Quote of the Day – 24 November – The Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest and Companions, Martyrs
“The hottest places in hell
are reserved for those who,
in a period of moral crisis,
maintain their neutrality.”
Category: CATHOLIC Quotes
One Minute Reflection – 24 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 20:27–40
One Minute Reflection – 24 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 20:27–40 – Saturday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year B – The Memorial of St Andrew Dung-Lac & Companions, Vietnam Martyrs
“Now he is not God of the dead but of the living; for all live to him.”...Luke 20:38
REFLECTION – “ Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the earthly one. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man from heaven. ” If we thus act, beloved, then we shall nevermore die in time to come. Even though our bodies may decay, we shall be living in Christ as he himself affirmed: “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” We are assured, on the witness of our Lord Himself, that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the saints are alive. For it was concerning them that our Lord said: “All are alive for him, for he is not God of the dead but of the living.” And the apostle Paul said, speaking of himself: “For me, life is Christ, death gain. I long to depart and be with Christ.” And again: “So long as we are in the body, we are away from the Lord . For indeed, we walk by faith, not by sight.” This is what we believe, my dearest brethren. Besides: “If we have placed our hope in this world only, we are the most pitiable people of all.”
Life in this world, as you yourselves can see, is just the same for animals, wild beasts, birds and ourselves and it can even be longer for them. But what is proper to humans is what Christ gives us through His Spirit, provided we sin no more – life without end…: “The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”…St Pacian, Father of the Church (c 310–391) (Biblical references: 1Cor 15:49.47; Jn 11:25; Phil 1:21.23; 2Cor 5:6-7; 1Cor 15:19; Rm 6:23)
“It is not this life that will serve as a reference point for eternity, for the other life that awaits us; rather, it is eternity — that life — which illumines and gives hope to the earthly life of each one of us! If we look at things from only a human perspective, we tend to say that man’s journey moves from life to death. This is what we see! But this is only so if we look at things from a human perspective. Jesus turns this perspective upside down and states that our pilgrimage goes from death to life – the fullness of life!” …Pope Francis – Angelus, 10 November 2013
PRAYER – O God, source and origin of all fatherhood, who kept the Martyrs Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions faithful to the Cross of Your Son, even to the shedding of their blood, grant, through their intercession, that, spreading Your love among our brothers and sisters, we may be Your children both in name and in truth and thus come to our resurrection with Jesus Christ, Your Son. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Thought for the Day – 23 November – The memorial of St Columban (543-615)
Thought for the Day – 23 November – The memorial of St Columban (543-615)
God called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were less than nothing, now you are God’s own. Once you knew very little of God’s kindness, now your very lives have been changed by it….1 Peter 2:9-10
From St Columban’s letter to the French Bishops:
“We are all fellow members of one body,
whether Franks or Britons or Irish or whatever our race.
Thus, let all our races rejoice, in knowledge of the faith
and in recognising the Son of God …
In Him, let us love one another, praise one another, correct
one another, encourage one another, pray for one another.”(Letter 2, to the French bishops)
St Columban suffered for his outspokenness in the face of moral corruption and public depravity. He was exiled but his words were remembered years later and many of his warnings heeded. He preached the word of Christ fearlessly and was not afraid of the anger of kings. It is the kind of Christian courage we should have.
From his fourth letter:
“May no-one and nothing separate us from
the love of Christ, no trail, no difficulty, no persecution,
no hunger, no nakedness, no danger,
no death by sword, fire, cross or murder, nothing sad,
nothing sweet, nothing hard, nothing fair,
may none of the world’s vanities
separate us from Christ.”(Sermon 4,3)
St Columban, Pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 23 November – The memorial of St Columban (543-615)
Quote/s of the Day – 23 November – The memorial of St Columban (543-615)
“We, indeed, are,
as I have said,
chained to the
Chair of Saint Peter.”
“Be gentle to the weak,
firm to the stubborn,
steadfast to the proud,
humble to the lowly.”
“Be helpful,
when you are,
at the bottom of the ladder
and be the lowest,
when you are in authority.”
“Be slow to anger,
swift to learn,
slow also to speak,
as St James says,
equally swift to hear.”
“Be respectful to the worthy,
merciful to the poor.”
“Be mindful of favours,
unmindful of wrongs.”
Excerpts from a “Letter to a Young Disciple”
by St Columban (543-615)
One Minute Reflection – 23 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 19:45–48 – ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’
One Minute Reflection – 23 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 19:45–48 – Friday of the Thirty-third week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Columban (543-615)
And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”…Luke 19:45-46
REFLECTION – “Have I learned to watch over myself, that the temple of my heart is only for the Holy Spirit? Purify the temple, the inner temple and watch. Be careful, be careful: what happens in the heart. Who comes in and who goes out, the feelings, the ideas… Do we speak to the Holy Spirit? Do we listen to the Holy Spirit? Watch out. Let us be attentive to what happens in our temple, in (us) ourselves.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 24 November 2017
PRAYER – Lord God, in the life of St Columban you combined a zeal for mission and a love of the monastic life. May his prayer and example, prompt us to love You above all things, to listen and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who teaches us to be true ‘stones’ of the temple, building up the Body of Christ. May we always we aware, that our actions affect the whole building of Your Church. Grant us the grace, that by our lives, we may strengthen and increase the household of the Faith. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever amen.
Quote of the Day – 22 November – St Augustine – Let us sing to the Lord, a song of love!
Quote of the Day – 22 November – The Memorial of St Cecilia (died 3rd Century) Virgin Martyr – Patron of Musicians
Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful!…Psalm 149:1
Let us sing to the Lord, a song of love!
“Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise is in the assembly of the saints. We are urged to sing a new song to the Lord, as new men who have learned a new song. A song is a thing of joy, more profoundly, it is a thing of love. Anyone, therefore, who has learned to love the new life has learned to sing a new song and the new song reminds us of our new life. The new man, the new song, the new covenant, all belong to the one kingdom of God and so the new man will sing a new song and will belong to the new covenant.
There is not one who does not love something, but the question is, what to love. The psalms do not tell us not to love but to choose the object of our love. But how can we choose unless we are first chosen? We cannot love unless someone has loved us first. Listen to the apostle John: We love Him, because He first loved us. The source of man’s love for God can only be found in the fact that God loved him first. He has given us Himself as the object of our love and He has also given us its source. What this source is you may learn more clearly from the apostle Paul who tells us: The love of God has been poured into our hearts. This love is not something we generate ourselves, it comes to us through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Since we have such an assurance, then, let us love God with the love He has given us. As John tells us more fully. God is love and whoever dwells in love dwells in God and God in him. It is not enough to say, Love is from God. Which of us would dare to pronounce the words of Scripture – God is love? He alone could say it who knew what it was to have God dwelling within him. God offers us a short route to the possession of Himself. He cries out – Love me and you will have me, for you would be unable to love me if you did not possess me already.
My dear brothers and sons, fruit of the true faith, holy seed of heaven, all you who have been born again in Christ and whose life is from above, listen to me, or rather, listen to the Holy Spirit saying through me: Sing to the Lord a new song. Look, you tell me, I am singing. Yes indeed, you are singing, you are singing clearly, I can hear you. But make sure that your life does not contradict your words. Sing with your voices, your hearts, your lips and your lives – Sing to the Lord a new song!
Now it is your unquestioned desire to sing of Him whom you love but you ask me how to sing His praises. You have heard the words – Sing to the Lord a new song and you wish to know what praises to sing. The answer is – His praise is in the assembly of the saints, it is in the singers themselves . lf you desire to praise Him, then live what you express. Live good lives and you yourselves, will be His praise.”
From a sermon by Saint Augustine (354-430), Father & Doctor – (Sermo 34.1-3, 5-6; CCL 41, 424-426) …Vatican.va
One Minute Reflection – 22 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 19:41-44 – “Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace!”
One Minute Reflection – 22 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 19:41-44, Thursday of the Thirty-third week in Ordinary Time, Year B and The Memorial of St Cecilia (died 3rd Century) Virgin Martyr
And when he drew near and saw the city he wept over it, saying, “Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace!”…Luke 19:41-42
REFLECTION – “I leaned out of the window… The sun was beginning to rise. A great peace reigned over nature. Everything began to wake up – earth, sky, birds. Everything began, little by little, to wake up under God’s order. Everything obeyed His divine laws without complaint or sudden spurts, gently, smoothly, the light as much as the darkness, the blue sky as much as the hard earth covered with morning dew. How good God is, I thought! There is peace everywhere except in the human heart.
And delicately, gently, by means of this sweet and peaceful dawn, God taught me, too, to obey – a very great peace filled my soul. I thought how God alone is good, how all is ordained by Him, how nothing is of importance in what people do or say and how, where I am concerned, there must be nothing else in the world but God. God who will arrange everything for my good. God who causes the sun to rise each morning, who makes the ice melt, who cause the birds to sing and changes the clouds of heaven in a thousand soft colours. God who offers me a little corner on this earth for prayer, who gives me a little corner in which to wait for what I hope.
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 and showing me Mary and saying to me : “Here is the only perfect creature, you will find in her the love and charity you fail to find in men. What are you complaining about, Brother Raphael? Love me; suffer with me, it is I, Jesus!”... St Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938)
PRAYER – Lord our God, in Your mercy listen to our prayers! Teach us the peace of Your love. Guide us in the ways of Your Commandments. Let the path laid out by Your Son, be our Light and our Joy. Grant that by the prayers of Your Martyr, St Cecilia and all Your Saints, we may receive strength for our journey. Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 22 November – My God, My Hope is in You
Our Morning Offering – 22 November – My God, My Hope is in You
My God, My Hope is in You
By St Claude de la Colombière, SJ (1641-1682)
Loving and tender Providence of my God,
into Your hands I commend my spirit,
to You I abandon my hopes and fears,
my desires and repugnances,
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 ask me to die, even then I will trust in You,
for You are my father, my God, the support of my salvation.
You are my kind, compassionate and 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.
SECOND WORLD DAY OF THE POOR – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 18 November 2018
SECOND WORLD DAY OF THE POOR – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 18 November 2018
Excerpt From Pope Francis Message for the Second Annual World Day of the Poor
This poor man cried and the Lord heard him
6. The poor are the first to recognise God’s presence and to testify to His closeness in their lives. God remains faithful to His promise and even in the darkness of the night, He does not withhold the warmth of His love and consolation. However, for the poor to overcome their oppressive situation, they need to sense the presence of brothers and sisters who are concerned for them and, by opening the doors of their hearts and lives, make them feel like friends and family. Only in this way can the poor discover “the saving power at work in their lives” and “put them at the centre of the Church’s pilgrim way” (Evangelii Gaudium, 198).
On this World Day, we are asked to fulfil the words of the Psalm: “The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied” (Ps 22:26). We know that in the Temple of Jerusalem, after the rites of sacrifice, a banquet was held. It was this experience that, in many dioceses last year, enriched the celebration of the first World Day of the Poor. Many people encountered the warmth of a home, the joy of a festive meal and the solidarity of those who wished to sit together at table in simplicity and fraternity.
I would like this year’s and all future World Days, to be celebrated in a spirit of joy at the rediscovery of our capacity for togetherness. Praying together as a community and sharing a meal on Sunday is an experience that brings us back to the earliest Christian community, described by the evangelist Luke in all its primitive simplicity: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And all who believed were together and had all things in common and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:42.44-45).
7. Countless initiatives are undertaken every day by the Christian community in order to offer closeness and a helping hand in the face of the many forms of poverty all around us. Often too, our co-operation with other initiatives inspired not by faith but by human solidarity, make it possible for us to provide help that otherwise we would have been unable to offer. The realisation that in the face of so much poverty, our capacity for action is limited, weak and insufficient, leads us to reach out to others so that, through mutual co-operation, we can attain our goals all the more effectively. We Christians, are inspired by faith and by the imperative of charity but we can also acknowledge other forms of assistance and solidarity, that aim, in part, for the same goals, provided that we do not downplay our specific role, which is to lead everyone to God and to holiness. Dialogue between different experiences and humility in offering our co-operation, without seeking the limelight, is a fitting and completely evangelical response that we can give.
In the service of the poor, there is no room for competition. Rather, we should humbly recognise that the Spirit is the source of our actions that reveal God’s closeness and His answer to our prayers. When we find ways of drawing near to the poor, we know that the primacy belongs to God, who opens our eyes and hearts to conversion. The poor do not need self-promoters but a love that knows how to remain hidden and not think about all the good it has been able to do. At the centre must always be the Lord and the poor. Anyone desirous of serving is an instrument in God’s hands, a means of manifesting His saving presence. Saint Paul recalled this when he wrote to the Christians in Corinth who competed for the more prestigious charisms: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor 12:21). Paul makes an important point when he notes that the apparently weaker parts of the body are in fact the most necessary (cf. v. 22) and that those “we think less honourable we invest with the greater honour and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require” (vv. 23-24). Paul offers the community a basic teaching about charisms but also about the attitude it should have, in the light of the Gospel, towards its weaker and needier members. Far be it from Christ’s disciples to nurture feelings of disdain or pity towards the poor. Instead, we are called to honour the poor and to give them precedence, out of the conviction that they are a true presence of Jesus in our midst. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).
8. Here we can see how far our way of life must be from that of the world, which praises, pursues and imitates the rich and powerful, while neglecting the poor and deeming them useless and shameful. The words of the Apostle Paul invite us to a fully evangelical solidarity with the weaker and less gifted members of the body of Christ: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together” (1 Cor 12:26). In his Letter to the Romans, Paul also tells us: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another, do not be haughty but associate with the lowly” (12:15-16). This is the vocation of each of Christ’s followers, the ideal for which we must constantly strive is ever greater conformity to the “mind of Jesus Christ” (Phil 2:5).
9. Faith naturally inspires a message of hope. Often it is precisely the poor who can break through our indifference, born of a worldly and narrow view of life. The cry of the poor, is also a cry of hope, that reveals the certainty of future liberation. This hope is grounded in the love of God, who does not abandon those who put their trust in Him (cf. Rom 8:31-39). As Saint Teresa of Avila writes in The Way of Perfection: “Poverty comprises many virtues. It is a vast domain. I tell you, whoever despises all earthly goods is master of them all” (2:5). It is in the measure in which we are able to discern authentic good, that we become rich before God and wise in our own eyes and in those of others. It is truly so. To the extent that we come to understand the true meaning of riches, we grow in humanity and become capable of sharing.
10. I invite my brother bishops, priests and especially deacons, who have received the laying on of hands for the service of the poor (cf. Acts 6:1-7), as well as religious and all those lay faithful – men and women – who in parishes, associations and ecclesial movements, make tangible the Church’s response to the cry of the poor, to experience this World Day as a privileged moment of new evangelisation. The poor evangelise us and help us each day, to discover the beauty of the Gospel. Let us not squander this grace-filled opportunity. On this day, may all of us feel that we are in debt to the poor, because, in hands outstretched to one another, a salvific encounter can take place, to strengthen our faith, inspire our charity and enable our hope, to advance securely on our path, towards the Lord who is to come.
From the Vatican, 13 June 2018
Francis
Sunday Reflection – 18 November – Reparation for outrages against the Most Blessed Sacrament – St Alphonsus Liguori
Sunday Reflection – 18 November
Reparation for outrages against the Most Blessed Sacrament
St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
Meditate the following text written by Saint Alphonsus Maria and translated by Norman J. Muckermann, CSsR. It is astonishingly relevant to the need for reparation, when one considers the current proliferation of so many outrages against the Most Blessed Sacrament.
The Sorrowful Heart of Jesus
It is impossible for us to appreciate how greatly afflicted the Heart of Jesus was for love of us and at the same time not be filled with pity for Him. . . . The principal sorrow affecting the Heart of Jesus was not so much knowing the torments and insults His enemies were preparing for Him. Rather, it was seeing how ready we would be to reject His immense love.
Desecrations of the Sacred Host
Jesus distinctly saw all the sins which we would commit even after His sufferings, even after His bitter and ignominious death on the cross. He foresaw, too, the insults which sinners would offer His Sacred Heart which He would leave on earth in the Most Holy Sacrament as proof of His love. These insults are almost too horrible to mention: people trampling the sacred hosts underfoot, throwing them into gutters or piles of refuse and even using them to worship the devil himself!
The Pledge of His Love
Even the knowledge that these and other defamations would happen did not prevent Jesus from giving us this great pledge of His love, the Holy Eucharist. Jesus has an infinite hatred for sin, yet it seems that His great love for us even overcomes this bitterness. Because of His love, He allows these sacrileges to happen in order not to deprive us of this Divine Food. Should not this alone suffice to make us love a Heart that has loved us so much?
Jesus Forsaken on the Altar
What more could Jesus do to deserve our love? Is our ingratitude so great that we will still leave Jesus forsaken on the altar, as so many are wont to do? Rather, should we not unite ourselves to those few who gather to praise Him and acknowledge His divine presence? Should we not melt with love, as do the candles which adorn the altars where the Holy Sacrament is preserved? There the Sacred Heart remains burning with love for us. Shall we not in turn burn with love for Jesus?”
Thought for the Day– 18 November – The Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts Peter and Paul
Thought for the Day– 18 November – The Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts Peter and Paul
“The present feast therefore deserves to be more than a local solemnity, its extension to the Universal Church is a subject for the world’s gratitude. Thanks to this Feast we can all make together in spirit today the pilgrimage, which our ancestors performed with such fatigue and danger, yet never thought they purchased at too high a price its holy joys and blessings. “Heavenly mountains, glittering heights of the new Sion!” There are the gates of our true country, the two lights of the immense world. There Paul’s voice is heard like thunder; there Peter withholds or hurls the bolt . The former opens the hearts of men, the latter opens Heaven. Peter is the foundation-stone, Paul the architect of the temple where stands the altar by which God is propitiated. Both together form a single fountain, which pours out its healing and refreshing waters”
Bishop Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)
Sts Peter and Paul, Pray for Us!
Quote of the Day – 18 November – The Memorial of St Rose Philippine Duchesne RSCJ (1769-1852)
Quote of the Day – 18 November – The Memorial of St Rose Philippine Duchesne RSCJ (1769-1852)
“Jesus, I live for You,
I labour for You,
I desire only You.
You in me and I in You;
You with me and I with You;
You all mine and I all Yours.”
“I am where God wills me to be
and so I have found rest and security.
His wisdom governs me,
His power defends me,
His grace sanctifies me,
His mercy encompasses me,
His joy sustains me
and all will go well with me.”
“Do not look back to the past,
nor forward to the future.
Claim only the present,
for it holds God’s will.”
“Let us bear our cross
and leave it to God
to determine the length
and the weight.”
“He will never let the trial surpass,
the strength He gives you
and at the very moment you think yourself
overwhelmed by sorrow,
He will lift you up and give you peace.”
St Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769-1852)
One Minute Reflection – 18 November – Today’s Gospel: Mark 13:24–32
One Minute Reflection – 18 November – Today’s Gospel: Mark 13:24–32 – Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – The Feast of the Dediciation of the Basilicas of Sts Peter and Paul and the Memorial of St Rose Philippine Duchesne RSCJ (1769-1852)
And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory…Mark 13:26
REFLECTION – “From this it follows that, at His second coming, Jesus will rule over that land of which there remains much to possess. But how blessed will be those who were His subjects from His first coming! Truly, they will be loaded with gifts in spite of the resistance of so many enemies and the attacks of so many foes, they will receive… their share of the Promised Land. But when submission has been carried out by force, on that day when “the last enemy, who is death, shall have been destroyed” (1Cor 15:26), there can be no more favour for those who refuse to submit.”…Origen (c 185-253) Father of the Church
PRAYER – Lord God, give Your Church the help of the Apostles Peter and Paul, who first brought it the knowledge of the faith, may they always obtain for it an increase of grace and continue to run with us on our journey home to You. And may the prayers of your holy apostle of prayer, St Rose Philippine Duchesne, be a succour in our trials. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 17 November – The Memorial of St Elizabeth of Hungary – Apostle of Charity (1207-1231) – Speaking of: Charity/Mercy
Quote/s of the Day – 17 November – The Memorial of St Elizabeth of Hungary – Apostle of Charity (1207-1231)
Speaking of: Charity/Mercy
As long as anyone has the means
of doing good to his neighbours
and does not do so,
he shall be reckoned a stranger
to the love of the Lord.
St Irenaeus (130-202) Father of the Church
“Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.”
“No one has ever been accused for not providing ornaments
but for those who neglect their neighbour,
a hell awaits with an inextinguishable fire
and torment in the company of the demons.
Do not, therefore, adorn the church
and ignore your afflicted brother,
for he is the most precious temple of all.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Compassion, my dear Brother,
is preferable to cleanliness.
Reflect that with a little soap,
I can easily clean my bed covers
but even with a torrent of tears,
I would never wash from my soul,
the stain, that my harshness toward
the unfortunate would create.”
St Martin de Porres (1579-1639)
“All our religion is but a false religion
and all our virtues are mere illusions
and we ourselves are only hypocrites
in the sight of God,
if we have not that universal charity for everyone –
for the good and for the bad,
for the poor and for the rich
and for all those who do us harm,
as much as those who do us good.”
St John Vianney (1786-1859)
“Any friend of the poor, is a friend of God.”
Blessed John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
One Minute Reflection – 17 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 18:1–8
One Minute Reflection – 17 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 18:1–8 – Saturday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and The Memorial of St Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231)
“When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”...Luke 18:8
REFLECTION – “What more powerful incentive to prayer could be proposed to us than the parable of the unjust judge? An unprincipled man, without fear of God or regard for other people, that judge nevertheless ended by granting the widow’s petition. No kindly sentiment moved him to do so; he was rather worn down by her pestering. Now if a man can grant a request even when it is odious to him to be asked, how can we be refused by the one who urges us to ask? Having persuaded us, therefore, by a comparison of opposites that “we ought always to pray and never lose heart,” the Lord goes on to put the question: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, do you think he will find faith on earth?”
Where there is no faith, there is no prayer. Who would pray for something he did not believe in? So when the blessed Apostle exhorts us to pray he begins by declaring: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But to show that faith is the source of prayer and the stream will not flow if its springs are dried up, he continues: “But how can people call on him in whom they do not believe?” (Rom 10:13-14). We must believe, then, in order to pray and we must ask God, that the faith enabling us to pray, may not fail. Faith gives rise to prayer and this prayer obtains, an increase of faith.”…St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor – Sermon 115, 1 ; PL 38, 655
PRAYER – Holy Father, grant us a strong Faith! Poor Your graces into our hearts that we may believe with all our hearts, minds and souls and that in believing, we may constantly raise our entire being to You in prayer and supplication, in prayer and adoration, in prayer and love. May the intercession of St Elizabeth of Hungary, a woman of deep prayer from her youth, strengthen our perseverance. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 16 November – The Memorial of St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
Quote/s of the Day – 16 November – The Memorial of St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
“My dear friends, do not be taken aback
at the testing by fire, which is taking place among you,
as though something strange, were happening to you
but insofar as you share in the sufferings of Christ,
be glad, so that you may enjoy
a much greater gladness, when his glory is revealed”
1 Peter 4:12-13
“Bodily and spiritual affliction
are the surest sign of Divine predilection.
Gratitude for suffering is a precious jewel
for our heavenly crown…
Man should always firmly believe that God
sends just that trial which is most beneficial for him.”
“Every time, we look
at the Blessed Sacrament,
our place in heaven,
is raised forever.”
“I understand that,
each time we contemplate,
with desire and devotion,
the Host in which is hidden
Christ’s Eucharistic Body,
we increase our merits in heaven
and secure special joys to be ours,
later in the beatific vision of God.”
“Angels constantly guard,
the clients of the Blessed Virgin,
from the assaults of Hell.”
St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
One Minute Reflection – 16 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:26–37
One Minute Reflection – 16 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:26–37, Friday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the memorial of St Margaret of Scotland (1045-1093) and St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302).
“Whoever seeks to gain his life, will lose it but whoever loses his life, will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.”…Luke 17:33-34
REFLECTION – “Today the Church, the Lord, with His goodness, tells each one of us, ‘Stop, stop, not every day will be so. Do not get used to this as if it were eternity. There will be one day that you will be taken, while the other one will remain, you will be taken, you will be removed.’ It means going with the Lord, thinking that our life will end.”…Pope Francis Santa Marta, 17 November 2017
“So you see, my brothers, that we have been given every inducement, to amend our lives. We have been called by God and now it is up to us to return to Him, while we still have time to One, who is ready to receive us. For if we renounce sinful pleasures and practice self-control, by refusing to yield to our evil desires, we shall share in the mercy of Jesus.
You must know, however, that the day of judgement, like a flaming furnace, is already approaching. Sun, moon and stars will be consumed and the whole earth will become like lead melting in the fire. All that each man has done, whether openly or in secret, will then be brought to light. Therefore, a very good way of atoning for our sins is by being generous to the poor. Fasting is better than prayer but almsgiving surpasses both, for love covers a multitude of sins. Nevertheless, prayer delivers the soul from death, if it proceeds from a good conscience. Happy the man who is found rich in these virtues; by relieving the poor, he himself will be relieved of his sins.
To make sure that none of us is lost, we must repent from the bottom of our hearts.”…Anonymous author, second century, An Ancient Christian Writer – An excerpt from A Homily
PRAYER – Lord God, grant to us that the power of Your protecting hand may keep us unshaken in the face of our ancient enemy and all his hidden snares. Lighten our way so that, through the prayers of intercession of St Gertrude and St Margaret of Scotland, we may experience the joy of Your presence in our hearts and courage at times of suffering. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Saint of the Day – 16 November – St Margaret of Scotland (1045-1093) Queen
Saint of the Day – 16 November – St Margaret of Scotland (1045-1093) Queen consort of Scotland – born in c 1045 in Hungary and died on 16 November 1093 at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, four days after her husband and son died in defense of the castle. Patronages – Scotland, Dunfermline, Fife, Shetland, The Queen’s Ferry, queens, widows, against the death of children and Anglo-Scottish relations. St Margaret was the mother of three kings of Scotland, or four, if Edmund of Scotland, who ruled with his uncle, Donald III, is counted and of a queen consort of England. According to the Vita S. Margaritae (Scotorum) Reginae (Life of St Margaret, Queen (of the Scots), attributed to Turgot of Durham, she died at Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1093, merely days after receiving the news of her husband’s death in battle.
Saint Margaret’s name signifies “pearl” “a fitting name,” says Bishop Turgot, her confessor and her first biographer, “for one such as she.” Her soul was like a precious pearl. A life spent amidst the luxury of a royal court never dimmed its lustre, or stole it away from him who had bought it with his blood. She was the grand-daughter of an English king and in 1070 she became the bride of Malcolm and reigned Queen of Scotland till her death in 1093.
How did she become a Saint in a position where sanctity is so difficult?
Margaret’s biographer Turgot of Durham, Bishop of St Andrew’s, credits her with having a civilising influence on her husband Malcolm by reading him narratives from the Bible. She instigated religious reform, striving to conform the worship and practices of the Church in Scotland to those of Rome. This she did on the inspiration and with the guidance of Lanfranc, a future Archbishop of Canterbury. She also worked to conform the practices of the Scottish Church to those of the continental Church, which she experienced in her childhood. Due to these achievements, she was considered an exemplar of the “just ruler” and moreover influenced her husband and children, especially her youngest son, the future King David I of Scotland, to be just and holy rulers.
“The chroniclers all agree in depicting Queen Margaret as a strong, pure, noble character, who had very great influence over her husband and through him over Scottish history, especially in its ecclesiastical aspects. Her religion, which was genuine and intense, was of the newest Roman style and to her are attributed a number of reforms by which the Church [in] Scotland was considerably modified from the insular and primitive type which down to her time it had exhibited. Among those expressly mentioned are a change in the manner of observing Lent, which thenceforward began as elsewhere on Ash Wednesday and not as previously on the following Monday and the abolition of the old practice of observing Saturday (Sabbath), not Sunday, as the day of rest from labour (see Skene’s Celtic Scotland, book ii chap. 8).” The later editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica, however, as an example, the Eleventh Edition, remove Skene’s opinion that Scottish Catholics formerly rested from work on Saturday, something for which there is no historical evidence. Skene’s Celtic Scotland, vol. ii, chap. 8, pp. 348–350, quotes from a contemporary document regarding Margaret’s life but his source says nothing at all of Saturday Sabbath observance but rather says St Margaret exhorted the Scots to cease their tendency “to neglect the due observance of the Lord’s day.”
She attended to charitable works, serving orphans and the poor every day before she ate and washing the feet of the poor in imitation of Christ. She rose at midnight every night to attend the liturgy. She successfully invited the Benedictine Order to establish a monastery in Dunfermline, Fife in 1072 and established ferries at Queensferry and North Berwick to assist pilgrims journeying from south of the Firth of Forth to St Andrew’s in Fife. She used a cave on the banks of the Tower Burn in Dunfermline as a place of devotion and prayer. St Margaret’s Cave, now covered beneath a municipal car park, is open to the public. Among other deeds, Margaret also instigated the restoration of Iona Abbey in Scotland. She is also known to have interceded for the release of fellow English exiles who had been forced into serfdom by the Norman conquest of England.
Margaret was as pious privately, as she was publicly. She spent much of her time in prayer, devotional reading and ecclesiastical embroidery. This apparently had considerable effect on the more uncouth Malcolm, who was illiterate – he so admired her piety that he had her books decorated in gold and silver. One of these, a pocket gospel book with portraits of the Evangelists, is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England.[8]
Malcolm was apparently largely ignorant of the long-term effects of Margaret’s endeavours. He was content for her to pursue her reforms as she desired, which was a testament to the strength of and affection in their marriage.
St Margaret did not neglect her duties in the world because she was not of it. Never was a better mother. She spared no pains in the education of her eight children, 6 sons and 2 daughters and their sanctity was the fruit of her prudence and her zeal. Never was a better queen. She was the most trusted counsellor of her husband and she laboured for the material improvement of the country.
Her husband Malcolm III, and their eldest son Edward, were killed in the Battle of Alnwick against the English on 13 November 1093. Her son Edgar was left with the task of informing his mother of their deaths. Not yet 50 years old, Margaret died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son. The cause of death was reportedly grief. After receiving Holy Viaticum, she was repeating the prayer from the Missal, “O Lord Jesus Christ, who by thy death didst give life to the world, deliver me.” At the words “deliver me,” says her biographer, she took her departure to Christ, the Author of true liberty.
She was buried before the high altar in Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland. In 1250, the year of her Canonisation, by Pope Innocent IV, her body and that of her husband were exhumed and placed in a new shrine in the Abbey. Her relics were dispersed after the Scottish Reformation and subsequently lost. Mary, Queen of Scots, at one time owned her head, which was subsequently preserved by Jesuits in the Scottish College, Douai, France, from where it was lost during the French Revolution.
Quote/s of the Day – 15 November – The Memorial of St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”)
Quote/s of the Day – 15 November – The Memorial of St Albert the Great (1200-1 280) Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”)
Known as Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”) for the extraordinary depth of his knowledge and learning, Albertus Magnus wrote extensively on numerous subjects. Here are some words of wisdom from a variety of his writings.
“Anyone who receives this Sacrament,
with the devotion of sincere faith,
will never taste death.”
“The greater and more persistent,
your confidence in God, the more
abundantly you will receive, all that you ask.”
“I have never gone out, to mingle with the world,
without losing something of myself.”
“The surest and quickest way
to attain perfection, is to strive,
for purity of heart.
Once the obstacles have been removed,
God finds a clear path and does wonders,
both in and through the soul.”
“Above all, one should accept everything,
in general and individually, in oneself or in others,
agreeable or disagreeable,
with a prompt and confident spirit,
as coming from the hand of His infallible Providence
or the order He has arranged.”
On Cleaving to God
“Mary is the Divine Page
on which the Father
wrote the Word of God,
His Son.”
St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 15 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:20–25
One Minute Reflection – 15 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:20–25 – Thursday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Albert the Great (1200-1280) and St Leopold the Good (1073-1136)
“…For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”...Luke 17:21
REFLECTION – “The kingdom of God according to our Lord and Saviour’s word “does not come with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ but the kingdom of God is within us”. For the Word “is very near, in our mouth and in our heart” (cf. Dt 30:14; Rm 10:8). So it is clear, that the one who prays that the kingdom of God may come, prays that the kingdom of God may spring up in him, bear fruit and be rightly perfected. This is because every saint is ruled by God, obeys the spiritual laws of God and dwells in himself as in a well-ordered city. The Father is present with him and Christ rules with the Father, in his perfected soul, in accord with the verse we called to mind a little earlier, “We will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14:23).
As we make continual progress, the highest point of the kingdom of God will be established for us when the apostle Paul’s word is fulfilled, when Christ with all His enemies made subject to Him will deliver “the kingdom to God the Father … that God may be all in all” (1 Cor 15:24, 28).
Therefore, let us pray constantly (cf. Thess 5:17) with a character being divinised by the Word and let us say to our Father in heaven, “hallowed be your name, your kingdom come” (Mt 6:9).”…Origen (c 185-253) Father of the Church
PRAYER – Our Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done! Grant us Lord, a true knowledge of our salvation, so that freed from fear and from the power of our foes, we may serve You faithfully, all the days of our lives and thus attain eternal joy with You. May the prayers of St Albert and St Leopold on our behalf, be a succour to us all. Through our Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Quote of the Day – 14 November
Quote of the Day – 14 November
“There is One very near you
Who knocks at your door every hour of the day,
Who begs you to listen to Him
and to keep silence in order to hear Him.”
St Simon-Marie-Just Ranfer de Bretenières (1838-1866) Martyr
One Minute Reflection – 14 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:11–19
One Minute Reflection – 14 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:11–19 -Wednesday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Laurence O’Toole (1128 – 1180)
“Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?”…Luke 17:17
REFLECTION – “In our own day we see many people at prayer but, unfortunately, we see none of them turning back to give thanks to God… “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” As I think you will remember, it was in these words that our Saviour complained about the lack of gratitude of the other nine lepers. We read that they knew well how to make “supplications, prayers, petitions” since they lifted up their voices, crying out: “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” But they lacked the fourth thing required by the apostle Paul: “thanksgiving” (1Tm 2:1) for they did not turn back nor give thanks to God.
We see still more in our own day people who implore God for what they lack but a mere handful who seem to be grateful for the blessings they have received. There is no harm in imploring Him but what causes God not to grant our prayers, is His finding us lacking in gratitude. After all, perhaps it is even an act of mercy on His part to hold back from the ungrateful what they are asking for, so that they may not be judged all the more rigorously, on account of their ingratitude… For it is sometimes out of mercy that God holds back His mercy…
So you see that not all those who are healed of the leprosy of this world, I mean their manifest complaints, profit by their healing. Indeed, many are secretly afflicted with an ulcer worse than leprosy, all the more dangerous in that it is more interior. That is why it was right that the Saviour of the world should ask where the other nine lepers were, since sinners avoid healing. So, too, after his sin, God questioned the first man: “Where are you?” (Gn 3:9).”… St Bernard (1091-1153) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – You Lord, Holy Father, never forget Your solemn covenant and grant us new life each day. We though in our hearts of stone do forget and cease to thank and bless You. Make our hearts turn in gratitude, for all we are and have is by Your grace and we are as nothing without You. May our minds, hearts and souls sing with love and thanks to You, Lord our God. Grant us new hearts by the prayers of Your Saint Laurence O’Toole and all the saints in heaven, who always lived with grateful hearts, praising You always. We ask this this through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 13 November – The Memorial of St Agostina Livia Pietrantoni S.D.C. (1864-1894)
Thought for the Day – 13 November – The Memorial of St Agostina Livia Pietrantoni S.D.C. (1864-1894)
We look to Saint Agostina and contemplate her life and the way that she lived it- always for others, never for herself. First she laboured in the home, taking care of her younger siblings and helping out on the farm. Then, she was a migrant farm worker to earn more money to support her family, while providing love and direction to the many other children in the same situation. When she entered religious life, she dedicated her life to the sick and the poor in the tuberculosis ward- a place of constant suffering and death. Every day she faced the deadly disease and found joy and love in giving care to the people who contracted it. She knew that she was nothing and was prepared to let go of herself entirely every day, in service to the lowest of the low, even after being so brutally attacked, she forgave instantly- she saw the best in the worst of people and knew what she had to do.
I am cowardly and weak and selfish and I hope that one day I can hold in my heart, a tiny fraction of the love and the self-giving of this gentle St Agostina.
We will lie down for such a long time after death that it is worth while to keep standing while we are alive. Let us work now, one day we will rest. – St Agostina
St Agostina Pietrantoni – Pray for Us!
Quote of the Day – 13 November – The Memorial of St Agostina Livia Pietrantoni S.D.C. (1864-1894)
Quote of the Day – 13 November – The Memorial of St Agostina Livia Pietrantoni S.D.C. (1864-1894)
“All, is too little for the Lord.”
St Agostina Pietrantoni (1864-1894)
One Minute Reflection – 13 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:7–10
One Minute Reflection – 13 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:7–10 – Tuesday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Stanislaus Kostka SJ (1550-1568) & St Agostina Livia Pietrantoni S.D.C. (1864-1894)
“So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants, we have only done what was our duty.’ ”…Luke 17:10
REFLECTION – “You do not say to your servant, “Sit down” but require more service from him and do not thank him. The Lord also, does not allow only one work or labour for you, because so long as we live, we must always work. Know that you are a servant overwhelmed by very much obedience. You must not set yourself first, because you are called a son of God. Grace must be acknowledged but nature not overlooked. Do not boast of yourself if you have served well, as you should have done. The sun obeys, the moon complies and the angels serve. Let us not require praise for ourselves, nor prevent the judgement of God and anticipate the sentence of the Judge but reserve it, for its own time and Judge. ”…Saint Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor of the Church (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 8)
PRAYER– Holy Father, I beg Your grace to achieve sanctity. Grant me the wisdom to follow Your Son, the fortitude to persevere in all trails and to be Your servant to all Your children but most of all Holy Father, grant me Your grace to obtain eternal life. Precious youths, St Stanislaus and St Agostina, please pray for us all , amen.
Thought for the Day – 12 November – “He gave his life for the unity of the Church” – The Memorial of St Josaphat (1584-1623) Bishop and Martyr
“He gave his life for the unity of the Church”
Pope Piux XI
Bishop of Rome
An excerpt from Ecclesiam Dei
Memorial of St Josaphat (1584-1623) Bishop and Martyr “the thief of souls.”
“In designing his Church God worked with such skill that in the fullness of time it would resemble a single great family embracing all men. It can be identified, as we know, by certain distinctive characteristics, notably its universality and unity.
Christ the Lord passed on to His apostles the task He had received from the Father: ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.’ He wanted the apostles as a body to be intimately bound together, first by the inner tie of the same faith and love which flows into our hearts through the Holy Spirit and, second, by the external tie of authority exercised by one apostle over the others. For this he assigned the primacy to Peter, the source and visible basis of their unity for all time. So that the unity and agreement among them would endure, God wisely stamped them, one might say, with the mark of holiness and martyrdom.
Both these distinctions fell to Josaphat, Archbishop of Polock of the Slavonic rite of the Eastern Church. He is rightly looked upon as the great glory and strength of the Eastern Rite Slavs. Few have brought them greater honour or contributed more to their spiritual welfare than Josaphat, their pastor and apostle, especially when he gave his life as a martyr for the unity of the Church. He felt, in fact, that God had inspired him to restore world-wide unity to the Church and he realised that his greatest chance of success lay in preserving the Slavonic rite and Saint Basil’s rule of monastic life within the one universal Church.
Concerned mainly with seeing his own people reunited to the See of Peter, he sought out every available argument which would foster and maintain Church unity. His best arguments were drawn from liturgical books, sanctioned by the Fathers of the Church, which were in common use among Eastern Christians, including the dissidents. Thus thoroughly prepared, he set out to restore the unity of the Church. A forceful man of fine sensibilities, he met with such success that his opponents dubbed him “the thief of souls.”
The seeds of separation were sown in the fourth century when the Roman Empire was divided into East and West. The actual split came over customs such as using unleavened bread, Saturday fasting and celibacy. No doubt the political involvement of religious leaders on both sides was a large factor and doctrinal disagreement was present. But no reason was enough to justify the present tragic division in Christendom, which is 64 percent Roman Catholic, 13 percent Eastern—mostly Orthodox—Churches and 23 percent Protestant and this when the 71 percent of the world that is not Christian, should be experiencing unity and Christ-like charity from Christians! (These figures from Franciscan Media)
St Josaphat, Ora pro Nobis!
One Minute Reflection – 12 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:1-6
One Minute Reflection – 12 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:1-6 – Monday of the Thirty-second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and The Memorial of St Josaphat (1584-1623) Martyr
“Temptations to sin are sure to come but woe to the person through whom they occur! It would be better for him, if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea, than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin…” Luke 17:1-2
REFLECTION – “The accompanying discussion that immediately follows these opening remarks and speaks of our pardoning our brothers and sisters in case they ever sin against us, leads us to the idea that these were the offences meant. What are these offences? They are, I suppose, mean and annoying actions, fits of anger whether on good grounds or without justification, insults, slander and other stumbling blocks similar to these. He says that these temptations must come. Is this then because God, who governs all, forces people to their commission of sin? Away with the thought! Nothing that is evil comes from Him. He is the fountain of all virtue. Why then must this happen? They clearly happen because of our infirmity, for all of us stumble in many things, as it is written. Nevertheless, He says, that there will be woe to the person who lays the stumbling blocks in the way. He does not leave indifference in these things without rebuke but restrains it by fear of punishment. He still commands us to bear with patience those who cause sins to happen.”…St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) – Father & Doctor – Commentary on Luke, “Homilies 113-116”
PRAYER – O Lord our God, grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love and to be only good influences to our neighbour. That by our love, our brothers in faith may be one . St Josaphat you fought and struggled to unite the Church and by your efforts achieved the crown of martyrdom, please pray for our world, for a one united faith. Amen
Sunday Reflection – 11 November – “Standing before the Lord” – Pope Benedict XVI
Sunday Reflection – 11 November
“Standing before the Lord” (Excerpt)
Pope Benedict XVI
In the Church of former times, the word for this was statio. …From the very beginning, when Christianity spread throughout the world, its heralds laid the greatest importance on there being only one bishop and only one altar in every town. This was meant to express the unity of the one Lord, who unites us all in His embrace from the Cross, an embrace that goes beyond the frontiers drawn by earthly life and forms us into one body. And this, of course, is the innermost meaning of the Eucharist, that, by receiving the one bread, we actually enter into this one centre and thus become a living organism, the one body of the Lord.
The Eucharist is not a private matter among friends, taking place in a club of like-minded people where congenial spirits meet together. On the contrary, just as the Lord allowed Himself to be crucified publicly outside the city walls, stretching out His hands to all, the Eucharist is the public worship celebrated by all, whom the Lord calls….
It was fundamental to the Eucharist in the Mediterranean world, which first saw the growth of Christianity, that the aristocrat who had found his way to Christianity should sit down with the Corinthian dock-worker, the miserable slave who, according to Roman law, was not even held to be a human being and was dealt with as chattel. It is of the very nature of the Eucharist, that the philosopher should sit beside the illiterate man, the converted prostitute and the converted tax-collector beside the ascetic who has found his way to Jesus Christ.
In Rome, for instance, even during the era of persecution, the titular churches came into being as predecessors of the later parishes…..the Eucharist continued to unite people who would otherwise not mix. Consequently, the statio was introduced – here, particularly during Lent, the Pope, as the single Bishop of Rome, goes among the individual titular churches and celebrates the liturgy for the whole city of Rome.
Christians gather together and go to church together, thus, in the individual churches, the whole Church is visible and is manifest at the individual level.
The Lord gathers us together and opens us so that we can accept one another and belong to one another, so that, in standing side by side with Him, we can learn once again to stand together with one another. ….What binds us together is not the private interest of this or that group but the interest which God takes in us. And we can calmly and confidently, entrust all our interests to Him. We commit ourselves to the Lord. And the more we commit ourselves to the Lord and stand before Him, the more we stand together with one another and the more power we discover to understand each other, to recognise each other as human beings, as brothers and sisters. In this way, in this fellowship with one another, we are building the foundations for humanity and making it possible.
Joseph Card Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI “Seek that Which is Above”
Thought for the Day – 11 November – The Memorial of St Martin of Tours (c 316-397)
Thought for the Day – 11 November – The Memorial of St Martin of Tours (c 316-397)
Martin knew long in advance the time of his death and he told his brethren that it was near. Meanwhile, he found himself obliged to make a visitation of the parish of Candes. The clergy of that church were quarrelling and he wished to reconcile them.
Although he knew that his days on earth were few, he did not refuse to undertake the journey for such a purpose, for he believed that he would bring his virtuous life to a good end if by his efforts peace was restored in the church.
He spent some time in Candes, or rather in its church, where he stayed. Peace was restored and he was planning to return to his monastery when suddenly he began to lose his strength. He summoned his brethren and told them he was dying. All who heard this were overcome with grief. In their sorrow, they cried to him with one voice: “Father, why are you deserting us? Who will care for us when you are gone? Savage wolves will attack your flock and who will save us from their bite when our shepherd is struck down? We know you long to be with Christ but your reward is certain and will not be any less for being delayed. You will do better to show pity for us, rather than forsake us.”
Thereupon he broke into tears, for he was a man in whom the compassion of our Lord was continually revealed. Turning to our Lord, he made this reply to their pleading: “Lord, if Your people still need me, I am ready for the task, Your will be done.”
Here was a man words cannot describe. Death could not defeat him nor toil dismay him. He was quite without a preference of his own, he neither feared to die nor refused to live. With eyes and hands always raised to heaven he never withdrew his unconquered spirit from prayer. It happened that some priests who had gathered at his bedside suggested that he should give his poor body some relief by lying on his other side. He answered: “Allow me, brothers, to look toward heaven rather than at the earth, so that my spirit may set on the right course when the time comes for me to go on my journey to the Lord.”
“Never was there any word on his lips but Christ and never was there a feeling in his heart except piety, peace and tender mercy.”
a letter by Sulpicius Severus (c 360 – c 425) Born around 360 AD in the region of Gaul (modern France) called Aquitaine, Sulpicius Severus was an up and coming lawyer till his wife’s death caused him to pause and take stock of his life. The example of his frend, St Paulinus of Nola (354-431) and the exhortations of St Martin, bishop of Tours, led to his conversion to the monastic life. He settled on an estate in Southern Gaul and set to work writing the life of St Martin who was still alive at the time. The work became very influential on later authors writing lives of the saints. According to one author, Sulpicius was ultimately ordained a priest and lived till about 420.
St Martin of Tours, Pray for Us!
Quote/s of the Day – 11 November – The Memorial of St Martin of Tours (c 316-397)
Quote/s of the Day – 11 November – The Memorial of St Martin of Tours (c 316-397)
“Now let me fight for God.
As for your bonus, let someone
who is going to join the battle receive it.
I am a soldier of Christ-
combat is not permitted me.”
“In the name of the Lord Jesus
and protected
only by the sign of the cross,
without shield or helmet,
I shall penetrate the enemy’s ranks
and not be afraid.”
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