One Minute Reflection – 3 April – Easter Tuesday and The Memorial of St Richard of Chichester (1197-1253)
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptised every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit...Acts 2:36-38
REFLECTION – “Satisfaction consists in the cutting off of the causes of the sin. Thus, fasting is the proper antidote to lust; prayer to pride, to envy, anger and sloth; alms to covetousness.”…St Richard of Chichester
PRAYER – Grant us O God, our Father, Your grace, that we may constantly work to repair the damage caused by our sin that we may seek forgiveness and then go forth to sin no more, always amending what earthly damage we have caused. St Richard of Chichester, may your prayers, assist us on our journey to our heavenly home. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
Thought for the Day – Easter Monday of the Easter Octave – 2 April 2018
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Figure of our spiritual resurrection.
“So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”… Matthew 28:8-10
Let us represent to ourselves anew, the glory of the Sepulchre of Jesus.
“In this way we enter the depths of the Paschal mystery. The astonishing event of the resurrection of Jesus is essentially an event of love: the Father’s love in handing over His Son for the salvation of the world; the Son’s love in abandoning Himself to the Father’s will for us all; the Spirit’s love in raising Jesus from the dead in His transfigured body. And there is more: the Father’s love which “newly embraces” the Son, enfolding Him in glory; the Son’s love returning to the Father in the power of the Spirit, robed in our transfigured humanity. From today’s solemnity, in which we relive the absolute, once-and-for-all experience of Jesus’s Resurrection, we receive an appeal to be converted to Love; we receive an invitation to live by rejecting hatred and selfishness and to follow with docility in the footsteps of the Lamb that was slain for our salvation, to imitate the Redeemer who is “gentle and lowly in heart”, who is “rest for our souls” (cf. Mt 11:29).”
Pope Benedict 23 March 2008
Adorable Lord, bestow on us grace to rise spiritually, by leaving the tomb of indifference, to lead a life of fervour.
At Easter we recall the words God spoke to Moses concerning the Paschal solemnity: For it is the Phase – that is, the Passage – of the Lord. Now we celebrate the Passage of our Lord from Death to Life and think upon our own passage from a life of tepidity to one of fervour, from an imperfect to a holy life. Jesus, in leaving the Tomb, disengaged Himself from the winding-sheet in which His Sacred Body had been wrapped; this should make us understand that we must extricate ourselves from the imperfections and bad habits, which for so long a time have kept out souls bound and motionless for good. If we rise with Jesus and set ourselves free from the paralysed state in which our evil inclinations have retained us, they will infallibly disappear. Our Risen Lord was clothed with the power of agility to teach us to despise all resistance of nature, to pass quickly out of its reach, to triumph over every obstacle and that our souls should tend upwards to Him alone. If we are indeed risen with Christ we shall seek the things that are above and our whole being will be spiritualised, responding with agility to the promptings not of nature, but of grace. May we be enabled fully to enter into the Mystery of the Resurrection-Life of Jesus and to receive the plenitude of His favours, offered to us at this time especially.
Jesus, in rising from the Sepulchre, clothed in light, wills that we should understand what is the beauty of a soul disengaged from the ties of nature and renewed in the spiritual life. The soul, like Jesus, becomes luminous, the Holy Spirit enlightens it interiorly, by filling it with the knowledge of divine things; it is possessed of a lustrous beauty and its virtues shine visibly, contributing to the edification of others. By the impassibility of the Body of Jesus, we comprehend that grace raises the soul, by means of holy courage, above temptations; it renders it invulnerable against the darts of the enemies of its salvation and gives it the power of mastering its downward tendencies. Such are the happy privileges granted to His faithful ones, who lovingly enter into the spirit of the Mystery of Easter. Sufferings indeed we must still endure, for we are still on this side of the grave but if they serve only to raise us near to Jesus, we may be said to share already in the effects of His impassibility. We range ourselves therefore around Him, to rejoice at the sight of the glory He received in His Resurrection and to honour the marvellous capabilities of His Adorable Body, by rendering ourselves worthy, by our fervour, to participate in them spiritually.
O my Saviour, I thank You for the favour You accord me, permitting me to partake in the glorious privileges of the new life You began. Make me to be entirely renewed in the spirit of my mind so that, freed from the servitude of sense and natural affections, I may rise constantly towards You, with a pure and generous heart.
Aided by the grace Jesus bestows, I will endeavour to reproduce spiritually in myself, the capabilities observable in His Sacred Humanity after the Resurrection.
If by the Spirit, you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.
Father de Brant, Growth in the Knowledge of Our Lord volume 2, 1882
The beautiful ancient Easter sequence Victimae Paschali Laudes can be said or sung before the Gospel every day during the Octave:
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
Offer your thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems;
Christ, who only is sinless,
Reconciles sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous:
The Prince of Life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
What you saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;
Bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
To Galilee He goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia!++
Thought for the Day – 1 April 2018 – Easter Sunday
A Blessed and Holy Easter to you all!
“Be Lifted Up, O Ancient Door”
It seems as the human world has no doors opening toward God. It is locked in upon itself. It is a prison, a house of the dead.
People of the Old Testament and of other early civilizations initially applied the idea of the prison only to the world of the dead – the man who dies will not return. They imagined the underworld as a vast dark prison in which death reigns, a ruthless tyrant. It is a place of no return. Gradually, however, the feeling grew that, if all our paths lead to the prison which has entrances but no exit, then we are all prisoners. In that case, even this present world is a house of the dead, the antechamber leading to a dungeon of horrors! And it is a fact, if death has the last world – the world is a waiting room leading to the void (as manifested in many Eastern religions – my note).
Poets of our century have set down this feeling in terrifying visions. The Jewish poet Franz Kafka has probably gone farthest into this abyss of ANGST. His portrayal of a world of totalitarian control is intended as an interpretation of human life as such. In “The Castle”, life appears to be a futile waiting, a doomed attempt to penetrate the maze of bureaucracy and reach some competent authority and hence freedom. In “The Trial”, life itself is present as a trial ending in execution. The story ends with the parable of a man who waits all his life outside a door and cannot get in, in spite of the fact that it was made especially for him.
If Christ is not risen, there is nothing more to be said about man than this – all else, is merely an endeavour to deaden the pain. The cries of despair we hear and the cruel attempts at liberation we see, are the necessary consequences of a world that will not accept Christ, its hope.
“Be lifted up, O ancient doors!” – these words of the psalm (24:7) are not liturgical symbolism, the gate liturgy of a long-past age. They are the cry of man in a world that is far too narrow, even if he can travel in spaceships to the moon and beyond.
Christmas is only the first half of the Christian answer to this cry. Christmas tells us that there is not only the tyrant, Death – there is God, who is Life and this God can and will reach us – He has broken a way into us. He has found the door that was big enough for Him, or rather, He has made such a door for Himself.
But this answer is only complete if there is not only an entrance by which God can reach us but also an exit for us. It is only satisfying, if death is no longer a prison from which no-one returns. AND THIS IS THE CONTENT OF THE MESSAGE OF EASTER. Not only is there a door in, there is also, a door out. Death is no longer a house with no exits, a place of no return.
The ancient Church saw in this verse (ps 24:7) an interpretation of the article of faith “descended into hell”, referring particularly to Holy Saturday, not as a word of mourning but as a word of victory. The Church expressed this word in poetic form – the bolts of death’s dungeon, of the world’s dungeon, are wrenched off – the ramparts are thrown down – the gates are torn from their hinges. The one who has done this, Jesus, takes the long-imprisoned Adam and Eve, i.e. humanity, by the hand and leads them to freedom. Life is not a waiting room leading to the void but the beginning of eternity! The world is not the universal concentration camp but the garden of hope! Life is not the futile search for meaning, mirrored in the tangle of bureaucracy. God is not a bureaucrat – He does not live in a distant castle, nor does He hide Himself behind impenetrable anterooms. The door is open – it is called Jesus Christ!
The celebration of Easter is intended to show us the radiant light which streams from this door. It challenges us steadfastly to follow this radiance, which is no will-o’-the-wisp but the brilliance of saving truth….Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) Seek that Which is Above 1985
A Blessed and Holy Easter to you all!
Christós anésti.
Jesus Christ is risen! He is truly risen!
Alleluia
Amen
Christós anésti. Jesus Christ is risen! He is truly risen!
In the words of Pope Francis in the Urbi et Orbi Message of Easter 2013, “let us accept the grace of Christ’s Resurrection! Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of His love to transform our lives too and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish”.
The tomb is empty. It is a silent witness to the central event of human history: the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. For almost 2,000 years the empty tomb has borne witness to the victory of Life over death. With the Apostles and Evangelists, with the Church of every time and place, we too bear witness and proclaim: “Christ is risen! Raised from the dead he will never die again; death no longer has power over him” (cf. Rom 6:9).
“Mors et vita duello conflixere mirando; dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus” (Latin Easter Sequence Victimae paschali). The Lord of Life was dead; now He reigns, victorious over death, the source of everlasting life for all who believe.
Resurrection of Christ – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
“Dear Brothers and Sisters,
These have been days of intense emotion, a time when our soul has been stirred not only by the memory of what God has done but by His very presence, walking with us once again in the land of Christ’s Birth, Death and Resurrection. And at every step of this Jubilee Pilgrimage Mary has been with us, lighting our pilgrim path and sharing the joys and sorrows of her sons and daughters.
With Mary, Mater dolorosa, we stand in the shadow of the Cross and weep with her over the affliction of Jerusalem and over the sins of the world. We stand with her in the silence of Calvary and see the blood and water flowing from the wounded side of her Son. Realising the terrible consequences of sin, we are moved to repentance for our own sins and for the sins of the Church’s children in every age. O Mary, conceived without sin, help us on the path to conversion!
With Mary, Stella matutina, we have been touched by the light of the Resurrection. We rejoice with her that the empty tomb has become the womb of eternal life, where He who rose from the dead now sits at the Father’s right hand. With her we give endless thanks for the grace of the Holy Spirit whom the risen Lord sent upon the Church at Pentecost and whom He continually pours into our hearts, for our salvation and for the good of the human family.
Mary, Regina in caelum assumpta . From the tomb of her Son, we look to the tomb where Mary lay sleeping in peace, awaiting her glorious Assumption. The Divine Liturgy celebrated at her tomb in Jerusalem has Mary say: “Even beyond death, I am not far from you”. And in the Liturgy her children reply: “Seeing your tomb, O holy Mother of God, we seem to contemplate you. O Mary, you are the joy of the angels, the comfort of the afflicted. We proclaim you as the stronghold of all Christians and, most of all, as our Mother”.
In contemplating the Theotókos, almost at this journey’s end, we look upon the true face of the Church, radiant in all her beauty, shining with “the glory of God which is on the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). O Advocate, help the Church to be ever more like you, her exalted model. Help her to grow in faith, hope and love, as she searches out and does the will of God in all things (cf. Lumen gentium, n. 65). O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!”
One Minute Reflection – – 31 March – Holy Saturday 2018
The man who loves his life loses it, while the man who hates his life in this world, preserves it to life eternal...John 12:25
REFLECTION – “Sursum corda”– lift up your hearts, high above the tangled web of our concerns, desires, anxieties and thoughtlessness – “Lift up your hearts, your inner selves!” In both exclamations we are summoned, as it were, to a renewal of our Baptism: “Conversi ad Dominum” – we must distance ourselves ever anew from taking false paths, onto which we stray so often in our thoughts and actions. We must turn ever anew towards Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We must be converted ever anew, turning with our whole life towards the Lord. And ever anew we must allow our hearts to be withdrawn from the force of gravity, which pulls them down and inwardly we must raise them high,in truth and love. At this hour, let us thank the Lord, because through the power of His word and of the holy Sacraments, He points us in the right direction and draws our heart upwards.”…Pope Benedict 22 March 2008
PRAYER – Yes, Lord, make us Easter people, men and women of light, filled with the fire of Your love. Amen.
Quote/s of the Dat – 23 April – Divine Mercy Sunday
“There is nothing more man needs than Divine Mercy – that love which is benevolent, which is compassionate, which raises man above his weakness to the infinite heights to the holiness of God.”
“When we go before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament we represent the one in the world who is in most need of God’s Mercy.” We “Stand in behalf of the one in the world who does not know Christ and who is farthest away from God and we bring down upon their soul the Precious Blood of The Lamb.”
One Minute Reflection – 23 April
Octave and Divine Mercy Sunday
DAILY MEDITATION: Kindle the faith of your people and show us Your Mercy!
But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were “no people” but now you are God’s people; you “had not received mercy” but now you have received mercy………………..1 Peter 2:9-10
REFLECTION – “How much the world is in need of the mercy of God today! In every continent, from the depths of human suffering, a cry for mercy seems to rise. In those places where hatred and the thirst for revenge are overwhelming, where war brings suffering and the death of innocents, one needs the grace of mercy to pacify the minds and the hearts and make peace spring forth. In those places where there is less respect for life and human dignity, one needs the merciful love of God, in whose light we see the ineffable value of every single human being. Mercy is needed to ensure that every injustice may find its solution in the splendour of truth. …..As a gift to humanity, which sometimes seems bewildered and overwhelmed by the power of evil, selfishness, and fear, the Risen Lord offers His love that pardons, reconciles, and reopens hearts to love. It is a love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much the world needs to understand and accept Divine Mercy!”…………St John Paul
PRAYER – “Lord, who reveal the Father’s love by Your death and Resurrection, we believe in You and confidently repeat to You today: Jesus, I trust in You, have mercy upon us and upon the whole world. Amen.” – St John Paul (During his last journey to Poland in August of 2002) St Adalbert of Prague pray for us!
“Now all things have been filled with light,
both heaven and earth and those beneath the earth;
so let all creation sing Christ’s rising,
by which it is established.”
One Minute Reflection – 22 April – Seventh Day in the Easter Octave
DAILY MEDITATION: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!”
“He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy becasue they had refusd to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. And he said to the, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the gospel to all creation.’………….Mark 16:14-15
REFLECTION – “The power of faith is enormous. It is so great that it not only saves the believer: thanks to one person’s faith others are saved also. The paralytic at Capernaum did not have faith. But the men who brought him to Jesus and let him down through the roof had it. The soul of the sick man was ill as well as his body. That is made clear in the Gospel: “And when Jesus saw their faith he said…, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and go home'”. The Gospel does not speak of “his” faith but of “their” faith. The stretcher-bearers believed and the paralytic had the benefit of being healed because of it. (Mark 2:1-11) Then there is the death of Lazarus. Four days had passed. His dead body was already decomposing. How could one who had been dead for so many days believe and himself ask for the Deliverer? He could not possibly do so but his sisters provided the faith for him. When they met the Lord, one sister fell down at his feet. He asked, “Where have you laid him?” The other sister said: “Lord, by this time there will be a bad smell”. Then the Lord said, “If you believe you will see the glory of God”. As if to say, “As regards faith, you must take the place of the dead man”. And the faith of the sisters succeeded in calling Lazarus back from the hereafter. (John 11:1-44). So if these two women by believing in place of the other were able to secure his resurrection, how much more certainly will you be able to secure it for yourself by your own faith in Jesus?
Perhaps your own faith is feeble. Nevertheless, the Lord who is love will stoop down to you, provided only you are penitent and can say sincerely from the depths of your soul: “Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief”. (Mark 9:23)……………………..The Power of Faith: St Cyril of Jerusalem (c 315-386) Doctor of the Church
PRAYER – Loving Father, I believe that You love me. I ask you to watch over me and let me feel the love You shower on me.
I have been born again in baptism and long for the undying life You offer me. Strengthen my faith and help me to share this gift of faith
You have bestowed on me. Amen
DIVINE MERCY NOVENA – DAY NINE – Easter Saturday – Seventh Day of the Octave
“Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm,
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: ‘Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.’ For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy.”
Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.
One Minute Reflection – 21 April Easter Friday Seventh Day of the Octave and the Memorial of St Anselm OSB (1033-1109) Doctor of the Church
DAILY MEDITATION: Lord, let me love You and feed Your sheep.
Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus had asked him three times if he loved him. So he told Jesus, “Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.” Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.”
— John 21:17
REFLECTION – “Those who destroy truth with their lies or detractions deny Christ with their mouths. In the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, Peter says: “You denied the Holy and the Just One before Pilate and desired a murderer to be given to you” (3:14). Pilate, whose name means a “hammermouth,” symbolises a person who lies and detracts others. Those who tell lies destroy truth as if they had pounded it with a hammer; those who detract others destroy the love of neighbour. In both cases they deny Christ with their mouths. Detraction seeks to transform good into evil and to minimise its worth.”
…..St Anthony of Padua [1195-1231] on John 21.17
PRAYER – Our God and Holy Father, purify our hearts with Your truth and guide them in the way of holiness, so that we may do what is pleasing in your sight. Let your face shine upon us, that we may be freed from sin and filled with Your plenty. That we may radiate the light of Christ Your Son to all we meet and never allow us to sin against any of Your children by lies or detraction. Teach me to feed Your lambs and Your sheep. May the Prayers of St Anselm be to our gain. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
Divine Mercy Novena – 20 April
Easter Thursday – Fifth Day of the Octave
DAY SEVEN
Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy*,and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.
Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:
Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.
*The text leads one to conclude that in the first prayer directed to Jesus, Who is the Redeemer, it is “victim” souls and contemplatives that are being prayed for; those persons, that is, that voluntarily offered themselves to God for the salvation of their neighbor (see Col 1:24; 2 Cor 4:12). This explains their close union with the Savior and the extraordinary efficacy that their invisible activity has for others. In the second prayer, directed to the Father from whom comes “every worthwhile gift and every genuine benefit,”we recommend the “active” souls, who promote devotion to The Divine Mercy and exercise with it all the other works that lend themselves to the spiritual and material uplifting of their brethren.”
Quote of the Day – 20 April – Easter Thursday – Fifth Day in the Octave
“The Gospel of Easter is very clear: we need to go back there, to see Jesus risen and to become witnesses of his Resurrection. This is not to go back in time; it is not a kind of nostalgia. It is returning to our first love, in order to receive the fire which Jesus has kindled in the world and to bring that fire to all people, to the very ends of the earth.”
One Minute Reflection – 20 April – Easter Thursday – Fifth Day of the Octave
Daily Meditation: May we be one in faith. love and peace through the Eucharist.
While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
…..Luke 24:36
REFLECTION – “Let us gather round Him to cherish the memory of His words and of the events contained in Scripture; let us relive His Passion, death and Resurrection. In celebrating the Eucharist we communicate with Christ, the victim of expiation and from Him we draw forgiveness and life. What would our lives as Christians be without the Eucharist? The Eucharist is the perpetual, living inheritance which the Lord has bequeathed to us in the Sacrament of His Body and His Blood and which we must constantly rethink and deepen so that, as venerable Pope Paul VI said, it may “impress its inexhaustible effectiveness on all the days of our earthly life” (Insegnamenti, V [1967], p. 779).”……..Pope Benedict XVI 2009
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, we are scattered in this world and so easily distracted from seeing You. Help me to communicate in love to those around me
who gather in Your love. Let me praise Your name from my heart and rejoice that I have been given the grace of faith through Your love for me. Lord Jesus, remember Your holy Church, built on the apostles and reaching to the ends of the earth and let Your blessing and peace rest on all who gather to celebrate at Your feast in the most holy Eucharist. Amen
I beg of you, O Lord,
by this most holy mystery of Your Body and Blood,
with which You daily nourish us in Your Church,
that we may be cleansed and sanctified
and made sharers in Your divinity.
Grant to me Your holy virtues, which will enable
me to approach Your altar with a clean conscience,
so that this heavenly Sacrament may be a means
of salvation and life to me, for You Yourself have said:
“I am the living bread that has come down from heaven.
If anyone eat of this bread, he shall live forever
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Most Sweet Bread, heal my heart, that I may taste the sweetness
of Your love. Heal it from all weakness, that I may enjoy
no sweetness but You. Most pure Bread, containing
every delight which ever refreshes us, may my heart
consume You and may my soul be filled with Your sweetness.
Holy Bread, living Bread, perfect Bread, that has come down
from heaven to give life to the world,
come into my heart and cleanse me from every stain of body
and soul. Enter into my soul; heal and cleanse me completely.
Be the constant safeguard and salvation of my soul and body.
Guard me from the enemies who lie in wait.
May they flee from the protecting presence
of Your power, so that, armed in soul
and body by You, I may safely reach
Your Kingdom.
There we shall see You, not as now
as in mysteries, but face to face,
when You will deliver the Kingdom to God
the Father and will reign as God over all.
Then You, who with the same God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, live and reign forever,
will satisfy the hunger of my soul perfectly
with Yourself, so that I shall neither hunger
nor thirst again. Amen
“The Lord’s triumph, on the day of the Resurrection, is final. Where are the soldiers the rulers posted there? Where are the seals that were fixed to the stone of the tomb? Where are those who condemned the Master? Where are those who crucified Jesus? He is victorious and faced with His victory those poor wretches have all taken flight. Be filled with hope – Jesus Christ is always victorious!”.
One Minute Reflection – 19 April – Wednesday of Easter Octave
Daily Meditation: Give us the joy of this feast.
Then the disciples from Emmaus told what happened on the road and how they knew he was the Lord when he broke the bread.
— Luke 24:35
REFLECTION – “The fact that archaeologists have not identified the location of Emmaus with any certainty, holds for me a certain value : it suggests that Emmaus is really everywhere, the road that leads there is the path of every Christian, indeed, every human being. On our own journeys, the risen Jesus is a traveling companion who rekindles in our hearts the warmth of faith and hope and the breaking of the bread of eternal life. This beautiful evangelical text already contains the structure of the Mass: in the first part listening to the Word through the Scriptures; second in the Eucharistic liturgy and communion with Christ present in the sacrament of his Body and his Blood. Nourishing ourselves in this twofold meal, the Church builds itself up and is renewed every day in faith, hope and charity.”……………..Pope Benedict XVI 2008
PRAYER – Loving Father, do I feel this joy so deeply each year? I know how solemn this season is and yet I am overcome by sheer delight. I celebrate this joyful time of remembering how I am brought to new life by the sacrifice Your Son made for me. Help me to delight in the gift He left us, help me to experience the great joy of the feast of the Holy Mass and the Holy Eucharist the food to nourish me on my own road to Emmaus. Amen
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ’s side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen
DIVINE MERCY NOVENA – DAY FIVE – EASTER TUESDAY 3rd Day of the Octave
“Today bring to Me the Souls of those who have separated themselves from My Church*and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion.”
Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son’s Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.
*Our Lord’s original words here were “heretics and schismatics,” since He spoke to Saint Faustina within the context of her times. As of the Second Vatican Council, Church authorities have seen fit not to use those designations in accordance with the explanation given in the Council’s Decree on Ecumenism (n.3). Every pope since the Council has reaffirmed that usage. Saint Faustina herself, her heart always in harmony with the mind of the Church, most certainly would have agreed. When at one time, because of the decisions of her superiors and father confessor, she was not able to execute Our Lord’s inspirations and orders, she declared: “I will follow Your will insofar as You will permit me to do so through Your representative. O my Jesus ” I give priority to the voice of the Church over the voice with which You speak to me” (497). The Lord confirmed her action and praised her for it.
One Minute Reflection – 18 April – Easter Tuesday 3rd Day of the Octave
Daily Meditation: You give us the freedom of the children of God.
Mary turned around and saw Jesus standing there.
But she did not know who he was.
Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying?
Who are you looking for?” ……………….. John 20:14-15
REFLECTION – “Throughout the history of the living, the origins of anything new have always been small, practically invisible and easily overlooked. The Lord Himself has told us that “heaven” in this world is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds (Matthew 13:31-32), yet contained within it are the infinite potentialities of God. In terms of world history, Jesus’ Resurrection is improbable; it is the smallest mustard seed of history.
This reversal of proportions is one of God’s mysteries. The great – the mighty – is ultimately the small. And the tiny mustard seed is something truly great. So it is that the Resurrection has entered the world only through certain mysterious appearances to the chosen few. And yet it was truly the new beginning for which the world was silently waiting. And for the few witnesses – precisely because they themselves could not fathom it – it was such an overwhelmingly real happening, confronting them so powerfully, that every doubt was dispelled and they stepped forth before the world with an utterly new fearlessness in order to bear witness: Christ is truly risen.“……………Excerpt from Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, Chapter 9,
PRAYER – Lord God, give me the opportunity to recognise the healing power of love that has been offered me and that it really does fill these days with power. Teach me to recognise Jesus alive and Jesus with me now.. Grant me freedom from fear, freedom for courageous love and service. Help me to understand the freedom You give us all as Your children. Amen
Francisco Ribalta (Spain 1590s) Apostles Peter and John at Christ’s Tomb
DIVINE MERCY NOVENA – DAY FOUR -EASTER MONDAY 2nd DAY OF THE OCTAVE
“Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God and those who do not know Me, I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy.”
Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You and of those who as yet do not know You but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.
*Our Lord’s original words here were “the pagans.” Since the pontificate of Pope John XXIII, the Church has seen fit to replace this term with clearer and more appropriate terminology
Quote of the Day – 17 April Easter Monday – 2nd Day of the Easter Octave
“There flowed from His side water and blood. Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolised baptism and the holy Eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born:- from baptism, the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit and from the holy Eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from His side, it was from His side that Christ fashioned the Church, as He had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam. Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim:- Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh! As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from His side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after His own death.
Do you understand, then, how Christ has united His bride to Himself and what food He gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with His own blood those to whom He himself has given life.’
One Minute Reflection – 17 April – Easter Monday 2nd Day of the Octave
Meditation for the Day: Help us put our baptism into action.
The women were frightened and yet very happy,
as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples.
— Matthew 28:8
REFLECTION – “We imitate Christ’s death by being buried with him in baptism. If we ask what this kind of burial means and what benefit we may hope to derive from it, it means first of all making a complete break with our former way of life and our Lord Himself said that this cannot be done unless a man is born again. In other words, we have to begin a new life and we cannot do so until our previous life has been brought to an end. When runners reach the turning point on a racecourse, they have to pause briefly before they can go back in the opposite direction. So also when we wish to reverse the direction of our lives there must be a pause, or a death, to mark the end of one life and the beginning of another…….Baptism cleanses the soul from the pollution of worldly thoughts and inclinations: You will wash me, says the psalmist and I shall be whiter than snow. We receive this saving baptism only once because there was only one death and one resurrection for the salvation of the world and baptism is its symbol.”………St Basil the Great
Prayer – Loving Father, How do I live the baptismal promises I made again over the weekend? I want to live my life in service of You.
Help me to carry the gift of faith I received from You. Help me to welcome those who joined the church in baptism.
Guide me and give me the courage to live my faith, to accept Your love. Amen
Wishing our Holy Father Emeritus Papa Benedict XVI a Blessed 90th Birthday
A “modest” 90th birthday party is being planned for Benedict XVI, who stunned the Catholic Church by resigning as pope in 2013.
His personal secretary and long-time aide, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, told an Italian Catholic news agency Saturday that Benedict’s birthday, which falls on Easter Sunday this year, will be celebrated on Monday in Bavarian style, in keeping with the emeritus pontiff’s roots.
“There will be a small moment of celebration in keeping with his strength,” Gaenswein said about the frail churchman.
Benedict cited fading strength when announcing his decision to become the first pontiff to resign in 600 years.
Attending the party will be a delegation from Bavaria and Benedict’s elder brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger. The sibling’s visit will be “the most beautiful” birthday gift, Gaenswein added.
The former Joseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, in southern Germany. Trained as a theologian, he was a long-time Vatican official in charge of ensuring doctrinal orthodoxy when elected as pontiff in 2005.
Past recent birthdays have seen Benedict celebrate the day with a pint of beer.
Gaenswein told the S.I.R. news agency that Benedict is “serene, in good humor, very lucid.”
“Certainly, his physical strength is lessening. It’s hard for him to walk. However, he uses a walker, which ensures autonomy in movement and safety,” the aide said.
The rhythm of Benedict’s retirement in a monastery on Vatican City grounds consists of “prayer, meditation, reading, study, correspondence,” Gaenswein said. “He has visitors, too. Music certainly still has its place, together with a daily walk.”
Wishing you all a Holy, Blessed and grace-filled Easter – 16 April 2017
Easter is the feast of feasts, the unalloyed joy and gladness of all Christians.
In the very centre of the Mass, the great prayer of thanksgiving, from the first words of the Preface, expresses the unrivalled motive for this joy: if it is right to praise You, Lord, at all times, how much more so should we not glorify You on this day when Christ our Passover was sacrificed, for He is the true Lamb who took away the sins of the world, who by His Death destroyed our death and by His Resurrection restored our life. Easter means, then, Redemption obtained — sin destroyed, death overcome, divine life brought back to us, the resurrection of our body which is promised immortality. With such a certitude, we should banish all trace of sadness.
Haec dies quam fecit Dominus: “This is the day which the Lord has made.”Throughout the octave we shall sing of the unequalled joy which throws open eternity to us. Every Sunday will furnish a reminder of it and from Sunday to Sunday, from year to year, the Easters of this earth will lead us to that blessed day on which Christ has promised that He will come again with glory to take us with Him into the kingdom of His Father.
“Look into Peter’s wide open eyes and John’s intense gaze. Their eyes contain a mix of anxiousness and hope, the way a parent or grandparent’s eyes look at the news of an impending birth. A new life is about to emerge, but there is still uncertainty because it is a mystery beyond full human comprehension or control. Peter and John’s faces capture the same sense of anticipation.
Burnand created a sparse, simple painting capturing two of the most important players in the greatest story ever told. Meditate upon their faces as Burnand intended you to do and through them discover the empty tomb.”Elise Ehrhard
Through baptism into (Christ’s) death we were buried with him, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead….we too might live a new life………Romans 6:4
REFLECTION – “Christ is our life. Let us therefore look to Christ. He came to suffer in order to merit glory; to seek cotempt in order to be exalted. He came to die but also to rise again.”……………St Augustine
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, through my baptism, I was buried with Christ and rose to a new life of grace. Let me rejoice in the Easter glory of Your Son and so guard my life that I will enjoy it fully in heaven with Him. St Benedict Joseph Labre, you so rightly are called the “Beggar of Perpetual Adoration”, you so perfectly adored our risen Lord who is always with us in the Blessed Sacrament, please pray for us, amen!
Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said: “These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.’ The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy.” During the Solemn Novena leading to Divine Mercy Sunday, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy should be offered each day for the day’s intentions.
DAY THREE – EASTER SUNDAY
“Today bring to Me all Devout and Faithful Souls, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were a drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.”
Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.
PRAY THE CHAPLET here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/divine-mercy-novena-day-one-good-friday/
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!
We pray You, Lord,
to preserve Your servants in the peaceful enjoyment
of this Easter happiness.
We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with God The Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever
Amen
Easter Sunday (2017)
—
Bl Arcangelo Canetoli
St Benedict Joseph Labre
St Bernadette of Lourdes
St Drogo
St Elias
St Fructuosus of Braga
St Herveus of Tours
Bl Joachim Piccolomini
St Lambert of Saragossa
St Lambert of Saragossa
St Magnus of Orkney
St Turibius of Astorga
St Vaise
St William Gnoffi
—
Martyrs of Avrillé – 26 beati: – A group of lay people who were executed together for their faith during the anti-Christian persecutions of the French Revolution.
• Blessed Anne Maugrain
• Blessed François Micheneau veuve Gillot
• Blessed François Suhard veuve Ménard
• Blessed Jean Ménard
• Blessed Jeanne Gourdon veuve Moreau
• Blessed Jeanne Leduc épouse Paquier
• Blessed Jeanne Onillon veuve Onillon
• Blessed Jeanne Thomas veuve Delaunay
• Blessed Madeleine Cady épouse Desvignes
• Blessed Madeleine Sallé épouse Havard
• Blessed Marguerite Robin
• Blessed Marie Forestier
• Blessed Marie Gingueneau veuve Coiffard
• Blessed Marie Lardeux
• Blessed Marie Piou épouse Supiot
• Blessed Marie Rechard
• Blessed Marie Roger veuve Chartier
• Blessed Marie-Genevieve Poulain de la Forestrie
• Blessed Marthe Poulain de la Forestrie
• Blessed Perrine Bourigault
• Blessed Perrine Laurent
• Blessed Perrine Pottier épouse Turpault
• Blessed Pierre Delépine
• Blessed Renée Bourgeais veuve Juret
• Blessed Renée Rigault épouse Papin
• Blessed Renée Sechet veuve Davy
16 April 1794 at Avrillé, Maine-et-Loire, France – Beatified: 19 February 1984 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy
Martyrs of Corinth – 9 saints: A group of nine Christians who were tortured and martyred together in the persecutions of Decius. We know little more than three of their names – Callistus, Charisius and Leonide. They were thrown into the sea at Corinth, Greece c.250
Martyrs of Saragossa: Group of eighteen martyrs murdered in 304 in Saragossa, Spain in the persecutions of Diocletian and the prefect Dacean. We know little more than the names – Apodemus, Caecilian, Caius, Crementius, Engratia, Eventius, Felix, Fronto, Gaius, Julia, Lambert, Lupercus, Martial, Optatus, Primitivus, Publius, Quintilian, Saturnius (4 men of this name), Succesus and Urban. Their graves re-discovered in 1389 in the crypt under the church of San Encrazia in Saragossa
AnaStpaul 
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