Category: Quotes on SALVATION

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, MODESTY, QUOTES on ANGER, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on TRUTH, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 25 June – The many paths?

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Quote/s of the Day – 25 June – Pentecost IV – Romans 8:18-23, Luke 5:1-11 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Master, the whole night through
we have toiled and have taken nothing
but at Thy Word, I will lower the net.”

Luke 5:5

“To arrive at the knowledge of the truth,
there are many paths – the first is humility,
the second is humility
and the third is humility.”

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

“Those who refuse to be humble
cannot be saved.
They cannot say with the prophet:
See, God comes to my aid;
the Lord is the helper of my soul.
But anyone who makes himself humble,
like a little child,
is greater in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

St Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Father and Doctor if the Church

“At Thy Word I will lower the nets.”
Whenever I lowered them on my own,
I wanted to keep what belongs to Thee for myself.
It was myself I was preaching
and not Thee; my words, not Thine.
That is why I caught nothing.
Or, if I did catch something,
it was not fish but frogs,
only good for croaking my own praise! …”

St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
Doctor of the Church

“When insults have no effect on us,
when persecutions and penalties,
have no terror for us,
when prosperity or adversity,
has no influence on us,
when friend and foe,
are viewed in the same light…
do we not come close,
to sharing, the serenity of God?”

St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)
“St Bernard of the North”

“Humility is the mother
of many virtues
because from it,
obedience, fear, reverence,
patience, modesty,
meekness and peace are born.
He who is humble easily obeys everyone,
fears to offend anyone,
is at peace with everyone,
is kind with all.”

“Dismiss all anger
and look into yourself a little.
Remember that he, of whom,
you are speaking, is your brother
and as he is, in the way of salvation,
God can make him a Saint,
in spite of his present weakness.”

St Thomas of Villanova (1488-1555)

“Humility and charity
are the two master chords –
one, the lowest;
the other, the highest;
all the others are dependent on them.
Therefore, it is necessary, above all.
to maintain ourselves in these two virtues,
for observe well,
that the preservation of the whole edifice
depends on the foundation and the roof!”

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

Posted in CHRIST the JUDGE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, DYING / LAST WORDS, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, HOLY COMMUNION, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 14 June – Lord, I Know that I Am Not Worthy By St Basil the Great

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Our Morning Offering – 14 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Feast of St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop of Caesarea, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church.

Lord, I Know that I Am Not Worthy
Prayer before Holy Communion
By St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Lord, I know that I am not worthy
to receive Thy Holy Body and Precious Blood;
I know that I am guilty
and that I eat and drink
condemnation to myself,
not discerning the Body and Blood
of Christ, my God.
But trusting in Thy loving kindness,
I come to Thee, Who hast said –
‘Whoever eats My Body and drinks My Blood,
will dwell in Me and I in him’;
Therefore, Lord, have compassion on me
and do not put to shame Thy sinful servant
But deal with me according to Thy great mercy
And grant that these Holy Gifts,
may be for me,
healing, cleansing, enlightenment,
protection, salvation and sanctification
of soul and body.
May they cast out from me
every dark delusion,
sinful deed or work of the evil one.
May they move me to trust
and love Thee always,
to amendment of life,
increase of virtue,
obedience to Thy commandments,
communion of the Holy Spirit,
provision for my final journey
and a good defence before the dreadful
seat of judgement.
Amen.

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, DOGMA, EUCHARISTIC, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, GOD the FATHER, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Prayers and Novena, INDULGENCES, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, PARTIAL Indulgence, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, Quotes on SALVATION, SACRAMENTS, St JOSEPH, THE ASSUMPTION, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The REDEMPTION

Quote/s of the Day – 11 June – He left His Body and His Blood …

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – The Solemnity of Corpus Christi – 1 John 3:13-18, Luke 14:16-24. – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… This Body which He took from us,
He gave wholly for our salvation.
For, He offered His own Body to God the Father,
upon the Altar of the Cross,
as a Victim for our reconciliation
and, He shed, His own Blood,
both to redeem and cleanse us
that we, being bought back
from a wretched slavery,
might be washed from all our sins.
And then, that the memory
of such a great benefit might abide in us,
He left His Body to be our food
and His Blood to be our drink
that the faithful might receive them
under the species of Bread and Wine.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor Angelicus/Doctor Communis

“I adore Thee at every moment,
O Living Bread of Heaven, great Sacrament!
Jesus, heart of Mary, I pray Thee, bless my soul.
Holiest Jesus, my Saviour, I give Thee my heart.”

(Indulgence of Two Hundred Days;
Pope Pius VII, 1915)

The Divine Praises

Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.

May the Heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament,
be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection,
at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world,
even to the end of time.
Amen.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SACRED HEART ASPIRATIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 8 June – ‘ … An indelible remembrance of our Redemption. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 8 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Feast of Corpus Christi – 1 Corinthians 23-29, John 6:56-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, abides in Me and I in him. ” – John 6:57

REFLECTION – “The heavenly sacrifice which Christ instituted is indeed the inheritance bequeathed to us through His new covenant. He left it to us on the night He was delivered up to be Crucified, as a token of His Presence. It is viaticum for our journey, food on our life’s path, until we come to it upon leaving this world. That is why our Lord said: “Unless you eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you do not have life within you.” He wished His deeds of kindness to remain among us and the souls He redeemed, by His Precious Blood, always to be made holy in the image of His own Passion. This is why He commanded His faithful disciples, instituted as the first Priests of His Church, to celebrate these mysteries of eternal life, in perpetuity… Thus all the faithful would have before their eyes, day-by-day, a representation of Christ’s Passion. Taking Him in our hands, receiving Him in our mouths and hearts, we will hold fast to an indelible remembrance of our Redemption.

The bread should be made with the flour of innumerable grains of wheat mixed with water and finished off in the fire. Thus we shall find a close likeness of the Body of Christ in it for, as we know, He forms a single body with the multitude of humankind, brought to completion, by the fire of the Holy Spirit… In the same way, the wine of His Blood, is taken from many grapes – that is to say, the fruit of the vine he planted – is crushed beneath the press of His Cross, poured into the hearts of the faithful and ferments within them, by means of His own power. This is the Passover Sacrifice bringing salvation to all those set free from the bondage of Egypt and Pharaoh which is to say, the devil. Receive it in union with us, with all the eagerness of a pious heart.” – St Gaudentius of Brescia (Died 410) Bishop , Father, renowned Preacher, Theologian, Diplomatic Mediator (An Excerpt from a Paschal Homily no 68:30).

PRAYER – O God, Thou Who in this wondrous Sacrament have left us a memorial of Thy Passion, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Blood that we may ever experience, within us, the effect of Thy 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).
All praise, honour and glory to the divine HEART of JESUS. – Indulgence 50 Days, Once a day. Raccolta 168 Pope Leo XIII, 14 June 1901.

Posted in 7 GIFTS of the HOLY GHOST: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Strength, Knowledge, Piety, Fear, FRUITS of the SPIRIT, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PENTECOST, QUOTES on GRACE, Quotes on SALVATION, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The HOLY GHOST

Thought for the Day – 30 May – Bearer of the Treasures of Grace

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Thought for the Day – 30 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Bearer of the Treasures of Grace

“The Apostles were completely transformed after the Feast of Pentecost.
They had ben ignorant rustics, timid and vacillating.
They had hardly understood at all, the lofty teachings of Christ, for they were hoping still for an earthly kingdom in which they would occupy the highest posts.

When they received the Holy Spirit, however, their minds were flooded with supernatural light and they became heroic in their resolution.
Ignorant, though they had been, they became masters of Truth, far superior to the sages of Athens or the philosophers of Rome!
They were no longer timid and hesitating but, fearlessly encountered the power of the Sanhedrin, the whips of the soldiery, the dangers of long voyages and, Martyrdom itself.

We too have received the illumination and favours of the Holy Spirit.
Many times, when we have invoked Him, He has inspired and consoled us.
But we may not have responded with the same fervour and self-denial as the Apostles.
Let us remember that, to neglect God’s gifts, is to risk our eternal salvation!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/05/30/thought-for-the-day-30-may-bearer-of-the-treasures-of-grace/

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on MISSION, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, The ASCENSION of the LORD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 May – ‘ … He asks for our faith and offers us salvation. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 23 May – Within the Octave of Ascension – The Memorial of St John Baptiste de Rossi (1698-1764) Priest, Confessor – Acts 1:1-11, Mark 16:14-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Go ye into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” – Mark 16:15

REFLECTION – “You have heard what the Lord said to His disciples after the Resurrection. He sent them out to preach the Gospel and they did so. Listen: “Through all the earth their voice resounds and to the ends of the world, their message” (Ps 18[19],5). Step by step, the Gospel has reached even to us and the ends of the earth. In a few words, the Lord addressing Himself to His disciples, set out what we are to do and what we have to hope for. Just as you have heard, He said: “Whoever believes and is Baptised will be saved.” He asks for our faith and offers us salvation. What He offers us is so precious, that what He asks of us is as nothing.

“The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings, O my God… from Thy delightful stream, Thou give them to drink, for with Thee is the fountain of life” (Ps 35[36],8f.). Jesus Christ is the Fountain of Life. Before the Fountain of Life came to us, we had only a human salvation like that of the beasts, of which the psalm speaks: “Man and beast you save, O Lord” (Ps 35[36],7). But now the Fountain of Life has come even to us, the Fountain of Life died for our sakes. Will He refuse us, His Life, Who, for our sakes, gave His Death? He is Salvation and this Salvation is not worthless, like the other one. Why? Because it does not pass away. The Lord has come. He died but he killed death. In Himself, He brought an end to death. He assumed it and He killed it. Where is death now, then? Look for it in Christ and it is no longer there. It used to be there but there it died. O life, Death of death! Take heart – it will also die in us! What was fulfilled in the Head will also be fulfilled in the members and death will die in us, too.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo and Father and Doctor of the Church (Excerpt from Sermon 233 ).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that as we do believe Thine Only-Begotten Son our Saviour to have this day Ascended into the Heavens, so we may also, in heart and mind thither ascend and with Him, continually dwell. And may the merits and intercession of Thy Confessor, John Baptiste de Rossi, be an aid on our journey. 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 CARMELITES, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on MISSION, QUOTES on PRAYER, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on VOCATIONS, The HEART, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 28 April – ‘ … He wants to do nothing without us. …’

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One Minute Reflection – 28 April – St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775) Confessor, Founder – 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, Luke 10:1-9 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest that He send labourers into His harvest. ” – Luke 10:2

REFLECTION – “One day I was pondering over what I could do to save souls – a phrase from the Gospel showed me a clear light: Jesus said to His disciples, pointing to the fields of ripe corn, “Look up and see the fields ripe for harvest” (Jn 4:35) and a little later, “The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few; so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers.” How mysterious it is! Is not Jesus all-powerful? Do not creatures belong to Him, Who made them? Why then does Jesus say: “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers …”? Why? …

Ah! Jesus has so incomprehensible a love for us that He wants us to have a share with Him in the salvation of souls. He wants to do nothing without us. The Creator of the Universe waits for the prayers of a poor little soul to save other souls, redeemed like itself at the price of all His Blood.

Our vocation, yours and mine, is not to go harvesting in the fields of ripe corn. Jesus does not say to us: “Lower your eyes, look at the fields and go and reap them,” our mission is still loftier. Here are Jesus’ words: “Lift up your eyes and see…. ” See how, in My Heaven, there are places empty; it is for you to fill them … each one of you is My Moses praying on the mountain (Ex 17:8) ask Me for labourers and I shall send them, I await only a prayer, a sigh from your heart!” – St Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897) Carmelite, (Letter 135).

PRAYER – Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst gift Thine holy servant Paul, with great love that he might preach the Mystery of Thy Cross and hast been pleased that through him, a new family should grow up in Thy Church, grant unto us at his prayers that upon earth, we may so call Thy sufferings to mind, as worthily to gain the fruit thereof in Heaven. 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 SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARIAN TITLES, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Quote/s of the Day – 26 April – Our Lady of Good Counsel

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Quote/s of the Day – 26 April – Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel

This prayer to our Lady of Good Counsel, like many other Marian prayers, asks for Our Blessed Mother’s help in obtaining our salvation.
Note the reference to our earthly existence as being a “vale of tears,”
an expression we find too in the Salve Regina, the Hail Holy Queen.

Prayer to Our Mother of Good Counsel

Most Glorious Virgin
chosen by the Eternal Counsel
to be the Mother
of the Eternal Word made flesh,
thou, who art the Treasurer of Divine Graces
and the Advocate of Sinners,
I, thy most unworthy servant,
have recourse to thee;
be thou pleased to be my Guide
and Counsellor in this vale of tears.
Obtain for me,
through the Most Precious Blood
of thy Divine Son,
the forgiveness of my sins,
the salvation of my soul
and the means necessary to obtain it.
In like manner,
obtain for Holy Mother the Church,
victory over her enemies
and the spread of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ
upon the whole earth.
Amen

Pope Paul II sent two Bishops to investigate the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel and the numerous miracles that took place, following its appearance at this Church (by one account 171 alone in the period from 27 April to 14 August 1467)!

The fresco is still there to this day, having survived earthquakes over the Centuries and even aerial bombardment during World War II which destroyed much of the Church.

Many Popes have been great champions of Our Lady of Good Counsel
and her image. Pope Paul II first approved devotion to her. Popes Urban VIII and Pius IX made visits to the Church in Genazzano to honour her.
In 1753 Pope Benedict XIV established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel which has included, among its members, the Popes Pius VIII, Pius IX, Leo XIII and Pius XII,the last, who placed his Papacy under her maternal care. He later composed this prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel which can be used as a novena:

O Mother of Good Counsel
By Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)

O Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led
by our anxious uncertainty in our search for
and attainment of, what is true and good,
invoking thee by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel,
we beseech thee to come to our assistance,
when, along the road of this life,
the darkness of error and of evil
conspire towards our ruin,
by leading our minds and our hearts astray.
O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea,
enlighten the doubtful and the erring
that they, be not seduced,
by the false appearances of good;
render them steadfast in the face of the hostile
and corrupting influences, of passion and of sin.
O Mother of Good Counsel,
obtain for us from thy Divine Son,
a great love of virtue and,
in the hour of uncertainty and trial,
the strength to embrace the way
which leads to our salvation.
If thy hand sustains us,
we shall walk unmolested,
along the path indicated to us,
by the Life and Words of Jesus, our Redeemer
and, having followed freely and securely,
even in the midst of this world’s strife,
the Sun of Truth and Justice,
under thy maternal Star,
we shall come to the enjoyment of full
and eternal peace, with thee,
in the Haven of Salvation.
Amen

It is also worth noting, especially in these uncertain times for the Church as for the world (and in many ways, the two may be said to be linked together!) that Our Blessed Mother is ready, willing and more than able,
to help us i“in the midst of this world’s strife.”
We need only to approach her for assistance, in drawing closer to Jesus with fervent, humble prayer and devotion.

Keep in mind too, regarding the line in the first of our prayers above about our Church’s “victory over her enemies” that, in 1571, St Pius V credited Our Lady of Good Counsel with having assisted the Holy League of forces from Catholic maritime states, to defeat the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the famous Battle of Lepanto. This was a decisive victory which kept Italy from being overrun by the Muslims. Let us also pray to Mary for help, as Pope Pius V did, in the midst of our own battles! Amen.

Our Lady of Genazzano (1467) / Our Lady of Good Counsel (Memorial) – 26 April:
HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/26/our-lady-of-genazzano-1467-our-lady-of-good-counsel-and-memorials-of-the-saints-26-april/

Posted in LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, ON the SAINTS, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, Quotes on SALVATION

Thought for the Day – 22 April – The Salvation of Souls

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Thought for the Day – 22 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Salvation of Souls

“Remember the countless conversions effected by the Saints as a result of their prayers, mortifications and heroic sacrifices.
No-one can call himself a Christian who does not love, in a practical manner, his fellowmen, especially unfortunate heretics and sinners.

Make up your mind, to offer your prayers and sacrifices for their conversion.
Include them in your daily offering, daily Mass and daily Rosary too.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/07/07/thought-for-the-day-7-july-the-salvation-of-souls/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/11/thought-for-the-day-9-december-the-salvation-of-souls-2/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MARIAN PRAYERS, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on TRUTH

Quote/s of the Day – 21 April – St Anselm

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Quote/s of the Day – 21 April – The Memorial of St Anselm (1033-1109) Archbishop of Canterbury, Confessor, Magnificent and Marian Doctor of the Church

“For I do not seek to understand,
in order that I may believe
but I believe, in order to understand.
For this also I believe –
that unless I believe,
I shall not understand.”

“Teach me to seek Thee
and reveal Thyself to me as I seek
because I can neither seek Thee,
if Thou doea not teach me how,
nor find Thee,
unless Thou reveal Thyself.”

“God does not delay to hear our prayers
because He has no mind to give
but that, by enlarging our desires,
He may give us the more largely.”

Mother of Salvation,
Blessed Lady
By Anselm (1033-1109)
Magnificent Doctor
Marian Doctor

Mother of Salvation,
Blessed Lady,
you are the Mother of Justification
and those who are justified;
the Mother of Reconciliation
and those who are reconciled;
the Mother of Salvation
and those who are saved.
What a blessed trust
and what a secure refuge!
The Mother of God is our Mother.
The Mother of the One
in Whom alone, we hope
and Whom alone, we fear,
is our Mother! …
The One Who partook of our nature
and by restoring us to life,
made us children of His Mother,
invites us by this grace, to proclaim
that we are His brothers and sisters.
Therefore, our Judge, is also our Brother.
The Saviour of the world, is our Brother.
Our God has become –
through Mary – our Brother!
Anen

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/21/quote-s-of-the-day-21-april-st-anselm/

St Anselm (1033-1109)
Bishop, Confessor,
Magnificent and Marian Doctor of the Church

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, Holy Name PRAYERS, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, Quotes on SALVATION, The HOLY NAME, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR

Our Morning Offering – 21 April – Complete Us, O Lord Jesus Christ By St Anselm

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Our Morning Offering – 21 April – “The Month of the Resurrection” – The Memorial of St Anselm (1033-1109) Bishop, Confessor Magnificent and Marian Doctor of the Church

Complete Us, O Lord Jesus Christ
By St Anselm (1033-1109)
Magnificent and Marian
Doctor of the Church

O Lord Jesus Christ,
our Redemption and our Salvation,
we praise You and give You thanks.
Although we are unworthy of Your benefits
and cannot offer to You, the devotion You deserve,
let Your loving-kindness complete
whatever our weakness tries to do.
Before You, O Lord,
we lay all our desires
and whatever our heart rightly wishes,
it is because of Your gifts.
Help us to love You as You command.
Do not let Your gifts be unfruitful in us.
Complete what You have begun,
give what You have made us desire,
convert our lukewarmness
into fervent love of You,
for the glory of Your Holy Name.
Amen.

Posted in APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, EASTER, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, Quotes on SALVATION, The LAMB of GOD, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The RESURRECTION

Our Morning Offering – 16 April – At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing

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Our Morning Offering – 16 April – Low Sunday, The Octave Day of Easter – “The Month of the Resurrection”

At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing
By Robert Campbell (1814-1868)
Scottish Catholic Convert, Hymnist

At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious King,
Who hath washed us in the tide
Flowing from His pierced side.
Praise we Him, Whose love Divine,
Gives His Sacred Blood for wine,
Gives His Body for the feast,
Christ the Victim, Christ the Priest.

Where the Paschal Blood is poured,
Death’s dark Angel sheathes his sword
Israel’s hosts triumphant go
Through the wave that drowns the foe.
Praise we Christ, Whose Blood was shed,
Paschal Victim, paschal Bread.
With sincerity and love
Eat we manna from above.

Mighty Victim from the sky!
Hell’s fierce powers beneath Thee lie;
Thou hast conquer’d in the fight,
Thou hast brought us Life and Light.
Now no more can death appal,
Now no more the grave enthral.
Thou hast opened paradise,
And in Thee Thy saints shall rise.

Easter triumph, Easter joy,
Sin alone can this destroy;
From sin’s power do Thou set free
Souls new-born, O Lord, in Thee.
Hymns of glory and of praise,
Risen Lord, to Thee we raise.
Holy Father, praise to Thee,
With the Spirit, ever be.

Posted in Act of SPIRITUAL COMMUNION, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The HEART, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day –14 April – I Am with you all days …

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day –14 April – Easter Friday – 1 Peter 3:18-22, Matthew 28:16-20 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And behold, I Am with you all days,
even to the consummation of the world.”

Matthew 28:20

“Never separate yourself from the Church.
No institution has the power of the Church.
The Church is your hope.
The Church is your salvation.
The Church is your refuge.”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Act of Spiritual Communion
By St Bernard O. Cist (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

As I cannot this day enjoy the happiness
of assisting at the Holy Mysteries, O my God,
I transport myself in spirit to the foot of Your Altar.
I unite with the Church, which, by the hands of the Priest,
offers You, Your adorable Son in the Holy Sacrifice.
I offer myself with Him, by Him and in His Name.
I adore, I praise and thank You,
imploring Your mercy,
invoking Your assistance
and presenting to You,
the homage I owe You as my Creator
and the love due to You, as my Saviour.

Apply to my soul, I beseech You, O Merciful Jesus,
Your infinite merits;
apply them also to those
for whom I particularly wish to pray.
I desire to communicate spiritually,
that Your Blood, may purify,
Your Flesh, strengthen
and Your Spirit, sanctify me.
May I never forget that You,
my divine Redeemer,
died for me.
May I die to all that is not You,
that hereafter, I may live eternally with You.
Amen.

“No tongue is able to declare
the greatness of the love
which Jesus bears to every soul
and, therefore, this Spouse,
when He would leave this earth,
in order that His absence
might not cause us to forget Him,
left us, as a memorial,
this Blessed Sacrament,
in which He Himself remained;
for He would not,
that there should be any other pledge
to keep alive, our remembrance of Him,
than He Himself!”

St Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)

“My dear souls, let us recognise, I pray you,
Christ’s infinite charity towards us
in the institution of this Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In order that our love be a spiritual love,
He wills a new heart, a new love, a new spirit for us.
It is not with a carnal heart but with a spiritual one,
that Christ has loved us with a gratuitous love,
a supreme and most ardent love,
by way of pure grace and charity.
Ah! One needs to love Him back
with one’s whole, whole, whole,
living, living, living
and true, true, true heart!”

St Lawrence of Brindisi(1559-1619)

Posted in CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, LENTEN PRAYERS & NOVENAS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on MERCY, Quotes on SALVATION, The LAMB of GOD, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR

Our Morning Offering – 13 April – O Lamb of God By St Irenaeus

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Our Morning Offering – 13 April – Easter Thursday and “The Month of the Resurrection”

O Lamb of God
By St Irenaeus (c130 – c202)
Bishop & Martyr,
Father of the Church

O Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world,
look upon us
and have mercy upon us,
Thou who art Thyself,
both Victim and Priest,
Thyself, both Reward and Redeemer,
keep safe from all evil
those whom Thou hast redeemed,
O Saviour of the world!
Amen

Posted in APRIL -MONTH of the RESURRECTION and the BLESSED SACAMENT, AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The RESURRECTION

Quote/s of the Day –9 April – Easter Sunday

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Quote/s of the Day –9 April – Easter Sunday and “The Month of the Resurrection”

“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hell, where is your victory?
Christ is Risen and you are overthrown.
Christ is Risen and the demons are fallen.
Christ is Risen and the Angels rejoice.
Christ is Risen and Life reigns.
Christ is Risen and not one dead remains in the grave.
For Christ, being Risen from the dead,
is become the First Fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages.”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“For Christ is our Salvation.
For He is our Salvation,
Who was wounded for us
and fastened with nails to the Wood
and taken down from the Wood
and laid in the sepulchre.
But He rose from the sepulchre
and although His Wounds were healed,
the Scars remained.
For this He judged expedient for His Disciples
that He should keep His Scars,
to heal the wounds of their soul.”

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

“All I want to know is Christ
and the power flowing
from His Resurrection!”

St Francis of Assisi (c1181-1226)

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, GOOD FRIDAY, QUOTES on DEATH, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The REDEMPTION, The SIGN of the CROSS

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 7April – Good Friday – No Other Redemption

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 7April – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John 18:1-40.19:1-42 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judeaorum –
Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.”
John 19:19

GOOD FRIDAY
No Other Redemption
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“HERE, THEN, ARE THE CAUSES of the death of Jesus Christ – the first is that He was Saviour, Holy and King; the second, that He wished to redeem those who acknowledge Him, which is what the word “Jews” means which Pilate had written on the standard of the Cross.

When God withdrew His people from slavery in Egypt to lead them to the Promised Land under the command of that great captain, Moses, a strange misfortune occurred. Small serpents came out from the earth and overran the desert where the poor Israelites were. Their bite, though apparently not very painful, was certainly very dangerous. It was so venomous that all those bitten would surely have died if, in His goodness and infinite Providence, God had not provided a remedy.

Moved by the sight of this pitiable misfortune, Moses spoke to God and asked for some remedy against it. The Lord commanded him to make a brass serpent and to place it on a tall pole, promising, that those bitten by the small serpents would be cured, by gazing upon it. Moses promptly did this, enjoining those bitten to cast their eyes on the brass serpent mounted on the pole.
Those who did so were immediately cured.
Those unwilling to gaze upon it died, for there was no other means of escaping death than that which was ordained by God Himself.
“Oh! How good was the God of Israel” [Ps. 72 (73):1], said a great Saint, “to provide Moses with such a remedy for his people’s cure!” – (Sermon for Good Friday, 25 March 1622).

“HE DIED, THEN.

But although He died for us and was lifted up on the Cross, those who refuse to look upon Him, will surely die, for there is no other redemption but in this Cross.
O God, how spiritually beneficial and profitable is a consideration of Thy Cross and Passion!
Can we contemplate our Saviour’s humility on the Cross without becoming humble and having some affection for humiliations?
Can we see His obedience without being obedient?
Certainly not! No-one has ever looked upon Our Lord Crucified and remained dead or sick.
On the other hand, all who have died have done so because they were unwilling to gaze upon Him, just as the Israelites died who were unwilling to gaze upon the serpent which Moses had raised upon the pole.” – ( Sermons of St Francis de Sales for Lent).

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FATHERS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, GOOD FRIDAY, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION

One Minute Reflection – 7 April – ‘ … The Throne of the Cross …’

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One Minute Reflection – 7 April – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St John 18:1-40.19:1-42 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And bearing His own Cross, He went forth to the place which is called Calvary but in Hebrew Golgotha.” – John 19:17

REFLECTION – “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwell in the land of gloom, a Light has shone” (Is 9:1), the Light of Redemption. When they saw that the tyrant, death, was wounded to death, this people came out from darkness to Light; from death they passed to Life.

The wood of the Cross bears Him Who made the universe. Undergoing death for my life, He Who bears the universe is fastened to the tree as one dead. He Who breathes Life into the dead, gives up the spirit on the tree. The Cross brings no shame to Him at all but, like a trophy, confirms His complete victory. Like a just Judge He is seated on the Throne of the Cross. The Crown of Thorns He wears on His brow, confirms His victory – “Take courage, I have conquered the world and the prince of this world, by taking away the sin of this world” (Jn 16:33; 1:29).

That the Cross stands for victory, the stones themselves cry out (cf Lk 19:40), those stones of Calvary where Adam, our forefather, was buried, according to an old tradition held by our fathers. “Adam, where are you?” (Gn 3:9), Christ cries out again from the Cross. “I am seeking for you there and, that I might find you, I stretched out my Hands on the Cross. I turn my outstretched Hands to the Father in thanksgiving for having found you, then I turn them also to you to welcome you. I have not come to judge your sin but to save you out of My Love for humankind (cf Jn 3,17). I have not come to curse you for your disobedience but to bless you, by My obedience. I will shelter you with My Wings, you will find refuge in My shade; My Faithfulness will cover you with the shield of the Cross and you will no more fear the terror of the night (cf Ps 90:1-5) because you will know day without setting (Wsd 7:10). I will seek out your life, concealed in darkness and the shadow of death (Lk 1:79). I will take no rest until, humbled and having descended even to hell to search for you, I have led you back to Heaven.” – St Germanus of Constantinople (c 640-733) Bishop, Father (In Domini corporis supulturam ; PG 98, 251-260).

PRAYER – Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present and to come and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul and of all the Saints, mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of Thy mercy we may be always free from sin and secure from all disturbance. 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.
Faithful Cross! above all other, One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thy peer may be.
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee. (Antiphons).

Posted in CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, HOLY WEEK, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, Quotes on SALVATION, The LAMB of GOD, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR

Quote of the Day –6 April – ‘ … This is Jesus Christ …’

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Quote of the Day –6 April – Maundy Thursday

“Born as a Son,
led forth as a Lamb,
sacrificed as a sheep,
buried as a man,
He rose from the dead as a God,
for He was by nature God and man.

He is all things –
He judges and so, He is Law.
He teaches and so, He is Wisdom.
He saves and so, He is Grace.
He begets and so, He is Father.
He is begotten,and so, He is Son.
He suffers and so, He is Sacrifice.
He is buried and so, He is Man.
He rises again and so, He is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to Whom belongs glory for all ages.”

St Melito of Sardis (Died c 180)
Bishop, Early Church Father

Posted in CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, HOLY WEEK, Quotes on SALVATION, The REDEMPTION

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 6 April – Maundy Thursday, “Father, forgive them”

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 6 April – Maundy Thursday – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“But could God not have provided the world
with a remedy, other than that of His Son’s Death? ”
St Francis de Sales

MAUNDY THURSDAY
“Father, forgive them”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“BUT COULD GOD not have provided the world with a remedy, other than that of His Son’s Death? Certainly, He could have done so and by a thousand other means.
Could He not have pardoned human nature with absolute power and pure mercy, not invoking justice or the intervention of any creature? Doubtless He could and who would have dared to question or criticise Him? No-one, for He is Sovereign Master and can do all He wills.
Besides, if He had wanted some creature to undertake our redemption, would He not have created one of such excellence and dignity that, by its deeds or sufferings, it could have satisfied for all our sins?
Assuredly and He could have redeemed us in a thousand other ways than that of His Son’s death. But He did not will to do so, for what may have been sufficient for our salvation was not sufficient for His love and to show us how much He loved us, this Divine Son died the cruelest and most ignominious of deaths, that of the Cross! …”

“OH, HOW GREAT was the flame of love which burned in the Heart of our gentle Saviour, since at the height of His sufferings, at a time when the vehemence of His torments seemed to take from Him, even the power of praying for Himself, He succeeded, through the strength of His charity in forgetting Himself but not His creatures and with a strong and intelligible Voice uttered these words:
“Father, forgive them.”
With this prayer, He wanted to make us understand the love He bore us, undiminished by any suffering and to teach us how our heart should be toward our neighbour.” – (Sermons of St Francis de Sales for Lent).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, LENT 2023, LENTEN THOUGHTS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, Quotes on SALVATION, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 April – ‘Come, come, let us go up together to the Mount of Olives.’

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One Minute Reflection – 5 April – St Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) Confessor called the “Angel of the Apocalypse” and of “The Last Judgement” and the “Mouthpiece of God.”– “Spy” Wednesday in Holy Week – Isaias 53:1-12, Luke 22:1-71 and 23:1-53 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“But Jesus he delivered up to their will.” – Luke 23:25

REFLECTION – “Come, come, let us go up together to the Mount of Olives. Together let us meet Christ, Who is returning today from Bethany and going of His own accord to that Holy and Blessed Passion, to complete the Mystery of our Salvation. And so He comes, willingly taking the road to Jerusalem, He Who came down from the heights for us, to raise us who lie in the depths, to exaltation with Him, as the revealing Word says: “above all authority and rule and power and above every Name that is named” (Eph 1:21). He comes without display, without boast. For, as the prophet says, “He will not contend or shout out and no-one will hear His Voice” (Is 42:2). He is gentle and lowly and His entrance is humble…

Then, let us run with Him as He presses on, to His Passion. Let us imitate those who have gone out to meet Him, not scattering olive branches or garments or palms in His path but spreading ourselves before Him as best we can, with humility of soul and upright purpose. So may we welcome the Word as He comes (Jn 1:9); so may God, Who cannot be contained within any bounds, be contained within us.

For He is pleased to have shown us this gentleness, He Who is gentle and who “rides upon the setting sun” (Ps 56:12) which refers to our extreme lowliness. He is pleased to come and live with us and to raise us up or bring us back to Himself through the Word which unites to God.” – St Andrew of Crete (660-740) Bishop and Father (Homily for Palm Sunday).

PRAYER – O God, Who graciously enlightened Thy Church by the virtues and preaching of blessed Vincent, Thy Confessor, grant that we, Thy servants, may be taught by his example and delivered from all harm by his intercession. 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, HOLY WEEK, LENT 2023, LENTEN THOUGHTS, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 4 April – Tuesday in Holy Week – “There is no salvation except in this Cross”

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 4 April – Tuesday in Holy Week

“There is no salvation except in this Cross”
St Francis de Sales

TUESDAY IN HOLY WEEK
Obedience
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“MISERABLE PEOPLE, what do you mean by asking our dear Saviour and Master, to descend from this gibbet?
He will certainly not do so, for as St Paul says, He humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a Cross.

He mounted the Cross through obedience and died on it through obedience.

All those who are willing to be saved through the Cross, will find salvation there.
But those who desire to be saved without it, will perish miserably.
There is no salvation, except in this Cross.” – (Sermons of St Francis de Sales for Lent).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on PATIENCE, Quotes on SALVATION, The PASSION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 April – ‘… If we put Him on, if He is the Way of our salvation,  let us walk by the example of Christ …’

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One Minute Reflection – 4 April – “The Month of the Resurrection” – Tuesday in Holy Week – Jeremias 11:18-20, Mark 14:1-72; 15:1-46 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And some began to spit on Him and to cover His face and to buffet Him and to say unto Him – Prophesy and the servants struck Him with the palms of their hands.” – Mark 14:65

REFLECTION – “He received the spittings of insulters, Who with His spittle, had a little before, made eyes for a blind man.
And He, in Whose Name the devil and his angels are scorned, is now scourged by the devil’s servants, Himself suffering scourgings!
He was crowned with thorns, Who crowns Martyrs with eternal flowers.
He was smitten on the Face with palms, Who gives the true palms to those who overcome.
He was despoiled of His earthly garment, Who clothes others in the vesture of immortality.
He was fed with gall, Who gave heavenly food.
He was given to drink of vinegar, Who appointed the cup of salvation.
That guiltless, that just One—nay, He Who is Innocence itself and Justice itself—is counted among transgressors and Truth is oppressed with false witnesses.

He, Who shall judge, is judged and the Word of God is led silently to the slaughter.
And when, at the Cross, of the Lord the stars are confounded, the elements are disturbed, the earth quakes, night shuts out the day, the sun… He speaks not, nor is moved, nor declares His Majesty even in His very Passion itself.
Even to the end, all things are borne perseveringly and constantly, in order that in Christ, a full and perfect patience may be consummated.

And after all these things, He still receives His murderers, if they will be converted and come to Him.
And with a saving patience, He who is benignant to preserve, closes His Church to none.
Those adversaries…, if they repent of their sin, if they acknowledge the crime committed, He receives, not only to the pardon of their sin but to the reward of the Heavenly Kingdom.

What can be said, what more Patient, what more Merciful? Even he is made alive by Christ’s Blood, who has shed Christ’s Blood!
Such and so great is the Patience of Christ and had it not been such and so great, the Church would never have possessed Paul as an Apostle.

But if we also, beloved brethren, are in Christ.
If we put Him on, if He is the Way of our salvation, who follow Christ in the footsteps of salvation, let us walk by the example of Christ, as the Apostle John instructs us, saying, He who says, he abides in Christ, ought himself also, to walk even as He walked.
Peter also, upon whom by the Lord’s condescension the Church was founded, lays it down in his epistle and says:

CHRIST SUFFERED FOR US, leaving you an example, that you should follow His Steps, Who did no sin, neither was deceit found in His Mouth; Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not but gave Himself up to him that judged Him unjustly.” – St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage and Martyr, Father of the Church (On Patience, 7-9).

PRAYER – Almighty and eternal God, grant us so to celebrate the mysteries of our Lord’s Passion, that we may deserve to obtain forgiveness. 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 CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, LENT 2023, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, Quotes on SALVATION, St Francis de Sales, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 29 March – WEDNESDAY IN PASSION WEEK – “He has become all ours, to make us all His.”

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 29 March – Wednesday in Passion Week

“He has become all ours,
to make us all His.”
St Francis de Sales

WEDNESDAY IN PASSION WEEK
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“Since Our Lord has so much loved us, that He has equally redeemed all, bedewed us with His Divine Blood and called us to Himself, without excluding anyone; since He has become all ours, to make us all His, giving us His Death and His Life to deliver us from eternal death and to procure us the joys of eternal life, that we may belong to Him in this mortal life and yet more perfectly, in the next.

What remains, what conclusion have we to draw, unless that living, we should no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus Christ, Who died for us; that is, we should Consecrate to Him, every moment of our life, referring to His glory our works, our thoughts and our affections?” – (Consoling Thoughts of St Francis de Sales).

Posted in CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, LENT 2023, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on TRUTH

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 27 March – MONDAY IN PASSION WEEK – “In love, by love, for love and of love”

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 27 March – Monday of Passion Week

“In love, by love, for love and of love”
St Francis de Sales

MONDAY IN PASSION WEEK
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“THE SWEET JESUS was scourged, crowned, condemned, mocked and rejected as man, devoted, destined and dedicated to carry out and endure, the opprobriums and ignominies due in punishment to all sins and He served as a general sacrifice for sin, being made, as it were, an anathema, separated from and abandoned by His Eternal Father.

The Divine Saviour wished to die in the flames of love because of the Infinite Charity He bore towards us and, by the force and power of love, that is to say, He would die in love, by love, for love and of love.
This is what He Himself says:
“No-one takes away My life but I lay it down of Myself, for I have power to lay it down and to take it up again” .—He was offered, says Isaias because He wished it.” – (Consoling Thoughts of St Francis de Sales).

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, Quotes on SALVATION, The PASSION, The REDEMPTION, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 26 March – … If anyone keep My word, he will never see death. John 8:51

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Quote/s of the Day – 26 March – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Amen, amen, I say to you,
if anyone keep My word,
he will never see death.”

John 8:51

“We must live a dying life
and we must die a living death
in the life of our Lord.”
(The Spirit of St. François de Sales, XV, 6 )

“Unhappy is death,
without the love of Christ;
unhappy is love,
without the Death of Christ!”
(Treatise on the Love of God,
Book 12, Chapter 13)

“We are dying,
little by little;
so, we are to make
our imperfections die
with us, day by day. ”
(Letters to Persons in the World I:5)

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on FAITH, Quotes on SALVATION, The MOST HOLY REDEEMER, Our SAVIOUR, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 26 March – Abraham rejoiced to see My day

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One Minute Reflection – 26 March – Passion Sunday – Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, he saw it and was glad.” – John 8:56

REFLECTION – “Since Abraham was a Prophet he saw the day of the Lord’s coming in the Spirit, as also the designs of His Passion, through which, both he and all those like him, who believed in God, would be saved. And he was seized with great joy. Thus, the Lord was not unknown to Abraham, since he longed to see His day… He longed to see His day, so that he, too, might clasp Christ to himself and having seen Him prophetically in the Spirit, he rejoiced.

That is why Simeon, who was of his descendants, fulfilled the Patriarch’s joy and said: “Now, Master, Thou may let Thy servant go in peace, according to Thy Word, for my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou prepared in sight of all peoples”… And Elizabeth said : “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” Abraham’s rejoicing descended, as it were, on those who were watching and who saw Christ and believed in Him. And this rejoicing returned to Abraham through his children.

So it was altogether fitting that our Lord bore witness to him when He said: “Your father, Abraham rejoiced to see My day,. he saw it and was glad.” Nor was it only with regard to Abraham that He said this but of all those who, from the beginning, had come to know God and prophesied of Christ’s coming. For they had received this revelation from the Son Himself that Son, Who, in these the last days, became visible and palpable and talked with men, so that He might raise up sons from Abraham out of stones and make his posterity to be like the stars of the heaven.” – St Irenaeus (c130-c202) Martyr, Father of the Church, Bishop of Lyons, Theologian (Against the heresies IV, 5-7).

PRAYER – Look graciously upon Thy household, Almighty God, we beseech Thee that by Thy grace, we may be governed in body and by Thy protection, safeguarded in mind. 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 AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on THANKSGIVING

Quote/s of the Day – 25 March – The Annunciation

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Quote/s of the Day – 25 March – The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Isaias 7:10-15, Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“ By a woman,
came the flood of our ills
and by a woman too,
our blessings,
have their spring.”

St Gregory Thaumaturgus (c213-c270)
“the Wonder-Worker,” Bishop, Confessor

Blessed Virgin Mary,
Receive Our Gratitude!
By St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of Grace

Blessed Virgin Mary,
who can worthily repay you
with praise and thanks
for having rescued a fallen world
by your generous consent!
Receive our gratitude
and by your prayers,
obtain the pardon of our sins.
Take our prayers into the Sanctuary of Heaven
and enable them to make our peace with God.
Holy Mary, help the miserable,
strengthen the discouraged,
comfort the sorrowful,
pray for your people,
plead for the clergy,
intercede for all women consecrated to God.
May all who venerate you
feel now your help and protection.
Be ready to help us when we pray
and bring back to us,
the answers to our prayers.
Make it your continual concern
to pray for the people of God,
for you were blessed by God
and were made worthy
to bear the Redeemer of the world,
Who lives and reigns forever.
Amen

“And Mary said,
‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be to me according to your word.’”

Luke 1:38

“The price of our salvation
is offered to you.
We shall be set free at once, if you consent.
In the eternal Word of God, we all came to be
and behold, we die.
In your brief response,
we are to be remade.
in order to be recalled to life.

… Answer quickly, O Virgin.
Reply in haste to the Angel,
or rather, through the Angel to the Lord.
Answer with a word,
receive the Word of God.
Speak your own word,
conceive the Divine Word.
Breathe a passing word,
embrace the Eternal Word!”

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
The Last Father and the Mellifluous Doctor

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on PRAYER, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on the POOR, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN

Quote/s of the Day – 13 March – ‘What great profit you gain …!’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 March – Monday of the Third Week in Lent

“Are we going to neglect our own salvation?
Let us show great compassion
towards the poor
so as to be made worthy of possessing
good things to come for all eternity!”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“What great profit you gain from God
when you are generous!
You give a coin
and receive a Kingdom;
you give bread from wheat
and receive the Bread of Life;
you give a transitory good
and receive an everlasting one.
You will receive it back,
a hundred times more
than you offered.”

“If you want God to hear your prayers,
hear the voice of the poor.
If you wish God to anticipate your wants,
provide for those of the need,
without waiting for them to ask you.
Especially, anticipate the needs
of those, who are ashamed to beg.
To make them ask for alms,
is to make them buy it!”

St Thomas of Villanova (1488-1555)

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, LENT 2023, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, SACRED HEART REFLECTIONS, The PASSION, The WORD

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 11 March – THE LOVING HEART OF GOD

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 11 March – Saturday of the Second Week in Lent – Genesis 27:6-40, Luke 15:11-32 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Lord, before I existed Thou
beheld me and called me by name …”
Jeremias 1:5

“I shall arise and shall go to my Father”
Luke 15:18

THE LOVING HEART OF GOD
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“REMEMBER the Heart of Our Lord saw your heart and loved you surely, from the Tree of the Cross. By this love, He obtained for you all the good things that you will ever have, including your resolutions.
Yes, we can say with Jeremias: “Lord, before I existed Thou
beheld me and called me by name” (cf. 1:5).

This is indeed so – His Divine Goodness has prepared, in His love and mercy, all the means, general and particular, for our salvation and consequently, our resolutions. Yes, without doubt. A woman with child prepares the cradle, the linen and swaddling clothes and even arranges a nurse for the child whom she hopes to bring forth, although it is not yet in the world.
So Our Lord, in His Goodness, is, as it were, pregnant with you,
wishing to bring you forth to salvation and make you His child, prepared upon the Tree of the Cross, everything you would need. He got ready your spiritual cradle, linen and swaddling clothes, your nurse and everything suitable for your happiness.

These are all the means, all the attractions and all the graces by which He guides you and wants to lead you to perfection.
My God, how deeply this truth should be fixed in our memory.
Is it possible that I have been loved and loved so tenderly, by my Saviour?
That He thought of me personally in all these little events by which He has drawn me to Himself?
How much then should we love, cherish and make good use of all this for our benefit!This is extremely kind. this loving Heart of my God thought of me, loved me and obtained for me a thousand means of salvation. This He did as though there was no other soul in the world He could think of!

The sun shines on one part of the earth, shining on it no less than if it shone nowhere else and, as if it shone upon it alone. In the
same way, Our Lord thought of and cared for all His loving children, in such a way, that He thought of each one of us. as though He had not thought of all the rest.
He loved me, says St Paul and gave Himself for me, (Galatians 2:20) as if He said: for myself alone, as though He had done nothing for the others.
Imprint this in your spirit, in order to cherish and nourish, with care, your firm resolution, so precious to the Heart of the Saviour.”– (Introduction to the Devout Life)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MERIT, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The BEATITUDES, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 10 March – Blessed are you … Luke 6:17-23

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One Minute Reflection – 10 March – Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, Armenia (Died 320) – Friday of the Second Week in Lent – Hebrews 11:33-39, Luke 6:17-23 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“And He, lifting up His eyes on His disciples, said:
Blessed are you …” – Luke 6:20

REFLECTION – “Lord Jesus Christ, to teach us the summit of virtue, You ascended the mountain with Your disciples and taught them the Beatitudes and highest virtues, promising them the rewards applicable to each. Grant that my weakness may hear Your Voice, that I may apply myself, through their practice, to acquire the merit of the virtues, so that by Your Mercy, I may receive the promised reward. As I consider the payment, do not let me refuse the effort of the labour. Make my hope of eternal salvation, sweeten the bitterness of the cure, inflaming my soul with the splendour of Your work. Out of the wretched person I am, create one of the blessed; from the blessedness here below, lead me, by Your Grace, to the blessedness of the homeland.

Come, Lord Jesus Christ, in search of Your servant, seeking Your erring and exhausted sheep. Come, Spouse of the Church, in search of Your lost coin. Come, Father of mercies, welcome the prodigal son returning to You. Come, then, Lord, for You are the only One, able to call back the sheep that has strayed, to find the lost drachma, to reconcile the runaway son. Cone, that there may be salvation on earth and joy in Heaven! Turn me towards You and grant that I may carry out a true and perfect repentance, so that I may become an occasion for joy, among the Angels. Sweetest Jesus, I pray You, by the immensity of Your Love for me, a sinner, grant that I may love You alone, above all things, that I may be consoled by none but You, my sweetest God!” – Ludolph of Saxony (c1300-1378) Monk, Theologian, Writer, Dominican then a Carthusian (Prayers to Jesus Christ).

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who know how courageously Thy holy Martyrs have confessed the faith, may experience their goodness as they intercede for us with 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).