Category: CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

Lenten Reflection – 6 April – “No one laid hands on him” Origen

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Reflection – 6 April – Saturday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C

The Readings:  Jeremiah 11:18-20; Psalm 7:2-3,9BC-10, 11-12; John 7:40-53

Daily Meditation:
Apart from You we can do nothing.

The conflict around Jesus grows.
And all the while, we are turning to God for mercy.
What Jesus went through is for me,
that I might have mercy and the gift of everlasting life.

We call upon the Lord for help, for strength, for trust.

My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
Psalm 7:10john 7 44 and 7 41 - satfourthweeklent 6 april 2019.jpg

“No one laid hands on him”...John 7:44

Origen (c 185-253)
Father, Priest and Theologian

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 nor 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.

but see him coming back from the dead - 6 april 2019 - origen.jpg

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
what You ask of my life seems so right.
It is how I want to live,
following Your Son, Jesus, so closely.
And yet I fail so often to stay on that path.
I cannot do it alone, loving Lord.
I need Your help and guidance.
I need to remember Your love for me
and I want to remember
how very much I need You in my life.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, LENT 2019, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on FAITH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 6 April – Others said, “This is the Christ.” 

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 6 April – Saturday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: John 7:40–53

Others said, “This is the Christ.”   But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?...John 7:41others said this is the christ john 7 41 - 6 april 2019.jpg

REFLECTION – “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him:  ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’   That is the one thing we must not say.   A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else He would be the Devil of Hell.   You must make your choice.   Either this man was and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.   You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher.   He has not left that open to us.   He did not intend to.”…Prof C S Lewisi am trying here - c s lewis john 7 41 6 april 2019 no 2.jpg

PRAYER – In Your gentle mercy Lord, guide our wayward hearts, for we know that left to ourselves, we cannot do Your will.   Almighty God, turn our hearts to Yourself, so that we, seeking the one thing necessary, may worship You in spirit and in truth.   We give You thanks for our faith, increase our faith O our God!   May the prayers of all your saints and the Virgin Mary, Queen of All Saints, obtain the gift of humility and fidelity for us and for every believer, so that our prayer may always be genuine and pleasing to the Lord. Through Christ our Lord and Redeemer, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.virin mary queen of all saints no 2 pray for us 6 april 2019.jpg

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, Thomas a Kempis

Lenten Thoughts – 2 April – “If you wish…” Thomas à Kempis

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Lenten Thoughts – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C

On the Fervent Amendment of our Whole Life

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

“When a certain anxious person, who often times wavered between hope and fear, once overcome with sadness, threw himself upon the ground in prayer, before one of the altars in the Church and thinking these things in his mind, said “Oh, if I only knew how to persevere,” that very instant he heard within him, this heavenly answer: “And if thou did know this, what would thou do? Do now what you would do and thou shall be perfectly secure.” And immediately being consoled and comforted, he committed himself to the Divine Will and his anxious thoughts ceased. He no longer wished for curious things, searching to find out what would happen to him but studied rather to learn what was the acceptable and perfect will of God for the beginning and the perfection of every good work.”

“If you wish to enter into life, keep My commandments.
If you will know the truth, believe in Me.
If you will be perfect, sell all.
If you will be My disciple, deny yourself.
If you will possess the blessed life, despise this present life.
If you will be exalted in heaven, humble yourself on earth.
If you wish to reign with Me, carry the Cross with Me.
For only the servants of the Cross find the life of blessedness and of true light.”if-you-wish-to-enter-into-life-imitation-chapeter-56-12-feb-2018.jpg

“MY CHILD, the more you depart from yourself,
the more you will be able to enter into Me.
As the giving up of exterior things, brings interior peace,
so the forsaking of self, unites you to God.
I will have you learn perfect surrender to My will,
without contradiction or complaint.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
The Imitation of Christmy child the more you depart from yourself- thomas a kempis - 2 april 2019.jpg

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The PASSION

Quote of the Day – 2 April – Fix on your minds on the Passion

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Quote of the Day – 2 April – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Year C and the Memorial of St Francis of Paola O.M. (1416-1507)

“Fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Inflamed with love for us, He came down from heaven to redeem us.
For our sake He endured every torment of body and soul
and shrank from no bodily pain.
He Himself gave us an example of perfect patience and love.
We, then, are to be patient in adversity.”

St Francis of Paola O.M. (1416-1507)fix your minds on the passion - st francis of paola 2 april 2019.jpg

Posted in CHRIST the KING, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS, The LAMB of GOD, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Quote/s of the Day – 1 April – St Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180)

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Quote/s of the Day – 1 April – Monday of the Fourth week of Lent, Year C – Saint Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180) Early Church Father

Prayer 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.born as a son led forth as a lamb no 2 st melito 1 april 2019.jpg

“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

St Melito Bishop of Sardis (Died c 180)

Early Church Fatheri am the lamb who was immolated for you - st melito 1 april 2019.jpg

Posted in CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LENT 2019, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on TRUTH, The LAST THINGS, The WORD

Lenten Thoughts – 31 March – Christ the Way

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Lenten Thoughts – 31 March – “Laetare” Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

Christ is the Way to the Light, the Truth and the Life

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Great Western Father & Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Treatise on John

The Lord tells us – I am the light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.   In these few words He gives a command and makes a promise.   Let us do what He commands so that we may not blush to covet what He promises and to hear Him say on the day of judgement:  “I laid down certain conditions for obtaining my promises.   Have you fulfilled them?”   If you say: “What did you command, Lord our God?” He will tell you: “I commanded you to follow Me. You asked for advice on how to enter into life.   What life, if not the life about which it is written:  With you is the fountain of life?”

Let us do now what He commands.   Let us follow in the footsteps of the Lord.  Let us throw off the chains that prevent us from following Him.   Who can throw off these shackles without the aid of the one addressed in these words – You have broken my chains?   Another psalm says of Him: -The Lord frees those in chains, the Lord raises up the downcast.

Those who have been freed and raised up follow the light.   The light they follow speaks to them – I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness.   The Lord gives light to the blind.   Brethren, that light shines on us now, for we have had our eyes anointed with the eye-salve of faith.   His saliva was mixed with earth to anoint the man born blind.   We are of Adam’s stock, blind from our birth, we need Him to give us light.   He mixed saliva with earth and so it was prophesied:  Truth has sprung up from the earth  . He himself has said:  I am the way, the truth and the life.

We shall be in possession of the truth when we see Him face to face.   This is His promise to us.   Who would dare to hope for something that God in His goodness did not choose to promise or bestow?

We shall see face to face. The Apostle says: Now I know in part, now obscurely through a mirror, but then face to face.   John the apostle says in one of his letters -Dearly beloved, we are now children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be.   We know that when He is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.   This is a great promise.

If you love me, follow me.   “I do love you,” you protest, “but how do I follow you?”   If the Lord your God said to you:  “I am the truth and the life,” in your desire for truth, in your love for life, you would certainly ask Him to show you the way to reach them.   You would say to yourself: “Truth is a great reality, life is a great reality; if only it were possible for my soul to find them!”i am the way the truth and the life jon 14 8 31 march 2019 laetare sunday.jpg

Posted in "Follow Me", CARMELITES, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, OUR Cross, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on DEATH, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HAPPINESS, QUOTES on JOY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HEART, The LAST THINGS

Quotes of the Day – 14 December – St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church

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Quotes of the Day – 14 December – The Memorial of St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church

“If a man wishes to be sure of the road
he treads on, he must close his eyes
and walk in the dark.”

“The road is narrow. 
He who wishes to travel it more easily 
must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. 
In other words, he must be truly resolved 
to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.”

“Live in the world,
as if only God and your soul were in it,
then your heart will never be made captive,
by any earthly thing.” live in the world - st john of the cross 14dec2018

“We must dig deeply in Christ.
He is like a rich mine
with many pockets containing treasures –
however deep we dig,
we will never find their end or their limit.
Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches
are discovered on all sides.”we must dig deeply in christ - st john of the cross 14 dec 2018

“At the end of your life,
you will be judged by your love.”

“Now that I no longer desire all,
I have it all, without desire.”

St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, GOD ALONE!, LENT, MORNING Prayers, POETRY, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, The WORD, Thomas a Kempis

Lenten Reflection – 26 February 2018 – Monday of the Second Week of Lent

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26 February 2018 – Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Daniel 9:4-10, Psalms 79:8-9, 11, 13, Luke 6:36-38

Daniel 9:4-5 – “I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and terrible God, who keepest covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from thy commandments and ordinances…”

Luke 6:36-38 – Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”monday of the second week - 26 feb 2018

Daniel confesses that his people’s sufferings in exile are due to their own lack of fodelity to God. This sort of confession is a frank admission that evil has consequences. It is similar to Jesus’ teaching – “one who takes up the sword will perish by the sword.”

The argument may be turned round – good deeds have beneficial consequences. “The measure you give will be the measure you get back” whether it be mercy, forgiveness or sympathetic understanding.

If we keep giving out good things consistently, the blessings we will receive will be beyond measure. Every giving enriches the giver, whether gift be in the form of material assistance, psychologival affirmation or spiritual admonition, giving up an argument, settling a quarrel or going out of our way to help someone who deserves it least!

Be not afraid then to give, for you will receive beyond anything you could ever expect.

Am I generous with my time, material gifts, with my love?
Am I patient and willing to be forgiving, even when I was not in error?
Am I aware that as part of the Body of Christ, my good and my bad, affect all?
Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil SDB – God’sWord

“Desire not the praises of men, seeing they are vain.   Be not fearful of their reproach, for instead of doing harm to your soul, humiliations cleanses it and renders it more meet to receive a brighter crown in heaven and none are worthy to be glorified in heaven who are unable to bear reproach on earth for the love of God.”… Thomas a Kempis

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name;
deliver us and forgive our sins, for thy name’s sake! …Psalm 79:9

For ah! the Master is so fair,
His smile so sweet to banished men
That they who meet it unaware
Can never rest on earth again.

And they who see Him risen afar
At God’s right hand to welcome them
Forgetful stand of home and land,
Desiring fair Jerusalem.

Praise God! the Master is so sweet;
Praise God! the country is so fair,
We would not hold them from His feet.
We would but haste to meet them there.

English Missal 1936for ah, the master is so fair - lenten prayer - missal 1936 - monday of the 2nd week - 26 feb 2018