Come O Holy Spirit! By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
You made Mary full of grace and inflamed the hearts of the Apostles with a holy zeal, enflame our hearts with Your love. You are the Spirit of goodness, give us the courage to confront evil. You are Fire, set us ablaze with Your love. You are Light, enlighten our minds, that we may see what is truly good and true. You are the Dove, give us gentleness. You are a soothing Breeze, bring calm to the storms that rage within us. You are the Tongue, may our lips ever sing God’s praises You are the Cloud, shelter us under the shadow of Your protection. O Holy Spirit, melt the frozen, warm the chilled and enkindle in us, an earnest desire to please You. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 1 February – “Month of the Holy Family of Nazareth”
“Thus, parents, I say, are more vicious, more cruel than child-murderers; for, a murderer of children, as Herod was, separates only the body from the soul; while the others, give the souls and bodies of their children to eternal flames! Further, those who are killed would have died in the course of time, though they had not been murdered; while children, neglected by their parents, might have avoided eternal death, had not the wickedness of their parents prepared it for them. Besides this, the general resurrection would have compensated for the bodily death, while the death and destruction of the soul, nothing can restore. A child, condemned by the parent’s fault, has no hope of salvation but has to suffer eternal pains. Hence I am right in saying, that such parents are worse than child-murderers.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor
“We become what we love and who we love, shapes what we become.”
St Clare of Assisi (1194-1253)
“On the journey of this life to eternity, let me carry You in my heart, following Mary’s example, who bore You in her arms, during the flight to Egypt.”
St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop and Doctor of the Church
“To hand onto your children. the faith you received from your parents, is your first duty and your greatest privilege as parents. The home should be the first school of religion, as it must be the first school of prayer.”
Bl Louise-Thérèse de Montaignac de Chauvance (1820-1885) “Apostle of the Sacred Heart”
“The family is the basis in the Lord’s plan and all the forces of evil aim to demolish it. Uphold your families and guard them against the grudges of the evil one, by the Presence of God.”
St Charbel Makhlouf OLM (1828-1898)
“ … The family is not made for society; rather, it is society, which is made for the family.”
“God did not create a human family made up of segregated, dissociated, mutually independent members. No; He would have them all united by the bond of total love of Him and consequent self-dedication to assisting each other to maintain that bond intact.”
“There is no surer means of calling down God’s blessing upon the family, than the daily recitation of the Rosary.”
And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” – Mark 5:6-8
REFLECTION – “Those words show clearly, that the demons had much knowledge but entirely lacked love. They dreaded receiving their punishment from Him. They did not love the righteousness that was in Him. He made himself known to them, to the extent He willed and, He willed to be made known, to the extent that was fitting. But, He was not made known to them, as He is known to the holy angels, who enjoy participation in His eternity, in that, He is the Word of God. To the demons, He is known as He had to be made known, by striking terror into them, for His purpose was to free, from their tyrannical power, all who were predestined for His kingdom and glory, which is eternally true and truly eternal. Therefore, He did not make Himself known to the demons, as the life eternal and the unchangeable light, which illuminates His true worshipers, whose hearts are purified by faith in Him, so that they see that light. He was known to the demons, through certain temporal effects of His power, the signs of His hidden presence, which could be more evident to their senses, even those of malignant spirits, than to the weak perception of human beings.”- St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace – (City of God, 9)
PRAYER – Almighty Father, grant that our trust and faith may grow each day. Help us to be secure in Your unfailing love and help. Even in our times of fear, pain and distress, give us the trust to know that You are always with us and that Your healing grace does indeed work miracles in our lives. Grant us strength, O Lord, to overcome all our fears with confidence in Your loving care and in the powerful and loving care of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Your Son and our mother. May the intercession of St Brigid of Ireland and all Your Angels and Saints be a comfort to us. Through Jesus Christ in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 28 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Blessed Eucharist
“By means of this wonderful gift, we can live the life of Jesus Himself.
It is Our Lord Himself, Who says to us: “As the living Father has sent me and as I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also shall live because of me” (Jn 6:58). In other words, as He draws His divine and human life from the Father and lives by means of Him, to Whom as God, He is substantially united and equal, so anyone who partakes of the Eucharist, is united closely to Jesus, lives His life and is transformed by His supernatural grace. When Holy Communion is received, therefore, as it ought to be and as the Saints received it, it leads to the mysterious union of which St Paul speaks: “To me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). “It is now no longer I that live but Christ, lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
The effect of Holy Communion on us, should be similar to that of a graft upon a tree, whose life is thereby transformed and which begins to produce the fruit of the new shoot instead of the old trunk. We should no longer live the life of the old man but, that of the new, which is Jesus. We ought, therefore, to produce His divine fruits. Our actions will have a supernatural value because they are performed in Jesus and through Jesus. We should be very grateful to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for this gift of His infinite love and goodness. We should approach Holy Communion with humility, love and complete self-surrender. Our hearts should be fused in the Heart of Jesus and our love should be fused in His infinite love.”
Quote/s of the Day – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
St Thomas speaks on the Holy Eucharist
“O precious and wonderful banquet that brings us salvation and contains all sweetness!”
“O how unspeakable is this Sacrament which sets our affections ablaze with charity. … It is the fulfillment of Christ’s Mystical Body.”
“The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love. It signifies Love, It produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life.”
“The proper effect of the Eucharist is the transformation of man into God.”
“As Christ’s Passion does not produce it’s effect on those who do not hold Him as they should, so also, those do not attain heaven through this Sacrament, who receive Him unworthily. Accordingly, Augustine writes: “The Sacrament is one thing, it’s virtue another. Many receive from the altar and, receiving it, are dead. Eat, therefore, heavenly bread, carry innocence to the altar.” So it is not surprising, that those who do not keep a pure heart, fail to gain the effect of the Sacrament.”
Adoro te Devote Trans. Fr Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)
Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore, Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more, See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart Lost, all lost in wonder at the God Thou art.
Seeing, touching, tasting are in Thee deceived – How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed, What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do, Truth Himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.
On the cross Thy godhead made no sign to men, Here Thy very manhood steals from human ken – Both are my confession, both are my belief, And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.
I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see, But can plainly call Thee Lord and God as he, Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move, Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.
O Thou our reminder of Christ crucified, Living Bread, the life of us for whom He died, Lend this life to me then – feed and feast my mind, There be Thou the sweetness man was meant to find.
Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican, Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran— Blood whereof a single drop has power to win All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.
Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below, I beseech Thee send me what I thirst for so, Some day to gaze on Thee face to face in light And be blest forever with Thy glory’s sight. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 18 January – Monday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Year A – Readings: Hebrews 5:1-10,Psalms 110:1, 2, 3, 4, Mark 2:18-22
The Spiritual Power of Fasting
“The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast in that day.”
Mark 2:20
“… Now is the time in this life of suffering, when we journey apart from Him. … So let us fast and pray now because, we are in the days of childbirth!”
“Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust and kindles the true light of chastity. Enter again into yourself!”
St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo Father and Doctor of Grace
“Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy – A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart.”
St Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church
“Let my fasting be based on temperance, my soul in a state of grace, my intention solely to please God, then my efforts will ring true, fit to enlarge my store of charity.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Bishop of Geneva OFM, Cap. Doctor Caritatis
Quote of the Day – 7 January – The Second Day within the Octave of Epiphany
Poem “The Epiphany”
To blaze the rising of this glorious sun A glittering star appeareth in the east Whose sight to pilgrim toil three sages won To seek the light they long had in request, And by this star to nobler star they pace Whose arms did their desired sun embrace.
Still was the sky wherein these planets shined And want the cloud that did eclipse their rays, Yet through this cloud their passage they did find, And pierced these sages’ hearts by secret ways, Which made them know, the Ruler of the skies By Infant tongue and looks of babish eyes.
Heaven at her light, earth blusheth at her pride And of their pomp these peers ashamed be, Their crowns, their robes, their train they set aside When God’s poor cottage, clouts and crew they see, All glorious things their glory now despise Since God contempt doth more than glory prize.
Three gifts they bring, three gifts they bear away, For Incense, Myrrh and Gold, Faith, Hope and Love And with their gifts the givers’ hearts do stay, Their mind from Christ, no parting can remove, His humble state, His stall, His poor retinue They fancy more than all their rich revenue.
Quote/s of the Day – 2 January – Christmas Weekday and The Memorial of St Basil the Great (329-379) and St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390)
“… In the conceitedness of our souls, without taking the least trouble to obey the Lord’s commandments, we think ourselves worthy to receive the same reward as those who have resisted sin to the death!”
“A tree is known by its fruit, a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost, he who sows courtesy, reaps friendship and he who plants kindness, gathers love.”
“There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change. Have you slipped? Rise up! Have you sinned? Cease! Do not stand among sinners but leap aside!”
“O sinner, be not discouraged but have recourse to Mary in all you necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in every kind of necessity.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Grace is given, not to those who speak [their faith] but to those, who live their faith.”
“Remember God more often than you breathe!”
“Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. He assumed the worse, that He might give us the better; He became poor, that we through His poverty, might be rich.”
St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Father and Doctor of the Church
Quote/s of the Day – 31 December – The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
Are we Ready? Will this be another year from hell?
“Brothers, . . . I can only say, that forgetting all that lies behind me and straining forward to what lies in front of me, I am racing towards the finishing-point, to win the prize of God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13
“My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven. Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it and by your progress in it, make your ascent together.”
St Fulgentius of Ruspe (c 462 – 533)
“Love God, serve God, everything is in that.”
St Clare of Assisi (1194-1253)
“In God’s Name, let us go on bravely”
St Joan of Arc (1412-1431)
“Our business is, to gain heaven; everything else, is a sheer waste of time.”
St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
“God Alone”
St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)
“Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labours.”
St Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897) Doctor of the Church
Quote/s of the Day – 26 December – Feast of St Stephen the ProtoMartyr and The Second Day in the Christmas Octave
“And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth, raised Stephen from earth to heaven; shown first in the King, it later shone forth in his soldier.”
“Love was Stephen’s weapon by which he gained every battle and so won the crown signified by his name.” (The meaning of the anme STEPHEN is “crown/wreath”)
“His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob; his love for his neighbour made him pray for those who were stoning him.”
“Love inspired him to reprove those who erred, to make them amend; love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment.”
“Strengthened by the power of his love, he overcame the raging cruelty of Saul and won his persecutor on earth as his companion in heaven. In his holy and tireless love he longed, to gain by prayer, those, whom he could not convert, by admonition.”
Quote/s of the Day – 29 October – the Memorial of Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano (1971 –1990)
“I care only about doing the will of God, doing it well, in the present moment.”
“I must not exploit Him but just love Him and nothing else.”
“I discovered that Forsaken Jesus is the key to unity with God and I want to choose Him as my first Spouse and be prepared for when He comes.”
“Just as its easy for me to learn the alphabet, so must it also be, to live the Gospel. I have re-discovered this phrase that says: “Give and it shall be given to you.”
“I have nothing left but I still have my heart and with that, I can always love.”
Quote/s of the Day – 25 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Exodus 22:20-26, Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4,47, 51, 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10, Matthew 22:34-40
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
Matthew 22:36,39
“No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared, for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9
“Oh! My God, how much your hand was upon me and yet how little I was aware of it! How good you are! How good you are! How you protected me! How you covered me with Your wings, when I did not even believe in your existence!”
“The Gospel showed me that the first commandment is to love God with all one’s heart and that, we should enfold everything in love; everyone knows, that the first effect of love is imitation.”
“Every person is a child of God, who loves them infinitely: it is, therefore, impossible to want to love God, without loving human beings – the more one loves God, the more one loves people. The love of God, the love of people, is my whole life; it will be my whole life, I hope.”
“When you love, you feel like speaking the whole time with the one you love, or at least, you want to look at Him without ceasing. Prayer is nothing else. It is the familiar meeting with our Beloved. We look at Him, we tell Him we love Him, we rejoice to be at His feet.”
“I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say: ‘If such is the servant, what must the Master be like.’”
“I have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing!” – Luke 12:49
REFLECTION – “Everything we are about to do, even if it were a supremely heroic action destroying the foundations of all evil on earth, that act will have no value, except to the extent, with which our will accords with the will of the Immaculate and, through her, with the will of God … It is love in all it’s profundity (beyond feelings, even though that is also beautiful) that must transform us … It should consume us and, through us, set fire to the world and destroy and burn all the evil it finds there. This is the fire of which the Saviour said: “I have come to cast fire on the earth and what how I wish that it were already burning!” (Lk 12:49). Consumed by this fire of divine love (I repeat, it is not a question here of sweet tears or of feelings but of the will, even in the midst of disgust and antipathy), we will set the whole world ablaze! Love never rests but spreads like fire that burns everything. And all of us human beings should tend towards being set alight by this fire of love and that it may burn all souls that are and will be in the world. This is the ideal towards which we should tend. We must remember the words of Jesus: “I have come to set the earth on fire” (Lk 12:49). On our part we should do all we can to make this fire light up more and more everyday.” – St Maximilian Kolbe OFM (1894-1941) Priest, Martyr – Conferences
PRAYER – Father, grant that we may be, bearers of Christ Jesus, Your Son. Allow us to fill with Your light the world around us. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit to carry out our mission of living and following the path of Jesus, our Lord. Help us to understand, that by Your grace our gifts are Your blessings, to be shared with others. Fill us with Your Spirit of love to give glory to You in loving all and preaching by our love. Nourish in us the desire to go forth as the bearers of Your Son fearless and gentle, loving and merciful. Make us true Christ bearers, that in seeing us only He is visible. Amen (The Christopher Prayer)
Quotes of the Day – 18 October – Feast of St Luke the Evangelist
“Most Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
Luke 1:42
“And I say to you: Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asks receives and he that seeks finds and to him that knocks, it shall be opened.”
Luke 11:9-10
“Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span?”
Luke 12:25
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
Luke 12:34
“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:36
“Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
Quote/s of the Day – 14 October – Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Galatians 5:18-25, Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6, Luke 11:42-46
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God.”
Luke 11:42
“Christianity is not a matter of persuading people of particular ideas but of inviting them to share in the greatness of Christ. So pray, that I may never fall into the trap, of impressing people, with clever speech but instead, I may learn, to speak with humility, desiring only to impress people, with Christ Himself.”
St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107) Father of the Church, Martyr
“Mint and dill and cumin are only spices for food but are not themselves, substantial food. What substantive food would mean in conversion, would be that which is necessary for the justification of our souls—faith and love— unlike these legalisms, which are more like condiments and flavourings. It is as if, a meal might be thought to consist, more of condiments and flavourings, than the food itself. The seriousness of judgement is neglected, while great attention is given to minor matters.”
Origen (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Father
“You hide your heart from man – hide it from God if you can. … Where will you go? Where will you flee? Do you want to hear some advice? If you want to flee from Him – flee to Him. Flee to Him by Confessing, not from Him, by hiding, for you cannot hide but you can Confess. Tell Him. “You are my refuge” (Ps 32[31]:7) and let there be nursed in yo, the love that alone leads to life.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“It is clear, my brethren, that we live outside ourselves, we are forgetful of ourselves whenever we fritter our lives away in empty pursuits or distractions, decked out with trifles. That is why Wisdom is more concerned to invite us to the house of repentance than the house of feasting, that is to say to call back into himself, the man outside himself …”
Blessed Isaac of Stella O.Cist (c 1100 – c 1170) Sermon 2 for All Saints, 13-20
“Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” – Matthew 22:12
REFLECTION – “But you, my friends, since you have already come into the house of the marriage feast, our holy Church, as a result of God’s generosity, be careful lest, when the King enters, He finds fault with some aspect of your heart’s clothing!
What do we think is meant by the wedding garment, dearly beloved? For if we say it is Baptism or faith, is there anyone who has entered this marriage feast without them? A person is outside because he has not yet come to believe. What then must we understand by the wedding garment but love? That person enters the marriage feast but without wearing a wedding garment, who is present in the holy Church. He may have faith but he does not have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because this, is what our Creator Himself possessed, when He came to the marriage feast, to join the Church to Himself. Only God’s Love brought it about, that His Only-Begotten Son, united the hearts of His chosen, to Himself. John says “God so Loved the world that He gave His Only-Begotten Son for us.” – St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father and Doctor of the Church – (Sermons on the Gospel No 38).
PRAYER – Lord Holy God and Father, open our hearts o Your grace. Let it go before us and be with us. Open our hearts to Your love. Let it be the foundation of our love, let our love be Your love. Stepping in the footsteps of Your Son, in imitation of His Saints as St Alexander Sauli lived, grant that by his intercession, we too may reach Your eternal Feast. Through Jesus our Lord who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 13 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
The Redemption
“The Incarnation of God, was sufficient to have saved us. It would have been enough for God made man, to have offered Himself to God, for our redemption in a single act of love. Every act of Jesus, the God-Man, had infinite value and was, therefore, sufficient to be offered to the Father as an infinite satisfaction for all our sins.
But, if Jesus had desired to show more clearly His great love for us, He could have offered Hi sufferings as a child in the cold cave at Bethlehem, when He lay whimpering on a wretched straw bed. He could have offered the sorrow of His exile in Egypt, He could have offered a single drop of His Precious Blood , during the ceremony of the circumcision. He could have offered the difficulties and privations of His simple working life at Nazareth, or the fatiguing exertions of His apostolic journeys. All these, would have been more than enough to have made amends to the divine Father for all the sins of humanity, to have ransomed us from the devil and to have restored to us, God’s grace and love. But in God, everything is infinite. His love has no limit. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart,” He as commanded men “and with thy whole soul and with thy whole strength and with they whole mind and thy neighbour as thyself.” He, Himself, did infinitely more than this, however, Jesus was not satisfied merely to love us, His brothers by adoption, as He loved Himself but, He wished to love us “more than He loved Himself. Greater love than this no-one has,” He said, “that one lay down his life for his friends” (1 Jn 15:13). This was what he Himself did. Sinful though we are, He called us friends. “You are my friends” (Jn 15:14). Out of love for us, He gave Himself entirely. He perspired blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and, abandoned by the Apostles, He was bound like a criminal, insulted, scourged, crowned with thorns, condemned to death and burdened with a cross; finally, when He arrived at Calvary, He was nailed to the gibbet, where He shed His Precious Blood and gave His life for our redemption. Such was the extent of Jesus’ infinite love for us.
“Calvary” writes St Francis de Sales,“is the school of love.” The Saints were moved to tears by the strange spectacle of God-made-man, dying on the Cross for men. What is our reaction?“
“A good person, out of the store of goodness in his heart, produces good” … Luke 6:45
REFLECTION – “Those who conceal their hypocrisy beneath feigned love, bless outwardly with their mouths but curse inwardly. Those who have acquired love, endure patiently the injuries and sufferings that their enemies inflict on them. Love alone harmoniously joins all created things with God and with each other. A person who does not tolerate suspicion or disparagement of others, possesses true love. Someone who does nothing to dispel love, is precious in the sight of God and the world. True words from a pure conscience betoken unfeigned love. If you tell your brother how someone else is denigrating him, you conceal your own envy under the guise of goodwill. (…) Guard yourself from hatred and dissipation and you will not be impeded at the time of prayer. Perfume is not to be found in mud nor the fragrance of love in the soul of a rancorous person. (…) Anyone who does not envy the spiritually mature and is merciful to the wicked, has attained an equal love for all. (…) Do not trust a thought that would judge your neighbour: for it is the person who is a store of evil who thinks evil thoughts (Mt 6:21; 12:35).” … St Thalassios the Libyan (5th Century) – Priest and Abbot in Libya (see a little biography of him below).
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, assist us at all times we pray, to obtain a spirit of worthy penance, for our sins and that of all the world. To the invocation of Your Divine Son, Jesus, we call on the intercession of His holy Mother, to aid us on our pilgrimage. With great affection and confidence, we honour the Holy Hearts and invoke the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, to be our constant source of pure assistance and succour that we might bear fruits worthy of their Names. Blessed be the Name of Mary! Amen
Saint Thalassius the Libyan undertook the call of God to life as a hermit in the fifth century. Thalassius is recorded to have entered into solitude at a young age near a village named Targala in Byzantine Syria. He is dwelt there living the ascetic life with no shelter for nearly forty years. His was a soul filled with humbleness, simplicity and a gentle nature. God manifested in the saint the gifts of powerful intercession and healing for which he gained considerable renown. In time, many came to join Thalassius in the eremitic life and he welcomed them as he would welcome Christ, building them cells with his own hands. Saint Thalassius, Hermit of Syria is said to have died peacefully and is commemorated on 22 February.
One Minute Reflection – 11 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Friday of the Twenty Third week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27, Psalms 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12, Luke 6:39-42
“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly, to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” … Luke 6:42
REFLECTION – “The Lord in this passage warns us against rash and unjust judgement. He wants us to act with a heart that is single and intent on God alone. Because there are many things about which, it would be rash to pass judgement, since we do not know with what kind of a heart they are done. For the most part, those who readily judge and condemn, are those who love to find fault and to condemn rather than to reprove and correct – and this is the vice of pride or envy. (…)
So if, for instance, someone sins through anger, you would reprove him through hatred. There is as much difference between anger and hatred, as there is between a speck and a beam. For hatred is an inveterate anger which, in time, has come to such a pitch that it may aptly be called a beam. Even though you are angry with someone, you may nevertheless wish them to amend. But if you hate someone, you cannot wish them to change for the better (…) First rid yourself of hatred, and then you will immediately be able to correct the person you love.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace – Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, 19,63
PRAYER – Lord God, in Your wisdom, You created us, in love. By Your providence, You rule us, in love. Penetrate our inmost being with the holy light of Your Son. Penetrate our hearts with the overwhelming love for Your love, so that we may weep in consolation. May the Light that is Jesus Christ our Lord, enlighten our hearts that we may see clearly the way we should tread. May the prayers of Your holy Angels, Martyrs, Saints and our Sorrowful Martyr Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our guiding inspiration. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 10 September – Thursday of the Twenty Third week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13, Psalms 139:1-3, 13-14, 23-24, Luke 6:27-38
“Love one another as I have loved you”
John 15:12
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:12-13
“Once for all, then, a short precept is given you – Love and do what you will, whether you hold your peace, through love, hold your peace; whether you cry out, through love cry out; whether you correct, through love correct; whether you spare, through love do you spare. Let the root of love be within, of this root, can nothing spring but what is good.”
St Augustine (354-430) Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church
Homily 7 on John
“My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven. Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it and by your progress in it, make your ascent together.”
St Fulgentius of Ruspe (c 462 – 533)
“So hold fast to the sweet and salutary bond of love, without which, the rich are poor and with which the poor are rich. What do the rich possess if not charity? (…) And since “God is love,” (1 Jn 4:8) as John the evangelist says, what can the poor lack, if they merit to possess God by means of charity? (…) So love, dearest brethren and hold fast to charity. without which no-one will ever see God.”
St Caesarius of Arles (470-543)
“At the end of your life, you will be judged by your love.”
St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them..” … Luke 6:31
REFLECTION – “Whoever loves me, says the Lord, will keep my commandments” and, “this is my commandment: that you love one another” (cf. Jn 14:15.23; 15:12). Thus whoever does not love their neighbour fails to keep the commandment and so cannot love the Lord. (…)
If “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rm 13:10), anyone who is full of rancour towards a neighbour, laying traps for the neighbour, cursing and exults in their fall, must surely be a transgressor deserving eternal punishment. If “he who speaks evil of his brother and judges him, speaks evil of the law and judges the law” (Jas 4:11) and the law of Christ is love, surely someone who speaks evil of Christ’s love, falls away from it and is the cause of his own perdition.
Do not listen gleefully to gossip at your neighbour’s expense, nor chatter to a person who likes finding fault. Otherwise you will fall away from divine love and find yourself cut off from eternal life. (…) Silence the person who utters slander in your hearing. Otherwise you sin twice over: – first you accustom yourself to a deadly passion and, second, you fail to prevent this gossip against your neighbour. (…)
St Paul says that if we have all the gifts of the Spirit but do not have love, we are no further forward (cf. 1 Cor 13:2). How assiduous, then, we ought to be in our efforts to acquire this love!” … St Maximus the Confessor (c 580–662) Abbot Theologian – First Century on Love, nos. 16, 56-58, 60, 54
PRAYER – Almighty Lord and God, protect us by Your power and love throughout this day, even as You have enabled us, in Your love to begin it. Do not let us turn aside to any sin but let our every thought, word and deed be done in love for You and Your creatures, our neighbour. Teach us to love as You have loved us and may our Sorrowful and Holy Mother, show us the way. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who loved us to the end, with the Holy Spiriti, God now and for all eternity, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 9 Sepember – The Memorial of St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654) “Slave of the slaves” and Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor” and Founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society
“We must speak to them with our hands, by giving, before we try to speak to them with our lips.”
“To love God as He ought to be loved, we must be detached from all temporal love. We must love nothing but Him, or if we love anything else, we must love it, only for His sake.”
“To do the will of God, man must despise his own; the more he dies to himself, the more he will live to God.”
St Peter Claver (1581-1654) “Slave of the slaves”
“Let us complain less of our times and more of ourselves. Let us not be discouraged, let us be better!”
“Let us learn of Him, that holy preference, which shows most love, to those who suffer most.”
“Let us go in simplicity, where merciful Providence leads us, content to see the stone on which we should step, without wanting to discover, all at once and completely, the windings of the road.”
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor”
Quote/s of the Day – 7 September – Monday of the Twenty Third week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, Psalms 5:5-6, 7, 12, Luke 6:6-11
“Stretch forth your hand.”
Luke 6:10
“While the withered hand was restored, the withered minds of the onlookers were not. … Are you debating what you will do? Worship Him as God. Worship the Wonder-worker. Worship One who worked good things on behalf of another.”
St Athansius (297-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
“What He receives on earth He returns in heaven. … A poor man is begging from you and you are begging from God, he asks for a scrap, you ask for eternal life.”
St Caesarius of Arles (470-543)
“O God, grant that whatever good things I have, I may share generously with those who have not and whatever good things I do not have, I may request humbly from those who do.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor anglicus
“If we look forward to receiving God’s mercy, we can never fail to do good, so long as we have the strength. For if we share with the poor, out of love for God, whatever He has given to us, we shall receive according to His promise, a hundredfold in eternal happiness. What a fine profit, what a blessed reward! With outstretched arms He begs us to turn toward Him, to weep for our sins and to become the servants of love, first for ourselves, then for our neighbours. Just as water extinguishes a fire, so love wipes away sin.”
St John of God (1495-1550)
“So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember, that this very service, is performed for God.”
St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)
“Yours must be a work of love, of kindness, you must give your time, your talents, yourselves.”
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam (1813–1853) “Servant to the Poor” and Founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society
Quote/s of the Day – 6 September – Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-9, Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9, Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 18:15-20
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.”
Matthew 18:15-17
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart but you shall reason with your neighbour, lest you bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people but, you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord”
Leviticus 19:17-18
“Someone who shows no clemency, who is not clothed with the bowels of mercy and tears, no matter what sort of student he is in spirituality, such a one does not fulfil the law of Christ.”
St Jerome (347-420) Priest, Translator of the Bible, Father & Doctor of the Church
“If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.”
“If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery.”
St Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church
An excerpt from his Sermon 43
“Be gentle to the weak, firm to the stubborn, steadfast to the proud, humble to the lowly.”
St Columban (543-615)
“Charity may be a very short word but with its tremendous meaning of pure love, it sums up man’s entire relation to God and to his neighbour.”
St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)
“See to it that you refrain from harsh words. But if you do speak them, do not be ashamed to apply the remedy from the same lips, that inflicted the wounds.”
St Francis of Paola OM (1416-1507)
“O man, when the world hates you and is faithless toward you, think of your God, how He was struck and spat upon. You should not accuse your neighbour of guilt but pray to God, that He be merciful to you both.”
St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)
“You must be reconciled with your enemies, speak to them as if they had never done you anything but good all your life, keeping nothing in your heart but the charity, which the good Christian should have for everyone, so that we can all appear with confidence before the tribunal of God.”
Quote/s of the Day – 30 August – The Memorial of St Jeanne Jugan /Mary of the Cross (1792 – 1879)
“Little, very little, be very little before God.”
“He is so good … love God very much. All for Him, do everything through love.”
“My little ones, never forget that the poor are Our Lord; in caring for the poor say to yourself: This is for my Jesus – what a great grace!”
“We were grafted into the Cross.”
“Eternal Father, open your gates today to the most miserable of your children but one who greatly longs to see You. O Mary, my dear Mother, come to me. You know that I love you and I long to see You.”
“The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.” … Matthew 25:3-4
REFLECTION – “It is some great thing, some exceedingly great thing, that this oil signifies. Do you think it might be charity? If we try out this hypothesis, we hazard no precipitate judgement. I will tell you why charity seems to be signified by the oil. The apostle says, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” “If I speak with the tongue of mortals and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” This is charity. It is “that way above the rest,” which is, with good reason, signified by the oil. For oil swims above all liquids. Pour in water and pour in oil upon it, the oil will swim above. If you keep the usual order, it will be uppermost, if you change the order, it will be uppermost. “Charity never fails.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor – Sermon 93
PRAYER – Renew in Your Church, we pray , O Lord, the spirit with which You endowed Your Bishop Saint Augustine, that, filled with the same spirit, we may thirst for You, the sole fount of true wisdom and seek You, the author of heavenly love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Augustine, pray for us! Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 26 August – The Memorial of Saint Jeanne Elisabeth des Bichier des Anges FC (1773-1838) and St Mary of Jesus Crucified OCD (1846-1878)
“Virginity, is nothing in the eyes of God, without the humility of spirit, which is virginity, itself.”
“What! She would say, as if exasperated, can we offer in the Holy Sacrifice the death and humiliations of God-made-Man and be unwilling to be humble! To want to be esteemed while He is being humiliated! To want to be something in the eyes of the world, where as He remains hidden under the Eucharistic veils! To love one’s independence, whereas His love for us keeps Him a Prisoner in the Tabernacle! Oh! How such differences should cover us with shame, fill us with self-loathing, with a hatred of our pride and our folly!”
St Elisabeth Bichier (1773-1838)
“Where there is charity, there is God. If you are attentive about doing good to your brother, God will be attentive about you. If you dig a hole for your brother, you will be digging it for yourself; it is you, yourself who will fall into it. But if you make heaven for your brother, you will be making it for yourself. Remember it …”
“It is pleasant to hear about Jesus; more pleasant to listen to Jesus Himself speaking … It is pleasant to think about Jesus; more pleasant to possess Him … It is pleasant to hear Jesus’ words; more pleasant to do His will …”
One Minute Reflection – 21 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Friday of the Twentieth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 37: 1-14, Psalms 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Matthew 22:34-40 and the Memorial of St Pope Pius X (1835-1914) (Pontiff 1903-1914)
“On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” … Matthew 22:40
REFLECTION – “When our Master was asked which was the greatest of the commandments, He replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength. There is no other commandment greater than this” (Mk 12:30-31). I think so, too, since it concerns primary and essential Being, God our Father, through whom all things were made, all things remain in being and to whom all who are saved will return. He it is who loved us the first, who gave birth to us. It would be sacrilege to think there exists any being more ancient or more wise. Our thanksgiving may be insignificant compared to his great gifts, yet we cannot offer him any other recognition, he who is perfection itself and has no need of anything. Let us love our Father with all our strength and ardor of soul and we shall win immortality. The more we love God, the more is our nature incorporated and mingled with his own.
The second commandment, Jesus says, yields in nothing to the first: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (…) When the scholar of the Law asks Jesus: “And who is my neighbour?” (Lk 10:29), he does not reply by giving the Jewish definition of neighbour – family, fellow Jews, proselytes, those who live according to the same Law – but tells the story of a traveller who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Wounded by robbers (…), the man was cared for by a Samaritan who “showed himself a neighbour” (v. 36).
And who is even more of a neighbour to me than our Saviour? Who showed more compassion to us when the powers of darkness had left us battered by blows? (…) Jesus alone knew how to heal our wounds and root out the evils planted in our hearts (…). That is why we should love Him just as much as we love God our Father. And loving Christ Jesus, is to carry out His will and keep His commandments.” … St Clement of Alexandria (150-215) Theologian and Father of the Church – Homily “Can the rich be saved?”
PRAYER – Lord God, You filled the saints with strength and courage and gave them the knowledge of unity with You. Grant, we pray, that in imitation of St Pope Pius X, we may defend the Catholic faith and renew all things in Christ, Your Son. Help us Holy Father, to follow the example of St Pius and finally inherit eternal life, with You and all the saints. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 14 August – The Memorial of Blessed St Maximillian Kolbe OFM Conv (1894 -1941)
“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so, for one reason: HOLY COMMUNION.”
“Let us remember, that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving. Without sacrifice, there is no love.”
“When we dedicate ourselves to Mary, we become instruments in her hands, just as she is an instrument in God’s hands. Let us then be guided by her, for she will provide for the needs of body and soul and overcome all difficulties and anxieties.”
“Jesus honoured her before all ages and will honour her for all ages. No-one comes to Him, nor even near Him, no-one is saved or sanctified, if he too will not honour her. This is the lot of Angels and of men.”
“Modern times are dominated by Satan and will be more so in the future. The conflict with hell cannot be engaged by men, even the most clever. The Immaculata alone, has from God, the promise of victory over Satan. However, assumed into Heaven, the Mother of God now requires our co-operation. She seeks souls, who will consecrate themselves entirely to her, who will become in her hands effective instruments for the defeat of Satan and the spreading of God’s kingdom upon earth.”
AnaStpaul 
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