When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. … Matthew 9:36
REFLECTION – “A person is counselled to his face, so to speak, when he is created for righteousness and receives the precepts of rectitude. When he despises these precepts, it is as if he is turning his back to his Creator’s face. But He still follows behind us and counsels us, that we have despised Him but He still does not cease to call us. We turn our backs on His face, so to speak, when we reject His words, when we trample His commandments underfoot but He who sees that we reject Him, still calls out to us by His commandments and waits for us by His patience, stands behind us and calls us back when we have turned away.” … St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church – Forty Gospel Homilies, 34
PRAYER – Lord, to free man from his sinful state, You sent Your only Son into this world. Grant to us, who in faith and love, wait for His coming, Your gift of grace and the reward of true freedom. Be born in us O Lord! We ask our most pure Virgin Mary to guide us in her ways. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 4 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
TRUE LOVE of SELF
“There is a passage in the Gospel which might lead us to believe that we are forbidden to love ourselves. “Amen, amen, I say to you,” Jesus declares, “unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone but, if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. He who loves his life, loses it and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting” (Jn 12:24-25).
These words command us to hate ourselves in this world if we wish to attain salvation in the next life. In what sense, however, does Christ mean that we are to hate ourselves? He certainly means, that we should mortify our lower inclinations, deny our selfish ambitions, die to the world and be prepared to lose life itself, rather than offend God in any way. This is the kind of hate to which He urges us, a hatred of any perversion of our nature or of our faculties. If we prefer our own will, to that of our Creator, or love Him less than we love ourselves, or, worse still, if we forget and ignore Him in favour of passing pleasures, then, we invert the order of spiritual and moral values established by God and create a disorder which could lead us into sin.
Instead, we should love God above all things and subjugate our thoughts, desires and affections to Him. We should be prepared to forget ourselves for His sake and even to sacrifice life itself or His honour and glory. Then, our self-hatred will become a sublime love, which will bring us victory in our battle against our sensual inclinations. It will give us peace and resignation in suffering and, at the hour of death, will give us that consolation and joy, which the martyrs experienced when they shed their blood for the sake of Jesus Christ.”
Quote/s of the Day – 4 December – The Memorial of St John Damascene (676-749) – Father and Doctor of the Church
“The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.”
“The Son is the Counsel and Wisdom and Power of the Father.”
“All who ask receive, those who seek find and to those who knock it shall be opened. Therefore, let us knock at the beautiful garden of Scripture. It is fragrant, sweet and blooming with various sounds of spiritual and divinely inspired birds. They sing all around our ears, capture our hearts, comfort the mourners, pacify the angry and fill us with everlasting joy.”
“Images are books for the illiterate and silent heralds of the honour of the saints, teaching those who see, with a soundless voice and sanctifying the sight.”
“The saints must be honoured as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God, … Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory.”
“Having confidence in you, O Mother of God, I shall be saved. Being under you protection, I shall fear nothing. With your help, I shall give battle to my enemies and put them to flight, for devotion to you, is an arm of Salvation.”
St John Damascene (676-749) Father and Doctor of the Church
Thought for the Day – 2 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Exactly What is the Peace of Jesus Christ?
“The spirit of peace pervades the Gospel. When Jesus is born, choirs of angels sing above the stable in Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest ad on earth, peace among men of good will” (Lk 2:14). When our Saviour has risen gloriously from the dead, He appears to His disciples and greets them with the words: “Peace be to you.” Finally, when He is departing from this earth, He leaves his peace to His followers as their inheritance. “Peace I leave with you,” He says to them, “my peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled or be afraid” (Jn 14:27).
Exactly what is the peace of Jesus Christ? It is much different from worldly peace, presuming that the world can give some kind of peace. St Paul says of the Saviour that “he himself is our peace” (Eph 2:14). How are we to understand what is meant by this? The Apostle himself explains when he writes: “Having been justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). Jesus Christ, therefore, is our peacemaker. He has shouldered our iniquities and has offered Himself to the Father as a victim of expiation and of reconciliation. It is at the price of Christ’s precious blood, that we have regained peace with God and freedom from our sins. This is the peace which our Lord has given us. Let us remember, however, that if we return to the slavery of sin, we shall lose at once, the jewel of peace which Jesus Christ has bestowed on us. “There is no peace to the wicked” (Isa 48:22). We have experienced on many occasions how true this is. Sin destroys peace of soul because it deprives us of Jesus, without Whom, peace cannot survive. Let us resolve, therefore, to remain always close to our Lord and far from sin. Then only shall we be able to preserve our peace of mind in the midst of temptations and of earthly sorrows.
Advent Reflection – 2 December – Wednesday of the First Week of Advent, Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10,Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6, Matthew 15:29-37 and the Memorial of Bl Jan/John van Ruysbroec(k) (c 1293-1382)
Come to us and save us, Lord God Almighty Let Your face smile on us and we shall be safe.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” … Matthew 15:32
REFLECTION – “The second coming of Christ our Bridegroom takes place daily in good persons; indeed, it takes place frequently and repeatedly, with new gifts and graces, in all those who prepare themselves for it to the best of their ability. We do not intend to speak here of a person’s initial conversion or of the graces, which were first bestowed when he turned from sin to virtue. Rather, we wish to speak of a day-to-day increase in new gifts and new virtues and of a present, daily coming of Christ our Bridegroom into our soul. (…)
This is [a] coming of Christ our Bridegroom which takes place daily with an increase in graces and new gifts, for when a person receives any of the sacraments with a humble heart and without placing any obstacle in the way of the sacrament’s effects, then he receives new gifts and an increase of grace because of his humility and because of the mysterious working of Christ in the sacraments. (…) It is, then, another coming of Christ our Bridegroom which is present to us everyday. We should reflect on it with a heart full of desire so that it might take place in ourselves, for this coming is necessary, if we are to remain steadfast or go forward into eternal life.” … Bl Jan van Ruysbroec (1293-1381) Canon Regular – The Spiritual Espousals, Pt. 2
PRAYER – Prepare our hearts, Lord, by the power of Your grace. When Christ comes, may He find us worthy to receive from His hand, the Bread of Heaven at the feast of eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, with the Holy Spirit, God now and for all eternity, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 1 November – The Solemnity of All Saints
“Let listening to worldly news be BITTER FOOD for you and let the words of Saintly men be as combs filled with honey.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church
“The Saints must be honoured as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God. Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share, their crowns of glory.”
St John Damascene (675-749) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Those in the Catholic Church, whom some rebuke for praying to Saints and going on pilgrimages, do not seek any Saint as their saviour. Instead, they seek Saints, as those whom their Saviour loves and whose intercession and prayer, for the seeker, He will be content to hear. For His Own sake, He would have those He loves honoured. And when they are thus honoured for His sake, then, the honour that is given them, for His sake, overflows especially to Himself.”
St Thomas More 1478-1535) Martyr
“Be often reading the lives of the saints for inspiration and instruction.”
St Philip Neri (1515-1595)
“God, because of the great love He bears us and His great desire to see us saved, has given us, among other means of salvation, the practice of devotion to the Saints. It is His will that they, who are His friends, should intercede for us and, by their merits and prayers, obtain graces for us, which we ourselves do not deserve.”
St Alphonsus Maria Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“Every so often, unite oneself interiorly with the Saintly souls who serve God and praise Him… with the holy angels and all the heavenly court …”
Quote/s of the Day – 30 October – Making our way to Life
“A person who wishes to become the Lord’s disciple must repudiate a human obligation, however honourable it may appear, if it slows us, ever so slightly, in giving the wholehearted obedience we owe to God.”
St Basil the Great (329-379)
O Lord, You have given us Your word for a light to shine upon our path, grant us so to meditate on that word and follow its teaching, that we may find in it, the light that shines more and more until the perfect day. Amen
St Jerome (343-420) “The Man of the Bible” Father and Doctor of the Church
“Rest is in Him alone. Man knows no peace in the world but he has no disturbance when he is with God.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor
“We must make our way towards eternity, never regarding what men think of us, or of our actions, studying only to please God.”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our “measure.” There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!”
St John Leonardi (1541-1609)
“Only one thing is necessary: Jesus Christ! Think unceasingly of Him. ”
St John Gabriel Perboyre CM (1802-1840) Martyr for Christ
“Our vocation, yours and mine, is not to go harvesting in the fields of ripe corn, Jesus does not say to us; “Lower your eyes, look at the fields and go and reap them,” our mission is still loftier. Here are Jesus’ words: “Lift up your eyes and see….” See how in My Heaven there are places empty, it is for you to fill them! … each one of you is my Moses praying on the mountain (Ex 17:8f), ask Me for labourers and I shall send them, I await only a prayer, a sigh from your heart!”
“Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven. the only one goal of our labours.”
St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873 – 1897) Doctor of the Church
“We must always be ready. Let our faith be lively and active and our minds turned towards God, Who is waiting for us. There is no need to be afraid. He is good and merciful. He desires our salvation. This is a wonderfully consoling thought. God desires my salvation! Let us surrender ourselves to Him, therefore, as if we had to die this very moment!”
One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. – Luke 14:14
REFLECTION – “The world’s eternal and invisible Creator, preparing to save humankind, which for long ages had been hindered by it’s subjection to the heavy law of death, deigned “in these last days” (Heb 1:2) to become man (…) that in His mercy He might redeem those, who in justice He condemned. And so as to show the depth of His love for us, He not only became a man but a poor and humble man so that, by drawing near to us in His poverty, He might make us sharers in His riches (2 Cor 8:9). So poor did He become for our sake, that He had nowhere to lay His head: “Foxes have dens and the birds of the air have their nest but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Mt 8:20).
This is the reason why He agreed to go and dine wherever He was invited, not out of an excessive enjoyment in eating but, so that He could teach the way of salvation and stimulate faith. There He would fill the guests with light by His miracles and the servants, who were kept busy inside and were not free to go with Him, would hear the words of salvation. Indeed, He despised no-one and none were considered unworthy of His love because “he has mercy on all; he hates nothing of what he has made and takes care of them all” (Wsd 11:24).
So that He might carry out this work of salvation the Lord entered the house of an eminent Pharisee on the sabbath. The scribes and Pharisees watched Him with the intention of calling Him to account, so that if He were to cure the man with dropsy they could accuse Him of breaking the Law and, if He did not, they could accuse Him of blasphemy or inability (…) By the pure light of His word of truth, they were to see the darkness of their deceit vanish away. … Blessed Guerric of Igny O.Cist (c 1080-1157) – Cistercian Abbot (Liturgical sermons).
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, shed the light of Your glory on the peoples who are living in the shadow of death, as You did long ago, when our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sun of Justice, came among us from on high. As He taught us the way to life may we keep the precepts and finally reach our everlasting home. May the Mother of Jesus, our Lord and our always loving and merciful Mother, keep us forever in her prayers. With Jesus our Lord and our God, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You now and for all eternity, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 29 October – the Memorial of Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano (1971 –1990)
“I care only about doing the will of God, doing it well, in the present moment.”
“I must not exploit Him but just love Him and nothing else.”
“I discovered that Forsaken Jesus is the key to unity with God and I want to choose Him as my first Spouse and be prepared for when He comes.”
“Just as its easy for me to learn the alphabet, so must it also be, to live the Gospel. I have re-discovered this phrase that says: “Give and it shall be given to you.”
“I have nothing left but I still have my heart and with that, I can always love.”
One Minute Reflection – 29 October – Thursday of the Thirtieth week in Ordinary Time, Ephesians 6:10-20, Psalms 144:1, 2, 9-10, Luke 13:31-35 and the Memorial of Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano (1971 –1990)
“How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing!” – Luke 13:34
REFLECTION – “Thus shall the spiritual thirst of Christ be quenched. This is His thirst – His love and longing for us that goes on enduring until we see the Day of Judgement. For of us who are to be saved and be Christ’s joy and bliss, some are alive now, while others- are ‘yet unborn and so, it will go on until that Day. His thirst and loving longing, is to have us all, integrated in Himself, to His great enjoyment. At least, so I see it (…) Because He is God, He is ‘supreme blessedness and never has been nor ever shall be other. His eternal blessedness can neither be increased nor diminished (…) Because He is human – this too is known by the creed and by the revelations – it was shown, that He, though God, suffered pain, passion, and death, for love of us and to bring us to blessedness (…) Since Christ is our Head, He must be both glorious and impassable. But since He is also the Body, in which all His members are joined (Eph 1:23), He is not yet fully either of these. Therefore, the same desire and thirst that He had upon the cross (Jn 19:28) – and this desire, longing and thirst was with Him from the very first, I believe He has still and shall continue to have, until the last soul to be saved has arrived at it’s blessedness. For just as there is in God the quality of sympathy and pity, so too in Him is there, that of thirst and longing. And in virtue of this longing which is in Christ, we in turn, long for Him too. No soul comes to heaven without it. This quality of longing and thirst springs from God’s eternal goodness just as pity does (…) and, this thirst will persist in Him, as long as we are in need, drawing us up, to His blessedness.” – Blessed Julian of Norwich (c 1342-c 1416) (aged 73–74) Anchorite, Mystic (Revelations of divine love, ch. 31)
PRAYER – Shed Your clear light on our hearts, Lord, so that walking continually in the way of Your commandments, we may never be deceived or misled. May Your loving Heart draw us more and more to Itself, so that Your love may be ours. Grant that the prayers of Blessed Chiara Badano, who always held Your Light up for others to see by, give us strength. Through Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 28 October – Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles and Martyrs, Readings: Ephesians 2:19-22, Psalms 19:2-3, 4-5, Luke 6:12-16
“In those days he departed to the mountain to pray and he spent the night in prayer to God.”
Luke 6:12
“Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
“We pray then to Him, through Him, in Him and we speak along with Him and He along with us.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard, more than the proceedings, from the mouth.”
St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Seraphic Doctor of the Church
“Prayer is an act of love, words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love.”
St Teresa of Jesus of Avila (1515-1582)
“Give yourself to prayer and try by it, to procure, first the amendment of your fault, then the practice of Christian virtues and finally a great love of God.”
Bl Sebastian Valfre (1629-1710)
“He who prays most receives most.”
St Alphonsus Maria Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“My little children, your hearts are small but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.”
St John Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859)
“Prayer is our strength, our sword, our consolation and the key to paradise.”
St Joseph Freinademetz (1852-1908)
“To pray, is to think about Jesus and love Him. The more we love, the better we pray.”
Bl Charles of Jesus de Foucauld (1858-1916)
“Prayer is an aspiration of the heart. It is a simple glance directed to Heaven. It is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy.”
St Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873-1897) Doctor of the Church
“Without Prayer nothing good is done. God’s works are done with our hands joined and on our knees. Even when we run, we must remain spiritually kneeling before Him.”
Quote/s of the Day – 25 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Exodus 22:20-26, Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4,47, 51, 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10, Matthew 22:34-40
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
Matthew 22:36,39
“No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared, for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9
“Oh! My God, how much your hand was upon me and yet how little I was aware of it! How good you are! How good you are! How you protected me! How you covered me with Your wings, when I did not even believe in your existence!”
“The Gospel showed me that the first commandment is to love God with all one’s heart and that, we should enfold everything in love; everyone knows, that the first effect of love is imitation.”
“Every person is a child of God, who loves them infinitely: it is, therefore, impossible to want to love God, without loving human beings – the more one loves God, the more one loves people. The love of God, the love of people, is my whole life; it will be my whole life, I hope.”
“When you love, you feel like speaking the whole time with the one you love, or at least, you want to look at Him without ceasing. Prayer is nothing else. It is the familiar meeting with our Beloved. We look at Him, we tell Him we love Him, we rejoice to be at His feet.”
“I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say: ‘If such is the servant, what must the Master be like.’”
Quote/s of the Day – 24 October – The Memorialof St Anthony Mary Claret CMF (1807-1870) Archbishop and Founder of the Claretians
“The sole reason why society is perishing is because, it has refused to hear the word of the Church, which is the word of God. All plans for salvation will be sterile, if the great word of the Catholic Church, is not restored in all it’s fullness!”
“Humility, obedience, meekness and love are the virtues that shine through the Cross and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. O my Jesus, help me imitate you!”
“To labour and to suffer for the One we love, is the greatest proof of our love.”
“Woe to me if I do not preach and warn [sinners], for I would be held responsible for their condemnation.”
Quote/s of the Day – 23 October – Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer
“I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.”
John 12:47
“Come along then, every human family, full of sin as you are and receive the forgiveness of your sins. For I Myself, am your forgiveness, I am the Passover of salvation, the Lamb slain for your sakes, your redemption, life and resurrection; I am your Light, your Salvation and your King. It is I, who lead you to the heights of heaven, I, who will raise you up; it is I, who will bring you to see the Father who is from all eternity; it is I, who will raise you up by My all-powerful Hand.”
St Melito of Sardis (Died c 180) Bishop, Apologist
Paschal Homily
“Many indeed are the wondrous happenings of that time: God hanging from a Cross, the sun made dark and again flaming out; for it was fitting, that creation should mourn with its Creator. The temple veil rent, Blood and Water flowing from His Side – the one as from a Man, the other as from what was above man; the earth shaken, the rocks shattered because of the Rock; the dead risen to bear witness to the final and universal resurrection of the dead. The happenings at the sepulchre and after the sepulchre, who can fittingly recount them? Yet not one of them, can be compared, to the Miracle of my Salvation. A few drops of Blood renews the whole world and do, for all men, what the rennet does for the milk – joining us and binding us together!”
St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Father and Doctor of the Church
“The light of Christ is an endless day that knows no night.”
“Our Saviour’s passion raises men and women from the depths, lifts them up from the earth and sets them in the heights.”
St Maximus of Turin (? – c 420)
“As they were looking on, so we too gaze on His wounds as He hangs. We see His blood as He dies. We see the price offered by the Redeemer, touch the scars of His Resurrection. He bows His head, as if to kiss you. His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you. His arms are extended, that He may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are. Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind – as He was once fixed to the cross, in every part of His body for you, so He may now be fixed in every part of your soul.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“Mount Calvary is the mount of lovers. All love that takes not it’s beginning from Our Saviour’s Passion is frivolous and dangerous. Unhappy is death without the love of the Saviour, unhappy is love without the death of the Saviour! Love and death are so mingled in the Passion of Our Saviour that we cannot have the one in our heart without the other. Upon Calvary one cannot have life without love, nor love without the death of Our Redeemer.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of Charity
“Yes, my gentle Redeemer, let me say it, You are crazy with love! Is it not foolish for You to have wanted to die for me? But if You, my God, have become crazy with love for me, how can I not become crazy with love for You?”
St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Prayer Before The Crucifix – The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass By St Vincent Strambi (1745-1824)
Jesus, by this Saving Sign, bless this listless soul of mine. Jesus, by Your feet nailed fast, mend the missteps of my past. Jesus, with Your riven hands, bend my will to love’s demands. Jesus, in Your Heart laid bare, warm my inner coldness there. Jesus, by Your thorn-crowned head, still my pride till it is dead. Jesus, by Your muted tongue, stay my words that hurt someone. Jesus, by Your tired eyes, open mine to faith’s surprise. Jesus, by Your fading breath, keep me faithful until death. Yes, Lord, by this Saving Sign, save this wayward soul of mine. Amen
“He perspired blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and, abandoned by the Apostles, He was bound like a criminal, insulted, scourged, crowned with thorns, condemned to death and burdened with a cross; finally, when He arrived at Calvary, He was nailed to the gibbet, where He shed His Precious Blood and gave His life for our redemption. Such was the extent of Jesus’ infinite love for us. “Calvary” writes St Francis de Sales,“is the school of love.” The Saints were moved to tears by the strange spectacle of God-made-man, dying on the Cross for men. What is our reaction?”
“I have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing!” – Luke 12:49
REFLECTION – “Everything we are about to do, even if it were a supremely heroic action destroying the foundations of all evil on earth, that act will have no value, except to the extent, with which our will accords with the will of the Immaculate and, through her, with the will of God … It is love in all it’s profundity (beyond feelings, even though that is also beautiful) that must transform us … It should consume us and, through us, set fire to the world and destroy and burn all the evil it finds there. This is the fire of which the Saviour said: “I have come to cast fire on the earth and what how I wish that it were already burning!” (Lk 12:49). Consumed by this fire of divine love (I repeat, it is not a question here of sweet tears or of feelings but of the will, even in the midst of disgust and antipathy), we will set the whole world ablaze! Love never rests but spreads like fire that burns everything. And all of us human beings should tend towards being set alight by this fire of love and that it may burn all souls that are and will be in the world. This is the ideal towards which we should tend. We must remember the words of Jesus: “I have come to set the earth on fire” (Lk 12:49). On our part we should do all we can to make this fire light up more and more everyday.” – St Maximilian Kolbe OFM (1894-1941) Priest, Martyr – Conferences
PRAYER – Father, grant that we may be, bearers of Christ Jesus, Your Son. Allow us to fill with Your light the world around us. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit to carry out our mission of living and following the path of Jesus, our Lord. Help us to understand, that by Your grace our gifts are Your blessings, to be shared with others. Fill us with Your Spirit of love to give glory to You in loving all and preaching by our love. Nourish in us the desire to go forth as the bearers of Your Son fearless and gentle, loving and merciful. Make us true Christ bearers, that in seeing us only He is visible. Amen (The Christopher Prayer)
Quote/s of the Day – 21 October – Wednesday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ephesians 3:2-12, Responsorial Psalm: Isaiah 12:2-3, 4,5-6, Luke 12:39-48
“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Matthew 24:13
“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:36
“Life is short, Death is certain and the world to come is everlasting.”
“If we would God discern The world we must despise, His love and hate must learn, See all things with His eyes. And we must self forgo If God we would attain, His grace must in us grow And ease us from all pain. So shall we sing His praise And be at one with Him, In peace our voices raise In the celestial hymn, That with quadruple harmony And all mellifluous melody, In Heaven resounds eternally.”
(The Seven Steps of the Ladder of Spiritual Love)
Bl John van Ruysbroeck (c 1293-1382)
“This then is to watch – to be detached from what is present and to live in what is unseen, to live in the thought of Christ as He came once and as He will come again, to desire His second coming, from our affectionate and grateful remembrance, of His first. ”
“He watches with Christ, whoever commemorates and renews, in his own person, Christ’s Cross and Agony and gladly takes up that mantle of affliction which Christ wore here and left behind Him, when He ascended.”
St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Watch over your thoughts because they become words.
Watch over your words because they become actions.
Watch over your actions because they become habits.
Watch over your habits because they become your character.
Watch over your character because it becomes your destiny.
Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – Tuesday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ephesians 2:12-22,Psalms 85:9-10,11-12, 13-14, Luke 12:35-38
“Open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.”
Luke 12:36
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me.”
Revelations 3:20
“Find Jesus at the door of your heart and you will discover paradise.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Let your door stand open to receive Him, unlock your soul to Him, offer Him a welcome in your mind and then you will see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the joy of grace. Throw wide the gate of your heart, stand before the sun of the everlasting light.”
St Ambrose (c 340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle …”
One Minute Reflection – 20 October – Tuesday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ephesians 2:12-22,Psalms 85:9-10,11-12, 13-14, Luke 12:35-38 and the Memorial of Blessed James Strepar OFM (c 1340-1409)
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.” – Luke 12:35-36
REFLECTION – “God, the Word, stirs up the lazy and arouses the sleeper. For indeed, someone who comes knocking at the door is always wanting to come in. But it depends on us if He does not always enter or always remain. May your door be open to Him who comes; open your soul, enlarge your spiritual capacities that you may discover the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace and sweetness of grace. Expand your heart; run to meet the Sun of that Eternal Light which “enlightens everyone” (Jn 1:9). It is certain that this true Light shines for all but, if anyone shuts their windows, then they themselves shut themselves off from this Eternal Light.
So even Christ remains outside, if you shut the door of your soul. It is true that He could enter but He does not want to use force, He does not put those who refuse under pressure. Descended from the Virgin, born from her womb, He shines throughout the universe to give Light to all. Those who long to receive the Light which shines with an everlasting brightness, open to Him. No night comes to intervene. Indeed, the sun we see each day gives way to night’s darkness but the Sun of Justice (Mal 3:20) knows no setting for Wisdom is not overcome by evil.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan and Father and Doctor of the Church – 12th Sermon on Psalm 118
PRAYER – All-powerful, eternal God and Father, grant us the grace of Your Spirit and fill us with the light of understanding and love. May we learn to truly pray and by our prayers to entreat You to bless us in Your goodness and lead us to true faith in Your eternal light and Word sent to redeem us. May we always be waiting and prepared to open the door of our hearts to Jesus Christ our Lord, who comes in light, love and peace. Grant that by the prayers of Blessed James Strepar we may be strengthened. Holy Mother, be our protection and our guide. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 19 October – The Memorial of St Paul of the Cross CP (1604-1775)
“We ought to glory in nothing other than, the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are blessed and don’t know it. You have Jesus Crucified, with you!”
“Your crosses dear God, are the joy of my heart. How beautiful to suffer with Jesus.”
“Oh cherished cross! Through thee my most bitter trials are replete with graces!”
“The passion of Jesus is a sea of sorrows but it is also an ocean of love. Ask the Lord to teach you to fish in this ocean. Dive into its depths. No matter how deep you go, you will never reach the bottom.”
“Do not live any longer in yourself but let Jesus Christ live in you in such a way that the virtue of this Divine Saviour may be resplendent in all your actions, in order that all may see in you a true portrait of the Crucified and sense, the sweetest fragrance of the holy virtues of the Lord, in interior and exterior modesty, in patience, in gentleness, suffering, charity, humility and in all others that follow.”
“Look upon the face of the Crucified, who invites you to follow Him. He will be a Father, Mother–everything to you.”
Quotes of the Day – 18 October – Feast of St Luke the Evangelist
“Most Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
Luke 1:42
“And I say to you: Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asks receives and he that seeks finds and to him that knocks, it shall be opened.”
Luke 11:9-10
“Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span?”
Luke 12:25
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
Luke 12:34
“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:36
“Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – The Memorial of St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107) Father of the Church, Martyr
“Wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”
(Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ch 8)
“I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the Bread of God, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David and for drink, I desire His Blood, which is love incorruptible.”
“Only let it be in the name of Jesus Christ, that I may suffer together with Him! I endure everything because He Himself, Who is perfect man, empowers me.”
Quote/s of the Day – 16 October – The Memorial of St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”
“Announce it and let it be announced to the whole world, that I set neither limit nor measure to my gifts of grace, for those who seek them in my Heart.”
Revelations of Our Lord to St Margaret Mary Alacoque
“The Sacred Heart is the symbol of that boundless love which moved the Word to take flesh, to institute the Holy Eucharist, to take our sins upon Himself and, dying on the Cross, to offer Himself as a victim and sacrifice to the eternal Father.”
“O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee, for I fear all things, from my own weakness, but I hope for all things, from Thy Goodness.”
“Let every knee bend before You, O greatness of my God, so supremely humbled in the Sacred Host. May every heart love You, every spirit adore You and every will be subject to You!”
The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary or those Devoted to His Sacred Heart:
I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
I will establish peace in their families.
I will console them in all their troubles.
They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.
From Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque’s Vision of Jesus
St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart“
Our Morning Offering – 16 October – Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Gall (c 550–c 646) Missionary to Switzerland with St Columban
May We Love Only You By St Columban (543-615)
Loving Saviour, be pleased to show Yourself to us who knock, so that in knowing You, we may love only You, love You alone, desire You alone, contemplate only You, day and night and always think of You. Inspire in us the depth of love that is fitting for You to receive as God. So may Your love pervade our whole being, possess us completely and fill all our senses, that we may know no other love but love for You, Who are everlasting. May our love be so great, that the many waters of sky, land and sea cannot extinguish it in us – many waters could not extinguish love. May this saying be fulfilled in us also, at least in part, by Your gift, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 15 October – Thursday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ephesians 1:1-10, Psalms 98:1, 2-3,3-4, 5-6, Luke 11:47-54 and the Memorial of St Teresa of Jesus of Avila (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church “Doctor of Prayer”
The scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard … lying in wait for him … Luke 11:53-54
REFLECTION – “With a fear mingled with joy I consider it desirable to say something here about the sufferings you endured for my sake, O God of us all! Standing before the tribunal of men You Yourself had created in a nature that was my own You said nothing, You who give us speech; You did not speak aloud, You who create the tongue; You did not shout out, You who shake the earth (…) You did not give up to shame the one who gave You up to the terrors of death; You showed no resistance when You were bound and when You were struck, you were not outraged. When they spat on You, You did not swear back and when they struck You with the fist, You did not tremble. When they taunted You, You were not angered and when they hit You, Your face did not change (…) Far from giving You a moment of respite, O source of life, they at once prepared for carrying the instrument of death. You accepted it graciously, took it gently, hoisted it patiently. You took upon Yourself, like a criminal, the tree of sorrow!” – St Gregory of Narek (c 951-c 1010) Doctor of the Church, Armenian Monk, mystical Philosopher, Theologian and Poet – Book of prayers, no 77
PRAYER – Almighty God, our Father, You sent St Teresa of Jesus to be a witness in the Church to the way of perfection. Sustain us by her spiritual doctrine and kindle in us, the longing for true holiness. Through Christ, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, God forever. May the intercession of St Teresa be a source of strength, amen.
Thought for the Day – 12 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery The Crucifixion
“At last, Jesus reaches Calvary, breathless and reduced to utter exhaustion. The instrument of torture is taken from Him and laid upon the ground. Our divine Redeemer suffers acute pain as Her is again stripped of His garments, which have stuck to His wounds. Now, He is stretched, an innocent victim, on the altar of sacrifice, the Cross. One of the executioners grasps His hand, pierces it with a large nail and attaches it to the wood. Then, he does the same with the other hand and with the two feet. His Mother is close at hand. She feels in her heart the blows of the hammer which lacerate the living flesh of Jesus. Jesus remains silent “as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim” (Jer 11:19).
Now, the executioners raise up the Cross and fix it in the hold already prepared for it. The shock of this impact sends a shudder of terrible pain through the Victim’s members and entire frame. Behold Him now, suspended between Heaven and earth, the mediator between God and humanity, the victim of expiation for the innumerable sins of men.
Come near to the Cross and kiss the bloodstained feet. While the Jews are insulting Him and most of the Apostles have abandoned Him, let us tell Him how much we love Him. Let us tell Him of our sorrow for our sins and of our determination to make amends for our faults and for our ingratitude, by living in accordance with His teachings and example.”
Quote/s of the Day – 12 October – Monday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31, 5:1, Psalms 113:1-2, 3-4, 5 and 6-7, Luke 11:29-32
“Behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
Luke 11:32
Born as a son, led forth as a lamb, sacrificed as a sheep, buried as a man, He rose from the dead as a God, for He was by nature God and man.
He is all things: He judges and so He is Law, He teaches and so He is Wisdom, He saves and so He is Grace, He begets and so He is Father, He is begotten and so He is Son, He suffers and so He is Sacrifice, He is buried and so He is man, He rises again and so He is God. This is Jesus Christ, to whom belongs glory for all ages.
Saint Melito, Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180) Early Church Father In Praise of Christ
Firmly I Believe and Truly By St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Firmly I believe and truly God is three and God is One And I next acknowledge duly Manhood taken by the Son. And I trust and hope most fully In that Manhood crucified And each thought and deed unruly Do to death, as He has died. Simply to His grace and wholly Light and life and strength belong And I love, supremely, solely, Him the holy, Him the strong.
And I hold in veneration, For the love of Him alone, Holy Church, as His creation, And her teachings, as His own. And I take with joy whatever Now besets me, pain or fear And with a strong will I sever All the ties which bind me here. Adoration aye be given, With and through the angelic host, To the God of earth and heaven, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Thought for the Day – 9 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The Second Sorrowful Mystery The Scourging
“Think about the manner in which Jesus was scourged. His chaste body, is stripped by the jeering soldiers, His hands are tied and He is bound to a pillar. The soldiers come forward with their whips and begin to beat Him mercilessly. As His Blood flows freely to the ground, Jesus quivers with pain and emits a half-suppressed groan. But fresh blows continue to rain down on His bruised flesh. So the prophecy is fulfilled in which Isaias described the punishment of the chosen people, whose sins and whose chastisement, the divine Redeemer has chosen to take on Himself. “From the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no soundness therein – wounds and bruises and swelling sores …“ (Is 1:6).
By means of this fearful torment, Jesus willed to offer satisfaction in a special manner, for the sins of the flesh. In ancient times, sins of impurity provoked the anger of God so much, that they were blotted out by the universal deluge. Now these sins are still numberless, both in the pagan and, unfortunately, in the Christian world but, they are washed away by the saving Blood of Jesus Christ, Who came on earth to make reparation for all the iniquities of men.
Kiss the wounds of Jesus, bleeding and suffering. Ask for pardon if you have on occasions, failed to preserve the purity of your body, the dwelling of your immortal soul and the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. Resolve to die rather than stain again, with impurity, the soul, which was redeemed and sanctified, by the precious Blood of the Redeemer.”
Quote/s of the Day – 9 October – The Memorial ofSt Louis Bertrand OP (1526-1581) “Apostle of South America”, St John Leonardi OMD (1541-1609), Founder of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God and St John Henry Newman C.Orat (1801-1890)
“If, because of your preaching, men lay aside enmities, forgive injuries, avoid occasions of sin and scandals and reform their conduct, you may say that the seed has fallen on good ground. But to God alone give all the glory and acknowledge yourselves ever unprofitable servants.”
St Louis Bertrand (1526-1581)
“The medicine of God, is Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, the measure of all things.”
“Christ first of all, Christ in the centre of the heart, in the centre of history and of the cosmos. Humanity needs Christ intensely because, He is our “measure.” There is no realm, that cannot be touched by His strength; there is no evil, that cannot find remedy in Him, there is no problem, that cannot be solved in Him. Either Christ or nothing!”
Thought for the Day – 8 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The First Sorrowful Mystery The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
The life of Mary, like that of her divine Son, was a life of suffering and of sacrifice.
When Simeon held the divine Child in his arms, he had prophesied: “This child is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel and, for a sign that shall be contradicted. And thy own soul, a sword shall pierce” (Cf Lk 2:35). There was suffering from the very beginning – in the arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfil the obligation of the census; in the refusal of the people of Bethlehem to give shelter to the Holy Family; in the birth of Jesus in a cold cave; in the flight into Egypt to escape from the cruelty of Herod; in the loss of Jesus when He was twelve years old; in the hard life of a humble artisan in Nazareth; in the difficulties of the public life of Jeuse and, in the final tragedy which brought Jesus from Gethsemane to Calvary and, from Calvary to the sepulchre.
When faced with this spectacle of the Man-God and of His Mother Mary suffering for love of us, how can we complain that our own cross is too heavy? How can we rebel against the merciful God Who afflicts us for our own good, purifies us with suffering and demands, that we should be detached from worldly things, so that we may give more thought to Heaven, for which our souls are destined? To meditate on all that Jesus and Mary suffered for us, should be enough to make us embrace our cross generously and resign ourselves to the physical or moral afflictions which God sens us.”
AnaStpaul 
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