Our Morning Offering – 11 December – Wednesday of the Second week of Advent, Year A
Grant us Your Light, O Lord
By The Venerable St Bede (673-735)
Father and Doctor of the Church
Grant us Your light, O Lord,
so that the darkness of our hearts,
may wholly pass away
and we may come at last,
to the light of Christ.
For Christ is that morning star,
who, when the night of this world has passed,
brings to His saints,
the promised light of life
and opens to them,
everlasting day.
Amen
Advent Reflection – 10 December – Tuesday of the Second Week in Advent, Year A – Readings: Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 96:1-3, 10-13, Matthew 18:12-14
Let us adore the Lord, the king who is to come.
“So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” … Matthew 18:14
REFLECTION – “You brought me forth, O Lord, from my father’s loins and formed me in my mother’s womb (Ps 138:13). You brought me, a naked babe, into the light of day, for nature’s laws always obey Your commands. By the blessing of the Holy Spirit, You prepared my creation and my existence, not because man willed it, or flesh desired it (Jn 1:13) but by Your ineffable grace. The birth You prepared for me was such, that it surpassed the laws of our nature. You sent me forth into the light by adopting me as Your son (Gal 4:5) and You enrolled me among the children of Your holy and spotless Church.
You nursed me with the spiritual milk of Your divine utterances. You kept me alive with the solid food of the body of Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son and our God and You let me drink from the chalice of His life-giving blood, poured out to save the whole world.
You loved us, O Lord and gave up Your only-begotten Son for our redemption. And He undertook the task, willingly and did not shrink away from it. (…) Thus You humbled Yourself, Christ my God, so that You might carry me, Your stray sheep, on Your shoulders. You let me graze in green pastures, refreshing me with the waters of orthodox teaching at the hands of Your shepherds. You pastured those shepherds and now, they in turn, tend Your chosen and special flock.” … St John Damascene (675-749) Monk, Theologian, Father & Doctor of the Church
MEDITATION – The mould in which a key is made, would be a strange thing if you had never seen a key and the key itself a strange thing, if you had never seen a lock. Your soul has a curious shape because it is a hollow made to fit a particular swelling the in the infinite contours of the divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in the house with many mansions. For it is not humanity in the abstract that is to be saved but you – you, individual reader, John Stubbs or Janet Smith. Blessed and fortunate creature, your eyes shall behold Him and not another’s. All that you are, sins apart, is destined, if you will let God have His good way, to utter satisfaction!” … C S Lewis (1898-1963)
ADVENT ACTION – Will I run halfway to meet Him? Will I seek to at least repair what I can before He reaches me? Are we in trouble, lost, confused and overwhelmed? Tell Jesus! He fulfils His promise to rescue us.
PRAYER – Thank You, my Lord, for looking for me.
Thank You, my Lord, for finding me.
Thank You, my Lord, for telling me
“it is never the will of my Father,
that one of these little ones should perish.”
This explains why
You assumed our human nature
and suffered so much for us.
Thank You, my Lord,
for Your reckless love.
Thank You, my Lord,
for saving me!
Amen
Thought for the Day – 9 December – The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
On the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary“Wherefore, in humility and fasting, we unceasingly offered our private prayers as well as the public prayers of the Church, to God the Father through His Son, that He would deign to direct and strengthen our mind by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In like manner did we implore the help of the entire heavenly host as we ardently invoked the Paraclete.Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honour of the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith and for the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and by our own:
We declare, pronounce and define, that the Doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her Conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a Doctrine revealed by God and, therefore, to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.
Hence, if anyone shall dare — which God forbid! — to think otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand that he is condemned by his own judgment, that he has suffered shipwreck in the faith, that he has separated from the unity of the Church and that, furthermore, by his own action, he incurs the penalties established by law if he should dare to express in words or writing, or by any other outward means, the errors he think in his heart.”Blessed Pope Pius IX (1792-1878), Ineffabilis Deus, 8 December 1854
“That one woman is both Mother and Virgin, not in spirit only but even in body. In spirit she is mother, not of our Head, who is our Saviour Himself—of whom all, even she herself, are rightly called children of the bridegroom—but plainly she is the mother of us, who are His members, because by love, she has cooperated, so that the faithful, who are the members of that Head, might be born in the Church. In body, indeed, she is the Mother of that very Head”
Act of Consecration
By St Maximillian Kolbe (1894-1941)
O Immaculate, Queen of heaven and earth,
Refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother,
God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to You,
I, an unworthy sinner, cast myself at Your feet,
humbly imploring You
to take me with all that I am and have,
wholly to Yourself as Your possession and property.
Please make of me,
of all my powers of soul and body,
of my whole life, death and eternity,
whatever pleases You.
If it pleases You,
use all that I am and have without reserve,
wholly to accomplish what has been said of You:
“She will crush your head”,
and “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.”
Let me be a fit instrument in Your immaculate
and most merciful hands for introducing and increasing Your glory
to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls
and thus help extend as far as possible,
the blessed Kingdom of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
For, wherever You enter,
You obtain the grace of conversion and sanctification,
since it is through Your hands,
that all graces come to us.
from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
V. Allow me to praise You, O most holy Virgin.
R. Give me strength against Your enemies.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 9 December – The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
“He was the Ark formed of incorruptible wood.
For by this, is signified, that His Tabernacle
was exempt from putridity and corruption.”
Hippolytus was one of the most important
second-third century Christian theologians.
“This Virgin Mother of the Only begotten of God is called Mary,
worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, one of the one.”
Priest and Theologian
Origen of Alexandria, also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria.
“Thou alone and Thy Mother are in all things fair,
there is no flaw in Thee
and no stain in Thy Mother.”
Both Father and Doctor
Deacon, Theologian, Hymnist
“Mary, a virgin not only undefiled
but a virgin, whom grace has made inviolate,
free of every stain of sin.”
Sermon 22, in the year 338
Both Father and Doctor – One of the original four Fathers of the Latin Church, Bishop of Milan
“A Virgin, innocent, spotless, free of all defect,
untouched, unsullied, holy in soul and body,
like a lily, sprouting among thorns.”
Bishop, Theologian
“The very fact that God has elected her,
proves that none was ever holier than Mary,
if any stain had disfigured her soul,
if any other virgin had been purer and holier,
God would have selected her and rejected Mary.”
Jacob of Sarug, also called Mar Jacob, was one of the foremost Syriac poet-theologians, perhaps only second in stature to Ephrem the Syrian and equal to Narsai. Where his predecessor Ephrem is known as the ‘Harp of the Spirit’, Jacob is the ‘Flute of the Spirit’.
“Today, humanity,
in all the radiance of her immaculate nobility,
receives its ancient beauty.
The shame of sin had darkened
the splendour and attraction of human nature
but when the Mother of the Fair One par excellence is born,
this nature again regains in her person.
its ancient privileges and is fashioned
according to a perfect model,
truly worthy of God….
The reform of our nature
begins today and the aged world,
subjected to a wholly divine transformation,
receives the first fruits of the second creation.”
Bishop, Theologian
Saint Andrew of Crete, also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was an 8th-century Bishop, theologian, homilist and hymnist.
Sunday Reflection – 8 December – The Second Sunday of Advent, Year A
Go With Him
St Ephrem of Syria (306-373)
Father & Doctor of the Church
“Go with Him, as His inseparable companion, to the wedding feast of Cana and drink of the wine of His blessing. Let you have ever before you, the Face of the Lord and look upon His beauty and let your earnest gaze turn nowhere away from His most sweet countenance.
Go before Him into a desert place and see the wonder of His works, where He multiplied in His own Holy Hands the bread that sufficed the great multitude.
Go, my brother, go forward and with all the love of your soul, follow Christ wherever He may go… And lovingly behold Him as taking bread into His hands, He blesses it and breaks it, as the outward form of His own Immaculate Body and the chalice which He blessed, as the outward form of His Precious Blood and gave to His Disciples and be you, also, a partaker of His sacraments.”
Advent Reflection – – 8 December – The Second Sunday of Advent, Year A – Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10, Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17, Romans 15:4-9, Matthew 3:1-12
Let us adore the Lord, the king who is to come.
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” … Matthew 3:2
REFLECTION – “John the Baptist said: “Every valley shall be filled” (Lk 3:5) but it was not John who filled every valley, it was our Lord and Saviour… “And the winding roads shall be made straight.” Every one of us was going astray… and it was Christ’s coming, fulfilled within our very souls, that straightened all that was crooked… Nothing was so resistant as you were. Consider your former unruly desires, your fits of anger and other evil tendencies, as to whether they have disappeared. You will realise that nothing was so resistant as you were, or, in an even more expressive phrase, that nothing was brought so low as you were. Your behaviour was low, your words and deeds were low.
But my Lord Jesus came – He smoothed down your roughness, He changed all that muddle into roads that joined up to create a way without obstacles within you, well articulated and swept clean, so that God our Father could walk in you and Christ the Lord could make His home in you and say: “My Father and I will come to him and make our dwelling within him” (Jn 14:23).” … Origen (c 185-253)
MEDITATION – ” … The good news that Jesus brings us — and that John predicts — is that we do not need to wait for the kingdom of God in the future – it is at hand. In some way it is already present and we may experience spiritual power from now on. “The kingdom of God is in your midst!” Jesus will say. God comes to establish His lordship in our history, today, everyday, in our life and there — where it is welcomed with faith and humility — love, joy and peace blossom.” … Pope Francis (ANGELUS, 4 December 2016)
ADVENT ACTION – May we open the doors of our hearts, where the Lord dwells and share His hospitality with those in need, wherever we find them!
PRAYER – Lord, watch over Your people, who come to You in confidence. Strengthen the hearts of those who hope in You. Give courage to those who falter because of their failures. In this holy season of Advent, lead them closer to You in hope, by the power of Your Holy Spirit. May they we share Your saving acts of kindness today and one day proclaim them in your eternal kingdom. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 8 December – The Second Sunday of Advent, Year A
Prayer After Holy Communion
By St Basil the Great (329-379)
Father & Doctor of the Church
O Christ, our Master and God,
King of the ages and Creator of all,
I thank You for all the Good things
that You have given to me
and for the reception of
Your most pure and life-giving Mysteries.
I pray You, therefore,
O good Lover of mankind,
keep me under Your protection
in the shadow of Your wings.
Grant that with a pure conscience,
until my last breath,
I may worthily partake of Your Holy Things,
for the forgiveness of sins
and for life everlasting.
For You are the bread of Life,
the Fountain of holiness
and the Bestower of blessings
and to You, we give glory
together with the Father
and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and ever.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 7 December – The Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397)- Father and Doctor of the Church
One of Ambrose’s biographers observed that at the Last Judgment, people would still be divided between those who admired Ambrose and those who heartily disliked him. He emerges as the man of action who cut a furrow through the lives of his contemporaries. Even royal personages were numbered among those who were to suffer crushing divine punishments for standing in Ambrose’s way.
When the Empress Justina attempted to wrest two basilicas from Ambrose’s Catholics and give them to the Arians, he dared the eunuchs of the court to execute him. His own people rallied behind him in the face of imperial troops . In the midst of riots, he both spurred and calmed his people with bewitching new hymns set to exciting Eastern melodies.
In his disputes with the Emperor Auxentius, he coined the principle – “The emperor is in the Church, not above the Church.” He publicly admonished Emperor Theodosius for the massacre of 7,000 innocent people. The emperor did public penance for his crime. This was Ambrose, the fighter sent to Milan as Roman governor and chosen while yet a catechumen to be the people’s bishop.
There is yet another side of Ambrose—one which influenced Augustine of Hippo, whom Ambrose converted. Ambrose was a passionate little man with a high forehead, a long melancholy face and great eyes. We can picture him as a frail figure clasping the codex of sacred Scripture. This was the Ambrose of aristocratic heritage and learning.
Augustine found the oratory of Ambrose less soothing and entertaining but far more learned than that of other contemporaries. Ambrose’s sermons were often modelled on Cicero and his ideas betrayed the influence of contemporary thinkers and philosophers. He had no scruples in borrowing at length from pagan authors. He gloried in the pulpit in his ability to parade his spoils—“gold of the Egyptians”—taken over from the pagan philosophers.
His sermons, his writings and his personal life reveal him as an otherworldly man involved in the great issues of his day. Humanity for Ambrose was, above all, spirit. In order to think rightly of God and the human soul, the closest thing to God, no material reality at all was to be dwelt upon. He was an enthusiastic champion of consecrated virginity.
The influence of Ambrose on Augustine seems to be universally accepted. The Confessions reveal some manly, brusque encounters between Ambrose and Augustine but there can be no doubt, of Augustine’s profound esteem for the learned bishop.
Neither is there any doubt that Saint Monica loved Ambrose as an angel of God who uprooted her son from his former ways and led him to his convictions about Christ. It was Ambrose, after all, who placed his hands on the shoulders of the naked Augustine as he descended into the baptismal fountain to put on Christ.
Ambrose exemplifies for us the truly catholic character of Christianity. He is a man steeped in the learning, law and culture of the ancients and of his contemporaries. Yet, in the midst of active involvement in this world, this thought runs through Ambrose’s life and preaching – The hidden meaning of the Scriptures calls our spirit to rise to another world.
Quote/s of the Day – 7 December – The Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church and St Maria Giuseppa Rosello FdM (1811-1880)
“Let your door stand open
to receive Him,
unlock your soul to Him,
offer Him a welcome in your mind
and then you will see
the riches of simplicity,
the treasures of peace,
the joy of grace.
Throw wide the gate of your heart,
stand before the sun of the everlasting light.”
“If it is “daily bread,”
why do you take it once a year? . . .
Take daily what is to profit you daily.
Live in such a way that you may deserve
to receive it daily.
He who does not deserve to receive it daily,
does not deserve to receive it once a year.”
“Go to Jesus.
He loves you
and is waiting for you,
to give you many graces.
He is on the Altar,
surrounded by angels adoring and praying.
Let them make some room for you
and join them in doing what they do.”
Advent Reflection – 7 December – Saturday of the First week of Advent, Year A – Readings: Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26, Psalm 147:1-6, Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5-8
Let us adore the Lord, the king who is to come.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. … Matthew 9:36
REFLECTION – “A person is counselled to his face, so to speak, when he is created for righteousness and receives the precepts of rectitude. When he despises these precepts, it is as if he is turning his back to his Creator’s face. But He still follows behind us and counsels us, that we have despised Him but He still does not cease to call us. We turn our backs on His face, so to speak, when we reject His words, when we trample His commandments underfoot but He who sees that we reject Him, still calls out to us by His commandments and waits for us by His patience, stands behind us and calls us back when we have turned away.” … St Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church – Forty Gospel Homilies, 34
MEDITATION – “The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins or our indifference and, therefore, it is quite relentless in it’s determination, that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.” … Prof C S Lewis (1898-1963)
ADVENT ACTION – Freely you have received, freely give – forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Let us offer our hand to those who hurt us.
PRAYER – Lord, to free man from his sinful state, You sent Your only Son into this world. Grant to us, who in faith and love, wait for His coming, Your gift of grace and the reward of true freedom. Be born in us O Lord! We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 7 December – The Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397)- Father and Doctor of the Church
Veni Redemptor gentium
Saviour of the Nations, Come
St Ambrose’s Advent Hymn
Saviour of the nations, come;
Virgin’s Son, here make Thy home!
Marvel now, O heaven and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.
Not by human flesh and blood;
By the Spirit of our God
Was the Word of God made flesh,
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.
Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child
Of the virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in heaven enthroned.
From the Father forth He came
And returneth to the same,
Captive leading death and hell
High the song of triumph swell!
Thou, the Father’s only Son,
Hast over sin the victory won.
Boundless shall Thy kingdom be;
When shall we its glories see?
Brightly doth Thy manger shine,
Glorious is its light divine.
Let not sin o’ercloud this light;
Ever be our faith thus bright.
Praise to God the Father sing,
Praise to God the Son, our King,
Praise to God the Spirit be
Ever and eternally.
St Ambrose (c 340-397) – Father and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/07/saint-of-the-day-7-december-st-ambrose-c-340-397-father-and-doctor-of-the-church-2/
And More:
https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/07/more-on-todays-saint-st-ambrose-c340-397-father-and-doctor-of-the-church/
St Agatho of Alexandria
St Anianas of Chartres
St Antonius of Siya
St Athenodoros of Mesopotamia
St Buithe of Monasterboice
St Burgundofara
St Charles Garnier
St Diuma
St Geretrannus of Bayeux
Bl Humbert of Clairvaux
St John the Silent
St Martin of Saujon
St Maria Giuseppa Rosello FdM (1811-1880)
St Nilus of Stolbensk
St Polycarp of Antioch
St Sabinus of Spoleto
St Servus the Martyr
St Theodore of Antioch
St Urban of Teano
St Victor of Piacenza
Thought for the day – 6 December – Friday of the First week of Advent, Year A – Readings: Isaiah 29:17-24, Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14, Matthew 9:27-31 and the Memorial of St Nicholas (270-343)
Fifth Century on Theology, nos. 34-35, 42, 45
“Each one of us possesses the manifest energy of the Spirit in proportion to the faith within them (cf Rm 12:6). And so, each is the administrator of their own grace. Someone, who is well disposed, could never be envious of anything, in the one who is honoured with graces, provided that the disposition towards receiving God’s graces, rests upon him. What determines that the gifts of God dwell in us, is the measure of each one’s faith. Because it is to the extent that we believe, that the enthusiasm to act is given us. And so those who act, reveal the measure of their faith proportionate to their action, they receive their measure of grace according to what they have believed. (…)
By means of the incomplete elevations of the virtues, we make the charisms that have been shared out to us, converge towards their cause, with the help of God, so that, by letting ourselves drift little by little into negligence, we might make our faith blind and sightless, deprived of the lights that the works of the Spirit gives us and may be justly punished for endless ages, for having blinded the divine eyes of faith in ourselves, insofar as it was in our power. (…)
The person who does not fulfil the divine commands of faith, has a faith that is blind. For if God’s Commands are lights (cf Is 26:9), this means, that whoever does not fulfil the Commands of God, is without divine light. He leaves the divine call without an answer. He does not really respond to him.”
Nicholas was loved for one reason. He loved. He loved God and God’s people so much that he would do anything for them. He was so grateful for the life God had given him that he just couldn’t stop giving joy and hope to others—no matter how far he had to travel or how many roofs he had to climb!
Thought for the Day – 5 December – Thursday of the First week of Advent, Year A
St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 130-202) on the Incarnation, the Word of God born for us as Emmanuel, Jesus Christ, Son of Man, the sign of our salvation. He comes to restore God’s likeness in us and lead us to glory.
God is man’s glory. Man is the vessel which receives God’s action and all His wisdom and power.
Just as a doctor is judged in his care for the sick, so God is revealed in His conduct with men. That is Paul’s reason for saying: God has made the whole world prisoner of unbelief that He may have mercy on all. He was speaking of man, who was disobedient to God and cast off from immortality and then found mercy, receiving through the Son of God the adoption he brings.
If man, without being puffed up or boastful, has a right belief regarding created things and their divine Creator, who, having given them being, holds them all in His power and if man perseveres in God’s love and in obedience and gratitude to Him, he will receive greater glory from Him. It will be a glory which will grow ever brighter until he takes on the likeness of the One who died for him.
He it was who took on the likeness of sinful flesh, to condemn sin and rid the flesh of sin, as now condemned. He wanted to invite man to take on His likeness, appointing man an imitator of God, establishing man in a way of life in obedience to the Father, that would lead to the vision of God and endowing man with power to receive the Father. He is the Word of God who dwelt with man and became the Son of Man, to open the way for man, to receive God, for God to dwell with man, according to the will of the Father.
For this reason the Lord Himself gave as the sign of our salvation, the one who was born of the Virgin, Emmanuel. It was the Lord Himself who saved them, for of themselves they had no power to be saved. For this reason Paul speaks of the weakness of man and says: I know that no good dwells in my flesh, meaning that the blessing of our salvation comes not from us but from God. Again, he says: I am a wretched man, who will free me from this body doomed to die? Then he speaks of a liberator, thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord.
Isaiah says the same – Hands that are feeble, grow strong! Knees that are weak, take courage! Hearts that are faint, grow strong! Fear not, see, our God is judgement and He will repay. He himself will come and save us. He means that we could not be saved of ourselves but only with God’s help.
This excerpt from St Irenaeus’ monumental work, Against Heresies (Lib 3,20, 2-3; SC 34, 342-344) speaks of the incarnation, the birth of the Word of God as Son of Man, as the sign of our salvation. It is used in the Roman Office of Readings for Advent. It was originally written around 185 AD.
Advent Reflection – 5 December – Thursday of the First week of Advent, Year A – Readings: Isaiah 26:1-6, Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27, Matthew 7:21, 24-27
Let us adore the Lord, the King who is to come.
A nation of firm purpose You keep in peace, in peace for its trust in You. Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal Rock. … Isaiah 26: 3-4
REFLECTION – “The psalmist says: “The Lord is great and worthy of praise” (96[95]:4). Who is this ‘Lord’ if not Jesus Christ, great and worthy of praise? You surely know He appeared as man, you know, too, that He was conceived in the womb of a woman, that He was born of that womb, nourished, cradled in her arms, circumcised, that an offering was made for Him (Lk 2:24) and that He grew up.
You also know that He was struck, covered with spittle, crowned with thorns, crucified, and that He died, pierced by a lance. You know well that He suffered all those things. Yes, “he is great and worthy of praise”. Guard yourselves from despising His littleness – understand His greatness. He became small because you were small – understand how great He is and you will become great along with Him. This is how houses are built, how the solid walls of a building are raised. The stones brought to construct the building increase, you, too, increase, understanding how great Christ is and how He who appeared to be small is great, very great indeed…
What can poor, human language say in praise of Him who is so great? In saying “very” great it is trying to express what it feels and believes… but, it is as if it were saying: “Try to grasp in thought what I am unable to express in words and yet, you must know, that whatever you may have grasped is only a fragment.” For how can any language translate something that surpasses all thought? “Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise!” May He be praised, then, may He be preached, may His glory be proclaimed and His dwelling place erected.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
Meditation:
We cannot eliminate upsets and anxiety from our lives but Advent is a good time to slow down and remember where we should look for stability and peace.
The readings today present God offering us a gate, a passageway into God’s will. For Isaiah, the gateway to God, consists in being just and keeping the faith. Jesus says, it is the person who hears God’s word and puts those words into practice.
Throughout these weeks of preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, the Scriptures for our liturgies tell us again and again, to turn to God, to build our house on the rock of Jesus. Only there we will find peace.
Advent Action:
Call someone who is lost. A friend, who hears not the word of God. Perhaps your words of faith might be a light in their darkness.
Prayer:
We thank You, Lord, for all that we have received. Move us to give of our plenty to those who have little. Lord, open the gate of my heart. Let Your words be a light that will lead me to follow Your will and thus lead others to You. Amen.
Thought for the Day – 4 December – The Memorial of St John Damascene (676-749) – Father and Doctor of the Church
You have called me, Lord, to minister to Your people. O Lord, You led me from my father’s loins and formed me in my mother’s womb. You brought me, a naked babe, into the light of day, for nature’s laws always obey Your commands.
By the blessing of the Holy Spirit, You prepared my creation and my existence, not because man willed it or flesh desired it but by Your ineffable grace . The birth You prepared for me, was such, that it surpassed the laws of our nature You sent me forth into the light by adopting me as Your son and You enrolled me among the children of Your holy and spotless Church.
You nursed me with the spiritual milk of Your divine utterances. You kept me alive with the solid food of the body of Jesus Christ, Your only-begotten Son for our redemption. And He, undertook the task willingly and did not shrink from it. Indeed, He applied Himself to it as though destined for sacrifice, like an innocent lamb. Although He was God, He became man and in His human will, became obedient to You, God His Father, unto death, even death on a cross.
In this way You have humbled Yourself, Christ my God, so that You might carry me, Your stray sheep, on Your shoulders. You let me graze in green pastures, refreshing me with the waters of true teaching at the hands of Your shepherds. You pastured these shepherds and now they, in turn, tend Your chosen and special flock. Now, You have called me, Lord, by the hand of Your bishop to minister to Your people. I do not know why You have done so, for You alone know that.
Lord, lighten the heavy burden of the sins through which I have seriously transgressed. Purify my mind and heart. Like a shining lamp, lead me along the straight path. When I open my mouth, tell me what I should say. By the fiery tongue of Your Spirit make my own tongue ready. Stay with me always and keep me in Your sight.
Lead me to pastures, Lord and graze there with me . Do not let my heart lean either to the right or to the left but let Your good Spirit guide me along the straight path. Whatever I do, let it be in accordance with Your will, now until the end.
And you, O Church, are a most excellent assembly, the noble summit of perfect purity, whose assistance comes from God. You in whom God lives, receive from us, an exposition of the faith that is free from error, to strengthen the Church, just as our Fathers handed it down to us.
Quote/s of the Day – 4 December – The Memorial of St John Damascene (676-749) – Father and Doctor of the Church
“Think of the Father as a spring of life begetting the Son,
like a river and the Holy Ghost like a sea,
for the spring and the river and sea are all one nature.
Think of the Father as a root and of the Son as a branch
and the Spirit as a fruit, for the substance in these three is one.
The Father is a sun with the Son as rays and the Holy Ghost as heat.”
“‘How can this come about?’ Mary asked.
‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you,’ the angel answered’
and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow.’
And now you are the one who puts the question:
‘How can bread become Christ and wine His Blood?’
I answer:
‘The power of the Holy Spirit will be at work
to give us a marvel which surpasses understanding.’”
“If the Word of God is living and powerful
and if the Lord does all things whatsoever he wills;
if he said, “Let there be light” and it happened;
if he said, “let there be a firmament” and it happened;
…if finally the Word of God Himself willingly became man
and made flesh for Himself, out of the most pure
and undefiled blood of the holy and ever Virgin,
why should He not be capable of making bread,
His Body and wine and water, His Blood?…
God said
“This is my Body”
and “This is my Blood.”
Advent Reflection – 4 December – Wednesday of the First Week of Advent, Year A – Readings: Isaiah 25:6-10, Psalm 23, Matthew 15:29-37
Let us adore the Lord, the king who is to come.
“And great multitudes came unto him,
having with them those that were lame,
blind, dumb, maimed and many others
and cast them down at Jesus’ feet
and he healed them…”
Matthew 15:30
REFLECTION – “To this assembly have come not only the disciples, as if they were leaving behind the multitudes, as they did in the case of the Beatitudes. Rather, there are great crowds here, many of whom are deaf or suffer from many afflictions. Look at the crowds who come to this mountain where the Son of God sits. Some of them have become deaf to the things that have been promised. Others have become blind in soul, not looking toward the true light. Others are lame and not able to walk according to reason. Others are maimed and unable to work profitably. Each of these who are suffering in soul from such things go up along with the multitudes into the mountain where Jesus sits.
Some who do not draw near to the feet of Jesus are not healed. But those who are brought by the multitude and cast at His feet are being healed. Even those who come only to the edges, just the extremities of the body of Christ, who feel themselves unworthy to obtain such things, are being healed . So now you come into the congregation of what is more commonly called the Church. See the catechumens? They are, as it were, cast in the far side or back of those who are the extreme end of the body, as if they were coming merely to the feet of the body of Jesus—the Church. They are coming to it with their own deafness and blindness and lameness and crookedness. In time they will be cured according to the Word. Observing this, you would not be wrong in saying, that these people have gone up with the multitudes into the church, up to the mountain where Jesus sits and have been cast at His feet and are being healed. And so the multitudes are astonished at beholding the transformations that are taking place. They behold those who are being converted from such great evils to that which is so much better.” Origen (c 185-253) Father of the Church – Commentary on Matthew, 11
Meditation:
If ever there is a time to believe in miracles, Advent season is that time! We hear of the miracle of Mary’s conception, the miracle of Jesus’ birth in a barn, the miracle of the star in the night sky leading the wise men, the feeding of the multitudes and their healings. A Saint, whose feast is celebrated during the Advent season, St Nicholas, was often called the “wonder-worker.” The Scriptures speak to us of God’s miraculous and unceasing care for us. God always provides for us. (Redemptorist Fathers)
Advent Action:
Today, let us believe in miracles and wonders. And tell all we meet, of these wonderful gifts from God.
Collect:
Prepare our hearts,
we pray, O Lord our God,
by Your divine power,
so that at the coming of Christ Your Son
we may be found worthy
of the banquet of eternal life
and merit to receive
heavenly nourishment from His hands.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Our Morning Offering – 4 December – The Memorial of St John Damascene (675-749) Father and Doctor of the Church
O Mary, my Hope!
St John Damascene (675-749)
I salute you, O Mary!
you are the hope of Christians.
Receive the prayer of a sinner,
who loves you tenderly,
honours you in a special manner
and places in you the whole hope
of his salvation.
From you I have my life.
You reinstate me in the grace of your Son:
you are the sure pledge of my salvation.
I beseech of you, therefore, to deliver me
from the burden of my sins,
dispel the darkness of my mind,
banish from my heart the love of the world,
repress the temptations of my enemies
and so rule my whole life, that by your means
and under your guidance,
I may obtain everlasting happiness in heaven.
Amen
St John Damascene (675-749) Father & Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial)
St John’s Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/12/04/saint-of-the-day-st-john-damascene-676-749-last-of-the-greek-fathers-and-doctor-of-the-church/
And Pope Benedict on St John Damascene:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/04/saint-of-the-day-4-december-st-john-damascene-675-749-father-doctor-of-the-church/
St Ada of Le Mans
St Adelmann of Beauvais
Bl Adolph Kolping
St Anno II
St Apro
St Barbara (Died 3rd Century) Martyr
St Bernardo degli Uberti
St Bertoara of Bourges
St Christianus
St Clement of Alexandria
St Cyran of Brenne
St Eraclius
St Eulogio Álvarez López
St Ezequiel Álvaro de La Fuente
St Felix of Bologna
Bl Francis Galvez
St Francisco de la Vega González
St Giovanni Calabria
St Heraclas of Alexandria
St Jacinto García Chicote
Bl Jerome de Angelis
St John the Wonder Worker
St Maruthas
St Melitus of Pontus
St Osmund of Salisbury
Bl Pietro Tecelano
St Prudens
St Robustiano Mata Ubierna
St Sigiranus
Bl Simon Yempo
St Sola
St Theophanes
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Eulogio Álvarez López
• Blessed Ezequiel Álvaro de La Fuente
• Blessed Francisco de la Vega González
• Blessed Jacinto García Chicote
• Blessed Robustiano Mata Ubierna
Quote of the Day – 2 December – Monday of the First week of Advent, Year A
“The very Son of God,
older than the ages,
the invisible,
the incomprehensible,
the incorporeal,
the beginning of beginning,
the light of light,
the fountain of life and immortality,
the image of the archetype,
the immovable seal,
the perfect likeness,
the definition and word of the Father:
He it is who comes to His own image
and takes our nature for the good of our nature
and unites Himself to an intelligent soul
for the good of my soul,
to purify like by like.”
Thought for the Day – 1 December – The First Sunday of Advent, Year A
An excerpt from Catechetical Instruction, Catechesis 15
We do not preach only one coming of Christ but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience, the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.
In general, whatever relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before the ages and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece and a coming before all eyes, still in the future.
At the first coming He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At His second coming He will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming He endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming He will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels. We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first coming we said – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. At the second we shall say it again, we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Savior will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom he was judged. At His own judgement He was silent, then He will address those who committed the outrages against Him when they crucified Him and will remind them – You did these things and I was silent.
His first coming was to fulfil His plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of His kingdom by necessity. Malachi the prophet speaks of the two comings. And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to His temple – that is one coming.
Again he says of another coming – Look, the Lord almighty will come and who will endure the day of His entry, or who will stand in His sight? Because he comes like a refiner’s fire, a fuller’s herb and He will sit refining and cleansing.
These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus – The grace of God the Saviour has appeared to all men, instructing us to put aside impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly and religiously in this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Notice how he speaks of a first coming for which he gives thanks and a second, the one we still await.
That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these words: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father and He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and His kingdom will have no end.
Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For there will be an end to this world and the created world will be made new.
Grant, almighty Father,
that when Christ comes again,
we may go out to meet Him,
bearing the harvest of good works,
achieved by Your Grace.
We pray, that He will receive us
into the company of the saints
and call us into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through Christ, our Lord,
with the Holy Spirit,
God for all eternity,
Amen
Thought for the Day – 28 November – It’s time to Hope! Advent is nearly upon us
This year, as before, I will post daily Advent Reflections drawn from diverse Saints and Holy people – please join me in prayer and in awakening our souls to hope.
In one of his Christmas stories Charles Dickens tells of a man who lost his emotional memory, that is, he lost the whole chain of feelings and thoughts he had acquired in the encounter with human suffering. This extinction of the memory of love is presented to him as liberation from the burden of the past but it becomes clear, immediately, that the whole person has been changed, now, when he meets with suffering, no memories of kindness are stirred within him… Since his memory has dried up, the source of kindness within him has also disappeared. He has become cold and spreads coldness around him.
Goethe deals with the same ideas as Dickens, in his account of the first celebration of the feast of Saint Roch in Bingen, after the long interruption caused by the Napoleonic wars. He observes the people as they press, tightly packed, through the church past the image of the saint and he watches their faces – the faces of the children and the adults are shining, mirroring the joy of the festal day. But with the young people, Goethe reports, it was otherwise. They went past unmoved, indifferent, bored. And he gives an illuminating explanation – they were born in evil times, had nothing good to remember and consequently had nothing to hope for. In other words, it is only the person who has memories who can hope. The person who has never experienced goodness and kindness simply does not know what such things are.
Recently a counsellor who spends much of his time talking with people on the verge of despair, was speaking in similar terms about his own work, if his client succeeds in recalling a memory of some good experience, he may once again be able to believe in goodness and thus relearn hope, then there is a way out of despair. Memory and hope are inseparable. To poison the past does not give hope, it destroys its emotional foundations.
Sometimes Charles Dickens’ story strikes me as a vision of contemporary experience. This man who let himself be robbed of the heart’s memory by the delusion of a false liberation — do we not find him with us today, in a generation whose past has been poisoned by a particular program of liberation that has stifled hope? When we read of the pessimism with which our young people look toward the future, we ask ourselves, Why? Is it that, in the midst of material affluence, they have no memory of human goodness that would allow them to hope? By outlawing the emotions, by satirising joy, have we not trampled on the root of hope?
These reflections bring us straight to the significance of the Christian season of Advent. For Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man. Advent’s intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God Who became a Child. This is a healing memory, it brings hope. The purpose of the Church’s year is continually to rehearse her great history of memories, to awaken the heart’s memory so that it can discern the star of hope. All the feasts in the Church’s calendar are events of remembrance and hence events of hope. These events, of such great significance for mankind, which are preserved and opened up by faith’s calendar, are intended to become personal memories of our own life history, through the celebration of holy seasons by means of liturgy and custom. Our personal memories are nourished by mankind’s great memories, in turn, it is only by translating them into personal term,s that these great memories are kept alive. Man’s ability to believe always depends in part on faith having become dear on the path of life, on the humanity of God having manifested itself through the humanity of men. No doubt each of us could tell his own story here as to what the various memories of Christmas, Easter or other festivals mean in his life.
It is the beautiful task of Advent, to awaken in all of us, memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.
“Those who run
toward the Lord,
will never lack space…
One who is climbing
never stops,
he moves from
beginning to beginning,
according to beginnings,
that never end.”
Thought for the Day – 27 November – Wednesday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:12–19
“But not a hair of your head shall perish.” … Luke 21:9
“You can be a witness to Christ every day. You were tempted by the spirit of impurity but… you considered that chastity of spirit and body should not be soiled – you are a martyr or, in other words, a witness to Christ… You were tempted by the spirit of pride but, seeing the poor and needy, you were seized by tender compassion and preferred humility to arrogance – you are a witness to Christ. Better still – you have not given your witness in word alone but in deed as well.
What is the surest kind of witness? “Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came among us in the flesh” (cf. 1Jn 4,2) and who keeps the commands of the Gospel… How many there are each day of these hidden martyrs of Christ who confess the Lord Jesus! The apostle Paul knew that kind of martyrdom and witness of faith rendered to Christ, he who said: “Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience” (2Cor 1,12). For how many people have made a confession of faith exteriorly but denied it interiorly!… So be faithful and courageous in interior persecutions so that you may also win the victory in exterior persecutions. There are “kings and rulers,” judges of formidable power, in the persecutions within, likewise. You have an example of these in the temptations undergone by our Lord (Mt 4,1ff.)”… (Sermon 20 on Psalm 118)
“When I feel overwhelmed by misfortune,
the greatest joy that the Lord can give me,
is to go to the altar, to put my forehead against it
(as on the day of my ordination to the priesthood)
and to feel the presence of the only reality.
Not only does calm return
but my body seems to be annihilated,
the only true life begins,
the life of that which is intangible.”
Quote/s of the Day – 27 November – Wednesday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:12–19
“Blessed are you
when men revile you
and persecute you …
on my account”
But to bear with insult,
patiently undergo humiliation,
pray for those who persecute us (Mt 5,39.44) –
that is the Lord’s cup,
that is the Lord’s feast.“
“Sheltered under the name of
Jesus Christ,
I do not fear these pains ….”
“One doesn’t suffer
when one suffers
for Christ.”
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men,
I also will acknowledge before my Father,
who is in heaven…”
Thought for the Day – 26 November – Tuesday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:5–11
“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified” … Luke 21:9
Saint John Chrysostom (c 345-407)
Father & Doctor
The nearer the king approaches, the more we should pray. The nearer the moment arrives for bestowing the trophy on the combatant, the harder we should struggle. This is what they do at the race – as the end of the course nears and they are reaching the goal, they stir up the horses’ enthusiasm even more. In the same way Saint Paul says: “Now is salvation nearer to us than when first we believed. The night is far gone, the day is at hand” (Rm 13:11-12).
Since night is disappearing and day is coming to view, let us carry out the works of day and leave behind the works of darkness. This is what we do in the course of life – when we see night giving way to dawn and hear the swallows singing, then we rouse one another even though it is still dark… We hurry to our daily tasks; we get dressed after being snatched from sleep so that the sun will find us ready. What we do then, let us do now. Let us shake off our dreams, rouse ourselves from thoughts of this present life, leave our heavy slumber and put on the garment of virtue. This is what the apostle clearly says to us: “Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light” (v.12). For day is calling us to the battle, to the fight.
But don’t be afraid when you hear these words about fighting and combat! For if it is uncomfortable to put on heavy material armour, it is pleasant, on the other hand, to put on spiritual armour, for this is an armour of light. In this way you will shine more brightly than the sun and, even as you sparkle brightly, you will be safe because these are weapons… weapons of light. So then? Are we excused from fighting? Not at all! We are to fight but without being overcome by fatigue and without pain. For it is not so much a war to which we are being summoned, as a feast and celebration.
O Yes, Lord Jesus,
come and reign!
Let my body
be Your temple,
my heart,
Your throne,
my will,
Your devoted servant,
let me be Yours forever,
living only in You
and for You!
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 26 November – Tuesday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:5–11
“Take heed that you are not led astray,
for many will come in my name,
saying, ‘I am he!’“
“If you believe what you like in the Gospels
and reject what you don’t like,
it is not the Gospel you believe
but yourself.”
“If you only follow the teachings of the Church
that you like and reject what you don’t like,
then it is not Christ and the Catholic faith
that you claim to believe in but yourself.
The creed that we profess
does not begin by saying,
“I believe in me…”
“A dead thing goes with the stream
but only a living thing can go against it.”
“Really great moral teachers
never do introduce new moralities,
it is quacks and cranks who do that.”
Mere Christianity
“We are no longer able to hear God.
There are too many frequencies filling our ears.”
“No age has been more prone
to confuse the sin with the sinner,
not by hating the sinner along with the sin
but by loving the sin along with the sinner.
We often use “compassion”
as an equivalent for moral relativism.”
“We have laws against polluting our rivers
but not against polluting our minds!”
“I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries,
to swim against the tide,
yes, I am asking you
to rebel against this culture.”
Quote/s of the Day – 25 November – Monday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:1-4
“What sort of people are we?
When God gives, we want to receive,
when He asks, we refuse to give?
When a poor man is hungry,
Christ is in need, as He said Himself:
“I was hungry and you gave me no food” (v. 42).
Take care not to despise the hardship of the poor,
if you would hope, without fear,
to have your sins forgiven…
What He receives on earth,
He returns in heaven!”
“I put you this question, dearly beloved –
what is it you want,
what is it you are looking for,
when you come to church?
What indeed if not mercy?
Show mercy on earth and you will receive mercy in heaven.
A poor man is begging from you
and you are begging from God,
he asks for a scrap, you ask for eternal life…
And so when you come to church
give whatever alms you can to the poor
in accordance with your means.”
“So hold fast to the sweet and salutary bond of love,
without which,
the rich are poor
and with which the poor are rich.
What do the rich possess if not charity? (…)
And since “God is love,” (1 Jn 4:8) as John the evangelist says,
what can the poor lack,
if they merit to possess God by means of charity? (…)
So love, dearest brethren
and hold fast to charity.
without which no-one
will ever see God.”
“When we attend to the needs of those in want,
we give them what is theirs, not ours.
More than performing works of mercy,
we are paying a debt of justice.”
“The poor are our masters,
let us love them and serve them,
as we would serve
Jesus Christ Himself. “
“Yours must be a work of love, of kindness,
you must give your time, your talents, yourselves.
The poor person is a unique person of God’s fashioning
with an inalienable right to respect.
You must not be content with tiding the poor over the poverty crisis,
You must study their condition
and the injustices which brought about such poverty,
with the aim of a long term improvement.”
“It is our vocation to set people’s hearts ablaze,
to do what the Son of God did,
who came to light a fire on earth
in order to set it ablaze with His love.”
“I would like to embrace
the whole world
in a network of charity.”
“True friendship with Jesus
is expressed in how one lives,
in the goodness of one’s heart,
in one’s humility, kindness and mercy,
in one’s love for justice and truth,
in one’s sincere commitment
to peace and reconciliation.
This, we might say, is the ‘identity card’
that qualifies us as true ‘friends,’
it is the ‘passport’
that will let us enter eternal life.”
One Minute Reflection – 25 November – Monday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 21:1-4
“… for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” … Luke 21:4
REFLECTION – “Although the spite of some people does not grow gentle with any kindness, nevertheless the works of mercy are not fruitless and kindness never loses what is offered to the ungrateful. May no-one, dearly beloved, make themselves strangers to good works. Let no-one claim, that his poverty scarcely sufficed for himself and could not help another. What is offered from a little is great and in the scale of divine justice, the quantity of gifts is not measured but the steadfastness of souls. The “widow” in the Gospel put two coins into the “treasury” and this surpassed the gifts of all the rich. No mercy is worthless before God. No compassion is fruitless. He has given different resources to human beings but He does not ask different affections.” … St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) Father & Doctor of the Church (Sermon 20)
PRAYER – God our Father, You give us a share in the one bread and the one cup and make us one in Christ. Help us to live as Your children and by our lives to bring Your salvation and joy to all the world. May the Holy Spirit fill us with all His gifts and virtues so that we may await the coming of Your Son, guided by His Light and may Mary, the blessed Virgin, accompany us, guarding and giving us her prayerful help. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Quote/s of the Day – 24 November – The Solemnity of Christ the King
“Christ, has dominion over all creatures,
a dominion not seized by violence
nor usurped but His,
by essence and by nature.”
“Christ’s kingdom is not just a figure of speech.
Christ is alive, He lives as a man,
with the same body
He took when He became man,
when He rose after His death,
the glorified body which subsists
in the person of the Word
together with His human heart.
Christ, true God and true man, lives and reigns.
He is the Lord of the universe.
Everything that lives
is kept in existence
only through Him.”
“Jesus Christ
You have heard Him spoken of,
indeed the greater part of you are already His – you are Christians.
So, to you Christians I repeat His name,
to everyone I proclaim Him –
Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end,
the Alpha and the Omega.
He is the king of the new world.
He is the secret of history.
He is the key to our destiny.”
“You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”
“But what is the “truth” that Christ
came into the world to witness to?
The whole of His life reveals that God is love –
so this is the truth to which He witnessed to the full,
with the sacrifice of His own life on Calvary.”
“When did Jesus reveal Himself as king?
In the event of the Cross!”
AnaStpaul 
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