Quote/s of the Day – 10 August – St Lawrence (Died 258) Martyr “Keeper of the Treasures of he Church” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-10, John 12:24-26
“If it dies, it produces much fruit”
John 12:24
“Through the glorious achievements of the holy Martyrs with which the Church blossoms everywhere, we are ourselves, proving to our own eyes, how true are the words we have been singing that: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Ps 116[115]:15). For it is precious both in our sight and in the sight of Him, in Whose Name. the death took place.”
“And all who wish to live piously in Christ Jesus, will suffer persecution.”
2 Timothy 3:12
“Do not love your life in this world! If you truly love yourselves, do not thus love your life and then, you will save your life!”…
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
“In conformity with the philosophy of Christ, let us make of our life, a training for death.”
St Maximus the Confessor (c 580-662) Father of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 10 August – St Lawrence (Died 258) Martyr “Keeper of the Treasures of he Church” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-10, John 12:24-26
“He who loves his life, loses it and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me and where I Am ,there also shall My servant be.” – John 12:25-26
REFLECTION – “… We are being towed along by a world that passes away, forgetting the world to come. We are greedy for present things but do not take into account the coming judgement. We will not run to meet the Lord as He comes…
Let us turn back, brethren, let us turn back… By the very fact of His delay, of His still waiting, our Lord proves His desire to see us come back to Him, His desire that we should not perish. In His great goodness, He continues addressing these words to us: “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked but would rather he would change his ways and live ”(Ez 33,11). So let us turn back to Him, brethren, not fearing that time is running short. The time that belongs to time’s Author cannot be shortened. The proof of it lies in the criminal in the Gospel, who, at the moment of dying on the cross, got away with his pardon, grabbed hold of life and, breaking into paradise like a burglar, managed to make his way into the Kingdom (cf. Lk 23,43)!” – St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father and “Doctor of Sermons” of the Church (Excerpt from Sermon 167).
PRAYER – Grant us, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, to extinguish the flames of our sins, as Thou granted St Lawrence to overcome the fires of his tortures. 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).
One Minute Reflection – 9 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and The Memorial of St John Marie Vianney (1786-1859) Confessor – Sirach 31:8-11, Luke 12:35-40
“You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” – Luke 12:40
REFLECTION – “The Lord was looking to our days when He said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8) We see that what He foretold has come to pass. There is no faith in the fear of God, in the law of righteousness, in love, in good works …. That which our conscience would fear if it believed, it does not fear because it does not believe at all. If it believed, it would also take heed and if it took heed, it would be saved.
Therefore ,beloved brothers, let us arouse ourselves as much as we can and break the slumber of our listlessness. Let us be watchful to observe and to do the Lord’s precepts. Let us be like He Himself, has bidden us to be, saying, “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately, when He comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants, whom the Master finds vigilant on His arrival“.
We ought to be dressed for work, lest, when the day of setting forth comes, it should find us burdened and entangled. Let our light shine, in good works and glow, in such a way, as to lead us from the night of this world, to the daylight of eternal brightness. Let us always wait with solicitude and caution for the sudden coming of the Lord, so that when he knocks, our faith may be on the watch and receive from the Lord, the reward of our vigilance. If these commands be observed, if these warnings and precepts be kept, we will not be overtaken in slumber, by the deceit of the devil. But we shall reign with Christ in His Kingdom, as servants on the watch.” – St Cyprian (c 200-258) Bishop of Carthage and Martyr, Father of the Church (Treatise on the unity of the Church, 26-27).
PRAYER – Almighty and merciful God, Who made St John Marie glorious by priestly zeal and untiring fervoru in prayer and penance, grantP we beseech Thee that by his example and intercession, we may have strength to win for Christ, the souls of our brethren and, with them, attain everlasting glory. 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).
Thought for the Day – 8 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Mystery of Life
“We know that the past can never return and that the future is so uncertain that it may not even exist for us. We realise that our life is nothing more than a passing moment. If we meditate on these truths, how can we be attached to worldly objects? Even if we could attain the objects of our desire, they would soon be snatched away from us!
Let us aim at those lasting values which are not passing, which can remain with us during life, comfort us at death and accompany us into eternity. We know what these substantial values are – holiness, the grace of God, the conquest of our sensible appetites and the final enjoyment of God in Heaven. These things do not pass away but will remain with us forever.”
Quote/s of the Day – 6 August – The Transfiguration of Our Lord
“And a cloud overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
Mark 9:7
“By His loving foresight, He allowed them to taste for a short time, the contemplation of eternal joy, so that they might bear persecution bravely.”
The Venerable St Bede (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church
“At His Transfiguration Christ showed His disciples, the splendour of His Beauty, to which He will shape and colour, those who are His : ‘He will reform our lowness configured to the Body of His Glory.’”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274) Angelic Doctor of the Church
Quote/s of the Day – 2 August – The Memorial of St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church
St Alphonsus de Liguori’s “50 Maxims for Attaining Perfection in the Love of Jesus Christ”
To desire ardently to increase in the love of Jesus Christ
To make acts of love toward Jesus Christ. Immediately on waking and before going to sleep, make an act of love, seeking always to unite your own will to the will of Jesus Christ.
Often to meditate on His Passion.
Always to ask Jesus Christ for His love.
To communicate often and many times in the day to make spiritual communions.
Often to visit the Most Holy Sacrament.
Every morning to receive from the hands of Jesus Christ Himself your own cross.
To desire Paradise and Death in order to be able to love Jesus Christ perfectly and for all eternity.
Often to speak of the love of Jesus Christ.
To accept contradictions for the love of Jesus Christ.
To rejoice in the happiness of God.
To do that which is most pleasing to Jesus Christ, and not to refuse Him anything that is agreeable to Him.
To desire and to endeavour that all should love Jesus Christ.
To pray always for sinners and for the souls in Purgatory.
To drive from your heart every affection that does not belong to Jesus Christ.
Always to have recourse to the Most Holy Mary, that she may obtain for us the love of Jesus Christ.
To honour Mary in order to please Jesus Christ.
To seek to please Jesus Christ in all of your actions.
To offer yourself to Jesus Christ to suffer any pain for is love.
To be always determined to die rather than commit a wilful venial sin.
To suffer crosses patiently, saying, “Thus it pleases Jesus Christ.”
To renounce your own pleasures for the love of Jesus Christ.
To pray as much as possible.
To practice all the mortifications that obedience permits.
To do all your spiritual exercises as if it were for the last time.
To persevere in good works in the time of aridity.
Not to do, nor yet to leave undone, anything through human respect.
Not to complain in sickness.
To love solitude, to be able to converse alone with Jesus Christ.
To drive away melancholy.
Often to recommend yourself to those persons who love Jesus Christ.
In temptation, to have recourse to Jesus crucified, and to Mary in her sorrows.
To trust entirely in the Passion of Jesus Christ.
After committing a fault, not to be discouraged, but to repent and resolve to amend.
To do good to those who do evil.
To speak well of all, and to excuse the intention when you cannot defend the action.
To help your neighbour as much as you can.
Neither to say nor to do anything that might vex him. And if you have been wanting in charity, to ask his pardon and speak kindly to him.
Always to speak with mildness and in a low tone.
To offer to Jesus Christ all the contempt and persecution which you meet with.
To look upon [religious] Superiors as the representatives of Jesus Christ.
To obey without answering and without repugnance and not to seek your own satisfaction in anything.
To like the lowest employment.
To like the poorest things.
Not to speak either good or evil of yourself.
To humble yourself even towards inferiors.
Not to excuse yourself when you are reproved.
Not to defend yourself when found fault with.
To be silent when you are disquieted [i.e. upset].
Always to renew your determination of becoming a saint, saying, ‘My Jesus, I desire to be all Thine and Thy must be all mine.
Thought for the Day – 29 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Little Things
“Our eternal salvation will probably be determined by these ordinary acts of virtue and these ordinary sins. Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed which grows into a tree. Similarly, many Saints began their spiritual ascent, by following one simple inspiration and many souls, perhaps, have found themselves condemned as a result of having neglected the commonplace virtues and inspirations.
Ordinary virtue may develop into heroic virtue but, if a man has neglected to train himself to act well in small matters, how will he behave in a time of great spiritual trial? Experience also teaches us that smaller vices can develop into great vices. “He who wastes the little he has, will be stripped bare” (Ecclus 19:11). A man who is not faithful to God in little things, will not be faithful in greater things.
We are either going up, or down, in the way of perfection – it is almost impossible to stand still! If we sincerely wish to make progress, let us resolve to avoid the least suggestion of sin and to enrich ourselves daily, by tiny acts of virtue.”
Quote/s of the Day – 20 July – “The Memorial of St Jerome Emiliani (1486–1537) Confessor – Isaias 58:7-11, Matthew 19:13-21
“God wishes to test you, like gold in the furnace. The dross is consumed by the fire but the pure gold remains and its value increases. It is in this manner that God acts with His good servant, who puts his hope in Him and remains unshaken in times of distress. God raises him up and, in return for the things he has left, out of love for God, He repays him a hundredfold in this life with eternal life hereafter.”
Thought for the Day – 18 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Everlasting Salvation
“More than anything else, it is necessary to look after our eternal salvation. In comparison with this, all other business is unimportant. Our personal salvation is the only thing which is absolutely essential in our lives. Let us meditate on this momentous fact which has converted so many sinners and filled Heaven with Saints.
If I lose my soul, what use will ,money or success be to me? What good will be human learning or worldly pleasure? All this will pass away, whereas only my good actions will weigh the balance of Divine Justice in my favour.
Let us think of our sins, which are unfortunately so numerous and of our good actions, which are probably far fewer in number. It will be tragic for us if the weight of our sins should carry us towards damnation. It is still in our power, to guard against this by leading lives of penance and sanctity. “Strive … by good works, to make your calling and election sure” (2 Pet 1:10).”
Thought for the Day – 6 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971) – Octave Day of Saints Peter and Paul
St Peter, Prince of the Apostles St Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles
“It is good to admire the fidelity of St Peter and the designs of Divine Providence in making him the visible Head of the Church but, it is far better, to follow his example. His love for Jesus, led him to leave his family and his fisherman’s trade, in order to follow Our Lord. It led him to undertake long voyages, to endure imprisonment and to face martyrdom. What can we do for the love of Jesus? Remember that, if love is to be sincere, it must be generous and effective.
Secondly let us meditate on and imitate, the ardent and fearless faith of St Peter. He was not afraid to preach the teaching of Christ before the Sanhedrin. He was not afraid of Herod, who cast him into prison.
He was not afraid of the Roman Emperor, who caused him to be crucified. Our faith should be steadfast and lively, like his!
Finally, let us imitate Peter in his repentance. Although he loved Jesus very much and had such great faith in Him, in a moment of weakness and of imprudence, he denied Him three times. All his life, however, be wept bitterly for this sin. Whenever he heard a cock crowing, it was as if an arrow had pierced his heart. He was not satisfied, until he was hanging upon the cross like his Divine Master and could prove his love for Jesus by a Martyr’s death.”
St Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles
We can learn many other virtues from St Paul, besides his zealous love for God and for his fellowmen. We can also learn from him, the virtues of humility and of apostolic fervour. The Apostle of the Gentiles reached such heights of sanctity, as to feel himself transformed into Christ Himself and to deserve to be taken up into the third Heaven, where he enjoyed a foretaste of eternal happiness. Nevertheless, he considered himself unworthy to be called an Apostle and he realised, that all his gifts came to him from God. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to think anything as from ourselves but our sufficiency, is from God” (2 Cor 3:5). Whenever we succeed in any project, we should think on the same lines because, it is only when we are humble and depend on the grace of God, that the success of our actions will redound to the glory of our Creator. If the cancer of ambition or of self-love, should corrupt our purity of intention, our work would not be blessed by God and would not make us worthy of everlasting life. Let us repeat often: “All for You, with You and in You, my God.”
One Minute Reflection – 21 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Tuesday within the Octave of Corpus Christi and the Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591) – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“This is the Bread that has come down from Heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this Bread shall live forever.” – John 6:59
REFLECTION – Christ is “the bread of life” for those who believe in Him: to believe in Christ is to eat the bread of life, to possess Christ within one, is to possess eternal life… “I am the bread of life,” He says; “your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they are dead” (Jn 6,48f). By this is to be understood ,spiritual death. Why are they dead? Because they believed in what they saw and did not understand what they could not see… Moses ate manna, Aaron ate it and many others, too, who pleased God and are not dead. Why are they not dead? Because they understood, in a spiritual fashion, they were spiritually hungry, they tasted the manna spiritually, so that they might be spiritually satisfied. “This is the bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats it will never die” (v.50). This manna – that is to say, Christ, who Himself spoke like this…, was prefigured by the manna but was able to do more than manna could. For manna could not, of itself, prevent dying spiritually… But the righteous saw Christ in the manna, they believed in His coming and Christ, of whom manna was the symbol, grants to all who believe in Him that they should not spiritually die. Hence He says: “This is the bread come down from heaven; whoever eats it will never see death.” Here on earth, here now, before your eyes, your eyes of flesh: here is to be found the “bread from heaven” (v.51). The “bread of life” we spoke of a moment ago is now called “living bread.” Living bread because it contains, within itself, the life that abides and can deliver from spiritual death and bestow life. First He said: “Whoever eats it will never die” now he speaks clearly, concerning the life He gives: “Whoever eats this bread will live for ever” (v.58). Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury (c 1125-1190) Cistercian – The Sacrament of the Altar II
PRAYER – O God, bestower of heavenly gifts, Who in the angelic youth Aloysius joined wondrous innocence of life to an equally wondrous love of penance; grant, by his merits and prayers, that we who have not followed him in his innocence may imitate him in his penance. 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). SACRED Heart of JESUS, Thy Kingdom come! Indulgence 300 Days. Everytime Raccolta 178 St Pius X, 4 May 1906.
One Minute Reflection – 20 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Monday within the Octave of Corpus Christi and the Memorial of St Pope Silverius (Died 538) Martyr – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“He who eats this Bread shall live forever.” – John 6:59
REFLECTION – “Since it was the Will of God’s Only-Begotten Son, that men should share in His Divinity, He assumed our nature in order that, by becoming Man. He might make men gods . Moreover, when He took our flesh. He dedicated the whole of its substance to our salvation. He offered His Body to God the Father, on the Altar of the Cross, as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. He shed His Blood for our ransom and purification, so that we might be redeemed, from our wretched state of bondage and cleansed from all sin. But to ensure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us forever, He left His Body as food and His Blood as drink, for the faithful to consume in the form of bread and wine.
O precious and wonderful banquet which brings us salvation and contains all sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value? Under the old law, it was the flesh of calves and goats, which was offered but here, Christ Himself, the True God, is set before us as our food! What could be more wonderful than this? No other Sacrament has greater healing power; through it, sins are purged away, virtues are increased and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift. It is offered in the Church for the living and the dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all, may be for the benefit of all. Yet, in the end, no-one can fully express the sweetness of this Sacrament, in which spiritual delight is tasted at its very source, and in which, we renew the memory, of that surpassing love for us, which Christ revealed in His Passion.
It was to impress the vastness of this love, more firmly upon the hearts of the faithful, that our Lord instituted this Sacrament at the Last Supper. As He was on the point of leaving the world to go to the Father, after celebrating the Passover with His disciples, He left it as a perpetual memorial of His Passion. It was the fulfilment of ancient figures and the greatest of all His Miracles, while, for those who were to experience the sorrow of His departure, it was destined to be a unique and abiding consolation.” – St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Dominican Priest and Theologian, Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from On the Feast of the Body of Christ).
PRAYER – Look forgivingly on Thy flock, Eternal Shepherd and keep it in Thy constant protection, by the intercession of blessed Sylvester thy Martyr and Sovereign Pontiff, whom Thou didst constitute Shepherd of the whole Church. 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). O HEART of love, I place all my trust in Thee; for though I fear all things from my weakness, I hope all things from Thy mercies. – Ejaculation of Saint Margaret Mary – Indulgence 300 Days, Everytime – Raccolta 180St Pius X, 3 June 1908.
One Minute Reflection – 17 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Friday within the Octave of Corpus Christi – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59.
“This is the Bread that has come down from Heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this Bread shall live forever.”- John 6:59
REFLECTION – “It is wonderful that God rained manna on our fathers and they were fed with daily food from Heaven. And so it is written: Man ate the bread of angels. Yet, those who ate that bread all died in the desert. But the food that you receive, that living Bread which came down from Heaven, supplies the very substance of eternal life, and whoever will eat it, will never die, for it is the Body of Christ!
Consider now which is the more excellent – the bread of Angels or the Flesh of Christ, which is indeed the Body that gives Life. The first was manna from Heaven, the second is above the Heavens. One was of Heaven, the other is of the Lord of the Heavens; one subject to corruption if it was kept till the morrow, the other free from all corruption, for if anyone tastes of it with reverence, he will be incapable of corruption. For our fathers, water flowed from the rock; for you, Blood flows from Christ. Water satisfied their thirst for a time; Blood cleanses you forever. The Jew drinks and still thirsts but when you drink, you will be incapable of thirst. What happened in symbol is now fulfilled in reality.
If what you marvel at is a shadow, how great is the reality, whose very shadow you marvel at. Listen to this, which shows, that what happened in the time of our fathers was but a shadow. They drank, it is written, from the rock that followed them and the Rock was Christ! All this took place as a symbol for us. You know now what is more excellent – Light is preferable to its shadow, reality to its symbol, the Body of the Giver, to the manna He gave from Heaven.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from On the Mysteries).
PRAYER – O God, Thou Who in this wondrous Sacrament have left us a memorial of Thy Passion, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, that we may ever experience, within us, the effect of Thy Redemption. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect). MAY the HEART of JESUS be loved everywhere.100 Days, Indulgence Once a day – Pope Pius IX 23 September 1860.
Our Morning Offering – 14 June – The Memorial of St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
O Christ, Our Master and Our God By St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church
O Christ, our Master and our God, King of the ages and Creator of all, I thank You for all the good things You have given to me and for the reception of your most pure and life-giving Mysteries. I pray You, therefore, O good Lover of humankind, keep me under Your protection, in the shadow of Your wings. Grant that with a pure conscience, until my last breath, I may worthily partake of Your Holy Things, for the forgiveness of sins and for life everlasting. For You are the Bread of Life, the Fountain of Holiness and the Bestower of Blessings and to You, we give glory together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever, Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 13 June – The Memorial of St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor of the Church
“When it is dark, we do not see how dusty and dirty our house is. Only when the place is flooded with sunlight, do we realise its awful condition. So, we need the light of God’s grace to show us the real state of our soul and to induce us to clean up our hearts!”
“Charity is the soul of faith and makes it alive; without love, faith dies!”
“Christ acts like a loving mother. To induce us to follow Him, He gives us Himself as an example and promises us a reward in His kingdom.”
Lord Jesus, Bind Me to Yourself
Lord Jesus, bind me to Yourself and to my neighbour, with love. May my heart not be turned away from You. May my soul not be deceived, nor my talent or mind, enticed by allurements of error, so that I may never distance myself from Your love. Thus may I love my neighbour as myself, with strength, wisdom and gentleness, with Your help, You who are blessed throughout all ages. Amen.
St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor of the Church
Quote’s of the Day – 8 June – Ember Wednesday within the Octave of Pentecost – Acts 2:14-21, John 6:44-52.
“I Am the Living Bread Who came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live forever and the Bread that I will give, is My Flesh, for the Life of the world.”
John 6:51-52
“I Am the Bread of Life”
John 6:35
“For His Body, has been given to you under the appearance of bread and His Blood, under the appearance of wine, so that, when you have partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, you might be One Body and One Blood with Him. So shall we become Christ-bearers [“Christophers”]. His Body and Blood are diffused through all our members – see, then, how we become participants in the Divine Nature!”
St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 313-386) Father and Doctor of theChurch
“Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God – The Father is your Table, the Son is your Food and the Holy Spirit waits on you and then makes His Dwelling in you.”
St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“What graces, gifts and virtues the Holy Mass calls down!”
St Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751)
O Lord, My God, I Am Not Worthy Prayer Before Holy Communion By St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
O Lord, my God, I am not worthy that You should come into my soul but I rejoice that You have come to me because, in Your loving kindness You desire to dwell in me. You ask me to open the door of my soul, which You alone have created, so that You may enter into it with Your loving kindness and dispel the darkness of my mind. I believe that You will do this, for You did not turn away Mary Magdalene when she approached You in tears. Neither did You withhold forgiveness from the tax collector who repented of his sins or from the good thief who asked to be received into Your kingdom. Indeed, You numbered as Your friends, all who came to You with repentant hearts. O God, You alone are blessed always, now and forever. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 6 June – Pentecost Monday – Acts 10:34, 42-48, John 3:16-21
“Light came into the world” – John 3:19
REFLECTION – “The commandment of the Lord shines clearly, enlightening the eyes” (Ps 18 [19].9). Receive Christ, receive power to see, receive your light, that you may plainly recognise both God and man… Let us open ourselves to the light then and so to God. Let us open ourselves to the light and become disciples of the Lord… Let us, then, shake off forgetfulness of truth, shake off the mist of ignorance and darkness that dims our eyes and contemplate the true God… For upon us, buried in darkness, imprisoned in the shadow of death, a heavenly light has shone, a light of a clarity, surpassing the sun’s and of a sweetness, exceeding any this earthly life can offer. That light is eternal life and those who receive it live. Night, on the other hand, is afraid of the light and melting away in terror gives place to the day of the Lord. Unfailing light has penetrated everywhere and sunset has turned into dawn.
This is the meaning of the new creation (Gal 6,15; Rv 21,1) for the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 3,20), pursuing His course through the universe, visits all alike, in imitation of His Father, “who makes his sun rise upon all” (Mt 5,45) and bedews everyone with His truth… He, it is, Who has changed sunset into dawn and death into life by His Crucifixion, He, it is, Who has snatched the human race from perdition and exalted it to the skies. Transplanting what was corruptible, to make it incorruptible, He has transformed earth into Heaven…
He deifies us by His heavenly teaching, by “instilling His laws into our minds and writing them on our hearts. That all, be they of high estate or low, shall know God. And I will be merciful to them, God says and I will remember their sin no more” (Jr 31,33f.). Let us accept the laws of life, then; let us obey God’s promptings, let us learn to know Him.” – St Clement of Alexandria (150- 215) Theologian, Father of the Church (Exhortation to the Greeks, 11, 113).
PRAYER – O God, Thou Who gave the Holy Spirit to Thy Apostles, grant that the devout prayers of Thy people may be effective and, as Thou have given us faith, also grant us peace. 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). DIVINE Heart of JESUS, convert sinners, save the dying, set free the holy souls in Purgatory. Indulgence 300 Days Everytime – St Pius X, 11 September, 1907
Our Morning Offering – 29 May – Sunday within the Octave of Ascension
Stay With Me, O Lord By Padre Pio (1887-1968)
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my Life and without You, I am without fervour. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my Light and without You, I am in darkness. Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your Voice and follow You. Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much and always be in Your company. Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You. Stay with me, Lord, as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love. Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close and life passes, death, judgement and eternity approach. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile! Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You. Let me recognise You as Your disciples did, at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart. Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love. Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more. With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly, during all eternity. Amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 28 April – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Saturday within the Octave of the Ascension
“There are two ways of keeping God’s word, namely, one, whereby we store in our memory what we hear and the other, whereby we put into practice, what we have heard (and none will deny that the latter is more commendable, inasmuch, as it is better to sow grain, than to store it in the barn).”
Blessed Jordan of Saxony (1190-1237)
“Those who risk all for God, will find. that they have both lost all and gained all.”
St Teresa of Jesus of Ávila (1515-1582) Doctor of Prayer of the Church
“Our business is to love what we have. He wills our vocation as it is. Let us love that and not trifle away our time hankering after other people’s vocations.”
“By giving yourself to God, you not only receive Himself in exchange but, eternal life as well!”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritatis
“Teach Us Good Lord” By St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Teach us, good Lord, to serve You as You deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that we are doing Your will. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 24 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – James 1:22-27, John 16:23-30
“That your joy may be full.” – John 16:24
REFLECTION – “The entire life of a good Christian is, in fact, an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for but the very act of desiring, prepares you, so that when He comes, you may see and be utterly satisfied.
Suppose you are going to fill some holder or container and you know you will be given a large amount. Then you set about stretching your sack or wineskin or whatever it is. Why? Because you know the quantity with which you will fill it and your eyes tell you, there is not enough room. By stretching it, therefore, you increase the capacity of the sack and this is how God deals with us. Simply by making us wait, He increases our desire, which in turn, enlarges the capacity of our soul, making it able to receive what is to be given to us.
So, my brethren, let us continue to desire, for we shall be filled. Take note of Saint Paul, stretching as it were, his ability to receive what is to come – ‘Not that I have already obtained this,’ he said, ‘or am made perfect.Brethren, I do not consider that I have already obtained it.’ We might ask him, ‘If you have not yet obtained it, what are you doing in this life?’ ‘This one thing I do,‘ answers Paul, ‘forgetting what lies behind, and stretching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize to which I am called in the life above.‘ Not only did Paul say he stretched forward but he also declared that he pressed on toward a chosen goal. He realised, in fact, that he was still short of receiving ‘what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived.‘
Such is our Christian life. By desiring Heaven, we exercise the powers of our soul. Now this exercise will be effective, only to the extent, that we free ourselves from desires leading to infatuation with this world. Let me return to the example I have already used, of filling an empty container. God means to fill each of you with what is good – so cast out what is bad! If he wishes to fill you with honey and you are full of sour wine, where is the honey to go? The vessel must be emptied of its contents and then be cleansed. Yes, it must be cleansed, even if you have to work hard and scour it. It must be made fit for the new thing, whatever it may be!” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (An excerpt from his Tractates on «The First Letter of John»)
PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servants, that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness and enter into the joy of thine eternal gladness. 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).
Thought for the Day – 18 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Mary, the Source of Peace
“Mary, my most sweet Mother, in your Immaculate soul there reigned that true peace which is nourished by God’s grace and by complete obedience to His Will. Obtain for me from your Son, Jesus, victory over my evil inclinations and resignation to the sufferings of life and to death itself. Then, following your holy example, may I also be able to acquire the interior peace which will one day be perfect and everlasting in Heaven. Amen.”
Thought for the Day – 17 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
Contemplation and Our Lady
“O Mary, my most Holy Mother, free me from useless desires and from an excessive longing for worldly things. Help me to think always of Heaven. Grant that I may find my happiness in God, as you did, by acting in perfect accordance with His Holy Will. By loving Him above everything in the world, may I, one day, enjoy with you, the everlasting happiness of Heaven. Amen. ”
Quote/s of the Day – 16 May – Sirach 44:16-27; 45:3-20, Matthew 25:14-23
“Well done, good and faithful servant … Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Matthew 25:23
“I have chosen you and have appointed you, that you should go and should bring forth fruit and your fruit should remain, says the Lord.”
John 15:16
“If we follow Christ closely we shall be allowed, even on this earth, to stand, as it were, on the threshold of the heavenly Jerusalem and enjoy the contemplation, of that everlasting feast, like the blessed Apostles, who, in following the Saviour as their leader, showed and still show, the way to obtain the same gift from God. They said – See, we have left all things and followed You. We too follow the Lord and we keep His feast by deeds rather than by words.”
St Athanasius (297-373) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Rejoice and be happy! Persevere to the end and prefer to die rather than abandon the post, to which God has called you!”
St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
All Highest, Glorious God
All highest, glorious God, cast Your light into the darkness of our hearts, give us true faith, firm hope, perfect charity and profound humility, so that with wisdom, courage and perception, O Lord, we may do what is truly Your holy will. Amen.
One Minute Reflection – 16 May – The Memorial of St John Nepomucene (c 1345–1393) Priest, Martyr, “The First Martyr of the Seal of the Confession.” – Sirach 44:16-27; 45:3-20, Matthew 25:14-23
“A man going abroad, called his servants and handed over his goods to them.” – Matthew 25:14
REFLECTION – “There is no question but that this Householder is Christ. After His Resurrection, when He was about to return triumphantly to the Father, He called His Apostles and entrusted them with the Gospel teaching, giving more to one, less to the other, never too much or too little but according to the abilities of those who received it. In the same way, the Apostle Paul said that he had fed with milk those unable to take solid food (1Co 3,2)…
Five, two, one talent: let us take these to be the different graces granted to each, whether the five senses for the first; understanding of faith and works for the second; the reasons for distinguishing us from other creatures, for the third. “The one who received five talents went away and traded with them and made another five.” That is to say, besides the physical and material senses he had received, he added knowledge of heavenly things. His knowledge was raised from the creatures to the Creator, from the corporal to the incorporeal, from the visible to the invisible, from the transient to the eternal. “The one who received two made another two.” This one likewise, according to his ability, doubled in the school of the Gospel what he had learned in the school of the Law. Or perhaps we could say, that he understood that knowledge of faith and the works of this present life, lead to future happiness. “But the man who received one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” In the grip of works here below and of worldly pleasures, the wicked servant neglected God’s commands. However, let us note that, according to another evangelist, he wrapped it in a linen cloth – by this we could understand that he took away the force of his Master’s teaching, by a life of softness and pleasure…
The Master welcomed the first two servants… with the same words of praise. “Come,” He said, “share in your master’s joy and receive what eye has not seen and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart” (1Cor 2,9). What greater reward could be bestowed on a faithful servant?” – St Jerome (343-420) Translator of Sacred Scripture (the Vulgate), Father and One of the Original Four Doctors of the Latin Church .
PRAYER – Mercifully give us Your help, we beseech You, O Lord and by the intercession of blessed John, Your Confessor and Martyr, stretch over us the right hand of Your mercy against all wickedness of the devil. 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.
One Minute Reflection – 3 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross – 1 Peter 2:21-25, John 10:11-16
“I am the good shepherd and I know mine and mine know me.”- John 10:14
REFLECTION – “Let us consider Christ, our shepherd …. He rejoices in those sheep of His that are around Him and goes in search of those, that stray. Mountains and forests cause Him no fear; He crosses ravines to reach the sheep that is lost. Even if He finds it in a piteous state, He is not angry but touched with pity; He takes it on His shoulders and, from His own weariness, heals the exhausted sheep (Lk 15:4 f.) …
With good reason Christ declares: “I am the Good Shepherd, I seek out the lost sheep, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal (Ez 34:16). I have seen the flock of mankind struck down by sickness; I have witnessed my lambs wander about where demons dwell; I have seen my flock ravaged by wolves. All this I have seen and have not witnessed it from on high. That is why I took hold of the withered hand, gripped by pain as if by a wolf; I have unbound those whom fever had bound; I taught him to see whose eyes had been shut from his mother’s womb; I brought Lazarus out from the tomb where he had lain for four days (Mk 3:5; 1:31; Jn 9; 11). For I am the Good Shepherd and the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” …
The prophet knew this shepherd when, long before His Passion, He declared what would take place: “Like a sheep led to the slaughter or a sheep, dumb before the shearers, he opened not his mouth” (Is 53:7). Like a sheep, the shepherd has offered His neck for His flock …. By His death, He heals from death; by His tomb, He empties the tomb …. The tombs are full and the prison shut until the shepherd, comes down from the cross, He has come to bring His captive sheep the joyful news of their liberation. We see Him in hell where He gives the order for their release (1 Pt 3:19); we see Him call His sheep once more, giving them the call to life from the dwellings of the dead. “The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” This is how He intends to win the affection of His sheep and those who know how to listen to His voice, love Christ.” – Basil of Seleucia (Died 448) Bishop of Seleucia, Writer – Oratio 26
PRAYER –O Good Shepherd, You Whom My Soul Loves. By St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–C 395) Father of the Church
Where are You pasturing Your flock, O good Shepherd, Who carry the whole flock on Your shoulders? (For the whole of human nature is one sheep and You have lifted it onto Your shoulders). Show me the place of peace, lead me to the good grass that will nourish me, call me by name so that I, Your sheep, hear Your voice and by Your speech, give me eternal life. Answer me, You Whom my soul loves. … Show me then (my soul says), where You pasture Your flock, so that I can find that saving pasture too and fill myself with the food of Heaven, without which, no-one can come to eternal life and run to the spring and fill myself with the drink of God. You give it, as from a spring, to those who thirst – water pouring from Your side, cut open by the lance, water that, to whoever drinks it, is a spring of water, welling up to eternal life. Amen
This is a tiny excerpt from St Gregory of Nyssa’s commentary on the Song of Songs (Cap. 2: PG 44, 802), using the imagery of Psalm 23, appeals to the Lord Jesus Christ for the promised green pastures, restful waters and noonday rest that is the final, eternal destination of those who love God and walk in His ways.
Quote/s of the Day – 9 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Jeremias 18:18-23, John 12:10-36
“He who loves his life, loses it and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me and where I am, there also shall My servant be.”
John 12:25-26
“This is the time for Confession. Confess the sins you have committed in word or deed, by day or by night. Confess during this “favourable time” and on “the day of salvation,” receive Heaven’s treasure… ”
St Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350), Father & Doctor of the Church
“To do penance is to bewail the evil we have done and to do no evil to bewail.”
St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Confessor, Father and Doctor
“Rejoice and be happy! Persevere to the end and prefer to die rather than abandon the post, to which God has called you!”
St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 9 April – Saturday in Passion Week, the Fifth Week in Lent – Jeremias 18:18-23, John 12:10-36
“He who loves his life, loses it and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me and where I Am ,there also shall My servant be.” – John 12:25-26
REFLECTION – “… We are being towed along by a world that passes away, forgetting the world to come. We are greedy for present things but do not take into account the coming judgement. We will not run to meet the Lord as He comes…
Let us turn back, brethren, let us turn back… By the very fact of His delay, of His still waiting, our Lord proves His desire to see us come back to Him, His desire that we should not perish. In His great goodness, He continues addressing these words to us: “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked but would rather he would change his ways and live ”(Ez 33,11). So let us turn back to Him, brethren, not fearing that time is running short. The time that belongs to time’s Author cannot be shortened. The proof of it lies in the criminal in the Gospel, who, at the moment of dying on the cross, got away with his pardon, grabbed hold of life and, breaking into paradise like a burglar, managed to make his way into the Kingdom (cf. Lk 23,43)!” – St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father and “Doctor of Sermons” of the Church (Excerpt from Sermon 167).
PRAYER – O Lord, may the people dedicated to You, desire to serve You more and more, that, taught by these sacred rites, they may be enriched by more precious gifts, as they grow in favour with Your majesty. 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).
Tuesday in Passion Week – 5 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Daniel 14:27-42, John 7:1-13
“Fight my fight, O Lord; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me Send forth Your light and Your fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to Your holy mountain.” – Psalm 42:1,3
“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? John is most urgent in his epistle when he tells us, not to love the world by yielding to sensual desires. Never give your love to the world, he warns, or to anything in it. 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.
WE OUGHT NEVER TO FORGET, beloved, that we have renounced the world. We are living here now, as aliens and only for a time. When the day of our homecoming puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world and restores us to paradise and to the Kingdom, we should welcome it. What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country, as soon as possible? Well, we look upon paradise as our country and a great crowd of our loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children, longs for us to join them. Assured though they are of their own salvation, they are still concerned about ours. What joy both for them and for us, to see one another and embrace! O the delight of that Heavenly Kingdom where there is no fear of death! O the supreme and endless bliss of everlasting life!
MY DEAR BROTHERS, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve, that springs from faith, for He will give the rewards of His love, more abundantly, to those who have longed for Him more fervently.” – St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage, Father of the Church and Martyr (An excerpt from On Man’s Mortality).
Our Morning Offering – 4 April – Monday in Passion Week
Lord Jesus, Think on Me By St Synesius of Cyrene (375-430) Bishop of Ptolemais
Lord Jesus, think on me and purge away my sin, from earth-born passions set me free, and make me pure within. Lord Jesus, think on me, With care and woe oppressed, let me Thy loving servant be and taste Thy promised rest. Lord Jesus, think on me, nor let me go astray, through darkness and perplexity point Thou the heav’nly way. Lord Jesus, think on me, that, when the flood is past, I may eternal brightness see, and share Thy joy at last. Amen
Passion Sunday – 3 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59.
“Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord; teach me to do Your will.” – Psalm 142:9-10
“Amen, amen, I say to you, if anyone keep My word, he will never see death.”
John 8:51
WE SEE THAT DEATH is gain, life is loss. Paul says: For me life is Christ and death a gain. What does “Christ” mean but to die in the body and receive the Breath of Life? Let us then die with Christ, to live with Christ. We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death. By this kind of detachment our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body. It must soar above earthly lusts to a place where they cannot come near, to hold it fast. It must take on the likeness of death, to avoid the punishment of death. The law of our fallen nature is at war with the law of our reason and subjects the law of reason, to the law of error. What is the remedy? Who will set me free from this body of death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
WE HAVE A DOCTOR to heal us; let us use the remedy He prescribes. The remedy is the grace of Christ, the dead body, our own. Let us then be exiles from our body, so as not to be exiles from Christ. Although we are still in the body, let us not give ourselves to the things of the body. We must not reject the natural rights of the body but, we must desire, before all else, the gifts of grace.
WHAT MORE need be said? It was by the death of One Man that the world was Redeemed. Christ did not need to die, if He did not wish to but He did not look on death as something to be despised, something to be avoided and He could have found no better means to save us, than by dying. Thus His Death is Life for all. We are sealed with the Sign of His Death – when we pray, we preach His Death, when we offer Sacrifice we proclaim His Death. His Death is Victory; His Death is a Sacred Sign; each year His Death is celebrated with solemnity by the whole world.” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Great Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his work, On the death of Satyrus [Saint Ambrose’s brother])
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