Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, St JOHN the BAPTIST

Quote/s of the Day – 29 August – The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist –

Quote/s of the Day – 29 August – The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist – Jeremias 1:17-19, Mark 6:17-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Amen I say to you, there hath not risen
among them that are born of women,
a greater than John the Baptist.

Matthew 11:11

Why was John allowed to die?”
For what occurred was not a death
but a crown, not an end
but the beginning of a greater life.
Learn to think and live like a Christian.
You will not only remain unharmed
by these events
but will reap the greatest benefits.

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

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on TRUTH, QUOTES on WORRY/ANXIETY, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The LAST THINGS

Quote/s of the Day – 28 August – St Augustine

Quote/s of the Day – 28 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – The Feast of St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of Grace

Behold, thy mother
John 19:27

His Mother is the entire Church
because by God’s grace,
she brings forth the members of Jesus Christ,
that is to say, those who are faithful to Him.
His Mother is also every holy soul
who does the Will of His Father
and whose fruitful charity is made manifest
in those whom it brings forth for Him
until He Himself is formed in them
(Gal 4:19)…”

Be you then also ready,
for at what hour you think not,
the Son of man will come.

Luke 12:40

The more unsure the day of our death is,
the more painful are the trials of life and the more too,
we should fast and pray since,
to all intents and purposes, tomorrow we die.
Even now, the hope we thus put
in the One Who is faithful to His promise,
will not leave us without some joy,
until we are filled with overwhelming joy
on the day when “we shall be like Him
because we shall see Him as He is” (1Jn 3:2),
when “no-one shall take our joy away from us”

Give of your earthly goods
and receive eternal ones;
give earth and receive Heaven
!”

Judge your own conscience.
Demand an account from it.
Dig deep and rend it apart.
Discover all the evil thoughts
and intentions of the day …
and punish yourself for them
!”
(Expos in Ps 4 n 8).

To arrive at the knowledge of the Truth,
there are many paths – the first is humility,
the second is humility
and the third is humility!

Humility is a very strange entity.
The moment we think we have it,
we have already lost it
!”

Late Have I Loved Thee!
By St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

Late have I loved Thee,
Beauty ever ancient and ever new,
late have I loved Thee!
Lo, Thou were within
but I outside,
seeking there for Thee
and upon the shapely things
Thou hast made
I rushed headlong – I, misshapen.
Thou wast with me
but I was tnot with Thee.
They held me back far from Thee,
those things which would have no being,
were they not in Thee.
Thou called, shouted,
broke through my deafness.
Thou flared, blazed,
banished my blindness.
Thou lavished Thy fragrance,
I gasped
and now I pant for Thee.
I tasted Thee
and now I hunger and thirst.
Thou touched me
and I burned for Thy peace.
Amen

May we listen too, to the Voice of the Lord
which, from on high, exhorts and consoles us.
… For He has heard our groaning,
He has seen our sighs,
He has sounded the desires of our hearts for
“the one thing we ask” (v.4).
Thanks to Christ’s intercession,
He has favourably received our one prayer,
our one request.
And while we are completing our pilgrimage
in this world, even as the road is a long one,
He will not refuse what He has promised.
He says to us: “Hope in the Lord.”
He Who has promised is all powerful,
He is trustworthy, He is faithful.
… Therefore, do not let yourself be troubled.

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/08/28/quote-s-of-the-day-28-august-st-augustine-3/

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

Posted in ACT of ADORATION, ACT of CONTRITION, ACT OF FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY, ACT of LOVE, ACT of PERFECT CONTRITION, ACT of REPARATION, EVENING and NIGHT Prayers, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DEATH

Thought for the Day – 23 August – Evening Prayer

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

Evening Prayer

A page in the story of our lives is closed.
For all we know, it may be our last.
Sleep is a symbol of death.
How can we be certain that this night will not be our last?

A large number of people die during their sleep.
For this reason, our night prayers should include an Act of sincere and perfect Contrition for our sins, an Act of Love for God, our supreme benefactor and an Act of complete resignation to His Will.

When we are in bed, we should repeat the words of Jesus on the Cross, “Father, into Thy Hands, I commit my spirit” (Lk 23:46).
If this prayer is on our lips and in our heart, we can sleep in peace.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, DECEMBER - The DIVINE INFANCY and The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, IMMACULATE HEART PRAYERS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HOPE, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, The LAST THINGS

Our Morning Offering – 23 August – Hail Mary! Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Our Morning Offering – 23 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Our Lady’s Day

Hail Mary!
Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
By St John Eudes (1601-1680)
The Apostle of Two Hearts

Hail Mary! Mother of God the Son.
Hail Mary! Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary! Temple of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Hail Mary! Pure Lily of the Effulgent Trinity.
Hail Mary! Celestial Rose
of the Ineffable Love of God.
Hail Mary! Virgin pure and humble,
of whom the King of Heaven willed to be born
and, with thy milk to be nourished.
Hail Mary! Virgin of Virgins,
Hail Mary! Queen of Martyrs,
whose soul a sword transfixed.
Hail Mary! Lady most blessed!
unto whom all power in Heaven
and earth is given.
Hail Mary! My Queen and my Mother!
my Life, my Sweetness and my Hope,
Hail Mary! Mother Most Amiable,
Hail Mary! Mother of Divine Love,
Hail Mary! Immaculate!
Conceived Without Sin!
Hail Mary! Full of Grace!
The Lord is with Thee!
Blessed art thou among women!
And blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus!
Blessed be thy spouse, Saint Joseph,
Blessed be thy father, Saint Joachim,
Blessed be thy mother, Saint Anne,
Blessed be thy guardian, Saint John,
Blessed be thy holy Angel, Saint Gabriel,
Glory be to God the Father, Who chose thee,
Glory be to God the Son,
Who loved thee,
Glory be to God the Holy Spirit,
Who espoused thee. AMEN,

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on WATCHING, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 August – “Be you then also ready, for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come.” – Luke 12:40

One Minute Reflection – 19 August – “The Month of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary” – St John Eudes (1601-1680) Confessor, “The Apostle of Two Hearts” – Within the Assumption Octave – Sirach 31:8-11 – Luke 12:35-40 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Be you then also ready, for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come.” – Luke 12:40

REFLECTION – “Let our “loins be girded and our lamps lit”; let us be like “servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast” (Lk 12:35). Do not let us be like those unbelievers who say: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor 15:32). The more unsure the day of our death is, the more painful are the trials of life and the more too, we should fast and pray since, to all intents and purposes, tomorrow we die. Our Lord said to His disciples: “Yet a little while and you will no longer see Me and again, a little while and you will see Me” (Jn 16:16). Now is the time of which He said: “You will grieve but the world will rejoice” (v. 20); now is the time in this life of suffering when we journey apart from Him. “But,” He adds, “I shall see you again and your hearts will be full of joy and no-one will take your joy away from you” (v. 22).

Even now, the hope we thus put in the One Who is faithful to His promise, will not leave us without some joy, until we are filled with overwhelming joy on the day when “we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is” (1Jn 3:2), when “no-one shall take our joy away from us” … “A woman in labour,” says our Lord, “is in anguish because her hour has arrived. But when she has given birth to a child, she feels immense joy because a child has been born into the world” (Jn 16:21). This is the joy no-one can take away from us and with which we will be filled when we pass from our present understanding of faith into eternal Light. So let us fast and pray now because we are in the days of childbirth.” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace [Sermon 210, 5 (7)]

PRAYER – O God, Who wondrously enkindled St John, Thy Confessor, to promote the religious veneration of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and through him, willed to found new religious families in the Church, grant, we beseech Thee that we may honour his holy merits and may learn from the example of his virtues. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM

Our Morning Offering – 10 August – Holy Deacon Martyr, St Lawrence!

Our Morning Offering – 10 August – St Lawrence (Died 258) “Keeper of the Treasures of he Church,” Martyr, Archdeacon.

Holy Deacon Martyr, St Lawrence!
Unknown Author

Holy Deacon! by thy yearning
For the Martyr’s glorious crown;
By thy tortures, by thy burning,
By thy death of bright renown;
When the world and flesh and devil
Tempt our souls to sin and evil,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!

By the love that thou didst ever
To thy Pontiff-Father bear,
Pray that no base act may sever
Us from Peter’s loving care!
But when men would once more lead us
Into bonds from which Christ freed us,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!

By the Pontiff’s words of warning,
Bidding all thy sorrows cease,
Words foretelling bitter mourning
Leading unto lasting peace!
That to Jesus in our sadness
We may look for help and gladness,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!

By thy love, which knew no measure,
For the needy and the old,
Giving them the Church’s treasure
Dearer they than gems and gold!
Teaching us that alms well given
Are but treasures stored in Heaven,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!

By thy fervent love for Jesus,
By thy strong and constant faith,
Of our sinful burdens ease us!
Help us at the hour of death!
When the fears of death confound us
When the cleansing fires surround us!
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!

Posted in DYING / LAST WORDS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of PETITION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, The LAST THINGS, The SIGN of the CROSS

Our Morning Offering – 9 August – O Thou, Most Holy Virgin Mary (Pray for Me in All My Necessities) By St John Vianney

Our Morning Offering – 9 August – “The Month of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary” – St Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859) Confessor

O Thou, Most Holy Virgin Mary
(Pray for Me in All My Necessities)
By St John Vianney (1786-1859)

O thou, Most Holy Virgin Mary,
who dost evermore stand
before the Most Holy Trinity
and to whom it is granted, at all times
to pray for us to thy Most Beloved Son;
pray for me in all my necessities;
help me, combat for me
and obtain for me,
the pardon of all my sins.
Help me especially at my last hour
and when I can no longer give
any sign of the use of reason,
then do thou encourage me,
make the Sign of the Cross for me
and fight for me against the enemy.
Make in my name, a profession of faith;
favour me with a testimony of my salvation
and never let me despair of the mercy of God.
Help me to overthrow the wicked enemy.
When I can no longer say:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
I place my soul in Thy hands,”

do thou say it for me;
when I can no longer hear
human words of consolation,
do thou comfort me.
Leave me not before I have been judged
and if I have to expiate my sins in Purgatory,
Oh! pray for me earnestly
and admonish my friends,
to procure for me a speedy enjoyment
of the Blessed Sight of God.
Lessen my sufferings,
deliver me speedily and lead my soul
into Heaven with thee
that, united with all the elect,
I may there bless and praise my God
and thee, for all eternity.
Amen.

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, MARIAN PRAYERS, ON the SAINTS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Quote on SELF-ABANDONMENT, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on SACRILEGE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, St Alphonsus de Liguori,, St JOSEPH

Quote/s of the Day – 2 August – St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Quote/s of the Day – 2 August – St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

He loves you as though He had
no-one else to love but you alone.
You, too, should love Him alone
and all others for His Sake.
Of Him you may say and, indeed, you should say:
My Beloved to me and I to Him (Cant, 2:16).
My God has given Himself all to me
and I give myself all to Him;
He has chosen me for His beloved
and I choose Him, above all others,
for my only Love.”

Sacrilegious tongues blaspheme the God
Who preserves their existence!
… you should be damned forever
and, instead of thanking Him for His goodness,
you, at the very time
that He bestows His favours upon you,
YOU blaspheme His Holy Name
!”

Let us read the lives of the Saints;
let us consider the penances
which they performed
and blush to be so effeminate
and so fearful of mortifying our flesh.

Since we all must die,
we should cherish a special devotion to St Joseph
that he may obtain for us a happy death.”

Jesus, My Saviour, Help Me!
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

Jesus, my Saviour, help me!
I am resolved truly to love Thee
and to leave all, to please Thee.
Help me to free myself
from everything which hinders me
from belonging wholly to Thee,
Who has loved me so much.
By thy prayers, O Mother Mary,
which are so powerful with God,
obtain for me this grace,
to belong wholly to God.
Amen

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/08/02/quote-s-of-the-day-2-august-st-alphonsus-maria-de-liguori-2/

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, GOD ALONE!, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, Our MORNING Offering, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The HEART, The WILL of GOD

Our Morning Offering – 29 July – O Good Jesus, Make Me Live in Thee and for Thee

Our Morning Offering – 29 July – “The Month of the Most Precious Blood”

O Good Jesus, Make Me
Live in Thee and for Thee
By Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922)

O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
O fount of every good!
I adore Thee, I love Thee
and sincerely repenting of my sins
I present to Thee my poor heart.
Give it back to me
humble, patient,
pure and in everything,
conformed to Thy wishes.
Make me, O good Jesus,
live in Thee and for Thee.
Protect me in dangers,
comfort me in afflictions,
grant me health of body,
succour in my temporal needs,
Thy blessing in all my works
and the grace of a holy death.
Amen

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, DYING / LAST WORDS, ON the SAINTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, SAINT of the DAY, St Alphonsus de Liguori,

Quote/s of the Day – 9 July – St John Fisher and St Thomas More – Martyrs

Quote/s of the Day – 9 July – St John Fisher (1469-1535) Bishop, Martyr, Cardinal – St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr, Confessor

St John Fisher (1469-1535)
Bishop, Martyr, Cardinal

Death to the Saints is not a punishment but a reward.
“For so He giveth His beloved sleep.” (Ps cxxvii: 3).
The death of him, who loves God,
is not called death but sleep, so he can truly say:
“I will lay me down in peace
and take my rest.
” (Ps iv: 9).

Cardinal St Fisher, as Saunders relates,
when about to die for the Faith,
put on the best clothes he had, saying, he was going to a wedding.
When he came in sight of the scaffold
he cast away his staff, saying:
“Make haste my feet, make haste, for we are not far from Paradise.”
And before dying he sang Te Deum,
in returning thanks to God, Who had allowed him
to die a Martyr’s death, for the holy Faith
and thus being filled with joy,
he placed his head under the axe.

St John Fisher (1469-1535)
Bishop, Martyr, Cardinal

Help me, Most Loving Father,
help me with Thy mighty grace.
Succour me with Thy most gracious favour.
Rescue me from these manifold perils in which I am,
for unless Thou wil relieve me, of thy Infinite Goodness,
I am but as a lost creature.

(From the Prayer in the Tower)

“Penance is a needful thing to the sinner,
who desires to recover health of his soul.
And, in doing penance, there be three things
to be considered:
serious compunction of heart,
confession of mouth
and satisfaction by deed.”

penance is a needful thing to the sinner - st john fisher 22 june 2020

St Thomas More (1478-1535)
Martyr, Confessor

For those whom He Loved,
He Loved unto the end and this He wished,
they too should do. He was not
an inconstant Lover Who does as many do,
Love for a while and then, upon some light occasion,
leave His Love and turn from being a friend to an enemy,
as the false traitor, Judas did.
But He, still so persevered in Love
unto the very end, so that, for very Love,
He came to that painful end and that,
not only for His friends who were already His
but too, for His enemies, to make them His friends
and not for His benefit but only for their own!

Those in the Catholic Church,
whom some rebuke for praying to Saints
and going on pilgrimages,
do not seek any Saint as their saviour.
Instead, they seek Saints,
as those whom their Saviour loves
and whose intercession and prayer,
for the seeker, He will be content to hear.
For His Own sake,
He would have those He loves, honoured.
And when they are thus honoured for His sake,
then, the honour that is given them, for His sake,
overflows especially to Himself.

O Lord, Grant Us …
A Prayer of Petitio
By St Thomas More (1478-1535)

O Lord, grant us a mind
which is humble,
quiet, peaceaable,
patient and charitable
and a taste of Thy Holy Ghost,
in all our thoughts, words and deeds.

O Lord, grant us a lively faith,
a firm hope, a fervent charity,
a love of Thee.

Take from us all lukewarmness
in meditation
and all dullness in prayer.
Give us fervour and delight
in thinking of Thee,
Thy grace and Thy tender
compassion toward us.

Grant us, good Lord,
the grace to work
for the things we pray for.
Amen.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, Quotes on SALVATION, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 May – ‘ … Is this not an entire world which is begun for your sake …’

One Minute Reflection – 11 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Easter III – Within the OIctave of St Joseph – 1 Peter 2:11-19 – John 16:16-22 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

A little while and you shall not see Me and again, a little while and you shall see Me …” – John 16:17

REFLECTION – “Now the reign of life has come and the power of death overturned. Another birth has appeare, together with another life, another way of being, a transformation of our very nature. This birth is not the result of “the will of man, nor the desire of the flesh but of God” (Jn 1:13)…

This is the day the Lord has made!” (Ps 117:24). It is a very different day from those in the beginning because, on this day, God creates a new heaven and a new earth, as the Prophet says (Is 65:17). Which heaven? The firmament of faith in Christ. Which earth? A true heart, as the Lord says, earth which is saturated with the rain which falls on it and brings forth an abundant harvest (Lk 8:15). In this creation the sun equals the pure life; the stars are the virtues; the air is transparent behaviour; the sea is the rich depths of wisdom and knowledge; the grass and herbage are God’s solid doctrine and teachings where the flock – that is, the people of God – finds pasture; the fruit-bearing trees are the practice of the commandments. On this day true man was created, made in the image and likeness of God (Gn 1,27).

Is this not an entire world which is begun for your sake in “the day the Lord has made” … The greatest privilege of this day of grace is that, it has destroyed the sufferings of death and given birth to the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18)… He Who says: “I am going to your Father and to My Father, to My God and to your God” (Jn 20:17). O what excellent, what good news! He Who, for our sakes became like us, to make us His brothers, carries His Own humanity to the Father so as to bear all humankind along with Him!” – St Gregory of Nyssa (c335-c395) Bishop, Brother of St Basil the Great, Father & Doctor of the Church (First address on the Resurrection ).

PRAYER – God, Who in Thine unspeakable foreknowledge didst choose Thy blessed servant Joseph to be the husband of Thine Own most holy Mother; mercifully grant that now he is in Heaven with Thee, we who on earth do reverence him for our Defender, may worthily be helped by the succour of his prayers to Thee on our behalf. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in ABOUT - Meditations with Fr RICHARD F CLARKE SJ, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARCH the month of ST JOSEPH, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on DEATH, St JOSEPH, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE

Quote/s of the Day – 7 May – The Solemnity of the Patronage of St Joseph

Quote/s of the Day – 7 May – The Solemnity of the Patronage of St Joseph

The Almighty has concentrated in St Joseph,
as in a sun of unrivalled lustre,
the combined light and splendour
of all the other Saints.

St Gregory Nanzianzen (330-390)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Since we all must die,
we should cherish a special devotion to St Joseph
that he may obtain for us a happy death.

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

St Joseph is also the protector of all his clients.
In their temporal affairs how trusty a friend,
saving them in circumstances apparently hopeless!
In spiritual necessities how prompt to aid,
how unfailing in resource!
Oh, trust in St Joseph, wait patiently for him
and he will obtain for thee
the desires of thy heart
.”

Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Posted in APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 19 April – He is not here, for He is risen, as He said.” – Matthew 28:5-6

One Minute Reflection – 19 April – Holy Saturday – The Lord’s Vigil Mass of Easter, Blessing of the Fire, Prophecies, Blessing of the Font, First Mass of Easter – Matthew 28,1-7 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

And the Angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you, for I know that you seek Jesus Who was Crucified, He is not here, for He is risen, as He said.” – Matthew 28:5-6

REFLECTION – “Every vigil, celebrated in the Lord’s honour, is pleasing to God and acceptable to Him but this particular Vigil more than all the rest. That is why this night, in particular, holds the title “The Lord’s Vigil.” Indeed, what we read is: “All the Israelites must keep a vigil for the Lord” (Ex 12:42). And this night, well merits the title, since the Lord awoke in life that we might not remain asleep in death. For He suffered death’s sleep for our sakes, in the Mystery of His Passion, yet this sleep of the Lord, has become the Vigil of the whole world because, the Death of Christ, has removed from us, the sleep of eternal death. He Himself says it through the Prophet: “I lie down in sleep, I wake again and My sleep was sweet to me” (Ps 3:6; Jer 31:26). This sleep of Christ which we have called to mind, from the bitterness of Death to the sweetness of Life, cannot be anything but sweet.

Solomon wrote: “I sleep but my heart is awake” (Sg 5:2). These words seemingly show the Mystery of the Divinity and Flesh of the Lord. He slept according to the flesh but His Divinity kept watch, since the Divinity cannot sleep… “He neither slumbers nor sleeps, the Guardian of Israel” (Ps 120:4)… He slept according to the flesh but His Divinity visited hell in order to draw out the man whom it had held captive. Our Lord and Saviour desired to enter into every place to have mercy on everyone. He came down from Heaven to the earth to visit the world and again, He descended from earth to hell, to carry light to those held captive there, as spoken by the Prophet: “Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom, a light has shone” (Is 9:1).

Hence Angels in Heaven, men on earth and the souls of the faithful in the dwelling place of the dead, celebrate this Vigil of the Lord… If one sinner’s repentance, as the Gospel says, gives joy to the Angels in Heaven, (Lk 15:7.10) how much more, the Redemption of the whole world?… And so, this Vigil is not just a feast for men and Angels but also for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit because the world’s Salvation is the Trinity’s happiness!” – St Chromatius of Aquilaea (Died c407) Bishop and Father of the Church (1st Sermon for the Paschal Vigil).

PRAYER – O God, Who dost illuminate this most holy night by the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, preserve in the new children of Thy family, the spirit of adoption which Thou hast given, that renewed in body and mind, they may render to Thee a pure service. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, MIRACLES, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on SACRILEGE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, St Alphonsus de Liguori,, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY NAME, The INCARNATION, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 16 April – “Jesus remember me” Luke 23:42

Quote/s of the Day – 16 April – Spy Wednesday in Holy Week – Isaias 53:1-12, Luke 22:39-71; 23:1-53

Jesus remember me

Luke 23:42

Blessed are those who have not seen
and have believed.

John 20:29

Blessed, therefore, is everyone
who believes the message
of the holy Apostles who, as Saint Luke says,
were eyewitnesses of Christ’s actions
and “ministers of the word”
(Lk 1,2).”

St Cyril of Alexandria (380-444)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Because it is not by raising a dead man,
commanding the sea and wind,
or casting out demons that He is able
to change the thief’s sinful soul
but, by being Crucified,
pinned down by nails,
covered with insults, spitting, mockery and torture,
so that you might see the two sides
of His Sovereign Power.
He shook all creation,
split the rocks (Mt 27:51)
and drew to Himself the brigand’s soul,
hard as stone, to cover it with honour…

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

“… He effected a wonderful exchange with us,
through mutual sharing –
we gave Him the power to die,
He will give us the power to Live
!”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

Sacrilegious tongues blaspheme the God
Who preserves their existence!
… you should be damned forever
and, instead of thanking Him for His goodness,
you, at the very time
that He bestows His favours upon you,
YOU blaspheme His Holy Name!

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DYING / LAST WORDS, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, Our MORNING Offering, POETRY, PRAYERS on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Our Morning Offering – 16 April – In Thine Hour of Holy Sadness

Our Morning Offering – 16 April – “Spy” Wednesday in Holy Week

In Thine Hour of Holy Sadness
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Father & Doctor of the Church

In Thine hour of holy sadness
could I share with Thee, what gladness
should Thine Cross to me be showing.
Gladness past all thought of knowing,
bowed beneath Thine Cross to die!
Blessed Jesus, thanks I render
that in bitter death, so tender,
Thou now hear Thy supplicant calling,
Save me Lord!
and keep from falling, from Thee,
when my hour is nigh.
Amen.

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, HOLY WEEK, HYMNS, LENT- 2025, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on DEATH

Our Morning Offering – 13 April – To Thee, O Jesus, Hosanna! By St Bonaventure

Our Morning Offering – 13 April – Palm Sunday

To Thee, O Jesus, Hosanna!
By St Bonaventure (1217-1274)

Seraphic Doctor of the Church

To Thee, O Jesus,
do I turn, as my true and last end.
Thou art the River of Life
which alone can satisfy my thirst.
Without Thee, all else is barren and void.
Without all else, Thou alone art enough for me.
Thou art the Redeemer of those who are lost,
the sweet Consoler of the sorrowful,
the Crown of Glory of the victors,
the recompense of the Blessed.
One day I hope to receive of Thy Fullness
and to sing the song of praise, in my true home.
Give me only on earth, some few drops of consolation
and I will patiently await Thy Coming,
when I hope to enter into the joy of my Lord.
Hosanna!

Posted in QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on MEEKNESS, QUOTES on PHYSICAL SICKNESS, ILLNESS, QUOTES on SUFFERING, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 12 April – The Good Thief

Lenten Meditations – 12 April – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Saturday after the Fifth Sunday in Lent
The Good Thief

Read St Luke xxii:39-43

[39] And one of those robbers, who was hanged, blasphemed Him, saying: If thou be Christ, save Thyself and us. [40] But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art condemned under the same condemnation?
[41] And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this Man hath done no evil. [42] And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy Kingdom. [43] And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. [Luke 23:39-43]

+I. Among those who mocked and derided Jesus were the two thieves crucified with Him.
But very soon, His unspeakable gentleness and meekness, touched the heart of one of the two.
Firstly. he ceased his words of insult, then, he boldly reproved his companion and bore testimony to the innocence of Jesus and to His authority as King and Lord. What a Divine power there is in weakness!
The sight of the uncomplaining patience of Christ, convinced this robber that He was King of all the earth and, He, Who was now dying on the Cross, would soon reign forever and ever.
Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy Kingdom.

+2. Remember me! This was his simple prayer.
But we know that it was enough. If Christ remembers us, all will be well! That which we have to dread, is lest He forgets us by reason of our having forgotten Him!
This prayer should often be on our lips :
“O Lord , remember me! In the hour of temptation, remember me! When sorrow bears painfully upon me, remember me!
In sickness and in my last agony, O Lord, remember me!

+3. Our Lord answers the gocd thief’s prayer with Divine generosity. All his sins are forgiven him and as soon as his agony is over, he is to be received into the company of the blest and to be with Christ in Paradise.
What a rich reward for his confession of Christ!
With what a glorious answer to his prayer, will Christ remember him!

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CHRISTMASTIDE!, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on WEALTH/RICHES, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The NATIVITY of JESUS

Quote/s of the Day – 11 April – St Leo I, the Great (c400-461) Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church

Quote/s of the Day – 11 April – St Leo I, the Great (c400-461) Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church

Grant to Us, O Lord
By St Leo I, the Great (c400-461)
Pope, Confessor,
Father and Doctor of the Church

Grant to us, O Lord,
not to mind
earthly things
but rather, to love
heavenly things
that while, all things
around us pass away,
we may even now,
hold fast to those things
which last forever.
Amen

Our Saviour, dearly beloved,
is born today;
let us rejoice!
It is not right to be sad today,
the natal day of Life –
He Who has dispelled the fear of mortality
and brought us to the joy of promised eternity.
Let no man be cut off from a share in this rejoicing.
The cause of our joy is common to every man
because, our Lord, the destroyer of sin and death,
Who finds none guiltless, Comes to free all.
Let the holy exult, he draws near his palm;
let the sinner rejoice, he is invited to pardon;
let the Gentile be quickened, he is called to Life!

The obedience of the Star
calls us to imitate its humble service:
to be servants, as best we can,
of the grace which invites all men
to find Christ.

No-one, however weak, is denied
a share in the victory of the Cross.
No-one is beyond the help
of the prayer of Christ.

What is a man’s treasure
but the heaping up of profits
and the fruit of his toil?
For, whatever a man sows,
this too will he reap and each man’s gain,
matches his toil and where delight
and enjoyment are found,
there the heart’s desire is attached.
Now, there are many kinds of wealth
and a variety of grounds for rejoicing –
every man’s treasure is that, which he desires.
If it is based on earthly ambitions,
its acquisition makes men not blessed but wretched.
… By distributing what might be superfluous
to support the poor, they are amassing
imperishable riches, so that what they have
discreetly given, cannot be subject to loss.
They have properly placed those riches,
where their heart is – it is a most blessed thing,
to work to increase such riches,
rather than to fear that they may pass away.

St Pope Leo the Great (400-461)
ather and Doctor of the Church

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/04/11/quote-s-of-the-day-11-april-st-pope-leo-the-great/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, Prayers to the SORROWFUL MOTHER, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Our Morning Offering – 11 April – O Mother of Sorrows ,Stand by Me in My Last Agony

Our Morning Offering – 11 April – Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady of Sorrows

O Mother of Sorrows,
Stand by Me in My Last Agony
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

O Mother of Sorrows,
by the anguish and love
with which thou didst stand
at the Cross of Jesus,
stand by me in my last agony.
To thy maternal heart
I commend the last three hours of my life.
Offer these hours to the Eternal Father
in union with the agony of our dearest Lord,
in atonement for my sins.
Offer to the Eternal Father
the Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
mingled with your tears on Calvary,
that I may obtain the grace
of receiving Holy Communion
with the most perfect love and contrition,
before my death
and that I may breathe forth my soul
in the adorable Presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother, when the moment
of my death has at last come,
present me as your child to Jesus.
Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him,
for I knew not what I did!
Beg Him to receive me into His Kingdom of Glory
to be united with Him forever.
Amen

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 8 April – “The world … hates Me … John 7:7

Quote/s of the Day – 8 April – Tuesday in Passion Week – Ferial Day – Daniel 14:27-42 – John 7:1-13 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

The world … hates Me
because I bear witness concerning it,
that its works are evil.

John 7:7

“… THE WORLD HATES Christians,
so why give your love to it,
instead of following Christ,
Who loves you and has redeemed you?
A man cannot love the Father
and love the world at the same time.
All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition.
The world and its allurements will pass away
but the man who has done the will of God
shall live forever.
Our part, my dear brothers,
is to be single-minded, firm in faith
and steadfast in courage, ready for God’s will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death
and think of the eternal life which follows it.
That will show people that we really live our faith
.”

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

(An excerpt from On Man’s Mortality).

Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in Heaven.

Matthew 5:12

Rejoice, ardent travellers,
at undergoing exile and maltreatment
in a foreign land in the name
of the commandment of God!
Rejoice, you who are last in this world
but lords of blessings
which exceed our understanding (cf Phil 4:7).
Yet a little while and we shall have vanquished.
And blessed shall we be;
blessed also, it shall be said,
are the places, family and countries
which have borne you
(cf Lk 11:27-28)
.”

St Theodore the Studite (759-826)

Posted in DYING / LAST WORDS, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on DEATH, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 7 April – Blessed Ralph Ashley (Died 1607) SJ Lay Brother, Martyr.

Saint of the Day – 7 April – Blessed Ralph Ashley (Died 1607) SJ Lay Brother, Martyr. Unknown birth date or place but in England and died on 7 April 1607 by being hung, drawn and quartered in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. He was Beatified on 15 December 1929by Pope Pius XI. Also known as – Ralph Sherington, George Chambers.

Ralph Ashley is first recorded working as a cook at the College in Douai in France. On 28 April 1590, he left for the English College, Valladolid, in Spain and became a Jesuit Lay-brother.

In 1598, Ralph returned to England to serve Blessed Father Edward Oldcorne SJ. Eight years later in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, he and Fr Oldcorne were arrested at Hindlip Hall near Worcester and committed to the Tower of London.

Ralph patiently and constantly endured all the tortures inflicted on him without revealing any person or place of his master’s acquaintances. They were both remanded and tried for treasonin Worcester, condemned and executed on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill, Worcester.

When Ashley came to die he prayed and asked for forgiveness and noted that like Oldcorne, he was dying for his religion and not for being a traitor.

Prior to his execution, his last words were:
What a happy man am I, to follow the steps of my Father unto death.
Ralph Ashley was Beatified in 1929 with Fr Oldcorne..

Posted in LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OUR Cross, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 6 April – THE CRUCIFIX

Thought for the Day – 6 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

THE CRUCIFIX

Let us weep for our sins and increase in love for our Divine Redeemer.
When we are oppressed by the weight of our own cross, we shall look at the Crucifix and find comfort.
When we are tempted, we shall grasp the Crucifix and turn away with horror from thoughts of sin and ingratitude.

The Crucifix will teach us, as it taught the Saints, the lesson of charity towards God and towards our neighbour.
It will teach us to hate sin and to love virtue.
If we cherish it during life, it will be our consolation to kiss the Crucifix at the moment of death.

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/08/04/thought-for-the-day-4-august-the-crucifix/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/09/25/thought-for-the-day-25-september-the-crucifix/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TIME, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, St Francis de Sales

Quote/s of the Day – 6 April – How to escape death …

Quote/s of the Day – 6 April – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Amen, amen, I say to you,
if anyone keep My word,
he will never see death
.”

John 8:51

Your purity of life, your devotion,
deserve and call for a reward
because you are acceptable
and pleasing to God.
Your purity of life must be made purer still,
by frequent buffetings,
until you attain perfect sincerity of heart.
If, from time to time, you feel the sword
falling upon you with double or treble force,
this also should be seen as sheer joy
and the mark of love!

St Raymond of Peñafort (1175-1275)

We must live a dying life
and we must die a living death
in the life of our Lord
.”
(The Spirit of St. François de Sales, XV, 6 )

Unhappy is death,
without the love of Christ;
unhappy is love,
without the Death of Christ
!”

(Treatise on the Love of God,
Book 12, Chapter 13)

We are dying,
little by little;
so, we are to make
our imperfections die
with us, day by day. 

(Letters to Persons in the World I:5)

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

Consider the shortness of time,
the length of eternity
and reflect, how everything here below
comes to an end and passes by.
Of what use is it then, to lean upon that
which cannot give support
?”

St Gerard Majella (1726-1755)

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Of a Holy DEATH & AGAINST A SUDDEN DEATH, of the DYING, FINAL PERSEVERANCE, DEATH of CHILDREN, DEATH of PARENTS, ON the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHASTITY, QUOTES on DEATH, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, St Francis de Sales, St JOSEPH

Quote/s of the Day – 31 March – St Joseph!

Quote/s of the Day – 31 March – Goodbye to “The Month of Saint Joseph”

The Almighty has concentrated in St Joseph,
as in a sun of unrivalled lustre,
the combined light and splendour
of all the other Saints.

St Gregory Nanzianzen (330-390)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Both Mary and Joseph had made a vow
to remain virgins all the days of their lives
and God, wished them to be united
in the bonds of marriage,
not because they repented of the vow already made
but, to be confirmed in it and,
to encourage each other to continue
in this holy relation.

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctorof Charity of the Church

Since we all must die,
we should cherish a special devotion to St. Joseph
that he may obtain for us a happy death.

St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

Go to Joseph!
Have recourse with special confidence to St Joseph,
for his protection is most powerful,
as he is the Patron of the Universal Church.

Pope Pius IX (1792-1878)

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, Holy Family PRAYERS, In the PRESENCE of GOD, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, Meditations on ST JOSEPH, PARTIAL Indulgence, QUOTES on DEATH, St JOSEPH

Thought for the Day – 29 March – St Joseph’s Happy Death

Thought for the Day – 29 March – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

“Short Meditations for March, St Joseph”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

29th Day – St Joseph’s Happy Death

+1. Never, to any of the children of men, did death come so bereft of its terrors, as to St Joseph. One who had lived so continually in the Presence of his God, had no cause to fear it. One whose thoughts, aspirations, hopes affections, had always been in Heaven, regarded
death as a stepping-stone to his true home and to the presence of his God. One on whose breast Jesus had nestled lovingly, had already had a foretaste of Paradise and was absorbed by the longing desire to be there. Have I the same reasons to welcome death?

+2. Yet, if anyone ever had reason to dread the separation from earth, it was St Joseph. None ever left behind, wife or child, who were a thousandth part as dear as Mary and Jesus were to Joseph. Did it cost him nothing to say farewell? No , for from Jesus he could never be separated and, if the veil of flesh prevented him for a short time, from unity with his virgin spouse, yet they would soon meet in endless union before the throne of God. The pain of separation disappeared at the thought of eternal bliss.
If the company of Jesus and Mary was so sweet on earth, what would it be in Heaven where all is perfect!?

+3. What a beautiful death was St Joseph’s!
Nursed in the arms of Jesus and Mary, his last hours were one long ecstasy. No anxious, no distressing thought, was possible in that sweet company . For St Joseph death was only falling asleep to wake in Paradise. He is, therefore, the Patron of a good death . Pray earnestly to Jesus, Mary and Joseph that you may die in peace in their blessed company.

Indulgenced Holy Family Aspiration

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
I give Thee my heart and my soul;
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
assist me in my last agony;
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
may I breathe forth my soul in peace with Thee.”

(Indulgence of 300 days, Each Time.
Pope Pius VII, 26 August 1814)

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE

Quote/s of the Day – 21 March – St Benedict

Quote/s of the Day – 21 March – St Benedict OSB (c 480-547) Abbot, Patron of Europe and Founder of Western Monasticism.

The first degree of humility
is prompt obedience.

Run, while you have the light of life,
lest the darkness of death, overtake you.

Girded with faith
and the performance of good works,
let us follow in His Paths,
by the guidance of the Gospel
.”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/21/quote-s-of-the-day-21-march-st-benedict-3/

St Benedict (c480-547)

Posted in CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, Holy Name PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The HOLY NAME, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR

Our Morning Offering – 2 March – Merciful Jesus! Stretch Forth Thy Hand of Mercy

Our Morning Offering – 2 March – Quinquagesima Sunday

Merciful Jesus!
Stretch Forth Thy Hand of Mercy
(Excerpt – Prayer in a Time of Anguish)
By St Jerome (347-419)

Father and Doctor of the Church

Merciful Jesus!
Thou art my strength, my refuge and my deliverer;
in Thee I have believed and hoped;
in Thee have I loved.
Call me now, I beseech Thee and I will answer.
Stretch forth Thy Hand of mercy, to the work of Thy Hands
and let me not perish, whom Thou hast redeemed
with Thy Precious Blood.
It is now time for dust to return to dust
and my spirit to Thee Who gavest it.
Open then, Lord, the Gate of Life and receive me.
Receive me most merciful Lord,
according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies,
Who receivedst the thief on the cross
and now prepare my soul for hearing
the same promise of mercy which he did.
I am ill, O Lord and Thee my Physician.
Heal me then, my God and I shall be healed,
let me not be confounded, for I put my trust in Thee.
In Thee have I hoped – let me not be cast off forever!
… Deal not with me, according to what I deserve,
nor chastise me, according to my iniquities
but help me, O God, my Saviour
and for the glory of Thy Name deliver me.
Now, at this hour, show mercy to me
and whenever I depart, receive me
into the number of Thy family that I, may be one of those,
who are to praise Thee forever.
Amen

Posted in MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of PETITION, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Our Morning Offering – 27 February – O Mother of Sorrows, Stand by Me in My Last Agony By St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Morning Offering – 27 February – Saturday of the First week of Lent, the Memorial of St Gabriel Francis Possenti of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862) and a Marian Saturday

O Mother of Sorrows,
Stand by Me in My Last Agony
By St Gabriel Francis Possenti
of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838-1862)

O Mother of Sorrows,
by the anguish and love
with which thou didst stand
at the Cross of Jesus,
stand by me in my last agony.
To thy maternal heart
I commend the last three hours of my life.
Offer these hours to the Eternal Father
in union with the agony of our dearest Lord,
in atonement for my sins.
Offer to the Eternal Father
the Most Precious Blood of Jesus,
mingled with thine tears on Calvary,
that I may obtain the grace
of receiving Holy Communion
with the most perfect love and contrition,
before my death
and that I may breathe forth my soul
in the adorable Presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother, when the moment
of my death has at last come,
present me as your child to Jesus.
Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him,
for I knew not what I did!
Beg Him to receive me into His Kingdom of Glory
to be united with Him forever.
Amen

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on SIN

Our Morning Offering – 26 February – Lord, for Tomorrow and its Needs

Our Morning Offering – 26 February – Sexagesima Week

Lord, for Tomorrow and its Needs
By Sister Mary Xavier (1877)

Lord, for tomorrow and its needs
I do not pray;
keep me, my God, from stain of sin,
just for today.

Let me both diligently work
and duly pray;
let me be kind in word and deed,
just for today.

Let me no wrong or idle word
unthinking say;
set Thou a seal upon my lips,
just for today.

And if today my tide of life
should ebb away,
give me Thy Sacraments Divine,
sweet Lord, today.

So, for tomorrow and its needs
I do not pray
but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord,
just for today.
Amen

Posted in QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 20 February – Death

Thought for the Day – 20 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

20th Day – Death

It is appointed unto men once to die.
(Heb ix:27)

+1. Why is death a terror to men?
Because it is the punishment for sin, the penalty which was attached, by God Himself, to the first transgression of His law – “In the day thou eatest of it, thou shalt die the death.
For this reason we shrink from it as the mark and sign of our fallen and degraded condition.
Disease, corruption, old age, decay, are its forerunners and are invested with the same reproach as testimonies to our being born in sin.

+2. Death is the end of our time of trial.
After it, our destiny will be irrevocably fixed. No more chance of doing penance, no more opportunities of contrition, no more merit, no more grace, no more calls to repentance, no more hope for those who reject God in this life. No wonder, then, men dread it! Yet death is standing at our very door; at any moment the King of Terrors may summon us away.
Am I prepared for the summons?

+3. Yet to those who love God, death loses all its terrors.
For them it is the beginning of their true life. All their hopes have been directed to the unseen world; why should they fear? Their heart is in Heaven and their treasure is in Heaven, their King and Lord is there and all their dearest and best friends and the Angels and the Saints.
How happy are those who are thus detached from this world and ever look to the world to come!
Pray for a happy death!