Our Morning Offering – 15 April – Thursday of Easter week
Grant us Your Light, O Lord
By St Bede (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church
Grant us Your light, O Lord,
so that the darkness of our hearts,
may wholly pass away
and we may come at last,
to the light of Christ.
For Christ is that morning star,
who, when the night of this world has passed,
brings to His saints,
the promised light of life
and opens to them,
everlasting day.
Amen
(From ‘On the Apocalypse’)
Quote/s of the Day – 3 April – Tuesday in the Easter Octave
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you,
I have called you by name, you are mine.”
“Since love grows within you,
so beauty grows.
For love is the beauty of the soul.”
“A Christian is:
a mind through which Christ thinks,
a heart through which Christ loves,
a voice through which Christ speaks
and a hand through which Christ helps.”
“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 judgement seat,
the same Christ there as ever,
still loving you,
still sufficient for you, even then.
And then, on through all eternity.”
“Think of the Cross when you rise and when you lie down,
when you go out and when you come in,
when you eat and when you walk and when you converse,
when you buy and when you sell,
when you labour and when you rest,
consecrating and sealing all your doings with this one mental action –
the thought of the Crucified.
Do not talk of it to others – be silent, like the penitent woman,
who showed her love in deep subdued acts.
She “stood at His feet behind Him weeping
and began to wash His feet with tears
and did wipe them with the hairs of her head
and kissed His feet and anointed them with the Ointment.”
And Christ said of her,
“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven her, for she loved much
but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” [Luke vii. 38, 47.]”
Parochial Sermons V 23
“Mary –
the revolution of her life,
the revolution destined
to transform the existence
of every man and woman,
begins with a name
that echoes in the garden
of the empty tomb…”
Feast of St Mary of Magdala
One Minute Reflection – 12 April – Easter Sunday – The Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord, Readings: Acts 10:34, 37-43, Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23, Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, John 20:1-9 or Matthew 28:1-10
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. … John 20:1
REFLECTION – “Here is a wise saying: “The day of prosperity makes one forget adversity” (Sir 11:25). Today the first sentence passed against us has been forgotten – more! not just forgotten but cancelled! This day has wiped away completely all remembrance of our condemnation. In former times childbearing took place in pain, now we are born without suffering. Formerly we were no more than flesh, born of the flesh, today, what is born is spirit, born of the Spirit. Yesterday we were born mere children of men, today we are born children of God. Yesterday we were cast out of heaven to the earth, today, He who reigns in the heavens makes us citizens of heaven. Yesterday, death reigned because of sin, today, thanks to Him who is the Life, righteousness regains its might.
In former times one man opened for us the gates of death, today, the one Man brings us back to life. Yesterday, life was lost to us because of death but today, Life has destroyed death. Yesterday, shame caused us to hide ourselves beneath the fig tree, today, glory draws us towards the tree of life. Yesterday, disobedience expelled us from Paradise, today, our faith causes us to enter it. Once again the fruit of life is held out to us to be enjoyed as much as we wish. Once again the stream of Paradise, whose water irrigates us through the four rivers of the gospels (cf. Gn 2:10), comes to refresh the whole face of the Church. (…)
From now on what are we to do but imitate the mountains and hills of the prophecies in their leaping for joy: “Mountains, skip like rams; hills, like lambs of the flock!” (Ps 114[113]:4). “Come, then, let us sing joyfully to the Lord!” (Ps 95[94]:1). He has broken the power of the enemy and raised up the great trophy of the cross… So let us say: “The Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods!” (Ps 95[94],3). He blesses the year by crowning it with His bounty (cf. Ps 65[64]:12) and He gathers us together in spiritual chorus in Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory for endless ages. Amen.” … St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335-395) – Father of the Church – Homily for the holy and life-giving Pasch
PRAYER – Breviary Hymn
Jesus Christ is ris’n today, Alleluia
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss, Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ our heav’nly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!
But the pains which He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now He rules eternal King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing, Alleluia!
Praise to God the Father sing, Alleluia!
Praise to God the Son, our King, Alleluia!
Praise to God the Spirit be, Alleluia!
Now and through eternity, Alleluia!
Solemnity of Solemnities
Easter Sunday – 12 April – The Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord
Today we forget the troubles of the world, for we have reached our goal, today is Easter, the day we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection. This is the single most important feast day of the Church. With Christ’s Death and Resurrection, Christ has conquered sin and death, the gates of heaven are now open to man.
Yes, Lord, make us Easter people,
men and women of light,
filled with the fire of Your love.
Amen
Fr Francis Fernandez from his ‘In Conversation with God: Daily Meditations, Volume Two.’ explains why this feast is so pivotal:
“The glorious Resurrection of the Lord is the key to interpreting His whole life and the ground of our faith. Without this victory over death, says St Paul, all our preaching would be useless and our faith in vain.
Furthermore, the guarantee of our future resurrection is secured upon the Resurrection of Christ, because although we were dead through sin, God, full of mercy, moved by the infinite compassion with which He loved, gave us Christ…and He raised us with Him. Easter is the celebration of our Redemption and, therefore, the celebration of thanksgiving and joy.
The Resurrection of the Lord is a central reality of the Catholic faith and has been preached as such since the beginning of Christianity. The importance of this miracle is so great that the Apostles are, above all else, witnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection (cf. Acts 1:22; 2:43; 3:15; etc.). They announce that Christ is alive and this becomes the nucleus of all their preaching. After twenty centuries this is what we announce to the world – Christ lives! The fact of the resurrection is the supreme argument for the divinity of Our Lord….”
“And Jesus Christ lives.
And this crowns us with happiness.
This is the great truth which fills our faith with meaning.
Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen.
He has triumphed over death,
He has overcome sorrow, anguish and the power of darkness…
In Him we find everything.
Outside of Him our life is empty “
Quote/s of the Day – 11 April – Sabbatum Sanctum – Holy Saturday –
Easter Vigil in the Holy Night
“Darkness is not dark for you and night shines as the day” (Ps 138:12)
“…He slept so that we might be awakened,
He died so that we might live.”
In Praise of Christ
Born as a son,
led forth as a lamb,
sacrificed as a sheep,
buried as a man,
He rose from the dead as a God,
for He was by nature God and man.
He is all things:
He judges and so He is Law,
He teaches and so He is Wisdom,
He saves and so He is Grace,
He begets and so He is Father,
He is begotten and so He is Son,
He suffers and so He is Sacrifice,
He is buried and so He is man,
He rises again and so He is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs glory for all ages.
“The Lord, though He was God, became man.
He suffered for the sake of whose who suffer,
He was bound for those in bonds,
condemned for the guilty,
buried for those who lie in the grave
but He rose from the dead and cried aloud:
“Who will contend with me? Let him confront me.”
I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life,
raised men from their graves.
Who has anything to say against me?
I, He said, am the Christ, I have destroyed death,
triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot,
bound the strong one and taken men up to the heights of heaven.
I am the Christ.
Come, then, all you nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you.
I am your forgiveness.
I am the Passover that brings salvation.
I am the lamb who was immolated for you.
I am your Ransom, your Life, your Resurrection, your Light, I am your Salvation and your King.
I will bring you to the heights of heaven.
With my own right hand I will raise you up
and I will show you the eternal Father.”
– from a letter by Saint Melito of Sardis
Quote/s of the Day – 10 April – Friday of the Passion of the Lord
“Great thing is the knowledge of the crucified Christ.
How many things are enclosed inside this treasure!
Christ crucified!
Such is the hidden treasure of wisdom and science.
Do not be deceived, then, under the pretext of wisdom.
Gather before the covering and pray, that it may be uncovered.
Foolish philosopher of this world, what you are looking for is worthless…
What is the advantage of being thirsty, if you despise the source? …
And what is His precept but that we believe in Him and love each other?
In whom? In Christ crucified.
This is His commandment – that we believe in Christ crucified …
But where humility is, there is also majesty,
where weakness is, there shall one find power,
where death is, there shall be life as well.
If you wish to arrive at the second part, do not despise the first!“
Sermon 160, 3-4
“Come, kneel before the Lord:
He shed for us His Blood.
He died the victim of pure love,
To make us one with God.”
(15 July 1814 – 2 January 1878) was an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer
who converted to Roman Catholicism and became a Oratorian under St John Henry Newman.
WHENE’ER across this sinful flesh of mine
I draw the Holy Sign,
All good thoughts stir within me and renew
Their slumbering strength divine,
Till there springs up a courage high and true
To suffer and to do.
And who shall say but hateful spirits around,
For their brief hour unbound,
Shudder to see and wail their overthrow?
While on far heathen ground
Some lonely Saint hails the fresh odour, though
Its source he cannot know.
Oxford – 25 November 1832
One Minute Reflection – 9 April – Maundy Thursday, Evening Vigil Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Readings: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14, Psalms 116:12-13, 15-18, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-15
Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not know now but afterward, you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.” … John 12:7-8
REFLECTION – “Jesus, fully aware that the Father had put everything into His power and that He had come from God and was returning to God, rose from supper.” That which had not been in Jesus’s hands before is put into His hands by the Father – not just some things and not others but everything.
David had said: “The Lord says to my lord: Sit at my right hand while I make your enemies your footstool” (Ps 109[110]:1). The enemies of Jesus shared out, as it were, that ‘all’ which He knew His Father was giving Him. (…) On account of those who were far away from God, He was separated from God who, by nature, did not wish to leave the Father. He left God, so that all who have been separated from God, should return to God with Him, in His hands, according to His eternal design. (…)
So what was Jesus doing in washing the feet of His disciples? By washing them and wiping them with the towel around His waist wasn’t Jesus making their feet beautiful at the moment when they were going to have to proclaim the good news? It was then, in my opinion, that the prophetic word was fulfilled: “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news!” (Is 52:7; Rm 10:15). But if, by washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus makes them beautiful, how can we express the genuine beauty in those whom He immerses fully “in the Holy Spirit and in fire” (Mt 3:11)? The feet of the apostles were made beautiful so that (…) they might set out along the holy road and walk in Him who said: “I am the Way” (Jn 14:6). For whoever has had his feet washed by Jesus and he alone, follows that living way that leads to the Father. That way has no room for dirty feet! (…) In order to follow this living, spiritual way (Heb 10:20) (…) they had to have their feet washed by Jesus who set aside His garments (…) so as to take upon His own body, the dirtiness of their feet with the towel which was His only garment, for “he bears our infirmities” (Is 53:4). … Origen (c 185-253) Father of Church, Priest, Theologian – Commentary on St John’s Gospel
PRAYER – Love of You, with our whole heart, Lord God, is holiness. Increase then Your gifts of divine grace in us, so that, as in Your Son’s Death, You made us hope for what we believe, You may likewise, in His Resurrection, make us come to You, our final end. Listen we beg, to the prayers of Your holy ones and may the Blessed Mother walk along with us and keep our hand, ever in hers. Through Jesus Himself, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God with You, forever and ever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 9 April – Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
To Jesus, the Life
By Blessed James Alberione (1884-1971)
O Wellspring of eternal life,
all life is grafted in You, Lord,
You break the bonds of death
and give life to us anew.
Descending from Your splendid throne,
You have brought this gift to us below,
profusely from Your open side,
You bestow divine riches.
We have joined Your Mystical Body,
engrafted by baptismal grace,
life flowing from Your seven springs,
lifts up anew our fallen race.
Though wounded by our parents’ fault,
our nature is restored by grace,
virtue is practised for Your love
and reaps the heavenly reward.
Only You can give true peace,
lead nations to live in harmony,
cause innocence to bloom in homes,
grant prosperity to our works.
Jesus, our everlasting Life, Truth and Way,
by You, we are led,
by You we live,
to Father, You and the Spirit,
may all peoples praise and glory give.
Amen
Blessed Fr James Alberione (1884-1971)
the Founder of the Pauline Family,
composed various Prayers to Jesus Master,
The Way, the Truth and the Life,
specifically directed to honour Jesus, the Master –
to sanctify the whole person, mind, will and heart.
These prayers are prayed by his Orders everyday.
Lenten Reflection – 3 April – Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Readings: Jeremiah 20:10-13, Psalm 18:2-7, John 10:31-42
“If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me
but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works,
that you may know and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” … John 10:37-38
Daily Meditation:
Set us free.
“The Apostle teaches that Christ offered Himself for us to God as a fragrant offering and sacrifice. He is the true God and the true high priest who for our sake entered once for all into the holy of holies, taking with Him not the blood of bulls and goats but His own blood. This was foreshadowed by the high priest of old when each year he took blood and entered the holy of holies.
Christ is, therefore, the one who in Himself alone, embodied all that He knew to be necessary to achieve our redemption. He is at once Priest and Sacrifice, God and Temple. He is the Priest through whom we have been reconciled, the Sacrifice by which we have been reconciled, the Temple in which we have been reconciled, the God with whom we have been reconciled. He alone is Priest, Sacrifice and Temple because He is all these things as God, in the form of a Servant but He is not alone as God, for He is this with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the form of God.
Hold fast to this and never doubt it – the only-begotten Son, God the Word, becoming man offered Himself for us, to God, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice. In the time of the Old Testament, patriarchs, prophets and priests sacrificed animals in His honour and in honour of the Father and the Holy Spirit, as well. Now in the time of the New Testament the Holy Catholic Church, throughout the world, never ceases to offer the Sacrifice of bread and wine, in faith and love, to Him and to the Father and the Holy Spirit, with whom He shares one Godhead.” … St Fulgentius of Ruspe (c 462 – 533) – An excerpt from his Treatise on Faith addressed to Peter
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised
and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:2-3
Intercessions:
Thanks be to Christ the Lord,
who brought us life by is death on the cross.
With our whole heart let us askHhim:
By Your death raise us to life.
Teacher and Saviour,
You have shown us Your fidelity and made us a new creation by Your passion,
– keep us from falling again into sin.
Help us to deny ourselves today,
– and not deny those in need.
May we receive this day of penance as Your gift,
– and give it back to You through works of mercy.
Master our rebellious hearts,
– and teach us generosity.
Closing Prayer:
Most forgiving Lord,
again and again You welcome me back into Your loving arms.
Grant me freedom from the heavy burdens of sin
that weigh me down
and keep me so far from You.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
“O Fountain of everlasting love,
what shall I say of You?
How can I forget You,
Who have vouchsafed to remember me
even after I was corrupted and lost?”
Imitation of Christ, Book 3, Chapter 10
One Minute Reflection – 3 April – Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Readings: Jeremiah 20:10-13, Psalm 18:2-7, John 10:31-42
“Then they tried to seize him.” … John 10:39
REFLECTION – “If the Law calls them gods to whom the word of God came and scripture cannot be set aside,how can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” Yes indeed, if God has spoken to us so that we might be called ‘gods,’ how could the Word of God, the Word that is in God, not be God? If we have been made sharers in His nature and have become gods because God speaks to us, how could this Word, through which this gift comes to us, not be God? … As for you, you approach the Light and receive it and are counted among the children of God but if you draw back, you become dark and are counted among the children of darkness (cf. 1 Thes 5:5). …
“Believe the works, so that you may realise and understand, that the Father is in me and I in the Father.” The Son of God does not say “the Father is in me and I in the Father” in the same sense as we are able to do. In effect, if our thoughts are good, we are in God; if our lives are holy, God is in us. When we are sharers in His grace and enlightened by His light then we are in Him and He in us. But … recognise what is proper to the Lord and what is a gift made to His servant. What is proper to the Lord is His equality with the Father but the gift granted to His servant, is to participate in the Saviour.
“Then they tried to seize him.” If only they had seized Him! But by faith and intellect, not so as to mock and put him to death! At this very moment, as I speak to you …, all of us, both you and I, are wanting to seize Christ. To ‘seize’, what does that mean? You have ‘seized’ when you have understood. But Christ’s enemies were looking for something different. You have seized in order to possess but they wanted to seize Him in order to get rid of Him. And because this was how they wanted to seize Him, what does Jesus do? “He escaped from their power.” They were unable to seize Him because they did not have the hands of faith. … We truly seize Christ if our minds grasp the Word.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church – Sermons on the Gospel of John, no 48, 9-11
PRAYER – Holy Father, our Father, help us to lay down the stones of hate and embrace Your Son who stands before us in need. Give us the hands of faith and minds to grasp the Word, teach us to see His Face in those who cry out to us. Teach us compassion and love. Mary, your Immaculate Heart is our school. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Lenten Reflection – 1 April – Wednesday of the Fifth week of Lent, Readings: Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95, Responsorial psalm Daniel 3:52-56, John 8:31-42
“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples
and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”…John 8:31-32
Daily Meditation:
Enlighten our minds and sanctify our hearts.
“God could give no greater gift to men than to make His Word, through whom He created all things, their head and to join them to Him as His members, so that the Word might be both Son of God and son of man, one God with the Father and one man with all men. The result is that when we speak with God in prayer, we do not separate the Son from Him and when the body of the Son prays, it does not separate its head from itself, it is the one Saviour of His body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who prays for us and in us and is Himself the object of our prayers.
He prays for us, as our priest, He prays in us, as our head, He is the object of our prayers, as our God.
Let us then recognise both our voice in His and His voice in ours. When something is said, especially in prophecy, about the Lord Jesus Chris,t that seems to belong to a condition of lowliness, unworthy of God, we must not hesitate to ascribe this condition to one who did not hesitate to unite Himself with us. Every creature is His servant, for it was through Him that every creature came to be.” … Saint Augustine (354-430) Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church
Intercessions:
Blessed be God, the giver of salvation,
who decreed that mankind should become a new creation in Himself,
when all would be made new.
With great confidence let us ask Him:
Lord, renew us in Your Spirit.
Lord, You promised a new heaven and a new earth,
renew us daily through Your Spirit,
– that we may enjoy Your presence forever in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Help us to work with You to make this world alive with Your Spirit,
– and to build on earth a city of justice, love and peace.
Free us from all negligence and sloth,
– and give us joy in Your gifts of grace.
Deliver us from evil,
– and from slavery to the senses,
which blinds us to Your love, freedom and truth.
Closing Prayer:
Grant that I may love You
and be loved by You
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
O God of love,
You are
and shall be forever,
the only delight of my heart
and the sole object of my affections.
Since Jesus said,
‘Ask and you shall receive,’
I do not hesitate to say,
‘Give me Your love
and Your grace.’
Grant that I may love You
and be loved by You.
I want nothing else.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 1 April – Wednesday of the Fifth week of Lent, Readings: Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95, Responsorial psalm Daniel 3:52-56, John 8:31-42 and the Memorial of St Lodovico Pavoni FMI (1784-1849)
“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”...John 8:31-32
REFLECTION – “By faith we adhere to Christ and the edifice of our spiritual life becomes thereby firm and stable. Christ makes us share in the stability of the divine rock against which even hell’s fury cannot prevail (Mt 16:18).
Thus divinely sustained, we are conquerors over the assaults and temptations of the world and of the devil, the prince of this world (1 Jn 5:4). The devil and the world, which the devil uses as an accomplice, offer violence to us or solicit us; by faith in the word of Jesus we come out victorious from these attacks. …Now, the devil is “the father of lies and the prince of darkness” (cf. Eph 6:12) while God is ” the Truth” and “in Him is no darkness” (cf. Jn 14:6; 1 Jn 1:5). If we always listen to God, we shall always be victorious. When our Lord, who is our model in all things, was tempted, He repulsed temptation by placing the authority of God’s Word in opposition to each solicitation of the Evil One. We ought to do the same and repulse hell’s attacks by faith in Jesus’ word. (…)
What is true of the devil is true of the world – it is by faith that we overcome it. When people have a living faith in Christ, they fear neither difficulties nor opposition, nor the world’s judgement,s because they know that Christ abides in us, by faith and because they rely on Him.” … Blessed Columba Marmion (1858-1923) Abbot – Our faith, the victory over the world (Christ, the Ideal of the Monk, rev.)
PRAYER – God of mercy, shed Your light on our hearts that are being purified by penance and in Your goodness, give us a favourable hearing. Teach us to work with You and for You and thus fill the world with Your Spirit. In Christ our Saviour, we become a new creation and Your adopted children, therefore, all things are renewed. May the prayers of St Lodovico Pavoni, who gave himself completely to You and Your little ones, assist us to do the same. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Lenten Reflection – 31 March – Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Readings: Numbers 21:4-9, Psalm 102:2-3, 16-21, John 8:21-30
“When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I Am He…”…John 8:28
Daily Meditation:
May we be lifted up with you.
“Jesus lifted up draws all to Himself.
Jesus lifted up on the Cross, reveals fully Whoe He really is.
Jesus is most Jesus, when He is on the Cross.
Even though at Calvary, Jesus was taunted and mocked
by the rabid rabble, to come down from the Cross,
He remained transfixed on it, till the very end.
We need to mount the Cross with Jesus!
We need to see the world from that vantage viewpoint.
Then, everything falls into proper perspective,
then we begin to see the world, as it is.
It is only when we are with Jesus on the Cross,
that we are stretched to our fullest dimensions!” … Msgr Alex Rebello
For my days pass away like smoke
and my bones burn like a furnace.
Psalm 102:3
Intercessions:
Praise to Christ, who has given us Himself as the bread from heaven.
Let us pray to Him, saying:
Jesus, You feed and heal our souls, come to strengthen us.
Lord, feed us at the banquet of the Eucharist,
– with all the gifts of Your Paschal Sacrifice.
Give us a perfect heart to receive Your word,
– that we may bring forth fruit in patience.
Make us eager to work with You in building a better world,
– so that it may listen to Your Church and its gospel of peace.
We confess, Lord, that we have sinned,
– wash us clean by Your gift of salvation.
Closing Prayer:
The Word of the Cross
by Saint Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431)
Look on thy God, Christ hidden in our flesh.
A bitter word, the cross and bitter sight:
Hard rind without, to hold the heart of heaven.
Yet sweet it is, for God upon that tree
Did offer up His life upon that rood
My Life hung, that my life might stand in God.
Christ, what am I to give Thee for my life?
Unless take from Thy hands the cup they hold,
To cleanse me with the precious draught of death.
What shall I do? My body to be burned?
Make myself vile? The debt’s not paid out yet.
Whate’er I do, it is but I and Thou,
And still do I come short, still must Thou pay
My debts, O Christ, for debts Thyself hadst none.
What love may balance Thine? My Lord was found
In fashion like a slave, that so His slave
Might find himself in fashion like his Lord.
Think you the bargain’s hard, to have exchanged
The transient for the eternal, to have sold
Earth to buy Heaven? More dearly God bought me.
“Christ’s shoulders are the arms of the cross,
there it is, that I have laid down my sins,
on that gallows I have found my rest. “
Our Morning Offering – 30 March – Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Lord, Kindle our Lamps
By St Columban (543-615)
Lord, kindle our lamps,
Saviour most dear to us,
that we may always shine
in Your presence
and always receive light
from You, the Light Perpetual,
so that our own personal darkness
may be overcome
and the world’s darkness
driven from us.
Amen
(This is an excerpt from a much longer prayer and is taken from the wonderful Sermon XII by St Columban)
Quote/s of the Day – 29 March – The Fifth Sunday of Lent
“Faith is like a bright ray of sunlight.
It enables us to see God in all things,
as well as, all things in God.”
“I have looked into Your eyes with my eyes.
I have put my heart near Your Heart.”
Lenten Reflection – 29 March – The Fifth Sunday of Lent, Readings: Ezekiel 37:12-14, Psalm 130:1-8, Romans 8:8-11, John 11:1-45
“Lazarus, come out!” … John 11:43
Daily Meditation:
The Way, the Truth and the Life
“Here we have a man past the prime of life, a corpse, decaying, swollen, in fact, already in a state of dissolution, so that even his own relatives did not want the Lord to draw near the tomb because the decayed body enclosed there, was so offensive. And yet, he is brought into life by a single call, confirming the proclamation of the resurrection, that is to say, that expectation of it, as universal, that we learn by a particular experience to entertain. For as in the regeneration of the universe, the apostle tells us that “the Lord himself will descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel” and by a trumpet sound, raise up the dead to incorruption — so now too, he who is in the tomb, at the voice of command, shakes off death as if it were only sleep. He rids himself of the corruption that had come on his condition of a corpse, leaps forth from the tomb whole and sound, not even hindered as he leaves by the bonds of the grave cloths round his feet and hands.” … St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–C 395) Father of the Church – On the Making of Man, 25
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-6
Intercessions:
Let us always and everywhere give thanks to Christ our Saviour
and ask Him with confidence:
– Lord, create a new spirit within us.
Christ, our life, we were buried with You in Baptism, to rise from the dead
– lead us this day along the new path of life.
Help us to work with others to build the earthly city
– but never let us lose sight of Your heavenly kingdom.
Healer of souls, mend our broken lives
– let us receive all the blessings of Your holiness.
Call us, bid us come to You
– let our ears be deaf to the calls of the world.
Closing Prayer:
Preface
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give You thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
For as true man He wept for
Lazarus His friend
and as eternal God, raised him from the tomb,
just as, taking pity on the human race,
He leads us, by sacred mysteries, to new life.
Through Him, the host of angels adores Your majesty
and rejoices in Your presence forever.
May our voices, we pray,
join with theirs in one chorus of exultant praise, as we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts …
One Minute Reflection – 29 March – The Fifth Sunday of Lent, Readings: Ezekiel 37:12-14, Psalm 130:1-8, Romans 8:8-11, John 11:1-45
“Lazarus, come out!” … John 11:43
REFLECTION – “Lazarus, come out!” Laid to rest in the tomb, you heard the resounding call. Is there any voice greater than that of the Word? Then you came out, you who were dead not merely for four days but for a very long time indeed. You were raised with Christ …, your burial bands fell to the ground. Do not fall back again now into death, do not rejoin those who dwell in the tombs, do not allow yourself to be stifled by the burial bands of your sins. For would you be able to come back to life once again? Would you be able to bring out from the death of here below, the resurrection of all men at the end of time? …
So let the Lord’s call resound in your ears! Do not close them today to the teaching and admonitions of the Lord. If you used to be blind, without light in your tomb, open your eyes lest you sink into the sleep of death. In the light of the Lord, behold light, in the Spirit of God, fix your eyes on the Son. If you take to yourself the Word, in it’s entirety, then you focus onto your soul all the power of Christ, who heals and restores to life …. Don’t be afraid to put some work into preserving your baptismal purity and set the ways that lead to the Lord within your heart. Take care to preserve the act of acquittal, which you received through pure grace ….
Let us be light, as the disciples learned from He who is the great Light – “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5,14). Let us be lamps in this world by holding up on high the Word of life, by being a life force for others. Let us set out in search of God, in search of the One who is the first and purest of lights.” … Saint Gregory Nazianzen (330-390) Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church – Sermon on Holy Baptism.
PRAYER – Give us good God, a heart of flesh, that we might resemble the heart of Your love. For truly following the steps of Your divine Son, we would make peace in the world and give glory to Your kingdom. Help us Lord, to see with Your eyes and hear with Your ears, that the Word may dwell in us all and bring us to rise with You. May the immaculate heart of Mary, our Mother dwell in us and help us to reach our eternal home. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, with You and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Lenten Reflection – 28 March – Saturday of the Fourth week of Lent, Readings: Jeremiah 11:18-20, Psalm 7:2-3, 9-12, John 7:40-53
Others said, “This is the Christ.” ... John 7:41
Daily Meditation:
Apart from You we can do nothing.
“In Christ we encounter such human characteristics that they have nothing to distinguish them from the weakness common to us mortals. At the same time, we encounter characteristics so divine, that they can only be appropriate to the sovereign and ineffable divine nature. Too small to comprehend this, the human mind is so dumbfounded, that it does not know what to take its stand on, nor which path to follow. Is it aware of God in Christ? Yet it sees Him die. Does it take Him to be a man? But see Him coming back from the dead with the prize of His victory, having destroyed the reign of death. In the same way our contemplation needs to be practised with such reverence and fear that, in the same Jesus, it considers the truth of the two natures, avoiding attributing to the divine essence those things that are not worthy of it or do not belong to it but also avoiding seeing only an illusory appearance in historical events.
In truth, causing such things as these to be heard by human ears, trying to express them in words considerably surpasses our ability, talent and language. I even think it surpasses the capability of the apostles. More still, the explanation of this mystery probably transcends the entire order of angelic powers.” … Origen (c 185-253) Father, Priest and Theologian
My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
Psalm 7:10
Intercessions:
Let us always and everywhere give thanks to Christ our Saviour
and ask Him with confidence:
Lord, help us with Your grace.
May we keep our bodies pure,
– as temples of the Holy Spirit.
May we offer ourselves this day to the service of others
– and do Your will in all things throughout the day.
Teach us to seek the bread of everlasting life,
– the bread that is Your gift.
May Your Mother, the refuge of sinners, pray for us,
– and gain for us your loving forgiveness.
Closing Prayer:
O Jesus, Mary’s Son!
By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor Angelicus, Doctor communis
Hail to Thee! True body sprung
From the Virgin Mary’s womb!
The same that on the cross was hung
And bore for man the bitter doom.
Thou Whose side was pierced and flowed
Both with water and with blood.
Suffer us to taste of Thee
In our life’s last agony.
O kind, O loving One!
O Jesus, Mary’s Son!
Amen
Quote of the Day – 26 March – the Memorial of Blessed Maddalena Caterina Morano (1847-1908)
“All for You my good Jesus, my immense good!
Only Your love and glory is enough for me, my Jesus. “
Quote of the Day – 22 March – Fourth “Laetare” Sunday of Lent
“To receive the grace of God,
you must go to the desert
and stay awhile.”
“You have only one model, Jesus.
Follow, follow, follow Him,
step by step, imitating Him,
sharing His life in every way.”
“Christ calls us right now!
It were well, if we understood this
but we are slow to master the great truth,
that Christ is, as it were,
walking among us and by His hand, or eye, or voice,
bidding us to follow Him.”
Lenten Reflection – 22 March – Fourth “Laetare” Sunday of Lent, Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13, Psalm 23:1-6, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41
So he went and washed and came back seeing. … John 9:7
Daily Meditation:
Laetare Sunday: Be joyful!
“The man born blind and healed, represents us when we do not realise that Jesus is the light, He is “the Light of the World,” when we are looking elsewhere, when we prefer to entrust ourselves to little lights, when we are groping in the dark.
Acting as children of the light requires a radical change of mindset, a capacity to judge men and things according to another scale of values, which comes from God. What does it mean to have the true light, to walk in the light? First of all it means abandoning false lights – the cold, vain light of prejudice against others, because prejudice distorts reality and ladens us with aversion to those whom we judge without mercy and condemn without appeal.
May the Blessed Virgin, who was the first to welcome Jesus, the Light of the World, obtain for us this grace of welcoming anew the light of faith this Lent, rediscovering the inestimable gift of Baptism, which all of us have received. And may this new illumination transform us in attitude and action, so that we too, beginning with our poverty, our narrow-mindedness, may be bearers of a ray of the light of Christ.” … Pope Francis (Angelus, 26 March 2017)
Intercessions:
Let us give glory to God, whose kindness knows no limit.
Through Jesus Christ, who lives forever to intercede for
us, let us pray:
Kindle in our hearts the fire of Your love.
God of mercy, let today be a day rich in good works,
-a day of generosity to all we meet.
From the waters of the flood you saved Noah through the ark,
-from the waters of baptism raise up to new life those
under instruction.
May we live not by bread only,
-but by every word falling from Your lips.
Help us to do away with all dissension,
-so that we may rejoice in Your gifts of peace and love.
Closing Prayer:
“All-powerful God, Benefactor and Creator of the universe,
hearken to my groaning in my peril.
Deliver me from fear and anguish,
free me by the strength of Your might, You who can do all…
O Lord Christ, cut the threads of my net
with the sword of Your triumphant Cross, with the weapon of life.
This net encompasses me on every side,
holding me captive so as to bring me to my death.
Guide to their rest, my tottering and unsteady steps,
heal the stifling fever of my heart.
I stand guilty before You,
take away from me my distress, the devil’s ploy;
remove the darkness of my anguished soul…
Renew in my soul the light-filled image of the glory of Your name,
so great and so powerful.
Intensify the brilliance of Your grace upon the image of my face
and on the eyes of my spirit, I who am born of the earth (Gn 2:7).
Let my darkness vanish in a radiant purity, sinner that I am.
Drown my soul in Your living, eternal, heavenly divine light
so that the likeness of God the Trinity may increase within me.
You alone, O Christ, are blessed, together with the Father
for the praise of your Holy Spirit
for endless ages.
Amen
Lenten Reflection – 18 March – Wednesday of the Third week of Lent, Readings: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20, Matthew 5:17-19
“Think not that I have come to abolish the law
and the prophets, I have come,
not to abolish them but to fulfil them.”…Matthew 5:17
Daily Meditation:
The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
“In Him the promise made through the shadows of prophecy stands revealed, along with the full meaning of the precepts of the law. He is the one who teaches the truth of prophecy through His presence and makes obedience to the commandments possible through grace.
In the preaching of the holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith. No-one should be ashamed of the Cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.
No-one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice, no-one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised. The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death. Christ has taken on Himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature. If then we are steadfast in our faith in Him and in our love for Him, we win the victory that He has won, we receive what He has promised.
When it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears – “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.” … St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) – An excerpt from Sermo 51
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 147:20
Intercessions:
Blessed be God, the giver of salvation, who decreed that mankind should become a new creation in Himself, when all would be made new. With great confidence let us ask Him:
Lord, renew us in Your Spirit.
Lord, You promised a new heaven and a new earth; renew us daily through Your Spirit,
– that we may enjoy Your presence forever in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Help us to work with You to make this world alive with Your Spirit,
– and to build on earth a city of justice, love and peace.
Free us from all negligence and sloth,
– and give us joy in Your gifts of grace.
Deliver us from evil,
– and from slavery to the senses, which blinds us to goodness.
Closing Prayer:
O Sweet Name of Jesus
By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
O sweet Name of Jesus,
holy above all names
in heaven and on earth
and to which every knee,
both of men and of angels in heaven,
on earth and in hell bends.
You are the Way of the just,
the Glory of the saints,
the Hope of those in need,
the Balm of the sick,
the Love of the devout
and the Consolation
of those that suffer.
O, Jesus be to me a help and a protector
so that Your Name may be blessed for all times.
Amen
“Where can we fix our gaze, then, throughout this Lenten journey?
Upon the Crucified One.
Jesus on the cross is life’s compass, which directs us to heaven.
The poverty of the wood, the silence of the Lord, His loving self-emptying,
show us the necessity of a simpler life, free from anxiety about things.
From the cross, Jesus teaches us the great courage involved in renunciation.”
Basilica of Santa Sabina
Ash Wednesday, 6 March 2019
Our Morning Offering – 17 March – Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Excerpt from St Patrick’s Breastplate – Christ be Near
St Patrick (c 386 – 461)
Christ be near, at either hand,
Christ behind, before me stand,
Christ with me, where’er I go,
Christ around, above, below.
Christ be in my heart and mind,
Christ within my soul enshrined,
Christ control, my wayward heart,
Christ abide and ne’er depart.
Christ my life and only way,
Christ my lantern, night and day,
Christ be my unchanging friend,
guide and shepherd to the end.
We have this prayer and his own story in one of the few certainly authentic writings of Patrick – his Confessio, which is above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick, unworthy sinner, to the apostolate.
Quote/s of the Day – 16 March – Monday of the Third week of Lent
“Jesus Christ
You have heard Him spoken of,
indeed the greater part of you are already His – you are Christians.
So, to you Christians I repeat His name,
to everyone I proclaim Him –
Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end,
the Alpha and the Omega.
He is the king of the new world.
He is the secret of history.
He is the key to our destiny.”
“When did Jesus reveal Himself as king?
In the event of the Cross!”
Lenten Reflection – 16 March – Monday of the Third week of Lent, Readings: 2 Kings 5:1-15, Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4, Luke 4:24-30
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.” … Luke 4:24
Daily Meditation:
We cannot be saved without you.
“When His place becomes our place,
when His time becomes our time,
when His person becomes our life,
then the prophecies come to fulfilment in us.
Then Jesus is born within us.
He becomes the living God for me.”
Pope Francis
6 January 2019
Today we are reminded of the terrible irony – a prophet is not well received at home.
Jesus was not accepted by those who saw Him as all too human.
And, He was unable to act with power in their lives.
Is this Lenten season getting us out of our comfortable complacency,
and helping us see the prophetic one in our midst?
Is it helping us listen better, reach out with deeper longing,
find a greater intimacy with the only one who can save us?.
My soul is thirsting for the living God:
when shall I see God face to face?
Psalm 42
Intercessions:
Blessed be Jesus our Saviour.
Through His death He has opened up for us
the way of salvation.
Direct Your people Lord, in the path of true life.
Merciful God, in baptism, You gave us a life that is new
– may we ever grow in Your likeness.
Let us bring joy this day to those who are in need
– and draw us nearer to You, through the help we give them.
Help us to do what is right and good
– let us seek You always with all our heart.
Forgive us for the times we have hurt other people
– Lord have mercy on us.
Closing Prayer:
Merciful God,
Free Your Church from the sins of this world
and protect us from evil we see
and the evil we prefer to ignore.
We need Your guidance, Lord
for we cannot do this alone.
Only with Your help can we be saved.
Thank You for Your desire to save us and love us.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
“He is the Gospel of God,
He is the Mercy of God,
He is the liberation of God,
He is the One who became poor
so as to enrich us with His poverty.”
One Minute Reflection – 15 March – The Third Sunday of Lent, Readings: Exodus 17:3-7, Psalm 95:1- 2, 6-9, Romans 5:1-2, 5-8, John 4:5-42 and the Memorial of Blessed Artemide Zatti SDB (1880-1951)
“Jesus, therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour.” … John 4:6
REFLECTION – “Now begin the mysteries. For it is not without a purpose that Jesus is weary, not indeed without a purpose that the strength of God is weary, not without a purpose that He is weary, by whom the wearied are refreshed, not without a purpose is He weary, by whose absence we are wearied, by whose presence we are strengthened.
Nevertheless, Jesus is weary and weary with His journey and He sits down and that, too, near a well and it is at the sixth hour that, being wearied, He sits down.
All these things hint something, are intended to intimate something, they make us eager, and encourage us to knock. May Himself open to us and to you, He who has deigned to exhort us, so as to say, Knock and it shall be opened to you. It was for you that Jesus was wearied with His journey.
We find Jesus to be strength and we find Jesus to be weak – we find a strong and a weak Jesus – strong, because in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, the same was in the beginning with God. Would you see how this Son of God is strong? All things were made by Him and without Him was nothing made and without labour, too, were they made. Then what can be stronger than He, by whom all things were made without labour? Would you know Him weak? The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
The strength of Christ created you, the weakness of Christ created you anew. The strength of Christ caused that to be which was not, the weakness of Christ caused that what was, should not perish. He fashioned us by His strength, He sought us by His weakness.
But why at the sixth hour? Because at the sixth age of the world. In the Gospel, count up as an hour each, the first age from Adam to Noah; the second, from Noah to Abraham; the third, from Abraham to David; the fourth, from David to the removing to Babylon; the fifth, from the removing to Babylon to the baptism of John – thence is the sixth being enacted. Why do you marvel? Jesus came and, by humbling Himself, came to a well. He came wearied, because He carried weak flesh. At the sixth hour, because in the sixth age of the world. To a well, because to the depth of this our habitation. For which reason it is said in the psalm – From the depth have I cried unto You, O Lord. He sat, as I said, because He was humbled.” … St Augustine (354-430) – Father & Doctor of the Church – Tractate 15 (John 4:1-42)
PRAYER – Lord our God, Your Son so loved the world that He gave Himself up to death for our sake. Strengthen us by His weakness and Your grace and give us a heart willing to live by that same love. We know His excuses for us and His broken heart at our neglect and sin, make us like unto Him O Father, that we might be holy and come to see His Face. May the prayers of the angels, Blessed Artemide Zatti and the Blessed Virgin be of assistance to us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 11 March – Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent, Readings: Jeremiah 18:18-20, Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16, Matthew 20:17-28
“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” … the Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ... Matthew 20:22,28
REFLECTION – “It is our task and, in our case, an obligation, to make of you the object of all our care, our zeal, our ministrations, by word and deed, by warnings, encouragement, admonitions and incitement, (…) so that, in this way, we might insert you into the rhythm of the divine will and face you towards the goal set before us – to give pleasure to God. …
He who is immortal, voluntarily shed His blood. He who created the host of angels, was
bound at the hands of soldiers and He who is to judge the living and the dead, was dragged to justice (cf. Acts 10:42; 2 Tm 4:1). Truth was exposed to false witnesses, was slandered, struck, covered with spittle, hung on the wood of the cross – the Lord of glory (cf. 1 Cor 2:8) endured every outrage and suffering without Himself needing these trials. How could this have happened to Him who, even as man, was without sin and who, to the contrary, snatched us away from the tyranny of the sin through which death came into the world and falsely took possession of our first father?
So there is nothing surprising about it, if we submit to even one of these trials since such is our condition (…). Therefore, we too have to be offended and tempted, afflicted by the cutting off of our wills. According to the interpretation of our Fathers, there is in this, a shedding of blood for this is what it means to be a monk. And we must gain the Kingdom of heaven in that way, by spending our lives in imitation of the Lord. (…) Apply yourselves zealously to your duties in the thought that by means of them, far from being slaves of men, you are serving God.” … St Theodore the Studite (759- 826) Monk at Constantinople – Catecheses 1 (load shedding about to happen – image to follow and rest of posts).
PRAYER – Protect Your family, Lord, trained as it is by the constant exercise of good works. Renew our spirit with the grace that teaches us how to imitate You, strengthen us with Your consoling presence and lead us, to the joys of heaven. May the intercession of our Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary keep us on the path of Your kingdom’s glory. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 10 March – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“It is an amazing thought, that Jesus, the eternal wisdom of the Father, should have chosen to live quietly for thirty years in a carpenter’s workshop, along with his supposed father Joseph.
He could have confounded the philosophers of Greece and Rome with His infinite wisdom.
He could have attracted crowds by His miracles and drawn the attention of the whole world.
But He preferred silence and a busy hidden life.
Why?
Because men needed to learn one thing before anything else.
It was a simple thing but difficult to practise.
It was humility they needed to hear, for humility was to be the foundation of the giant structure which He had come to raise up and whose spire, was to reach to Heaven!
If this edifice, the Church, was to be so high, it’s foundation would have to be very deep.
Let us learn this lesson of humility and silence from the hidden life of Jesus.
The tendency in modern times, even in regard to spiritual projects, is to try and draw attention and admiration.
Perhaps this is why these projects are so often unsuccessful.
Like the seed, thrown by the sower upon the hard ground, they wither away, because, they have no moisture. (Cf Lk 8:6).
Without humility, a great deal of noise can be made but nothing supernatural is achieved.
The first lesson we must learn from Jesus, is the silence and recollection of the interior life.”
Lenten Reflection – 9 March – Monday of the Second Week of Lent, Readings: Daniel 9:4-10, Psalm 79:8 -9, 11, 13, Luke 6:36-38
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:36
Today’s lesson is about mercy –
God’s mercy for us first and our mercy toward others.
We renew our penance –
all the ways we are trying to change
the patterns of our life that need conversion.
Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve.
Remember not, against us, the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve.
Help us, O God our Saviour,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.
Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve.
— Psalm 79
Intercessions:
Blessed be God the Father for His gift of this sacrifice of praise.
In the spirit of this Lenten season, let us pray:
Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.
God of power and mercy, give us the spirit of prayer and repentance,
-with burning love for You and all mankind.
Help us to work with You in making all things new in Christ,
-and in spreading justice and peace throughout the world.
Teach us the meaning and value of creation,
-so that we may join its voice to ours as we sing Your praise.
Forgive us for failing to see Christ in the poor,
the distressed and the troublesome,
-and for our failure to reverence Your Son in their persons.
Closing Prayer:
Lord,
Your commandment of love is so simple
and so challenging.
Help me to let go of my pride,
to be humble in my penance.
I want only to live the way You ask me to love,
to love the way You ask me to live.
I ask this through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who stands at my side
today and always.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
“Christ is the artist, tenderly wiping away
all the grime of sin that disfigures the human face
and restoring God’s image to its full beauty.”
Quote/s of the Day – 20 February – Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Gospel: Mark 8:27-33 and The Memorial of Sts Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta (1910-1920) – “The Shepherds of Fatima”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered him,
“You are the Christ.”
“We were burning in that light,
which is God and we were not consumed.
What is God like?
It is impossible to say.
In fact, we will never be able to tell people”
AnaStpaul 
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