Category: QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior)

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on PURITY, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The BEATITUDES, The HEART, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 20 January – Of the Exercise of the Will (Part Two)

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Thought for the Day – 20 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

X: … Of the Exercise of the Will and the End to
which all our Actions, whether Interior
or Exterior, Should Tend (Part Two)

“I will now show you a way to avoid this way which would impede you in the path of perfection and to accustom yourself to Will and to Do all things as moved by the Spirit of God and with the pure intention of honouring and pleasing Him alone, Who desires to be the one End and Principle, of our every word and action.

When anything presents itself to you as if willed by God, do not permit yourself to will it until you have first raised your thoughts to Him, to discover whether He wills you to will it and because, He so wills it and to please Him alone.
Let your will, then, being thus moved and attracted by His, be impelled to will it because He wills it and solely to please and honour Him.

In like manner, if you would refuse things which are contrary to God’s will, refuse them, not until you have first fixed the eye of your mind upon His divine will, Who wills that you should refuse them ,solely to please Him.
Know, however that the frauds and deceits of wily nature are but little suspected; for, ever secretly seeking self, it often leads us to fancy that our end and motive, is to please God when in reality, it is far otherwise.
Thus, when we choose or refuse anything for our own interest and satisfaction, we often imagine that we are choosing or refusing it, in the hope of pleasing, or in the fear of displeasing God.
The true and effectual remedy for this delusion, is purity of heart which consists in this — which is indeed the aim and object of all this spiritual warfare — the putting off the old man and the putting on the new.

And to this end, seeing you are full of self, take care in the beginning of every action, to free yourself, as much as possible, from all additions of anything which seems to be your own will.
Choose nothing, do nothing, refuse nothing, unless you first feel yourself moved and drawn thereto, by the pure and simple Will of God!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/19/thought-for-the-day-19-january-of-the-exercise-of-the-will-part-one/

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 19 January – Of the Exercise of the Will (Part One)

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Thought for the Day – 19 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

X: … Of the Exercise of the Will and the End to
which all our Actions, whether Interior
or Exterior, Should Tend (Part One)

“Besides this necessary exercise of the Understanding, you must so
regulate your Will that it may not be left to follow its own desires but, may, in all things, be conformed to the Divine pleasure.
And remember that, it is not enough only to strive after those things which are most pleasing to God but you must so will them and so do them, as moved thereto. by Him and with a view to please Him alone.

In this exercise of the Will, even more than in that of the Understanding, we shall meet with strong opposition from nature which seeks itself and its own ease and pleasure in all things but especially, in such as are holy and spiritual.
It delights itself in these, feeding greedily upon them as upon wholesome food.
As soon, therefore, as they are presented to us we look wistfully upon them and desire them, not because such is the will of God, nor with the sole view to please Him but, for the sake of the satisfaction and benefit to be derived from willing those things which God wills.

This delusion is the more subtle from the very excellence of the thing desired.
Hence, even in the desire after God Himself, we are exposed to the delusions of self-love which often leads us to look more to our own interests and to the benefits we expect from God, than to His will which is, that we should love and desire and obey Him for His own glory alone.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on JUDGING, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 18 January – Of another Danger from which the Understanding must be Guarded

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Thought for the Day – 18 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

IX: … Of another Danger from which
the Understanding must be Guarded,
that it may Exercise a True Judgement (Part Two)

“By following these instructions you will avoid many dangers; for when the wily serpent sees the will of those, who are aiming at the spiritual life, to be strong and resolute, he attacks their Understanding, that so he may master both the one and the other.
He often, therefore, infuses lofty and curious speculations into their minds, especially if they be of an acute and intellectual order and easily inflated with pride and he does this, in order that they may busy themselves in the enjoyment and discussion of such subjects, wherein, as they falsely persuade themselves, they enjoy God and, meanwhile neglect to purify their hearts and to apply themselves to self-knowledge and true mortification.
So, falling into the snare of pride, they make an idol of their own understanding!

Hence, being already accustomed to have recourse, in all circumstances, to their own judgement, they come gradually and imperceptibly to believe that they have no need of advice or control from others.
This is a most perilous case and very difficult to cure, the pride of the understanding being more dangerous than that of the will; for when the pride of the will is once perceived by the understanding, it may, in course of time, be easily remedied by submission to those to whom it owes obedience.
But how, or by whom, can he be cured, who obstinately believes his own opinion and judgement, to be worth more than that of others?
How shall he submit to other men’s judgement, which he accounts to be far inferior to his own!

The Understanding is the eye of the soul, by which the wound of the proud Will, should be discovered and cleansed; if that eye, then, itself be weak and blind and swollen with pride, by whom shall it be healed?
And if the light become darkness and the rule faulty, what will become of the rest?

Therefore, resist this dangerous pride betimes, before it penetrate into the marrow of your bones.
Blunt the acuteness of your intellect, willingly submit your own opinion to that of others, become a fool for the love of God and you shall be wiser than Solomon!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2024/01/17/thought-for-the-day-17-january-of-another-danger-from-which-the-understanding-must-be-guarded/

Posted in QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on Lukewarmness, QUOTES on PHYSICAL SICKNESS, ILLNESS, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SCANDAL, QUOTES on SLOTH, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The SIGN of the CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 17 January – St Anthony Abbot

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 January – St Anthony Abbot (251-356)

“The illusions of this world soon vanish,
especially if a man arms himself
with the Sign of the Cross.
The devils tremble
at the Sign of the Cross of our Lord,
by which He triumphed over and disarmed them.”

“If we make every effort to avoid
death of the body,
still more should it be our endeavour,
to avoid death of the soul!
There is no obstacle for a man
who wishes to be saved,
other than negligence and laziness of soul.”

“ What is slander?
It is every sort of wicked word
we would dare not speak
in front of the person whom
we are complaining about.”

MORE and MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2023/01/17/quote-s-of-the-day-17-january-st-anthony-abbot-2/

St Anthony Abbot (251-356)

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on JUDGING, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 16 January – Of the Hindrances to a Right Judgement

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Thought for the Day – 16 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

VIII: … Of the Hindrances to a Right Judgement
and of the Method to be Adopted,
in order to Understand them Properly

“The cause of our not rightly judging all these things and many others, is, that we conceive a love or hatred of them at first sight.
Our understanding (reason or intellect) is thus darkened, so that it cannot judge of them correctly.
Lest you fall into this delusion, take all possible care to keep your will pure and free from inordinate affection for anything whatsoever!
When any object, then, is presented to you, view it with your understanding and consider it maturely, before you are moved by hatred to reject it, if it be a thing contrary to your inclinations, or by love to desire it, if it be pleasing to them.
For thus the understanding, being unclouded by passion, will be free and clear and able to perceive the truth and to judge the evil which lurks behind delusive pleasure and the good which is veiled under the appearance of evil.

But if the will be first inclined to love or hate anything, the understanding will be unable to exercise a right judgement upon
it.
For the affection which has thus intruded itself so obscures the understanding, that it views the object as other than it is and, by thus representing it to the will, influences that faculty, in
contradiction to every law and rule of reason, to love or hate it
inordinately.
The understanding is gradually darkened more and more and, in this deepening obscurity, the object appears more and more hateful or lovely to the will.

Hence, if this most important rule be not observed, these two faculties, the understanding and the will, noble and excellent as they are, will soon sink, in a miserable descent from darkness into thicker darkness and from error, into deeper error.

Guard yourself most vigilantly, then, from all inordinate affection for anything, whatever, until you have first tested it by the light of the understanding and chiefly, by that of grace and prayer and by the judgement of your spiritual father.
And this is to be observed most carefully with regard to such outward works as are good and holy because, the danger is greatest here, of delusion and indiscretion.
Hence you may here receive serious injury from some circumstance of time, or place, or degree, or regarding obedience — as has been proved by many, who have incurred great danger in the performance of commendable and holy exercises.”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, QUOTES on ENEMIES, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on UNITY/with GOD, QUOTES on VANITY, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, THE SPIRITUAL COMBAT - Fr Lorenzo Scupoli

Thought for the Day – 15 January – Of Spiritual Exercises, the Third Weapon

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Thought for the Day – 15 January – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)

“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5

The Third Weapon
of the Spiritual Combat

VII: … Of Spiritual Exercises
(and the first of the Exercise of the Understanding (Reason) — which must be kept guarded
against ignorance and curiosity).

“If in this warfare, we are provided with no weapons except self-distrust and trust in God, needful as both these are, we shall not only fail to gain the victory over ourselves but, shall fall into many evils.
To these, therefore, we must add the use of Spiritual Exercises, the Third Weapon named above.
And these relate chiefly to the Understanding (Reason) and the Will.

As regards the Understanding, we must guard against two things which are apt to obscure it.
One is ignorance which darkens it and impedes it in acquiring the knowledge of truth, the proper object of the understanding.
Therefore, it must be made clear and bright, by exercise that so it may be able to see and discern plainly, all that is needful to purify the soul from disorderly passions and to adorn it with saintly virtues.

This light may be obtained in two ways:
The first and most important is prayer, imploring the Holy Ghost to pour it into our hearts.
This He will not fail to do, if we, in truth seek God alone and the fullment of His holy will and, if in all things, we submit our judgement to that of our spiritual father.
The other is, to exercise ourselves continually in a true and deep consideration of all things, to discover whether they be good or evil, according to the teaching of the Holy Ghost and not, according to their outward appearance, as they impress the senses or are judged of by the world.

This consideration, if rightly exercised, will teach us to regard, as falsehood and vanity, all which the blind and corrupt world, in so many various ways, loves, desires and seeks after.
It will show us plainly that the honours and pleasures of earth are but vanity and vexation of spirit; that injury and infamy inflicted on us by the world, bring true glory and tribulations, contentment; that to pardon our enemies and to do them good, is true magnanimity and an act, which likens us most nearly to God; that to despise the world is better than to rule it; that voluntary obedience, for the love of God to the meanest of His creatures, is greater and nobler, than to command mighty princes and, that the mortication and subjugation of our most trying appetite, is more glorious than the reduction of strong cities, the defeat of mighty armies, the working of miracles, or the raising of the dead!”

Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

Posted in JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PATRONAGE - THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The LORD'S PRAYER, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The WILL of GOD

Thought for the Day – 20 October – The First Part of the “Our Father”

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Thought for the Day – 20 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
The First Part of the “Our Father”

“Our second aspiration is: “Thy kingdom come.”
It is true, that God reigns over Heaven, earth and the infernal regions.
Everything is subject to His Will – the sun, the stars, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea and the tiniest insects carry out His commands.
Even the demons of Hell, who He has condemned to eternal punishment, are obedient to His Will.
But what about the human race?

Man possesses the precious but dangerous privilege of free will which he has power to abuse by rebelling against God.
We should pray that the sovereignty of God may be triumphant in all hearts, beginning with our own and, that all men may willingly subject themselves to His commandments and to His grace.
This is the only way in which they can find peace.
“Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29).

We should pray, moreover, for the Church, which is the Kingdom of God upon earth.
We should pray for her peaceful victory over her enemies, who persecute her and impede her work for the salvation of souls.
We should love the Church even as we love Jesus Christ, for the Church is His handiwork and the fruit of His Precious Blood.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/19/thought-for-the-day-19-october-the-first-part-of-the-our-father/

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, EUCHARISTIC ADORATION and Nocturnal, GOD ALONE!, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), QUOTES on WORRY/ANXIETY, SACRED HEART PRAYERS

Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – St Margaret Mary Alacoque

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Quote/s of the Day – 17 October – St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) Virgin

“Let us begin, in earnest,
to work out our salvation,
for no-one will do it for us,
since, even He Himself,
Who made us, without ourselves,
will not save us, without ourselves!”

“Keep your heart in peace
and let nothing trouble you,
not even your faults.
You must humble yourself
and amend them peacefully,
without being discouraged or cast down,
for God’s dwelling, is in peace.”

“Let every knee bend before Thee,
O greatness of my God,
so supremely humbled in the Sacred Host.
May every heart love Thee,
every spirit adore Thee
and every will be subject to Thee!”

In Thy Divine Heart
By St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
Visionary of the Sacred Heart

Lord Jesus,
let my heart never rest
until it finds Thee,
Who are its source,
its love and its happiness.
By the wound in Thy Heart
pardon the sins I have committed,
whether out of weakness,
or out of evil desires.
Place my weak heart
in Thy own Divine Heart,
continually under Thy protection and guidance,
so that I may persevere in doing good
and in fleeing evil,
until my last breath.
Amen

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/10/17/quote-s-of-the-day-17-october-st-margaret-mary-alacoque-2/

St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUTH, QUOTES on VANITY, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), QUOTES on WISDOM, The HEART, The HOLY GHOST

Thought for the Day – 30 April – TRUE WISDOM

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

TRUE WISDOM

“According to Christian teaching, both knowledge and wisdom, properly understood, are gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Only the Light and Grace of the Holy Spirit, can enable us to comprehend the Truth which, in its plenitude, is God Himself and to appreciate the vanity of human things, as long as they are not ordained to their final end which is God and the everlasting life of happiness.

St Thomas Aquinas holds that human and earthly things are the proper object of science, insofar however, as they ought to be directed towards God.
“The man who has a correct approach to science, regards creatures as ordained to God, does not value them for more than they are worth and does not permit them to constitute the purpose of his life” (Summa Theologiae II-II q9 a4).
“All creatures are ordained to God and to His glory,” he writes elsewhere, “in that they manifest the Divine Goodness in themselves; they are, moreover, the means to everlasting happiness” (Quaestiones disputate, De Caritate q1 a7).

Nature maybe said to be a sacrament which enables us to gain experience of God (Summa Theologiae III q60 a2 ad1).
This is how knowledge becomes wisdom which is not content merely to have a proper estimation of human objects but, proceeds to penetrate, with the assistance of Revelation and of Grace, into the transcendent Mysteries of the Divinity.
Wisdom, moreover, guides the will and the heart, as well as the intellect.
It is practical, as well as speculative, for it directs our actions, as well as our thoughts towards God.
Like the Saints, we should be guided entirely by this true intellectual and practical wisdom.
“Grant me, O Lord, celestial wisdom,” we should pray with the Author of The Imitation of Christ, “that I may learn, above all things, to seek Tbee and to find Thee; above all things, to relish Thee and to love Thee and to understand, all other things, as they are, according to the order of Thy Wisdom!” (Bk III c27).”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in "Follow Me", 7 GIFTS of the HOLY GHOST: Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Strength, Knowledge, Piety, Fear, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on VIRTUE, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The HOLY GHOST, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 9 February – St Cyril of Alexandria

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Quote/s of the Day – 9 February – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) “The Pillar of Faith” “Doctor of the Incarnation,” Bishop,Confessor, Father and Doctor, of the Church

“Indeed, the Mystery of Christ
runs the risk of being disbelieved,
precisely because, it is so incredibly wonderful!”

“He who abides in Me and I in Him,
the same bears much fruit”

John 5:5

“We are preserved in being, if we grow onto Him
and cling fast to the holy commandment,
which has been handed down to us
and, if we are eager to keep the blessing of nobility,
that is to say, if we never consent, in any way,
to “grieve the Holy Spirit” (Eph 4:30),
Who has come to dwell in us and, through Whom,
we believe, God has made His home in us. …
For just as the vine-stock supplies and distributes,
the virtue of its own inherent natural quality to the shoots,
so, too, the Only-Begotten Word of God,
implants, in His people, a sort of affinity
with His own nature and that of the Father.
By the gift of the Spirit, they are united with Him
by every kind of holiness.
He nourishes them, so that they become devout
and He moves them to knowledge of all virtue
and good works.”

“… [The Kingdom of God] … is within you.
That is, it depends on your own wills
and is in your own power,
whether or not you receive it.
Everyone, that has attained
to justification, by means of faith in Christ
and decorated by every virtue,
is counted worthy,
of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

“He says that these temptations must come.
Is this then because God, Who governs all,
forces people to their commission of sin?
Away with the thought!
Nothing that is evil comes from Him.
He is the fountain of all virtue.
Why then must this happen?
They clearly happen because of our infirmity,
for all of us stumble in many things,
as it is written.
Nevertheless, He says, that there will be woe
to the person who lays the stumbling blocks
in the way.
He does not leave indifference in these things
without rebuke but restrains it by fear of punishment.
He still commands us to bear with patience
“ those who cause sins to happen.”

“We must note, therefore,
that he who does things pleasing to God,
serves Christ but he who follows his own wishes,
is a follower, rather of himself and not of God!”

MORE:
https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/09/quote-s-of-the-day-9-february-st-cyril-of-alexandria/

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on JUSTICE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The BEATITUDES

Thought for the Day – 24 November – The Blessedness of Those who Hunger and Thirst for Justice

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

The Blessedness of Those
who Hunger and Thirst for Justice

“We must also be just towards ourselves.
God has established a hierarchy of faculties in human nature.
There are the lower faculties, which are often moved to action by our passions and above these, there is right reason, which ought to govern all else through the will.
According to St Thomas Aquinas, the rule of right reason within us, should be comparable to that of God in the universe. (De Regimine I, 12).
“It is fitting,” he says elsewhere, “that everything in man, should be subject to reason” (Summa Theologiae I-II, q 100, a 2 ad 1).
St Augustine observes that, as the lower faculties should obey the intellect, so the intellect should be subject to God and should fulfil His Holy Law (Cf De Serm. Domini in Monte, Bk 1, c 2).

In this way, there exists in us, absolute justice, which is the harmony of perfection.
If the passions, however, rebel and dethrone reason or, if reason revolts against God, there follows the degradation of human nature, the triumph of sin, remorse and spiritual ruin!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE:
https://anastpaul.com/2021/12/01/thought-for-the-day-1-december-2/

Posted in AUGUSTINIANS OSA, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on GRACE, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day  – 7 July  – Saint Prosper of Aquitaine (c 390-c 465)

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Saint of the Day  – 7 July  – Saint Prosper of Aquitaine (c 390-c 465) Theologian, Married Layman, Writer, disciple and friend of St Augustine (354-430). St Prosper was the first continuator of St Jerome’s Universal Chronicle. Born in c 390 in Aquitaine, France and died in c 465 in Rome, Italy, of natural causes. Also known as – Tiro Prosper or Prosper Tiro.

Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, France and may have been educated at Bordeaux. By 417 he arrived in Marseilles as a refugee from Aquitaine, in the aftermath of the Gothic invasions of Gaul.

We first meet Prosper definitively around 425 as a participant in the Pelagian controversy which rocked the Church in southern France. Pelagian heretics minimised the role of grace in the first steps of becoming a Christian. Many vigorously opposed St Augustine’s strict views that special grace was required for salvation and thus, many were predestined to damnation. Prosper, a lay theologian, championed St Augustine. And in 428, a letter from Prosper prompted Augustine to write a major work on predestination.

Although a layman, Prosper threw himself with ardour into the religious controversies of his day, defending St Augustine and propagating orthodoxy. In his De vocatione omnium gentium – “The Call of all Nations,”, in which the issues of the call to the Gentiles is discussed, in the light of Augustine’s doctrine of Grace, Prosper appears as the first of the medieval Augustinians.

In 431, Prosper went to Rome and obtained a letter from Pope Celestine I that affirmed Augustine and his views and urged the French Bishops to quell the dispute peacefully. But it raged on. For several more years, Prosper wrote extensively, defending and popularising St Augustine’s teaching.

St Prosper on the right with Baby Jesus above him

In The Call to All Nations, Prosper seems to have mellowed somewhat, allowing that God mercifully made the Grace of Salvation available to all human beings. In the following excerpt Prosper describes the interplay of grace and free will:

“When the Word of God enters the ears through the ministry of preachers, the action of the Divine Power fuses with the sound of the human voice. The soul passes from one will to another will. Although the will that is driven out lingers on for a while, the newborn will claims for itself, all that is better in human beings. Thus the law of sin and the law of God do not dwell in the same way and together in the same person. Then the tempter tries to ambush the person through external things but the mind, strong with God’s help, prevails. For there are occasions for struggle and these greatly benefit the faithful. Their weakness is buffeted so that their holiness may not yield to pride. All good things, especially those conducive to eternal life, are obtained, increased and preserved through God’s favour.”

Prosper spent the last part of his life in Rome where he served as secretary to St Pope Leo the Great. During that tim, he wrote the Chronicle, a universal history from Adam’s fall to the Vandal’s conquest of Rome in 455. He died in Rome around 465.

You will remember yesterday’s Saint Palladius of Ireland, knowledge of whose history, was greatly enhanced by his contemporary’s writings, St Prosper, who speaks of St Palladius, in particular in regard to the Pelagian heresy.

A reflection by St Prosper here: https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/27/one-minute-reflection-27-october-children-of-promise/

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD is LOVE, QUOTES on STRENGTH, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), SACRED HEART QUOTES, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quote/s of the Day – 24 June – The Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Quote/s of the Day – 24 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart” and the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

“We, Christians,
are the true Israel
which springs from Christ,
for we are carved out of His Heart,
as from a Rock!”

St Justin Martyr (100-165)
Father of the Church and Martyr

“Be strengthened in Almighty God
and in the power of His might,
for with His help, nothing is difficult.
Throw off the heavy load of your own will,
cast aside the burden of sin
and gird yourselves as valiant warriors.
Forget what you are leaving behind;
strain forward to the great things before you.
I tell you, that every place where you set foot,
shall be yours.
For the Spirit who goes before your face
is Christ the Lord.
He will carry you to the topmost peak
in the arms of His Love.”

St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)

“The Sacred Heart is the symbol
of that boundless love
which moved the Word to take flesh,
to institute the Holy Eucharist,
to take our sins upon Himself
and, dying on the Cross,
to offer Himself as a victim
and sacrifice to the eternal Father.”

“O Heart of love,
I put all my trust in Thee,
for I fear all things,
from my own weakness,
but I hope for all things,
from Thy Goodness.”

The Twelve Promises of Jesus
to Saint Margaret Mary
or those Devoted to His Sacred Heart:

  1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
  2. I will establish peace in their families.
  3. I will console them in all their troubles.
  4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life
    and especially at the hour of their death.
  5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
  6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
  7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
  8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
  9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart
    shall be exposed and honoured.
  10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
  11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names
    written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
  12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those
    who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months
    the grace of final repentance;
    they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments;
    My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

From Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque’s Vision of Jesus

St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
Visionary of the Sacred Heart

Posted in "Follow Me", CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CREEDS, DOCTORS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, QUOTES on REASON/INTELLECT, QUOTES on TRUTH, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The CREED, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 12 May – “And himself believed and his whole house.” John 4:53

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Quote/s of the Day – 12 May – Wisdom 5:1-5, John 4:46-53.

“And himself believed
and his whole house.”

John 4:53

“Believing is:
an act of the intellect
assenting to the divine truth,
by command of the will,
moved by God through grace.”

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

“Do you also wish to go away?” He asked.
It was then that Simon Peter
made his memorable reply,
“Lord, to whom shall be go?
Thou hast the words of everlasting life.”
(Jn 6:68-69).
We also may experience, at times,
a sense of uncertainty
concerning the words of Jesus Christ.
There are such tremendous mysteries
in the Christian religion.
But, a religion which contained
no mysteries could scarcely be true.
There are mysteries of nature surrounding us
and within us.
How can we imagine that there are
no mysteries in God, the supreme
and most perfect Being?
Could it be possible
for our petty intellects fully
to comprehend God in Himself
and in His revelation?
Let us bow our heads, therefore,
before the mysteries of the Divinity.
Let us adore God and repeat with St Peter:
We cannot go away from You, O God
because You have the words of everlasting life.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
He descended into hell;
on the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand
of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of Saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
and life everlasting.
Amen

Posted in CARMELITES, DOCTORS of the Church, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), St JOSEPH

Quote/s of the Day – 11 May – Hail, Holy Joseph, Hail!

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Quote/s of the Day – 11 May – Octave Day of St Joseph

“I cannot call to mind
that I have ever asked him,
at any time for anything,
which he has not granted
and I am filled with amazement
when I consider the great favours
which God has given me,
through this blessed Saint;
the dangers from which he has delivered me,
both of body and of soul!”

St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Doctor of the Church

“It is impossible, that he could be denied
the favours for which he asks
and which we should request him
to obtain for us.
Let us go to him trustingly
but, let us remember,
that the surest way of being heard by him,
is to imitate his wonderful virtues,
especially his humility,
his spirit of prayer,
his purity and his calm desire always,
to do God’s will.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Hail, Holy Joseph, Hail!
By Father Frederick William Faber CO (1814-1863)

Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
Chaste spouse of Mary hail!
Pure as the lily flow’r
In Eden’s peaceful vale.
Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
Prince of the house of God!
May His best graces be
By thy sweet hands bestowed.

Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
Comrade of Angels, hail!
Cheer thou the hearts that faint,
And guide the steps that fail.
Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
God’s choice wert thou alone!
To thee the Word made flesh,
Was subject as a Son.

Hail, holy Joseph, hail!
Teach us our flesh to tame
And, Mary, keep the hearts
That love thy husband’s name.
Mother of Jesus! bless,
And bless, ye Saints on high,
All meek and simple souls
That to Saint Joseph cry.
Amen.

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FRUITS of the SPIRIT, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on TRUTH, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The HOLY GHOST, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 7 May – “I am the vine, you the branches.” – John 15:5

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One Minute Reflection – 7 May – The Memorial of St Stanislas (1030-1079) Bishop and Martyr – Wisdom 5:1-5, John 15:1-7.

“I am the vine, you the branches; he who abides in me and I in him, the same bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

REFLECTION – “The Lord calls Himself the Vine and those united to Him, branches, in order to teach us how much we shall benefit from our union with Him and, how important it is for us, to remain in His Love. By receiving the Holy Spirit, Who is the bond of union between us and Christ our Saviour, those who are joined to Him, as branches are to a vine, share in His own nature.

On the part of those who come to the Vine, their union with Him depends upon a deliberate act of the will, on his part, the union is effected by grace. Because we had goodwill, we made the act of faith that brought us to Christ and received from Him, the dignity of adoptive sonship which made us His own kinsmen, according to the words of Saint Paul: He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

The prophet Isaiah calls Christ the Foundation because it is upon Him that we, as living and spiritual stones, are built into a holy priesthood to be a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. Upon no other Foundation than Christ ,can this temple be built. Here Christ is teaching the same Truth, by calling Himself the Vine, since the Vine is the parent of its branches and provides their nourishment.

From Christ and in Christ, we have been reborn through the Spirit, in order to bear the fruit of life; not the fruit of our old, sinful life but, the fruit of a new life, founded upon our faith in Him and our love for Him. Like branches growing from a vine, we now draw our life from Christ and we cling to His holy commandment, in order to preserve this life. Eager to safeguard the blessing of our noble birth, we are careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us and Who makes us aware of God’s Presence in us.

Let the wisdom of John teach us how we live in Christ and Christ lives in us: The proof that we are living in Him and He is living in us, is that He has given us a share in His Spirit. Just as the trunk of the vine gives its own natural properties to each of its branches, so, by bestowing on them the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the only-begotten Son of the Father, gives Christians a certain kinship with Himself and with God the Father because they have been united to Him by faith and determination to do His will in all things. He helps them to grow in love and reverence for God and teaches them, to discern right from wrong and to act with integrity.” – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Known as “The Pillar of Faith” Archbishop of Alexandria, Father & Doctor of the Church, Doctor Incarnationis (Doctor of the Incarnation) [Commentary on the Gospel of John].

PRAYER – O God, in defence of Whose honour Stanislaus, the glorious Bishop, died by the swords of wicked men, grant, we beseech Thee, that all who seek his help may obtain salvation as a result of his prayers. 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", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, FRUITS of the SPIRIT, ONE Minute REFLECTION, POETRY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY GHOST, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 29 April – Joined to Christ

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One Minute Reflection – 29 April – The Memorial of St Peter Martyr of Verona OP (1205–1252) Martyr, Priest – 2 Timothy 2:8-10; 3:10-12, John 15:1-7

“I am the vine, you the branches; he who abides in me and I in him, the same bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

REFLECTION – “The Lord calls Himself, the vine and those united to Him, branches, in order to teach us how much we shall benefit from our union with Him and how important it is for us to remain in His love. By receiving the Holy Spirit, Who is the bond of union between us and Christ our Saviour, those who are joined to Him, as branches are to a vine, share in His own nature.

On the part of those who come to the vine, their union with Him depends upon a deliberate act of the will; on His part, the union is effected by grace. Because we had goodwill, we made the act of faith that brought us to Christ,and received from Him, the dignity of adoptive sonship which made us His own kinsmen, according to the words of Saint Paul: – He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

The prophet Isaiah calls Christ the foundation because, it is upon Him that we as living and spiritual stone, are built into a holy priesthood to be a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. Upon no other foundation than Christ, can this temple be built. Here Christ is teaching the same truth by calling Himself the vine, since the vine is the parent of its branches and provides their nourishment.

From Christ and in Christ, we have been reborn through the Spirit, in order to bear the fruit of life; not the fruit of our old, sinful life but the fruit of a new life, founded upon our faith in Him and our love for Him. Like branches growing from a vine, we now draw our life from Christ and we cling to His holy commandment in order to preserve this life. Eager to safeguard the blessing of our noble birth, we are careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us and Who makes us aware of God’s presence in us.

Let the wisdom of John teach us how we live in Christ and Christ lives in us – The proof that we are living in Him and He is living in us, is that He has given us a share in His Spirit. Just as the trunk of the vine gives its own natural properties to each of its branches, so, by bestowing on them the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the Only-Begotten Son of the Father, gives Christians a certain kinship with Himself and with God the Father because they have been united to Him by faith and determination to do His will in all things. He helps them to grow in love and reverence for God and teaches them to discern right from wrong and to act with integrity.” – St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Archbishop of Alexandria, Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from: Commentary on the Gospel of John).

PRAYER – Saint Thomas Aquinas in Eulogy for Saint Peter the Martyr
Here silent is Christ’s Herald;
Here quenched, the People’s Light;
Here lies the Martyred Champion
Who fought Faith’s holy fight.

The voice the sheep heard gladly,
The light they loved to see
He fell beneath the weapons
Of graceless Cathari.

The Saviour crowns His Soldier;
His praise the people psalm.
The Faith he kept adorns him
With Martyr’s fadeless palm.

His praise new marvels utter,
New light he spreads abroad
And now the whole wide city
Knows well the path to God.

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 …?’

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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 CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the BRIDEGROOM, LENT 2022, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on TRUTH, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The HEART, The WORD

The Third Sunday of Lent – 20 March – Our Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – ‘The will is drawn also by love. ‘

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The Third Sunday of Lent – 20 March – Ou4 Lenten Journey with the Great Fathers – Ephesians 5:1-9, Luke 11:14-28

“My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will free my feet from the snare. Look toward me and have pity on me, for I am alone and afflicted.” – Psalm 24:15-16

“He who is not with Me,
is against Me
and he who does not gather
with Me scatters.”

Luke 11:23

“NO-ONE COMES TO ME unless the Father draws him. Do not think that you are drawn against your will – the will is drawn also by love. We must not be afraid of men who weigh words but are far from understanding what belongs above all to Divine Truth. They may find fault with this passage of Scripture and say to us: “How can I believe of my own free will if I am drawn to believe?” I answer: “It is not enough that you are moved by the will, for you are drawn also by desire.”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, to be drawn by desire? Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. The heart has its own desires; it takes delight, for example, in the bread from heaven. The poet could say: “Everyone is drawn by his own desire,” not by necessity but by desire, not by compulsion but by pleasure. We can say then with greater force, that one who finds pleasure in Truth, in Happiness, in Justice, in Everlasting Life, is drawn to Christ, for Christ is all these things.

ARE OUR BOIDLY SENSES to have their desires but not the will? If the will does not have its desires, how can Scripture say: The children of men will find their hope under the shadow of your wings, they will drink their fill from the plenty of your house and you will give them drink from the running stream of your delights, for with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we shall see light.

SHOW ME ONE WHO LOVES; he knows what I mean. Show me one who is full of longing, one who is hungry, one who is a pilgrim and suffering from thirst in the desert of this world, eager for the fountain in the homeland of eternity; show me someone like that and he knows what I mean. But if I speak to someone without feeling, he does not understand what I am saying.

YOU HAVE ONLY to show a leafy branch to a sheep and it is drawn to it. If you show nuts to a boy, he is drawn to them. He runs to them because he is drawn, drawn by love, drawn without any physical compulsion, drawn by a chain attached to his heart. “Everyone is drawn by his own desire. ” This is a true saying and earthly delights and pleasures, set before those who love them, succeed in drawing them. If this is so, are we to say that Christ, revealed and set before us by the Father, does not draw us? What does the soul desire more than truth? Why then does the soul have hungry jaws, a spiritual palate as it were, sensitive enough to judge the truth, if not in order to eat and drink Wisdom, Justice, Truth, Eternal Life?

BLESSED ARE THOSE who hunger and thirst for justice, that is, here on earth. They shall be satisfied, that is, in Heaven. Christ says: I give each what he loves, I give each the object of his hope; he will see what he believed in, though without seeing it. What he now hungers for, he will eat; what he now thirsts for, he will drink to the full. When? At the resurrection of the dead, for I will raise him up on the last day.” – St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Great Western Father and Doctor of Grace of the Church (An excerpt from his Treatise 26).

Posted in GOD ALONE!, GOD the FATHER, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on HUMAN DIGNITY, QUOTES on VIRTUE, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior)

Thought for the Day – 9 March – The Human Soul

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Thought for the Day – 9 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Human Soul

“Consider that you have only one soul, which belongs entirely to God and has Heaven for its true home.
God has given you two hands, two feet, two ears and two eyes but, He has given you only one soul.
What a disaster, if you should lose it, for you would then be damned forever!
When God made you to be free, He placed your fate in your own hands.
“When God, in the beginning, created man, He made him subject to his own free choice” (Ecclus 15:14).
Remember that the salvation of your soul is the most necessary work which you have to do!
It is more precious to you than gold or silver.
“More precious than gold is health and well-being, contentment of spirit, than coral” (Ecclus 30:15).
All our attention should be devoted to keeping our soul free from sin and endowing it with every virtue.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Part One Here:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/03/27/thought-for-the-day-27-march-the-human-soul/

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on ANGER, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on JUSTICE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on TRUTH, QUOTES on VIRTUE, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Quotes of the Day – 7 March – St Thomas Aquinas

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Quotes of the Day – 7 March – Monday of the First Week of Lent and the Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus and Doctor Communis

“Charity is
the form,
mover,
mother
and root
of all
the virtues.”

“To love is to
will the good
of the other.”

“The greatest kindness
one can render
to any man
consists in leading him
from error to truth.”

“The celebration of Holy Mass
is as valuable, as the death
of Jesus on the cross.”

“Believing is:
an act of the intellect
assenting to the divine truth,
by command of the will,
moved by God through grace.”

“He who is NOT angry
when there is just cause
for anger, is IMMORAL.
WHY?
Because anger looks to
the good of Justice.
And if you can live amid Injustice
without anger,
you ARE IMMORAL
as well as UNJUST!”

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

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior)

Thought for the Day – 17 February – The Will

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

The Will

“St Paul seems to contradict this idea when he writes: “There is question, not of him who wills, nor of him who runs but of God showing mercy” (Rom 9:16).

What he says is true.
Our will is inadequate to effect anything without the grace of God.
But, it is equally true, that the grace of God is not sufficient without an act of the will on our part.
God created us as intelligent beings with the marvellous gift of free will.
Because He respects the liberty which He gave us, He will not compel us by His grace to become holy.
He only assist us.
His assistance is absolutely necessary because of ourselves, we are incapable of forming a good intention, let alone performing a good action.
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves,” St Paul says elsewhere, “to think anything, as from ourselves but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Cor 3:5).

We must pray fervently for divine grace but, it depends on our own will to ensure, that God’s grace produces results in us.
This is the only way in which we can become perfect.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/17/thought-for-the-day-17-february-the-will/

Posted in CONTEMPLATIVE Prayer, GOD ALONE!, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HERESY, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), QUOTES on WORK/LABOUR

Thought for the Day – 8 February – Doing Everything for the Love of God

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Thought for the Day – 8 February – 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/2020/02/08/thought-for-the-day-8-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 AUGUSTINIANS OSA, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, Quotes on SALVATION, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, QUOTES on VIRTUE, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 February – ‘ … It depends on your own wills …’

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 February – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – Readings: Colossians 3:12-17, Matthew 13:24-30

“A sower went out to sow”

Matthew 13:30

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

Matthew 13:27

“It is better to be cured
within the Church’s community
than to be cut off from its Body
as incurable members.
As long as a member still forms
part of the Body,
there is no reason to despair of its cure;
once it has been cut off,
it can be neither cured nor healed.”

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

“Brethren, the just man shall scarcely be saved.
What, then, will become of the sinner?”

St Arsenius s the Great (c 354-c 449)

“… [The Kingdom of God] … is within you.
That is, it depends on your own wills
and is in your own power,
whether or not you receive it.
Everyone, that has attained
to justification, by means of faith in Christ
and decorated by every virtue,
is counted worthy,
of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“And like the little grain of mustard seed …
we should set it in the garden of our soul,
all weeds being pulled out
for the better feeding of our faith.
Then shall it grow and …
through the true belief of God’s word …
we shall be well able to command
a great mountain of tribulation
to void from the place
where it stood in our hearts,
whereas with a very feeble faith
and faint, we shall scarcely
be able to remove a little hillock.”

St Thomas More (1478-1535)

“My child, it is indeed
the Voice of God you have heard.
He has given you a great grace
in thus calling you into His one true Church.
While you live,
never cease to thank Him
and bless Him for it.”

St John Francis Régis (1597-1640)

Posted in MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, PURGATORY, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The WILL of GOD, VENIAL SIN

Thought for the Day – 5 January – Venial Sin

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Thought for the Day – 5 January – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

Venial Sin

“Next to mortal sin, the greatest of all evils is venial sin.
Sin is always an offence against the God of goodness,
When we sin, we place our own will above His and put Him in a position secondary to ourselves.
If mortal sin is spiritual suicide because it extinguishes, in us, the divine life of grace, venial sin is an injury, more or less grave, to the soul.
The former completely separates us from God; the latter moves us further away from Him.
Mortal sin means the death of the soul.
Venial sin is a disease of the soul which reduces its supernatural powers and leaves it more open to the ever–increasing attraction of evil.

We cannot speak of small sins, as if sin could be a triviality.
Sin is always something great and terrible because, it is an offence against our Creator and Redeemer, Whom we should love, honour and serve with every impulse of our heart and with the whole strength of our will.
It is the height of ingratitude because, in order to offend God, we make use of the gifts He has given us – our eyes, ears, speech and all our powers of soul and body.

Let us think seriously about this.
We must firmly resolve to be more vigilant so that, with the grace of God, we may avoid ever committing a deliberate venial sin.

The Gospel tells us that we must render an account of every idle word and that nothing tarnished can be admitted into the splendour of Paradise.
In the terrible torments of Purgatory, we must pay the full price for all our faults, even the slightest!”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, GOD the FATHER, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, OCTOBER - The HOLY ROSARY and The HOLY ANGELS, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The HOLY ROSARY/ROSARY CRUSADE, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The LORD'S PRAYER

Thought for the Day – 20 October – The First Part of the “Our Father”

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Thought for the Day – 20 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Month of the Holy Rosary”
The First Part of the “Our Father”

“Our second aspiration is: “Thy kingdom come.”
It is true, that God reigns over Heaven, earth and the infernal regions.
Everything is subject to His Will – the sun, the stars, the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea and the tiniest insects carry out His commands.
Even the demons of Hell, who He has condemned to eternal punishment, are obedient to His Will.
But what about the human race?

Man possesses the precious but dangerous privilege of free will. which he has power to abuse by rebelling against God.
We should pray that the sovereignty of God may be triumphant in all hearts, beginning with our own and, that all men may willingly subject themselves to His commandments and to His grace.
This is the only way in which they can find peace.
“Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29).

We should pray, moreover, for the Church, which is the kingdom of God upon earth.
We should pray for her peaceful victory over her enemies, who persecute her and impede her work for the salvation of souls.
We should love the Church even as we love Jesus Christ, for the Church is His handiwork and the fruit of His Precious Blood.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/19/thought-for-the-day-19-october-the-first-part-of-the-our-father/

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the JUDGE, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The LORD'S PRAYER, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 6 October – “Lord, teach us…”

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 October – “Month of the Holy Rosary” – Readings: Jonah 4: 1-11; Psalm 86: 3–6, 9-10; Luke 11: 1-4

“Lord, teach us to pray …”

Luke 11:1

“For what reason did God send Him to preach to the poor?
“To preach release to captives.”
We were the captives.
For many years Satan had bound us
and held us captive and subject to himself.
Jesus has come
“to proclaim release to captives and sight to the blind.”
By His word and the proclamation of His teaching,
the blind see.”

Origen (c 185-253)

“He did not treat us as our sins deserved.
For we are now sons of God.
How do we show this?
The only Son of God died for us,
so that He might not remain alone.
He who died as the only Son,
did not want to remain as the only Son.
For the only Son of God made many sons of God.
He bought brothers for Himself by His blood,
He made them welcome by being rejected,
He ransomed them by being sold,
He honoured them by being dishonoured,
He gave them life by being put to death.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Bishop, Great Western Father and Doctor of Grace

“For the Author and Giver of divine blessings
could not but be our Teacher as well,
providing the words of this prayer,
as precepts of life,
for those disciples who believe in Him
and follow the way He taught in the flesh.
Through these words,
He has revealed the hidden treasures
of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3)
that exist in Him as pure form.
And, in all who offer this prayer,
He kindles the desire to enjoy such treasures.”

St Maximus the Confessor (c 580-662)
Monk and Theologian

Interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer

“Prayer is nothing other than union with God.
… This union of God with his little creature
is something beautiful.
It is a happiness that we cannot understand.
We had deserved not to pray
but God, in His goodness, allows us to speak to Him.
Our prayer is incense,
which He receives with tremendous pleasure.”

St John-Marie Vianney (1786-1859)

(Catechism on Prayer]

“Immediately after rising
and throughout the day,
all make the Sign of the Cross
and renew their trust in God:
to be strengthened by the power of the Father,
to be enlightened by the wisdom of the Son
and to be sanctified by the love of the Holy Spirit.
And as they bless themselves, they may say:
Of myself I can do nothing,
with God I can do everything,
I want to do everything for love of God.”

St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)

From the Rule of the Pallottines

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on MEDITATION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The FAITHFUL on PILGRIMAGE, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 23 September – Who is this

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Quote/s of the Day – 23 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” – Readings: Haggai 1: 1-8; Psalm 149: 1b-6a and 9b; Luke 9: 7-9

“… Who is this about whom
I hear such things?”
And he sought to see him.”

Luke 9:9

“Prayer is the wing,
wherewith the soul flies to heaven
and meditation,
the eye,
wherewith we see God.”

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

“Faith is to believe
what you do not see;
the reward of this faith,
is to see what you believe.”

“A person can do other things against his will
but belief is possible,
only in one who is willing.”

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

“To one who has faith,
no explanation is necessary.
To one without faith,
no explanation is possible.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor of the Church

“He who wishes for anything but Christ,
does not know what he wishes;
he who asks for anything but Christ,
does not know what he is asking;
he who works and not for Christ,
does not know what he is doing.”

St Philip Neri (1515-1595)

“Only one thing is necessary:
Jesus Christ!
Think unceasingly of Him. ”

St John Gabriel Perboyre CM (1802-1840)
Martyr for Christ

“Only God fills the soul and fills it wholly.
Let scientists go on asking – Where is God?
He is where those clever ones,
arrogant in their knowledge, cannot reach.”

St Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938)

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, GOD the FATHER, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The HOLY NAME, The LORD'S PRAYER, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY, The SIGN of the CROSS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 14 August – God, Our Father

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Quote/s of the Day – 14 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Readings: Joshua 24: 14-29; Psalm 16: 1-2a and 5-8, 11; Matthew 19: 13-15

God, Our Father

“Let the children come to me,
do not prevent them”

Matthew 19:14

“Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father.”

John 14:9

“So, my brothers, let us pray as God our master has taught us.
To ask the Father in words His Son has given us,
to let Him hear the prayer of Christ ringing in His ears,
is to make our prayer one of friendship, a family prayer.
Let the Father recognise the words of His Son.
Let the Son who lives in our hearts, be also on our lips.
We have Him as an Advocate for sinners, before the Father,
when we ask for forgiveness for ours sins,
let us use the words given by our Advocate.
He tells us –
Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you.
What more effective prayer could we then make,
in the name of Christ, than in the words of His own prayer?”

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

An excerpt from his “On the Lord’s Prayer”

“Immediately after rising
and throughout the day,
all make the Sign of the Cross
and renew their trust in God:
to be strengthened by the power of the Father,
to be enlightened by the wisdom of the Son
and to be sanctified by the love of the Holy Spirit.
And as they bless themselves, they may say:
Of myself I can do nothing,
with God I can do everything,
I want to do everything for love of God.”

From the Rule of the Pallottines

Our life is:
“To breathe God in and out.
To find God in everything.
To reveal God to all.
To radiate the presence of God.”

My God, In Your Infinite Love
By St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)

“My God,
in Your infinite love
You created me
according to Your image and likeness.
You gave me a free will.
Help me to use Your gifts
and improve myself
so as to become totally Your living image,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
an image of Your infinite
qualities and perfections.
Amen

St Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850)

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, EASTER, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRED SCRIPTURE, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on WILL (Reasonable or Superior), The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The UNFORGIVEABLE SIN

Thought for the Day – 11 April – The Mercy of God

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Thought for the Day – 11 April – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

The Mercy of God

“God is the Being, Who is infinitely true, beautiful and good.
His goodness is manifested in His infinite love for all the creatures which He has made but, it is in His relations with sinners, in particular, that we call Him merciful.
He loves all things which He has created and directs them towards Himself, their beginning and their end.
When He is dealing, however, with beings endowed with free will, who can separate themselves from Him and even offend Him, He tries, while respecting the liberty which He has given them, to recall them to Himself, by the influence of His love and of His grace.
It is this supernatural outpouring of love towards sinners, which we call mercy.

The mercy of God shines forth in all the pages of Sacred Scripture.
In the Old Testament, there is promised and foreshadowed, in many ways, the coming of the Saviour of the sinful human race.
In the New Testament, Jesus appears, made man for our salvation, meek and humble of heart and merciful towards the unfortunate, especially towards sinners.
For them, He offers His life and His Precious Blood, dying on the Cross with His arms outstretched, as if in an embrace of forgiveness.
He tells us that He has not come to call the just but sinners, (Lk 5:32) and, that He has not come to those who are in health but to those who are sick (Mk 2:17);  He assures us that, if we ask the Father for anything in His name, it will be given to us (Jn 16:23).
So much goodness should move and soften our hearts.
Even if we are unfaithful servants and are covered with the leprosy of sin, let us go to Him and He will heal us.
Even if we have deserved Hell a thousand times, let us shed tears of repentance at His feet as Magdalen did and, He will give us His forgiveness and His peace.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci