Category: QUOTES on NATURE – GOD’S CREATION

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION

Thought for the Day – 19 July – Nature and Grace

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Thought for the Day – 19 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Nature and Grace

“Although there is a contrast between grace and nature, there is also a certain harmony because God made us for Himself, as St Augustine says and our hearts will never be at rest, until they rest in Him.
Grace is a supernatural graft, which elevates our nature and makes it capable of attaining everlasting life.
It is necessary to take away all the shoots of the old tree stump and to care for the new branches,
Only then shall we begin to approach Christian perfection.

“Therefore, O Lord, let Thy grace always go before and follow me and make me ever intent upon good works, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Amen.” (The Imitation of Christ Bk III C 55).”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/21/thought-for-the-day-21-july-nature-and-grace/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/07/22/thought-for-the-day-22-july-nature-and-grace/

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD

Thought for the Day – 2 August – How to Remain Aware of the Presence of God

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Thought for the Day – 2 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

How to Remain Aware of the Presence of God

“Another way of increasing our sense of the Presence of God, is to perceive Him in all His creatures.
St Therese of the Child Jesus loved to contemplate the image of her Creator in the flowers of the fields and in the stars of the firmament.

God has created all things for our benefit and He is Present in all things.
He sees what use we make of them and can judge whether we employ them to honour Him, Who is our beginning and our end.
The ray of Divine Beauty,which shines in every created thing, should attract us towards its Creator and cause us to adore and serve Him.
Whenever we meet a learned and holy person, moreover, the reflection of God’s Power and Goodness, is even more compelling.
“Learn to love the Creator in the creature,” says St Augustine, “lest the thing which He has made should grip you and you shuld lose Him by Whom you also were created” (In Ps 19),

In other words, let us learn to see the Creator in all His creatures so that these may not enslave us and cause us to love Him, Who is our highest Good.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/08/06/thought-for-the-day-6-august-how-to-remain-aware-of-the-presence-of-god/

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD the FATHER, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 February – I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth …” – Matthew 11:25

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One Minute Reflection – 24 February – Feast of St Matthias, Apostle and Martyr – Acts 1:15-26, Matthew 11:25-30

“I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to little ones.” – Matthew 11:25

REFLECTION – “The fact that the all-powerful God has been able to humble Himself even to the humility of the human condition, constitutes a greater proof than the impact and supernatural character of miracles. Indeed, when Divine power effects something of great sublimity, this is, after a fashion, in conformity with and appropriate to God’s nature… On the other hand, that God descended even to our lowliness is, in a certain way, the expression of an overwhelming power which, is not in the least restrained, by what is contrary to its nature…

Neither the expanse of the heavens, the brightness of the stars, the governing of the universe, nor the harmony of created things, reveal the splendid power of God so much, as His indulgence, which leads Him to lower Himself to the weakness of our nature… God’s goodness, wisdom, justice and power, are revealed in His plans on our behalf: goodness in His will to “save that which was lost” (Lk 19,10); wisdom and justice, in His manner of saving us; power in the fact, that Christ became “in the likeness of men” (Phil 2,7-8) and made Himself conformable to the humility of our nature.” – St Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-395) Bishop, Father of the Church (Catechetical Discourse 23-26 ; SC 453).

PRAYER – God, Who added blessed Matthias to the company of Your Apostles, grant, we beseech You, that by his intercession, we may ever be aware of the depth of Your love for us. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in GOD is LOVE, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The KINGDOM of GOD, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 26 November – ‘ … Destroy what we see, that it may pass and be transformed into what we believe…’

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One Minute Reflection – 26 November – “Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – Readings: Daniel 7: 2-14; Daniel 3: 75-81; Luke 21: 29-33 – The Memorial of St Sylvester Gozzolini OSB Silv. (1177– 1267)

“Consider the fig tree” – Luke 21:29

REFLECTION – “The earth that we see does not satisfy us; it is but a beginning; it is but a promise of something beyond it; even when it is gayest, with all its blossoms on and shows most touchingly what lies hid in it, yet it is not enough. We know much more lies hid in it than we see. A world of Saints and Angels, a glorious world, the palace of God, the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, the heavenly Jerusalem, the throne of God and Christ, all these wonders, everlasting, all-precious, mysterious, and incomprehensible, lie hid in what we see. What we see is the outward shell of an eternal Kingdom and on that Kingdom we fix the eyes of our faith.

Shine forth, O Lord, as when, on Thy Nativity, Thine Angels visited the shepherds; let Thy glory blossom forth, as bloom and foliage on the tree,; change with Thy mighty power this visible world into that divine world, which, as yet we see not, destroy what we see, that it may pass and be transformed into what we believe. Bright as is the sun and the sky and the clouds; green as are the leaves and the fields; sweet as is the singing of the birds – we know that they are not all and we will not take up with a part, for the whole. They proceed from a centre of Love and Goodness, which is God Himself but they are not His Fullness; they speak of Heaven but they are not Heaven; they are but as stray beams and dim reflections of His Image; they are but crumbs from the table!” – St John Henry Newman C.O. (1801-1890),Priest, Theologian (The Invisible World » PPS, vol. 4, no.13)

PRAYER – Lord God, creator of all Light and creator of all good, grant that we may look up to You always and know that by Your Light and your goodness we are safe in this world of corruption. May the Light of our Lord Jesus, make the path He has set out bright and clear and may the prayers of St Sylvester Gozzolini be a help in our struggle. Lead us, Lord, in Your kindness and mercy to our heavenly home. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in GOD ALONE!, GOD the FATHER, I BELIEVE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The HOLY MASS

Thought for the Day – 23 November – Have We Ever Abandoned Jesus?

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

Have We Ever Abandoned Jesus?

“St John the Evangelist relates how, after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus Christ wished to make the people understand that He would give men bread which would be infinitely more precious; namely Himself, the Bread of Life, the Living Bread that has come down from Heaven.
Since the crowd which surrounded Him still failed to understand, He added, “I Am, the Living Bread that has come down from Heaven. If anyone eat of this Bread, he shall live forever and the Bread that I will give, is my Flesh for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51).

At this stage, however, the Jews began to argue with one another, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus endeavoured to remove all doubt by His reply, “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you… He who eats My Flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him. As the living Father has sent me and as I live because o the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of me” (Cf Jn 6:48-58).

When they had heard these words in which Jesus foretold the sublime miracle of the Blessed Eucharist, some of the disciples began to murmur among themselves.
“This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it?” (Jn 6:61).
When Jesus saw that some of His closest followers were drawing away from Him, He turned to the twelve Apostles, “Do you also wish to go away?” He asked.
It was then that Simon Peter made his memorable reply, “Lord, to whom shall be go? Thou hast the words of everlasting life.” (Jn 6:68-69).

We also may experience, at times, a sense of uncertainty concerning the words of Jesus Christ.
There are such tremendous mysteries in the Christian religion.
But, a religion which contained no mysteries could scarcely be true.
There are mysteries of nature surrounding us and within us.
How can we imagine that there are no mysteries in God, the supreme and most perfect Being?
Could it be possible for our petty intellects fully to comprehend God in Himself and in His revelation?
Let us bow our heads, therefore, before the mysteries of the Divinity.
Let us adore God and repeat with St Peter: We cannot go away from You, O God because You have the words of everlasting life.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, GOD the FATHER, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 August – “Let the children come to me” – Matthew 19:14

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One Minute Reflection – 14 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Readings: Joshua 24: 14-29; Psalm 16: 1-2a and 5-8, 11; Matthew 19: 13-15

“Let the children come to me, do not prevent them” – Matthew 19:14

REFLECTION – “God is the source and origin of all things and because it is in Him that, as it is written, “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), it is most certainly, also from Him that we possess all the love with which we love our children. The whole universe and all humankind are offspring of their Creator and so, by means of the love that causes us to love our children, He wants us to comprehend how much He loves His own children. Since it is written that: – “the invisible attributes of God have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made” (Rm 1:20), so He has wanted to make us understand His love for us, through the love He makes us have for our own works. And just as it is written that He wanted “all fatherhood in heaven and on earth to take its name from him” (Eph 3:15), so He has wanted us to recognise in Him a father’s love towards us.

What am I saying? A father’s? His love is far greater than a father’s, as these words of our Saviour in the Gospel prove: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” for the life of the world (Jn 3:16). And the Apostle Paul also says: “God did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all. How will he not also give us everything else along with him?” (Rm 8:32). – Salvianus of Marseilles (c 400-c 480) Priest, Abbot, Ecclesiastical writer – Of God’s Government.

PRAYER – God almighty Father, grant that we may be instruments of welcome and of that love with which Jesus, Your Son, embraces the littlest ones. May we be a society of love and of holy parenting of all children, especially those most in need. Holy Mother, teach us and guide us in prayer and love of God and neighbour. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 5 August – Mary, a Light in the Darkness

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Thought for the Day – 5 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mary, a Light in the Darkness

“Let us imagine for a moment, that we have grown blind and are forever plunged in darkness.
It is an unhappy thought.
Never again to see those who are dear to us, never to see the light of the sun nor any of the splendour of the universe.
We should feel as if were alone, for we should have to depend only on sounds and on the voices of others for communication with the external world.
As St Augustine points out, however, in his commentary on the miracle of the man who had been blind from birth, we are all more or less blind in the supernatural order.
The world is the image of God but, do we see His Presence in everything which surrounds us?
Is it not more often the case that created things distract us and lead us to forget their Creator because, we regard them as a means of satisfying our own comfort and our own ego?
We should look on creatures as go-betweens which help us to ascend to God, the beginning and end of all creation.

Unfortunately, instead of climbing this mystical ladder which leads us to God, we often descend it.
We forget God and become excessively wrapped up in worldly affairs.
Sometimes matters may be even worse, not only do we forget God through our love of creatures but, we use them, to offend Him.
God has given us eyes to admire His works and, as a result, to lead us to praise, thank and love Him.
Instead, we often use this wonderful gift in order to commit sin.
He has given us the gift of speech, the gift of hearing and other senses.
But how do we employ them?
The tongue is a marvellous invention but, as St James writes, “if anyone does not offend in the word, he is a perfect man, able also to lead round by the bridle, the whole body … With it we bless God the Father and, with it, we curse men, who have been made after the likeness of God.   Out of the same mouth, proceed blessing and cursing.   These things, my brethren ought not to be so” (Js 3:2-10).
What can be said of vision and of speech can be said of all the senses and faculties of body and soul.
They are all God’s gifts and should, therefore, be used as means of bringing ourselves closer to Him.
If creatures lead us away from God and cause us to forget Him, or if, worse still, they cause us to offend Him, then we are spiritually blind and far more unfortunate than those who have lost their natural vision.

Most Holy Mary, during your earthly pilgrimage, you never once lost sight of God.
Grant that I may not be lost in the darkness of this world.
Grant that I may not be ensnared by the passing charm and false beauty of these created things which surround me.
Grant that I may see, in all things, the Presence and Beauty of God, so that I may always continue to advance, nearer and nearer to Him.   Amen.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in "Follow Me", GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 25 July – The Love of God, The One Thing Necessary!

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Thought for the Day – 25 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Love of God
The One Thing Necessary!

“If we really know God, we should love Him above all created things.
“I have loved you too little, My God,” said St Augustine in his Confessions, “because I have not known You well enough.”
If we knew God, we should recognise, that He is infinite beauty, goodness and wisdom.
We should realise, that the beauty of creatures is like a passing cloud, for it is a vague and distant reflection of the eternal beauty of God.
We should realise, that the wisdom of men, is only a ray of God’s light which comes from Him and must return to Him.
Finally, we should perceive that men are good, only insofar, as they do their best to respond to the inspirations of grace which God has placed in their hearts.
God alone is in Himself and of Himself, supremely true, beautiful, good, wise and holy.
Created things are only an invitation to love God, their Creator.
God alone, therefore, is supremely lovable in Himself.
In the apt words of St Bernard, “God Himself is the reason why we should love God and, the measure of our love should be measureless.”

Let us not allow ourselves to become entangled in the empty passing things of this world but, let us raise our minds and hearts to God alone.
There is only one thing necessary!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Part One Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/10/thought-for-the-day-10-february-the-love-of-god/

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on EDUCATION, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on TRUTH

Thought for the Day – 14 July – Knowledge and Goodness

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Thought for the Day – 14 July – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Knowledge and Goodness

“Joseph DeMaistre’s views on the relationship between knowledge and goodness may seem a little extreme but, they are nothing but the truth.
“If the guardianship of education is not restored to the Church and if knowledge is not everywhere subordinated to goodness, the evils which await us will be incalculable. Science will brutalise us. Because of it, men will become more savage than the barbarians!”

We do not wish to speak slightingly of knowledge.
It is a gift from God, Who has given us our intellects to know the truth.
But truth, like every created thing, comes from God and should lead us back to God.
It is the same with knowledge.
If we investigate the secrets of nature and do not make of them a ladder, which helps us to climb towards our Creator, we turn the natural order upside down and inevitably fall backwards.
We can gain, by our labours, a mastery over the hidden forces of nature.
If we do not use them to benefit humanity but to destroy those of our brothers whom we call our enemies, we are worse than Cain.
Science which does not serve goodness, is worse than barbarism.
The latter has very few instruments of destruction at its disposal.
When science rebels against idealism, however and makes itself absolute, it can destroy all that we have inherited of beauty and goodness throughout the centuries.

Science is too easily glorified today.
But knowledge, for the sake of knowledge, does not lead us to God and is very often stupidity or worse.
It can be an instrument of evil and of physical and spiritual destruction!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in "Follow Me", GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on The HUMAN SOUL

Thought for the Day – 6 July – A Ladder Ascending to God

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Thought for the Day – 6 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

A Ladder Ascending to God

“Let us lower our eyes and observe the world around us.
Here again, everything speacks to us of God, for everything is a reflection of His power and goodness.
From the tiny flowers which opens its perfumed petals to the dawn and closes them again to the sunset, as if in an an act of self-effacement before its Creator, to the pines and cedars of the forest, all nature seems to send up a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God.
We are surrounded by marvels but the greatest of them all is man, the lord of the universe.
The beauty and order which we admire in creatures are concentrated in him; the eye, the ear and the tongue are among the extraordinary gifts which his body has received from God.

But, when we pass from the body to the soul, that spiritual flame which God has kindled in us, we we have reached an object of wonder, far surpassing the splendour of material things.
A mind which is capable of thought and reasoning and a heart which is capable of love, belong, not merely to this world but are a living image of our Creator.
It is for Him, therefore, that the intellect should function; it is He, that the heart should love!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/07/06/thought-for-the-day-6-july-a-ladder-ascending-to-god/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION

Thought for the Day – 9 February – The Love of God

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Thought for the Day – 9 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Love of God

“If we really know God, we should love Him above all created things.
“I have loved you too little, My God,” said St Augustine in his Confessions, “because I have not known You well enough.”
If we knew God, we should recognise, that He is infinite beauty, goodness and wisdom.
We should realise, that the beauty of creatures is like a passing cloud, for it is a vague and distant reflection of the eternal beauty of God.
We should realise, that the wisdom of men, is only a ray of God’s light which comes from Him and must return to Him.
Finally, we should perceive that men are good, only insofar, as they do their best to respond to the inspirations of grace which God has placed in their hearts.
God alone is in Himself and of Himself, supremely true, beautiful, good, wise and holy.
Created things are only an invitation to love God, their Creator.
God alone, therefore, is supremely lovable in Himself.
In the apt words of St Bernard, “God Himself is the reason why we should love God and, the measure of our love should be measureless.”

Let us not allow ourselves to become entangled in the empty passing things of this world but, let us raise our minds and hearts to God alone.
There is only one thing necessary!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Part One Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/10/thought-for-the-day-10-february-the-love-of-god/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FRANCISCAN OFM, GOD ALONE!, GOD the FATHER, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on HUMAN DIGNITY, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on TRUTH, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 15 July – St Bonaventure

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Quote/s of the Day – 15 July – The Memorial of St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Doctor of the Church

“Bonaventure so united holiness and theological knowledge that he rose to the heights of mysticism, while remaining a very active preacher and teacher, one beloved by all who met him.  To know him was to love him; to read him is still for us today to meet a true Franciscan and a gentleman.”

“If you learn everything, except Christ, you learn nothing.
If you learn nothing, except Christ, you learn everything.”

if you learn everything except christ you learn nothing - st bonaventure 15 july 29020

“When we pray,
the voice of the heart must be heard,
more than the proceedings,
from the mouth.”

when we pray - st bonaventure 15 july 2020

“Men do not fear a powerful hostile army,
as the powers of hell,
fear the name and protection of Mary.”

men do not fear a powerful hostile army - st bonaventure 15 july 2020

“If you do not know
your own dignity and condition,
you cannot value anything
at its proper worth.”

if you do not know your own dignity - st bonaventure - 15 july 2020

“In everything,
whether it is a thing sensed,
or a thing known,
God Himself is hidden within.”

St Bonaventure (1221-1274)
Seraphic Doctor of the Church

More here:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/15/quote-s-of-the-day-15-july-the-wisdom-of-st-bonaventure/

in everything whether it is a thing sensed - st bonaventure 15 july 2020

Posted in GOD the FATHER, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION

Thought for the Day – 6 July – A Ladder Ascending to God

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 6 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

A Ladder Ascending to God

a ladder ascending to god - bacci - 6 july 2020 (1)

“Nature shows forth the power and beauty of God.
When we gaze at the sky on a clear night, countless millions of stars seem to look back at us like so many shining eyes, wishing to remind us of God’s greatness.
These brilliant pin-points of light are really immense bodies, often much larger than our own globe.
God created them and flung them into space, where He fixed for them, the orbits which they must travel every year, throughout the ages.
They carry out their Creator’s plan at every moment, never deflecting, in the slightest, from their course.
If they were to do so, the result would be an universal catastrophe.

Everything in the firmament obeys God’s law.
“The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” (Ps 18:2).
The further science advances, the more wonderful appear God’s power and greatness.
Our ancestors wove legends about the bright belt of stars which ploughed it’s milky way through the firmament but, today we know, that this apparent conglomeration of gleaming dust, consists of other worlds and faraway systems of planets.
We should feel humble in the presence of so much beauty and harmony.
Let us adore and love the omnipotent Creator of such wonders!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci