Quote/s of the Day – 30 June – The Memorial of Blessed Raymond Lull T.O.S.F. (c 1232 – c1315) Martyr
“The Beloved created
and the Lover destroyed.
The Beloved judged
and the Lover wept.
Then the Beloved redeemed him
and the Lover again had glory.
The Beloved finished His work
and the Lover remained forever,
in his Beloved’s companionship.”
“Death has no terrors
for a sincere servant of Christ,
who is labouring to bring souls
to a knowledge of the truth.”
One Minute Reflection – 26 June – The Memorial of St Josemaria Escrivá (1902-1975) – Today’s Gospel Matthew7:6.12-14.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”…Matthew 7:12-14
REFLECTION – “Never say of anybody under you: he is no good. It is you who are no good, for you cannot find a place where he will be of use.”…The Furrow #975
“…He does not give us this standard as a distant target, as a crowning point of a whole lifetime of struggle. It is — it ought to be, I repeat so that you may turn it into specific resolutions — the starting point, for Our Lord presents it as a sign of Christianity: ‘By this shall all men know that you are my disciples.'”…Friends of God #223
“All the things of this world are no more than earth. Place them in a heap under your feet and you will be so much the nearer to heaven.”…The Way #676
PRAYER – Enable me loving Father, to live a life of purity that will make me live in You. Let me be so united with You that whatever I might ask will be in total accord with Your will for me. St Josemaria, your inspiration and teachings help and show us the way to sanctification, please intercede for us all, amen.
Thought for the Day – 25 June – Monday of the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 7:1-5 & The Memorial of St Maximus of Turin (? – c 420)
“Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye”
Love — caritas — is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal Love and Absolute Truth. Each person finds his good by adherence to God’s plan for him, in order to realise it fully: in this plan, he finds his truth, and through adherence to this truth he becomes free (cf. Jn 8:32)…
Charity is love received and given. It is “grace”. Its source is the wellspring of the Father’s love for the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Love comes down to us from the Son. It is creative love, through which we have our being; it is redemptive love, through which we are recreated. Love is revealed and made present by Christ (cf. Jn 13:1) and “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5). As the objects of God’s love, men and women become subjects of charity, they are called to make themselves instruments of grace, so as to pour forth God’s charity and to weave networks of charity.
This dynamic of charity received and given is what gives rise to the Church’s social teaching…: the proclamation of the truth of Christ’s love in society. This doctrine is a service to charity but its locus is truth… Development, social well-being, the search for a satisfactory solution to the grave socio-economic problems besetting humanity, all need this truth. What they need even more is that this truth should be loved and demonstrated. Without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power, resulting in social fragmentation, especially in a globalised society at difficult times like the present….Pope Benedict XVI Encyclical « Caritas in veritate
“To illustrate this view of Maximus’ ministry in his city, I would like to point out for example Sermons 17 and 18, dedicated to an ever timely topic: wealth and poverty in Christian communities. In this context too, the city was fraught with serious tensions. Riches were accumulated and hidden. “No one thinks about the needs of others”, the Bishop remarked bitterly in his 17th Sermon. “In fact, not only do many Christians not share their own possessions but they also rob others of theirs. Not only, I say, do they not bring the money they collect to the feet of the apostles but in addition, they drag from priests’ feet their own brethren who are seeking help”. And he concluded: “In our cities there are many guests or pilgrims. Do what you have promised adhering to faith, so that what was said to Ananias will not be said to you as well: “You have not lied to men but to God'” (Sermon 17, 2-3).”…Pope Benedict Homily on St Maximus 31 October 2007
One Minute Reflection – 25 June – Monday of the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B
“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”…Matthew 7:5
REFLECTION – “Let us especially resolve not to judge others, not to doubt their good will, to drown evil in an abundance of good, sowing loyal friendship, justice and peace all around us.”… St Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975)
PRAYER – God of power and mercy, be with us in our endeavours to be true to Your commandments and be light in our world. Grant that we may always act in true humility towards our neighbour, assisting where we are able without allowing our hearts to pass judgment on things we do not see and understand. May our Mother Mary be with us and lead us to the truth of Her Son. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote of the Day – 23 June – The Memorial of St Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860)
“We are born to love,
we live to love
and we will die
to love still more.”
Thought for the Day – 18 June – Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:38-42
“Pray for the one who hurt me?” the Pope asked. “Yes,” he answered, “because it changes lives.” If we think it is impossible, then pray, the Pope said. Pray every day for the grace to forgive and the grace to love.
“This advice: ‘Be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy.’ And then: ‘You shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect’,” the Pope remarked. Forgiveness and prayer are the way to do this. “This is the way of holiness,” he said. “If all men and women of the world learned this, there would be no wars, there would not be.”
Wars begin “in bitterness, rancour, the desire for revenge, to make someone pay. But that destroys families, destroys friendships, destroys neighbourhoods, destroys so much,” he said. For Pope Francis, this is why we must pray always for the grace not to hold grudges and for “the grace to pray for our enemies, to pray for the people that do not love us, the grace of peace.”
If we make this our daily prayer, the Pope continued, even just praying one prayer a day for our enemies, this is how we will “win” and make progress “on the path of holiness and perfection.” In the end, “evil is overcome by good,” he said, and “sin is won with generosity.” “Prayer is an antidote against hatred, against wars, these wars that start at home, which start in the neighbourhood, which begin in families,” he said.
The Pope said if he knows that someone wants to hurt him and does not love him, “I pray especially for him.”
Pope Francis 19 February 2017
Quote of the Day – 18 June – Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:38-42
“You don’t love in your enemies
what they are
but what you would have them become,
by your prayers!”
One Minute Reflection – 18 June – Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:38-42
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also...”Matthew 5:38-39
REFLECTION – “Whoever keeps the whole Law but falls short in one particular has become guilty in respect to all of it” (Jas 2:10). What is this one law if not true love, perfect charity? It is of this that Saint Paul also said : “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one statement, namely: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’” (Gal 5:14)…
For true charity is patient in adversity and moderate in prosperity; strong in painful suffering, joyful in good works; completely safe in temptation. It is very gentle among genuine brothers, very patient among the false. It is innocent in the midst of snares, groans in the midst evildoing and breathes naturally in the truth. It is chaste in the married woman, Susannah, in the widow, Anna, in the virgin, Mary (Dn 13:1f.; Lk 2:36). It is humble in Peter’s obedience and free in Paul’s arguments. It is human in the witness of Christians, divine in the forgiveness of Christ. For true charity, beloved brethren, is the soul of the whole of Scripture, the strength of prophecy, the structure of knowledge, the fruit of faith, the wealth of the poor, the life of the dying. So keep it faithfully; cherish it with all your heart and all the strength of your soul (cf Mk 12:30).”…St Caesarius of Arles (470-543), monk and Bishop (Sermons to the people, no. 23, 4-5, which draws its inspiration from Saint Augustine)
PRAYER – King of heaven and earth, Lord God, rule over our hearts this day. Sanctify us and guide our every thought, word and deed according to Your commandments. That we may grow in love, patience, strength, gentleness, forgiveness and all the ways of our guide, Your Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour. Holy Mother Mary, pray for us and keep us ever in your care that we may not go astray. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, one God with You and the Holy Spirit, forever, amen.
Quote of the Day – 17 June – The Memorial of St Albert Chmielowski (1845-1916)
“I look at Jesus in His Eucharist.
Could His love have provided
anything more beautiful?
If He is bread, let us too become bread…
let us give ourselves.”
One Minute Reflection – 15 June – Friday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:27-32
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress and whoever marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.”…Matthew 5:31-32
REFLECTION – “Married love particularly reveals its true nature and nobility when we realise that it takes its origin from God, who is love… Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves alone… develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives. The marriage of those who have been baptised is, in addition, invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it represents the union of Christ and His Church (Eph 5:32).
In the light of these facts the characteristic features and exigencies of married love are clearly indicated. This love is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and sorrows of daily life but also to grow, so that husband and wife become, in a way, one heart and one soul and together attain their human fulfilment.
It is a love which is total—that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner, loves not only for what he receives but loves that partner, for the partner’s own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.
Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage… Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being.”…Blessed Paul VI – Humanae vitae, 8-9
PRAYER – Yours is the day and Yours, the night, Lord God and we are Your children. Grant we pray, that the weakness of our humanity, the drive of our emotions and flesh may not overpower us. Lead us Lord, through the dangers of our day, give us strength and true love, wishing only our final home for those who share our lives, especially our spouse. Mary, pray for us, that we may imitate your faithfulness in all things, St Joseph be a guide and a support to us all. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B
“Man sees your actions
but God your motives.”
“What else does anxiety
about the future bring you
but sorrow upon sorrow?”
“He who loves
with purity,
considers not,
the gift of the lover
but the
love of the giver.”
“Nothing, how little so ever it be,
if it is suffered for God’s sake,
can pass without merit
in the sight of God.”
“Who has a harder fight,
than he who is striving,
to overcome himself?”
“Habit is overcome by habit.”
“Love wakes much and sleeps little
and, in sleeping, does not sleep.
It faints but is not weary;
it is restricted in its liberty
and is great freedom.
It sees reasons to fear
and does not fear
but, like an ember or a spark of fire,
flames always upward,
by the fervour of its love, toward God
and through the special help of grace,
is delivered from all perils and dangers.”
“For a small reward,
a man will hurry away on a long journey;
while for eternal life,
many will hardly take a single step.”
“In the Cross is salvation;
in the Cross is life,
in the Cross is protection against our enemies,
in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness,
in the Cross is strength of mind,
in the Cross is joy of spirit,
in the Cross is excellence of virtue,
in the Cross is perfection of holiness.
There is no salvation of soul,
nor hope of eternal life,
save in the Cross.”
“He will be with you also,
all the way, that faithful God.
Every morning when you awaken,
to the old and tolerable pain,
at every mile of the hot uphill dusty road
of tiring duty,
on to the judgment seat,
the same Christ there as ever,
still loving you,
still sufficient for you, even then.
And then, on through all eternity.”
One Minute Reflection – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:20-26.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift...Matthew 5:23-24
REFLECTION – “The Church does not exist for us to remain divided when we come to it but rather so that our divisions might be nullified. That is what the assembly means. Thus if we have come for the Eucharist, let us not do anything in contradiction to the Eucharist, let us not hurt our brother. You have come to give thanks for the kindnesses you have received, therefore, do not separate yourself from your neighbour.
Christ offered his body to everyone without distinction when he said: “Take and eat, all of you.” Why do you not admit everyone to your own table? … You are remembering Christ and you disdain someone who is poor? … You are taking part in this divine meal; you should be the most compassionate of all people. You have drunk the Lord’s blood and you do not acknowledge your brother? But even if you have ignored him until now, at this table you must acknowledge him. We must all be in the Church as in one common house, we form only one body. We have only one baptism, one single table, one single source, as well as one single Father.”…St John Chrysostom (345-407), Father & Doctor of the Church (Homilies on the 1st Letter to the Corinthians, no 27 -cf Eph 4:5; 1 Cor 10:17 )
PRAYER – Lord God, true light and creator of light, grant that faithfully following the instructions of Your Son and pondering all that is holy, we may ever live in the splendour of Your presence. By the gifts of the Holy Spirit, may we always be light to our neighbour. Mary, Mother of Love and our loving mother, by your prayers, may we grow in charity and love. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 13 June – The Memorial of St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Doctor of the Church
“He who is the beginning and the end,
the ruler of the angels,
made Himself obedient to human creatures.
The creator of the heavens obeys a carpenter;
the God of eternal glory listens to a poor virgin.
Has anyone ever witnessed anything comparable to this?
Let the philosopher no longer disdain from listening
to the common labourer;
the wise, to the simple;
the educated, to the illiterate;
a child of a prince, to a peasant.”
“Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ
just as travelers lean on a staff
when they begin a long journey.”
“Earthly riches are like the reed.
Its roots are sunk in the swamp
and its exterior is fair to behold –
but inside it is hollow.
If a man leans on such a reed,
it will snap off and pierce his soul.”
“The devil is afraid of us
when we pray and make sacrifices.
He is also afraid when we are humble and good.
He is especially afraid when we love Jesus very much.
He runs away when we make the Sign of the Cross.”
“Actions speak louder than words;
let your words teach
and your actions speak.”
“The life of the body is the soul;
the life of the soul is God.”
“Charity is the soul of faith,
makes it alive;
without love, faith dies.”
“Damned money!
Alas! …
Money is the ‘droppings of birds’
that blinded the eyes of Tobit.”
Thought for the Day – 5 June – The Memorial of St Boniface (672-754) “The Apostle of Germany” – Martyr
“Let us stand fast in what is right and prepare our souls for trial.
Let us wait upon God’s strengthening aid and say to Him:
“O Lord, you have been our refuge in all generations.”
Let us trust in Him, who has placed this burden upon us.
What we ourselves cannot bear, let us bear with the help of Christ.
For He is all-powerful and He tells us:
“My yoke is easy and my burden light.”
Let us continue the fight, on the day of the Lord.
The days of anguish and of tribulation have overtaken us.
If God so wills,
“let us die for the holy laws of our fathers,”
so that we may deserve, to obtain an eternal inheritance with them.
Let us be neither dogs that do not bark,
nor silent onlookers,
nor paid servants,
who run away before the wolf.
Instead, let us be careful shepherds,
watching over Christ’s flock.
Let us preach the whole of God’s plan,
to the powerful and to the humble,
to rich and to poor,
to men of every rank and age,
as far as God gives us the strength, in season and out of season.”St Boniface, Pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 5 June – Tuesday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B
“Faith is to believe what you do not see;
the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
“It is no advantage
to be near the light,
if the eyes are closed.”
“God provides the wind,
man must raise the sail.”
“I believe though I do not comprehend
and I hold by faith,
what I cannot grasp with the mind.”
“Faith has to do with things, that are not seen
and hope with things, that are not in hand.”
“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary.
To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”
“Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.”
Quote/s of the Day – 30 May – The Memorial of St Joan of Arc (1412-1431)
“About Jesus Christ and the Church,
I simply know, that they are just one thing
and we shouldn’t complicate the matter.”
“Help yourself and God will help you.”
“I am the drum on which God
is beating out His message.”
“If I be not in a state of grace,
I pray God place me in it,
if I be in it, I pray God keep me so.”
“I would rather die, than do a thing,
which I know to be a sin,
or against the will of God.”
“Every man gives his life, for what he believes.
Every woman gives her life, for what she believes.
Sometimes people believe, in little or nothing
and so they give their lives, to little or nothing.
One life is all we have and we live it, as we believe in living it…
and then it’s gone.
But to surrender, who you are and to live without belief,
is more terrible than dying – even more terrible than dying young.”
“All battles are first won or lost, in the mind.”
Quote/s of the Day – and Marian too – 29 May “Mary’s Month!” – The Memorial of Blessed Joseph Gerard O.M.I. (1831-1914)
“Always believe, in the power of love and truth,
the love of neighbour, which is rooted in the love of God
and the truth, which sets people free.”
“Reject violence as a solution to any situation,
no matter how unjust it may be.”
“Above all, trust in the God of justice,
who created all things,
who sees all human events,
who holds in His hands,
the destiny of every person and of every nation.”
“Let the eyes of our faith
never wander
from the Cross of Calvary.”
“May each of you, discover Mary, as your Mother.”
“May each of you, seek to be a son, a daughter, of Mary,
who at the foot of the Cross,
becomes in a particular way for us,
the “Mother of Divine Grace”.”
May each of you, “make a place for her in your home”
and even more so in your heart,
every day and throughout your life,
especially at those times, of trial and suffering.”
Maseru Race Course (Lesotho)
Thursday, 15 September 1988
Taken from the Beatification Homily of St Pope John Paul II
(See today’s thought for the Day)
Quote/s of the Day – 28 May – Monday of the 8th Week of Ordinary Time Year B
11. To rejoice in the happiness of God.
12. To do that which is most pleasing to Jesus Christ, and not to refuse Him anything that is agreeable to Him.
13. To desire and to endeavour that all should love Jesus Christ.
14. To pray always for sinners and for the souls in Purgatory.
15. To drive from your heart every affection
that does not belong to Jesus Christ.16. Always to have recourse to the Most Holy Mary,
that she may obtain for us the love of Jesus Christ.17. To honour Mary in order to please Jesus Christ.
18. To seek to please Jesus Christ in all of your actions.
19. To offer yourself to Jesus Christ to suffer any pain for His love.
20. To be always determined to die rather than commit a wilful venial sin.
St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Quote/s of the Day – 26 May “Mary’s Month! – The Memorial of St Philip Neri (1515-1595)
“To petition Our Blessed Lady in our most urgent need,
repeat, after the fashion of the Rosary,
“Virgin Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.”
Cast yourself into the arms of God
and be very sure that if He wants anything of you,
He will fit you for the work and give you strength.
First let a little love,
find entrance into their hearts
and the rest will follow.
The cross is the gift God gives to His friends.
The greatness of our love of God,
must be tested by the desire we have,
of suffering for His love.
The true servant of God,
acknowledges no other country
but heaven.
At communion we ought to ask
for the remedy of the vice to which
we feel ourselves most inclined.
The best way to prepare for death is to spend every day of life as though it were the last.
Obtain humility through sincere and frequent confession.
WELL! And when shall we begin to do good?”
Quote/s of the Day – 23 May – Wednesday in the 7th Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Readings: James 4:13-17, Psalm 49:2-3, 6-11, Mark 9:38-40
But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him;
for no one who does a mighty work
in my name, will be able, soon after,
to speak evil of me.
For he that is not against us, is for us.
“The Christian should be
an Alleluia! from head to foot”
“Cook the truth in charity,
until it tastes sweet.”
“We must speak to them with our hands,
before, we try to speak, with our lips.”
“If I’m not willing, to change my schedule,
so that I can, spend time with Jesus,
than I’m not really, a disciple of His.”
“If you follow Jesus,
you’re going to get into some trouble!”
“If not YOU,
then WHO?
If not NOW,
then WHEN?
Quote/s of the Day – 19 May – Saturday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide
“Truly, it is in darkness
that one finds the light,
so when we are in sorrow,
then this light is nearest of all to us.”
“If the only prayer,
you ever say,
in your entire life,
is “thank you”,
it will be enough.
“The eye
with which
I see God,
is the same eye,
with which,
God sees me.”
Quote/s of the Day – 15 May – Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Eastertide
“Let us be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Allow Him to speak to our hearts
and He will tell us this:
God is Love!”
“Submit to the Holy Spirit
which comes from within
and He will lead you on the path to
Holiness.”
“The Holy Spirit upsets us
because He moves us,
makes us walk,
pushes the Church forward.”
“Let us renew each day
our trust in the
workings of the Holy Spirit
and open our hearts to
His inspiration.”
“The Holy Spirit gives us Joy!
He is the author
and creator of Joy.”
“Through the Holy Spirit,
the Father and the Son come to dwell in us,
do we live in God and of God,
is our life really animated by God?
How many things do I put before God?”
“The truth of Christ,
that the Holy Spirit teaches us
and gives us, always and forever,
involves our daily lives.
Let us invoke Him more often,
to guide us on the path
of Christ’s disciples.”
“Holy Spirit may my heart be open
to the Word of God,
may my heart be open to good,
may my heart be open
to the beauty of God, every day.”
Quote/s of the Day – 9 May “Mary’s Month!” – Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of Blessed Theresa of Jesus/Karolina Gerhardinger (1797-1879)
“All the works of God proceed slowly and in pain
but then, their roots are the sturdier
and their flowering the lovelier.”
“Love gives everything gladly,
everything
again and again, daily!”
“Prayer is that glowing furnace
in which the fire of divine love
is kindled and kept burning.”
Quote/s of the Day – 4 May – Friday of the Fifth Week of Eastertide: Today’s Gospel John 15:12-17
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you…
“What is the mark of love for your neighbour?
Not to seek what is for your own benefit
but what is for the benefit of the one loved,
both in body and in soul.”
“Love is watchful.
Sleeping, it does not slumber.
Wearied, it is not tired.
Pressed, it is not straitened.
Alarmed, it is not confused
but like a living flame,
a burning torch,
it forces its way upward
and passes unharmed
through every obstacle.”
“Nothing is sweeter than love,
nothing stronger or higher or wider;
nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller
and nothing better in heaven or on earth,
for love is born of God
and cannot rest except in God,
Who is above all created things.”
“Love knows no limit
to its endurance,
no end to its trust,
no fading of its hope,
it can outlast anything.
Love still stands,
when all else has fallen.”
Quote/s of the Day – 3 May – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Eastertide and the Feast of Sts Philip and James Apostles and Martyrs
A Christian is:
a mind through which Christ thinks,
a heart through which Christ loves,
a voice through which Christ speaks
and a hand through which Christ helps.
Since love grows within you,
so beauty grows.
For love is the beauty of the soul.
Remember this.
When people choose to withdraw far from a fire,
the fire continues to give warmth
but they grow cold.
When people choose to withdraw far from light,
the light continues to be bright in itself
but they are in darkness.
This is also the case when people withdraw from God.
He who denies the existence of God,
has some reason for wishing
that God did not exist
It is no advantage
to be near the light,
if the eyes are closed.
Faith is to believe
what you do not see.
The reward of this faith,
is to see what you believe.
God provides the wind,
man must raise the sail.
God is always trying to give good things to us
but our hands are too full to receive them.
Quote/s of the Day – 30 April – Monday of the Fifth Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Joseph Benedict Cottolengo (1786-1842) – known as “The Labourer of Divine Providence”.
“There is absolutely nothing
that gives us more peace,
or does more to make us holy,
than obeying the will of God.”
“God makes all chosen souls, pass through
a fearful time of poverty,
misery and nothingness.
He desires to destroy in them gradually,
all the help and confidence they derive
from themselves, so that He may be
their sole source of support,
their confidence,
their hope,
their only resource.”
“We must offer ourselves to God
like a clean, smooth canvas
and not worry ourselves about
what God may choose to paint on it
but at each moment,
feel only, the stroke of His brush.”
“The poor are Jesus
they are not just an image of Him.”
“The Lord always sets signs on our path
to guide us according to His will,
to our own true good.”
“If you do this one thing
you will become a saint.
If you don’t do it,
you never will.
The one thing is this:
Let Jesus interrupt your life.”
Quote/s of the Day – 29 April – Fifth Sunday of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) Doctor of the Church
“Proclaim the Truth
and do not be silent
through fear.”
“Preach the Truth
as if you had a million voices.
It is silence that kills the world.”
“Nothing great is ever achieved,
without much enduring.”
“All the way to heaven is heaven
because Jesus said, “I am the way.”
“Strange that so much suffering is caused
because of the misunderstandings
of God’s true nature.
God’s heart is more gentle
than the Virgin’s first kiss upon the Christ.
And God’s forgiveness to all, to any thought or act,
is more certain than our own being.”
“Everything comes from love,
all is ordained for the salvation of man,
God does nothing without this goal in mind.”
“A soul cannot live without loving.
It must have something to love,
for it was created to love.”
“What is it you want to change?
Your hair, your face, your body?
Why? For God is in love with all those things
and He might weep when they are gone!”
Quote/s of the Day – 28 April – The Memorial of St Pope Pius V (1504-1572), St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716), St Peter Chanel (1803-1841) Martyr and St Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962)
“All the evils of the world,
are due to lukewarm Catholics.”
“God Alone”
“Take advantage of little sufferings
even more than of great ones.
God considers not so much what we suffer,
as how we suffer. . . Turn everything to profit
as the grocer does in his shop.”
“It does not matter, whether or not I am killed,
the religion has taken root on the island,
it will not be destroyed by my death,
since it comes not from men but from God.”
“Our body is a cenacle, a monstrance:
through its crystal the world should see God.”
“Love and sacrifice are closely linked,
like the sun and the light.
We cannot love without suffering
and we cannot suffer without love.”
Quote/s of the Day – 26 April – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Rafael Arnáiz Barón (1911-1938)
“Every day, I am happier, in my complete abandonment,
into His Hands. I see His will, even in the most insignificant
and tiny things that happen.
In everything I find a lesson, that serves to make me
understand better, His mercy toward me.
I love His designs, with my whole being
and that is enough.
If at times, God is not in the soul,
it is because we do not want Him there.
We have such an accumulation of things to do,
of distractions, of interests, vain desires, conceit,
we have so much world within us,
that God distances Himself…
but, all we have to do is want Him.
It is difficult to explain why one loves suffering!
But I believe, that it can be explained,
because it is not suffering in itself
but rather as it is in Christ
and whoever loves Christ
loves His Cross.
To savour the Cross…to live sick,
unknown, abandoned by all—
only You…and on the Cross.
How sweet the bitterness,
the loneliness, the grief, the pain,
wolfed down and swallowed in silence,
without help.
How sweet the tears shed next to Your Cross.
Ah! If I knew how to tell the world where true happiness is!
But this the world does not understand, nor can it…
because to understand the Cross…one must love it.
To love it one must suffer
and not only suffer
but love the suffering…
In this, Lord, how few follow You to Calvary.”
Thought for the Day – 25 April – Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter and the Feast of St Mark the Evangelist
Today we celebrate St Mark, the Evangelist, the first Gospel writer and the friend of Sts Peter and Paul, the cousin of St Barnabas and our Father in faith – our friend too, a chosen member of the Catholic Church who has gone before to show us the way. Mark knew there would be difficulties for believers in every age, for the persecution of the early Church was the beginning “of the labour pains” (13:8), since “the Gospel must first be preached to all nations” (13:10). He has given us a moving story of how God works in mysterious ways and shown us in the actions of Jesus how to be patient in our faith even in the most troubling circumstances, for “he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him as he told you” (16:7). This narrative could only have been created by someone who himself knew suffering, the pain of unfulfilled hopes and the sorrow of untimely death. His faith made him write about it. His hope makes it so convincing! Let us listen to Pope Benedict on being a Catholic today, now, in the world we live in!
Chosen: I think it is worth reflecting on this word. We are chosen. God has always known us, even before our birth, before our conception, God wanted me as a Christian, as a Catholic, He wanted me as a priest. God thought of me, He sought me among millions, among a great many, He saw me and He chose me. It was not for my merits, which were non-existent but out of His goodness; He wanted me to be a messenger of His choice, which is also always a mission, above all a mission and a responsibility for others. Chosen: we must be grateful and joyful for this event. God thought of me, he chose me as a Catholic, me, as a messenger of His Gospel, as a priest. In my opinion it is worth reflecting several times on this and coming back to this fact of His choice; He chose me, He wanted me, now I am responding.
Perhaps today we are tempted to say: we do not want to rejoice at having been chosen, for this would be triumphalism. It would be triumphalism to think that God had chosen me because I was so important. This would really be erroneous triumphalism. However, being glad because God wanted me is not triumphalism. Rather, it is gratitude and I think we should relearn this joy: God wanted me to be born in this way, into a Catholic family, he wanted me to know Jesus from the first. What a gift to be wanted by God so that I could know His face, so that I could know Jesus Christ, the human face of God, the human history of God in this world! Being joyful because He has chosen me to be a Catholic, to be in this Church of His, where subsistit Ecclesia unica; we should rejoice because God has given me this grace, this beauty of knowing the fullness of God’s truth, the joy of his love.
Chosen: a word of privilege and at the same time of humility. However “chosen” — as I said — is accompanied by the word “parepidemois”, exiles, foreigners. As Christians we are dispersed and we are foreigners: we see that Christians are the most persecuted group in the world today, because it does not conform, because it is a stimulus, because it opposes the tendencies to selfishness, to materialism and to all these things.
Christians are certainly not only foreigners; we are also Christian nations, we are proud of having contributed to the formation of culture, there is a healthy patriotism, a healthy joy of belonging to a nation that has a great history of culture and of faith. Yet, as Christians, we are always also foreigners — the destiny of Abraham, described in the Letter to the Hebrews. As Christians we are, even today, also always foreigners. In the work place Christians are a minority, they find themselves in an extraneous situation; it is surprising that a person today can still believe and live like this. This is also part of our life: it is a form of being with the Crucified Christ, this being foreigners, not living in the way that everyone else lives, but living — or at least seeking to live — in accordance with His Word, very differently from what everyone says. And it is precisely this that is characteristic of Christians. They all say: “But everyone does this, why don’t I?” No, I don’t, because I want to live in accordance with God. St Augustine once said: “Christians are those who do not have their roots below, like tree, but have their roots above and they do not live this gravity in the natural downwards gravitation”. Let us pray the Lord that he help us to accept this mission of living as exiles, as a minority, in a certain sense, of living as foreigners and yet being responsible for others and, in this way, reinforcing the goodness in our world.
This is faith: touching Christ with the hand of faith, with our heart and thus entering into the power of His life, into the healing power of the Lord. And let us pray the Lord, that we may touch Him more and more, so as to be healed. Let us pray that He will not let us fall, that He too may take us by the hand and thus preserve us for true life….
LECTIO DIVINA” OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI
Chapel of the Seminary
Friday, 8 February 2013
AnaStpaul 
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