QUOTES on DEATH – Page 17

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Quote/s of the Day – 27 November – “But not a hair of your head shall perish.” … Luke 21:19

Posted on November 27, 2019November 22, 2021 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 27 November – Wednesday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:12–19

“Blessed are you
when men revile you
and persecute you …
on my account”

Matthew 5:11

But to bear with insult,
patiently undergo humiliation,
pray for those who persecute us (Mt 5,39.44) –
that is the Lord’s cup,
that is the Lord’s feast.“

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

“Sheltered under the name of
Jesus Christ,
I do not fear these pains ….”

Saint Lawrence (Died 258), Deacon and Martyr

“One doesn’t suffer
when one suffers
for Christ.”

Bl Jerzy Popiełuszko (1947-1984) Priest and Martyr

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men,
I also will acknowledge before my Father,
who is in heaven…”

Matthew 10:32

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Thought for the Day – 24 November – “Jesus remember me”

Posted on November 24, 2019November 24, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 24 November – The Solemnity of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year C, Gospel: Luke 23:35–43

“Jesus remember me”

These words are brought to mind by a line from the Eucharistic hymn “Adoro te devoto,” by St Thomas Aquinas – “I ask for what the repentant thief asked” (Peto quod opetivit latro paentitens). – “Jesus, remember me.”
What a beautiful aspiration!
Each day and throughout the day, we can ask Jesus for the many things we need, summing up our prayers of petition, by asking Jesus to remember us, according to His mercy, remembering not our sins (Ps 25:7).
And, like the good thief, let us ask at the moment of our death:
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)

“Angels, saints and nations sing
‘Praised be Jesus Christ, our King.
Lord of life, earth, sky and sea,
King of love on Calvary.”

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Thought for the Day – 23 November – “You have not only my forgiveness but my thanks.”

Posted on November 23, 2019November 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 23 November – The Memorial of Blessed Miguel Pro – Priest and Martyr of the Cristero War (1891-1927)

“You have not only my forgiveness but my thanks.”

Often Our Lord gives His saints a premonition that the curtain is soon to close on their earthly pilgrimage.

Back in September, when he was beginning his Mass for a community of nuns, he asked the angelic flock to pray that God would accept his life as a victim for priests and for the welfare of the Mexican Church. One of the nuns present, noted, that during the Mass he was totally transported and bathed in tears the whole time they were chanting. At the end of the Holy Sacrifice, he mentioned to someone in the community, “I know not whether it is mere imagination or has actually occurred but I feel clearly,. that Our Lord has evidently accepted my offering.”

One could almost see his mother smiling down upon him from Heaven and repeating those words she had answered him when he was a little boy, “May God hear you, child. But that is too great a happiness for me.”

One of the officers who had captured Father Pro led him out of jail to be executed. He begged Father to forgive him. Miguel put his arm around him and said, “You have not only my forgiveness but my thanks.” He also softly told the firing squad, “May God forgive you all.” Then with arms spread as if on a cross, Father Pro shouted, “Viva Cristo Rey – Long live Christ the King!” before a bullet silenced him.

Although the real criminal and one of Miguel’s brothers were also shot, the other brother was pardoned at the last moment. Despite the government’s ban on a public funeral, thousands came to Father Pro’s wake, for the ‘Blood of the Martyrs, is the seedbed of Faith!’

When Fr Miguel Pro was executed in 1927, no one could have predicted that 52 years later the bishop of Rome would visit Mexico, be welcomed by its president and celebrate open-air Masses before thousands of people. St Pope John Paul II made additional trips to Mexico in 1990, 1993, 1999, and 2002. Those who outlawed the Catholic Church in Mexico did not count on the deeply rooted faith of its people and the willingness of many of them, like Miguel Pro, to die as martyrs.

Blessed Miguel, Pray for Us!

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One Minute Reflection – 23 November – God has called man and still calls him ….

Posted on November 23, 2019November 22, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 23 November – Saturday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 20:27–40 and the Memorial of Blessed Miguel Pro – Martyr (1891-1927)

“He is not God of the dead but of the living…” … Luke 20:38

REFLECTION – “It is in the face of death that the riddle a human existence grows most acute. Not only is man tormented by pain and by the advancing deterioration of his body but even more so, by a dread of perpetual extinction. He rightly follows the intuition of his heart when he abhors and repudiates the utter ruin and total disappearance of his own person. He rebels against death because he bears in himself an eternal seed which cannot be reduced to sheer matter. All the endeavours of technology, though useful in the extreme, cannot calm his anxiety; for prolongation of biological life is unable to satisfy that desire for higher life, which is inescapably lodged in his breast.

Although the mystery of death, utterly beggars the imagination, the Church has been taught by divine revelation and firmly teaches, that man has been created by God for a blissful purpose beyond the reach of earthly misery. In addition, that bodily death from which man would have been immune had he not sinned, will be vanquished, according to the Christian faith, when man, who was ruined by his own doing, is restored to wholeness, by an almighty and merciful Saviour. For God has called man and still calls him, so that with his entire being, he might be joined to Him, in an endless sharing of a divine life beyond all corruption. Christ won this victory when He rose to life, for by His death, He freed man from death. Hence to every thoughtful man, a solidly established faith, provides the answer to his anxiety about what the future holds for him. At the same time, faith gives him the power to be united in Christ with his loved ones who have already been snatched away by death, faith arouses the hope, that they have found true life with God.” … Vatican Council II – Constitution on the Church in the modern world “ Gaudium et spes ” # 18

PRAYER – O God, source and origin of all fatherhood, who kept the Martyr, Blessed Miguel Pro, faithful to the Cross of Your Son, even to the shedding of his blood, grant, through his intercession, that, spreading Your love among our brothers and sisters, we may be Your children both in name and in truth and thus come to our resurrection with Jesus Christ, Your Son. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, amen. bl miguel pro pray for us 23 nov 2019.jpg

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 November – St Edmund Rich

Posted on November 16, 2019November 16, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 16 November – The Memorial of St Edmund Rich of Abingdon (1175-1240) Archbishop of Canterbury

“… Learn,
as if to live forever;
live, as if to die
tomorrow.”

“I have sought nothing else
but You, O God.”

On his death bed

St Edmund Rich of Abingdon (1175 – 1240)

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One Minute Reflection – 15 November – ‘Let us try to merit this hour of eternal delights.’

Posted on November 15, 2019November 15, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 15 November – Friday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 17:26–37 and the Memorial of St Albert the Great OP (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church and of Bl Bl Mary of the Passion FMM (1839-1904)

“Whoever seeks to gain his life, will lose it but whoever loses his life, will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed, one will be taken and the other left.”…Luke 17:33-34

REFLECTION – “Today the Church, the Lord, with His goodness, tells each one of us, ‘Stop, stop, not every day will be so. Do not get used to this as if it were eternity. There will be one day that you will be taken, while the other one will remain, you will be taken, you will be removed.’ It means going with the Lord, thinking that our life will end.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 17 November 2017 whoever-seeks-to-gain-his-life-today-the-church-the-lord-pope-francis-16-nov-2018 and 15 nov 2019.jpg

“It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8) … it is by the path of love - st albert the great 15 nov 2019

“We will not be proclaimed blessed on the altars in all probability but if we are faithful, in Heaven we will be proclaimed ‘blessed’ and that is enough for us. Let us try to merit this hour of eternal delights.” … Bl Mary of the Passion (1839-1904)

PRAYER – Lord God, You made St Albert great by his gift for reconciling human wisdom with divine faith. Help us so to follow his teaching that every advance in science may lead us to a deeper knowledge and love of You. May his prayers on our behalf be a succour to us all. We ask too for the intercession of the blessed Mary of the Passion that her zeal and perseverance may be the driving force of our lives. Through our Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen. st-albert-the-great-pray-for-usno 2 - 15 nov 2017

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, The HOLY SOULS

Thought for the Day – 2 November – Let us Die with Christ, to Live with Christ

Posted on November 2, 2019November 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 2 November – Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Let us Die with Christ, to Live with Christ

Saint Ambrose (340-397)
Bishop and Great Latin Father & Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his work, On the death of Satyrus (Saint Ambrose’s brother)

We see that death is gain, life is loss. Paul says – For me life is Christ and death a gain. What does “Christ” mean but to die in the body and receive the breath of life? Let us then die with Christ, to live with Christ. We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death. By this kind of detachment our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body. It must soar above earthly lusts to a place where they cannot come near, to hold it fast. It must take on the likeness of death, to avoid the punishment of death. The law of our fallen nature is at war with the law of our reason and subjects the law of reason to the law of error. What is the remedy? Who will set me free from this body of death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We have a doctor to heal us, let us use the remedy He prescribes. The remedy is the grace of Christ, the dead body our own. Let us then be exiles from our body, so as not to be exiles from Christ. Though we are still in the body, let us not give ourselves to the things of the body. We must not reject the natural rights of the body but we must desire before all else the gifts of grace.

What more need be said? It was by the death of one man that the world was redeemed. Christ did not need to die if He did not want to but He did not look on death as something to be despised, something to be avoided and He could have found no better means to save us, than by dying. Thus His death is life for all. We are sealed with the sign of His death, when we pray we preach His death, when we offer sacrifice we proclaim His death. His death is victory, His death is a sacred sign, each year His death is celebrated with solemnity by the whole world.

What more should we say about His death since we use this divine example, to prove, that it was death alone, that won freedom from death and death itsel,f was its own redeemer? Death is then no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind’s salvation. Death is not something to be avoided, for the Son of God did not think it beneath His dignity, nor did He seek to escape it.

Death was not part of nature, it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning, He prescribed it as a remedy. Human life was condemned because of sin to unremitting labour and unbearable sorrow and so began to experience the burden of wretchedness. There had to be a limit to its evil,; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing.

The soul has to turn away from the aimless paths of this life, from the defilement of an earthly body, it must reach out to those assemblies in heaven, (though it is given only to the saints to be admitted to them), to sing the praises of God. We learn from Scripture how God’s praise is sung to the music of the harp – Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God Almighty, just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not revere and glorify your nature? You alone are holy, all nations will come and worship before you. The soul must also desire to witness Your nuptials, Jesus and to see yYur bride escorted from earthly to heavenly realities, as all rejoice and sing – All flesh will come before you. No longer will the bride be held in subjection to this passing world but will be made one with the spirit.

Above all else, holy David prayed that he might see and gaze on this – One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I shall pray for, to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life and to see how gracious is the Lord.

Pray for the Holy Souls, that they may gaze on His Face!

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PURGATORY, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on PRAYER

Quote/s of the Day – 2 November – Death

Posted on November 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 2 November – Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

“When once you have departed this life,
there is no longer any place for repentance,
no way of making satisfaction.
Here life is either lost or kept.
Here, by the worship of God and by the fruit of faith,
provision is made for eternal salvation.
Let no-one be kept back, either by his sins,
or by his years, from coming to obtain salvation.
To him who still remains in this world
there is no repentance that is too late.”

St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258)
Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church

“Let us help and commemorate them.
If Job’s sons were purified
by their father’s sacrifice [Job 1:5],
why would we doubt,
that our offerings for the dead
bring them some consolation?
Let us not hesitate to help those
who have died and to offer
our prayers for them.”

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

“It is not Death that will come to fetch me,
it is the good God.
Death is no phantom, no horrible specter,
as presented in pictures.
In the catechism it is stated,
that death is the separation of soul and body, that is all!
Well, I am not afraid of a separation
which will unite me to the good God forever.”

St Therese of the Child Jesus/Lisieux (1873-1897)
Doctor of the Church

More here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/11/02/quote-s-of-the-day-2-november-the-commemoration-of-all-the-faithful-departed-all-souls/ it is not death that will come to fetch me - st therese of the child jesus 2 nov 2019.jpg

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One Minute Reflection – 2 November – ‘O my Lord, what a day, a long day without ending …’

Posted on November 2, 2019November 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 2 November – The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls), Gospel: John 6:37-40

‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ … John 6:34 john 6 34 - come o blessed of my father 2 nov 2019.jpg

REFLECTION – “Thomas came and touched Thy sacred wounds. O will the day ever come when I shall be allowed actually and visibly to kiss them? What a day will that be when I am thoroughly cleansed from all impurity and sin and am fit to draw near to my Incarnate God in His palace of light above! what a morning, when having done with all penal suffering, I see Thee for the first time with these very eyes of mine, I see Thy countenance, gaze upon Thy eyes and gracious lips without quailing and then kneel down with joy to kiss Thy feet and am welcomed into Thy arms.
O my only true Lover, the only Lover of my soul, Thee will I love now, that I may love Thee then. What a day, a long day without ending, the day of eternity, when I shall be so unlike what I am now, when I feel in myself a body of death and am perplexed and distracted with ten thousand thoughts, anyone of which, would keep me from heaven.
O my Lord, what a day when I shall have done once for all with all sins, venial as well as mortal and shall stand perfect and acceptable in Thy sight, able to bear Thy presence, nothing shrinking from Thy eye, not shrinking from the pure scrutiny of Angels and Archangels, when I stand in the midst and they around me!” … Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

PRAYER- Breviary Hymn – Psalter Week 3 – It were my Soul’s Desire

It were my soul’s desire
To see the face of God;
It were my soul’s desire
To rest in His abode.

Grant, Lord, my soul’s desire,
Deep waves of cleansing sighs;
Grant, Lord, my soul’s desire
From earthly cares to rise.

It were my soul’s desire
To imitate my King,
It were my soul’s desire
His ceaseless praise to sing.

It were my soul’s desire
When heaven’s gate is won
To find my soul’s desire
Clear shining like the sun.

This still my soul’s desire
Whatever life afford,
To gain my soul’s desire
And see Thy face, O Lord. it-were-my-souls-desire-breviary-hymn-sat-psalter-week-3-18-aug-2018 and 2 nov 2019.jpg

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One Minute Reflection – 1 November – ‘With all the Saints…’

Posted on November 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 1 November – The Solemnity of All the Saints, Gospel: Matthew 5:1–12

“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”…Matthew 5:12

REFLECTION – “But in the last day of the judgement of God, after we shall have risen again with our glorified bodies through the power of the Lord, these same shall be white and gleaming as snow shining clear in the sun, transparent as crystal… And Christ our cantor and precentor, shall sing with His glorious sweet voice, an endless canticle of the praise and honour of His heavenly Father and we shall all sing the same, with glad heart and clear voice, eternally and without end. The joy and glory of our souls, shall flow into our senses and through all our members and we shall look upon ourselves with eyes of glory, hearing and declaring and singing the praise of the Lord with unfailing voices.

Christ shall minister to us and show us His radiant Face and His glorious Body with all the marks of faithfulness and love therein impressed. And we shall see all the glorious bodies clothed with all the many tokens of love won in the service of God since the beginning of the world… And our living hearts shall flame with burning love for God and all His saints…

Christ in His human nature, shall rule the right-hand choir, for He is the loftiest and noblest being of all that has been made by God and to this choir belong all in whom He lives and who live in Him. The other choir is that of the angels, for although they are of a more excellent nature, we have a higher gift in Jesus Christ, with Whom we are one. And on that account, Christ Jesus will be the High Priest between the choirs of angels and of men before the throne of the sovereign majesty of God. And before His heavenly Father, God Almighty, He will offer and renew all sacrifices which have ever been offered by angels and by men and these same, shall be ceaselessly renewed and remain established in the glory of God.” … Blessed Jan van Ruusbroec (1293-1381) Canon Regular, “Doctor Divinus Ecstaticus” , Mystic, Spiritual Writer – The seven steps of the ladder of spiritual love

PRAYER – Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God, today we rejoice in the holy men and women of every time and place. May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love. Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, our trusted guide and loving mother and all you holy Saints of the Church Triumphant, pray for us! We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen. mother-mary-trusted-guide-pray-for-us-1-nov-2018and 2019

all saints in heaven pray for us 1 nov 2019.jpg

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One Minute Reflection – 25 October – ‘let us seize upon the grace that is by Christ’

Posted on October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 25 October – Friday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 12:54-59 and the Memorial of Bl Thaddeus McCarthy (c 1455–1492)

“As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge and the judge hand you over to the officer and the officer put you in prison.” … Luke 12:58

REFLECTION – “Now all of us, without exception, upon earth are guilty of offences, he who has a suit against us and accuses us, is the wicked Satan – for he is “the enemy and the exactor.” While, therefore, we are in the way, that is, ere yet we have arrived at the termination of our life here, let us deliver ourselves from him, let us do away with the offences of which we have been guilty, let us close his mouth, let us seize upon the grace that is by Christ, which frees us from all debt and penalty and delivers us from fear and torment, lest, if our impurity be not cleansed away, we be carried before the judge and given over to the exactors, that is, the tormentors, from whose cruelty no man can escape, yea, rather, who will exact vengeance for every fault, whether it be great or small.

Far removed from this danger are those who search for the time of Christ’s corning and are not ignorant of His mystery but well know that the Word, though He be God, has shone forth upon the inhabitants of earth in likeness as one of us, that freeing them from all blame, He may bless with exceeding happiness those who believe in Him and acknowledge Him as God and the Son of God, by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever, Amen” … St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444), Father & Doctor of the Church – Commentary on Luke (1859) Sermons 89-98. luke 12 58 now as you go with your accuser - now all of us are guilty - st cyril of alex 25 ocvt 2919

PRAYER – Lord God, You fill us with Your grace and teach us true faith. Strengthen in our hearts that faith that no trials may quench the fire, that we may seek Your face in every moment and accept AND LIVE all of Your will. Send us Your Spirit to keep the fire blazing. May the humble love and intercession of Mary Mother of our faith, be our succour and may Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy intercede for us on our pilgrim way. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen. bl thaddeus mccarthy pray for us 25 oct 2919

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Thought for the Day – 24 October – Save your soul – St Anthony Mary Claret

Posted on October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 24 October – The Memorial of St Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870)

Jesus foretold that those who are truly His representatives would suffer the same persecution as He did. Besides 14 attempts on his life, Anthony had to undergo such a barrage of the ugliest slander that the very name Claret became a byword for humiliation and misfortune. The powers of evil do not easily give up their prey. No-one needs to go looking for persecution. All we need to do is be sure we suffer because of our genuine faith in Christ, not for our own whims and lack of prudence. St Anthony pulled no punches but preached the Truth, fearless in the love of Christ and His Church, His Bride!

From the beginning Anthony wanted to be a priest. His seminary life was exemplary and he was ordained on 13 June 1835. He resolved never to waste a moment of time and during his 35 years as a priest he wrote 200 books and pamphlets and preached some 25,000 sermons.
On one trip, besides travelling, he preached 205 sermons in 48 days, 12 in one day. To make sure his efforts might be recognised for what they were, he started off by reminding his hearers that the ordinary motives for labour are money, pleasure or honour. But these were not his motives:

“… not money, for I do not want a penny from anybody… Nor do I preach for pleasure, for what pleasure can I possibly take in spending myself all day, in being fatigued from early morning until late at night?… I must be in the confessional most of the morning, the whole of the afternoon and in the evening, instead of resting, I have to preach. This is not just for a day, but… for months and years…

Perhaps I labour for honour… no, not for honour either… A preacher is exposed to many calumnies. If praised by one, he is misunderstood by another, treated as the Jews treated Jesus, Who was calumniated by maligners of His person, of His words and works, before they finally seized, scourged and killed Him by a most painful and shameful means. But like the apostle St Paul, I fear none of these things, since I value my soul more than my body. At any cost, I must discharge the ministry I have received from God Our Lord, which is to preach the Gospel… I have no worldly end in view but… that God may be known, loved and served by all the world… that sins and offences against Him may be hindered as much as possible…

Another thing that spurs me on, to preach ceaselessly, is the thought of the multitude of souls which fall in the depths of hell… Who die in mortal sin, condemned forever and ever… I see how many live habitually in mortal sin, so that never a day passes without increasing the number of their iniquities. They commit sin as easily as they drink a glass of water, just for diversion, or for a laugh. These unfortunate ones run to hell of their own accord, blind as bats… If you were to see a blind man about to fall into a pit or over a precipice, would you not warn him? Behold, I do the same and do it I must, for this is my duty… You may tell me that sinners will insult me, that I should leave them alone… Ah no, I can’t abandon them. They are my dear brothers. If you had a beloved brother who, sick and in the throes of delirium, were to insult you with all the angry words imaginable, would you abandon him? I am certain you wouldn’t. You would have even more compassion for him, do your utmost for his speedy recovery. This is how I feel in regard to sin ners. These poor souls are in a delirium and the more in need of our pity…

You may say the sinner doesn’t think of hell, nor even believe in it. So much the worse for him. Do you by chance think he will escape condemnation because of his unbelief? Truth is independent of belief… I must warn sinners and make them see the precipice which leads to the unquenchable fires of hell, for they will surely go there if they do not amend their ways. Woe to me if I do not preach and warn them, for I would be held responsible for their condemnation… How often I pray, with St Catherine of Siena – ‘O my God, grant me a place by the gates of hell, that I may stop those who enter there saying: Where are you going, unhappy one? Back, go back! Make a good confession. Save your soul. Don’t come here to be lost for all eternity!”

Further he boldly proclaimed – “The sole reason why society is perishing is because it has refused to hear the word of the Church, which is the word of life, the word of God. All plans for salvation will be sterile if the great word of the Catholic Church is not restored in all its fullness.”

His own words, are the best description for St Anthony’s life:

“A Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love, who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means possible to set the whole world on fire with God’s love. Nothing daunts him, he delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander and rejoices in suffering. His only concern is how he can best follow Jesus Christ and imitate Him in working, suffering and striving constantly and single-mindedly, for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls.”

St Anthony Mary Claret, Pray for the world, the Church, for us all, amen!

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on JUSTICE, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 October – ‘The requirement to live “underway.”

Posted on October 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 24 October – Wednesday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time Year C, Gospel: Luke 12:39-48 and The Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer

“Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required”…Luke 12:48 luke 12 48 - everyone to whom much is given - 23 oct 2019.jpg

REFLECTION – “In various ways the Gospel modifies the challenge to Christians to live in a constant state of departing.
The more richly God has endowed Christians with gifts and thereby with assignments, the more God varies the requirement to live “underway.”
God’s assignments are carried out best if His servant, never loses sight of the fact, that he might be called to account at any moment – in other words – if every temporal moment is lived and shaped directly in and toward the light of eternity. If he forgets this immediacy, he has forgotten the content of his earthly mission and the justice and righteousness it incorporates (“he begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants”). It now becomes clear, that this justice-righteousness, can only be retained if the believer looks beyond the world to the requirements of eternal justice-righteousness, which is not merely an “idea” but is the living Lord, for whose appearance, all of the world history waits!” … Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) luke 12 48 everyone to whom much is given - to live underway - hans urs von balthasar 23 oct 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help me to keep my death constantly before my eyes, for this is my final account. pray You for a holy life that my death may be holy and that I may come to You and live for all eternity with You. hen my hour is come, bid me come to You, Lord. ear the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, our Mother and your saints, who lived each moment of their lives for the glory of Your Kingdom. e ask this through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!

FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on PRAYER, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – ‘Eucharist’ – St Ignatius of Antioch

Posted on October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – The Memorial of St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107) Father of the Church, Martyr

“They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer
because they do not confess that the Eucharist
is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
flesh which suffered for our sins
and which that Father,
in His goodness, raised up again.
They who deny the gift of God
are perishing in their disputes.”

“Pray that we will remain faithful
to the teachings of the Risen Jesus.”

St Ignatius of Antioch

More here:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/10/17/quote-s-of-the-day-17-october-the-memorial-of-st-ignatius-of-antioch-c-35-107-father-of-the-church-martyr/ pray that we will re4main faithful - st ignatius of antioch 17 oct 2019.jpg

ADVENT, ArchAngels and Angels, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 29 September – Where are your ostentation and your luxury?

Posted on September 29, 2019September 28, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 29 September – Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 16:19–31 and The Feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ … Luke 16:24

St John Chrysostom explains the point of the parable, to his congregation, by having Abraham speak the following words about Lazarus, to the rich man.

“When you were living in your wealth, when you were free to see at your own will, you did not choose to see him. Why do you have such keen sight now? Was he not at your gate? How could you avoid seeing him? When he was near you, did you not see him and now, do you see him from a distance, even across such a chasm? … The man whom you passed by a thousand times, whom you did not want to see – now do you seek to have him sent to you for your salvation? …

And where are your cup bearers? … Where are your flatterers? Where is your vanity? Where is your presumption? Where is your buried gold? Where are your moth-eaten garments? Where is the silver which you valued so highly? Where are your ostentation and your luxury? They were leaves – winter seized them and they are all withered up. They were a dream – and when day came, the dream departed. They were a shadow – the truth came and the shadow fled away …

When we hear, let us be afraid, my beloved, lest we also see the poor and pass them by, lest instead of Lazarus there be many to accuse us hereafter.”

St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor

Sermon 6 on Lazarus and the Rich Man

Holy Archangels, Pray for Us!

PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, QUOTES on MISSION, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 28 September – ‘To die for the faith is a gift to some, to live the faith is a call for all.’

Posted on September 28, 2019September 28, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 28 September – The Memorial of St Lorenzo Ruiz (1600-1637) Martyr to die for the faith is a gift to some to live the faith is a call to all st john paul 28 sept 2019.jpg

Excerpt from the Beatification Homily of
St Pope John Paul
Wednesday, 18 February 1981

“The Lord Jesus by His blood truly redeemed His servants, gathered from every race, tongue, people and nation, to make them a royal priesthood for our God. The sixteen blessed martyrs, by the exercise of their priesthood—that of baptism or of Holy Orders—performed the greatest act of worship and love of God by the sacrifice of their blood united with Christ’s own Sacrifice of the Cross. In this way they imitated Christ the priest and victim in the most perfect way possible for human creatures. It was at the same time an act of the greatest possible love for their brethren, for whose sake we are all called to sacrifice ourselves, following the example of the Son of God who sacrificed Himself for us.

4. This is what Lorenzo Ruiz did. Guided by the Holy Spirit to an unexpected goal after an adventurous journey, he told the court that he was a Christian and must die for God and wοuld give his life for him a thousand times!

(Had I many thousands of lives I would offer them all for him.

Never shall I apostatise.

You may kill me if that is what you want. To die for God—such is my will.)

Here we have him summed up, here we have a description of his faith and the reason fοr his death. It was at this moment that this young father of a family, professed and brought to completion, the Christian catechesis that he had received in the Dominican Friars’ school in Binondo, a catechesis that cannot be other than Christ-centred, by reason both of the mystery it contains and the fact that it is Christ who teaches through the lips of His messenger.

5. The example of Lorenzo Ruiz, the son of a Chinese father and Tagala mother, reminds us that everyone’s life and the whole of one’s life must be at Christ’s disposal. Christianity means daily giving, in response to the gift of Christ who came into the world so that all might have life and have it to the full. Or, as so aptly expressed in the theme of my visit to this country – To die for the faith is a gift to some, to live the faith is a call for all.

Dearly beloved, amidst the efforts needed for our own Christian lives and for spreading the light of Christ throughout Asia and the whole world, let us look today to these zealous martyrs who give us deep assurance and fresh hope when they tell us – “In all this we are more than conquerors because of him who has loved us.” And this is the mystery we celebrate today – the love of Jesus Christ, who is the light of the world. Amen.”

St Lorenzo Ruiz, Pray for Us!

MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The TRANSFIGURATION

Quote/s of the Day – 17 September – St Zygmunt Felinski

Posted on September 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 17 September – Tuesday of the Twenty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of Saint Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski (1822-1895)

“The Church is
the greatest treasure,
the aim in my life,
my only love on the Earth.”

(1855)

“I trust in God
and wish nothing else
but His will.”

(1877)

“Blessed are those who will be found,
in their hour of trial
with Mary, under the cross.”

(1874)

“Internal peace is the most precious treasure
and the only gift that the Saviour promises
His disciples on the Earth.”

(1879)

“Let God’s Peace,
His grace and blessing
accompany you
in all places
and at all times.”

(1890)

Saint Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The LAST THINGS, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 31 August – Christ will Impose a Reckoning on me

Posted on August 31, 2019August 31, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 31 August – Saturday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 25:14–30

“And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness,

there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’” ... Matthew 25:30 matthew 25 30 and cast the worthless servant - 31 aug 2019.jpg

Christ will Impose a Reckoning on me

Saint Gertrude of Helfta “the Great” (1256-1301)

Benedictine nun
Exercises VII, SC 127

Behold, I become passionately alarmed by what I have committed, I blush very much at what I have omitted, I become exceedingly frightened at the wastefulness of my life. I fear, that future investigation, at which Christ, a noble man, will impose a reckoning on me. behold i become passionately - st gertrude the great - 31 aug 2019.jpg

If He wanted to exact a deposit from me for my time and interest from the talent of understanding He conferred on me, I would, in short, not find any worthy answer for Your charity. What will I do? Where will I turn? I lack the strength to dig, I should blush to beg. (Lk 16:3) O Loving-kindness. Loving-kindnes,. speak up now, may Your dulcet counsel, I entreat You, warm my spirit back to life. Ah, answer me – what does it seem to You I should do in this [situation), for according to Your name You have a truly loving and kind heart and You know best what may be expedient for me in all this. Ah, pardon me and bring me help and in this tribulation, do not be detached from me. Let the poverty of my spirit move You and, touched by the compassion of Your heart, say to me with loving-kindness: “May there be one purse for me and You.” (Prv 1:14)

O Loving-kindness, Loving-kindness, You have stored up with Yourself riches so immeasurable, that heaven and earth do not suffice to contain them. You have driven my Jesus to give His soul for my soul, His life for mine, so that You might make everything that was His, mine and thus, out of your abundance, this pauper’s substance might increase. Ah, call my starved soul to Your food supply, so that in this life, I may live from Your riches and, reared by You and nourished by You, may not grow faint under the discipline of the Lord until at length, under Your guidance, I turn back to my God and give my spirit back to Him who gave it. (Eccl 12:7)

Mater Misericordiae, Ora pro Nobis!

QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, SAINT of the DAY, The LAST THINGS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 31 August – An eye to our end

Posted on August 31, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 31 August – Saturday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 25:14–30 and the Memorial of Blessed Pere (Peter) Tarrés i Claret (1905-1950)

“His master said to him,
‘Well done, good and faithful servant,
you have been faithful over a little,
I will set you over much,
enter into the joy of your master.’ ”

Matthew 25:23

“Give me grace to amend my life
and to have an eye to mine end,
without grudge of death,
which to them that die in You,
good Lord,
is the gate of a wealthy life.”

St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr

“A single resolution, Lord, cost what it may”

(on the eve of his Ordination)

Blessed Pere (Peter) Tarrés i Claret (1905-1950)

JESUIT SJ, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 13 August – St John Berchmans

Posted on August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 August – Tuesday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C and the Memorial of St John Berchmans SJ (1599-1621)

“Our true worth,
does not consist, in what
human beings think of us.
What we really are,
consists, in what God
knows us to be.”

As he was dying, he pressed to his heart his Crucifix, his Rosary

and the Book of Rules, saying:

“These are my three treasures,
with these I shall gladly die.”

St John Berchmans (1599-1621)

QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on FREEDOM, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 12 August – From the Priest Ordained amidst the horrors of Dachau – A VICTOR IN CHAINS!

Posted on August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 12 August – The Memorial of Blessed Karl Marie Leisner (1915–1945) Priest, Martyr – Ordained in Dachau Concentration Camp

“Christ, You are my passion!”

“Christ, I give You my life
without reservation.
What You do with it,
You alone should determine.
Fiat!”

22 November 1939 christ you are my passion - bl karl leisner 12 aug 2019.jpg

“God, I thank You for the days of this
burdensome disease and yet again for
the days spent unfree and imprisoned.
Everything has its meaning.
You only want what is extremely good for me.
With my whole heart, I pray for all
who are not well disposed toward me
and ask You to forgive them.”

11 November 1939

“The days of exterior captivity are
magnificent days of becoming
interiorly free for God,
who alone is the shelter and
stronghold of freedom… “

17 November 1939

“On the feast of St Stephen,
I celebrated my First Holy Mass.
For the first time,
I offered the Holy Sacrifice for
everyone, on the altar in our Chapel here.
You were all with me in spirit…”

30 December 1944

His last diary entry reads:
Good night
eternal, holy God,
dear Mother
Thrice Admirable…
Bless, too, my
enemies, O Lord!!

25 July 1945 (he died on 12 August 1945)

Blessed Karl Marie Leisner (1915–1945) Priest, Martyr, Pray for Us!

VICTOR IN VINCULIS – A VICTOR IN CHAINS!

QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on SANCTITY, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 4 August – Where your treasure is….

Posted on August 4, 2019August 4, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 4 August – Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 12:13–21 and The Memorial of St John Vianney (1786-1859)

“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” … Luke 12:20-21

“Someone who works frenziedly on Sundays, thinking he is going to earn more money or get more done, is making a mistake in his calculations! Can two or three dollars ever compensate for the harm he does himself by violating the law of God?
You imagine everything depends on your work but then an illness, an accident…! It takes so little: a storm, hail, frost…
Do not work for food that perishes but for that which dwells in eternal life. What will you gain by having worked on Sunday? You leave the land just as it is when you depart, you do not carry anything away.
Our first aim is to go to God, we are not on earth for anything but this!
My brethren, we should die on Sundays and come back to life again on Mondays.
Sunday belongs to God – it is His day, the Day of the Lord.
He made all the days of the week and could have kept them all.
He has given you six of them and has only held back the seventh for himself!”

“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)

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on JOY, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 July – “Rise and walk”

Posted on July 4, 2019July 4, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 4 July – Thursday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 9:1–8

“Rise and walk”…Matthew 9:5

REFLECTION – “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also.” (Rom 8:11) Now it is a natural human body, then it will be a spiritual body. “Adam the first man, became a living soul, the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit.” (1 Cor 15:45) That is why He “will bring your mortal bodies to life… through His Spirit dwelling in you.”

Oh, what a happy Hallelujah we will sing then! What security! No more adversary, no more enemy, we won’t lose a single friend. Here below, we sing God’s praises in the midst of our worries, in heaven, we will sing them in perfect tranquillity. Here below, we sing them as people who have to die, in heaven, it will be in a life that never ends. Here below, in hope, in heaven, in the reality. Here below, we are travellers, then we shall be in our homeland. So let us begin singing already now, brothers, not in order to savour the rest but in order to alleviate our work. Let us sing like travellers. Sing but without ceasing to walk, sing to console yourself in the midst of fatigue… Sing and walk!

What does that mean, walk? Go forward, make progress in doing good… Go forward by walking towards the good, advance in faith and in the purity of your habits. Sing and walk! Don’t lose your way; don’t turn back, don’t stand still. Let us turn towards the Lord.”... St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor – Sermon 256 rise and walk matthew 9 5 - what does that mean walk - st augustine - 4 july 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Loving God and Father, we turn to You in praise and thanksgiving in good times, in trials and moments of sadness and happiness. May the prayers of Your angels and saints support our weak efforts, today especially we ask St Elizabeth of Portugal and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, to hear our pleas. By the great gift of Your love and mercy You dispel the darkness of sin and bring us to the true Light, Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

st elizabeth of portugal - pray for us - 4 july 2018

FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SAINT of the DAY, St JOHN the BAPTIST

Quote/s of the Day- 24 June – Love to the point of sacrifice

Posted on June 24, 2019June 24, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day- 24 June – The Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist Year C, Gospel: Luke 1:57–66 and the Memorial of St Maria Guadalupe García Zavala (1878-1963) “Mother Lupuita”

“The true secret of love consists in this:
we must forget self
like St John the Baptist
and exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus.”

St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)

“Look today to John the Baptist,
an enduring model of fidelity to God and His Law.
John prepared the way for Christ,
by the testimony of his word and his life.
Imitate him with docile and trusting generosity.”

St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)
(24 June 2001)

“With deep faith, unlimited hope
and great love for Christ, Mother “Lupita”
sought her own sanctification,
beginning with love for the Heart of Christ
and fidelity to the Church.
In this way she lived the motto
which she left to her daughters:
“Charity to the point of sacrifice
and perseverance until death”.

St Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

On the Beatification of
St Maria Guadalupe García Zavala (1878-1963)
“Mother Lupuita”

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 21 June – St Aloysius Gonzaga

Posted on June 21, 2019June 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 21 June – The Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)

“I am a piece of twisted iron,
I entered the religious life
to get twisted straight.”

“He who wishes to love God
does not truly love Him,
if he has not an ardent
and constant desire
to suffer for His sake.”

“Take care above all things,
most honoured lady,
not to insult God’s boundless loving kindness,
you would certainly do this,
if you mourned as dead,
one living face-to-face with God,
one whose prayers,
can bring you in your troubles,
more powerful aid,
than they ever could on earth.”

“When He takes away
what He once lent us,
His purpose is to
store our treasure elsewhere,
more safely and bestow on us,
those very blessings,
that we ourselves
would most choose to have.”

(From A Letter to His Mother)

More of this letter here: https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/21/quote-of-the-day-21-june-the-memorial-of-st-aloysius-de-gonzaga-s-j-1568-1591/

St Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591)

CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 May – “Our first aim is to go to God…”

Posted on May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 6 May – Monday of the Third week of Easter, Gospel: John 6:22–29

“Do not labour for the food which perishes but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you...”John 6:27

REFLECTION – “Someone who works frenziedly on Sundays, thinking he is going to earn more money or get more done, is making a mistake in his calculations! Can two or three dollars ever compensate for the harm he does himself by violating the law of God? You imagine everything depends on your work, but then an illness, an accident…! It takes so little: a storm, hail, frost… Do not work for food that perishes but for that which dwells in eternal life. What will you gain by having worked on Sunday? You leave the land just as it is when you depart; you do not carry anything away. Our first aim is to go to God, we are not on earth for anything but this! My brethren, we should die on Sundays and come back to life again on Mondays. Sunday belongs to God – it is His day, the Day of the Lord. He made all the days of the week and could have kept them all. He has given you six of them and has only held back the seventh for himself!”…St John Vianney (1786-1859)

PRAYER – King of heaven and earth, Lord God, rule over our hearts and bodies this day. Sanctify us and guide our every thought, word and deed, according to the commandments of Your law, so that now and forever, Your grace may free and save us. Let us walk in Your ways and be your lights and thus by our lives, help others to follow You. Grant that the prayers of our blessed Mother, the Mother of Jesus Your Son and St Francois Laval, who always lived for You alone, may help us, as we work through each day to reach our heavenly home. Through Jesus the Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.

st francois laval pray for us 6 may 2019.jpg

CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, SAINT of the DAY, The INCARNATION, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Thought for the Day – 2 May – On the Incarnation of the Word

Posted on May 2, 2019May 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 2 May – Thursday of the Second week of Easter, Gospel: John 3:31–36 and the Memorial of St Athanasius (297-373)

On the Incarnation of the Word

Saint Athanasius (297-373)
Bishop, Great Eastern Father & Doctor of the Church
Known as “The Father of Orthodoxy”

An excerpt from On the Incarnation of the Word

The Word of God, incorporeal, incorruptible and immaterial, entered our world. Yet it was not as if He had been remote from it up to that time. For there is no part of the world that was ever without His Presence; together with His Father, He continually filled all things and places.

Out of His loving-kindness for us, He came to us and we see this in the way He revealed Himself openly to us. Taking pity on mankind’s weakness and moved by our corruption, He could not stand aside and see death have the mastery over us, He did not want creation to perish and His Father’s work in fashioning man, to be in vain. He, therefore, took to Himself a body, no different from our own, for He did not wish simply to be in a body or only to be seen.

If He had wanted simply to be seen, He could indeed have taken another and nobler, body. Instead, He took our body in its reality.

Within the Virgin, He built himself a temple, that is, a body, He made it His own instrument in which to dwell and to reveal Himself. In this way, He received from mankind, a body like our own and, since all were subject to the corruption of death, He delivered this body over to death for all and with supreme love, offered it to the Father. He did so, to destroy the law of corruption, passed against all men, since all died in Him. The law, which had spent its force on the body of the Lord, could no longer have any power over His fellowmen. Moreover, this was the way in which the Word was to restore mankind to immortality, after it had fallen into corruption and summon it back, from death to life. He utterly destroyed the power death had against mankind—as fire consumes chaff—by means of the body He had taken and the grace of the Resurrection.

This is the reason why the Word assumed a body that could die, so that this body, sharing in the Word who is above all, might satisfy death’s requirement in place of all. Because of the Word dwelling in that body, it would remain incorruptible and all would be freed forever from corruption, by the grace of the Resurrection.

In death, the Word made a spotless sacrifice and oblation of the body He had taken. By dying for others, He immediately banished death for all mankind.

In this way the Word of God, who is above all, dedicated and offered His temple, the instrument that was His body, for us all, as He said and so paid, by His own death the debt that was owed. The immortal Son of God, united with all men by likeness of nature, thus fulfilled all justice, in restoring mankind to immortality, by the promise of the resurrection.

The corruption of death, no longer holds any power over mankind, thanks to the Word, who has come to dwell among them through His one body.

St Athanasius, Pray for Us!

LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, The LAST THINGS

Lenten Thoughts – 20 March – Each of us must enter on eternity

Posted on March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 20 March – Wednesday of the Second week of Lent, Year C

Each of us must enter on eternity

Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

“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 forever 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 prophesy smooth things to us and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults. each of us must come to theat quiet awful time - bl john henry newman wed 2nd week lent 20march2019.jpg

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.” we-can-believe-what-we-choose-bl-j-h-newman-14-march-2018.jpg

CARMELITES, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on VIOLENCE, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 16 March

Posted on March 16, 2019March 16, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 16 March – Saturday of the First week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 5:43–48

Blessed Titus Brandsma (1881-1942) Martyr

“But I say to you… pray for those who persecute you”

You have often heard it said that we are living through a marvellous time, a time of great men… It is easy to understand why people long for a strong and capable leader to arise… This kind of neo-paganism [Nazism] believes all nature to be an emanation of the divine…; it admires a race that is nobler and purer than any other… From this comes the cult of race and blood, the cult of its own people’s heroes.

By starting out from so mistaken an idea, this view of things can lead to capital errors. It is tragic to see how much enthusiasm, how many efforts are placed at the service of such an erroneous and baseless ideal! However, we can learn from our enemy. We can learn from his deceitful philosophy how to purify and improve our own ideal, we can learn how to develop great love for this ideal, how to arouse immense enthusiasm and even a readiness to live and die for it, how to strengthen our hearts to incarnate it in ourselves and in others…

When we talk about the coming of the Kingdom and pray for its coming, we are not thinking of a discrimination according to race or blood but of the brotherhood of all, for all men are our brothers – not excluding even those who hate and attack us – in a close bond with the One, who causes the sun to rise on the good and the bad alike (Mt 5:45). all men are our brothers - bl titus brandsma 1st sat lent 16 march 2019.jpg

Daily Meditation:
Turn our hearts to You.

The Saturdays of Lent have a grateful and uplifting tone to them.
Our lesson today reminds us of the covenant God made long ago:
you be My people
and I will be your God.

In the new covenant, without condition,
God is faithful to us, even if we are not.
Jesus calls us to a new way of being –
loving others as we have been loved –
which includes loving those who do not love us.
We are to be as pure in our love,
as God is pure in loving us.

You, therefore, must be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48 saturday of the first week of lent - 16 march 2019.jpg

Closing Prayer:

Loving God,
Sometimes my heart
turns in every direction
except towards You.
Please help me
to turn my heart toward You,
to gaze upon You in trust
and to seek Your kingdom with all of my heart.
Soften my hardened heart
so that I might love others
as a way to glorify and worship You.
Grant me this
with the ever-present guidance of Your spirit.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

Christ’s martyrs feared neither death nor pain. He triumphed in them who lived in them; and they, who lived not for themselves but for Him, found in death itself the way to life.”

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

CONFESSION/PENANCE, LENT 2019, NOVENAS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The WORD

Lenten Preparation Novena – Day Four – 28 February 2019 “Come Back to Me With all your Heart”

Posted on February 28, 2019February 28, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Preparation Novena – Day Four – 28 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 – Holy Saturday 20 April
Easter Sunday 21 April 2019

The salt of repentance

Following the Master, every Christian must renounce himself, take up his own cross and participate in the sufferings of Christ (Mt 16:24). Thus transformed into the image of Christ’s death, he is made capable of meditating on the glory of the resurrection. Furthermore, following the Master, he can no longer live for himself but must live for Him who loves him and gave Himself for him. He will also have to live for his brethren, completing “in his flesh that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ…for the benefit of his body, which is the church” (Ga 2:20; Col 1:24).

In addition, since the Church is closely linked to Christ, the penitence of the individual Christian also has an intimate relationship of its own, with the whole ecclesial community. In fact, not only does he receive in the bosom of the Church through baptism the fundamental gift of “metanoia,” namely the transformation and renewal of the whole person but this gift is restored and reinvigorated, in those members of the Body of Christ, who have fallen into sin, through the sacrament of penance. “Those who approach the sacrament of penance receive from the mercy of God forgiveness for offences committed against Him and at the same time become reconciled with the Church on which they have inflicted a wound by sinning and the Church, cooperates in their conversion, with charity, example and prayer” (Vatican II : LG 11). And in the Church, finally, the little acts of penitence imposed each time in the sacrament, become a form of participation, in a special way, in the infinite expiation of Christ.

St Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)

A Meditation for this ‘Prelude to Lent’

Reflection – “We cannot escape punishment, here or hereafter – we must take our choice, whether to suffer and mourn a little now, or much then.”

“And then, alas! the truth flashed upon him, he uttered a great and bitter cry, when it was too late. It would have been well, had he uttered it before he came for the blessing, not after it. He repented when it was too late—it had been well if he had repented in time. So I say of persons who have in any way sinned. It is good for them not to forget that they have sinned. It is good that they should lament and deplore their past sins. Depend upon it, they will wail over them in the next world, if they wail not here. Which is better, to utter a bitter cry now or then?—then, when the blessing of eternal life is refused them by the just Judge at the last day, or now, in order that they may gain it? Let us be wise enough to have our agony in this world, not in the next. If we humble ourselves now, God will pardon us then. We cannot escape punishment, here or hereafter – we must take our choice, whether to suffer and mourn a little now, or much then.”

Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Lenten Preparation Novena
DAY FOUR

Loving Father,
may I live this Lent
as an unceasing act of love for You.
Let me grow in understanding
of the riches hidden in Christ.
In my prayer,
grant me a spirit to see what must be done
and the strength to do what is right.
Make me radiant in Your presence
with the strength of my yearning for You.
By my fasting, fortify my resolve
to carry out Your loving commands.
Bless me with an increase in devoutness of life,
so that I may be found steadfast in faith.
And by my almsgiving, renew and purify my heart,
so that I may hold to the
things that eternally endure.
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)
Amen

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Matthew 5:11

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

Saint Lawrence (Died 258), Deacon and Martyr

Bl Jerzy Popiełuszko (1947-1984) Priest and Martyr

Matthew 10:32

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“Jesus remember me”

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“You have not only my forgiveness but my thanks.”

Blessed Miguel, Pray for Us!

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St Edmund Rich of Abingdon (1175 – 1240)

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Let us Die with Christ, to Live with Christ

Saint Ambrose (340-397) Bishop and Great Latin Father & Doctor of the Church

Pray for the Holy Souls, that they may gaze on His Face!

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St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church

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

St Therese of the Child Jesus/Lisieux (1873-1897) Doctor of the Church

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St Anthony Mary Claret, Pray for the world, the Church, for us all, amen!

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Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!

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St Ignatius of Antioch

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St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor

Holy Archangels, Pray for Us!

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Excerpt from the Beatification Homily of St Pope John Paul Wednesday, 18 February 1981

St Lorenzo Ruiz, Pray for Us!

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Saint Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski

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Christ will Impose a Reckoning on me

Saint Gertrude of Helfta “the Great” (1256-1301)

Mater Misericordiae, Ora pro Nobis!

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Matthew 25:23

St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr

Blessed Pere (Peter) Tarrés i Claret (1905-1950)

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St John Berchmans (1599-1621)

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Blessed Karl Marie Leisner (1915–1945) Priest, Martyr, Pray for Us!

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St John Vianney (1786-1859)

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St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)

St Pope John Paul (1920-2005) (24 June 2001)

St Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

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St Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591)

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On the Incarnation of the Word

Saint Athanasius (297-373) Bishop, Great Eastern Father & Doctor of the Church Known as “The Father of Orthodoxy”

An excerpt from On the Incarnation of the Word

St Athanasius, Pray for Us!

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Blessed Titus Brandsma (1881-1942) Martyr

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

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The salt of repentance

St Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)

Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

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Saint Ambrose (340-397)
Bishop and Great Latin Father & Doctor of the Church

St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258)
Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church

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

St Therese of the Child Jesus/Lisieux (1873-1897)
Doctor of the Church

Excerpt from the Beatification Homily of
St Pope John Paul
Wednesday, 18 February 1981

St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)
(24 June 2001)

Saint Athanasius (297-373)
Bishop, Great Eastern Father & Doctor of the Church
Known as “The Father of Orthodoxy”