Category: QUOTES on SIN

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

One Minute Reflection – 3 April – ‘ … Symbols of three kinds of sinner … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 3 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” –Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent – Ferial Day – 4 Kings 4:25-38 – 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 … 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, Almighty God, that we who are chastising the flesh by fasting, may rejoice in this holy practice and thus, with earthly passions subdued, we may the more readily direct our thoughts to Heavenly things. 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, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 29 March – From NOW on …

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Quote/s of the Day – 29 March – Saturday of the 3rd Week in Lent – Ferial Day – Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 – John 8:1-11

“Go and from now on,
sin no more”

John 8:11

“The Lord did condemn, therefore
but He condemned the sin, not the sinner…
Let them be careful, then, those who love
the goodness in the Lord
but who fear His truthfulness …
The Lord is gracious, t
he Lord is slow to anger,
the Lord is merciful BUT the Lord is also JUST
and the Lord is abounding in TRUTH (Ps 85:15).
… This, then, is the meaning of the words
He addresses to this woman,
“Neither do I condemn you but, having been
made secure concerning the past,
be on your guard in the future.
I, for My part, will not condemn you,
I have blotted out what you have done;
keep what I have commanded
that you may gain what I have promised!”

“You do not know
when your last day may come.
You are an ingrate!
Why not use the day, today,
that God has given you
to repent?”

“The sky and the earth and the waters
and the things which are in them, the fishes
and the birds and the trees are not evil.
All these are good;
it is evil men who make this evil world.”

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

“Our God, … being good and merciful,
wants us to confess [our sins] in this world,
so that we may not be ashamed
because of them in the next.
So if we confess them then,
He, on His part,
shows Himself to be merciful;
if we acknowledge them,
then He forgives … ”

St Caesarius of Arles (470-543)
Bishop and Monk

“Oh, what peril attaches to sin, wilfully committed!
For it is so difficult for man to bring himself to penance
and without penitence,
guilt remains and will ever remain,
so long as man retains unchanged,
the will to sin,
or is intent upon committing it.”

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

Posted in LENT- 2025, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 29 March – Judas’ Repentance

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Lenten Meditations – 29 March – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Saturday after the Third Sunday in Lent
Judas’ Repentance

Read St Matthew xxvii:3-16
(See below)

+1. When Judas heard the unanimous voice of the chief priests and ancients, declaring Jesus’ death sentence, his soul was filled with a black remorse which made his life intolerable. How he hated the miserable pieces of silver for which he had sold his Master! How he hated the chief priests who had bribed him! How he hated himself! The sweetness and gentleness of Christ came vividly before him and only added to his misery, as it will add to the misery of the lost at the day of judgrment. How bitterly he repented his folly! At least he would rid himself of the accursed money and declare his guilt. But he had gone too far. He had refused, so often, to listen to the Voice of
Jesus that now, his hardened heart refused to melt. What a warning to all who turn a deaf ear to the voice of conscience!

+2. Yet he might have been forgiven even now if he had thrown himself at Jesus’ Feet’ and begged for pardon. But this he would not do. His repentance was a hopeless, black remorse — no element of hope or love or humble sorrow. It was the repentance of the lost in hell, who cry, “Fools that we were!” but yet, will not, cannot, humble themselves to cry for mercy.

+3. How miserable Judas had been from the first! Had those pilfered gains in early days brought him solid satisfaction? Had he been happy when he sacrificed his Master’s interests to his own?
Are we happy when we knowingly prefer our own selfish interests to those of Christ? Sin and misery are twin sisters. My God, may I never wilfully betray Thy interests to my own pleasure or gain!

Matthew 27:3-16:
[3] Then Judas, who betrayed Him, seeing that He was condemned, repenting himself, brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and ancients, [4] Saying: I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. But they said: What is that to us? look thou to it. [5] And casting down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed and went and hanged himself with an halter.
[6] But the chief priests, having taken the pieces of silver, said: It is not lawful to put them into the corbona (“sacrifice, gift”), because it is the price of blood. [7] And after they had consulted together, they bought with them the potter’s field, to be a burying place for strangers. [8] For this cause the field was called Haceldama, that is, The field of blood, even to this day. [9] Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying: And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him Who was prized, whom they prized of the children of Israel. [10] And they gave them unto the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed to me.
[11] And Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him, saying: Art Thou the king of the Jews? Jesus saith to him: Thou sayest it. [12] And when He was accused by the chief priests and ancients, He answered nothing. [13] Then Pilate saith to Him: Dost Thou not hear how great testimonies they allege against Thee? [14] And He answered him never a word; so that the governor wondered exceedingly. [15] Now upon the solemn day the governor was accustomed to release, one prisoner to the people, whom they would select.
[16] And he had then a notorious prisoner, who was called Barabbas. [Matthew 27:3-16]

Posted in ACT of CONTRITION, AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRIST the SUN of JUSTICE, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on TRUTH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 29 March – “Go and from now on, sin no more” – John 8:11

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One Minute Reflection – 29 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” –Saturday of the 3rd Week in Lent – Ferial Day – Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 – John 8:1-11 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Go and from now on, sin no more” – John 8:11

REFLECTION – “One after another all withdrew.”
The two were left alone, the woman in need of mercy and Mercy.
But the Lord, having struck them through with that dart of justice, deigned not to heed their fall but, turning His eyes away from them, “again He wrote with His Finger on the ground.”

But when that woman remained alone and all had gone, He raised His eyes to her. We have heard the Voice of Justice; let us listen too to the voice of clemency…
This woman expected to be punished by Him, in Whom sin could not be found.
But He, Who had driven back her adversaries, with the Voice of Justice, lifting the eyes of mercy to her, asked her: “Has no-one condemned you?” She answered, “No-one, Lord.”
And He said: “Neither do I condemn thee. I, by Whom, perhaps, thou wast afraid of being condemned because thou hast found no sin in Me; neither do I condemn thee.”

What is this, O Lord?
Do you favour sins, then?
Certainly not!
But take note of what follows: “Go, henceforth, sin no more.”
The Lord did condemn, therefore but He condemned the sin, not the sinner … Let them be careful, then, those who love the goodness in the Lord but who fear His truthfulness…
The Lord is gracious, the Lord is slow to anger, the Lord is merciful BUT the Lord is also just and the Lord is abounding in truth (Ps 85:15).
He gives you time for amendment but you prefer to take advantage of the delay, rather than to reform your ways.
Did you act wickedly yesterday? Be good today. Have you spent today in evil? At any rate change your behaviour tomorrow!

This, then, is the meaning of the words He addresses to this woman,  “Neither do I condemn you but, having been made secure concerning the past, be on your guard in the future. I, for My part, will not condemn you, I have blotted out what you have done; keep what I have commanded, that you may gain what I have promised.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Father, Doctor of Grace –Tractate 33 on the Gospel of John, 5-8

PRAYER – 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 ArchAngels and Angels, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SIN, The ANNUNCIATION, The INCARNATION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 March –  ‘… By the word of an Angel …’

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One Minute Reflection – 24 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” –Feast of St Gabriel the Archangel – Daniel 9:21-26 – Luke 1:26-38 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“Hail, full of grace!” – Luke 1:28

REFLECTION – “So the Lord now manifestly came to His own. Born by His own created order which He Himself bears, He, by His obedience on the tree, renewed and reversed that which was done by disobedience, in connection with a tree.

The power of that seduction, by which the virgin Eve, already betrothed to a man, had been wickedly seduced, was broken, when the Angel in truth, brought good tidings to the Virgin Mary, who already, by her betrothal, belonged to a man.  For as Eve was seduced by the word of an Angel to flee from God, having rebelled against His Word, so Mary by the word of an Angel, received the glad tidings that she would bear God, by obeying His Word.

The former was seduced to disobey God and so fell but, the latter, was persuaded to obey God, so that the Virgin Mary might become the advocate of Eve.

As the human race was subjected to death through the act of a Virgin, so was it saved by a Virgin, was precisely balanced by the obedience of Another. Then indeed, the sin of the first formed man was amended by the chastisement of the First Begotten, the wisdom of the serpent was conquered by the simplicity of the Dove and the chains were broken, by which we were in bondage to death.” – St Irenaeus (130-202) Bishop of Lyons, Martyr, Father of the Church (Against Heresies, 5)

PRAYER – O God, Who, out of all the Angels, chose the Archangel Gabriel to announce the Mystery of Thy Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who keep his feast on earth, may have him as our patron 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 AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CARMELITES, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, LENT, LENT- 2025, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LUST, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, SELF-DISTRUST, The HEART

Quote/s of the Day – 22 March – Make two wings

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Quote/s of the Day – 22 March – Saturday of the Second Week in Lent, A Day of Fasting

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

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

“Do you wish your prayer
to fly toward God?
Make for it two wings –
fasting and almsgiving!”

“Fasting cleanses the soul,
raises the mind,
subjects one’s flesh to the spirit,
renders the heart contrite and humble,
scatters the clouds of concupiscence,
quenches the fire of lust
and kindles the true light of chastity.
Enter again into yourself!”

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

“Be generous to the poor orphans
and those in need.
The man to whom our Lord
has been liberal
ought not to be stingy.
We shall one day find in Heaven,
as much rest and joy
as we ourselves have dispensed in this life.”

St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)

“It is a matter of real sorrow
when God has given us strength
to break stronger fetters,
those of vanity and sin
that we neglect our own progress
and the attainment of such great blessings
because we will not detach ourselves from trifles.
Not only do we not advance, we fall back.
For it is well known, that on the spiritual road,
not to go on overcoming self, is to go backwards
and not to increase our gain, is to lose!”

St John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Doctor of the Church

Posted in CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on GREED, WEALTH, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on WEALTH/RICHES, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN

Quote/s of the Day – 18 March – St Cyril of Jerusalem

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 March – St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Bishop of Jerusalem, Confessor Father & Doctor of the Church

“Your accumulated offences
do not surpass the multitude of God’s mercies!
Your wounds do not surpass
the great Physician’s skill!”

“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!”

“I Am the Bread of Life”
John 6:35

“For His Body, has been given to you
under the appearance of bread
and His Blood, under the appearance of wine,
so that, when you have partaken
of the Body and Blood of Christ,
you might be One Body and One Blood with Him.
So shall we become Christ-bearers [“Christophers”].
His Body and Blood are diffused through all our members – see, then,
how we become participants
in the Divine Nature!”

“A man may even be justified by money.
“I was hungry and you gave Me to eat”
that certainly was from money.
“I was naked and you clothed Me”
that too was certainly from money.
Do you want to learn how money
can become a door to the Kingdom of Heaven?
“Go,” Jesus says, “sell what you possess
and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven.”

“Now, I have made these remarks
because of those heretics who say
that our possessions and our money
and our bodies, are cursed.
I do not want you to be a slave to money
but neither do I want you to treat,
s your enemies do,
the good things, to be used for good
which God has given you!”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/03/18/quote-s-of-the-day-18-march-st-cyril-of-jerusalem-3/

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

Posted in LENT- 2025, QUOTES on SIN, The PASSION, The SACRED PASSION - Meditations for LENT

Lenten Meditations – 15 March – The Aggravations of the Sacred Agony

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Lenten Meditations – 15 March – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Saturday of the First Week in Lent
The Aggravations of the Sacred Agony

Read St Mark xiv:32-42
(Posted at the end)

+1. If it is difficult to suffer, it is far more difficult to suffer willingly for those who show no gratitude in return for what we endure for them!.
But most difficult, nay, impossible, save to One Who is Himself Divine, or else shares the Divine Charity of the Son of God, to suffer for those who requite our love, with hatred, our sufferings with bitter mockery the favours we win for them by outrages and insults! It was this which crushed to the earth, the Son of God.
Alas! how ungrateful I am to Him!

+2. During His Sacred Agony, He took upon Himself, the sins of the whole world. Not in a general way but individually, so that each and every sin, from the first sin of Adam to the last that shall be committed on the eve of the Judgement, was present before Him and, not only present but each added its own pain. The great black cloud which passed before His soul contained each sin of each individual man, woman and child and Christ suffered for each!
What a frightful thing it must be to deliberately commit even the least sin, if thereby, we add fresh pain to the agony of Jesus!

+3. It was in this way that “He was made sin for us,” i.e. He identified Himself with sin as far as it was possible for the Immaculate Lamb of God. He took upon Himself, all the effects of sin except those which necessarily belong to him who is guilty of the act of sin. All the darkness, all the gloom , the despondency, the loss of God, the feeling of hopelessness, the terrors which arise from sin, inundated His Sacred Soul.

32] And they came to a farm called Gethsemani. And He saith to His disciples: Sit you here, while I pray. [33] And He taketh Peter and James and John with Him and He began to fear and to be heavy. [34] And He saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death; stay you here and watch. [35] And when He was gone forward a little, He fell flat on the ground and He prayed, that if it might be, the hour might pass from Him.

[36] And He saith: Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee, remove this chalice from Me but not what I will but what Thou wilt. [37] And He cometh and findeth them sleeping. And He saith to Peter: Simon, sleepest thou? couldst thou not watch one hour? [38] Watch ye and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. [39] And going away again, He prayed, saying the same words. [40] And when He returned, He found them again asleep, (for their eyes were heavy) and they knew not what to answer Him.

[41] And He cometh the third time and saith to them: Sleep ye now and take your rest. It is enough, the hour is come – behold the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. [42] Rise up, let us go. Behold, he that will betray Me is at hand. [Mark 14:32-42]

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD ALONE!, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on Love of Self, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the POOR, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 8 March – St John of God

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Quote/s of the Day – 8 March – St John of God OH (1495-1550) Confessor, Founder of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God

“If we kept before ourselves,
the Mercy of God,
we would never be deficient in doing good,
while strength was in us.
For, when we give to the poor,
out of the love of God,
that which what He Himself has given us,
His Promise is that, we shall receive
a hundredfold in eternal happiness.
That indeed, is a fortunate
and happy way of gaining a profit!
Who will not give, whatever he has,
to this best of Merchants!
He administers our business Himself
and begs us, with outstretched arms,
to turn to Him and weep for our sins
and become servants in love,
first for ourselves and then for our neighbour.”

“For, just as water extinguishes a fire,
just so, does charity blot out our sins.”

“… When I see so many of my brethren in poverty
and my neighbours suffering,beyond their strength
and oppressed in mind or body, by so many cares
and I am unable to help them,
it causes me exceeding sorrow.
But I trust in Christ Who knows my heart.”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/03/08/quote-s-of-the-day-8-march-st-john-of-god-oh-1495-1550/

St John of God (1495-1550)

Posted in CARMELITES, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of PETITION, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on SIN, The WILL of GOD

Our Morning Offering – 3 March – Lord God, Lift Me Up!

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Our Morning Offering – 3 March – Quinquagesima Week

Lord God, Lift Me Up!
By St John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Doctor of the Church

Lord God, my Beloved,
if Thou art still mindful of my sins
and wilt not grant my petitions,
let Thy Will be done,
for this is my main desire.
Show Thy goodness and mercy
and Thou shalt be known for them.
If Thou art waiting for me
to do good works
and upon their performance,
Thou wilt grant my petitions,
cause them to be accomplished in me, O Lord!
Send also, the punishment for my sins,
which is acceptable to Thee.
For how will I raise myself up to Thee,
born and bred as I am, in misery,
unless Thou, O Lord,
wilt lift me up
with the Hand which made me?!
Amen

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on POVERTY, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on PURITY of INTENTION, QUOTES on SIMPLICITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the POOR, QUOTES on VIRTUE, QUOTES on WEALTH/RICHES, The BEATITUDES, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 February – ‘One thing is lacking to thee … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 27 February – “The Month of the Blessed Trinity” – St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin/Gabriel Possenti CP (1838-1862) Confessor – 1 John 2:14-17. – Mark 10:13-21 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“One thing is lacking to thee; go, sell whatever thou has and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven and come, follow Me.” – Mark 10:21

REFLECTION – “Blessed is the poor man who cried and whom the Lord heard. Blessed is the man poor in offence. Blessed is the man poor in vices. Blessed is the poor man, in whom the prince of this world finds nothing. Blessed is the poor man who, is like that Poor Man Who, although He was rich, became poor for our sake. Matthew fully revealed this when he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” One poor in spirit is not puffed up, is not exalted in the mind of his own flesh. This Beatitude is first, when I have laid aside every sin and I have taken off all malice and I am content with simplicity, destitute of evils. All that remains is that I regulate my conduct. For what good does it do me to lack worldly goods, unless I am meek and gentle?

Although there are many charms of delights in riches, yet there are more incentives to practice virtues. Although virtue does not require assistance and the contribution of the poor person, is more commended, than the generosity of the rich, yet with the authority of the heavenly saying, He condemns, not those who have riches but those who do not know how to use them. The pauper is more praiseworthy who gives with eager compassion and is not restrained, by the bolts of looming scarcity. He thinks that he who has enough for nature, does not lack. So the rich person is the more guilty, who does not give thanks to God, for what he has received but vainly hides wealth given for the common use and conceals it, in buried treasures. Then the offence consists, not in the wealth but in the attitude.

Purify yourself with your tears. Wash yourselves with mourning. If you weep for yourself, another will not weep for you . One who is a sinner weeps for himself and rebukes himself, that he may become righteous, for just people accuse themselves of sin. Let us pursue order because, it is written, “Set in order love in me.” I have laid down sin. I have tempered my conduct. I have wept for my transgressions. I begin to hunger. I hunger for righteousness. The sick, when he is seriously ill, does not hunger because, the pain of the illness excludes hunger. What is the hunger for righteousness? What is the bread of which it is said, “I have been young and am old and I have not seen the righteous man forsaken, nor his seed begging bread?” Surely, one who is hungry, seeks increase of strength. What greater increase of virtue is there, than the rule of righteousness?” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church( Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 5).

PRAYER – O God, Who taught blessed Gabriel to meditate continually on the sorrows of Thy most sweet Mother and Who, through her, exalted him by the glory of a holy life and miracles; grant us, we beseech Thee, through his intercession and example so to share in the sorrows of Thy Mother that her motherly protection may save us. 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 CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on KINDNESS, QUOTES on SIN

Our Morning Offering – 26 February – Lord, for Tomorrow and its Needs

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Our Morning Offering – 26 February – Sexagesima Week

Lord, for Tomorrow and its Needs
By Sister Mary Xavier (1877)

Lord, for tomorrow and its needs
I do not pray;
keep me, my God, from stain of sin,
just for today.

Let me both diligently work
and duly pray;
let me be kind in word and deed,
just for today.

Let me no wrong or idle word
unthinking say;
set Thou a seal upon my lips,
just for today.

And if today my tide of life
should ebb away,
give me Thy Sacraments Divine,
sweet Lord, today.

So, for tomorrow and its needs
I do not pray
but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord,
just for today.
Amen

Posted in Of the Holy Souls in PURGATORY, PURGATORY, QUOTES on PATIENCE, The GREAT TRUTHS, VENIAL SIN

Thought for the Day – 19 February – The Punishment of Venial Sin

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Thought for the Day – 19 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

19th Day – The Punishment of Venial Sin

Thou shalt not go out from thence
until thou repay the last farthing.
(St Matthew v:26)

Venial Sin is the great evil in the world next to mortal sin and, therefore, it deserves a punishment greater than all the miseries of earth.
God has taught us what sort of an evil it is, by one or two instances of the way in which He visits it in this life.

+1. Moses, the friend of God, the Chosen Ruler of His People, the meekest of men, to whom God conversed as friend with friend, once committed a Venial Sin. He gave way to momentary impatience and lost his temper under provocation. For this, God denied him admission into the Promised Land! After his long and faithful service, God sent him to die on Mount Nebo before the Jordan was crossed. All the forty years of weary travel did not avail him; the Venial Sin cut him off before the goal was reached!

+2. David , the man after God’s Own Heart, in a moment of vanity, determined to number the people, boastfully priding himself on the strength of his fighting men.
In punishment of this, God sent a pestilence which, in less than three days, destroyed seventy thousand Israelites.
Jerusalem itself, would have been decimated, had not David entreated God to avert His destroying Hand.
How God must hate Venial Sin!

+3. After death, there will remain for most, a debt still to be paid for Venial Sin.
It is in Purgatory where we shall see its true character.
No earthly agony even approaches the agony of the Purgatorial Fire. The souls God loves, must be tormented there until they have paid the last farthing.
Alas! what do I still owe?
Am I doing my best to pay the debt and avoid adding to it?
Beg for an intense dread of Venial Sin .

Posted in QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN, VENIAL SIN

Thought for the Day – 18 February – Venial Sin

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Thought for the Day – 18 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

18th Day – Venial Sin

With these [ wounds ] I was wounded
in the house of them who loved me
(Zach xiii:6)

+1. Venial sin does not, like mortal sin, kill the soul and make us the enemies of God but, it is a disease which disfigures the soul and renders it unfit for union with Him, until it has been purged away.
It is the path which leads to hell by paving the way, little-by-little, for the entrance of mortal sin. It is an unkindness which destroys the warmth of our love and creates a coldness towards God.

+2. Venial sin is small as compared with mortal sin but, it is small only, as ten thousand years are small, compared with eternity.
It is the greatest evil in the whole world, with the exception of mortal sin. It is committed against an Infinite God. It can only be expiated by the Infinite Merits of Jesus Christ; it will add to the sufferings of the lost, for all eternity!

+3. Venial sin is of two kinds –
(1) Deliberate, when knowing that which I am about to do, will give pain to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I nevertheless, do it to gratify myself
This is the worst kind and the guilt of it is sometimes very great.
(2) Indeliberate, or semi-deliberate – when on impulse or without thinking, I do that which is faulty. Yet, I might have foreseen the danger and been more vigilant!
Ask God to help you to appreciate, the grave evil of one
venial sin.

Posted in QUOTES on DESPAIR, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 16 February – The Aggravations of Hell

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Thought for the Day – 16 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

16th Day – The Aggravations of Hell

Here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.
(Ps cxxxi:14)

Every thought of the lost will aggravate, not alleviate, their sufferings. Let us review one or two of the thoughts which will be ever present to their minds.

+1. They might so easily have been saved!
One act of contrition at the last, one grace accepted out of the countless graces which were deliberately set at naught and they might have been with the Angels in Heaven, instead of with the devils in hell. To know that we have just missed some advantage which we might, with a little trouble, have secured for ourselves, is always a tormenting thought. How much more when it is Heaven which is lost!

+2. If the advantage is lost, purely through our own fault, this greatly increases our misery. We fools! We had so many chances, we knew so well we were forfeiting our eternal inheritance! It is this which changes sorrow into remorse and adds to suffering, the horror and blackness of despair!
All through our own fault! What a thought to dwell with me through all eternity!

+3. What is it that we have lost?
This will be the bitterest thought of all.
We have lost the sweet music of Heaven, we have lost the company of the Saints and Angels, we have lost the enchanting happiness of gazing on the Sacred Humanity of Jesus in all its glory and, above all, we have lost the unspeakable joy of the Beatific Vision. We fools!
Pray God that the dread of this thought hereafter, may keep you from sin.

Posted in QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 15 February – The Eternal Consequences of Sin

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Thought for the Day – 15 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

15th Day – The Eternal Consequences of Sin

Whoever was not found written in the Book of Life
was cast into the pool of fire.
(Apoc xx 15)

Try to represent to your imagination, the eternal prison-house. Listen to the shrieks and howls and cries of despair which issue thence; see the agony written on the faces of the inmates; approach, if you dare, to the devouring flame, taste the burning thirst which longs for one drop of water as an indescribable luxury.

+1. What is it that the lost are suffering here?
The pain of fire. Touch a piece of red- hot iron and see how long you can bear it? Yet, the lost souls in hell, endure an agony far worse than this, not in one portion of their body but in all the entire body.
Their eyes burn in the sockets like molten balls of fire. The fire surrounds them like water, nay, it is within and without them, it dries up their tongue, it consumes their entrails, it penetrates to the very marrow of their bones.
My God, may I never incur this agony!

+2. This fire is no ordinary fire. It is a supernatural fire – the breath of God kindles it.
The torment of burning, as known to us, is a suffering far less than the torment of hell. If the lost could be transferred to a bath of seething, molten lead, it would be a far less suffering, than that of the fire in which they are steeped in hell!

+3. About this fire, there is none of the light of ordinary fire. It carries with it the blackness of utter darkness. No ray of light will ever pierce its hideous gloom, no word of comfort, no relief, no hope of change. Nothing to alleviate the eternal misery which comes of sin.
Pray that if the love of God or hope of Heaven does not keep you from sinning, at least the fear of hell-fire may stop you in time!

Posted in QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 14 February – The Sins of Individual Men

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Thought for the Day – 14 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

14th Day – The Sins of Individual Men

I will recount to Thee all my years,
in the bitterness of my soul.
(Ps xxxviii:15)

+1. When we look at the sin of Adam and see the consequences it entailed, what shall we say of the consequences which the sins of each one of us are likely to bring upon our heads?
Adam’s was a single sin, as opposed to our countless offences. He did not appreciate the results of sin as we do, he had not witnessed the misery which comes from it, as we do, he had not seen the flames of hell kindled by sin, as we do.
How much more grievous then, are the offences of each one of us!

+2. We must remember too, Adam’s sin was forgiven the very day it was committed and God, in His Mercy, sealed His forgiveness by the promise of the Redeemer.
Yet, see the consequences of forgiven sin! The long penance, the spread of moral corruption, the disease and death, the misery and sorrow, the banishment from the Face of God, all these still remained, although the guilt of sin was gone. What reason then, for me to tremble at the thought of all my past sins!

+3. I will glance over my past life and try to recall a few of my many offences.
What a career mine has been! What ingratitude to God! What selfishness, what uncharitableness to others, what meanness, what unfaithfulness to grace, what impurity, what low motives of action, what forgetfulness of God, what idle words, what waste of time, what continual following my own inclinations!
How can I hope to escape the just judgements of God?
Pray for shame and contrition at the sight of your sins!

Posted in QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The GREAT TRUTHS, The HOLY CROSS

Thought for the Day – 13 February – The Temporal Consequences of Adam’s Sin

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Thought for the Day – 13 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

13th Day – The Temporal Consequences of Adam’s Sin

In Adam, all die.
(1 Cor xv:22)

No sooner had this first sin been consummated, than a blight fell upon the world. It had become the devil’s empire, for he had made Adam. its king, his slave!
What are the consequences to the inhabitants of the world?

+1. Adam and Eve were cast out of Paradise, never again to enter. Their peace was gone, there was confusion within them, concupiscence fought against reason. Pain and sorrow came upon them and disease and death. For nine hundred years, they toiled painfully in weariness upon the earth and after their death, had to wait three thousand years more, before they were admitted to the heavenly Paradise.
And all for one sin!

+2. The effects of their sin were not limited to themselves alone.
All their descendants inherited from them, an inheritance of woe. All the wars, famines, pestilences, all the broken hearts, all the wretched lives of millions, had their source in this one sin.
How almost infinite are the consequences of sin!
Yet, I think so little of my sins and of the punishment I shall have to pay for them!

+3. If we would behold the full malice of Adam’s sin, we must stand beneath the Cross and watch our God dying in unutterable anguish.
It was sin which nailed Him to the Cross.
It was sin which forced from Him, His agonising cry – “My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
Pray for a horror of sin, corresponding to its intensity of evil.

Posted in QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 12 February – Man’s First Sin

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Thought for the Day – 12 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

12th Day – Man’s First Sin

Pride is the beginning of all sin.
(Ecclus x:15)

+1. In Paradise before the Fall, Adam and Eve enjoyed a happiness beyond compare. They knew no pain, sickness, sorrow. They were created immaculate and adorned with a high degree of supernatural grace; they were exempt from all concupiscence; their lives passed in a continual round of unfailing delight; each evening God Himself, came to hold sweet converse with them.

+2. What was it which ruined their happiness?
The tempter came and suggested to Eve, a distrust of God, whispered into her ear, motives of disobedience. Eve listened and consented and in her heart, deliberately revolted against God.
Pride
brought with it concupiscence; she looked at the fruit which God had forbidden, took it, ate it, gave it to Adam. He also ate it and thus lost, for himself and all his posterity, the gift of original justice and all the graces and blessings which accompanied it.
One single sin ruined the world!
How ought I to dread and hate sin?!

+3. What was the history of this first sin?
The same as of every sin.
First the listening to the tempter’s voice then a jealousy of God, as of One Who interferes with our happiness; then, a positive revolt and undisguised pride and after this, every other sin, especially the indulgence of bodily appetite and depraved desires.
If I examine myself, I shall find that each sin I commit,
follows the same course.
Pray to avoid the first beginnings of sin.

Posted in ArchAngels and Angels, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The GREAT TRUTHS

Thought for the Day – 11 February – The First Sin

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Thought for the Day – 11 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

IIth Day – The First Sin

God spared not the angels who sinned
(2 St Peter ii:4)

+1. There was a time when sin was unknown in God’s universe. All creatures obeyed Him and were happy and at peace. Thousands and tens of thousands of Holy Angels showed forth the glory of God by their joyful obedience.
Created in a state of supernatural grace, they were each, in his own degree, full of wisdom, of perfect beauty.

+2. Their trial during their time of probation consisted in having to acknowledge their dependence on and their subjection to, God. The larger number of them did so in a spirit of loyal, loving and unwavering obedience. But a third portion of them, led by Lucifer, refused to obey. They conceived an inordinate love of themselves and, from this arose a desire to be independent of God. They would not humble themselves, they considered it unworthy that they should submit to the Will of God in all things. Thus, pride grew up within them and they deliberately placed themselves in opposition to God.

+3. This open rebellion against God, lasted but a moment!
În an instant all their supernatural beauty was gone, the malice of their souls corrupted their whole being! All their beauty was turned to loathsome foulness! Cast out of God’s Heaven, they were hurled down to the lowest hell; outcasts for all eternity, filled with eternal misery and despair.
And all this – the effect of one sin and that, a sin of thought!
Beg of God an appreciation, of the unspeakable evil of pride, of sin!

Posted in GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN, The GREAT TRUTHS, VENIAL SIN

Thought for the Day – 10 February – The Cause of Our Failure

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Thought for the Day – 10 February – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Meditations on “The Great Truths”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

10th Day – The Cause of Our Failure

He who shall sin, shall hate his own soul.
(Prov viii:36)

Hitherto, we have been speaking of the means of reaching the End, for which we were created and, in which alone, we shall find true and lasting satisfaction. We now come to the cause of our failure and the obstacles in our way.

+I. There is only one obstacle in our way, only one real hindrance to our progress towards happiness and peace, only one barrier between ourselves and God.
This obstacle is sin.
As long as it remains, it is an insuperable obstacle.
A single mortal sin, unrepented of, will, forever shut me out from the Presence of God.
A single venial sin, unredeemed, will prevent me from attaining to happiness until the debt has been paid!

+2. What do we mean by sin?
We mean any conscious violation of the law of God. Whenever we do that which God has declared to be a serious offence against Him, we become the enemies of God, we forfeit all hope of Heaven, except as far as God, of His gratuitous compassion, may afterwards give us the grace to repent and be forgiven.
Have I ever thus lost sight of God and of Heaven?
And if so, am I sure that I have regained His Love?

+3. Why is sin so terrible
Because it is an outrage to a God of Infinite Holiness, of Infinite Majesty. Because it is an act of ingratitude, to One Who has laden us with benefits, Who Loves us with a Love which surpasses all bound or measure because, it is a deliberate rejection of the Divine Friendship and, as far as we are concerned, forever!
Pray for a hatred and detestation of all sin!.

Posted in CATECHESIS, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, St Francis de Sales, VENIAL SIN

Quote/s of the Day – 16 January – It shall be loosed also in Heaven …

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 January – 1 Peter 5:1-4, 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

“But He still follows behind us and counsels us,
although we have despised Him,
He still does not cease to call us.
We turn our backs on His face, so to speak,
when we reject His Words,
when we trample His Commandments underfoot
but He, Who sees that we reject Him,
still calls out to us by His Commandments
and waits for us by His patience,
stands behind us and calls us back
when we have turned away.”

St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“We fight the monsters of Africa
in imagination
but, from lack of attention,
we allow ourselves, in reality,
to be killed by the little serpents
which lie in our way!”

(Intro to the Devout Life III:37)

“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).

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

“Yet, after all it is the natural
and most suitable means of preparation.
It helps us to bring into subjection,
that lower nature which rebels against
the sovereignty of our King.
It detaches us from finding our satisfaction
in earthly things.
It is, in itself, an act of obedience to our King.
It renders us humble and teaches us
to put our necks under the yoke.
It saves us from being separated
from the Kingdom we are to share
by the long prison of Purgatory.
Learn from all this, to love penance!”

Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)

Posted in GOOD RESOLUTIONS, INGRATITUDE, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES for the NEW YEAR, QUOTES on GOOD WORKS, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on MEDIOCRITY, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 31 December – The Last Day of the Year

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Thought for the Day – 31 December – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Last Day of the Year

“Now that the year is almost over, cast your mind back to the good resolutions which you made at the beginning of it.
Have you put these resolutions into effect?
Has there been any improvement in your spiritual life during these twelve months, or must you confess, that it has deteriorated?
How often have you committed sin, perhaps even grave sin, during the year?
When God appealed to you to perform some good action, how often did you refuse Him?

Your future outlook is very dark if your life has developed into a gradual descent towards evil.
Anyday, God could grow tired of your ingratitude and obstinacy and send death to end your infidelity.
Then you would almost certainly, be damned forever.
If you have surrendered to spiritual languor and mediocrity, therefore, it is time for you to stir yourself.
It is time to become more generous with God, to display a greater spirit of self-sacrifice in responding to His appeals and to form further resolutions.

Virtue cannot co-exist with spiritual tepidity, which leads inevitably, towards sin.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/12/31/thought-for-the-day-31-december-the-last-day-of-the-year/
ABOVE IS PART TWO
PART THREE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/12/31/thought-for-the-day-31-december-the-last-day-of-the-year-3/

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, ADVENT REFLECTIONS, CONFESSION, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, QUOTES on SACRILEGE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, VENIAL SIN

Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – ‘Make ready then the vessel of your soul …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 December – Advent Preparation and Penance

“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

“If they, must regard themselves
as useless servants, who have done all their duty,
what must I do, who have done
so small a part of what I ought to have done?”

St Andrew Avellino CR (1521–1608)

“What better penance
can a heart do
which commits faults,
than to submit
to a continual abnegation
of self-will?”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church

“What hope would you entertain
of the recovery of the man, who,
instead of taking the medicine prescribed by his physician, drank a cup of poison instead?
God! What can the Sacrament of Penance be
to those who conceal their sins but a deadly poison
which adds to their guilt, the malice of Sacrilege?
What, then, does the sinner do, when he conceals
his sins in Confession?
He tramples underfoot, the Blood of Jesus Christ.
And should he afterwards receive the Holy Communion
in a state of sin, he is, according to St Chrysostom,
as guilty as if he threw the Consecrated Host into a sink …
Accursed shame! how many poor souls
do you bring to hell?
… Unhappy souls! they think only of the shame
of confessing their sins and do not reflect
that, if they conceal them, they shall be
certainly damned!”

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

“Unfortunately, our only return for God’s
continual favours, has been negligence,
ingratitude and sin!
Since it is an offence against God,
Who is infinitely good and amiable,
even venial sin cannot properly be atoned for
by the merits of all the Angels
and of all the Saints of Heaven.
Therefore, it was necessary for the Son of God,
made Man, to offer Himself
as a Victim of Expiation, on our behalf.
Remembering His Infinite Merits,
we should humbly ask God –
‘forgive us our debts.‘ that is, our many sins
and failings and, whatever punishment is owing to us,
for every sin demands some expiation,
either in this life or in the next!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in ADVENT QUOTES, CONFESSION/PENANCE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on REPARATION/EXPIATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 10 December – “It is time now for us to rise from sleep!”

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Within the Octave – Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 11:2-10 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“For this is He of Whom it is written:
Behold. I send My Angel before My face,
who shall prepare Thy way before Thee.”

Matthew 11:10

“It is time now for us to rise from sleep!”

St Benedict (c 480-547)

“Penance is a needful thing to the sinner,
who desires to recover health of his soul.
And, in doing penance, there be three things
to be considered:
serious compunction of heart,
confession of mouth
and satisfaction by deed.”

St John Fisher (1469-1535)
Martyr

“Lord, forgive this great sinner.
Give me time to do penance.
No more world, no more sins!”

St Camillus de Lellis MI (1550-1614)

“Our business is, to gain heaven;
everything else, is a sheer waste of time.”

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

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 CHRIST the JUDGE, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 13 November – St Stanislaus Kostka

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Quote/s of the Day – 13 November – St Stanislaus Kostka SJ (1550-1568) Jesuit Novice

“Think of the joy 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 its 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.”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/11/13/quote-s-of-the-day-13-november-st-stanislaus-kostka-s/

St Stanislaus Kostka SJ (1550-1568)

Posted in DOCTRINE, PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 28 October – CONSIDERATION XXVI, Of the Pain of Hell

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Thought for the Day – 28 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 XXVI

Of the Pain of Hell
“And these shall go into everlasting punishment.”
(Matt xxv: 46)

FIRST POINT:
THE sinner, when he sins, commits two evils – he leaves God, the highest Good and, he turns to the creature. “For My people have committed two evils – they have forsaken Me. the Fountain of Living Waters and hewed cisterns, broken cisterns which can hold no water.” (Jer ii: 13). Since then, the sinner turns to the creature, with a loathing of God – by those very creatures –he shall be justly tormented in hell, by the fire and by demons, this forms the pain of the senses. But since his greatest guilt,in which the sin consists, lies in his turning away from God, so the chief punishment … will be the pain of loss, that is, the pain of having lost God.

Let us consider, in the first place, the pain of the senses.
It is an Article of Faith that there is a hell.
This prison is reserved in the middle of the earth, for the punishment of the rebels against God.
What is this hell? It is a place of torments.
“This place of torment,” (Luke xvi: 28), as the condemned glutton called hell. A place of torments, where all the senses and the powers of the condemned, will each have their especial torment and, in proportion, as one sense has especially offended God, so also will be its peculiar punishment.
“That wherewithal a man sinneth, by the same also,shall he be punished.” (Wisd xi: 16).
“As much as she hath glorified herself and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her because, she saith in her heart, I sit a queen and am no widow and sorrow I shall not see.” (Apoc xviii: 7)

The sight will be tormented with darkness.
“The land of darkness and the shadow of death.” (Job x: 21). What compassion should we feel for a poor man who remained shut up in a dark pit for the remainder of his life, for forty or fifty years! Hell is a pit, shut in on every side, in which no ray of the sun or any other light will ever enter. “Man …. shall never see light.” (Ps xlix: 20).
The fire which enlightens on earth, in hell, will be altogether dark.
“The Voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.” (Ps xxix: 7) Which expression St Basil explains, of the Lord dividing the fire from the light, so that it will suffice to burn only and not to illuminate; or as Albert the Great expresses it: “He will divide the glowing from the heat.” The very smoke which leaves this fire, will form that “ blackness of darkness,” which St Jude says is reserved forever for the wicked. ( Jude 13).
St Thomas Aquinas says, there will be reserved for the wicked, light, “as much as suffices for men to see those things which torment them.” They will see in that glimmer of light, the ugliness of the other reprobates and of the demons, who, to frighten them the more, will assume horrible forms.

The sense of smell too, will be tormented.
What torment would it be, to be shut up in a room with a putrid corpse!?
“Their stench shall come out of their carcases.” (Isa xxxiv: 3).
The lost will have to remain in the midst of so many millions of lost nes, alive as to pain but corpses by the odour which they emit.

But some foolish one may say: “If I go to hell, I shall not be alone.” Wretched one! By how many more there are in hell, by so much more will they suffer!
As St Thomas Aquinas says: “There the society of the wretched, will not lessen but increase, the misery” they will suffer all the more, I say, from the smell, the cries, the confinement since in hell, they will be upon each other like sheep are penned together in the winter. “They live in hell like sheep.” (Ps xlix: 14).
Nay more, they will be as grapes, pressed under the press of the wrath of God. “He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath ofAlmighty God.” (Apoc xix: 5). They shall have from this also, the pain of permanence. “They shall be as still as a stone.” (Exod xv: 1 6). Thus the lost, as they fall into hell at the last day, so will they remain without ever changing their place and be unable to move, either foot or hand, whilst God shall be God.

The sense of hearing will be tormented with the ceaseless howling and wailing of those poor desperate ones. The demons will make continual dins. “A dreadful sound is in his ears.” (Job xv: 21). What pain this, when one wishes to sleep, to hear the continual moaning of the sick, the barking of a dog, or the crying of an infant? Unhappy lost ones! who are condemned to ever hear, for all eternity, the groans and cries of those who are tortured.

The appetite too, will be tormented by hunger; the lost ones will experience a rabid hunger, “grin like a dog …. and grudge if they be not satisfied.” (Ps lix: 14, 15).
But they shall not have a crumb of bread.
The thirst will be so great that all the water of the sea would not suffice for it, nevertheless, they shall not have one drop!
The rich man asked for one drop but this he has not yet had it and. will never have it never ever!

Affections andPrayers

Ah, my Lord, behold at Thy Feet one who has made small account, both of Thy grace and of Thy chastisements. Poor me, if Thou, my Jesus, hadst not had pity upon me, for how many years should I have been in that fearful furnace, where truly are now burning so many like myself.
Oh, my Redeemer, how is it, that whilst thinking upon this I do not burn with Thy love?
How shall I ever be able to think of offending Thee anew. Oh, may it never be, my Jesus Christ; grant me rather to die a thousand deaths. … Thou hast delivered me from the ruin of my many sins and with so great love, Thou hast called me to love Thee. Ah, grant now. that this time which Thou hast given me, I may spend wholly for Thee.

How would the lost desire one day, nay, one hour of the time which Thou hast granted to me and I, what shall I do? Shall I continue to spend it on things which displease Thee? No, my Jesus! do not allow this by the merits of that Blood which hitherto has delivered me from hell.
I love Thee, O Highest Good and because I love Thee, I repent of having offended Thee.
I desire to offend Thee no more but ever to love Thee. Grant that I may obtain the gift of perseverance and of Thy holy love.

Posted in PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL

Thought for the Day – 25 October – CONSIDERATION XXIII, The Delusions infused by the Devil into the Mind of the Sinner

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Thought for the Day – 25 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 XXIII

The Delusions infused by the Devil
in the Mind of the Sinner
“That they mav recover themselves
out of the snare of the devil.”
(2 Tim ii: 26)

FIRST POINT:
LET us picture to ourselves some young person once fallen into grievous sin but who now, has confessed it and has regained the Divine grace. The devil again tempts such a one to fall, he resists but already he wavers because of the delusions which the enemy puts into his mind. I say to such: “Young man, tell me what thou dost wish to do?
Art thou willing to lose the grace of God which thou hast
regained and which is worth more than all the world, in order to obtain that miserable satisfaction? Dost thou wish to write the sentence of thy eternal death to condemn thyself to burn forever in hell?” Thou sayest, No, I do not wish to condemn myself, I wish to be saved; if I commit this sin I will confess it afterwards.

This is the first delusion which the devil presents to you. Thou sayest that afterwards thou wilt confess it? But, in the meanwhile, thou art losing thy soul. Tell me, whether, if thou hadst a jewel in thy hand which was worth a very large sum of money, wouldst thou throw it into the river saying: “Presently I will search carefully,and then I shall hope to find it again?” but thou hast in thy hand that most beautiful jewel – thy soul which Jesus Christ has bought with His Blood and thou art willingly throwing it into hell! for by sinning thou art already condemned according to the present justice and thus casting it away, thou art saying, I hope to regain it by confessing.

But if thou shouldst not regain it? For in order to regain it,
a true repentance is necessary which is the gift of God. And if God should not grant this repentance? And if death should come and deprive thee of the time for confession?
Thou sayest that thou wilt not allow a week to pass without
confession. But who promises thee this week? Thou sayest
that thou wilt confess to-morrow. But who promises thee tomorrow?

St Augustine writes thus – God has not promised to give thee to-morrow, perhaps He will give it to thee and perhaps He will refuse to give it to thee; even as He has denied it to so many, who at night have gone to bed alive and in the morning have been found dead. How many, indeed, in the act itself of sin, has the Lord struck dead and sent to everlasting punishment? And if He should do the same with thee, how couldst thou amend thy eternal ruin? Know, that because of this mistake, in saying: “Afterwards I will confess,” the devil has borne many thousands of Christian souls to hell. … All, when they sin, sin in the hope of confessing their sin and thus, have so many miserable ones been condemned and now they can no longer remedy their condemnation.

But thou sayest: “I am not strong enough to resist that temptation” this is the second delusion of the devil who tries to make thee feel that thou hast not strength to resist the present passion.
Firstly, we must understand that God, as the Apostle tells us, is faithful and will not suffer us to be tempted beyond that which we are able. (l Cor x: 13).
Moreover, I ask thee, if now thou art not strong enough to resist, how canst thou gain strength afterwards? Afterwards, the enemy will not cease to tempt thee to commit other sins and then, he will be much stronger against thee and thou wilt be much weaker. If, therefore, now thou art not strong enough to extinguish that flame, how wilt thou be able to do so, when the flame is much greater Thou sayest that God will give thee His help. But God already gives His assistance to thee; why, therefore, with His Grace canst thou not resist? Perhaps thou art hoping that God will increase His aid and His graces, after thou hast increased thy sins!? But if now thou requirest greater assistance and strength, why not ask God to grant them to thee? Perhaps thou art doubting God’s faithfulness, when He promised to give thee all that thou need: “Ask, and it shall be given thee.” (Matt vii: 7).
God cannot fail; fly to Him; He will give thee that strength which is necessary for thee to resist.

Ancient Fathers have declared that “God does not command things impossible to be performed but, by commanding, bids thee both do what thou can and to pray for what thou cannot do and He helps you to do it.”

Affections andPrayers

Therefore, my God, is it because Thou hast been so good to me that I have been so ungrateful to Thee?
We have, as it were, been battling each other – I, in flying from Thee and Thou, in seeking me; Thou in doing me good and I, in doing evil against Thee.
Ah, my Lord, if there were no other reason, the goodness alone which Thou hast shown me, ought to have inspired me with love for Thee; for after I have increased my sins, Thou hast increased Thy Graces. And, whenever have I deserved the Light which Thou art giving to me?
My Lord, I thank Thee with all my heart and I hope
to come to Heaven, there to thank Thee for that Light through all eternity. I hope, through Thy Blood, to be saved and I hope it with certainty because Thou hast shown so many mercies to me.

In the meantime I hope Thou wilt grant me strength. never more to betray Thee. … I have offended Thee often enough.
In the life that remains to me I wish to love Thee. And how can I help loving a God, Who, after having died for me, has borne with me with so much patience, notwithstanding the many insults I have offered to Him?
O God of my soul, I repent with all my heart; would that I could die of grief. But if during the past, I have turned from Thee, now do I love Thee beyond every thing, much more than I love myself.

Eternal Father, through the merits of Jesus Christ, succour a miserable sinner who wishes to love Thee.

Posted in PREPARATION for DEATH, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 24 October – CONSIDERATION XXII, The Habit of Sin

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Thought for the Day – 24 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 XXII

The Habit of Sin
“When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt.”
(Prov xviiu: 3)

FIRST POINT:
ONE of the greatest evils which the sin of Adam caused us, is the wicked inclination to sin. This made the Apostle weep when he found himself impelled, by concupiscence, towards those same sins which he detested. “But I see another law in my members …. bringing me into captivity to the law of sin.” (Rom vii: 23).

And, therefore, it happens with us that being infected by this concupiscence and with so many enemies who urge us onto evil, we find it so difficult to reach the blessed country without sin. Now, such being our frailty, I ask, what would you say of a traveller who would have to cross the sea in a storm in a shattered boat and yet, should wish to load it with a weight which, even were the boat a strong one and there were no storm, would be enough to send it to the
bottom? What would you predict concerning the life of such an one?
Now, we say the same of the habitual sinner, who, having to pass over the sea of this life – a sea which is very tempestuous and, where many are lost in a weak and shattered boat, which is our flesh and to which we are united, is willing to weigh it down with habitual sins! For in this habitual sinner, it is very difficult to be saved because the evil habit darkens the mind and hardens the heart and by doing so, easily renders him obstinate, even to death.

In the first place, the evil habit produces blindness. And why is it that the Saints ever beg God to give them Light and why do they fear lest they should become the greatest sinners in the world? It is because they know that if, for one moment, they were to lose the Light, they might commit any wickedness. How is it that so many Christians have been willing to live in sin, until they have, at last, condemned themselves? “Their own malice blinded them.” (Wisd ii: 21).
Sin has deprived them of sight and so, they have become lost. Each sin produces blindness, so when the sin increases, so does the blindness increase. God is our Light; the more,, therefore, the soul withdraws itself from God, the more does its darkness increase. … As the light of the sun cannot enter in a vessel filled with earth, so the Divine Light cannot enter a heart filled with vices. And, therefore, it is that we see many relaxed sinners lose this Light,
and go on from sin to sin and never again think of amending their ways.

These miserable sinners have fallen into that dark pit, where they can do nothing but sin, speak only of sin, think only of sin and, at last, they scarcely recognise the evil in sin.
St Augustine observes, that “the habit itself of evil, does not suffer sinners to see the evil which they do.” So they live as if they no longer believed in a God, a paradise, a hell, or an eternity.
And, behold, for that sin which, at one time, caused them to feel great horror, through the evil habit, no longer causes them to feel it.
… “Observe,” says St Gregory, “with what ease a bit of straw is moved by the slightest puff of wind” even thus do we often see some, who, before they fell, once resisted, … and strove against the temptations but after the sin, became habitual, they yielded to every temptation and every occasion of sin presented to them. And, wherefore? Because the evil habit has deprived them of Light.

St Anselm tells us that the devil acts with many sinners, like anyone who holds a bird tied by a string, who allows it to fly but directly it flies he pulls it back again to earth. Even so, as the Saint observes, does it happen with habitual sinners: “Entangled by a bad habit, they are held by the enemy; flying, they are cast down into the same vice.” … As St Chrysostom observes: “Habit is a difficult thing which sometimes compels those,. who are unwilling, to do what is wrong.” Yes, because, according to St Augustine, the bad habit at last becomes a sure necessity! And St Bernardine also adds: “Habit is changed into nature” for, as it is necessary for man to breathe, even so to habitual sinners who are made the slaves of sin, it seems necessary to sin.
… These wretched ones will open their eyes in hell, when there will be no longer any good in opening them, except to weep more bitterly over their folly.

Affections andPrayers

My God, Thou hast indeed favoured me with Thy blessings in blessing me more than others and I have clearly, by my offences, displeased Thee more than any other.

Oh sorrowful Heart of my Redeemer, Who upon the Cross wast afflicted and tormented when beholding my sins, give me, through Thy merits, a living knowledge and grief for my sins.
Ah, my Jesus, I am full of wickedness but Thou art Omnipotent; truly canst Thou fill me with Thy holy Love. Therefore, in Thee do I trust Thou Who art good and of Infinite Mercy. I repent, O Sovereign Good, for having offended Thee.

Oh, would that I had died, rather than have given Thee this offence. I have been forgetful of Thee but Thou hast never been forgetful of me. I can see it through that Light which Thou dost now grant me. Since, therefore, Thou dost grant me that Light, grant me too, the strength to be faithful to Thee.
… In Thee, O my Jesus, do I hope never more to be confounded in sin and deprived of Thine Grace.