FATHERS of the Church – Page 109

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One Minute Reflection – 23 May – ‘… Believing is not enough’

Posted on May 23, 2019May 23, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 23 May – Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter, C, First Reading: Acts 15:7-21 and the Memorial of St John Baptist de Rossi (1698-1764)

“He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts.” …Acts 15:9

REFLECTION – “Faith in God purifies the heart, the pure heart sees God. But faith is sometimes defined, as followed by people, who wish to deceive themselves, — as if it were enough merely to believe — some people, you see, promise themselves the vision of God and the kingdom of heaven for believing, while living bad lives. Against these the apostle James indignantly took umbrage out of spiritual charity, so he says in his letter, “You believe that God is one.” You pat yourself on your back for your faith, you observe that many godless people assume there are many gods and you congratulate yourself for believing that there is only one God. “You do well. The demons also believe — and shudder.” Shall they too see God? Those who are pure of heart shall see Him. Whoever would say, that the unclean spirits are pure of heart? And yet, “they believe—and shudder.”

So our faith must be distinguished from the faith of demons. Our faith, you see, purifies the heart, their faith makes them guilty. So let us distinguish our faith and see that believing is not enough. That is not the sort of faith that purifies the heart. “Purifying their hearts,” it says, “by faith.” But which faith, what sort of faith? The one, surely, which the apostle Paul defines when he says “faith that works through love.” This faith is different from the faith of demons, different from the morals of dissolute and desperate people. “Faith,” he says. “Which faith?” The one “that works through love,” hopes for what God promises. You could not have a more perfect, a more carefully thought-out definition than that.”…St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor (Sermon 53)

PRAYER – Lord God, we were sinners and Your grace made us holy, we were without hope and You filled us with faith and joy. Stand by us, in Your saving work and stay with us, in Your gifts of grace. May we never fail to persevere in the holiness that comes from faith. Listen to the prayers of the Mother of our Lord and our Mother and those of St John Baptist de Rossi, whom we ask for supplication. Through Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen. blessed virgin mary holy mother pray for us 23 may 2019

st john baptist de rossi pray for us 23 may 2019

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Thought for the Day – 22 May – The Christian in the World – You and Me!

Posted on May 22, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 22 May – Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter C, Gospel: John 15:1-8

“I am the true vine and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me
that does not bear fruit and everyone that does,
he prunes so that it bears more fruit” … John 15:1-2

The Christian in the World

An excerpt from A Letter to Diognetus

(Nn. 5-6; Funk, 397-401)

Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. Their teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign.

And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labour under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country . Like others, they marry and have children but they do not expose them. They share their meals but not their wives. They live in the flesh but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law.

Christians love all men but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death but raised to life again. They live in poverty but enrich many, they are totally destitute but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonour but that is their glory. They are defamed but vindicated. A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference, their response to insult. For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors but even then they rejoice, as though receiving the gift of life. They are attacked by the Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred.

To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body. As the soul is present in every part of the body, while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world but cannot be identified with the world. As the visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world but their religious life remains unseen. The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of any injury the soul has done it but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures. Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong but because they are opposed to its enjoyments.

Christians love those who hate them just as the soul loves the body and all its members despite the body’s hatred. It is by the soul, enclosed within the body, that the body is held together and similarly, it is by the Christians, detained in the world as in a prison, that the world is held together. The soul, though immortal, has a mortal dwelling place and Christians also live for a time amidst perishable things, while awaiting the freedom from change and decay that will be theirs in heaven. As the soul benefits from the deprivation of food and drink, so Christians flourish under persecution. Such is the Christian’s lofty and divinely appointed function, from which he is not permitted to excuse himself…Vatican.va

Prayer

Father of all holiness,
guide our hearts to You.
Keep in the light of Your truth
all those You have freed from the darkness of unbelief.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

Prepared by the Spiritual Theology Department
of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross

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One Minute Reflection -20 May – “We will come and make our home with him.”

Posted on May 20, 2019May 20, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection -20 May – Monday of the fifth Week of Easter, C, Gospel: John 14:21–26 and the Memorial of St Bernadine of Siena OFM. (1380-1444)

“We will come to him and make our dwelling with him”…John 14:24

REFLECTION – “My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Consider, dearly beloved, how great this solemnity is, that commemorates the coming of God as a guest in our hearts. If some rich and powerful friend were to enter your home, you would quickly clean the entire house, for fear something there, might offend your friend’s eyes, when he entered. Let anyone then who is preparing his inner house for God, cleanse away the dirt of his evil deeds.

You see what Truth tells us – “We will come and make our home with him.” He does indeed enter the hearts of some but does not make His home there, because through repentance, they acquire respect for God but during a time of temptation, they forget that they have repented and so return to committing sins, as if they had never wept over them at all. The Lord comes into the heart and makes His home in one, who truly loves God and observes His commandments, since the love of His divine nature, so penetrates him that he does not turn away from it during times of temptation. That person loves truly, whose heart does not consent to be overcome by wicked pleasures… Hence the following clarification – “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” Dearly beloved, enter into yourselves and inquire if you truly love God. But let no-one believe the answer his heart gives in his own case, apart from the testimony of his works….St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Doctor of the Church Homilies on the Gospels no 30.

PRAYER – Lord, by Your grace, we are made one in mind and heart. Give us a love for what You command and a longing for what You promise, so that, amid this world’s changes, our hearts may be set on the world of lasting joy. May the angels and saints intercede for us and may our Mother, the Mother of God, be a constant assistant and guiding hand. We make our prayer, through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever and ever, amen. mary immaculate holy mother of god - pray for us - 28 may 2018

st-bernardine-of-siena-pray-for-us-2

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Thought for the Day – 19 May – The New Commandment

Posted on May 19, 2019May 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 19 May – The Fifth Sunday of Easter, C

The New Commandment

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another…. John 13:34

Saint Augustine (354-430)
Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from his Tractates on the Gospel of John, 65.

A new commandment I give you, that you love one another. This commandment that He is giving them is a new one, the Lord Jesus tells His disciples. Yet was it not contained in the Old Law, where it is written – you shall love your neighbour as yourself? Why does the Lord call it new when it is clearly so old? Or is the commandment new because it divests us of our former selves and clothes us with the new man? Love does indeed renew the man who hears, or rather obeys its command but, only that love which Jesus distinguished from a natural love, by the qualification – As I have loved you.

This is the kind of love that renews us. When we love as He loved us, we become new men, heirs of the new covenant and singers of the new song. My brothers, this was the love that even in bygone days renewed the holy men, the patriarchs and prophets of old. In later times it renewed the blessed apostles and now it is the turn of the Gentiles. From the entire human race throughout the world this love gathers together into one body a new people, to be the bride of God’s only Son. She is the bride of whom it is asked in the Song of Songs: Who is this who comes clothed in white? White indeed are her garments, for she has been made new and the source of her renewal, is none other, than this new commandment.

And so all her members make each other’s welfare their common care. When one member suffers, all the members suffer with him and if one member is glorified, all the rest rejoice. They hear and obey the Lord’s words – a new commandment I give you, that you love one another, not as men love one another for their own selfish ends, nor merely on account of their common humanity but because they are all gods and sons of the Most High. They love one another as God loves them, so that they may be brothers of His only Son. He will lead them to the goal that alone will satisfy them, where all their desires will be fulfilled. For when God is all in all, there will be nothing left to desire.

This love is the gift of the Lord who said – as I have loved you, you also must love one another. His object in loving us, then, was to enable us to love each other. By loving us Himself, our mighty head has linked us all together, as members of His own body, bound to one another by the tender bond of love.

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One Minute Reflection – 19 May – ‘What has He loved in us if not God? ‘

Posted on May 19, 2019May 18, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 19 May – The Fifth Sunday of Easter, C, Gospel: John 13:31-35

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,
even as I have loved you, that you also love one another….“…John 13:34

REFLECTION – “For what do they love, those who love their neighbour with a pure, spiritual love, if not God? This is the love the Lord wants to distinguish from a purely natural affection when He adds: “As I have loved you”. What has He loved in us if not God? Not God as we possess Him now but as He wants us to possess Him where “God will be all in all.” Doctors love their patients because of the health they want to give them, not because of their sickness. “Love one another as I have loved you”. This is why He has loved us – so that we, in our turn, might love one another.”…St Augustine (354-430) Doctor and Great Western Father of the Church – Sermons on Saint John’s Gospel, 65 john 13 34 a new commandment - for wbat do they love if not god - st augustine 19 may 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, Your ways are not our ways, teach us to willingly agree to them, for You know which way we should go. Help us to say “yes” always to Your plan and to render ourselves, as a sacrament of Your divine love to all we meet. Fill us with the grace to be Your tools, to bring glory to Your kingdom. Our Father, who art in heaven, may Your Will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Mary Mother of God, Mother of Faith, pray for us! Through our Our Lord Jesus Christ with You, in the union of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

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Thought for the Day – 27 April – The Preservation of Unity

Posted on May 17, 2019May 17, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 27 April – Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter C, – Gospel: John 14:1-6

The Preservation of Unity

“And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”...John 14:3

Saint Pope Clement I (Died 99)
Apostolic Father, Bishop of Rome and Martyr

An excerpt from his Letter to the Corinthians

Beloved, Jesus Christ is our salvation, He is the high priest through whom we present our offerings and the Helper, who supports us in our weakness. Through Him, our gaze penetrates the heights of heaven and we see as in a mirror, the most holy face of God. Through Christ, the eyes of our hearts are opened and our weak and clouded understanding, reaches up toward the light. Through Him, the Lord God willed, that we should taste eternal knowledge, for Christ is the radiance of God’s glory and as much greater than the angels, as the name God has given Him is superior to theirs.

So then, my brothers, let us do battle with all our might, under His unerring command. Think of the men serving under our military commanders. How well disciplined they are! How readily and submissively they carry out orders! Not everyone can be a prefect, a tribune, a centurion, or a captain of fifty but each man, in his own rank, executes the orders of the emperor and the officers in command. The great, cannot exist, without those of humble condition, nor can those of humble condition, exist without the great. Always, it is the harmonious working together, of its various parts, that insures the well-being of the whole. Take our own body as an example – the head is helpless without the feet and the feet can do nothing without the heart. Even our least important members, are useful and necessary, to the whole body and all work together for its well-being in harmonious subordination.

Let us, then, preserve the unity of the body that we form in Christ Jesus and let everyone give his neighbour the deference, to which his particular gifts, entitle him. Let the strong care for the weak and the weak respect the strong. Let the wealthy assist the poor and the poor man thank God for giving him someone to supply his needs. The wise man should show his wisdom, not by his eloquence but by good works, the humble man should not proclaim his own humility but leave others to do so, nor must the man who preserves his chastity, ever boast of it but recognise that the ability to control his desires has been given him by another.

Think, my brothers, of how we first came into being, of what we were at the first moment of our existence. Think of the dark tomb, out of which our Creator brought us into His world, where He had His gifts prepared for us, even before we were born. All this we owe to Him and for everything, we must give Him thanks. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen so then my brothers let us do battle under His - st pope clement I - 17 may 2019.jpg

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One Minute Reflection – 14 May – Saint Matthias, the witness to the resurrection chosen by God

Posted on May 14, 2019May 14, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 14 May – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter, C, First Reading: Acts of the Apostles 1:15-17.20-26. and the Feast of St Matthias, Apostle of Christ

“During those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and spoke.”…Acts 1:15

REFLECTION – “Because he is fervent and is the senior member of the group, he is always the first to speak: “My brothers, it is necessary we choose one of the men who accompanied us.” Note how he wants these new apostles to be eyewitnesses. No doubt, the Holy Spirit would come and yet Peter placed a great deal of importance on this point – “One of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us” (v.21). He indicates that they must have lived with Him and not just been disciples. For in fact, in the beginning, many people followed Him… “Until the day when he was taken up from us. He must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” (v.22)

Peter did not say: “a witness to everything else” but only – “a witness to his resurrection.” For a disciple who could say, “Someone who ate and drank and was crucified was the same who was raised” would be more worthy of credence. Therefore,it was not necessary that he should be a witness to the times beforehand, nor to those that followed, nor to the miracles. What was required of him was that he should be a witness to the resurrection. Everything else had been manifest and proclaimed, whereas the resurrection took place in secret. It was manifested only to a few.”…St John Chrysostom (345-407) Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church – 3rd sermon on the Acts of the apostles ; PG 60, 33 (trans. breviary 14/05)

PRAYER – Lord God, You chose St Matthias to complete the number of the twelve. By his prayer, include us among Your chosen ones, since we rejoice to see that the lot marked out for us, is in Your Love. Through Jesus the Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.

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Thought for the Day – 13 May – A Pastor’s Prayer to the Good Shepherd

Posted on May 13, 2019May 13, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 13 May – Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter, C – Gospel: John 10:1-10

A Pastor’s Prayer to the Good Shepherd

St John Damascene (675-749)

Monk, Theologian, Doctor of the Church

O Christ, my God, You stooped down to me, poor straying sheep, to take me on Your shoulders (Lk 15:5) and have set me down in green pastures (Ps 23[22]:2). You have quenched my thirst at the springs of true doctrine, through the mediation of Your pastors, whose shepherd You were, before entrusting to them Your flock… And now, O Lord, You have called me… to serve Your disciples, by what design of Your Providence I know not, only You know.

But, Lord, lighten the heavy burden of those sins of mine that have so gravely offended You, purify my mind and heart. Lead me by the right way (Ps 23[22]:3) as by a light enlightening me. Enable me to proclaim Your word boldly, may Your Spirit’s tongue of flame (Acts 2:3) give perfect freedom to my tongue and make me constantly attentive to Your presence.

Be a shepherd to me, O Lord and together with me, be the shepherd of Your sheep, that my heart may not cause me to swerve either to right or to left. Let Your good Spirit lead me in the right way, that my actions may be carried out, according to Your will – even to the end.”

Amen

a pastor's prayer to the good shepherd - st john damascene 13 may 2019.jpg

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One Minute Reflection – 13 May – “…The sheep hear his voice”

Posted on May 13, 2019May 13, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 13 May – Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter, C – Gospel: John 10:1-10 and the 102nd Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima

“… the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”…John 10:3

REFLECTION – “The mark of Christ’s sheep is their willingness to hear and obey, just as disobedience is the mark of those who are not His.

We take the word ‘hear’ to imply obedience to what has been said. People who hear God are known by Him. No-one is entirely unknown by God but to be known in this way, is to become part of His family.

Therefore, when Christ says, “I know mine,” He means I will receive them and give them a permanent mystical relationship with Myself.

It might be said that inasmuch as He has become man, He has made all human beings His relatives, since all are members of the same race. We are all united to Christ in a mystical relationship because of His incarnation. Yet those who do not preserve the likeness of His holiness are alienated from Him. “My sheep follow me,” says Christ. By a certain God-given grace, believers follow in the footsteps of Christ. No longer subject to the shadows of the law, they obey the commands of Christ and guided by His words, rise through grace, to His own dignity, for they are called “children of God.”

When Christ ascends into heaven, they also follow Him.”… St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father & Doctor of the Church (Commentary on the Gospel of John)

PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, You have rescued Your faithful from enslavement to sin, by Your Son’s self-abasement. You have raised up the world through His suffering. Fill us now with holy joy at His rising and triumph. Let us hear His voice and follow Him to everlasting life. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us! Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen. pray-for-us-mother-of-god-13-may-2017

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Thought for the Day – 12 May – The Celebration of the Eucharist

Posted on May 12, 2019May 11, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 12 May – The Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C

The Celebration of the Eucharist

Saint Justin Martyr (100-165)
Father of the Church, Apologist and Martyr

An excerpt from his First Apology in the Defence of Christians

No one may share the Eucharist with us, unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.

We do not consume the Eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught, that as Jesus Christ our Saviour became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food, that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment, becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus, by the power of His own words, contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that He took bread, gave thanks and said – Do this in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way He took the cup, He gave thanks and said – This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then, we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive, we praise the Creator of the universe through His Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday, we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us, he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability and the people give assent by saying, “Amen.” The Eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates and the deacons take it to those who are absent.

The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.

We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world and because on that same day, our savioUr Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For He was crucified on Friday and on Sunday He appeared to His apostles and disciples and taught them the things, that we have passed on for your consideration.

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One Minute Reflection – 2 May – “I give them eternal life”

Posted on May 12, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 2 May – The Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C, Gospel: John 10:27-30 – Good Shepherd/Vocations Sunday

“I give them eternal life”...John 10:27 john 10 27 - i give them eternal life - 12 may 2019 good shepherd sunday

REFLECTION – “The Lord says: “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me; I give them eternal life”. A little earlier He said to them: “Anyone who enters by me will be saved, he will go in ou, and will find pasture”. (Jn 10:9) He will go into faith, he will go out from faith to vision, from belief to contemplation, will find pasture in eternal refreshment.

The Good Shepherd’s sheep will pasture because whoever follows Him with a guileless heart is nourished with a food of eternal freshness. What are the pastures of these sheep but the eternal joys of an evergreen paradise? The pasture of the elect, is the face of God always before us. When we see Him perfectly, our hearts are endlessly satisfied with the food of life…

Let us seek these pastures, dearly beloved! There we may enjoy the celebration of so many citizens. Let the festival of those who rejoice attract us… Let us enkindle our hearts, my friends, let our faith grow warm again for what it believes, let our desire for heavenly things take fire. To love thus, is to be already on the way. Let no adversity recall us from the joy of inner festivity, no difficulty on his journey, alters the desire, of a person wanting to go to some particular place. Let no seductive good fortune lead us astray, he is a foolish traveller who sees pleasant meadows on his journey and forgets where he is going.”… St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church – Homilies on the Gospel, no15[14]

PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, bring us to the joy of Your heavenly city, so that we, Your little flock, may follow where Christ, our Good Shepherd, has gone before us, by the power of His Resurrection. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, guide us, that we may always follow our Shepherd and thus reach our heavenly home, to praise Him forever. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and for all eternity, amen. mater dei mother of god pray for us 12 may 2019

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One Minute Reflection – 10 May – “He is there and He is also here..”

Posted on May 10, 2019May 10, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 10 May – and Friday of the Third Week of Easter, C, First Reading: Acts 9:1-20 and the Memorial of Blessed Ivan Merz (1896-1928)

“He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”…Acts 9:4

REFLECTION – “How can we show that He is there and that He is also here? Let Paul answer for us, who was previously Saul. First of all, the Lord’s own voice from heaven shows this: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Had Paul climbed up to heaven then? Had Paul even thrown a stone at heaven? It was Christians he was persecuting, them he was tying up, them he was dragging off to be put to death, them he was everywhere hunting out of their hiding places and never sparing when he found them. To him the Lord said, “Saul, Saul.” Where is He crying out from? Heaven. So He’s up above. “Why are you persecuting me?” So He’s down below.”…St Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo, Father & Doctor (Sermon 122)

PRAYER – Almighty God, You sent Your Son and we have now come to know the grace of His Resurrection. Through Him we live and move and have our being. As we follow Him, He walks with us and leads us to You. Grant we pray, that His mother and ours, may guide our way to Him and may the prayers of Blessed Ivan Merz, who always followed closely behind the Lord, be a solace in our trials. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen. sancta-maria-mary-most-holy-pray-for-us-10-may-2018 bl ivan merz pray for us 10 may 2019

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Our Morning Offering – 10 May – Hail, O Mary, Mother of God

Posted on May 10, 2019May 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 10 May – “Mary’s Month” and Friday Third Week of Easter, C

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God
By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin and Mother!
Morning Star, perfect vessel.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Holy Temple in which god Himself was conceived.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Chaste and pure dove.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Who enclosed the One who cannot be encompassed
in your sacred womb.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
From you flowed the true light, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you the Conqueror
and triumphant Vanquisher of hell came to us.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Through you, the glory of the Resurrection blossoms.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
You have saved every faithful Christian.
Hail, O Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death.
Amen hail o mary mother of god st cyril of alex 10 may 2019.jpg

CATECHESIS, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The LAST THINGS

Thought for the Day – 9 May – The Eucharist, Pledge of our Resurrection

Posted on May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 9 May – Thursday Third Week of Easter, C

The Eucharist, Pledge of our Resurrection

Saint Irenaeus (130-202)
Bishop, Father of the Church and Martyr

An excerpt from a Against Heresies

If our flesh is not saved, then the Lord has not redeemed us with His blood, the Eucharistic chalice does not make us sharers in His blood and the bread we break, does not make us sharers in His body. There can be no blood without veins, flesh and the rest of the human substance and this the Word of God actually became – it was with His own blood that He redeemed us. As the Apostle says – In Him, through His blood, we have been redeemed, our sins have been forgiven.

We are His members and we are nourished by creatures, which is His gift to us, for it is He who causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall. He declared that the chalice, which comes from His creation, was His blood and He makes it the nourishment of our blood. He affirmed that the bread, which comes from His creation, was His body and He makes it, the nourishment of our body. When the chalice we mix and the bread we bake, receive the Word of God, the Eucharistic elements become the body and blood of Christ, by which our bodies, live and grow. How then can it be said, that flesh belonging to the Lord’s own body and nourished by His body and blood, is incapable of receiving God’s gift of eternal life? Saint Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that we are members of His body, of His flesh and bones. He is not speaking of some spiritual and incorporeal kind of man, for spirits do not have flesh and bones. He is speaking of a real human body composed of flesh, sinews and bones, nourished by the chalice of Christ’s blood and receiving growth from the bread which is His body.

The slip of a vine planted in the ground bears fruit at the proper time. The grain of wheat falls into the ground and decays only to be raised up again and multiplied by the Spirit of God who sustains all things. The Wisdom of God places these things at the service of man and when they receive God’s word, they become the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ. In the same way our bodies, which have been nourished by the Eucharist, will be buried in the earth and will decay but they will rise again at the appointed time, for the Word of God will raise them up, to the glory of God the Father. Then the Father will clothe our mortal nature in immortality and freely endow our corruptible nature with incorruptibility, for God’s power is shown most perfectly in weakness. we are his members and we are nourished - st ireneus on the eucharist and resurrection 9 may 2019.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 9 May – “..Reading the Scriptures”

Posted on May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 9 May – Thursday Third Week of Easter, C, First Reading: Acts 8:26–40

“… and was returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.”…Acts 8:28

REFLECTION – “Consider, I ask you, what a great effort it was not to neglect reading even while on a journey and, especially, while seated in a chariot. Let this be heeded by those people who do not even deign to do it at home but rather think reading the Scriptures is a waste of time, claiming as an excuse their living with a wife, conscription in military service, caring for children, attending to domestics and looking after other concerns, they do not think it necessary for them to show any interest in reading the holy Scriptures.” … St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor (Homilies on Genesis, 35.) acts 8 28 seated in the chariot - considr what great effort - st john chrysostom 9 may 2019.jpg

PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, in Your Word, You shed the light of Your glory on the peoples who are living in the shadow of death. By Your Word, You teach us all things and lead us in the way of hope and love. For Your Word is Truth and Your Word became flesh and filled our world with the Sun of Justice, Your Son, He who is the Sun and the Truth. May our steps be guided by His Mother, as we follow in the footsteps of Your Word and may the prayers of Blessed Maria Carmen Rendiles, be a help in our trials. Through Christ, our Lord Jesus, with You in union with the Holy Spirit, now and forever, amen. mary refuge of sinners pray for us 28 march 2019 ora pro nobis.jpg

bl maria carmen rendiles pray for us 9 may 2019.jpg

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The WORD

Marian Thoughts – 5 May – ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.’

Posted on May 8, 2019May 8, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Marian Thoughts – 5 May – “Mary’s Month!”

From the Sermons of St Sophronius (560-638) Father of the Church

(St Sophronius was a courageous leader of the Jerusalem Church during the Islamic conquests of the seventh century, Bishop Saint Sophronius I has his liturgical memorial on 11 March).

The blessings of the Father shone upon men through Mary

‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.’ Could anything transcend the joy that is yours, O Virgin Mother? Could anything surpass this race granted by God to you alone? Is it possible to think of anything more gratifying and more splendid? Nothing can even approach the marvel that we see in you. All things lie far below the grace that is yours; in comparison, even the best of them take second place and their brilliance is overshadowed.

‘The Lord is with you’ and who has dared to strive against you? God has been born of you, who would stand in your way and not gladly give you first place and supremacy? For this reason, when I contemplate the privileges that put you above all creatures I cry out to you in highest praise. ‘Hail O favoured one, the Lord is with you.’ The joy that comes from you is shared not only by mankind but also by the powers of heaven.

Truly, ‘you are blessed among women’ for you have changed the condemnation of Eve into a blessing. Because of you, and through you, Adam who hitherto was cast down and condemned received a blessing.

Truly, ‘you are blessed among women’ for through you the blessing of the Father came to mankind and reprieved them from the age-old sentence.

Truly, ‘you are blessed among women’, because through you, your ancestors found salvation. You were to give birth to the Saviour who would win for them God’s salvation.

Truly, ‘you are blessed among women’ for without the seed of man you bore the fruit that gives a blessing to the whole earth and frees it from being condemned to produce only thorns.

Truly, ‘you are blessed among women’, for though you are a woman like any other woman you will in actual fact become the Mother of God. If the one to be born of you, is in truth God incarnate, you rightly deserve to be called ‘she who gave birth to God’, inasmuch, as you truly did give birth to God.

You have God enclosed within your womb. He lives in you according to the flesh and comes forth from you like a bridegroom, giving joy to all and sharing His divine light with all mankind.

In you, O Virgin, as in the clear brightness of heaven, God ‘has placed his tent’ and He ‘will come forth from you like a bridegroom from his chamber’. Like a giant He will run the course of His life to bring salvation to all living things. That course ‘will stretch from one end of the heavens to the other’ filling all things with the life-giving warmth of God’s radiance.

From the Little Office of Mary
+++++++++++++

Mary, Rosa Mystica, Pray for Us!

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN REFLECTIONS, MARY, MATER ECCLESIAE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the CHURCH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Marian Thoughts – 7 May – The Image of the Holy Church

Posted on May 7, 2019May 7, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Marian Thoughts – 7 May – ‘May, Mary’s Month’

St Augustine(354-430)
The Image of the Holy Church

Gracious Lady,
you are a mother and virgin,
you are the mother
of the body and soul
of our Head and Redeemer,
you are also truly mother
of all the members of Christ’s Mystical Body.
For through your love,
you have co-operated
in the begetting of the faithful in the Church.
Unique among women,
you are mother and virgin,
mother of Christ and virgin of Christ.
You are the beauty and charm of earth, O Virgin.
You are, forever, the image of the holy Church.
Through a woman came death,
through a woman came life,
yes, through you, O Mother of God.
==========

Mary, Mater Ecclesiae, Pray for us!

mary mater ecclesiae - mother of the church - pray for us - 21 may 2018.jpg

DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS

Thought for the Day – 7 May – Let us sing to the Lord a song of love

Posted on May 7, 2019May 7, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 7 May – Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter, C, Gospel: John 6:30–35

Let us sing to the Lord a song of love

Saint Augustine(354-430)
Doctor and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from Sermon 34

Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise is in the assembly of the saints. We are urged to sing a new song to the Lord, as new men who have learned a new song. A song is a thing of joy, more profoundly, it is a thing of love. Anyone, therefore, who has learned to love the new life has learned to sing a new song and the new song reminds us of our new life. The new man, the new song, the new covenant, all belong to the one kingdom of Go, and so, the new man will sing a new song and will belong to the new covenant.

There is not one who does not love something but the question is, what to love. The psalms do not tell us not to love but to choose the object of our love. But how can we choose unless we are first chosen? We cannot love unless someone has loved us first. Listen to the apostle John – We love him, because he first loved us. The source of man’s love for God can only be found in the fact that God loved him first. He has given us Himself as the object of our love and He has also given us its source. What this source is you may learn more clearly from the apostle Paul who tells us: The love of God has been poured into our hearts. This love is not something we generate ourselves, it comes to us through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Since we have such an assurance, then, let us love God with the love He has given us. As John tells us more fully: God is love, and whoever dwells in love dwells in God and God in him. It is not enough to say, Love is from God. Which of us would dare to pronounce the words of Scripture – God is love? He alone could say it who knew what it was to have God dwelling within Him. God offers us a short route to the possession of Himself. He cries out – Love Me and you will have Me for you would be unable to love Me if you did not possess Me already.

My dear brothers and sons, fruit of the true faith and holy seed of heaven, all you who have been born again in Christ and whose life is from above, listen to me, or rather, listen to the Holy Spirit, saying through me – Sing to the Lord a new song. Look, you tell me, I am singing. Yes indeed, you are singing, you are singing clearly, I can hear you. But make sure that your life does not contradict your words . Sing with your voices, your hearts, your lips and your lives – Sing to the Lord a new song.

Now it is your unquestioned desire to sing of Him whom you love but you ask me how to sing His praises. You have heard the words: Sing to the Lord a new song and you wish to know what praises to sing. The answer is: His praise is in the assembly of the saints, it is in the singers themselves. If you desire to praise Him, then live what you express. Live good lives and you yourselves will be His praise.

BAPTISM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 7 May – “We have been set free…”

Posted on May 7, 2019May 7, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 7 May – Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter, C, Gospel: John 6:30–35 and the Memorial of St Agostino Roscelli

“…My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”...John 6:32b john 6 35 - the eucharist is the father's gift to the world.jpg

REFLECTION – ““Sing a new song to the Lord!” (Ps 96[95]:1). It is a new song to match a new situation. As Paul wrote: “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2Cor 5:17). Those who were Israelites according to the flesh were set free from the tyranny of the Egyptians thanks to their mediator at that time, all-wise Moses, they were set free from their levy of brickmaking, the useless sweat of their earthly toil…, the cruelty of their overseers, the inhuman harshness of Pharaoh. They passed through the sea, ate manna in the wilderness, drank water that gushed forth from the rock, crossed dry-footed over the Jordan and entered into the Land of promise.

Now all of this has been renewed for our sakes and this new world is incomparably better than the old. We have been set free, not from an earthly slavery but from a spiritual one, we have no longer been delivered from this world’s tasks but from the stains of carnal pleasure. We have escaped, not from Egyptian foremen or an impious and pitiless tyrant, a man like ourselves but from cunning, immoral demons inciting us to sin and from Satan, the leader of their mob.

We have passed over the waves of this present life like a sea, with its commotion and insane bustle. We have eaten spiritual manna, the bread that came down from heaven giving life to the world. When we put our delight in the living waters of Christ, we drank from water that gushed from the rock. We have passed over Jordan thanks to the grace of the holy baptism we were deemed worthy to receive. We entered the Land promised to the saints and made ready for them, that land, which the Lord called to mind when he said: “Blessed the gentle for they shall inherit the earth” (Mt 5:4)….St Cyril of Alexandria (380-444) Father & Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Almighty Father, to whom this world, with all it’s goodness and beauty belongs, give us grace joyfully to begin this day in Your name and to fill it with the active love for You and our neighbour. By the food You give us, to sustain us on this journey, we are brought to holiness in Your Son, our Lord Jesus the Christ, whom You gave to us as our food. May the Mother of Your Son and our mother, lead us to You and may the prayers of St Agostino Roscelli, be a succour on our way. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen. mary most holy pray for us - 9 nov 2018

st agostino roscelli pray for us 7 may 2019

FATHERS of the Church, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on COURAGE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on SACRIFICE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on TEMPTATION, QUOTES on the DEVIL/EVIL, SAINT of the DAY, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST

Thought for the Day – 6 May – The Contest of Faith

Posted on May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 6 May – Monday of the Third week of Easter, Gospel: John 6:22–29 and the Memorial of St Francois Laval (1623-1708)

The Contest of Faith

Saint Cyprian of Carthage (200-258)
Bishop, Martyr, Father of the Church and Martyr

An excerpt from his Letter 58

Dear brothers, the commands of the Gospel are nothing else than God’s lessons, the foundations on which to build up hope, the supports for strengthening faith, the food that nourishes the heart. They are the rudder for keeping us on the right course, the protection that keeps our salvation secure. As they instruct the receptive minds of believers on earth, they lead safely to the kingdom of heaven.

As we do battle and fight, in the contest of faith, God, His angels and Christ Himself, watch us. How exalted is the glory, how great the joy of engaging in a contest with God presiding, of receiving a crown, with Christ as judge.

Dear brethren, let us arm ourselves with all our might, let us prepare ourselves for the struggle with uncorrupted minds, with a whole faith and with devoted courage.

The blessed Apostle teaches us how to arm and prepare ourselves – Put round you the belt of truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness, for shoes wear zeal for the Gospel of peace, take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Let us take this armour and defend ourselves with these spiritual defences from heaven, so that when the evil day comes we may be able to resist the threats of the devil and fight back against him.

Let us put on the breastplate of righteousness so that our breasts may be protected and kept safe from the arrows of the enemy. Let our feet be shod in the teaching of the Gospel and armoured so that when we begin to trample on the serpent and crush it, it will not be able to bite us or trip us up.

Let us with fortitude bear the shield of faith to protect us by extinguishing all the burning arrows that the enemy may launch against us.

Let us wear on our head the helmet of the Spirit, to defend our ears against the proclamations of death, to defend our eyes against the sight of accursed idols, to defend our foreheads so that God’s sign may be kept intact and to defend our mouths, so that our tongues may proclaim victoriously the name of Christ their Lord.

Let us arm our right hand with the sword of the Spirit so that it may courageously refuse the daily sacrifices and let the hand—mindful of the Eucharist—that took hold of the body of the Lord, embrace the Lord Himself and so gain from the Lord the future prize of a heavenly crown.

Dear brethren, have all this firmly fixed in your hearts. If the day of persecution finds us thinking on these things and meditating upon them, the soldier of Christ, trained by Christ’s commands and instructions, will not tremble at the thought of battle but will be ready to receive the crown of victory. Amen!

St Francois Laval, who have received the Crown, please pray for us!

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SANCTITY, QUOTES on WEALTH/RICHES, SPEAKING of .....

Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – Dangerous Affections

Posted on May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 6 May – Monday of the Third week of Easter, Gospel: John 6:22–29

Speaking of – Dangerous Affections – St Augustine

“Do not love the world
or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father, is not in him.”

1 John 2:15

“The honours of this world,
what are they but puff
and emptiness
and peril of falling?”

“What do you possess
if you possess not God?”

“The love of worldly possessions
is a sort of bird line,
which entangles the soul
and prevents it flying to God.”

“This is the business of our life –
by labour and prayer,
to advance in the grace of God,
till we come to that height of perfection
in which, with clean hearts,
we may behold God.”

“Daily advance,
then, in this love,
both by praying
and by well-doing,
that through the help of Him
who enjoined it on you
and whose gift it is,
it may be nourished
and increased,
until, being perfected,
it render you perfect.”

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

“This very moment,
I may,
if I desire,
become the friend
of God.”

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

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 May – “Jesus was standing on the shore”

Posted on May 5, 2019May 4, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 5 May – Third Sunday of Easter, Year C, Gospel: John 21:1–19 and the Memorial of Saint Nunzio Sulprizio (1917-1836)

“When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore”...John 21:4

REFLECTION – “When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore”
What does the sea indicate but the present age, which is disturbed by the uproar of circumstances and the commotion of this perishable life? What does the solidity of the shore signify but the uninterrupted continuance of eternal peace? Therefore, since the disciples were still held in the waves of this mortal life, they were labouring on the sea. But since our Redeemer had already passed beyond His perishable body, after His Resurrection, He stood on the shore, as if He were speaking to His disciples by His actions, of the mystery of His Resurrection: “I am not appearing to you on the sea, because I am not with you in the waves of confusion” (Mt 14:25)

It is for this reason that He said, in another place, to these same disciples after his Resurrection: “These are the words I spoke to you when I was still with you” (Lk 24:44). It was not that He wasn’t with them, when He appeared to them as a bodily presence but… He, in His immortal body, was apart from their mortal bodies. He was saying, that He was no longer with them, even as He stood in their midst. In the passage we read today, He also disclosed, by the place in which He was standing, when He showed Himself on the shore, while they were still at sea, what He professed, when he was with them.”…St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church

PRAYER – Lord God, grant Your people constant joy in the renewed vigour of their souls. They rejoice because You have restored them to the glory of Your adopted children, let them look forward gladly to the certain hope of the resurrection. May the prayers of our Blessed Mother and St Nunzio, who so bravely fought the good fight, be of assistance to us amidst the storms of this mortal life. We make our prayer through our Resurrected Christ, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen, alleluia! blessed virgin queen and mother pray for us 5 may 2019 st nunzio sulprizio pray for us - 5 may 2019

CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 4 May

Posted on May 4, 2019May 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 4 May – Mary’s Month and a Marian Saturday – Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Mary!
By St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

Blessed Virgin Mary,
who can worthily repay you
with praise and thanks
for having rescued a fallen world
by your generous consent!
Receive our gratitude
and by your prayers
obtain the pardon of our sins.
Take our prayers into the sanctuary of heaven
and enable them to make our peace with God.
Holy Mary,
help the miserable,
strengthen the discouraged,
comfort the sorrowful,
pray for your people,
plead for the clergy,
intercede for all women consecrated to God.
May all who venerate you
feel now, your help and protection.
Be ready to help us when we pray
and bring back to us, the answers to our prayers.
Make it your continual concern
to pray for the people of God,
for you were blessed by God
and were made worthy to bear
the Redeemer of the world,
who lives and reigns forever.
Amen blessed virgin mary, holy mary! by st augustine - 4 may 2019.jpg

FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, ON the SAINTS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Thought for the Day – 3 May – The Preaching of the Apostles

Posted on May 3, 2019May 3, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 3 May – The Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

The Preaching of the Apostles

Tertullian (c 155- c 240)
Priest, Father and Ancient Christian Writer

An excerpt from his On the Prescription of Heretics

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself declared what He was, what He had been, how He was carrying out His Father’s will, what obligations He demanded of men. This He did during His earthly life, either publicly to the crowds, or privately to His disciples. Twelve of these He picked out, to be His special companions, appointed to teach the nations.

One of them fell from His place. The remaining eleven were commanded by Christ, as He was leaving the earth to return to the Father after His resurrection, to go and teach the nations and to baptise them into the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The apostles cast lots and added Matthias to their number, in place of Judas, as the twelfth apostle. The authority for this action is to be found in a prophetic psalm of David. After receiving the power of the Holy Spirit which had been promised to them, so that they could work miracles and proclaim the truth, they first bore witness to their faith in Jesus Christ and established churches throughout Judea. They then went out into the whole world and proclaimed to the nations the same doctrinal faith.

They set up churches in every city. Other churches received from them a living transplant of faith and the seed of doctrine and through this daily process of transplanting they became churches. They therefore qualify as apostolic churches by being the offspring of churches that are apostolic.

Every family has to be traced back to its origins. That is why we can say that all these great churches constitute that one original Church of the apostles, for it is from them that they all come. They are all primitive, all apostolic, because they are all one. They bear witness to this unity by the peace in which they all live, the brotherhood which is their name, the fellowship to which they are pledged. The principle on which these associations are based is common tradition by which they share the same sacramental bond.

The only way in which we can prove what the apostles taught—that is to say, what Christ revealed to them — is through those same churches. They were founded by the apostles themselves, who first preached to them by what is called the living voice and later by means of letters.

The Lord had said clearly in former times – I have many more things to tell you but you cannot endure them now. But He went on to say – When the Spirit of truth comes, He will lead you into the whole truth. Thus Christ shows us that the apostles had full knowledge of the truth, for He had promised that they would receive the whole truth through the Spirit of truth. His promise was certainly fulfilled, since the Acts of the Apostles prove, that the Holy Spirit came down on them.

Saints James and Philip, Pray for us!

CATECHESIS, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY WEEK 2019, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DEATH, SAINT of the DAY, The INCARNATION, The PASSION, The RESURRECTION

Thought for the Day – 2 May – On the Incarnation of the Word

Posted on May 2, 2019May 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 2 May – Thursday of the Second week of Easter, Gospel: John 3:31–36 and the Memorial of St Athanasius (297-373)

On the Incarnation of the Word

Saint Athanasius (297-373)
Bishop, Great Eastern Father & Doctor of the Church
Known as “The Father of Orthodoxy”

An excerpt from On the Incarnation of the Word

The Word of God, incorporeal, incorruptible and immaterial, entered our world. Yet it was not as if He had been remote from it up to that time. For there is no part of the world that was ever without His Presence; together with His Father, He continually filled all things and places.

Out of His loving-kindness for us, He came to us and we see this in the way He revealed Himself openly to us. Taking pity on mankind’s weakness and moved by our corruption, He could not stand aside and see death have the mastery over us, He did not want creation to perish and His Father’s work in fashioning man, to be in vain. He, therefore, took to Himself a body, no different from our own, for He did not wish simply to be in a body or only to be seen.

If He had wanted simply to be seen, He could indeed have taken another and nobler, body. Instead, He took our body in its reality.

Within the Virgin, He built himself a temple, that is, a body, He made it His own instrument in which to dwell and to reveal Himself. In this way, He received from mankind, a body like our own and, since all were subject to the corruption of death, He delivered this body over to death for all and with supreme love, offered it to the Father. He did so, to destroy the law of corruption, passed against all men, since all died in Him. The law, which had spent its force on the body of the Lord, could no longer have any power over His fellowmen. Moreover, this was the way in which the Word was to restore mankind to immortality, after it had fallen into corruption and summon it back, from death to life. He utterly destroyed the power death had against mankind—as fire consumes chaff—by means of the body He had taken and the grace of the Resurrection.

This is the reason why the Word assumed a body that could die, so that this body, sharing in the Word who is above all, might satisfy death’s requirement in place of all. Because of the Word dwelling in that body, it would remain incorruptible and all would be freed forever from corruption, by the grace of the Resurrection.

In death, the Word made a spotless sacrifice and oblation of the body He had taken. By dying for others, He immediately banished death for all mankind.

In this way the Word of God, who is above all, dedicated and offered His temple, the instrument that was His body, for us all, as He said and so paid, by His own death the debt that was owed. The immortal Son of God, united with all men by likeness of nature, thus fulfilled all justice, in restoring mankind to immortality, by the promise of the resurrection.

The corruption of death, no longer holds any power over mankind, thanks to the Word, who has come to dwell among them through His one body.

St Athanasius, Pray for Us!

DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN QUOTES, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on MARTYRDOM, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Quote/s of the Day – 2 May – Athanasius and Antoninus

Posted on May 2, 2019May 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 2 May – Thursday of the Second week of Easter, Gospel: John 3:31–36 and the Memorial of St Athanasius (297-373) – Father and Doctor of the Church and St Antoninus of Florence OP (1389-1459)

“For the Son of God became man
so that we might become God.”

“Christians, instead of arming themselves with swords,
extend their hands in prayer.”

“But what is also to the point, let us note that the very tradition, teaching and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning was preached by the Apostles and preserved by the Fathers. On this the Church was founded – and if anyone departs from this, he neither is, nor any longer ought to be called, a Christian.”

St Athanasius (297-373) Father & Doctor of the Church

“While other martyrs suffered
by sacrificing their own lives,
the Blessed Virgin suffered,
by sacrificing her Son’s life.”

St Antoninus OP (1389-1459)

DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The HOLY GHOST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 2 May – He is in them by the Presence of His Spirit and in them He is seen.

Posted on May 2, 2019May 2, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 2 May – Thursday of the Second week of Easter, Gospel: John 3:31–36 and the Memorial of St Athanasius (297-373) – Father and Doctor of the Church and St Antoninus OP (1389-1459), Gospel: John 3:31–36

For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit…he who does not obey the Son shall not see life…John 3:34,36

REFLECTION – “The sanctification or, rather, the deification of the nature of man, is one main subject of St Athanasius’s theology. Christ, in rising, raises His Saints with Him to the right hand of power. They become instinct with His life, of one body with His flesh, divine sons, immortal kings, gods. He is in them, because He is in human nature and He communicates in them that nature, deified by becoming His, that them It may deify. He is in them by the Presence of His Spirit and in them He is seen.”…Bl John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

PRAYER – Lord God, whose name is holy and whose mercy is proclaimed in every generation, send forth Your Spirit into our hearts and grant that, faithfully pondering on all that is holy, we may ever live in the splendour of Your presence. Listen we beseech You, to the prayers we request from St Athanasius and St Antoninus, to help us on this earthly journey. We make our prayer through Christ, Your Son our Lord and Saviour, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever amen. st-athanasius-pray-for-us-2-may-2019

st antoninus - pray for us 2 may 2019

DOCTORS of the Church, DOMINICAN OP, FATHERS of the Church, SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 2 May

Posted on May 2, 2019May 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

St Athanasius (c295-373) – Father and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)
Biography: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/05/02/saint-of-the-day-2-may-st-athanasius-c295-373-father-and-doctor-of-the-church-father-of-orthodoxy/

St Alpin de Châlons
St Antoninus of Florence OP (1389-1459)

Bl Bernard of Seville
St Bertinus the Younger
Bl Boleslas Strzelecki
Bl Conrad of Seldenbüren
St Cyriacus of Pamphylia
St Eugenius of Africa
St Exsuperius of Pamphylia
St Felix of Seville
St Fiorenzo of Algeria
St Gennys of Cornwall
St Germanus of Normandy
St Gluvias
St Guistano of Sardinia
St Joseph Luu
Bl Juan de Verdegallo
St Longinus of Africa
St Neachtain of Cill-Uinche
St Theodulus of Pamphylia
St Ultan of Péronne
St Vindemialis of Africa
St Waldebert of Luxeuil
St Wiborada of Saint Gall
Bl William Tirry
St Zoe of Pamphylia
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – 4 saints: A group of Christians marytred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Celestine, Germanus, Neopolus and Saturninus. 304 in Alexandria, Egypt

CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, St JOSEPH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 1 May – “The light that never dims”

Posted on May 1, 2019May 1, 2019 by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 1 May – Wednesday of the Second week of Easter, the first day of Mary’s Month and the Memorial of St Joseph the Worker, Gospel: John 3:16–21

“But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.”…John 3:21

REFLECTION – “In the evening, when the Bishop is present, the deacon carries in the lamp. And standing in the midst of all the faithful who are there, he will offer thanksgiving. First of all he says the greeting: “The Lord be with you,” and the people respond: “And with your spirit.” – Then he says: “Let us give thanks to the Lord” and they reply: “It is right and just. To Him be the greatness and supremacy together with the glory”… Then he will pray thus, saying:
“We give you thanks, Lord, through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom you enlighten us by revealing the light that never dims. Since day is spent and we have now reached evening, filled with the light of the day you created for our joy and since, through your grace, we do not now lack the light of evening, we praise and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom to you be glory and power and honour, with the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and through all ages. Amen.” And everyone will say: “Amen.”
In this way, after the meal, all will stand in prayer. The children say psalms as also the virgins.”…St Hippolytus of Rome (c 170– c 235) Priest and Martyr – Apostolic Tradition, 25

PRAYER – Shed your clear light on our hearts, Lord, so that walking continually in the way of Your commandments, we may never be deceived or misled. Your ways are not our ways, teach us to willingly agree to them, for You know which way we should go. Help us to say “yes” always to Your plan and to render ourselves as a sacrament of Your divine love to all we meet. Fill us with the grace to be your tools to bring glory to Your kingdom. St Joseph, silent and loving husband and father, as you worked for and protected your family on earth, protect us all now in the Church of Your adopted son. Through Him, our Our Lord Jesus Christ with You, in the union of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen. st joseph the worker pray for us 1 may 2019.jpg

BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION, DOCTORS of the Church, EASTER, EXTREME UNCTION, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY ORDERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRAMENTS, The HOLY GHOST

Thought for the Day – 26 April – The Anointing with the Holy Spirit

Posted on April 26, 2019April 26, 2019 by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 26 April – Friday in the Octave of Easter

The Anointing with the Holy Spirit

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387)
Bishop, Father & Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Mystagogical Catechesis 3

When we were baptised into Christ and clothed ourselves in Him, we were transformed into the likeness of the Son of God. Having destined us to be His adopted sons, God gave us a likeness to Christ in His glory and living as we do, in communion with Christ, God’s anointed, we ourselves are rightly called “the anointed ones.” When He said: Do not touch my anointed ones, God was speaking of us.

We became “the anointed ones” when we received the sign of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, everything took place in us by means of images, because we ourselves are images of Christ. Christ bathed in the river Jordan, imparting to its waters the fragrance of His divinity and, when He came up from them, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, like resting upon like. So we also, after coming up from the sacred waters of baptism, were anointed with chrism, which signifies the Holy Spirit, by whom Christ was anointed and of whom blessed Isaiah prophesied in the name of the Lord – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor.

Christ’s anointing was not by human hands, nor was it with ordinary oil. On the contrary, having destined Him to be the Saviour of the whole world, the Father Himself anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. The words of Peter bear witness to this – Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit. And David the prophet proclaimed: Your throne, O God, shall endure for ever; your royal sceptre is a sceptre of justice. You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above all your fellows.

The oil of gladness with which Christ was anointed was a spiritual oil, it was in fact the Holy Spirit Himself, who is called the oil of gladness, because He is the source of spiritual joy. But we too have been anointed with oil and by this anointing, we have entered into fellowship with Christ and have received a share in His life. Beware of thinking that this holy oil is simply ordinary oil and nothing else. After the invocation of the Spirit it is no longer ordinary oil but the gift of Christ and by the presence of His divinity, it becomes the instrument, through which we receive the Holy Spirit. While symbolically, on our foreheads and senses, our bodies are anointed with this oil that we see, our souls are sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit. beware of thinking that this holy oil - st cyril of jerusalem 26 april 2019 easter friday - anointingwiththeholyspirit.jpg

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Tertullian (c 155- c 240) Priest, Father and Ancient Christian Writer

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Saint Athanasius (297-373) Bishop, Great Eastern Father & Doctor of the Church Known as “The Father of Orthodoxy”

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St Athanasius, Pray for Us!

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