QUOTES on PRAYER – Page 20

Lenten Thoughts – 8 April – “Praying means …”

Posted on April 8, 2019April 8, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 8 April – Monday of the Fifth week of Lent, Year C

“Praying means giving up your false security, no longer looking for arguments that will protect you if you get pushed into a corner and no longer setting our hope on a couple of lighter moments which your life might still offer.
To pray, means to stop expecting from God, the same small-mindedness, you discover in yourself.
To pray is to walk in the full Light of God and to say simply, without holding back, “I am human and You are God!”
At that moment, conversion occurs, the restoration for the true relationship.
A human being is not someone who once in a while makes a mistake and God is not someone who now and then forgives.
No! Human beings are sinners and God is love.
The conversion experience makes this obvious with stunning simplicity and disarming clarity.”

Fr Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)

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Quote of the Day – 30 March – St John Climacus – On Prayer

Posted on March 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 30 March – Saturday of the Third week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Luke 18:9–14 and the Memorial of St John Climacus (c 525-606)

On Prayer

“The one who requests less than he deserves from God will surely obtain more than he deserves.

This is clearly shown by the tax-collector who requested forgiveness but obtained justification.

And the thief merely requested to be remembered in His Kingdom, but he inherited Paradise.”

St John Climacus

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Lenten Reflection – 30 March

Posted on March 30, 2019March 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 30 March – Saturday of the Third week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St John Climacus (c 525-606)

The Readings
Hosea 6:1-6; Psalms 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21AB; Luke 18:9-14

On sobriety in prayer

St John Climacus

Do not be over-sophisticated in the words you use when praying, because the simple and unadorned lisping of children has often won the heart of their heavenly Father. Do not attempt to talk much when you pray, lest your mind be distracted in searching for words. One word of the publican propitiated God and one cry of faith saved the thief. Loquacity in prayer often distracts the mind and leads to fantasy, whereas brevity- makes for concentration. If you feel sweetness or compunction at some word of your prayer, dwell on it, for then our guardian angel is praying with us.

Ask with tears, seek with obedience, knock with patience. For thus the one who asks, receives and the one who seeks, finds and to anyone who knocks it will be opened.

Those who keep constant hold of the staff of prayer will not stumble. And even if they do, their fall will not be fatal. For prayer is a devout coercion of God. ask with tears knock with - st john climacus.jpg

Daily Meditation:
Fill our hearts with Your love.

Our lesson today reminds us again of God’s love and Jesus’ desire
that we love one another as we are loved.
On this journey, we are learning why this is a challenge for us.
We are experiencing our human weaknesses and practising ways to be freer,
to open our hearts more fully to God’s love
and to give ourselves in fidelity, every day.

You ask us to express our thanks by self-denial.
“Come, let us return to the Lord,
for he has torn, that he may heal us,
he has stricken and he will bind us up.”
Hosea 6:1

Closing Prayer:
God of infinite love,
You shower me with limitless gifts in my life.
In my every thought and action today
guide me to the bright and loving light of Your kingdom.
Help me to be aware of
the many ways You allow me
to share in Your life so intimately today.
Thank You for the gifts You have placed in my life.
Let me be grateful every moment of this day..

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen. Sat of the thirs week lent 30 march 2019.jpg

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One Minute Reflection – 30 March –

Posted on March 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 30 March – Saturday of the Third week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Luke 18:9–14

“…For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled but he who humbles himself, will be exalted.”...Luke 18:14 luke-18-14-everuone who exalts himself shall be humbled.jpg

REFLECTION – “We must only pray by placing ourselves before God just as we are. Not like the pharisee who prays with arrogance and hypocrisy. We are all taken up by the frenetic pace of daily life, often at the mercy of feelings, dazed and confused. It is necessary to learn how to rediscover the path to our heart, to recover the value of intimacy and silence, because the God who encounters us and speaks to us, is there. Only by beginning there can we, in our turn, encounter others and speak with them.”…Pope Francis – General Audience, 1 June 2016

PRAYER – We turn to You our God and Father and seek Your comfort and assurance. Jesus, our Lord, Your Son, taught us how to pray and all we need to be and do, to reach You. Be patient good Father, as we grow by Your grace. May such a master of prayer, St John Climacus, be heard together with the Mother of Christ and of Prayer, as they pray on our behalf. Through Jesus our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen. luke 2 19 but mary kept all these things mary mother of prayer pray for us 30 march 2019.jpg

st john climacus pray for us 30 march 2019.jpg

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Lenten Thoughts – 26 March – Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives – St Peter Chrysologus

Posted on March 26, 2019March 26, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 26 March – Tuesday of the Third week of Lent, Year C – Gospel: Matthew 18:21–35

St Peter Chrysologus (400-450)
Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Sermon 43

Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives

There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: – these three are one and they give life to each other.

Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them, they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself. fasting is the soul of prayer - st peter chryasologus 26 march 2019 tues3rdweeklent

When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery. if you want to receive give - st peter chrysologus 26 march 2019 tues3rdweeklent.jpg

Let this be the pattern for all men when they practice mercy – show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you.

Therefore, let prayer, mercy and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defence, a threefold united prayer in our favour.

Let us use fasting to make up for what we have lost by despising others. Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy – A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart.

Offer your soul to God, make Him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God. Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give Him yourself, you are never without the means of giving.

To make these acceptable, mercy must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth. However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues, if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit.

When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin, when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give to others.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever.
Amen

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Lenten Thoughts – 21 March – The Primacy of the Spiritual: Saint Nicholas of Flue

Posted on March 21, 2019March 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 21 March – Thursday of the Second week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)

The Primacy of the Spiritual: Saint Nicholas of Flue (Excerpt)
By Christopher O Blum

Born to a pious, upstanding peasant family, young Nicholas stood out for his goodness, simplicity and mortification. While still a young man, labouring in the fields and meadows of the valleys south of Lucerne, he fasted four times per week, explaining himself, when pressed, by saying, “Such is the will of God.” Until his fiftieth year, his life was that of an exemplary Swiss free man. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he served his canton both under arms and by holding civic office. And this pillar of the community raised up five sons and five daughters with the help of his exemplary wife Dorothy. Yet God persisted in calling him to a life beyond that of the domestic holiness he had already embraced and sent visions to him in his late-night prayer vigils and his moments of afternoon solitude in the fields, visions that beckoned him to leave all. st nicholas of flue pray for us 21 march 2019 no 2.jpg

As the eminent Swiss theologian Charles Cardinal Journet (1891-1975) explained in his biography of the hermit-saint, “it no longer sufficed for him to walk along the roads of the world with God in his heart, he had to take the path set aside for him, that he might be taken by the hand and led to where he knew not.” What praise of Dorothy of Flue could be lovelier, Journet asked, than to admire her magnanimity in being able to “comprehend the drama of this great soul”? They parted friends, just thirteen weeks after the birth of their youngest child and remained so. Several years later, a pilgrim visitor to Nicholas’ hermitage saw the saint, with joyous mien, lean out of the window of his tiny cell after the morning Mass to greet his family with a blessing: “May God give you a blessed day, dear friends and good people!”

Nicholas had initially thought to join a monastery, perhaps one in nearby Alsace known for its austerity. But a chance conversation with a peasant helped him to understand another of his mystical visions – this one of the nearby town of Liestal wrapped in flames. His good works were needed in his own neighbourhood. And so, he built himself a hermitage one valley over from his home and spent the next twenty years there, clad only in a tunic, with bare feet and a bare head, to do penance for his beloved people. His piety was simple, for he was illiterate. A neighbouring priest had taught him the practice of meditating on Christ’s Passion in stages to match the seven canonical hours of the Church’s daily prayer. This method bore good results. He soon became known for the wisdom and holiness of his counsel and pilgrims flocked to his hidden valley to listen to his simple, direct words: “O man, when the world hates you and is faithless toward you, think of your God, how he was struck and spat upon. You should not accuse your neighbour of guilt but pray to God, that he be merciful to you both.”

Writing during the Second World War, Cardinal Journet saw in Nicholas of Flue the “supreme incarnation of the genius of Switzerland.” By this he did not mean that the hermit was a pacifist. He was something higher and more important. His greatness “was to have affirmed the primacy of the spiritual life.” “For the saints”, the Cardinal explained, “are sent to us by God as so many sermons. We do not use them, it is they who move us and lead us, to where we had not expected to go.” Those were years of exceptional trial for the Swiss but they were also years in which men and women of good will prepared the ground for spiritual renewal and rebuilding. the saints are sent to us by god - card charles journet 21 march 2019.jpg

What lesson might Nicholas of Flue hold out for our generation? Were he alive today this simple Swiss peasant would doubtless be startled by our wealth. The recession of recent years seems to have done little to dull the edge of our consumption. The adjective “worldly” is now being used as a term of approbation, to signify the savoir-faire of the person who knows the latest fashions and ways of thinking. It is a telling linguistic development. Nicholas of Flue spent the last twenty years of his life in a tiny room with two windows. Through one of them, he could see something of the beauty of his native land, a beauty that nourished his reflection and piety: “O man, think of the sun so high in the sky and consider its splendour – but your soul has received the splendour of the eternal God.” Through the other, he saw the altar, whence came the very food of his soul. “We should carry the Passion of God in our hearts, for this is the greatest consolation to a man at the hour of his death.” The one thing needful indeed.

My Lord and my God
St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)

My Lord and my God,
take from me everything
that distances me from You.
My Lord and my God,
give me everything
that brings me closer to You.
My Lord and my God,
detach me from myself
to give my all to You.
Amen

The above prayer of St Nicholas, is cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph #226.
CCC 226 – It means making good use of created things: faith in God, the only One, leads us to use everything that is not God only insofar as it brings us closer to Him and to detach ourselves from it insofar as it turns us away from Him.

prayer-of-st-nicholas-of-flue-no-226-my-lord-and-my-god-take-from-me-everything-21-march-20181.jpg

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Lenten Thoughts – 12 March – “On the Lord’s Prayer” – St Cyprian

Posted on March 12, 2019March 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 12 March – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

Saint Cyprian of Carthage
Bishop, Father of the Church and Martyr

An excerpt from his “On the Lord’s Prayer”

Dear brothers, the commands of the Gospel are nothing else than God’s lessons, the foundations on which to build up hope, the supports for strengthening faith, the food that nourishes the heart. They are the rudder for keeping us on the right course, the protection that keeps our salvation secure. As they instruct the receptive minds of believers on earth, they lead safely to the kingdom of heaven.

God willed that many things should be said by the prophets, His servants and listened to by His people. How much greater are the things spoken by the Son. These are now witnessed to by the very word of God who spoke through the prophets. The Word of God does not now command us to prepare the way for His coming – He comes in person and opens up the way for us and directs us toward it. Before, we wandered in the darkness of death, aimlessly and blindly. Now we are enlightened by the light of grace and are to keep to the highway of life, with the Lord to precede and direct us.

The Lord has given us many counsels and commandments to help us toward salvation. He has even given us a pattern of prayer, instructing us on how we are to pray. He has given us life and with His accustomed generosity, He has also taught us how to pray. He has made it easy for us to be heard as we pray to the Father in the words taught us by the Son.

He has already foretold that the hour was coming when true worshippers would worship the Father in spirit and in truth. He fulfilled what He had promised before, so that we who have received the spirit and the truth through the holiness He has given us, may worship in truth and in the spirit through the prayer He has taught.

What prayer could be more a prayer in the spirit than the one given us by Christ, by whom the Holy Spirit was sent upon us? What prayer could be more a prayer in the truth than the one spoken by the lips of the Son, who is Truth Himself? It follows that to pray in any other way than the Son has taught us is not only the result of ignorance but of sin. He himself has commanded it and has said – You reject the command of God, to set up your own tradition.

So, my brothers, let us pray as God our master has taught us. To ask the Father in words His Son has given us, to let Him hear the prayer of Christ ringing in His ears, is to make our prayer one of friendship, a family prayer. Let the Father recognise the words of His Son. Let the Son who lives in our hearts, be also on our lips. We have Him as an Advocate for sinners, before the Father, when we ask for forgiveness for ours sins, let us use the words given by our Advocate. He tells us – Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you. What more effective prayer could we then make, in the name of Christ, than in the words of His own prayer?

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Quote/s of the Day – 12 March – “Speaking of Prayer”

Posted on March 12, 2019March 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 12 March – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent, C – Gospel Matthew 6:7–15 and the Memorial of St Luigi Orione FDP (1872-1940)

“Speaking of Prayer”

“Without Prayer nothing good is done.
God’s works are done with our hands joined
and on our knees.
Even when we run,
we must remain spiritually
kneeling before Him.”

Saint Luigi Orione (1872-1940)

“But if He who was without sin prayed,
how much more ought sinners to pray
and if He prayed continually,
watching through the whole night with uninterrupted petitions,
how much more ought we
to lie awake at night in continuing prayer!”

St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258)

Father of the Church

(The Lord’s Prayer #29)

“Your prayer is a conversation with God.
When you read, it is God who is speaking,
when you pray, it is with God that you are speaking.”

St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church

“All that one says to the Saviour is prayer
and when the mind cannot apply itself,
to the effort of true prayer,
a few simple words to Him become one.
It is needful always to think of Him,
even if it is only by the thought
that one is thinking less of Him –
one must be always thinking of Him
and then bit by bit,
He draws one back entirely to Him,
He is so good!”

Eugene de Ferronays (1827 – 1894)

“When we pray,
let it be our whole being
that turns towards God –
our thoughts,
our heart…
The Lord will be moved
to incline towards us
and come to our help…”

St Pio of Pietralcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

“Prayer is necessary to receive the help of God,
as grain is needed to harvest … a humble and trustful prayer,
for what is necessary for salvation,
is never lost.
It is heard at least by the fact,
that it begs for the grace,
to abide in prayer.”

Blessed Michal Sopoćko (1888-1975)

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 March – St Marie Eugénie de Jésus

Posted on March 10, 2019March 10, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 10 March – The Memorial of St Marie Eugénie de Jésus (1817-1898)

“Be the cotton
between sheets of glass,
to keep others, from shattering.”

“Transform
everything into
Praise and Thanksgiving!”

“Love never says
‘I have done enough.'”

St Marie Eugénie de Jésus (1817-1898)

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One Minute Reflection – 6 March – Ash Wednesday

Posted on March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 6 March – Ash Wednesday

“Beware of practising your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”…Mark 6:1

REFLECTION – “Fasting, that is, learning to change our attitude towards others and all of creation, turning away from the temptation to “devour” everything to satisfy our voracity and being ready to suffer for love, which can fill the emptiness of our hearts.
Prayer, which teaches us to abandon idolatry and the self-sufficiency of our ego and to acknowledge our need of the Lord and His mercy. Almsgiving, whereby we escape from the insanity of hoarding everything for ourselves in the illusory belief that we can secure a future that does not belong to us.

And thus to rediscover the joy of God’s plan for creation and for each of us, which is to love Him, our brothers and sisters and the entire world and to find in this love our true happiness.

Let us not allow this season of grace to pass in vain! Let us ask God to help us set out on a path of true conversion. Let us leave behind our selfishness and self-absorption and turn to Jesus’ Pasch. Let us stand beside our brothers and sisters in need, sharing our spiritual and material goods with them. In this way, by concretely welcoming Christ’s victory over sin and death into our lives, we will also radiate its transforming power to all of creation.”- Pope Francis’ 2019 Lenten Message

PRAYER – Remember Lord, Your solemn covenant, renewed and consecrated by the Blood of the Lamb, so that Your people may obtain forgiveness for their sins and a continued growth in grace. Support us Lord, as with this Lenten fast we begin our Christian warfare, so that in doing battle against the spirit of evil, we may be armed with the weapon of self-denial. Heavenly Father, help us to fast for the right reasons. Teach us to fast to curb illicit desires and to obtain closer union with You. Help us Lord, during this Lenten season to cleave to You alone and grow in sanctity and charity. Create in me a clean heart O Lord! Through our Lord Jesus Christ in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. o-that-today-ash-wednesday-6 march 2019 ash wed.jpg

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Remember you are Dust and Unto Dust you shall return

Posted on March 6, 2019March 5, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Remember you are Dust and Unto Dust you shall return

Ash Wednesday 6 March 2019

Saint Peter Chrysologus (400-450)

Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church

Sermon 8 ; CCL 24, 59 ; PL 52, 208

Exercises for Lent: Almsgiving, Prayer, Fasting

My dear brethren, today we set out on the great Lenten journey. So let us take our food and drink along in our boat, putting onto the chest the abundant mercy we shall need. For our fasting is a hungry one, our fasting is a thirsty one if it isn’t sustained by goodness and refreshed by mercy. Our fasting will be cold, our fasting will flag, if the fleece of almsgiving doesn’t clothe it, if the garment of compassion does not wrap it around.

Brethren, what spring is for the land, mercy is for fasting – the soft, spring winds cause all the buds on the plains to flower; the mercy of our fast causes all our seeds to grow until they blossom and bear fruit for the heavenly harvest. What oil is to the lamp, goodness is to our fast. As the oily fat sets the lamp alight and, in spite of so little to feed it, keeps it burning to our comfort all night long, so goodness makes our fasting shine – it casts its beams until it reaches the full brightness of self-restraint. What the sun is to the day, almsgiving is to our fast: the sun’s splendour increases the light of day, breaking through the dullness of the clouds; almsgiving together with fasting sanctifies its holiness and, thanks to the light of goodness, dispels from our desires anything that could petrify. In short, what the body is for the soul, generosity acts similarly for the fast: when the soul leaves the body it brings about death; if generosity abandons the fast, it is, its death. ash wed and good friday - days of fasting and abstinence

A very special day.

The ashes we use are the burnt palms from last year’s celebration of Passion Sunday.
We begin our Lenten journey aware of where we are going.
We want to enter into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus for us more fully.
That is the purpose of our journey. It is why we mark our heads with His cross.
It is why we fast today and abstain from meat. from pam fronds to ashes

Our Lenten program is not an effort to save ourselves.
We have been saved by His sacrifice.
Our self-denial helps us, in the darkness that surrounds us,
to prepare ourselves to receive His light.
For this is a journey to the Easter font,
where we will renew the promises of our Baptism,
remembering that in dying with Him in the waters of Baptism,
we are re-born with Him to everlasting life.

This year’s journey begins today.

Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Joel 2:12-13 joel 2 12-13 ash wed yet even now - 6 march 2019.jpg

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
it feels like we are embarking
on a Lenten journey together, You and I.
Today, we are invited to let the Holy Spirit
purify our hearts and strengthen us in love.
That feels like what I am looking for –
or what You are looking for in me.
I want to remember how much I need You in my life
and how much my life needs redemption.
I want to remember it clearly and
in the background of my day, today and all through Lent.

On this special day, Ash Wednesday,
may my small sacrifices in fasting be a way to clear away
the clutter in my life to see You more clearly.
May my longing for meat and other food,
help me to focus my life today more outside myself.
Let me be aware of those,
who are in so much more suffering, than I am
and may I be aware of them,
as the brothers and sisters, You have placed in my life.

Lord, I know there is darkness within me and around me.
Bless these days with Your Word.
Let Your Light shine in the darkness.
Help me long for that shining Light
until we celebrate it at the Vigil, six weeks from now.

And most of all Lord,
help me to honour this day with the ashes on my forehead.
They help me remember where I have come from
and where I am going.
May I acknowledge to You my sins
and my deep need for Your loving forgiveness and grace.
I pray that this Lenten season will make me so much more aware
of how much I need Your love and care in my life.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

“The Lord, who always goes before us, said this and did this (Jn 12:24). Whenever we experience the cross, He has already experienced it before us. We do not mount the cross to find Jesus. Instead it was He who, in His self-abasement, descended even to the cross, in order to find us, to dispel the darkness of evil within us and to bring us back to the light.”

Pope Francis

(at the Canonisation of Saints Francisco and Jacinta on 14 May 2017)

the-lord-who-always-goes-before-us-pope-francis-20-feb-2017-sts-francisco-and-jacinta.jpg

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Lenten Preparation Novena – Day Nine – 5 March 2019 “Come Back to Me With all your Heart”

Posted on March 5, 2019March 4, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Preparation Novena – Day Nine – 5 March 2019 “Shrove Tuesday”
“Come Back to Me With all your Heart”

Lent 2019 will begin on
Wednesday, 6 March
The Holy Triduum is
Thursday 18 April – Holy Saturday 20 April
Easter Sunday 21 April 2019

You have been crucifying Our Lord!

We come to confession quite preoccupied with the shame that we shall feel. We accuse ourselves with hot air. It is said that many confess and few are converted. I believe it is so, my children because few confess with tears of repentance.

See, the misfortune is, that people do not reflect. If one said to those who work on Sundays, to a young person who had been dancing for two or three hours, to a man coming out of an alehouse drunk, “What have you been doing? You have been crucifying Our Lord!” they would be quite astonished, because they do not think of it. My children, if we thought of it, we should be seized with horror; it would be impossible for us to do evil. For what has the good God done to us that we should grieve Him thus, and put Him to death again — Him, who has redeemed us from Hell?

It would be well if all sinners, when they are going to their guilty pleasures, could, like St Peter, meet Our Lord on the way, who would say to them, “I am going to that place where you are going yourself, to be there crucified again.” Perhaps that might make them reflect.

St Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars (1786-1859)

A Meditation for this ‘Prelude to Lent’

REFLECTION – “Give back some of God’s gifts to God, that you may safely enjoy the rest. Fast, or watch, or abound in alms, or be instant in prayer, or deny yourselves society, or pleasant books, or easy clothing, or take on you some irksome task or employment; do one or other, or some, or all of these, unless you say that you have never sinned and may go like Esau with a light heart to take your crown”

“But, O ye sons and daughters of men, what if this fair weather but ensure the storm afterwards? what if it be, that the nearer you attain to making yourselves as gods on earth now, the greater pain lies before you in time to come, or even (if it must be said), the more certain becomes your ruin when time is at an end? Come down, then, from your high chambers at this season to avert what else may be.

Sinners as ye are, act at least like the prosperous heathen, who threw his choicest trinket into the water, that he might propitiate fortune. Let not the year go round and round, without a break and interruption in its circle of pleasures.

Give back some of God’s gifts to God, that you may safely enjoy the rest. Fast, or watch, or abound in alms, or be instant in prayer, or deny yourselves society, or pleasant books, or easy clothing, or take on you some irksome task or employment; do one or other, or some, or all of these, unless you say that you have never sinned and may go like Esau with a light heart to take your crown.

Ever bear in mind that Day, which will reveal all things and will test all things “so as by fire” and which will bring us into judgement ere it lodges us in heaven.”

Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY NINE

O gracious Father,
infuse in our hearts
the spotless light of Your Divine Wisdom
and open the eyes of our mind
that we may understand the teachings of Your Gospel.
Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments,
so that having curbed all carnal desires,
we may lead a spiritual life,
both thinking and doing everything to please You.
Help us to see,
in our ordinary difficulties and duties,
in the trials and temptations of every day,
the best opportunity of making up for past infidelities.
United with Your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intention
………………….
(Mention your intention)
For You, our God,
are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies
and to You we render glory,
together with Your Suffering Son,
and with Your all holy,
life-creating Spirit,
now and ever and forever.
Amen Lenten prep novena day nine - 5 march 2019.jpg

NOTES to Followers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PRAYER, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The WORD

Gratitude and Love to You!

Posted on March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Gratitude and Love to You!

“…Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.”

Ephesians 5:19-20

To Rosemary and Edward Vrscay

Your donations have poured
Grace and Blessings upon me and upon this Site.

Your Holy Mass will be celebrated on Thursday 7 March

“Would that I could exhaust myself,
in acts of thanksgiving and gratitude,
towards this Divine Heart,
for the great favour He shows us,
in deigning to accept our help,
to make Him known, loved and honoured;
He reserves infinite blessings for all those
who devote themselves to this work.”

St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, NOVENAS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on PRAYER, The LAST THINGS

Lenten Preparation Novena – Day One – 25 February 2019 “Come Back to Me With all your Heart”

Posted on February 25, 2019February 25, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Lenten Preparation Novena – Day One – 25 February 2019
“Come Back to Me With all your Heart”

Lent 2019 will begin on
Wednesday, 6 March
The Holy Triduum is
Thursday, 18 April, Good Friday, 19 April, Holy Saturday, 20 April
Easter Sunday – 21 April 2019

How do I want to be during Lent this year? More quiet and thoughtful? More open to God’s desires? B etter able to sit with people who need me? More attentive to sacred readings, whether in church or in private? Do I need to be more compassionate toward my own fears and failings? Do I need to become more courageous about using the gifts God has given me?

If we want this year’s Lent to be life changing, we have to start preparing now. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, not the first day to start thinking about your Lenten practices for this year. The devil and his minions have already begun preparing their attack to dislodge your Lenten sacrifice. What are you doing to prepare yourself and gather reinforcements against him?

The Big Three:
Fasting is not just a spiritual
diet. By denying our bodies,
our physical hunger reminds us
of the hunger of our souls for
God, our longing for a deeper
relationship with our Lord.

Almsgiving teaches us to
separate ourselves from material possessions. By freely giving
of our money and possessions,
we learn to trust the Lord more
deeply for our own daily needs.

Finally, an emphasis on prayer
during Lent is a way to stir up
our love and ardour by having a
deepening conversation with the
Almighty. Remember that the
light of God’s love shines more
brightly in the darkness of the
recognition of our own sinfulness

Pre-planning – what will I do?
• Begin each morning with the prayer: “Lord, I offer you this day and all that I think and do and say.”
• Attend Daily Mass as often as possible.
• Pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.
• Make the Stations of the Cross at home or in a parish celebration.
• Read Scripture for 10 minutes every day.
• Pray the Seven Penitential Psalms (Psalm 6, 31, 50, 101, 129 and 142).
• Spend some time in quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
• Abstain from meat for an extra day or two each week.
• Listen to spiritual music or a spiritual speaker.
• Keep a Lenten journal with your spiritual insights, special intentions, people you want to pray for, hurts and disappointments that you want to offer up and progress reports on your Lenten resolutions.

10 tips for making the season more meaningful
Slow Down – Set aside 10 minutes a day for silent prayer or meditation. It will revitalise your body and your spirit.
Read a good book – You could choose the life of a saint, a spiritual how-to, an inspirational book or one of the pope’s new books.
Be kind – Go out of your way to do something nice for someone else every day.
Get involved – Attend a Lenten lecture or spiritual program.
Volunteer at your parish – Whether it’s the parish fundraiser, cleaning the church or helping with the charity project, it will give you a chance to help others.
Reach out – Invite an inactive Catholic to come with you to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday.
Pray – Especially for people you don’t like and for people who don’t like you.
Tune out – Turn off the television and spend quality time talking with family members or friends.
Clean out closets – Donate gently used items to your local Catholic charity or your Parish Charity.
Donate — Google “Catholic Missions.” Then pick one mission and decide how you can help by sending money, clothing or supplies.

“Prayer, mercy and fasting:
these three are one and they give life to each other.
Fasting is the soul of prayer,
mercy is the lifeblood of fasting.
Let no one try to separate them, they cannot be separated.
If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing.
So if you pray, fast,
if fast, show mercy,
if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others.
When you fast, see the fasting of others.
If you hope for mercy, show mercy.
If you look for kindness, show kindness.
If you want to receive, give.”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 406 – c 450)

Father & Doctor of the Church

A Meditation for this ‘Prelude to Lent’

“Each of us must come to the evening of life. Each of us must enter on eternity. Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time, when we will appear before the Lord of the vineyard and answer for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad. That, my dear brethren, you will have to undergo. … It will be the dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance and when you are about to be sent forth as the companion of either saints or devils, without possibility of change. There can be no change, there can be no reversal. As that judgement decides it, so it will be for ever and ever. Such is the particular judgement. … when we find ourselves by ourselves, one by one, in His presence and have brought before us most vividly all the thoughts, words and deeds of this past life. Who will be able to bear the sight of himself? And yet we shall be obliged steadily to confront ourselves and to see ourselves.

In this life we shrink from knowing our real selves. We do not like to know how sinful we are. We love those who prophecy smooth things to us and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults. But on that day, not one fault only but all the secret, as well as evident, defects of our character will be clearly brought out. We shall see what we feared to see here and much more. And then, when the full sight of ourselves comes to us, who will not wish that he had known more of himself here, rather than leaving it for the inevitable day to reveal it all to him! …………………….We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.”

Blessed Card. John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Lenten Preparation Novena

DAY ONE

Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.

Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.

Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.

Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.

Help me to repent of my sins now and make reparation throughout
this Lenten season and each day thereafter.
United with your Son,
who makes His way to Calvary,
I offer You my intentions

………………………………………
(Mention your special intention)

Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.

Amen

QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SUFFERING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 February – Love your enemies

Posted on February 24, 2019February 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 24 February – Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Luke 6:27–38

“But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”…Luke 6:27-28

REFLECTION – “To pray for those who want to destroy me, my enemies, so that God may bless them – this is truly difficult to understand.
There is an infinite distance between us – we who frequently refuse to forgive even small things – and what the Lord asks of us, which He has exemplified for us – to forgive those who seek to destroy us.
It is often very difficult within families, for example, when spouses need to forgive one another after an argument, or when one needs to forgive their mother-in-law. The child asking forgiveness from their fathers. It’s not easy… Rather, we are invited to forgive those who are killing us, who want us out of the way… Not only forgive but even pray that God may watch over them! Even more, to love them.
Only Jesus’ word can explain this – I cannot go further.
It would do us well, today, to think of our enemy – I think all of us have one – someone who has hurt us or wants to hurt us. The Mafia’s prayer is: ‘I’ll pay you back.’
The Christian prayer is: ‘Lord, give them Your blessing and teach me to love them.’
Let us think of one enemy and pray for them.
May the Lord to give us the grace to love them.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 19 June 2018)

PRAYER – O Lord my God, give me the strength to endure with patience the sufferings I encounter in my life. Teach me to do my daily work for You alone and to do more than that in every way I can, for your greater glory. Teach me, Holy Father, to obey the words of Your Son, to pray for those who persecute me and to suffer for the glory of the Kingdom. May our Blessed and loving Mother, who had to bear the pain and forgive those who killed her Son, be at our side to help us to forgive, to pray for our enemies and offer our pain in reparation for our sins and those of the world. Amen blessed virgin mary loving mother pray for us 24 feb 2019.jpg

CATHOLIC Quotes, ON the SAINTS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SUFFERING, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 20 February – Bl Julia Rodzinska

Posted on February 20, 2019February 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 20 February – The Memorial of Blessed Julia Rodzinska OP (1899-1945) Martyr

“Kneeling on a wooden plank, straight,
with her head lifted up and eyes aimed
at the Infinite is our sister Julia.
She holds a rosary in her strong, shapely hands.
Her face is focused… She was very pious.
Her piety influenced others.
In her presence, one felt the need to pray.”

“She was outstanding
in her love of God
and the Church.”

“She performed works of mercy
where there was no mercy.”

“She reminded us frequently
that God guides everything.”

By a fellow inmate of the Concentration Camp
speaking of Blessed Julia Rodzinska, Martyr

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FRUITS of the SPIRIT, JESUIT SJ, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The HOLY GHOST

Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – St Claude & Blessed Michal

Posted on February 15, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 15 February – the Memorial of St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682) Apostle of the Sacred Heart and Blessed Michal Sopoćko (1888-1975) Apostle of Divine Mercy

“Lord, I am in this world to show Your mercy to others.
Other people will glorify You, by making visible the power of Your grace,
by their fidelity and constancy to You.
For my part I will glorify You,
by making known how good You are to sinners,
that Your mercy is boundless
and that no sinner, no matter how great his offences,
should have reason to despair of pardon.
If I have grievously offended You, My Redeemer,
let me not offend You even more,
by thinking that You are not kind enough to pardon me.”

“God is more honoured by a single Mass
than He could be by all the actions of angels
and men together, however fervent and heroic they might be.
Yet, how FEW hear Mass with the intention of giving God
this sublime honour!
How FEW think with joy on the glory a Mass gives to God.
How FEW rejoice to possess the means of honouring Him
as He deserves! . . .
If we only knew the treasure we hold in our hands!”

“When the Holy Spirit is in a soul,
He communicates Himself
in one way or another.
We can say,
that He makes virtue contagious
and turns a simple faithful
into an apostle!”

St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)

“The decisive factor in obtaining God’s Mercy is trust.
Trust is the expectation of someone’s help.
It does not constitute a separate virtue
but is an essential condition of the virtue of hope
and an integral part of the virtues of fortitude and generosity.
Because trust springs from faith,
it strengthens hope and love
and is, moreover, linked up, in one way or another,
with the moral virtues.
It may, therefore, be called the basis on which,
the theological virtues unite with the moral.
The moral virtues, originally natural,
become supernatural,
if we practice them with trust in God’s help.”

Blessed Michal Sopoćko (1888-1975)

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PRAYER, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 12 February – The Prayer of St Ethelwald (Died c 740)

Posted on February 12, 2019February 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 12 February – the Memorial of St Ethelwald (Died c 740)

How Ethelwald, successor to Cuthbert, leading a hermit’s life, calmed a tempest by his prayers when the brethren were in danger at sea. [687-699]
The venerable Ethewald succeeded the man of God, Cuthbert, in the exercise of a solitary life, which he spent in the isle of Fame before he became a bishop. After he had received the priesthood, he consecrated his office by deeds worthy of that degree for many years in the monastery which is called Inhrypum.

To the end that his merit and manner of life may be the more certainly made known, I will relate one miracle of his, which was told me by one of the brothers for and on whom the same was wrought; to wit, Guthfrid, the venerable servant and priest of Christ, who also, afterwards, as abbot, presided over the brethren of the same church of Lindisfarne, in which he was educated.

“I came,” says he, “to the island of Fame, with two others of the brethren, desiring to speak with the most reverend father, Ethelwald. Having been refreshed with his discourse and asked for his blessing, as we were returning home, behold on a sudden, when we were in the midst of the sea, the fair weather in which we were sailing, was broken and there arose so great and terrible a tempest, that neither sails nor oars were of any use to us, nor had we anything to expect but death. After long struggling with the wind and waves to no effect, at last we looked back to see whether it was possible by any means at least to return to the island whence we came but we found that we were on all sides alike cut off by the storm, and that there was no hope of escape by our own efforts. But looking further, we perceived, on the island of Fame, our father Ethelwald, beloved of God, come out of his retreat to watch our course, for, hearing the noise of the tempest and raging sea, he had come forth to see what would become of us. When he beheld us in distress and despair, he bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in prayer for our life and safety and, as he finished his prayer, he calmed the swelling water, in such sort that the fierceness of the storm ceased on all sides and fair winds attended us over a smooth sea to the very shore. When we had landed and had pulled up our small vessel from the waves, the storm, which had ceased a short time for our sake, presently returned and raged furiously during the whole day, so that it plainly appeared, that the brief interval of calm had been granted by Heaven, in answer to the prayers of the man of God, to the end that we might escape.”

The man of God remained in the isle of Fame twelve years,and died there but was buried in the church of the blessed Apostle Peter, in the isle of Lindisfarne, beside the bodies of the aforesaid bishops.’

These things happened in the days of King Aldfrid, who, after his brother Egfrid, ruled the nation of the Northumbrians for nineteen years.

From Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England
By The Venerable Bede (673-735)
Father & Doctor of the Church

We beseech Thee, Lord,
open Thy heavens, open our eyes,
may Thy gifts descend to us,
may our hearts look back to Thee.
May Thy throne be laid open to us,
while we receive the benefits which we implore,
may our mind be laid open to Thee,
while we render the service which is enjoined to us.
Look down from Heaven, O Lord,
behold and visit this vine
which Thy right hand hath planted.
Strengthen the weak,
relieve the contrite,
confirm the strong.
Build them up in love,
cleanse them with purity,
enlighten them with wisdom,
keep them with mercy.
Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd,
who laid down Thy life for the sheep,
defend the purchase of Thy blood.
Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty,
seek for the lost, convert the wandering,
bind up that which is broken.
Put forth Thine own hand from Heaven
and touch the head of each one here.
May they feel the touch of Thy hand
and receive the joy of the Holy Spirit,
that they may remain blessed for evermore.
Amen

Saint Ethelwald (Died c 740)

When we pray,
let it be our whole being
that turns towards God –
our thoughts,
our heart…
The Lord will be moved
to incline towards us
and come to our help…

St Pio of Pietralcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on PRAYER, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 February – Gospel: Mark 7:1–13

Posted on February 12, 2019February 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 12 February – Tuesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 7:1–13

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honours me with their lips but their heart is far from me..”...Mark 7:6

REFLECTION – “Prayer is a heart to heart with God… Prayer that has been carried out well, touches God’s heart and prompts Him to answer us. When we pray, let it be our whole being that turns towards God – our thoughts, our heart… The Lord will be moved to incline towards us and come to our help… mark 7 6 well did isaiah prophesy of you people - prayer is a heart to heart with god - st padre pio 12 feb 2019.jpg
Pray and hope. Do not get upset, worrying doesn’t help. God is merciful and will hear your prayer. Prayer is our best weapon, it is the key that opens God’s heart. You need to speak to Jesus less with your lips than with your heart.”…St Pio of Pietralcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

PRAYER – Look with favour on our morning prayer, Lord and in Your saving love let Your light penetrate the hidden places of our hearts. May no sordid desires darken our minds, renewed and enlightened as we are, by Your heavenly grace. May we live by the Light of Your divine Son and follow His precepts. May the Mother of perpetual succour, pray for us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen. mother of perpetual succour pray for us 12 feb 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES/PRAYERS on THE FAMILY, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 27 January – The Memorial of St Angela Merici (1474-1540)

Posted on January 27, 2019June 1, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 27 January – The Memorial of St Angela Merici (1474-1540)

“Pray and get others to pray,
that God not abandon His Church
but reform it, as He pleases
and as He sees best for us
and more to His honour and glory.”

St Angela Merici (1474-1540)

More here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/quote-s-of-the-day-27-january-the-memorial-of-st-angela-merici-1474-1540/

FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PRAYER, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 January – 5th day after Epiphany – Today’s Gospel: Luke 5:12–16

Posted on January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 11 January – 5th day after Epiphany – Today’s Gospel: Luke 5:12–16

But he withdrew to the wilderness and prayed…Luke 5:16

REFLECTION – “Not by words alone but also by deeds, has God taught us to pray. He Himself prayed frequently and demonstrated what we ought to do, by the testimony of His own example. As it is written: “But he himself was in retirement in the desert and in prayer,” and again, “He went out into the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.” But if He who was without sin prayed, how much more ought sinners to pray and if He prayed continually, watching through the whole night with uninterrupted petitions, how much more ought we to lie awake at night in continuing prayer!”…St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church (The Lord’s Prayer #29)

PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, by the guidance of a star, You revealed the birth of the Saviour of the world and by His teachings, the way of our path to You is shown to us. Open our minds and our hearts to these revelations and let them bear fruit in our lives. Listen we pray, to the prayers of St Tommaso da Cori on our behalf, who so diligently followed Your revelationS. Through Jesus, our Lord and Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen. st tommaso of cori pray for us 11 jan 2019.jpg

ArchAngels and Angels, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 10 January – St Léonie Françoise De Sales Aviat OSFS (1844-1914)

Posted on January 10, 2019January 10, 2020 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 10 January – 4th day after Epiphany and The Memorial of St Léonie Françoise De Sales Aviat OSFS (1844-1914)

“Let us work for the happiness of others.”

“Go often to rest your heart
near the tabernacle;
you will find there,
the necessary strength
and graces
to go more surely
along the path of fidelity.”

“God does not try us beyond our strength.
When He sends difficulty,
He adds the means of overcoming it.”

“Our good Jesus always puts grace,
where He puts a sacrifice.”

“Our good Master never lets Himself
be outdone in generosity.
He gives back one hundredfold
what we sacrifice to Him.”

“When we work for God, nothing is small!”

“I formed the habit
of never approaching anyone
without casting a glance at our Lord.
Try my little method –
I can assure you it is a good one.”

“Pray to your good angels;
use them as messengers
in your little joys and sufferings.”

“Continue to entrust everything to God,
absolutely everything you have to do,
so that He may teach you more and more,
the happiness of living,
in union with Him.”

St Léonie Aviat (1844-1914)

QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on PRAYER, Uncategorized

Quote/s of the Day – 9 January – 3rd Day after Epiphany

Posted on January 9, 2019January 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 9 January – 3rd Day after Epiphany

“As You will, my Lord!
I will all that You do will,
because the only thing I do not will,
You also do not will it –
that I shall cease to be Your child!”

Eugene de Ferronays (1827 – 1894)

ACT of CONTRITION, GOD ALONE!, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SAINT of the DAY, The WILL of GOD

Our Morning Offering – 29 December – St Thomas a Becket (1118-1170) Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury

Posted on December 29, 2018December 27, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 29 December – St Thomas a Becket (1118-1170) Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury

Please Lord, Make me Worthy!
Prayer of Suppplication and Repentance
By St Thomas à Becket (1118-1170)
Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury

My Lord,
I find it difficult to talk to Thee.
What can I say?
I, who have turned away from Thee
so often with indifference.
I have been a stranger to prayer,
undeserving of Thy friendship and love.
I have been without honour
and feel unworthy.
I am a weak and shallow creature,
clever only in the second-rate and worldly arts,
seeking my comfort and pleasure.
I gave my love, such as it was, elsewhere,
putting service to my earthly King,
before my duty to Thee.
Please Lord, teach me how to serve Thee
with all my heart, to know at last,
what it really is, to love, to adore.
So that I may worthily minister to
Thine Kingdom, here on earth
and find my true honour,
in observing Thine divine will.
Please Lord, make me worthy!
Amen

ADVENT, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HYMNS, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, The CHRIST CHILD, The INCARNATION, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 16 December 2018

Posted on December 16, 2018December 16, 2018 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 16 December 2018 – The Third ‘Gaudete’ Sunday of Advent

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Sermon 293

John is the voice but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time, from the beginning, Christ is the Word who lives forever.

Take away the word, the meaning and what is the voice? Where there is no understanding, there is only a meaningless sound. The voice without the word strikes the ear but does not build up the heart.

However, let us observe what happens when we first seek to build up our hearts. When I think about what I am going to say, the word or message is already in my heart. When I want to speak to you, I look for a way to share with your heart what is already in mine.

In my search for a way to let this message reach you, so that the word already in my heart may find a place also in yours, I use my voice to speak to you. The sound of my voice brings the meaning of the word to you and then passes away. The word which the sound has brought to you is now in your heart and yet it is still also in mine.

When the word has been conveyed to you, does not the sound seem to say – the word ought to grow and I should diminish? The sound of the voice has made itself heard in the service of the word and has gone away, as though it were saying – my joy is complete. Let us hold on to the word; we must not lose the word conceived inwardly in our hearts.

Do you need proof that the voice passes away but the divine Word remains? Where is John’s baptism today? It served its purpose and it went away. Now it is Christ’s baptism that we celebrate. It is in Christ that we all believe, we hope for salvation in Him. This is the message the voice cried out.

Because it is hard to distinguish word from voice, even John himself was thought to be the Christ. The voice was thought to be the word. But the voice acknowledged what it was, anxious not to give offence to the word. I am not the Christ, he said, nor Elijah, nor the prophet. And the question came: Who are you, then? He replied: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness – Prepare the way for the Lord!

The voice of one crying in the wilderness is the voice of one breaking the silence. Prepare the way for the Lord, he says, as though he were saying: “I speak out in order to lead Him into your hearts but He does not choose to come where I lead Him, unless you prepare the way for Him.”

To prepare the way means to pray well – it means thinking humbly of oneself. We should take our lesson from John the Baptist. He is thought to be the Christ, he declares he is not what they think. He does not take advantage of their mistake to further his own glory.

If he had said, “I am the Christ,” you can imagine how readily he would have been believed, since they believed he was the Christ even before he spoke. But he did not say it, he acknowledged what he was. He pointed out clearly who he was; he humbled himself.

He saw where his salvation lay. He understood that he was a lamp and his fear was that it might be blown out, by the wind of pride.”

I speak out in order to lead Him - st augustine - 16 dec 2018

“The very Son of God,
older than the ages,
the invisible,
the incomprehensible,
the incorporeal,
the beginning of beginning,
the light of light,
the fountain of life and immortality,
the image of the archetype,
the immovable seal,
the perfect likeness,
the definition and word of the Father:
He it is who comes to His own image
and takes our nature for the good of our nature
and unites Himself to an intelligent soul
for the good of my soul,
to purify like by like.”

St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Father and Doctor of the Church

Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

come o come emmanuel - 16 dec 2018

MARIAN QUOTES, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 3 December – The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)

Posted on December 3, 2018 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 3 December – The Memorial of St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)

“It is impossible
to find a saint
who did not take
the “two P’s” seriously –
Prayer and Penance.”

“I am in a country
where all the niceties of life are lacking.
But I am filled with many inner consolations.
Indeed, I run the risk of crying my eyes out
because of my tears of joy!”

“It is not the actual physical exertion
that counts towards a one’s progress,
nor the nature of the task but by the
spirit of faith with which it is undertaken.”

“When trying to evangelise,
no tool is more effective,
than that of personal witness.
…People can argue with points of doctrine
but no-one can argue,
with a personal testimony!”

“Prayer is powerful!
It fills the earth with mercy,
it makes the Divine clemency
pass from generation to generation,
right along the course of the centuries.
wonderful works have been achieved.
through prayer.”

“If you are in danger,
if your hearts are confused,
turn to Mary!”

St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)

EUCHARISTIC Adoration, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PRAYER, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote of the Day – 28 November – The Memorial of St Catherine Labouré DC (1806-1876)

Posted on November 28, 2018November 27, 2018 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 28 November – The Memorial of St Catherine Labouré DC (1806-1876)

“When I go to the Chapel,
I place myself before the good God and I say to Him:
‘Lord, here I am, give me what You will.’
If He gives me something, I am very pleased and I thank Him.
If He gives me nothing, I still thank Him
because I do not deserve anything.
And then again, I tell Him all that passes through my mind,
I recount my pains and my joys and … I listen.
If you listen to Him, He will speak to you also
because with the good God,
it is necessary to speak and to listen.
He will always speak to you,
if you go to Him simply and sincerely.”

St Catherine Labouré

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PRAYER, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 18:1–8

Posted on November 17, 2018November 17, 2018 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 17 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 18:1–8 – Saturday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and The Memorial of St Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231)

“When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”...Luke 18:8

REFLECTION – “What more powerful incentive to prayer could be proposed to us than the parable of the unjust judge? An unprincipled man, without fear of God or regard for other people, that judge nevertheless ended by granting the widow’s petition. No kindly sentiment moved him to do so; he was rather worn down by her pestering. Now if a man can grant a request even when it is odious to him to be asked, how can we be refused by the one who urges us to ask? Having persuaded us, therefore, by a comparison of opposites that “we ought always to pray and never lose heart,” the Lord goes on to put the question: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, do you think he will find faith on earth?”
Where there is no faith, there is no prayer. Who would pray for something he did not believe in? So when the blessed Apostle exhorts us to pray he begins by declaring: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But to show that faith is the source of prayer and the stream will not flow if its springs are dried up, he continues: “But how can people call on him in whom they do not believe?” (Rom 10:13-14). We must believe, then, in order to pray and we must ask God, that the faith enabling us to pray, may not fail. Faith gives rise to prayer and this prayer obtains, an increase of faith.”…St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor – Sermon 115, 1 ; PL 38, 655

PRAYER – Holy Father, grant us a strong Faith! Poor Your graces into our hearts that we may believe with all our hearts, minds and souls and that in believing, we may constantly raise our entire being to You in prayer and supplication, in prayer and adoration, in prayer and love. May the intercession of St Elizabeth of Hungary, a woman of deep prayer from her youth, strengthen our perseverance. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen. st elizabeth of hungary pray for us - 17 nov 2018

7 GIFTS of the HOLY GHOST: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Strength, Knowledge, Piety, Fear, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, GOD is LOVE, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on PURITY of INTENTION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, St JOSEPH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 15 November – The Memorial of St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”)

Posted on November 15, 2018November 14, 2022 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 15 November – The Memorial of St Albert the Great (1200-1 280) Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”)

Known as Doctor Universalis (“Universal Doctor”) for the extraordinary depth of his knowledge and learning, Albertus Magnus wrote extensively on numerous subjects. Here are some words of wisdom from a variety of his writings.

“Anyone who receives this Sacrament,
with the devotion of sincere faith,
will never taste death.”

“The greater and more persistent,
your confidence in God, the more
abundantly you will receive, all that you ask.”

“I have never gone out, to mingle with the world,
without losing something of myself.”

“The surest and quickest way
to attain perfection, is to strive,
for purity of heart.
Once the obstacles have been removed,
God finds a clear path and does wonders,
both in and through the soul.”

“Above all, one should accept everything,
in general and individually, in oneself or in others,
agreeable or disagreeable,
with a prompt and confident spirit,
as coming from the hand of His infallible Providence
or the order He has arranged.”

On Cleaving to God

“Mary is the Divine Page
on which the Father
wrote the Word of God,
His Son.”

St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church

JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL SERMONS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus

Posted on November 5, 2018November 5, 2018 by AnaStpaul

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”.

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Fr Henri Nouwen (1932-1996)

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On Prayer

St John Climacus

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On sobriety in prayer

St John Climacus

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St Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church

Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives

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“Speaking of Prayer”

Saint Luigi Orione (1872-1940)

St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258)

Father of the Church

St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church

Eugene de Ferronays (1827 – 1894)

St Pio of Pietralcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

Blessed Michal Sopoćko (1888-1975)

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St Marie Eugénie de Jésus (1817-1898)

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Saint Peter Chrysologus (400-450)

Pope Francis

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To Rosemary and Edward Vrscay

Your Holy Mass will be celebrated on Thursday 7 March

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St Peter Chrysologus (c 406 – c 450)

Father & Doctor of the Church

Blessed Card. John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

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St Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)

Blessed Michal Sopoćko (1888-1975)

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Saint Ethelwald (Died c 740)

St Pio of Pietralcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

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St Angela Merici (1474-1540)

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St Léonie Aviat (1844-1914)

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Eugene de Ferronays (1827 – 1894)

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Saint Augustine (354-430) Bishop and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church

St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Father and Doctor of the Church

Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

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St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)

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St Catherine Labouré

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St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church

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St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)

St Peter Faber (1506-1546)

St Peter Claver SJ (1581-1654)

St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595)

Blessed John Sullivan SJ (1861-1933)

St Alberto Hurtado SJ (1901-1952)

Pope Francis SJ – 31 July 2013 on the Feast of St Ignatius

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St Peter Chrysologus (400-450)
Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church