CATHOLIC Quotes – Page 237

PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERCY, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 5 April – “A saint of the ordinary?”

Posted on April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio OSA (1905-1983)

Blessed Mariano has been called “a saint of the ordinary”, this giving, loving and holy man who spent all he had for his people. Is this ‘ordinary’, is this how ‘ordinary’ folk live, though we should be living thus. Is St Mother Teresa, who likewise, gave all, what we would call an ordinary saint . For the suffering sheep are the beloved of God, they are not ordinary, they are His most in need of the extraordinary love and charity of us, ‘the ordinary.’

I am reminded of the words of Fr Henri Nouwen (1932-1996):

“Visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, consoling the dying or sheltering the homeless, may not catch the public eye and are often perceived as irrelevant when put in the perspective of a possible nuclear holocaust. There are many voices that say: ‘These little acts of mercy are a waste of time when we consider the urgency of stopping the arms race, etc etc.” But the peacemaker knows that true peace is a divine gift that has nothing to do with statistics or measures of success and popularity. Peace is like life itself. It manifests itslef quietly and gently.
Who can say that a lost afternoon with a sick friend is in truth not much more than an interruption of ‘true’ peace work?
Who knows?
Jesus’ way is the humble way. He calls out to use – “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.'”

Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio , Pray for Us!

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, POETRY, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Lenten Thoughts – 5 April ‘ But You God”

Posted on April 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

And now, my heavy laden soul,
what will you do?
You call with your lips and voice to
God most high,
God, who cares only for deeds and
is not taken in by words.
You, my soul, with a heart always turned toward Egypt,
how can I describe you?

Am I
a Sodom, to be punished likewise with destruction,
or the prosecutor of Ninevah, who was struck dumb?

Am I
more cowardly and barbarous than the
queen of the south,
lower than Canaan,
more stubborn than Amalek,
incurable as the city of idols,
a relic left behind from the rebellion of Israel,
a reminder of the broken covenant of Judah,
more reproachable than Tyre,
more shunned than Zidon,
more immoral than Galilee,
more unpardonable than faithless Capernaum,
maligned like Korazin,
slandered like Bethsaida?

Or am I
immodest as Ephraim as he prayed,
or a dove, whose gentleness seems due to
feeblemindedness and not to inner calm,
or an evil serpent born of lion’s cubs,
or the serpent’s egg filled with decay,
or like the last blow against Jerusalem?

Or am I
in the words of our Lord
and the sayings of the prophets,
an abandoned tabernacle about to collapse,
the unlatched doors of the stronghold,
my speaking edifice stained again,
having given up my rightful inheritance,
my home built by God,
as Moses, David and Jeremiah prophesied?
My thinking body now consumed by disease,
afflicted with carping counsel, rehabilitated by the law,
anointed with the clay of mildness,
incapable of finding my own salvation,
torn away from the maker’s hand,
expelled as just punishment
by order of the Almighty, to an unholy place,
rejected, exiled, greatly shunned, nothing spared,
having buried my gift in the ground,
like the one chastised in the Gospel by
losing his inheritance.

But You, God,
Lord of souls and all flesh,
in the words of one divinely graced,
You are long-suffering and abounding in mercy.
In the voice of blessed Jonah,
grant that I finish to Your delight
this book of prayers, now begun.
And having sown these words with tears
and set forth on this journey toward the dwellings You have prepared,
may I return joyfully in the time of harvest
with the bounty of atonement,
with sheaves of goodness and the fruits of delight.

St Gregory of Narek (950-1003) – Fathe & Doctor of the Church

“If you elevate yourself,
God distances Himself from you.
If you humble yourself,
He leans towards you.”

St Augustine (354-430)

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Quote of the Day – 5 April – “Humility”

Posted on April 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer OP (1350-1419)

“Once humility is acquired,
charity will come to life,
like a burning flame,
devouring the corruption of vice
and filling the heart so full,
that there is no place for vanity.”…

St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, LENT 2019, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 5 April – “Love…more powerful than sin.”

Posted on April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 5 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Wisdom 2:1A, 12-22; Psalm 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23; John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)

Encyclical « Dives in Misericordia » # 8

“You know me and you know where I come from?
But I have not come of my own accord;
he who sent me is true and him you do not know.”…John 7:28

The Paschal Mystery is Christ at the summit of the revelation of the inscrutable mystery of God. It is precisely then that the words pronounced in the Upper Room are completely fulfilled: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). In fact, Christ, whom the Father “did not spare” (Rm 8:32) for the sake of man and who in His passion and in the torment of the cross did not obtain human mercy, has revealed in His resurrection, the fullness of the love that the Father has for Him and, in Him, for all people. “He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Mk 12:27).

In His resurrection Christ has revealed the God of merciful love, precisely because He accepted the cross as the way to the resurrection. And, it is for this reason, that, when we recall the cross of Christ, His passion and death, our faith and hope are centred on the Risen One – on that Christ who “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, . . .stood among them” in the upper Room, “where the disciples were, …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’ ” (Jn 20:19).

Here is the Son of God, who in His resurrection, experienced in a radical way, mercy shown to Himself, that is to say the love of the Father which is more powerful than death. And it is also the same Christ, the Son of God, who… reveals Himself as the inexhaustible source of mercy, of the same love… more powerful than sin.

Daily Meditation:
May we reach out with joy to grasp Your hand.

We keep acknowledging that God is the source of our life.
We realise that we have been seeking other sources of life.
We recognise our weakness and turn to God for help.
Though our hearts are being opened up to their depths,
though we cry out to God for help, we are not discouraged.

The Lord is near to broken hearts.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Psalm 34:18-19

Closing Prayer:
Loving God of forgiveness,
I come before You humbled and sad
in the face of my own repeated failings.
I hold out my hands as a petitioner would,
asking for mercy.
It is then that I feel You reach out and take my hand
in Your loving grasp.
Thank You for the love You pour out on me so lavishly.
Help me to follow more closely
in the path You have set for me,
the path of Your Son.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen john 7 28 you know me - fridayfourtheweeklent 5 april 2019

CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 4 April – St Isidore of Seville

Posted on April 4, 2019April 2, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Isidore of Seville (560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church

“The suffering of adversity
does not degrade you but exalts you.
Human tribulation teaches you,
it does not destroy you.
The more we are afflicted in this world,
the greater is our assurance for the next.
The more we sorrow in the present,
..the greater will be our joy in the future.”

“Confession heals,
Confession justifies,
Confession grants pardon of sin,
all hope consists in Confession;
in Confession there is
a chance for mercy.”

St Isidore of Seville (560-636)

Father & Doctor of the Church

LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on HYPOCRISY, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 4 April – Fertile excuses and evasions

Posted on April 4, 2019April 4, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Exodus 32:7-14; Psalms 106:19-20, 21-22, 23; John 5:31-47

“…you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he has sent.”...John 5:38 THURSDAYFOURTHERWEEKLENT - 4 APRIL 2018 JOHN 5 38.jpg

Fertile excuses and evasions
Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Next I observe that a civilised age is more exposed to subtle sins than a rude age. Why? For this simple reason- because it is more fertile in excuses and evasions. It can defend error and hence, can blind the eyes of those who have not very careful consciences. It can make error plausible, it can make vice look like virtue. It dignifies sin by fine names; it calls avarice proper care of one’s family, or industry, it calls pride independence, it calls ambition greatness of mind; resentment it calls proper spirit and sense of honour and so on.

…What all of us want more than anything else, what this age wants, is that its intellect and its will should be under a law. At present it is lawless, its will is its own law, its own reason is the standard of all truth . It does not bow to authority, it does not submit to the law of faith. It is wise in its own eyes and it relies on its own resources. And you, as living in the world, are in danger of being seduced by it and being a partner in its sin and so coming in, at the end, for its punishment. this-age-dignifies-sin-bljhnewman 10 march 2017.jpg

Daily Meditation:
Lead us to the joy of Easter.
We are still aware of our patterns.
We still are realigning our priorities.
We are still trying to simplify
and trying to eat in solidarity with others.
Most of all, we are still asking for a change of heart.

They made a calf in Horeb
and worshipped a molten image.
They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
Psalm 106:19-20

Closing Prayer:
Merciful Father, Loving Mother,
I know that the tiny sacrifices I make this Lent
can never serve as a real penance in my life.
But help me to make my whole life
one of following Your Son.
Listening to Him, seeking Him.
I am filled with Your love.
Let Your love shine out from within me
and guide my life in this sacred journey
toward the Easter joy You offer me.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 April – “A veil hid Him from their eyes”

Posted on April 4, 2019April 4, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: John 5:31–47 and the Memorial of St Isidore (c 560-636) Father & Doctor of the Church

“If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me.”…John 5:46

REFLECTION – “Moses face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. Aaron and the other Israelites saw (it)… and were afraid to come near him… When Moses had finished speaking with them, he would again put the veil over his face” (cf. Ex 34:29f.). The radiance lighting up Moses’ face was Christ shining within him but He was hidden from the eyes of the Hebrews who did not see him… The Old Testament as a whole is shown to us, veiled like Moses, the symbol of all prophecy. Underneath this veil, displayed by the lips of the prophets, Christ appears, a judge in majesty, seated on his throne of glory…

If Moses was veiled, what other prophet could have uncovered his face? All veiled their speech in imitation of him. They simultaneously heralded and veiled, they put forth their message and, at the same time, covered it with a veil… Because Jesus shone out in their books, a veil hid Him from their eyes, a veil that makes known to all the world how the words of Holy Scripture contain a hidden meaning…

Our Lord lifted this veil when He expounded His mysteries to the whole of creation. By His coming, the Son of God uncovered Moses’ face, the incomprehensible words, that up to then had been veiled. The new covenant has come to interpret the old, now, at last, the world is able to grasp those words that nothing covers any longer. The Lord, our Sun, has arisen over the world and illumined every living being, mysteries and enigmas are at last made clear. The veil that used to cover those books has been removed and the world beholds the Son of God with uncovered face.”…St Jacob of Sarug (c 451-521) Syrian Bishop and Monk

PRAYER – Father almighty, grant us Your good grace to trust completely in the Word made Flesh whom You sent to lead us to our heavenly home and save us from our evil ways. As we proceed by penance and prayer, grant us now perseverance in listening to Him and learning from Him. May the prayers of St Isidore, assist us on our journey. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God with You, now and forever, amen.

LENT 2019, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 4 April – The Promise

Posted on April 4, 2019April 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 4 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

The Promise
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

And lastly, O my dear Lord,
though I am so very weak
that I am not fit to ask You
for suffering as a gift
and have not strength to do so,
at least I will beg of You,
grace to meet suffering well,
when You, in Your love and wisdom,
brings it upon me,
knowing that in this way,
I shall gain the promise,
both of this life and of the next.
Amen the promise - bl john henry newman 4 april 2019.jpg

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

April Devotion – The Blessed Sacrament

Posted on April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

April Devotion – The Blessed Sacrament

Other Christians, most notably the Eastern Orthodox, some Anglicans and some Lutherans, believe in the Real Presence, that is, they believe, as we Catholics do, that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament of the altar (though only Catholics define this change as transubstantiation).

However, only the Catholic Church has developed the practice of Eucharistic adoration. Every Catholic Church contains a Tabernacle in which the Body of Christ is reserved between Masses and the faithful are encouraged to come and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Frequent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is a path to spiritual growth. april-devotion

Eucharistic Adoration
The practice of Eucharistic adoration on earth not only brings us grace but prepares us for our life in Heaven. As Ven Pope Pius XII wrote in Mediator Dei (1947):

“These exercises of piety have brought a wonderful increase in faith and supernatural life to the Church militant upon earth and they are reechoed to a certain extent by the Church triumphant in heaven which sings continually a hymn of praise to God and to the Lamb “who was slain.”

This month, why not make a special effort to spend some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament? It doesn’t need to be long or elaborate – You can start simply by making the Sign of the Cross and uttering a short profession of faith, such as “My Lord and my God!” as you pass a Catholic church. If you have the time to stop for five minutes, all the better.

“A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent
in sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

“When you want to find me, come near the tabernacle.”

St Pio of Pietrelcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SANCTITY, Thomas a Kempis

Lenten Thoughts – 3 April – O Fountain of Everlasting Love

Posted on April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis (1380-1471): Book 3, Chapter 10

That it is sweet to despise the world and to serve God.

Now, will I speak again, O Lord and will not be silent, I will say in the hearing of my God and my King Who is on high: Oh, how great is the abundance of Your sweetness, O Lord, which You have hidden for those that fear You!

But what are You, for those who love You? What, to those who serve You with their whole heart? Unspeakable indeed, is the sweetness of Your contemplation, which You bestow on those who love You. In this most of all, have You shown me the sweetness of Your love, that when I had no being, You did make me and when I was straying far from You, You brought me back again, that I might serve You and You have commanded me to serve You.

O Fountain of everlasting love, what shall I say of You? How can I forget You, Who have vouchsafed to remember me even after I was corrupted and lost?

Beyond all hope, You show mercy to Your servant and beyond all desert, have You manifested Your grace and friendship. What return shall I make to You for this favour? For it is granted to all who forsake these things, to renounce the world and to assume the monastic life . Is it much that I should serve You, Whom the whole creation is bound to serve? It ought not to seem much to me to serve You but this does rather appear great and wonderful to me, that You vouchsafe to receive one so wretched and unworthy as Your servant. It is a great honour, a great glory, to serve You and to despise all things for You for they who willingly subject themselves to Your holy service, shall have great grace. They shall experience the most sweet consolation of the Holy Spirit, Who for the love of You, have cast aside all carnal delight. o fountain of everlasting love - thomas a kempis 3 april 2019.jpg

QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 3 April – I am unable to live a mere earthly life!

Posted on April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)

“I feel within my soul an impulse
which spurs me onto God.
I am unable to live a mere earthly life!…
I must raise myself above all worldly things
in order to live for God alone,
to sacrifice myself for priests
and to console the Pierced Heart of Jesus.
Thus fulfilling His desire of love
toward me and toward souls.”

Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The LAMB of GOD, The LAST THINGS, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Lenten Reflection – 3 April – “The dead will hear his voice”

Posted on April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 3 April – Wednesday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Isaiah 49:8-15; Psalms 145:8-9, 13CD-14, 17-18; John 5:17-30

Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming, when all who are in the tombs, will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement.…John 5:28-29 wed of the fourth week lent - john 528-29 3 april 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
Grant us Your forgiveness.

We know that this whole journey is about our reconciliation.
We know that God wants to forgive us.
We know we are preparing to renew our Baptismal promises,
and “refuse to be mastered by sin.”
Today we hear the invitation and ask more earnestly.

In the marvellous discourse that follows His sign of healing,
Jesus says, “I am not seeking my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
I am filled with a sense of sorrow and gratitude,
as I see what He did for me.

I tell you for certain that everyone who hears my message
and has faith in the one who sent me has eternal life
and will never be condemned.
They have already gone from death to life.
John 5:24

“The dead will hear his voice” – “Lazarus, come forth” (Jn 11:43)

Saint Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Father & Doctor of the Church

Our Lord had raised Jairus’s daughter but while the body was still warm and death was only halfway through its work (Mt 9:18f.)… He also raised the widow’s only son but by halting the stretcher and forestalling the tomb… before the dead man had fallen completely under the law of death (Lk 7:11f.). But the whole event that takes place with regard to Lazarus is unique.. Lazarus, in whom all death’s power had been completed and in whom, equally, a complete image of the resurrection shone out… Christ, indeed, returned as Lord on the third day; Lazarus, as servant, was called back to life on the fourth day…

The Lord said and repeated to His disciples: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified” (Mt 20:18f.). And when He said this, He saw them growing uncertain, sad, comfortless. He knew they had to be crushed by the weight of His Passion until nothing of their own life, their own faith, their own light would remain within them but, to the contrary, their hearts would be darkened with the almost total darkness of their lack of faith. That is the reason why He let Lazarus’s death continue for four days… From this follows what our Lord said to His disciples: “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe” (vv.14-15). Therefore Lazarus’s death was necessary so that the disciples’ faith might rise from the tomb along with Lazarus.

“That I was not there.” Now was there anywhere where Christ was not?… My brethren, Christ as God was there but Christ the man was not. Christ God was there when Lazarus was dying but now Christ man was going to the dead man because Christ our Lord was going enter into death: “It is there, in death, in the tomb, in hell, that all the power of death is to be crushed through me and my death.”

Closing Prayer:
Loving and merciful God,
I am so aware of my sins and weaknesses.
But as painfully aware of my faults as I am,
Let me also remember Your tender love,
Your gentle and limitless forgiveness.
I come before You filled with pain and guilt
but look into Your eyes and see the forgiving love of my Father,
I so long for in my life.
Help me to forgive the same way.
Teach me to love as You love.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Saint of the Day – 3 April – Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)

Posted on April 3, 2019April 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 3 April – Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937) – Religious Sister and Founder of the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Priests known as Little Friends of Jesus , Apostle of Eucharistic Adoration, of Prayer especially for priests. Also known as Sister Maria Serafina of the Heart of Jesus Pierced and Mother Maria Teresa. Additional Memorial – 29 October (Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, diocese of Frascati, Italy, based on the date of her baptism). Born on 27 October 1864 in Frascati, Italy and died around 5am on 3 April 1937 at Oblate monastery on the via del Casaletto in Grottaferrata, Rome, Italy of natural causes, aged 72.

Maria Teresa Casini was born on 27 October 1864 to Tommaso Casini and Melania Rayner as their first born daughter, she was baptised on 29 October.

She travelled to Rome for her studies at the Santa Rufina boarding school that the nuns of the Madams of the Sacred Heart conducted. She received her First Communion on 7 May 1878 which solidified her vocation. Due to a period of ill health, she had to leave school and return home for recuperation. bl maria teresa casini young

Shortly after she turned eighteen, she responded to her vocation and met Father Arsenio Pellegrini who became her guide and her spiritual director and who served as the Abbot of the Basilian Monks of Grottaferrata. Despite entering the convent, ill health forced her to leave, though she attempted to enter once again yet failed due to the death of the foundress after which the institute she joined ceased to exist.

In due time, she became a nun after entering the monastery of Sepolte Vive in Rome on 2 February 1885. Casini only started to live in Grottaferrata with fellow entrants from 17 October 1892 onwards. On 2 February 1894, she founded the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

It was not until 1925 that Casini started the special work of the “Little Friends of Jesus” in order to promote and to cultivate the vocations of prospective priests. The group’s special character came to life when Cardinal Francesco Satolli requested Casini and her congregation to take up new and vigorous apostolic work. This group also worked for the sanctification of all priests and so the group opened a boarding school for males in order to please the Lord’s request for good and wholesome priests.

Throughout her life, Casini offered “the oblation of herself, in faithful response to the Love that overflows from the open Heart of the Savior, and which she imparted to so many daughters and priests”. This even earned the praise of Pope Pius X in 1904 who wrote: “In order to bring about the reign of Jesus Christ, nothing is more necessary than the sanctity of the clergy. God bless these sisters for their selfless love for these men of God, for through them, through the sacraments, we are fortified and purified for the journey”.

Casini grew ill in the final years of her life and she died in 1937. Her final words were: “I am peaceful. I feel God is near me”.

Casini’s order continues to flourish on an international level in places such as Africa, the United States of America, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, India, Guinea Bissau. The Generalate is in Rome and the Motherhouse is in Grottaferrata, Italy.

The first of the males of the Little Friends of Jesus that Casini herself oversaw was ordained as a priest in 1938. bl maria teresa casini 2

Blessed Maria Teresa was buried in the chapel of the Zealots of the Sacred Heart in a nearby cemetery and her remains were re-interred at the Generalate of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart in Grottaferrata on 20 May 1965. She was Beatified on 31 October 2015 by Pope Francis. The Beatification recognition was celebrated at the Piazza San Pietro at the cathedral in Frascati, Italy, presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato. Her Beatification miracle involved the 25 – 27 June 2003 healing of the brain lesions and trauma of Jacob “Jack” Ronald Sebest, a five year old drowning victim in Youngstown, Ohio. canonisation bl maria teresa maxresdefault.jpg

The Oblate Sisters are called to live and to participate intimately in the Oblation of Jesus to the Father, to repair and console His Pierced Heart, with an intense life of prayer and unconditional gift of ourselves, so that Priests may be holy. They also care for retired and convalescent priests in special homes which they administer.

From their Constitution:
“The exclusive pursuit of God – which is the goal of our community life – is the foundation of that spirit of prayer that must characterise our whole existence as
Christians, religious and Oblates. From the spirit of prayer, springs prayer itself as the source and fundamental expression of our community and personal life because “the Oblate’s life is intimately tied to the altar.” In founding the Institute, Mother
Teresa wanted to root it in faith, prayer and that unconditional gift of herself to priests, which knew no limits in our first sisters, if not in the consummation of life itself.

In silent and adoring prayer we express the typical attitude of our consecration and
Oblate spirituality, because with it, we join our feelings to the feelings of Jesus Himself, which are an endless act of love and an unceasing supplication to the Father for the Church and for its priests. Our individual prayer finds its climax in daily adoration. It brings us close to the altar, seen as the true source of our specific mission in the Church: suppliant and atoning prayer for the holiness of priests.”

“The life Jesus leads in the Sacrament of His love and which the Oblate must imitate and make her own is this – a life of generous and limitless sacrifice… a life of incessant prayer …a life of obedience… a life of poverty…”….Blessed Mother Maria Teresa

QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 2 April – A martyr dies and his rule begins.

Posted on April 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 2 April – The Memorial of St Pedro Calungsod (1654–1672) Martyr

SOREN Kierkegaard once said,
“A tyrant dies and his rule ends.
A martyr dies and his rule begins.”

Pope Benedict XVI referred to San Pedro Calungsod in his homily by his English and German name ‘Peter’. Without saying it directly the Holy Father was signalling all of us to go beyond our usual, if natural, patriotic yet myopic perspective when looking at San Pedro’s elevation to the altar of the Lord. San Pedro or St Peter Calungsod now belongs to the whole Church or, rather, to the whole believing world. We need to rejoice, as he is now officially one of our intercessors with God, for our various needs and concerns.

We need San Pedro Calungsod’s courage to shine through our efforts to face up to the spears of secularism, materialism and hedonism that subject our young and adult Filipinos under constant attack. We need the same courage of San Pedro Calungsod who did not abandon a priest-mentor-friend in mortal danger, to prod us not to abandon what we once heard from the tender lips of our mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers and catechists – the things of God, of His Son Jesus Christ, of His Church, of eternal life, not only of the life here and now.

The early Christian writer Tertullian once wrote, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.” May the blood of St Pedro Calungsod give birth to all of us becoming more Christ-like, not abandoning the truth of the Lord for the tricks of the world.

Then we, like him, shall rediscover the secret of eternal youth.
Fr Eutiquio Belizar SThD (Excerpt)

St Pedro Calungsod, Pray for us!

CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, Thomas a Kempis

Lenten Thoughts – 2 April – “If you wish…” Thomas à Kempis

Posted on April 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

On the Fervent Amendment of our Whole Life

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

“When a certain anxious person, who often times wavered between hope and fear, once overcome with sadness, threw himself upon the ground in prayer, before one of the altars in the Church and thinking these things in his mind, said “Oh, if I only knew how to persevere,” that very instant he heard within him, this heavenly answer: “And if thou did know this, what would thou do? Do now what you would do and thou shall be perfectly secure.” And immediately being consoled and comforted, he committed himself to the Divine Will and his anxious thoughts ceased. He no longer wished for curious things, searching to find out what would happen to him but studied rather to learn what was the acceptable and perfect will of God for the beginning and the perfection of every good work.”

“If you wish to enter into life, keep My commandments.
If you will know the truth, believe in Me.
If you will be perfect, sell all.
If you will be My disciple, deny yourself.
If you will possess the blessed life, despise this present life.
If you will be exalted in heaven, humble yourself on earth.
If you wish to reign with Me, carry the Cross with Me.
For only the servants of the Cross find the life of blessedness and of true light.”

“MY CHILD, the more you depart from yourself,
the more you will be able to enter into Me.
As the giving up of exterior things, brings interior peace,
so the forsaking of self, unites you to God.
I will have you learn perfect surrender to My will,
without contradiction or complaint.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
The Imitation of Christ

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Quote of the Day – 2 April – Fix on your minds on the Passion

Posted on April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Francis of Paola O.M. (1416-1507)

“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 O.M. (1416-1507)

LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on TRUTH, The WORD, Thomas a Kempis

Lenten Reflection – 2 April – For Me!

Posted on April 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9; John 5:1-16

“Without the Way, there is no going,
Without the Truth, there is no knowing,
Without the Life, there is no living.”

“Follow Me. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Without the Way, there is no going.
Without the Truth, there is no knowing.
Without the Life, there is no living.
I am the Way which you must follow,
the Truth which you must believe,
the Life for which you must hope.
I am the inviolable Way,
the infallible Truth,
the unending Life.
I am the Way that is straight,
the supreme Truth,
the Life that is true,
the blessed, the uncreated Life.
If you abide in My Way you shall know the Truth
and the Truth shall make you free
and you shall attain life everlasting.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
The Imitation of Christ

follow-me-the-imitation-of-christ-for-lent-12-feb-2018.jpg

Daily Meditation:
Our embrace leads to praise.

This is second part of Lent.
We begin to feel the power of the Fourth Gospel.
The “forces” that are opposed in the gospel
have everything to do with the forces at work in my heart.
He is clearly about to embrace His passage – His passover – from death to life.
This paschal mystery is what we are preparing to celebrate.

As we grow in love and compassion for what Jesus is facing for us,
we ask to be prepared to embrace His way, His path,
the pattern of His dying and rising.
We ask that we would be prepared to proclaim this gift to others, with great joy

“It was because Jesus did things such as this on the Sabbath that they began to persecute him.” …John 5:16
For me!

Closing Prayer:
Joyful praise in Lent?
I’m not sure I always feel that.
I ask you to help me prepare to understand
and embrace the paschal mystery in my life.
I don’t always see the beauty and mystery of this season
and often I run from the pain.
Help me to see how Your saving grace
and Your loving touch in my life
can fill me with joyful praise of the salvation
You have sent to me.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen lent tues of the fourth week john 5 16 it was because 2 april 2019.jpg

LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 2 April

Posted on April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Francis of Paola O.M. (1416-1507) and St Pedro Calungsod (1654–1672) Martyr

So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me said to me, ‘Take up your pallet, and walk.’ ”...John 5:10-11

REFLECTION – “Christian hypocrites, like these, only interested in their formalities. It was a Sabbath? No, you cannot do miracles on the Sabbath, the grace of God cannot work on Sabbath days. They close the door to the grace of God. We have so many in the Church, we have many! It is another sin. The first, those who have the sin of sloth, are not able to go forward with their apostolic zeal, because they have decided to stand firm in themselves, in their sorrows, their resentments, in all of that. Such as these are not capable of bringing salvation because they close the door to salvation.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta 1 April 2014

PRAYER – God, our Father almighty, You gave us Christ Your Son to be our Bread of life and the message of truth, justice and love. May we live His lessons in every fibre of our being and thus pass from death to life. May the prayers of your Holy angel, saints and martyrs, St Francis of Paola and St Pedro Calungsod, be an inspiration and a balm in our trials. Through Jesus our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. st francis of paola pray for us 2 april 2019

st pedro calungsod pray for us 2 april 2019

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Our Morning Offering – 2 April – I Put My Trust in You

Posted on April 2, 2019April 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth week of Lent

I Put My Trust in You
By St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682)

Loving and tender providence of my God,
into Your hands I comment my spirit,
to You, I abandon my hopes and fears,
my desires and dislikes,
my temporal and eternal prospects.
To You, I commit the wants of my perishable body,
to You, I commit the more precious interests
of my immortal soul,
for whose lot I have nothing to fear,
as long as I do not leave Your care.
Though my faults are many,
my misery great,
my spiritual poverty extreme,
my hope in You surpasses all.
It is superior to my weakness,
greater than my difficulties,
stronger than death.
Though temptations should assail me,
I will hope in You,
though I break my resolutions,
I will look to You confidently
for grace to keep them at last.
Though You should kill me,
even then I will trust You,
for You are my Father,
my God,
the support of my salvation.
You are my kind,
compassionate,
indulgent Parent
and I am Your devoted child,
who casts myself into Your arms
and begs Your blessing.
I put my trust in You
and so trusting,
shall not be confounded.
Amen I put my trust in you - st claude de la colombiere 2 april 2019.jpg

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Lenten Thoughts – 1 April – Coming nigh to God

Posted on April 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 1 April – Monday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C

Act of self-abandonment
Coming nigh to God

This is an anonymous prayer, inspired by St Augustine – taken from “Providence” – God’s loving care for man and the need for confidence in Almighty God” by Fr Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange OP (1877-1964)

providence by fr reginald garrigou-lagrange op

O my God, I leave myself entirely in Your hands.
Turn and turn again, this mass of clay, as a vessel that is fashioned in the potter’s hand (Jer 18:6).
give it a shape, then break it if You will –
it is Yours, it as nothing to say.
Enough for me that it serves all Your designs
and that nothing resists Your good pleasure,
for which I was made.
Ask, command.
What would You have me to do?
What would You have me not to do?
Lifted up, cast down, in persecution,
in consolation, in suffering,
intent upon Your work,
good for nothing,
I can do no more than repeat
with Your holy Mother –
“Be it done unto me according to Your word” (Luke 1:38).
Give me that love which is beyond all loves,
the love of the Cross –
not those heroic crosses with a glory that might foster self-love
but those ordinary crosses
which we bear with so much distaste –
those daily crosses with which our life is strewn
and which at every moment
we encounter on our way through life –
contradictions,
neglect,
failures,
opposition,
false judgements,
the coldness or impulsiveness of some,
the rebuffs or contempt of others,
bodily infirmities,
spiritual darkness,
silence and interior dryness.
Only then, will You know that I love You,
even though I neither know
nor feel it myself
and that is enough for me!

And, may we:

“Be holy by living out your commitment with joy.”

Pope Francis

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Quote/s of the Day – 1 April – St Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180)

Posted on April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 1 April – Monday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C – Saint Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180) Early Church Father

Prayer in Praise of Christ

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.

“The Lord, though He was God, became man. He suffered for the sake of whose 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.”

– from a letter by Saint Melito of Sardis

St Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180)

Early Church Father

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Lenten Reflection – 1 April – “Go, your son will live.”

Posted on April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 1 April – Monday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Isaiah 65:17-21; Psalms 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12A and 13B; John 4:43-54 john 4 50 go your son will live mon fourthweek lent 1 april 2019.jpg

“Go, your son will live.”…John 4:50

Saint Anastasius II of Antioch (550-609)
Monk, then Patriarch of Antioch from 549-570 and from 593-599

Sermon 5, on the Resurrection of Christ, (trans. cf breviary, Office of the Dead)

“To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Rm 14:9). But “God is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Lk 20:38). Consequently, the dead over whom He who lives has power are no longer dead but alive. Life has power over them so that they may live without any further fear of death just as “Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again” (Rm 6:9). Raised up and freed from corruption they shall see death no more. They will share in the Resurrection of Christ just as He shared in their death. For no other reason did He descend to earth, whose bars are barriers to eternity, except to “shatter the doors of bronze and cut in two the bars of iron” (Ps 107[106]:16). He came to lead our lives away from corruption to Himself and gave us freedom in place of slavery.

If the work of this arrangement of providence does not seem to be finished yet, for men still die and their bodies rot in the grave, this should in no way undermine our faith. In advance of all the good things already mentioned we have even now received a pledge through Christ our first fruits. Through Him, we attain the highest heaven and take our places with Him who carried us up to the heights with Himself. That is what Saint Paul says somewhere: “he raised us up with him and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). he came to lead our lives away from corruption st anastasius of antioch 1 april 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
You give us new life.
We now begin the second part of Lent.
The Gospel according to John will be our guide.
Before we enter into the controversy and the sense of being in a court room,
we have a wonderful story of a healing.
In this gospel, the acts of power that Jesus works
are the “signs” that help us see who He is.

We are reminded that He is the one, who will give us new life.

Lo, I am about to create
new heavens and a new earth.
Isaiah 65:17 The First Reading

Closing Prayer:
God who created me,
You offer me new life through Your Son
and through the gift of Your sacraments.
While I see new life all around me,
I don’t always recognise the new life You offer me.
Help me to grow this Lent in an awareness
of the gifts You place in my life
and in a greater appreciation for Your care.
Give me the courage to ask for help.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 1 April – The rest is in God’s hands!

Posted on April 1, 2019March 31, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 1 April – Monday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: John 4:43–54

So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill...John 4:46

REFLECTION – “The mention of Cana and a summary of the first miracle of turning water into wine, anticipates another miracle. The healing in this miracle, however, is done at a distance. Though the people will base their faith in Him, merely on signs and wonders, Jesus invites them to realise that these are not what will motivate Him to act. He will act only in accordance with the will of God. Human expectation cannot determine His action.
Sickness and brokenness are very much visible in our world today and most are in need of some form of repair or consolation. At times, doctors are not able to diagnose an illness and at other times, when they are and perform a complicated procedure, ask the patient and family members to pray and have faith! There is only so much that they and the doctors can do, the rest is in God’s hands.”…Fr Errol Fernandes SJ

PRAYER – Teach us Holy Father to do Your will! Grant us Your guiding hand and Your grace, that we may trust You in all things. Strengthen us by Your grace and give us a heart willing to live by the love of Your Son, who so loved the world that He gave Himself up to death for our sake. For if we love as He loved, nothing will lead us from You. Grant that the prayers of our most loving and merciful Mother, may intercede in our necessities. We make our prayer through the Christ, our Lord, one God with You and the Holy Spirit, now and for all eternity, amen. loving and merciful mother ora pro nobis 1 april 2019.jpg

CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on TRUTH, The LAST THINGS, The WORD

Lenten Thoughts – 31 March – Christ the Way

Posted on March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

Christ is the Way to the Light, the Truth and the Life

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Great Western Father & Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Treatise on John

The Lord tells us – I am the light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. In these few words He gives a command and makes a promise. Let us do what He commands so that we may not blush to covet what He promises and to hear Him say on the day of judgement: “I laid down certain conditions for obtaining my promises. Have you fulfilled them?” If you say: “What did you command, Lord our God?” He will tell you: “I commanded you to follow Me. You asked for advice on how to enter into life. What life, if not the life about which it is written: With you is the fountain of life?”

Let us do now what He commands. Let us follow in the footsteps of the Lord. Let us throw off the chains that prevent us from following Him. Who can throw off these shackles without the aid of the one addressed in these words – You have broken my chains? Another psalm says of Him: -The Lord frees those in chains, the Lord raises up the downcast.

Those who have been freed and raised up follow the light. The light they follow speaks to them – I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness. The Lord gives light to the blind. Brethren, that light shines on us now, for we have had our eyes anointed with the eye-salve of faith. His saliva was mixed with earth to anoint the man born blind. We are of Adam’s stock, blind from our birth, we need Him to give us light. He mixed saliva with earth and so it was prophesied: Truth has sprung up from the earth . He himself has said: I am the way, the truth and the life.

We shall be in possession of the truth when we see Him face to face. This is His promise to us. Who would dare to hope for something that God in His goodness did not choose to promise or bestow?

We shall see face to face. The Apostle says: Now I know in part, now obscurely through a mirror, but then face to face. John the apostle says in one of his letters -Dearly beloved, we are now children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. We know that when He is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. This is a great promise.

If you love me, follow me. “I do love you,” you protest, “but how do I follow you?” If the Lord your God said to you: “I am the truth and the life,” in your desire for truth, in your love for life, you would certainly ask Him to show you the way to reach them. You would say to yourself: “Truth is a great reality, life is a great reality; if only it were possible for my soul to find them!” i am the way the truth and the life jon 14 8 31 march 2019 laetare sunday.jpg

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Sunday Reflection – 31 March – “The Joy of the Eucharist, all through Life!”

Posted on March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

“The Joy of the Eucharist, all through Life!”

St John Vianney (1786-1859)

“When Jesus entered the house of St Elizabeth, although He was imprisoned in Mary’s womb, He sanctified both mother and child and Elizabeth exclaimed, “Whence comes so great a happiness to me, that the Mother of my God deigns to come to me?”

I leave you to consider how much greater is the happiness of him who receives Jesus Christ in Holy Communion, not like Elizabeth, into his house but into the depths of his heart, to be its protecting Master, not six months, as in Elizabeth’s case but all through life!”

i leave you to consider - st john vianney sun refl 31 march 2019 laetare sun.jpg

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Quote/s of the Day – 31 March -Laetare!

Posted on March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

“There is more joy in heaven over a converted sinner
than over a righteous person standing firm.
A leader in battle has more love for a soldier
who returns after fleeing and who valiantly pursues the enemy,
than for one who never turned back
but who never acted valiantly either.
A farmer has greater love for land which bears fruitfully,
after he has cleared it of thorns, than for land
which never had thorns but which never yielded a fruitful harvest.”

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father & Doctor of the Church
“Father of the Fathers”

“The sun of our lives is the Eucharist.”

“The earth is filled with tabernacles – Praise Him!”

St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)

“Real joy
seems to me,
almost as unlike
security or prosperity,
as it is unlike
agony.”

“You can’t go back
and change the beginning
but you can start where you are
and change the ending.”

“He died for us.
Why not live for Him?”

C S Lewis (1898-1963)

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 31 March – The Best of Fathers!

Posted on March 31, 2019March 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

The Readings:
Joshua 5:9A, 10-12; Psalms 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 lent - laetare sunday 4th sun of lent 31 march 2019.jpg

But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him...Luke 15:20

“I shall get up and go to my father”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
Father & Doctor of the Church

If we do not care for this young man’s conduct, his departure horrifies us. Don’t let us ever abandon such a father! Simply the sight of the father causes sin to flee, banishes our faults, does away with all bad behaviour and temptation. Yet, if we have gone away, if we have wasted all our father’s inheritance in a life of debauchery, if we should happen to have committed some fault or misdeed or fallen into the mire of irreligiousness and complete dissipation, let us rise up for good and all and return to this best of Fathers, summoned by such a beautiful example.

“When the father saw him he ran to embrace him and covered him with kisses.” I ask you, where is there room for despair here? What pretext for excuse? What false reason for fear? Only, perhaps, if we dread meeting the father, if we are afraid of his kisses and embrace, only if we think that the father, when he takes his child by the hand, draws him to his breast and folds his arms around him, wants to seize the opportunity to make good his loss instead of welcoming in order to forgive. Such a thought, however, that destroys life and is contrary to our salvation, is fully overcome, wholly destroyed by what follows: “The father said to his servants: ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and has been found.’”

When we have heard that, can we delay any longer? What more could we ask for to return to the Father?

Daily Meditation:
Laetare Sunday: Be joyful!
This Sunday has a joy-filled tone.
We enter into the second part of Lent with a spirit of eagerness.
Our celebration of the mercy and life given to us in Jesus is near.

All the readings are profound.
The letter to the Ephesians can be a meditation for the week.
We have been saved by our Lord, Jesus, the Christ.
That is consoling at this part of Lent. It is not the work we do that saves us.
It is God’s love – in the midst of our darkness.

We can ask to be “lifted up” with Jesus in His surrender with the Father,
lifted up on the cross and therefore, lifted up in Glory.
And, we can express our desire to be an instrument of His consoling love,
in the hearts of those to whom He sends us.

Look to him and be radiant,
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
Psalm 34:5

Closing Prayer:
Loving Father of mine,
I feel the pace quicken, the time draw near.
I am filled with joy as I move toward Easter
and the promised reconciliation with You.
Teach me to follow the example of Your Son,
to be worthy of being called one His people – a Christ-ian.
Help me to live each day as He did
turning hatred to love and conflict to peace.
I await the new life with eagerness, faith
and a deep gratitude.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 31 March – The Heart of the Father

Posted on March 31, 2019March 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Luke 15:1–32

But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him...Luke 15:20

REFLECTION – “The Father ran and embraced him and kissed him.” The parable of the prodigal son is, perhaps, the most moving of the parables Jesus tells in the gospels. The experience and life of the two sons serve solely to reveal the heart of the father. Nowhere else, does Jesus portray the Father in heaven, more vitally, more plainly. The impressiveness of the story, begins already, with the fact, that the father grants the son’s request and hands over to him his portion of the inheritance. For us, a portion of God’s inheritance, is our existence, our freedom, our intellect, our accountability – all of these, are the most sublime goods imaginable, goods that only God could give us. That we, waste it all and end up in distress and that the distress brings us to our senses, is not really as significant, as the father’s vigil, compassion, extravagant greeting, refurbishing of the prodigal and the feast announced in his honour.
Not even for the refractory and envious brother, does the father have a harsh word – he is not scolding him when he speaks to him, he merely speaks the full truth- whoever sticks by God, possesses everything in common with God!
The remarkable thing about Jesus’ glorification of the Father, is that Jesus Himself, does not figure in this portrayal of God’s reconciliation with sinful men. He is nothing other than the Word that reports the reconciliation – really, an always-already-reconciledness. He says nothing about the fact, that He is the Word, through which God establishes His eternal reconciliation with the world!”…Cardinal Hans Urs von Bathasar (1905-1988)

PRAYER – Holy Father, we are sinners who stand in Your presence and serve You. Grant us Your mercy and forgiveness, for we are all Your prodigal children. Your Word, our Christ, came to redeem us. May we honour, love and serve You through His example and by following in His steps. Grant we pray, that by the intercession of the Mother of Christ and our Mother, we may rejoice in eternity with You. Through Jesus our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever, amen. mary mother of god pray for us 31 march 2019.jpg

FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, SAINT of the DAY

Lenten Thoughts – 30 March – The Ladder of Divine Ascent – The Steps

Posted on March 30, 2019March 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 30 March – Saturday of the Third week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St John Climacus (c 525-606)

The Ladder of Divine Ascent is an ascetical treatise on avoiding vice and practising virtue so that at the end, salvation can be obtained. Written by Saint John Climacus initially for monastics, it has become one of the most highly influential and important works used by the Church as far as guiding the faithful to a God-centred life, second only to Holy Scripture.

Structure and Purpose:
The aim of the treatise is to be a guide for practising a life completely and wholly devoted to God. The ladder metaphor—not dissimilar to the vision that the Patriarch Jacob received—is used to describe how one may ascend into heaven by first renouncing the world and finally ending up in heaven with God. There are thirty chapter,; each covers a particular vice or virtue. They were originally called logoi, but in the present day, they are referred to as “steps.” The sayings are not so much rules and regulations, as with the Law that St Moses received at Sinai, but rather observations about what is being practised. Metaphorical language is employed frequently, to better illustrate the nature of virtue and vice. Overall, the treatise does follow a progression that transitions from start (renunciation of the world) to finish (a life lived in love). the 30 steps of the ladder of divine ascent - 30 march 2019.jpg

The steps are:
On renunciation of the world
On detachment
On exile or pilgrimage – concerning dreams that beginners have
On blessed and ever-memorable obedience (in addition to episodes involving many individuals)
On painstaking and true repentance which constitutes the life of the holy convicts; and about the Prison
On remembrance of death
On joy-making mourning
On freedom from anger and on meekness
On remembrance of wrongs
On slander or calumny
On talkativeness and silence
On lying
On despondency
On that clamorous mistress, the stomach
On incorruptible purity and chastity, to which the corruptible attain by toil and sweat
On love of money, or avarice
On non-possessiveness (that hastens one Heavenwards)
On insensibility, that is, deadening of the soul and the death of the mind before the death of the body
On sleep, prayer and psalmody with the brotherhood
On bodily vigil and how to use it to attain spiritual vigil, and how to practise it
On unmanly and puerile cowardice
On the many forms of vainglory
On mad pride and (in the same Step) on unclean blasphemous thoughts; concerning unmentionable blasphemous thoughts
On meekness, simplicity, and guilelessness which come not from nature but from conscious effort, and about guile
On the destroyer of the passions, most sublime humility, which is rooted in spiritual perception
On discernment of thoughts, passions and virtues; on expert discernment; brief summary of all aforementioned
On holy stillness of body and soul; different aspects of stillness and how to distinguish them
On holy and blessed prayer, the mother of virtues, and on the attitude of mind and body in prayer
Concerning Heaven on earth, or Godlike dispassion and perfection, and the resurrection of the soul before the general resurrection
Concerning the linking together of the supreme trinity among the virtues; a brief exhortation summarising all that has said at length in this book.

Read the book, here

“Repentance is the renewal of baptism.
Repentance is a contract with God for a second life.
A penitent is a buyer of humility.
Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort.
Repentance is self-condemning reflection of carefree self-care.
Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair.
A penitent is an undisgraced convict.
Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord
by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins.
Repentance is purification of conscience.
Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all afflictions.
A penitent is the inflicter of his own punishments.
Repentance is a mighty persecution of the stomach
and a striking of the soul into vigorous awareness.”

FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PRAYER, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 30 March – St John Climacus – On Prayer

Posted on March 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 30 March – Saturday of the Third week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Luke 18:9–14 and the Memorial of St John Climacus (c 525-606)

On Prayer

“The one who requests less than he deserves from God will surely obtain more than he deserves.

This is clearly shown by the tax-collector who requested forgiveness but obtained justification.

And the thief merely requested to be remembered in His Kingdom, but he inherited Paradise.”

	Saint of the Day – 2… on Saint of the Day – 26 Septembe…
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Blessed Mariano de la Mata Aparicio , Pray for Us!

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St Gregory of Narek (950-1003) – Fathe & Doctor of the Church

St Augustine (354-430)

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St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419)

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St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)

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St Isidore of Seville (560-636)

Father & Doctor of the Church

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Fertile excuses and evasions Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

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St Pio of Pietrelcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

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Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á Kempis (1380-1471): Book 3, Chapter 10

That it is sweet to despise the world and to serve God.

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Blessed Maria Teresa Casini (1864–1937)

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“The dead will hear his voice” – “Lazarus, come forth” (Jn 11:43)

Saint Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Father & Doctor of the Church

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St Pedro Calungsod, Pray for us!

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On the Fervent Amendment of our Whole Life

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471) The Imitation of Christ

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St Francis of Paola O.M. (1416-1507)

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Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471) The Imitation of Christ

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Act of self-abandonment Coming nigh to God

And, may we:

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St Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180)

Early Church Father

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Saint Anastasius II of Antioch (550-609) Monk, then Patriarch of Antioch from 549-570 and from 593-599

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Christ is the Way to the Light, the Truth and the Life

Saint Augustine (354-430) Great Western Father & Doctor of the Church

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“The Joy of the Eucharist, all through Life!”

St John Vianney (1786-1859)

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St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church “Father of the Fathers”

St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)

C S Lewis (1898-1963)

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“I shall get up and go to my father”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Father & Doctor of the Church

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Read the book, here

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On Prayer

St John Climacus

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Fertile excuses and evasions
Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
The Imitation of Christ

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
The Imitation of Christ

Act of self-abandonment
Coming nigh to God

Saint Anastasius II of Antioch (550-609)
Monk, then Patriarch of Antioch from 549-570 and from 593-599

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Great Western Father & Doctor of the Church

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father & Doctor of the Church
“Father of the Fathers”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
Father & Doctor of the Church