Our Morning Offering – 15 December – Saturday of the Second week of Advent
O Most Blessed and Sweet Virgin Mary By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
0 most blessed and sweet Virgin Mary,
Mother of God, filled with all tenderness,
Daughter of the most high King,
Lady of the Angels,
Mother of all the faithful,
On this day and all the days of my life,
I entrust to your merciful heart,
my body and my soul,
all my acts, thoughts, choices,
desires, words, deeds,
my entire life and death,
So that, with your assistance,
all may be ordered to the good
according to the will of your beloved Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 14 December – The Memorial of St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
Traces of the Divine Beauty in Creation From The Spiritual Canticle by Saint John of the Cross
“Created things in themselves, as Saint Augustine declares, give testimony to God’s grandeur and excellence. For God created all things with remarkable ease and brevity and in them He left some trace of who He is, not only in giving all things being from nothing but even by endowing them, with innumerable graces and qualities, making them beautiful in a wonderful order and unfailing dependence on one another. All of this He did through His own wisdom, the Word, His only begotten Son by whom He created them.
Saint Paul says: The Son of God is the splendour of His glory and the image of His substance. It should be known that only with this figure, His Son, did God look at all things, that is, He communicated to them their natural being and many natural graces and gifts and made them complete and perfect, as is said in Genesis: God looked at all things that He made, and they were very good. To look and behold that they were very good, was to make them very good in the Word, his Son.
Not only by looking at them did He communicate natural being and graces, as we said but also with this image of His Son alone, He clothed them in beauty by imparting to them supernatural being. This He did when He became man and elevated human nature in the beauty of God and consequently all creatures, since in human nature He was united with them all.
Accordingly, the Son of God proclaimed: If I be lifted up from the earth, I will elevate all things to me. And in this elevation of all things through the incarnation of His Son and through the glory of His resurrection according to the flesh, the Father did not merely beautify creatures partially but rather, we can say, clothed them wholly in beauty and dignity.”
“Lord I am not worthy but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
Quotes of the Day – 14 December – The Memorial of St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
“If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark.”
“The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.”
“Live in the world, as if only God and your soul were in it, then your heart will never be made captive, by any earthly thing.”
“We must dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures – however deep we dig, we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides.”
“At the end of your life, you will be judged by your love.”
“Now that I no longer desire all, I have it all, without desire.”
St John of the Cross (1542-1591) Doctor of the Church
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori
14 December – Friday of the Second week of Advent
Jesus suffers so much in order to gain our hearts
“Consider that Jesus suffered for our love. During His entire life, He had no other purpose than the glory of God and our salvation. Even though He could have saved us without suffering, He chose to embrace a life of suffering. He was poor, despised and deprived of every comfort, with a death that was more desolate and bitter than any death ever endured by a martyr or penitent. All of this, was done for the sole purpose of helping us understand the greatness of His love for us.
Saint Bonaventure exclaims, ‘It is a wonder to see a God endure such sufferings, shedding tears in a stable, poor in a workshop, languishing on a cross, in short afflicted and troubled His whole life, all because of His love for sinful humanity.'”
Scripture “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.”
Isaiah 48:17
Prayer (St Alphonsus)
“O sovereign God,
help me not to be ungrateful
for all that You have given me.
Help me to die in love with You.
Mary, my hope, help me.
Pray to Jesus for me.”
Advent Action
“O my Lord Jesus, whose love for me has been so great as to bring You down from heaven to save me, teach me, dear Lord, my sin—teach me its heinousness—teach me truly to repent of it—and pardon it in Your great mercy! I beg You, O my dear Saviour, to recover me! Your grace alone can do it. I cannot save myself. I cannot recover my lost ground. I cannot turn to You, I cannot please You, or save my soul without You. I shall go from bad to worse, I shall fall from You entirely, I shall quite harden myself against my neglect of duty, if I rely on my own strength. I shall make myself my centre instead of making it in You. I shall worship some idol of my own framing instead of You, the only true God and my Maker, unless You hinder it by Your grace. O my dear Lord, hear me! I have lived long enough in this undecided, wavering, unsatisfactory state. I wish to be Your good servant. I wish to sin no more. Be gracious to me and enable me to be what I know I ought to be.”…Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Saint of the Day – 14 December – St John of the Cross OCD (1542-1591) Confessor, Doctor of the Church, Priest, Reformer of the Carmelite Order, Mystic, Poet, Theologian, Writer. Born as Juan de Yepes y Álvarez on 24 June 1542 at Fontiveros, Ávila, Crown of Castile, Spanish Monarchy and died on 14 December 1591 (age 49) at Úbeda, Crown of Castile, Spanish Monarchy. John was mentored by and corresponded with, the older Carmelite, St Teresa of Ávila. Both his poetry and his studies on the development of the soul, are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature and among the greatest works of all Spanish literature. He was Canonised by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. In 1926, he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI and is commonly known as the “Mystical Doctor.” Patronages – Contemplative life, contemplatives, Mystical Theology, Mystics, Spanish poets.
John’s life was a heroic effort to live up to his name: “of the Cross.” The folly of the Cross came to full realisation in time. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34b) is the story of John’s life. The Paschal Mystery—through death to life—strongly marks John as rRformer, Mystic-poet and Theologian-priest.
Ordained a Carmelite Priest in 1567 at age 25, John met Teresa of Avila and like her, vowed himself to the primitive Rule of the Carmelites. As partner with Teresa and in his own right, John engaged in the work of reform and came to experience the price of reform – increasing opposition, misunderstanding, persecution, imprisonment. He came to know the cross acutely—to experience the dying of Jesus—as he sat month after month in his dark, damp, narrow cell with only his God.
Yet, the paradox! In this dying of imprisonment John came to life, uttering poetry. In the darkness of the dungeon, John’s spirit came into the Light. There are many mystics, many poets – John is unique as mystic-poet, expressing in his prison-cross the ecstasy of mystical union with God in the Spiritual Canticle.
But as agony leads to ecstasy, so John had his Ascent to Mount Carmel, as he named it in his prose masterpiece. As man-Christian-Carmelite, he experienced in himself this purifying ascent; as spiritual director, he sensed it in others; as psychologist-theologian, he described and analysed it in his prose writings. His prose works are outstanding in underscoring the cost of discipleship, the path of union with God – rigorous discipline, abandonment, purification. Uniquely and strongly John underlines the gospel paradox: the cross leads to resurrection, agony to ecstasy, darkness to light, abandonment to possession, denial to self to union with God. If you want to save your life, you must lose it. John is truly “of the Cross.” He died at 49—a life short, but full.
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori
13 December – Thursday of the Second week of Advent
Jesus suffers during His whole life
“Consider that all the sufferings that Jesus endured in His life and death were all present to Him from the first moment of His life. Consider that even from His childhood, He began to offer them to fulfil His role as our Redeemer. What martyrdom did the loving heart of Jesus constantly endure in beholding all sins of humankind! Saint Thomas says that the sorrow which Jesus felt, at the knowledge of the injury dome to His Father and of the evil that sin would cause to the souls that He loved, surpassed the sorrow of all contrite sinners that ever existed.
St Margaret of Cortona, never ceased to shed tears for her sins. One day her confessor said to her, “no more tears, Margaret, it is enough, our Lord has already forgiven you,” “What”, answered the saint, “how can my tears and my sorrows suffice for the sins which my Jesus was afflicted all His life long?”
My beloved Redeemer, I thank You! I could die of sorrow when I think of how I have abused Your infinite goodness. Forgive me, my Love and come and take entire possession of my heart.”
Scripture “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and men of violence, take it by force.”
Matthew 11:12
Prayer
Lord God,
true Light and Creator of Light,
empty us today
of the many worldly distractions
that lead us from You.
The darkness of our heart
is our enemy and we are beleaguered.
Help us Lord, that faithfully
seeking all that is holy,
and begging Your grace,
we may ever live in the
splendour of Your presence.
Amen
Advent Action
“Saint Paul teaches: “Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the unseen powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens,” (Eph 6:12). Like Joshua, let us set out to war, attacking the greatest city in the world, namely wickedness and let us throw down the arrogant walls of sin. Would you look around for which path to take, which battlefield to choose? No doubt you will find my words extraordinary; nevertheless, they are true – limit your quest to yourself alone. In you lies the combat you are going to engage, within yourself the structure of evil and sin to pull down, your enemy emerges from the depths of your heart. It is not I who say this but Christ. Listen to him: “From the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy” (Mt 15:19). Do you realise the power of this enemy force that advances against you from the depths of your heart? Those are our real enemies.”…Origen (c.185-253)
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori
12 December – Wednesday of the Second week of Advent
Jesus is charged with the sins of the whole world
“Consider that the divine Word, in taking on the human form, chose not only to take the form of a sinner but also, to bear the sins of all humanity. What must have been the anguish of the heart of the infant Jesus when He discovered that divine justice insisted that He make full satisfaction for each sin! Our Lord once showed to St Catherine of Siena, the hideousness of single venial sin and such was the dread and sorrow of the saint, that she fell senseless to the gound! What then, must have been the suffering of the infant Jesus when He saw before Him, the immense array of all the crimes of history?
My beloved Jesus, I who offended You am not worthy of Your favours. Help me, O Lord, to make that act of contrition, which I now intend to do. You do not deserve to be offended, my Jesus but rather, to be loved. My blessed Redeemer, help me.”
Scripture “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29
Prayer
O Lord,
we come to You.
We are burdened and struggling.
Our sins afflict and wound You
and ourselves.
We love You Lord Jesus,
our love above all things.
We repent with our whole hearts.
Never permit us to separate
ourselves from You again.
Grant that we may always love You
and sin no more.
O Jesus, our holy Saviour,
in Your gracious kindness,
supply what is wanting in us.
Lift us up on Your wings, O Lord.
Amen
Advent Action
Our Scripture presents us with the anchor that never rusts, the eagle that always carries us, the lamb that lifts our burdens. In the midst of the Advent rush, let us rely on the Lord to renew our strength and to carry our burdens. Let us take a break to turn our hearts each day to Him, to stop and rest and pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori
11 December – Tuesday of the Second week of Advent
Jesus, suffering servant, in the womb of His mother
“Consider, as the prophet Isaiah once proclaimed, that Jesus is the ‘suffering servant’ and from His infancy began to endure the greatest sorrows. Even from the womb of Mary, Jesus Christ accepted obediently, the will of His Father. He foresaw the scourges, the thorns, the blows, the nails and the cross on which He offered His life. He suffered a continual martyrdom and He offered every moment for us, to His eternal Father. But what afflicted Him more than any other suffering, was the malice of every sin, when He saw the immense number that would be committed.
My sweetest Redeemer, when shall I begin to be grateful to You for Your infinite goodness? When shall I begin to acknowledge the love that You bear for me and the sorrows that You endured for me? Shall I continue to live an ungrateful life? No, my Jesus, by the help of Your grace, it shall not be so.”
Scripture
“He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye, no beauty to draw us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, knowing pain, Like one from whom you turn your face, spurned and we held him in no esteem.”
Isaiah 53:2-3
Prayer
Thank You, my Lord, for looking for me.
Thank You, my Lord, for finding me.
Thank You, my Lord, for telling me
“it is never the will of my Father,
that one of these little ones should perish.”
This explains why
You assumed our human nature
and suffered so much for us.
Thank You, my Lord,
for Your reckless love.
Thank You, my Lord,
for saving me!
Amen
Advent Action
Our Scripture today, overflows with hope. In the Gospel, Jesus proclaims that He, personally, will rescue us. Even if we are the only one lost, He will come after us. “So it is not the will of my Father, who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” Are we in trouble, lost, confused and overwhelmed? Tell Jesus! He fulfils His promise to rescue us.
Our Morning Offering – 11 December – Tuesday of the Second week of Advent
Grant us Your Light, O Lord By St Bede (673-735) Father and Doctor of the Church (From ‘On the Apocalypse’)
Grant us Your light, O Lord,
so that the darkness of our hearts,
may wholly pass away
and we may come at last,
to the light of Christ.
For Christ is that morning star,
who, when the night of this world has passed,
brings to His saints,
the promised light of life
and opens to them,
everlasting day.
Amen
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori
10 December – Monday of the Second week of Advent
God’s Son demonstrates His love in the Redemption
“Consider that the eternal Word is so infinitely happy that even the salvation of all humankind could not have added anything to this happiness or diminished it in any way. Consider also, that despite this, He has nevertheless suffered so much for us – only God is capable of loving to such excess humankind, who is so unworthy of being loved.
A devout mother once wrote ‘if Jesus Christ had permited us to ask Him to give us the greatest proof of His love, who would have asked that He should become a child, that He should clothe Himself with all of our miseries and make Himself poor, despised and ill-treated, even to being put to death by the hands of an executioner and to be cursed and forsaken by all?’
O my Jesus, I am a poor creature and I was lost through my sins but You came to save the lost. What then should I fear, if I am willing to amend my life and become Yours?”
Scripture
“But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”, He said to the man who was paralysed—“I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose before them and took up that on which he lay and went home, glorifying God.”
Luke 5:24-25
Prayer
Almighty Lord and God
do not let us turn aside to any sin
but let our every thought,
word and deed,
aim at doing what is pleasing in Your sight.
Protect us by Your power,
even as You have enable us to begin it.
Guide our feet in the ways of Your happiness.
Accept our prayers for our neighbour in need.
Amen
Advent Action
In today’s Gospel Jesus gives life to the dead limbs of a paralytic. In Jesus, all the prophecies of life springing from our ‘dead limbs’ find their fulfilment and become alive. Blessed was this paralytic who had such wonderful friends who were so convinced of the power of Jesus. Thank you Lord, for all the good friends who have helped me to come into Your presence when my spirit was numb and paralysed. Let us add all those in trials to our daily Advent prayer. For the prayers on behalf of others, brings us all together to become sharers in the faith of the Saints and of the whole Church. Let us pray for all those in need, each day of Advent.
Quote/s of the Day – 9 December – The Second Sunday of Advent
“How I wish you were ….hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm … I will spew you out of my mouth!….”
Revelations 3:15
“The Word of God moves swiftly. He is not won by the lukewarm nor held fast by the negligent. Be attentive to His message and diligently follow the path God tells you to take. For He is swift in His passing.”
St Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor of the Church
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori
9 December – The Second Sunday of Advent
God sent the Son to restore us to life.
“Consider that sin is the death of the soul, because this enemy of God deprives us of divine grace, which is the life of the soul. Therefore, we miserable sinners, were dead and condemned but God, through the immense love which the Father bears for us, determined to restore us to life. How die He accomplish this? He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die, so that by His death, God might restore us to life.
Behold our Redeemer who has come “so that we might have life to the full.” For this purpose, Jesus accepted death, so that He might give us life. It is reasonable that we should live only in God. It is reasonable that Jesus should be the only sovereign of our heart, since He has spent His blood for us.”
Scripture
“Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be brought low and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough ways shall be made smooth and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
Luke 3:5-6
“O my God! Who would be so ungrateful a wretch, as to believe that Jesus died to secure the love of sinful humanity and yet refuse to love Him.”
Prayer
Almighty and merciful God,
let neither our daily work
nor the cares of this life,
prevent us from hastening
to meet Your Son.
Lord, make straight
the winding ways within us.
Draw us to repent!
Enlighten us with Your wisdom
and lead us into His company,
that we may love Him
and do homage to Him.
Amen
ADVENT ACTION
It is John the Baptist coming out of the desert breathing the fire of repentance, dressed like an animal, who is the one preparing and making ready. This hints to us that the rest of the gift (Jesus at Christmas) will not be the perfect, shining diamond we would like but will represent the rougher side of life. The poor, the lame, the outcast and the sick will be part of the experience of the Christ Child in the stable and the adult Christ on the roads of Galilee. We are asked to prepare and to be ready, to accept this rough gift this Christmas!
Thought for the Day – 8 December – The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Virgin Mary, all Nature is Blessed by You
From a sermon by Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) Bishop and Doctor of the Church
“Blessed Lady, sky and stars, earth and rivers, day and night – everything that is subject to the power or use of man – rejoice that through you they are in some sense restored to their lost beauty and are endowed with inexpressible new grace. All creatures were dead, as it were, useless for men or for the praise of God, who made them. The world, contrary to its true destiny, was corrupted and tainted by the acts of men who served idols. Now all creation has been restored to life and rejoices that it is controlled and given splendour by men who believe in God. The universe rejoices with new and indefinable loveliness. Not only does it feel the unseen presence of God Himself, its Creator, it sees Him openly, working and making it holy. These great blessings spring from the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb.
Through the fullness of the grace that was given you, dead things rejoice in their freedom and those in heaven are glad to be made new. Through the Son who was the glorious fruit of your virgin womb, just souls who died before His life-giving death rejoice as they are freed from captivity and the angels are glad at the restoration of their shattered domain.
Lady, full and overflowing with grace, all creation receives new life from your abundance. Virgin, blessed above all creatures, through your blessing all creation is blessed, not only creation from its Creator but the Creator Himself has been blessed by creation.
To Mary, God gave His only-begotten Son, whom He loved as Himself. Through Mary, God made Himself a Son, not different but the same, by nature Son of God and Son of Mary. The whole universe was created by God and God was born of Mary. God created all things and Mary gave birth to God. The God who made all things gave Himself form, through Mary and thus He made His own creation. He who could create all things from nothing would not remake His ruined creation, without Mary.
God, then, is the Father of the created world and Mary the mother of the re-created world. God is the Father by whom all things were given life and Mary the mother through whom all things were given new life. For God begot the Son, through whom all things were made and Mary gave birth to Him as the Saviour of the world. Without God’s Son, nothing could exist; without Mary’s Son, nothing could be redeemed.
Truly the Lord is with you, to whom the Lord granted that all nature should owe as much to you as to Himself. Holy Mary, Blessed Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of God and Mother of Jesus Christ our Saviour and Redeemer, pray for us!”
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori – 8 December – The First Saturday of Advent
The Son of God was laden with all our sins
Consider the humble state which the Son of God freely chose to assume. He not only took upon Himself the form of a slave but also, the form of a sinful servant “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” Therefore, St Bernard writes, “He not only assumed the form of a servant but even that of a wicked servant.” And thus, in this way, He presented Himself to His Father, even from His birth, as a criminal and a debtor, guilty of all of our sins and, as such, was condemned to die as a malefactor, accursed on a cross.
Scripture All things came to be through him and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life and this life was the light of the human race
John 1:3-4
“Behold the man” the Eternal Father, seems to say to all of us, showing Jesus to us in the stable of Bethlehem. “This poor child whom you behold, laid in a manager for beasts and stretched on straw, is my beloved Son, who has come into the world to take upon Himself your sins and your sorrows – love Him because He is infinitely worthy of your love and you are under an infinite obligation to do so.”
O my innocent Redeemer, enlighten the minds of those who do not know You or who do not love You.
PRAYER
Good and gracious God,
I sincerely thank and praise You for loving me.
Your love is the joy of my life.
Lord, help me to love You and others totally.
Take away any malice or bitterness in my life.
Help me love as Your Son, Jesus, loved.
And to love Him as my Life!
Amen
ADVENT ACTION
Remember the Babe in the Manger, keep Him before your eyes and you will not be able to forget what our sins do.
Thought for the Day – 7 December – The Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397)- Father and Doctor of the Church
“Holy Bishop Ambrose – about whom I shall speak to you today – died in Milan in the night between 3 and 4 April 397. It was dawn on Holy Saturday. The day before, at about five o’clock in the afternoon, he had settled down to pray, lying on his bed with his arms wide open in the form of a cross. Thus, he took part in the solemn Easter Triduum, in the death and Resurrection of the Lord. “We saw his lips moving”, said Paulinus, the faithful deacon who wrote his Life at St Augustine’s suggestion, “but we could not hear his voice”. The situation suddenly became dramatic. Honoratus, Bishop of Vercelli, who was assisting Ambrose and was sleeping on the upper floor, was awoken by a voice saying again and again, “Get up quickly! Ambrose is dying…”. “Honoratus hurried downstairs”, Paulinus continues, “and offered the Saint the Body of the Lord. As soon as he had received and swallowed it, Ambrose gave up his spirit, taking the good Viaticum with him. His soul, thus refreshed by the virtue of that food, now enjoys the company of Angels” (Life, 47).
On that Holy Friday 397, the wide open arms of the dying Ambrose expressed his mystical participation in the death and Resurrection of the Lord. This was his last catechesis – in the silence of the words, he continued to speak with the witness of his life.
Like the Apostle John, Bishop Ambrose – who never tired of saying: “Omnia Christus est nobis! To us Christ is all!”– continues to be a genuine witness of the Lord. Let us thus conclude our Catechesis with his same words, full of love for Jesus: “Omnia Christus est nobis! If you have a wound to heal, He is the doctor; if you are parched by fever, He is the spring; if you are oppressed by injustice, He is justice; if you are in need of help, He is strength; if you fear death, He is life; if you desire Heaven, He is the way; if you are in the darkness, He is light…. Taste and see how good is the Lord, blessed is the man who hopes in Him!” (De Virginitate, 16, 99). Let us also hope in Christ. We shall thus be blessed and shall live in peace.”
Pope Benedict – Excerpt, General Audience, Catechesis on St Ambrose, 24 October 2007
Quote/s of the Day -– 7 December – The Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397)- Father and Doctor of the Church
Note: I am still unable to make images so these are taken from this site.
“Rise, you who were lying fast asleep… Rise and hurry to the Church: here is the Father, here is the Son, here is the Holy Spirit.”
“The Church of the Lord is built upon the rock of the apostles among so many dangers in the world; it therefore remains unmoved. The Church’s foundation is unshakeable and firm against assaults of the raging sea. Waves lash at the Church but do not shatter it. Although the elements of this world, constantly beat upon the Church with crashing sounds, the Church possesses the safest harbour of salvation for all in distress.”
“All the children of the Church are priests. At Baptism, they received the anointing that gives them a share in the priesthood. The sacrifice that they must offer to God is completely spiritual – it is themselves.”
“Let your door stand open to receive Him, unlock your soul to Him, offer Him a welcome in your mind and then you will see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the joy of grace. Throw wide the gate of your heart, stand before the sun of the everlasting light.”
“If it is “daily bread,” why do you take it once a year? . . . Take daily what is to profit you daily. Live in such a way that you may deserve to receive it daily. He who does not deserve to receive it daily, does not deserve to receive it once a year.”
“When we speak about WISDOM, we are speaking about CHRIST. When we speak about VIRTUE, we are speaking about CHRIST. When we speak about JUSTICE, we are speaking about CHRIST. When we speak about PEACE, we are speaking about CHRIST. When we speak about TRUTH, and LIFE and REDEMPTION, we are speaking about CHRIST.”
St Ambrose (c 340-397)- Father and Doctor of the Church
Our Morning Offering – 7 December – The Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397)- Father and Doctor of the Church
O Lord, Give me a Heart to Love You Prayer of St Ambrose (c 340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
O Lord, who has mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of Your Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore You,
a heart to delight in You,
to follow and enjoy You,
for Christ’s sake.
Amen
Saint of the Day – 7 December – St Ambrose (c 340-397) – Father and Doctor of the Church
Today the Catholic Church celebrates the memory of St Ambrose, the brilliant Bishop of Milan who influenced St Augustine’s conversion and was named a Doctor of the Church.
Like Augustine himself, the older Ambrose (born around 340) was a highly educated man who sought to harmonise Greek and Roman intellectual culture with the Catholic faith. Trained as a lawyer, he eventually became the governor of Milan. He manifested his intellectual gifts in defence of Christian doctrine even before his baptism.
While Ambrose was serving as the governor of Milan, a bishop named Auxentius was leading the diocese. Although he was an excellent public speaker with a forceful personality, Auxentius also followed the heresy of Arius, which denied the divinity of Christ. Although the Council of Nicaea had reasserted the traditional teaching on Jesus’ deity, many educated members of the Church – including, at one time, a majority of the world’s bishops – looked to Arianism as a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan version of Christianity. Bishop Auxentius became notorious for forcing clergy throughout the region to accept Arian creeds.
At the time of Auxentius’ death, Ambrose had not yet even been baptised. But his deep understanding and love of the traditional faith were already clear to the faithful of Milan. They considered him the most logical choice to succeed Auxentius, even though he was still just a catechumen. With the help of Emperor Valentinan, who ruled the Western Roman Empire at the time, a mob of Milanese Catholics virtually forced Ambrose to become their bishop against his own will. Eight days after his baptism, Ambrose received episcopal consecration on 7 December 374. The date would eventually become his liturgical feast.
St Ambrose consecrated as Bishop
Bishop Ambrose did not disappoint those who had clamoured for his appointment and consecration. He began his ministry by giving everything he owned to the poor and to the Church. He looked to the writings of Greek theologians like St Basil for help in explaining the Church’s traditional teachings to the people during times of doctrinal confusion.
Like the fathers of the Eastern Church, Ambrose drew from the intellectual reserves of pre-Christian philosophy and literature to make the faith more comprehensible to his hearers. This harmony of faith with other sources of knowledge served to attract, among others, the young professor Aurelius Augustinus – a man Ambrose taught and baptised, whom history knows as St Augustine of Hippo.
St Augustine and St Ambrose
Ambrose himself lived simply, wrote prolifically and celebrated Mass each day. He found time to counsel an amazing range of public officials, pagan inquirers, confused Catholics and penitent sinners. The people of Milan never regretted their insistence that the reluctant civil servant should lead the local church. His popularity, in fact, served to keep at bay those who would have preferred to force him from the diocese, including the Western Empress Justina and a group of her advisers, who sought to rid the West of adherence to the Nicene Creed. Ambrose heroically refused her attempts to impose heretical bishops in Italy, along with her efforts to seize churches in the name of Arianism.
Ambrose also displayed remarkable courage when he publicly denied communion to the Emperor Theodosius, who had ordered the massacre of 7,000 citizens in Thessalonica. The chastened emperor took Ambrose’s rebuke to heart, publicly repenting of the massacre and doing penance for the murders.
“Nor was there afterwards a day on which he did not grieve for his mistake,” Ambrose himself noted when he spoke at the emperor’s funeral. The rebuke spurred a profound change in Emperor Theodosius. He reconciled himself with the Church and the bishop, who attended to the emperor on his deathbed.
St. Ambrose died in 397. His 23 years of diligent service had turned a deeply troubled diocese into an exemplary outpost for the faith. His writings remained an important point of reference for the Church, well into the medieval era and beyond.
At the Catholic Church’s Fifth Ecumenical Council – which took place at Constantinople in 553, and remains a source of authoritative teaching for both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians – the assembled bishops named Ambrose, along with this protege St Augustine, as being among the foremost “holy fathers” of the Church, whose teaching all bishops should “in every way follow.”
St Agatho of Alexandria
St Anianas of Chartres
St Antonius of Siya
St Athenodoros of Mesopotamia
St Buithe of Monasterboice
St Burgundofara
St Charles Garnier
St Diuma
St Geretrannus of Bayeux
Bl Humbert of Clairvaux
St John the Silent
St Martin of Saujon
St Mary Joseph Rosello
St Nilus of Stolbensk
St Polycarp of Antioch
St Sabinus of Spoleto
St Servus the Martyr
St Theodore of Antioch
St Urban of Teano
St Victor of Piacenza
Saint of the Day – 4 December – St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father & Doctor of the Church – Priest, Monk, Theologian, Writer, Defender of Iconography, Poet, a Polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, music, Marian devotee. Also known as – Johannes Damascenus, John Chrysorrhoas (“golden-stream”), John of Damascus. Born in c 675 at Damascus, Syria and died in 749 of natural causes. Patronages – pharmacists, artists, theologians and theology students.
While the Churches of Rome and Constantinople were still united during St John’s life, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III radically separated from the ancient tradition of the Church, declaringthat the veneration of Sacred Imagery was a form of idolatry.
Saint John was born in the late 7th Century and is the most remarkable of the Greek writers of his time. His father was a Civil Authority who was Christian amid the Saracens of Damascus, whose caliph made him his minister. This enlightened man found, in the public square one day, amid a group of sad Christian captives, a Priest of Italian origin who had been condemned to slavery, he ransomed him and assigned him to his young son to be his tutor. Young John made extraordinary progress in grammar, dialectic, mathematics, music, poetry, astronomy but, above all, in theology, the discipline imparting knowledge of God. John became famous for his encyclopedic intellect and theological method, later a source of inspiration to Saint Thomas Aquinas.
During the 720s, the upstart theologian began publicly opposing the Emperor’s command against Sacred Images in a series of writings. The heart of his argument was twofold – firstly, that Christians did not actually worship images but rather, through them they worshipped God and honoured the memory of the Saints. Secondly, he asserted that by taking an incarnate physical form, Christ had given warrant to the Church’s depiction of Him in images.
By 730, the young public official’s persistent defence of Christian artwork had made him a permanent enemy of the emperor, who had a letter forged in John’s name offering to betray the Muslim government of Damascus. The ruling caliph of the city, taken in by the forgery, is said to have cut off John’s hand. The saint’s sole surviving biography states that the Virgin Mary acted to restore it miraculously. John eventually managed to convince the Muslim ruler of his innocence, before making the decision to become a monk and later a priest.
Although a number of imperially-convened synods condemned John’s advocacy of Christian iconography, the Roman church always regarded his position as a defence of apostolic tradition. Years after the priest and monk died, the Seventh Ecumenical Council vindicated his orthodoxy and ensured the permanent place of holy images in both Eastern and Western Christian piety.
St John Damascene’s other notable achievements include the “Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith,” a work in which he systematised the earlier Greek Fathers’ thinking about theological truths in light of philosophy. The work exerted a profound influence on St Thomas Aquinas and subsequent scholastic theologians. Centuries later, St John’s sermons on the Virgin Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven were cited in Pope Pius XII’s dogmatic definition on the subject.
The saint also contributed as an author and editor, to some of the liturgical hymns and poetry that Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics still use in their celebrations of the liturgy.
“Show me the icons that you venerate, that I may be able to understand your faith.” – Saint John of Damascus.
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori 3 December – Monday of the First Week of Advent
Fullness of Grace
Behold the happy time is come which was called the designated time: “When the designated time had come, God sent his Son…to deliver from the law those who were subjected to it” (Gal 4:4). It is called the fullness of time because of the fullness of grace which the Son of God came to communicate to [us] by the redemption of the world.
THE INCARNATION, BIRTH AND INFANCY OF JESUS CHRIST Scripture Brothers [and sisters]: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. [Amen.] Finally, brothers [and sisters], we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God—and as you are conducting yourselves—you do so even more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus...1 Thessalonians 3:12—4:2
PRAYER
Lord, it is my hope that I may always be in “your will
and way.”
Sometimes I am selfish with my time and my own desires.
Today, help me sort out things in my life.
I need to make You the first priority in my life
and not the things that really do not matter.
Assist me in conducting myself in ways that are most pleasing to You.
Lord, it is my desire to live more for You this day.
Amen.
ADVENT ACTION
Advent is a time to practice patience. Today, be patient with yourself and those around you. Spiritual growth is tender, it is holy ground. There is simply no greater investment.
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori
2 December – The First Sunday of Advent
Day 1
The Redeeming Plan
“Consider how God allowed 4,000 years to pass after the sin of Adam before He sent His Son on earth to redeem the world. And in the meantime, what fatal darkness reigned on the earth! The true God was not known or adored, except in one small corner of the world. Idolatry reigned everywhere; devils and beasts and stones were adored as gods.…If Jesus Christ had come into the world immediately after the Fall of Adam, the greatness of this favour would have been but slightly appreciated. Let us, therefore, thank the goodness of God for having sent us into the world, after, the great work of redemption was accomplished.”St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
THE INCARNATION, BIRTH AND INFANCY OF JESUS CHRIST Scripture The days are coming—oracle of the LORD—when I will fulfil the promise made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days, at that time, I will make a just shoot spring up for David; he shall do what is right and just in the land. In those days Judah shall be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; this is the name they shall call her: “The LORD our justice.”…Jeremiah 33:14–16
PRAYER
Creator and creating God, You give me such a delightful and wholesome gift in a new beginning. Pride, rebellion and temptation called to me and I pulled away from You. These identical issues continue to cause sin in the lives of Your people.
Rather than true confession, like the first Adam, I seek
to blame others for the troubles in my life.
Forgive me of my sins.
Allow me to begin this Advent sojourn, by restoring me to a fresh start and new beginning with and in You. Amen.
ADVENT ACTION
Whatever is at the centre of your life will be the source of your security, peace, wisdom, and power. Decide today to make Jesus the centre and source of everything in your life.
St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
Quote of the Day – 30 November – The Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ
“We have found the Messiah”… Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to His appearing from heaven, rejoicing when He does appear and hastening to announce so great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, of loving kinship and sincere affection.”
One Minute Reflection – 30 November – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 4:18–22 – The Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ
And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”...Matthew 4:19
REFLECTION – “And they left their nets and followed him.” And yet John (the Evangelist) says that they were called in a different way. From this it is evident that this was a second call. One may conclude this from several evidences. For there it is said that they came to Him when “John had not yet been thrown into prison” but here it says, after he was in confinement. And there Andrew calls Peter but here Jesus calls both. On the one hand, John says, “Jesus saw Simon coming and said, ‘You are Simon, the Son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas, which is translated Peter.’” On the other hand, Matthew says that he was already called by that name, for he says, “Seeing Simon who was called Peter.” In the other instance, Andrew is seen coming into His house and hearing many things. But here, having heard one brief call, they both followed immediately.
When they earlier had seen that John was in prison and that Jesus was withdrawing, it would not have been unnatural for them to return again to their own craft, fishing, having followed Him at the beginning and then later having left Him to fish.
Accordingly, you now see, that Jesus finds them actively fishing. But He neither resisted them at first, when they desired to withdraw from Him, nor having withdrawn themselves, did He let them go altogether. He gave way when they moved aside from Him and came again to win them back. This, after all, is exactly what fishing is all about.”… St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor – (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 14)
PRAYER – Lord, in Your kindness hear our petitions. You called Andrew the apostle, to preach the Gospel and guide Your Church in faith. May he always be our friend in Your presence to help us with his prayers. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 27 November – The Memorial of St Leonard of Port Maurice OFM (1676-1751)
“What graces, gifts and virtues the Holy Mass calls down!”
“I believe that were it not for the Holy Mass, as this moment, the world would be in the abyss, unable to bear up under the mighty load of its iniquities. Mass is the potent prop that hold the world on its base.”
“If the Lord, at the moment of my death, reproves me for being too kind to sinners, I will answer, ‘My dear Jesus, if it is a fault to be too kind to sinners, it is a fault I learned from You, for You never scolded anyone who came to You seeking mercy.'”
“If you practice the holy exercise of Spiritual Communion, a good many times each day, within a month, you will see yourself completely changed.”
St Leonard of Port Maurice OFM (1676-1751)
Act of Spiritual Communion By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
My Jesus, I believe that You art present in the Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire You in my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least, spiritually, into my heart. As though You were already there, I embrace You and unite myself wholly to You, permit not, that I should ever, be separated from You. Amen
Thought for the Day – 26 November – Advent is nearly here!
Advent—that period of great anticipatory joy—is a time of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s arrival in Bethlehem as a helpless infant. In the Western liturgy, Advent begins four Sundays prior to December 25—the Sunday closest to 30 November, which is the feast of Saint Andrew, one of Jesus’ first disciples.
The annual commemoration of Christ’s birth begins the Christmas cycle of the liturgical year—a cycle that runs from Christmas day to the Baptism of the Lord. In keeping with the unfolding of the message of the liturgical year, I hope to post from the first Sunday of Advent through twelve days of the Christmas cycle, or until 6 January, daily Scripture and Prayer with St Alphonsus Liguori, in place of (usually) the One Minute Reflection.
The four weeks of Advent are often thought of as symbolising the four different ways Christ comes into the world:
(1) upon His birth as a helpless infant;
(2) upon His arrival in the hearts of believers;
(3) upon His death;
(4) upon His arrival on Judgement Day.
Because Christmas falls on a different day of the week each year, the fourth week of Advent is never really finished; it is abruptly, joyously and solemnly abrogated by the annual coming again of Christ at Christmas. Christ’s Second Coming will also one day abruptly interrupt our sojourn here on Earth.
Each “day” begins with the words of Saint Alphonsus Liguori. Following that quotation, is an excerpt from Scripture that is related in some way. Next is a prayer, also built on the ideas from the two preceding passages. Finally, an Advent or Christmas “action” suggests ways in which to apply the messages to one’s daily life.
I hope you will join St Alphonsus as we journey to Bethlehem and may the Holy Alphonsus, Pray for us all!
One Minute Reflection – 26 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 21:1-4 – Monday of the Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B
He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury and he saw a poor widow, put in two copper coins. And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, for they all contributed out of their abundance but she out of her poverty, put in all the living that she had.”…Luke 21:1-4
REFLECTION – “However, in the mystical sense, the woman who placed two small coins in the treasury, is not to be forgotten. Great indeed is that woman who was worthy to be preferred before everyone else according to the divine judgement! Might it not be she who has drawn the two Testaments out of her faith for the help of all humankind? Therefore, no one has done more than she and no one has been able to equal the greatness of her gift, since she joined faith to mercy. And you, too, whoever you are…, do not hesitate to bring to the treasury, two coins, full of faith and grace.”…St Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor
“In a certain sense the Church is a widow somewhat, because she is waiting for her Bridegroom to return… Of course, she has her Spouse in the Eucharist, in the Word of God, in the poor but she is waiting for Him to return. This woman wasn’t important, no one knew her. Nothing. She did not shine of her own light.
Likewise, the great virtue of the Church is not shining of her own light but rather reflecting the light that comes from her Spouse. Especially since over the centuries, when the Church wanted to have her own light, she was wrong. The Church receives light from there, from the Lord and all the services we do in the Church, help her to receive that light. When a service is lacking this light, it’s not good because it causes the Church to become rich, or powerful, or to seek power, or to lose her way, as has happened so many times in history, it happens in our life when we want to have another light – our own light, which is not really that of the Lord. When the Church is humble and poor and even when the Church confesses her misfortunes — we all have them — the Church is faithful.
Let us pray to this widow who is surely in heaven that she may teach us to be like the Church, renouncing all we have and keeping nothing for ourselves but instead giving all for the Lord and for our neighbour. Always humble and without boasting of having our own light but “always seeking the light which comes from the Lord.”…Pope Francis (Santa Marta, 24 November 2014)
PRAYER – God our Father, You give us a share in the one bread and the one cup and make us one in Christ. Help us to live as Your children and by our lives to bring Your salvation and joy to all the world. May the Holy Spirit fill us with all His gifts and virtues so that we may await the coming of Your Son, guided by His Light and may Mary, the blessed Virgin, accompany us, guarding and giving us her prayerful help. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day 25 November – The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
“Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb Him whom she would obey as her master.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
“The kingdom of God, in the words of our Lord and Saviour, does not come for all to see; nor shall they say: Behold, here it is, or behold, there it is; but the kingdom of God is within us, for the word of God is very near, in our mouth and in our heart. Thus it is clear that he who prays for the coming of God’s kingdom, prays rightly to have it within himself, that there it might grow and bear fruit and become perfect. For God reigns in each of his holy ones. Anyone who is holy obeys the spiritual laws of God, who dwells in Him as in a well-ordered city. The Father is present in the perfect soul and with Him Christ reigns, according to the words: We shall come to him and make our home with him.”
“The kingdom of God cannot exist alongside the reign of sin. Therefore, if we wish God to reign in us, in no way should sin reign in our mortal body; rather we should mortify our members which are upon the earth and bear fruit in the Spirit. There should be in us a kind of spiritual paradise where God may walk and be our sole ruler with His Christ. In us the Lord will sit at the right hand of that spiritual power which we wish to receive. And He will sit there until all His enemies, who are within u,. become His footstool and every principality, power and virtue in us is cast out.”
Origen (c185-253) Father of the Church
“The Word of God, as consubstantial with the Father, has all things in common with Him and, therefore, has necessarily supreme and absolute dominion, over all things created.”
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father & Doctor of the Church
AnaStpaul 
You must be logged in to post a comment.