DOCTORS of the Church – Page 118

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Thought for the Day – 14 February – “Satisfying our Restless Hearts”

Posted on February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 14 February – The Memorial of St Valentine (176-273) Martyr

SATISFYING OUR RESTLESS HEARTS
by Fr Steve Grunow

“And what is this God? I asked the earth and it answered: ‘I am not God and all the things in the earth made the same confession.’ I asked the sea and the deeps and creeping things and they answered: ‘We are not your God, seek higher.’ I asked the winds that blow and the whole air with all that is in it and the wind answered: ‘ I am not God.’ I asked the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars and they answered: ‘Neither are we God whom you seek.’ So I asked all those things that entice the senses: ‘Tell me then of this Mysterious One that I search for.’ And all cried out to me in one great voice: ‘God made us and God made you…’”

“So I set about to find God and found that I could not find Him until I embraced the mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus, who is all over all these things, who was calling me and saying: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…’”

These marvellous words belong to St Augustine….

St Augustine is one of the most renowned and influential saints of the Church, though his early life did not foreshadow such an identity and mission. He lived much of his young life in resistance to God’s will and purposes. Preoccupied with his body, he sought satisfaction in sex. Preoccupied with power, he sought to ingratiate himself with the mighty. Preoccupied with status, he sought self-promotion. Preoccupied with wealth, he tried to sell himself to a career.

And none of these things, for all their allure and all their promises, brought him satisfaction.

As a result, Augustine embraced the prevailing esoteric and arcane “spiritualities” of his day. He followed strange gods in an attempt to shake his alarming sense of dissatisfaction. This left him emptier and even more diminished.

But a reckoning came that changed Augustine forever.

“I found myself weeping in the bitter sorrow of my heart. And suddenly I heard a voice from a nearby house, a child’s voice, boy or girl I do not know – but it was sort of a sing song that repeated over and over again. ‘Take and read, take and read.’ Wiping away my tears I took this as a divine command and opened the scriptures and in silence read the passage on which my eyes first fell – ‘Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in debauchery and impurity, not in contention and envy but put on the Lord Jesus…’”

So this is what Augustine did- he discarded the skin of his old self and put on the Lord Jesus. And what God did with Augustine was remarkable. He became a leader in the Faith, as a teacher, priest and bishop. His writings have directed the mind and soul of the Church for centuries. His influence is with us still- in how we pray, how we worship, and in what we believe.

At the heart of the Gospel is the call to conversion in Christ. There is no moment in our life when this call does not beckon toward us. There is no time in our life we are exempt from the summons. Conversion is the substance of the work of the spiritual life. Conversion in Christ is our privileged spiritual way.

Like Augustine, so many of us fall into the illusion that something other than God can satisfy us or give our lives purpose and meaning. Like the young Augustine, we are captivated by self-deception that directs us away from the one who is absolutely necessary – Christ. In response to all the futility of our refusals, the wisdom of St Augustine rings true:

“You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

St Augustine, Pray for Us!

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 14 February – Falling in love

Posted on February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 14 February – The Memorial of St Valentine (176-273) Martyr

“You have made us
for Yourself, O Lord
and our heart is restless
until it rests in You.”

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”

St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor

“Nothing is more practical
than finding God,
that is, than falling in love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination
will affect everything.
It will decide what will
get you out of bed
in the mornings,
what you will do
with your evenings,
how you spend
your weekends,
what you read,
who you know,
what breaks your heart
and what amazes you
with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love
and it will decide everything.”

Servant of God Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ (1907-1991)

(the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus)

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES on CONSCIENCE, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 14 February – “The faith of the Canaanite woman”

Posted on February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 14 February – Thursday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 7:24–30 and the Memorial of Sts Cyril and Methodius “Apostles to the Slavs”- Patrons of Europe and St Valentine (176-273) Martyr

But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him and came and fell down at his feet....Mark 7:25

REFLECTION – “O woman, your faith is great. Let it be done to you as you wish” (Mt 15:28). Indeed, she had great enough faith, since she knew neither the ancient miracles, commands and promises of the prophets, nor the more recent ones of the Lord himself. In addition, as often as she was disregarded by the Lord, she persevered in her entreaties and she did not cease knocking by asking him, though she knew only by popular opinion that he was the Saviour. On account of this, she secured the great object for which she implored…
If one of us has a conscience polluted by the stain of avarice, conceit, vain-glory, indignation, irascibility, or envy and the other vices, he has “a daughter badly troubled by a demon” like the Canaanite woman. He should hasten to the Lord, making supplication for her healing… Being submissive with due humility, [such a person] must not judge himself to be worthy of the company of the sheep of Israel (that is, souls that are pure) but instead, he must be of the opinion that he is unworthy of heavenly favours. Nevertheless, let him not, in despair, rest from the earnestness of his entreaty but with his mind free of doubt, let him trust in the goodness of the supreme Benefactor, for the one who could make a confessor from a robber (Lk 23:39f.), an apostle from a persecutor (Acts 9:1-30, an evangelist from a publican (Mt 9:9-13) and who could make sons for Abraham out of stones, could turn even the most insignificant dog into an Israelite sheep.”...St Bede the Venerable (673-735) – Father & Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Help us Lord, to cleave to You alone and grow in sanctity and charity. Create in us a clean heart O Lord! As we walk in the ways of Your divine Son, our Saviour, may we grow in faith and by our lives and words, be a light in the world. Grant that by the prayers of Sts Valentine and Sts Cyril and Methodius, we may be strengthen and grow in worthiness to receive Your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. st valentine pray for us 14 feb 2019 sts-cyril-and-methodius-pray-for-us-14-feb-2018-no-2

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

Our Morning Offering – 13 February – Wednesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time, Year C

Posted on February 13, 2019February 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 13 February – Wednesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time, Year C

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 for ever enjoy You.
Amen only fo you in you by you - st augustine 13 feb 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on PRAYER, SAINT of the DAY

Thought for the Day – 12 February – The Prayer of St Ethelwald (Died c 740)

Posted on February 12, 2019February 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 12 February – the Memorial of St Ethelwald (Died c 740)

How Ethelwald, successor to Cuthbert, leading a hermit’s life, calmed a tempest by his prayers when the brethren were in danger at sea. [687-699]
The venerable Ethewald succeeded the man of God, Cuthbert, in the exercise of a solitary life, which he spent in the isle of Fame before he became a bishop. After he had received the priesthood, he consecrated his office by deeds worthy of that degree for many years in the monastery which is called Inhrypum.

To the end that his merit and manner of life may be the more certainly made known, I will relate one miracle of his, which was told me by one of the brothers for and on whom the same was wrought; to wit, Guthfrid, the venerable servant and priest of Christ, who also, afterwards, as abbot, presided over the brethren of the same church of Lindisfarne, in which he was educated.

“I came,” says he, “to the island of Fame, with two others of the brethren, desiring to speak with the most reverend father, Ethelwald. Having been refreshed with his discourse and asked for his blessing, as we were returning home, behold on a sudden, when we were in the midst of the sea, the fair weather in which we were sailing, was broken and there arose so great and terrible a tempest, that neither sails nor oars were of any use to us, nor had we anything to expect but death. After long struggling with the wind and waves to no effect, at last we looked back to see whether it was possible by any means at least to return to the island whence we came but we found that we were on all sides alike cut off by the storm, and that there was no hope of escape by our own efforts. But looking further, we perceived, on the island of Fame, our father Ethelwald, beloved of God, come out of his retreat to watch our course, for, hearing the noise of the tempest and raging sea, he had come forth to see what would become of us. When he beheld us in distress and despair, he bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in prayer for our life and safety and, as he finished his prayer, he calmed the swelling water, in such sort that the fierceness of the storm ceased on all sides and fair winds attended us over a smooth sea to the very shore. When we had landed and had pulled up our small vessel from the waves, the storm, which had ceased a short time for our sake, presently returned and raged furiously during the whole day, so that it plainly appeared, that the brief interval of calm had been granted by Heaven, in answer to the prayers of the man of God, to the end that we might escape.”

The man of God remained in the isle of Fame twelve years,and died there but was buried in the church of the blessed Apostle Peter, in the isle of Lindisfarne, beside the bodies of the aforesaid bishops.’

These things happened in the days of King Aldfrid, who, after his brother Egfrid, ruled the nation of the Northumbrians for nineteen years.

From Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of England
By The Venerable Bede (673-735)
Father & Doctor of the Church

We beseech Thee, Lord,
open Thy heavens, open our eyes,
may Thy gifts descend to us,
may our hearts look back to Thee.
May Thy throne be laid open to us,
while we receive the benefits which we implore,
may our mind be laid open to Thee,
while we render the service which is enjoined to us.
Look down from Heaven, O Lord,
behold and visit this vine
which Thy right hand hath planted.
Strengthen the weak,
relieve the contrite,
confirm the strong.
Build them up in love,
cleanse them with purity,
enlighten them with wisdom,
keep them with mercy.
Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd,
who laid down Thy life for the sheep,
defend the purchase of Thy blood.
Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty,
seek for the lost, convert the wandering,
bind up that which is broken.
Put forth Thine own hand from Heaven
and touch the head of each one here.
May they feel the touch of Thy hand
and receive the joy of the Holy Spirit,
that they may remain blessed for evermore.
Amen

Saint Ethelwald (Died c 740)

When we pray,
let it be our whole being
that turns towards God –
our thoughts,
our heart…
The Lord will be moved
to incline towards us
and come to our help…

St Pio of Pietralcina “Padre Pio” (1887-1968)

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, POETRY, SAINT of the DAY

Saint of the Day – 11 February – St Caedmon (Died c 680)

Posted on February 11, 2019February 21, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Saint of the Day – 11 February – St Caedmon (Died c 680) is the earliest English (Northumbrian) poet whose name is known. An Anglo-Saxon who cared for the animals at the double monastery of Streonæshalch (Whitby Abbey, in Yorkshire, England) during the abbacy (657–680) of the Founder, St Hilda (614–680), he was originally ignorant of “the art of song” but learned to compose one night in the course of a dream, according to the 8th-century historian and Saint, The Venerable St Bede (673-735) Father & Doctor of the Church. He later became a zealous monk and an accomplished and inspirational Christian poet.

The sole source of original information about Cædmon’s life and work is St Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica. According to Bede, Cædmon was a lay brother who cared for the animals at the monastery Streonæshalch, now known as Whitby Abbey. One evening, while the monks were feasting, singing and playing a harp, Cædmon left early to sleep with the animals because he knew no songs. The impression clearly given by St Bede is that he lacked the knowledge of how to compose the lyrics to songs. While asleep, he had a dream in which “someone” approached him and asked him to sing principium creaturarum, “the beginning of created things.” After first refusing to sing, Cædmon subsequently produced a short eulogistic poem praising God, the Creator of heaven and earth.

Ruins of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire, England— founded in 657 by St. Hilda, the original abbey fell to a Viking attack in 867 and was abandoned. It was re-built in 1078 and flourished until 1540 when it was destroyed by Henry VIII.

Upon awakening the next morning, Cædmon remembered everything he had sung and added additional lines to his poem. He told his foreman about his dream and gift and was taken immediately to see the abbess, St Hilda of Whitby. The abbess and her counsellors asked Cædmon about his vision and, satisfied that it was a gift from God, gave him a new commission, this time for a poem based on “a passage of sacred history or doctrine”, by way of a test. When Cædmon returned the next morning with the requested poem, he was invited to take monastic vows. The abbess ordered her scholars to teach Cædmon sacred history and doctrine, which after a night of thought, Bede records, Cædmon would turn into the most beautiful verse. According to Bede, Cædmon was responsible for a large number of splendid vernacular poetic texts on a variety of Christian topics. saint-hilda-of-whitby-anglo-saxon-abbess-receiving-a-visit-from-caedmon_u-l-otenj0 st-hilda-whitby-abbey

After a long and zealously pious life, Cædmon died like a saint – receiving a premonition of death, he asked to be moved to the abbey’s hospice for the terminally ill where, having gathered his friends around him, he died after receiving the Holy Eucharist, just before nocturns. st caedmon.jpg

Bede’s narrative shows that Bede, an educated and intelligent man, believed Cædmon to be an important figure in the history of English intellectual and religious life. He, however, gives no specific dates in his story. Cædmon is said to have taken holy orders at an advanced age and it is implied that he lived at Whitby, at least in part, during Hilda’s abbacy (657–680). caedmon and hilda.JPG

Cædmon is one of twelve Anglo-Saxon poets identified in medieval sources and one of only three of these for whom both roughly contemporary biographical information and examples of literary output have survived. St Bede wrote, “there was in the Monastery of this Abbess a certain brother particularly remarkable for the Grace of God, who was wont to make religious verses, so that whatever was interpreted to him out of scripture, he soon after put the same into poetical expressions of much sweetness and humility in Old English, which was his native language. By his verse the minds of many were often excited to despise the world and to aspire to heaven.”

Cædmon’s only known surviving work is Cædmon’s Hymn, the nine-line alliterative vernacular praise poem in honour of God which he learned to sing in his initial dream. The poem is one of the earliest attested examples of Old English and is one of the earliest recorded examples of sustained poetry in a Germanic language. In 1898, St Cædmon’s Cross was erected in his honour in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church in Whitby.

St Bede’s Latin version of St Caedmon’s poem runs as follows:

Nunc laudare debemus auctorem regni caelestis,
potentiam creatoris,
et consilium illius facta Patris gloriae –
quomodo ille,
cum sit aeternus Deus,
omnium miraculorum auctor exstitit,
qui primo filiis hominum caelum
pro culmine tecti dehinc terram
custos humani generis
omnipotens creavit.

Now we must praise the author
of the heavenly realm,
the might of the creator
and His purpose,
the work of the Father of glory –
as He, who, the almighty guardian
of the human race,
is the eternal God,
is the author of all miracles,
who first created the heavens
as highest roof
For the children of men,
then the earth.

caedmon_caedmon_cross

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 9 February – Let us give thanks…

Posted on February 9, 2019February 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 9 February – Saturday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – First Reading: Hebrews 13:15–17

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. …Hebrews 13:15

“Let us bear all things thankfully, be it poverty, be it disease, be it anything else whatever, for God alone knows the things expedient for us, “for we do not know how to pray as we ought.”

We, then, who do not know even how to ask for what is fitting unless we have received of the Spirit, let us take care to offer up thanksgiving for all things and let us bear all things nobly.

Are we in poverty? Let us give thanks. Are we in sickness? Let us give thanks. Are we falsely accused? Let us give thanks. When we suffer affliction, let us give thanks. This brings us near to God.”

St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor
(On the Epistle to the Hebrews, 33)

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 7 February – Go Forth Set the World on Fire!

Posted on February 7, 2019February 7, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 7 February – Thursday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C. Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

He charged them to take nothing for their journey...Mark 6:8

For all Christians, wherever they live, are bound to show forth, by the example of their lives and by the witness of the word, that new man put on at baptism and that power of the Holy Spirit, by which they have been strengthened at Confirmation. Thus other men, observing their good works, can glorify the Father and can perceive more fully the real meaning of human life and the universal bond of the community of mankind. (cf Col 3:10; Mt 5:16)….Decree on the missionary activity of the Church, “ Ad Gentes ”, # 10-11 – Vatican Council II

“Jesus never sinned, yet He was crucified for you.

Will you refuse to be crucified for Him, who for your sake was nailed to the cross?

You are not the one who gives the favour, you have received one first.

For your sake He was crucified on Golgotha.

Now you are returning His favour, you are fulfilling your debt to Him.”

St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Father & Doctor of the Church

jesus never sinned yet he was crucified for you - st cyrilofjerusalem 7feb2019.jpg

“Go Forth, Set the World on Fire”

St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)

DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 February …”I say to you, arise.”… Mark 5:41

Posted on February 5, 2019June 10, 2022 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 5 February – Tuesday of the Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 5:21–43 and The Memorial of St Agatha (c 231- c 251)

…”I say to you, arise.”… Mark 5:41

mark 5 41 - i say to you arise - jairus' daughter - 5 feb 2019

REFLECTION – ““He took the child by the hand and said to her: ‘Talitha koum’, which means, ‘Little girl…arise.’” “Since you have been born again, you are to be called ‘little girl’. Little girl, arise for my sake – your healing does not come from you.” “And immediately the little girl arose and walked around.” May Jesus touch us, too and at once we shall walk. We may well be paralysed, our deeds may be evil and we may be unable to walk, we may be lying on the bed of our sins… but if Jesus touches us, then we shall immediately be healed. Peter’s mother-in-law was suffering with fever – Jesus touched her hand and she arose and immediately served Him (Mk 1:31)…

“They were utterly astounded and he gave them strict orders that no one should know this.” Do you see now why He put the people out when He was going to work a miracle? He ordered and not just ordered but strictly ordered, that no one should know of this. He ordered the three apostles and He ordered the parents, too, that no one should know. Our Lord ordered them all but the little girl herself, she who had stood up, could not be silent.

“And he said she should be given something to eat” – so that her resurrection might not be thought to be a ghostly apparition. And He Himself, after His resurrection, ate fish and a piece of honeycomb (Lk 24:42)… Lord, I beseech you, touch our hands as we, too, lie prostrate. Make us rise from our bed of sins and enable us to walk. And when we have walked, make them give us something to eat. We cannot eat when we are lying down- unless we are standing, we shall not be able to receive the Body of Christ.”…St Jerome (347-420) – Father & Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Increase in us, O Lord, the gift of faith, so that we may arise and offer our praise to You and by Your grace, yield fruit from heaven, for the glory of Your Kingdom. Lord God, let St Agatha, who became precious in Your sight through her pure life and valiant martyrdom, plead for our forgiveness. For, with joy and rejoicing, as though to a feast, St Agatha, went to prison and offered her sufferings to You, with many prayers. Through Jesus Christ, Your divine Son, in unity with the Spirit, one God forever. St Agatha, pray for us, amen.

CONFESSION/PENANCE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SUNDAY REFLECTIONS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, Uncategorized

Sunday Reflection – 3 February – “May we be Worthy” – St Cyprian of Carthage

Posted on February 3, 2019February 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Sunday Reflection – 3 February – Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

“May we be Worthy”

“He [Paul] threatens, moreover, the stubborn and forward and denounces them, saying, ‘Whosoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily, is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord’ [1 Cor. 11:27].

All these warnings being scorned and contemned—[lapsed Christians will often take Communion] before their sin is expiated, before confession has been made of their crime, before their conscience has been purged by sacrifice and by the hand of the priest, before the offence of an angry and threatening Lord has been appeased, [and so] violence is done to His body and blood and they sin now, against their Lord, more with their hand and mouth than when they denied their Lord”

St Cyprian of Carthage (c 200- c 258) Bishop and Martyr, Father of the Church
(The Lapsed 15–16 [written in 251])

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

One Minute Reflection – 3 February – Gospel: Luke 4:21–30 “And they rose up and put him out of the city”

Posted on February 3, 2019February 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 3 February – Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 4:21–30 and The Memorial of St Blaise – Martyr (Died c 316) and St Ansgar (801-865)

And they rose up and put him out of the city and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away….Luke 4:29-30

REFLECTION – “A doctor came amongst us to restore us to health – our Lord Jesus Christ. He discovered blindness in our hearts and promised the light that “eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and has not entered the heart of man” (1Cor 2:9).
The humility of Jesus Christ is the cure for your pride. Don’t scorn what will bring you healing, be humble, you for whom God humbled Himself. Indeed, He knew that the medicine of humility would cure you, He who well understood your sickness and knew how to cure it. While you were unable to run to the doctor’s house, the doctor in person came to your house… He is coming, He wants to help you, He knows what you need.
God has come with humility precisely in order that man might imitate Him. If He had remained above you, how would you have been able to imitate Him? And, without imitating Him, how could you be healed? He came with humility because He knew the nature of the remedy He had to administer – a little bitter, it is true but healing. And do you continue to scorn Him? He who holds out the cup to you and you say: “But what sort of God is this God of mine? He was born, suffered, was covered with spittle, crowned with thorns, nailed on the cross!” O miserable soul! You see the doctor’s humility and not the cancer of your pride. That is why humility displeases you…
It often happens that mentally ill people end up by beating their doctor. When that happens, the unfortunate doctor is not only not distressed by the one who beat him but attempts to treat him… As for our doctor, He did not fear being killed by sick people afflicted with madness, He turned His own death into their remedy. Indeed, He died and rose again.”…St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Lord our God, make us love You above all things and all our fellow-men, with a love that is worthy of You. May we look to Your Divine Son in love and imitation. Holy Father, You sent St Ansgar, Monk and Bishop, to bring the light of Christ to many nations of Northern Europe. Through his prayer give us grace to live always in the light of Your truth. Grant too, that by the prayers of St Blaise, we too may be granted the grace to follow Your only Son, no matter our sufferings, to You, in our heavenly home. We make our prayer, through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever amen. st-blaise-pray-for-us-3-february-20171

st-ansgar-pray-for-us-3-feb-2018

DOCTORS of the Church, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 3 February – The Bread of Angels

Posted on February 3, 2019February 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 3 February – Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

The Bread of Angels
By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus,
my inmost soul with the most joyous
and healthful wound of Your love,
and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity,
that my soul may ever languish and melt
with entire love and longing for You,
may yearn for You and for Your courts,
may long to be dissolved and to be with You.
Grant that my soul may hunger after You,
the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls,
our daily and supersubstantial bread,
having all sweetness and savour
and every delightful taste.
May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon You,
Whom the angels desire to look upon,
and may my inmost soul
be filled with the sweetness of Your savour;
may it ever thirst for You,
the fountain of life,
the fountain of widsom and knowledge,
the fountain of eternal light,
the torrent of pleasure,
the fulness of the house of God;
may it ever compass You,
seek You, find You, run to You,
come up to You, meditate on You, speak of You
and do all for the praise and glory of Your name,
with humility and discretion,
with love and delight,
with ease and affection,
with perseverence to the end
and be You alone ever my hope,
my entire confidence, my riches, my delight,
my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility,
my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment,
my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion,
my possession, my treasure;
in Whom may my mind and my heart
be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably.
Amen the bread of angels - st bonaventure - 3 feb 2019.jpg

CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on SIN

Thought for the Day – 30 January – Where sin abounded grace has overflowed – St Bernard

Posted on January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 30 January – Wednesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 4:1-20

Where sin abounded grace has overflowed

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Abbot and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Sermon 61 On the Song of Songs

“Where can the weak find a place of firm security and peace, except in the wounds of the Saviour? Indeed, the more secure is my place there, the more He can do to help me. The world rages, the flesh is heavy and the devil lays his snares but I do not fall, for my feet are planted on firm rock. I may have sinned gravely. My conscience would be distressed but it would not be in turmoil, for I would recall the wounds of the Lord – He was wounded for our iniquities. What sin is there so deadly that it cannot be pardoned by the death of Christ? And so, if I bear in mind this strong, effective remedy, I can never again be terrified by the malignancy of sin.

Surely the man who said – my sin is too great to merit pardon, was wrong. He was speaking as though he were not a member of Christ and had no share in His merits, so that he could claim them as his own, as a member of the body can claim what belongs to the head. As for me, what can I appropriate that I lack from the heart of the Lord who abounds in mercy? They pierced His hands and feet and opened His side with a spear. Through the openings of these wounds I may drink honey from the rock and oil from the hardest stone: that is, I may taste and see that the Lord is sweet.

He was thinking thoughts of peace and I did not know it, for who knows the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counsellor? But the piercing nail has become a key to unlock the door, that I may see the good will of the Lord. And what can I see as I look through the hole? Both the nail and the wound cry out that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. The sword pierced His soul and came close to His heart, so that He might be able to feel compassion for me in my weaknesses.

Through these sacred wounds we can see the secret of His heart, the great mystery of love, the sincerity of His mercy with which He visited us from on high. Where have Your love, Your mercy, Your compassion shone out more luminously that in Your wounds, sweet, gentle Lord of mercy? More mercy than this no one has than that He lay down His life for those who are doomed to death. where have your love your mercy - st bernard 30 jan 2019.jpg

My merit comes from His mercy, for I do not lack merit so long as He does not lack pity. And if the Lord’s mercies are many, then I am rich in merits. For even if I am aware of many sins, what does it matter? Where sin abounded grace has overflowed. And if the Lord’s mercies are from all ages forever, I too will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever. Will I not sing of my own righteousness? No, Lord, I shall be mindful only of Your justice. Yet that too is my own; for God has made You my righteousness.”

Holy Mother, Pray for Us!

DOCTORS of the Church, GOD the FATHER, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The WILL of GOD, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 29 January – Doing the Will of God

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 29 January – Tuesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 3:31–35

31 And his mother and his brethren came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting about him and they said to him, “Your mother and your brethren are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brethren?” 34 And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren! 35 Whoever does the will of God, is my brother and sister and mother.”

Whoever does the will of God,

is my brother and sister and mother.

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Our determination to follow God’s will in all things without exception is contained in the Lord’s prayer, in the words we say each day: “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” In heaven there is no resistance to the divine will, everything is submitted to Him and obeys Him, we promise to do the same for Our Lord, never offering any resistance but always remaining very subject to this divine will in every circumstance. Now, the will of God can be understood in two ways: there is the will of God that is clearly stated and the will that is His good pleasure.

The will that is stated consists of four parts: His commandments, His counsels, the counsels of the Church and His inspirations. As regards the commandments of God and His Church, each of us must bow the neck and submit to obedience because in this, the will of God is absolute, willing that we should obey if we wish to be saved.

He wants us to observe the counsels by desire but not in an absolute manner, since some are so opposed to each other, that it would be altogether impossible to take on the practice of one of them, without taking away the means of practising the other. For example, it is a counsel to leave all one has in order to follow our Lord, stripped of everything and it is a counsel to lend and give alms. But how can someone lend who all at once has left all that he has, or how can he give alms, tell me, when he has nothing? So we have to follow the counsels God wants us to follow and not think He has given them all to us, so that we should embrace them all.

In addition there is the will of God’s good pleasure which we are to consider in every eventuality, I mean in all those things that happen to us – in sickness, death, affliction, consolation, in things that are adverse and things that are profitable, in brief in everything unforeseen. And to this will of God we should always be ready to submit in all that happens, in the agreeable as in the disagreeable, in affliction as in consolation, in death as in life and in all that is not clearly against the stated will of God, for that always comes first.

Blessed Virgin, Mary Most Devout Mother, Pray for Us!

DOCTORS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SPEAKING of ....., The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 29 January – Speaking of: Doing God’s Will

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 29 January – Tuesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time, Year C – Gospel: Mark 3:31–35

Speaking of: Doing God’s Will

“God does not command impossibilities
but by commanding,
admonishes you to DO what you can
and to PRAY for what you cannot
and AIDS you that you may be able.”

St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church

“I am the king’s good servant
but God’s first.”

St Thomas More (1478-1535) Martyr

“God is not a slot machine.
We don’t go to God,
to get something.
we go to give something.”

Mother Angelica of the Annunciation PCPA (1923-2016)

“If we wish to follow Christ closely,
we cannot choose an easy, quiet life.
It will be a demanding life
but full of joy.”

Pope Francis

“The will of God
will never take you,
to where the grace of God,
will not protect you.”

“A disciple of Jesus
is a decision maker.”

Father Mike Schmitz

“Jesus promises two things
for those who follow Him:
1. Trouble
2. Victory”

Father John Parks

Father John Parks is a priest for the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. Before seminary, Father Parks received a degree in theatre from Arizona State University and was a youth speaker specialising in pro-life and chastity topics. Father Parks was ordained a priest in 2010, has taught theology and philosophy at a Catholic high school the last four years and is currently the vicar for Evangelisation for the Diocese of Phoenix. Father Parks has a great passion for the Gospel and loves being a priest.

DOCTORS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PATIENCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION

Thought for the Day – 28 January – The cross exemplifies every virtue

Posted on January 28, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

The Cross Exemplifies every Virtue

Saint Thomas Aquinas
Priest and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from a Conference

Why did the Son of God have to suffer for us? There was a great need and it can be considered in a twofold way – in the first place, as a remedy for sin and secondly, as an example of how to act.

It is a remedy, for, in the face of all the evils which we incur on account of our sins, we have found relief through the passion of Christ. Yet, it is no less an example, for the passion of Christ completely suffices to fashion our lives. Whoever wishes to live perfectly should do nothing but disdain what Christ disdained on the cross and desire what He desired, for the cross exemplifies every virtue.

If you seek the example of love: Greater love than this no man has, than to lay down his life for his friends. Such a man was Christ on the cross. And if He gave His life for us, then it should not be difficult to bear whatever hardships arise for His sake.

If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross. Great patience occurs in two ways – either when one patiently suffers much, or when one suffers things which one is able to avoid and yet does not avoid. Christ endured much on the cross and did so patiently, because when He suffered He did not threaten;,He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and He did not open His mouth. Therefore, Christ’s patience on the cross, was great. In patience let us run for the prize set before us, looking upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who, for the joy set before Him, bore His cross and despised the shame.

If you seek an example of humility, look upon the crucified one, for God wished to be judged by Pontius Pilate and to die.

If you seek an example of obedience, follow Him who became obedient to the Father even unto death. For just as by the disobedience of one man, namely, Adam, many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man, many were made righteous.

If you seek an example of despising earthly things, follow Him who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Upon the cross He was stripped, mocked, spat upon, struck, crowned with thorns and given only vinegar and gall to drink.

Do not be attached, therefore, to clothing and riches because they divided my garments among themselves. Nor to honours, for He experienced harsh words and scourgings. Nor to greatness of rank, for weaving a crown of thorns, they placed it on my head. Nor to anything delightful, for in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

St Thomas Aquinas, Pray for Us!

DOCTORS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on ANGELS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on EVANGELISATION, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRATITUDE, QUOTES on PERSEVERANCE, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on WOMEN, SAINT of the DAY

Quote/s of the Day – 28 January – St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

Posted on January 28, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 28 January – The Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

“Believing is an act of the intellect,
assenting to the divine truth,
by command of the will,
moved by God,
through grace.”

“The only-begotten Son of God,
wanting to make us
sharers in His divinity,
assumed our nature,
so that He, made man,
might make men gods.”

“Charity is the form,
mover, mother
and root
of all the virtues.”

“To convert somebody,
go and take them by the hand
and guide them.”

“We are like children,
who stand in need of masters
to enlighten us and direct us
and God has provided for this,
by appointing His angels,
to be our teachers and guides. “

“Just as a woman
had announced
the words of death
to the first man,
so also, a woman was the first
to announce to the Apostles
the words of life.”

And if He gave His life for us,
then it should not be difficult
to bear whatever hardships arise for His sake.
If you seek patience,
you will find no better example than the cross.
Christ endured much on the cross and did so patiently,
because “when he suffered he did not threaten,
he was led like a sheep to the slaughter
and he did not open his mouth.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church

DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on ENVY, QUOTES on SIN, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

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

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

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.

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES/PRAYERS on THE FAMILY, SAINT of the DAY

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/

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

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

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, QUOTES of the SAINTS, St PAUL!

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.

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, St PAUL!, The WORD

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

DOCTORS of the Church, ON the SAINTS, PAPAL SERMONS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, SAINT of the DAY

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!

DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on LOVE, SAINT of the DAY

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

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

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

All THEOLOGIANS, Moral Theologians, CATHOLIC PRESS, CONFESSORS, DOCTORS of the Church, Of the DEAF, against DEAFNESS, PATRONAGE - WRITERS, PRINTERS, PUBLISHERS, EDITORS, etc, SAINT of the DAY, TEACHERS, LECTURERS, INSTRUCTORS

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

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St Augustine, Pray for Us!

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“May we be Worthy”

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Where sin abounded grace has overflowed

Holy Mother, Pray for Us!

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St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

Blessed Virgin, Mary Most Devout Mother, Pray for Us!

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Speaking of: Doing God’s Will

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Mother Angelica of the Annunciation PCPA (1923-2016)

Pope Francis

Father Mike Schmitz

Father John Parks

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The Cross Exemplifies every Virtue

St Thomas Aquinas, Pray for Us!

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