QUOTES – J R R Tolkien and MORE – Page 8

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Thought for the Day – 26 May – Solitude

Posted on May 26, 2020May 26, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 26 May – “Mary’s Month” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Solitude

“A man who has no love for solitude, does not love God.
It can easily happen that worldly objects dazzle the mind and enchant the heart, so that anyone who is greatly occupied with them, does not see or experience God in any way.
A man who talks a lot with other men, rarely speaks with God.
God’s voice is heard in silence and in solitude and we must listen for it if we wish to have any ease of conversation with Him.
It is fatal to allow ourselves to be deafened by the noise of the world and never to listen for the voice of God, which speaks within us.

Only those who have been called to a higher vocation, can live in a cloister but a little solitude is necessary for everybody from time to time.
It maybe a course in the Spiritual Exercises, or a monthly day of recollection, or a quarter of an hour spent everyday in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
In those moments of detachment from the world and of intimacy with God, we can enjoy conditions far above any which can be found on earth.
Such moments can be the beginning of a new life.
The Holy Spirit incites us through the prophet Osee, to find these necessary intervals for silence and prayer: “I will allure her and will lead her into the wilderness and I will speak to her heart” (Osee 2:14).
Jesus set the standard for us, when He spent forty days alone in the desert, fasting and praying.
Even though the Apostles were engaged in public missionary activity, He was anxious that they should retire from it for a while, in order to refresh themselves spiritually. “Come apart into a desert place,” He said “and rest a while” (Mk 6:31).
St Bernard wrote that silence and peace far away from the noise of the world, helped the soul to meditate on God and on spiritual matters (Epist 73).
“Solitude is Heaven to me,” (Epist 4 ad Rust) said St Jerome.

The Blessed Virgin also took refuge from distraction and loved the solitude of her home in Nazareth, where the Angel first announced to her, that she was to be the Mother of God.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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One Minute Reflection – 26 May- “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.”

Posted on May 26, 2020May 26, 2020 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 26 May- “Mary’s Month!” – Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 20:17-27, Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21, John 17:1-11 and The Memorial of St Mariana de Jesus de Paredes OFS (1618-1645) “The Lily of Quito”

“Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him.” … John 17:1-2

REFLECTION – “At the conclusion of the central section of the Church’s great Credo—the part that recounts the mystery of Christ, from His eternal birth of the Father and His temporal birth of the Virgin Mary, through His Cross and Resurrection to the second coming—we find the phrase: “he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” From the earliest times, the prospect of the Judgement has influenced Christians in their daily living, as a criterion by which to order their present life, as a summons to their conscience and at the same time as hope in God’s justice. Faith in Christ, has never looked merely backwards or merely upwards but always also forwards to the hour of justice that the Lord repeatedly proclaimed…

In Christ who was crucified, the denial of false images of God is taken to an extreme. God now reveals His true Face in the figure of the Sufferer who shares man’s God-forsaken condition, by taking it upon Himself. This innocent Sufferer has attained the certitude of hope – there is a God and God can create justice, in a way that we cannot conceive, yet, we can begin to grasp it through faith. Yes, there is a resurrection of the flesh. There is justice. There is an “undoing” of past suffering, a reparation that sets things aright.

For this reason, faith in the Last Judgement is first and foremost hope—the need for which, was made abundantly clear in the upheavals of recent centuries. I am convinced that the question of justice constitutes the essential argument, or in any case the strongest argument, in favour of faith in eternal life. The purely individual need for a fulfilment, that is denied to us in this life, for an everlasting love that we await, is certainly an important motive for believing, that man was made for eternity but, only in connection with the impossibility, that the injustice of history should be the final word, does the necessity for Christ’s return and for new life become fully convincing.” … Pope Benedict XVI – Pope from 2005 to 2013 – Encyclical “ Spe Salvi ” § 41, 43 john 17 1-2 give glory to your son so that he may give eternal life - faith in christ - pope benedict 26 may 2020

PRAYER – Lord God, You opened for us, the way to eternal life, when Christ Your Son was take up to glory and Your Holy Spirit, came to enlighten Your Church. Grant that, as we share in so great a gift, our longing and hope, for our eternal home may grow every stronger and so our service ever more loyal to Your commandments. Listen to the prayers of Holy Mother Mary, the Blessed Virgin Mother of Your Son and of St Maria de Jesus de Paredes, whom we beg to pray for our intercession. Through Christ, Our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all time and for all eternity, amen. blessed virgin mother pray for us 26 may 2020

ST MARIANA DE JESUS DE PAREDES PRAY FOR US 26 MAY 2020

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Thought for the Day – 24 May – The Recollection of Mary

Posted on May 24, 2020May 22, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 24 May – “Mary’s Month” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Recollection of Mary

“It is believed that when the Angel Gabriel visited the Blessed Virgin in order to tell her that she was to be the Mother of God, she was in a quiet corner of her home, absorbed in prayer.
She had no love for the noise and confusion of the world but preferred to be recollected in the company of God.
This was to be the pattern of her whole life.
In the midst of her domestic duties, on her journey to St Elizabeth and on her travels in Galilee and Judea, in the wake of her divine Son, her mind and heart were always concentrated on God.

Interior recollection is a wonderful thing.
It helps us to hear God’s voice more clearly.
It keeps us removed from the temptations of the world and assists us in sanctifying every moment of our lives.

“The cell continually dwelt in growth sweet,” (Bk 1, C 20:5) says The Imitation of Christ and goes onto ask: “What can thou see elsewhere that thou does not see here? Behold the heavens and the earth and all the elements, for out of these are all things made” (Ibid C 20:8).
“As often as I have been amongst men,” it exclaims, “I have returned less a man” (Ibid C 20:2).
When we move around chattering with different people, we have lost something of ourselves by the time we return home.
Perhaps we have wasted a good deal of time in useless conversation or, worse still, have seen or heard unpleasant or disturbing things.
When we go about in the world, we do not often see much that is edifying or instructive and rarely meet people whose conversation does us good.
For this reason, even when we cannot remain apart, we should carry in ourselves, as Mary did, a spirit of interior recollection and communication with God.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 23 May – Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth

Posted on May 23, 2020May 23, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 23 May – “Mary’s Month” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth

“Towards the close of his life, St Paul wrote to his well-beloved disciple, St Timothy: “As for me, I am already being poured out in sacrifice and the time of my deliverance is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will give to me in that day; yet, not to me only but, also to those who love his coming” (2 Tim 4:6-8).

After all his apostolic labours and difficulties and, after a lifetime of boundless love, St Paul could confidently say, that he would receive the crown which he had earned.
When the Blessed Virgin came to the end of her earthly pilgrimage, during which she had lovingly worked and suffered so much for Jesus, she could have expected, with even greater certainty, to receive the crown of glory, which she had merited.
She was the noblest and holiest of creatures, because, she was the Mother of the eternal Word of God made man.
Therefore, her reward had to be greater than that of any other creature.
She was the Mother of the King of Angels and of Saints, of Heaven and earth.
As such, it was her place to rule over them all.
Seated at the right hand of her divine Son, she has glory and power, which none other could possess.
The Church, therefore, invokes her under the title of Queen of Angels and of Saints, Queen of Apostles, Queen of Virgins, of Confessors and of Martyrs, Queen of Heaven and of earth.
When our Holy Father, Pius XII, solemnly proclaimed her Queenship, in the year 1954, he was only giving voice to the general consensus of tradition, of the Liturgy and of the belief of all the faithful (Cf Encyclical, Ad Coeli Reginum, 11 Oct 1954).

It should be very encouraging to all of us to know that we have so powerful a Queen in Heaven, whose privilege it is, to dispense God’s graces.
She has crushed the poisonous head of Satan.
Now, she is able and eager to help us, her loyal sons and servants, to resist temptation, to frustrate the schemes of our deadly enemy and to perfect ourselves in virtue. Amen.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 21 May – Holy Purity

Posted on May 21, 2020May 20, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 21 May – “Mary’s Month” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Holy Purity

“Have you ever experienced the sheer delight of climbing the mountains on a summer’s day and coming across one of those little alpine lakes, a tiny mirror, reflecting the still blueness of the sky?
Or have you ever watched an infant smiling in it’s angelic slumber and been held spellbound by this vision of innocence?
Finally, on some calm, clear night, surely you have studied the star-spangled sky and have been so overwhelmed by the beauty of the scene, that you could have cried out with the Psalmist: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims His handiwork” (Ps 18:1).
These, are only faint images of the beauty and virginal purity of Mary.
Her soul was the purest and most beautiful of the entire human and angelic creation because, no-one else was ever raised to the dignity of the Motherhood of God.
She was conceived free from all taint of original sin and enriched with every grace.
In her chaste womb, she conceived the Infant Jesus.
Later, she held Him close to her heart; she lived for Him and eventually died for love of Him.

Purity is a virtue which is attractive to everybody, even to those who are evil themselves, or to those, who have lost their own chastity.
We love and desire this virtue but, are we prepared to make any sacrifice in order to preserve it, in the manner demanded by our particular state in life?
“The kingdom of heaven has been enduring violent assault,” Jesus said “and the violent have been seizing it by force” (Mt 11:12).
This is especially true in regard to the acquisition of the virtue of purity.
It is not enough to desire it, we must be willing to make sacrifices in order to acquire it.“

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 18 May – Mary, the Source of Peace

Posted on May 18, 2020May 18, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 18 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mary, the Source of Peace

“Mary is surrounded by an atmosphere of peace.
The countenance of the Virgin Mother, reflects the serenity of her soul.
She was conceived free from original sin and endowed with every grace ad with every supernatural gift.
There was no struggle in her, between good and evil, for this conflict is the effect of concupiscence.
She never experienced the rule of sin of which St Paul complains. “I see another law in my members,” says St Paul, “warning against the law of my mind and making me prisoner to the law of sin that is in my members. Unhappy man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 7:23-25).
It was quite otherwise with Mary.
Her lower inclinations were completely subject to her spiritual faculties, which were, in their turn, perfectly submissive to the commands and inspirations of God.
Nevertheless, while she enjoyed complete interior harmony, Mary had to endure external conflict and suffering.
Holy Simeon foretold, that the sword of sorrow would pierce her heart.
In fact, her life was altogether interwoven with hardship, want and suffering until, eventually, she knelt at the foot of the Cross on which Jesus was dying for the love of mankind and offered the divine Victim for our salvation.
At the last moment, however, torn with sorrow though she was, she did not depart in the slightest from her spirit of perfect acceptance of God’s will.
Consequently, her peace of soul was never diminished or extinguished.
Let us learn from her to accept everything from God’s hands, both the tiny pleasures which brighten our lives, from time to time and the humiliations, sufferings and death, which it pleases God to keep in store for us.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 17 May – Contemplation and Our Lady

Posted on May 17, 2020May 16, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 17 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Contemplation and Our Lady

“True contemplation has it’s origin in love, for when love is intense it gives a clear insight into that which is loved.
It is never the result of mere learning, which can be cold and uninspiring and, therefore, unable to give us a vision of the truth.
Many are learned without love, while there are others, who have no learning but love God and contemplate Him with a spiritual joy which is a prelude to the happiness of Heaven.
Contemplation is not, therefore, a gift of learning.
Even an illiterate man can have it, while those who study a great deal, may be without it.
For the most part, it is the gift of divine grace.
This is not to deny that the knowledge of sacred things, especially of theology, can promote contemplation.
It can help, as long as it is not the kind of learning which makes a man proud but, rather leads him nearer to God.
This is what St Paul meant when he said that “knowledge puffs up but charity edifies” (1 Cor 8:1).

Contemplation, then, begins in the love which is based on humility and on prayer.
The contemplative must always look for the help of divine grace without ever presuming on his own powers and without fooling himself, that he has made any progress of his own accord.
It does not matter whether he is an ignorant or a learned man, as long as he sees the reflection of God in all things and comes to know and love Him.
Then, under the the influence of divine grace, contemplation flows from the loving knowledge of God.
The Blessed Virgin was created and conceived full of grace and endowed with more supernatural privileges than any other creature.
Therefore, she knew and loved God in a higher way than any of the Cherubim or Seraphim.
It is only to be expected then, that she would have had the gift of contemplation.
Her prayer was an intimate conversation with God.
We have an example of this kind of contemplative prayer in the hymn which she composed when she became the Mother of the Word Incarnate.
“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; Because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid; for, behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed….” (Lk 1:46-48).
In Mary, however, the contemplative life was united to the active life.
This was so, whether she was in the house in Nazareth, or following Jesus on His apostolic journeys, or co-operating with the Apostles in their great mission during her last years on earth.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 16 May – Prayer and Our Lady

Posted on May 16, 2020May 14, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 16 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Prayer and Our Lady

“He told them a parable – that they must always pray and not lose heart” (Lk 18:1).
Nobody else on earth ever carried out this command of Our Lord as perfectly as Our Lady.
St Albert the Great says that, after Jesus Christ, the spirit of prayer is to be found at it’s most perfect, in Our Lady (Sup Miss 80).
It was because of her immense love for her divine Son that Mary was able to put into practice, throughout her life, that Gospel precept of unceasing prayer.
Prayer in it’s fullest sense, is in fact, an act of love rather than supplication.
It is defined as an elevation of soul to God, to adore and praise Him, to thank Him and to ask Him for His favours.
It leads to lasting and intimate union with God, who should be regarded as our only good and as the final end of our lives.
Since Mary was full of grace, she was always closest to God.
Even before she became His Mother, she constantly enjoyed His intimacy.
Despite the many sorrows of her life, this intimacy became still greater and more beautiful, when she became the Mother of Jesus.
From that time, she was able to hold Him to her immaculate bosom and to live in close familiarity with Him.
She was able, too, to follow Him on His apostolic journeys, until He reached Calvary and the Cross and, finally, to see Him gloriously risen from the dead.
After Jesus had ascended into Heaven, her soul expanded with a nostalgic love for her divine Son, until her earthly journey was over and she was taken up into Heaven.
There, she reigns supreme among the Saints and Angels and never ceases to pray for us, her exiled children, who need her help so much.
Let us learn from Mary, how to pray with love and perseverance.
Then, we shall be able to follow her along the difficult way of perfection, which leads towards Heaven.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Quote of the Day – 11 May – Obeying God

Posted on May 11, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 11 May – “Mary’s Month” – Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 14:5-18, Psalm 115:1-2.3-4.15-16, John 14:21-26.

“Whoever does not love me, does not keep my words.”

John 14:24

“If some rich and powerful friend were to enter your home,
you would quickly clean the entire house,
for fear something there, might offend your friend’s eyes, when he entered.
Let anyone then who is preparing his inner house for God,
cleanse away the dirt of his evil deeds.
… The Lord comes into the heart
and makes His home in one,
who truly loves God
and observes His commandments…”

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

Homilies on the Gospels no 30

“There is absolutely nothing
that gives us more peace,
or does more to make us holy,
than obeying the will of God.”

“We must offer ourselves to God
like a clean, smooth canvas
and not worry ourselves about
what God may choose to paint on it
but at each moment,
feel only, the stroke of His brush.”

Fr Jean Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

‘Abandonment to Divine Providence’

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Quote/s of the Day – 7 May – “A servant is not greater than his master…”

Posted on May 7, 2020May 7, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 7 May – Thursday Fourth week of Easter, Readings: Acts 13:13-25, Psalm 89:2-3, 21-22, 25, 27, John 13:16-20

“A servant is not greater than his master…”

John 13:16

“It is not that I want merely,
to be called a Christian
but to actually be one.
Yes, if I prove to be one,
then I can have the name.”

St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108)
Martyr, Father of the Church

“Do not follow any road
but that which Christ trod.
This road seems hard but it is safe.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church

“There is a difference between renouncing all things and leaving all things.
For it is the way of few perfect men to leave all things,
that is, to cast behind them the cares of the world
but it is the part of all the faithful, to renounce all things,
that is, so to hold the things of the world
instead of by them being held in the world.”

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“‘… Choose the same things as Himself…”
That which is small and despised,
that is what He has chosen,
my Saviour and God,
who put on our flesh
to confound human fame and wealth.”

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)
Monk and Theologian at Constantinople

Catechesis 78

“When it comes to following Jesus,
it’s usually not more information that we need
but more guts.”

Father Mike Schmitz

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – ‘ … Be the shepherd of your sheep…’

Posted on May 6, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

May God bestow upon our Bishops.
all the graces needed to carry out their role in our Church!

“Give him a spirit of courage and right judgement, a spirit of knowledge and love.”

“O Christ, my God, You stooped down to me, poor straying sheep, to take me on Your shoulders (Lk 15:5) and have set me down in green pastures (Ps 23[22]:2). You have quenched my thirst at the springs of true doctrine, through the mediation of Your pastors, whose shepherd You were, before entrusting to them Your flock… And now, O Lord, You have called me… to serve Your disciples, by what design of Your Providence I know not, only You know.

But, Lord, lighten the heavy burden of those sins of mine that have so gravely offended You, purify my mind and heart. Lead me by the right way (Ps 23[22]:3) as by a light enlightening me. Enable me to proclaim Your word boldly, may Your Spirit’s tongue of flame (Acts 2:3) give perfect freedom to my tongue and make me constantly attentive to Your presence.

Be a shepherd to me, O Lord and together with me, be the shepherd of Your sheep, that my heart may not cause me to swerve either to right or to left. Let Your good Spirit lead me in the right way, that my actions may be carried out, according to Your will – even to the end. Amen

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

“We do not really want a religion
that is right where we are right.
We want a religion that is right where we are wrong.
We do not want, as the newspapers say,
a church that will move with the world.
We want a church that will move the world.”

G K Chesterton (1874-1936)

A Prayer for our Bishops

Jesus, Good Shepherd,
You sent us the Holy Spirit to guide Your Church
and lead her faithful to You,
through the ministry of the successors of Your Apostles, the Bishops.
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
grant to Your bishops
wisdom in leading,
faithfulness in teaching
and holiness in guarding Your sacred Mysteries.
As they cry out with all the faithful, “Our Father!”,
may Your Bishops be ever more closely identified with You in Your divine Sonship
and offer their own lives with You, the one saving Victim.
Renew in Your Bishops deeper faith,
greater trust in You,
childlike reliance on our Mother Mary
and unwavering fidelity to the Holy Father.
Holy Mary, intercede for Your bishops.

Sts Peter & Paul, pray for them.
St Andrew, pray for them.
St James, pray for them.
St John, pray for them.
St Thomas, pray for them.
St James, pray for them.
St Philip, pray for them.
St Bartholomew, pray for them.
St Matthew, pray for them.
Sts Simon & Jude, pray for them.
St Matthias, pray for them.
St Joseph, protect them.
St Michael, defend them.
St John Vianney, pray for them.
All you saints in heaven, pray for them.
Amen

“The Church exists, for nothing else but to draw men into Christ,
to make them little Christs.
If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons,
even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.
God became man for no other purpose.”

C S Lewis (1898-1963)

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Thought for the Day – 30 April – The Divided Heart

Posted on April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 30 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Divided Heart

“To whom does your heart belong?
To the devil, perhaps?
It may be that you have allowed him to insinuate himself into your soul, so that you have fallen under his tyranny and are trying to find happiness in the satisfaction of your lower impulses.
Remember the warning of St Paul – “If anyone destroys the temple of God, him will God destroy, for holy is the temple of God and this temple you are” (1 Cor 3:17).
If you have fallen this low, you will suffer the penalty decreed by the Holy Spirit – “There is no peace to the wicked” (Is 48:22).
You expected to find satisfaction and you have found disillusionment.
You hoped for peace and found remorse.
Instead of the happiness you expected, you will know only despair, unless you turn back to God immediately.
There is only one way out of your predicament, the way chosen by the prodigal son – “I will get up and go to my father” (Lk 15:18).
Rise up, then and cast yourself into the merciful arms of your heavenly Father, Who is waiting for you.
There, you will find that peace of soul, which will remain with you until you die.
If you never allow your heart to be separated from God again, this peace will flower into eternal happiness in the next life.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Quote/s of the day – 30 April – He IS in control

Posted on April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the day – 30 April – Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

“The Lord has turned all our sunsets into sunrises.”

Saint Clement of Alexandria (150-215)
Father of the Church

“Lord, take me from myself
and give me to Yourself.”

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church

“In the designs of Providence,
there are no mere coincidences.”

Saint John Paul the Great (1920-2005)

“We are like the penny,
because we have the image
of the king stamped on us,
the Divine King.”

“If God had a wallet,
your picture would be in it.”

G K Chesterton (1874-1936)

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Thought for the Day – 28 April – The Word of God

Posted on April 28, 2020April 28, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 28 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Word of God

“After Holy Communion, the Word of God is the most nourishing food of the soul.
St Augustine urges us to listen to the Word of God with the same devotion with which we approach the Blessed Eucharist.
It is the normal method God uses to communicate with our souls in order to instruct and enlighten them and to lead them along the path of virtue.
It is true, that God sometimes makes direct contact with us by means of good inspirations or extraordinary graces but, the ordinary way in which He calls us to eternal life, is by His divine Word, whether it is proclaimed by His ministers, read in Sacred Scripture, illustrated in the lives of the Saints, or, outlined by masters of the spiritual life.
Most important of all, is the living word of the lawful representatives of God.
Jesus did not specifically command His Apostles to write but to preach.
“He who believes and is baptised,” He added, “shall be saved but he who does not believe, shall be condemned” (Cf Mk 16:16).
Mary Magdalen was converted by the preaching of Jesus and wept for her sins.
The sermons of St John the Baptist called upon the Jewish people to do penance.
Centuries earlier, the prophet Nathan had converted David by means of the inspired Word of God and the prophet Jonah, had roused the Ninivites to repentance.
We should treasure the Word of God.
We should read and listen to it, with humility and devout attention.
Whenever we hear a sermon, or read Sacred Scripture, or some spiritual book, we should reflect, that, it is God Himself Who is preaching to us!
We should not be guided merely by a spirit of curiosity, desire for knowledge, or love of eloquence or literary style but, by the determination to apply such instruction to ourselves and to put it into practice.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 26 April – The Only Remedy for All Our Ills

Posted on April 26, 2020April 26, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 26 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Only Remedy for All Our Ills

“Life is a continual battle.
“Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?” (Job 7:1).
If we consider, only the material aspect of this battle, we are all among the vanquished.
Admittedly, there is some joy and some victory.
But, our pleasures are as short-lived as the flowers of the field, they are soon “withered and dried up like grass” (Cf Ps 101:5).
Our conquests are also very insignificant; they can inflate us for a while but they do not last long and cannot satisfy us.
After death, only our triumphs in virtue will persist.
Moreover, whereas the joys of this life are few and fleeting, the physical and moral sufferings, are innumerable.
Sometimes, they are so heavy and overwhelming, that they cause us to despair.
But, surely there is a remedy for all the evils which afflict us?
God is infinitely good and He has permitted suffering.
Will He not give us the means of enduring it and the medicine to cure it?
In fact, Our Lord, has given us a remedy for all our ills, even for the most distressing.
It is a bitter medicine but, it will heal anyone who has the courage to swallow it and, it will give him perfect peace of soul.
The treatment consists of three stages:
(1) Doing the will of God in all things with complete resignation.
(2) Doing everything for the love of God.
(3) Doing everything and enduring everything for the love of God alone.
When a man reaches this highest peak of the spiritual life, he acquires that perfect peace of soul, which the Saints possessed.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 24 April – The Three Grades of Perfection – Introduction

Posted on April 24, 2020April 28, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 24 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Three Grades of Perfection – Introduction

“God’s great commandment could create in us a sense of confusion and fear.
“You are to be perfect,” He orders us, “even as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
Is it possible for weak creatures like us, to achieve the perfection of God Himself?
At first sight, this commandment seems quite impossible but, it is possible for us to act upon it with the grace of God.
We must understand it properly, in any case.
We shall never reach divine perfection but, we are obliged by Our Lord’s command, to strive towards it constantly, by every means in our power.
Perfection should be our most ardent desire and, not merely a theoretical ideal but a practical aim.
This practical intention can inspire our entire life, in such a way, that it will become a continual assent towards sanctity and towards God.
We need never lose heart, even when we suffer a set-back in our spiritual progress.
God allows us to fall so that we may be humbled and may place our trust in His grace, instead of in ourselves.“

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 23 April – Faith and Charity

Posted on April 23, 2020April 26, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 23 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Faith and Charity

“Faith is a gift from God (Summa Theologiae, II-II, q 45).
We should, therefore, ask for it in our prayers.
Faith cannot enter into a proud soul, because, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Js 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
If a man does not pray, his faith grows weaker and he may lose it altogether.
Faith must be nourished continually by grace, which is obtained through prayer.
A man who is in a state of mortal sin, loses his faith, ‘especially if he is a slave to impurity, because, only the clean of heart can see God’ (Cf Mt 5:8).
St Thomas Aquinas knew what he was talking about when he said, that “faith is the foundation of the entire spiritual edifice of the Christian life” (Summa Theologiae III, q 73, a 3).
It is faith, nourished by grace, which raises us to the supernatural level, where everything which we do, say or think, becomes meritorious in the sight of God. “My just one lives by faith” (Heb 10:38).
The keener and stronger our faith is, the firmer is the foundation of our spiritual life and the more numerous are our good works.
This is not to say, that faith excludes all study and investigation.
In fact, the more lively is our faith, the more earnest will be our desire to understand better the terms in which our faith is expressed and to explore the intimate connection, between divine revelation and human knowledge.
Study of this kind, will prove, a refreshing experience because, it will bring us to the threshold of the contemplation of eternal truth.
Reason is not humiliated but ennobled by the light of revelation, which raises it to a higher plane.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Quote/s of the Day – 23 April – ‘The wonders of the Holy Spirit’

Posted on April 23, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 23 April – Thursday of the Second Week of Easter, Readings: Acts 5:27-33, Psalm 34:2, 9, 17-20, John 3:31-36

Nunc, Sancte, nobis Spiritus
By St Ambrose (340-397)
Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One
Trans St John Henry Newman (1801-1890) Trans 1836

Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One
Art with the Father and the Son.
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls possess
With Thy full flood of holiness.

In will and deed, by heart and tongue,
With all our powers, Thy praise be sung.
And love light up our mortal frame,
Till others catch the living flame.

Almighty Father, hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ our Lord most high,
Who with the Holy Ghost and Thee
Doth live and reign eternally

“Your love is Your goodness –
the Holy Spirit proceeding
from the Father and the Son! “

William of Saint Thierry (c 1075-1148)

Abbot

“I do, therefore, pray and beseech you,
to cast away all confidence in your own powers,
in human wisdom and reputation
and keep all your hopes and thoughts continually,
fixed on God alone.
If you do this, then I shall consider
that you are sufficiently armed and prepared
against all the troubles which may beset you,
either in the mind or in the body.”

St Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

“I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Every day for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to the things of sense and your ears to all the noises of the world, in order to enter into yourself. Then, in the sanctity of your baptised soul (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit), speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:

O Holy Spirit, Soul of My Soul

O Holy Spirit,
Soul of my soul,
I adore You!
Enlighten me,
guide me,
strengthen me,
console me.
Tell me what I should do,
give me Your orders.
I promise to submit myself
to all that You desire of me
and to accept, all
that You permit to happen to me.
Just make me know Your Will.
Amen

If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you strength to carry it and you will arrive at the Gate of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.”

By Désiré Joseph Cardinal Mercier (1851-1926)

“Life is a battle.
Therefore, we have to be armed and ready
and always on the alert (Job 7:1)
We must be armed with the weapons of the spirit,
which we can easily obtain,
if we live all the time, in the presence of God.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“I believe in the surprises of the Holy Spirit.
The story of the Church is a long story,
filled with the wonders of the Holy Spirit.
Why should we think that God’s imagination and love
might be exhausted?”

Leo Jozef Cardinal Suenens of Belgium (1904–1996)

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Thought for the Day – 21 April – Our Desires

Posted on April 21, 2020April 9, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 21 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Our Desires

“Most people are always longing for something.
Those who are poor yearn to be rich.
Those who are in bad health and are not resigned, are longing to be cured.
Those who have plenty of money and good health but misuse these gifts to satisfy their lower urges, in the hope of finding happiness, find instead, only emptiness and remorse.
Those who covet honours and fame, are restless when they see their colleagues succeeding , while they, themselves, remain on the bottom rung of the ladder.
On the other hand, those who reach the summit of their profession and believe that they have fulfilled their purpose in life, soon discover, that the easy chair in which they hoped to settle down, is padded with thorns!
The glory which they have won, is an empty thing, the object of the envy or of the contempt of others.
So, we are all yearning and sighing and cannot find peace.
Our hearts cannot be at rest in this world.
“Here we have no permanent city,” says St Paul “But we seek for the city that is to come.” (Heb 13:14).
St Augustine, has summed up the reason for our continual longing, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord and our heart is restless, until it rests in You” (Confessions 1, 1:1).”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 20 April – Pride

Posted on April 20, 2020April 4, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 20 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Pride

“Pride is the sin of Satan.
Being a pure spirit, he could not commit sins which have material things as their object, such as sins of impurity or of avarice.
The one sin of which a spirit is capable, is pride.
Satan had been created by God and had been endowed with the loftiest gifts but, he was obliged to undergo a trial, in order that he could merit the reward reserved for him by God, namely, the everlasting happiness of the Beatific Vision.
It is generally held, that God revealed to Satan and to all the legions of Angels, the Eternal Word made man, Jesus Christ and commanded them to adore Him.
But when Satan and the other rebellious Angels saw in Jesus Christ, a nature far inferior to their own, they were indignant, because, the Divine Word had not been united to the angelic, instead of the human nature.
They refused to bow their haughty heads and flung back at God, the arrogant and blasphemous ultimatum: “I will not serve.”

This, is the essence of pride – the creature attributes to himself, the gifts which he has received from his Creator and believes, that he can do without God.
Pride is opposed to truth, which requires us to acknowledge, that we have received everything from God.
We should not grow proud, therefore but should gratefully refer all that we are and all that we have, to Our Lord and Creator.
We should remember, that one day, we shall have to render to God, a strict account of all these gifts.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Quote/s of the Day – 20 April – ‘Make room for God…’

Posted on April 20, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 20 April – Monday of the Second week of Easter, Readings: Acts 4:23-31, Psalm 2:1-9, John 3:1-8

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:3

“We read in Saint John – No-one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. To be reborn in the Holy Spirit during this life is to become most like God in purity, without any mixture of imperfection. Accordingly, pure transformation can be effected – although not essentially – through the participation of union.

Here is an example that will provide a better understanding of this explanation. A ray of sunlight shining on a smudgy window, is unable to illumine that window completely and transform it into its own light. It could do this, if the window were cleaned and polished… The extent of illumination is not dependent on the ray of sunlight but on the window. If the window is totally clean and pure, the sunlight will so transform and illumine it, that to all appearances the window will be identical with the ray of sunlight and shine just as the sun’s ray. Although, obviously, the nature of the window is distinct from that of the sun’s ray, even if the two seem identical, we can assert, that the window is the ray or light of the sun by participation. john-3-6-that-which-is-born-of-the-spirit-a-ray-of-sunlight-st-john-of-the-cross-29-april-2019 and 20 april 2020

The soul on which the divine light of God’s being is ever shining, or better, in which it is ever dwelling by nature, is like this window. A soul makes room for God by wiping away all the smudges and smears of creatures, by uniting its will perfectly to God’s, for to love is to labour, to divest and deprive oneself for God, of all that is not God When this is done, the soul will be illumined by and transformed in God.”

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

“What you are is God’s gift to you,
what you become,
is your gift to God.”

Hans Cardinal Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)

“If God is your co-pilot, switch seats!”

“God is King of the entire universe,
except for possibly one little corner of it –
Your heart.”

Father Mike Schmitz

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Thought for the Day – 19 April – The Mercy of God

Posted on April 19, 2020April 19, 2020 by AnaStpaul

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

The Mercy of God

“God is the Being, Who is infinitely true, beautiful and good.
His goodness is manifested in His infinite love for all the creatures which He has made but, it is in His relations with sinners, in particular, that we call Him merciful.
He loves all things which He has created and directs them towards Himself, their beginning and their end.
When He is dealing, however, with beings endowed with free will, who can separate themselves from Him and even offend Him, He tries, while respecting the liberty which He has given them, to recall them to Himself, by the influence of His love and of His grace.
It is this supernatural outpouring of love towards sinners, which we call mercy.

The mercy of God shines forth in all the pages of Sacred Scripture.
In the Old Testament, there is promised and foreshadowed, in many ways, the coming of the Saviour of the sinful human race.
In the New Testament, Jesus appears, made man for our salvation, meek and humble of heart and merciful towards the unfortunate, especially towards sinners.
For them, He offers His life and His Precious Blood, dying on the Cross with His arms outstretched, as if in an embrace of forgiveness.
He tells us that He has not come to call the just but sinners, (Lk 5:32) and, that He has not come to those who are in health but to those who are sick (Mk 2:17); He assures us that, if we ask the Father for anything in His name, it will be given to us (Jn 16:23).
So much goodness should move and soften our hearts.
Even if we are unfaithful servants and are covered with the leprosy of sin, let us go to Him and He will heal us.
Even if we have deserved Hell a thousand times, let us shed tears of repentance at His feet as Magdalen did and, He will give us His forgiveness and His peace.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Thought for the Day – 18 April – Putting Christianity into Practice

Posted on April 18, 2020April 18, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 18 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Putting Christianity into Practice

“Imagine what the world would be like, if the Gospel of Christ, were practised in it’s entirety, everywhere and by everybody.
It would not, of course, become another earthly Paradise, because suffering and death are the legacy of sin and Our Lord, did not remove these when He redeemed us but made them a necessary element, in our purification and spiritual elevation.
Nevertheless, the full practice of Christianity would transform the world.
A little reflection will convince us of this.
Men would love God above all things and their neighbours as themselves.
The sincere and ardent love of God, would cause wickedness, brutality and every kind of immorality to disappear.
Love of their neighbour, would make men brothers in reality, so that there would be no more wars nor threats of conflict.
The enormous wealth which is squandered on weapons of destruction, could then be diverted to good works.
There would be no more poverty, because, if men loved one another, those who had more than enough, would give to those in want.
There would be no more prisons, because, there would be no more criminals.
There would be no need for a police force, because, everyone would do his duty of his own accord.
The reign of love, which is the reign of Jesus Christ, would triumph upon earth.
Excessive wealth and the selfish love of ease and pleasure, would disappear on one hand, while, on the other, the extreme need of those who can never be sure of a meal, nor of a roof over their heads, would be palliated, until they had been raised to a standard of living, consistent with the laws of God and with the dignity of men.
The love of our neighbour as ourselves, would solve every individual and social problem in this life.
Men would grow into a vast community of brothers devoid of all barriers of hate, selfishness and greed.
This is not a Utopian dream, because it is the clear teaching of the Gospel.
Jesus did not preach the impossible.
He taught us the standards of the perfect life, which we are all obliged to try and lead.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, SPEAKING of .....

Quote/s of the Day – 18 April – Speaking of: The Great Commission

Posted on April 18, 2020April 18, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 18 April – Easter Saturday

Speaking of: The Great Commission

“I preached myself,
the scholars came and praised me.
I preached Christ,
the sinners came and thanked me.”

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Doctor of the Church

“There is a difference between
renouncing all things
and leaving all things.
For it is the way of few perfect men,
to leave all things, that is,
to cast behind them the cares of the world
but, it is the part of all the faithful,
to renounce all things,
that is, so to hold the things of the world,
instead of by them,
being held in the world.”

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Sanctify yourself
and you will sanctify society.”

St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)

“Here lies the test of truth,
the touchstone of evangelisation –
it is unthinkable, that a person,
should accept the Word
and give himself to the kingdom,
without becoming a person
who bears witness to it
and proclaims it in his turn.”

St Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)

“Tell others about the truth that sets you free.”

Pope Benedict XVI

“Our solid conviction, is that Jesus is, who He said He is
and He can do, what He says He can do.
Not only that but if Jesus is, who He says He is,
then you are, who He says you are.
And if He is who He says He is,
then you can do, what He says you can do.”

“You are a billboard for Christ!”

Father Mike Schmitz

“God will put someone in your path today
who doesn’t necessarily need you…
but who desperately needs Christ in you.”

“Oh, how thunderous the applause must be in Heaven,
all those times we are mocked on earth for the sake of His name.”

Mark Hart

Mark Hart serves as Executive Vice President for Life Teen International. A graduate from the University of Notre Dame, Mark is a best-selling and award-winning author (or co-author) of over a dozen books. His wildly popular DVD Bible Study Series,”T3″ is revolutionizing Catholic youth/young adult Scripture Study. He is the “Bible Geek.”

“Withholding the truth of Christianity
would be even more uncharitable,
than withholding a cure for cancer.”

Unknown

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 April – ‘Jesus is with me’

Posted on April 17, 2020April 17, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 17 April – Easter Friday, Readings: Acts 4:1-12, Psalm 118:1-2, 4, 22-27, John 21:1-14

Just as day was breaking,
Jesus stood on the shore ..

John 21:4

“In her voyage across the ocean of this world,
the Church is like a great ship
being pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses.
Our duty is not to abandon ship
but to keep her on her course.”

St Boniface (672-754)

“Jesus is with me.
I have nothing to fear.”

Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925)

“Enemy-occupied territory – that is what this world is.
Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed,
you might say landed in disguise
and is calling us all,
to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”

C S Lewis (1898-1963)

Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream.

Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990)

Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990)
was an English journalist and satirist.
His father was a prominent socialist politician
and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament.
In his twenties, Muggeridge was attracted to communism
but after living in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, he became a forceful anti-communist.
In 1982, aged 79, Muggeridge was received into the Catholic Church along with his wife, Kitty. This was largely under the influence of Mother Teresa,
about whom he had written a book, ‘Something Beautiful for God,’
setting out and interpreting her life.

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Thought for the Day – 16 April – The Road to Calvary

Posted on April 16, 2020April 16, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 16 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Road to Calvary

After having been condemned to death, Jesus is delivered into the hands of the Jews to be crucified as a malefactor.
Two rough beams of wood are fixed together, in the form of a cross and placed upon His shoulders.
He is already worn out with suffering and has lost large quantities of blood as a result of the scourging and of the crowing with thorns.
Jesus does not reject the Cross, but embraces it.
He has come into this world to show forth His infinite love and to redeem us from our sins by His suffering and death.
In the garden of Gethsemane, He has said with sublime resignation to the Heavenly Father: “Not my will but thine be done” (Lk 22:42).
The Cross is too heavy for His human strength but what does that matter?
He embraces it, takes it upon His weary shoulders and sets out for Calvary.

Perhaps we have often kissed the Crucifix with reverence and affection.
Let us keep it hanging upon the walls of our home where we can gaze on it, with love and hope.
Let us pray before it in our moments of need.
But what about our own cross?
Do we love our cross as Jesus loved His?
Do we embrace it as Jesus did?
Do we bow willingly beneath the load as He did and, do we carry it, with resignation and without useless complaints?
It is not enough to love the Crucifix.
We must love our own cross as well, in silence and in prayer, knowing, that only in this way, can we imitate Jesus, Who has said to us: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23).

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 April – Emmaus

Posted on April 15, 2020April 15, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 15 April – Easter Wednesday, Readings: Acts 3:1-10, Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9, Luke 24:13-35

“And their eyes were opened and they recognised him.”

Luke 24:31

“Have faith and the one you cannot see is with you.”

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

(Tractates on the Gospel of John, 2.)

“If we encounter Jesus on our road to Emmaus,
He will send us back to our Jerusalem.”

Msgr Alex Rebello

Diocese of Wrexham, Wales

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Thought for the Day – 14 April – The Death of our Saviour

Posted on April 14, 2020March 30, 2024 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 14 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Death of our Saviour

In the midst of His sufferings, Jesus forgets Himself and pray for His executioners.
“Father,” He pleaded, “forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34).
Who were these people who crucified Him?
We know well that they were not only the Jews but all of us.
The prophet Isaiah, had foretold this. “He was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins … He was offered because it was his own will…” (Is 53:5-7).
We are all the crucifiers of Jesus. Therefore, He willed to suffer and to die for all of us and when He was hanging on the Cross, He begged for forgiveness for us all.
This should incite us to trust in God and to do repentance for our sins.
We should be sorry for our sins because, they were the real cause of the voluntary death of Jesus.
We should have confidence in Him, because, He forgave us when He was dying on the Cross and is ready to pardon us again, as long as we are sincerely repentant.

Let us consider how Jesus, even though He was derided and nailed to the Cross, prayed for and forgave His executioners.
How do we normally behave?
Perhaps we fly into anger at the first word of offence or act of misunderstanding, or perhaps we nourish secret feelings of hatred in our hearts for our brothers in Jesus Christ?
Let us kneel before the Cross and tell Our Lord, that we wish to be meek and humble of heart, like Him.
We wish to be quick to forgive and to live in peace and, even, if it is necessary, to do good to those who offend us, or at any rate, to pray fervently for them.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

EASTER, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on PEACE, The RESURRECTION

Thought for the Day – 13 April – Easter: The Herald of Peace

Posted on April 13, 2020April 8, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 13 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Easter: The Herald of Peace

“When Jesus was born in the manger at Bethlehem, the sky became brilliantly aglow and Angels descended singing: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men of goodwill.”
When our Lord had risen from the dead, He greeted the Apostles with the words: “Peace be with you!”
Peace, is a gift from God, only He can give real peace.
The peace of this world has a certain value but, it is nothing like the genuine and soul-satisfying, peace, which God can give us.
This is why Jesus said to His Apostles: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you” (Jn 14:27).
Worldly peace is external and can be disturbed or destroyed by men but, the peace of God is internal and nothing can destroy it, except sin.
It is possible to be persecuted and slandered and yet, to preserve interior peace, as the Martyrs and the Saints did in adversity.
It is this inner peace which we must aim at acquiring.
We shall be truly content, when we have achieved it, because, as St Thomas Aquinas says, “the fullness of joy is peace” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q70, a3).
St Thomas Aquinas defined peace as “tranquillitas ordinis,” (Ibid II-II, q29, a1 ad1) i.e. “tranquillity of order;” St Augustine called it “ordinata corcordia” (De Civitate Dei, XIX:13) i.e. “ordered harmony.”
It is not sufficient for this harmony and order to be established externally among men.
It is necessary that this harmony and order should reign first of all, in our minds and hearts and in our actions.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!”

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Easter Monday

“…Now since you are celebrating the holy Pasch,
you should know, brethren, what the Pasch is.
Pasch means, the crossing-over
and so, the Festival is called by this name.
For it was on this day, that the Children of Israel,
crossed over out of Egypt
and the Son of God, crossed over from this world to His Father.
What gain is it to celebrate, unless you imitate Him, Whom you worship;
that is, unless you cross over from Egypt,
that is, from the darkness of evildoing,
to the light of virtue,
from the love of this world,
to the love of your heavenly home?”

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“The Sunday of the Resurrection”

“Now let the heavens be joyful,
Let earth her song begin.
Let the round world keep triumph,
And all that is therein,
Invisible and visible,
Their notes let all things blend,
For Christ the Lord is risen
Our joy that hath no end.”

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

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!”

Matthew 28:9

At dawn You were mourned
By women bearing spices,
Grant that my heart may also shed
Tears of fire for Your burning love.

By grace of the angel’s tidings
Shouted from the pinnacle of the rock (Mt 28,2),
Let me hear the last trumpet sound
Proclaiming the Resurrection.

With Your body, born of a Virgin
You were raised from a tomb, virgin and new,
You became for us the first-fruits
And firstborn from the dead

As for me, bound by the Foe
With the evil of bodily sin,
Set me free once more
As You have freed souls in the dwelling of the dead (1Pt 3:19).

You revealed Yourself in the garden
To Mary Magdalene,
But have not consented to approach
One who is yet part of a fallen race.

Show Yourself also to me on the eighth day,
At the great and final dawn
And graciously grant my unworthy soul
To draw near You at that time.

St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173)
Armenian Catholic Patriarch

“The astonishing event of the Resurrection of Jesus
is essentially an event of love:
the Father’s love in handing over His Son for the salvation of the world;
the Son’s love in abandoning Himself to the Father’s will for us all;
the Spirit’s love in raising Jesus from the dead in His transfigured body.”

Pope Benedict XVI

23 March 2008

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Solitude

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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The Recollection of Mary

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Holy Purity

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Mary, the Source of Peace

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Contemplation and Our Lady

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Prayer and Our Lady

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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John 14:24

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

Fr Jean Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)

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John 13:16

St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108) Martyr, Father of the Church

St Augustine (354-430) Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church

St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church

St Theodore the Studite (759-826) Monk and Theologian at Constantinople

Father Mike Schmitz

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

G K Chesterton (1874-1936)

A Prayer for our Bishops

C S Lewis (1898-1963)

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The Divided Heart

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Saint Clement of Alexandria (150-215) Father of the Church

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church

Saint John Paul the Great (1920-2005)

G K Chesterton (1874-1936)

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The Word of God

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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The Only Remedy for All Our Ills

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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The Three Grades of Perfection – Introduction

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Faith and Charity

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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William of Saint Thierry (c 1075-1148)

Abbot

St Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

By Désiré Joseph Cardinal Mercier (1851-1926)

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Leo Jozef Cardinal Suenens of Belgium (1904–1996)

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Our Desires

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Pride

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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John 3:3

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

Hans Cardinal Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)

Father Mike Schmitz

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The Mercy of God

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

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Putting Christianity into Practice

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

St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108)
Martyr, Father of the Church

St Augustine (354-430)
Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)
Monk and Theologian at Constantinople

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

Saint Clement of Alexandria (150-215)
Father of the Church

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church

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

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Doctor of the Church

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church