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”
Quote/s of the Day – 17 February – Monday of the Sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year A
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
“But for what sign from heaven were they asking?
Maybe that He should hold back the sun,
or curb the moon,
or bring down thunderbolts,
or change the direction of the wind,
or something like that?
In Pharaoh’s time there was an enemy
from whom deliverance was needed.
But for one who comes among friends,
there should be no need of such signs.”
“You also are blessed,
because you have heard and believed.
A soul that believes, both conceives
and brings forth the Word of God
and acknowledges His works.
… Christ has only one mother, in the flesh
but we all bring forth Christ, in faith.”
“For those who believe,
everything is a sign!”
One Minute Reflection – 17 February – Monday of the Sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: James 1:1-11, Psalm 119:67-68, 71-72,75-76, Mark 8:11-13 and the Memorial of St Alexis Falconieri (13th century –1310) Priest, One of Seven Founders of the Servites
“Why does this generation seek a sign?” … Mark 8:12
REFLECTION – “Believing even in darkness – The Holy Spirit tells us: Do not let your mind succumb to temptation and sorrow, for joy of the heart is life for the soul. Sorrow is no good for anything and causes our spiritual death.
It happens sometimes that the darkness of trial overwhelms your soul’s heaven but this darkness is light!
Thanks to it, you believe even in darkness, the mind feels lost, it fears no longer being able to see, no longer understanding anything. But this is the moment when the Lord speaks and makes Himself present to the soul and the soul listens, understands and loves in the fear of God. So don’t wait for Tabor to “see” God when you are already contemplating Him on Sinai.
Progress in the joy of a sincere heart, that is wide open. And if it is impossible for you to keep that happiness, at least don’t lose courage and keep all your trust in God.” … Saint Pius of Pietralcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)
PRAYER – Almighty Lord and God, protect us by Your power throughout the course of this day, even as You have enabled us to begin it. Your grace is all that we need to see the loving kindness of Your Son, our Lord Jesus in all we meet. Do not let us turn aside from His path but by the faith You have granted us, let us find meaning in all, which is the sign of Your glory. Do not let us turn aside to sin and may the intercession of St Alexis Falconieri and the Seven Holy Founders of the Servites, grant us courage and peace. Through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 17 February – Monday of the Sixth week in Ordinary Time, Year A
The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Then he left them, got into the boat again and went off to the other shore. – Today’s Gospel: Mark 8:11-13
Psalm 121
By Fr Daniel Berrigan SJ (1921–2016)
I lift my eyes to You
my Help, my Hope
the heavens (who could imagine)
the earth (only our Lord)
the infinite starry spaces
the world’s teeming breath
All this. I lift my eyes
– upstart, delighted –
and I praise.
Fr Daniel Joseph Berrigan SJ was an American Jesuit priest, anti-war activist, Christian pacifist, playwright, poet and author.
Sunday Reflection – 16 February – The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
If we only knew the treasure we hold in our hands!
St Claude de la Colombiere SJ (1641-1682)
“God is more honoured by a single Mass
than He could be by all the actions of angels
and men together, however fervent and heroic they might be.
Yet, how FEW hear Mass with the intention of giving God
this sublime honour!
How FEW think with joy on the glory a Mass gives to God.
How FEW rejoice to possess the means of honouring Him
as He deserves! . . .
If we only knew the treasure we hold in our hands!”
One Minute Reflection – 16 February – The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: Sirach 15:15-20 (16-21), Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34, 1 Corinthians 2:6-10, Matthew 5:17-37 and the Memorial of Blessed Nicola Paglia OP (1197-1256) Priest
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” … Matthew 5:17
REFLECTION – At all times and in every race God has given welcome to whosoever fears Him and does what is right (cf. Acts 10:35). God, however, does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased Him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness. He, therefore, chose the race of Israel as a people unto Himself. With it He set up a covenant Step by step, He taught and prepared this people, making known in its history both Himself and the decree of His will and making it holy unto Himself.
All these things, however, were done by way of preparation and as a figure of that new and perfect covenant, which was to be ratified in Christ and of that fuller revelation which was to be given, through the Word of God Himself, made flesh. “Behold the days shall come saith the Lord and I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the house of Judah (. . ). I will give my law in their bowels and I will write it in their heart and I will be their God and they shall be my people (. . .) For all of them shall know Me, from the least of them even to the greatest, saith the Lord” (Jer 31:31f.) Christ instituted this new covenant, the new testament, that is to say, in His Blood, (1 Cor 11:25) calling together a people made up of Jew and gentile, making them one, not according to the flesh but in the Spirit. This was to be the new People of God (…) : “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, (…) the people of God” (1 Pt 2:9).
Israel according to the flesh, which wandered as an exile in the desert, was already called the Church of God. (2 Esd 13:1; Nb 20:4; Dt 23:1f.) So, likewise, the new Israel, which while living in this present age, goes in search of a future and abiding city (Heb 13:14) is called the Church of Christ. (Mt 16:18) For He has bought it for Himself with His blood, (Acts 20:28) has filled it with His Spirit and provided it with those means which befit it as a visible and social union. … Vatican Council II – Constitution on the Church “Lumen gentium”, # 9
PRAYER – Loving and merciful Father! In all our needs, even when we turn from You and cause You sorrow, You are there to help us! You grace us with garments of love to protect us from the evils which surround us. Bless us we pray, as we turn to You in pain and repentance and by the sufferings of Your divine Son Whom You sent to redeem us, grant us peace. May the prayers of Blessed Nicola Paglia, intercede in our strife as we make our way home to You. Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Quote of the Day – 14 February – The Memorial of Blessed Vicente Vilar David (1889-1937) Martyr
“Being Catholic
is my greatest calling,
I will not give up,
even if it means death.”
Thought for the Day – 13 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“It is hard to find anyone, in this world, who is really content.
Some grumble about poor health, others about not having enough to live on, others about an unsuccessful career.
Some complain about the lack of sympathy and the ingratitude of men, others, about constant temptation, spiritual dryness and the discouragement of frequently falling into sin.
Still others, are confined to a bed of pain for weeks, months or even years at a time.
There are some, too, who must endure mental suffering, which is greater than any physical pain.
Perhaps, they have lost a loved one, who was the centre of their own life upon earth, or perhaps they are suffering from a loss of reputation, the result of some calumny or of some moment of weakness, on their own part.
In short, this world can be compared to quote St Therese of the Child Jesus – to an unsatisfactory hotel, in which we must spend the night, while we are waiting for the breaking of an eternal day in which we shall be able to see God.
He is fortunate, who knows how to live contentedly, or, at least resignedly, in this poor boarding-house, until the dawn of that better life, which is the only object of our earthly journey!”
Quote/s of the Day – 13 February – the Memorial of Blessed Jordan of Saxony OP (1190-1237)
“Happiness is secured through virtue,
it is a good attained by man’s own will.”
Meeting a vagabond upon the road who feigned sickness and poverty, Blessed Jordan gave him one of his tunics, which the fellow at once carried straight to a tavern for drink. The brethren, seeing this done, taunted him with his simplicity:
‘There now, Master, see how wisely you have bestowed your tunic.’
‘I did so,’ said he,
‘because I believed him to be in want,
through sickness and poverty
and it seemed, at the moment,
to be a charity to help him.
Still, I reckon it better, to have parted
with my tunic than with charity.’
This Heart lives on service.
It does not seek to glorify itself but the Father alone.
It does not speak of its love.
It performs it’s service so unobtrusively,
that it is almost forgotten, as we forget our heart under the stress of our affairs.
We think that life lives of itself.
No-one listens to his own heart, not even for a second —
his heart, that bestows life, hour after hour on him.
We have grown used to the slight tremor in our being,
to the eternal beating of the waves that from within us,
dash on the shore of consciousness.
We accept it as we do our destiny, or nature, or the course of things.
We have grown used to love.
And we no longer hear the tapping finger, that knocks day and night at the gate of our soul, we no longer hear this question, this request to enter.
~From Heart of the World
Our Morning Offering – 13 February – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time, Year A
Let Your will be mine
By Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
Most kind Jesus, grant me Your grace, I pray,
let it dwell in me, work in me
and abide in me to the end.
Grant me always to will
and desire, whatever is most pleasing
and acceptable to You.
Let Your will be mine
and let my will ever follow
and be conformed wholly to Your own.
Let me ever will
and not will in union with Yourself
and be unable to will otherwise
than You will or do not will.
Grant that I may die to all things in this world
and for Your sake, love to be despised and unknown.
Grant me, above all else, to rest in You,
that my heart may find its peace in You alone,
for You are the heart’s true peace,
it’s sole abiding place
and outside Yourself, all is hard and restless.
In this true peace that is in You,
the sole, supreme and eternal Good,
I will dwell and take my rest.
Amen
The Imitation of Christ, Book 3, Chapter 15
Thought for the Day – 12 February – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“By self-love we mean here, an inordinate love of self.
We are not forbidden to love ourselves.
In fact, this is something natural to us and, therefore, intended by God.
We should love ourselves, however, in a properly ordered manner.
In the first place, we must love God above everything and, therefore, more than ourselves.
God is our creator and our Redeemer and our final end.
Everything comes to us from Him and for this reason, everything must return to Him.
We should not be self-centred but, God-centred.
In other words, we must direct all our actions towards God, not towards ourselves.
We cannot set our own ego in the place which belongs to God, still less above Him.
To do so, would be equivalent of robbing God, because everything is His and we ourselves belong to Him.
If we have any intelligence at all, let us remember that God gave it to us.
If we have sound health, strength, or good looks, let us remember, that these are His gifts.
If we have amassed a great store of cultural or artistic learning as a result of our ability and study, let us not become too attached to it, nor look for praise and admiration.
It is God who gave us this ability and the energy and enthusiasm to cultivate it.
Honour and glory are due to God alone!“
One Minute Reflection – 13 February – Wednesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: 1 Kings10:1-10, Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40, Mark7:14-23 and the Memorial of St Eulalia of Barcelona (c 290-c 303) Virgin and Martyr
And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and they defile a man.” Mark 7:20-23
REFLECTION – “The boundary between good and evil does not pass outside of us but rather within us. We could ask ourselves: where is my heart? Jesus said: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What is my treasure? Is it Jesus, is it His teaching? If so, then the heart is good. Or is my treasure something else? Thus it is a heart which needs purification and conversion. Without a purified heart, one cannot have truly clean hands and lips which speak sincere words of love — it is all duplicitous, a double life — lips which speak words of mercy, of forgiveness but only a sincere and purified heart can do this.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 30 August 2015
PRAYER – God our Saviour, through the grace of Baptism, You made us children of light. Hear our prayer, that we may always walk in that light and work for truth, as Your witnesses before men. May our hearts be purified by You grace and may our hands and lips speak with sincere words of love. St Eulalia of Barcelona, child as you were, you bravely withstood all the assaults against Christ your Lord, with zeal and passion, please pray for us. We make our prayer, through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 12 February – Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A
Only for You, in You, by You
By St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church
Lord Jesus,
let me know myself and know You
and desire nothing save only You.
Let me hate myself and love You.
Let me do everything, for the sake of You.
Let me humble myself and exalt You.
Let me think of nothing, except You.
Let me die to myself and live in You.
Let me accept whatever happens, as from You.
Let me banish self and follow You
and ever desire to follow You.
Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You,
That I may deserve, to be defended by You.
Let me fear for myself.
Let me fear You
and let me be among those, who are chosen by You.
Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You.
Let me be willing to obey, for the sake of You.
Let me cling to nothing, save only to You,
And let me be poor, because of You.
Look upon me, that I may love You.
Call me, that I may see You
and forever enjoy You.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 9 February – Fifth Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time, Year A
“I am of the same family as Christ – what more could I want?”
Papacy began: 28 October 1958
Papacy ended: 3 June 1963
I believe in the surprises of the Holy Spirit.
The story of the Church is a long story,
filled with the wonders of the Holy Spirit.
Why should we think that God’s imagination and love might be exhausted?
One Minute Reflection – 9 February – Fifth Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: Isaiah 58:7-10, Psalm 112:4-9, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth …you are the light of the world…” …Matthew 5:13,16
REFLECTION – “Just as salt seasons our bread and other food and keeps certain meats from spoiling for quite a time, so the spiritual sweetness and marvellous working which result from the guarding of the intellect effect something similar. For in a divine manner they season and sweeten both the inner and the outer self, driving away the stench of evil thoughts and keeping us continually in communion with good thoughts. Many of our thoughts come from demonic provocation and from these derive our evil outward actions. If, with the help of Jesus, we instantly quell the thought, we will avoid its corresponding outward action. We will enrich ourselves with the sweetness of divine knowledge and so will find God, who is everywhere.
Holding the mirror of the intellect firmly towards God, we will be illumined constantly as pure glass is by the sun. Then the intellect, having reached the term of its desires, will, in Him, cease from all other contemplation. (…) Just as he who looks at the sun cannot but fill his eyes with light, so he who always gazes intently into his heart, cannot fail to be illumined. (…) When clouds are scattered, the air is clear and when the fantasies of passion are scattered by Jesus Christ, the Sun of righteousness, bright and star-like thoughts are born in the heart. For the heart is then illumined by Jesus.” … St Hesychios the Sinaite (c 5th century), Monk of the monastery at Vatos on Mount Sinai -sometimes identified with Hesychios of Jerusalem, Priest – Chapters “On watchfulness and holiness”, nos. 87, 88, 108 – St Hesychios the Sinaite’s Liturgical Memorial is on 3 October).
PRAYER – All-powerful, eternal God, splendour of true light and never-ending day, let our striving for Your kingdom not fall short through selfishness or fear, may the universe be alive with the Spirit and our homes be the pledge of the world redeemed. May our eyes see and our hearts have compassion, to all those who need us. May the intercession of our Holy Mother and all the saints, be a strength and a comfort. Through Jesus, our compassionate and loving Redeemer, with the Holy Spirit, one God with You forever, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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