Category: QUOTES on SIN

Posted in CHRIST the KING, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on INDIFFERENCE, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, St JOHN HENRY Cardinal NEWMAN!, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY CROSS, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION

Sunday Reflection – 24 November – ‘He is in the hands of sinners once more’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 24 November – The Solemnity of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year C

He is in the hands of sinners once more

St John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

He took bread and blessed and made it His Body.   He took wine and gave thanks and made it His Blood and He gave His priests the power to do what He had done. Henceforth, He is in the hands of sinners once more.   Frail, ignorant, sinful man, by the sacerdotal power given to him, compels the presence of the Highest;  he lays Him up in a small Tabernacle;  he dispenses Him to a sinful people.   Those who are only just now, cleansed from mortal sin, open their lips for Him;  those who are soon to return to mortal sin, receive Him into their breasts;  those who are polluted with vanity and selfishness and ambition and pride, presume to make Him their Guest;  the frivolous, the tepid, the worldly-minded, fear not to welcome Him.
Alas!  Alas!  even those who wish to be more in earnest, entertain Him with cold and wandering thoughts and quench that Love which would inflame them with It’s own fire, did they but open to It!   Such are the best of us and then for the worst?   What shall we of sacrilege?   of His reception to hearts polluted with mortal, unforsaken sin? of those further nameless profanations, which from time to time occur, when unbelief dares to present itself at the holy Altar and blasphemously gains possession of Him? ….he is in the hands of sinners once more st john henry newman sun ref christ the king.jpg
I place myself in the presence of Him, in whose Incarnate Presence I am, before I place myself there!
I adore Thee, O my Saviour, present here as God and man, in soul and body, in true flesh and blood.
I acknowledge and confess, that I kneel before that Sacred Humanity, which was conceived in Mary’s womb and lay in Mary’s bosom;  which grew up to man’s estate and by the Sea of Galilee, called the Twelve, wrought miracles and spoke words of wisdom and peace;  which in due season hung on the Cross, lay in the tomb, rose from the dead and now reigns in heaven.
I praise and bless and give myself wholly to Him, who is the true Bread of my soul and my everlasting joy.   Amen.i place myself in the presence of him - st john henry newman 24 nov 2019.jpg

Posted in ARMOUR of CHRIST, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, MARTYRS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, SAINT of the DAY

Quote of the Day – 22 November – St Cecilia “Arise, soldiers of Christ”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 22 November – The Memorial of St Cecilia (died 3rd Century) Virgin Martyr – Patron of Musicians

“Arise, soldiers of Christ,
throw away the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light.”

St Ceciliaarise soldiers of christ throw away the works of darkness - st cecilia - 22 nov 2019 no 2

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, IGNATIAN/JESUIT SJ- Reflections, Jesuit Saints and more, Papa FRANCIS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for SEASONS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PURGATORY, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY SOULS

Thought for the Day – 13 November – Reaching our own country …

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 13 November – St Stanislaus Kostka SJ (1550-1568) Jesuit Novice and the Month of the Holy Souls

Stanislaus kept a journal during his novitiate.   His notes, for one so young, reflect a great understanding of the need to constantly prepare for death. Here are a few excerpts:

“Consider how hard it is for a person to be separated from any place he has loved deeply.   How much harder the soul will find it when the time comes to leave the mortal body, its companion so dear.   And the great fear it will experience in that moment, because its salvation is at stake and it must stand in the presence of the one it has so offended.   If the just man will scarcely be saved, what about me a sinner?

But think of the great joy the good will feel, at the thought of the service they’ve paid to God.   They will be glad, because they’ve suffered something for love of Him back there and didn’t fix their hope and attention on the things of this world, that we leave so soon.   Think of the joy that the soul will feel, in its escape from the prison of this body. So long has it lived in perpetual exile, expelled from its own heavenly home.   How much greater it’s uncontainable joy and complete satisfaction when it arrives in its own country, to enjoy the vision of God, with the angels and the blessed.

I am so ashamed and confused, because I see how many have been lost, on account of a single mortal sin and how many times, I have deserved eternal damnation.

I shall reflect on myself and ask:   “What have I done for Christ?   What am I doing for Christ?   What ought I do for Christ?”

Nine months into his novitiate he became very sick.   Saint Stanislaus had drawn as his monthly patron for August the glorious martyr Saint Lawrence and in his honour he performed daily some penance or devotion.   On the eve of his feast, he obtained leave to take the discipline, in the morning he went to Communion and then laid before the image of the saint a letter addressed to Our Lady, in which he begged that he might die on her Feast of the Assumption and he prayed Saint Lawrence to present to her his petition.
That night he was seized with a slight fever, which, however, rapidly increased and on Assumption Eve, he received the last sacraments.   Then, as he lay dying, he had brought to him a little book containing a litany in his own writing of his monthly patron saints, whom he constantly invoked.   At 3 a.m. on the Feast of the Assumption, he face suddenly lit up with joy and he breathed forth his soul to the Mother of God, who had come to conduct him to heaven.   His confidence in the Blessed Virgin, which had already brought him many signal favours, was this time again rewarded.   And shortly afterward he died.   Stanislaus was only seventeen years old when he “arrived in his own country to enjoy the vision of God.”

The entire city proclaimed him a saint and people hastened from all parts to venerate his remains and to obtain, if possible, some relics.

Let us raise this prayer to God

God of infinite mercy,
we entrust to Your immense goodness all those
who have left this world for eternity,
where You wait for all humanity,
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ Your Son,
who died as a ransom for our sins.
Look not, O Lord, on our poverty, our suffering,
our human weakness, when we appear before You,
to be judged for joy or for condemnation.
Look upon us with mercy,
born of the tenderness of Your heart
and help us to walk in the ways
of complete purification.

Pope Francis – Angelus, 2 November 2014god-of-infinite-mercy-prayer-for-the-holy-souls-pope-francis-2-nov-2018 and 13 nov 2019.jpg

St Stanislaus Kostka, Pray for Us, still in exile and for all the souls in Purgatory, who long to arrive too, in their own country!st-stanislaus-pray-for-us-13-nov-2017-no-3.jpg

Posted in Blessed Pope PAUL VI, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CHURCH

Thought for the Day – 9 November – We have All been made Temples of God through Baptism

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 9 November – Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

We have All been made Temples of God through Baptism

Saint Caesarius of Arles (470-543)

An excerpt from Sermon 229feast-of-the-dedication-of-st-john-lateran-9-nov-2017 AND 2019.jpg

My fellow Christians, today is the birthday of this church, an occasion for celebration and rejoicing.   We, however, ought to be the true and living temple of God.  Nevertheless, Christians rightly commemorate this Feast of the Church, their mother, for they know that through her, they were reborn in the spirit.   At our first birth, we were vessels of God’s wrath, reborn, we became vessels of His mercy.   Our first birth brought death to us but our second restored us to life.

Indeed, before our Baptism we were sanctuaries of the devil but after our Baptism we merited the privilege of being temples of Christ.   And if we think more carefully about the meaning of our salvation, we shall realise that we are, indeed, living and true temples of God. God does not dwell only in structures fashioned by human hands, in homes of wood and stone but rather He dwells principally, in the soul made according to His own image and fashioned by His own hand.   Therefore, the apostle Paul says: The temple of God is holy and you are that temple.

When Christ came, He banished the devil from our hearts, in order to build in them a temple for Himself.   Let us, therefore, do what we can with His help, so that our evil deeds will not deface that temple.   For whoever does evil, does injury to Christ.   As I said earlier, before Christ redeemed us, we were the house of the devil but afterward, we merited the privilege of being the house of God.   God Himself in His loving mercy, saw fit, to make of us, His own home.

My fellow Christians, do we wish to celebrate joyfully the birth of this temple?   Then let us not destroy the living temples of God in ourselves by works of evil  . I shall speak clearly, so that all can understand.   Whenever we come to Church, we must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we expect this Church to be.   Do you wish to find this Basilica immaculately clean?   Then do not soil your soul with the filth of sins.   Do you wish this Basilica to be full of light? God too, wishes that your soul be not in darkness but that the light of good works shine in us, so that He, who dwells in the heavens, will be glorified. Just as you enter this Church building, so God wishes to enter into your soul, for He promised – I shall live in them and I shall walk the corridors of their hearts.just as you enter into this church - st caesarius of arles - 9 nov 2019 feast of the lateran.jpg

Posted in CATECHESIS, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, PAPAL HOMILIES, Pope BENEDICT XVI, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE MYSTICAL BODY, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 28 October – Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 28 October – Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles and Martyrs, Gospel: Luke 6:12-19

“Simon was worlds apart from Matthew, who, on the contrary, had an activity behind him as a tax collector that was frowned upon as entirely impure.   This shows that Jesus called His disciples and collaborators, without exception, from the most varied social and religious backgrounds.

It was people who interested Him, not social classes or labels!   And the best thing is that in the group of His followers, despite their differences, they all lived side by side, overcoming imaginable difficulties, indeed, what bound them together, was Jesus Himself, in whom they all found themselves united with one another.

This is clearly a lesson for us who are often inclined to accentuate differences and even contrasts, forgetting, that in Jesus Christ, we are given the strength to get the better of our continual conflicts.

Let us also bear in mind, that the group of the Twelve, is the prefiguration of the Church, where there must be room for all charisms, peoples and races, all human qualities that find their composition and unity in communion with Jesus.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Catechesis on Saints Simon and Jude
General Audience
Saint Peter’s Square
Wednesday, 11 October 2006let us bear in the mind that the group of the twelve - sts simon and jude - pope benedict 28 oct 2019.jpg

“Woe to them!
They followed the way of Cain …
These are blemishes …
as they carouse fearlessly
and look after themselves.
They are waterless clouds
blown about by winds,
fruitless trees in late autumn,
twice dead and uprooted.
They are like wild waves of the sea,
foaming up their shameless deeds,
wandering stars,
for whom the gloom of darkness
has been reserved forever.”

Jude 1:11a,12 & 13jude 1 11,12,13 woem to them they followed the way of cain 28 oct 2019.jpg

Posted in DIVINE MERCY, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 October – ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 27 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 18:9–14

‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ … Luke 18:13

REFLECTION – “The Gospel of the two men praying in the temple, the Pharisee and the tax collector, reveals to what kind of prayer penetrates to God.
We notice a difference even in their respective postures.   The one stands “with unbowed head” as if the temple belongs to him, while the other “keeps his distance,” as if he has crossed the threshold of a house in which he really does not belong.
The first one prays “to himself,” really, not even praying to God but reviewing for himself the list of his virtues assuming that, when God Himself notices them, He will respect them and marvel at them.   Moreover, this man catalogues his virtues as a means of setting himself off from “other men,” none of whom have attained his level of perfection. He is travelling the road of “self-discovery,” which is precisely the path of “loss of God.” The other man can only discover sin in himself, can only find himself devoid of God, which, as he pleads, “be merciful to me,” turns into an empty place for God to occupy.  No-one, whose ultimate goal is his own perfection, will ever find God.
Anyone who has the humility to permit God’s perfection to take effect in his emptiness – not by being passive but by working with the talent He gives him – will be considered a “justified” person in the sight of God.” … Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988)luke 18 13 be merciful to me a sinner pharisee and tax collector - the first one prays to himself hans urs von blathasar 27 oct 2019 

PRAYER – Lord God, deepen our faith, strengthen our hope, enkindle our love and so that we may obtain what You promise, make us love what You command.   Mary, holy Mother, teach us complete humility and trust, help us to be a total fiat as you are.   We make our prayer, through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen.blessed virgin mother mary pray for us - 27 oct 2019.jpg

Posted in ARMOUR of CHRIST, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 October – ‘let us seize upon the grace that is by Christ’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 25 October – Friday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 12:54-59 and the Memorial of Bl Thaddeus McCarthy (c 1455–1492)

“As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge and the judge hand you over to the officer and the officer put you in prison.” … Luke 12:58

REFLECTION – “Now all of us, without exception, upon earth are guilty of offences, he who has a suit against us and accuses us, is the wicked Satan – for he is “the enemy and the exactor.”   While, therefore, we are in the way, that is, ere yet we have arrived at the termination of our life here, let us deliver ourselves from him, let us do away with the offences of which we have been guilty, let us close his mouth, let us seize upon the grace that is by Christ, which frees us from all debt and penalty and delivers us from fear and torment, lest, if our impurity be not cleansed away, we be carried before the judge and given over to the exactors, that is, the tormentors, from whose cruelty no man can escape, yea, rather, who will exact vengeance for every fault, whether it be great or small.

Far removed from this danger are those who search for the time of Christ’s corning and are not ignorant of His mystery but well know that the Word, though He be God, has shone forth upon the inhabitants of earth in likeness as one of us, that freeing them from all blame, He may bless with exceeding happiness those who believe in Him and acknowledge Him as God and the Son of God, by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever, Amen” … St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444), Father & Doctor of the Church – Commentary on Luke (1859) Sermons 89-98.luke 12 58 now as you go with your accuser - now all of us are guilty - st cyril of alex 25 ocvt 2919

PRAYER – Lord God, You fill us with Your grace and teach us true faith. Strengthen in our hearts that faith that no trials may quench the fire, that we may seek Your face in every moment and accept AND LIVE all of Your will. Send us Your Spirit to keep the fire blazing. May the humble love and intercession of Mary Mother of our faith, be our succour and may Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy intercede for us on our pilgrim way. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.bl thaddeus mccarthy pray for us 25 oct 2919