Quote/s of the Day – 6 December – Friday of the First week of Advent, Year A – Readings: Isaiah 29:17-24, Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14, Matthew 9:27-31
“According to your faith be it done to you.”
“Faith lifts the soul.
Hope supports it.
Experience says it must.
And Love says let it be!”
“Pray, hope and don’t worry.”
One Minute Reflection – 22 June – Saturday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Matthew 6:24–34 and the Memorial of St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr
Look at the birds in the sky,they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? ..Matthew 6:26
REFLECTION – “I will not mistrust Him, Meg, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember, how Saint Peter at a blast of wind, began to sink because of his lack of faith and I shall do as he did, call upon Christ and pray to Him for help. And then I trust He shall place His holy hand on me and in the stormy seas, hold me up from drowning.”…St Thomas More (1478-1535)
“In the face of the situations of so many people, near and far, who live in wretchedness, Jesus’ discourse might appear hardly realistic, if not evasive . In fact, the Lord wants to make people understand clearly, that it is impossible to serve two masters – God and mammon [riches]. Whoever believes in God, the Father, full of love for His children, puts first the search for His Kingdom and His will. And this is precisely the opposite of fatalism or ingenuous irenics. Faith in Providence does not, in fact, dispense us from the difficult struggle, for a dignified life but frees us, from the yearning for things and from fear of the future.
It is clear that although Jesus’ teaching remains ever true and applicable for all it is practised in different ways according to the different vocations – a Franciscan friar will be able to follow it more radically, while a father of a family must bear in mind his proper duties to his wife and children. In every case, however, Christians are distinguished by their absolute trust in the heavenly Father, as was Jesus. It was precisely Christ’s relationship with God the Father that gave meaning to the whole of His life, to His words, to His acts of salvation until His Passion, death and Resurrection. Jesus showed us what it means to live with our feet firmly planted on the ground, attentive to the concrete situations of our neighbour, yet, at the same time keeping our heart in Heaven, immersed in God’s mercy.” … Pope Benedict XVI (Sunday, 27 February 2011).
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, we trust in You and abide in You. Grant us we pray, that by the prayers of our heavenly Mother, our Mother of divine Providence and St Thomas More, who said “I will trust Him”, that we too may ever know that You are with us and guide, help and feed us everyday. Through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Quote of the Day – 6 April – Saturday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of Blessed Zefirino Agostini (1813-1896)
“Do not be dismayed by toil or suffering,
nor by the meagre fruit of your labours.
Remember that God rewards,
not according to results but effort.”
Thought for the Day – 11 January – 5th day after Epiphany
“All our anxieties relate to time. A human being is the only time-conscious creature. Humans alone can bring the past to mind, so that it weighs on the present moment, with its accumulated heritage and they can also bring the future into the present, so as to imagine its occurrences as happening now. No animal ever says: “I have suffered this pain for six years and it will last until I die.” But, because a human being can unite the past to the present by memory and the future to the present by imagination, it is often necessary to distract him in his sufferings — to break up the continuity of misery. All unhappiness (when there is no immediate cause for sorrow) comes from excessive concentration on the past or from extreme preoccupation with the future. The major problems of psychiatry revolve around an analysis of the despair, pessimism, melancholy and complexes that are the inheritances of what has been or with the fears, anxieties, worries, that are the imaginings of what will be.
…A conscience burdened with the guilt of past sins is fearful of divine judgement. But God in His mercy, has given us two remedies for such an unhappiness. One is the Sacrament of Penance, which blots out the past by remission of our sins and lightens the future by our hope for divine mercy, through continued repentance and amendment of our lives. Nothing in human experience, is as efficacious in curing the memory and imagination, as confession – it cleanses us of guilt and if we follow the admonitions of Our Lord, we shall put completely out of mind our confessed sins: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62). Confession also heals the imagination, eliminating its anxiety for the future – for now, with Paul, the soul cries out: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).
The second remedy, for the ills, that come to us from thinking about time, is what might be called the sanctification of the moment — or the Now. Our Lord laid down the rule for us in these words: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Mt 6:34). 
This means, that each day, has its own trials, we are not to borrow troubles from tomorrow, because that day too will have its cross. We are to leave the past to divine mercy and to trust the future, whatever its trials, to God’s loving providence. Each minute of life has its peculiar duty — regardless of the appearance that minute may take. The Now-moment is the moment of salvation. Each complaint against it is a defeat, each act of resignation to it is a victory.”
Quote/s of the Day – 11 January – 5th day after Epiphany
“Let us strive to make
the present moment beautiful!”
“Let us especially regret,
the smallest amount of time,
that we waste, or fail to use,
in loving God.”
Quote/s of the Day – 23 September – Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B and The Memorial of St Padre Pio (1887-1968)
“Do not fear! Jesus is more powerful than all hell.”
“Do not be daunted by the cross.
The surest test of love consists in suffering for the loved one
and if God suffered so much for love,
the pain we suffer for Him becomes as lovable as love itself.”
“The greater your sufferings, the greater God’s love for you.”
“God will never permit anything,
to happen to us, that is not for our greater good.”
“The storms that are raging around you,
will turn out to be for God’s glory,
your own merit
and the good of many souls.”
“In all the free time you have,
once you have finished your duties of state,
you should kneel down and pray the Rosary.
Pray the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament
or before a crucifix.”
“Do you not see the Madonna always beside the Tabernacle?”
“Listen to the Mass, the way the Virgin Mary, stood at .. Calvary..”
“We have close to us, an angelic spirit,
who never leaves us for an instant,
from the cradle to the grave,
who guides and protects us,
like a friend or a brother.”
“When you gossip about a person it means
that you have removed the person from your heart.
But be aware, when you remove a man from your heart,
Jesus also goes away from your heart with that man.”
Quote/s of the Day – 14 June – Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B
“Man sees your actions
but God your motives.”
“What else does anxiety
about the future bring you
but sorrow upon sorrow?”
“He who loves
with purity,
considers not,
the gift of the lover
but the
love of the giver.”
“Nothing, how little so ever it be,
if it is suffered for God’s sake,
can pass without merit
in the sight of God.”
“Who has a harder fight,
than he who is striving,
to overcome himself?”
“Habit is overcome by habit.”
“Love wakes much and sleeps little
and, in sleeping, does not sleep.
It faints but is not weary;
it is restricted in its liberty
and is great freedom.
It sees reasons to fear
and does not fear
but, like an ember or a spark of fire,
flames always upward,
by the fervour of its love, toward God
and through the special help of grace,
is delivered from all perils and dangers.”
“For a small reward,
a man will hurry away on a long journey;
while for eternal life,
many will hardly take a single step.”
“In the Cross is salvation;
in the Cross is life,
in the Cross is protection against our enemies,
in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness,
in the Cross is strength of mind,
in the Cross is joy of spirit,
in the Cross is excellence of virtue,
in the Cross is perfection of holiness.
There is no salvation of soul,
nor hope of eternal life,
save in the Cross.”
“He will be with you also,
all the way, that faithful God.
Every morning when you awaken,
to the old and tolerable pain,
at every mile of the hot uphill dusty road
of tiring duty,
on to the judgment seat,
the same Christ there as ever,
still loving you,
still sufficient for you, even then.
And then, on through all eternity.”
One Minute Reflection – 27 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide and the Feast of Our Lady of Montserrat – Gospel today John 14:1-6
“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.“…John 14:1
REFLECTION – “I will not mistrust Him, Meg, although I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember how St Peter at a blast of wind, began to sink, because of his lack of faith and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to Him for help. And then I trust He shall place His holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning.”…St Thomas More (1478-1535)
PRAYER – “[Lord God] I believe in You, increase my faith. All my hopes are in You, secure my trust. I love You, teach me to love You more each day… I adore You as my first beginning, I long for You as my final end. I praise You as my constant helper and call on You as my loving protector. Guide me by Your Wisdom, correct me with Your Justice, comfort me with Your Mercy, protect me by Your Power… Lord, enlighten my understanding, enflame my will, purify my heart, sanctify my soul. Help me to repent of my past sins and to rise above my human weaknesses and to grow stronger as a Christian…”(from the Universal Prayer by Pope Clement XI (1649-1721))
Quote/s of the Day – 14 April – Saturday of the Second Week of Eastertide
“To escape the distress caused by regret
for the past
or fear about the future,
this is the rule to follow:
leave the past to the infinite mercy of God,
the future to His good Providence,
give the present wholly to His love
by being faithful to His grace.”
“But,” say you, “what will become of me if . . . ?”
This is indeed a temptation of the enemy.
Why should you be so ingenious
in tormenting yourself beforehand
about something which perhaps will never happen?
Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.
Uneasy forebodings do us much harm;
why do you so readily give way to them?
We make our own troubles
and what do we gain by it?
but lose, instead, so much both for time and eternity.“
“never lose sight of the great and consoling truth
that nothing happens in this world
but by the command of God,
or at least, with His divine permission;
and that, whatever He wills, or permits
turns infallibly to the advantage
of those, who are submissive and resigned.”
One Minute Reflection – 7 April – Easter Saturday and the Memorial of St John Baptiste de La Salle (1651-1719)
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.…Matthew 6:34
REFLECTION – “Do not have any anxiety about the future. Leave everything in God’s hands, for He will take care of you.” …St John Baptiste de La Salle (1651-1719)
PRAYER – In Your providence, Lord God, You chose St John Baptiste de la Salle, to educate the young in the Christian faith and way of life. Raise up, Lord, in the Church today, teachers who will devote themselves wholeheartedly to the human and Christian education of our youth. May the prayers of St John, help us all to seek and do Your holy will in all things, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 24 January – The Memorial of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church: Doctor caritatis (Doctor of Charity)
“Do not look forward
to the changes and chances
of this life in fear;
rather look to them
with full hope that,
as they arise, God,
whose you are,
will deliver you out of them.
He is your keeper.
He has kept you hitherto.
Do you but hold fast
to His dear hand
and He will lead you
safely through all things;
and, when you cannot stand,
He will bear you in His arms.
Do not look forward to
what may happen tomorrow.
Our Father will either
shield you from suffering,
or He will give you
strength to bear it.”
“Anxiety is the greatest evil
that can befall a soul, except sin.
God commands you to pray
but He forbids you to worry.”
“Great occasions for serving God
come seldom but little ones,
surround us daily.”
“Half an hour’s meditation
each day is essential,
except, when you are busy.
Then a full hour is needed.”
“Let us think only
of spending
the present day well.
Then, when tomorrow
shall have come,
it will be called
TODAY
and then,
we will think about it.”
“Every morning,
prepare your soul
for a tranquil day.”
“What we need,
is a cup of understanding,
a barrel of love
and an ocean of patience.”
“A quarrel between friends,
when made up,
adds a new tie to friendship.”
“Friendships begun in this world
will be taken up again,
never to be broken off. “
“Don’t get upset
with your imperfections.
It’s a great mistake
because it leads nowhere –
to get angry
because you are angry,
upset at being upset,
depressed at being depressed,
disappointed because
you are disappointed.
So don’t fool yourself.
Simply surrender
to the Power of God’s Love,
which is always greater
than our weakness.”
“Don’t sow your desires
in someone else’s garden;
just cultivate your own as best you can;
don’t long to be other than what you are
but desire to be thoroughly what you are.
Direct your thoughts, to being very good at that
and to bearing the crosses, little or great,
that you will find there.
Believe me, this is the most important
and least understood point to the spiritual life.
We all love according to what is our taste;
few people like what is according to their duty
or to God’s liking.
What is the use of building castles in Spain
when we have to live in France?”
Quote/s of the Day – 11 January – Speaking of Worry
“Let not your hearts be troubled;
believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many rooms;
if it were not so, would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you?
And when I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself,
that where I am you may be also.
And you know the way where I am going.”
“Where there is charity and wisdom,
there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Where there is patience and humility,
there is neither anger nor vexation.
Where there is poverty and joy,
there is neither greed nor avarice.
Where there is peace and meditation,
there is neither anxiety nor doubt.”
“I will not mistrust Him, Meg,
although I shall feel myself weakening
and on the verge of being overcome with fear.
I shall remember how St Peter, at a blast of wind began to sink
because of his lack of faith and I shall do as he did:
call upon Christ and pray to Him for help.
And then, I trust He shall place His holy hand on me
and in the stormy seas, hold me up from drowning.”
“It will be quite enough to receive the evils
that come upon us from time to time,
without anticipating them by the imagination.”
“Hold your eyes on God
and leave the doing to Him.
That is all the doing you have to worry about.”
“Lay all your cares about the future
trustingly in God’s Hands and let yourself
be guided by the Lord just like a little child.”
“Humble yourselves therefore,
under the mighty hand of God,
so that he may exalt you in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on him
because he cares for you.”
“Do not worry about anything
but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
AnaStpaul 
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