released unto them, him who for murder and sedition had been cast into prison, whom they had desired. But Jesus he delivered up to their will.” – Luke 23:25

REFLECTION – “Jesus made His way of His own free will towards the sufferings Scripture had foretold. He had frequently predicted them to His disciples and had even severely rebuked Peter, who had received their discovery with indignation (Mt 16:23). Finally, He showed how they were the cause of the world’s salvation. This was why, to the men coming to arrest Him, He referred to Himself as: “I am he whom you are seeking” (cf. Jn 18:5.8) … He was struck, covered with spittle, mocked, tortured, scourged and, in the end crucified. He allowed two outlaws, one at His right and one at His left, to share His suffering. Classed alongside murderers and criminal, He took vinegar and gall, fruits of a bitter vine. He was struck in mockery by a reed, pierced by a lance in His side and, in the end, laid in a tomb.

All this He suffered while working out our salvation … By His thorns He brought an end to the punishment laid on Adam, since the latter, having sinned, received this sentence: “Cursed be the ground because of you! Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you” (Gn 3:17-18). With the gall He took to Himself all that is bitter and painful in mortal life and sorrowful to men. With the vinegar He accepted human nature’s decline and bestowed on it, its restoration to a higher state. By the purple he symbolised His royalty; with the reed, He indicated how weak and feeble the devil’s power is. Being slapped, He made known our enfranchisement [just as we do in the case of a slave]. He bore with the abuse, punishment and beating due to us.

He was struck in the side, making Him more like Adam. But, far from bringing forth the woman, who, by her straying, gave birth to death, He made a spring of life to gush out (Gn 2:21; Jn 19:34). And this gives life to the world by means of a twofold stream – the first renews and re-clothes us in the garment of immortality in the baptistery and following this birth, the second, feeds us at God’s table, just as one suckles a newborn child.” … St Theodoret of Cyrus (c 393-c 460) Bishop (Treatise on the Incarnation, 26-27).

PRAYER – O God, Who to drive far from us, the power of the enemy, didst will that Thy Son should suffer for us on the gibbet of the Cross, grant us Thy servants, that we may obtain the grace of the resurrection. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, Our MORNING Offering, POETRY, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION

Our Morning Offering – 13 April – In Your Hour of Holy Sadness

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Our Morning Offering – 13 April – Wednesday of Holy Week

In Your Hour of Holy Sadness
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Father & Doctor of the Church

In Your hour of holy sadness
could I share with You, what gladness
should Your Cross to me be showing.
Gladness past all thought of knowing,
bowed beneath Your Cross to die!
Blessed Jesus, thanks I render
that in bitter death, so tender,
You now hear Your supplicant calling,
Save me Lord
and keep from falling from You,
when my hour is nigh.
Amen.

Posted in OUR Cross, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 12 April – The Agony of Jesus

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Thought for the Day – 12 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Agony of Jesus

“Jesus suffered willingly and generously for us.
First of all, He endured this near-fatal anguish of soul, which caused blood to ooze from the pores of His Body.
Then He suffered the cruelest of physical tortures.
What must our reaction be?

If we lack the heroic generosity of the Saints and are not prepared to look for suffering by scourging ourselves or by wearing hair-shirts or chains next to our flesh, let us at least accept our inevitable sorrows and trials, with perfect resignation.

Jesus was innocence itself, yet He suffered willingly for us.
Why should we, who are unworthy sinners, be unwilling to submit to the punishments due to our sins?

There are many who kiss the Crucifix and claim to love it but, they try as hard as possible, to reject the cross which God has given them.
This is an impossible state of affairs!

Let us remember, that if we wish to have a sincere love for the Crucifix, we must love our own cross as well, for this is the cross which God has given us.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/22/thought-for-the-day-22-april-the-agony-of-jesus/

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, LENT 2022, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on PATIENCE, Quotes on SALVATION, The PASSION, The WORD

Tuesday of Holy Week – 12 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – ‘… If we put Him on, if He is the Way of our salvation …’

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Tuesday of Holy Week – 12 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Jeremias 11:18-20, Mark 14:32-72; 15, 1-46

“May God have mercy on us and bless us; may He cause the Light of His Countenance to shine upon us and may He have mercy on us.” – Psalm 66:2

“And some began to spit on Him
and to cover His face
and to buffet Him
and to say unto Him: Prophesy;
and the servants struck Him
with the palms of their hands.”

Mark 14:65

“HE RECEIVED the spittings of insulters, who with His spittle had a little before made eyes for a blind man.
And He in Whose Name the devil and his angels is now scourged by His servants, Himself suffered scourgings!
He was crowned with thorns, Who crowns Martyrs with eternal flowers.
He was smitten on the Face with palms, Who gives the true palms to those who overcome.
He was despoiled of His earthly garment, Who clothes others in the vesture of immortality.
He was fed with gall, Who gave heavenly food.
He was given to drink of vinegar, Who appointed the cup of salvation.
That guiltless, that just One—nay, He who is Innocency itself and Justice itself—is counted among transgressors and Truth is oppressed with false witnesses.

HE, WHO SHALL JUDGE, is judged and the Word of God is led silently to the slaughter.
And when, at the Cross, of the Lord the stars are confounded, the elements are disturbed, the earth quakes, night shuts out the day, the sun… He speaks not, nor is moved, nor declares His Majesty even in His very Passion itself.
Even to the end, all things are borne perseveringly and constantly, in order that in Christ, a full and perfect patience may be consummated.

AND AFTER ALL THESE THINGS, He still receives His murderers, if they will be converted and come to Him.
And with a saving patience, He who is benignant to preserve, closes His Church to none.
Those adversaries…, if they repent of their sin, if they acknowledge the crime committed, He receives, not only to the pardon of their sin but to the reward of the Heavenly Kingdom.

WHAT CAN BE SAID, more Patient, what more Merciful? Even he is made alive by Christ’s Blood, who has shed Christ’s Blood!
Such and so great is the Patience of Christ and had it not been such and so great, the Church would never have possessed Paul as an Apostle.

BUT IF WE ALSO, beloved brethren, are in Christ.
If we put Him on, if He is the Way of our salvation, who follow Christ in the footsteps of salvation, let us walk by the example of Christ, as the Apostle John instructs us, saying, He who says, he abides in Christ, ought himself also, to walk even as He walked.
Peter also, upon whom by the Lord’s condescension the Church was founded, lays it down in his epistle and says:

CHRIST SUFFERED FOR US, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His Steps, Who did no sin, neither was deceit found in His Mouth; Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not but gave Himself up to him that judged Him unjustly.” – St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage and Martyr, Father of the Church (On Patience, 7-9).

Posted in QUOTES on PATIENCE, The PASSION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 12 April – Patience!

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Quote/s of the Day – 12 April – Tuesday of Holy Week – Jeremias 11:18-20, Mark 14:32-72; 15, 1-46

“And some began to spit on Him
and to cover His face and to buffet Him
and to say unto Him: Prophesy;
and the servants struck Him
with the palms of their hands.”

Mark 14:65

“Fix your minds on the Passion
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Inflamed with love for us,
He came down from Heaven
to redeem us.
For our sake, He endured
every torment of body and soul
and shrank from no bodily pain.
He, Himself, gave us an example
of perfect patience and love.
We, then, are to be patient, in adversity!”

St Francis of Paola (1416-1507)

Posted in INGRATITUDE, LENT 2021, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRACE, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 12 April – Thy Grace

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Our Morning Offering – 12 April – Tuesday of Holy Week

Thy Grace
A Lenten Prayer
By St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

O my God,
suffer me still,
bear with me in spite of my
waywardness,
perverseness
and ingratitude!
I improve very slowly
but really, I am moving onto Heaven,
or at least, I wish to move.
Only give me Thy grace
meet me with Thy grace,
I will, through Thy grace, do what I can
and Thou shall perfect it for me.
Then shall I have happy days,
in Thy Presence
and in the sight and adoration of
Thy five Sacred Wounds.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SUFFERING, The PASSION, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 11 April – Jesus in Gethsemane

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

Jesus in Gethsemane

“What was the prayer of Jesus in the moment of anguish when He saw Himself abandoned or betrayed by everyone on this earth and foresaw the terrible sufferings of His Passion and Death, which, despite His infinite love, would prove to be in vain for so many men?
Face downwards upon the earth, He implored His Heavenly Father to take away, if possible, the bitter chalice.
But, He added immediately, “Yet not My will but Thine be done” (Lk 22:42).

We should pray like Jesus, especially when we are suffering in body and tormented in mind.
We should prostrate ourselves before God, with an act of deep humility and of perfect confidence in His infinite goodness.
We should pray first of all, that His Name may be glorified throughout the world, as it is in Heaven.
We should pray that His Kingdom may be established and may triumph over evil and that our own souls may be saved, along with those of our brothers in Christ.
Only then, can we ask for the favours which we need in the present life and for freedom from physical and moral suffering.
We can ask for all these things, certainly but, we should add with Jesus, “Yet not my will but Thine be done!”
In other words, we should be ready to offer up our sufferings, as a proof of our love for Him. Amen.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/10/thought-for-the-day-10-april-jesus-in-gethsemane/

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2022, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The PASSION, The WORD

Monday of Holy Week – 11 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Judas

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Monday of Holy Week – 11 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Isaias 50:5-10, John 12:1-9

“Help us, O God, our saviour and for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us and forgive us our sins, for Thy name’s sake” – Psalm 78:9

“He (Judas Iscariot) said this,
not because he cared about the poor
but because, he was a thief
and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.”

John 12:6

“LOOK NOW AND LEARN that this Judas did not become perverted, only at the time when he yielded to the bribery of the Jews and betrayed his Lord. For not a few, inattentive to the Gospel, suppose, that Judas only perished, when he accepted money from the Jews, to betray the Lord. It was not then that he perished but he was already a thief and a reprobate, when following the Lord;,for it was with his body and not with his heart, that he followed. He made up the apostolic number of twelve but had no part in the apostolic blessedness. He had been made the twelfth in semblance and on his departure and the succession of another, the apostolic reality was completed and the entirety of the number conserved.

WHAT LESSON THEN, my brethren, did our Lord Jesus Christ wish to impress on His Church, when it pleased Him, to have one castaway among the twelve – but this – that we should bear with the wicked and refrain from dividing the body of Christ? Here you have Judas among the saints,- that Judas, mark you! who was a thief, yes – do not overlook it – not a thief of any ordinary type but a thief and a sacrilegis – a robber of money bags,but of such as were the Lord’s; of money bags but of such as were sacred! . … How much more severe ought to be, the sentence on the sacrilegious thief, who has dared to steal, not from places of any ordinary kind but, to steal from the Church!?

HE WHO THIEVES from the Church, stands side by side with the castaway Judas. Such was this man Judas and yet, he went in and out with the eleven holy disciples. With them, he came even to the table of the Lord, he was permitted to have intercourse with them but he could not contaminate them.

OF ONE BREAD did both Peter and Judas partake and yet, what communion had the believer with the infidel? Peter’s partaking was unto life but that of Judas unto death. For that good bread was just like the sweet savour. For as the sweet savour, so also does the good bread give life to the good and bring death to the wicked. “For he that eateth unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgement to himself:” – “judgment to himself,” not to thee. If, then, it is judgement to himself, not to thee, bear as one that is good, with him that is evil, that you may attain the rewards of the good,and be not hurled into the punishment of the wicked.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church (On John 12:1-9 Monday of Holy Week).

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The HOLY NAME, The WORD

“Quote/s of the Day – 11 April – ‘ … We are the aroma of Christ.’

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 April – Monday of Holy Week – Isaias 50:5-10, John 12:1-9

“However, in the allegorical
or mystical sense,
this woman prefigured the Church,
which offered the full and entire devotion
of it’s faith to Christ …
There are twelve ounces to a pound
and this is the amount of perfume
the Church possesses, having received
the teaching of the twelve Apostles,
as if it were a precious perfume.
Indeed, what more precious
is there than the Apostles’ teaching,
which contains both faith in Christ
and the glory of the Kingdom of heaven? ”

St Chromatius of Aquilaea (Died c 407)

“People who associate the name of Christian
with a dishonest life, injure Christ! …
If God’s Name, is blasphemed by bad Christians,
it is praised and honoured,
on the other hand,
by the good:
“For in every place, we are the aroma of Christ”
(2 Cor,14-15).
And it is said in the Song of Songs:
“Your name is oil poured out” (1,3).”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

Posted in ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The HOLY NAME, The INCARNATION, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The SEVEN LAST WORDS of CHRIST

One Minute Reflection – 11 April – ‘ … The sweetness and perfume of His Name.’

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One Minute Reflection – 11 April – Monday of Holy Week – Isaias 50:5-10, John 12:1-9

“The house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” – John 12:3

REFLECTION – “When she had anointed the Lord’s feet this woman did not wipe them with a cloth but with her own hair, to show Him greater honour … Like a thirsty person drinking from a fresh waterfall, this holy woman drank in grace full of delights, from the Springs of Holiness, to quench the thirst of her faith.

However, in the allegorical or mystical sense, this woman prefigured the Church, which offered the full and entire devotion of its faith to Christ …There are twelve ounces to a pound and this is the amount of perfume the Church possesses, having received the teaching of the twelve Apostles, as if it were a precious perfume. Indeed, what more precious is there than the Apostles’ teaching, which contains both faith in Christ and the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven? Furthermore, it is related that the whole house was filled with the scent of that perfume because, the whole world has been filled with the Apostles’ teaching. As it is written: “Through all the earth their voice resounds and to the ends of the world, their message” (Ps 19[18]:5).

In the Song of Songs we read the following words addressed through Solomon, to the Church: “Your name spoken is a spreading perfume” (1,2). Not without cause, is the Lord’s Name called a “spreading perfume.” As you know, as long as perfume is preserved inside its flask, it keeps its fragrance but, as soon as is poured out or emptied, it spreads out its fragrant scent. Even so, as long as our Lord and Saviour reigned with His Father in Heaven, the world was unaware of Him, He was unknown here below. But when, for our salvation, He deigned to humble Himself, by descending from Heaven, to take on a human body, then He spread abroad in the world, the sweetness and perfume of His Name.“ – St Chromatius of Aquilaea (Died c 407) – Bishop of Aquileia, Italy, Theologian, Exegete (Sermon 11).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God, that we who fail through our weakness, in so many difficulties, may be relieved through the pledging of the Passion of Thy only-begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HOLY WEEK, LENT 2022, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 11 April – Dearest Lord Jesus Christ

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Our Morning Offering – 11 April – Monday of Holy Week

Dearest Lord Jesus Christ
The Old Roman Missal

Dearest Lord Jesus Christ,
I entreat Thee
to let me find in Thy Passion,
a strong defence, protection and safegiard.
Let Thy Wounds be my food and drink,
to nourish and make me drunk with delight.
Let the shedding of Thy Blood
wash all my offenses away,
Thy Death, bring me,
the life that knows no ending,
Thy Cross be my everlasting glory.
In them, let my heart find renewal,
gladness, health and delight,
Thou Who lives and reigns,
forever and ever.
Amen.

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 10 April – The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem

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

The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem

“Imagine the joyful and triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
The cheering crowds line the street along which He approaches, riding upon the foal of an ass.
Palm and olive branches are waved aloft, while groups of children cry out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest” (Cf Mt 21:9).
In the midst of all this exultation, Jesus appears to be absorbed and detached.
In his representation of this scene, a famous artist painted a large cross in the distance, far beyond the cheering crowd.
The divine vision of Jesus, certainly saw this cross.
He knew that in a few days, He would be arrested as a malefactor and Crucified between two thieves.
The ingratitude of men towards the Divine Redeemer was to go, even to this length.

We also shall have our moments of happiness and of victory in life.
But, like Jesus, we must not trust too much in the joys and conquests of this world.
The warning of the Holy Spirit, that “the end of joy may be sorrow” (Prov 14:13), is unfortunately, only too true.
Earthy happiness lasts for a short time and ends in grief.
So we must seek the true and lasting happiness which comes from Divine grace and from constant conformity with the will of God.
This happiness will never pass away but, will become everlasting in Heaven.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2022, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The WORD

Palm Sunday – 10 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – The Power of the Cross

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Palm Sunday – 10 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Philippians 2:5-11, The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew 26:36-75; 27:1-60

“My God, my God, look upon me, why have You forsaken me?” – Psalm 21:2

“Behold the hour is at hand
and the Son of man shall be betrayed
into the hands of sinners.”

Matthew 26:45

“OUR UNDERSTANDING, which is enlightened by the Spirit of Truth, should receive with purity and freedom of heart the glory of the Cross, as it shines in Heaven and on earth. It should see with inner vision. the meaning of the Lord’s Words when He spoke of the imminence of His passion – The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Afterward He said – Now my soul is troubled and what am I to say? Father, save Me from this hour. But it was for this that I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Son. When the voice of the Father came from Heaven, saying, I have glorified him, and will glorify Him again, Jesus said in reply to those around Him – It was not for Me that this Voice spoke but for you. Now is the judgement of the world, now will the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I Am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself.

HOW MARVELLOUS the Power of the Cross, how great beyond all telling, the glory of the Passion – here is the Judgement-Seat of the Lord, the condemnation of the world, the supremacy of Christ Crucified. LORD, You drew all things to Yourself so that the devotion of all peoples, everywhere, might celebrate, in a Sacrament made perfect and visible, what was carried out in the one temple of Judea, under obscure foreshadowings. …

DEARLY BELOVED, let us then acknowledge what Saint Paul, the teacher of the nations, acknowledged so exultantly: This is a saying worthy of trust, worthy of complete acceptance – Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. God’s compassion for us is all the more wonderful because Christ died, not for the righteous, or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful and, although the Divine Nature could not be touched by the sting of death, He took to Himself, through His birth as one of us, something He could offer on our behalf.

THE POWER OF HIS DEATH, once confronted our death. In the words of Hosea, the prophet: Death, I shall be your death; grave, I shall swallow you up. By dying He submitted to the laws of the underworld; by rising again, He destroyed them. He did away with the everlasting character of death, so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity. As all die in Adam, so all will be brought to life in Christ.” – St Leo the Great (400-461) Great Father and Doctor of the Church (Excerpt from his “On the Lord’s Passion” Sermon 8).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD is LOVE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The INCARNATION, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 9 April – The Passion of Our Lord

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

The Passion of Our Lord

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

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2022, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The LORD'S PRAYER, The WILL of GOD

Saturday in Passion Week – 9 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – ‘… What is the point …?’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saturday in Passion Week – 9 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Jeremias 18:18-23, John 12:10-36

“In You, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In Your justice rescue me. – Psalm 30:2”

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

John 12:25-26

“OUR OBLIGATION is to do God’s will and not our own. We must remember this, if the praye that our Lord commanded us to say daily, is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God’s will be done and then not promptly obey it, when He calls us from this world!
Instead, we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord’s presence, with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure but constrained by necessity.

AND YET, WE EXPECT to be rewarded with heavenly honours by Him to Whom we come, against our will!
Why then do we pray for the Kingdom of Heaven to come, if this earthly bondage pleases us?

WHAT IS THE POINT of praying so often for its early arrival, if we would rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ!?” – St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage, Martyr, Great Father of the Church (Excerpt from On Man’s Mortality).

Posted in "Follow Me", CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 9 April – He who loves his life, loses it …

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 9 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Jeremias 18:18-23, John 12:10-36

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

John 12:25-26

“This is the time for Confession.
Confess the sins you have committed
in word or deed,
by day or by night.
Confess during this “favourable time”
and on “the day of salvation,”
receive Heaven’s treasure… ”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350),
Father & Doctor of the Church

“To do penance is to bewail
the evil we have done
and to do no evil to bewail.”

St Gregory the Great (540-604)
Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor

“Rejoice and be happy!
Persevere to the end
and prefer to die
rather than abandon the post,
to which God has called you!”

St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church