Quote of the Day – 29 November – The Memorial of St Francesco Antonio Fasani OFM Conv (1681 – 1742)
“The Will of God –
that is my Paradise.”
Category: QUOTES on OBEDIENCE
One Minute Reflection – 13 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:7–10
One Minute Reflection – 13 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:7–10 – Tuesday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Stanislaus Kostka SJ (1550-1568) & St Agostina Livia Pietrantoni S.D.C. (1864-1894)
“So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants, we have only done what was our duty.’ ”…Luke 17:10
REFLECTION – “You do not say to your servant, “Sit down” but require more service from him and do not thank him. The Lord also, does not allow only one work or labour for you, because so long as we live, we must always work. Know that you are a servant overwhelmed by very much obedience. You must not set yourself first, because you are called a son of God. Grace must be acknowledged but nature not overlooked. Do not boast of yourself if you have served well, as you should have done. The sun obeys, the moon complies and the angels serve. Let us not require praise for ourselves, nor prevent the judgement of God and anticipate the sentence of the Judge but reserve it, for its own time and Judge. ”…Saint Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor of the Church (Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 8)
PRAYER– Holy Father, I beg Your grace to achieve sanctity. Grant me the wisdom to follow Your Son, the fortitude to persevere in all trails and to be Your servant to all Your children but most of all Holy Father, grant me Your grace to obtain eternal life. Precious youths, St Stanislaus and St Agostina, please pray for us all , amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus
Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Jesuits
“If our church is not marked by caring for the poor,
the oppressed, the hungry, we are guilty of heresy.”
“Be generous to the poor orphans and those in need.
The man to whom our Lord has been liberal
ought not to be stingy.
We shall one day find in Heaven as much rest and joy
as we ourselves have dispensed in this life.”
St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)
“Take care, take care, never to close your heart to anyone!”
St Peter Faber (1506-1546)
“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 SJ (1581-1654)
“God gave Himself to you:
give yourself to God.”
St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595)
“Any friend of the poor, is a friend of God.”
“Take life in instalments.
This one day now.
At least let this be a good day.
Be always beginning.”
Blessed John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)
“I hold that every poor man,
every vagrant, every beggar,
is Christ carrying His cross.
And as Christ, we must love and help him.”
“Christ roams through our streets
in the person of so many
of the suffering poor, sick and dispossessed
and people thrown out of their miserable slums.
Christ huddled under bridges,
in the person of so many children
who lack someone to call father,
who have been deprived for many years,
without a mother’s kiss on their foreheads…
Christ is without a home!
Shouldn’t we want to give Him one,
those of us who have the joy of a comfortable home,
plenty of good food,
the means to educate
and assure the future of our children?”
St Alberto Hurtado SJ (1901-1952)
” To serve Christ is to love this concrete Church
and to serve her with generosity
and with the spirit of obedience.”
“Ask for the grace of shame;
the shame that comes from the constant dialogue of mercy with Him;
the shame that makes us blush before Jesus Christ;
the shame that puts us in tune with the heart of Christ who is made sin for me;
the shame that harmonises our heart in tears and accompanies us in the daily following of “my Lord”.
Pope Francis SJ – 31 July 2013 on the Feast of St Ignatius
Quote/s of the Day – 4 November – The Memorial of St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)
Quote/s of the Day – 4 November – The Memorial of St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)
“Charity is that,
with which no man is lost
and without which,
no man is saved.”
“We must meditate before, during and after everything we do.
The prophet says: “I will pray and then I will understand.”
This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties
we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work.
In meditation we find the strength,
to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men.”
“If we wish to make any progress in the service of God,
we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness.
We must keep ourselves in the presence of God,
as much as possible and have no other view or end,
in all our actions but the divine honour.”
St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584)
One Minute Reflection – 31 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 13:22–30
One Minute Reflection – 31 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 13:22–30 – Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Alphonsus Rodriguez SJ (1532-1617)
“Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be able…”…Luke 13:24.
REFLECTION – “Strive to enter in by the narrow door.” This reply may seem perhaps to wander from the scope of the question. The man wanted to learn whether there would be few who are saved but He explained to him the way whereby he might be saved himself. He said, “Strive to enter in by the narrow door.” What do we answer to this objection? … It was a necessary and valuable thing to know how a man may obtain salvation. He is purposely silent to the useless question. He proceeds to speak of what was essential, namely, of the knowledge necessary for the performance of those duties by which people can enter the narrow door.
I now consider it my duty to mention why the door to life is narrow. Whoever would enter must first, before everything else, possess an upright and uncorrupted faith and then a spotless morality, in which there is no possibility of blame, according to the measure of human righteousness. One who has attained to this in mind and spiritual strength will enter easily by the narrow door and run along the narrow way.
“Wide is the door and broad the way that brings down many to destruction.” What are we to understand by its broadness? It means an unrestrained tendency toward carnal lust and a shameful and pleasure-loving life. It is luxurious feasts, parties, banquets and unrestricted inclinations to everything that is condemned by the law and displeasing to God. A stubborn mind will not bow to the yoke of the law. This life is cursed and relaxed in all carelessness. Thrusting from it the divine law and completely unmindful of the sacred commandments, wealth, vices, scorn, pride and the empty imagination of earthly pride spring from it. Those who would enter in by the narrow door must withdraw from all these things, be with Christ and keep the festival with him.”…St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father & Doctor (Commentary on Luke, Homily 9
PRAYER – Shed Your clear light on our hearts, Lord, so that walking continually in the way of Your commandments, we may never be deceived or misled. Grant that the prayers of our Blessed Mother and St Alphonsus Rodriguez, who always held Your Light up for others to see by, give us strength. Through Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 21 October – The Memorial of Blessed Karl of Austria (1887 – 1922)
Quote/s of the Day – 21 October
The Memorial of Blessed Karl of Austria (1887 – 1922)
“Now, we must help
each other
to get to Heaven.”
“I strive always,
in all things,
to understand,
as clearly as possible
and follow,
the will of God
and this,
in the most perfect way.”
“Thy Holy Will be done.
Jesus, Jesus, come!
Yes—yes.
My Jesus as Thou willst it—Jesus.”
(The last words of Bl Karl – 1 April 1922)
Blessed Karl of Austria (1887 – 1922)
Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – The Memorial of St Maria Bertilla Boscardin (1888 – 1922)
Quote/s of the Day – 20 October – The Memorial of St Maria Bertilla Boscardin (1888 – 1922)
“Here I am, Lord, to do Your will, whatever comes.”
Saint Maria Bertilla Boscardin (1888 – 1922)
(from her diary)
Take, Lord and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To You, Lord, I return it.
Everything is Yours,
do with it what You will.
Give me only Your love
and Your grace,
that is enough for me.
St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – The Memorial of St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107) Father of the Church, Martyr
Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – The Memorial of St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107) Father of the Church, Martyr
“Do not have Jesus Christ on your lips
and the world in your heart.”
“Therefore run together
as into one temple of God,
as to one altar,
as to one Jesus Christ,
who came forth from one Father
and is with
and has gone to One.”
“I am the wheat of God,
and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts,
that I may be found the pure bread of God.
I long after the Lord,
the Son of the true God and Father, Jesus Christ.
Him I seek, who died for us and rose again.
I am eager to die for the sake of Christ.
My love has been crucified,
and there is no fire in me that loves anything.
But there is living water springing up in me,
and it says to me inwardly:
“Come to the Father.”
St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35 – 107) Father of the Church, Martyr
Quote/s of the Day – 11 October – The Memorial of St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)
Quote/s of the Day – 11 October – The Memorial of St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)
“I have looked into Your eyes with my eyes.
I have put my heart near Your Heart.”
“To keep me from sin and straying from Him,
God has used,
devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament.
My life vows destined
to be spent in the light
irradiating from the tabernacle
and it is to the Heart of Jesus,
that I dare go.
for the solution of all my problems.”
“Never hesitate, to hold out your hand,
never hesitate to accept,
the outstretched hand of another.”
“Do not walk through time
without leaving worthy evidence
of your passage.”
“Holy Mother Church is a home for one and all.
She desires to belong to everyone
and in particular she is the Church of the poor,
like the village fountain”.
“Before everything else,
fidelity to the Church –
One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
Jesus did not found several churches
but one single Church.”
St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)
Quote/s of the Day – 28 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 9:18-22
Quote/s of the Day – 28 September – Today’s Gospel: Luke 9:18-22
“With regard to doing the will of the Lord,
even if someone should be scandalised by what we do,
we must not let that hamper our freedom of action.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father & Doctor of the Church
“We are not drawn to God
by iron chains
but by sweet attractions
and holy inspirations.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
“If we follow, the Voice of God,
we shall be brought on,
step by step,
into a new world,
of which, before,
we had no idea.”
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Quote of the Day – 25 August – The Memorial of St Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648) Founder
Quote of the Day – 25 August – The Memorial of St Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648) Founder
“As Scripture says,
“Those who instruct many in justice
will shine as stars for all eternity.”
They will attain this more easily,
if they make a covenant of perpetual obedience
and strive to cling to Christ
and please Him alone
because, in His words,
“What you did to one of the least
of my brethren, you did to me.”
-
St Joseph Calasanz (1557-1648)
One Minute Reflection – 13 August -The Memorial of Blessed Mark of Aviano OFM Cap (1631-1699)
One Minute Reflection – 13 August -The Memorial of Blessed Mark of Aviano OFM Cap (1631-1699) – Today’s Psalm 148(147) 11-12
Let the kings of the earth and all peoples … Praise the name of the LORD... Psalm 148(147): 11-12
REFLECTION – “God knows that the scope of all of my works is only to do His will. My only interest is God’s glory and the good of souls. I am always an obedient son of Holy Mother Church and am ready to shed my blood and give my life for Her.”…. Blessed Mark of Aviano
PRAYER – Lord God, who bestowed Your spirit of truth and of love in full measure on Blessed Mark of Aviano, grant that we, who are celebrating his feast, may be supported by his prayer and grow in perfection, as we follow his example. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 7 August – The Memorial of St Cajetan (1480-1547)
Quote/s of the Day – 7 August – The Memorial of St Cajetan (1480-1547)
“If you want Christ to love you
and help you, you must love Him
and always make every endeavour to please Him.
Do not waver in your purpose
because even if all the saints
and every single creature were to abandon you,
He will always be near you,
no matter what your needs may be.”
“Do not receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament
so that you may use Him as you judge best
but give yourself to Him
and let Him receive you in this Sacrament,
so that He Himself, God your Saviour,
may do to you and through you, whatever He wills.”
St Cajetan (1480-1547)
Pope Francis’ Homily on the feast of St Ignatius 2013 – Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Pope Francis honours Ignatius, calls us to more faithful life in Christ
Pope Francis’ Homily on the feast of St Ignatius 2013 – Wednesday, 31 July 2013
“In this Eucharist in which we celebrate our Father Ignatius of Loyola, in light of the Readings we have heard, I would like to propose three simple thoughts guided by three expressions: to put Christ and the Church in the centre; to allow ourselves to be conquered by Him in order to serve; to feel the shame of our limitations and our sins, in order to be humble before Him and before the brothers.
The emblem of us Jesuits is a monogram, the acronym of “Jesus, the Saviour of Mankind” (IHS). Every one of you can tell me – we know that very well! But this crest continually reminds us of a reality that we must never forget – the centrality of Christ for each one of us and for the whole Company, the Company that Saint Ignatius wanted to name “of Jesus” to indicate the point of reference.
Moreover, even at the beginning of the Spiritual Exercises he places our Lord Jesus Christ, our Creator and Saviour (Spiritual Exercises, 6) in front of us. And this leads all of us Jesuits and the whole Company, to be “decentred,” to have “Christ more and more” before us, the “Deus semper maior”, the “intimior intimo meo”, that leads us continually outside ourselves, that brings us to a certain kenosis, a “going beyond our own loves, desires, and interests” (Sp. Ex., 189).
Isn’t it obvious, the question for us? For all of us? “Is Christ the centre of my life? Do I really put Christ at the centre of my life?” Because there is always the temptation to want to put ourselves in the centre. And when a Jesuit puts himself and not Christ in the centre, he goes astray.
In the first Reading, Moses forcefully calls upon the people to love the Lord, to walk in His ways, “because He is your life” (cf. Deut. 30, 16-20). Christ is our life! The centrality of Christ corresponds also to the centrality of the Church: they are two flames that cannot be separated: I cannot follow Christ except in and with the Church. And even in this case we Jesuits and the whole Company, are not at the centre, we are, so to speak, “displaced”, we are at the service of Christ and of the Church, the Bride of Christ our Lord, who is our Holy Mother Hierarchical Church (cf. Sp. Ex. 353).
To be men routed and grounded in the Church, that is what Jesus desires of us. There cannot be parallel or isolated paths for us. Yes, paths of searching, creative paths, yes, this is important: to go to the peripheries, so many peripheries. This takes creativity but always in community, in the Church, with this membership that give us the courage to go forward. To serve Christ is to love this concrete Church and to serve her with generosity and with the spirit of obedience.
“Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it . . . If anyone is ashamed of me . . .” (Lk 9:23). And so on. The shame of the Jesuit. The invitation that Jesus makes is for us to never be ashamed of Him but to always follow Him with total dedication, trusting Him and entrusting ourselves to Him. But looking at Jesus, as Saint Ignatius teaches us in the First Week, above all looking at Christ crucified, we have that very human and noble feeling that is the shame of not reaching the highest point; we look at the wisdom of Christ and at our ignorance; at His omnipotence and our weakness; at His justice and our iniquity; at His goodness and our wickedness (cf. Sp. Ex. 59).
Ask for the grace of shame; the shame that comes from the constant dialogue of mercy with Him; the shame that makes us blush before Jesus Christ; the shame that puts us in tune with the heart of Christ who is made sin for me; the shame that harmonises our heart in tears and accompanies us in the daily following of “my Lord”. And this always brings us, as individuals and as a Company, to humility, to living this great virtue. Humility that makes us understand, each day, that it is not for us to build the Kingdom of God but it is always the grace of God working within us; humility that pushes us to put our whole being not at the service of ourselves and our own ideas but at the service of Christ and of the Church, like clay pots, fragile, inadequate, insufficient but having within them an immense treasure that we carry and that we communicate (2 Cor. 4:7).
It is always pleasant for me to think of the sunset of the Jesuit, when a Jesuit finishes his life, when the sun goes down. And two icons of the sunset of the Jesuit always come to me: one classical, that of Saint Francis Xavier, looking at China. Art has painted this sunset so many times, this ‘end’ of Xavier. Even in literature, in that beautiful peace by Pemàn. At the end, having nothing but in the sight of the Lord; it does me good to thing about this. The other sunset, the other icon that comes to me as an example, is that of Padre Arrupe in the last interview in the refugee camp, when he told us – something he himself said – “I say this as if it were my swan song: pray.” Prayer, the union with Jesus. And, after having said this, he caught the plane and arrived at Rome with the stroke that was the beginning of so long and so exemplary a sunset. Two sunsets, two icons that all of us would do well to look at, and to go back to these two. And to ask for the grace that our sunset will be like theirs.
Dear brothers, let us turn again to Our Lady, to her who bore Christ in her womb and accompanied the first steps of the Church. May she help us to always put Christ and His Church at the centre of our lives and of our ministry. May she, who was the first and most perfect disciple of her Son help us to allow ourselves to be conquered by Christ in order to follow Him and to serve Him in every situation. May she that answered the announcement of the Angel with the most profound humility: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38), make us feel the shame for our inadequacy before the treasure that has been entrusted to us, in order to live the virtue of humility before God. 
May our journey be accompanied by the paternal intercession of Saint Ignatius and of all the Jesuit saints, who continue to teach us to do all things “ad majorem Dei gloriam.”
Thought for the Day – 31 July – The Memorial of St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Thought for the Day – 31 July – The Memorial of St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Ignatius was a true mystic. He centered his spiritual life on the essential foundations of Christianity—the Trinity, Christ, the Eucharist. His spirituality is expressed in the Jesuit motto, Ad majorem Dei gloriam—“for the greater glory of God.” In his concept, obedience was to be the prominent virtue, to assure the effectiveness and mobility of his men. All activity was to be guided by a true love of the Church and unconditional obedience to the Holy Father, for which reason all professed members took a fourth vow to go wherever the pope should send them for the salvation of souls.
Luther nailed his theses to the church door at Wittenberg in 1517. Seventeen years later, Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society that was to play so prominent a part in the Catholic Reformation. He was an implacable foe of Protestantism. Yet the seeds of ecumenism may be found in his words: “Great care must be taken to show forth orthodox truth in such a way that if any heretics happen to be present they may have an example of charity and Christian moderation. No hard words should be used nor any sort of contempt for their errors be shown.” ( Fr Don Miller, OFM)
St Ignatius pray for us!
One Minute Reflection – 27 July – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:18–23
One Minute Reflection – 27 July – Friday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 13:18–23
“As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”...Matthew 13:23
REFLECTION – “Indeed, you all know how land is cultivated. First of all you pull out the weeds and throw away the stones, then you work the ground itself. You do it again a second time, a third time and finally… you sow. Oh, let it be like this in our souls! First of all let us uproot the weeds, that is to say our evil thoughts; then take out the stones, in other words all our malice and obstinacy. Finally, let us work our hearts with the plough of the Gospel and the ploughshare of the cross. Let us break it by repentance, turn over the soil with almsgiving and with charity, prepare it for the seed of Our Lord… that it may joyfully receive the seed of the divine word and bring forth fruit, not just thirty but sixty and a hundredfold.”...St Caesarius of Arles (470-543) Monk & Bishop (Sermons to the people, no.6 passim ; SC 175)
PRAYER – A pure heart create for me O God, put a steadfast spirit within me! (Ps 50[51]) Lord God, bestow a full measure of Your grace to us. Keep us within in the path of Your commandments, help us to work on the earth of our souls, rooting out the weeds and casting forth the stones of malice. Grant that by the prayers of St Pope Celestine, who faced so many stones of heresy, we may succeed in attaining sanctity. Through Christ, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 20 July – The Memorial of Bl Gregory Lopez (1542-1596)
Thought for the Day – 20 July – The Memorial of Bl Gregory Lopez (1542-1596)
There are no patterns for sainthood and the Saints break all moulds.
God is interested in us, right where we are. He has placed us there and our own particular circumstances are as good a place as any other to become a saint . Holiness is within our reach! Only He knows where our pathways will lead. As Blessed Gregory and all our Saints show, it is about abandoning ourselves to Him and living our lives, where we are, in and for Him alone, keeping our eyes ever fixed on Christ . Over the course of time, our prayer evolves from acceptance of God’s will to a conscious act of love of God, to a devotion to and imitation of the person of Jesus, the Logos.
His Biographer, Fr Francisco de Losa said:
“His soul appeared to be disengaged from all things else by a pure union with God.”
And as López said to him: “It is much better to treat with God than with man….The eyes of the true man are always fixed on Christ, who is his head and the soul that is touched with love of God is like a needle that is touched with the lodestone always pointing to the North.”…Blessed Gregory
An old print of this servant of God states in a few lines:
“The miser runs o’er sea and land
His riches to increase,
But Lopez, on the other hand,
For poverty and peace.”
Many miracles were ascribed to him in life and after death. In February, 1620, the King of Spain ordered his Treatise on the Apocalypse published, adding, “I do not wish to lose a single moment in procuring the canonisation of this holy man, who,” as he says elsewhere, “passed thirty-three years in solitude in a marvellous penance, humility and love of God and his neighbour and had an admirable gift of prayer and understanding of the Holy Scriptures and the supernatural and human sciences, with the general approbation of the prelates and people of Mexico.” In fact, in the examinations that took place, bishops and theologians of all the religious orders, bore unanimous testimony to his extraordinary virtue and progress in the science of the saints.
Blessed Gregory Lopez, please pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 28 June – The Memorial of St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 135 – c 202) Father of the Church
Quote/s of the Day – 28 June – The Memorial of St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 135 – c 202) Father of the Church
“Our way of thinking,
is attuned to the Eucharist
and the Eucharist in turn,
confirms our way of thinking.”
“Jesus Christ, in His infinite love,
has become what we are,
in order that He may make us
entirely what He is.”
“It is not you that shapes God.
It is God that shapes you.
If then you are the work of God
await the Hand of the artist who does
all things in due season.
Offer Him your heart,
soft and tractable
and keep the form in which the artist
has fashioned you.
Let the clay be moist
lest you go hard
and lose the imprint of His Fingers.”
“As long as anyone has the means
of doing good to his neighbours
and does not do so,
he shall be reckoned a stranger
to the love of the Lord.”
The business of the Christian
is nothing else but to be
ever preparing for death.
“The universal Church, that is, the faithful everywhere, must be in agreement with this Church because of her outstanding superiority.”
“Being obedient she (Mary)
became the cause of salvation for herself
and for the whole human race.
The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied
by Mary’s obedience:
what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief,
Mary loosened by her faith.”
St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 135 – c 202)
Quote/s of the Day – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B
Quote/s of the Day – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B
Speaking of: Seeking Thomas à Kempis
“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.”
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
Quote/s of the Day- 1 June – The Memorial of St Justin Martyr (c 100-165) Father of the Church
Quote/s of the Day- 1 June – The Memorial of St Justin Martyr (c 100-165)
Father of the Church
“We used to hate and destroy one another
and refused, to associate with people
of another race or country.
Now, because of Christ, we live together
with such people and pray for our enemies ”
“Let it be understood,
that those who are not found living
as He taught,
are NOT Christian- even though they profess
with the lips, the teaching of Christ.”
“Not as common bread
or as common drink,
do we receive these…..
We have been taught,
that the food,
that has been Eucharistised,
by the word of prayer,
that food, which by assimilation,
nourishes our flesh and blood,
is the flesh and blood
of the incarnate Jesus.”
“The world suffers nothing from Christians
but hates them, because they reject its pleasures.”
“You can kill us
but you cannot do us
any real harm.”
“We have strayed from the Immortal’s ways
and worship with a dull and senseless mind, Idols,
the workmanship of our own hands!”
St Justin Martyr (c 100-165) Father of the Church
Thought for the Day -21 April – Saturday of the Third Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Conrad of Parzham OFM Cap. (1818-1894)
Thought for the Day -21 April – Saturday of the Third Week of Eastertide and the Memorial of St Conrad of Parzham OFM Cap. (1818-1894)
Resolutions of St Conrad whilst a Novice
1. I resolve in the first place to remain continually
in the presence of God
and to ask myself frequently if I would do this or that,
if my confessor or superior were watching me
and especially if God and my guardian angel were present.2. I resolve to ask myself, whenever I have to encounter crosses of suffering,
“Conrad, why have you come here?”3. I resolve to avoid leaving the friary, as far as possible,
unless it be out of love for my neighbour, obedience, reasons of health,
a pious pilgrimage or some other good cause.4. I resolve to foster fraternal charity in myself and in others.
Therefore, I resolve to take care never to say an unkind word.
I resolve to bear up patiently with the defects and weaknesses of others
and as far as possible, to hide them, with the mantle of charity,
unless I am in duty bound, to manifest them, to someone,
who is in a position to correct them.5. I resolve to observe silence conscientiously.
I resolve to speak briefly and so avoid many pitfalls
and be better able to converse with God.6. When at table I resolve to place myself in the presence of God,
as far as I can, to remain recollected and to pass up my favorite dishes
so as to practice a hidden form of mortification.
I resolve not to eat between meals, unless ordered to do so,
under obedience.7. I resolve to answer the first call of the bell unless legitimately hindered.
8. I resolve to avoid, as far as possible, conversing with the opposite sex
unless obedience imposes duties on me which make it necessary to speak with women.
In that case I resolve to be very reserved and maintain custody of the eyes.9. I resolve to carry out orders punctually and to the letter.
I resolve especially to make every effort to conquer my own will in all things.10. I resolve to force myself to pay close attention to minor details
and as far as possible avoid every imperfection.
I resolve to observe the holy rule faithfully
and not to depart from it a hairsbreadth, come what may.11. I resolve to cultivate a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
and strive to imitate her virtues.
St Conrad of Parzham (1818-1894)
Pray for us!
One Minute Reflection – 12 April – Thursday of the Second Week of Eastertide
One Minute Reflection – 12 April – Thursday of the Second Week of Eastertide
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men…. we are witnesses to these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”…Acts 5:29,32
REFLECTION – “The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you. Put your creed in your deed.”…Fr Mike Schmitz
PRAYER – God of mercy, let the mystery we celebrate at Eastertide, bear fruit for us in every season. Let us all be Your beacons to the world around us as St Zeno was, teaching by his life. Grant we pray, that his prayers may assist us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 9 April – Low Monday of Eastertide
Thought for the Day – 9 April – Low Monday of Eastertide
St Augustine of Hippo – The Easter Alleluia
This excerpt on the Easter Alleluia from St Augustine is a wonderful explanation of the joy of the Easter Season. Just as Lent was a season of penance, so the fifty days of Easter is a season of praise and song, an anticipation for the age to come in heavenly glory.
“Our thoughts in this present life, should turn on the praise of God because it is in praising God, that we shall rejoice forever in the life to come and no one can be ready for the next life, unless he trains himself for it now.
So we praise God during our earthly life and at the same time we make our petitions to Him. Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with yearning. We have been promised something we do not yet possess and because the promise was made by one who keeps His word, we trust Him and are glad; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised and yearning is over, then praise alone will remain.
Because there are these two periods of time – the one that now is, beset with the trials and troubles of this life and the other yet to come, a life of everlasting serenity and joy – we are given two liturgical seasons, one before Easter and the other after. The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present, signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing.
Both these periods are represented and demonstrated for us in Christ our head. The Lord’s passion depicts for us our present life of trial – shows how we must suffer and be afflicted and finally die. The Lord’s resurrection and glorification show us the life that will be given to us in the future.
Now therefore, brethren, we urge you to praise God. That is what we are all telling each other when we say Alleluia. You say to your neighbour, “Praise the Lord!” and he says the same to you. We are all urging one another to praise the Lord and all thereby doing what each of us urges the other to do. But see that your praise comes from your whole being; in other words, see that you praise God, not with your lips and voices alone but with your minds, your lives and all your actions.
We are praising God now, assembled as we are here in church; but when we go on our various ways again, it seems as if we cease to praise God. But provided we do not cease to live a good life, we shall always be praising God. You cease to praise God only when you swerve from justice and from what is pleasing to God.
If you never turn aside from the good life, your tongue may be silent but your actions will cry aloud and God will perceive your intentions; for as our ears hear each other’s voices, so do God’s ears hear our thoughts.”
This excerpt on the Alleluia as the song of the Easter Season of praise comes from St. Augustine’s discourse on the Psalms (Ps. 148, 1-2: CCL 40, 2165-2166).
We are the Easter People and Alleluia is our Song!
St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)
Quote of the Day – 28 March – Wednesday of Holy Week 2018
Quote of the Day – 28 March – Wednesday of Holy Week 2018
By nothing else except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
has death been brought low, the sin of our first parent destroyed,
hell plundered, resurrection bestowed,
the power given us to despise the things of this world,
even death itself, the road back to the former blessedness made smooth,
the gates of paradise opened, our nature seated at the right hand of God
and we made children and heirs of God.
By the cross all these things have been set aright…
It is a seal that the destroyer may not strike us,
a raising up of those who lie fallen,
a support for those who stand,
a staff for the infirm,
a crook for the shepherded,
a guide for the wandering,
a perfecting of the advanced,
salvation for soul and body,
a deflector of all evils,
a cause of all goods,
a destruction of sin,
a plant of resurrection
and a tree of eternal life.
St John Damascene (675-749) Father & Doctor of the Church
Lenten Reflection – 13 March 2018 – Tuesday of the 4th Week of Lent
Lenten Reflection – 13 March – Tuesday of the 4th Week of Lent
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12, Psalms 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9, John 5:1-16
Ezekiel 47:9 – And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of the seak may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.
John 5:6-9 – When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked.
The theme of life-giving water again dominates the readings of today’s Mass. “Come to the waters, all who thirst, though you have no money, come and drink with joy” (Entrance Antiphon). The time for the prospective converts’ baptism is drawing near.
We need to be reminded that we don’t have to imagine ourselves as catechumens to share their desire and thirst. We can and do, always long for greater and greater union in love “All who thirst, come to the waters.” The Opening Prayer is not just for catechumens but for us all – “Father, may our lenten observance prepare us to embrace the paschal mystery and proclaim Your salvation with joyful praise.”
To embrace the paschal mystery is to die and rise with Jesus. It is the ultimate glory of every human, baptised or not. If we do not yet experience the fullness of the thirst for God signified by the living waters of baptism, it may well be that our thirst has been dulled by our personal alienation from Christ. Conversion to Christ is ongoing, it never ends! This conversion we claim to be working at, is it for real and for how long? We don’t have to tell our Lord that we have no-one to put us into the water, we KNOW where the pool is – it is the Sacrament of Confession, it is in Confession where He heals us just as He healed the man at the pool! The healing pool is also the Eucharist and certainly, it will be the grace-filled moment of our baptismal renewal on Holy Saturday night and Easter.
What the catechumens longed for, we possess now – Baptism, the Eucharist, Confession and these are always available. We don’t even have to wait for Easter!
In our Easter encounter with Him who is our Good Shepherd and who says, “I lay down my life for my sheep”, satisfies all our wants and desires and needs. “In green pastures He will give us rest, He will lead us along the waters of peace” (Communion Antiphon). In the Eucharist, in Confession, God is and always will be in our midst! Run to Him, praise Him!…(Fr E Lawrence OSB- Daily Meditations for Lent)
When has God been most present to you?
How often to I attend Daily Mass and Confession?
Could I change this practise – today and for the rest of my life?
“Ah, who would not be touched? …. A God who weeps with so many tears at the loss of one soul and Who cries unceasingly: My friend, my friend, why proceedest thou thus to lose thy soul and thy God? Stop! Stop! Ah! Look at my tears, my Blood which flows yet. Must I die a second time to save thee? Look at me. Ah! Angels from Heaven descend upon earth, come and weep with me for the loss of this soul! Oh, that a Christian should be so unfortunate as to persevere still in running towards the abyss despite the voice which his God causes him to hear continually! But, you may say to me, no one says these things to us. Oh my friends, unless you want to stop up your ears, you will hear the voice of God, which follows you unceasingly.
Tell me, my friends, then, what is this remorse of conscience which overwhelms you in the midst of sin? Why do these anxieties and storms agitate you? Why this fear, this dread that you are in, when you seem to be forever expecting to be crushed by the thunders of Heaven? How many times, even when you were sinning, have you not experienced the touch of an invisible hand which seemed to push you away, as if someone were saying: Unhappy man, what are you doing? Unhappy man, where are you going? Ah my son, why do you wish to damn yourself? ….
Would you not agree with me that a Christian who despises so many graces deserves to be abandoned and rejected because he has not listened to the voice of God or profited by His graces? On the contrary, my dear brethren, it is God Himself Who is scorned by this ungrateful soul who would seem to wish to put Him to death again. All creation demands vengeance and it is, in fact, God alone Who wishes to save this soul and Who is opposed to all that could be prejudicial to it.
He watches over its salvation as if it were the only soul in the world.”...St John Vianney (1786-1859)
For a small teardrop from the eye
can cause an entire evil platoon of the Tempter’s
army to shrink away,
like the squirming of centipedes or earthworms,
drowning in a puddle of oil or a drop of
some lethal potion.
And the faint groan of a sighing heart,
rising from the soul,
is like a warm southerly breeze, mixed with sun,
that melts the fiercest blizzard,
for like storms, they are easily born and when
opposed, quickly die.
St Gregory of Narek (c951-c1010) Doctor of the Church
Lenten Reflection – 28 February 2018 – Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Lenten Reflection – 28 February 2018 – Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Jeremiah 18:18-20, Psalms 31:5-6, 14-16, Matthew 20:17-28
Jeremiah 18:18-19 – Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us smite him with the tongue and let us not heed any of his words.” Give heed to me, O LORD and hearken to my plea.
Psalm 31:5 & 13-14 – Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. Yea, I hear the whispering of many – terror on every side! – as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in thee, O LORD, I say, “Thou art my God.”
Matthew 20:26-28 – It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
There are several ways in which we can get things wrong on our journey to God and this season of Lent is a good time to become aware of them.
Firstly, we must not be taken by surprise if trying to follow God’s lead brings us persecution and hatred. Jeremiah in today’s first reading is not at all pleased with this state of affairs and is quite firm in his demands that his God should rescue him.
The psalmist is facing a similar situation (“terror all aound me”) and he is not exactly delighted that his life is in danger. However, he does not make any complaints, simply places his life confidently into the hands of God.
In the Gospel, Jesus is for the third time privately predicting to his slightly dim-witted disciples (though it is easy for us at this distance to second-guess the disciples – you? me? – have we done any better?) what is going to happen to Him and it is at least, as bas as what faces Jermiah, except for the last part of the prediction, which we hardly ever notice “and on the third day he will be raised.” That, however, is not what goes wrong. The failure on the part of His hearers is that of the mother of the sons of Zebedee. So James and John have to have it explained to them that Jesus’ way is the way of death.
Not that the other apostles are any better and now it is their turn to get things wrong, as they turn crossly on the two brothers. This is presumably not because they are shocked that James and John had so radically misunderstood Jesus but because, they had got ahead in the power-game.
For, the odd thing is – and at this point in Lent we shall do well to remind ourselves of it – that we are following a Lord who came not to be served but to serve – and to give His life!
On my journey to the Resurrection, do I trust God despite the difficulties I encounter?
Are there times in my life where I exercise power over others and delight in it?
Am I really one who serves?
Fr Nicholas King – The Lenten Journey to Easter
Loyalty to You
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
O my God, my whole life has been a course of mercies and blessings shown to one who has been most unworthy of them.
I require no faith, for I have had long experience as to Your Providence toward me.
Year after year, You have carried me on, refreshed me, borne with me, directed me, sustained me.
O forsake me not when my strength fails me.
And You never will forsake me.
I may rest upon Your arm; I may go to sleep in Your bosom.
Only give me and increase in me, that true loyalty to You, which is the bond of the covenant between You and me and the pledge in my own heart and conscience that You, the Supreme God, will not forsake me, the most miserable of Your children!
25 February 2018 – Lenten Reflection – The Second Sunday in Lent, Year B THE GLORY OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIS
25 February 2018 – Lenten Reflection – The Second Sunday in Lent, Year B
THE GLORY OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST
Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18, Psalms 116:10, 15-19, Romans 8:31-34, Mark 9:2-10
Mark 9:2-3 – And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
On the second Sunday in Lent we always read the Gospel of the Transfiguration of our Lord. We do so in order that our focus may be directed towards the glory of Easter and our Lord’s victory over sin and death by His glorious Resurrection. Our Lenten penance is not an end in itself but a means to an end; that cleansed of our faults and sanctified in both body and mind we might more fully appreciate and participate in God’s own glory. The word that Sacred Scripture most commonly uses to describe the nature of God is glory. We associate glory with power, majesty, radiance, awe and wonder. Yet all the Gospels, especially the Gospel of John, speak of God’s humiliation as His exaltation, His glory. By faith, we are seized by the beauty and glory of the Crucified Christ. In this mystery of the Transfiguration a twofold glory is revealed: the glory which our Lord possesses as the eternal Son of the Father and the glory that is manifested in His sacred Passion; the glory that is manifested from the unsurpassable torture of Holy Week. God Himself is “whipped to blood, crowned with thorns, mocked, spat upon, ridiculed, nailed, pierced… In this consummate ugliness, this unspeakable outrage, shines a picture of divine beauty, of divine glory. The Gospel of the Transfiguration presents us with a vision of the glory of God on its way to the Passion”… (Cardinal Hans Urs Von Balthasar 1905-1988).
The glory revealed to Peter, James and John is a glimpse of the glory of the Resurrection, a glory that we too are destined to share; however, it is the Passion that “leads to the glory of the Resurrection” (Preface for the Second Sunday in Lent, The Roman Missal). Consequently, we are ever mindful that “we preach Christ crucified … Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:23-24). Our Lord Jesus Christ “is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of His nature” (Heb 1:3). Those who gaze on the Crucified Christ in faith are able to perceive that His hour of highest spiritual beauty—and glory—is a moment of utmost bodily degradation. In the humiliation of the Cross the Saviour brings near and makes visible the divine glory for we see in Him the ineffable love of God for sinners. This is a love, a beauty and a glory that can only be perceived by a prayerful, contemplative gaze . It is only by means of prayer and penance that we can come to some understanding of why our Lord brought about our salvation in such weakness, diminishment and pain.
No human life is exempt from diminishment and pain. If we are given the grace to grow older, the weight of years alone brings about diminishment. Why must it be so? Perhaps our own diminishment is meant to conform us to the self-emptying of the Son of God on the Cross. This may very well be the grace of old age. That our redemption has taken place through suffering of the flesh and spilling of blood may mean that it could take place in no other way. It is for this reason that above all things we must seek simply to be with Jesus and to learn from Him what He alone can teach us in the silence of prayer. On the Cross we have the ultimate and only adequate answer to the problem of evil, the only solution to the mystery of sin. The world’s redemption could only be brought about “in the mystery of a love that by suffering understands all the insults inflicted upon it” (Hans Urs Von Balthasar). Our profession of faith, if taken seriously, is journey into the depth of this Mystery.
What do we discover as we come to know more of this mystery? Quite simply, that the essence of Christian discipleship is to be with Jesus and to learn from Him who accompanies us on life’s journey and who is never distant from us by means of His grace. We must endeavour to abandon ourselves to the will of the Father as He did and in this is our peace: not only our peace but also our way to holiness, to glory. Christians are not immune from suffering. Indeed, our long history teaches us that often we suffer more precisely because of our Christian faith but as St Paul asks, “who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him who loved us” (Rom 8:35-37). These words are more than ever relevant as we witness the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. Our faith enables us not only to overcome the trials we suffer but also to be sanctified by them and through them. We understand these as our means to holiness; a state to which we are called.
“The entire virtue of what we call holiness lies in faithfulness to what God ordains” (Jean Pierre de Caussade, The Joy of Full Surrender, [Paraclete Press], p.17). Surely, this is what we learn when we contemplate the life and Passion of our Lord. Fidelity to duty, discipline of life, moral rectitude; these are the ways in which we are faithful to what God ordains. They are no less the means by which our lives are so transformed and so transfigured that we come to “live for the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:12). Anything that contradicts these principles is a path to misery and destruction and a betrayal of the Cross of Christ.
After His glorious resurrection our Lord asked the disciples on the road to Emmaus, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Lk 24:26). And so it is with us; we must be willing to recognise what is best for us in what God ordains for us. Like the disciples on the mountain, the revelation of God’s will for us, whether it be in the suffering that He asks of us or permits us to endure, or simply in the challenges that we face in living; these may confound us and might even cause us to be very much afraid. Like Peter, James and John, however, we too are privileged to perceive the glory of the Lord; a glory however that is veiled in the poverty, humility, and vulnerability of the Crucifix that hangs before us and in the Sacrament of the Cross, the Eucharist. These reveal a love so powerful that neither hate nor death could conquer it. Because we receive and worship this Sacrament, this same love is at work in the hearts of all who believe. By its power great deeds of love are done and great evils are faced and overcome. The Passion of our Lord gives a human face to the love of God for a fallen humanity. Our own sufferings, mysterious as they may be in both their origin and purpose, place us in the very heart of the Paschal Mystery. Suffering is not meaningless nor is it without purpose and neither is our life. “Nothing short of suffering, except in rare cases, makes us what we should be; gentle instead of harsh, meek instead of violent, conceding instead of arrogant, lowly instead of proud, pure-hearted instead of sensual” (Bl. John Henry Newman (1801-1890), “The Sweet Yoke of Christ,” 1839).
Transfiguration
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
They were talking to Him about resurrection,
about law, about the suffering ahead.
They were talking as if to remind Him who He was and
who they were. He was not
Like his three friends watching a little way off,
not like the crowd At the foot of the hill.
A grey-green thunderhead massed
from the sea
And God spoke from it and said He was His.
They were talking about how the body, broken or
burned,
could live again, remade.
Only the fiery text of the thunderhead could explain it.
And they were talking
About pain and the need for judgement
and how He would make Himself
A law of pain, both its spirit and its letter in His own
flesh,
and then break it,
That is, transcend it.
His clothes flared like magnesium
My Lord, I Offer You Myself
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
My Lord,
I offer You myself in turn,
as a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
You have died for me,
And I in turn make myself over to You.
I am not my own.
You have bought me:
I will, by my own act and deed,
complete the purchase.
My wish is to be separated
from everything of this world;
To cleanse myself simply from sin;
To put away from me even what is innocent,
If used for its own sake
and not for Yours.
I put away reputation and honour
and influence and power,
For my praise and strength,
shall be in You.
Enable me to carry out what I profess
Amen
Quote of the Day – 24 February 2018 – Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Quote of the Day – 24 February 2018 – Saturday of the First Week of Lent
“The nicest word to say to our Lord is: “Yes”.
If our Lady hadn’t said that at the Annunciation,
where would the world be now?”
Servant of God Guy Pierre de Fontgalland (1913-1925)
One Minute Reflection – 13 February – “Shrove Tuesday”
One Minute Reflection – 13 February – “Shrove Tuesday”
“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”…John 17:14-15
REFLECTION – “In this sense, then, the world is everything that is opposed to our Lord Jesus Christ, that refuses to recognise Him and that resists His divine guidance. Those false maxims which tend to weaken the love of God in our souls; which recommended the vanities that fasten our hearts to this present life; which cry down everything that can raise us above our weaknesses or vices; which decoy and gratify our corrupt nature by dangerous pleasures, which, far from helping us to the attainment of our last end, only mislead us-all these are ‘the world.'”…Abbot Dom Prosper Gueranger (The Liturgical Year)
PRAYER – All-provident Lord, my God, You are my Father and in You is all my hope and trust. Teach me to live according to Your precepts, knowing that through them I will attain virtue and thus be filled with true joy. Help me to love Your Creation but never to succumb to the enticements of the material world which constantly beckon and attempt to seduce my love. Grant us all strength during our Lenten journey to minimise the snares of the ‘world’ around us and to open our hearts only to You. Through our Saviour, who came to teach us and lead us, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor)
Quote/s of the Day – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor)
“Nothing created has ever been able
to fill the heart of man.
God alone can fill it infinitely.”
“It is only God who creates.
Man merely rearranges.”
“When the devil is called
the god of this world,
it is not because he made it
but because we serve him
with our worldliness.”
“To pretend angels do not exist
because they are invisible,
is to believe we never sleep
because we don’t see ourselves sleeping.”
“Charity is
the form,
mover,
mother
and root
of all
the virtues.”
“To love is to
will the good
of the other.”
“The greatest kindness
one can render
to any man
consists in leading him
from error to truth.”
“Believing is
an act of the intellect
assenting to the divine truth,
by command of the will,
moved by God through grace.”
“He who is NOT angry
when there is just cause
for anger is IMMORAL.
WHY?
Because anger looks to
the good of justice.
And if you can live amid injustice
without anger,
you ARE IMMORAL
as well as UNJUST!”
“The celebration of Holy Mass
is as valuable, as the death
of Jesus on the cross.”
“Mary means Star of the sea,
for as mariners are guided to port
by the ocean star, so Christians attain
to glory through Mary’s maternal intercession.”
AnaStpaul 
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