DOCTORS of the Church – Page 117

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One Minute Reflection – 29 January – Gospel: Mark 3:22-30

Posted on January 28, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 29 January – Monday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 3:22-30 and The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”...Mark 3:22

REFLECTION – “It is characteristic of evildoers, stirred by envy, to shut their eyes as much as they can, to other people’s merits and when, overcome by the evidence, they cannot do so any longer, to depreciate or undervalue it. Thus, when the crowd rejoiced in devotion and marvelled at the sight of Christ’s works, the scribes and Pharisees either closed their eyes to what they knew to be true, or minimised what is great, or undervalued what is good. Once, for example, feigning ignorance, they said to Him who had worked so many wonderful signs: “What sign can you do that we may believe in you?” (Jn 6:30). In this case, unable to blatantly deny the facts, they wickedly depreciate them… and they devalue them by saying: “It is by Beelzebub, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.”
Now this, dear brethren, is the blasphemy against the Spirit that binds all those he has seized with the bonds of an eternal sin. This is not to say that it would be impossible for the repentant to gain forgiveness for it all if they “produce fruit as evidence of their repentance” (Lk 3:8). The only thing is that, crushed beneath such a weight of malice, they lack the strength to aspire to that praiseworthy repentance worthy of forgiveness… Those who, perceiving the proofs of grace and the Holy Spirit at work in a brother…, are not afraid to undermine and calumniate and brashly ascribe to the evil spirit what they clearly know to be of the Holy Spirit, such as these have been so forsaken by this Spirit of grace, that they no longer even desire the repentance that would obtain pardon. They are completely in the dark, blinded by their own malice. Indeed, what could be more serious than to dare, out of envy for a brother one had been commanded to love as oneself (Mt 19:19), to blaspheme God’s goodness… and insult his majesty by wanting to discredit another?”...Isaac of Stella (c 1100-c.1171) O.Cist. Cistercian monk

PRAYER – Lord, our God, keep us free from envy of others, for this is a poison that can destroy all community and love. Help us to know that to each You have given gifts and all are Your wonder and made to honour You alone. Help us to appreciate our neighbour’s talents and understand that we are all one in the Mystical Body of Your Son. And since it was by Your gift that St Thomas became so great a saint and theologian, give us grace to understand his teaching and follow his way of life. May his great love for Jesus Crucified and his pure adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, be our guide to follow in Your Son’s footsteps and take up our cross and follow Him. Grant that by the prayers of St Thomas, we may grow in love and sanctity. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen. st thomas aquinas pray for us no 2- corpus christi - 28 jan 2019..jpg

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Our Morning Offering – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Posted on January 28, 2019January 27, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Grant to me, O Merciful God
By St Thomas Aquinas

O merciful God,
grant that I may ever perfectly
do Your Will in all things.
Let it be my ambition to work
only for Your honour and glory.
Let me rejoice in nothing
but that leads to You,
nor grieve for anything
that leads away from You.
May all passing things
be as nothing in my eyes,
and may all that is Yours
be dear to me,
and You, my God,
dear above them all.
May all joy be
meaningless without You
and may I desire
nothing apart from You.
May all labour and toil
delight me when it is for You.
Make me, O Lord,
obedient without complaint,
poor without regret,
patient without murmur,
humble without pretense,
joyous without frivolity,
and truthful without disguise.
Give me, O God,
an ever watchful heart
which nothing can ever
lure away from You;
a noble heart,
which no unworthy affection
can draw downwards to the earth;
an upright heart,
which no evil can warp,
an unconquerable heart,
which no tribulation can crush;
a free heart,
which no perverted affection
can claim for its own.
Bestow on me, O God,
understanding to know You,
diligence to seek You,
and wisdom to find You;
a life which may please You,
and a hope which may
embrace You at the last.
Amen grant to me o merciful god - st thomas aquinas 28 jan 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 28 January – St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225-1274)

Posted on January 28, 2019January 27, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 28 January – St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225-1274 aged 49 ) Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor). Priest, Religious, Master Theologian, Philosopher, Writer, Teacher, Jurist. Also known as – The Great Synthesiser, The Dumb Ox, The Universal Teacher. header - st thomas aquinas

St Thomas was born of noble parents at Aquino in Italy, in 1226. At the age of nineteen he received the Dominican habit at Naples, where he was studying.

Seized by his brothers on his way to Paris, he suffered a two years’ captivity in their castle of Rocca-Secca but neither the caresses of his mother and sisters, nor the threats and stratagems of his brothers, could shake him in his vocation.

While St Thomas was in confinement at Rocca-Secca, his brothers endeavoured to entrap him into sin but the attempt only ended in the triumph of his purity. Snatching from the hearth a burning brand, the Saint drove from his chamber the wretched creature whom they had there concealed. Then marking a cross upon the wall, he knelt down to pray and forthwith, being rapt in ecstasy, an angel girded him with a cord, in token of the gift of perpetual chastity which God had given him. The pain caused by the girdle was so sharp that St Thomas uttered a piercing cry, which brought his guards into the room.

velazquez_diego_the_temptation_of_st._thomas_aquinas — Diego Velazquez – The Temptation of St Thomas

But he never told this grace to anyone save only to Father Raynald, his confessor, a little while before his death. Hence originated the Confraternity of the “Angelic Warfare,” for the preservation of the virtue of chastity.

the temptation of st thoms aquinas by bernardo daddi 1338 — Bernardo Daddi – The Temptation of St Thomas

Having at length escaped, St Thomas went to Cologne to study under Blessed Albert the Great and after that to Paris, where for many years he taught philosophy and theology. The Church has ever venerated his numerous writings as a treasure-house of sacred doctrine – while in naming him the Angelic Doctor she has indicated that his science is more divine than human. The rarest gifts of intellect were combined in him with the tenderest piety. Prayer, he said, had taught him more than study. fra bartolomeo st thomas aquinas

His singular devotion to the Blessed Sacrament shines forth in the Office and hymns for Corpus Christi, which he composed. To the words miraculously uttered by a crucifix at Naples, “Well hast thou written concerning Me, Thomas. What shall I give thee as a reward?” he replied, “Naught save Thyself, O Lord.”

He died at Fossa-Nuova, 1274, on his way to the General Council of Lyons, to which Pope Gregory X had summoned him.

DOCTORS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 28 January

Posted on January 28, 2019January 27, 2019 by AnaStpaul

St Thomas Aquinas OP (1225-1274) Doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor) and Doctor communis (Common Doctor)(Memorial)
Biography: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/01/28/saint-of-the-day-28-january-st-thomas-aquinas-1225-1274-doctor-angelicus-angelic-doctor-and-doctor-communis-common-doctor/

St Aemilian of Trebi
St Agatha Lin
Bl Amadeus of Lausanne
St Antimus of Brantôme
St Archebran
Bl Bartolomé Aiutamicristo
St Brigid of Picardy
St Callinicus
St Cannera of Inis Cathaig
Bl Charlemagne (a decree of canonization was issued by the anti-pope Paschal III but this was never ratified by valid authority.)
St Constantly
St Flavian of Civita Vecchia
St Glastian of Kinglassie
Bl James the Almsgiver
St James the Hermit
St Jerome Lu
St John of Reomay
St Joseph Freinademetz
Bl Julian Maunoir
St Julian of Cuenca
St Lawrence Wang
St Leucius of Apollonia
Bl María Luisa Montesinos Orduña
St Maura of Picardy
Bl Mosè Tovini
Bl Odo of Beauvais
Bl Olympia Bida
St Palladius of Antioch
St Paulinus of Aquileia
Bl Peter Won Si-jang
St Richard of Vaucelles
St Thyrsus of Apollonia
—
Martyrs of Alexandria: A group of 4th-century parishioners in Alexandria, Egypt. During the celebration of Mass one day an Arian officer named Syrianus led a troop of soldiers into their church and proceded to murder all the orthodox Christians in the place. 356 in Alexandria, Egypt.

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Quote of the Day – 27 January – The Memorial of St Angela Merici (1474-1540)

Posted on January 27, 2019June 1, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Quote of the Day – 27 January – The Memorial of St Angela Merici (1474-1540)

“Pray and get others to pray,
that God not abandon His Church
but reform it, as He pleases
and as He sees best for us
and more to His honour and glory.”

St Angela Merici (1474-1540)

More here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/quote-s-of-the-day-27-january-the-memorial-of-st-angela-merici-1474-1540/

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Our Morning Offering – 26 January – Saturday’s with Mary – A Prayer by St Bernard O.Cist

Posted on January 26, 2019January 26, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 26 January – The Memorial of the 3 Founders of the Cistercian Order

Run, Hasten, O Lady
By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church

Run, hasten, O Lady
and in your mercy,
help your sinful servant,
who calls upon you
and deliver him
from the hands of the enemy.
Who will not sigh to you?
We sigh with love and grief,
for we are oppressed on every side.
How can we do otherwise than sigh to you,
O solace of the miserable,
refuge of outcasts,
ransom of captives?
We are certain that when you see our miseries,
your compassion will hasten to relieve us.
O our sovereign Lady and our Advocate,
commend us to your Son.
Grant, O blessed one,
by the grace which you have merited,
that He Who through you
was graciously pleased to become
a partaker of our infirmity and misery,
may also through your intercession,
make us partakers
of His happiness and glory.
Amen o lady i call upon you - st bernard, run hasten o lady - 30 may 2018

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Thought for the Day – 25 January – For love of Christ, Paul bore every burden

Posted on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 January – For love of Christ, Paul bore every burden
Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, Apostle of Christ

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Homily 2: In Praise of Saint Paul

Paul, more than anyone else, has shown us what man really is and in what our nobility consists and of what virtue this particular animal is capable. Each day he aimed ever higher, each day he rose up with greater ardour and faced with new eagerness the dangers that threatened him. He summed up his attitude in the words: I forget what is behind me and push on to what lies ahead. When he saw death imminent, he bade others share his joy: Rejoice and be glad with me! And when danger, injustice and abuse threatened, he said: I am content with weakness, mistreatment and persecution. These he called the weapons of righteousness, thus telling us that he derived immense profit from them. chrysostum-on-paul-oneminreflc-25 jan 2018

Thus, amid the traps set for him by his enemies, with exultant heart he turned their every attack into a victory for himself – constantly beaten, abused and cursed, he boasted of it as though he were celebrating a triumphal procession and taking trophies home, and offered thanks to God for it all: Thanks be to God who is always victorious in us! This is why he was far more eager for the shameful abuse that his zeal in preaching brought upon him than we are for the most pleasing honours, more eager for death than we are for life, for poverty than we are for wealth, he yearned for toil far more than others yearn for rest after toil. The one thing he feared, indeed dreaded, was to offend God, nothing else could sway him. Therefore, the only thing he really wanted was always to please God.

The most important thing of all to him, however, was that he knew himself to be loved by Christ. Enjoying this love, he considered himself happier than anyone else, were he without it, it would be no satisfaction to be the friend of principalities and powers. He preferred to be thus loved and be the least of all, or even to be among the damned, than to be without that love and be among the great and honoured.

To be separated from that love was, in his eyes, the greatest and most extraordinary of torments, the pain of that loss would alone, have been hell and endless, unbearable torture. the most important thing of all to him - st john chrysostom on st paul 25 jan 2019.jpg

So too, in being loved by Christ he thought of himself as possessing life, the world, the angels, present and future, the kingdom, the promise and countless blessings. Apart from that love nothing saddened or delighted him, for nothing earthly did he regard as bitter or sweet.

Paul set no store by the things that fill our visible world, any more than a man sets value on the withered grass of the field. As for tyrannical rulers or the people enraged against him, he paid them no more heed than gnats. Death itself and pain and whatever torments might come were but child’s play to him, provided that thereby he might bear some burden for the sake of Christ.

St Paul, Pray for Us!

that we might bear our tiny burdens courageously.

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One Minute Reflection – 25 January – Feast of the Conversion of St Paul – Acts 9:1-22

Posted on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 25 January – Feast of the Conversion of St Paul – Acts 9:1-22

And all who heard him were amazed, and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called on this name?”…Acts 9:21 acts-26-16 2019 - is not this the man - feast conv of st paul.jpg

REFLECTION – “We preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor 4:5). Who then is this? The former persecutor. O mighty wonder! The former persecutor himself preaches Christ. But why? Was he bribed? No, there was no one who could have persuaded him in that way. Was it the sight of Christ on earth that blinded him? But Jesus had already been taken up into heaven. Saul set out from Jerusalem to persecute Christ’s church and after three days the persecutor had become a preacher in Damascus. By what power? Other people call on friends as witnesses for their friends but I have presented to you as a witness the former enemy.

Do you still doubt? The testimony of Peter and John is weighty… but they were istcyrilofjerusalemndeed His friends. But of the testimony of one who was formerly His enemy and afterwards died for His sake, who can any longer doubt the truth? I am amazed at the wise dispensation of the Holy Spirit;… to Paul, the former persecutor, He gave the privilege of writing fourteen letters… In order that his teaching might be beyond question, He granted the former enemy and persecutor the privilege of writing more letters than Peter and John so that we might all be thus made believers. For “all were amazed at Paul and said: ‘Isn’t this the man who was formerly a persecutor? Didn’t he come here to take us away bound to Jerusalem?’” (Acts 9:21) “Do not be not amazed,” said Paul, I know how “it is hard for me to kick against the pricks” (Acts 26:14); I know that “I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God” (1 Cor 15:9); yet “mercy was shown to me because I did it in ignorance”… “the grace of God was exceedingly abundant in me” (1 Tm 1:13-14).”…St Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350) Father & Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Today Lord, we celebrate the conversion of St Paul, Your chosen vessel for carrying Your name to the whole world. Help us to make our way towards You by following in his footsteps and by being Your disciples before the men and women of our day. Grant that by the prayers of St Paul, we too may say, “Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. st-paul-pray-for-us-25-jan2018-catechesis-of-pope-benedict-no-1.jpg

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Thought for the Day – 24 January – “To Philotea – You and Me”

Posted on January 24, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 24 January – “To Philotea – You and Me”
The Memorial of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church:
Doctor Caritatis (Doctor of Charity) ‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’

Excerpt from Pope Benedict’s Catechesis on St Francis de Sales
Wednesday, 2 March 2011

To Philotea, the ideal person to whom he dedicated his Introduction to a Devout Life (1607), Francis de Sales addressed an invitation that might well have seemed revolutionary at the time. It is the invitation to belong completely to God, while living to the full, her presence in the world and the tasks proper to her state. “My intention is to teach those who are living in towns, in the conjugal state, at court” (Preface to The Introduction to a Devout Life).

The Document with which Pope Leo xiii, more than two centuries later, was to proclaim him a Doctor of the Church, would insist on this expansion of the call to perfection, to holiness.

It says: “[true piety] shone its light everywhere and gained entrance to the thrones of kings, the tents of generals, the courts of judges, custom houses, workshops and even the huts of herdsmen” (cf. Brief, Dives in Misericordia, 16 November 1877).

Thus came into being the appeal to lay people and the care for the consecration of temporal things and for the sanctification of daily life on which the Second Vatican Council and the spirituality of our time were to insist.

The ideal of a reconciled humanity was expressed in the harmony between prayer and action in the world, between the search for perfection and the secular condition, with the help of God’s grace that permeates the human being and, without destroying him, purifies him, raising him to divine heights.

St Francis de Sales, please Pray for Us!

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Quote/s of the Day – 24 January – St Francis de Sales ‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’

Posted on January 24, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 24 January – The Memorial of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church: Doctor Caritatis (Doctor of Charity)

‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’

“Man is the perfection of the Universe.
The spirit is the perfection of man.
Love is the perfection of the spirit and charity that of love.
Therefore, the love of God is the end, the perfection of the Universe.”

“We must fear God out of love,
not love Him out of fear.”

“In the royal galley of divine Love,
there is no galley slave –
all rowers are volunteers.”

“Nothing makes us
so prosperous
in this world,
as to give alms.”

“Perfection of life,
is the perfection of love.
For love, is the life of the soul.”

“Let us run to Mary
and, as her little children,
cast ourselves into her arms,
with a perfect confidence.”

“Consider all the past as nothing
and say, like David,
‘Now I begin to love my God.'”

More Quotes from this Master of Sanctity- https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/quote-s-of-the-day-24-january-the-memorial-of-st-francis-de-sales-1567-1622-doctor-of-the-church-doctor-caritatis-doctor-of-charity/

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church

DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 January – Thursday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Gospel Mark 3:7–12

Posted on January 24, 2019January 24, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 24 January – Thursday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Gospel Mark 3:7–12 and The Memorial of St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church: Doctor Caritatis (Doctor of Charity) ‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’

“…a great multitude, hearing all that he did, came to him.”…Mark 3:8 mark 3 8 - a great multitude hearing all that he did came to him.JPG

REFLECTION – “Why did the multitude come? What did they need? Whether this multitude went to Jesus out of “need” or because “some were curious”, the true reason is seen in the fact that this crowd was drawn by the Father, it was the Father that drew the crowd to Jesus. We read in the Gospel that ‘Jesus was moved, because He saw these people as sheep without a shepherd’. Therefore, the Father, through the Holy Spirit, draws people to Jesus.

The impure spirits try to impede; they wage war on us. Someone might object – Father, I am very Catholic, I always go to Mass…. But I never have these temptations, thank God! “No! Pray, because you are on the wrong path! because a Christian life without temptations is not Christian – it is ideological, it is gnostic but it is not Christian. When the Father draws people to Jesus, there is another who draws in the opposite way and wages war within you! Thus Saint Paul speaks of Christian life as a struggle – a struggle every day to win.

Therefore, all Christians must make this examination of conscience and ask themselves: “Do I feel this struggle in my heart?” This conflict between comfort or service to others, between having a little fun or praying and adoring the Father, between one thing and the other? Do I feel the will to do good, or is there something that stops me, turns me into an ascetic? And also, do I believe that my life moves Jesus’ heart? If I don’t believe this, I must pray a lot to believe it, so that He may grant me this grace. And we ask the Lord to make us Christians who know how to discern what is happening in our hearts and to choose well the path, through which the Father draws us to Jesus.”..Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 19 January 2017

PRAYER – Lord God, true light and creator of light, grant us the grace to see clearly by the light who is Light, Your only Son. Lead us in His path and send us Your Spirit. Grant us the strength to grow in holiness so that our struggle against the powers of darkness may we a victory over temptation. May the intercession of the master of spirituality, St Francis de Sales, help us and protect us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for all eternity, amen. st-francis-de-sales-pray-for-us-no-1-24 jan 2018

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Our Morning Offering – 24 January – I Will Love You Lord – St Francis de Sales

Posted on January 24, 2019January 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 24 January – The Memorial of St Francis de Sales CO, OM, OFM (Cap) (1567-1622) – Doctor of the Church: Doctor caritatis (Doctor of Charity) – ‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’ i will love you lord no 2 - st francis de sales 24 jan 2019.jpg

I Will Love You Lord
By St Francis de Sales

“Whatever happens, Lord,
You who hold
all things in Your hand
and whose ways
are justice and truth,
whatever You have ordained for me…
You who are ever a just judge
and a merciful Father,
I will love You Lord….
I will love You here,
O my God
and I will always hope
in Your mercy
and will always repeat Your praise….
O Lord Jesus,
You will always be my hope
and my salvation
in the land of the living.
Amen i will love you lord - st francis de sales - 24 jan 2019.jpg

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Saint of the Day – 24 January – St Francis de Sales ‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’

Posted on January 24, 2019January 28, 2023 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 24 January – St Francis de Sales CO, OM, OFM (Cap) (1567-1622) – Doctor of the Church: Doctor caritatis (Doctor of Charity) – ‘The Gentle Christ of Geneva’ and Patronages – against deafness, authors, writers, Catholic press, confessors, deaf people, journalists, teachers, Champdepraz, Aosta, Italy, 8 Diocese, 7 Cities, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, the Salesians of Don Bosco. His motto ‘Non-excidet’ – (No failure).

Excerpt from Pope Benedict’s

Catechesis on St Francis de Sales

Wednesday, 2 March 2011

“God is God of the human heart” (The Treatise on the Love of God, I, XV). These apparently simple words give us an impression of the spirituality of a great teacher of whom I would like to speak to you toda – St Francis de Sales, a Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

Born in 1567, in a French border region, he was the son of the Lord of Boisy, an ancient and noble family of Savoy. His life straddled two centuries, the 16th and 17th and he summed up in himself the best of the teachings and cultural achievements of the century drawing to a close, reconciling the heritage of humanism striving for the Absolute that is proper to mystical currents. He received a very careful education, he undertook higher studies in Paris, where he dedicated himself to theology and at the University of Padua, where he studied jurisprudence, complying with his father’s wishes and graduating brilliantly with degrees in utroque iure, in canon law and in civil law. st-francis-de-sales-young.beautiful

In his harmonious youth, reflection on the thought of St Augustine and of St Thomas Aquinas led to a deep crisis. This prompted him to question his own eternal salvation and the predestination of God concerning himself, he suffered as a true spiritual drama the principal theological issues of his time. He prayed intensely but was so fiercely tormented by doubt, that for a few weeks he could barely eat or sleep. At the climax of his trial, he went to the Dominicans’ church in Paris, opened his heart and prayed in these words: “Whatever happens, Lord, You who hold all things in Your hand and whose ways are justice and truth, whatever You have ordained for me… You who are ever a just judge and a merciful Father, I will love You Lord…. I will love You here, O my God and I will always hope in Your mercy and will always repeat Your praise…. O Lord Jesus You will always be my hope and my salvation in the land of the living” (I Proc. Canon., Vol. I, art. 4).

giovanni_battista_lucini_-_st_francis_de_sales

The 20-year-old Francis found peace in the radical and liberating love of God – loving Him without asking anything in return and trusting in divine love, no longer asking what will God do with me – I simply love Him, independently of all that He gives me or does not give me. Thus I find peace and the question of predestination — which was being discussed at that time — was resolved, because he no longer sought what he might receive from God, he simply loved God and abandoned himself to His goodness. And this was to be the secret of his life which would shine out in his main work – the The Treatise on the Love of God.

Overcoming his father’s resistance, Francis followed the Lord’s call and was ordained a priest on 18 December 1593. In 1602, he became Bishop of Geneva, in a period in which the city was the stronghold of Calvinism so that his episcopal see was transferred, “in exile” to Annecy. As the Pastor of a poor and tormented diocese in a mountainous area whose harshness was as well known as its beauty, he wrote: “I found [God] sweet and gentle among our loftiest rugged mountains, where many simple souls love Him and worship Him in all truth and sincerity and mountain goats and chamois leap here and there between the fearful frozen peaks to proclaim His praise” (Letter to Mother de Chantal, October 1606, in Oeuvres, éd. Mackey, t. XIII, p. 223).

Nevertheless the influence of his life and his teaching on Europe in that period and in the following centuries is immense. He was an apostle, preacher, writer, man of action and of prayer dedicated to implanting the ideals of the Council of Trent, he was involved in controversial issues dialogue with the Protestants, experiencing increasingly, over and above the necessary theological confrontation, the effectiveness of personal relationship and of charity, he was charged with diplomatic missions in Europe and with social duties of mediation and reconciliation.

Yet above all St Francis de Sales was a director, from his encounter with a young woman, Madame de Charmoisy, he was to draw the inspiration to write one of the most widely read books of the modern age, The Introduction to a Devout Life. A new religious family was to come into being from his profound spiritual communion with an exceptional figure, St Jane Frances de Chantal -The Foundation of the Visitation, as the Saint wished, was characterised by total consecration to God lived in simplicity and humility, in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well – “I want my Daughters”, he wrote, not to have any other ideal than that of glorifying [Our Lord] with their humility” (Letter to Bishop de Marquemond, June 1615).

He died in 1622, at the age of 55, after a life marked by the hardness of the times and by his apostolic effort.”

St Francis de Sales-FounderSaint-vatican-b.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 24 January

Posted on January 24, 2019January 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) (Memorial) – Doctor of the Church: Doctor caritatis (Doctor of Charity)

Biography: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/saint-of-the-day-24-january-st-francis-de-sales-1567-1622-doctor-of-the-church-doctor-caritatis-doctor-of-charity/

St Anicet Hryciuk
St Artemius of Clermont
St Bartlomiej Osypiuk
Bertrand of Saint Quentin
St Daniel Karmasz
St Exuperantius of Cingoli
St Felician of Foligno
St Filip Geryluk
Bl Francesc de Paula Colomer Prísas
St Guasacht
St Ignacy Franczuk
Bl John Grove
St Julian Sabas the Elder
St Luigj Prendushi
St Macedonius Kritophagos
Bl Marcolino of Forli
Bl Marie Poussepin
Bl Paula Gambara Costa
St Projectus
St Sabinian of Troyes
St Suranus of Sora
St Thyrsus
Bl William Ireland
—
Martyrs of Asia Minor – 4 saints: A group of Christians martyred together for their faith. The only details to survive are four of their names – Eugene, Mardonius, Metellus and Musonius. They were burned at the stake in Asia Minor.

Martyrs of Podlasie – 13 beati: Podlasie is an area in modern eastern Poland that, in the 18th-century, was governed by the Russian Empire. Russian sovereigns sought to bring all Eastern-rite Catholics into the Orthodox Church. Catherine II suppressed the Greek Catholic church in Ukraine in 1784. Nicholas I did the same in Belarus and Lithuania in 1839. Alexander II did the same in the Byzantine-rite Eparchy of Chelm in 1874, and officially suppressed the Eparchy in 1875. The bishop and the priests who refused to join the Orthodox Church were deported to Siberia or imprisoned. The laity, left on their own, had to defend their Church, their liturgy, and their union with Rome.
On 24 January 1874 soldiers entered the village of Pratulin to transfer the parish to Orthodox control. Many of the faithful gathered to defend their parish and church. The soldiers tried to disperse the people, but failed. Their commander tried to bribe the parishioners to abandon Rome, but failed. He threaten them with assorted punishments, but this failed to move them. Deciding that a show of force was needed, the commander ordered his troops to fire on the unarmed, hymn-singing laymen. Thirteen of the faithful died, most married men with families, ordinary men with great faith.
We know almost nothing about their lives outside of this incident. Their families were not allowed to honour them or participate in the funerals, and the authorities hoped they would be forgotten. They were:
• Anicet Hryciuk
• Bartlomiej Osypiuk
• Daniel Karmasz
• Filip Geryluk
• Ignacy Franczuk
• Jan Andrzejuk
• Konstanty Bojko
• Konstanty Lukaszuk
• Lukasz Bojko
• Maksym Hawryluk
• Michal Wawryszuk
• Onufry Wasyluk
• Wincenty Lewoniuk
Martyrdom:
• shot on 14 January 1874 by Russian soldiers in Podlasie, Poland
• buried nearby without rites by those soldiers
Beatified
6 October 1996 by Pope John Paul II

Martyrs of Antioch:
Babylas
Epolonius
Prilidian
Urban

DOCTORS of the Church, NOVENAS, Uncategorized

Novena to St Francis de Sales – Day NINE – 23 January

Posted on January 23, 2019January 22, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Francis de Sales
Day NINE – 23 January

“Think for a moment of the piety of the Madonna when the angel told her that the Spirit would overshadow her. What sentiments of humility, confidence and courage! At the very moment when she understood that God had given her His heart, that is, His Son, she gave herself to God. Her soul was flooded with charity, so she could say with the sacred spouse, “…My heart trembled within me and I grew faint when he spoke.” [Sg:5:4] As far as we are concerned, we receive a similar grace in Communion, because not an angel but Jesus Christ Himself assures us that in it the Holy Spirit descends on us. Heavenly power covers us with its shadow and the Son of God really comes to us. He can say that He is conceived and born in us. Truly then, the soul can respond with the Madonna, “I am the servant of the Lord; let is be done to me as you say.” [Lk 1:38] (St Francis de Sales Spiritual Directory, Art. 12)

O blessed Francis de Sales,
who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially
…………………………………………..
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven
even as I walk each day with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise cause me to stumble
in my attempt to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully with the hope of experiencing
my sacred destiny: eternal life with God.
Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer
……………………………………………
(mention your particular need).
O God, for the salvation of all,
You desired that St. Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many along the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we,
infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

St Francis de Sales, pray for us. day-nine-novena-to-st-francis-de-sales-23-jan-20181.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, NOVENAS

Novena to St Francis de Sales Day EIGHT – 22 January

Posted on January 22, 2019January 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Francis de Sales
Day EIGHT – 22 January

“One of the greatest proofs of love that Jesus displayed on the cross was putting up with the imperfections of His neighbour. There He showed us that He has a heart that loves us tenderly and watches over us kindly. He even showed His love for those who put Him to death. In those dire moments the Saviour expressed thoughts of love even for his executioners, pardoning them in the very act of sinning! How petty-minded we are when we cannot bring ourselves to forget some injury received, even after a long time! Whoever sincerely, pardons another, calls down abundant blessings and perfectly imitates Christ.” (St Francis de Sales Spiritual Treatises IV; O. VI, pp. 65-66)

O blessed Francis de Sales,
who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially
………..……………………..
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven
even as I walk each day with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise cause me to stumble
in my attempt to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully my sacred dignity with the hope of experiencing my sacred destiny: eternal life with God. Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer
….………………………………
(mention your particular need).
O God, for the salvation of all,
You desired that St Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many along the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we,
infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

St Francis de Sales, pray for us day-eight-st-francis-de-sales-novena-22-jan-2018jpg.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on LOVE, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 22 January – Tuesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Gospel: Mark 2:23–28

Posted on January 22, 2019January 22, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 22 January – Tuesday of the Second week in Ordinary Time, Gospel: Mark 2:23–28 and the Memorial of St Vncent of Saragossa (Died 304) Martyr

“…so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath.”...Mark 2:28

REFLECTION – “From the first, the law of the Sabbath conferred many and great benefits; for instance, it made the Jews gentle and humane towards those of their own household, it taught them God the Creator’s providence and wisdom… hen God gave the law for the Sabbath He said… that He would have them refrain from evil works only when he said: “You must do no work, except for what is necessary for life” (Ex 12:16 LXX). And in the temple, too, everything continued with more diligence than ever. Thus even by means of the very shadow, He was secretly opening the full light of truth (cf. Col 2:17).
Did Christ then do away with so highly profitable a thing? Far from it; He greatly enhanced it. For it was unnecessary… that we should learn from it, that God made all things or that we should be made kind by it, who are called to imitate God’s own love. For He says: “Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful”(Lk 6:36). It was no longer necessary to fix a day of festival for those who are commanded to keep a feast all their life long. For: “Let us keep the feast,” Saint Paul writes, “not with old leaven, neither with leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1Cor 5:8)… So now, why is any sabbath required for Christians who are always keeping the feast and whose conversation is in heaven? Yes, my brethren, let us celebrate that continual, heavenly sabbath.”…St John Chrysostom (c 345-407) Father & Doctor

PRAYER – True Light of the world, Lord Jesus Christ, as You enlighten all men for their salvation, give us the grace, we pray, to herald Your coming by preparing the ways of justice and of peace. We walk in faith and by Your Light as St Vincent, fearless of men to the end and trusting only in Your grace, inspires us to follow. Grant that his prayers may assist us on our path. Who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen. st vincent martyr pray for us 22 jan 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, SAINT of the DAY, SPEAKING of ....., The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 21 January – The Memorial of St Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr

Posted on January 21, 2019January 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 21 January – The Memorial of St Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr

Speaking of: Martyrdom

“For me to live
is Christ
and to die,
is gain.”

St Paul – Philippians 1:21

“Christ made my soul beautiful
with the jewels of grace and virtue.
I belong to Him whom the angels serve.”

St Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr

“She is too young to know of death,
yet is ready to face it.”

“One victim but a twin martyrdom,
to modesty and religion.
Agnes preserved her virginity
and gained a martyr’s crown. “

From an essay ‘On Virgins’ by

Saint Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor of the Church

“…As we are under great obligations to Jesus,
for His Passion endured for our love,
so also are we under great obligations to Mary,
for the martyrdom which she voluntarily suffered,
for our salvation, in the death of her Son”.

St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church

“Nothing can happen to me
that God doesn’t want.
And all that He wants,
no matter how bad
it may appear to us,
is really for the best.”

St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr

“I do not much dread the tortures,
as I look forward to the crown.”

St Robert Southwell S.J. (1561-1595) Martyr

“The tyrant dies and his rule is over,
the martyr dies and his rule begins.”

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
The Journals of Kierkegaard

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 21 January – Today’s Gospel: Mark 2:18–22

Posted on January 21, 2019January 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 21 January – Monday of the Second week in Ordinary Time – Today’s Gospel: Mark 2:18–22 and The Memorial of St Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr

“As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.”…Mark 2: 19b

REFLECTION – “Lord, I invite you to a wedding banquet in songs. In Cana, there was not enough wine to express our praise. You, the guest who filled the jars with good wine, fill my mouth with your praise!
The wine at Cana is symbol of our praise because those who drank of it marvelled. At that wedding banquet which was not your own, You, the truly righteous, filled six jars to overflowing with delicious wine. So at the banquet to which I am inviting You, You can fill the ears of a multitude with Your sweetness.
In times past You were invited to the wedding feasts of others. Here now is Your own banquet; it is chaste and beautiful. May it give joy to Your people! May your songs delight Your guests, may my zither accompany Your song!
Our soul is Your betrothed, our body is Your bridal chamber, our senses and our thoughts are the guests. If for You, one single person is a wedding banquet, how great will be the banquet, for the whole Church!”…St Ephrem (c 306-373) Father & Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Almighty Lord, God and Father, protect us by Your power throughout the course of this day, even as You have enabled us to begin it. Let our every thought, word and deed rejoice and strive always to please the love of our souls. For we, Your people, are the bride of Your Son, who came to betroth us to Himself. Grant that by the prayers of one so young, who lived each moment for Him, we may be brought to perfection with You in our final home. St Agnes, pray for us! We make our prayer through Jesus, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

DOCTORS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The WORD

Our Morning Offering – 21 January

Posted on January 21, 2019January 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 21 January – Monday of the Second week in Ordinary Time – Today’s Gospel: Mark 2:18–22

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.”…Mark 2:22

Complete Us, O Lord Jesus Christ
By St Anselm (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church

O Lord Jesus Christ,
our redemption and our salvation,
we praise You and give You thanks.
Though we are unworthy
of Your benefits,
and cannot offer to You
the devotion You deserve,
let Your loving-kindness
complete whatever our weakness tries to do.
Before You, O Lord,
we lay all our desires,
and whatever our heart rightly wishes,
it is because of Your gift.
Help us love You as You command.
Do not let Your gift be unfruitful in us.
Complete what You have begun,
give what You have made us desire,
convert our lukewarmness
into fervent love of You;
for the glory of Your holy name.
Amen complete us o lord jesus christ - st anselm - 21 jan 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, NOVENAS

Novena to St Francis de Sales Day SIX – 20 January

Posted on January 20, 2019January 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Francis de Sales
Day SIX – 20 January

“Do not pay any attention to the kind of work you do but rather to the honour that it brings to God, even though it may seem quite trivial. Desire only to do the Divine Will, following Divine Providence, which is the disposition of Divine Wisdom. In a word, if your works are pleasing to God and recognised as such, that is all that matters. Work hard every day at increasing your purity of heart, which consists in appraising things and weighing them in the balance of God’s will.” (St Francis de Sales Letters 280; O. XIII, p. 53)

O blessed Francis de Sales,
who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially
………………..…………….
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven even as I walk each day
with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise cause me to stumble in my attempt to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully my sacred dignity with the hope of experiencing my sacred destiny:
eternal life with God.
Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer.
…………………….(mention your particular need)
O God, for the salvation of all, you desired that St Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many along the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we, infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

St Francis de Sales, pray for us.

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 January – The first sign of Mercy: Cana – John 2:1–11

Posted on January 20, 2019January 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 20 January – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – The first sign of Mercy: Cana – John 2:1–11

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him....John 2:11

REFLECTION – “The miracle by which our Lord Jesus Christ changed water into wine is not at all astonishing to those who know that God is its author. Indeed, it is exactly the same thing which produced wine in those six jars on that wedding day … and which renews this transformation in the vines each year. That which the servants poured into the jars was changed into wine by the action of the Lord; in the same way the rain that falls from the clouds is changed into wine through the same action of the Lord. And yet we do not wonder at it because it is repeated every year; custom has caused astonishment to disappear. Yet it is far more worthy of our attention than what took place in the jars filled with water.
Indeed, who is there who dreams of considering the work of God who directs and governs the whole world? Isn’t that person then seized with astonishment and as it were crushed beneath the weight of these miracles? If they consider the power enclosed within a single seed of the first species to come, they will discover a great reality there that astounds the observer. But people, otherwise occupied, have become insensible to the works of God, which would daily provide motives for praising the Creator. This is why God reserves to Himself the work of certain unusual wonders, so as to awaken them from their sleepiness and lead them to praise Him.”…St Augustine (354-430)

PRAYER – Almighty God, ruler and creator of all things in heaven and on earth, listen favourably to the prayer of Your people. Open our eyes that we may see, open our ears that we may hear, open our hearts that we may love Your glory, manifest around us in all the great deeds of Your Word. Grant us love and peace in our day and may the prayers of Your Saints and Martyrs, lead us home to You. St Pope Fabian and St Sebastian pray for us! We make our prayer through Your Son Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. st pope fabian pray for us no 2 - 20 jan 2019

st-sebastian-pray-for-us-20-jan-2018

DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 20 January – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Posted on January 20, 2019January 19, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 20 January – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

My God and My All
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
(From “The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ”)

My God and my all
I wish to seek no other good but You,
who are infinite goodness.
You, who take such good care of me,
make me have no other care,
except to please You.
Grant that all my thoughts
may always be,
in pleasing You always.
Drive far from me,
every occasion, that distracts me,
from Your love…
I love You,
infinite goodness,
I love You,
my delight.
O Word, Incarnate,
I love You more than myself…
I want nothing from You
but Yourself.
Amen my god and my all - st alphonsus liguori - 20 jan 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, NOVENAS

Novena to St Francis de Sales -Day FIVE – 19 January

Posted on January 19, 2019January 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Francis de Sales
Day FIVE – 19 January

“This poor life is only a journey to the happy life to come. We must not be angry with one another on the way but rather, we must march on as a band of brothers and sisters united in meekness, peace and love. I state absolutely and make no exception: do not be angry at all if that is possible. Do not accept any pretext whatever for opening your heart’s door to anger. Saint James tells us positively and without reservation,” … a man’s anger does not fulfil God’s justice.” [St Francis de Sales Jas 1:20] (INT. Part III, Ch. 8; O. III, p. 162)

O blessed Francis de Sales, who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially
…………………………..
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven
even as I walk each day with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise
cause me to stumble in my attempt
to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully my sacred dignity
with the hope of experiencing my sacred destiny:
eternal life with God.
Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer.
…………………………….
(mention your particular need).
O God, for the salvation of all,
You desired that St Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many along the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we,
infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.

We ask this through Christ our Lord, amen.

St Francis de Sales, pray for us.

DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 19 January – “Saturday with Mary”

Posted on January 19, 2019January 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 19 January – Saturday of the First week in Ordinary Time “Saturday with Mary”

Most Holy Mary,
Virgin Mother of God
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Most Holy Mary,
Virgin Mother of God,
I am unworthy to be your servant.
Yet moved by your motherly care for me
and longing to serve you,
I choose you this day to be my Queen,
my Advocate and my Mother.
I firmly resolve ever to be devoted to you
and to do what I can
to encourage others to be devoted to you.
My loving Mother,
through the Precious Blood
of your Son shed for me,
I beg you to receive me
as your servant forever.
Aid me in my actions
and beg for me the grace
never by thought, word, or deed,
to be displeasing in your sight
and that of your most holy Son.
Remember me, dearest Mother
and do not abandon me
at the hour of death.
Amen most holy mary by st francis de sales - 3 nov 2018

DOCTORS of the Church, NOVENAS

Novena to St Francis de Sales Day Four – 18 January

Posted on January 18, 2019January 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Francis de Sales
Day Four – 18 January

“Self-love dies only when our body dies, so we must, while we live in this land of exile, continue to counterattack its assaults on our senses and its underhanded tactics. It is enough if we firmly withstand, giving no wilful or deliberate consent … When we feel within ourselves the first movements of self-love or of other passions, let us prostrate ourselves immediately before the heart of God and tell Him, in a spirit of confidence and humility, “Lord, have mercy on me because I am a very weak creature.” Then let us tranquilly rest in peace and put ourselves at God’s disposal.” (St Francis de Sales Letters 1675; O. XIX, pp. 272-273)

O blessed Francis de Sales,
who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me
under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially ……………………..
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven even as I walk each day
with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise cause me to stumble in my attempt
to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully my sacred dignity
with the hope of experiencing my sacred destiny, eternal life with God.
Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer
………………………..…….
(mention your particular need).
O God, for the salvation of all, You desired that St Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many long the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we,
infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

St Francis de Sales, pray for us. day-four-st-francis-de-sales-novena-18-jan-2018jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 January – Friday of the First week in Ordinary Time: Gospel Mark 2:1-12

Posted on January 18, 2019January 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 18 January – Friday of the First week in Ordinary Time: Gospel Mark 2:1-12 and the The Memorial of St Margaret of Hungary (1242-1270)

“I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” …Mark 2:11

REFLECTION – “None can forgive sins except God alone, and so He who healed them is God… And so that people might understand that He had taken flesh for the remission of their sins and to gain resurrection for their bodies, He said: “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins on earth” – He then said to the paralytic: “Rise, pick up your stretcher”. It would have been enough to have said: “Rise”, but… He added: “Pick up your stretcher and go home.” First He granted remission of sins, then He manifested the power of the resurrection and then, by making him take up his stretcher, He taught that weakness and pain will no longer afflict the body. Finally, by sending this man home healed, He showed that believers must rediscover the road to paradise, the same road that Adam, the father of all, abandoned when he was spoiled by the stain of sin.”…St Hilary (c.315-367) Father & Doctor of the Church

PRAYER– Living God, You have given me the Eucharist as my food for heavenly life. Help me to partake of it often and so be strengthened on my pilgrim journey on earth. Grant that St Margaret of Hungary, may add us all to her prayers, that by her intercession, we too may learn the true way home. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 18 January – Friday of the First week in Ordinary Time

Posted on January 18, 2019January 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 18 January – Friday of the First week in Ordinary Time

Go on, O Lord and Act
By St Augustine

Go on, O Lord and act,
stir us up and call us back,
inflame us and draw us to Thee,
stir us up and grow sweet to us,
let us now love Thee,
let us run to Thee.
Are there not many men …
who, out of a deeper pit of darkness..
return to Thee–who draw near to Thee
and are illuminated by that light
which gives those
who receive it power from Thee
to become Thy sons?

go on lord and act - stir us up and call us back - st augustine - mem of simpliacinus 18 jan 2019

DOCTORS of the Church, NOVENAS

Novena to St Francis de Sales Day Three – 17 January

Posted on January 17, 2019January 16, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Novena to St Francis de Sales
Day Three – 17 January

“I desire very little and what I do desire I desire very little; I have hardly any desires but if I were to begin my life all over again I would want to have none at all … Ask for nothing, refuse nothing; we must simply abandon ourselves into the hands of Providence, without nourishing any other desire but to do whatever God wills. St Paul practised this act of absolute abandonment at the very moment of his conversion. When he was deprived of his sight, he immediately said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” [cf. Act 22:10] From that moment on he put himself completely at God’s disposal. All our perfection consists precisely in the practical application of this principle. ” (St Francis de Sales Spiritual Treatises XXI, O. VI, pp. 383-384)

O blessed Francis de Sales,
who on earth did excel in a life of virtue,
especially in the love of God and neighbour,
I earnestly ask you to take me under your compassionate care and protection.
Obtain for me conversion of mind and heart.
Grant that all people, especially …………………….
(names of those whom you wish to include)
may experience the depth of God’s redeeming and healing love.
Teach me to fix my eyes on the things of heaven even as I walk each day
with my feet planted firmly on the earth.
Help me, through the practice of virtue and the pursuit of devotion,
to avoid anything that would otherwise cause me to stumble
in my attempt to follow Christ and to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit.
Encouraged by your prayers and example,
help me to live fully my sacred dignity
with the hope of experiencing my sacred destiny: eternal life with God.
Receive also this particular need or concern that I now lift up in prayer.
………………………………………. (mention your particular need).
O God, for the salvation of all, You desired that St Francis de Sales—
preacher, missionary, confessor, bishop and founder—
should befriend many along the road to salvation.
Mercifully grant that we,
infused with the humility and gentleness of his charity,
guided by his wisdom and sharing in his spirit may experience eternal life.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

St Francis de Sales, pray for us. day-three-novena-to-st-francis-de-sales-17-jan-2018.jpg

CATECHESIS, CATHOLIC Quotes, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, SPEAKING of ....., The SIGN of the CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 17 January – The Sign of the Cross

Posted on January 17, 2019January 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 17 January – Thursday of the First week in Ordinary Time and The Memorial of St Anthony Abbot (251-356)

Speaking of: The Sign of the Cross

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

St Anthony Abbot (251-356)

“Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified.
Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers
on our brow and in everything;
over the bread we eat and the cups we drink;
in our comings in and goings out;
before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake;
when we are in the way and when we are still.
Great is that preservative;
it is without price, for the poor’s sake;
without toil, for the sick, since also its grace is from God.
It is the Sign of the faithful and the dread of evils;
for He has triumphed over them in it,
having made a shew of them openly;
for when they see the Cross, they are reminded of the Crucified;
they are afraid of Him, Who hath bruised the heads of the dragon.
Despise not the Seal, because of the freeness of the Gift
but for this rather honour thy Benefactor.”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Father and Doctor

“The sign of the cross
is the most terrible weapon
against the devil.
Thus the Church wishes not only,
that we have it continually
in front of our minds,
to recall to us
just what our souls are worth
and what they cost Jesus Christ
but also that we should make it
at every juncture ourselves:
when we go to bed,
when we awaken during the night,
when we get up,
when we begin any action,
and, above all,
when we are tempted.”

St John Vianney (1786-1859)

“The cross is the badge that shows who we are –
our speaking, thinking, looking, working,
we are under the sign of the cross,
that is, the love of Jesus, to the end.”

“Making the sign of the cross when we wake up,
before meals, before a danger, to defend against evil,
at night before sleep means to tell ourselves
and others who we belong to, who we want to be.”

Pope Francis

3 Things to Know about the Cross – Fr Mike Schmitz

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	r pingback 14 03… on Quote/s of the Day – 20…

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St Angela Merici (1474-1540)

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Saint John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Homily 2: In Praise of Saint Paul

St Paul, Pray for Us!

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St Francis de Sales, please Pray for Us!

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St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church

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Excerpt from Pope Benedict’s

Catechesis on St Francis de Sales

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Speaking of: Martyrdom

St Paul – Philippians 1:21

St Agnes (c 291- c 304) Virgin and Martyr

Saint Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor of the Church

St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church

St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr

St Robert Southwell S.J. (1561-1595) Martyr

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) The Journals of Kierkegaard

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St Anthony Abbot (251-356)

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Father and Doctor

St John Vianney (1786-1859)

Pope Francis

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Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
The Journals of Kierkegaard