Category: CATHOLIC Quotes

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on WATCHING, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 10 February – ‘ … Does not the example of the ten virgins make us tremble? …’

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One Minute Reflection – 10 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – St Scholastica (c482-547) Virgin Nun, St Benedict’s twin – 2 Corinthians 10:17-18; 11:1-2, Matthew 25:1-13 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Behold, the Bridegroom is coming, go forth to meet Him!” – Matthew 25:6

REFLECTION – “My brothers, there is a time for sowing and a time for harvesting, a time for peace and another for war, a time for labour and another for rest (Cf Eccl 3). But, for the salvation of the soul, all times are right and every journey is worthwhile, at least, if we wish it to be. Therefore, let us always be moving towards the good, ready to move, full of eagerness, putting words into deeds. For, says the Apostle Paul, “it is not those who hear the law, who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law, will be justified” (Rom 2:13) … Is this the time for spiritual warfare? Then we should fight vigorously and pursue, with God’s aid, the devilish thoughts that rise up inside us. If, on the other hand, it is time for spiritual harvest, we should enthusiastically gather in the crops and collect together, into spiritual barns, provisions for eternal life…

It is always the time for prayer, for tears, for repentance after a failing, always time to take the Kingdom of Heaven by storm! Why delay? Why set aside till later? Why put off our improvement, from day to day? “For the world, in its present form, is passing away” (1 Cor 7:31) … Are we going to live forever? … Does not the example of the ten virgins make us tremble? “The Bridegroom is coming,” says the Gospel, “go out to meet Him.” And the wise virgins went out to meet him with lamps alight and went into the wedding feast — whereas, the foolish virgins, delayed by their lack of good works, cried out: “Lord, Lord, open the door for us. But He said in reply: Amen, I say to you, I do not know you” and He added: “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” So we should stay awake and rouse the soul to soberness, compunction, holiness, purification and illumination, so as to prevent death from shutting the door and no-one being there to open it to us or help us!” – St Theodore the Studite (750–826) Father, Abbot, Theologian, Writer at Constantinople (Small Catechism No 130).

PRAYER – O God, Who, to show us the way of innocence, caused the soul of Thy Virgin, blessed Scholastica, to fly up to heaven in the likeness of a dove, grant us, through her merits and prayers, to live innocently, so that we may be found worthy to reach everlasting joys. 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 "Follow Me", ArchAngels and Angels, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SELF-DISTRUST, The COMMUNION of SAINTS, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 9 February – The Soldier of Christ Must Prepare for Battle, Early in the Morning (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 9 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XVI: … The Soldier of Christ Must Prepare
for Battle, Early in the Morning (Part Two)

‘Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.’ – Zechariah 4:6,

“Begin the combat in the Name of the Lord, with the weapons of Self-distrust and Trust in God, of prayer and spiritual exercises and challenge your foe to the battle, that is, that inclination, whatever it be, which, according to the order above laid down, you have resolved to conquer.
Do this, now by open resistance, now by deep abhorrence, or again, by acts of the contrary virtue, wounding him again and again, even unto death, to give pleasure to your Lord, Who is looking on, with the whole Church Triumphant, to behold your conflict!

I tell you again, you must not weary of the struggle but, remember the obligation which lies on us all, to serve and please God and the absolute necessity of fighting in this battle, from which none can escape, without wounds or death.

I tell you, moreover, that if, as a rebel you would fly from God,and give
yourself over to the world and the delights of the flesh, you will still be forced, in spite of yourself, to labour by the sweat of your brow, against many and many an adversary, who will pierce your heart with deadly anguish.

Consider, then, what folly it would be to incur all this toil and trouble, which does but lead to greater toil and endless trouble and spiritual death, in order to avoid that which will soon be over and which will lead us to eternal and infinite blessedness in the everlasting enjoyment of our God.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/08/thought-for-the-day-8-february-the-soldier-of-christ-must-prepare-for-battle-early-in-the-morning-part-one/

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEBRUARY - THE BLESSED TRINITY (Traditional), HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The HOLY GHOST, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 9 February – St Cyril of Alexandria

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Quote/s of the Day – 9 February – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) “The Pillar of Faith” “Doctor of the Incarnation,” Bishop,Confessor, Father and Doctor, of the Church

“He who receives Communion is made holy
and Divinised in soul and body,
in the same way, that water, set over a fire,
becomes boiling…
Communion works like yeast
which has been mixed into dough,
so that it leavens the whole mass. …
Just as by melting two candles together
you get one piece of wax, so, I think,
one who receives the Flesh and Blood of Jesus,
is fused together with Him, by this Communion
and the soul finds that he is in Christ
and Christ is in him.”

“Since the Holy Spirit when He is in us,
effects our being conformed to God
and, He actually proceeds from the Father and Son,
it is abundantly clear that He is of the Divine Essence,
in It in Essence and proceeding from It.”

“Therefore, as the father of sin had, as it were,
shut up the sheep in hell, giving them to death to feed on,
as it is written in the Psalms (Ps. 48:16),
He died for us, as truly Good and truly our Shepherd,
so that the dark shadow of death is driven away,
He might join us ,to the company,
of the blessed in Heaven and, in exchange
for abodes which lie far in the depths of the pit …
grants us mansions in His Father’s House above.
Because of this, He says to us in another place:
Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father
to give you a Kingdom (Luke 12:32).
Do you listen attentively to the Voice
of the Good Shepherd and obey His Word?”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/02/09/quote-s-of-the-day-9-february-st-cyril-of-alexandria-2/

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on WATCHING, The BEATITUDES, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 February – Salt and Light – Matthew 5:13, 14

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One Minute Reflection – 9 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) “The Pillar of Faith” “Doctor of the Incarnation,” Bishop,Confessor, Father and Doctor, of the Church – Matthew 5:13-19 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Jesus said to His disciples: “You are the salt of the earth.
… You are the light of the world.” – Matthew 5:13, 14

REFLECTION – “You are the salt of the earth. It is not for your own sake, He says but for the world’s sake that the word is entrusted to you. I am not sending you into two cities only or ten or twenty, not to a single nation, as I sent the prophets of old but across land and sea, to the whole world. And that world is in a miserable state. For when He says: You are the salt of the earth, He is indicating, that all mankind had lost its savour and had been corrupted by sin. Therefore, He requires of these men, those virtues which are especially useful and even necessary, if they are to bear the burdens of many. For the man who is kindly, modest, merciful and just will not keep his good works to himself but will see to it, that these admirable fountains send out their streams, for the good of others. Again, the man who is clean of heart, a peacemaker and ardent for truth, will order his life so as to contribute to the common good. …

Then He passes onto a more exalted comparison – You are the light of the world. Once again, “of the world,” not of one nation or twenty cities but of the whole world. The light He means, is an intelligible light, far superior to the rays of the sun we see, just as the salt is a spiritual salt. First salt, then light, so that you may learn how profitable sharp words may be and how useful, serious doctrine. Such teaching holds in check and prevents, dissipation, it leads to virtue and sharpens the mind’s eye. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do men light a lamp and put it under a basket. Here again, He is urging them to a careful manner of life and teaching them, to be watchful, for they live under the eyes of all and have the whole world for the arena of their struggles.” – St John Chrysostom (347-407) Archbishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Homily on Matthew).

PRAYER – King of heaven and earth, Lord God, rule over our hearts and bodies this day. Sanctify us and guide our every thought, word and deed according to the commandments of Your law, so that now and forever, Your grace may free and save us. Teach us Lord to walk in the ways of the Cross of Your Son, our Saviour, longing for and rejoicing always in our heavenly home as St Cyril of Alexandria so lovingly and willingly inspires us to do. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God, forever, amen. (Collect)

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MOTHER of GOD, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Quotes on SALVATION, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The INCARNATION, The RESURRECTION

Our Morning Offering – 9 February – Hail, O Mary, Mother of God By St Cyril of Alexandria

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Our Morning Offering – 9 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – Feast of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) “The Pillar of Faith” “Doctor of the Incarnation”& “Seal of all the Fathers” Bishop,Confessor, Father and Doctor, of the Church.

Adapted from a sermon preached by St Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, presiding as representative of the Holy See at the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, in 431. In refuting Nestorianism, he is called “Doctor of the Incarnation.”

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God
By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin and Mother!
Morning Star, perfect vessel.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Holy Temple in which God
Himself was conceived.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Chaste and pure dove.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
who enclosed the One
Who cannot be encompassed
in your sacred womb.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
From you flowed the true light,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you the Conqueror
and triumphant Vanquisher
of hell, came to us.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you, the glory
of the Resurrection blossoms.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
You have saved every faithful Christian.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death.
Amen

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 8 February – The Soldier of Christ Must Prepare for Battle, Early in the Morning (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 8 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XVI: … The Soldier of Christ Must Prepare
for Battle, Early in the Morning (Part One)

‘Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.’ – Zechariah 4:6,

“On awaking in the morning, the first thing to be observed by your inward sight, is the field of battle in which you are enclosed, facing the enemy and bound by the law of the combat – either fight or die!

Here picture to yourself, on one side, your enemy (that evil inclination which you are already pledged to conquer) now standing before you, ready armed to wound and slay you.
See also, on the right hand, your victorious Captain, Jesus Christ, with His most holy Mother the Virgin Mary and her beloved Spouse Saint Joseph and innumerable hosts of Angels, especially Saint Michael the Archangel and, on the left hand, the infernal demon, with all his armies, ready to excite this passion and to persuade you to yield to it.

Then shall you seem to hear a voice as of your Guardian Angel addressing you:

“You are to fight this day against this and your other enemies.
Let not your heart fail, nor your spirit faint.
Yield not on any account, neither for fear nor any other cause; for our Lord, your Leader, stands beside you with all His glorious hosts and will do battle for you against all your enemies and will not suffer them to prevail against you or to overcome you.

Only stand firm – do violence to yourself and endure the pain such violence will cause you.
Cry unceasingly from the depths of your heart and call upon the Lord and so assuredly, shalt you gain the victory.
If you are weak and inexperienced, if your enemies are strong and manifold, manifold more, are the succours of Him Who created and redeemed you and mightier beyond all measure and comparison, is your God and more willing to save you, than are all your enemies to destroy you.

Fight valiantly then and be not loathe to suffer; for it is this toilsome resistance to your evil inclinations, this painful struggle against evil habits which shall gain you the victory and win for you a treasure wherewith to purchase the Kingdom of Heaven and unite your soul to God forever.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on WATCHING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 8 February – Let your … lamps burn in your hands.

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One Minute Reflection – 8 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – St John of Matha (1160-1213) – Confessor, Priest, Founder – Sirach 31:8-11; Luke 12:35-40 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Jesus said to His disciples: Let your … lamps burn in your hands.” – Luke 12:35

REFLECTION – “Prayer offered during the hours of night possess great power, even more than that offered during the day. That is why all the Saints were in the habit of praying at night, combating the body’s drowsiness and the sweetness of sleep and overcoming their bodily nature.  The Prophet also said: “I am wearied with sighing; every night I flood my bed with weeping” (Ps 6:7) as he uttered heartfelt sighs in impassioned prayer.  And elsewhere: “At midnight I rise to give Thee thanks because of Thy just ordinances, O just God” (Ps 118:62). For every request for which the Saints desired to importune God, they armed themselves with nocturnal prayer and, at once received that which they besought Him.

Satan himself fears nothing as much as prayer offered during the night watches. Even if they are accompanied by distractions, it does not return fruitless, so long as something inappropriate is not being asked for. That is why Satan engages in severe combat against those who keep watch at night, so as to deter them from this practice if he can, especially if they show themselves to be persevering. But those who are in any way defended against his pernicious wiles and have tasted the gifts God grants at these times of vigil and have had personal experience of the greatness of the help God gives them, wholly despise him, he and all his craftiness.” – St Isaac the Syrian of Nineveh (c613-c700) Bishop of Nineveh, Monk at Mosul, Father of the Church (Ascetical Discourses)

PRAYER – O God, Who graciously and by Divine means founded, through blessed John, the Order of the Most Holy Trinity to ransom captives from the hands of the Saracens, grant, we beseech Thee that through Thy help and the merits of his prayers, we may be freed body and soul from captivity. 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 ACT of CONTRITION, ADVENT PRAYERS, BLESSED TRINITY PRAYERS, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD the FATHER, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING, The DIVINE INFANT, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 8 February – An Act of Thanksgiving By St Gertrude

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Our Morning Offering – 8 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity”

An Act of Thanksgiving
By St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302)
(Excerpt from her Revelations)

May my soul bless Thee,
O Lord God my Creator,
may my soul bless Thee!
From the very core of my being,
may all Thy merciful gifts sing Thy praise.
Thy generous care, for Thy daughter,
has been rich in mercy;
indeed, it has been immeasurable
and as far as I am able,
I give Thee thanks.
I praise and glorify,
Thy great patience which bore with me.
I offer Thee, most loving Father,
all the sufferings of Thine Beloved Son,
from that first Infant cry
as He lay on the hay in the manger,
until that final movement, when,
bowing His Head, with a mighty Voice,
Christ gave up His Spirit.
I think, as I make this offering,
of all that He underwent,
His needs as a Babe,
His dependence as a young Child,
the hardships of Youth
and the trials of early Manhood.
To atone for all my neglect,
I offer, most loving Father,
all that Thine Only-begotten Son did
during His Life,
whether in thought, word or deed.
And now, as an act of thanksgiving,
I praise and worship Thee Father,
in deepest humility,
for Thy most loving kindness and mercy.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 7 February – Of the Enemies We are to Engage and the Courage Necessary to Fight (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 7 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XV: … Of the Enemies We Are to Engage
and the Courage Necessary to Fight (Part Two)

“Therefore, you must never be dismayed, although at times, your enemy seems to be strengthening his array against you, although the struggle threatens to last your whole lifetime and although, almost certain falls menace you on every side! – for know assuredly, that the whole strength and wisdom of our enemies, is in the Hands of our Divine Captain, in Whose honour the battle is arrayed – Who, prizing us beyond measure, sure and having Himself imperatively called us to the conflict, will never suffer you to be overcome!

Nay more, He will Himself fight on your right hand and will not fail, in His own good time, to subdue your foes before you and this, to your greater reward, if He should delay to give you the victory, until the last day of your life!
This alone is your concern, to fight manfully, and never, however numerous your wounds, to lay down your arms or take to flight.

Lastly, that you fail not to fight courageously, bear in mind that this is a conflict whence there is no escape and, that he who will not fight must needs be captured or slain!
Moreover, we have to deal with enemies so powerful and so filled with
deadly hate, as to leave us no hope of either peace or truce.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/06/thought-for-the-day-6-february-of-the-enemies-we-are-to-engage-and-the-courage-necessary-to-fight-part-one/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 7 February – St Romuald

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Quote/s of the Day – 7 February – St Romuald, Abbot (c951-1027)

“Sit in the cell as in paradise;
cast all memory of the world behind you;
cautiously watching your thoughts,
as a good fisher watches the fish.”

“Above all, place yourself
in the presence of God
with fear and trembling …”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/02/07/quote-s-of-the-day-7-february-st-romuald-2/

St Romuald (c951-1027)

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on POVERTY, QUOTES on the POOR, St Francis de Sales, The HOLY NAME, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 7 February – Shall receive a hundredfold … Matthew 19:29

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One Minute Reflection – 7 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – St Romuald (c951-1027) 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 Romuald, commend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, so that what we do not deserve by any merits of our own, we may obtain by his patronage. 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-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SILENCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR

Our Morning Offering – 7 February – Lord, for Tomorrow and its Needs

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Our Morning Offering – 7 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity”

Lord, for Tomorrow and its Needs
By Sister Mary Xavier (1877)

Lord, for tomorrow and its needs
I do not pray;
keep me, my God, from stain of sin,
just for today.

Let me both diligently work
and duly pray;
let me be kind in word and deed,
just for today.

Let me no wrong or idle word
unthinking say;
set Thou a seal upon my lips,
just for today.

And if today my tide of life
should ebb away,
give me Thy Sacraments Divine,
sweet Lord, today.

So, for tomorrow and its needs
I do not pray
but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord,
just for today.
Amen

Posted in QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES: JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 6 February – Of the Enemies We are to Engage and the Courage Necessary to Fight (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 6 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XV: … Of the Enemies We Are to Engage
and the Courage Necessary to Fight (Part One)

“You see now after what manner you must fight in order to conquer self and to adorn your soul with all virtues.

Know, furthermore, that to obtain a speedier and easier victory over your enemies, it is expedient, nay necessary, that you should fight against them daily and, especially against self-love and learn to esteem, as dear friends and benefactors, all the insults and vexations which the world can heap upon you.

And it is because men know not the necessity of this daily warfare and make too little account of it that, as I said before, their victories are rare, difficult, imperfect and unstable.

Moreover, I warn you that you must bring great courage and steadfastness of soul to this conflict.
And this gift you will readily obtain if you beseech it of God, considering, on the one hand, the undying hatred and fury of your enemies and the vast multitude of their ranks and squadrons and, on the other, how infinitely greater is the goodness of God and the love wherewith He loves you and how much mightier, too, are the Angels of Heaven and the prayers of the Saints, who fight for us.
By this consideration, have so many feeble women been enabled to overcome and conquer, all the power and wisdom of the world, all the assaults of the flesh and all the fury of hell!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, Lady POVERTY, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on POVERTY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 February – Mission Possible

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – – St Titus (Died c96) Bishop, Confessor – Ecclesiasticus 44:16-27; 45:3-20, Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The harvest indeed is great but the labourers are few.
Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest
that He send labourers into His harvest.”

Luke 10:2

“Jesus gives His disciples the power to heal bodies,
while waiting before confiding to them,
the equally important power to heal souls.
Note how He demonstrates both the ease
and the necessity of this work,
at the same time. What does He say, in fact?
“The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.”
I am not sending you out to sow but to harvest…
In speaking like this, our Lord gave them confidence
and showed them that the most important work
had already been achieved!”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“At that time, the Lord appointed seventy-two others
and sent them forth …”
Luke 10:1

“By saying that He is sending them
as the Father has sent Him, therefore,
He summarised, in a few words,
the character of the Apostles’ mission.
In this way, they would know that they were bound
to call sinners to repentance,
to heal the sick, whether of body or soul
and in all their dealings as stewards,
not by any means to follow their own will
but the will of Him Who sent them and,
finally, to save the world,
insofar as it received the teachings of the Lord.”

St Cyril of Alexandria (380-444)
Father and Doctor of the Church ”

“Carry neither purse, nor wallet …”
Luke 10:4

“All the brothers should strive to follow
the humility and the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ …
And they must rejoice when they live among people
who are considered to be of little worth
and who are looked down upon,
among the poor and the powerless,
the sick and the lepers and the beggars by the wayside.
And when it may be necessary,
let them go to seek alms.
And they should not be ashamed
but rather recall that our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of the living and all-powerful God …
was a poor man and a transient and lived on alms,
He and the Blessed Virgin and His disciples.”

St Francis of Assisi (c1181-1226)

(Earlier Rule, #8-9).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PAPAL ENCYLICALS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on PRIESTS, the PRIESTHOOD and CONSECRATED LIFE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 February – Sent …

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 6 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – St Titus (Died c96) Bishop, Confessor – Ecclesiasticus 44:16-27; 45:3-20, Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And He sent them, … into every city and place …” – Luke 10:1

REFLECTION – “No-one,” the Apostle admonishes us, “can lay another foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1Cor 3:11). It is Christ alone “whom the Father anointed and sent into this world” (Jn 10:36), “the splendour of the Father and the image of His substance” (Heb 1:3), true God and true Man, without Whom no-one can know God with the knowledge for salvation, “neither doth anyone know the Father but the Son and He to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him” (Mt 11:27). Hence, it follows that to restore all things in Christ and to lead men back to submission to God, is one and the same aim. To this, then, it behoves Us to devote Our care – to lead back mankind under the dominion of Christ; this done, We shall have brought it back to God. When We say “to God” We do not mean, to that inert being heedless of all things human which the dream of certain philosophers has imagined but, to the true and living God, One in Nature, Triple in Person, Creator of the world, most wise Ordainer of all things, Lawgiver most just, Who punishes the wicked and has reward in store for virtue.

Now the way to reach Christ is not difficult to find — it is the Church. Rightly does St John Chrysostom inculcate: “The Church is thy hope, the Church is thy salvation, the Church is thy refuge.” It was for this that Christ founded it, gaining it at the price of His Blood and made it the depositary of His doctrine and His laws, bestowing upon it, at the same time, an inexhaustible treasury of graces, for the sanctification and salvation of men.

You see, then, venerable Brethren, the duty that has been imposed upon Us…? To form Christ in those, who are destined from the duty of their vocation to form Him, in others … It is the same mission … as that which Paul proclaimed in these tender words: “My little children, of whom I am in labour again, until Christ be formed in you” (Gal 4:19). But how will they be able to perform this duty if they be not first clothed with Christ themselves? and so clothed with Christ, as to be able to say with the Apostle: “I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). “For me to live is Christ!” (Phil 1:21). – St Pius X (1835-1914) Pope from 1903 to 1914 (Encyclical “ E Supremi Apostolatus ”).

PRAYER – O God, Who adorned blessed Titus, Thy Confessor and Bishop, with the virtues of an apostle, grant, through his merits and intercession that by living justly and piously in this world, we may be found worthy to enter Heaven. 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 QUOTES on FREEDOM, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 5 February – Of What Must be Done, When the Superior Will Seems to be Wholly Stifled and Overcome

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Thought for the Day – 5 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

XIV: … Of What Must be Done, When the Superior Will
Seems to be Wholly StifLed and Overcome,
by the Inferior Will and by Other Enemies

“If, at times, the Superior Will should seem to you, powerless to resist the Inferior and, its other enemies because, you do not feel within you an effectual will opposed to them, yet stand firm! and do not leave the field – for you must always account yourself victorious, until you can clearly perceive that you have yielded.

For, inasmuch as our Superior Will has no need of the Inferior for the production of its acts, without its own consent, it can never be compelled to yield, however sorely assaulted.

For God endowed our will with such freedom and such strength that were all the senses, all evil spirits, nay, the whole world itself, to arm and conspire to assault and oppress it, with all their might, it could still, in spite of them, will or not will, all that it wills or wills not and that, how often soever, whensoever, howsoever and, to what end soever it should please!

And, if at any time, your foes should so violently assail and press upon you as almost to stifle your will, so that it seems to have no breath to produce any opposing act of volition, yet, do not lose courage, nor throw down your arms but make use of your tongue in your defence, saying:
“I yield not, I consent not”
like a man whose adversary is upon him and holds him down and who, being unable to reach him with the point of his sword, strikes at him with the hilt and, as he tries to make a spring backwards to wound his enemy with the point, so do thou take refuge in the knowledge of yourself, the knowledge that you are nothing and can do nothing and with faith in God, Who can do all things, strike a blow at this hostile passion, saying:
“Help me, Lord! help me, O my God! help me, Jesus, Mary! that I
may not yield to this enemy!”

You may also, when your enemy gives you time, call in your reason to assist the weakness of your will, by meditating upon various points, the consideration of which may give it strength and restore its breath, to resist the enemy.
For example:
You are, perhaps, under some persecution or other trial, so sorely tempted to impatience that your will, as it seems to you, cannot, or at least, will not, endure it.
Encourage it, then, by discussing with the reason such points as the following:

  • Consider, firstly, whether you have given any occasion for the evil under which you are suffering and so, have deserved it; for if you have done so, every rule of justice requires of you, to bear patiently the wound which, with your own hand, you have inflicted on yourself.
  • Secondly – If blameless in this particular instance, think of your other sins, for which God has not yet chastised you and for which you have not, as you should have, duly punished yourself.
    Seeing, then, that God’s mercy changes your deserved punishment which should be eternal, into some light affliction which is but temporal, you should receive it, not willingly only but thankfully.
  • Thirdly – Should your offences against the Divine Majesty, seem to you to be light and, the penance you have endured for them, heavy. (a persuasion, however, which you should never allow yourself to entertain!), you must remember that it is only through the straight and narrow gate of tribulation that you can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
  • Fourthly – That even were it possible to enter there by any other way, the law of love forbids you, so much as to think of it, seeing that the Son of God, with all His friends and all His members, entered into that Kingdom by a path strewn with thorns and crosses.
  • Fifthly – That which you have chiefly to consider, on this and all other occasions, is the Will of God, Who, for the love He bears you, views. with unspeakable complacency, every act of virtue and mortification which, as His faithful and valiant soldier, you perform in requital of His love for you.

And of this be assured, that the more unreasonable in itself the trial seems and the more ignominious, by reason of the unworthiness of those, from whom it comes and so, the more vexatious and the more difficult to be borne, so much the more pleasing will you be to the Lord, if, in things so disordered in themselves and, therefore, so bitter and repugnant to you, you can approve and love His Divine Will and Providence, in which all events, however adverse, are disposed, after a most perfect rule and order.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, LENT, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, QUOTES on VICE, QUOTES on VIRTUE, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, St Francis de Sales, The PASSION, To JESUS through MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 5 February – In Sexagesima Week, Preparing for Lent

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Quote/s of the Day – 5 February – In Sexagesima Week, Preparing for Lent

“Listen to the Lord’s appeal:
‘Come, then, return to Me
and learn to know Me as your Father,
Who repays good for evil,
love for injury
and boundless charity
for piercing wounds!”

St Peter Chrysologus (c400-450)
“Golden Words”
Father & Doctor of the Church

Have Mercy, Lord
By St Peter Damian (1007-1072)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Have mercy, Lord,
on all my friends and relatives,
on all my benefactors,
on all who pray to Thee for me
and on all who have asked me
to pray to Thee, for them.
Give them the spirit of fruitful penance,
mortify them in all vices
and make them flower
in all Thy virtues.
Amen

“What better penance
can a heart do
which commits faults,
than to submit
to a continual abnegation
of self-will?”

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

O Jesus, My Sweet Love!
(I too have kept Thee suffering)
Prayer of Contrition
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

O Jesus, my sweet Love!
I too have kept Thee suffering
through all Thy life.
Tell me, then, what I must do
in order to win Thy forgiveness.
I am ready to do all Thou askest of me.
I am sorry, O sovereign Good,
for all the offences I have committed against Thee.
I love Thee more than myself,
or at least, I feel a great desire to love Thee.
Since it is Thou Who hast given me this desire,
do Thou also give me the strength to love Thee exceedingly.

It is only right that I,
who have offended Thee so much,
should love Thee very much.
Always remind me of the love
Thou hast borne me,
in order that my soul may ever burn
with love of Thee and long to please Thee alone.
O God of love,
I, who was once a slave of hell,
now give myself all to Thee.
Graciously accept me and bind me to Thee
with the bonds of Thy love.
My Jesus, from this day and forever,
in loving Thee will I live
and in loving Thee will I die.

O Mary, my Mother and my hope,
help me to love Thy dear God and mine.
This is the only favour I ask of thee
and through thee, I hope to receive it.
Amen

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on MARRIAGE, MARRIED LOVE, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 February – “… A man shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they two shall be in one flesh.” – Matthew 19:5

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One Minute Reflection – 5 February – St Agatha (c231- c251) Virgin Martyr – 1 Corinthians 1 Cor. 1:26-31; Matthew 19:3-12 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… A man shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they two shall be in one flesh.” – Matthew 19:5

REFLECTION – “What should you be saying to your wife? Tell her with great gentleness: “…I have chosen you; I love you and prefer you to my own life. Life in the present is nothing and so I perform all my prayers, intentions and every action, so that we may be granted to spend this life, in such a way, as to be reunited in the life to come, without further fear of separation. Our present life is short and tenuous. If it is granted us to be pleasing to God now, we shall be with Christ and, each other forever in unending happiness. It is your love that enraptures me more than anything else and I could not know, a more unbearable misfortune, than to be parted from you. Were I to lose everything and become poorer than a beggar, run the ultimate risks or undergo anything at all, it would all be bearable for me, so long as your love for me, holds firm. Only by counting on this love, will I hope for children.”

You must also match your conduct to these words… Show your wife how much you value living with her and that, because of her, you prefer being at home to the public square. Prefer her to all your friends and even to the children she has borne you and, let these be loved by you, for her sake…

Say your prayers together. Let each of you go to Church and, returning home, let the husband ask an account from his wife and the wife from her husband, concerning whatever was said or read … Learn the fear of God and all the rest will flow, as from a spring and your house will be filled with countless blessings. Let us aspire to those good things that are incorruptible and the rest will not pass us by. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all the rest will be added to you” (Mt 6:33).” – St John Chrysostom (347-407) Bishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church (Homily 20 on the Letter to the Ephesians).

PRAYER – O God, Who among other wonders of Thy power hast given the victory of mMrtyrdom even to the gentler sex, graciously grant that we, who commemorate the anniversary of the death of blessed Agatha, Thy Virgin and Martyr, may come to Thee, by following her example.Through esus 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 OUR Cross, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, QUOTES on VICE, QUOTES on VIRTUE, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), The HOLY CROSS, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 4 February – Of the Acts to be Performed in order to Acquire Habits of Virtue (Part FOUR)

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Thought for the Day – 4 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

XIII: … Of the Way to Resist the Impulses of Sense
and of the Acts to be Performed by the Will,
in order to Acquire Habits of Virtue (Part Four)

“Remember, again, to mortify and thwart your own wishes, from time to time, in lawful but not necessary things; for many benefits follow such discipline; it will prepare and dispose you, more and more, for self-mastery in other things; you will thus become expert and strong, in the struggle with temptation; you will escape many a snare of the devil and accomplish a work well pleasing to the
Lord.

I speak plainly to you; if, in the way I have taught you, you will persevere faithfully, in these holy exercises for self-reformation and self-mastery, I promise you that in a short time, you will make great progress and will become spiritual, not in name only but in truth!
But in no other manner do I bid you hope to attain to true holiness and spirituality, nor by any other exercises, however excellent in your estimation, although you should seem to be wholly absorbed in them and to hold sweet colloquies with our Lord.

For, as I told you in the first Chapter, true holiness and spirituality consists, not in exercises which are pleasing to us and conformable to our nature, nor is it produced by these but, by such only, as nail that nature, with all its works, to the cross and, renewing the whole man by the practice of the evangelical virtues, unite him to his Crucified Saviour and Creator.

There can be no question that, as habits of vice are formed by many and frequent acts of the Superior Will yielding itself to the sway of the Sensual appetites, so, on the contrary, habits of evangelical virtue are acquired, by the performance of frequent and repeated acts of conformity to the Divine Will, Which calls upon us to exercise ourselves now, in one virtue, now, in another.

For as our will, however fiercely assailed by sin or by the suggestions of our lower nature, can never become sinful or earthly, unless it yield or incline itself to the temptation, so you will never attain to holiness and union with God, however powerfully called and mightily assailed by Divine grace and heavenly inspirations, unless, by inward and, if need be, by outward acts, your will be made conformable to His!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/25/thought-for-the-day-25-january-of-the-way-to-resist-the-impulses-of-sense-part-one/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/02/thought-for-the-day-2-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-impulses-of-sense-part-two/
PART THREE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/03/thought-for-the-day-3-february-of-the-acts-to-be-performed-in-order-to-acquire-habits-of-virtue-part-three/

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 4 February – ‘ … Let us too build a dwelling in our hearts …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 4 February – Sexagesima Sunday – 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9, Luke 8:4-15 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And as for that in the good ground
they are those who, hearing the word,
hold it fast in an honest and good heart
and bring forth fruit with patience.”

Luke 8:15

“Those who are My sheep
hear My Voice
and follow Me”

John 10:27

“What a happy day they spent!
What a blessed night!
Who can say what it was they heard
from the Lord’s mouth?
Let us, too, build a dwelling in our hearts,
construct a house
where Christ can come
to teach and converse with us.”

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

“He is the origin of all wisdom.
The Word of God in the heights,
is the source of wisdom.
Christ is the source of all true knowledge,
for He is “the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6). …
As way, Christ is the teacher
and origin of knowledge …
Without this Light,
which is Christ,
no-one can penetrate
the secrets of faith.”

St Bonaventure (1221-1274)
Seraphic Doctor

Beloved and Most Holy Word of God
By St James of the Marches (1391-1476)

Beloved and most holy Word of God!
Thou enlighten the hearts of the faithful,
Thou satisfy the hungry,
console the afflicted.
Thou make the souls of all,
productive of good
and cause all virtues to blossom.
Thou snatch souls
from the devil’s jaw.
Thou make the wretched holy
and men of earth,
citizens of Heaven!
Amen

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 February – ‘… Do you know what a person is like, who is not fed by this holy Word? …’

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One Minute Reflection – 4 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – St Andrew Corsini O.Carm (1302-1373) Bishop of Fiesole from 1349 until his death,Confessor, known as the “Apostle of Florence,” Carmelite Friar – Sexagesima Sunday – 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9, Luke 8:4-15 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And other seed fell upon good ground and sprang up and yielded fruit a hundredfold.” – Luke 8:8

REFLECTION – “If you ask me what Jesus Christ means by this Sower Who goes out early to cast his seed over his field then, my brethren, that Sower is the good God Himself, Who began the work of our salvation, from the beginning of the world, by sending us His Prophets, before the coming of Christ, to teach us what was needed, if we would be saved. Not content with sending His servants, He came Himself – He marked out the way we should take; He came to make known His holy Word.

Do you know what a person is like, who is not fed by this holy Word?… Such a person is like a patient without a doctor, a traveller who is lost and without a guide, a poverty stricken person without means of help. Brethren, it is absolutely impossible to love and please God, unless we are fed by this divine Word. What can draw us to follow Him unless by knowing Him? And Who enables us to know Him, with all His perfections, beauty and love for us, if not the Word of God, Who teaches us about everything He has done for us and the good things He has in store for us, in the next life?” – St John-Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859) The Curé of Ars (Sermons)

PRAYER – O God, Who establishes ever new examples of virtue in Thy Church, grant that Thy people may follow the footsteps of blessed Andrew, Thy Confessor and Bishop, so that they may also obtain his reward. 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 QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), The FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES: JUSTICE, PRUDENCE, TEMPERANCE, FORTITUDE, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 3 February – Of the Acts to be Performed in order to Acquire Habits of Virtue (Part THREE)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 3 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

XIII: … Of the Way to Resist the Impulses of Sense
and of the Acts to be Performed by the Will,
in order to Acquire Habits of Virtue (Part Three)

“Lastly — to adorn and perfect your soul in the habit of all the virtues, exercise yourself in the inward practices directly opposed to all your disorderly passions.

Would you attain, for instance, to the perfection of patience?
On receiving any insult which tempts you to impatience, it will not be enough to exercise yourself in the three modes of warfare above described [see Part One link below], you must do more — even willingly accept and love the indignity you have endured; desiring to submit to it again, from the same person and in the same manner — expecting and disposing yourself to bear, still more difficult things.

These contrary acts are needful to our perfection in all the virtues, because, the exercises of which we have been speaking, manifold and efficacious as they are — will not suffice to eradicate the roots of sin.

Hence (to pursue the same example) although, when we receive an insult, we do not yield to the impulse of impatience but, on the contrary, resist it by the three methods above described, yet, unless we accustom ourselves, by many and repeated acts of the will, to love contempt and rejoice to be despised, we shall never overcome the sin of impatience which springs from a regard for our own reputation and a shrinking from contempt. …

I would add to all that has been said, that if the virtue in which you are exercising yourself, so requires, you must also practice exterior acts conformable to the interior — as, for instance, words of love and meekness and lowly services rendered to those who have, in any way, thwarted or slighted you.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/25/thought-for-the-day-25-january-of-the-way-to-resist-the-impulses-of-sense-part-one/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/02/02/thought-for-the-day-2-february-of-the-way-to-resist-the-impulses-of-sense-part-two/

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the JUDGE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN Saturdays, MOTHER of GOD, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Quotes on SALVATION, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 3 February –The ‘… Mother of God is our Mother! …’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 3 February – Saturday of the Blessed Virgin (Salve Sancta Parens) – Sirach 24:14-16; Luke 11:27-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Blessed is the womb
which bore Thee ”

Luke 11:27

“Mary, having merited to give flesh
to the Divine Word
and thus, supply the price
of our redemption
that we might be delivered
from eternal death, therefore,
she is more powerful
than all others,
to help us gain eternal life.”

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

“The very fact
that God has elected her,
proves, that none was ever
holier than Mary;
if any stain had disfigured her soul,
if any other virgin
had been purer and holier,
God would have selected her
and rejected Mary.”

St Jacob of Sarug (c 451-521)

“This woman will be the Mother of God,
the door to light, source of life.
She will reduce to oblivion the judgement
that weighed on Eve.
Daughter of David the king and Mother of God,
King of the universe, masterpiece
in whom the Creator rejoices…
thou art to be nature’s full achievement.
For thou life is not thine,
thou were not born for thyself alone
but thou life is to be God’s.
thou came into the world for Him,
thou will serve for the salvation of all people,
fulfilling God’s design, established from the beginning …”

St John Damascene (675-749)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“For whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven,
he is my brother and sister and mother.”
“These words were directed at us, not at Our Lady.
Not only was she the Immaculate Mother of Jesus Christ
but, she performed lovingly, on all occasions,
the Will of the heavenly Father.
She did His Will, in poverty and obedience,
in exile and on Mount Calvary.
Therefore, she was God’s Mother in the spiritual,
as well as, in the physical sense of the word,
insofar, as she was constantly united to Him
by a bond of love and of conformity with His desires.
Christ’s words indicate, that Mary’s perfect
and continuous acceptance of God’s Will,
was even more pleasing to God,
than the dignity of the divine Motherhood.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mother of Salvation,
Blessed Lady
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Magnificent Doctor
Marian Doctor

Mother of Salvation,
Blessed Lady,
you are the Mother of Justification
and those who are justified;
the Mother of Reconciliation
and those who are reconciled;
the Mother of Salvation
and those who are saved.
What a blessed trust
and what a secure refuge!
The Mother of God is our Mother.
The Mother of the One
in Whom alone, we hope
and Whom alone, we fear,
is our Mother! …
The One Who partook of our nature
and by restoring us to life,
made us children of His Mother,
invites us by this grace, to proclaim
that we are His brothers and sisters.
Therefore, our Judge, is also our Brother.
The Saviour of the world, is our Brother.
Our God has become –
through Mary – our Brother!
Anen

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 3 February – “Blessed is the womb that bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27

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One Minute Reflection – 3 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – Saturday of the Blessed Virgin (Salve sancta parens) – Sirach 24:14-16; Luke 11:27-28 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Blessed is the womb that bore Thee ” – Luke 11:27

REFLECTION – “Once indeed, God ejected the mortals and first parents of the human race from the paradise of Eden, when they had drunk deeply from the wine of disobedience and had become so affected by the hangover of sin, through the intoxication of that transgression which led to the sleepiness of the mind’s eye. …

Then Adam and Eve, the founders of our race, exclaimed with a loud voice in great rejoicing: “Blessed are you, O daughter, who bore for us the penalties of the commands that had been broken. When you had gained a mortal body from us, you gave birth to a covering of immortality for us. You repaid us ,so that it might be well with us, since you received birth from our loins. From beyond the grave, you have called us back to our ancient seat: we closed paradise for ourselves but you made open the way of the Tree of Life. Through our actions, sadness came forth from happiness; through you, even more joyful things have returned, from sorrow. In what possible way could you be acceptable to death, O Immaculate one? You are the bridge of life and the ladder to Heaven: you are a boat over the sea of death, reaching to immortality.”

But the woman herself, as she did not shrink from the truth, said: “Into Your hands, my Son, I commend my spirit. Receive this soul which is dear to You, which You have preserved free from any sin. I hand over my body, not to the earth but to You. Take me to Yourself, that where You are, You, the Child of my womb, so there I also may be Your companion. I am hastening to You, Who have often come to me on this side of that long distance.”

When she had said this, she heard in reply: “Come to My rest, My blessed Mother: arise, come, My Beloved, most blessed among all women. Behold, the winter is ended. You are all fair, My Beloved and there is no spot of stain found in you: the odour of your ointments are more precious than all other aromas.” – St John Damascene (675-749) Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Homily 9: On the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary).

PRAYER – Grant us, Thy servants, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, to enjoy lasting health of mind and body and, by the intercession of glorious and blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may we be delivered from present sorrow and partake, to the full, of eternal happiness.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 QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 2 February – Of the Way to Resist the Impulses of Sense (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 2 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

XIII: … Of the Way to Resist the Impulses of Sense
and of the Acts to be Performed by the Will
in order to Acquire Habits of Virtue (Part Two)

“Suppose you are assailed by feelings of impatience.
Look carefully into yourself and you will find that these feelings are constantly directed against the superior will, in order to win its consent.

Now then, begin the first exercise and by repeated acts of the will, do all in your power to stifle each feeling, as it arises that your will may not consent to it.
And never desist from this, until, wearied unto death, your enemy yields himself vanquished.
But see here the malice of the devil!
When he perceives that we resist the first movements of any passion, not only does he desist from exciting them but when excited, he endeavours, for the time, to allay them, lest, by the exercise of resistance to the passion, we should acquire the habit of the opposite virtue.
He would fain also betray us into the snares of pride and vainglory, by subtly insinuating to us that, like valiant soldiers, we have quickly trampled down our enemies.

Proceed, therefore, to the second conflict, recalling and exciting within yourself those thoughts which tempted you to impatience, until they sensibly affect you.
Then set yourself to repress every such feeling with a stronger will and more earnest endeavour than before.
And because, however strenuously we have resisted our enemies, from a sense of duty and a desire to please God, we are still in danger, unless we hold them in perfect detestation, of being one day overcome, attack them again even a third time and repel them, not with repugnance only but with indignation, until they have become hateful and abominable in your sight.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/25/thought-for-the-day-25-january-of-the-way-to-resist-the-impulses-of-sense-part-one/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 2 February – ‘… What shall we give Him? …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 2 February – The Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, Candlemas – Malachias 3:1-4, Luke 2:22-32 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The day will come when this Child
will no longer be offered in the Temple,
nor in Simeon’s arms
but outside the City
in the arms of the Cross.
The day will come when He
will not be redeemed
by the blood of a sacrifice
but redeem others ,
with His own Blood. …”
That will be the evening sacrifice;
this is the morning sacrifice;
this one is the happiest
but that one is the most complete;
for this one was offered
at the time of birth
and that one will be offered
in the fullness of time,..”

“But what shall we offer, brothers,
what shall we give Him
for all the benefits He has given us?
He offered the most precious Victim
He possessed for our sake;
in truth, He could not have had
anything more precious.
So let us, too,
do what we can,
let us offer Him the best we have,
that is to say, ourselves!
He offered Himself,
so who are you,
to hesitate to offer yourself?”

St Bernard (1091-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

“Let us try and live like Simeon,
with our minds and hearts turned towards Jesus.
Let us think chiefly of Him,
love Him, above everything else
and work only for Him.
Then our death will be as beautiful as his.
In fact, we shall be even more fortunate,
for we can go further than receiving Jesus into our arms.
We shall be able to receive Him into out hearts.
He will be at hand to give us the supernatural strength
which we shall need on our great journey into eternity.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/02/02/quote-s-of-the-day-2-february-carrying-jesus/

Posted in "Follow Me", ArchAngels and Angels, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on PURITY of INTENTION, Quotes on SALVATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 2 February – ‘… Be a lamp then in heart, in hand, in lips. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 2 February – The Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, Candlemas – Malachias 3:1-4; Luke 2:22-32 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“My eyes have seen Thy salvation …” – Luke 2:30

REFLECTION – “Come then, my brethren, give an eye to that candle burning in Simeon’s hands. Light your candles too by borrowing from that Light; for these candles I speak of are the lamps which the Lord orders us to have in our hands (Mt 25:1; Lk 12:35). Come to Him and be enlightened (Ps 33:6), so as to be not merely carrying lamps but to be very lamps yourselves, shining inside and out, for yourselves and for your neighbours.

Be a lamp then in heart, in hand, in lips. The lamp in your heart will shine for you; the lamp in your hand or on your lips, will shine out for your neighbours. The lamp in the heart is loving faith; the lamp in the hand is the example of good works; the lamp on the lips is edifying speech. But not just before men, must we shine by works and word but before Angels too, by prayer and before God Himself by pure Intention. Our lamp before the Angels is the purity of our devotion, when, in the sight of Angels, we chant the Psalms with care, or pray with burning ardour; our lamp before God is the honesty of our intention to please Him only, Whose approval we have won…

There are so many lamps then, my brethren, to lighten your way, if only you will come to the Source of all Light and be enlightened. Come, I say, to Jesus, Who shines out to us from Simeon’s arms. He will give Light to your faith, lustre to your works, meaning to your words for men, ardour to your prayer, purity to your intentions … And when this life’s lamp is extinguished, there will arise a life’s Light which can never be extinguished, a shimmering noonday Light, arising, as it were, at the evening of your life!” – Blessed Guerric of Igny O.Cist. (c1080-1157) Cistercian Abbot (1st Sermon for the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary).

PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, we humbly beseech Thy Majesty that, as Thy Only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the nature of our flesh, so may Thou grant us to be presented to Thee with purified minds. 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). 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 CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), St Francis de Sales, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 29 January – “The Difference between –Placing ourselves in God’s Presence and Staying in God’s Presence” by St Francis de Sales

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Thought for the Day – 29 January – The Feast of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Bishop, Confessor – Doctor of the Church: Doctor Caritatis (Doctor of Charity) “The Gentle Christ of Geneva” and “The Gentleman Saint.”

“The Difference between –
Placing ourselves in God’s Presence and
Staying in God’s Presence”

From a letter of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
to St Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)
dated 16 January 1610

“Staying in God’s Presence and placing ourselves in God’s Presence are, to my mind, are two different things.

In order to place ourselves in His presence, we have to withdraw our soul from every other object and make it attentive to that Presence at this very moment, as I have explained in the book.[Introduction to the Devout Life]
But once we are there, we remain there, as long as, either out intellect or our will, is active in regard to God.
We look either at Him, or at something else, for love of Him; or, not looking at anything at all, we speak to Him; or again, without either looking at Him or speaking to Him, we just stay there where He has placed us, like a statue in its niche.
And if, while we are there, we also have some sense that we belong to God and that He is our All, then we must certainly thank Him for this.

If a statue which had been placed in a niche, in some room, had the ability to speak and were asked “Why are you there?” it would answer, “Because my master, the sculptor, has put me here.”
“Why do you not move out?”
“Because he wants me to be perfectly still.”
“What use are you there? What do you gain by staying like this?” “I’m not here for my own benefit but to serve and obey the will of my master.”
“But you do not see him.”
“No but he sees me and is pleased that I am here where he has put me.”
“But would you not like to be able to move about and to get closer to him?
“No, not unless he ordered me to.”
“Is there not anything at all which you wish then?”
“No because I am where my master put me and all my happiness lies in pleasing him.”

Dear daughter, what a good way of praying and what a fine way of staying in God’s Presence – doing what He wants and accepting what pleases Him!
It seems to me that Mary of Bethany was a statue in her niche when, without saying a word, without moving and perhaps, even without looking at Him, she sat at Our Lord’s feet and listened to what He was saying.
When He spoke, she listened; whenever He paused, she stopped listening but always, she was right there (Lk 10:39).
A little child who is at its mother’s breast when she has fallen asleep, is really where it belongs and wants to be, even though neither of them makes a sound.

O my daughter, how I enjoy talking with you about these things!
How happy we are when we want to love Our Lord!
Let us really love Him, my daughter and let us not start examining in detail what we are doing, for love of Him, as long as we know that we never want to do anything except for love of Him.

For my part, I think we remain in God’s Presence, even while we are asleep because we fall asleep in His sight, as He pleases and according to His will and He puts us down on our bed, like a statue in its niche; when we awake, we find Him still there, close by. He has not moved, nor have we – evidently, we have stayed in His Presence but with our eyes closed in sleep.”

Posted in QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 25 January – Of the Way to Resist the Impulses of Sense (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 25 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

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

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

XIII: … Of the Way to Resist the Impulses of Sense
and of the Acts to be Performed by the Will
in order to Acquire Habits of Virtue (Part One)

“Whenever your reasonable will is attacked by the will of sense, on the one hand and the Divine Will on the other, each seeking to obtain the mastery over it, you must make use of various exercises, in order that the Divine Will may always govern you.

  • Firstly: — Whenever you are assailed and buffeted by the impulses of sense, oppose a valiant resistance to them, so that the superior will may not consent.
  • Secondly: — When the assaults have ceased, excite them anew, in order to repress them with greater force and vigour.

Then challenge them again to a third conflict, wherein you may accustom yourself to repulse them with contempt and abhorrence.
These two challenges to battle should be made to every disorderly appetite, except in the case of temptations of the flesh, concerning which we shall speak in their place.

  • Lastly: — Make acts contrary to each evil passion which is to be resisted.
    This will be made clear by the following example in part two.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, franciscan OFM, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on Will (Sensual or Inferior), SELF-DISTRUST, St Francis de Sales, The COMMUNION of SAINTS, The HEART

Quote/s of the Day – 25 January – Conversion

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Quote/s of the Day – 25 January – Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, Apostle

“O my brethren, if only we wanted to,
if only we all wanted to perceive
our soul’s paralysis in all its depth!
Then we would see
that it is lying on a stretcher of sins,
deprived of strength.
Christ’s action within us,
would be a source of light
and we would understand
that each day He sees our lack of faith,
harmful as it is, that He draws us
towards healing remedies
and sharply presses our rebellious wills.
“My son” He says, “your sins are forgiven you.”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
“Golden Words”
Father & Doctor of the Church

“What are you afraid of, you men of little faith?
That He will not pardon your sins?
But with His own hands He has nailed them to the Cross.
That you are used to soft living
and your tastes are fastidious?
But He knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2:7).
That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain?
But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners.
Or perhaps that angered by the enormity
and frequency of your sins,
He is slow to extend a helping hand?
But where sin abounded,
grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20).
Are you worried about clothing
and food and other bodily necessities
so that you hesitate to give up your possessions?
But He knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32).
What more can you wish?
What else is there to hold you back
from the way of salvation? ”

St Bernard (1091-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

“When it is dark,
we do not see how dusty and dirty
our house is.
Only when the place
is flooded with sunlight,
do we realise its awful condition.
So, we need the light of God’s grace
to show us the real state of our soul
and to induce us
to clean up our hearts!”

St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
Evangelical Doctor of the Church

“I see clearly with the interior eye,
that the sweet God loves, with a pure love,
the creature that He has created
and has a HATRED for nothing but SIN,
which is more opposed to Him,
than can be thought or imagined.”

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

“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.”

“Let us then depart, let us depart from Egypt,
let us approach Our Lord,
let us make provision of good works;
let the feet of our affections be bare,
let us clothe ourselves with innocence,
let us not be satisfied with crying for mercy,
let us go forth from Egypt, let us delay no longer.
The hour is come to arise from sleep,
since we know that He receives sinners;
the Angels await our repentance,
the Saints pray for it!”

St Francis de Sales 91567-1622)
Doctor of the Church