Category: CATHOLIC Quotes

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, SAINT of the DAY, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Thought for the Day – 29 April – I tasted and I saw

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 29 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter, Year C and the Memorial of St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church

I tasted and I saw

Saint Catherine of Siena OP (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from Dialogue on Divine Providence

With a look of mercy that revealed His indescribable kindness, God the Father spoke to Catherine:

“Eternal God, eternal Trinity, You have made the blood of Christ so precious through His sharing in Your divine nature.   You are a mystery as deep as the sea, the more I search, the more I find and the more I find, the more I search for You.   But I can never be satisfied, what I receive, will ever leave me desiring more.   When You fill my soul I have an even greater hunger and I grow more famished for Your Light.   I desire above all to see You, the true Light, as You really are.

I have tasted and seen the depth of Your mystery and the beauty of Your creation with the light of my understanding.   I have clothed myself with Your likeness and have seen what I shall be.   Eternal Father, You have given me a share in Your power and the wisdom, that Christ claims as His own and Your Holy Spirit has given me, the desire to love You.   You are my Creator, eternal Trinity and I am Your creature.   You have made of me a new creation in the blood of Your Son and I know, that You are moved with love, at the beauty of Your creation, for You have enlightened me.

Eternal Trinity, Godhead, mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself.   For You are a fire ever burning and never consumed, which itself consumes all the selfish love that fills my being.   Yes, You are a fire that takes away the coldness, illuminates the mind with its Light and causes me to know Your truth.   By this Light, reflected as it were in a mirror, I recognise that You are the highest good, one we can neither comprehend nor fathom.   And I know, that You are beauty and wisdom itself.   The food of angels, You gave Yourself to man, in the fire of Your love.

You are the garment which covers our nakedness and in our hunger, You are a satisfying food, for You are sweetness and in You there is no taste of bitterness, O triune God!  Amen”

St Catherine of Siena, Pray for Us!st-catherine-of-siena-pray-for-us-29-april-20182.jpg

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on SILENCE, QUOTES on TRUTH, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 29 April – Catherine

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 29 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter, Year C and the Memorial of St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church

“What is it you want to change?
Your hair, your face, your body?
Why? For God is in love with all those things
and He might weep when they are gone!”what-is-it-you-want-to-change-st-catherine-of-siena-29-april-2018.jpg

“All the way to heaven IS heaven
because Jesus said,
“I am the way.”all the way to heaven IS heaven - st catherine of siena - 29 april 2019

“Speak the truth in a million voices.
It is silence that kills!”speak the truth in a million voices - st catherine of siena - 29 april 2019.jpg

“Turn over the rudder in God’s name
and sail with the wind,
heaven sends us.”

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

More St Catherine quotes here:   https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/29/quote-s-of-the-day-29-april-fifth-sunday-of-eastertide-and-the-memorial-of-st-catherine-of-siena-1347-1380-doctor-of-the-church/turn over the rudder - st catherine of siena 29 april 2019.jpg

Posted in BAPTISM, CARMELITES, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY GHOST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 29 April – “A ray of sunlight shining on a smudgy window”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 29 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter, Year C, Gospel: John 3:1–8 and the Memorial of St Peter of Verona OP (1205–1252)

“…that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”...John 3:6

REFLECTION – “We read in Saint John – No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.   To be reborn in the Holy Spirit during this life is to become most like God in purity, without any mixture of imperfection.   Accordingly, pure transformation can be effected – although not essentially – through the participation of union.

Here is an example that will provide a better understanding of this explanation.   A ray of sunlight shining on a smudgy window, is unable to illumine that window completely and transform it into its own light.   It could do this, if the window were cleaned and polished… The extent of illumination is not dependent on the ray of sunlight but on the window.   If the window is totally clean and pure, the sunlight will so transform and illumine it, that to all appearances the window will be identical with the ray of sunlight and shine just as the sun’s ray.   Although, obviously, the nature of the window is distinct from that of the sun’s ray, even if the two seem identical, we can assert, that the window is the ray or light of the sun by participation.

The soul on which the divine light of God’s being is ever shining, or better, in which it is ever dwelling by nature, is like this window.   A soul makes room for God by wiping away all the smudges and smears of creatures, by uniting its will perfectly to God’s, for to love is to labour, to divest and deprive oneself for God, of all that is not God.   When this is done, the soul will be illumined by and transformed in God.”…St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Churchjohn 3 6 that which is born of the spirit - a ray of sunlight - st john of the cross - 29 april 2019

PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, grant that Your faithful people who were buried with Your Son in baptism, may by His Resurrection and intercession at Your right hand, obtain for us eternal life.   Send Your Spirit upon Your adopted children and lead us in Your way.   Grant that by the intercession of St Peter of Verona, our path may be straightened and glow with Your light.   Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.st peter of verona pray for us 29 april 2019

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on PEACE, The HOLY GHOST, The PASSION, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 28 April – “Receive the Holy Spirit”

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Thought for the Day – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Gospel: John 20:19–31

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.   As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”   And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. “...John 20:21-22

Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church

First Sermon for Pentecost

‘He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit” ‘
Lord Jesus Christ, once again grant that of us, too, there may be but “one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32) for then there will be “a great calm” (Mk 4:39).   My dear listeners, I exhort you to good will and kindness to one another and peace with all.   For were we to have charity among ourselves, we would have both peace and the Holy Spirit.   Let us undertake to become devout and pray to God… since the apostles persevered in prayer… If we set ourselves to fervent prayer then the Holy Spirit will enter us and say:  “Peace be with you!   It is I; be not afraid” (cf. Mk 6:50)…   And what ought we to ask God for, my brethren?   For all that is for His honour and the salvation of your souls and, in a word, for the help of the Holy Spirit – “Send forth your Spirit and they will be created” (Ps 104[103]:30) – peace and tranquillity…mark 6 50 peace be with you it is i be not afraid - div mercy sun 28 april 2019.jpg

We are to ask for this peace so that the Spirit of peace may come down on us.   We should give thanks to God, too, for all His blessings if we want Him to grant us those victories that are the beginning of peace.   And to obtain the Holy Spirit we should give thanks to God the Father for having first of all sent Him upon our Head, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and His Son… – for “from his fullness we have all received” (cf. Jn 1:16) – and for having sent Him upon His apostles that through their hands they might pass Him onto us.   We should give thanks to the Son – as God, He sends the Spirit upon those who prepare themselves to receive Him.   But, most especially, we should thank Him because, as man, He merited for us, the grace of receiving this divine Spirit…

And how has Jesus Christ merited the Holy Spirit’s coming?   When “bowing his head, he gave up his spirit” (Jn 19:30), for, when He gave breathed His last and handed over His spirit to the Father, He merited the Father’s sending His Spirit upon His mystical body.he breathed on them john 20 22 - and to obtain the holy spirit - st francis de sales div mercy sun 28 april 2019.jpg

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, EASTER, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS

Quote of the Day – 28 April – How great, is the goodness of God..”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday

“Oh, how great, is the goodness of God,
greater than we can understand.
There are moments
and there are mysteries,
of the Divine Mercy
over which, the heavens are astounded.
Let our judgement of souls cease,
for God’s mercy upon them, is extraordinary.”

St Mary Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)oh-how-great-is-the-goodness-of-god-st-faustina-5-october-2018.jpg

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, EASTER, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 28 April – “Peace be with you.”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Gospel: John 20:19–31

“Peace be with you.   As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”   And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.   If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”…John 20:21–23john 20 21 - peace be with you - div mercy sun 28 april 2019.jpg

REFLECTION – “This Sunday, … concludes the week or, more properly, the “Octave” of Easter, which the liturgy considers as a single day: “the day which the Lord has made” (Ps 117[116]: 24).  It is not a chronological but a spiritual time, which God opened in the sequence of days when He raised Christ from the dead.  The Creator Spirit, infusing new and eternal life in the buried body of Jesus of Nazareth, carried to completion the work of creation, giving origin to a “firstfruits” – the firstfruits of a new humanity, which at the same time is a firstfruits of a new world and a new era.

This world renewal can be summed up in a single phrase, the same one that the Risen Jesus spoke to his disciples as a greeting and even more, as an announcement of his victory: “Peace be with you!” (Lk 24: 36; Jn 20: 19, 21, 26).

Peace is the gift that Christ left his friends (see Jn 14: 27) as a blessing destined for all men and women and all peoples.   It is not a peace according to a “worldly” mentality, as an equilibrium of forces but a new reality, fruit of God’s Love, of His Mercy.   It is the peace that Jesus Christ earned, by the price of His Blood and communicates to those who trust in Him.

“Jesus, I trust in you” these words summarise the faith of the Christian, which is faith in the omnipotence of God’s merciful Love.”…Pope Benedict XVI – REGINA CÆLI – Second Sunday of Easter, 15 April 2007jesus i trust in you - pope benedict 28 april 3019 div mercy sun.jpg

PRAYER – Almighty Father, grant we pray that with Mary’s help, Mater Misericordiae, Mother of Jesus who is the incarnation of Divine Mercy, that we become renewed in the Spirit, in order to cooperate in the work of peace which You are accomplishing in the world and which is not just talk, but which is actualised in the countless gestures of charity by all his sons and daughters.   Grant we pray, that we taste the beauty of the encounter with the Risen Lord and draw from the source of His merciful love, to be apostles of His peace.   Through Christ, Redeemer and Merciful Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.mater misericordiae mother of merct pray for us 8 april 2019.jpg

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Sunday Reflection – 28 April – O Sacrament Most Holy

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 28 April – Low Sunday the Octave Day of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday

Fr Benedict Groeschel CFR (1933-2014)

O Lord Jesus Christ, how am I to prepare myself to attend that holy sacrifice, which You began at Your Last Supper and which You consummated on Calvary?

That eternal Eucharist begun in sorrow and agony continues, not simply to the end of the world but throughout all eternity.   It is, the eternal act of obedience and love that You, as the head of our whole human race, offered to the Trinity, even to Yourself, in Your divinity.   These mysteries are completely beyond me.   Yet I know, they are true because You revealed them.

Soon, in the person of a priest, a poor human being, Your divine words will be spoken and each of us, at this Mass, will be lifted beyond this place and be part of the heavenly choirs and the eternal divine liturgy.   How dare we think that we, creatures of earth, could participate in such a thing!   We believe it, because this liturgy began here on earth.   From the very first moment of Your existence, as a human being, the altar was prepared, the linens were laid on the altar.   Throughout Your earthly life, You laboured in the preaching of the Gospel and in calling the faithful to prayer. Then, at the supreme moment of Your earthly existence, You offered Yourself in total obedience and sacrifice to the Father, for all the world.   Your glorious Resurrection and Ascension, point beyond the Cross and beyond the tomb and remind us that this Eucharist, is not only a memorial but an everlasting participation in Your divine and heavenly worship, as priest of the new covenant.

O Lord, give me Your Holy Spirit, that my heart may be lifted up in this Mass, that I may be in one of the choirs that join with You, that I may take my place prayerfully and in reverent attention, with the billions of saints, with the great choirs of angels, with the army of holy souls on their pilgrimage and with all the devout and struggling Christians in the world.   Let this Mass be the beginning of a new moment in my life, one step closer to You.   May I be encouraged by this sacred meal, to know that You will go with me in the wilderness of life, that You will sustain me so that I may, in fact, not only pray as one of those united to You but, that I may live and act, so that it may indeed be true, that I live, no longer I but You, who live in me. Amen, alleluia!

O Sacrament most holy
O Sacrament divine,
All praise and all thanks giving,
Be very moment Thine.+

Jesus, I love You with all my heart. I wish to love You more every day.   Thank You for being with me in this most Holy Sacrament.let this mass be the beginning of anew moment - fr benedict groeschel 28 april 2019.jpg

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Quote of the Day – 27 April – The crucifix is my autobiography.

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 27 April – Saturday of Easter week

“The life of each and every one of us has been written.
The crucifix is my autobiography.
The blood is the ink.
The nails the pen.
The skin the parchment.
On every line of that body, I can trace my life.
In the crown of thorns I can read my pride.
In the hands that are dug with nails,
I can read avarice and greed.
In the flesh hanging from him like purple rags,
I can read my lust.
In feet that are fettered, I can find the times
that I ran away and would not let Him follow.
Any sin that you can think of is written there.”

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)the-life-of-each-and-every-one-of-us-ven-fulton-sheen-27-april-2019.jpg

Posted in EASTER, PAPAL Apostolic EXHORTATIONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 April – Go Forth

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One Minute Reflection – 27 April – Saturday of Easter week, Gospel: Mark 16:9–15

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation...Mark 16:15

REFLECTION – “Evangelisation takes place in obedience to the missionary mandate of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20)…  The risen Christ sent His followers to preach the Gospel in every time and place, so that faith in Him might spread to every corner of the earth.

The word of God constantly shows us how God challenges those who believe in Him “to go forth”.   Abraham received the call to set out for a new land (Gen 12:1-3).   Moses heard God’s call:  “Go, I send you” (Ex 3:10) and led the people towards the promised land.   To Jeremiah God says:  “To all whom I send you, you shall go” (Jer 1:7)…   All of us are called to take part in this new missionary “going forth”.   Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out but all of us are asked to obey His call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the “peripheries” in need of the light of the Gospel.

The Gospel joy which enlivens the community of disciples is a missionary joy.   The seventy-two disciples felt it as they returned from their mission (Lk 10:17).   Jesus felt it when He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit…   This joy is a sign that the Gospel has been proclaimed and is bearing fruit.   Yet the drive to go forth and give, to go out from ourselves, to keep pressing forward in our sowing of the good seed, remains ever present.   The Lord says:  “Let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out” (Mk 1:38)…   In fidelity to the example of the Master, it is vitally important, for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all – to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear.”…Pope Francis – Apostolic Exhortation « The Joy of the Gospel / Evangelii Gaudium » §19-23mark 16 15 go into all the world - in fidelity to the master - pope francis evangeli gaudium 27 april 2019 ester sat.jpg

PRAYER – Lord our God, You increase and multiply Your faithful by Your abundant gift of grace.   Look now on Your chosen people and clothe forever in the garment of eternal life, all those who have been reborn in baptism.   Grant that the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the saints and angels, may accompany us on our journey.   Through our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.BLESSED VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD PRAY FOR US.jpg

Posted in BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, EXTREME UNCTION, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY ORDERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRAMENTS, The HOLY GHOST

Thought for the Day – 26 April – The Anointing with the Holy Spirit

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Thought for the Day – 26 April – Friday in the Octave of Easter

The Anointing with the Holy Spirit

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Bishop, Father & Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Mystagogical Catechesis 3

When we were baptised into Christ and clothed ourselves in Him, we were transformed into the likeness of the Son of God.   Having destined us to be His adopted sons, God gave us a likeness to Christ in His glory and living as we do, in communion with Christ, God’s anointed, we ourselves are rightly called “the anointed ones.”   When He said: Do not touch my anointed ones, God was speaking of us.

We became “the anointed ones” when we received the sign of the Holy Spirit.   Indeed, everything took place in us by means of images, because we ourselves are images of Christ.   Christ bathed in the river Jordan, imparting to its waters the fragrance of His divinity and, when He came up from them, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, like resting upon like.   So we also, after coming up from the sacred waters of baptism, were anointed with chrism, which signifies the Holy Spirit, by whom Christ was anointed and of whom blessed Isaiah prophesied in the name of the Lord – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor.

Christ’s anointing was not by human hands, nor was it with ordinary oil.   On the contrary, having destined Him to be the Saviour of the whole world, the Father Himself anointed Him with the Holy Spirit.   The words of Peter bear witness to this – Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit.   And David the prophet proclaimed: Your throne, O God, shall endure for ever; your royal sceptre is a sceptre of justice.   You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above all your fellows.

The oil of gladness with which Christ was anointed was a spiritual oil, it was in fact the Holy Spirit Himself, who is called the oil of gladness, because He is the source of spiritual joy.   But we too have been anointed with oil and by this anointing, we have entered into fellowship with Christ and have received a share in His life.   Beware of thinking that this holy oil is simply ordinary oil and nothing else.   After the invocation of the Spirit it is no longer ordinary oil but the gift of Christ and by the presence of His divinity, it becomes the instrument, through which we receive the Holy Spirit.   While symbolically, on our foreheads and senses, our bodies are anointed with this oil that we see, our souls are sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit.beware of thinking that this holy oil - st cyril of jerusalem 26 april 2019 easter friday - anointingwiththeholyspirit.jpg

Posted in QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 26 April – “… only the Cross of Christ”

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Quote/s of the Day – 26 April – Friday of Easter week and the Memorial of St Rafael Arnáiz Barón OCSO (1911-1938)

“…only the Cross of Christ
sheds light on the path of this life….
God is in the detached heart,
in the silence of prayer,
in the voluntary sacrifice to pain,
in the emptiness of the world and its creatures.
God is in the Cross and,
as long as we do not love the Cross,
we will not see Him, or feel Him….
If the world and men knew….
But they will not know,
they are very busy in their interests,
their hearts are very full of things
that are not God.”only in the cross of christ - st rafael arnaiz baron 26 april 2019 easter friday.jpg

“How good God is, I thought!
There is peace everywhere
except in the human heart.
…God is so good to me that,
in the silence,
He speaks to my heart
and teaches me,
little by little,
sometimes in tears,
always with the cross,
to detach myself from creatures,
not to look for perfection
except in Him …”

St Rafael Arnáiz Barón (1911-1938)how good god is - st rafael arnaiz baron redone 26 april 2019.jpg

The message of the cross
is foolishness to those
who are perishing
but to us,
who are being saved,
it is the power
of God…

1 Corinthians 1:18

More Quotes of St Rafael – https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/quote-s-of-the-day-26-april-thursday-of-the-fourth-week-of-eastertide-and-the-memorial-of-st-rafael-arnaiz-baron-1911-1938/1-corinthians-1-18-the message of the cross is foolishness - 26 april 2018.jpg

Posted in BAPTISM, CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRAMENTS

Thought for the Day – 25 April- Baptism is a symbol of Christ’s passion

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 April – Thursday in the Octave of Easter

Congratulations to those who entered
the Church through the Sacraments of Initiation,
(Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion)
at the Easter Vigil.
You are now members with us,
in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Welcome Home!

congrats to new catholics - welcome home - 25 april 2019 easter thurs

Baptism is a symbol of Christ’s passion

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Bishop, Father, Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Mystagogical Catechesis 3

You were led down to the font of holy baptism just as Christ was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb which is before your eyes.   Each of you was asked, “Do you believe in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit?”   You made the profession of faith that brings salvation, you were plunged into the water and three times you rose again.   This symbolised the three days Christ spent in the tomb.

As our Saviour spent three days and three nights in the depths of the earth, so your first rising from the water represented the first day and your first immersion represented the first night.   At night a man cannot see but in the day he walks in the light.   So when you were immersed in the water, it was like night for you and you could not see but when you rose again, it was like coming into broad daylight   In the same instant, you died and were born again, the saving water was both your tomb and your mother.

Solomon’s phrase in another context is very apposite here.   He spoke of a time to give birth and a time to die.   For you, however, it was the reverse – a time to die and a time to be born, although, in fact, both events took place at the same time and your birth was simultaneous with your death.

This is something amazing and unheard of!   It was not we who actually died, were buried and rose again.  We only did these things symbolically but we have been saved in actual fact.   It is Christ who was crucified, who was buried and who rose again and all this has been attributed to us.   We share in His sufferings symbolically and gain salvation in reality.   What boundless love for men!   Christ’s undefiled hands were pierced by the nails, He suffered the pain.   I experience no pain, no anguish, yet, by the share that I have in His sufferings, He freely grants me salvation.

Let no one imagine that baptism consists only in the forgiveness of sins and in the grace of adoption.   Our baptism is not like the baptism of John, which conferred only the forgiveness of sins.   We know perfectly well that baptism, besides washing away our sins and bringing us the gift of the Holy Spirit, is a symbol of the sufferings of Christ.  This is why Paul exclaims:  Do you not know that when we were baptised into Christ Jesus we were, by that very action, sharing in His death?   By baptism we went with Him into the tomb.we know perfectly weel that baptism - st cyril of jerusalem - 25 april 2019 easter thurs.jpg

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 April – “It is I, fear not.”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 25 April – Thursday of Easter week, Gospel: Luke 24:35–48 and the Memorial of St Mark the Evangelist and St Giovanni Battista Piamarta (1841 – 1913)

As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”…Luke 24:36

REFLECTION – “Rebellious people had chased peace from the earth… and thrown the world into its primordial chaos… Among the disciples as well, war was waging, faith and doubt fought furious assaults on one another… Where a storm was raging, their hearts could find no peaceful harbour, no calm port.

At the sight of that Christ who plumbs the hearts, who commands the winds, who is master over tempests and who with a simple sign changes the storm into a serene sky, strengthened them with his peace, saying: “Peace be with you!
It is I, fear not.
It is I, who was crucified, who was dead, who was buried.
It is I, your God become man for you.
It is I. Not a spirit clothed with a body but truth itself become man.
It is I, the living one among the dead, who have come from heaven to the heart of hell.
It is I, before whom death fled, whom hell feared. In its terror, hell proclaimed me to be God. Do not be afraid, Peter, you who denied me, nor you, John, who fled, nor all of you who abandoned me, who thought of nothing but betraying me, who do not yet believe in me, even though you see me.
Do not be afraid, it really is I.
I have called you with grace,
I have chosen you with forgiveness,
I have upheld you with my compassion,
I have carried you in my love and I am taking you today solely because of my kindness.”...St Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Father & Doctor of the Churchluke 24 36 peace be with you - do not be afraid it is i - st peter chrysologus 25 april 2019 easter thurs.jpg

PRAYER – Lord God, let there be one faith in our hearts, one love for You, one Way in You, for You are the One Truth and the only Way.   We linger in Your light and beg Your unending kindness.   Grant that by the prayers of Your saints we may obtain Your strength.   St Mark, pray for us.  St Giovanni Piamarta, pray for us.   Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE, The RESURRECTION

Thought for the Day – 24 April – This is the Day!

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Thought for the Day – 24 April – Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

Christ the source of resurrection and life

“This is the Day!”

Ancient Christian Author
Anonymous

An excerpt from an Easter Homily

Saint Paul rejoices in the knowledge that spiritual health has been restored to the human race.   Death entered the world through Adam, he explains but life has been given back to the world through Christ.   Again he says – The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature, the second man is from heaven and is heavenly.   As we have borne the image of the earthly man, the image of human nature grown old in sin, so let us bear the image of the heavenly man, human nature raised up, redeemed, restored and purified in Christ.   We must hold fast to the salvation we have received. Christ was the first fruits, says the Apostle, He is the source of resurrection and life.   Those who belong to Christ will follow Him.   Modelling their lives on His purity, they will be secure in the hope of His resurrection and of enjoying with Him the glory promised in heaven.   Our Lord Himself said so in the gospe -: Whoever follows me will not perish but will pass from death to life.

Thus the passion of our Saviour is the salvation of mankind.   The reason why He desired to die for us was that He wanted us, who believe in Him, to live forever.   In the fullness of time, it was His will to become what we are, so that we might inherit the eternity He promised and live with Him forever.

Here, then, is the grace conferred by these heavenly mysteries, the gift which Easter brings, the most longed for feast of the year, here are the beginnings of creatures newly formed – children born from the life-giving font of holy Church, born anew with the simplicity of little ones and crying out with the evidence of a clean conscience.   Chaste fathers and inviolate mothers accompany this new family, countless in number, born to new life through faith.   As they emerge from the grace-giving womb of the font, a blaze of candles burns brightly beneath the tree of faith.   The Easter festival brings the grace of holiness from heaven to men.   Through the repeated celebration of the sacred mysteries they receive the spiritual nourishment of the sacraments.   Fostered at the very heart of holy Church, the fellowship of one community, worships the one God, adoring the triple name of His essential holiness and together with the prophet, sings the psalm which belongs to this yearly festival –

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.

And what is this day?   It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the author of light, who brings the sunrise and the beginning of life, saying of Himself – I am the light of day, whoever walks in daylight does not stumble.   That is to say, whoever follows Christ in all things will come by this path to the throne of eternal light.

Such was the prayer Christ made to the Father while He was still on earth –  Father, I desire that where I am, they also may be, those who have come to believe in me and that as you are in me and I in you, so they may abide in us.and what is this day - it is the lord jesus christ himself - anon - 24 april 2019 wed easter octave.jpg

Posted in EUCHARISTIC Adoration, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Quote/s of the Day – 24 April – St Fidelis & St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

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Quote/s of the Day – 24 April – Wednesday of Easter week and the Memorial of St Fidelis of Sigmaringen OFM.Cap. (1577-1622) and St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)

“Woe to me if I should prove myself
but a half-hearted soldier in the service
of my thorn-crowned Captain.”woe-to-me-st-fidelis - 24 apil 2019 no 2

“What made the holy apostles and martyrs
endure fierce agony and bitter torments,
except faith and especially faith in the resurrection?
What is it that today makes true followers of Christ
cast luxuries aside, leave pleasures behind
and endure difficulties and pain?
It is a living faith that expresses itself through love.
It is this that makes us put aside the goods of the present
in the hope of future goods. It is because of faith
that we exchange the present for the future.”

St Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622)what made the holy apostles and martyrs - st fidelis - 24 april 2019

“May your heart be an altar,
from which the bright flame,
of unending thanksgiving
ascends to heaven.”may-your-heart-be-an-altar-st-mary-euphrasia-24-april-2019 no 2

“Draw near to our Lord, thoroughly aware
of you own nothingness and you may hope
all things from His Goodness and Mercy.
Never forget that Jesus Christ is no less generous
in the Blessed Sacrament than He was
during His mortal life on earth.”draw-near-to-our-lord-st-mary-euphrasia-24-april-2018

O my God,
may every beat of my heart,
be a prayer, to obtain grace
and pardon for sinners.
May all my sighs, be so many
appeals to Your infinite mercy.
May each look, have the virtue,
to gain to Your love,
those souls, whom I shall look on.
May the food of my life,
be to work without ceasing
for Your glory
and the salvation of souls.
Amen

St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (1796-1868)morning-prayer-of-st-mary-euphrasia-pelletier-24-april 2019-o-my-god-may-every-beat-of-my-heart-no-2-jpg2.jpg

Posted in EASTER, franciscan OFM, PAPAL MESSAGES, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 April – “Stay with us”

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One Minute Reflection – 24 April – Wednesday of Easter week, Gospel: Luke 24:13–35 and the Memorial of St Benedict Menni (1841-1914)

“Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.”   So he went in to stay with them....Luke 24:29

REFLECTION – “When the disciples on the way to Emmaus asked Jesus to stay “with” them, He responded by giving them a much greater gift, through the Sacrament of the Eucharist He found a way to stay “in” them.
Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus.   “Abide in me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4).   This relationship of profound and mutual “abiding” enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth.   Is this not the greatest of human yearnings?   Is this not what God had in mind when He brought about in history His plan of salvation?   God has placed in human hearts a “hunger” for His word (cf. Am 8:11), a hunger which will be satisfied only by full union with Him.   Eucharistic communion was given, so that we might be “sated” with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfilment in heaven.
This special closeness which comes about in Eucharistic “communion” cannot be adequately understood or fully experienced apart from ecclesial communion…   The Church is the Body of Christ – we walk “with Christ” to the extent that we are in relationship “with his body”. Christ provided for the creation and growth of this unity, by the outpouring of His Holy Spirit.   And He Himself, constantly builds it up by His Eucharistic presence.   It is the one Eucharistic bread which makes us one body.   As the Apostle Paul states:  “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1Cor 10:17)…Saint John Paul II (1920-2005) – Apostolic Letter “ Mane nobiscum Domine ” §19-20luke 24 29 - stay with us - when the disciples on the way to emmaus - st john paul 24 april 2019 - wed easter octave.jpg

PRAYER – Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You.   You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, so that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me Lord, for You are my life and without You, I am without fervour.
Stay with me Lord, for You are my light and without you, I am in darkness.
Stay with me Lord, to show me Your will.
Stay with me Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You…. St Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) (Excerpt)  
And grant holy Father, that the prayers of St Benedict Menni, may assist us on our way. Through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever, amen.st benedict menni pray for us 24 april 2019.jpg

Posted in EASTER, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen, Alleluia! – Thought for the day – 23 April – “Church of men, Church of women”

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Christ is Risen!   He is Truly Risen, Alleluia! – Thought for the day – 23 April – Tuesday of Easter WeekChrist is risen - easter sunday - christc3b3s-anc3a9sti-1-april-2018

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know, where they have laid him.”…John 20:2the-greatest-easter-painting-elise-ehrhard-crises-mag

“Church of men, Church of women”

By Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)

In the Gospel, Mary of Magdala, the first person to see the open grave, rouses the two most important disciples – Peter (ecclesial office) and John (ecclesial love).

Both disciples run there “together” yet not together, for, unburdened by the cares borne by Office, Love runs faster.   Yet Love yields to Office when it comes to examining the tomb and Peter thus becomes the first to view the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head and establish that no theft had occurred.   That is enough to permit Love to enter, who “sees and believes” – not precisely in the Resurrection but in the correctness of all that has happened with Jesus.   This is as far as the two symbolic representatives of the Church go – things have happened properly, faith in Jesus is justified, despite all the opaqueness of the situation.

It is the woman for whom this first turns into genuine belief in the Resurrection.   She does not “go home” but perseveres at the place where the dead one disappeared, searching for Him.

The empty place becomes luminous, measured off by the two angels at the head and the foot.   But this luminous emptiness is not enough for the Church’s love – the forgiven woman here, seems to represent the Woman herself, Mary the Mother, she has to have her one true Love.   This she receives in Jesus’ call – “Mary!”   With that, everything is more than complete – the sought after corpse is the eternally Living One.   But she dare not hold Him, for He is on His way to the Father and earth ought not hold Him back. Instead it must consent.   As it was with His Incarnation, so now with His return to the Father.

This Yes, turns into the happiness of the mission to the brethren, giving is more blessed than holding on.

The Church is Woman at her most profound depths, as woman she embraces both ecclesial office and ecclesial love, which belong together.   “The woman will encompass the man” (Jer 31:22).mary of magdala rouses the two most important - hans urs von balthasar 23 april 2019 church of men church of women.jpg

Posted in CARMELITES, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 23 April – Marked with His brand

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Quote/s of the Day – 23 April – the Memorial of Bl Teresa Maria of the Cross OCD (1846–1910)

Do you know what it means
to be truly spiritual?
It means becoming the slaves of God.
Marked with His brand,
which is that of the Cross,
spiritual persons,
because now, they have given Him,
their liberty,
can be sold by Him,
as slaves of everyone,
as He was.
In acting this way,
He doesn’t do us any harm
but rather He grants us,
a not insignificant grace.do youknow what it means - bl teresa maria of the cross - 23 april 2019.jpg

We have always seen,
that those who were
closest to Christ our Lord,
were those with the greatest trials.
Let us look at what
His glorious Mother suffered
and the glorious apostles.
Take up the Cross of Jesus.
Help your Spouse to carry the burden
that weighs Him down
and pay no attention
to what they may say about you.
If you should happen to stumble
and fall like your Spouse,
do not withdraw from the Cross or abandon it.
No matter how great your trials may be,
you will see, that they are quite small,
in comparison to His.take up the cross - bl teresa maria of the cross 23 april 2019.jpg

If we never look at Him
or reflect on what we owe Him
and the death He suffered for us,
I don’t know how we’ll be able
to know Him or serve Him.
And without these works in His service,
what value will our faith have?
And what value will our works have,
if they are separated,
from the inestimable merits
of Jesus Christ, our Good.
And then, who will bring us
to love this Lord?”

Blessed Teresa Maria of the Cross OCD (1846–1910)if we never look at him or reflect - bl teresa maria of the cross 23 april 2019.jpg

Posted in MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 April – “..How is it you want to please Him only with words?

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One Minute Reflection – 23 April – Tuesday of Easter week, First Reading: Acts 2:36-41and the Memorial of Bl Teresa Maria of the Cross OCD (1846–1910)

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”   And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptised every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit...Acts 2:36-38acts-2-36-38 (1) now when they heard this they were cut to the heart 3 april 2018.jpg

REFLECTION – “Fix your eyes on the Crucified and everything will become easy for you. If His Majesty showed us His love by means of such works and frightful torments, how is it you want to please Him only with words?”…Bl Teresa Maria of the Cross (1846–1910)fix your eyes on the crucified - bl teresa maria of the cross 23 april 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, we confidently call You Father, as well as Lord. Renew Your Spirit in our hearts, make us ever more perfectly Your children.   Grant that all who have received the grace of Baptism may strive to be worthy of their Christian calling and reject everything opposed to it.   May the prayers of Bl Teresa Maria of the Cross (1846–1910), help us to grow in perseverance and strength as we follow in the way of the Cross..   Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.blessed teresa maria of the cross pray for us 23 april 2019.jpg

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The RESURRECTION

Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen, Alleluia! – 22 April – The Easter praise of Christ

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Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen, Alleluia! – 22 April – Monday of Easter Week

The Easter praise of Christ

Saint Melito of Sardis (Died 180)
Apostolic Father of the Church, Bishop and Martyr

An excerpt from his Easter Homily

We should understand, beloved, that the paschal mystery is at once old and new, transitory and eternal, corruptible and incorruptible, mortal and immortal.   In terms of the Law it is old, in terms of the Word it is new.   In its figure it is passing, in its grace it is eternal.   It is corruptible in the sacrifice of the lamb, incorruptible in the eternal life of the Lord  . It is mortal in his burial in the earth, immortal in his resurrection from the dead.

The Law indeed is old but the Word is new.   The type is transitory but grace is eternal. The lamb was corruptible but the Lord is incorruptible.   He was slain as a lamb. he rose again as God.   He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, yet he was not a sheep.   He was silent as a lamb, yet he was not a lamb.   The type has passed away; the reality has come. The lamb gives place to God, the sheep gives place to a man and the man is Christ, who fills the whole of creation.   The sacrifice of the lamb, the celebration of the Passover and the prescriptions of the Law have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.   Under the old Law and still more under the new dispensation, everything pointed toward Him.

Both the Law and the Word came forth from Zion and Jerusalem but now the Law has given place to the Word, the old to the new.   The commandment has become grace, the type a reality.   The lamb has become a Son, the sheep a man and man, God.

The Lord, though 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 that 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.come then all you nations of men - easter mon 22 april 2019 - christ is risen! st melito of sardis.jpg

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The RESURRECTION

Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen, Alleluia! – 22 April – “Behold, He is here!”

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Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen, Alleluia! – 22 April – Monday of Easter Week

Quote of the Day

“And He departed from our sight
that we might return to our hearts
and find Him there.
For He left us
and behold,
He is here!”

Saint Augustine (354-430)for he left us and behold he is here - st augustine - easter mon 22 april 2019.jpg

Posted in EASTER, MORNING Prayers, POETRY, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 22 April – And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!”

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One Minute Reflection – 22 April – Monday of Easter Week, Gospel: Matthew 28:8–15

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!”...Matthew 28:9

REFLECTION –
At dawn you were mourned
By women bearing spices,
Grant that my heart may also shed
Tears of fire for your burning love.

By grace of the angel’s tidings
Shouted from the pinnacle of the rock (Mt 28,2),
Let me hear the last trumpet sound
Proclaiming the resurrection.

With your body born of a Virgin
You were raised from a tomb, virgin and new,
You became for us the first-fruits
And firstborn from the dead

As for me, bound by the Foe
With the evil of bodily sin,
Set me free once more
As you have freed souls in the dwelling of the dead (1Pt 3:19).

You revealed yourself in the garden
To Mary Magdalene,
But have not consented to approach
One who is yet part of a fallen race.

Show yourself also to me on the eighth day,
At the great and final dawn
And graciously grant my unworthy soul
To draw near you at that time.

St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173)
Armenian Catholic Patriarchmatthew 28 9 and behold jesus mets them and said Hail - 22 april 2019 easter monday St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173)Armenian Catholic Patriarch.jpg

PRAYER – Lord God, grant that Your people may hold fast in life to the mystery of new birth, which they received in faith. May Your glorified Son, Jesus our Hope, who broke the power of hell, destroying sin and death, stay ever with us in our struggles against temptation and guide our steps along the path that leads to a holy earthly end and to You in everlasting life. Mary, holy Mother, please help your children. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with God The Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amenredemptoris mater pray for us 22 april 2019.jpg

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS

A Blessed and Holy Easter to you all!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

A Blessed and Holy Easter to you all!the-door-is-open-pope-benedict-1-april-2018 (1).jpg

Christós anésti.
Jesus Christ is risen! He is truly risen!
Alleluia
Amen

“The star of Bethlehem
shines forth in the dark night of sin.
Upon the radiance
that goes forth from the manger,
there falls the shadow of the cross.
In the dark of Good Friday,
the light is extinguished
but it rises more brightly, as the sun of grace.
on the morning of the resurrection.
The road of the incarnate Son of God,
is through the cross and suffering.
to the splendour of the resurrection.
To arrive with the Son of Man,
through suffering and death,
at this splendour of the resurrection,
is the road for each one of us,
for all mankind.”

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
[Edith Stein] (1891-1942)the star of bethlehem - st teresa benedicta 21 april 2019 for easter sunday.jpg

Day of resurrection, day of our joy !

A homily attributed to Saint John Chrysostom (345-407) – Father & Doctor

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Ps 118:24) Why? Because the sun is no longer darkened and everything is illuminated, the curtain in the Temple is no longer torn, the Church is revealed;  we are no longer holding palm branches, we are surrounding the newly baptised.

“This is the day the Lord has made”…   This now is the day in the real sense of the word, the triumphant day, the day consecrated to celebrating the resurrection, the day when we adorn ourselves with grace, the day when we share the spiritual Lamb, the day when we give milk to those who have just been born, the day when the plan of Providence for the poor is realised. “Let us rejoice and be glad in this day.”

This is the day when Adam was freed, when Eve was delivered from her pain, when savage death shuddered, when the power of rocks was broken, when the bars of the tomb were torn away…, when the unchangeable laws of the powers of hell were abrogated, when the heavens were opened because Christ, our Master, rose.

This is the day when, for the good of humankind, the green and fertile plant of the resurrection multiplied its offshoots all over the world as in a garden, when the lilies of the newly enlightened opened…, when the crowd of believers rejoices, when the martyrs’ crowns again grow green.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

a-blessed-and-holy-easter-to-you-all-1-april-2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CONFESSION/PENANCE, HOLY WEEK, HOLY WEEK 2019, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, STATIONS of the CROSS, The STATIONS of the CROSS

The Stations of the Cross – 20 April – Thirteenth & Fourteenth Stations

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The Stations of the Cross – 20 April – Holy Saturday, – Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

Pardon us, O Lord, pardon us
By William of Saint-Thierry OSB, O.Cist. (c 1075-1148)
Abbot, Monk, Theologian, Mystic, Writer
Friend of St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

Pardon us, O Lord, pardon us.
We beg to shift the blame for our sins,
we make excuses.
But no-one can hide
from the Light of Your Truth,
which both enlightens those,
who turn to it
and exposes those,
who turn away.
Even our blood and our bones
are visible to You,
who created us out of dust.
How foolish we are,
to think that we can rule our own lives,
satisfying our own desires,
without thought of You.
How stupid we are,
to imagine that we can keep our sins hidden.
But although we may deceive other people,
we cannot deceive You.
And since You see into our hearts,
we cannot deceive ourselves,
for Your Light reveals to us,
our own spiritual corruption.
Let us, therefore, fall down before You,
weeping with tears of shame.
May Your judgement,
give new shape to our souls.
May Your power,
mould our hearts
to reflect Your love.
May Your grace,
infuse our minds,
so that our thoughts
reflect Your Will.
Amenpardon us o lord pardon us by william saint thierry - 20 april 2019 holy sat.jpg

The Thirteenth Station
Jesus is taken from the Cross, and laid in Mary’s Bosom

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

THE multitude have gone home.   Calvary is left solitary and still, except that St John and the holy women are there.   Then come Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus and take down from the Cross the body of Jesus and place it in the arms of Mary.

O Mary, at last you have possession of your Son.   Now, when His enemies can do no more, they leave Him in contempt to you.   As His unexpected friends perform their difficult work, you look on with unspeakable thoughts.   Your heart is pierced with the sword of which Simeon spoke.   O Mother most sorrowful, yet in your sorrow there is a still greater joy.   The joy in prospect nerved you to stand by Him as He hung upon the Cross, much more now, without swooning, without trembling, you receive Him to your arms and on your lap.   Now you are supremely happy as having Him, though He comes to you not as He went from you.   He went from your home, O Mother of God, in the strength and beauty of His manhood and He comes back to you dislocated, torn to pieces, mangled, dead.   Yet, O Blessed Mary, you are happier in this hour of woe than on the day of the marriage feast, for then He was leaving you and now in the future, as a Risen Saviour, He will be separated from you no more.

Pater, Ave. &c. thirteenth station jesus is taken from the cross bl john henry newman 20 april 2019 holy sat

The Fourteenth Station
Jesus is laid in the Tomb

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

BUT for a short three days, for a day and a half—Mary then must give Him up.   He is not yet risen.   His friends and servants take Him from you and place Him in an honourable tomb.   They close it safely, till the hour comes for His resurrection.

Lie down and sleep in peace in the calm grave for a little while, dear Lord and then wake up for an everlasting reign.   We, like the faithful women, will watch around You, for all our treasure, all our life, is lodged with You.   And, when our turn comes to die, grant, sweet Lord, that we may sleep calmly too, the sleep of the just.   Let us sleep peacefully for the brief interval between death and the general resurrection.   Guard us from the enemy, save us from the pit.   Let our friends remember us and pray for us, O dear Lord. Let Masses be said for us, so that the pains of Purgatory, so much deserved by us and, therefore, so truly welcomed by us, may be over with little delay.   Give us seasons of refreshment there, wrap us round with holy dreams and soothing contemplations, while we gather strength to ascend the heavens.   And then let our faithful guardian Angels help us up the glorious ladder, reaching from earth to heaven, which Jacob saw in vision. And when we reach the everlasting gates, let them open upon us with the music of Angels and let St Peter receive us and our Lady, the glorious Queen of Saints, embrace us, and bring us to You, and to Your Eternal Father and to Your Co-equal Spirit, Three Persons, One God, to reign with Them forever and ever.

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.fourteenth station - tomb - bl john henry newman - 20 april 2019 holy sat

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my
whole heart for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself from You again
grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

LET US PRAY

God, Who by the Precious Blood of Your only-begotten Son did sanctify the Standard of the Cross, grant, we beseech You, that we, who rejoice in the glory of the same Holy Cross, may at all times and places, rejoice in Your protection, Through the same Christ, our Lord.   Amen.

Lord Jesus, I am too tired to go on but in You I find rest.
Lord Jesus, I feel so alone but You promised that You would never leave me.
Lord Jesus, I am so afraid but Your arms constantly protect me.
Lord Jesus, I cannot make it but You promise that You will carry me.
Lord Jesus, I am lost but through You and You alone I am found.

End with one Pater, Ave and Gloria, for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.

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Holy Week Thoughts – 20 April – He slept so that we might be awakened, He died so that we might live.

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Holy Week Thoughts – 20 April – Holy Saturday – Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

“Darkness is not dark for you and night shines as the day” (Ps 138:12)

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

We who are mortal need to sleep to restore our strength and, therefore, we interrupt our lives with this image of death that yet leaves us at least some scraps of life.   In the same way all those who live in chastity, innocence and fervour, prepare for themselves the life of angels, in exchange for this burden of death, they will receive grace in the eternal life… Now, my brothers, listen to these few words I want to tell you about this coming night that we are about to live through…

Our Lord Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead on the third day, no Christian doubts this.   The Holy Gospels testify, that this event occurred during this night…  It is not from light to darkness but from darkness to light that we struggle to emerge.   The apostle Paul warns us:  “The night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us throw off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light” (Rom 13:12)… Hence we will stay up on this night when the Lord was raised and began, in His flesh, that life of which I spoke to you before, the life that has no death nor sleep.   And the flesh that He raised from the tomb, will not die again or fall any longer under the law of death.

The women who loved Him came at dawn to visit His tomb, instead of finding His body they heard the voice of angels announcing His resurrection.   No doubt then. that He was raised on the night before this dawn.   Thus He, whose resurrection we celebrate during our long vigils, will make us reign with Him in an everlasting life  . And even if, while we were watching, His body were still in the tomb and had not yet been raised, our watching would still have all its meaning, since He slept so that we might be awakened, He died so that we might live.psalm 138 12 darkness is not dark - he slept so that we might be awakend - st augustine holy sat 20 april 2019.jpg

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Quote/s of the Day – 20 April – Yes, Lord, make us Easter people

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Quote/s of the Day – 20 April – Holy Saturday – Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

“We give glory to You, Lord,
who raised up Your Cross to span the jaws of death
like a bridge by which souls might pass
from the region of the dead to the land of the living. ..
You are incontestably alive.
Your murderers sowed Your living body in the earth
as farmers sow grain but it sprang up
and yielded an abundant harvest of men
raised from the dead.”

St Ephrem the Syrian (306-373) Father & Doctor of the Churchwe-give-glory-to-you-lord-st-ephrem-30-march-2018-good-friday.jpg

“Sursum corda” – lift up your hearts, high above the tangled web of our concerns, desires, anxieties and thoughtlessness – “Lift up your hearts, your inner selves!”   In both exclamations we are summoned, as it were, to a renewal of our Baptism: “Conversi ad Dominum” – we must distance ourselves ever anew from taking false paths, onto which we stray so often in our thoughts and actions.   We must turn ever anew towards Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.   We must be converted ever anew, turning with our whole life towards the Lord.   And ever anew we must allow our hearts to be withdrawn from the force of gravity, which pulls them down and inwardly we must raise them high,in truth and love.   At this hour, let us thank the Lord, because through the power of His word and of the holy Sacraments, He points us in the right direction and draws our heart upwards.”

Pope Benedict

22 March 2008susum-corda-lift-up-your-hearts-pope-benedict-easter-vigil-holy-sat-31-march-2018.jpg

Yes, Lord, make us Easter people,
men and women of light,
filled with the fire of Your love.
Amen

Pope Francisyes-lord-make-us-easter-people-31-march-2018-holy-sat.jpg

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Friday of the Passion of the Lord, 3 p.m.

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The Stations of the Cross – 19 April – Friday of the Passion of the Lord, 3 p.m.

Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Begin with an Act of Contrition

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.
V. We adore You, O Christ and we bless You.
R. Because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world.

The Twelfth Station
Lord Jesus, You die on the cross

You hang on a cross like a criminal, a few faithful gather at Your feet.   Your mother is there as her Son drips to death for His human creatures.
Yet, even nailed to a cross and dying from the torture, there is no mercy for You.
You ask for a small compassion and are given gall to drink.
There is no mercy for You, yet You constantly plead for mercy for me.
You even give me the Mother that You chose for Yourself.
And in Your passion, without solace, alone in the midst of the crowd, cut off from everyone, You are utterly alone.
Defiled even as You die, cursed and ignored with no possibility of human comfort, You cry out Your agony from the cross and at that moment tear, any barrier, between Your Father and me.
I should be the one hanging on that cross, guilty with all my sin but out of love, You have taken my place.
You give your last drop of precious blood and then looking at me, You breathe Your last, bow Your head, and die…for me.

V. Have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Have mercy on us.twelfth station jesus dies on the cross - bl john henry newman 19 april good friday 2019.jpg

I love You, Lord Jesus,
my love above all things,
I repent with my
whole heart for having
offended You.
Never permit me
to separate myself
from You again
grant that I may love always
and then do with me
what You will.
(St Alphonsus Liguori)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Bei love you lord jesus - st alphonsus - 19 april 2019 - good friday.jpg

Posted in HOLY WEEK, HOLY WEEK 2019, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

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

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Quote/s of the Day – Friday of the Passion of the Lord – 19 April

“Jesus was in a garden,
not of delight as the first Adam,
in which he destroyed himself
and the whole human race
but in one of agony,
in which He saved Himself
and the whole human race.”

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)jesus-was-in-a-garden-not-of-delight-blaise-pascal-30-march-good-friday-30 march 2018

“Take your crucifix in your hand
and ask yourselves whether this is the religion
of the soft, easy, worldly, luxurious days in which we live;
whether the crucifix does not teach you
a lesson of mortification, of self-denial, of crucifixion of the flesh.”

Cardinal Henry Edward Manning (1808-1892)take-your-crucifix-in-your-hand-card-henry-edward-manning-holy-thursday-29-march-2018

“As is well known, the initial cry of the Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, is recorded by the Gospels of Matthew and Mark as the cry uttered by Jesus dying on the Cross (cf. Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34). It expresses all the desolation of the Messiah, Son of God, who is facing the drama of death, a reality totally opposed to the Lord of life. Forsaken by almost all His followers, betrayed and denied by the disciples, surrounded by people who insult Him, Jesus is under the crushing weight of a mission that was to pass through humiliation and annihilation. This is why He cried out to the Father and His suffering took up the sorrowful words of the Psalm. But His is not a desperate cry, nor was that of the Psalmist who, in his supplication, takes a tormented path which nevertheless opens out at last into a perspective of praise, into trust in the divine victory.”

Pope Benedict XVI

General Audience 14 September 2011as-is-well-known-on-my-god-my-god-why-hast-thou-forsaken-me-29-march-2018-holy-thursday-pope-benedict

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One Minute Reflection – 19 April – Christ crucified!

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One Minute Reflection – Friday of the Passion of the Lord – 19 April, Gospel: John 18:1–19:42

There they crucified him and with him two others, one on either side and Jesus between them….John 18:18

REFLECTION – “Great thing is the knowledge of the crucified Christ.   How many things are enclosed inside this treasure!   Christ crucified!   Such is the hidden treasure of wisdom and science.   Do not be deceived, then, under the pretext of wisdom.   Gather before the covering and pray, that it may be uncovered.   Foolish philosopher of this world, what you are looking for is worthless… What is the advantage of being thirsty, if you despise the source? …  And what is His precept but that we believe in Him and love each other?   In whom?   In Christ crucified.   This is His commandment – that we believe in Christ crucified … But where humility is, there is also majesty, where weakness is, there shall one find power, where death is, there shall be life as well.  If you wish to arrive at the second part, do not despise the first!“…St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church – Sermon 160, 3-4) this is his commandment - st augustine - good friday 19 april 2019.jpg

PRAYER –
Jesu! by that shuddering dread which fell on Thee;
Jesu! by that cold dismay which sicken’d Thee;
Jesu! by that pang of heart which thrill’d in Thee;
Jesu! by that mount of sins which crippled Thee;
Jesu! by that sense of guilt which stifled Thee;
Jesu! by that innocence that girded Thee;
Jesu! by that sanctity that reign’d in Thee;
Jesu! by that Godhead which was one with Thee;
Jesu! spare those souls which are so dear to Thee;
Who in prison, calm and patient, wait for Thee;
Hasten, Lord, their hour and bid them come to Thee;
To that glorious Home, where they shall ever gaze on Thee.
Amen
The Angel of the Agony
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)the-angel-of-the-agony-bl-john-henry-newman-good-friday-19 april 2018

 

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Don’t let go of the Cross of Christ – St Augustine

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Friday of the Passion of the Lord – 19 April

“When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last, he said: ‘Truly, this man is the Son of God!’ ” (Mk 15:39)

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

Sermons on Saint John’s Gospel, no 2

“In the beginning was the Word, the Utterance of God” (cf. Jn 1:1).   He is one and the same with Him;  what He is, He is always;  He is without change, He is being. This is the name He made known to His servant Moses:  “I am who I am” and  “You will say:   I AM sent me to you” (Ex 3:14)…   Who could understand this?   Who could reach Him – supposing he were to direct all the powers of his soul as best he may to reaching Him who is?   I will compare Him to an exile who sees his homeland from afar – the sea is separating him from it, he knows where he has to go but has no means of getting there.   In the same way we want to reach that final haven which will be our own, where is the One who Is, for He alone is always the same.   But the ocean of this world blocks the way…

He who calls us, came here below, to give us the means of getting there.   He chose the wood that would enable us to cross the sea – indeed, no-one can Cross the ocean of this world, who is not borne by the Cross of Christ.   Even the blind can cling to this Cross.   If you can’t see where you are going very well, don’t let go of it, it will guide you by itself.  So then, brethren, this is what I should like to impress on your hearts, if you want to live in a spirit of devotion, a christian spirit, cling to Christ just as He became for us, so as to rejoin Him as He is now and as He has always been.   This is why He came down to us, for He became man that He might take up the weak, enabling them to cross the sea and disembark into the homeland, where a ship is no longer needed, because there is no more ocean to cross.

In all events, it would be better for one’s soul not to see Him who is and to embrace Christ’s Cross, than to see Him spiritually but despise the Cross.   So, for our own happiness, may we both see where we are going and cling to the ship that is taking us there…!   Some have succeeded and have seen what He is.   It was because he had seen Him that John said:   “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”   They saw Him and, to attain what they saw from afar, they clung to the Cross of Christ.   They did not despise the humility of Christ.he who calls us - friday of the passion of the lord - st augustine - 19 april 2019.jpg