One Minute Reflection – 7 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Monday of the Twenty Third week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, Psalms 5:5-6, 7, 12, Luke 6:6-11
“On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching and there was a man whose right hand was withered.” … Luke 6:6
REFLECTION – “Are you angry at me because I have healed the whole man on the sabbath day?” In this place he revivified, with the salutary strength of good works, the hand which Adam stretched out to pluck the fruit of the forbidden tree. The hand which had withered through a crime, was healed by good deeds. Christ thereby rebuked the Jews who violated the precepts of the law with evil interpretations. They thought that they should rest even from good works on the sabbath, since the law prefigured in the present, the form of the future, in which indeed the days of rest from evils, not from blessings, would come.
Then you heard the words of the Lord, saying, “Stretch forth your hand.” That is the common and universal remedy. You, who think that you have a healthy hand, beware lest it is withered by greed or by sacrilege Hold it out often. Hold it out to the poor person who begs you. Hold it out to help your neighbour, to give protection to a widow, to snatch from harm one whom you see subjected to unjust insult. Hold it out to God for your sins. The hand is stretched forth, then it is healed. Jeroboam’s hand withered when he sacrificed to idols, then it stretched out when he entreated God” … St Ambrose (340-397)- One of the 4 original Doctors of the Latin Church – Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 5
PRAYER – God of mercy and love, You offer all peoples the dignity of sharing in your life. Rule over our hearts and bodies this day. Sanctify us and guide our every thought, word and deed, my our hands be held out to our neighbour in imitation of Your love and mercy. By the intercession of Mary the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ and our Mother, strengthen us to love each other as brothers and sisters. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever amen.
Our Morning Offering – 7 September – Monday of the Twenty Third week in Ordinary Time
Our Lord, King of all! By St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Doctor of the Church
We pray to You, O Lord, who are the supreme Truth, and all truth is from You. We beseech You, O Lord, who are the highest Wisdom, and all the wise depend on You for their wisdom. You are the supreme Joy, and all who are happy owe it to You. You are the Light of minds and all receive their understanding from You. We love, we love You above all. We seek You, we follow You, and we are ready to serve You. We desire to dwell under Your power for You are the King of all. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 6 September – Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-9, Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9, Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 18:15-20
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.”
Matthew 18:15-17
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart but you shall reason with your neighbour, lest you bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people but, you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord”
Leviticus 19:17-18
“Someone who shows no clemency, who is not clothed with the bowels of mercy and tears, no matter what sort of student he is in spirituality, such a one does not fulfil the law of Christ.”
St Jerome (347-420) Priest, Translator of the Bible, Father & Doctor of the Church
“If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.”
“If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery.”
St Peter Chrysologus (400-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Father & Doctor of the Church
An excerpt from his Sermon 43
“Be gentle to the weak, firm to the stubborn, steadfast to the proud, humble to the lowly.”
St Columban (543-615)
“Charity may be a very short word but with its tremendous meaning of pure love, it sums up man’s entire relation to God and to his neighbour.”
St Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167)
“See to it that you refrain from harsh words. But if you do speak them, do not be ashamed to apply the remedy from the same lips, that inflicted the wounds.”
St Francis of Paola OM (1416-1507)
“O man, when the world hates you and is faithless toward you, think of your God, how He was struck and spat upon. You should not accuse your neighbour of guilt but pray to God, that He be merciful to you both.”
St Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487)
“You must be reconciled with your enemies, speak to them as if they had never done you anything but good all your life, keeping nothing in your heart but the charity, which the good Christian should have for everyone, so that we can all appear with confidence before the tribunal of God.”
“If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.” … Matthew 18:15
REFLECTION – “He does not say “accuse him” or “punish him” or “take him to court.” He says “correct him.” For he is possessed, as it were, by some stupor and drunk in his anger and disgrace. The one who is healthy must go to the one who is sick. You must conduct your judgement of him privately. Make your cure easy to accept. For the words “correct him,” means nothing other, than help him see his indiscretion. Tell him what you have suffered from him.
What then if he does not listen, if he stubbornly flares up? Call to your side someone else or even two others, so that two witnesses may corroborate all that’s said. For the more shameless and boldfaced he is, so much the more must you be earnest toward his cure, not toward satisfying your anger and hurt feelings. For when a physician sees the sickness unyielding, he does not stand aside or take it against himself but, then is all the more earnest. That then, is what Christ orders us to do. You appeared too weak since you were alone, so become stronger with the help of others. Two are sufficient to reprove the wrongdoer. Do you see how He seeks the interest not of the aggrieved party alone but, also that of the one who caused the grief? For the person injured may be the one who is more taken captive by passion. He becomes the one that is diseased and weak and infirm.
This effort may occur many times, as He attempts to lead him first alone and then with others. If he persists, then make the effort with the whole congregation. “Tell it,” He says, “to the church.” If He had sought the interest of the aggrieved alone, He would not have told him to approach the sick individual seventy-seven times. He would not have attempted so many times or brought so many treatments to the malady. He might have just let him be, if he persisted uncorrected from the first meeting. But instead, He shows us how to seek his cure once, twice and many times, first alone, then with two, then with many more.” … St John Chrysostom (347-407) Bishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor – The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 60.
PRAYER – Since it is from You, God our Father, that redemption comes to us, Your adopted children, look with favour on the family You love, give true freedom to us and to all who believe in Christ, Your Son and our Saviour and bring us all alike, to our eternal heritage. May we, in turn, give ourselves in true love to You and our neighbour in all things, treating him as we would want ourselves treated. And may the prayers of our glorious and merciful Mother, lead us to our heavenly home. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 6 September – Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The hymn Tantum Ergo pays homage to our Lord both in the Eucharist and in His glory in the Trinity. It comprises the last two stanzas of Pange Lingua, a hymn written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi when it was first instituted by the Church in 1264. This text has been set to music by composers as diverse as Palestrina, Mozart, Bruckner and Faure.
This wonderful miracle, when our Lord comes to give us His grace and support, occurs countless times everyday in Masses all over the world! And everyday, our Lord, like His faithful servant Saint Thomas Aquinas, invites us to see and worship Him in the Blessed Sacrament through the eyes of faith!
Tantum ergo Sacramentum By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus/Doctor Communis
Tantum ergo Sacramentum Veneremur cernui: Et antiquum documentum Novo cedat ritui: Praestet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui.
Genitori, Genitoque Laus et jubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque Sit et benedictio: Procedenti ab utroque Compar sit laudatio. Ame.
Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail, Lo! o’er ancient forms departing Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying, Where the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father, And the Son Who reigns on high With the Holy Spirit proceeding Forth from each eternally, Be salvation, honour blessing, Might and endless majesty. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 5 September – Saturday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 4:6-15, Psalms 145:17-18, 19-20, 21, Luke 6:1-5
“The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.”
Psalm 145:18
“And He departed from our sight that we might return to our heart and find Him there. For He left us and behold, He is here!”
St Augustine (354-430) Doctor of Grace
“God, in His promises to hear our prayers, is desirous to bestow Himself upon us; if you find anything better than Him, ask it but if you ask anything beneath Him, you put an affront upon Him and hurt yourself, by preferring to Him, a creature which He created.”
St Augustine of Canterbury (Died c 605) “The Apostle to the English”
“Christ acts like a loving mother. To induce us to follow Him, He gives us Himself as an example and promises us a reward in His kingdom.”
St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor
“Teach us, good Lord to serve You as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that we are doing your will. Amen”
St Ignatius Loyola SJ (1491-1556)
“God alone!”
St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716)
“Nothing is anything anymore to me; everything is nothing to me only Jesus! Neither things nor persons, neither ideas nor emotions, neither honour nor sufferings. Jesus is for me honour, delight, heart and soul.”
Our Morning Offering – 5 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary”and a Marian Saturday – Saturday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time
Prayer to our Lady of Sorrows By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church
O most holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed the Martyrdom, the Crucifixion and the Death, of your Divine Son, look upon me with eyes of compassion and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration for those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that, being disengaged from all undue affection for the passing joys of this earth, I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem and that henceforward, all my thoughts and all my actions, may be directed towards this one most desirable object, the honour, glory and love to our Divine Lord Jesus, and to you, the Holy and Immaculate Mother of God. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 4 September – The Feast of Our Lady of Consolation
“O sinner, be not discouraged but have recourse to Mary, in all your necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in every kind of necessity.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father and Doctor of the Church
“O Mary, I have not doubt that whenever we run to you, we shall obtain all that we desire. Let those then who have no hope, hope in you!”
“In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart. And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps. With her for guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favour, you shall reach the goal.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Mellifluous Doctor of the Church
“Has anyone ever come away from Mary, troubled or saddened or ignorant of the heavenly Mysteries? Who has not returned to everyday life gladdened and joyful because a request has been granted by the Mother of God?”
St Amadeus of Lausanne (1110-1159)
“Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory, through Mary’s maternal intercession.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor Angelicus Doctor Communis
“Let us run to Mary and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritatis
”It seems unbelievable, that a man should perish, in whose favour Christ said to His Mother: ‘Behold thy son’, provided, that he has not turned a deaf ear to the words, which Christ addressed to him: ‘Behold thy Mother.’”
St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church
“For God, having given her power over His only-begotten and natural Son, also gave her power over His adopted children – not only in what concerns their body – which would be of little account – but also in what concerns their soul.”
St Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716)
”To desire grace without recourse to the Virgin Mother is to desire to fly without wings.”
One Minute Reflection – 4 September – Friday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Psalms 37:3-4, 5-6, 27-28, 39-40, Luke 5:33-39 and the Feast of Our Lady of Consolation
“Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then, they will fast in those days.” … Luke 5:34-35
REFLECTION –“Let our “loins be girded and our lamps lit;”let us be like “servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast” (Lk 12:35). Don’t let us be like those unbelievers who say: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor 15:32). The more unsure the day of our death is, the more painful are the trials of life and the more, too, we should fast and pray, since, to all intents and purposes, tomorrow we die. Our Lord said to His disciples: “Yet a little while and you will no longer see me and again a little while and you will see me” (Jn 16,16). Now is the time of which He said : “You will grieve but the world will rejoice” (v. 20); now is the time in this life of suffering, when we journey apart from Him. “But,” He adds, “I shall see you again and your hearts will be full of joy and no-one will take your joy away from you” (v. 22).
Even now, the hope we thus put in the one who is faithful to His promise, will not leave us without some joy, until we are filled with overwhelming joy on the day when “we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2), when “no-one shall take your joy away from us” (…) “A woman in labour,” says our Lord, “is in anguish because her hour has arrived. But when she has given birth to a child she feels immense joy because a child has been born into the world” (Jn 16:21). This is the joy no-one can take away from us and with which, we will be filled, when we pass from our present understanding of faith, into eternal light. So let us fast and pray now because, we are in the days of childbirth!” … St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace – Sermon 210, 5 (7)
PRAYER – Almighty God, grant that Your faithful, who rejoice in the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may be delivered from every evil here on earth. By her example, may we ever keep Your heavenly Kingdom in our hearts for “What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,” and run in haste to the enduring joys of heaven. Mary, our Consolation and Comforter, pray for us! Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 3 September – The Memorial of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor of the Church
“God is within all things but not included; outside all things but not excluded. God is above all things but not beyond their reach.”
“Let no seductive good fortune lead us astray, he is a foolish traveller who sees pleasant meadows on his journey and forgets where he is going.”
“If some rich and powerful friend were to enter your home, you would quickly clean the entire house, for fear something there, might offend your friend’s eyes, when he entered. Let anyone then who is preparing his inner house for God, cleanse away the dirt of his evil deeds. … The Lord comes into the heart and makes His home in one, who truly loves God and observes His commandments…”
“The Sacred Scriptures grow with the one who reads them.”
One Minute Reflection – 3 September – Thursday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Psalms 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, Luke 5:1-11 and the Memorial of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor of the Church
“After He [Jesus] had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and lower your nets for a catch…” … Luke 5:4
REFLECTION – “He told Simon and his companions to sail off a little from the land and to let down the net for a draught. But they replied that they had been toiling the whole night and had caught nothing. However, in the name of Christ, they let down the net and immediately it was full of fish.
By a visible sign and by a miraculous type and representation, they were fully convinced that their labour would be rewarded and the zeal displayed in spreading out the net of the gospel teaching would be fruitful. Within this net they should most certainly catch the shoals of the heathen. But note that neither Simon nor his companions could draw the net to land. Speechless from fright and astonishment—for their wonder had made them mute—they beckoned to their partners, to those who shared their labours in fishing, to come and help them in securing their prey.
For many have taken part with the holy apostles in their labours and still do so, especially those who inquire into the meaning of what is written in the holy Gospels. Yet besides them there are also others – the shepherds and teachers and rulers of the people, who are skilled in the doctrines of truth. For the net is still being drawn, while Christ fills it, and calls to conversion those who, according to the Scripture phrase, are in the depths of the sea, that is to say, those who live in the surge and waves of worldly things.” … St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Incarnation – Commentary on Luke, Homily 12
PRAYER – God our Father, Your rule is a rule of love, Your providence is full of mercy for Your people. Through the intercession of St Gregory, grant the spirit of wisdom and understanding in Your Word through Your Son Jesus Christ. Grant that by the light of His Resurrection we may know our eternal home and strive to attain eternal joy there with You. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 3 September – Thursday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time – The Memorial of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor “Father of the Fathers”
Prayer of Praise By St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor “Father of the Fathers”
It is only right, with all the powers of our heart and mind, to praise You Father and Your Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Father, by Your wondrous condescension of loving-kindness toward us, Your servants, You gave up Your Son. Dear Jesus, You paid the debt of Adam for us to the Eternal Father by Your Blood poured forth in loving-kindness. You cleared away the darkness of sin by Your magnificent and radiant Resurrection. You broke the bonds of death and rose from the grave as a Conqueror. You reconciled heaven and earth. Our life had no hope of eternal happiness before You redeemed us. Your Resurrection has washed away our sins, restored our innocence and brought us joy. How inestimable is the tenderness of Your Love! Amen
St Aigulphus of Lérins St Ambrose of Sens St Ammon of Heraclea Bl Andrew Dotti St Auxanus St Balin St Basilissa of Nicomedia Bl Brigida of Jesus Morello (1610-1679) Her Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/09/03/saint-of-the-day-3-september-blessed-brigida-of-jesus-morello-1610-1679/ St Chariton St Chrodegang of Séez St Frugentius the Martyr Bl Guala of Brescia St Hereswitha Bl Herman of Heidelberg St Macanisius St Mansuetus of Toul St Marinus (Died c 366) St Martiniano of Como St Natalis of Casale St Phoebe (1st Century) Disciple of St Paul St Regulus of Rheims St Remaclus St Sandila of Cordoba — Martyrs of Aquileia – 4 saints: Four young women, variously sisters and cousins, who were born to the nobility, the daughters of the pagans Valentinianus of Aquileia and Valentius of Aquileia. Each woman converted and made private vows, dedicating themselves to God. They were arrested, tortured and martyred by order of Valentius for becoming a Christian. We know little else but their names – Dorothy, Erasma, Euphemia and Thecla. They were martyred by beheaded in the 1st century in Aquileia, Italy and their bodies were thrown into a nearby river.
Martyrs of Nagasaki – 6 beati: A group of priests and clerics, native and foreign, murdered together in the anti-Christian persecutions in Japan. They were scalded in boiling water and then burned alive on 3 September 1632 in Nishizaka, Nagasaki, Japan and Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius IX.
• Anthony Ishida • Bartolomé Gutiérrez Rodríguez • Francisco Terrero de Ortega Pérez • Gabriel Tarazona Rodríguez • Jerome of the Cross de Torres • Vicente Simões de Carvalho
Martyrs of Seoul – 6 saints: A group of Christian lay people martyred together in the persecutions in Korea. They were beheaded on 3 September 1839 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea and Canonised on 6 May 1984 by Pope John Paul II. • Agnes Kim Hyo-Ch’u • Barbara Kwon Hui • Barbara Yi Chong-hui • Ioannes Pak Hu-jae • Maria Pak K’Un-agi • Maria Yi Yon-hui
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: • Blessed Andrea Calle González • Blessed Concepción Pérez Giral • Blessed Dolores Úrsula Caro Martín • Blessed Joaquim Balcells Bosch • Blessed Pius Salvans Corominas
Quote/s of the Day – 2 September – Wednesday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Psalms 33:12-13, 14-15, 20-21, Luke 4:38-44
“And the people sought him and came to him and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
Luke 4:42-43
“Peace be with you as the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
John 20:21
“Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand and encourage through all patience and teaching.”
2 Timothy 4:2
“Lord, if Your people still have need of my services, I will not avoid the toil. Your will be done. I have fought the good fight long enough. Yet, if You bid me to continue to hold the battle line, in defence of Your camp, I will never beg to be excused from failing strength. I will do the work You entrust to me. While You command, I will fight beneath Your banner. Amen”
St Martin de Tours (c 316-397)
“I preached myself, the scholars came and praised me. I preached Christ, the sinners came and thanked me.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor of the Church
“It is no use walking somewhere to preach, unless our walking is our preaching.”
St Francis of Assisi (c 1181-1226)
“What a tragedy, how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you!”
St Francis Xavier (1506-1552)
“Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which, the compassion of Christ, looks out to the world. Yours are the feet, with which, He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands, with which, He is to bless others now.”
St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church
“Never say to God: “Enough;” simply say, “I am ready.”
Bl Sebastian Valfre (1629-1710)
“I greatly desire to become a saint, that I may be able to make others saints and thus procure the glory of God.”
St Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)
“In everything, ask yourself only what the Master would have done and do that.”
One Minute Reflection – 2 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Wednesday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Psalms 33:12-13, 14-15, 20-21, Luke 4:38-44
“Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on everyone of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.” … Luke 4:40-41
REFLECTION – “But observe again, I pray, how great is the efficacy of the touch of His holy flesh. For It both drives away diseases of various kinds and a crowd of demons and overthrows the power of the devil and heals a very great multitude of people in one moment of time. And though able to perform these miracles by a word and the inclination of His will, yet, to teach us something useful, He also lays His hands upon the sick. For it was necessary, most necessary, for us to learn, that the holy flesh which He had made His own, was endowed with the activity of the power of the Word, by His having implanted in it, a godlike might. Let It then take hold of us, or rather let us take hold of It, by the mystical “Giving of thanks,” that It may free us also from the sicknesses of the soul and from the assault and violence of demons.
He would not permit the unclean demons to confess Him; for it was not fitting for them to usurp the glory of the Apostolic office, nor with impure tongue, to talk of the mystery of Christ. Yea! though they speak ought that is true, let no-one put credence in them – for the light is not known by the aid of darkness, as the disciple of Christ teaches us, where he says, “For what communion hath light with darkness? or what consent hath Christ with Beliar?” … … St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Incarnation
PRAYER – Heavenly God and Father, through Your Son, Lord God, You shed Your eternal light on all mankind. You gave us our mission, You taught us our way. Grant us the grace to acknowledge the full splendour of our Redeemer, so that, in His steps, we may grow from strength to strength in evangelising all. Fill us with Your Spirit to enlighten and guide us and may the prayers of the Sorrowful Mother of Our Lord Jesus, be our perpetual succour. Through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, God for always and forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 2 September – Wednesday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time
Prayer for Five Graces By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
Eternal Father, Your Son has promised that You would grant, all the graces we ask of You in His name. Trusting in this promise and in the name of and through the merits of Jesus Christ, I ask of You five special graces: First, I ask pardon for all the offenses I have committed, for which I am sorry with all my heart because I have offended Your infinite goodness. Second, I ask for Your divine Light, which will enable me to see the vanity of all things of this earth and see also Your infinite greatness and goodness. Third, I ask for a share in Your love, so that I can detach myself from all creatures, especially from myself and love only Your holy will. Fourth, grant me the grace to have confidence in the merits of Jesus Christ and in the intercession of Mary. Fifth, I ask for the grace of perseverance, knowing that, whenever I call on You for assistance, You will answer my call and come to my aid. I fear only, that I will neglect to turn to You in time of need and thus bring myself to ruin. Grant me the grace to pray always, O Eternal Father, in the name of Our Lord Jesus. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 1 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” – Tuesday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, Psalms 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 13-14, Luke 4:31-37
And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”
Luke 4:36
“Your all-powerful Word leapt down from heaven’s royal throne”
Wisdom 18:15
“I and the Father are one.”
John 10:30
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”
John 14:6
“If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
John 14:7
“In his name the Gentiles will hope”
Matthew 12:21
“So that we might be able to lay hold of it, He who is equal to the Father, having the nature of God, became like us by taking the nature of a servant and recreates us in God’s likeness. Having become son of man, the only Son of God transforms numberless men into sons of God. ”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
Sermon 194 ; PL 38, 1016
“We, Christians, are the true Israel which springs from Christ, for we are carved out of His Heart, as from a Rock!”
St Justin Martyr (100-165) Father of the Church and Martyr
“Accordingly, in the Church, one God is preached, one God who is above all things and through all things and in all things. God is above all things as Father, for He is principle and source, He is through all things through the Word and He is in all things in the Holy Spirit.”
St Athanasius (c 295-373) Father and Doctor of the Church
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign?
Mark 8:12 “But for what sign from heaven were they asking? Maybe that He should hold back the sun, or curb the moon, or bring down thunderbolts, or change the direction of the wind, or something like that? In Pharaoh’s time there was an enemy from whom deliverance was needed. But for one who comes among friends, there should be no need of such signs.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Who lives in Love, loves least to live and long delays doth rue, if Him he love by whom he lives, to whom all praise is due, Who for our love did choose to live and was content to die, who loved our love more than His life, and love with life did buy. Let us in life, yea with our life requite His living love, for best we live when least we live, if Love our life remove. Mourn, therefore, no true lover’s death, life only him annoy, and when he taketh leave of life then Love begins his joys.”
St Robert Southwell (1561-1595) Martyr
Everything is possible with Jesus. “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). Let us go to Jesus and take our nourishment from Him. Then, like St Paul, we shall be able to do everything in Him, Who is our strength and our support. In union with Jesus, we shall be able to conquer sin and to become holy. amen.”
And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”… Luke 4:36
REFLECTION – “God is Spirit (Jn 4:24) and, being Spirit and incorporeal, He begot spiritually, by an inscrutable and incomprehensible generation. The Son Himself says of the Father: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you'” (Ps 2:7). This ‘today’ is not recent but eternal; this ‘today’ is timeless, before all ages. “From the womb before the morning star I begot you” (Ps 109 [110]:3). So believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the Only-begotten Son according to the words of the Gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his Only-begotten Son, so that they who believe in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16) (…) Saint John witnessed to this saying: “We saw his glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten from the father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).
Trembling before Him the demons said: “Leave us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus, Son of the living God.” So He is the Son of God by nature and not by adoption, being begotten of the Father (…) For the Father, who is true God, begot a Son who is true God like Himself (…) The Father did not beget the Son in the way that the human mind begets speech. For the mind has a substantial reality within us but our speech, once uttered, is scattered on the air and expires. We know that Christ was begotten not as an uttered word but as “the living and abiding Word” (1Pt 1:23), not a word spoken by the lips and scattered but begotten by the Father eternally, indefinably and substantially. “For in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1), the Word who knew the Father’s will and made all things by the Father’s decree, the Word who descended and ascended (cf. Is 55:10-11) (…) This Word is endowed with authority and universal rule, for “the Father has entrusted all things to the Son” (cf. Jn 13:3).” … St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) – Baptismal Catechesis, no. 11, 5-10
PRAYER – God our Father, Your rule is a rule of love, Your providence is full of mercy for Your people. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Word made flesh and His sorrowful Mother, grant the spirit of wisdom and understanding in Your Word, Your Son Jesus Christ. Grant that by the light of His Resurrection we may know our eternal home and strive to attain eternal joy there with You. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 1 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” – Tuesday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time
As we enter the Month of our Sorrowful Mother, let us unite ourselves to her and offer her our meagre consolation.
O Sorrowful Virgin, Give Me thy Sorrows! By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor
O sorrowful Virgin, unite me at least to the humiliations and wounds of thy Son, so that both He and thee, may find comfort, in having someone sharing thy sufferings. Oh, how happy I would be if I could do this! For is there perhaps anything greater, sweeter, or more advantageous for a person? Why dost thou not grant me what I ask? If I have offended thee, be just and pierce my heart. If I have been faithful to thee, leave me not without a reward: give me thy sorrows! Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 31 August – Monday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Psalms 119:97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, Luke 4:16-30
“… The Light of the Only-begotten has Shone on Us …”
“He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.”
Luke 4:18
“This, beloved, is the way in which we found our salvation, Jesus Christ, the High Priest who offers our gifts, the patron and helper in our weakness (Heb 10:20; 7:27; 4:15). It is through Him, that we look straight at the heavens above. Through Him, we see mirrored, God’s faultless and transcendent countenance. Through Him, the eyes of our heart were opened. Through Him, our unintelligent and darkened mind shoots up into the light. Through Him, the Master was pleased to let us taste the knowledge that never fades, He who is “the radiance of His splendour, who towers as much above the angels, as the title He has inherited, is superior to theirs.”
St Pope Clement I (c 35 – c 99)
“For what reason did God send Him to preach to the poor? “To preach release to captives.” We were the captives. For many years Satan had bound us and held us captive and subject to himself. Jesus has come “to proclaim release to captives and sight to the blind.” By His word and the proclamation of His teaching, the blind see.”
Origen (c 185-253)
“On each occasion I say: ‘Lord, Thy will be done! It’s not what this, or that one, wants but, what You want me to do.’ This is my fortress, this is my firm rock, this is my sure support.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor
“He did not treat us as our sins deserved. For we are now sons of God. How do we show this? The only Son of God died for us, so that He might not remain alone. He who died as the only Son, did not want to remain as the only Son. For the only Son of God made many sons of God. He bought brothers for Himself by His blood, He made them welcome by being rejected, He ransomed them by being sold, He honoured them by being dishonoured, He gave them life by being put to death.”
St Augustine (354-430) Bishop, Great Western Father and Doctor of Grace
An excerpt from his Sermon 171
“You have the words of eternal life”
John 6:68
“These words surely make quite obvious to us the necessity for sitting at the feet of Christ, taking Him as our one and only teacher and giving Him our constant and undivided attention. … Keeping with their guide was the Israelites’ salvation then, just as not leaving Christ is ours now. … We will stay with You always and hold fast to Your commandments. We will receive Your words without finding fault, or thinking Your teaching hard, as the ignorant do but thinking rather: “How sweet are Your words to my throat! Sweeter to the mouth are they, than honey or the honeycomb!”
“Our lives are all controlled by the Spirit now and are not confined to this physical world that is subject to corruption. The light of the Only-begotten has shone on us and we have been transformed into the Word, the source of all life.”
St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Church
“He is the one who teaches the truth of prophecy through His presence and makes obedience to the commandments possible, through grace.”
St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father and Doctor of the Church
Heal us Lord God Prayer of St Albert of Trapani O.Carm. (c 1240-1307)
O my God, You have created the human race by Your wonderful power. It is an act of Your clemency that has called us to share Your glory and eternal life. When the first sin condemned us to suffer death, out of Your goodness, You wished to redeem us through the blood of Your Son, To unite us to You through our faith and Your great mercy. You have brought us back from the shame of our sin, You have veiled our dishonour in the brightness of Your glory. Look now and see that what You have created, giving it subtle limbs and joints and made beautiful through its immortal soul, is now subject to the attack of Satan. Be pleased Lord to reconstitute Your work and heal it. May Your power be glorified and may the malice of the enemy be stunned. Amen
St Albert of Trapani (c 1240-1307)
“Even to the present time I have not stopped speaking to all men but many are deaf and obstinate in response. … He who possesses my words yet spurns them, earns his own judgement on the last day.”
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. Do not 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 – My Lord and my God, help me eternal Father, to overcome my weakness! Teach me to be constantly on guard against my pride, to constantly keep watch for temptation and to live constantly in prayer, that Your Son will lead me to safety. St Raymond Nonnatus, you suffered torture but always remain prayerful and awake, imitating the Lord, please pray for me, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 29 August – The Memorial of the Beheading of St John the Baptist
“John saw a man that was a tyrant overthrowing the divine commands of marriage. With boldness, he proclaimed in the midst of the forum, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother Philip’s wife.” So we learn from him to admonish our fellow servant as an equal. Do not shrink from the duty of chastising a brother, even though one may be required to die for it. Now do not make this cold reply: “What does it matter to me? I have nothing in common with him.” With the devil alone we have nothing in common but with all humanity, we have many things in common. All partake of the same nature with us. They inhabit the same earth. They are nourished with the same food. They have the same Lord. They have received the same laws. They are invited to the same blessings with ourselves. Let us not say then that we have nothing in common with them.”
St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
(Concerning the Statues, 1)
“He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men. He was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ.”
“John was baptised in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptise the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon Him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.”
St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father & Doctor of the Church
“He chose to despise the commands of a tyrant, rather than those of God. His example teaches us, that nothing should be dearer to us, than the will of God. Pleasing other people is of little value, indeed, it often causes great harm… Therefore, let us die to our sins and anxieties with all God’s friends, tread underfoot our misguided self-will and be careful to allow fervent love for Christ, to grow within us.”
Lanspergius the Carthusian (1489-1539) Monk, Theologian
Sermon for the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Opera omnia, t 2
[Like St John the Baptist did -] “Prepare a path for God so that He can enter your heart.”
St John Baptiste de la Salle FSC (1651-1719)
“The true secret of love consists in this: we must forget self like St John the Baptist and exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus.”
One Minute Reflection – 29 August – The Memorial of the Beheading of St John the Baptist, Readings: 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31, Psalms 33: 12-13, 18-19, 20-21, Mark 6: 17-29
She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”… Mark 6:24
REFLECTION – “The great forerunner of grace and messenger of truth, John the Baptist, Christ’s shining torch, Now becomes the preacher of eternal Light. The prophetic witness that he never ceased to show In his message, life and all his mighty works, Is signed today by the blood of his martyrdom.
He always went before his Lord: In birth declared his coming to the world. By his baptism of sinners in the Jordan He foretold the one by whom baptism would be instituted And, by shedding his blood for Him with love, John the Baptist also experienced beforehand The death of Christ our Saviour, who gave life to the world.
A cruel tyrant may well conceal him in a prison, bound with irons, Yet in Christ such chains could never bind a man, Whose heart in freedom opens to the Kingdom. How could the darkness and torments of a dungeon dim Gain mastery over one who sees Christ’s glory And receives from Him the Holy Spirit’s gifts? Willingly he gives his head to the executioner’s sword; How could he lose his head Whose Head is Christ?
Happy is he who wins today his forerunner’s title By his departure from this world of ours. Today his death proclaims his testimony while living: Christ who comes and who now is here. Could hell hold fast the messenger who escapes it? The just, the prophets and the martyrs are full of joy As they go with him to meet the Saviour. All surround John with their praises and their love And, with him, beg Christ to come at last to those who are His own.
O great forerunner of the Redeemer, he delays no longer Who sets you free from death for evermore. Led by your Lord, Enter into glory with the saints!” … St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father & Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – God our Father, You appointed St John the Baptist to be the herald of the birth and death of Christ Your Son. Grant that as he died a martyr for justice and truth, so we may also courageously bear witness to Your Word. We make our prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God forever. St John the Baptist, pray for us, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 29 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Memorial of the Passion of St John the Baptist
To You We Cry, O Queen of Mercy! By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor Mellifluus (Mellifluous Doctor)
To you we cry, O Queen of Mercy! Return, that we may behold you dispensing favours, bestowing remedies, giving strength. Ah, tender Mother! Tell your all-powerful Son that we have no more wine. We are thirsty after the wine of His love, of that marvelous wine that fills souls with a holy inebriation, inflames them, and gives them the strength to despise the things of this world and to seek with ardour heavenly goods. Amen
Quotes of the Day – 28 August – The Memorial of St Augustine of Hippo (354-430) – Father and Doctor of Grace
“To fall in love with God, is the greatest romance; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement.”
“You ask what you might offer to God? Offer yourself! What does God expect from you, except yourself?”
“He bought brothers for Himself by His blood, He made them welcome by being rejected, He ransomed them by being sold, He honoured them by being dishonoured, He gave them life by being put to death. So, brethren, rejoice in the Lord, not in the world. That is, rejoice in the truth, not in wickedness, rejoice in the hope of eternity, not in the fading flower of vanity. That is the way to rejoice. Wherever you are on earth, however long you remain on earth, the Lord is near, do not be anxious about anything!”
“God provides the wind but man must raise the sails.”
“A man may lose the good things of this life against his will but, if he loses the eternal blessings, he does so with his own consent.”
“Do you wish to RISE? Begin by DESCENDING. You plan a tower that will pierce the CLOUDS? Lay first the foundation of HUMILITY.”
“If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times.”
“He who calls us, came here below, to give us the means of getting there. He chose the wood that would enable us to cross the sea – indeed, no-one can cross the ocean of this world, who is not borne by the Cross of Christ. Even the blind can cling to this Cross. If you can’t see where you are going very well, don’t let go of it, it will guide you by itself. ”
“We pray then to Him, through Him, in Him and we speak along with Him and He along with us. ”
“The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.” … Matthew 25:3-4
REFLECTION – “It is some great thing, some exceedingly great thing, that this oil signifies. Do you think it might be charity? If we try out this hypothesis, we hazard no precipitate judgement. I will tell you why charity seems to be signified by the oil. The apostle says, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” “If I speak with the tongue of mortals and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” This is charity. It is “that way above the rest,” which is, with good reason, signified by the oil. For oil swims above all liquids. Pour in water and pour in oil upon it, the oil will swim above. If you keep the usual order, it will be uppermost, if you change the order, it will be uppermost. “Charity never fails.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor – Sermon 93
PRAYER – Renew in Your Church, we pray , O Lord, the spirit with which You endowed Your Bishop Saint Augustine, that, filled with the same spirit, we may thirst for You, the sole fount of true wisdom and seek You, the author of heavenly love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. St Augustine, pray for us! Amen
Our Morning Offering – August 28 – Friday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Augustine (354-430) – Doctor of Grace
Only You! By St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know You and desire nothing save only You. Let me hate myself and love You. Let me do everything for the sake of You. Let me humble myself and exalt You. Let me think of nothing except You. Let me die to myself and live in You. Let me accept whatever happens as from You. Let me banish self and follow You and ever desire to follow You. Let me fly from myself and take refuge in You, That I may deserve to be defended by You. Let me fear for myself. Let me fear You and let me be among those who are chosen by You. Let me distrust myself and put my trust in You. Let me be willing to obey for the sake of You. Let me cling to nothing save only to You, And let me be poor because of You. Look upon me, that I may love You. Call me, that I may see You and forever enjoy You. Amen
Today, 28 August, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Augustine, one of the great founders of Monasticism in the Western Church, Bishop, Theologian, Preacher, Writer and Doctor of the Church. None of these titles, though accurate, would please him, however, as much as the simple one he used to describe himself: ‘Servant of God.’ For, whatever we achieve in life, whatever gifts and talents we have been given, are of little value unless they lead us, as they did Augustine, to know, love and serve God ever more deeply.
The Triumph of Saint Augustine painted by Claudio Coello, circa 1664
“Augustine, numbered among the four great Doctors of the Western Church, possessed one of the most penetrating minds of ancient Christendom. He was the most important Platonist of patristic times, the Church’s most influential theologian, especially with regard to clarifying the dogmas of the Trinity, grace and the Church. He was a great speaker, a prolific writer, a saint with an inexhaustible spirituality.
His Confessions, a book appreciated in every age, describes a notable portion of his life (until 400), his errors, his battles, his profound religious observations. Famous too is his work The City of God, a worthy memorial to his genius, a philosophy of history. Most edifying are his homilies, especially those on the psalms and on the Gospel of St John.
Augustine’s Episcopal life was filled with mighty battles against heretics, over all of whom he triumphed. His most illustrious victory was that over Pelagius, who denied the necessity of grace; from this encounter he earned the surname “Doctor of grace.”
As an emblem Christian art accords him a burning heart to symbolise the ardent love of God which permeates all his writings. He is the founder of canonical life in common, therefore, Augustinian Monks and the Hermits of St Augustine honour him as their spiritual father.” … Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
St Jerome wrote to Augustine in 418: “You are known throughout the world; Catholics honour and esteem you as the one who has established anew the ancient Faith.”
If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ
Saint Augustine
An excerpt from his Sermon 47, De ovibus (On Sheep)
“This is our glory – the witness of our conscience. There are men who rashly judge, who slander, whisper and murmur, who are eager to suspect what they do not see and eager to spread abroad things they have not even a suspicion of. Against men of this sort, what defence is there, save the witness of our own conscience?
My brothers, we do not seek, nor should we seek, our own glory even among those whose approval we desire. What we should seek is their salvation, so that if we walk as we should, they will not go astray in following us. They should imitate us if we are imitators of Christ and, if we are not, they should still imitate Him. He cares for His flock and He alone is to be found with those, who care for their flocks, because they are all in Him.
And so we seek no advantage for ourselves when we aim to please men. We want to take our joy in men—and we rejoice when they take pleasure in what is good, not because this exalts us but because it benefits them.
It is clear who is intended by the apostle Paul – If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. And similarly when he says – Be pleasing to all men in all things, even as I in all things please all men. Yet his words are as clear as water, limpid, undisturbed, unclouded. And so you should, as sheep, feed on and drink of his message; do not trample on it or stir it up.
You have listened to our Lord Jesus Christ as He taught His apostles – Let your actions shine before men so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven, for it is the Father who made you thus. We are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hands. If then you are good, praise is due to Him who made you so, it is no credit to you, for if you were left to yourself, you could only be wicked. Why then do you try to pervert the truth, in wishing to be praised when you do good and blaming God when you do evil? For though He said – Let your works shine before men, in the same Sermon on the Moun,t He also said: Do not parade your good deeds before men. So if you think there are contradictions in Saint Paul, you will find the same in the Gospels but if you refrain from troubling the waters of your heart, you will recognise here, the peace of the Scriptures and with it you will have peace.
And so, my brothers, our concern should be not only to live as we ought but also, to do so in the sight of men; not only to have a good conscience but also, so far as we can in our weakness, so far as we can govern our frailty, to do nothing which might lead our weak brother into thinking evil of us. Otherwise, as we feed on the good pasture and drink the pure water, we may trample on God’s meadow and weaker sheep will have to feed on trampled grass and drink from troubled waters.”
St Facundinus of Taino St Felix of Venosa St Fortunatus of Salerno St Gaius of Salerno St Gorman of Schleswig Bl Henry Webley St Hermes of Rome Bl Hugh More Bl James Claxton St Januarius of Venosa St Joaquina Vedruna de Mas St Julian of Auvergne St Moses the Black St Pelagius of Istria St Restitutus of Carthage St Rumwold the Prince St Septiminus of Venosa St Vicinius/of Sarsina (Died 330) Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/28/saint-of-the-day-28-august-saint-vicinius-died-330/ St Vivian of Saintes Bl William Dean — Martyred in the Spanish Civil War: Martyrs of Griñon – 10 beati Martyrs of Tarragona – 6 beati • Blessed Agustín Bermejo Miranda • Blessed Alejandro Iñiguez De Heredia Alzola • Blessed Andrés Merino Báscones • Blessed Antonio Solá Garriga • Blessed Arturo Ros Montalt • Blessed Aurelio da Vinalesa • Blessed Celestino Ruiz Alegre • Blessed Cesáreo España Ortiz • Blessed Eladi Peres Bori • Blessed Evencio Castellanos López • Blessed Francisco López Navarette • Blessed Germán Arribas y Arribas • Blessed Graciliano Ortega Narganes • Blessed Isidre Fábregas Gils • Blessed Jaume Tarragó Iglesias • Blessed Javier Pradas Vidal • Blessed Joan Tomás Gibert • Blessed Joaquim Oliveras Puljarás • Blessed José Gorastazu Labayen • Blessed Josep Camprubí Corrubí • Blessed Juan Bautista Faubel Cano • Blessed Lázaro Ruiz Peral • Blessed Manoel José Sousa de Sousa • Blessed Modest Godo Buscato • Blessed Modest Pamplona Falguera • Blessed Nicolás Rueda Barriocanal • Blessed Serviliano Solá Jiménez • Blessed Teodoro Pérez Gómez
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” … Matthew 23:27
REFLECTION – “You are before God. Question your heart, see what you have done and what you have been yearning for there—your salvation or the windy praise of men. Look within, for a person cannot judge one whom he cannot see. If we are assuring our heart, let us assure it in His presence. “Because if our heart thinks badly”—that is, if it accuses us within, because we aren’t acting with the spirit with which we should be acting —“God is greater than our heart, and he knows all things” (v.20). You hide your heart from man – hide it from God if you can . How will you hide it from Him to whom it was said by a certain sinner in fear and confession: “Where shall 1 go from your spirit, and where shed! I flee from your face?”… For where does God not exist? “If,” he said, “I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to hell, you are present” (Ps 139[138]:7-8). Where will you go? Where will you flee? Do you want to hear some advice? If you want to flee from Him, flee to Him. Flee to Him by Confessing, not from Him by hiding, for you cannot hide but you can Confess. Tell Him. “You are my refuge” (Ps 32[31]:7) and let there be nursed in you the love that alone leads to life.”…St Augustine (354-430) – Doctor of Grace
PRAYER – Lord, be the beginning and the end of all that we do and say. Prompt our actions with Your grace and complete them with Your all-powerful help. Fill us with the grace of Your true love, that our hearts may be made of flesh and not of stone. May our hearts, minds and souls belong to You alone. May the guiding hand of the Mother of Your Son lead us, with unfailing tenderness, to You. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, in union with the Holy Spirit, ‘totus tuus’ Maria – please pray for us, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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