Category: QUOTES on REPENTANCE

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Quote/s of the Day – 7 December – St Ambrose

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Quote/s of the Day – 7 December – St Ambrose (340-397) Confessor, Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church

Nunc, Sancte, nobis Spiritus
Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One
By St Ambrose (340-397)
Trans John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Trans 1836

Come, Holy Ghost, Who ever One
Art with the Father and the Son.
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls possess
With Thy full flood of holiness.

In will and deed, by heart and tongue,
With all our powers, Thy praise be sung.
And love, light up our mortal frame,
Till others catch the living flame.

Almighty Father, hear our cry
Through Jesus Christ our Lord most high,
Who with the Holy Ghost and Thee
Doth live and reign eternally.

“So Peter wept and wept bitterly;
he wept so fiercly he washed away
his offence with his tears.
And you, too, if you would win pardon,
wipe out your guilt with tears.
At that very moment, in that same hour,
Christ will look at you.
If some kind of fall happens to you,
then He, the ever-present Witness
of your intimate life, looks at you to call you back
and cause you to confess your lapse.
Then do as Peter did, who thrice said:
“Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee” (Jn 21:15).
He denied three times and three times he also confessed.
But he denied by night;
he confessed in broad daylight!”

“… Behold, now is the acceptable time.
behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6).
And so, you must be more earnest
in prayer and in alms-giving,
in fasting and in watching.
He who until now has given alms,
in these days, let him give more –
for as water quencheth a flaming fire,
so does almsgiving wipe out sin (Eccles 3:3).
He that, until now, fasted and prayed,
let him fast and pray still more –
for there are certain sins which are not cast out,
except by prayer and fasting (Mc 27:20).”

“Fasting is the death of sin,
the destruction of our crimes
and the remedy of our salvation.”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/12/07/quote-s-of-the-day-7-december-st-ambrose-4/

St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Posted in "Follow Me", ACT of CONTRITION, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 25 November – Our Lamps are going out – Matthew 25:8

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Quote/s of the Day – 25 November – Sirach 51:1-8; 5:12, Matthew 25:1-13 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Our lamps are going out.”

Matthew 25:8

“I have not become as wise
as those five wise Virgins.
… But I have become the most wretched of the foolish ones
by failing to keep some oil for my lamp,
namely, mercy together with virginity
or, still more, the anointing from Baptism’s Sacred fount…

Therefore, the doors of the wedding hall
are closed to me too, in my negligence.
But, O my Bridegroom,
while I am still in my body here below,
listen to my soul, Your Bride…
From now on, I will cry aloud piteously,
“Oh, open to me Your Heavenly Door,
bring me into Your Wedding Chamber on high,
make me worthy of Your Holy Kiss,
Your pure and spotless Embrace.
Oh let me not hear the Voice saying
it does not know me!
I am blind; set alight with Your own Light
my spirit’s extinguished flame!”

St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173)
Armenian Bishop

“Remove from your lives
the filth and uncleanness of vice.
Your upright lives must make you
the salt of the earth for yourselves
and for the rest of humankind…”

St John of Capistrano OFM (1386-1456)

O Infinite Goodness – Act of Contrition
By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) – Doctor of the Church

O my God,
I am exceedingly grieved,
for having offended Thee
and with my whole heart,
I repent of the sins I have committed.
I hate and abhor them above every other evil,
not only because, by so sinning,
I have lost heaven and deserved hell
but still more because I have offended Thee,
O infinite Goodness,
who art worthy to be loved above all things.
I most firmly resolve,
by the assistance of Thy grace,
never more to offend Thee for the time to come
and to avoid those occasions
which might lead me into sin.
Amen

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, NOVEMBER - Month of the SOULS in PURGATORY, PRAYERS for the SOULS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on REPARATION/EXPIATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on the POOR, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, St Alphonsus de Liguori,, The HOLY SOULS

Quote/s of the Day – 20 November – The Holy Souls in Purgatory

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Quote/s of the Day – 20 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory”

“May the souls
of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace,
amen.”

Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
By St Ignatius of Antioch (c35-c108)
Apostolic Father of the Church

Receive in tranquility and peace,
O Lord, the souls of Thy servants,
who have departed this present life
to come to Thee.
Grant them rest and place them
in the habitations of Light,
the abodes of blessed spirits.
Give them the life that will not age,
good things that will not pass away,
delights that have no end,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

“ … Yet only grant me repentance here below
That I may make reparation for my sins, …
That these tears may extinguish the blazing furnace
With its burning flames. …

And, instead of acting like the merciless,
Set merciful compassion within me,
That, by showing mercy to the poor,
I may obtain Your mercy.”

St Nerses Chnorhali (1102-1173)
Armenian Bishop

“How pleasing to Him it will be,
if you sometimes forget yourself
and speak to Him of His own glory;
of the miseries of others,
especially those who mourn in sorrow;
of the souls in purgatory,
His spouses, who long to behold Him in Heaven
and, of poor sinners,
who live deprived of His grace.”

St Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, HOW to PRAY at ALL TIMES, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 13 Noivember – Pray After a Fault

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Thought for the Day – 13 Noivember – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“How to Pray at All Times”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

Pray After a Fault
Excerpt from Chapter Three:IV

“Another mark of confidence, highly pleasing to our most loving God, is this – that when you have committed any fault, you are not ashamed to go at once to Him and seek His pardon. Consider that God is so willing to pardon sinners that He laments their perdition, when they depart far from Him and live lives dead to His grace.

… He promises to receive a soul who has forsaken Him, if only the soul returns to His arms … If you come to Me and repent, though your soul be dyed deep crimson with crime, by My grace it shall be made white as snow.

… Attend, especially, devout soul, to what is commonly taught by masters of the spiritual life, who recommend you to have recourse immediately to God after you have fallen, although you should repeat the fall a hundred times in the day.
Having done this, do not be disturbed.
If you remain discouraged and troubled because of the fault committed, you will scarcely speak to God; your confidence will grow less; your desire to love God will grow cold and you will make little or no advancement in the way of the Lord.
On the other hand, by having immediate recourse to God, asking His pardon and promising amendment for the future, your very faults will help you to advance in Divine love. Between friends, who sincerely love one another, it sometimes happens that when one offends the other and then. humbles himself and asks pardon, their friendship becomes stronger than ever.
Do you act in like manner with regard to God – let your faults and falls, only strengthen the bonds of love which unite you to Him.”

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The BEATITUDES, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 13 November – The Pure Heart

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One Minute Reflection – 13 November – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – St Didacus de Alcalá de Henares) OFM (c 1400-1463) Confessor – 1 Corinthians 4:9-14; Luke 12:32-34 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be too.” – Luke 12:34

REFLECTION – “…If, therefore, you wash, by a good life, the filth which has been glued on your heart like plaster, the Divine Beauty will again shine forth in you. It is the same as happens in the case of iron. If freed from rust by a whetstone that which but a moment ago, was black will shine and glisten brightly in the sun. So it is too with the inner man which the Lord calls “the heart.” When he has scraped off the rustlike dirt which dank decay has caused to appear on his form, he will once more recover the likeness of the Archetype (Gn 1:27) and, be good. For what is like to the Good is certainly itself good.

Hence, if a man who is pure of heart sees himself, he sees in himself what he desires and thus, he becomes blessed because, when he looks at his own purity, he sees the Archetype in the image. To give an example. Although men, who see the sun in a mirror, do not gaze at the sky itself, yet they see the sun in the reflection of the mirror, no less than those who look at its very orb. So, He says, it is also with you. Even though you are too weak to perceive the Light itself, yet if you but return to the grace of the image with which you were informed from the beginning, you will have all you seek in yourselves.

…For the Godhead is purity, freedom from passion and separation from all evil. If, therefore, these things be in you, God is indeed in you. Hence, if your thought is without any alloy of evil, free from passion, arid alien from all stain, you are blessed because you are clear of sight.” – St Gregory of Nyssa (c335-395) Bishop, Father of the Church (Brother of St Basil the Great) (Sermons 6 sur les Béatitudes – on the Beatitudes 6).

PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Who in Thy wondrous providence, choose the weak things of the world to overcome the strong, mercifully grant unto us Thy humble servants that, by the loving prayers of blessed Didacus, Thy Confessor, we may be found worthy to be raised unto the everlasting glory of Heaven. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Thought for the Day – 30 October – CONSIDERATION XXVIII, The Remorse of the Lost

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Thought for the Day – 30 October – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION XXVIII

The Remorse of the Lost
“Where their worm dieth not
and the fire is not extinguished.”
(Mark ix: 46-47)

FIRST POINT:
BY the worm that does not die, St Thomas Aquinas thinks, is signified, that remorse of conscience, by which the lost will be eternally tormented in hell.
The remorse will be manifold, with which conscience will gnaw the heart of the reprobate but, three forms of it will be the most afflicting – firstly, the thought of the little for which they are lost, then, the little which was required for their salvation and lastly, the great good which they have lost!

The first wound, then, which the lost will experience, will be the thought of, for how little he is lost. After Esau had eaten of that pottage of lentils, for which he had sold his birthright, Holy Scripture says, that, through grief and remorse, “He cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry.” (Gen xxvii: 34) Oh, how the lost will howl and roar, when he thinks that for a few momentary and hurtful gratifications he has lost an eternal Kingdom of joy and has to see himself, eternally condemned to a perpetual death. Whence, he will weep much more bitterly than Jonathan did, when he found himself condemned to death by Saul, his own father, for having eaten a little honey, “I did but taste a little honey … and lo, I must die. (i Sam xiv: 43).

… And does the sinner by chance, who lives without God, ever delight in his sins? How long do the pleasures of sin last? They endure but moments and all the rest of the time in which the sinner lives, devoid of the Grace of God, is a time of pains and torments. Now, what indeed will these moments of pleasure appear to the poor condemned one, and what, in particular the last moment and last sin, through which he was lost? Then he will say, for a wretched animal pleasure which endured but for a moment and which, as soon as possessed, disappeared as the wind: “I shall have to continue to burn in this flame despised and abandoned by all, whilst God shall be God for all eternity.”

Affections and Prayers

Lord, enlighten me that I may know the wrong which I have committed in offending Thee and the eternal punishment which I have deserved on this account.
My God, I feel great sorrow for having offended Thee but this sorrow consoles me, for, if Thou hadst sent me to hell as I deserved, this remorsewould have been the hell
of my hell!
But now, this remorse consoles me, since it gives me the courage to hope for pardon from Thee, Thou Who hast promised, to pardon those who repent.
Yes, my Lord, I repent of having outraged Thee. I embrace this sweet grief, I even pray Thee to increase it and to preserve it within me, until death that so, I may ever weep
bitterly over the displeasure I have caused Thee.

My Jesus, pardon me. O my Redeemer, Who, although having pity upon me, hadst no pity for Thyself, condemning Thyself to die of grief to liberate me from hell, have pity upon me.
Grant, then, the remorse of having offended Thee may keep me ever sorrowful and, at the same time, may inflame me wholly with love of Thee, Who has so greatly loved me, and Who hast, with so much patience, borne with me.
… I thank Thee for these Graces, O my Jesus. I love Thee : I love Thee more than myself, I love Thee with my whole heart.
… “Cast me not away from Thy Presence.”

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 19 October – CONSIDERATION XVII, Of the House of Divine Mercy

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Thought for the Day – 19 October – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION XVII

Of the House of Divine Mercy
“Not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance?”
(Rom ii: 4)

FIRST POINT:
WE read in the parable in St Matthew xiii that the tares, having grown in a field together with the corn, the servants wished to pluck them up.
“Wilt Thou then that we go and gather them up ?”
But the Master answered: “Nay; …. Let them both grow together until the harvest and at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them.”
From this parable we learn the patience which the Lord shows to sinners and also, the severity which He shows to those who are obstinate.

St Augustine observes, the devil deceives men in two ways,
“By despair and by hope!”
After the sinner has committed the sin, he tempts him to despair, through fear of the Divine Justice but before the sin is committed, he tempts the sinner to commit it, by telling him of the Divine Mercy.
Therefore, the Saint warns everyone, by saying: “After sin, hope for mercy; before sin, fear justice.”
Yes, because he who makes use of mercy to offend God, does not deserve mercy.
Mercy is shown to him who fears God, not to him who makes use of it so as not to fear God. He who offends justice, observes Abulensis, can fly to mercy but he who offends the same mercy, to whom can he fly?

It is but seldom a sinner is found so hopeless, as to wish to be condemned. Sinners are willing to sin but they are not willing
to give up the hope of being saved. They commit sin and
say to themselves, God is merciful; I will commit this sin and
afterwards confess it. Behold, says St Augustine, this is how
sinnersspeak: “God is good, I will do what pleaseth me” but
O God, how many, who are now in hell, have said the same!

… The mercy of God is Infinite but the acts of this mercy are finite. God is merciful but He is also just. … As St Augustine observes, God never fails in His promises, neither does He fail in His threats!
Take care, says St Chrysostom, when the devil but not God, promises thee Divine Mercy, that thou mayest commit sin.
Woe, add St Augustine, to him who hopes, so that he may sin: “ Woe to that perverse hope.” Oh ! exclaims the Saint, how many there are, whom this vain hope has deceived and caused to be lost!

… In short, although God endures, for some time, yet He will not endure forever. If God were to suffer sin forever, no-one would be lost but it is the general opinion, that the greater part, even of Christians are lost.
“For wide is the gate and broad is the way, which leadeth to destructio, and many there be, who go in thereat.” (Matt vii:13). …

Affections and Prayers

Ah, my God, I have been one of those who offended The,
notwithstanding Thou wast good to me. Lord, wait for me,
do not abandon me because I hope, Thy grace helping me,
never more to provoke Thee to abandon me.
I repent, O Thou
Infinite Goodness, for having offended Thee and for, having
thus abused Thy patience. I thank Thee that Thou hast
waited for me until now. From this day forward, I will never
more abuse Thee as I have done, in the time that .is past. Thou hast borne with me so long that Thou mightest one day see me made a lover of Thy Goodness.
That that day be already come, is my hope.

I love Thee more than anything and I prize Thy grace
more than all the kingdoms of the world; rather than lose it, I would lose my life, if it were possible to do so, many times over,
My God, for the love of Jesus Christ, give me holy perseverance until death, with Thy most holy love. Never allow me to betray Thee any more, neither to cease to love Thee.

Posted in PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 26 September – CONSIDERATION X, Third Point – How We Must Prepare for Death – Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.

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Thought for the Day – 26 September – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION X

How We Must Prepare for Death
“Prepare to meet thy God.”
(Amos iv.:12)

THIRD POINT
It is, moreover, necessary to endeavour each hour we live, to be in such a frame of mind, as we should like to be when dying:
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” (Apoc xiv: 13).

St Ambrose observes, those persons die a happy death who, when the hour of death arrives, are found already dead to the world, even to those things from which death will come to sever them by force.
So that we must, from this hour, accept the spoiling of our inheritances, separations from our relatives and from all the things of this world. If we do not do this willingly in life, we shall have to do it of necessity, in death but then, with great grief and peril to our eternal salvation.
And for this cause, St Augustine warns us that, in order to die in peace, it is necessary to settle our worldly interests during life and now to dispose, in a proper way, of those earthly goods we shall have to leave, so that, in death, our time may be given to the uniting of ourselves to God. At that time, our thoughts should be of God and Paradise only. Those last moments are too precious to be wasted upon the things of earth. The crown of the elect is perfected in death, for perchance, it is then that we merit most, the crown, by embracing those pains and that death, with resignation and love.

But he will never have these holy feelings in death, who has not practiced them in life. Some devout persons make a practice
(and with great profit to themselves) of renewing every month,
a certain desire for death, imagining themselves to be on their
deathbed, placing themselves, as if in the presence of death.
That which is not done during life, is very difficult to be done
in death.
Sister Catherine of St Albert, who was a faithful servant of God, when dying, said: “I do not sigh because I fear death – for twenty five years I have been expecting it but, I sigh because, I see many deceive themselves by leading a life of sin and thus, delay making their peace with God until the hour of death is come, when, I feel as if I can hardly pronounce the Name of Jesus!”

Therefore, examine yourself, my brother and see whether your
heart is fond of anything which is of the earth – that person, that honour, that house, that money, that conversation, those amusements and reflect – you are not immortal! Some day you will have to leave all these things and perhaps, very soon. Why then are you so fond of them? and thus run the risk of dying a miserable death?
From this hour offer everything to God, being ready to give up all when it shall please Him.
If you wish to die submissive, you must resign yourself to all that may befall you and divest yourself of every earthly affection.
Reflect upon the moment of death and as you would then despise all things, do so now immediatley!
St Jerome observes: “He easily despises all things, who ever regards himself as one about to die.”

If you have not yet decided upon what life you shall lead, make choice of that which you will wish you had chosen at the moment of death and that which will make you die a happy death. If you have already chosen it, do what you will wish you had done in that particular life. Act as if each day were the last of your life, each action were the last, each prayer the last, each Confession the last and each Communion the last. Act as if each hour were your last and stretched upon a bed, you heard this intimated: “Depart out of this world.”
This thought, Oh! how greatly will it help you to walk through life and to separate yourself from this world.
“Blessed is that servant, whom when his Lord cometh, He shall find so doing.” (St Matt xxiv: 26).
He who expects death at every hour, even though he should die suddenly, will not fail to die well!

Affections and Prayers

Every Christian ought to be prepared to say, when death shall
be announced to him:
Since, therefore, my God but so few hours remain to me, I would love Thee as much as it is possible for me to do … so that I may love Thee more in the life to come.

But little remains for me to offer Thee, therefore, I will offer these my pains to Thee and the sacrifice of my life, together with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, made for me upon the Cross. O Lord, the pains I am suffering are but few and very slight compared with what I deserve to suffer. Such as they are, I embrace in token of the love I have for Thee. I yield myself to every punishment it may please Thee to send me. If only I may love Thee in eternity, punish me as Thou wilt but do not deprive me of Thy Love. I know that I do not deserve to love Thee any longer because, I have so often despised Thy love but Thou wilt not spurn a repentant soul. I repent, O my Sovereign Good, for having offended Thee. I love Thee with all my heart, and entrust everything to Thee. Thy death, O my Redeemer, is my hope.

Into Thy wounded Hands I commend my soul.
“Into Thy Hands I commend my spirit, for Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, Thou God of truth.” (Ps xxxi: 6).
O my Jesus, Thou Who hast given Thy Blood to save me, do Thou never allow me to be separated from Thee.
I love Thee, O Eternal God and I hope to love Thee in eternity.

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on BAD CONVERSATION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Thought for the Day – 17 September –CONSIDERATION VII, Third Point – ‘Death neither waits for, nor respects, anyone!’

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Thought for the Day – 17 September – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION VII
Sentiments of One Who has
Seldom Reflected Upon Death

“Set thine house in order,
for thou shall die and not live.”
(Isa xxxviii: i)

THIRD POINT:
To the dying man, who during life has been forgetful concerning his soul’s good, there will be thorns in everything which presents itself to him. There will be a thorn in the memory of pleasures past, a thorn in the remembrance of rivalries overcome and of pomps displayed, a thorn in the friends who will come to see him, with everything they bring back to his thoughts, a thorn in the spiritual fathers, who by turns will assist him, a thorn in the last Sacraments he will receive.
The poor sufferer will then exclaim: “O fool I have been! I ought to have become a saint, with all the lights and opportunities, which God granted me; I ought to have led a life of happiness, in the favour of God and now, what is remaining to me, of the many years past, except torments, distrust, fears, barbs of conscience and an account I shall have to render to God? And it is indeed doubtful whether my soul will be saved!”

And when will he say all this?
Not until the oil in his lamp is nearly consumed and the scene of this world is about to close upon him forever.
Not until he has both eternities in view – the one, an eternity of everlasting joy; the other, an eternity of everlasting woe.
Not until the time is approaching for that last gasp, upon which depends his everlasting blessedness, or his everlasting despair even as long as God is God.
What would he not then give, to have one more year, one more month, or at least, one more week, with a clear head? For suffering then, as he will do, with distraction of the head, oppression of the chest and failing breath, he will be able to do nothing he will not be able to reflect, nor to employ his mind in doing one good action; he finds himself shut up, as it were, in a dark pit of confusion, where he can imagine nothing else but that there is a great ruin hanging over him from which he feels himself unable to flee away. Therefore, he will long for time but it will be said to him,
“Proficiscere?” depart, make haste, put your accounts in order as best you can, during the short time which remains to you and depart; for dost thou not know that death neither waits for, nor respects, anyone?”
Oh what terror will it then be for him to think and to say:
“I am alive this morning, very likely this evening I shall be dead! To-day I am lying in this room. perhaps to-morrow I maybe in my grave! And where will my soul be?”

When he feels the cold sweat of death coming upon him, when he hears his relations go from the room, never more to return during his life, when his sight begins to grow dim and his eyes become darkened – but what will be the use of understanding these truths then, when the time for profiting … is past?

Affections and Prayers

Ah, my God, Thou dost not wish me to die but Thou desirest I should be converted and live.
I thank Thee for having waited for me until now and I thank Thee for the Light which Thou art now giving me. I know the error I have committed in neglecting Thy friendship, the vile and miserable pleasures through which I have accounted Thee of so little value.
I repent and I grieve with all my heart, for having done Thee so grievous a wrong. Ah, do not cease, in the life which may remain to me, to assist me with Thy Light and Thy Grace, so that I may know how to do that which I must do, in order to amend my life.

Of what use will it be for me to understand this truth, when the time for reparation will be taken from me?
“Deliver not up to beasts the souls who trust in Thee.”
When the devil shall tempt me again to offend Thee, I beseech Thee, my Jesus, through the merits of Thy Passion, to stretch forth Thy hand and to deliver me from falling into sin and from again remaining a slave of the enemy. Grant, that then, I may ever flee unto Thee and that I may never cease to entreat Thy protection, as long as the temptation may last. Thy Blood is my hope and Thy Goodness is my love.

I love Thee, my God.
Thou Who art worthy of infinite love, grant that I may ever love Thee. Let me know from what things I must separate myself so that I maybe Thine alone, for I would be Thine alone but do Thou give me the strength to fulfil the same.

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, DOCTORS of the Church, GOOD RESOLUTIONS, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPARATION/EXPIATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Thought for the Day – 16 September –CONSIDERATION VII, Second Point – Sentiments of One Who has Seldom Reflected Upon Death

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Thought for the Day – 16 September – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION VII

Sentiments of One Who has Seldom Reflected Upon Death
“Set thine house in order, for thou shall die and not live.” (Isa xxxviii: i)

SECOND POINT:
Oh, how clearly, when the hour of death arrives, do the truths of faith make themselves felt, only to add greater torment to that dying man, who has lived a wicked life and particularly, if he is one who has been consecrated to God and so has had much opportunity of serving Him, much time, many good examples and much inspiration.
O God, with what grief will he then reflect and say: “I once admonished others and afterwards, have committed more grievous sins than they. I once left the world and afterwards, have become more attached to its pleasures, vanities and love.”
With what remorse will he then reflect upon the light which he has received from God, such as would have changed a heathen into a saint!
With what remorse will he then recall to mind that he had despised the practices of piety in others, as weakness of mind and had praised certain worldly maxims of self-esteem and self-love; such as not liking other people to take” precedence of us, to avoid suffering and to enjoy every pleasure which may present itself.

“The desire of the ungodly shall perish.” (Ps cxii: 10). When the hour of death arrives, how much will the time which we waste now be coveted?
St Gregory tells us in his Dialogues, of a certain rich man, named Chrysantius,-who had led a very wicked life and who, when the hour of death came, cried out against the devils, who visibly appeared to him to seize him: “Give me time, give me until to-morrow.” And these answered him, saying: “O fool, dost thou now seek time? Thou hast had so much and wasted it and spent it in sin and now, dost thou ask for it? Now there is no more time for thee.”
The wretched man continued to cry and to implore help. A son of his, whose name was Massimo and who was a Monk, was with him, to whom the dying man said: “My son, help me Massimo, my son, help me.” And in the meantime, throwing himself from one side of the bed to the other and thus agitated and with cries of despair, he breathed forth his wretched soul.
Alas, that these foolish ones should so love their folly in life but should put off until the hour of death to open their eyes to their folly and then confess, they have been so unwise! For at that time it only serves to increase the difficulties which they feel in trying to atone for the sins … and dying in this frame of mind, the salvation of their souls is very doubtful.

My brother, perhaps whilst reading this you are saying to yourself: “Yes, it is very doubtful.” But if it is so doubtful, your folly and your misfortune is much greater still, if, as you know and understand, these truths in life, you do not try to make amends for past sins now.
These words, even, which you have just read, would be a sword of sorrow for you in death.
Arise, therefore, for as there is time to avoid a death so frightful, hasten to make amends for the past and wait not, until there will be no fit time for reparation.
Wait not for another month, another week. It may be that this light which God now grants to you in mercy, may be the last light and the last call for you.
It is foolish, indeed, not to wish to think upon death, which is absolutely certain and on which eternity depends but, it is greater folly, to think upon it and not to prepare for it.
Make those reflections and resolutions now, which you would make, if you were dying now with profit but, at that time, very uselessly; now is the hope of being saved but at that time in great fear, lest you should not be saved.

A gentleman of the Court of Charles XI. when leaving Court, being asked by the Emperor for what reason he was leaving, answered, that in order to be saved, it is necessary that some interval should elapse between the time of repentance from a sinful life and the hour of death, so that a period of penitence and reparation, may be passed through.

Affections andPrayers

No, my God, I will no longer abuse Thy Mercy.
I thank Thee for the Light which Thou art now giving me, and I promise Thee to change my life, to amend my life.
I can see plainly that Thou wilt not bear with me much longer.
And shall I wait until Thou wilt be constrained to condemn me to everlastingdeath? or until Thou wilt give me up to a life utterly lost which would be a greater punishment to me than death itself. Look upon me at Thy feet; receive me into Thy favour. I know I do not deserve it but Thou hast said that “the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness.“ (Ezek xxxiii: 12).

Therefore, my Jesus, in the time that is past, I have offended Thy Infinite Goodness, now I repent with all my heart and I hope for pardon from Thee.
With St Anselm, I will say to Thee: “Suffer not my soul to be lost through its sins, for Thou hast redeemed it with Thy Blood.”
Look not upon my ingratitude, look only upon that love which caused Thee to die for me. If I have lost Thy Grace, Thou hast not lost the power to give it back to me. Have pity, therefore, upon me, my dear Redeemer. Pardon me and give me the grace to love Thee; whilst I, from this day forward, promise to love none other than Thee. Thou hast chosen me from amongst so many of Thy creatures to love Thee, therefore, I choose Thee, O my Sovereign Good, to love Thee above all.
Thou dost go before me with Thy Cross I will not cease to follow Thee with that cross which Thou dost give me to carry. I embrace every mortification and every trouble which may come to me from Thee. It is enough that I am not deprived of Thy Grace, for with that, I am indeed content.

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CONFESSORS, EVENING and NIGHT Prayers, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, QUOTES on THE WORLD, St PETER!, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 16 September – St Cyprian of Carthage

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – The Feast of Saint Corneliu, Pope & Martyr and Saint Cyprian, Bishop & Martyr

“It is written, ‘God is not mocked.’ (Gal vi: 7)
Indeed, God cannot be mocked,
nor circumvented, nor deluded
by any man’s astute deceit. …
Let each of you, then, I beg you, brethren,
confess his fault while the sinner is yet in this world,
while Confession is still possible,
while the satisfaction and remission
granted by the Priests,
is still acceptable to God!”

“God is One and Christ is One,
His Church is One,
His See is One,
founded by the Voice of the Lord on Peter.
No other Altar can be set up,
no other Priesthood instituted
apart from that One Altar and that One Priesthood.
Who so gathers elsewhere, scatters!”

“She did not leave the temple,
serving with fastings and prayers,
night and day.”
Luke 2:37

“If, in holy Scripture,
Christ is the true Sun and the true Day,
there is no hour when Christians
should not adore God frequently and constantly,
so that we, who are in Christ, that is,
in the true Sun and true Day,
should be persevering, throughout the whole day,
in our petitions and prayer.
And when, in the course of time,
the revolving night returns,
there can be no harm from the nocturnal shades,
for those who pray because, to the sons of Light (1 Thes 5:5),
even in the night, there is day!
For when is he without light who has Light in his heart?
Or when does he not have sun and day
to whom Christ is Sun and Day?”

“Why then do we pray
for the Kingdom of Heaven to come,
if this earthly bondage pleases us?
WHAT IS THE POINT of praying so often
for its early arrival,
if we would rather serve the devil here
than reign with Christ!?”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/09/16/quote-s-of-the-day-16-september-saint-cyprian-of-carthage-martyr/

St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200-258)
Martyr, Bishop of Carthage,
Father of the Church

Posted in CONFESSION/PENANCE, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Thought for the Day – 15 September –CONSIDERATION VII – Sentiments of One Who has Seldom Reflected Upon Death

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Thought for the Day – 15 September – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION VII

Sentiments of One Who has Seldom Reflected Upon Death
“Set thine house in order, for thou shall die and not live.” (Isa xxxviii: i)

FIRST POINT:
IMAGINE yourself at the bedside of some sick person, to whom, a few hours of life alone remain. Poor creature, see how much he is overcome with pain, with fainting fits, … with want of breath, with cold perspirations, with weakness of the brain – he can scarcely hear, understand, or speak. But the greatest misery he endures is – he feels death is fast approaching and, instead of thinking about his soul and of making his reckoning sure, he thinks alone about his physicians and the remedies which can be applied to free him from the disease and from the pains which are killing him!

St Lawrence Justinian speaking of people who are thus dying, observes “Nothing, save themselves, suffices to occupy their thoughts.”
His relatives and friends should, at least, warn him of the dangerous state in which he is but no, there is not one amongst them who has the courage to tell him that he is dying and, instead of advising him to take the Holy Sacraments, all refuse to tell him, lest they should give him offence by so doing.
O my God from this moment, I indeed thank Thee that when I am dying Thou wilt allow me to be assisted by the dear brothers of my Congregation, whose only interest will then be my eternal salvation and, who will all endeavour, as far as they can, to make my death a glorious one!

But, although they do not warn him that death is approaching, nevertheless, the sick man, seeing the family in such confusion, the number of doctors who are so busily talking, the many and numberless remedies which are tried, is filled with terror and confusion and amidst the continued attacks of fear, remorse and distrust, says within himself: “Alas! perhaps the end of my days is already come! ” What then will be the feelings of the dying man when he is told that he is dying?
“Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.”
With what fear, will he not be told that his illness is mortal, he must make his peace with God and receive the Blessed Sacrament and bid farewell to the world?
What! he exclaims, must I leave the world and all I possess, this house, that villa, those relations, friends, conversations, games and amusements? He is told that he must, for already is the lawyer come and then he has to sign this document: “I bequeath, I bequeath.”
And what does he take away with him?
Nothing, except what he is covered with which, within a very short time, will decay with him in the grave.
Oh what grief and sadness will the dying man feel, when he sees the tears of his household and the silence of his friends, who keep silence, not having the heart to speak in his presence!

But the greatest punishment he will have to bear, will be the dreadful stings of conscience which, in that tempest, as it were, will be felt so much more because of the corrupt life which he has led, up to the hour of his death, notwithstanding the seasonable advice of his spiritual fathers and the many resolutions made which have been either never performed or else entirely neglected and forgotten.
He will then exclaim: “O wretched one who I am, God has granted me so many lights, I have had so much time to make my conscience clear in His Sight and yet, I have not
done it and at length, death has overtaken me! What would
it have cost me to fly from that occasion of sin, to keep myself from that friendship and to avail myself of Confession? And even though it should have cost me much, nevertheless, I ought to have done everything I could, to save my immortal soul which was and is, all-important.
Oh, that I had carried that good resolution into practice. Oh, that I had continued as I began.
Then indeed should I be happy now!
But I did not do it, and now there is no time!”

The feelings of dying men, such as I have described, who have been, during life, so forgetful of their conscience, resemble the feelings of those who are forever lost, who, when in hell, lament over their sins as being the cause of their punishment but they lament without finding any relief or remedy.

Affections and Prayers

O Lord, if at this moment the news of my approaching death were to be brought to me, such would be my sentiments of grief.
But I thank Thee for giving me this light and this time to
amend.
No, my God, I do not wish to fly again from Thee, it ,
is so many times that Thou hast sought me. Justly indeed
ought I now to fear, lest, if I do not return to Thee again and come to Thee, Thou wilt altogether abandon me. Thou didst give me a heart to love Thee but I have put it to so bad a use; I have loved the creature, but I have not loved Thee, Who art my Creator and my Redeemer and Who didst give Thy life for me!

Instead of loving Thee, Oh,how many times have I not displeased Thee and turned away from following Thee! I was fully aware that, in committing that sin, I should displease Thee and yet, I did commit it.
My Jesus, I am truly sorry for it; I mourn over it with all my heart – I would indeed be changed.
I renounce all the pleasures of the world, so that I may love, and please Thee, O God of my soul.
Thou hast given me so many proofs of Thy love, I should wish to give Thee some proofs of my love before I die.
From this time I will accept every infirmity and every cross, every scorn and every vexation, which I must receive from men, only give me strength to endure the same in peace, for I wish to endure them all, to gain Thy Love.

I love Thee, O Infinite Goodness, more than anything, only give me more love and holy perseverance.

Posted in PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 14 September – CONSIDERATION VI, Third Point: The Death of the Sinner, “God is not mocked.”

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Thought for the Day – 14 September – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION VI

The Death of the Sinner
“Destruction cometh and they shall seek peace and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief.”
(Ezek vii: 25, 26)

THIRD POINT:
IT IS a marvellous thing that God does nothing but threaten sinners with an unhappy death:
“Then will they call upon Me but I shall not answer.” (Prov i: 28).
“Will God hear his cry, when trouble cometh upon im?” (Job xxvii: 9)
”I also shall laugh at your calamity; I shall mock.” (Prov i: 26).
God laughs when He will not show mercy. “To Me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot willl slide in due time.” (Deut xxxii: 35).

In many other places God threatens the same and yet, sinners live in peace and are as secure, as if God had certainly promised to give them pardon when dying and after death, to give them Paradise.
It is quite true that, in whatever hour the sinner is converted, God has promised to pardon him but He has not said that the sinner shall be converted in death.
On the contrary, He has often declared that he who lives in sin shall die in sin: “Ye …. shall die in your sins.” (St John viii: 21). He has said in another place, he who seeks Him in death, will not find Him. “Ye will seek Me and shall not find Me.” (St John vii: 34).
Therefore, it is indeed necessary to seek God when He can be found. “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found. ” (Isa Iv: 6). Yes, there will be a time when He will no longer be found!.
Poor sinners poor blind ones who put off their conversion until the hour of their death, when there will be no more time to be converted!

Geronimo Oleaster OP (Died 1663) well says, “that the wicked will never have learned to do well, save when there is no time in which to do it.”
God wishes all men to be saved but He will punish those who are obstinate in their sins.
If some miserable sinner living in sin should be seized with an apoplectic fit and thus be deprived of his senses, what pity all those would feel, who would see him die thus, without the Sacraments and without any sign of repentance! and, on the contrary, what great joy would not everyone experience, if this poor sinner should recover from his fit, seek for absolution and become repentant? But is not he indeed mad, who, having time to repent, continues in a state of sin, or else returns to sin and so places himself in danger of being surprised by death, at the same time that he is perhaps committing sin?
It is very fearful to see anyone die suddenly and yet, so many put themselves in danger of dying thus and in danger of dying in sin.

“A just weight and balance are the Lord’s.” (Prov xvi: II).
We do not take any account of the favours which the Lord
bestows upon us but the Lord takes the account and measures them and when He sees them despised, up to a certain point, He allows the sinner to remain in his sin and in this state to die.
Miserable indeed is that one who defers his repentance until the day of his death.
St Augustine remarks “the repentance which is demanded of the infirm, is infirm.”
St Jerome says, amongst a hundred thousand sinners who remain in a state of sin until the day of their death, hardly one will be saved!
St Vincent Ferrer declares that it would be a greater miracle, for one who has lived in habitual sin, all his life, to be saved, than it would be to raise one, who is dead, to life!
What sorrow, or what repentance, could be felt at the hour of death, by him who, until that time, has loved sin? St Robert Bellarmine tells us that, having gone to assist a dying person and having exhorted him to make one act of contrition, the dying one answered, he did not understand what contrition meant. Bellarmine tried to explain to him but the sick one said: “I do not understand you, Father. I am not capable of these things.” And thus he died, “leaving clear signs of his condemnation.”
St Augustine observes that it will be a just punishment to that sinner who has been unmindful of God during his life, to be unmindful of himself in death.
The Apostle warns us, saying: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap: for he who soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption.” (Gal vi: 7, 8).

It would indeed be mocking God for anyone to live, despising His Love and then, to reap a reward and everlasting glory but “God is not mocked.”
That which is sown in this life, shall be reaped in the next. He who loves the forbidden pleasures of this life, shall reap corruption, misery and eternal death in the life to come.

Christian brother, what is said for others is also said for you. Tell me, if you were now at the point of death, despaired of by the doctors and already in great pain, would you not pray to God to grant you one more month, one more week, in order to render your conscience clear in His sight? But God does give you that time now! Return thanks to Him and quickly try to atone for the evil you have done and use every means to be found in a state of grace whenever death shall come because then, there will be no time to atone for past evils.

Affections and Prayers

Ah, my God and who is there who would have had so much
patience with me as Thou hast!
If Thy goodness were not Infinite, I should cease to hope for pardon. But I have a God Who died to pardon me and to save me. Thou dost command me to hope and I will hope. If my sins affright and condemn me, Thy merits and Thy promises give me courage.
Thou hast promised the life of Thy grace to him ho returns to Thee: “Turn yourselves and live ye.” (Ezek xviii:2).
Thou hast promised to embrace him who turns to Thee. “Turn ye unto Me …. and I will turn unto you.” (Zee i: 3).
Thou hast said, Thou wilt not despise him who humbles himself and repents.
“A broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou not despise.” (Ps ci: 17). Behold, O Lord, I return and come to Thee; I confess myself worthy of condemnation and I repent of having offended Thee. I sincerely promise never more to offend Thee willingly and I would wish to love Thee forevermore.

Ah, do not allow me to be anymore ungrateful towards such Goodness. Eternal Father, through the merits of the obedience of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, Who died in obedience to Thy will, let me obey Thee in all things until death. I love Thee, O Thou Highest Good and because of the love I bear for Thee, I would obey Thee in all things. Give me holy perseverance, Thy holy Love and I ask for nothing more.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TIME, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 September – ‘ … Grab hold of Life! …’

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One Minute Reflection – 14 September – “Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – Exaltation of the Holy Cross –Philippians 2:5-11, John 12:31-36 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“He who loves his life, loses it and he who hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life everlasting. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me and where I Am ,there also shall My servant be.” – John 12:25-26

REFLECTION – “… We are being towed along by a world which passes away, forgetting the world to come. We are greedy for present things but, do not take into account, the coming judgement. We will not run to meet the Lord as He comes!…

Let us turn back, brethren, let us turn back… By the very fact of His delay, of His still waiting, our Lord proves His desire to see us come back to Him, His desire that we should not perish. In His great goodness, He continues addressing these words to us: “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked but, would rather, he would change his ways and live ”(Ez 33:11). So let us turn back to Him, brethren, not fearing that time is running short. The time which belongs to Time’s Author cannot be shortened. The proof of it lies in the criminal in the Gospel, who, at the moment of dying on the cross, got away with his pardon, grabbed hold of Life and, breaking into paradise like a burglar, managed to make his way into the Kingdom (cf. Lk 23:43)!” – St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father and “Doctor of Sermons” of the Church (Excerpt from Sermon 167).

PRAYER – O God, Who gladden us this day by the annual feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, grant, we beseech Thee, that we, who know on earth, the mysteries of Christ, may be found worthy to obtain, in heaven, the rewards of His Redemption. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 13 September – CONSIDERATION VI, Second Point: The Death of the Sinner

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Thought for the Day – 13 September – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION VI

The Death of the Sinner
“Destruction cometh and they shall seek peace and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief.”
(Ezek vii: 25, 26)

SECOND POINT:
The agonies of the dying sinner will not be one agony only but they will be many.
It will be one agony to be tormented by the devil. When the hour of death comes that dreadful enemy uses all his strength to ruin the soul which is on the point of launching into eternity. The devil knows that at this hour, there is but little time to gain the soul and, if it is lost to him then, it will be lost forever.

“The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” (Apoc xii: 12). There will not only be one devil but many devils, who will surround the dying man, who will do all which lies in their power to gain his soul.
“Their houses shall be full of doleful creatures.” (Isa.xiii:21)
One will say: “Fear not, thou wilt soon be well.”
Another \vill say: “How is it that thou, who for so many years hast been deaf to the Voice of God, canst expect Him now to show thee mercy?”
And another: “How canst thou now remedy those evils which are done and the reputations thou hast ruined?” And another: “Dost thou not see, thy Confessions have been of no avail, without true grief; without any intention to do better for the future?. How then canst thou now repair the evil which is already done.”

Besides all this, the dying man will behold himself surrounded by his sins: “Evil shall hunt the wicked person to overthrow him.” (Ps cxl: ii).
St Bernard observes that these sins, like so many watchful guards, shall hold him in their grasp and shall say to him: “We are thy works; we will not leave thee; we will go with thy soul to the other world and with it present ourselves to the Eternal Judge. ”
Then the dying man will want to rid himself of these enemies but, to get rid of them, it would be necessary to hate them; it would be necessary for his heart to become converted to God. Whereas his mind is darkened and his heart is hardened.
“A hard heart shall fear evil at the last and he who loveth danger, shall perish in it.” (Ecclus iii: 27)
St Bernard again says, that, the heart which has been so obstinate in sin during life, will use every means to free itself when dying, from this state of condemnation but will be, unable to do so and being oppressed with its own wickedness, will pass from life in this state.

Until the hour of death arrived, the sinner always
loved sin; he has also loved the danger of his own damnation; very justly, therefore, .will the Lord allow him to perish in that peril in which he has loved to live!
St Augustine believes, that “he who is left, by sin, before he
himself leaves it, at the hour of death, will hardly dislike it as much as he ought because, whatever he does at that time, will be done through necessity.”
Miserable indeed is that sinner, who is so hardened, he resists the Voice of God when He calls him!
“His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.” (Job xli: 24).
Instead of yielding and being softened by the Voice of God, he becomes more hardened; even as the anvil is hardened by the strokes of the hammer.

As a punishment for all this, he will find himself in the same obstinate frame of mind at the hour of death, although he may be on the point of passing into eternity. “A hard heart shall fear evil at the last.”
Sinners, saith the Lord: “have turned their back unto Me and not their face but, in the time of their trouble, they will say, Arise and save us. But where are thy gods which thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee.” (Jer ii: 27, 28).
The miserable sinners when dying will fly unto God and God will say to them:
“Now you can come to Me. Call upon creatures to help you, for they have been your gods!”
Even thus will the Lord answer those who at that time seek Him because they will not seek Him with any sincere wish to become converted.
St Jerome has said, that he fully believes and has learnt from experience that he who has led a wicked life,until the hour of death, will never be happy when the hour of death arrives.

Affections and Prayers

My dear Saviour, help me and do not abandon me, for I see my soul all wounded with my sins; my passions do violence to me and my evil habits oppress me. I throw myself at Thy feet, have mercy upon me and deliver me from all my evil passions.

“ In Thee, O Lord, have I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.” (Ps Ixxi: i).
Do not permit a soul wjp trusts in Thee to be lost.
I repent of having offended Thee, O God of Infinite Goodness, I have done evil and I confess it.
I wish to amend, at any price.
But unless Thou dost assist me with Thy grace, I am lost. Receive, O my Jesus, this rebellious one, who has displeased Thee so much. Remember that Thou didst spend Thy Blood and Thy Life for me. Through the merits, therefore, of Thy Passion and of Thy Death, receive me into Thy arms and give me holy perseverance.
I was almost lost but Thou didst call me; behold, I will no longer resist; I consecrate myself to Thee; bind me to Thy Love and never more allow me to lose myself by again losing Thy grace.
Do not, my Jesus, allow it, please!

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE

Thought for the Day – 10 September – CONSIDERATION V, Second Point – “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. ”

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Thought for the Day – 10 September – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION V

The Uncertainty of the Hour of Death
“Be ye, therefore, ready also, for the Son of Man
cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
(St Luke xii: 40)

SECOND POINT
The Lord does not wish us to be lost, therefore, He never ceases to warn us to change our habit of life, bv threatening to punish us.
“If a man will not turn, He will whet His sword,”
(Ps vii: 13)’
“Behold, ” He says in another place, “how many because, they would not leave sinning, when they were least expecting it and were living in peace, thinking to live for many long years, have been surprised by death which has suddenly come upon them.”
“For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them. ” (i Thess v: 3).
Likewise He says:
“Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. ” (St Luke xiii: 3).
Why, therefore, does He give us so many warnings before He sends the punishment, if He does not wish that we should amend our lives and so avoid dying an unhappy death?
St Augustine well observes that he who says to thee:
“Take care,” wishes thee no ill.

It is, therefore, necessary to prepare our account before the day of reckoning may arrive. My Christian brother, if before this night arrives you should die and your eternal welfare should be decided, what do you think? Would your reckoning be in order, or would you not, indeed be rather willing to give anything to obtain from God, one year, one month, or at least one day more?!
And, wherefore, now that God does give you this time, do you not seek to make your conscience free from everything? Is it because you cannot think this day can be the last for you?
“Delay not to be converted to the Lord and defer it not, from day to day. For His wrath shall come on a sudden and in the time of vengeance, He will destroy thee.” (Ecclus v: 8, 9) .

If you wish to be saved, my brother, sin must be left behind, therefore, as a day will come when you must leave it, why do you not leave it now? inquires St Augustine. Perhaps you are expecting death but for those who are obstinate, death is not the time for pardon but for vengeance.
“In the time of vengeance He will destroy thee.”

When someone owes you a large sum of money, you immediately take the precaution to provide yourself with a written security, saying to yourself:
“Who knows what may happen?”
And why do you not use the same precaution concerning your immortal soul which is of much more importance than the large sum? Why do you not say of your soul:
“ Who knows what may happen?”
If you were to lose that money, you would not lose everything and even if in losing it, you should lose all your inheritance, still you would have the hope of regaining it.
But if in death, you should lose your soul, then indeed would you lose all and there would be no hope of ever again rescuing it.
You are so diligent in keeping an account of your money, lest by chance any should be lost. if a sudden death were to befall you and if death should come upon you unawares, while you are at enmity with God, what would become of your soul for all eternity?

Affections and Prayers

All, my Redeemer, Thou hast shed all Thy Blood. Thou hast given Thy Life to save my soul and I have so often lost it, hoping in Thy Mercy and, in this way, have I so often made use of Thy great Goodness, for what? to offend Thee more! For this, I deserved that Thou shouldst suddenly deprive me of life and then send me to everlasting punishment.
I have, as it were, been fighting with Thee but Thou hast fought, by showing Mercy towards me and I, by offending Thee; Thou by seeking me and I by flying from Thee; Thou by giving me time to implore pardon for all the offences committed against Thee and I, by using that time to add offence to offence. Gracious Lord, make me feel the great wrong I have done against Thee and make me feel it is my greatest duty to love Thee.

Ah, my Jesus, how couldst Thou love me so much, Thou who didst seek me so many times when I fought to drive Thee from myself? How couldst Thou show so many favours to one who has so often given Thee offence?
From all this I understand, how desirous Thou art that I should not be lost.
I repent with all my heart for having offended Thee,
O God of Infinite Goodness. Ah, receive this ungrateful sheep who returns repentant to Thy Feet, receive it and bind it to Thy shoulders, so that it may nevermore stray from Thee.
No, I will nevermore fly from Thee. I would love Thee, I would be Thine Own and if only I am Thine, I am content with every pain, for what greater pain can I feel, than to live without Thy grace, separated from Thee,Who art my God, Who hast created me and my God, Who has died for me?
Ah, hateful sins, what have you done? You have made me displease my dear Saviour, Who hast loved me so much.
Ah, my Jesus, as Thou hast died for me, even so, ought I to die for Thee. Thou didst die for love of me and I ought to die of grief for having so much displeased Thee.

I accept death when and in what manner it may please Thee to send it to me but until now I have not loved Thee, or I have not loved Thee enough; it is not thus that I would die. Oh grant me a little more time, so that I may indeed love Thee before I die. Therefore, change my heart, wound it, inflame it with Thy holy Love. Grant this, through that exceeding Love which made Thee die for me.
I love Thee with all my soul and l am indeed desirous to love Thee. Never let me lose Thee again. Give me holy perseverance and give me Thy most holy Love.

Posted in PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on WATCHING

Thought for the Day – 9 September – CONSIDERATION V, First Point – The Uncertainty of the Hour of Death

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Thought for the Day – 9 September – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION V

The Uncertainty of the Hour of Death
“Be ye, therefore, ready also, for the Son of Man
cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
(St Luke xii: 40)

FIRST POINT.
IT is certain that we must all die but, it is uncertain when.
The author, who styles himself Idiota, observes:
“Nothing is more certain than death but nothing is more uncertain than the hour of death.”

My brother, already is the year, the month, the day, the hour and even, the moment fixed, in which both you and I will have to leave this earth and, to enter upon eternity but this time is not known by us. Therefore, that we may ever be prepared, the Apostle tells us, death will come “as a thief in the night.” (i Thess v: 2).
Our Blessed Lord tells us to be watchful, for when least we “ expect it, He will come to judge us.” (St Luke xii: 40).
St Gregory observes, that God, for our good, keeps the hour of our death hidden from us, so that we may ever be found preparing for death.
Since, therefore, at any time and in any place, death may deprive us of life, St Bernard remarks, at every time and in every place, we must stand awaiting it, if we would die a happy death and be saved!

Everyone knows that he or she must die but the mistake
so many make, is to imagine that death is so far off, they, as it were, lose sight of it. Even old men, who are most infirm and people who are very sickly, flatter themselves that they have at least three or four years more to live.
But, on the contrary, I say, how many have we not known during our lifetime, who have died suddenly, some sitting, some walking and some lying upon their beds? And certainly, none of those who have died thus suddenly, ever thought to die in. that way, or upon that day. … And, moreover, I say, how many who have this year passed on to another life and who have died from some slight illness, never, imagined their days were to come to an end this year. Few indeed are the deaths which do not happen uxpectedly.
Therefore, dear Christian brother, when the devil tempts you to sin, saying, that to-morrow, after the sin has been committed, you will go to confession – answer him in this manner: – “”
“And how do I not know that to-day may not be the last of my days upon earth? If that hour, or that moment, in which I sinned against God, were to be the last for me, so that there would be no time to implore forgiveness, what would become of me in eternity?”
To how many poor sinners has it not happened, in the same
moment in which they have been yielding to some wicked passion, death has overtaken them suddenly and they have been cast into hell?!
“As the fishes are taken in an evil net, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time.” (Eccles ix: 12).
The “evil time” is precisely that, in which the sinner actually offends God. The devil tells you that it will not happen in this way with you but you ought to say, if it should happen, thus what will become of me for all eternity?

Affections and Prayers

Dear Lord, the place where I ought now to be, is not here where I now am but, in hell, where I have deserved to be so many times because of my many transgressions.
“Hell is my house.”

But St Peter tells us, “the Lord … is long-suffering
to us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (i St Pet iii: 9).
Therefore, Thou hast had so much patience with me and hast waited so long for.me because Thou didst not wish me to be lost but Thou didst wish me to come to repentance.
Yes, my God, I come to Thee, I cast myself at Thy feet, I crave for mercy.
“Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness.” O Lord, great and extraordinary mercy is needed for me because I have offended Thee, although Thou hast blessed me with Thy Light.
Many are the sinners who have offended Thee but they have not had the Light which Thou hast graciously given to me. And yet for all that, still Thou dost command me to repent of my sins and I hope for pardon from Thee.

Yes, my dear Redeemer, I repent with all my heart for having offended Thee and I look for pardon through the merits of Thy Passion.
Thou, my Jesus,being innocent, was willing to die like a guilty one upon the Cross and to shed all Thy Blood to wash awav my sins.
“O Blood of the Innocent, wash away the sins of the penitent.”

O Eternal Father, pardon me, for the love of Jesus Christ, listen to the prayers tHe makes for me, now that He is interceding for me and making Himself my Advocate.
But it is not sufficient for me to be pardoned O God, Thou Who art worthy of infinite love, I wish the grace to love Thee. I do love Thee, O my Sovereign Good and I offer Thee, from henceforth, my soul, my body, my will,and my liberty. From this time I will avoid, not only grave offences but also slight ones. I will fly from all dangerous occasions.

“ Lead us not into temptation.” Deliver me, for the love of Jesus Christ, from these occasions in which I might chance to offend Thee.
“But deliver us from evil.”
Deliver me from sin and then punish me as Thou wilt. I accept all the infirmities, griefs and losses which it may please Thee to send me, there is nothing I mind, if I do not lose Thy Grace and Thy Love.
Thou dost promise to give me whatsoever I ask:
“Ask and it shall be given you.”
I ask Thee for these two graces, holy perseverance and the grace to love Thee.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 September – His Life-Giving Eucharist

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 September – Ferial Day – Galatians 5:16-24, 6:1-10; Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Young man, I say to thee, arise!”
Luke 7:14

“Even for restoring the dead to life,
the Saviour did not stop at acting by Word alone,
although it was the bearer of Divine Commands.
For such a surpassing work,
He took His own Flesh as His assistant –
if one might put it that way –
that He might show, that it has the power
to give life and, that He might cause it
to be seen that it is entirely One with Him.
… Thus, He not only conferred to His Word
the power to raise the dead
but He even touched the dead,
to show that His Body is Life-giving and,
through His Flesh, He caused life
to pass into their corpses.
If the touch alone of His Sacred Flesh
restores life to a corrupting body,
what profit shall we not discover
in His Life-giving Eucharist
when we make of it our food?
It will wholly transform into its own property
which is immortality, those who participate in it.”

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 September – ‘ … Symbols of three kinds of sinner … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 6 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – Ferial Day – Galatians 5:16-24, 6:1-10; Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Young man, I say to thee, arise!” – Luke 7:14

REFLECTION – “In the Gospels, we find three dead people who are visibly restored to life but, thousands who are invisibly so … The Synagogue Official’s daughter (Mk 5:22f.), the widow of Naim’s son and Lazarus (Jn 11) … are symbols of three kinds of sinner whom Christ still raises today. The young girl was still in her father’s house … the widow of Naim’s son was no longer in his mother’s house but not, as yet, in the tomb … Lazarus had already been buried …

And so, there are some people whose sins remain in their hearts but who have not put them into practice … They have consented to sin and death is within their souls but, it has not yet been carried outside. Now, it often happens … that people experience this in themselves – after hearing the Word of God, our Lord seems to say to them: “Arise!” They accuse themselves of the consent they gave to evil and draw breath, to live in salvation and uprightness … Others, having given their consent, go as far as the deed. They carry out the dead thing, hidden in the concealment of their dwelling and expose it before everyone. Are we to despair of them? Did not our Saviour say to that young man: “I tell you, arise!?” Did not He give him back to his mother? This is how it is with someone who has behaved like that – if he is touched and moved by the Word of Truth, he rises again at Christ’s Word, he comes back to life. He was able to go a step further along the way of sin but he could not die forever.

As for those who are so bound fast in evil habits as to their removing even the sight of the evil things they do, they undertake to defend their evil deeds, they are angered if one rebukes them … Such as these, crushed under the weight of a habit of sinning, are, as though buried in the tomb … That stone placed over the sepulcher is the tyrannical force of the habit which crushes the soul and does not allow it, either to arise or to breathe…

Listen, then, dearest brethren and behave in such a way that those who live, live and those who are dead revive … Let all those dead people repent … Let those who live, preserve that life of theirs and let those who are dead, be quick to come back to life again!” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Father and Doctor of Grace (Sermon 98).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servants, that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness and enter into the joy of thine eternal gladness.Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CONFESSION, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 4 September – Awake and arise!

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Quote/s of the Day – 4 September – Ferial Day – Galatians 5:16-24, Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Young man,
I say to thee,
arise!”

Luke 7:14

“I shall arise and shall go to my Father”

Luke 15:18

“Awake, O Sleeper and Rise from the Dead”

Ephesians 5:14

“Listen to the Lord’s appeal:
‘Come, then, return to Me
and learn to know Me as your Father,
Who repays good for evil,
love for injury
and boundless charity
for piercing wounds!”

St Peter Chrysologus (c400-450)
“Golden Words”
Father & Doctor of the Church

“As the prodigal son,
I will return to my Father’s house
and I will be welcomed back home.
I shall do the same, as he did –
will the Father not grant my prayer too?
O forgiving Father, here I am at Thy door
and I knock, open to me, let me enter,
so that I may not ruin myself, go away and die!
Thou made me Thy heir
and I neglected my inheritance
and squandered my goods –
from now on, may I be as a mercenary
and as a servant to Thee.”

St Jacob of Sarug (c451-521)
Bishop, Theologian, Poet, Writer, Father

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 September – ‘ … What is this tomb? …’

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One Minute Reflection – 4 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross”– St Rose of Viterbo (c1233 – 1251) Virgin – Ferial Day – Galatians 5:16-24, Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… When the Lord … being moved with mercy towards her, He said to her: Weep not.” – Luke 7:13

REFLECTION – “God’s mercy quickly allows itself to be moved by this mother’s tears. She is a widow; the suffering or death of her only son have crushed her… It seems to me that this widow, surrounded by a crowd of people, is more than just a simple woman, deserving of her young and only son’s resurrection through her tears. She is the image itself of Holy Church, who, by her tears, in the midst of the funeral procession and on the brink of the grave, gains a restoration to life of the youthful people of the world … For, at God’s Word, the dead are raised (Jn 5:28), they regain their speech and the mother recovers her son. He is called back from the tomb, snatched from the sepulchre.

What is this tomb of yours, if not your evil behaviour? Your tomb is your lack of faith … Christ sets you free from this sepulchre. If you listen to God’s Word, you will come out of the tomb. And if your sin is too serious for the tears of your repentance to cleanse it, may the tears of your mother, the Church, intercede on your behalf. She is, indeed, full of compassion and feels a wholly maternal, spiritual sorrow when she sees her children dragged off to death by sin!” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church (Commentary on Saint Luke’s Gospel V, 89).

PRAYER – Protect Thy Church by Thine abiding mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord and since all mortals fall without Thee, may Thy help keep them from danger and guide them to salvation. May the prayers of Thy virgin the blessed Rose, assist us on our journey to Thee. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CATECHESIS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SIN, St Francis de Sales, St PETER!, The WORD, VENIAL SIN

Quote/s of the Day – 1 September – Arise!

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Quote/s of the Day – 1 September – Pentecost XV – Galatians 5:25-26; 6:1-10; Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Young man,
I say to thee,
arise!”

Luke 7:14

“Rather blessed are those
who hear the Word of God
and keep it.’”

Luke 11:28

“She began to bathe His feet with her tears
and wiped them with the hair of her head
and kissed His feet
and anointed them with ointment.”

Luke 7:38

“Make ready then the vessel of your soul
that you may become a son of God
and an heir of God
and joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17);
if, indeed, you are preparing yourself
that you may receive;
if you are drawing near in faith
that you may be made faithful;
if of set purpose,
you are putting off the old man!”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Do not content yourself
with confessing your venial sins
merely as to the fact
but accuse yourself too,
of the motive which induced you
to commit them.”

(Introduction to the Devout Life,
Part II, Chapter 19).

“Christ was more concerned
with St. Peter’s repentance and remorse,
than with his sin.”

(The Spirit of St. François de Sales, VII, 8)

​St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 1 September – “Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead and Christ will give you Light! ” (Eph 5:14)

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One Minute Reflection – 1 September – “The Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and The Holy Cross” – St Giles (c650 – c710) Abbot – Pentecost XV – Galatians 5:25-26; 6:1-10; Luke 7:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

Young man, I say to thee, arise!” – Luke 7:14

REFLECTION – “Let no-one who is Christian doubt that even now, dead people rise. Certainly, every human being has eyes, by which he can see dead people rising, in the way this widow’s son, whom we just heard about in the Gospel, arose. But not everyone can see people who are spiritually dead rise. For that, it is necessary to have already risen interiorly. It is greater to raise someone, who is to live forever than to raise someone, who will have to die again.

The young man’s mother, this widow, was transported with joy at seeing her son rise. Our Mother, the Church, also rejoices when she sees her children’s spiritual resurrection everyday. The widow’s son was dead with the death of the body but these latter, are dead with the death of the soul. People wept tears over the visible death of the former but people were not concerned by the invisible death of the latter – they did not even see it. The only One Who did not remain indifferent, is the One Who knew these deaths – only the One, Who could give life back to them, knew these deaths. For if the Lord had not come to raise the dead, the Apostle Paul would not have said: “Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead and Christ will give you Light.” (Eph 5:14).” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (Sermon 98).

PRAYER – May the pleading of blessed Giles Abbo,t make us acceptable unto Thee O Lord, we pray that what we may not have through any merits of our own, we may gain by means of his patronage. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on TIME

Thought for the Day – 28 August –CONSIDERATION I, Third Point: “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.”

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Thought for the Day – 28 August – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION I

“Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.”
(Gen iii:19)

THIRD POINT:
My brother, in this description of death, thou seest thyself and that which one day thou wilt be,
“Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Reflect, for in a few years, nay, perhaps in a few months and even days, thou wilt become a mass of corruption and worms. By thinking upon this, Job became a Saint:
“I have said to corruption, Thou art my father, to the orm, Thou art my brother and sister.” (Job xvii: 14).

Everything must have an end and if, when the hour of death arrives, thy soul is lost, everything will be lost for thee. St Lawrence Justinian says:
“Consider thyself as dead already, since thou knowest thou must die. If now the hour of thy death were approaching, what is there of good which thou wouldst not like to have done? Now, that thou art living, reflect that one day thou must die.”
Bonaventure observes, that in order to guide the vessel aright, the pilot must place himself at the helm, even so must a man, if he wishes to lead a holy life, reflect that death is ever nigh.
Therefore, St Bernard observes:
“Look upon the sins of youth and blush;
look on the sins of manhoodj and weep;
look upon the present evil habits of thy life and tremble
and hasten to make amends!”

When Camillus de Lellis beheld the graves of the dead, he said within himself:
“If all these dead bodies could come back again to life,
what would they not do to gain eternal life? and
I, who have now the opportunity,
what am I doing for my soul!?”
Yet, it was humility on the part of this Saint which caused him to say this.

But perhaps, my brother, thou might with reason, fear, lest thou shouldst be like that barren fig-tree, concerning which our blessed Lord said:
“Behold these three years I come, seeking fruit on this fig-tree and find none.” (St Luke xiii:7).
Thou, who for many more years than three hast been living in this world, what fruit hast thou yielded?
“Take care,” remarks St Bernard, “for the Lord does not require flowers only but seeks for fruit too, that is to say, not only good desires and resolutions but also good works.”

Therefore, take care to make good use of the time which God, in His mercy, grants to you; do not wait until “time shall be no longer,” to desire to do good when it shall be said unto you
“Time shah be no longer – depart!”
Make haste, it is now almost time to leave the world; make haste, what is done, is done.

Affections and Prayers

Look upon me, O my God, for I am that tree which, for so
many years deserved to hear these words:
“Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?” (St Luke xiii; 7) yes because, during the many years I have been in the world, I have yielded no ether fruit than the briars and thorns of sin.
But Thou, O Lord, dost not wish me to despair. Thou hast said to all those who seek Thee that they shall find Thee. “Seek and ye shall find.”
I do seek Thee, my God and I do desire Thy grace.
I am indeed sorry for all the sins I have committed against Thee. I would grieve even to death because of them. During the past years, I have often fled from Thee but now, I value Thy friendship more than all the kingdoms of the world.
I will no longer resist Thy calls.

Thou dost wish me to be Thine alone.
I yield myself wholly to Thee, without any reserve.
Thou didst give Thyself entirely for me, upon the Cross, now I give myself entirely to Thee.

Thou hast said:
“If ye shall ask anything in My Name, I will do it.” (St John xiv: 14).
My Jesus, I trust in this Thy great Promise and in Thy Name and through Thy Merits, I seek of Thee Thy grace and Thy Holy Love. Let Thy grace and Thy most Holy Love abound in my soul, where sin did once abound.
I thank Thee greatly, for having given me the Spirit to make
this prayer to Thee. Whilst Thou dost inspire me to pray, it
is a sign that Thou wilt graciously hear me.
Hear me, O my Jesus and give me a great love towards Thee and give me a great desire to please Thee and then, the strength to follow that desire!

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD

Thought for the Day – 27 August –CONSIDERATION I, Second Point: “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.”

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Thought for the Day – 27 August – Meditations with Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop, Confessor, Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

“Preparation for Death”
By St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787)

CONSIDERATION I

“Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.”
(Gen iii:19)

SECOND POINT:
In order more clearly to see what indeed thou art, my Christian soul, St John Chrysostom observes:
“Go to a sepulchre, contemplate
dust, ashes, worms and sigh.”
See how that corpse becomes, at first yellow and then black. Afterwards, there is seen upon the body, a white and unpleasant mould. Then there issues forth a foul and corrupt matter which sinks into the ground.
In that corruption many worms are generated which
feed upon the flesh. The rats then come to feast upon the body, some on the outside, others entering into the mouth and bowels.

The cheeks, the lips and the hair fall in pieces; the ribs are
the first to become bare of flesh, then the arms and the legs.
The worms after, having consumed the flesh eat each other, and, in the end, nothing remains of that body but a fetid skeleton which, in course of time, is divided, the bones being separated and the head falling from the body, they
“become like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors and the wind carried them away“ ” (Dan ii:35.)

Behold, then, what man is – a little dust upon a threshing-floor which is carried away by the wind!
Behold that nobleman, who was considered to be the life
and soul of society, where is he? Go into his room, he is not
there; if you look into his bed, it belongs to another; his clothes, his arms, others have already taken and divided them. If you wish to see him, you must seek for him in that grave where he is changed into all that is unpleasant and into fleshless bones.

O my God, that that body fed with so many delicacies, clothed with so much pomp, attended by so many servants, should be reduced to this !
O ye Saints, ye, who for the love of that God, Whom ye loved alone, upon this earth, knew how to mortify your
bodies and now, your bones are kept and prized as sacred relics in golden shrines and your souls which are beatified, rejoice in the presence of God, waiting for the final Day, when your bodies even, will again become the companions of your souls in glory, as they were once the companions of your souls, in bearing the cross of this world.
This is the true love of the body, so to burden it with mortifications here, that it may be happy in eternity and to deny it those pleasures here which would render it unhappy in eternity.

Affections andPrayers

Behold, therefore, O my God, to what my body will become reduced, through which I have so often offended Thee, it will be reduced even to worms and corruption.
But this does not grieve me, O my God, nay, it rather cheers me, for this my flesh to become putrid and consumed which made me lose Thee, O my Sovereign Good.
But it does grieve me very much, to think that I should have taken so much delight in those wretched pleasures which have so often displeased Thee.
But I will not distrust Thy Mercy.
Thou hast waited for me to give me pardon.
“Therefore will the Lord wait that He may be gracious unto thee.” (Isa xxx: 18)
And Thou wilt pardon me if I repent.
Yes, Thou wilt, for I do repent with all my heart for having despised Thee, O God of Infinite Goodness.
I will repeat to Thee as did St Catherine of Genoa,
“No more sins, my Jesus, no more sins.”
No, I will no longer abuse Thy patience, neither will I wait to embrace Thee until the hour of death.
O my Crucified Love, now will I embrace Thee, now will I commend my soul into Thy keeping.
“Into Thy Hands, I commend my spirit.”

My soul has been many years in this world without loving Thee, give me light and strength to love Thee during the life which remains to me.
I will not wait until the hour of death to love Thee, from this moment, 1 will love Thee and embrace Thee and unite myself to Thee and, I promise, never more to leave Thee.

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on PRIESTS, the PRIESTHOOD and CONSECRATED LIFE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 26 August –Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth … Matthew 16:19

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One Minute Reflection – 26 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – St Pope Zephyrinus (Died 217) Martyr and Our Lady of Czestochowa, Queen of Poland – 1 Peter 5:1-4; 5:10-11; Matthew 16:13-19 – – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven.” – Matthew 16:19

REFLECTION – “Bridegroom and Bride, that is, Christ and the Church, are as one, be it in receiving Confession or in bestowing Absolution. All this makes clear why Christ had to tell each of us: “Go, show yourself to the priest” (Mt 8:4) … It follows that apart from Christ, the Church cannot grant forgiveness and that Christ has no will to forgive, apart from the Church. The Church’s authority to forgive extends only to the repentant, to those, that is, whom Christ has already touched; Christ, on His part, has no intention of regarding, as forgiven, one who despises the Church!

Doubtless, Christ need accept no restraints to His power of Baptising, Consecrating the Eucharist, Ordaining Priests, forgiving sins and the like but, the humble and faithful Bridegroom, prefers to confer such blessings, with the co-operation of His Bride. “What God,” then, “has joined, let no man put asunder” (Mt 19:6). “I say this is a great Mystery and refers to Christ and the Church” (Eph 5:32) … To remove the Head from the Body (Col 1:18) were to ruin the whole Christ, irreparably. Christ, apart from the Church, is no more the whole Christ, than the Church is complete, if separated from Christ. Head and Body go to make the whole and entire Christ.” – Bl Isaac of Stella (c 1100 – c 1170) Cistercian Monk, Abbot, Theologian, Philosopher (Sermon 11, §11-814).

PRAYER – Grant us, Thy servants, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, to enjoy lasting health of mind and body and, by the intercession of the glorious and blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may we be delivered from present sorrow and partake to the full of eternal happiness.ThroughJesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, The BEATITUDES, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 August – “The heart.”

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One Minute Reflection – 23 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – St Philip Benizi OSM (1233-1285) Confessor – 1 Corinthians. 4:9-14; Luke 12:32-34 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be too.” – Luke 12:34

REFLECTION – “…If, therefore, you wash, by a good life, the filth which has been glued on your heart like plaster, the Divine Beauty will again shine forth in you. It is the same as happens in the case of iron. If freed from rust by a whetstone that which but a moment ago, was black will shine and glisten brightly in the sun. So it is too with the inner man which the Lord calls “the heart.” When he has scraped off the rustlike dirt which dank decay has caused to appear on his form, he will once more recover the likeness of the Archetype (Gn 1:27) and, be good. For what is like to the Good is certainly itself good.

Hence, if a man who is pure of heart sees himself, he sees in himself what he desires and thus, he becomes blessed because, when he looks at his own purity, he sees the Archetype in the image. To give an example. Although men, who see the sun in a mirror, do not gaze at the sky itself, yet they see the sun in the reflection of the mirror, no less than those who look at its very orb. So, He says, it is also with you. Even though you are too weak to perceive the Light itself, yet if you but return to the grace of the image with which you were informed from the beginning, you will have all you seek in yourselves.

…For the Godhead is purity, freedom from passion and separation from all evil. If, therefore, these things be in you, God is indeed in you. Hence, if your thought is without any alloy of evil, free from passion, arid alien from all stain, you are blessed because you are clear of sight.” – St Gregory of Nyssa (c335-395) Bishop, Father of the Church (Brother of St Basil the Great) (Sermons 6 sur les Béatitudes – on the Beatitudes 6).

PRAYER – O God, Who through St. Philip, Thy Confessor, gave us an outstanding example of humility, grant that Thy household may follow his example by scorning worldly prosperity and, ever seek the things of Heaven. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN HYMNS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR

Quote of the Day – 13 August – O Mother Blest (The Feast of Our Lady Refuge of Sinners)

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Quote of the Day – 13 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the Feast of Our Lady Refuge of Sinners

O Mother Blest
By St Alphonsus Maira Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church
Trans. Fr Edmund Vaughn C.SS.R. (1827 – 1908 )

O Mother blest, whom God bestows
On sinners and on just,
What joy, what hope thou givest those
Who in thy mercy trust.
Thou are clement, thou are chaste,
Mary thou art fair,
Of all mothers, sweetest best,
none with thee compare.

O heavenly Mother, mistress sweet!
it never yet was told
that suppliant sinner left thy feet,
unpitied, unconsoloed.
Thou are clement, thou are chaste, …

O Mother, pitiful and mild,
Cease not to pray for me;
For I do love thee as a child,
And sigh for love of thee.
Thou art clement, thou art chaste, …

Most powerful Mother, all men know
Thy Son denies thee nought;
Thou askest, wishest it, and lo!
His power thy will hath wrought.
Thou art clement, thou art chaste, …

O Mother blest, for me obtain,
Ungrateful though I be,
To love that God who first could deign
To show such love for me.
Thou art clement, thou art chaste,
Mary, thou art fair.
Of all mothers, sweetest, best,
None with thee compare.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, St Francis de Sales, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 5 August – Obedience

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Quote/s of the Day – 5 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” –Dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows – Dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows – Sirach 24:14-16: Luke 11:27-28 – Scripture search here:

“Rather blessed are those
who hear the Word of God
and keep it.’”

Luke 11:28

“Little children follow and obey their father.
They love their mother.
They know nothing of covetousness,
ill-will, bad temper, arrogance and lying.
This state of mind opens the road to Heaven.
To imitate our Lord’s own humility,
we must return to the simplicity
of God’s little ones.”

St Hilary (315-368)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“If anyone comes to Me
without hating his father
and mother, wife and children,
brothers and sisters
and even his own life,
he cannot be My disciple.”

Luke 14:26

“ … For his brothers
His relatives according to the flesh
who did not
believe in Him,
of what advantage was that relationship?
… Even her maternal relationship
would have done Mary no good,
unless she had borne Christ
more happily in her heart,
than in her flesh.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of Grace

“Obedience is a short cut to perfection.”

St Philip Neri (1515-1595)

“Let us then depart, let us depart from Egypt,
let us approach Our Lord,
let us make provision of good works;
let the feet of our affections be bare,
let us clothe ourselves with innocence,
let us not be satisfied with crying for mercy,
let us go forth from Egypt, let us delay no longer.
The hour is come to arise from sleep,
since we know that He receives sinners;
the Angels await our repentance,
the Saints pray for it!”

St Francis de Sales 91567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, St Alphonsus de Liguori,, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 22 July – Penitance

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Quote/s of the Day – 22 July – St Mary Magdalen (1st Century) Penitent – Song 3:2-5; 8:6-7, Luke 7:36-50.

“She began to bathe His feet with her tears
and wiped them with the hair of her head
and kissed His feet
and anointed them with ointment.”

Luke 7:38

“Remember not our former iniquities,
let Thy mercies speedily prevent us,
for we are become exceeding poor.
Help us, O God, our Saviour
and for the glory of Thy Name, O Lord,
deliver us and forgive us our sins,
for Thy Name’s sake.”

Psalm 78:8-9

“Let us then, my brethren, endure in hope.
Let us devote ourselves, side-by-side with our hoping,
so that the God of all the universe,
as He beholds our intention,
may cleanse us from all sins,
fill us with high hopes from what we have in hand
and grant us the change of heart which saves.
God has called you and you have your calling!”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Prayer, appeases the anger of God;
He pardons the sinner
when he prays with humility.”

St Lawrence Justinian (1381-1455)

“We must be very sorry for faults
with a repentance which is strong,
constant, tranquil
but not troubled, unquiet or fainthearted.”

(Treatise on the Love of God, Book 9, Chapter 7).

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

In conclusion, let us say this prayer of St Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787):
“My soul, look at this Crucified Man …
see how the arms extend to embrace you,
how the head bows forward
to give you the kiss of peace.
See how His side is open to receive you.
What have you to say?
Such a good and loving God deserves to be loved.
O my Jesus!
Adorable Jesus!
O Love of my soul!
How can I ever forget Thee?
How can I ever love anything
apart from Thee!
O suffering Jesus,
may the memory of Thee ever remain
in my heart!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)