Category: CATHOLIC Quotes

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PEACE

Quote/s of the Day – 21 March – St Benedict

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Quote/s of the Day – 21 March – St Benedict OSB (c480-547) Abbot

“Listen and attend
with the ear of your heart.”

“Be careful to be gentle,
lest in removing the rust,
you break the whole instrument.”

“Idleness is an enemy of the soul.”

O God, Be With Us
By St Benedict (c480-547)

O God,
from Whom to be turned,
is to fall,
to Whom to be turned,
is to rise,
and in Whom to stand,
is to abide forever.
Grant us in all our duties, Thy help,
in all our perplexities, Thy guidance,
in all our dangers, Thy protection,
and in all our sorrows, Thy peace,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/03/21/quote-s-of-the-day-21-march-st-benedict-2/

St Benedict (c480-547)

Posted in "Follow Me", CARMELITES, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, LENT 2024, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The BEATITUDES, The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES: JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 21 March – Seek for Nothing!

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Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 21 March – Thursday of Passion Week – Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6, Matthew 19:27-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“He asked life of Thee,
Thou hast given him
length of days,
forever and ever.”
Psalm 20:5

“And everyone who has left house,
or brethren, or sisters, or father,
or mother, or wife, or children, or lands
for My Name’s sake,
shall receive a hundredfold
and shall possess life everlasting.”
Matthew 19:29

Seek for Nothing!

By St John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Doctor of the Church

“Seek for nothing, desiring to enter for love of Jesus, with detachment, emptiness and poverty in everything in this world.
You will never have to do with necessities greater than those to which you made your heart yield itself – for the poor in spirit are most happy and joyful in a state of privation and he, who has set his heart on nothing, finds satisfaction everywhere.

The poor in spirit (Mt 5:3) give generously all they have and their pleasure consists in being thus deprived of everything for God’s sake and out of love for their neighbour …
Not only do temporal goods – the delights and tastes of the senses – hinder and thwart the way of God but, spiritual delights and consolations also, if sought for or clung to eagerly, disturb the way of virtue.” – (Spiritual maxims, nos. 352, 355,356, 364; 1693 Edition).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on POVERTY, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on the POOR, St Francis de Sales, The HOLY NAME, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 21 March– Shall receive a hundredfold … Matthew 19:29

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One Minute Reflection – 21 March – Thursday in Passion Week – St Benedict OSB (c480-547) Abbot – Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6; Matthew 19:27-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… Shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life everlasting.” – Matthew 19:29

REFLECTION – “The possessions which we have, are not our own: God has given them to us to cultivate and He wishes us to render them fruitful and profitable … Always deprive yourself, therefore, of some part of your means, giving them to the poor with a willing heart … It is true that God will return it to you, not only in the next world but also in this, for there is nothing which makes a person prosper, in temporal matters, so much, as almsgiving. But until such time as God shall repay it, you will always be impoverished to that extent. Oh! how holy and rich is the impoverishment which is caused by almsgiving.

Love the poor and poverty, for by this love you will become truly poor, since, as Scripture says: “We become like the things that we love” (cf Hos 9:10). Love makes those who love, equal to one another: “Who is weak and I am not weak?” says St Paul (2 Cor 11:29). He might have said: “Who is poor, with whom I am not poor?” For love made him become, such as those whom he loved. If, then, you love the poor, you will be truly participating in their poverty and poor like them. Now, if you love the poor, be often among them; be pleased to see them in your house and to visit them in theirs; associate willingly with them; be glad that they are near you in the Churches, in the streets and elsewhere. Be poor in speech with them, speaking to them as their equal but be rich in deed, giving them of your goods, as one who possesses more abundantly.

Will you do even more? … Become a servant of the poor; go to serve them … with your own hands … and at your own expense. This service has more glory in it than a throne!” – St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church (Introduction to the devout life, Part three Ch 15).

PRAYER – May the intercession of the blessed Abbot Benedict, commend us to Thee, O Lord, so that through his merits we may obtain that which we cannot accomplish by our own. T hrough Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES: JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 20 March – Virtues Are To Be Gradually Acquired,One At A Time and By Degrees

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Thought for the Day – 20 March – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XXXIV: Virtues Are To Be Gradually Acquired,
One At A Time and By Degrees

“Although the true servant of Christ who aspires to perfection should set no limit to his advancement, there are some kinds of spiritual fervour which require to be restrained with a certain discretion, lest, being initially embraced too ardently, they should give way and forsake us in the midst of our exercise.

Hence, besides what has been said as to moderation in exterior exercises, we
have to learn, moreover that even interior virtues, are best acquired gradually and in their due order – for thus, what is small in the beginning soon becomes great and permanent.
Thus, for instance, we should not ordinarily attempt to rejoice in afflictions and to desire them, until we have firstly passed through the lower degrees of the virtue of patience.

Neither would I have you give your chief attention to all, or to many virtues at once but, initially to one and then to the others – for thus, will the virtuous habit be more easily and firmly planted in the soul.
For, by the constant exercise of a single virtue, the memory recurs to it more promptly on all occasions, the intellect grows quicker to discern new methods and reasons for attaining it and, the will inclines more readily and fervently to its pursuit, than if occupied with many virtues at one and the same time.

And, by means of the uniformity of the exercise, the acts which relate to any single virtue are produced with less effort from the conformity between them. The one calls forth and aids his fellow and, by their mutual resemblance, they make a deeper impression upon the heart which is prepared and disposed, for the reception of new seed, by having already brought forth similar fruits.

These reasons have the greater force, as we know assuredly that whoever exercises himself well in one virtue, learns, at the same time, how to exercise himself in another and thus, by the inseparable connection between them, all grow together with the increase of one, as rays proceeding from one and the same Divine Light.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in "Follow Me", CATECHESIS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, St Francis de Sales, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 20 March – Gathering up the Words He speaks to us

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Quote/s of the Day – 20 March – Wednesday in Passion Week – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25; John 10:22-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“My sheep hear My Voice;
I know them and they follow Me.”

John 10:27

“For just as from the Heavens,
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there,
until they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to him who sows
and bread to him who eats.”
Isaias 55:11

“So the Word that He shall send through His Christ,
Who is Himself, the Word and the Message,
shall return to Him with great power.
For when He shall come and bring it,
He shall come down like rain and snow
and through Him all that is sown shall spring up
and bear righteous fruit …
And this is the Voice through which
the dead shall live.”

St Aphraates “the Sage” (Died c 345)
Abbot, Father of the Church

“Always (read and) listen to it (the Scriptures)
with attention and reverence;
make good use of it;
do not let it fall to earth
but take it into your heart
like a precious balm.
Do all this after the example
of the most holy Virgin,
for she carefully kept in her heart
all the words spoken in praise of her Child.
Remember that our Lord gathers up
the words we speak to Him in prayer,
in measure with the way
we gather up those He speaks to us
by His preaching.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

(Introduction to the Devout Life
Part 2 Chapter 17)

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, LENT 2024, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The WORD

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 20 March –Seize Christ with the Hands of Faith

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Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 20 March – Wednesday in Passion Week – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25; John 10:22-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“O Lord my God, I have cried to Thee
and Thou hast healed me.”
Psalm 29:3

“My sheep hear My Voice.
And I know them
and they follow Me.

”
John 10:27

Seize Christ with the Hands of Faith

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

“If the Law calls them gods to whom the Word of God came and Scripture cannot be set aside, how can you say that the One Whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? Yes indeed, if God has spoken to us, so that we might be called ‘gods,’ how could the Word of God, the Word which is in God, not be God? If we have been made sharers in His nature and have become gods because God speaks to us, how could this Word, through which this gift comes to us, not be God? … As for you, you approach the Light and receive it and are counted among the children of God but, if you draw back, you become dark and are counted among the children of darkness (cf 1 Thes 5:5). …

“Believe the works, so that you may realise and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father.” The Son of God does not say “the Father is in Me and I in the Father” in the same sense as we are able to do. In effect, if our thoughts are good, we are in God; if our lives are holy, God is in us. When we are sharers in His Grace and enlightened by His Light, then we are in Him and He in us. But … recognise what is proper to the Lord and what is a gift made to His servant. What is proper to the Lord is His equality with the Father but the gift granted to His servant is to participate in the Saviour.

“Then they tried to seize Him.” If only they had seized Him! But by faith and intellect, not so as to mock and put Him to death! At this very moment, as I speak to you … all of us, both you and I, are wanting to seize Christ. To ‘seize’ what does that mean? You have ‘seized’ when you have understood. But Christ’s enemies were looking for something different. You have seized in order to possess but they wanted to seize Him in order to get rid of Him! And because this was how they wanted to seize Him, what does Jesus do? “He escaped from their power.” They were unable to seize Him because they did not have the hands of faith. … We truly seize Christ, if our minds grasp the Word!” – (Sermons on the Gospel of John No 48: 9-11).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 March – ‘ … But, we are able to fall from His Hands, if we are negligent!’

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One Minute Reflection – 20 March – “The Month of St Joseph” – Wednesday in Passion Week – Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-19, 25; John 10:22-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And I give them everlasting life and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My Hand.” – John 10:28

REFLECTION – “For “no-one snatches us away from His Hands,” according to what was said in the Gospel according to John.
Yet, it is not written, that just as no-one snatches us away, no-one also falls from His Hands.
For one who is self-determined is free.
And, I say, no-one will snatch us away from the Hand of God, no-one can take us.
But, we are able to fall from His Hands, if we are negligent!” – Origen (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father (Homilies on Jeremiah, 18).

PRAYER – In Thy mercy, O Lord, may this hallowing fast enlighten the hearts of Thy faithful people and since Thou have given them the desire to serve Thee, lend a gracious ear to their prayers.Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DEATH, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 19 March – The Patronage of St Joseph

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Thought for the Day – 19 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Patronage of Saint Joseph

“We shall have particular need of the protection of St Joseph at the hour of death.
He had the most beautiful of deaths, for Jesus and Mary were by his side.
All his life he had lived only for them.
He had worked for them, worried about them and loved them.
In the end, he was able to see them near him, his own sweet Jesus and his beloved Spouse.
His must have been, a very peaceful death.
He had fulfilled his mission and Jesus and Mary were there to console him in his last agony.

We shall come to the end of our lives too, perhaps sooner than we imagine.
Let us ask the Holy Patriarch for the favour of a happy death.
Let us ask him to ensure that Jesus and Mary will help us too, when we are leaving this world.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/20/thought-for-the-day-20-march-the-patronage-of-st-joseph/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/03/20/thought-for-the-day-20-march-the-patronage-of-saint-joseph/

Posted in GUARDIAN ANGELS - Prayers etc, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FRIENDSHIP

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 19 March – A Happy or Miserable Eternity

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Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 19 March – The Month and Feast of St Joseph

MEDITATION on the Feast of St Joseph,
The Patron of a Holy and Happy Death

A Happy or Miserable Eternity

“When a person thinks seriously that on the moment of death, depends a happy or miserable eternity, his heart must be obdurate, indeed, if he be not struck with fear, for if the just be scarcely saved, where will the sinner appear?
O, Lord! enter not into judgement with Thy servant, for no-one living is justified in Thy sight!

The holy Abbot Agatho, being seized with trembling at his last hour and his religious having asked him the cause — he replied that although, by the great mercy of God, his conscience did not reproach him with anything, yet that the Divine Judgement being very different from those of men, he was in great alarm.
No wonder he should have felt so — all our good works are imperfect in the sight of the Divine Majesty.

If the Angels succour us in this dread moment, do they not prove themselves our true friends?
It is in the time of affliction a person knows a sincere friend and behold, in the hour of death, when all abandon us to our fate, when our bodies are consigned to the solitary tomb and our soul “goes to the house of its eternity,” the Angels, faithful to their charge, never depart from us. ” – (Devotion to the Holy Angels)

O My Good Angel
Prayer to One’s Guardian Angel
Appointing him Intercessory at the Hour of Death
By St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)

My good Angel – I know not when or how I shall die.
It is possible I may be carried off suddenly
and before my last sigh, I may be deprived of all intelligence.
Yet, how many things I would wish to say to God,
on the threshold of eternity.
In the full freedom of my will today,
I come to charge thee to speak for me
at that fearful moment.
Thou will say to Him, then, O my good Angel –
That I wish to die
in the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church
in which all the Saints, since Jesus Christ, have died
and, out of which, there is no salvation.
That I ask the grace, of sharing
in the Infinite Merits of my Redeemer
and that I desire to die, in pressing to my lips,
the Cross which was bathed in His Blood!
That I detest my sins because they displease Him
and that I pardon, through love of Him,
all my enemies, as I wish myself to be pardoned.
That I die willingly because He orders it
and that I throw myself, with confidence,
into His adorable Heart, awaiting all His mercy.
That in my inexpressible desire to go to Heaven,
I am disposed to suffer everything
it may please His Sovereign Justice to inflict on me.
That I love Him before all things,
above all things and for His own sake;
that I wish and hope, to love Him with the elect,
His Angels and the Blessed Mother,
during all eternity.
Do not refuse, O my Angel,
to be my interpreter with God
and to protest to Him, that these,
are my sentiments and my will.
Amen.

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, INDULGENCES, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, PARTIAL Indulgence, PRAYERS TO St Joseph, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on JUSTICE, QUOTES on PURITY, St Francis de Sales, St JOSEPH, The HOLY FAMILY

Quote/s of the Day – 19 March – St Joseph

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Quote/s of the Day – 19 March – The Month and Feast of St Joseph

“So, taking Christ’s genealogy from Joseph –
a husband in chastity,
he was father in the same way. …
Are you saying that he did not conceive Jesus
through the operation of nature?
Well then, what the Holy Spirit operated,
He did for them both.
For Joseph was “a just man,” Matthew tells us (1:19).
Both husband and wife were just.
The Holy Spirit dwelt within their mutual justice
and gave each of them, a Son!”

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

“How faithful in humility was the great Saint
we are celebrating!
That cannot be said in all its perfection,
for, in spite of what he was,
in what poverty and lowliness he lived,
all the days of his life – a poverty and lowliness
beneath which. he kept hidden and concealed,
his great virtues and dignity! …
Truly, I am free of doubt that the Angels came,
beside themselves with admiration, rank upon rank,
to behold and wonder at his humility,
while he sheltered that dearest Child
in the poor workshop where he worked at his employment,
so as to feed the little Boy and the Mother entrusted to him.”

“Behold, the Angel of the Lord
appeared to him in his sleep …”
Matthew 1:20

“And what wisdom did he not have? 
For God gave him his most glorious Son to care for …
the universal Prince of Heaven and earth …
Nevertheless, you can see how low
and humbled he was brought,
more than can be said or imagined …
he went to his own Country and Town of Bethlehem
and none but he was turned away from all those inns …
Notice how the Angel turns him about with both hands.
He tells him he has to go to Egypt and he goes;
he orders him to return and he returns.
God wants him to be always poor …
and he submits to it with love and, not only for a while,
for he was poor his whole life long!”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

Indulgenced Prayer
to St Joseph
O St Joseph! Pray for Us Daily

O Joseph!
virgin father of Jesus,
pure Spouse of the Virgin Mother,
pray for us daily
to the Son of God,
that, armed with the weapons
of His grace,
we may fight as we ought in life
and be crowned by Him in death.
Amen

(Indulgence of 100 days, twice a day
St Pius X 26 November 1906)

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on VICE, QUOTES on VIRTUE, SELF-DISTRUST, The HEART, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 18 March –Instructions for Mortifying Passions,to Attain the Necessary Virtues (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 18 March – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XXXIII: … Instructions for Mortifying Passions,
to Attain the Necessary Virtues (Part Two)

“And a last 3 points of advice:

+++ 4. Let your whole heart desire nothing, think of nothing, crave nothing, long for nothing but to conquer that passion with which you are struggling and to attain its contrary virtue.
Be this your world, your Heaven, your earth, your whole treasure and all with
the sole view of pleasing God.
Whether eating or fasting, labouring, or resting, watching or sleeping, at home or abroad, whether engaged in devotion or in manual labour, let all be directed to the conquest and extinction of this passion and, to the attainment of the contrary virtue.

+++ 5. Wage unceasing war against earthly pleasures and comforts, so will no vice have much power to assail you.
For all vices spring from this one root of pleasure – when this, therefore, is cut away by hatred of self, they lose their strength and power.
For, if with one hand you will try to fight against some particular sin, or pleasure and, with the other dally, with other earthly enjoyments, although their guilt be not mortal but only venial, your battles will be difficult and bloody, your victories infrequent and uncertain.
Keep, therefore, constantly in mind these Divine words:
“He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth
his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal.” John 12:25.

“Brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die. ”

+++ 6. Lastly, it would be well, it maybe even necessary, for you to make, in the first place, a general Confession, with all the necessary conditions that you may be the better assured of your Lord’s favour, to Whom Alone you must look for all grace and victory!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/17/thought-for-the-day-17-march-instructions-for-mortifying-passionsto-attain-the-necessary-virtues-part-one/

Posted in CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The HOLY CROSS, The LAST THINGS, The SECOND COMING, The SIGN of the CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 18 March – St Cyril of Jerusalem

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 March – St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Bishop of Jerusalem, Confessor Father & Doctor of the Church

Let us not then be ashamed
to confess the Crucified!

“BE THE CROSS OUR SEAL,
made with boldness by our fingers,
on our brow and in everything,
over the bread we eat and the cups we drink,
in our comings in and goings out,
before our sleep,
when we lie down
and when we awake,
when we are in the way
and when we are still.

Great is that preservative,
it is without price,
for the poor’s sake,
without toil,
for the sick,
since also its’ grace is from God.

It is the Sign of the faithful
and the dread of evils –
for He has triumphed over them in it,
having made a shew of them openly –
for when they see the Cross,
they are reminded of the Crucified;
they are afraid of Him,
Who hath bruised the head of the dragon.

Despise not the Seal
because of the freeness of the Gift
but for this,
rather honour thy Benefactor!”

“Now then, we do not just rest only on His first advent
but look forward to His second too,
when, meeting our Master with the Angels,
we may worship Him and say:
“Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord” (Mt 21:9).
The Saviour will come, not to be judged again
but to judge those who judged Him …
He came the first time because of a Divine dispensation,
teaching people with persuasion but on that day,
they will of necessity have Him for their King.”

“And Jesus, seeing their faith,
said to the paralytic,
Take courage, son,
your sins are forgiven you.”
Matthew 9:2

“Perhaps, your own faith is feeble.
Nevertheless, the Lord, who is love
will stoop down to you,
provided only that you are penitent
and can say sincerely,
from the depths of your soul:
“Lord, I believe.
Help thou mine unbelief,”
(Mark 9:23)……”

“Before all this happens, however,
they will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues
and to prisons and they will have you led,
before kings and governors because of my name …”
Luke 21:12

“Jesus gives them clear and evident signs
of the time when the consummation
of the world draws near.
He says that there will be wars, turmoil,
famines and epidemics everywhere.
There will be terrors from heaven and great signs.
… Christ promises, however,
that He will deliver them certainly and completely.
He says that a hair of your head will not perish!”

“Let us then, my brethren, endure in hope.
Let us devote ourselves, side-by-side with our hoping,
so that the God of all the universe,
as He beholds our intention,
may cleanse us from all sins,
fill us with high hopes from what we have in hand
and grant us the change of heart which saves.
God has called you and you have your calling!”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/03/18/quote-s-of-the-day-18-march-st-cyril-of-jerusalem-2/

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2024, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on GREED, WEALTH, QUOTES on the POOR, QUOTES on WEALTH/RICHES, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WORD

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 18 March – Use Your Money for Good!

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Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 18 March – The Feast of St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Bishop of Jerusalem, Confessor Father & Doctor of the Church

“Blessed is the man who feareth the Lord,
he shall delight exceedingly in His commandments.”
Psalm 111:1

“Go, sell what you possess
and give to the poor
and you will have
treasure in Heaven.”
Matthew 19:21

Use Your Money for Good!

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“Riches, gold and silver do not belong to the devil, as some think. For the whole world of riches belongs to the faithful man but not a penny to the faithless.

Now, nothing is more faithless than the devil,and God says plainly, by the Prophet, “The gold is mine and the silver is mine” (Haggai 2:8) and He gives it to whoever He wills. Simply use it well and there is nothing wrong with money. But whenever you have made bad use of it, you are unwilling to blame your own management, so you impiously throw the blame back at the Creator.

A man may even be justified by money.
“I was hungry and you gave Me to eat” that certainly was from money.
“I was naked and you clothed Me” that too was certainly from money.

Do you want to learn how money can become a door to the Kingdom of Heaven? “Go,” Jesus says, “sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven” (Matthew 19:21).

Now, I have made these remarks because of those heretics who say that our possessions and our money and our bodies, are cursed. I do not want you to be a slave to money but neither do I want you to treat, as your enemies do, the good things, to be used for good which God has given you.”

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 March – ‘It is not I who undertook this work …’

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One Minute Reflection – 18 March – Monday in Passion Week – St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Bishop of Jerusalem, Confessor Father & Doctor of the Church – Ecclesiasticus Ecclus 39:6-14, Matthew 10:23-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” … Matthew 10:27

REFLECTION – “It is not I who undertook this work but, it is Christ the Lord Who commanded me to come to be with these Irish pagans for the rest of my life, if the Lord shall Will it and shield me from every evil … But I do not trust myself “as long as I am in this mortal body” (2 Pt 1:13; Rm 7:24) … I did not lead a perfect life like other believers but I confess to my Lord and do not blush in His sight because I am not lying, from the time when I came to know Him in my youth, the love of God and fear of Him increased in me and right up until now, by God’s favour, “I have kept the faith” (2 Tm 4:7).

What is more, let anyone laugh and taunt, if he so wishes.   I am not keeping silent, nor am I hiding “the signs and wonders” (Dn 6:27) which were shown to me by the Lord many years before they happened, He Who knew everything, even before the beginning of time.   Thus, I should give thanks unceasingly to God, who has frequently forgiven my folly and my negligence, in more than one instance and has never been angry with me, who am placed as His helper, though I did not easily assent to what had been revealed to me, as the Spirit was urging. The Lord “took pity” on me “thousands upon thousands” of times, (Ex 20:6) because He saw within me, that I was prepared to serve Him. … Many were trying to prevent this mission, they were talking among themselves behind my back and saying, “Why is this fellow throwing himself into danger among enemies who do not know God?”   Not from malice did they say this, as I myself can testify, they perceived my rusticity.   And I was not quick to recognise the grace that was then in me, I now know, that I should have done so earlier.

Now I have put it frankly to my brothers and co-workers, who have believed me because of what “I have proclaimed and still proclaim” (2 Co 13:2) to strengthen and reinforce your faith.   I wish only, that you too, would make greater and better efforts.   This will be my pride, for “a wise son makes a proud father.” (Pr 10:1)” … St Patrick (c 385-461) (The Confessions,# 43-47)

PRAYER – Grant us, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, through the intercession of the blessed Bishop Cyril, so to acknowledge Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ Whom Thou have sent, that we may be found worthy to be forever numbered among the sheep who hear His Voice.Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The SIGN of the CROSS

Our Morning Offering – 18 March – Hail, Most Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord!

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Our Morning Offering – 18 March – Monday in Passion Week

This Prayer is part of a very long
and most beautiful Night Prayer
by St John which I will post shortly.

Hail, Most Precious
and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord!
By St John Damascene (675-749)
Confessor, Father
and Doctor of the Church

Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered
and let those, who hate Him,
flee from His Presence.
As smoke vanishes, let them vanish
and as wax melts by the presence of fire,
so let the demons perish by the presence
of those who love God
and who sign themselves
with the Sign of the Cross
and say in gladness:
Hail, Most Precious
and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord,
for Thou drives away the demons
by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ
Crucified on thee, Who went down to hell
and trampled on the power of the devil
and gave us thee, His venerable Cross,
for driving away all enemies.
O Most Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord,
help me with our holy Lady,
the Virgin Mother of God
and with all the Saints throughout the ages.
Amen.

Posted in LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VIRTUE, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 17 March –Instructions for Mortifying Passions,to Attain the Necessary Virtues (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 17 March – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XXXIII: … Instructions for Mortifying Passions,
to Attain the Necessary Virtues (Part One)

“Although I have said so much on the course to be pursued in order to conquer self and adorn it with all virtues, there still remain, some other points concerning which, I would give you some advice.

+++ 1. In your endeavours after holiness, never, be persuaded to use such spiritual exercises as select formally, different virtues, for different days of the week, setting apart one for the attainment of each.
But, let the order of your warfare and your exercise, be to combat those passions which have always injured and still continue to assault and injure you and, to adorn yourself and that, with all possible perfection, with their contrary virtues.
For having once acquired these virtues, all others will be readily attained, as occasion offers, with little comparative exertion.
And occasions will never be wanting, for all the virtues are linked together in one chain and he who possesses one in perfection, has all the others ready on the threshold of his heart.

+++ 2. Never set a fixed time, such as days, or weeks, or years, for the attainment of any virtue but, as an infant newly born, a soldier just enlisted, fight your way continually towards the summit of perfection.
Never stand still, even for a moment – for to stand still in the way of virtue and perfection, is not to regain breath or courage but, to fall back, or to grow feebler
than before.
By standing still, I mean flattering ourselves that we have perfectly acquired the virtue in question and so, taking less heed of the occasions which call us to fresh acts of it, or of little failures therein.
Therefore, be careful, be fervent, be watchful – that you neglect not the slightest opportunity of exercising any virtue.
Love all such occasions and especially those which are attended with the greatest difficulty because, habits are quickest formed and deepest rooted, when the difficulties to be overcome, are greatest!
Love those occasions, therefore which present such difficulties.
Fly from those only and, with rapid step, with all diligence and speed which might lead to the temptation of the flesh.

+++ 3. Be prudent and discreet in those exercises which may prove injurious to bodily health, such as – self-chastisement by means of disciplines, hair-cloths, fasts, vigils, meditations and the like – for these virtues must be acquired slowly and by degrees, as will be hereafter explained.
As to other virtues which are wholly internal, such as – the love of God, contempt of the world, self-abasement, hatred of vicious passions and of sin, meekness and patience, love towards all men, towards those who injure us and the like, – it is not necessary to acquire these gradually, nor to mount by degrees to perfection therein but, you should strive, at once, with all your might, to practice each without delay and with all possible perfection!

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, BLESSED TRINITY PRAYERS, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), GOD ALONE!, GUARDIAN ANGELS - Prayers etc, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES for CHRIST, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on WATCHING, QUOTES on WISDOM, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Quote/s of the Day – 17 March – St Patrick

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 March – St Patrick (c386-461) “The Apostle of Ireland,” Bishop, Confessor

Excerpt from St Patrick’s Breastplate
(also known as “The Deer Cry”)

I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
His Eye to watch, His Might to stay,
His Ear to hearken to my need;
the Wisdom of my God to teach,
His Hand to guide, His shield to ward;
the Word of God to give me speech,
His Heavenly Host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
the vice which gives temptation force,
the natural lusts which war within,
the hostile men who mar my course;
of few or many, far or nigh,
in every place and in all hours
against their fierce hostility, …….
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all who love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name,
the strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One and One in Three,
of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation:
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", ArchAngels and Angels, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, GUARDIAN ANGELS - Prayers etc, LENT 2024, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, SAINT of the DAY

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 17 March – Binding Ourselves

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Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 17 March – Passion Sunday and the Feast of St Patrick (c386-461) “The Apostle of Ireland,” Bishop, Confessor, Missionary. – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“To execute upon them
the judgement which is written,
this glory is to all His saints.
Alleluia.”
Psalm 149:9

“Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see My day,
he saw it and was glad.”
John 8:56

Binding Ourselves

St Patrick (c386-461)
“The Apostle of Ireland”

“The man of God, Patrick, was
marvellously favoured with heavenly visions
and revelations in prayer.
‘When,’ says his biographer, ‘he everyday,
in the Mass, sacrificed the Son to the Father,
or devoutly recited the Apocalypse of St John,
it was granted to him to see the heavens opened
and Jesus standing there,
surrounded by a multitude of Angels
and whilst he meditated on these great visions,
his soul was altogether lost in God.’
Three times in the week the Angel Victor,
visited and conversed with him,
filling his soul with celestial consolations.
The labours of the day, amongst men,
seem to have been less arduous
than those of the night with God.”
(The Life of St Patrick, Apostle of Ireland)

Prayer of St Patrick:

I bind unto myself today
the power in the love of the Seraphim,
in the obedience of the Angels,
in the ministration of the Archangels,
in the hope of Resurrection unto reward,
in the prayers of the Patriarchs,
in the predictions of the Prophets,
in the preaching of the Apostles,
in the faith of the Confessors,
in the purity of the holy Virgins,
in the deeds of Righteous men.
Amen

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on WATCHING, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 March – Abraham rejoiced to see My day

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One Minute Reflection – 26 March – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, he saw it and was glad.” – John 8:56

REFLECTION – “Since Abraham was a Prophet he saw the day of the Lord’s coming in the Spirit, as also the designs of His Passion, through which, both he and all those like him, who believed in God, would be saved. And he was seized with great joy. Thus, the Lord was not unknown to Abraham, since he longed to see His day… He longed to see His day, so that he, too, might clasp Christ to himself and having seen Him prophetically in the Spirit, he rejoiced.

That is why Simeon, who was of his descendants, fulfilled the Patriarch’s joy and said: “Now, Master, Thou may let Thy servant go in peace, according to Thy Word, for my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou prepared in sight of all peoples”… And Elizabeth said : “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” Abraham’s rejoicing descended, as it were, on those who were watching and who saw Christ and believed in Him. And this rejoicing returned to Abraham through his children.

So it was altogether fitting that our Lord bore witness to him when He said: “Your father, Abraham rejoiced to see My day,. he saw it and was glad.” Nor was it only with regard to Abraham that He said this but of all those who, from the beginning, had come to know God and prophesied of Christ’s coming. For they had received this revelation from the Son Himself that Son, Who, in these the last days, became visible and palpable and talked with men, so that He might raise up sons from Abraham out of stones and make his posterity to be like the stars of the heaven.” – St Irenaeus (c130-c202) Martyr, Father of the Church, Bishop of Lyons, Theologian (Against the heresies IV, 5-7).

PRAYER – O, God, Who graciously sent blessed Patrick, Thy Confessor and Bishop, to preach Thy glory to the nations, grant through his merits and intercession that by Thy mercy, we may be able to accomplish what Thou command. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CATHOLIC TIME, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOOD FRIDAY, HOLY WEEK, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SIGN of the CROSS

Our Morning Offering – 17 March – Faithful Cross Above All Others

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Our Morning Offering – 17 March – Passion Sunday

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

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

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

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

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 16 March – The Last Artifice of the Devil –Making even Virtue, an Occasion of Sin! (Part Five)

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Thought for the Day – 16 March – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XXXII: … The Last Artifice of the Devil –
Making even Virtue, an Occasion of Sin!
(Part Five)

“I should never weary of telling you this: –

If you would give praise to God, accuse yourself and desire to be accused by others.
Humble yourself with all and below all, if you would exalt Him in yourself and yourself in Him.

Would you find Him? – exalt not yourself, or He will fly from you.
Abase yourself to the utmost and He will seek you and embrace you.
And the more you humble yourself in your own sight and the more you delight to be accounted vile by others and to be spurned as a thing abominable, the more lovingly will He esteem and embrace you.

Account yourself unworthy of so great a grace bestowed on you by your God, Who suffered shame for you, in order to unite you to Himself.
Fail not to return Him continual thanksgiving and be grateful to those who have been the occasion of your humiliation and, still more, to those who have trampled you under their feet, thinking that you have endured it reluctantly
and not with your own goodwill.
Yet were it even so, you must suffer no outward token of reluctance to escape you.

If, notwithstanding all these considerations which are only too true, the cunning of the devil and our own ignorance and evil inclinations, should yet prevail over us, so that thoughts of self-exaltation will still molest us and make an impression on our hearts, then is the time to humble ourselves the more profoundly in our own sight.
For we see by this proof that we have advanced but a little way in the spiritual life and in true self-knowledge, inasmuch as we are unable to free ourselves from those annoyances which spring from the root of our empty pride.

So shall we extract honey from the poison and healing from the wound!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/12/thought-for-the-day-12-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-one/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/13/thought-for-the-day-13-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-two/
PART THREE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/14/thought-for-the-day-14-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-three/
PART FOUR:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/15/thought-for-the-day-15-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-four/

Posted in "Follow Me", CARMELITES, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 16 March – ‘…Begin to live to Christ. …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 March –Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent – Ferial Day – Isaias 49:8-15; John 8:12-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I Am the Light of the world.
He who follows Me
does not walk in the darkness
but will have the Light of Life. ”

John 8:12

“Then go and learn,
neither to be moved with injuries nor flatteries.
If you die to the world and to yourself,
you will begin to live to Christ.”

St Macarius of Egypt (c300-390)

“We must follow Christ, cleaving to Him,
nor should we forsake Him until we die.
As Elisha said to his master:
“ As the Lord lives and as you yourself live,
I will not leave you ” (2 Kgs 2:2) …
So, let us follow Christ and stay close to Him!
“To be near God is my good” says the Psalmist (72:28).
“ My soul clings fast to Thee;
Thy right hand upholds me ” (Ps 62:9).
And Saint Paul adds :
“ Whoever is joined to the Lord
becomes One Spirit with Him ” (1 Cor 6:17).
Not just One Body but One Spirit.
His whole body, lives from the Spirit of Christ,
through the Body of Christ,
we attain to the Spirit of Christ.”

Guigo II “The Angelic” O.Cart. (Died c1188)
The 9th Prior of Grande Chartreuse, from 1174 to 1180
(Meditation 10).

“The one who walks in the love of God
seeks neither gain nor reward
but seeks only, with the will,
to lose self and all things, for God
and this loss, the lover judges to be a gain! ”

St John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Doctor of the Church

“Let us not strive for the rewards of Heaven,
valuable though they may be
but live, so as to please the God of Heaven.
If God were not in Heaven,
all its beauty, riches and sweetness,
would be dull rather than delightful.
By faith, we know, God already dwells within us.
But in Heaven, we will see God face-to-face.
May we so live that one day,
we will be in Heaven praising
and praying eternally,
before our Lord and Saviour!”

St Jane Frances de Chantal VHM (1572-1641)

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, LENT 2024, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The WORD

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 16 March – Faithful Sheep or Foolish Travellers?

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Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 16 March – Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent – Ferial Day – Isaias 49:8-15; John 8:12-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Lord is my Shepherd;
I shall not want.”
Psalm 22:1

“I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me
does not walk in the darkness
but will have the light of life. .”
John 8:12

Faithful Sheep or Foolish Travellers?

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“… . I know My Own — by which I mean, I love them — and My own know Me. In plain words, those who love Me are willing to follow Me, for anyone who does not love the Truth has not yet come to know it.

… Ask yourselves whether you belong to His flock, whether you know Him, whether the Light of His Truth shines in your minds.
I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know Him but by love; not by mere conviction but by action.
John the Evangelist is my authority for this statement.
He tells us that anyone who claims to know God without keeping His commandments is a liar. …

Again He says: My sheep hear My Voice and I know them; they follow Me and I give them eternal life.
Shortly before this, He had declared – If anyone enters the sheepfold through Me, he shall be saved; he shall go freely in and out and shall find good pasture. He will enter into a life of faith; from faith, he will go onto vision, from belief to contemplation and will graze in the good pastures of everlasting life.

So Our Lord’s sheep, will finally reach their grazing ground, where all who follow Him, in simplicity of heart, will feed on the green pastures of eternity. These pastures are the spiritual joys of Heaven.
There, the elect look upon the Face of God with unclouded vision and feast at the Banquet of Life for evermore.

BELOVED, … let us set out for these pastures where we shall keep joyful festival with so many of our fellow citizens.
May the thought of their happiness urge us on!
Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith and long eagerly for what Heaven has in store for us.
To love thus, is to be already on our way.
No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that Heavenly Feast.
Anyone who is determined to reach his destination, is not deterred by the roughness of the road, that leads to it.
Nor must we allow the charm of success to seduce us, or we shall be like a foolish traveller who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing, that he forgets where he is going!” – (An excerpt from his Homily 14).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD the FATHER, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUTH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 16 March – ‘… Light purer than the sun and more beautiful than this life …’

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One Minute Reflection – 16 March – “The Month of St Joseph” – Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent – Ferial Day – Isaias 49:8-15; John 8:12-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I am the Light of the world.” – John 8:12

REFLECTION – “When Thou Thyself, lead me to the Light, Lord Jesus Christ and it is thanks to Thee, I find God and receive the Father, I become co-heir with Thee (Rm 8:17) since Thou were not ashamed to have me as Thy brother (Heb 2:11). So let us remove forgetfulness of the truth, let us take away ignorance and, when we have dispersed the darkness surrounding us, like mist over the eyes, let us behold the true God, crying: “Hail, thou true Light!”

For Light has arisen upon us who have been plunged into darkness and enclosed in the shadow of death (Lk 1:79), Light purer than the sun and more beautiful than this life here below. This Light is eternal life and all those who share in it live. Night flees from the Light and, hiding itself for fear, gives way to the Day of the Lord. The Light which cannot be extinguished, is shed abroad everywhere and the West has reunited with the East. This is what is meant by the “New Creation.” Indeed, the Sun of Justice (Mal 3:20) Who illumines all things, shines upon humankind after the example of His Father Who makes the sun to rise on all men (Mt 5:45) and waters them with the dew of Truth.” – St Clement of Alexandria (c150-c215) Father of the Church, Thelogian and Philosopher, Professor who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. (Stromata).

PRAYER – From all perils of soul and body defend us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, and by the intercession of blessed and gloriosus ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of blessed Joseph, of Thy blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints, graciously grant us safety and peace that all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, To JESUS through MARY

Our Morning Offering – 16 March – Look Down, O Mother Mary! By St Alphonsus

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Our Morning Offering – 16 March – Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent and our Mother Mary’s Day

Look Down, O Mother Mary!
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Transl, Fr Edmund Vaughan, CSSR in 1863

Look down, O Mother Mary!
From thy bright throne above;
Cast down upon thy children
One only glance of love.

And if a heart so tender
With pity flows not o’er,
Then turn away, O Mother!
And look on us no more.

See how, ungrateful sinners,
We stand before thy Son;
His loving heart upbraids us
The evil we have done.

But if thou wilt appease Him,
Speak for us—but one word;
Thou only canst obtain as
The pardon of our Lord.

O Mary, dearest Mother!
If thou wouldst have us live,
Say that we are thy children,
And Jesus will forgive.

Our sins make us unworthy
That title still to bear
But thou art still our Mother,
Then show a Mother’s care.

Open to us thy mantle,
There stay we without fear,
What evil can befall us
If, Mother, thou art near?

O sweetest, dearest Mother!
Thy sinful children save;
Look down on us with pity,
Who thy protection crave.

Posted in "Follow Me", GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 15 March – The Last Artifice of the Devil –Making even Virtue, an Occasion of Sin! (Part Four)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 15 March – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XXXII: … The Last Artifice of the Devil –
Making even Virtue, an Occasion of Sin!
(Part Four)

“Further, I would advise you to be very reserved in making known the gifts which God may have bestowed upon you, for this is almost always displeasing to your Lord, as He, Himself, plainly shows us in the following lesson.

Appearing once in the form of a child to a devout servant of His, she asked Him, with great simplicity, to recite the Angelical Salutation.
He readily began:
“Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus”
and then stopped, being unwilling to praise Himself in the words which follow. And while she was praying Him to proceed, He withdrew Himself from her,
leaving His servant full of consolation because of the heavenly doctrine which, by His example, He had thus revealed to her.

Do you also learn to humble yourself and to acknowledge yourself, with all your works, to be the nothing which you are.
This is the foundation of all other virtues.
God, before we existed, created us out of nothing and now, that we exist through
Him, He wills that the whole spiritual edifice should be built on this foundation the knowledge that of ourselves we are nothing.
And the deeper we dig into this knowledge, the higher will the building rise.
And, in proportion, as we clear away the earth of our own misery, the Divine Architect will bring solid stones for its completion.

And never imagine that you can dig deep enough — on the contrary, think this of yourself, that if anything belonging to a creature could be infinite, it would be your unworthiness!
With this knowledge, duly carried into practice, we possess all good, without it, we are little better than nothing, although we should do the works of all the Saints and be continually absorbed in God.

O blessed knowledge, which makes us happy on earth and blessed in Heaven!
O Light, which, issuing from darkness, makes the soul bright and clear!
O unknown joy which sparkles amid our impurities!
O nothingness which, once known, makes us lords of all!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/12/thought-for-the-day-12-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-one/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/13/thought-for-the-day-13-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-two/
PART THREE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/14/thought-for-the-day-14-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-three/


Posted in CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, GOD ALONE!, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, St Francis de Sales, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY NAME, Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 15 March – Let us weep for our sins and increase in love for our Divine Redeemer .

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 15 March – Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent – 3 Kings 17:17-24; John 11:1-45 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I Am
the Resurrection
and the
Life”

John 11:25

“Love Him, then, keep Him as a friend.
He will not leave you as others do,
or let you suffer lasting death.
Sometime, whether you will or not,
you will have to part with everything.
Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death,
trust yourself to the glory of Him,
Who alone can help you
when all others fail.“

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

“If thou art bound down by sickness,
if sorrows weary thee,
if thou art trembling with fear,
invoke the name of Jesus!”

St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1456)

“A person who is conscious of his misery,
can certainly have great confidence in God.
In fact, he cannot have true confidence in Him,
without this consciousness of his misery.
This knowledge and acknowledgement
of our misery, leads us to the presence of God.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

“Although the sinner
does not believe in Hell,
he will, nevertheless, go there,
if he has the misfortune to die
in mortal sin.”

St Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870)

“Let us weep for our sins
and increase in love for our Divine Redeemer.
The Crucifix will teach us,
as it taught the Saints,
the lesson of charity towards God
and towards our neighbour.
It will teach us to hate sin and to love virtue.
If we cherish it during life,
it will be our consolation
to kiss the Crucifix at the moment of death.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in BAPTISM, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, LENT 2024, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 15 March – Do Not Fall Back Again Into Death!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Lenten Journey with the Angels and the Saints – 15 March – Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent – 3 Kings 17:17-24; John 11:1-45 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Now, by this I know t
hat thou art a man of God
and the Word of the Lord
in thy mouth is true.”
3 Kings 17:24

“ Lazarus, come forth!”
John 11:43

Do Not Fall Back Again Into Death!

St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“Laid to rest in the tomb, you heard the resounding call.
Is there any Voice greater than that of the Word?
Then you came out, you who were dead not merely for four days but for a very long time indeed.
You were raised with Christ … your burial bands fell to the ground.
Do not fall back again now into death; do not rejoin those who dwell in the tombs; do not allow yourself to be stifled by the burial bands of your sins.
For would you be able to come back to life once again?
Would you be able to bring out, from the death of here below, the resurrection of all men at the end of time? …

So let the Lord’s call resound in your ears!
Do not close them today to the teaching and admonitions of the Lord.
If you used to be blind, without light in your tomb, open your eyes lest you sink into the sleep of death.
In the Light of the Lord, behold light! in the Spirit of God, fix your eyes on the Son.
If you take to yourself the Word, in its entirety, then you focus onto your soul, all the power of Christ Who heals and restores to life ….
Do not be afraid to put some work into preserving your Baptismal purity and set the ways that lead to the Lord, within your heart.
Take care to preserve the act of acquittal which you received through pure grace ….

Let us be Light, as the disciples learned, from He Who is the Great Light: “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14).
Let us be lamps in this world by holding up on high the Word of Life, by being a life force for others.
Let us set out in search of God, in search of the One Who is the First and Purest of Lights.” – (Sermon on Holy Baptism).

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on PURITY of INTENTION, QUOTES on VANITY, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 14 March – The Last Artifice of the Devil –Making even Virtue, an Occasion of Sin! (Part Three)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 14 March – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

XXXII: … The Last Artifice of the Devil –
Making even Virtue, an Occasion of Sin!
(Part Three)

“Consider next, that not only do all the works which you have done. fall short of the Light which has been given you to know them and the grace to execute them but too, that in themselves, they are very imperfect and are deficient of that pure intention and due diligence and fervour, with which they should be performed and which should always accompany them.

If, then, you will well consider this, you will see reason, rather for shame, than for vain complacency because, it is but too true that the graces which we receive pure and perfect from God, are sullied in their use, by our imperfections.

Again, compare your works with those of the Saints and other servants of God — for by such comparison, you will find that your best and greatest, are of base alloy and of little worth.
Next, measure them by those which Christ wrought for you in the Mystery of His life and of His continual Cross and setting aside the consideration of His Divinity, view His works in themselves alone — considering both the fervour and the purity of the love with which they were wrought and, you will see that all your works are indeed, as nothing.

And lastly, if you will raise your thoughts to the Divinity and the boundless Majesty of your God and the service which He deserves at your hands, you will plainly see that your works should excite in you not vanity but fear!

Therefore, in all your ways, in all your works, however holy they maybe, you must cry unto your Lord with all your heart, saying:
“God be merciful to me a sinner!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/12/thought-for-the-day-12-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-one/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/13/thought-for-the-day-13-march-the-last-artifice-of-the-devil-making-even-virtue-an-occasion-of-sin-part-two/

Posted in CATECHESIS, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on PRAYER

Quote/s of the Day – 14 March – St Lawrence Justinian on the Holy Mass and Prayer

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 14 March – St Lawrence Justinian on Prayer

“There is no prayer or good work
so great, so pleasing to God,
so useful to us,
as the Holy Mass.”

“No human tongue can enumerate
the favours which emanate from
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The sinner is reconciled with God,
the just man becomes more upright,
sins are wiped away,
vices are uprooted,
virtue and merit increases
and the devil’s schemes are frustrated.”

“By the practice of prayer
we can construct an impregnable citadel,
in which we shall be securely protected
against all the snares of the enemy.”

“The exterior works of Martha,
without the interior spirit of Mary,
cannot be perfect.
He deceives himself.
who expects, without the aid of prayer,
to succeed in the work of saving souls,
— a work as dangerous as it is sublime!
Without the reflection of prayer,
he shall certainly faint on the way!”

St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1455)