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.
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.
St Irenaeus (130-202) Father of the Church
“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.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“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.”
St Martin de Porres (1579-1639)
“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.”
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.”
St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church
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.”
St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)
“Take care, take care, never to close your heart to anyone!”
St Peter Faber (1506-1546)
“To do the will of God, man must despise his own – the more he dies to himself, the more he will live to God.”
St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654)
“God gave Himself to you: give yourself to God.”
St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595)
“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.”
Blessed John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
“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?”
St Alberto Hurtado SJ (1901-1952)
” 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”.
Pope Francis SJ – 31 July 2013 on the Feast of St Ignatius
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.
Quote/s of the Day – 24 October – The Memorial of St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)
“The sun of our lives is the Eucharist.”
“The fountain of holy love is in Jesus Christ and we have Jesus with us, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. From that throne of love, how often He enlightens the minds of His children and how many again find their peace of heart.”
“The earth is filled with tabernacles – Praise Him!”
“Our union in heaven will depend upon our communion with God on earth.”
“Plant your heart in Jesus Crucified and all the thorns will seem like roses.”
“Whoever finds Mary, finds the way to Salvation.”
“Charity lights the path to divine love.”
“Imitate the Heart of Christ in love for the poor.”
Thought for the Day – 21 October – The Memorial of Blessed Karl of Austria (1887 – 1922)
“Practising Catholic – How to become a Saint”
From a young age and throughout his life, Karl of Austria demonstrated an awareness of God’s presence and Christian duty. As a child, he loved praying at daily mass with his mother, Archduchess Maria Josefa, and was known for his charitable acts. He knew all the prayers a typical Catholic youth would learn and loved praying them, particularly the rosary. As a youth and later as an adult, he loved making pilgrimages to Marian shrines.
As a young child, he was concerned about the poor and needy, so he did odd jobs around his home in order to earn money to give to them. There are records from when he was 18 years old recording his almsgiving and even as Emperor he continued his private charitable giving. There is testimony from one of his aides who was in charge of distributing the Emperor’s alms from his personal household. The aide informed him there was no more money left and Karl said:
“The need is so great, find the money from somewhere else and distribute that.”
Blessed Karl loved to pray throughout his life. He received Holy Communion daily and at the end of mass prayed “Veni Creator.” He prayed Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and the rosary daily. He frequently prayed the Litanies of the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph; he was a member of Our Lady’s Confraternity and wore the scapular.
Karl was devoted to adoring the Blessed Sacrament and could happily spend hours in adoration. He was routinely found praying wherever he was, at home, in the office and on the battlefield. He encouraged all of his soldiers to pray and frequently asked those around him to join him in prayer to begin a meeting or some action. Furthermore, the Emperor had a devotion to the angels, especially Saint Michael the Archangel, whom he made patron saint of the imperial army.
Karl of Austria was obedient to the Holy Father, acknowledging him to be the Vicar of Christ and he treated bishops and priests with respect. He was known as a loyal, kind, generous and jovial comrade, who lived and practised his faith without artifice. From the testimony of those who knew him well, it is clear, that Blessed Karl took his faith seriously and fostered his relationship with God, devoutly following the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Quote/s of the Day – 16 October – The Memorial of St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) and St Gerard Majella (1726-1755)
“Let us begin in earnest to work out our salvation, for no-one will do it for us, since even He Himself, Who made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves!”
“Let every knee bend before You, O greatness of my God, so supremely humbled in the Sacred Host. May every heart love You, every spirit adore You and every will be subject to You!
St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
“The Most Blessed Sacrament is Christ made visible. The poor sick person is Christ again made visible.”
Thought for the Day – 15 October – The Memorial of St Teresa of Jesus/Avila (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church “Doctor of Prayer”
Excerpt of Pope Benedict’s Catechesis
on the Doctors of the Church
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
“It is far from easy to sum up in a few words Teresa’s profound and articulate spirituality. I would like to mention a few essential points. In the first place St Teresa proposes the evangelical virtues as the basis of all Christian and human life and in particular, detachment from possessions, that is, evangelical poverty and this concerns all of us; love for one another as an essential element of community and social life; humility as love for the truth; determination as a fruit of Christian daring; theological hope, which she describes as the thirst for living water. Then we should not forget the human virtues: affability, truthfulness, modesty, courtesy, cheerfulness, culture.
Secondly, St Teresa proposes a profound harmony with the great biblical figures and eager listening to the word of God. She feels above all closely in tune with the Bride in the Song of Songs and with the Apostle Paul, as well as with Christ in the Passion and with Jesus in the Eucharist. The Saint then stresses how essential prayer is. Praying, she says, “means being on terms of friendship with God frequently conversing in secret with Him who, we know, loves us” (Vida 8, 5). St Teresa’s idea coincides with Thomas Aquinas’ definition of theological charity as “amicitia quaedam hominis ad Deum”, a type of human friendship with God, who offered humanity His friendship first – it is from God that the initiative comes (cf. Summa Theologiae II-II, 23, 1).
Prayer is life and develops gradually, in pace with the growth of Christian life – it begins with vocal prayer, passes through interiorisation by means of meditation and recollection, until it attains the union of love with Christ and with the Holy Trinity. Obviously, in the development of prayer climbing to the highest steps does not mean abandoning the previous type of prayer. Rather, it is a gradual deepening of the relationship with God that envelops the whole of life.
Dear brothers and sisters, St Teresa of Jesus is a true teacher of Christian life for the faithful of every time. In our society, which all too often lacks spiritual values, St Teresa teaches us to be unflagging witnesses of God, of His presence and of His action. She teaches us truly to feel this thirst for God that exists in the depths of our hearts, this desire to see God, to seek God, to be in conversation with Him and to be His friends.
This is the friendship we all need that we must seek anew, day after day. May the example of this Saint, profoundly contemplative and effectively active, spur us too every day to dedicate the right time to prayer, to this openness to God, to this journey, in order to seek God, to see Him, to discover His friendship and so to find true life – indeed, many of us should truly say: “I am not alive, I am not truly alive because I do not live the essence of my life”.
Therefore time devoted to prayer is not time wasted, it is time in which the path of life unfolds, the path unfolds to learning from God an ardent love for Him, for His Church and practical charity for our brothers and sisters. Many thanks.”
Quotes of the Day – 15 October – The Memorial of St Teresa of Jesus/Avila (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church
“Oh my Lord! How true it is that, whoever works for You, is paid in troubles! And what a precious price to those who love You, if we understand its value.”
“We need no wings to go in search of Him but have only to look upon Him, present within us.”
“Always think of yourself as everyone’s servant; look for Christ Our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for them all.”
Quote/s of the Day – 8 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 10:25–37 – Monday of the Twenty-seventh week in Ordinary Time, Year B
Speaking of – Seeking : The Good Samaritan
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.
St Irenaeus (130-202) Father of the Church
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.
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
We must speak to them with our hands before we speak to them with our lips.
St Peter Claver (1580-1654)
We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people and pray continually, that God may grant us, that spirit of compassion, which is truly the Spirit of God.
St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
Since God is perfect in loving man, man must be perfect in loving his neighbour.
St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)
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.
St John Vianney (1786-1859)
“This parable is a splendid gift for us all and also a task! To each of us Jesus repeats what He said to the doctor of the Law: “Go and do likewise” (v. 37). We are all called to follow the same path of the Good Samaritan, who is the figure of Christ: Jesus bent down to us, He became our servant and thus He has saved us, so that we too might love as He loved us, in the same way.”
One Minute Reflection – 8 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 10:25–37 – Monday of the Twenty-seventh week in Ordinary Time, Year B
“Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him. ” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”...Luke 10:36-37
REFLECTION – “Jesus brings about an unexpected reversal in the traditional concept of neighbour. The Samaritan is the neighbour and not the wounded man, as we would have expected. This means that we must not wait till our neighbour appears along our way, perhaps quite dramatically. It belongs to us to be ready to notice him, to find him. We are all called to be the neighbour! The problem of the doctor of the law is reversed. From an abstract and academic problem, it becomes a concrete and living problem. The question to ask is not “Who is my neighbour?” but “Whose neighbour can I be here and now?…
If one of us were to pose Jesus the question “Who is my neighbour?” what would he answer? He would certainly remind us that our neighbour is not only our fellow countrymen but also those outside our community, not only Christians but Muslims also, not only Catholics but Protestants also. But he would immediately add that this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is not to know who my neighbour is but to see whose neighbour I can be here and now, for whom I can be the Good Samaritan.”…Fr Raneiro Cantalamessa – Preacher to the Papal Household (14 July 2007)
PRAYER – Lord God and Father, who entrusted the earth to men and each to the other, as one family of man, give us the grace this day, to see Your Face in our neighbour and to seek all who need our help. Grant us the grace to work faithfully for Your glory and for our neighbour’s good. May the prayers of St Hugh Canefro who worked tirelessly for his neighbour be a help to us all and may Mary our Holy Mother, keep us ever in her guiding care. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 4 October – The Memorial of St Francis of Assisi (1181/2–1226)
“The one you are looking for, is the One who is looking.”
“Let the whole world of mankind tremble, the whole world shake and the heavens exult when Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the altar in the hands of a priest. O admirable heights and sublime lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation, He hides Himself under the little form of bread! Look, brothers, at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him! Humble yourselves, as well, that you may be exalted by Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves, for yourselves, so that He, Who gives Himself totally to you, may receive you totally.”
“Jesus is happy to come with us, as Truth is happy to be spoken, as Life to be lived, as Light to be lit, as Love is to be loved, as Joy to be given, as Peace to be spread.”
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.”
Thought for the Day – 27 September – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul C.M. (1581-1660)
From “Conferences to the Priests of the Mission”
by St Vincent de Paul (Conference 207).
It is not enough to love God if my neighbour does not love Him.
“Our vocation is to go and enflame the heart of men, to do what the Son of God did, He who brought fire into the world to set it alight with His love. What else can we wish for, than for it to burn and consume all things?
Thus it is true that I have been sent not only to love God but also to make men love Him.
It is not enough to love God if my neighbour does not love Him. I must love my neighbour as the image of God and the object of His love and do everything so that in their turn men love their Creator who knows and considers them as His brothers, whom He has saved, I must obtain that they love each other with mutual love, out of love for God who loved them to the point of abandoning to death His very Son. So that is my duty. Now, if it is true that we are called to bear God’s love near and far, if we must set nations alight, if our vocation is to go and spread this divine fire in the whole world, if it is so, my brothers, if it is really so, how must I myself burn of this divine fire!
How can we give love to others, if we do not have it among us? Let us look if it is so, not generally but if each one has it within himself, in due amount, because if love is not on fire in us, if we do not love each other as Jesus Christ loved us and if we do not act as He did, how can we hope to spread such love throughout the world? You cannot give what you do not have. The precise duty of charity consists in doing to others what you reasonably would like done to yourself. Do I really behave towards my neighbour as I wish he would towards me?
Let us look at the Son of God. Only our Lord can be so taken by love for creatures so much as to leave His Father’s throne and take a body subject to infirmity. And why? In order to establish among us, with His word and example, the love of our neighbours. This is the love that led Him to the Cross and accomplished the wonderful work of our redemption. If we had a little of such love, would we stay here with folded arms? Oh! no, love can not remain barren, it urges us to obtain salvation and relief for others.”
Prayer for Vocations By St Vincent de Paul
O Lord, send good workers to Your Church, but may they be good! Send good missionaries to work in Your vineyard, labourers, O my God, such as they ought to be: utterly detached from themselves, their own comfort, and worldly goods. Let them even be few in number, provided that they are good. O Lord, grant this grace to Your Church. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 27 September – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul C.M. (1581-1660)
“Perfection consists in one thing alone, which is doing the will of God. For, according to Our Lord’s words, it suffices for perfection to deny self, to take up the cross and to follow Him. Now who denies himself and takes up his cross and follows Christ better than he who seeks not to do his own will but always that of God? Behold, now, how little is needed to become as Saint? Nothing more than to acquire the habit of willing, on every occasion, what God wills.”
“…We have all been called by God to work on a masterpiece!”
“Extend your mercy towards others, so that there can be no one in need whom you meet without helping. For what hope is there for us if God should withdraw His Mercy from us?”
“With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.”
“It is not enough to give soup and bread. This the rich can do. You are the servant of the poor, always smiling and good-humoured. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting master you will see. And the uglier and the dirtier they will be, the more unjust and insulting, the more love you must give them. It is only for your love alone, that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.
Thought for the Day – 22 September – The Memorial of St Thomas of Villanova O.S.A (1488-1555) “The Father of the Poor”
The new Archbishop was so poor that he was given money for furnishings but he took it to the hospital for the indigent. On being led to his throne in church, he pushed the silken cushions aside and with tears kissed the ground. His first visit was to the prison. Two-thirds of his episcopal revenues were annually spent in alms. He daily fed five hundred needy persons, made himself responsible for the bringing up of the city’s orphans and sheltered neglected foundlings with a mother’s care.
He wore the same habit that he had received in the novitiate, mending it himself. The canons and domestics were ashamed of him but they could not convince him to change. Several hundred poor came to Thomas’s door each morning and received a meal, drink and money. When criticised because he was at times being taken advantage of, he replied:
“If there are people who refuse to work, that is for the governor and the police to deal with. My duty, is to assist and relieve those, who come to my door.”
During his eleven years’ episcopate, not one poor maiden was married without an alms from the archbishop. Spurred by his example, the rich and the selfish became liberal and generous. And when, on the Nativity of Our Lady, 1555, after one week of illness, Saint Thomas was about to breathe his last, he gave his bed to a poor man and asked to be placed on the floor.
Holy Mass was being celebrated in his presence when after Communion he breathed his last, reciting the words: “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.”
It has been said that at his death he was probably the only poor man in his see.
This is our “mark” – this generosity to the poor, this utter self-giving and mercy. This total trust in Divine Providence. We are often tempted to tend our image in others’ eyes, without paying sufficient attention to how we look to Christ. St Thomas still urges us to rethink our priorities.
Quote/s of the Day – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) and St Hildegard von Bingen OSB (1098-1179) both Doctors of the Church
“O Trinity, You are music, You are life.”
“The school of Christ, is the school of love. In the last day, when the general examination takes place… Love will be the whole syllabus.”
“LOVE is a marvellous and heavenly thing. It never tires and it never thinks it has done enough!”
“When we appeal to the throne of grace, we do so through Mary, honouring God by honouring His Mother, imitating Him by exalting her, touching the most responsive chord in the Sacred Heart of Christ, with the sweet name of Mary.”
St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
Quote/s of the Day – 16 September – The Memorial of Sts Cornelius and Cyprian Martyrs
“We must carry out the will of God rather than our own. This is what we pledge to do in the “Our Father”, which we recite every day. What a travesty it would be if, after praying that God’s will be done, we should carry out that will halfheartedly and only because we are obliged to do so!
“We have solemnly renounced the world and therefore, whilst we continue in it, we should behave like strangers and pilgrims.”
“You cannot have God for your Father if you do not have the Church for your mother…. God is one and Christ is one and His Church is one; one is the faith and one is the people cemented together by harmony into the strong unity of a body…. If we are the heirs of Christ, let us abide in the peace of Christ; if we are the sons of God, let us be lovers of peace.”
“You who are envious, let me tell you that however often you may seek for the opportunity of injuring him whom you hate, you will never be able to do him so much harm, as you do harm to yourselves. He whom you would punish through the malice of your envy, may probably escape but you will never be able to fly from yourselves.” (St Cyprian from The Unity of the Catholic Church)
“Let us remember one another in concord and unanimity. Let us on both sides of death always pray for one another. Let us relieve burdens and afflictions by mutual love, that if one of us, by the swiftness of divine condescension, shall go hence the first, our love may continue in the presence of the Lord and our prayers for our brethren and sisters not cease in the presence of the Father’s mercy.” St Cyprian from letters (to St Pope Cornelius no 253)
Quote/s of the Day – 13 September – the Memorial of St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Never separate yourself from the Church. No institution has the power of the Church. The Church is your hope. The Church is your salvation. The Church is your refuge.”
“When you are before the altar where Christ reposes, you ought no longer to think that you are amongst men; but believe that there are troops of Angels and Archangels standing by you and trembling with respect before the Sovereign Master of Heaven and earth. Therefore, when you are in Church, be there in silence, fear and veneration.”
“If we approach with faith, we too will see Jesus… for the Eucharistic table takes the place of the crib. Here, the Body of the Lord is present, wrapped, not in swaddling clothes but in the rays of the Holy Spirit.”
“It is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life.”
“Let the mouth also fast from disgraceful speeches and railings. For what does it profit if we abstain from fish and fowl and yet bite and devour our brothers and sisters? The evil speaker eats the flesh of his brother and bites the body of his neighbour!”
One Minute Reflection – 5 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 4:38-44 – Wednesday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them….Luke 4:40
REFLECTION – “Having come to earth to proclaim and to realise the salvation of the whole man and of all people, Jesus shows a particular predilection for those who are wounded in body and in spirit: the poor, the sinners, the possessed, the sick, the marginalised. Thus, He reveals Himself as a doctor both of souls and of bodies, the Good Samaritan of man. He is the true Saviour: Jesus saves, Jesus cures, Jesus heals. Each one of us is called to bear the light of the Word of God and the power of grace to those who suffer and to those who assist them — family, doctors, nurses — so that the service to the sick might always be better accomplished with more humanity, with generous dedication, with evangelical love, with tenderness.”… Pope Francis – Angelus, 8 February 2015
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love…..God doesn’t require us to succeed, He only requires that we try…….I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” ….St Mother Teresa of Calcutta
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help us to be holy in the way that You have laid out for all of us. Let us carry out the duties of our state in life to the full and so attain the holiness proper to each one. May the prayers of St Mother Teresa assist us in using the gifts You have been given us, for the Glory of God. We make our prayer through our Lord, Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 3 September – The Memorial of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor of the Church “Father of the Fathers”
“If we knew at what time we were to depart from this world, we would be able to select a season for pleasure and another for repentance. But God, who has promised pardon to every repentant sinner, has not promised us tomorrow. Therefore we must always dread the final day, which we can never foresee. This VERY DAY is a day of truce, a day for conversion. And yet we refuse to cry over the evil we have done! Not only do we not weep for the sins we have committed, we even add to them…”
“Don’t be anxious about what you have, but about what you are!”
“When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice.”
“The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.”
“He who would climb to a lofty height must go by steps, not leaps.”
“He truly believes who puts what he believes into practice.”
There is more joy in heaven over a converted sinner than over a righteous person standing firm. A leader in battle has more love for a soldier who returns after fleeing and who valiantly pursues the enemy, than for one who never turned back but who never acted valiantly either. A farmer has greater love for land which bears fruitfully, after he has cleared it of thorns, than for land which never had thorns but which never yielded a fruitful harvest.”
“The Emperor of heaven, the Lord of men and of angels, has sent you His epistles for your life’s advantage— and yet you neglect to read them eagerly. Study them, I beg you and meditate daily on the words of your Creator. Learn the heart of God in the words of God, that you may sigh more eagerly for things eternal, that your soul may be kindled with greater longings for heavenly joy.”
“No one does more harm in the Church than he who has the title or rank of holiness and acts perversely.”
St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father & Doctor of the Church
“Father of the Fathers”
Little weekly reflections from those ‘minds alive’, our friends and intercessors waiting on our arrival.
Mother, how do we live by example?
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge was a British journalist and media celebrity who did not care much about God and religion. But…he saw compassion actualised before his very eyes through the person of Mother Teresa and that made him do something he had sworn he would never do – he became a Catholic!
Muggeridge had an assignment to write about Mother Teresa. Travelling to India, he thought the trip was just the usual work but the amazing thing was, in the course of his talks and days of observation of the little nun, he experienced a complete conversion of his heart, his mind, his soul, his very being.
He confessed: “Words cannot express how much I owe her, she showed me Christianity in action. She showed me the power of love. She showed me how one loving person can start a tidal wave of love that can spread to the entire world!”
“You must first learn to forget yourself
so that you can dedicate yourself to God and to neighbour alike!”
Quote/s of the Day – 28 August – The Memorial of St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him the greatest human achievement.”
“Only the “new” person can sing a new song to the Lord: the person restored from a fallen condition, through the grace of God. Let us sing a new song – not with our lips but with our lives!”
“You ask what you might offer to God? Offer yourself! What does God expect from you, except yourself?”
“Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet.”
“God does not command impossibilities but by commanding, admonishes you do what you can and to PRAY for what you cannot and AIDS you that you may be able.”
“God has no need of your money but the poor have. You give it to the poor and God receives it.”
“Our life and our death are with our neighbour.”
“Do you wish to RISE? Begin by DESCENDING. You plan a tower that will pierce the CLOUDS? Lay first the foundation of HUMILITY.”
AnaStpaul 
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