Quote of the Day – 14 March – the Memorial of Blessed Giacomo Cusmano (1834-1888)
The charism of the Congregations founded by Blessed Giacomo
and a beautiful creed for us all:
“To live in the presence of God
and in union with God,
to receive everything from God’s hands,
to do everything out of pure love
and the glory of God.”
Lenten Reflection – 14 March – Thursday of the First week of Lent, Year C, Today’s Gospel Matthew 7:7-12
“Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.”...Matthew 7:7
The Prince of Peace
“Launch your soul on the waves of confidence and abandonment and remember that anything that troubles it or throws it into fear does not come from God, for He is the Prince of Peace and He promises that peace to “those of good will” (Lk 2:14 Vg.). When you are afraid you have abused His grace, that is the time to redouble your confidence, for, as the Apostle Paul says: “Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more,” (Rm 5:20) and farther on: “I boast of my weaknesses, for then the power of Jesus Christ dwells in me.” (2 Cor 12:9) “Our God is rich in mercy because of His immense love.” (Eph 2:4)”
Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906)
(Letter 224 (I Have Found God)
Daily Meditation:
Help us to be eager in doing Your will.
In today’s lesson, we learn more about prayer.
We are touched by the bold, full-hearted prayer of Esther.
We hear with a freshness how sincerely Jesus invites us to:
ask and receive
seek and find
knock and find the door opened.
Dependence is not a virtue we ordinarily admire.
Today we grow in our sense that we need God’s grace very much –
even to know what is right –
but certainly to fan our desires into a flame.
Lord, on the day I called for help,
you answered me.
Psalm 138
Closing Prayer:
Lord,
I am not always eager to do Your will.
I’d often much rather do my own will.
Please be with me on this Lenten journey
and help me to remember
that Your own Spirit can guide me
in the right direction.
I want to fix my weaknesses
but the task seems overwhelming.
But I know that with Your help,
anything can be done.
With a grateful heart,
I acknowledge Your love
and know that without You,
I can do nothing.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 20 February – The Memorial of Blessed Julia Rodzinska OP (1899-1945) Martyr
“Kneeling on a wooden plank, straight,
with her head lifted up and eyes aimed
at the Infinite is our sister Julia.
She holds a rosary in her strong, shapely hands.
Her face is focused… She was very pious.
Her piety influenced others.
In her presence, one felt the need to pray.”
“She was outstanding
in her love of God
and the Church.”
“She performed works of mercy
where there was no mercy.”
“She reminded us frequently
that God guides everything.”
By a fellow inmate of the Concentration Camp
speaking of Blessed Julia Rodzinska, Martyr
Thought for the Day – 8 February – The Memorial of St Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947)
Her kidnappers gave her the name Bakhita, meaning “fortunate.” Her life in captivity wasn’t quite so. Born in Darfur in 1869, Josephine Bakhita was taken by Arab slave traders when she was 9. Forced to walk 600 miles to southern Sudan, she was bought and sold before arriving in El Obeid. But of all the indignities Josephine faced as a slave—far too many to mention here—one in particular stands out.
Through a combination of branding and tattooing, Josephine suffered the traditional Sudanese practice where a pattern was cut into her skin with a razor. To ensure scarification, salt was poured into the open wounds. When it was finished, 140 intricate patterns were carved into her breast, torso and arm. She also faced countless beatings and lashings from a revolving door of owners as well as a forced conversion to Islam.
Left by her owner in the custody of the Daughters of Charity in Venice in 1888, Josephine finally found refuge. Baptised in 1890, she took her final vows in 1896 and spent the rest of her life in Vicenza as a doorkeeper and cook. She died in 1947. Beatified in 1992, she was Canonised by St Pope John Paul II eight years later.
During Josephine’s years as doorkeeper, Italians were taken by her cheerful demeanour. But the horrors of slavery troubled her the rest of her life. Her final years were marred by sickness. In a fevered state, she once pleaded with a nurse to loosen the chains that bound her wrists. But she never lost her belief in God. When visitors asked how she was feeling, Josephine’s token response to them was, “As the Master desires.”
That total abandonment to God would be Josephine’s legacy—and it is one we can work toward as 21st-century Catholics. As the season of Lent approaches, in this month of recognising our brothers and sisters, the victims of Human Trafficking, these words from St Pope John Paul II, who beatified her, ring true: “God used [Josephine] to teach us all the meaning of Jesus’ words: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.’”
Second Thoughts for the Day – 3 February – Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you,
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”…Jeremiah 1:4–5
As linked with the Gospel episode of Jesus’ proclaiming the Word of God in Nazareth and the people’s response, it is fair to ponder, all gifts given by the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to build-up the Body of Christ, the Church. Through Baptism, Confirmation and the Most Holy Eucharist, all have been “set apart” and “appointed” for particular missions throughout our lives, beginning with the call ‘to be holy.’
This quote by Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890), is written and speaks of you and me:
God has created me to do Him some definite service;
He has committed some work to me
which He has not committed to another.
I have my mission—
I may never know it in this life but I shall be told it in the next.
…I am a link in a chain,
a bond of connection between persons.He has not created me for naught.
I shall do good,
I shall do His work,
I shall be an angel of peace,
a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it,
if I do but keep His Commandments.…Therefore I will trust Him.
Whatever, wherever I am.
I can never be thrown away.If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him;
in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him;
in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him.…He does nothing in vain.
…He knows what He is about.
One Minute Reflection – 30 January – Wednesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 4:1-20 and the Memorial of the Salesian Priest Blessed Bronislaw Markiewicz SDB (1842-1912)
“The sower sows the word. … And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word but the cares of the world and the delight in riches and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word and it proves unfruitful.”…Mark 4:14,18-19
REFLECTION – “Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus invites us today to look inside ourselves – to give thanks for our good soil and to tend the soil that is not yet good. Let us ask ourselves, if our heart is open to welcome the seed of the Word of God with faith. Let us ask ourselves, if our rocks of laziness are still numerous and large;, let us identify our thorns of vice and call them by name.,, Let us find the courage to reclaim the soil, to effect a new conversion of our heart, bringing to the Lord in Confession and in prayer our rocks and our thorns. In doing this, Jesus, the Good Sower will be glad to carry out an additional task – to purify our hearts, by removing the rocks and the thorns which choke His Word…Pope Francis – Angelus, 16 July 2017
PRAYER – Lord God, in Your wisdom You created us, by Your providence You rule us, You have planted us, penetrate our inmost being Your holy Light, so that our way of life may always be one of faithful service to You. May we never hesitate to run to Your all-forgiving arms of mercy, when we allow the rocks and thorns of this life to prevent our growth and our steps as we return home to You. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, our Mother, all the angels and saints and of Blessed Bronislaw Markiewicz be unfailing assistance to us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 11 January – 5th day after Epiphany
“All our anxieties relate to time. A human being is the only time-conscious creature. Humans alone can bring the past to mind, so that it weighs on the present moment, with its accumulated heritage and they can also bring the future into the present, so as to imagine its occurrences as happening now. No animal ever says: “I have suffered this pain for six years and it will last until I die.” But, because a human being can unite the past to the present by memory and the future to the present by imagination, it is often necessary to distract him in his sufferings — to break up the continuity of misery. All unhappiness (when there is no immediate cause for sorrow) comes from excessive concentration on the past or from extreme preoccupation with the future. The major problems of psychiatry revolve around an analysis of the despair, pessimism, melancholy and complexes that are the inheritances of what has been or with the fears, anxieties, worries, that are the imaginings of what will be.
…A conscience burdened with the guilt of past sins is fearful of divine judgement. But God in His mercy, has given us two remedies for such an unhappiness. One is the Sacrament of Penance, which blots out the past by remission of our sins and lightens the future by our hope for divine mercy, through continued repentance and amendment of our lives. Nothing in human experience, is as efficacious in curing the memory and imagination, as confession – it cleanses us of guilt and if we follow the admonitions of Our Lord, we shall put completely out of mind our confessed sins: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62). Confession also heals the imagination, eliminating its anxiety for the future – for now, with Paul, the soul cries out: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).
The second remedy, for the ills, that come to us from thinking about time, is what might be called the sanctification of the moment — or the Now. Our Lord laid down the rule for us in these words: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Mt 6:34). 
This means, that each day, has its own trials, we are not to borrow troubles from tomorrow, because that day too will have its cross. We are to leave the past to divine mercy and to trust the future, whatever its trials, to God’s loving providence. Each minute of life has its peculiar duty — regardless of the appearance that minute may take. The Now-moment is the moment of salvation. Each complaint against it is a defeat, each act of resignation to it is a victory.”
Quote/s of the Day – 10 January – 4th day after Epiphany and The Memorial of St Léonie Françoise De Sales Aviat OSFS (1844-1914)
“Let us work for the happiness of others.”
“Go often to rest your heart
near the tabernacle;
you will find there,
the necessary strength
and graces
to go more surely
along the path of fidelity.”
“God does not try us beyond our strength.
When He sends difficulty,
He adds the means of overcoming it.”
“Our good Jesus always puts grace,
where He puts a sacrifice.”
“Our good Master never lets Himself
be outdone in generosity.
He gives back one hundredfold
what we sacrifice to Him.”
“When we work for God, nothing is small!”
“I formed the habit
of never approaching anyone
without casting a glance at our Lord.
Try my little method –
I can assure you it is a good one.”
“Pray to your good angels;
use them as messengers
in your little joys and sufferings.”
“Continue to entrust everything to God,
absolutely everything you have to do,
so that He may teach you more and more,
the happiness of living,
in union with Him.”
Quote/s of the Day – 27 December – the Feast of St John the Apostle and Evangelist “The Disciple whom Jesus Loved” and the 3rd Octave Day and the Memorial of Blessed Sára Salkaházi (1899–1944) Martyr
Beloved:
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life (for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us.…
“Life itself was therefore revealed in the flesh.
In this way what was visible to the heart alone,
could become visible also to the eye
and so heal men’s hearts.
For the Word is visible to the heart alone,
while flesh is visible to bodily eyes as well.
We already possessed the means to see the flesh
but we had no means of seeing the Word.
The Word was made flesh so that we could see it,
to heal the part of us,
by which we could see the Word…”
“It is right and just, that someone, who was loved by Christ
more than any other, should be the object
of a very special love, by Christ’s friends,
all the more so, since John has shown such love for us that…
he has shared with us, the riches of eternal life, that he himself received.
Indeed, God gave him, the keys to wisdom and knowledge (cf Lk 11:52)…
John’s God-illumined mind, conceived the incomparable height of divine wisdom,
when he reclined on the Redeemer’s breast, during the holy Last Supper meal (Jn 13:25).
And because “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3)
are within the heart of Jesus, it is from there, that he drew
and from there, that he greatly enriched our wretchedness,
as people who are poor and generously distributed these goods,
taken from their source, for the salvation of the whole world.
And because this blessed John speaks about God
in a marvellous way, that cannot be compared to that of anyone else,
it is only right that the Greeks as well as the Latins
have given him the name of “Theologian”.
Mary is “Theotokos” because she has truly given birth to God;
John is “Theologos” because he saw in an indescribable way,
that the Word of God, was with the Father
before the beginning of time and was God (Jn 1:1)
and because, too, he spoke about this, with extraordinary depth.”
“To love, even when it is difficult,
even when my heart has complaints,
when, I feel rejected!
Yes, this is what God wants!
I will try; I want to start – even if I would fail –
until I will be able to love.
The Lord God gives me grace
and I have to work with that grace!”
“I want to follow You wherever You take me,
freely, willingly, joyfully.
Break my will!
Let Your will reign in me!
I do not want to make my own plans.
Let Your will be done in me and through me.
No matter how hard it might be,
I want to love Your will!
I want to be one with You,
my Beloved, my Spouse.”
Blessed Sára in her spiritual diary
Quote/s of the Day – 2 December – The Memorial of Bl John van Ruysbroeck (c 1293-1382)
“Even as God is common to all,
the sun shines upon all trees.”
(The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage)
“Knowledge of ourselves teaches us
whence we come,
where we are
and whither we are going.
We come from God
and we are in exile.”
[Ruysbroeck the Admirable (1925)]
“God is more interior to us
than we are to ourselves.
His acting in us,
is nearer and more inward,
than our own actions.
God works in us,
from inside outwards,
creatures work on us,
from the outside.”
(Spiritual Espousals)
“If we would God discern
The world we must despise,
His love and hate must learn,
See all things with His eyes.
And we must self forgo
If God we would attain,
His grace must in us grow
And ease us from all pain.
So shall we sing His praise
And be at one with Him,
In peace our voices raise
In the celestial hymn,
That with quadruple harmony
And all mellifluous melody,
In Heaven resounds eternally.
(The Seven Steps of the Ladder of Spiritual Love)
Our Morning Offering – 22 November – My God, My Hope is in You
My God, My Hope is in You
By St Claude de la Colombière, SJ (1641-1682)
Loving and tender Providence of my God,
into Your hands I commend my spirit,
to You I abandon my hopes and fears,
my desires and repugnances,
my temporal and eternal prospects.
To You I commit the wants of my perishable body,
to You I commit the more precious interests of my immortal soul
for whose lot I have nothing to fear
as long as I do not leave Your care.
Though my faults are many, my misery great,
my spiritual poverty extreme,
my hope in You surpasses all.
it is superior to my weakness,
greater than my difficulties, stronger than death.
Though temptations should assail me, I will hope in You,
though I break my resolutions,
I will look to You confidently for grace to keep them at last.
though You should ask me to die, even then I will trust in You,
for You are my father, my God, the support of my salvation.
You are my kind, compassionate and indulgent parent,
and I am Your devoted child,
who casts myself into Your arms and begs Your blessing.
I put my trust in You
and so trusting, shall not be confounded.
Amen.
Quote of the Day – 18 November – The Memorial of St Rose Philippine Duchesne RSCJ (1769-1852)
“Jesus, I live for You,
I labour for You,
I desire only You.
You in me and I in You;
You with me and I with You;
You all mine and I all Yours.”
“I am where God wills me to be
and so I have found rest and security.
His wisdom governs me,
His power defends me,
His grace sanctifies me,
His mercy encompasses me,
His joy sustains me
and all will go well with me.”
“Do not look back to the past,
nor forward to the future.
Claim only the present,
for it holds God’s will.”
“Let us bear our cross
and leave it to God
to determine the length
and the weight.”
“He will never let the trial surpass,
the strength He gives you
and at the very moment you think yourself
overwhelmed by sorrow,
He will lift you up and give you peace.”
Quote/s of the Day – 15 November – The Memorial of St Albert the Great (1200-1 280) Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”)
Known as Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”) for the extraordinary depth of his knowledge and learning, Albertus Magnus wrote extensively on numerous subjects. Here are some words of wisdom from a variety of his writings.
“Anyone who receives this Sacrament,
with the devotion of sincere faith,
will never taste death.”
“The greater and more persistent,
your confidence in God, the more
abundantly you will receive, all that you ask.”
“I have never gone out, to mingle with the world,
without losing something of myself.”
“The surest and quickest way
to attain perfection, is to strive,
for purity of heart.
Once the obstacles have been removed,
God finds a clear path and does wonders,
both in and through the soul.”
“Above all, one should accept everything,
in general and individually, in oneself or in others,
agreeable or disagreeable,
with a prompt and confident spirit,
as coming from the hand of His infallible Providence
or the order He has arranged.”
On Cleaving to God
“Mary is the Divine Page
on which the Father
wrote the Word of God,
His Son.”
Thought for the Day – 10 November – Christian, Remember Your Dignity by St Pope Leo the Great
Today we celebrate the feast day of Pope Saint Leo the Great (c 400-461). St Leo is referred to by many names, including “Doctor of Doctrine” and “Doctor of Unity of the Church.” He is the first pope to be referred to by the title “Great” and the first pope made Doctor of the Church. His writings, unifying doctrine and peacemaking, continue to inspire and instruct us today in the ways of the faith. Below, an excerpt from a homily, encouraging Christians to take heed of the joy of Christ and exhorts them to live in freedom and dignity of the Incarnation!
Dearly beloved, today our Saviour is born, let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.
No one is shut out from this joy, all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victor over sin and death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all. Let the saint rejoice as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness. Let the pagan take courage as he is summoned to life.
In the fullness of time, chosen in the unfathomable depths of God’s wisdom, the Son of God took for Himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with its creator. He came to overthrow the devil, the origin of death, in that very nature by which He had overthrown mankind.
And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy – Glory to God in the highest and they proclaim peace to men of good will as they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world. When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvellous work of God’s goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men?
Beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in His great love for us He took pity on us and when we were dead in our sins He brought us to life with Christ, so that in Him we might be a new creation. Let us throw off our old nature and all its ways and, as we have come to birth in Christ, let us renounce the works of the flesh.
Christian, remember your dignity and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.
Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.
One Minute Reflection – 8 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 15:1–10 – Thursday of the Thirty First week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of Blessed John Duns Scotus OFM (c 1265-1308)
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”…Luke 15:4-5
REFLECTION – “The fact of re-finding something we had lost always fills us anew with joy. And this joy is greater than that we felt before losing it, when the thing was safely kept. But the parable of the lost sheep speaks more of God’s tenderness than of the way in which people usually behave. It expresses a profound truth. To leave behind something of importance for love of what is more humble, is characteristic of divine power, not of human possessiveness. For God even brings into existence what is not, He sets out in search of what is lost while still keeping what He had left in place and He finds what had strayed without losing what He has under His protection.
That is why, this shepherd is not of earth but of heaven. The parable is not in any respect, a representation of human achievements but it conceals divine mysteries, as the numbers it mentions immediately show: “What man among you,” says the Lord, “having a hundred sheep and losing one of them…” As you see, the loss of a single sheep has sorely tried this shepherd, as though the whole flock, deprived of His protection, had set out along a treacherous path. This is why, leaving the ninety-nine others there, He sets out in search of the one. He attends to one alone so that, in that one, all may be found and saved.”…St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Lord God, in Your wisdom, You created us, by Your providence You rule us, penetrate our inmost being with Your holy light, so that our way of life, may always be one of faithful service to You. With great love we thank You for the great gifts You shower upon us and for being our Father, who seeks and finds us when we are lost. Grant that by the intercession of Blessed John Duns Scotus, we may ever seek to stay true to our baptism. Through Jesus, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 23 October – The Memorial of Blessed Arnold Rèche FSC (1838-1890)
“..With the grace of God
that we obtain from prayer,
we can do anything.
All we have to do is to will it.”
“We do not stand alone
but in a history,
with men and women like ourselves,
who have heard Your word and said
“Yes” to Your call.”
Quote/s of the Day – 21 October
The Memorial of Blessed Karl of Austria (1887 – 1922)
“Now, we must help
each other
to get to Heaven.”
“I strive always,
in all things,
to understand,
as clearly as possible
and follow,
the will of God
and this,
in the most perfect way.”
“Thy Holy Will be done.
Jesus, Jesus, come!
Yes—yes.
My Jesus as Thou willst it—Jesus.”
(The last words of Bl Karl – 1 April 1922)
Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – The Memorial of St Maria Bertilla Boscardin (1888 – 1922)
“Here I am, Lord, to do Your will, whatever comes.”
Take, Lord and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To You, Lord, I return it.
Everything is Yours,
do with it what You will.
Give me only Your love
and Your grace,
that is enough for me.
Quote of the Day – 19 October – The Memorial of St Peter of Alcantara OFM (1499-1562), St Isaac Jogues SJ (1607-1646) The North American Martyrs) & Bl Jerzy Popiełuszko (1947-1984)
“He does much
in the sight of God
who does his best,
be it ever so little.”
“No tongue can express
the greatness of the love
which Jesus Christ
bears to our souls.
He did not wish,
that between Him
and His servants,
there should be any other pledge
than Himself…
“My confidence is placed in God,
who does not need our help
for accomplishing His designs.
Our single endeavour,
should be to give ourselves to the work
and to be faithful to Him.”
”To live in Truth is the basic minimum of human dignity,
even if the price to defend the Truth could be costly.
You need to always remain faithful to the Truth.
Truth can never be betrayed.”
“Truth, like Justice,
is connected to Love
and Love has a Price.”
One Minute Reflection – 19 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 12:1–7 – Friday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Peter of Alcantara OFM (1499-1562)
“Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows.”...Luke 12:7
REFLECTION – “Strain not after tears, strive not for sentiments of devotion, do not force your heart. Rest rather in interior solitude. Dwell therein quietly, waiting until God’s will be accomplished in you. When it shall please Him to send you tears, oh, how sweet will those tears be, for is not your impatience that has secured them: they are the fruits of humility and of peace. On your part, then, you must receive them with the deepest self-effacement, allowing God to work in you. Note well, that if ever you fancy this desire or the securing of these affections to be in any measure due to yourself, you will infallibly expose yourself to the losing of them.”…St Peter of Alcantara – Treatise on Prayer and Meditation’
PRAYER – My Lord and patient God, help me to practice patience in doing good. No matter what may occur, allow me to face each day with quiet courage and without complaint, knowing You are always at my side and that all is part of Your divine plan. I pray for total abandonment to Your Will. Grant that by the intercession of St Peter of Alcantara, we may grow in trust, leaving all in our Father’s hands. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 12 October
“Once in our world,
a stable had something in it,
that was bigger,
than our whole world.”
“Enemy-occupied territory –
that is what this world is.
Christianity is the story of how,
the rightful king has landed,
you might say landed in disguise
and is calling us all, to take part,
in a great campaign of sabotage.”
“Real joy
seems to me,
almost as unlike
security or prosperity,
as it is unlike
agony.”
“Do not waste time bothering
whether you “love” your neighbour;
act as if you did.
As soon as we do this we find
one of the great secrets.
When you are behaving as if
you loved someone,
you will presently come to love him.”
“There are two kinds of people –
those who say to God,
‘Thy will be done’
and those to whom God says,
‘All right, then, have it your way.'”
“You can’t go back
and change the beginning
but you can start where you are
and change the ending.”
“God whispers to us in our pleasures,
speaks in our conscience
but shouts in our pains –
it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
“God, who foresaw your tribulation,
has specially armed you to go through it,
not without pain but without stain.”
“He died for us.
Why not live for Him?”
Thought for the Day – 10 October – The Memorial St Daniel Comboni (1831-1881) Apostle of Africa, Bearer of the Cross
Accepting the Cross was difficult, also during the time of Comboni, so many people were rejecting it, for the sake of an easy life but St Daniel Comboni was convinced, that the Gospel could make headway in Africa, in the Church and all over the world only through the mystery of the Cross. Let us listen to him:
“The Cross and very great tribulations are necessary for the safe-keeping, the establishment and the progress of the works of God, which must always be born, grow and flourish at the foot of Calvary.” (MDC NO. 198)
“I already see and understand, that the Cross is such a friend to me and always so near to me, that I have for some time now chosen her as my eternal and indivisible Bride. So the Cross will be my Beloved “bride” and my wise and prudent “teacher” (MDC No. 224)
“It is a constant law of God’s Providence, that His works are marked by the Cross. So it is no small comfort to my spirit, despite its own great weakness, to see myself burdened by very heavy crosses.” (MDC No. 230)
As for our world these days, many people formally reject the Cross considering it a sign of heavenly rage, or as something which is disturbing many people, especially children, psychologically. In mission, it is important to counteract this mentality, presenting the cross as the revelation of absolute love.
Besides the three expressions of Comboni I have quoted as presenting the mystery of the Cross in a vivid way, we have so many others in his writings, in a context of great sufferings and passionate commitment to mission. Some are rendered in a language we can considered too militaristic. Well, we have to remember that it is the language of Comboni’s time. An example of this is the “Hymn to the Cross” that Comboni wrote in 1877 at the end of a particularly painful period in his life.
“ The Saviour of the world
marvellously conquered souls
by the strength of this Cross,
which destroyed paganism,
razed the idolatrous temples,
vanquished the powers of hell,
and became the altar, not of one single temple,
but of the whole world.
This Cross which came forth from the summit of Golgotha
and then filled the universe with its power,
this Cross was adored in the temples,
and in the royal cities received the highest veneration;
it was reverenced on the standards of armies
and invoked on the mainmasts of ships.
By the Cross priests were consecrated
and monarchs enthroned with sacred rites.
Carried on their breasts by heroes it brought courage to all.
Earth, sea and sky recognise the power of the Cross
and everywhere it is honoured.
It was in the midst of troubles and thorns
that the work of our redemption was born and grew:
its development is wonderful
and its future is surely consoling and happy.
The Cross has the strength to transform Central Africa
into a land of blessing and salvation.
From the Cross there issues a strength,
which is gentle and does not kill,
which comes down on souls and renews them
like a refreshing dew;
from the Cross there issues great power,
because the Nazarene, raised up on the tree of the Cross,
stretched out one arm to the East and the other to the West,
and gathered His elect from the whole world
into the embrace of the Church;
with pierced hands,
and like another Samson,
He hurled down the columns of the temple
where for so many centuries
men had adored the power of evil.
It was on these ruins that He raised up the Cross;
worker of marvels,
which attracted all things to itself:
“Si exaltatus fuero a terra,
omnia traham ad meipsum”. (MDC No. 233)
Quote/s of the Day – 10 October – The Memorial of St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572) and
St Daniel Comboni (1831-1881)
“I have great doubts about the salvation of those
who do not have special devotion to Mary.”
“When you pray, hear Mass, sit at table, engage in business
and when at bedtime you remove your clothes—
at all times yearn that by the pain which He felt when He was stripped
just before His crucifixion, He may strip us of our evil habits of mind.
Thus, naked of earthly things, we may also embrace the cross.”
“For Africa,
I have dedicated my mind and my heart,
my blood and my life.”
“Our life is in God’s hands,
He does what He wants,
by an irrevocable gift,
we have sacrificed
our lives to Him.
Blessed be He.”
“In Jesus crucified we are taken into the depths of God. It is there that we come to understand most deeply the love God has for us and the absolute lengths to which God goes to give us life, even in our moments of darkness and defeat.
hat we see in the passion of Jesus is a love that gathers in all the scattered, shattered pieces of our life and heals them with a tenderness that can break our hearts.
What we see in the cross is a love that loses nothing that can be saved, whether that be our defeats, our brokenness, or our shame. With God all these can be points of life for us and the reason is startling –
God can kiss us with a healing because God is wounded by our pain.”
Quote/s of the Day – 9 October –
The Memorial of Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
“I have a place in God’s counsels,
in God’s world, which no one else has,
whether I be rich or poor,
despised or esteemed by man,
God knows me and calls me by my name.
God has created me to do Him
some definite service.
He has committed some work to me
which He has not committed to another.
I have my mission – I never may know it in this life
but I shall be told it in the next.
Somehow I am necessary for His purposes,
as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his –
if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another,
as He could make the stones children of Abraham.
Yet I have a part in this great work,
I am a link in a chain,
a bond of connection between persons.
He has not created me for naught.
I shall do good, I shall do His work,
I shall be an angel of peace,
a preacher of truth in my own place,
while not intending it,
if I do but keep His commandments
and serve Him in my calling.
Therefore I will trust Him.
Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away.
If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him,
in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him,
if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him.
My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow
may be necessary causes of some great end,
which is quite beyond us.
He does nothing in vain –
He may prolong my life, He may shorten it;
He knows what He is about.
He may take away my friends,
He may throw me among strangers,
He may make me feel desolate,
make my spirits sink, hide the future from me
– still He knows what He is about.”
“Who is the flower but our Blessed Lord?
Who is the rod, or beautiful stalk
or stem or plant out of which the flower grows
but Mary, Mother of our Lord, Mary, Mother of God?”
“Fear not that your life
shall come to an end
but rather fear,
that it shall never
have a beginning.”
“Regarding Christianity,
ten thousand difficulties –
do not make one doubt.”
“He compasses me round
and bears me in His arms.
He takes me up and sets me down.”
Thought for the Day – 3 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 9:57–62
To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”...Luke 9:59-60
Following and accompanying Christ, staying with Him, demands “coming out of ourselves”, requires us to be outgoing – to come out of ourselves, out of a dreary way of living faith that has become a habit, out of the temptation to withdraw into our own plans which end by shutting out God’s creative action.
God came out of Himself to come among us, He pitched his tent among us to bring to us His mercy that saves and gives hope.
If we want to follow Him and to remain with Him, we too must “go out” with Him to seek the lost sheep, the one that has strayed the furthest.
To come out always! And to do so with God’s love and tenderness, with respect and with patience, knowing that God takes our hands, our feet, our heart and guides them and makes all our actions fruitful...
Pope Francis – General Audience, 27 March, 2013
Quote/s of the Day – 3 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 9:57–62 and The Memorial of St Théodore Guérin SP (1798 – 1856)
“You know … that the good God
always makes use
of nothing,
in order to accomplish
something.”
“He will be with you also, all the way, that faithful God.
Every morning when you awaken to the old and tolerable pain,
at every mile of the hot uphill dusty road of tiring duty,
on to the judgement seat, the same Christ there as ever,
still loving you, still sufficient for you, even then.
And then, on through all eternity.”
Quote/s of the Day – 1 October – The Memorial of St Thérèse of Lisieux O.C.D. (1873 – 1897) Doctor of the Church
“You cannot be half a saint;
you must be a whole saint
or no saint at all.”
“When one loves,
one does not calculate.”
“My vocation is love.
In the heart of the Church, my mother,
I will be love
and then I will be all things.”
I am convinced,
that one should tell one’s spiritual director,
if one has a great desire for Communion,
for Our Lord does not
come from Heaven everyday,
to stay in a golden ciborium;
He comes to find another heaven,
the heaven of our soul,
in which He loves to dwell.”
“It is consoling,
that He who must judge us,
dwells in us
to save us always
from all of our miseries
and to pardon us.”
Quote/s of the Day – 27 September – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul C.M. (1581-1660)
“Perfection consists in one thing alone,
which is doing the will of God.
For, according to Our Lord’s words,
it suffices for perfection to deny self,
to take up the cross and to follow Him.
Now who denies himself and takes up his cross
and follows Christ better than he who seeks
not to do his own will but always that of God?
Behold, now, how little is needed to become as Saint?
Nothing more than to acquire the habit of willing,
on every occasion, what God wills.”
“…We have all been called by God to work on a masterpiece!”
“Extend your mercy towards others,
so that there can be no one in need
whom you meet without helping.
For what hope is there for us if God
should withdraw His Mercy from us?”
“With renewed devotion, then,
we must serve the poor,
especially outcasts and beggars.
They have been given to us
as our masters and patrons.”
“It is not enough to give soup and bread.
This the rich can do.
You are the servant of the poor,
always smiling and good-humoured.
They are your masters, terribly sensitive
and exacting master you will see.
And the uglier and the dirtier they will be,
the more unjust and insulting,
the more love you must give them.
It is only for your love alone,
that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.
“Go to the poor – you will find God!”
One Minute Reflection – 27 September – Today’s First Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2–11 – Thursday of the Twenty-fifth week in Ordinary Time, Year B – The Memorial of St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
What has been is what will be and what has been done is, what will be done..Ecclesiastes 1:9
REFLECTION – “Free your mind from all that troubles you; God will take care of things. You will be unable to make haste in this (choice) without, so to speak, grieving the heart of God because he sees that you do not honour Him sufficiently with holy trust. Trust in Him, I beg you and you will have the fulfilment of what your heart desires.”….St Vincent de Paul
PRAYER – Father, You endowed St Vincent de Paul with the spirit of an apostle to give himself to the poor and to the training of priests. Give us, good Lord, a share of the same spirit, that we may love what he loved and do as he taught. Fill us with hope and total trust and abandonment to Your Holy Providence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Vincent de Paul, pray for us, amen.
Thought for the Day – 26 September – The Memorial of Blessed Louis Tezza M.I. (18 41-1923
Blessed Louis Tezza’s message can be readily understood in the light of the gospel. Jesus had a special concern for the sick, and furthermore he identified personally with his suffering brothers: “I was sick and you visited me. In so far as you this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Mt.25.40)
Blessed Louis was chosen by God not only to live this charism of mercy for the sick but to spread it through the founding of the Institute of the Daughters of S. Camillus, an institute dedicated to care for human life from the moment of conception to natural death. He showed every Christian how to act in the face of suffering – to care and alleviate and especially to value it for one’s own sanctification and the redemption of others.
Fr Louis encourages us to believe in and operate in accordance with God’s plan for each one of us. The cornerstone of his existence was obedience to God . He was constantly seeking the will of God and striving to carry it out in his life. He could see God’s plan in the signs of the times, the ordinary events of life, in the decisions of his superiors and he was convinced that these had to be followed no matter what the cost in personal sacrifice.
He leaves each one of us today with this personal challenge, in the hope that we will make it our own:
“God’s invitation to become saints is for all, not just a few.
Sanctity therefore must be accessible to all.
In what does it consist? In a lot of activity? No.
In doing extraordinary things? No, this could not be for everybody and at all times.
Therefore, sanctity consists in doing good, and in doing this “good” in whatever condition and place God has placed us.
Nothing more, nothing outside of this”.
“Blessed Luigi Tezza, glorious example of a life totally dedicated to the exercise of charity and mercy towards those who suffer in body and spirit. For them he founded the Institute of the Daughters of St Camillus, whom he taught to practice an absolute confidence in the Lord. “The will of God! Behold my only guide”, he exclaimed, “the only goal of my desires, for which I wish to sacrifice everything”. In his confident abandonment to the will of God, he took as his model the Blessed Virgin Mary, tenderly loved and contemplated particularly in the moment of the “fiat” and in her silent presence at the foot of the Cross.”… (St Pope John Paul at the Beatification of Blessed Louis) Vatican.va
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