Quote of the Day – 20 March – Wednesday of the Second week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Martin of Braga (c 520–580)
“An old man said,
the man
that every hour
has death before his eyes,
will conquer
meanness of soul.”
About St Martin of Braga – https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/saint-of-the-day-20-march-st-martin-of-braga-c-520-580/
Lenten Thoughts – 11 March – Monday of the First Week of Lent, Gospel: Matthew 25:31–46
Let us show each other God’s generosity
Saint Gregory Nazianzen (330-390)
Bishop. Father, Doctor of the Church
An excerpt from his Oration 14: On Love of the Poor
Recognise to whom you owe the fact that you exist, that you breathe, that you understand, that you are wise and, above all, that you know God and hope for the kingdom of heaven and the vision of glory, now darkly as in a mirror but then with greater fullness and purity. You have been made a son of God, co-heir with Christ. Where did you get all this and from whom?
Let me turn to what is of less importance – the visible world around us. What benefactor has enabled you to look out upon the beauty of the sky, the sun in its course, the circle of the moon, the countless number of stars, with the harmony and order that are theirs, like the music of a harp? Who has blessed you with rain, with the art of husbandry, with different kinds of food, with the arts, with houses, with laws, with states, with a life of humanity and culture, with friendship and the easy familiarity of kinship?
Who has given you dominion over animals, those that are tame and those that provide you with food? Who has made you lord and master of everything on earth? In short, who has endowed you with all that makes man superior to all other living creatures?
Is it not God who asks you now in your turn to show yourself generous above all other creatures and for the sake of all other creatures? Because we have received from Him so many wonderful gifts, will we not be ashamed to refuse Him this one thing only, our generosity? Though He is God and Lord, He is not afraid to be known as our Father. Shall we for our part repudiate those who are our kith and kin?
Brethren and friends, let us never allow ourselves to misuse what has been given us by God’s gift. If we do, we shall hear Saint Peter say – Be ashamed of yourselves for holding onto what belongs to someone else. Resolve to imitate God’s justice and no-one will be poor. Let us not labour to heap up and hoard riches while others remain in need. If we do, the prophet Amos will speak out against us with sharp and threatening words -Come now, you that say: When will the new moon be over, so that we may start selling? When will the sabbath be over, so that we may start opening our treasures?
Let us put into practice the supreme and primary law of God. He sends down rain on just and sinful alike and causes the sun to rise on all without distinction. To all earth’s creatures He has given the broad earth, the springs, the rivers and the forests. He has given the air to the birds and the waters to those who live in the water. He has given abundantly to all the basic needs of life, not as a private possession, not restricted by law, not divided by boundaries but as common to all, amply and in rich measure. His gifts are not deficient in any way, because He wanted to give equality of blessing to equality of worth and to show the abundance of His generosity.
Quote of the Day – 11 March – Monday of the First Week of Lent,
Gospel: Matthew 25:31–46
“Charity is the form,
mover, mother
and root
of all the virtues.”
Lenten Reflection – 11 March – Monday of the First Week of Lent, Gospel: Matthew 25:31–46
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father”
Homily attributed to Saint Hippolytus of Rome (c 170-c 235)
Priest and Martyr
“Come, my Father’s blessed ones, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Come, you lovers of poor people and strangers. Come, you who fostered My love, for I am love… Look, My kingdom is ready, paradise stands open, My immortality is displayed in all its beauty. Come now, all of you, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Then, astounded at so great a wonder – at being addressed as friends by Him whom the angelic hosts are unable clearly to behold – the righteous will reply, exclaiming: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? Master, when did we see You thirsty and give You a drink? When did we see You, whom we hold in awe, naked and clothe You? When did we see You, the immortal One, a stranger and welcome You? When did we see You, lover of our race, sick or in prison and come to visit You? You are the Eternal, without beginning like the Father, and co-eternal with the Spirit. You are the One who created all things from nothing, You are the King of angels, You make the depths tremble, You are clothed in light as in a robe (Ps 104[103]:2), You are our maker who fashioned us from the earth (Gn 2:7), You are the creator of the world invisible. The whole earth flies from Your presence (Rv 20:11). How could we possibly have received Your lordship, Your royal majesty, as our guest?”
Then will the King of Kings say to them in reply: “Inasmuch as you did this to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me. Inasmuch as you received, clothed, fed and gave a drink to those members of mine (1Cor 12:12) about whom I have just spoken to you, that is, to the poor, you did it to me. So come, enter the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, enjoy forever the gifts of my heavenly Father and of the most holy and life-giving Spirit.” What tongue can describe those blessings? “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1Cor 2:9).
Daily Meditation:
Bring us back to you.
We repeat our desire that God bring us home from our wandering.
We know that in the confusion that surrounds us and can fill us,
we need the gift of Wisdom.
It is fitting that our very first “lesson” in our faith,
is the last judgement scene that Jesus paints for us.
We will be judged on whether we:
fed the hungry
welcomed the stranger
clothed the naked
comforted the sick
visited the imprisoned.
It is powerful to re-learn this wisdom –
Jesus identifies with each of these “least” cared for.
Who might we feed, welcome, clothe, comfort or visit this week?
As my heart might “resist” this mission,
I might beg to be brought back, with all my heart.
Praise to Jesus, our Saviour, by his death He has opened for us the way of salvation.
Let us ask Him:
Lord, guide Your people to walk in Your ways.
God of mercy, You gave us new life through baptism,
– make us grow day by day in Your likeness.
May our generosity today bring joy to those in need,
– in helping them may we find You.
Help us to do what is good, right and true in Your sight,
– and to seek You always with undivided hearts.
Forgive our sins against the unity of Your family,
– make us one in heart and spirit.
Closing Prayer:
Loving God,
You call us back to You with all of our hearts.
I feel Your call for me deep in my heart
and I know You want me back
as much as I want to return.
Please, Lord,
give me the wisdom to know how to return.
Make my journey back to You this Lent
one of grace, forgiveness and gentle love.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 8 March – The Memorial of St John of God (1495-1550)
“The first (virtue) is faith,
believing all that
holy mother church
believes and holds,
keeping and putting
into practice
what she commands”
“Labour without stopping,
do all the good works you can,
while you still have the time.”
“If we look forward to receiving God’s mercy,
we can never fail to do good,
so long as we have the strength.
For if we share with the poor,
out of love for God,
whatever He has given to us,
we shall receive according to His promise,
a hundredfold in eternal happiness.
What a fine profit, what a blessed reward!
With outstretched arms He begs us
to turn toward Him, to weep for our sins
and to become the servants of love,
first for ourselves, then for our neighbours.
Just as water extinguishes a fire,
so love wipes away sin.”
“Whether you like it or not,
you will grow apart from human beings.
However, Christ is faithful
and always with you.
Fot Christ provides all things.”
One Minute Reflection – 8 March – Friday after Ash Wednesday, Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15 and the Memorial of St John of God (1495-1550)
“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”…Matthew 9:15
REFLECTION – “Genuine faith does not make a believer pretentious. Dialogue with God is not a business bargain. External observance of religion wins little favour with God, if it is combined with unfairness to the weak and indifference to the poor. Openness to the indigent is the door to true religion. The world itself changes for the better with the widening of human concern for the poor. Good works multiply on the face of the earth and everyone sees the glory of God in action.
The Gospel presents Jesus as refusing to absolutise ritual fasting. What He expects from His disciples, is that they remain faithful to the mission He is about to give them, even at great sacrifice. It will make evidently greater demands of them than mere ritual fasting. They should be prepared. Jesus is introducing a new set of values of immense worth, for which the old order of things must make way.”…Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil SDB
PRAYER – Lord God, bestow a full measure of Your grace upon us, who seek to make our lenten journey fruitful. Confirm us in Your service and help us to bear witness to You in the society in which we live by our lives, our fasting and prayer, our gift of self. Listen kindly we pray, to the prayers of St John of God who so avidly followed in the footsteps of our Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name, with the Holy Spirit, we pray, one God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 5 March – Tuesday of the Eighth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Mark 10:28–31 – Shrove Tuesday 2019 and the Memorial of St John Joseph of the Cross OFM (1654-1734)
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life. But many that are first will be last and the last first.”…Mark 10:29-31
REFLECTION – “All offerings to God are of great value, if they are made with a cheerful heart. The greatest of all such offerings are observing God’s commandments and showing kindness to the poor. Prayer itself, is like a great offering, when made in thankfulness.
Jesus highlights the blessing that radical renouncers, for the sake of the Gospel, will receive. What most people do not understand, when taking note of the ‘hundred-fold’ is the prediction of persecution that goes with it. When one is not ready for it, his renunciation is incomplete. ‘Persecution’ in this context, can also include the challenges of committed religious life, before which one is tempted to give up. But one should gather up courage and continue. Another danger, is to place oneself ahead of others even in renounced life, thus condemning oneself to the last position. But fortunately, the last too has hope to change roles.”…Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil SDB
“Sursum corda” – lift up your hearts, high above the tangled web of our concerns, desires, anxieties and thoughtlessness – “Lift up your hearts, your inner selves!” In both exclamations we are summoned, as it were, to a renewal of our Baptism: “Conversi ad Dominum” – we must distance ourselves ever anew from taking false paths, onto which we stray so often in our thoughts and actions. We must turn ever anew towards Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We must be converted ever anew, turning with our whole life towards the Lord. And ever anew, we must allow our hearts to be withdrawn from the force of gravity, which pulls them down and inwardly we must raise them high, in truth and love. At this hour, let us thank the Lord, because through the power of His word and of the holy Sacraments, He points us in the right direction and draws our heart upwards.”…Pope Benedict 22 March 2008
PRAYER – Yes, Lord, make us Easter people, men and women of light, filled with the fire of Your love. Kindly listen to the prayers of the angels and saints on our behalf, as we start our Lenten journey. May You bless us through their prayers and grant us strength. Beloved Virgin Mother of God and our mother and St John Joseph of the Cross, pray for us, amen.
Lenten Preparation Novena – Day One – 25 February 2019
“Come Back to Me With all your Heart”
Lent 2019 will begin on
Wednesday, 6 March
The Holy Triduum is
Thursday, 18 April, Good Friday, 19 April, Holy Saturday, 20 April
Easter Sunday – 21 April 2019
How do I want to be during Lent this year? More quiet and thoughtful? More open to God’s desires? B etter able to sit with people who need me? More attentive to sacred readings, whether in church or in private? Do I need to be more compassionate toward my own fears and failings? Do I need to become more courageous about using the gifts God has given me?
If we want this year’s Lent to be life changing, we have to start preparing now. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, not the first day to start thinking about your Lenten practices for this year. The devil and his minions have already begun preparing their attack to dislodge your Lenten sacrifice. What are you doing to prepare yourself and gather reinforcements against him?
The Big Three:
Fasting is not just a spiritual
diet. By denying our bodies,
our physical hunger reminds us
of the hunger of our souls for
God, our longing for a deeper
relationship with our Lord.
Almsgiving teaches us to
separate ourselves from material possessions. By freely giving
of our money and possessions,
we learn to trust the Lord more
deeply for our own daily needs.
Finally, an emphasis on prayer
during Lent is a way to stir up
our love and ardour by having a
deepening conversation with the
Almighty. Remember that the
light of God’s love shines more
brightly in the darkness of the
recognition of our own sinfulness
Pre-planning – what will I do?
• Begin each morning with the prayer: “Lord, I offer you this day and all that I think and do and say.”
• Attend Daily Mass as often as possible.
• Pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.
• Make the Stations of the Cross at home or in a parish celebration.
• Read Scripture for 10 minutes every day.
• Pray the Seven Penitential Psalms (Psalm 6, 31, 50, 101, 129 and 142).
• Spend some time in quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
• Abstain from meat for an extra day or two each week.
• Listen to spiritual music or a spiritual speaker.
• Keep a Lenten journal with your spiritual insights, special intentions, people you want to pray for, hurts and disappointments that you want to offer up and progress reports on your Lenten resolutions.
10 tips for making the season more meaningful
Slow Down – Set aside 10 minutes a day for silent prayer or meditation. It will revitalise your body and your spirit.
Read a good book – You could choose the life of a saint, a spiritual how-to, an inspirational book or one of the pope’s new books.
Be kind – Go out of your way to do something nice for someone else every day.
Get involved – Attend a Lenten lecture or spiritual program.
Volunteer at your parish – Whether it’s the parish fundraiser, cleaning the church or helping with the charity project, it will give you a chance to help others.
Reach out – Invite an inactive Catholic to come with you to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday.
Pray – Especially for people you don’t like and for people who don’t like you.
Tune out – Turn off the television and spend quality time talking with family members or friends.
Clean out closets – Donate gently used items to your local Catholic charity or your Parish Charity.
Donate — Google “Catholic Missions.” Then pick one mission and decide how you can help by sending money, clothing or supplies.
“Prayer, mercy and fasting:
these three are one and they give life to each other.
Fasting is the soul of prayer,
mercy is the lifeblood of fasting.
Let no one try to separate them, they cannot be separated.
If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing.
So if you pray, fast,
if fast, show mercy,
if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others.
When you fast, see the fasting of others.
If you hope for mercy, show mercy.
If you look for kindness, show kindness.
If you want to receive, give.”
A Meditation for this ‘Prelude to Lent’
“Each of us must come to the evening of life. Each of us must enter on eternity. Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time, when we will appear before the Lord of the vineyard and answer for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad. That, my dear brethren, you will have to undergo. … It will be the dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance and when you are about to be sent forth as the companion of either saints or devils, without possibility of change. There can be no change, there can be no reversal. As that judgement decides it, so it will be for ever and ever. Such is the particular judgement. … when we find ourselves by ourselves, one by one, in His presence and have brought before us most vividly all the thoughts, words and deeds of this past life. Who will be able to bear the sight of himself? And yet we shall be obliged steadily to confront ourselves and to see ourselves.
In this life we shrink from knowing our real selves. We do not like to know how sinful we are. We love those who prophecy smooth things to us and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults. But on that day, not one fault only but all the secret, as well as evident, defects of our character will be clearly brought out. We shall see what we feared to see here and much more. And then, when the full sight of ourselves comes to us, who will not wish that he had known more of himself here, rather than leaving it for the inevitable day to reveal it all to him! …………………….We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.”
Lenten Preparation Novena
DAY ONE
Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.
Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.
Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.
Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.
Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions
………………………………………
(Mention your special intention)
Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 24 February – Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Luke 6:27–38
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”…Luke 6:32
The Lord Himself reminds us: Whoever loves me will keep my commandments. And this is my commandments – that you love one another. So the man who does not love his neighbour does not obey God’s command. But one who does not obey His command, cannot love God. A man is blessed if he can love all men equally. Moreover, if he truly loves God, he must love his neighbour absolutely. Such a man cannot hoard his wealth. Rather, like God himself, he generously gives from his own resources to each man according to his needs.
Since he imitates God’s generosity, the only distinction he draws is the person’s need. He does not distinguish between a good man and a bad one, a just man and one who is unjust. Yet his own goodness of will makes him prefer the man who strives after virtue to the one who is depraved.
A charitable mind is not displayed simply in giving money, it is manifested still more by personal service as well as by the communication of God’s word to others. In fact, if a man’s service toward his brothers is genuine and if he really renounces worldly concerns, he is freed from selfish desires. For he now shares in God’s own knowledge and love. Since he does possess God’s love, he does not experience weariness as he follows the Lord his God. Rather, following the prophet Jeremiah, he withstands every type of reproach and hardship without even harbouring an evil thought toward any man.
For Jeremiah warns us: Do not say: “We are the Lord’s temple.” Neither should you say: “Faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ can save me.” By itself, faith accomplishes nothing. For even the devils believe and shudder. No, faith must be joined to an active love of God which is expressed in good works. The charitable man is distinguished by sincere and long-suffering service to his fellow man, it also means using things aright.”
Saint Maximus the Confessor, Abbot (c 580–662)
Quote/s of the Day – 19 February – the Memorial of Bl John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
“Any friend of the poor
is a friend of God.”
“I hope every single one of you, will have broken, every resolution you made, in the retreat before the end of the week, and if not then, at least in a fortnight. It will do you good and humble you, provided you get up and begin again and do not flop down and lie there on the broad of your back, saying “It’s no use, it’s all over.” Not a bit of it, it’s not all over, it’s only beginning. So up with you and start again. Remember, each time you fall, that you are not back where you were before but are starting again, from where you fell.”
“Be always beginning.
Let the past go.
The saints were always beginning.
That is how they became saints.”
Death is
“Looking on
the lovely Face of God.”
Our Morning Offering – 15 February – The Memorial of Blessed Michał Sopoćko (1888-1975) Apostle of Divine Mercy
Help Me, O Lord that I may be Merciful
St Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938)
“Help me, O Lord, …
that my eyes may be merciful,
so that I will never be suspicious
or judge by appearances
but always look for what is beautiful
in my neighbours’ souls
and be of help to them…
That my ears may be merciful,
so that I will be attentive to my neighbours’ needs
and not indifferent to their pains and complaints.…
That my tongue may be merciful,
so that I will never speak badly of others
but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.…
That my hands may be merciful and full of good deeds.…
That my feet may be merciful,
so that I will hasten to help my neighbour,
despite my own fatigue and weariness.…
That my heart may be merciful,
so that I myself will share
in all the sufferings of my neighbour.”
(Extract from Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary of St Maria Faustina Kowalska, 163)
This prayer was used by Pope Francis for the Year of Mercy 2015 to be universally prayed by the Church.
Quote/s of the Day – 13 February – the Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony OP (1190-1237)
“There are two ways of keeping God’s word,
namely, one, whereby we store in our memory
what we hear and the other,
whereby we put into practice, what we have heard
(and none will deny that the latter, is more commendable,
inasmuch, as it is better to sow grain,
than to store it in the barn).”
Meeting a vagabond upon the road who feigned sickness and poverty, Blessed Jordan gave him one of his tunics, which the fellow at once carried straight to a tavern for drink. The brethren, seeing this done, taunted him with his simplicity:
‘There now, Master, see how wisely you have bestowed your tunic.’
‘I did so,’ said he,
‘because I believed him to be in want,
through sickness and poverty
and it seemed, at the moment,
to be a charity to help him.
Still, I reckon it better, to have parted
with my tunic than with charity.’
Quote/s of the Day – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
“Believing is an act of the intellect,
assenting to the divine truth,
by command of the will,
moved by God,
through grace.”
“The only-begotten Son of God,
wanting to make us
sharers in His divinity,
assumed our nature,
so that He, made man,
might make men gods.”
“Charity is the form,
mover, mother
and root
of all the virtues.”
“To convert somebody,
go and take them by the hand
and guide them.”
“We are like children,
who stand in need of masters
to enlighten us and direct us
and God has provided for this,
by appointing His angels,
to be our teachers and guides. “
“Just as a woman
had announced
the words of death
to the first man,
so also, a woman was the first
to announce to the Apostles
the words of life.”
And if He gave His life for us,
then it should not be difficult
to bear whatever hardships arise for His sake.
If you seek patience,
you will find no better example than the cross.
Christ endured much on the cross and did so patiently,
because “when he suffered he did not threaten,
he was led like a sheep to the slaughter
and he did not open his mouth.”
Quote of the Day – 27 January – The Memorial of St Angela Merici (1474-1540)
“Pray and get others to pray,
that God not abandon His Church
but reform it, as He pleases
and as He sees best for us
and more to His honour and glory.”
Quote/s of the Day – 24 January – The Memorial of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church: Doctor Caritatis (Doctor of Charity)
‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’
“Man is the perfection of the Universe.
The spirit is the perfection of man.
Love is the perfection of the spirit and charity that of love.
Therefore, the love of God is the end, the perfection of the Universe.”
“We must fear God out of love,
not love Him out of fear.”
“In the royal galley of divine Love,
there is no galley slave –
all rowers are volunteers.”
“Nothing makes us
so prosperous
in this world,
as to give alms.”
“Perfection of life,
is the perfection of love.
For love, is the life of the soul.”
“Let us run to Mary
and, as her little children,
cast ourselves into her arms,
with a perfect confidence.”
“Consider all the past as nothing
and say, like David,
‘Now I begin to love my God.'”
More Quotes from this Master of Sanctity- https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/quote-s-of-the-day-24-january-the-memorial-of-st-francis-de-sales-1567-1622-doctor-of-the-church-doctor-caritatis-doctor-of-charity/
Thought for the Day – 12 January – 6th day after Epiphany and The Memorial of St Aelred of Rievaulx OCSO (1110-1167)
“Charity may be
a very short word
but with its tremendous
meaning of pure love,
it sums up man’s
entire relation to God
and to his neighbour.”
Aelred of Rievaulx on Jesus Christ as the model of brotherly love and patience through His forgiveness of persecutors and enemies and His prayer from the cross
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
“The perfection of brotherly love lies in the love of one’s enemies. We can find no greater inspiration for this, than grateful remembrance of the wonderful patience of Christ. He who is more fair than all the sons of men, offered His fair face to be spat upon by sinful men; He allowed those eyes that rule the universe to be blindfolded by wicked men; He bared His back to the scourges; He submitted that head which strikes terror in principalities and powers, to the sharpness of the thorns; He gave Himself up to be mocked and reviled and, at the end, endured the cross, the nails, the lance, the gall, the vinegar, remaining always gentle, meek and full of peace.
In short, He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb before the shearers, He kept silent and did not open His mouth.
Who could listen to that wonderful prayer, so full of warmth, of love, of unshakeable serenity – Father, forgive them – and hesitate to embrace his enemies with overflowing love? Father, He says, forgive them! Is any gentleness, any love, lacking in this prayer?
Yet He put into it something more. It was not enough to pray for them – He wanted also to make excuses for them. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. They are great sinners, yes but they have little judgement; therefore, Father, forgive them. They are nailing me to the cross but they do not know who it is that they are nailing to the cross – if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory, therefore, Father, forgive them. They think it is a lawbreaker, an impostor claiming to be God, a seducer of the people. I have hidden my face from them and they do not recognise my glory, therefore, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
If someone wishes to love himself he must not allow himself to be corrupted by indulging his sinful nature. If he wishes to resist the promptings of his sinful nature he must enlarge the whole horizon of his love to contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord. Further, if he wishes to savour the joy of brotherly love, with greater perfection and delight, he must extend even to his enemies the embrace of true love.
But if he wishes to prevent this fire of divine love from growing cold because of injuries received, let him keep the eyes of his soul always fixed on the serene patience of his beloved Lord and Saviour.”
This excerpt from the Mirror of Love by Saint Aelred of Rievaulx, abbot (Lib 3, 5: PL 195, 382) focuses on Christ as the supreme model of brotherly love, shown primarily in His love of persecutors and enemies. It is used in the Roman Catholic Office of Readings for Friday of the 1st week in Lent with the accompanying biblical reading taken from Exodus 12: 21-36.
Quote/s of the Day – 10 January – 4th day after Epiphany and The Memorial of St Léonie Françoise De Sales Aviat OSFS (1844-1914)
“Let us work for the happiness of others.”
“Go often to rest your heart
near the tabernacle;
you will find there,
the necessary strength
and graces
to go more surely
along the path of fidelity.”
“God does not try us beyond our strength.
When He sends difficulty,
He adds the means of overcoming it.”
“Our good Jesus always puts grace,
where He puts a sacrifice.”
“Our good Master never lets Himself
be outdone in generosity.
He gives back one hundredfold
what we sacrifice to Him.”
“When we work for God, nothing is small!”
“I formed the habit
of never approaching anyone
without casting a glance at our Lord.
Try my little method –
I can assure you it is a good one.”
“Pray to your good angels;
use them as messengers
in your little joys and sufferings.”
“Continue to entrust everything to God,
absolutely everything you have to do,
so that He may teach you more and more,
the happiness of living,
in union with Him.”
Quote/s of the Day – 2 January – The Memorial of St Basil the Great and St Gregory of Nazianzen
Two are better than one:
they get a good wage for their toil.
If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one.
But woe to the solitary person!
If that one should fall, there is no other to help…
“Let us raise ourselves from our fall
and not give up hope, as long as we are free from sin.
Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners.
‘Come, let us adore and prostrate ourselves and weep before him’ (Psalm 95:6).
The Word calls us to repentance, crying out:
‘Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you’ (Matthew 11:28).
There is, then, a way to salvation
if we are willing to follow it”
(from a letter by Saint Basil the Great)
“A tree is known by its fruit;
a man by his deeds.
A good deed is never lost,
he who sows courtesy, reaps friendship
and he who plants kindness, gathers love.”
“The bread which you use
is the bread of the hungry;
the garment hanging in your wardrobe
is the garment of him who is naked;
the shoes you do NOT wear,
are the shoes of the one who is barefoot;
the acts of charity that you do NOT perform,
are so many INJUSTICES that you commit.”
“The hairsplitting difference between
formed and unformed makes no difference to us.
Whoever deliberately commits abortion
is subject to the penalty for homicide.”
“Give something, however small,
to the one in need.
For it is not small to one who has nothing.
Neither is it small to God,
if we have given what we could.”
“If anyone does not believe
that Holy Mary
is the Mother of God,
such a one is a stranger
to the Godhead.”
“Let us not esteem worldly prosperity,
or adversity, as things real or of any moment
but let us live elsewhere
and raise all our attention to Heaven,
esteeming sin as the only true evil
and nothing truly good
but virtue, which unites us to God.”
Quote/s of the Day – 1 January – New Year’s Day 2019
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
the new creation has come.
The old has gone, the new is here!”
“Brothers, . . . I can only say,
that forgetting all that lies behind me
and straining forward to what lies in front of me
and I am racing towards the finishing-point,
to win the prize of God’s heavenly call
in Christ Jesus.”
May he give you what you desire
and make all your plans succeed.
Then we will shout for joy over your victory
and celebrate your triumph by praising our God.
May the LORD answer all your requests.
“The bread you store up belongs to the hungry,
the cloak that lies in your chest belongs to the naked,
the gold you have hidden in the ground,
belongs to the poor.”
“Love God,
serve God;
everything is in that.”
“Teach us to give and not to count the cost.”
“All for the greater glory of God.”
“You must ask God to give you power
to fight against the sin of pride
which is your greatest enemy –
the root of all that is evil
and the failure of all that is good.
For God resists the proud.”
“Let us go forward in peace,
our eyes upon heaven,
the only one goal of our labours.”
“During this new year,
I resolve to begin a new life.
I do not know,
what will happen to me, during this year.
But I abandon myself entirely to You, my God.
And my aspirations and all my affections,
will be for You.
I feel so weak, dear Jesus
but with Your help,
I hope and resolve,
to live a different life,
that is, a life closer to You.”
“Father, do You know,
the latest idea that has come into my head?
It is to become a saint at all costs.
I made this resolution yesterday evening.
During my meditation I was thinking,
that one lives only once
and it is certain,
that one is going to die,
then one will have to answer to God.”
“Every time the clock strikes,
I will repeat three times –
‘My Jesus, mercy!”
AND here are Quotes for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/01/01/quote-s-of-the-day-1-january-2018-the-solemnity-of-mary-mother-of-god-and-the-octave-day-of-the-nativity-of-our-lord/
Quote/s of the Day – 26 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 21:1-4 “The Widow’s Mite”
“When you can do good,
defer it not, because
“alms delivers from death.”
“In the matter of piety, poverty serves us better than wealth
and work better than idleness, especially since wealth
becomes an obstacle even for those
who do not devote themselves to it.
Yet, when we must put aside our wrath, quench our envy,
soften our anger, offer our prayers and show a disposition
which is reasonable, mild, kindly and loving,
how could poverty stand in our way?
For we accomplish these things not by spending money
but by making the correct choice.
Almsgiving, above all else, requires money but even this,
shines, with a brighter lustre, when the alms are given
from our poverty.
The widow who paid in the two mites, was poorer
than any human but she outdid them all.”
“As far as you can, do some manual work.
so as to be able to give alms, for it is written,
that alms and faith purify from sin.”
“Let us give alms because these
cleanse our souls from the stains of sin.
Men lose all the material things
they leave behind them in this world
but they carry with them the reward of their charity
and the alms they give.
For these they will receive from the Lord
the reward and recompense they deserve.”
“Satisfaction consists in the cutting off
of the causes of the sin.
Thus, fasting is the proper antidote to lust;
prayer to pride, to envy, anger and sloth;
alms to covetousness.”
“If you are attached to the things of this earth,
you should give alms sufficient, to enable you
to punish your avarice, by depriving yourself,
of all, that is not absolutely necessary for life.”
Quote/s of the Day – 23 November – The memorial of St Columban (543-615)
“We, indeed, are,
as I have said,
chained to the
Chair of Saint Peter.”
“Be gentle to the weak,
firm to the stubborn,
steadfast to the proud,
humble to the lowly.”
“Be helpful,
when you are,
at the bottom of the ladder
and be the lowest,
when you are in authority.”
“Be slow to anger,
swift to learn,
slow also to speak,
as St James says,
equally swift to hear.”
“Be respectful to the worthy,
merciful to the poor.”
“Be mindful of favours,
unmindful of wrongs.”
SECOND WORLD DAY OF THE POOR – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – 18 November 2018
Excerpt From Pope Francis Message for the Second Annual World Day of the Poor
This poor man cried and the Lord heard him
6. The poor are the first to recognise God’s presence and to testify to His closeness in their lives. God remains faithful to His promise and even in the darkness of the night, He does not withhold the warmth of His love and consolation. However, for the poor to overcome their oppressive situation, they need to sense the presence of brothers and sisters who are concerned for them and, by opening the doors of their hearts and lives, make them feel like friends and family. Only in this way can the poor discover “the saving power at work in their lives” and “put them at the centre of the Church’s pilgrim way” (Evangelii Gaudium, 198).
On this World Day, we are asked to fulfil the words of the Psalm: “The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied” (Ps 22:26). We know that in the Temple of Jerusalem, after the rites of sacrifice, a banquet was held. It was this experience that, in many dioceses last year, enriched the celebration of the first World Day of the Poor. Many people encountered the warmth of a home, the joy of a festive meal and the solidarity of those who wished to sit together at table in simplicity and fraternity.
I would like this year’s and all future World Days, to be celebrated in a spirit of joy at the rediscovery of our capacity for togetherness. Praying together as a community and sharing a meal on Sunday is an experience that brings us back to the earliest Christian community, described by the evangelist Luke in all its primitive simplicity: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And all who believed were together and had all things in common and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:42.44-45).
7. Countless initiatives are undertaken every day by the Christian community in order to offer closeness and a helping hand in the face of the many forms of poverty all around us. Often too, our co-operation with other initiatives inspired not by faith but by human solidarity, make it possible for us to provide help that otherwise we would have been unable to offer. The realisation that in the face of so much poverty, our capacity for action is limited, weak and insufficient, leads us to reach out to others so that, through mutual co-operation, we can attain our goals all the more effectively. We Christians, are inspired by faith and by the imperative of charity but we can also acknowledge other forms of assistance and solidarity, that aim, in part, for the same goals, provided that we do not downplay our specific role, which is to lead everyone to God and to holiness. Dialogue between different experiences and humility in offering our co-operation, without seeking the limelight, is a fitting and completely evangelical response that we can give.
In the service of the poor, there is no room for competition. Rather, we should humbly recognise that the Spirit is the source of our actions that reveal God’s closeness and His answer to our prayers. When we find ways of drawing near to the poor, we know that the primacy belongs to God, who opens our eyes and hearts to conversion. The poor do not need self-promoters but a love that knows how to remain hidden and not think about all the good it has been able to do. At the centre must always be the Lord and the poor. Anyone desirous of serving is an instrument in God’s hands, a means of manifesting His saving presence. Saint Paul recalled this when he wrote to the Christians in Corinth who competed for the more prestigious charisms: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Cor 12:21). Paul makes an important point when he notes that the apparently weaker parts of the body are in fact the most necessary (cf. v. 22) and that those “we think less honourable we invest with the greater honour and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require” (vv. 23-24). Paul offers the community a basic teaching about charisms but also about the attitude it should have, in the light of the Gospel, towards its weaker and needier members. Far be it from Christ’s disciples to nurture feelings of disdain or pity towards the poor. Instead, we are called to honour the poor and to give them precedence, out of the conviction that they are a true presence of Jesus in our midst. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).
8. Here we can see how far our way of life must be from that of the world, which praises, pursues and imitates the rich and powerful, while neglecting the poor and deeming them useless and shameful. The words of the Apostle Paul invite us to a fully evangelical solidarity with the weaker and less gifted members of the body of Christ: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together” (1 Cor 12:26). In his Letter to the Romans, Paul also tells us: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another, do not be haughty but associate with the lowly” (12:15-16). This is the vocation of each of Christ’s followers, the ideal for which we must constantly strive is ever greater conformity to the “mind of Jesus Christ” (Phil 2:5).
9. Faith naturally inspires a message of hope. Often it is precisely the poor who can break through our indifference, born of a worldly and narrow view of life. The cry of the poor, is also a cry of hope, that reveals the certainty of future liberation. This hope is grounded in the love of God, who does not abandon those who put their trust in Him (cf. Rom 8:31-39). As Saint Teresa of Avila writes in The Way of Perfection: “Poverty comprises many virtues. It is a vast domain. I tell you, whoever despises all earthly goods is master of them all” (2:5). It is in the measure in which we are able to discern authentic good, that we become rich before God and wise in our own eyes and in those of others. It is truly so. To the extent that we come to understand the true meaning of riches, we grow in humanity and become capable of sharing.
10. I invite my brother bishops, priests and especially deacons, who have received the laying on of hands for the service of the poor (cf. Acts 6:1-7), as well as religious and all those lay faithful – men and women – who in parishes, associations and ecclesial movements, make tangible the Church’s response to the cry of the poor, to experience this World Day as a privileged moment of new evangelisation. The poor evangelise us and help us each day, to discover the beauty of the Gospel. Let us not squander this grace-filled opportunity. On this day, may all of us feel that we are in debt to the poor, because, in hands outstretched to one another, a salvific encounter can take place, to strengthen our faith, inspire our charity and enable our hope, to advance securely on our path, towards the Lord who is to come.
From the Vatican, 13 June 2018
Francis
Quote/s of the Day – 17 November – The Memorial of St Elizabeth of Hungary – Apostle of Charity (1207-1231)
Speaking of: Charity/Mercy
As long as anyone has the means
of doing good to his neighbours
and does not do so,
he shall be reckoned a stranger
to the love of the Lord.
“Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.”
“No one has ever been accused for not providing ornaments
but for those who neglect their neighbour,
a hell awaits with an inextinguishable fire
and torment in the company of the demons.
Do not, therefore, adorn the church
and ignore your afflicted brother,
for he is the most precious temple of all.”
“Compassion, my dear Brother,
is preferable to cleanliness.
Reflect that with a little soap,
I can easily clean my bed covers
but even with a torrent of tears,
I would never wash from my soul,
the stain, that my harshness toward
the unfortunate would create.”
“All our religion is but a false religion
and all our virtues are mere illusions
and we ourselves are only hypocrites
in the sight of God,
if we have not that universal charity for everyone –
for the good and for the bad,
for the poor and for the rich
and for all those who do us harm,
as much as those who do us good.”
“Any friend of the poor, is a friend of God.”
Quote/s of the Day – 15 November – The Memorial of St Albert the Great (1200-1 280) Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”)
Known as Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”) for the extraordinary depth of his knowledge and learning, Albertus Magnus wrote extensively on numerous subjects. Here are some words of wisdom from a variety of his writings.
“Anyone who receives this Sacrament,
with the devotion of sincere faith,
will never taste death.”
“The greater and more persistent,
your confidence in God, the more
abundantly you will receive, all that you ask.”
“I have never gone out, to mingle with the world,
without losing something of myself.”
“The surest and quickest way
to attain perfection, is to strive,
for purity of heart.
Once the obstacles have been removed,
God finds a clear path and does wonders,
both in and through the soul.”
“Above all, one should accept everything,
in general and individually, in oneself or in others,
agreeable or disagreeable,
with a prompt and confident spirit,
as coming from the hand of His infallible Providence
or the order He has arranged.”
On Cleaving to God
“Mary is the Divine Page
on which the Father
wrote the Word of God,
His Son.”
Quote/s of the Day – 11 November – The Memorial of St Martin of Tours (c 316-397)
“Now let me fight for God.
As for your bonus, let someone
who is going to join the battle receive it.
I am a soldier of Christ-
combat is not permitted me.”
“In the name of the Lord Jesus
and protected
only by the sign of the cross,
without shield or helmet,
I shall penetrate the enemy’s ranks
and not be afraid.”
One Minute Reflection – 10 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 16:9–15 – Saturday of the Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time, Year B and The Memorial of St Leo the Great (c 400-461) Doctor of the Church and St Andrew Avellino CR (1521 – 1608)
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”...Luke 16:9
REFLECTION – “Consider, then, the splendid reward for your liberality – an everlasting habitation! O excellent trade! O divine commerce! You purchase immortality for money and, by donating the empty things of the world, receive in exchange an eternal mansion in heaven! So then, you rich who have wisdom, apply yourselves to this business… Why let yourselves be transfixed by diamonds and emeralds, by houses that fire devours, time destroys, or earthquakes throw down? Aspire for nothing other than to dwell in the heavens and reign with God. A mere man, a beggar will gain you this kingdom… The Lord did not say: “Give, be generous and bountiful, help your brothers” but: “Make friends for yourselves”. Friendship comes about not by one gift but by long intimacy. For neither faith, nor charity nor patience are the work of one day but “he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Mt 10:22)...St Clement of Alexandria (150- 215)
PRAYER – Lord God, You built Your Church on the firm foundation of the Apostle Peter and You promised that the gates of hell would never overcome it. So too, may we trust in Your power, that by our faith we may receive the grace to withstand the enemy who will not prevail against us. May we always serve You in our brother and may your Holy Spirit grant us the grace of fortitude to withstand our temptations and thus gain eternal life, supported by the prayers of St Pope Leo the Great and St Andrew Avellino, keep us ever faithful to Your love. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Jesuits
“If our church is not marked by caring for the poor,
the oppressed, the hungry, we are guilty of heresy.”
“Be generous to the poor orphans and those in need.
The man to whom our Lord has been liberal
ought not to be stingy.
We shall one day find in Heaven as much rest and joy
as we ourselves have dispensed in this life.”
“Take care, take care, never to close your heart to anyone!”
“To do the will of God,
man must despise his own –
the more he dies to himself,
the more he will live to God.”
“God gave Himself to you:
give yourself to God.”
“Any friend of the poor, is a friend of God.”
“Take life in instalments.
This one day now.
At least let this be a good day.
Be always beginning.”
“I hold that every poor man,
every vagrant, every beggar,
is Christ carrying His cross.
And as Christ, we must love and help him.”
“Christ roams through our streets
in the person of so many
of the suffering poor, sick and dispossessed
and people thrown out of their miserable slums.
Christ huddled under bridges,
in the person of so many children
who lack someone to call father,
who have been deprived for many years,
without a mother’s kiss on their foreheads…
Christ is without a home!
Shouldn’t we want to give Him one,
those of us who have the joy of a comfortable home,
plenty of good food,
the means to educate
and assure the future of our children?”
” To serve Christ is to love this concrete Church
and to serve her with generosity
and with the spirit of obedience.”
“Ask for the grace of shame;
the shame that comes from the constant dialogue of mercy with Him;
the shame that makes us blush before Jesus Christ;
the shame that puts us in tune with the heart of Christ who is made sin for me;
the shame that harmonises our heart in tears and accompanies us in the daily following of “my Lord”.
One Minute Reflection – 5 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 14:12–14 – Monday of the Thirty-first week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of All Jesuit Saints and Blesseds
“invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind…..You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”…Luke 14:13-14b
REFLECTION – “This means choosing gratuitousness rather than self-seeking and calculating to obtain a reward, seeking interest and trying to increase your wealth. Indeed, the poor, the simple, those who ‘don’t count’, can never reciprocate an invitation to a meal. In this way Jesus shows His preference for the poor and the excluded, who are the privileged in the Kingdom of God and He launches the fundamental message of the Gospel which is to serve others out of love for God.
Today, Jesus gives voice to those who are voiceless and to each one of us, He addresses an urgent appeal, to open our hearts and to make our own, the sufferings and anxieties of the poor, the hungry, the marginalised, the refugees, those who are defeated by life, those who are rejected by society and by the arrogance of the strong.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 28 August 2016
“He himself had wanted to be born in poverty, to welcome the poor into His company, to serve the poor and put Himself in the place of the poor, to the point of saying that the good and evil we do to the poor, will be held by Him to have been done to His own divine person (Mt 25:40). What more tender love could He have shown the poor! And what sort of love could we be showing Him, I ask you, if we don’t love what He loved? So much so, that loving the poor, is to love Him as He would wish and imitating Him, is to serve Him rightly and honour Him as we ought…”…St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) – Extract from a report concerning the state of the work, 11/07/1657
PRAYER – Lord God, teach us humility, to give and not to count ever the cost to ourselves, to take the lowest part and the back seat – teach us Lord, to strive and not to seek for glory, save for that of Your Kingdom. Let us see Your Face, His Face, He our Teacher, our Saviour in the face of all those in most need. May all those great Jesuit Saints standing before that Face, pray for us! We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who we beg, have mercy on us all, who seek rewards for our own sakes, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 4 November – The Memorial of St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)
“Charity is that,
with which no man is lost
and without which,
no man is saved.”
“We must meditate before, during and after everything we do.
The prophet says: “I will pray and then I will understand.”
This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties
we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work.
In meditation we find the strength,
to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men.”
“If we wish to make any progress in the service of God,
we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness.
We must keep ourselves in the presence of God,
as much as possible and have no other view or end,
in all our actions but the divine honour.”
One Minute Reflection – 4 November – Today’s Gospel: Mark 12:28b-34 -Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) and St Felix of Valois (1127-1212)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”...Mark 12:30-31
REFLECTION – “You cannot love God without loving your neighbour and you cannot love your neighbour without loving God. In effect, the visible sign a Christian can show, in order to witness to his love for God to the world and to others, to his family, is the love he bears for his brothers, is the love of his people. The Commandment to love God and neighbour is the first, not because it is at the top of the list of Commandments. Jesus does not place it at the pinnacle but at the centre, because it is from the heart that everything must go out and to which everything must return and refer.
In the Old Testament, the requirement to be holy, in the image of God who is holy, included the duty to care for the most vulnerable people, such as the stranger, the orphan and the widow (cf. Ex 22:20-26). Jesus brings this Covenant law to fulfilment, He who unites in Himself, in His flesh, divinity and humanity, a single mystery of love.
Now, in the light of this Word of Jesus, love is the measure of faith and faith is the soul of love. We can no longer separate a religious life, a pious life, from service to brothers and sisters, to the real brothers and sisters that we encounter.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 26 October 2014)
PRAYER – God power and mercy, by whose grace, Your people give You praise and worthy service, help us to see Your face in our neighbour. To love them all as we love You. Save us from faltering on our way and grant us the joys You have promised . St Felix of Valois and St Charles Borromeo kindly assist our journey by your prayers. Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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