Category: QUOTES on THE WORLD

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 26 November – The Glory of God

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

The Glory of God

“The whole of creation manifests the glory of God.
The grass on the field, the trees of the forest, the insects and birds of the air, the creatures on the earth and in the sea, the stars in the sky – they all speak to us of the power and beauty of the Creator.
You also were created by and for God, Who is the beginning and end of all things.
In all thoughts, actions and affections, therefore, you should seek the Glory of God.
God, indeed, has no need of your small contribution to enhance His Glory.
His Glory is complete and perfect in Himself, in Heaven and in Hell, God does not need you but you need God.
It is your strict obligation, not only to proclaim the Glory of God but, also to work for its triumph in yourself and in all things.

The man who loves God above all things, seeks only His Glory.
The man who loves himself more than he loves God, however, seeks his own petty worldly glorification and strays away from the main road of life, which should lead him towards God.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in franciscan OFM, GOD ALONE!, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VIRTUE, SAINT of the DAY, The HEART, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The HOLY NAME

Quote/s of the Day – 26 November – St Leonard of Port Maurice

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Quote/s of the Day – 26 November – The Memorial of St Leonard of Port Maurice OFM (1676-1751)

“I believe, that were it not for the Holy Mass,
at this moment, the world would be in the abyss,
unable to bear up,
under the mighty load of its iniquities.
Mass is the potent prop
that hold the world on its base.”

“What graces, gifts and virtues
the Holy Mass calls down!”

“Oh Most Sacred Name,
Name of peace,
Balsam of life,
which is the centre of all the sighs,
of the most fervent lovers of Jesus.
The Sign of those who truly love Jesus
is to bear Jesus imprinted in the heart
and to name often and with devotion,
the Most Holy Name of Jesus.”

St Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751)

Posted in GOD is LOVE, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on NATURE - GOD'S CREATION, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 26 November – ‘ … Destroy what we see, that it may pass and be transformed into what we believe…’

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One Minute Reflection – 26 November – “Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – Readings: Daniel 7: 2-14; Daniel 3: 75-81; Luke 21: 29-33 – The Memorial of St Sylvester Gozzolini OSB Silv. (1177– 1267)

“Consider the fig tree” – Luke 21:29

REFLECTION – “The earth that we see does not satisfy us; it is but a beginning; it is but a promise of something beyond it; even when it is gayest, with all its blossoms on and shows most touchingly what lies hid in it, yet it is not enough. We know much more lies hid in it than we see. A world of Saints and Angels, a glorious world, the palace of God, the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, the heavenly Jerusalem, the throne of God and Christ, all these wonders, everlasting, all-precious, mysterious, and incomprehensible, lie hid in what we see. What we see is the outward shell of an eternal Kingdom and on that Kingdom we fix the eyes of our faith.

Shine forth, O Lord, as when, on Thy Nativity, Thine Angels visited the shepherds; let Thy glory blossom forth, as bloom and foliage on the tree,; change with Thy mighty power this visible world into that divine world, which, as yet we see not, destroy what we see, that it may pass and be transformed into what we believe. Bright as is the sun and the sky and the clouds; green as are the leaves and the fields; sweet as is the singing of the birds – we know that they are not all and we will not take up with a part, for the whole. They proceed from a centre of Love and Goodness, which is God Himself but they are not His Fullness; they speak of Heaven but they are not Heaven; they are but as stray beams and dim reflections of His Image; they are but crumbs from the table!” – St John Henry Newman C.O. (1801-1890),Priest, Theologian (The Invisible World » PPS, vol. 4, no.13)

PRAYER – Lord God, creator of all Light and creator of all good, grant that we may look up to You always and know that by Your Light and your goodness we are safe in this world of corruption. May the Light of our Lord Jesus, make the path He has set out bright and clear and may the prayers of St Sylvester Gozzolini be a help in our struggle. Lead us, Lord, in Your kindness and mercy to our heavenly home. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUTH, SAINT of the DAY, The REDEMPTION, The SECOND COMING, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 25 November – ‘ … The redemption you have sought, is coming near!’

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One Minute Reflection – 25 November – Readings: Daniel 6: 12-28; Psalm: Daniel 3: 68-74; Luke 21: 20-28 – The Memorial of St Catherine of Alexandria (Died c 305)

“Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” – Luke 21:28

REFLECTION – “The powers of heaven will be moved.” What does the Lord mean by the powers of heaven if not the Angels and Archangels, Thrones, Dominations, Rulers and Powers? (Col 1,6). At the coming of the severe Judge, they will appear visibly before our eyes… “Then they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great authority and majesty.” In other words, they are going to see, in power and majesty, Him Whom they chose not to hear in a state of humility… He said these things about the condemned; words of consolation for the elect follow at once: “When these things begin to take place, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near.” Truth is exhorting His elect by saying: “When the disasters of the world become more frequent… let your hearts exult! While the world, which is not your friend, is coming to an end, the redemption you have sought ,is coming near.!”

Those who love God are ordered to rejoice and be merry at the world’s end. They will soon find Him Whom they love, while what they have not loved is passing away. It should be far from the hearts of all the faithful who long to see God to grieve over the disasters of a world, for they know, these very disasters, are soon to end. It is written that: “Whoever wishes to be a friend of this world, makes himself an enemy of God” (Jas 4,4). Someone who does not rejoice as the end of the world approaches, testifies, that he is its friend and this itself convicts him, of being God’s enemy!

Let this be far from the hearts of the faithful, let it be far from those who believe ,by their faith, that there is another life and who love it by their activities… What is our mortal life except a way? Consider carefully, my friends, what sort of thing it is to grow weary with the exertions of the way and yet to be unwilling, that the way be ended!… Therefore, my friends, do not love what you see cannot long exist.” – St Gregory the Great (c 540-604) Pope, Father, Doctor of the Church – [Homilies on the Gospel, n.3 (Migne; trans. ©Cistercian publications Inc.]

PRAYER – Lord God, creator of all Light and creator of all good, grant that we may look up to You always and know that by Your Light and your goodness we are safe in this world of corruption. May the Light of our Lord Jesus, make the path He has set out bright and clear and may the prayers of St Catherine of Alexandria be a help in our struggle. Lead us, Lord, in Your kindness and mercy to the banquet which awaits us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in ABOUT Antonio Bacci, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MORALS, QUOTES on MORTAL SIN, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 17 November – The Infiltration of the Cinema, Radio, Television [Internet]

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

The Influence of the Cinema,
Radio, Television, [Internet]

“It is an unfortunate but undeniable fact, that man often employs new inventions and discoveries for evil, rather than for good purposes.
The gifts of God ought to bring us closer to Him but, too often, they become, through our own fault, the means of separating ourselves further from Him.
Everything is good and not only whatever God has created but also, whatever we, ourselves produce by a proper use of the facultis with which our Creator has endowed us.

“Every creature of God is good,” says St Paul, “and nothing is to be rejected…” (1 Tim 4:4).
These words are still true of the countless inventions of our own era.
The cinema, radio, television, [internet], are essentially good because they are gifts which God has brought into being through the agency of human intelligence and perseverance.
But what use have we been making of them?
Take, for instance, the cinema.
It must be admitted that there are very few films today which are edifying or spiritually helpful.
Most are positively bad and dangerous, especially to certain branches of the community.
Moreover, as Pope Pius XI warned us, in his Encyclical, Vigilanti Cura, on this subject in 1936, many films, which would otherwise be quite harmless, are rendered dangerous because they are interspersed with various kinds of immorality.

Since the greatest evil for a Christian is the loss of God and this inevitably follows, the loss of grace and of the Faith, we must observe the following safeguards in our approach to the cinema:
(1)We must stay away from any film which might represent a proximate occasion of mortal sin;
(2) We must avoid films which are opposed to morals or to the Faith and must see that our families and dependents, do likewise;
(3) We may attend films which are good or merely entertaining.
It is better, however, not to go to the cinema too regularly, for to do so, would be a waste of time and could expose us to unforeseen risks.
In any case, there are many other amusements, preferably open-air, which are much more beneficial to soul and body.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Note: We are definitely capable of updating the wise words of dear Cardinal Bacci to accommodate the current era and infiltration of the above evils into virtually every moment of our lives – on our phones and computers.

Posted in GOD is LOVE, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on TRUTH

Our Morning Offering – 17 November – Rescue Our Life, Lord

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Our Morning Offering – 17 November

Rescue Our Life, Lord
By St Romanos the Melodist (c 490-c 556)
Deacon, Hymnographer, Poet, Writer.

We implore You,
O All-Holy, Long-Suffering,
Life and Restoration,
Source of goodness,
look down from Heaven
and visit all those
who ever trust in You;
rescue our life, Lord,
from all constraint and affliction
and, in the faith of Truth,
guide us all,
at the prayers of Your
Immaculate Mother of God and Virgin,
Save Your world
and those in the world
and spare us all,
You Who, for us,
became Man without change,
only Lover of mankind.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, ON the SAINTS, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VIRTUE

Thought for the Day – 14 November – Good Example

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Thought for the Day – 14 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Good Example

“The Saints achieved a great deal by preaching and by conversation but, they achieved far more by good example.
The spiritual power of personality touched even the most hardened sinners.

It is said of St Romuald, that everyone who visited him, experienced great interior happiness.
His appearance alone was enough to cheer them!
He was so detached from himself and from the things of the world and, so absorbed in God, that he was always smiling.

The Cure d’Ars, too, converted more people by the unseen impact of his personal holiness, than by the simple sermons which he delivered to the crowds gathered about him.

Unfortunately, quite the opposite influence is exerted by hardened sinners and by self-centred worldlings and, even greater damage is done by those who are immersed in soul-destroying sensuality.
The latter exhale the breath of death and the familiarity of their friendship, perverts and corrupts those, with whom they come in contact.

Examine your behaviour at home and in society, for it affects, not only your own spiritual welfare but, that of your neighbour as well.
Good example is the most effective sermon and it is a sermon, which all of us can and should deliver!

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES on HERESY, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TIME

Quote/s of the Day – 9 November – The Church

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Quote/s of the Day – 9 November – Feast Dedication of The Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour in the Lateran – Gospel: John 2:13-22

“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

John 2:17

“Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?
How then has it weeds?”

Matthew 13:27

“We … are under an obligation
to be the light of the world
by the modesty of our behaviour,
the fervour of our charity,
the innocence of our lives
and the example of our virtues.
Thus shall we be able
to raise the lowered prestige
of the Catholic Church
and, to build up again,
the ruins that others by their vices have caused.
Others, by their wickedness,
have branded the Catholic Faith
with a mark of shame,
we must strive,
with all our strength, to cleanse it
from its ignominy
and to restore it
to its pristine glory!”

St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595)
Priest and Martyr

“…The great movement of apostasy being organised in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy, neither discipline for the mind, nor curb for the passions and which, under the pretext of freedom and human dignity, would bring back to the world (if such a Church could overcome) the reign of legalised cunning and force and the oppression of the weak and of all those who toil and suffer. […] Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators – they are traditionalists.”

“Truly we are passing through disastrous times,
when we may well make our own,
the lamentation of the Prophet:
“There is no truth,and there is no mercy
and there is no knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1).
Yet in the midst of this tide of evil,
the Virgin Most Merciful rises before our eyes
like a rainbow, as the arbiter of peace
between God and man.”

St Pius X (1835-1914)

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CHRISTMASTIDE!, DOCTORS of the Church, Gerard MANLEY HOPKINS SJ, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, JESUIT SJ, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MARIAN POETRY, MAY - The Blessed Virgin MARY'S MONTH, MODESTY, POETRY, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HELL, QUOTES on JUSTICE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR, SACRED HEART QUOTES, SAINT of the DAY, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – Jesuits

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Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – The Memorial of All Jesuit Saints and Blesseds

“Hate what the world seeks
and seek, what it avoids.”

“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.”

“Act as if everything depended on you;
trust as if everything depended on God.”

St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)

I Beg of You, My Lord
By St Peter Faber (1506-1546)

I beg of You, my Lord,
to remove anything which separates
me from You
and You from me.
Remove anything that makes me unworthy
of Your sight,
Your control,
Your reprehension;
of Your speech and conversation,
of Your benevolence and love.
Cast from me every evil
that stands in the way of my seeing You,
hearing, tasting, savouring and touching You,
fearing and being mindful of You,
knowing, trusting, loving and possessing You;
being conscious of Your Presence
and, as far as may be, enjoying You.
This is what I ask for myself
and earnestly desire from You.
Amen

“What a tragedy,
how many souls
are being shut out of heaven
and falling into hell,
thanks to you!”

St Francis Xavier SJ (1506-1552)

“This death … has already levelled
his bow to strike me.
Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke,
by dying now to the world,
that at my death,
I may live to God?”

St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)

“We ought to instruct with meekness
those whom heresy has made bitter and suspicious
and has estranged from orthodox Catholics,
… Thus, by whole-hearted charity and goodwill,
we may win them over to us in the Lord.”

St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1397)
Doctor of the Church

“We … are under an obligation
to be the light of the world
by the modesty of our behaviour,
the fervour of our charity,
the innocence of our lives
and the example of our virtues.
Thus shall we be able
to raise the lowered prestige
of the Catholic Church
and, to build up again,
the ruins that others by their vices have caused.
Others, by their wickedness,
have branded the Catholic Faith
with a mark of shame,
we must strive,
with all our strength, to cleanse it
from its ignominy
and to restore it
to its pristine glory!”

The Burning Babe,

As I in hoary winter’s night
stood shivering in the snow,
Surprised I was with sudden heat
which made my heart to glow;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view
what fire was near,
A pretty babe all burning bright
did in the air appear;
Who, scorchëd with excessive heat,
such floods of tears did shed
As though His floods should quench His flames
which with His tears were fed.
Alas, quoth He but newly born in fiery heats I fry,
Yet none approach to warm their hearts
or feel my fire but I!
My faultless breast the furnace is,
the fuel wounding thorns,
Love is the fire and sighs the smoke,
the ashes shame and scorns;
The fuel justice layeth on
and mercy blows the coals,
The metal in this furnace wrought
are men’s defiled souls,
For which, as now on fire I am
to work them to their good,
So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.
With this He vanished out of sight
and swiftly shrunk away,
And straight I called unto mind
that it was Christmas day.

St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595)
Priest and Martyr

“When He takes away
what He once lent us,
His purpose is to
store our treasure elsewhere,
more safely and bestow on us,
those very blessings,
that we ourselves
would most choose to have.”
(From A Letter to His Mother)

St Aloysius Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)

“The Catholic religion was the religion of your forefathers
and the only one Jesus Christ founded; –
the one which He promised would endure
till the end of time.
It is in the Catholic religion alone
that you can save your soul.”

“How long are you going to be deaf to His call?
Or are you going to lose your soul,
which Jesus Christ bought at the price
of His Precious Blood?”

St John Francis Régis SJ (1597-1640)

“… Make use of Our Lord
as an armour which covers [us] all about,
by means of which [we] shall resist
every device of [our] enemies.
You shall then be my Strength, O my God!
You shall be my Guide,
my Director,
my Counsellor,
my Patience,
my Knowledge,
my Peace,
my Justice
and my Prudence.”

“He promises to be [our] strength,
in proportion to the trust
which [we] place in Him.”

St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682)
“Apostle of the Sacred Heart”

The May Magnificat
By Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ (1844-1889)

May is Mary’s month and I
Muse at that and wonder why:
Her feasts follow reason,
Dated due to season-

Candlemas, Lady Day:
But the Lady Month, May,
Why fasten that upon her,
With a feasting in her honour?
Ask of her, the mighty Mother:
Her reply puts this other
Question: What is Spring?
Growth in everything-
All things rising, all things sizing
Mary sees, sympathising
With that world of good,
Nature’s motherhood.

Well but there was more than this:
Spring’s universal bliss
Much, had much to say
To offering Mary May.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The HEART, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 3 November – ‘… There is one Road ..’

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Quote/s of the Day – 3 November – Readings: Romans 13: 8-10; Psalm 112: 1b-2, 4-5, 9; Luke 14: 25-33

“… Anyone of you
who does not renounce
all his possessions,
cannot be my disciple.”

Luke 14:33

“Are you able to drink the cup
that I am to drink?”

Matthew 20:22

“Do not rejoice in the Cross only in times of peace,
preserve the same faith in times of persecution.
Do not be a friend to Jesus in times of peace alone,
only to become His enemy in times of war.
You are now receiving forgiveness for your sins
and the spiritual gifts lavishly bestowed by your King so,
when war breaks out, fight valiantly for your King.”

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

“… There is one Road
and one only,
well secured against all possibility
of going astray
and, this Road is provided
by One Who is Himself
both God and man.
As God, He is the Goal,
as man, He is the Way.”

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

“May He,
Who is the Track of the runners
and the Reward of the winners,
lead and guide you along it –
He, Christ Jesus!”

Bl Guerric of Igny O.Cist (c 1080-1157)

“How good and pleasant it is
to dwell in the Heart of Jesus!
Who is there who does not love a heart so wounded?
Who can refuse a return of love
to a Heart so loving?
Amen.”

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

“Do not live any longer in yourself
but let Jesus Christ live in you in such a way
that the virtue of this Divine Saviour may be resplendent
in all your actions, in order that all may see in you
a true portrait of the Crucified and sense,
the sweetest fragrance of the holy virtues of the Lord,
in interior and exterior modesty,
in patience,
in gentleness,
suffering,
charity,
humility
and in all others that follow.”

St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775)

Posted in "Follow Me", FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 3 November – ‘Then our soul will ascend … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 3 November – Readings: Romans 13: 8-10; Psalm 112: 1b-2, 4-5, 9; Luke 14: 25-33

“… Anyone of you, who does not renounce all his possessions, cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:33

REFLECTION – “The tradition and the authority of Holy Scripture show us three renunciations … The first is that by which, as far as the body is concerned, we make light of all the wealth and goods of this world.
By the second, we reject the fashions and vices and former affections of soul and flesh.
By the third, we detach our soul from all present and visible things and contemplate only things to come and set our heart on what is invisible. We have to do all these three at once as the Lord charged Abraham to do, when he said to him “Go out from your country and your kinsfolk and your father’s house.”(Gn 12:1).

First he said “from your country,” that is, from the goods of this world and earthly riches; secondly, “from your kinsfolk,” that is, from this former life and habits and sins, which cling to us from our very birth and are joined to us, as it were, by ties of affinity and kinship; thirdly, “from your father’s house,” that is, from all the recollection of this world, which the sight of the eyes can afford. …

Let us contemplate, as the Apostle says, “not what is seen but what is unseen – for what is seen is transitory but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Co 4:18) … “Our citizenship is in heaven,” … (Ph 3:20) … We shall go forth from the house of our former parent, who was our father from our very birth, according to the old man, when we were “by nature children of wrath, like the rest” (Eph 2:3) and we shall fix our whole mind and concentration on heavenly things …
Then our soul will ascend towards unseen things by constant meditation on divine things and spiritual contemplation.” – St John Cassian (c 360-435) Monk, Founder of Monasteries, Father of the Church (Conference 3, 6-7)

PRAYER – Holy God and Father, You sent Your Son to show us the way to our eternal home. Teach us always to understand that by relinquishing the things of this world and focusing our efforts only on following the Light He shines on our path, we may attain the eternal victory. May the prayers of Your our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, assist us in carrying our cross after Hi m. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SILENCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUTH, QUOTES on VIRTUE, SACRED HEART QUOTES, The HOLY CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 29 October – Our Times

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Quote/s of the Day – 29 October

Our Times

“Speak the Truth
in a million voices.
It is silence that kills.”

“Nothing great is ever achieved,
without much enduring.”

“Start being brave about everything.
Drive out darkness and spread light.
Don’t look at your weaknesses.
Realise instead, that in Christ crucified,
you can do everything.”

St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Doctor of the Church

“You cannot have two heavens –
it is impossible to enjoy yourself here
and afterward,
to reign with Christ.”

Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)

“We cannot go to heaven in featherbeds.”

“If we lived in a Country
where virtue was profitable,
common sense would make us saintly.
But since we see that avarice, anger,
pride and stupidity commonly profit,
far beyond charity, modesty, justice and thought,
perhaps we must stand fast a little,
even at the risk of being heroes.”

“You wouldn’t abandon ship in a storm,
just because you couldn’t control the winds.”

St Thomas More (1478-1535)

“Hate what the world seeks
and seek, what it avoids.”

St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)

“Devotion to the
Most Sacred Heart,
is the Extraordinary Remedy,
for the Extraordinary needs
of our time.”

Pope Pius XI (1857-1939)

Posted in CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on CREATION, QUOTES on EDUCATION, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WISDOM, SAINT of the DAY, The PASSION

Quote/s of the Day – 26 October – St Alfred the Great

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Quote/s of the Day – 26 October – The Memorial of St Alfred the Great (849-899) King

“For in prosperity,
a man is often puffed up with pride,
whereas tribulations chastens
and humbles him through suffering and sorrow.
In the midst of prosperity,
the mind is elated,
and in prosperity.
a man forgets himself.
In hardship, he is forced to reflect on himself,
even though he be unwilling.
In prosperity, a man often destroys
the good he has done.
Amidst difficulties,
he often repairs what he long since did
in the way of wickedness.”

“He seemed to me,
a very foolish man
and very wretched,
who will not increase
his understanding
while he is in the world
and ever with
and long to reach
that endless life,
where all shall be made clear.”

“The saddest thing about any man,
is that he be ignorant
and the most exciting thing.
is that he knows it!”

“Ah, what shall I be at fifty,
should nature keep me alive,
if I find the world so bitter
when I am but twenty-five?”

“One God, one law, one element,
And one far-off divine event,
To which the whole creation moves.”

St Alfred the Great (849-899)
King

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HOLY ROSARY/ROSARY CRUSADE, The LORD'S PRAYER

Thought for the Day – 25 October – “Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

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

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

“Life is a prolonged trial.
St Paul compares it to a stadium in which everyone must fight to win.
If anyone lays down his arms, he will be unable to conquer his passions or to achieve the palm of victory.
“One who enters a contest, is not crowned, unless he has competed according to the rules ” (2 Tim 2:5).

With the exception of the Blessed Virgin, every human being is obliged to battle against the temptations of the flesh.
Sometimes, these can be quite terrifying.
St Paul himself confessed that he felt another law in his members, warning against the law of his mind.
“Unhappy man that I am!” he exdclaimed in supplication to God to come to his assistance.
“Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom 7:24).

The false enchantment and the wickedness of the world, also threatens to ensnare us.
“We know that we are of God and the whole world is in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19).
It is easy to become absorbed in worldly affairs and to forget the all-important spiritual realities.

Finally, there is the devil, whom St Peter describes as wandering about “seeking someone to devour.” Resist him, he urges us, “steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same suffering befalls your brethren all over the world ” (Cf 1 Peter 5:9).

Faced as we are, with these three foes, we should implore God to help us by His grace.
Lead us not into temptation, O God but help us to conquer these enemies.
Without You, we can do nothing but with Your aid, all is possible.
Lead us not into temptation!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/24/thought-for-the-day-24-october-lead-us-not-into-temptation/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE

Our Morning Offering – 22 October – Prayer of a Martyr, St Thomas More

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Our Morning Offering – 22 October – Prayer of a Martyr, St Thomas More (1478-1535)

The prayer below, was written by Saint Thomas More while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London, awaiting execution by King Henry VIII.

Give Me Thy Grace, Good Lord!
A Prayer of Hope
By St Thomas More (1478-1535)

Give me Thy grace, good Lord.
To set the world at naught.
To set the mind firmly on Thee
and not to hang upon the words of men’s mouths.
To be content to be solitary.
Not to long for worldly pleasures.
Little by little, utterly to cast off the world
and rid my mind of all its business.
Not to long to hear of earthly things
but that the hearing of worldly fancies,
may be displeasing to me.
Gladly to be thinking of God,
piteously to call for His help.
To lean into the comfort of God.
Busily to labour to love Him.
To know mine own vileness and wretchedness.
To humble myself under the mighty Hand of God.
To bewail my sins past,
for the purging of them,
patiently to suffer adversity.
Gladly to bear my purgatory here.
To be joyful in tribulations.
To walk the narrow way that leads to life.
To bear the Cross with Christ.
To have the last thing in remembrance.
To have ever before mine eyes,
my death that is ever at hand.
To make death no stranger to me.
To foresee and consider,
the everlasting fire of Hell.
To pray for pardon before the Judge come.
To have continually in mind,
the Passion that Christ suffered for me.
For His benefits, unceasingly to give Him thanks.
To buy the time again, that I before have lost.
To abstain from vain conversations.
To shun foolish mirth and gladness.
To cut off unnecessary recreations.
Of worldly substance,
friends, liberty, life and all,
to set the loss at naught,
for the winning of Christ.
To think my worst enemies, my best friends,
for the brethren of Joseph
could never have done him
so much good with their love and favour,
as they did him, with their malice and hatred.
These minds are more to be desired of every man,
than all the treasures of all the princes and kings,
Christian and heathen,
were it gathered and laid together,
all in one heap.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, ROSARY REFLECTIONS and QUOTES, The ASCENSION of the LORD, The HOLY ROSARY/ROSARY CRUSADE

Thought for the Day – 15 October – The Second Glorious Mystery – The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven

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Thought for the Day – 15 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
The Second Glorious Mystery
The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven

“In the course of our ascent, we must never stop and decide that we have gone far enough!
To stop would inevitably mean going backward.
Jesus and Mary are inviting and encouraging us to go higher and higher.

Have we been purified of sin, the defiler of the soul and the destroyer of human dignity?
Have we an intense horror, even of venial sin, which separates us from God and kills the life of grace?
It is still not enough – we must go higher.

Are we generous and unselfish in the fight to achieve holiness, guarding ourselves against the evil suggestions of the world, the flesh and the devil?
It is still not enough – we must continue to advance.

Do we carry the daily cross which God has entrusted to us and accept the burden with perfect resignation to His Holy Will?
Very good but even this is not enough!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/14/thought-for-the-day-14-october-the-second-glorious-mystery-the-ascension-of-jesus-into-heaven/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Quote/s of the Day – 10 October – St Francis Borgia

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 October – The Memorial of St Francis Borgia SJ (1510-1572)

“This death … has already levelled
his bow to strike me.
Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke,
by dying now to the world,
that at my death,
I may live to God?”

“O sensual, base,
miserable and blind life!
is it possible, that men should be
such strangers to their own happiness,
such enemies to themselves,
to be fond of thy false enjoyments
and for their sake,
to deprive themselves of those
that are pure, permanent and solid?!”

St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)

MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/10/quote-s-of-the-day-10-october-st-francis-borgia-and-st-daniel-comboni/

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – – 8 October – ‘If it neglects the grace …’

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One Minute Reflection – – 8 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Joel 1: 13-15; 2: 1-2; Psalm 9: 2-3, 6 & 8-9; Luke 11: 15-26

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came…” – Luke 11:24

REFLECTION – “The unclean spirit dwelt in us before we believed, before we came to Christ when our soul was still committing fornication against God and was with its lovers, the demons. Afterward it said, “I will return to my first husband,” and came to Christ, who “created” it from the beginning “in his image.” Necessarily the adulterous spirit gave up his place when it saw the legitimate husband.

Christ received us and our house has been “cleansed” from its former sins. It has been “furnished” with the furnishing of the Sacraments of the faithful, that they who have been initiated know. This house does not deserve to have Christ as its resident immediately, unless its life and conduct are so holy, pure and incapable of being defiled, that it deserves to be the “temple of God.” It should not still be a house but a temple in which God dwells. If it neglects the grace that was received and entangles itself in secular affairs, immediately, that unclean spirit returns and claims the vacant house for itself. “It brings with it seven other spirits more wicked,” so that it may not be able again to be expelled “and the last state of that kind of person is worse than the first.” It would be more tolerable that the soul would not have returned to its first husband once it became a prostitute, than having gone back after confession to her husband, to have become an adulteress again. There is no “fellowship,” as the Apostle says, “between the temple of God and idols,” no “agreement between Christ and Belial.” – Origen of Alexandria (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father (Homilies on Exodus, 8)

PRAYER – Lord God and Father, who entrusted the earth to men and each to the other, grant us the grace this day, to see Your Face. Grant us the grace to work faithfully for Your glory, for the salvation of our souls through the light of faith and by the grace which You have given us. We beg the grace of Your love and mercy and the light of love You send with Your Holy Spirit. May the prayers of Mary our Holy Mother, keep us ever in her guiding care. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.

Posted in "Follow Me", MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HOLY ROSARY/ROSARY CRUSADE

Thought for the Day – 6 October – The Fourth Joyful Mystery – The Purification of Our Lady and The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

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Thought for the Day – 6 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
The Fourth Joyful Mystery
The Purification of Our Lady and
The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

“Then Joseph and Mary carried the Infant Jesus to the Temple to offer Him to God and to buy Him back as their first-born Son, with the price paid by the poor, namely, with a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.
Let us reflect on this new act of humility on the part of the Holy Family.
In spite of the supreme dignity which had been accorded them, they submitted quietly to the law which bound those in poverty and in sin.
We, who are so fond of money and of ostentation, have much to learn from this scene.
Jesus, the God-Man, is purchased back as a sinner for two for two young pigeons.
Mary, the Immaculate Virgin and Mother and Joseph, the holiest and noblest of men, make themselves subject to the law of sin.
We can derive from this, lessons in humility and in detachment from the goods of this world.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/06/thought-for-the-day-6-october-the-fourth-joyful-mystery-the-purification-of-our-lady-and-the-presentation-of-the-child-jesus-in-the-temple/

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VANITY, ROSARY REFLECTIONS and QUOTES, The ANNUNCIATION

Thought for the Day – 3 October – The First Joyful Mystery – The Annunciation

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Thought for the Day – 3 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
The First Joyful Mystery
The Annunciation

“Consider now Mary’s reaction to the reverence and praise with which the Angel greets her.
Is she carried away by delight and exaltation at this solemn moment?
Nothing of the sort!
In her humility and modesty, she is disturbed by the Angel’s salutation and wonders what the reason is for it.
“She was troubled at his word and kept pondering what manner of greeting this might be” (Lk 1:29).

How do we behave when we receive praise from our superiors or from our friends and acquaintances?
We are pleased and overcome perhaps by feelings of vanity.
We smile to ourselves and are convinced that we are of more consequence than we really are.
We even feel the need to reveal our thoughts to others and, thereby, seek further aggrandisement!
There is a world of difference between the simplicity and humility of the Blessed Virgin and our vain hunger for praise and honour.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/03/thought-for-the-day-2-october-the-first-joyful-mystery-the-annunciation/

PART TWO:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/03/thought-for-the-day-3-october-the-first-joyful-mystery-the-annunciation/

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on MEDITATION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on SILENCE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HEART

Thought for the Day – 23 September – The Necessity of Meditation

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Thought for the Day – 23 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Necessity of Meditation

“With desolation is all the land made desolate because, there is none that considereth in the heart” (Jer 12:11).
Very often the world is plunged in the desolation of evil because there is nobody who will speak with God in the silence of his heart and try to regulate his life according to His holy commandments.
It is in a particularly outstanding way today, that the heresies of actionism and externalism dominate the great mass of mankind.
To act, to rush, to arrive … above all, to arrive!
But to arrive where?
In this frantic, frenzied and tumultuous race, in which good people are often found competing, two very sure things are forgotten, namely, that we shall finally arrive at death and, that from death we shall pass on to eternity.
The whole course of our lives, therefore, should be directed toward this end.
But, if we are to keep this end in view, prudent reflection is essential, especially meditation, made with the assistance of the Divine Light, on the eternal truth.

Absorbed in the deafening din of the world around us, it is difficult to hear the voice of God.
At least, for a little while each day, we must create within ourselves, a zone of silence, in order to listen to His voice.
Since God speaks readily in the silence of the heart, let us recollect ourselves before Him, in this quiet oasis.
At least a quarter of an hour of daily meditation is essential for the life of a Christian.
This should be the jumping-off board for all the actions of day, if we wish these to be correct and productive of good.

It is very useful, moreover, to recall to mind frequently during the day, the resolutions which have been formed and to accompany these reflections, with short prayers, aspirations and acts of love for God.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD

Thought for the Day – 18 September – Seeing God in All Things

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Thought for the Day – 18 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Seeing God in All Things

“Sometimes we fail to see God in all the events of life because we lack faith and absolute confidence in the Lord.
We must try to increase this faith and live always in the presence of God and, we must regard the honour and glory of this world as worth absolutely nothing without God.
“What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but suffer the loss of his own soul?” (Mt 16:26).

We often attach too much importance to the things of this world, which, viewed in the light of eternity are worth very little.
When we find ourselves at the point of death and think back over the events of life, how small these things will seem to us!
Then, we shall marvel at our folly and regret that we worried so much about them, while we allowed ourselves to forget the only Being really necessary to us, God Himself!
St Francis de Sales said, that when we arrive at the end of life, the affairs with which we have been preoccupied, will seem about as important, as the sand-castles we built as children, castles which cost us a lot of trouble to build and a great deal of sorrow afterwards, when they had been destroyed!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/27/thought-for-the-day-27-september-seeing-god-in-all-things/

Posted in LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 16 September – Putting Christianity into Practice

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Thought for the Day – 16 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Putting Christianity into Practice

“Only the uiversal practice of Christianity, could change the world.
Even after a period of twenty centuries, it is true to say, that for many Christans, the Gospel is an unexplained book, the principles of which, have yet to be fully realised in their ordinary lives.

None of us can change the world on his own but, each of us can accomplish that part of the task, which depends on himself.

Do we really love God whole-heartedly and above all things?
Do we really love our neighbour as ourselves?
Let us examine ourselves earnestly and find out how far we have still to go.
Our love of God may be too feeble and this may be the reason why we have not achieved spiritual perfection.
Our love of our neighbour may not be as generous as it should be.
If this is so, we shall have to answer for it to God ,when He pronounces that terrible sentence on those who have been rejected: “Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you did not give me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me” (Mt 26:41-43).
Let us resolve to be charitable and generous to all!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/04/18/thought-for-the-day-18-april-putting-christianity-into-practice/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, GOD ALONE!, JESUIT SJ, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONSOLATION, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, STATIONS of the CROSS, The HOLY CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 14 September – ‘The death of death is there and the life of life….’

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Quote/s of the Day – 14 September – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

“How precious the gift of the Cross,
how splendid to contemplate!
In the Cross there is no mingling of good and evil,
as in the tree of paradise;
it is wholly beautiful to behold
and good to taste.
The fruit of this tree is not death but life,
not darkness but light.
This tree does not cast us out of paradise
but opens the way for our return.”

St Theodore the Studite (750–826)


“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.
Thus 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)

“There is no better wood
for feeding the fire of God’s love
than the wood of the Cross.”

St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)

“We ought to glory in nothing
other than, the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! …”

St Paul of the Cross CP (1604-1775)

A Prayer to Seek the Consolation of the Cross
By St Alphonsus Rodriguez SJ (1532-1617)

Jesus, love of my soul,
centre of my heart!
Why am I not more eager to endure pains
and tribulations for love of You,
when You, my God,
have suffered so many for me?
Come, then, every sort of trial in the world,
for this is my delight, to suffer for Jesus.
This is my joy, to follow my Saviour
and to find my consolation
with my Consoler on the Cross.
This is my happiness,
this my pleasure:
to live with Jesus,
to walk with Jesus,
to converse with Jesus,
to suffer with and for Him,
this is my treasure.
Amen

St Alphonsus Rodriguez SJ (1532-1617)

MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/09/14/quote-s-of-the-day-14-september-the-blessed-cross-of-christ/

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 10 September – Being the Lord’s disciple

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Quote/s of the Day – 10 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Readings: First Timothy 1: 1-2, 12-14; Psalm 16: 1b-2a and 5, 7-8, 11; Luke 6: 39-42

“A disciple is not above his teacher…”

Luke 6:40

“Do whatever he tells you.”

John 2:5

“A person who wishes
to become the Lord’s disciple
must repudiate a human obligation,
however honourable it may appear,
if it slows us, ever so slightly,
in giving the wholehearted obedience
we owe to God.”

St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“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.
Thus 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 is to be served
chiefly for Himself alone,
for He is the fountain of all goodness
and merits all our devotion,
without any hope of reward.”

Bl Charles Spinola SJ (1564-1622)
Priest, Martyr

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, ORIGINAL SIN, QUOTES "CARPE DIEM" - Seize the Day, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on VIRTUE

Thought for the Day – 4 September – Christian Optimism

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Thought for the Day – 4 September – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Christian Optimism

“There are two kinds of optimism.
The first is the optimism of worldlings who expect nothing but pleasure from life.
They run away from anything which smacks of sacrifice or self-control and, as a result, virtue is completely outside their grasp.
Their motto is the “carpe diem” of the poet Horace (Carmina 1:11).
Living for the day in this fashion, they seem to uphold the philosophy which the Book of Wisdom puts on the lips of the foolish: “Come, let us enjoy the good things that are real and use the freshness of creation avidly. Let us have our fill of costly wine and perfumes and let no springtime blossom pass us by. Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds ere they wither; let no meadow be free from our wantonness” (Wisdom 2:6-8).

This kind of optimism is an inversion of true human values.
It is the result of the domination which man’s lower instincts can sometimes acquire over his reason.
But because our natural longing for what is good can never be completely stifled, this pleasant epicurean approach, always leaves in its wake, a sense of disillusionment.

Sooner or later, this optimism is converted into pessimism.
Human pleasure must always turn tp sorrow and at this stage, unless some miracle of divine grace intervenes, the spirit rebels and falls prey to despair.
It is true, that most of us will have avoided the worst excesses of the epicurean outlook but, we may have developed a distortedly comfortable and selfish approach to life.
If this is so, we should remember that our lives are in conflict with Christian principles.

“Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,” Jesus said, “it remains alone. But, if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.” (Cf Jn 12:44).
“Unless you repent, you will all perish” (Lk13:5).
“The kingdom of heaven has been enduring violent assault and the violent have been seizing it by force” (Mt 11:12).
“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23),

Let us consider whether our lives are in accordance with this teaching.
Christian optimism abhors the malice of sin, lightens our sufferings and moderates our pleasures.
It helps us to see God’s image in all creatures, gives us joy in this life and hope in the hour of death.
In this sense, let us be optimists!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in DOCTRINE, I BELIEVE!, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 3 September – St Pius X and St Gregory the Great

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Quote/s of the Day – 3 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary”

“Truly we are passing through disastrous times,
when we may well make our own,
the lamentation of the Prophet:
“There is no truth,and there is no mercy
and there is no knowledge of God in the land” (Hosea 4:1).
Yet in the midst of this tide of evil,
the Virgin Most Merciful rises before our eyes
like a rainbow, as the arbiter of peace
between God and man.”

“…The great movement of apostasy being organised in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy, neither discipline for the mind, nor curb for the passions and which, under the pretext of freedom and human dignity, would bring back to the world (if such a Church could overcome) the reign of legalised cunning and force and the oppression of the weak and of all those who toil and suffer. […] Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators – they are traditionalists.”

“I accept with sincere belief,
the doctrine of faith
as handed down to us
from the Apostles,
by the orthodox Fathers,
always in the same sense
and with the same interpretation.”

St Pope Pius X (1835-1914)

MORE HERE;
https://anastpaul.com/2020/08/21/quote-s-of-the-day-21-august-st-pope-pius-x/

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

SOME QUOTES HERE

Quote/s of the Day – 3 September – St Pope Gregory the Great!

Posted in GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 17 August – Doing Everything for the Love of God

Posted on by AnaStpaul

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

Doing Everything for the Love of God

“In one of his letters, Luther wrote that he was so busy that he had no time to read his Breviary, nor to offer Holy Mass.
There is no doubt that it was this estrangement from prayer and from the love of God, which caused him to finish up as he did.
Our work must be based on charity and the interior life, so that we may be always united with God.
Otherwise, every action of ours, no matter how good it may appear, is sterile and valueless in the sight of God.

Today also, there are many people busily engaged in apostolic work but they have no interior life nourished by charity.
This is what is known as the heresy of action.

Everything we do is useless and even harmful, if our external activity is not accompanied by a flourishing interior life, enriched by divine grace.
St Gregory the Great paraphrases the words of the Gospel as follows: “Our Lord says: If anyone loves Me, let him keep my commandments. Love is proved by action. This is why St John (1 Jn 2:4) says, that the man who claims to love God and does not keep His commandments, is a liar. We love God sincerely if we keep His commandments and avoid the immoderate pleasures of our age.
Anyone who surrenders without reserve to the unlawful desires of this world, certainly does not love God because, he is acting contrary to His will.” (Homil 30 in Ev).”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/05/thought-for-the-day-5-february-doing-everything-for-the-love-of-god/
PART TWO HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/02/05/thought-for-the-day-5-february-doing-everything-for-the-love-of-god/

Posted in CARMELITES, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on THE WORLD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 17 August – ‘Seek for nothing … [save] love of Jesus’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 17 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart” – Readings: Judges 6: 11-24a; Psalm 85: 9-14; Matthew 19: 23-30

“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 back 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 sense – 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 – Father of might and power, every good and perfect gift comes to us from You. Implant in our hearts the love of Your Name and Your creatures. Increase our zeal for Your service by following behind Your Son with determination and joy. Nourish in us what good and tend it with watchful care. Grant that the prayers and caring love of the Blessed Virgin, our Mother, may help us to follow Jesus our Saviour unreservedly and thus attain eternal life. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord in the union of the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.

Posted in "Follow Me", GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE WORLD

Thought for the Day – 16 August – Renouncing All Things

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 16 August – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Renouncing All Things

“If we want God to take possession of our souls, we must drive out every inordinate affection to earthly things.
It is not possible for God to dwell within us, if we are still attached to sin or preoccupied with worldly aims.

God should reign supreme in us and inspire all our desires and actions.
This can never happen if we retain an attachment to deliberate sin, even if it is not grave sin.
In the case of venial sin, it is not so much the sin which prevents God from ruling us absolutely, as the attachment to sin.

It is possible for anybody to fall through human weakness, “for the just man falls seven times and rises again” (Prov 24:16).
It is when we remain willingly in the state of sin, that we offend God and weaken our faith and charity.
At such times, it is as if Jesus were asleep within us, as He slept in the boat during the storm on the lake of Galilee, when the terrified Apostles cried out:   “Lord save us! We are perishing!” (Mt 8:25).
We must keep ourselves free from all trace of sin, if we wish to remain intimately united with God and to be governed only by Him!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci