Category: QUOTES on THE WORLD

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PARTIAL Indulgence, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HEART, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The HOLY GHOST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 June – ‘ … They clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ …’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 23 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Octave Day of Corpus Christi –1 Corinthians 11:23-29, John 6:56-59.

“For as often as you shall eat this Bread and drink the Cup, you proclaim the Death of the Lord, until He comes.” – 1 Corinthians 11:26

REFLECTION – “In our offering of the Holy Sacrifice we fulfil the Command of our Saviour, as recorded by the Apostle Paul: The Lord Jesus, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread and after He had given thanks, broke it and said: This is My Body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. The same way, after the supper, He took the Cup saying: This Cup is the New Covenant in My Blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you shall proclaim the Death of the Lord until He comes.

This Sacrifice is offered, then, to proclaim the Lord’s Death; it is offered in remembrance of Him Who laid down His Life for our sake. As He says: Greater love than this no man has, that he lay down his life for his friends. Because Christ died for us out of love, we ask, when we make remembrance of His Death, at the time of Sacrifice, that we too may be granted love through the coming of the Holy Spirit. We pray, that by the Love which Christ had for us when He braved the Cross, we may receive the grace of the Spirit and be crucified to the world and the world to us. The Death Christ died, He died to sin, once for all but the Life He lives, He lives to God. Let us imitate our Lord’s Death and also live a new life. Strengthened with the gift of His Love, let us die to sin and live for God.

For God’s Love has been poured out in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us. Indeed our sharing in the Lord’s Body and Blood, when we eat His Bread and drink His Cup, teaches us, that we should die to the world and that we should keep our life hidden with Christ in God, crucifying our flesh with its vices and evil desires.

That is why all the faithful who love God and their neighbour, truly drink the Cup of the Lord’s Love even though, they may not drink the cup of His Bodily Suffering. And becoming inebriated from it, they put to death, whatever in their nature is rooted in earth. They clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not indulge fleshly desires. They do not fix their gaze on visible things but contemplate things, which the eye cannot see. Thus they drink the Lord’s Cup by preserving the holy bond of love; without it, even if a man should deliver his body to be burned, he gains nothing. But the gift of love enables us to become, in reality, what we celebrate as Mystery in the Sacrifice.” – St Fulgentius of Ruspe (c 462 – 533) Bishop, Father (An excerpt from Against Fabianus).

PRAYER – Grant, O Lord, that we may always fear and love Thy Holy Name, for Thou never fails to guide those whom Thou firmly establish in Thy love. 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).
MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. – Indulgence 100 Days, Once a Day. Raccolta 161 Pius IX, 29 February 1868.

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, SAINT of the DAY, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 June – If anyone comes to Me, without hating … Luke 14:26

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 14 June – The Memorial of St Basil the Great (329-379) Bishop of Caesarea, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church – 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Luke 14:26-35

“If anyone comes to Me, without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26

REFLECTION – “On another occasion, the Lord says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children and brothers and sisters and even his own soul, cannot be my disciple.” As a rule, this is more upsetting to the mind of new Christians, who are eager to begin at once, to live in accordance with the precepts of Christ. To those who do not fully grasp its meaning, it would seem contradictory…. He has condescended to call His disciples to the eternal Kingdom. He also called them brothers. In the Kingdom these relationships are transcended because, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female, neither slave nor freeman but Christ, is all things and in all.” The Lord says, “For in the resurrection, they will neither be married nor marry but will be as the Angels of God in Heaven.”

Whoever wishes to prepare himself now, for the life of that Kingdom, must not hate people but those earthly relationships, through which the present life is sustained, the temporary life that begins at birth and ends with death. Whoever does not hate this necessity, does not yet love that other life, in which there will be no condition of birth and death, the condition that makes marriages natural on earth.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Father, Doctor of Grace (Sermon on the Mount,15).

PRAYER – We beseech Thee, O Lord, hear our prayers which we offer on the festival of blessed Basil, Thy Confessor and Bishop and through his intercessory merits, who had the grace to serve Thee worthily, absolve us from all our sins. 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).
Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love. 300 days ONCE A DAY – (Unless otherwise stated, e.g., “once a day,” a partial Indulgence may be gained any number of times in succession.) Pope Leo XIII 21 May.

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, INDULGENCES, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 12 June – In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 12 June – Trinity Sunday and “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” – Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 28:18-20

“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20

REFLECTION – “And so, dearly-beloved, let us rejoice with spiritual joy and let us with gladness pay God worthy thanks and raise our hearts’ eyes, unimpeded, to those heights where Christ is. Minds that have heard the call to be uplifted must not be pressed down by earthly affections, they that are fore-ordained to things eternal, must not be taken up with the things that perish; they that have entered on the way of Truth, must not be entangled in treacherous snares and, the faithful, must so take their course through these temporal things, as to remember that they are sojourning in the vale of this world, in which, even though they meet with some attractions, they must not sinfully embrace them but bravely pass through them.

For to this devotion, the blessed Apostle Peter arouses us and entreating us, with that loving eagerness which he conceived, for feeding Christ’s sheep, by the threefold profession of love for the Lord, says, dearly-beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul 1 Peter 2:11 . But for whom do fleshly pleasures wage war, if not for the devil, whose delight it is to fetter souls that strive after things above, with the enticements of corruptible good things, and to draw them away from those abodes, from which he himself has been banished? Against his plots every believer must keep careful watch, that he may crush his foe on the side whence the attack is made. And there is no more powerful weapon, dearly beloved, against the devil’s wiles than kindly mercy and bounteous charity, by which every sin is either escaped or vanquished. But this lofty power is not attained, until that which is opposed to it be overthrown. And what so hostile to mercy and works of charity as avarice, from the root of which spring all evils? And unless it be destroyed by lack of nourishment, there must needs grow, in the ground of that heart, in which this evil weed has taken root, the thorns and briars of vices rather than any seed of true goodness.

Let us then, dearly-beloved, resist this pestilential evil and follow after charity, without which no virtue can flourish, that by this path of love, whereby Christ came down to us, we too may mount up to Him, to Whom with God the Father and the Holy Spirit is honour and glory forever and ever.” – St Leo the Great, Pope (400-461) Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon 74).

PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Thou Who have given Thy servants, in the confession of the true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of that Majesty, to adore its unity, grant, we beseech Thee, that in the firmness of this faith, we may ever be protected from all harm. 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).
MAY the HEART of JESUS be loved everywhere. 100 Days, Indulgence Once a day – Bl Pope Pius IX 23 September 1860

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The WILL of GOD, The WORD, Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 9 June – ‘Take nothing for your journey …’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 9 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Pentecost Thursday – Acts 8:5-8, Luke 9:1-6

“Take nothing for your journey,
neither staff, nor bag,
nor bread, nor money;
neither have two tunics.”

Luke 9:3

“You are the salt of the earth.”

Matthew 5:13

“It is as a matter of absolute necessity
that He commands all this.
Why must you be salt?
Jesus says in effect:
“You are accountable,
not only for your own life
but also, for that of the entire world.
I am sending you not to one or two cities,
nor to ten or twenty,
nor even to one nation,
as I sent the Prophets.
Rather, I am sending you to the entire earth,
across the seas, to the whole world,
to a world fallen into an evil state.”

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

“What is reprehensible,
is that while leading good lives themselves
and abhorring those of wicked men,
some, fearing to offend,
shut their eyes to evil deeds
instead of condemning them
and pointing out their malice.”

St Augustine (354-407)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“The love of Jesus is noble and generous,
it spurs us on to do great things
and excites us to desire always,
that which is most perfect.
Love will tend upwards
and is not to be detained by things beneath.
Love will be at liberty
and free from all worldly affections…
for love proceeds from God
and cannot rest but in God,
above all things created.
The lover flies, runs and rejoices,
he is free and not held.
He gives all for all and has all in all,
because he rests in One Sovereign Good above all,
from Whom all good flows and proceeds.”

Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)

(Book III, Chapter V, 3-4)

“Entrust yourself entirely to God.
He is a Father
and a most loving Father at that,
Who would rather let Heaven
and earth collapse,
than abandon anyone
who trusted in Him.”

St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775)

“God alone!”

“Chosen soul, how will you bring this about?
What steps will you take to reach the high level
to which God is calling you?
The means of holiness and salvation,
are known to everybody,
since they are found in the Gospel,
the masters of the spiritual life have explained them,
the Saints have practised them…
These means are –
sincere Humility,
unceasing Prayer,
complete Self-denial,
abandonment to Divine Providence
and obedience to the Will of God.”

St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, INDULGENCES, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 June – ‘ … Leave behind earthly sandals. …’ St Ambrose

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 9 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” – Pentecost Thursday – Acts 8:5-8, Luke 9:1-6

“Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor sack, nor bread, nor money; neither have two tunics.” – Luke 9:3

REFLECTION – “This is a great vision. But if you wish to see it, remove the sandals from your feet. Remove every chain of sin. Remove the chains of the world. Leave behind earthly sandals. Jesus sent the Apostles without sandals, without money, gold and silver, so that they would not carry earthly things with them. The one who seeks to do good is praised, not for his sandals but for the swiftness and grace of his feet. The Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” Therefore, remove the sandals from your feet, that they may be beautiful for preaching the Gospel!” – St Ambrose (340-397) Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church (Flight From the World 5).

PRAYER – O God, Thou Who on this day have taught the hearts of the faithful, by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us by that Holy Spirit Himself, to know what is right and ever to rejoice in His help. 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).
Sweet Heart of my JESUS, Make me love Thee ever more and more! – 300 Days Indulgence Once a day, Plenary Once a month – Blessed Pope Pius IX – 26 November 1876

Posted in MARIAN PRAYERS, MAY - The Blessed Virgin MARY'S MONTH, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 29 May – The Great Exile

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 29 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Great Exile

“God is the great exile.
The majority of mankind have banished Him from public and private life.
They do not want Him anymore – they do not even think of Him.
There is even a minority who hates and curses Him!
It is true that there are still faithful and generous communities, like oases in a vast and arid desert, who love God and even dedicate themselves to His service.
But, the great majority ignore Him.
If they remember Him sometimes, they do so vaguely and as a matter of form.
They think of God as if He were a distant Being Who is not interested in their activities.

Obviously, therefore, men no longer live the life of God.
They live mechanically and obtusely, devoid of spiritual enlightenment or thought of Heaven.
Their lives are like those of blind moles which reside in darkness beneath the ground, without any desire to see the light of day.
Bound to the earth as they are, they are afraid of the great concepts of eternity, the immortality of the soul, the last judgement, Heaven and Hell.

“Since men’s natural inclinations are towards worldly things,” wrote Pope Pius XII, “his inability to understand the things of the Spirit of God, is unfortunately, aggravated in our times by the entire nature of his surroundings.
Very often, God is neither denied nor cursed, it is rather as if He were not there at all.
There is constant and open propaganda in favour of a worldly life without God.
Men live and die, as if there were no such realities as God, redemption, or the Church.” (Discourses XL, 14).

Are you or your family and friends a victim of this trend?
What place does God hold in your mind and the course of your life?
We are heading for inevitable ruin, if we allow ourselves to be swept away by the corruption of the world.
Remember the frightening words of Jesus in the company of His disciples, “Not for the world do I pray,” he said, “but for those whom Thou hast given me because they are Thine” (Jn 17:9).
Without Jesus, the world is racing towards utter destruction.
It is terrifying but that is the way it is!

Holy Mary, my Mother, I place my trust in you because I know, that your intercession, is all-powerful with your Divine Son, Jesus.
Help me to detach myself completely from sin and to conquer my rebellious inclinations,
Grant that I may imitate the shining example of your sanctity, in such a way, that you may be truly my hope and my sure refuge, now and at the hour of my death.
Amen. ”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/29/thought-for-the-day-29-may-the-great-exile/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 27 May – God Alone

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 27 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

A Lesson from Scripture
God Alone

“O Mary, my most Holy Mother, free me from useless desires and from an excessive longing for worldly things.
Help me to think always of Heaven.
Grant that I may find my happiness in God alone, as you did by acting in perfect accordance with His Holy Will.
By loving Him above everything in the world, may I one day enjoy, with you, the everlasting happiness of Heaven.
Amen.”

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/27/thought-for-the-day-27-may-a-lesson-from-scripture-god-alone/

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The ASCENSION of the LORD

Thought for the Day – 26 May – The Ascension of Jesus

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 26 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Ascension of Jesus

“After His glorious Resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to His Apostles.
For forty days He instructed them concerning the Kingdom of God.
When He had announced to His followers, that He would send the Holy Spirit to give them the enlightenment and courage to preach the Gospel, they gathered together on the Mount of Olives and saw Him rise upwards until a bright cloud hid Him from their view.
The Mystery of the Ascension contains a lesson for us.
We must be detached from the world and brought closer to Heaven, which is our true home.
We are so attached to earthly things because money, reputation and pleasure are closer to our hearts than the thought of God or of eternity.
We shall have to leave all these things behind soon enough, however.
When death comes, the world will slip away from us and the soul will stand alone before God.

Let us begin to detach ourselves from worldly affairs and to make Heaven the object of our desires.
Why should we be sorry or afraid, or both, to leave this earth?
Remember the teaching of St Paul “Here we no permanent city but we seek for the city that is to come” (Heb 13:14).
“For me to live is Christ,” he said, “and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). “desiring to depart and to be with Christ, a lot by far the better” (Phil 1:23).

Let us pray in the beautiful words of the Church: “Lord, grant that while we are living in this changing world, we may aspire to the true happiness of Heaven, so that in the midst of earthly vicissitudes, our hearts maybe content in this ambition.” (Roman Breviary).

Let us not be afraid of death, for it is only the Gate of Heaven!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

ANOTHER REFLECTION ON THE ASCENSION:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/13/thought-for-the-day-13-may-the-ascension-of-jesus/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 24 May – The Recollection of Mary

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 24 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Recollection of Mary

“We cannot all be Monks or Hermits.
Most have to live in the world and look after their daily business.,
They have to deal with all kinds of people and are subject to the tremendous influences of the modern world.
How can they be recollected?
It is difficult but it is possible.
Most of the Saints lived in the heart of the world, while still maintaining close contact with God.
St Paul the Apostle and St John Bosco, are two examples which come to mind.

St Paul traversed the greater parts of the known world.
He preached in the temple of Jerusalem and on the Areopagus of Athens, in the Synagogues, squares, court rooms and prsisons of countless cities.
Throughout it all, his heart remained united to God, so that he could exclaim: “It is now no longer I who live but Christ lives in me” Gal 2:20).
“For to me to live is Christ,” he said, “and to die is gain. But if to live in the flesh is my lot, this means for me, fruitful labour and I do not know which to choose. Indeed, I am hard-pressed from both sides – desiring to depart and to be with Christ – a lot by far the better; yet, to stay on in the flesh is necessary for your sake” |(Phil 1:21-23).

The superhuman industriousness of St John Bosco is well known.
He never rested but, his extraordinary activity derived entirely from his close and loving union with God.

We also should try and preserve an oasis of silence in our heart, while we are making our way through the noisy uproar which prevails around us.
We shall draw from this oasis of interior recollection, the power to conquer the temptations of the world and to accomplish all the good work which God wishes us to do.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/24/thought-for-the-day-24-may-the-recollection-of-mary/

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 May – ‘ … Where is the honey to go? … ‘

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 24 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – James 1:22-27, John 16:23-30

“That your joy may be full.” – John 16:24

REFLECTION – “The entire life of a good Christian is, in fact, an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for but the very act of desiring, prepares you, so that when He comes, you may see and be utterly satisfied.

Suppose you are going to fill some holder or container and you know you will be given a large amount. Then you set about stretching your sack or wineskin or whatever it is. Why? Because you know the quantity with which you will fill it and your eyes tell you, there is not enough room. By stretching it, therefore, you increase the capacity of the sack and this is how God deals with us. Simply by making us wait, He increases our desire, which in turn, enlarges the capacity of our soul, making it able to receive what is to be given to us.

So, my brethren, let us continue to desire, for we shall be filled. Take note of Saint Paul, stretching as it were, his ability to receive what is to come – ‘Not that I have already obtained this,’ he said, ‘or am made perfect. Brethren, I do not consider that I have already obtained it.’ We might ask him, ‘If you have not yet obtained it, what are you doing in this life?’ ‘This one thing I do,‘ answers Paul, ‘forgetting what lies behind, and stretching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize to which I am called in the life above.‘ Not only did Paul say he stretched forward but he also declared that he pressed on toward a chosen goal. He realised, in fact, that he was still short of receiving ‘what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived.‘

Such is our Christian life. By desiring Heaven, we exercise the powers of our soul. Now this exercise will be effective, only to the extent, that we free ourselves from desires leading to infatuation with this world. Let me return to the example I have already used, of filling an empty container. God means to fill each of you with what is good – so cast out what is bad! If he wishes to fill you with honey and you are full of sour wine, where is the honey to go? The vessel must be emptied of its contents and then be cleansed. Yes, it must be cleansed, even if you have to work hard and scour it. It must be made fit for the new thing, whatever it may be!” – St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace (An excerpt from his Tractates on «The First Letter of John»)

PRAYER – Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, unto all Thy servants, that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness, both of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness and enter into the joy of thine eternal gladness. Through 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 "Follow Me", CARMELITES, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SAINT of the DAY, The HEART, The HOLY NAME, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 May – ‘For My Name’s sake’ – Matthew 19:29

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 20 May – The Memorial of St Bernadine of Siena OFM (1380-1444) Confessor – Ecclesiasticus 31:8-11, Matthew 19:27-29.

“And everyone who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My Name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess life everlasting.” – Matthew 19:29

REFLECTION – “Seek for nothing, desiring to enter for love of Jesus, with detachment, emptiness and poverty in everything in this world. You will never have to do with necessities greater than those to which you made your heart yield itself – for the poor in spirit are most happy and joyful in a state of privation and he who has set his heart on nothing, finds satisfaction everywhere.

The poor in spirit (Mt 5:3) give generously all they have and their pleasure consists in being thus deprived of everything for God’s sake and out of love to their neighbour … Not only do temporal goods – the delights and tastes of the senses – hinder and thwart the way of God but spiritual delights and consolations also, if sought for or clung to eagerly, disturb the way of virtue.” – St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Carmelite, Doctor of the Church (Spiritual maxims, nos. 352, 355,356, 364; 1693 edition).

PRAYER – O Lord Jesus, Who bestowed on blessed Bernardine, Your Confessor, an unusual love for Your Holy Name, we beseech You, by his merits and intercession, graciously pour upon us the spirit of Your love. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, GOD ALONE!, MARIAN PRAYERS, MAY - The Blessed Virgin MARY'S MONTH, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 19 May – Mary, a Light in the Darkness

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 19 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Mary, a Light in the Darkness

“Most Holy Mary, may I follow your example here on earth.
Please lead us, together with your Divine Son, Jesus, here in our earthly pilgrimage, for you never once lost sight of God.
May the darkness of this world not encompass me, for with you beside me and Christ around me, I will be safe.
For the beauty of the created things can be a snare of immense power.
May the Light of your Son, be my beacon and Light my path and intercede for me, that I may ever radiate His Light.
Grant that I may see, in all things, the Presence and Beauty of God alone, so that I may always continue to advance, nearer and nearer to Him.
Amen.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/19/thought-for-the-day-19-may-mary-a-light-in-the-darkness/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/19/thought-for-the-day-19-may-mary-a-light-in-the-darkness-2/

Posted in CONTEMPLATIVE Prayer, GOD ALONE!, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MAY - The Blessed Virgin MARY'S MONTH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 17 May – Contemplation and Our Lady

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 17 May – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Contemplation and Our Lady

“O Mary, my most Holy Mother, free me from useless desires and from an excessive longing for worldly things.
Help me to think always of Heaven.
Grant that I may find my happiness in God, as you did, by acting in perfect accordance with His Holy Will.
By loving Him above everything in the world, may I, one day, enjoy with you, the everlasting happiness of Heaven.
Amen. ”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/05/17/thought-for-the-day-17-may-contemplation-and-our-lady/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/05/17/thought-for-the-day-17-may-contemplation-and-our-lady-2/

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 16 May – “A man going abroad, called his servants and handed over his goods to them.” – Matthew 25:14

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 16 May – The Memorial of St John Nepomucene (c 1345–1393) Priest, Martyr, “The First Martyr of the Seal of the Confession.” – Sirach 44:16-27; 45:3-20, Matthew 25:14-23

“A man going abroad, called his servants and handed over his goods to them.” – Matthew 25:14

REFLECTION – “There is no question but that this Householder is Christ. After His Resurrection, when He was about to return triumphantly to the Father, He called His Apostles and entrusted them with the Gospel teaching, giving more to one, less to the other, never too much or too little but according to the abilities of those who received it. In the same way, the Apostle Paul said that he had fed with milk those unable to take solid food (1Co 3,2)…

Five, two, one talent: let us take these to be the different graces granted to each, whether the five senses for the first; understanding of faith and works for the second; the reasons for distinguishing us from other creatures, for the third. “The one who received five talents went away and traded with them and made another five.” That is to say, besides the physical and material senses he had received, he added knowledge of heavenly things. His knowledge was raised from the creatures to the Creator, from the corporal to the incorporeal, from the visible to the invisible, from the transient to the eternal. “The one who received two made another two.” This one likewise, according to his ability, doubled in the school of the Gospel what he had learned in the school of the Law. Or perhaps we could say, that he understood that knowledge of faith and the works of this present life, lead to future happiness. “But the man who received one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” In the grip of works here below and of worldly pleasures, the wicked servant neglected God’s commands.  However, let us note that, according to another evangelist, he wrapped it in a linen cloth – by this we could understand that he took away the force of his Master’s teaching, by a life of softness and pleasure…

The Master welcomed the first two servants… with the same words of praise. “Come,” He said, “share in your master’s joy and receive what eye has not seen and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart” (1Cor 2,9). What greater reward could be bestowed on a faithful servant?” – St Jerome (343-420) Translator of Sacred Scripture (the Vulgate), Father and One of the Original Four Doctors of the Latin Church .

PRAYER – Mercifully give us Your help, we beseech You, O Lord and by the intercession of blessed John, Your Confessor and Martyr, stretch over us the right hand of Your mercy against all wickedness of the devil. 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.

Posted in 7 GIFTS of the HOLY GHOST: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Strength, Knowledge, Piety, Fear, CHRIST the KING Prayers, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS on FAITH, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HEART, The HOLY GHOST, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The SEVEN LAST WORDS of CHRIST, Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 8 May – ‘ … and your heart shall rejoice.’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 8 May – The Third Sunday after Easter – 1 Peter 2:11-19, John 16:16-22

“So also, you now indeed have sorrow
but I will see you again
and your heart shall rejoice.
And your joy,
no man shall take from you.”

John 16:22

“Even in a world
which is being shipwrecked,
remain brave and strong.”

“Holy Spirit, the Life that gives life:
You are the Cause of all movement.
You are the Breath of all creatures.
You are the Salve that purifies our souls.
You are the Ointment that heals our wounds.
You are the Fire that warms our hearts.
You are the Light that guides our feet.
Let all the world praise You!”

St Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Doctor of the Church

“Turn to the Lord with your whole heart
and leave behind this wretched world.
Then your soul shall find rest.
For the Kingdom of God
is the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit.
If you prepare, within your heart,
a fitting dwelling place,
Christ will come to you
and console you.”

Thomas á Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)

O Holy Spirit of God
By Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466-1536)
(Fr Erasmus of Rotterdam)

O Holy Spirit of God
with Your holy breath,
You purify the hearts and minds of humankind,
comforting them,
when they are in sorrow,
leading them,
aright when they have gone astray,
kindling them,
when their hearts are cold,
reconciling them,
when they are at variance
and enriching them,
with Your many gifts.
By Your working,
all things live.
We make our prayer to You,
maintain and day by day,
increase, the gifts which You
have granted us,
so that with Your Light
before us and within us,
we may pass through this world,
without stumbling
and without straying.
Who with the Father and the Son,
are One God,
now and forever.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, JESUIT SJ, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, OUR Cross, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – ‘ … Thus, in the Cross of Christ, there is death and in the Cross of Christ, there is life. …’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – Tthe Feast of St John Before the Latin Gate – Wisdom 5:1-5, Matthew 20:20-23

“Can you Drink
the Chalice
which I Shall Drink?”

Matthew 20:22

“If anyone serves me,
he must follow me
and where I am,
there will my servant be also.”

John 12:26

“He who is immortal, voluntarily shed His Blood.
He who created the Host of Angels,
was bound at the hands of soldiers
and He who is to judge the living and the dead,
was dragged to justice (cf. Acts 10:42; 2 Tm 4:1).
Truth was exposed to false witnesses,
was slandered, struck, covered with spittle,
hung on the Wood of the Cross –
the Lord of Glory (cf. 1 Cor 2:8)
endured every outrage and suffering
without Himself needing these trials. …

So there is nothing surprising about it,
if we submit to even one of these trials,
since such is our condition …
Therefore, we too have to be offended and tempted,
afflicted by the cutting off of our wills.”

St Theodore the Studite (759- 826)
Monk at Constantinople, Father
(Catecheses 1)

“Let us then learn from the Cross of Jesus our proper way of living.
Should I say ‘living’ or, instead, ‘dying’?
Rather, both living and dying.
Dying to the world, living for God.
Dying to vices and living by the virtues.
Dying to the flesh, but liv­ing in the spirit.
Thu,s in the Cross of Christ, there is death
and in the Cross of Christ, there is life.
The death of death is there and the life of life.
The death of sins is there and the life of the virtues.
The death of the flesh is there and the life of the spirit.”

St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)

“God’s love calls us to move beyond fear.
We ask God for the courage
to abandon ourselves unreservedly,
so that we might be moulded
by God’s grace,
even as we cannot see
where that path may lead us.”

St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)

Posted in QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Quote of the Day – 5 May – St Pius V

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 5 May – The Memorial of St Pius V OP (1504-1573)

“All the evils of the world,
are due to lukewarm Catholics.”

St Pope Pius V (1504-1573)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, GOD ALONE!, OUR Cross, POETRY, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, St PAUL!, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 4 May – ‘You touched me’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 4 May – The Memorial of St Monica (322-387) Mother of St Augustine – 1 Timothy 5:3-10, Luke 7:11-16

“My grace is sufficient for thee,
for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

“Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight.
I do not know what there is now for me to do
or why I am still here,
all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled.”

Saint Monica,
on the conversion
of St Augustine

“Our Lord and Saviour lifted up His Voice
and said with incomparable majesty:
“Let all men know, that grace comes after tribulation.
Let them know, that without the burden of afflictions,
it is impossible to reach the height of grace.
Let them know,
that the gifts of grace increase,
as the struggles increase.
Let men take care not to stray and be deceived.
This is the only true stairway to paradise
and without the cross,
they can find no road to climb to Heaven.”

St Rose of Lima (1586-1617)

Late Have I Loved You
By St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

Late have I loved You,
Beauty so ancient and so new,
late have I loved You!
Lo, you were within,
but I outside,
seeking there for You,
and upon the shapely things
You have made
I rushed headlong – I, misshapen.
You were with me
but I was not with You.
They held me back far from You,
those things which would have no being,
were they not in You.
You called, shouted,
broke through my deafness.
You flared, blazed,
banished my blindness.
You lavished Your fragrance,
I gasped
and now I pant for You.
I tasted You
and now I hunger and thirst.
You touched me
and I burned for Your peace.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The WORD, Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 29 April – ‘Wholly United to Christ’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 29 April – 2 Timothy 2:8-10; 3:10-12, John 15:1-7

“I am the vine, you the branches;
whoever remains in me and I in him,
the same bears much fruit;
for without Me
you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

“My sheep hear My Voice;
and I know them
and they follow Me.”

John 10:27

“He [Christ], protects their faith
and gives strength to believers,
in proportion to the TRUST,
that each man,
who receives that strength,
is willing to place in Him.”

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

“The way to rest is through toil,
the way to life is through death.
Christ has taken on Himself
the whole weakness of our lowly human nature.
If then we are steadfast in our faith in Him
and in our love for Him,
we win the victory that He has won,
we receive what He has promised.”

St Pope Leo the Great (400-461)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Place all your trust in God,
let Him be your fear and your love.
He will answer for you,
He will do what is best for you.
You have here no lasting home.
You are a stranger and a pilgrim
wherever you may be
and you shall have no rest,
until you are wholly united with Christ.
Why do you look about here
when this is not the place of your repose?”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

“For the branch,” says St Augustine,
“there can be no half-measures.
Either it remains united with the vine,
or it is thrown into the fire.”
The same holds true for each one of us.
We must choose, either close union with Jesus,
or separation and spiritual death.
We must decide between a life of fervour in Christ,
or a life of tepidity and sin.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Posted in GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, Hail MARY!, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, ROSARY REFLECTIONS and QUOTES, St Louis-Marie Grignion de MONTFORT, The HOLY CROSS, The LORD'S PRAYER, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 28 April – St Paul of the Cross, St Louis de Montfort, St Peter Chanel

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 28 April – The Memorial of St Paul of the Cross CP (1604-1775), St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716) and St Peter Chanel SM (1803-1841)

“The world lives,
unmindful of the sufferings of Jesus,
which are the Miracle of Miracles,
of the Love of God!”

“The Passion of Jesus,
is a sea of sorrows
but, it is also, an ocean of love.
Ask the Lord to teach you
to fish in this ocean.
Dive into its depths.
No matter how deep you go,
you will never reach the bottom.”

“Entrust yourself entirely to God.
He is a Father
and a most loving Father at that,
Who would rather let Heaven
and earth collapse,
than abandon anyone
who trusted in Him.”

St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775)

“The ‘Our Father’
contains,
all the duties
we owe to God,
the acts of all the virtues
and the petitions
for all our spiritual
and corporal needs.”

“Both Saint Bernard and Saint Bonaventure say,
that the Queen of Heaven is certainly
no less grateful and conscientious,
than gracious and well-mannered people of this world.
Just as she excels in all other perfections,
she surpasses us all in the virtue of gratitude –
therefore, she would never let us honour her,
with love and respect,
without repaying us one hundred fold.
Saint Bonaventure says,
that Mary will greet us with grace,
if we greet her with the Hail Mary.”

St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)

MORE St Paul HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/19/quote-s-of-the-day-19-october-st-paul-of-the-cross/
MORE St Louis and St Peter Chanel HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/04/28/quote-s-of-the-day-28-april-st-louis-marie-grignion-de-montfort/

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOOD FRIDAY, HOLY WEEK, HYMNS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The PASSION

Adoration of the Holy Cross – 15 April – Good Friday

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Adoration of the Holy Cross – 15 April – Good Friday – The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ – Faithful Cross!

Faithful Cross! Above All Other
By St Venantius Fortunatus (c 530 – c 609)

Faithful Cross! above all other,
one and only noble tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
none in fruit thy peer may be;
sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
sweetest weight is hung on thee.

Bend thy boughs, O tree of glory!
Thy relaxing sinews bend;
for awhile the ancient rigour
that thy birth bestowed, suspend
and the King of heavenly beauty
gently on thine arms extend.

Praise and honour to the Father,
praise and honour to the Son,
praise and honour to the Spirit,
ever Three and ever One:
One in might and One in glory
while eternal ages run.

The Passion of Our Lord
St Leo the Great (400-461) Pope, Father & Doctor
(Excerpt from a Sermon on the Passion and Cross of Christ)

“TRUE REVERENCE for the Lord’s Passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus Crucified and recognising in Him our own humanity.
The earth – our earthly nature – should tremble at the suffering of its Redeemer.
The rocks – the hearts of unbelievers – should come forth, the massive stones now ripped apart. Foreshadowings of the future Resurrection, should appear in the Holy City, the Church of God – what is happening to our bodies should now take place in our hearts.

NO-ONE, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the Cross. No-one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against Him. How much more ,does it bring to those, who turn to Him in repentance.
Ignorance has been destroyed, obstinacy has been overcome. The Sacred Blood of Christ has quenched the flaming sword that barred access to the tree of life. The age-old night of sin has given place to the true Light.
The Christian people are invited to share the riches of paradise. All who have been reborn, have the way open before them, to return to their native land, from which they had been exiled. Unless indeed, they close off for themselves, the path that could be opened, before the faith of a thief.

THE BUSINESS of this life should not preoccupy us with its anxiety and pride, so that we no longer strive, with all the love of our heart, to be like our Redeemer and to follow His example. Everything that He did or suffered, was for our salvation – He wanted His body to share the goodness of its Head.

in taking our human nature while remaining God, so that the Word became Man, He left no member of the human race, the unbeliever excepted, without a share in His mercy. Who does not share a common nature with Christ, if He has welcomed Christ, Who took our nature, and is reborn in the Spirit, through Whom Christ was conceived?
Again, who cannot recognise in Christ, his own infirmities? Who would not recognise that Christ’s eating and sleeping, His sadness and His shedding tears of love, are marks of the nature of a slave?
It was this nature of a slave that had to be healed of its ancient wounds and cleansed of the defilement of sin. For that reason the Only- Begotten Son of God, became also, the Son of Man. He was to have both the reality of human nature and the fullness of the Godhead.

THE BODY WHICH LAY LIFELESS in the tomb is ours!
The Body which rose again on the third day is ours!
The Body which ascended above all the heights of Heaven to the right hand of the Father’s glory, is ours!
If then, we walk in the way of His commandments and are not ashamed to acknowledge the price He paid for our salvation in a lowly Body, we too, are to rise to share His glory. The promise He made, will be fulfilled in the sight of all – Whoever acknowledges Me, before men, I too will acknowledge him before My Father, Who is in Heaven.”

Posted in HOLY WEEK, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 10 April – The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 10 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem

“Imagine the joyful and triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
The cheering crowds line the street along which He approaches, riding upon the foal of an ass.
Palm and olive branches are waved aloft, while groups of children cry out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest” (Cf Mt 21:9).
In the midst of all this exultation, Jesus appears to be absorbed and detached.
In his representation of this scene, a famous artist painted a large cross in the distance, far beyond the cheering crowd.
The divine vision of Jesus, certainly saw this cross.
He knew that in a few days, He would be arrested as a malefactor and Crucified between two thieves.
The ingratitude of men towards the Divine Redeemer was to go, even to this length.

We also shall have our moments of happiness and of victory in life.
But, like Jesus, we must not trust too much in the joys and conquests of this world.
The warning of the Holy Spirit, that “the end of joy may be sorrow” (Prov 14:13), is unfortunately, only too true.
Earthy happiness lasts for a short time and ends in grief.
So we must seek the true and lasting happiness which comes from Divine grace and from constant conformity with the will of God.
This happiness will never pass away but, will become everlasting in Heaven.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2022, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The LORD'S PRAYER, The WILL of GOD

Saturday in Passion Week – 9 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – ‘… What is the point …?’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Saturday in Passion Week – 9 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Jeremias 18:18-23, John 12:10-36

“In You, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In Your justice rescue me. – Psalm 30:2”

“He who loves his life, loses it
and he who hates his life
in this world,
keeps it unto life everlasting.
If anyone serves Me,
let him follow Me
and where I am,
there also shall My servant be.”

John 12:25-26

“OUR OBLIGATION is to do God’s will and not our own. We must remember this, if the praye that our Lord commanded us to say daily, is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God’s will be done and then not promptly obey it, when He calls us from this world!
Instead, we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord’s presence, with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure but constrained by necessity.

AND YET, WE EXPECT to be rewarded with heavenly honours by Him to Whom we come, against our will!
Why then do we pray for the Kingdom of Heaven to come, if this earthly bondage pleases us?

WHAT IS THE POINT of praying so often for its early arrival, if we would rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ!?” – St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage, Martyr, Great Father of the Church (Excerpt from On Man’s Mortality).

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WORD

Tuesday in Passion Week – 5 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – ‘ … We are living here now, as aliens …’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Tuesday in Passion Week – 5 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Daniel 14:27-42, John 7:1-13

“Fight my fight, O Lord; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me Send forth Your light and Your fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to Your holy mountain.” – Psalm 42:1,3

“The world … hates Me
because I bear witness concerning it,
that its works are evil.”

John 7:7

“ … THE WORLD HATES Christians, so why give your love to it, instead of following Christ, Who loves you and has redeemed you? John is most urgent in his epistle when he tells us, not to love the world by yielding to sensual desires. Never give your love to the world, he warns, or to anything in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition. The world and its allurements will pass away but the man who has done the will of God shall live forever. Our part, my dear brothers, is to be single-minded, firm in faith and steadfast in courage, ready for God’s will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life which follows it. That will show people that we really live our faith.

WE OUGHT NEVER TO FORGET, beloved, that we have renounced the world. We are living here now, as aliens and only for a time. When the day of our homecoming puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world and restores us to paradise and to the Kingdom, we should welcome it. What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country, as soon as possible? Well, we look upon paradise as our country and a great crowd of our loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children, longs for us to join them. Assured though they are of their own salvation, they are still concerned about ours. What joy both for them and for us, to see one another and embrace! O the delight of that Heavenly Kingdom where there is no fear of death! O the supreme and endless bliss of everlasting life!

MY DEAR BROTHERS, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve, that springs from faith, for He will give the rewards of His love, more abundantly, to those who have longed for Him more fervently.” – St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258) Bishop of Carthage, Father of the Church and Martyr (An excerpt from On Man’s Mortality).

Posted in BAPTISM, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The WORD

Monday in Passion Week – 4 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – “If anyone thirst, let himcome to Me and drink.”

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Monday in Passion Week – 4 April – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Jonas 3:1-10, John 7:32-39

“O God, by Your Name save me and by your might deliver me.” – Psalm 53:3

“If anyone thirst, let him
come to Me and drink.
He who believes in Me,
as the Scripture says,
‘From within Him
there shall flow
rivers of living waters.’ ”

John 7:37-38

“AS THE DEER LONGS for running water, so my soul longs for You, my God. Just as the deer longs for running water, so do our newly baptised members, our young deer, so to speak, also yearn for God. By leaving Egypt and the world, they have put Pharaoh and his entire army to death in the waters of Baptism. After slaying the devil, their hearts long for the springs of running water in the Church. These springs, are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah testifies, that the Father is like a Fountain when He says: They have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living water, to dig for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. In another passage we read about the Son: They have forsaken the Fountain of Wisdom. And again, John says of the Holy Spirit: Whoever drinks the water I will give him, that water shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life. The Evangelist explains that the Saviour said this of the Holy Spirit. The testimony of these texts, establishes beyond doubt, the Three Fountains of the Church constitute the mystery of the Trinity.

THESE ARE THE WATERS that the heart of the believer longs for, these are the waters that the heart of the newly baptised yearns for when he says: My heart thirsts for God, the living Fountain. This is not a weak, faint desire to see God, rather the newly baptised actually burn with desire and thirst for God. Before they received Baptism, they used to ask one another: When shall I go and see the face of God? Now their quest has been answered. they have come forward and they stand in the presence of God. They have come before the Altar and have looked upon the Mystery of the Saviour.

HAVING RECEIVED the Body of Christ and being reborn in the life-giving waters, they speak up boldly and say: I shall go into God’s marvellous dwelling place, His house. The house of God is the Church, his marveLlous dwelling place ….

… BY THE WORD OF GOD you have been lifted out of the dangerous waters of this world, like so many little fish. In us, the nature of things has been changed. Fish taken out of the sea die but the Apostles have fished for us and have taken us out of the sea of this world, so we could be brought from death to life. As long as we were in the world, our eyes looked down into the abyss and we lived in filth. After we were rescued from the waves, we began to look upon the Sun and look up at the True Light. Confused in the presence of so much joy, we say: Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, in the presence of my Saviour and my God.” – St Jerome (343-420) Bishop and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Sermon on Psalm 41 addressed to the Newly Baptised).

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD

Thought for the Day – 30 March – The Hour of Trial

Posted on by AnaStpaul

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

The Hour of Trial

“We should meditate on the following passage from The Imitation of Christ.

“Just Father, ever to be praised, the hour is come for Your servant to be tried. Beloved Father, it is right that in this hour Your servant should suffer something for You. O Father, forever to be honoured, the hour which You knew from all eternity is at hand, when, for a short time, Your servant should be outwardly oppressed but inwardly, should ever live with You.

Let him be a little slighted, let him be humbled, let him fail in the sight of men, let him be afflicted with sufferings and pains, so that he may rise again with You in the dawn of the New Light and be glorified in Heaven.”

“Holy Father, You have so appointed and wished it. What has happened is what You commanded. For this is a favour to Your friend, to suffer and be troubled in the world for Your love, no matter how often and by whom, You permit it to happen to him.”

“Grant me, O Lord, the grace to know what should be known, to praise what is most pleasing to You, to esteem that, which appears most precious to You and to abhor what is unclean in Your sight.” (Bk III c 50).

In the light of these reflections, every trial will be bearable and, by the grace of God, even welcome!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/18/thought-for-the-day-18-february-the-hour-of-trial/
PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/30/thought-for-the-day-30-march-the-hour-of-trial/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HEART

Thought for the Day – 25 March – Why God Created Us

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Why God Created Us

“We should ask the reason for everything which comes from the Hand of God.
Have you ever seriously considered WHY you are in this world?
It is certainly not for the sake of this passing earthly existence, for the sake of earning your living, or enjoying yourself.
You know well, that the passing pleasures of this life do not satisfy the human heart and cannot be the final goal of life.
Each one of us has a thirst for all that is infinite, eternal and perfect.
God alone can satisfy this thirst.
Just as we are created by God, so we are created for Him.
Just as we came from God, so we are gradually travelling back towards Him, for He is the final goal of our earthly journey.
We should meditate on this great truth which we were first taught in the Catechism, namely, that we were created to know, love and serve God on this earth and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.
Let us not allow ourselves to be dazzled by earthly beauty.
God alone is the eternal beauty which will satisfy our hearts.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/26/thought-for-the-day-26-march-why-god-created-us/

Apologies – the Dear Cardinal went missing yesterday , without leave- due to an Operator error, ‘Moi‘ 🙄

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, Hail MARY!, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HOPE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The ANNUNCIATION

Our Morning Offering – 25 March – O Mary, My Hope!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 25 March – The Annunciation

O Mary, My Hope!
By St John Damascene (675-749)
Father and Doctor of the Church

I salute you, O Mary!
you are the hope of Christians.
Receive the prayer of a sinner,
who loves you tenderly,
honours you in a special manner
and places in you the whole hope
of his salvation.
From you I have my life.
You reinstate me in the grace of your Son:
you are the sure pledge of my salvation.
I beseech of you, therefore, to deliver me
from the burden of my sins,
dispel the darkness of my mind,
banish from my heart the love of the world,
repress the temptations of my enemies
and so rule my whole life, that by your means
and under your guidance,
I may obtain everlasting happiness in heaven.
Amen

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on COWARDICE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HEART, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 23 March – But the things that proceedout of the mouth …

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 23 March – Wednesday day of the Third Week of Lent – Exodus 20:12-24, Matthew 15:1-20

“But the things that proceed
out of the mouth,
come from the heart
and it is they that defile a man.”

Matthew 15:18

“The sky and the earth and the waters
and the things that 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.”

“What is reprehensible,
is that while leading good lives themselves
and abhorring those of wicked men,
some, fearing to offend,
shut their eyes to evil deeds
instead of condemning them
and pointing out their malice.”

St Augustine (354-407)
Father and Doctor of Grace

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, OUR Cross, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on REPARATION/EXPIATION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HEART, The HOLY CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 13 March – The Second Sunday of Lent – Let us be Transfigured!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 13 March – The Second Sunday of Lent – Let us be Transfigured!

“And when I hear it said,
that God is good and He will pardon us
and then see, that men cease not from evil-doing,
oh, how it grieves me!
The infinite goodness
with which God communicates with us,
sinners as we are,
should constantly make us love and serve Him better
but we, on the contrary,
instead of seeing in His goodness
an obligation to please Him,
convert it into an excuse for sin,
which will, of a certainty,
lead in the end,
to our deeper condemnation.”

St Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

“Aspire to God with short
but frequent outpourings of the heart,
admire His bounty,
invoke His aid,
cast yourself in spirit at the foot of His Cross,
adore His goodness,
treat with Him of your salvation,
give Him your whole soul –
a thousand times in the day.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of Charity

“Mortification and suffering
are necessary for two reasons.
They are particularly necessary
because, we are all sinners
and must expiate our sins.
Secondly, they are necessary
because, without penance
and suffering, we become attached
to the world and forget all about Heaven,
which is our real home.
In His love for us, therefore,
God commands us to do penance.
What are we doing in the way of penance?
Let us remember the command of Jesus
and His precursor, St John the Baptist:
“Unless you repent, you will all perish!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)