Quote/s of the Day – 21 March – St Benedict OSB (c 480-547) Abbot, Patron of Europe and Founder of Western Monasticism.
“The poor and pilgrims are to be received with all care and hospitality, for it is in them, Christ is received.”
“He should know that whoever undertakes the government of souls must prepare himself to account for them.”
Almighty God, Give Me … A Prayer of Petition By St Benedict (c 480-547)
Almighty God, give me wisdom to perceive Thee, intelligence to understand Thee, diligence to seek Thee, patience to wait for Thee, eyes to behold Thee, a heart to meditate upon Thee and life to proclaim Thee through the power of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 20 March – The Lenten FEAST of the MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD of JESUS is a Feast for the Fridays of Lent
“Carry me, O Christ, on Thy Cross which is salvation to the wanderer, rest for the wearied and, in which alone, is Life for those who die.”
St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Embrace, then, Jesus Crucified, raising to Him the eyes of your desire! Consider His burning love for you which made Jesus pour out His Blood from every part of His Body! Embrace Jesus Crucified, loving and beloved and in Him, you will find true life because He is God made Man. Let your heart and your soul burn with the fire of love drawn from Jesus on the Cross! … You will have no other desire than to follow Jesus! Run, … do not stay asleep because time flies and does not wait one moment! Dwell in God’s sweet love!”
St Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380)
“O souls! Seek a refuge, like pure doves, in the shadow of the Crucifix. There, mourn the Passion of your Divine Spouse and drawing from your hearts, flames of love and rivers of tears, make of them a precious balm with which to anoint the Wounds of your Saviour.”
Quote/s of the Day – 19 March – The Month and Feast of St Joseph
“So, taking Christ’s genealogy from Joseph – a husband in chastity, he was father in the same way. … Are you saying that he did not conceive Jesus through the operation of nature? Well then, what the Holy Ghost operated, He did for them both. For Joseph was “a just man,” Matthew tells us (1:19). Both husband and wife were just. The Holy Spirit dwelt within their mutual justice and gave each of them, a Son!”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“How faithful in humility was the great Saint we are celebrating! That cannot be said in all its perfection, for, in spite of what he was, in what poverty and lowliness he lived, all the days of his life – a poverty and lowliness beneath which. he kept hidden and concealed, his great virtues and dignity! … Truly, I am free of doubt that the Angels came, beside themselves with admiration, rank upon rank, to behold and wonder at his humility, while he sheltered that dearest Child in the poor workshop where he worked at his employment, so as to feed the little Boy and the Mother entrusted to him.”
“Behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep …” Matthew 1:20
“And what wisdom did he not have? For God gave him his most glorious Son to care for … the universal Prince of Heaven and earth … Nevertheless, you can see how low and humbled he was brought, more than can be said or imagined … he went to his own Country and Town of Bethlehem and none but he was turned away from all those inns … Notice how the Angel turns him about with both hands. He tells him he has to go to Egypt and he goes; he orders him to return and he returns. God wants him to be always poor … and he submits to it with love and, not only for a while, for he was poor his whole life long!”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor of the Church
Glorious St Joseph! Prayer for the Intercession of St Joseph in All Our Needs By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritatis
Glorious St Joseph, Spouse of Mary, grant us thy paternal protection, we beseech thee, by the Heart of Jesus Christ. O thou, whose power extends to all our necessities and can render possible for us, the most impossible things. Open thy fatherly eyes to the needs of thy children. In the trouble and distress which afflicts us, we confidently have recourse to thee. Deign to take under thy charitable charge this important and difficult matter, cause of our worries. Make its happy outcome be for God’s glory and for the good of His devoted servants. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 18 March – The Memorial of St Cyril of Jerusalem (315-387) Bishop of Jerusalem, Confessor Father & Doctor of the Church
“Your accumulated offences do not surpass the multitude of God’s mercies! Your wounds do not surpass the great Physician’s skill!”
Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified!
“BE THE CROSS OUR SEAL, made with boldness by our fingers, on our brow and in everything, over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings in and goings out, before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake, when we are in the way and when we are still.
Great is that preservative, it is without price, for the poor’s sake, without toil, for the sick, since also its’ grace is from God.
It is the Sign of the faithful and the dread of evils – for He has triumphed over them in it, having made a shew of them openly – for when they see the Cross, they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, Who hath bruised the head of the dragon.
Despise not the Seal because of the freeness of the Gift but for this, rather honour thy Benefactor!”
“And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, Take courage, son, your sins are forgiven you.” Matthew 9:2
“Perhaps, your own faith is feeble. Nevertheless, the Lord, Who is Love will stoop down to you, provided only that you are penitent and can say sincerely, from the depths of your soul: “Lord, I believe. Help Thou mine unbelief,” (Mark 9:23)……”
“The Spirit comes gently and makes Himself known by His Fragrance. He is not felt as a burden, for God is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before Him as the Spirit approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend – to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen and to console.”
Our Morning Offering – 18 Marchr – Wednesday of the 4th Week of Lent
In Thy Name By St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father and Doctor of the Church
Oh Almighty God, Who hast given us grace at this time, with one accord, to make our common supplications unto Thee and hast promised that, when two or three are gathered together in Thy Name, Thou wilt grant their requests, fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of Thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us, in this world, knowledge of Thy Truth and in the world to come, life everlasting. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 15 March – Laetare Sunday / The Fourth Sunday in Lent
“When, therefore, Jesus had lifted up His eyes and seen, that a very great crowd had come to Him, He said to Philip, “Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?” John 6:5
“AND SO CHRIST shares the foodstuffs and, there is no question, He wants to give it to all. He withholds it from no-one, for He provides for everyone. Nevertheless, when He breaks the loaves and gives them to the disciples, unless you hold out your hands to receive your portion, you will collapse along the way…”
St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church
“… Every man is both debtor and creditor… A beggar asks you for alms but you, too, are God’s beggar, for when we pray we are all beggars of God. We stand – or rather, prostrate ourselves – at our Father’s door (cf Lk 11:5); we beseech Him with groans, anxious to receive a grace from Him and this grace is God Himself! What does the beggar ask of you? Bread. And what is it that you are asking of God but Christ, Who said: “I am the Living Bread come down from Heaven” (Jn 6:51).”
Quote/s of the Day – 14 March – Saturday of the 3rd Week in Lent – Ferial Day – Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 – John 8:1-11
“Go and from now on, sin no more”
John 8:11
“The Lord did condemn, therefore but He condemned the sin, not the sinner… Let them be careful, then, those who love the goodness in the Lord but who fear His truthfulness … The Lord is gracious, t he Lord is slow to anger, the Lord is merciful BUT the Lord is also JUST and the Lord is abounding in TRUTH (Ps 85:15). … This, then, is the meaning of the words He addresses to this woman, “Neither do I condemn you but, having been made secure concerning the past, be on your guard in the future. I, for My part, will not condemn you, I have blotted out what you have done; keep what I have commanded that you may gain what I have promised!”
“You do not know when your last day may come. You are an ingrate! Why not use the day, today, that God has given you to repent?”
“The sky and the earth and the waters and the things which are in them, the fishes and the birds and the trees are not evil. All these are good; it is evil men who make this evil world.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of Grace
“Our God, … being good and merciful, wants us to confess [our sins] in this world, so that we may not be ashamed because of them in the next. So if we confess them then, He, on His part, shows Himself to be merciful; if we acknowledge them, then He forgives … ”
Quote/s of the Day – 13 March – The Feast of the Five Holy Wounds
“By the Cross, death was slain and Adam was restored to life. The Cross is the glory of all the Apostles, the Crown of the Martyrs, the Sanctification of the Saints. By the Cross, we put on Christ and cast aside our former self. By the Cross we, the sheep of Christ, have been gathered into one flock, destined for the Sheepfold of Heaven.”
St Theodore the Studite (759-826)
“If you cannot soar up as high as Christ sitting on His Throne, behold Him hanging on His Cross. Rest in Christ’s Passion and live willingly in His Holy Wounds. You will gain marvellous strength and comfort in adversities. You will not care that men despise you!”
Thomas à Kempis CRSA (1380-1471)
“Ah! what is all that I do and suffer, compared with what my Jesus did and suffered for my sake? O, that I might, for His honour, be torn with scourges and pierced with nails and expire on the Cross for Him!”
Quote/s of the Day – 12 March – St Gregory the Great (540-604), Pope, Confessor, Father & Doctor of the Church, “Father of the Fathers”
“And immediately he saw and followed Him, glorifying God.” Luke 18:43
“We must understand the miracles of our Lord and Saviour, dearly beloved, so as to believe that they have been truly effected and that their meaning, nevertheless, still signifies something else too. We do not know the historical identity of the blind man but we do know whom he mystically denotes. The blind man is the human race. In our first parents it was driven from the joys of paradise and ignorant of the brightness of the Divine Light, it suffered the darkness of its condemnation. But yet, it is enlightened by the presence of its Redeemer, to see already, the joys of inward light, by desire and to direct the footsteps of its good works, in the way of Life.”
“Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” Matthew 22:12
“But you, my friends, since you have already come into the house of the marriage feast, our holy Church, as a result of God’s generosity, be careful lest, when the King enters, He finds fault with some aspect of your heart’s clothing!” … He may have faith but he does not have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because this, is what our Creator Himself possessed, when He came to the marriage feast, to join the Church to Himself. Only God’s Love brought it about, that His Only-Begotten Son, united the hearts of His chosen, to Himself.”
“The branches of this mysterious tree are the holy preachers of the Gospel, of whom the Psalmist indicates the reach: “Their report goes forth through all the earth, their message, to the ends of the world” (Ps 19:5; cf Rom 10:18). The birds rest on these branches while the souls of the just, who have been raised above earth’s attractions on the wings of holiness, find, in the words of these preachers of the Gospel, the consolation they need in the sorrows and difficulties of this life.”
Our Morning Offering – 12 March – The Third Sunday in Lent and the Memorial of St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) – Father & Doctor
Lucis Creator Optime O Blest Creator of the Light By St Gregory the Great (540-604) Pope, Father & Doctor “Father of the Fathers”
O blest Creator of the light, Who mak’st the day with radiance bright, And o’er the forming world did’st call The Light from Chaos First of all.
Whose wisdom join’d in meet array The morn and eve and nam’d them day; Night comes with all its darkling fears; Regard Thy people’s pray’rs and tears.
Lest, sunk in sin and whelm’d with strife, They lose the gift of endless life; While thinking but the thoughts of time, They weave new chains of woe and crime.
But grant them grace that they may strain The heav’nly gate and prize to gain; Each harmful lure, aside to cast, And purge away each error past.
O Father, that we ask be done, Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son; Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee, Shall live and reign eternally. Amen
This hymn is used for Vespers (II) on Sundays throughout the year in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Breviary. Trans John M Neale (1818-1866), 1851. Tune: “Lucis Creator Optime” Gregorian Chant, Mode VIII, traditional.
Quote/s of the Day – 11 March – Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent – Exodus 20:12-24, Matthew 15:1-20
“But the things which proceed out of the mouth, come from the heart and it is they which defile a man.”
Matthew 15:18
“Our hearts were made for Thee, O God And restless must they be Until, O God, this grace accord, Until they rest in Thee!”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Govern my heart O Lord, lest it drift into useless and disordered thoughts. Do not permit me to become excessively preoccupied with anything at all, even matters and concerns which are useful and good in themselves. Temper the affections of my soul, so that I may neither love, nor hate anything, in a way which exceeds due proportions. Let me neither rejoice, nor be saddened, beyond the measure which is fitting and rational.”
St Albert the Great (1200-1280) Universal Doctor of the Church
“Do not fix your longings on anything which you do not possess; do not let your heart rest in that which you have; do not grieve overmuch, at the losses which may happen to you – and then, you may reasonably believe that although rich in fact, you are not so in affection but that you are poor in spirit and, therefore, blessed, for the Kingdom of Heaven is yours.”
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) Doctor Caritatis
“Be brave and try to detach your heart from worldly things. Do your utmost to banish darkness from your mind and come to understand what true, selfless piety is. Through confession, endeavour to purify your heart of anything which may still taint it. Enliven your faith which is essential to understand and achieve piety.”
Quote/s of the Day – 5 March – Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
“If your brother sins, rebuke him and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.”
Luke 17:3-4
“To the extent that you pray, with all your soul, for the person who slanders you, God will make the truth known to those who have been scandalised by the slander.”
St Maximus the Confessor (c 580–662)
“See to it that you refrain from harsh words. But if you do speak them, do not be ashamed to apply the remedy from the same lips, which inflicted the wounds.”
“The recollection of an injury, is . . . a rusty arrow and poison for the soul.”
Quote/s of the Day – 9 March – St Gregory of Nyssa (c335–c395) Bishop, Father of the Church – St Frances of Rome (1384-1440) Widow – St Dominic Savio (1842-1857)
“As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so, no trivialities can capture, the attention of anyone, who has his eyes on Christ.”
St Gregory of Nyssa (c335–c395) Father of the Church
“It is most laudable, in a married woman, to be devout but, she must never forget that she is a home-keeper. And sometimes, she must leave God at the Altar to find Him in her household affairs.”
St Frances of Rome (1384-1440)
“Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a Master Who pays well; Who rewards, even a cup of cold water, given for love of Him.”
Quote/s of the Day – 6 March – Friday of the Second Week in Lent and the Feast of the Holy Shroud – Ecclesiasticus Sir ach51:1-8; 51:12 – Matthew 21:33-46.– Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“He will bring those evil men to an evil end”
Matthew 21:41
“Little children follow and obey their father. They love their mother. They know nothing of covetousness, ill-will, bad temper, arrogance and lying. This state of mind opens the road to Heaven. To imitate our Lord’s own humility, we must return to the simplicity of God’s little ones.”
St Hilary (315-368) Father and Doctor of the Church
“Let us then depart, let us depart from Egypt, let us approach Our Lord, let us make provision of good works; let the feet of our affections be bare, let us clothe ourselves with innocence, let us not be satisfied with crying for mercy, let us go forth from Egypt, let us delay no longer. The hour is come to arise from sleep, since we know that He receives sinners; the Angels await our repentance, the Saints pray for it!”
St Francis de Sales 91567-1622) Doctor of the Church
“There is a golden rule which we should always remember as it will be helpful to us in fighting temptation and in resisting discouragement. It is simply this: As long as we implore God’s grace and do all we can and ought, in order to withstand the onslaught of temptation, God will do the rest! If God, nevertheless, allows us to fall, this will be in order to humble us and to make us understand, more clearly that we can do nothing without Him.”
Quote/s of the Day – 5 March – Ferial Day – Thursday of the Second Week in Lent – Jeremias 17:5-10 – Luke 16:19-31 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously everyday. And at his gate lay a poor man, named Lazarus…”
Luke 16:19–20
“Amen I say to you, as long as you did NOT do it for one of these least ones, you did NOT do it for Me.”
Matthew 25:45
“Give of your earthly goods and receive eternal ones; give earth and receive Heaven!”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of the Church
“What is a man’s treasure but the heaping up of profits and the fruit of his toil? For, whatever a man sows, this too will he reap and each man’s gain, matches his toil and where delight and enjoyment are found, there the heart’s desire is attached. Now, there are many kinds of wealth and a variety of grounds for rejoicing – every man’s treasure is that, which he desires. If it is based on earthly ambitions, its acquisition makes men not blessed but wretched. … By distributing what might be superfluous to support the poor, they are amassing imperishable riches, so that what they have discreetly given, cannot be subject to loss. They have properly placed those riches, where their heart is – it is a most blessed thing, to work to increase such riches, rather than to fear that they may pass away.”
St Pope Leo the Great (400-461) ather and Doctor of the Church
“If thou wouldst see well, pluck out thine eyes and be blind; if thou wouldst hear well, be deaf and if thou wouldst speak well, become dumb; if thou wouldst advance, stand still and advance with thy mind; if thou wouldst work well, cut off thy hands and work with thy heart; if thou wouldst love much, hate thyself; if thou wouldst live well, mortify thyself; if thou wouldst gain much and be rich, first lose all and become poor and if thou wouldst enjoy peace, afflict thyself and be ever in fear and suspect thine own self; if thou wouldst be exalted and have great honour, humble and abase thyself; if thou wouldst be held in great reverence, despise thyself and do reverence to him who reviles thee; if thou wouldst that it should be well with thee, suffer all evil things and if thou wouldst be blessed, desire that all should speak ill of thee and if thou wouldst have true and eternal rest, then toil and suffer and desire to have every temporal affliction. O what great wisdom it is to know how to do and to work out these things.”
Our Morning Offering – 3 March – Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent –
Merciful Jesus! Stretch Forth Thy Hand of Mercy (Excerpt – Prayer in a Time of Anguish) By St Jerome (347-419) Father and Doctor of the Church
Merciful Jesus! Thou art my strength, my refuge and my deliverer; in Thee I have believed and hoped; in Thee have I loved. Call me now, I beseech Thee and I will answer. Stretch forth Thy Hand of mercy, to the work of Thy Hands and let me not perish, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood. It is now time for dust to return to dust and my spirit to Thee Who gavest it. Open then, Lord, the Gate of Life and receive me. Receive me most merciful Lord, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, Who receivedst the thief on the cross and now prepare my soul for hearing the same promise of mercy which he did. I am ill, O Lord and Thee my Physician. Heal me then, my God and I shall be healed, let me not be confounded, for I put my trust in Thee. In Thee have I hoped – let me not be cast off forever! … Deal not with me, according to what I deserve, nor chastise me, according to my iniquities but help me, O God, my Saviour and for the glory of Thy Name deliver me. Now, at this hour, show mercy to me and whenever I depart, receive me into the number of Thy family that I, may be one of those, who are to praise Thee forever. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 2 March – Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Lord Jesus, Think on Me By St Synesius of Cyrene (375-430) Bishop of Ptolemais, Father
Lord Jesus, think on me and purge away my sin, from earth-born passions set me free, and make me pure within. Lord Jesus, think on me, With care and woe oppressed, let me Thy loving servant be and taste Thy promised rest. Lord Jesus, think on me, nor let me go astray, through darkness and perplexity point Thou the heav’nly way. Lord Jesus, think on me, that, when the flood is past, I may eternal brightness see and share Thy joy at last. Amen
“If you wish to reach high, then begin at the lowest level. If you are trying to construct some mighty edifice in height, you will begin with the lowest foundation. This is humility. However great the mass of the building you may wish to design or erect, the taller the building is to be, the deeper you will dig the foundation. The building in the course of its erection, rises up high but he who digs its foundation, must first go down very low. So then, you see even a building is low before it is high and the tower is raised, only after humiliation.”
Thursday of the First Week of Lent – 26 February – Our Lenten Journey With St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
Thursday of the First Week of Lent It was fitting that Christ should be Crucified with the Thieves
Christ was Crucified between the thieves because such was the will of the Jews and also because, this was part of God’s Design. But the reasons why this was appointed, were not the same in each of these cases.
As far as the Jews were concerned, Our Lord was Crucified with the thieves on either side to encourage the suspicion that He too was a criminal. But it transpired otherwise! The thieves themselves have left not a trace in the remembrance of man, while His Cross is everywhere held in honour. Kings lying their crowns aside, have embroidered the Cross on their Royal robes. They have placed it on their crowns; on their armiur. It has its place on the very Altars. Everywhere, throughout the world, we behold the splendour of the Cross.
In God’s Plan, Christ was Crucified with the thieves in order, for our sakes, He became accursed of the Cross, so, for our salvation, He is Cucified like an evil Man amongst evil men.
The Pope, St Leo the Great, says that the thieves were crucified, one on either side of Our Lord, so that, in the very appearance of the scene of His Suffering, there might be set forth that distinction which should be made in the judgement of each one of us. St Augustine has the same thought. “The Cross itself,” he says, “was a tribunal. In the centre was the Judge. To the one side a man who believed and was set free, to the other side, a scoffer and he was condemned.” Already there was made clear the final fate of the living and the dead, the one class placed at His Right, the other on His Left.
According to St Hilary, the two thieves, placed to right and to left, typify that the whole of mankind is called to the mystery of Our Lord’s Passion. And, since division of things, according to right and left is made with reference to believers and those who will not believe, one of the two, placed on the right, is saved by justifying faith.
As St Bede says, the thieves who were crucified with Our Lord, represent those who, for the faith and to confess Christ, undergo the agony of martyrdom or the severe discipline of a more perfect life. Those who do this for the sake of eternal glory are typified by the thief on the Right Hand. Those whose motive is the admiration of whoever beholds them, imitate the spirit and the act of the thief on the Left Hand.
As Christ owed no debt in payment for which a man must die but submitted to death of His Own Will, in order to overcome death, so also, He had not done anything on account of which He deserved to be put with the thieves. But of His Own Will, He chose to be reckoned among the wicked that by His Power, He might destroy wickedness itself. Which is why St John Chrysostom says, to convert the thief on the cross and to turn him to Paradise, was as great a miracle as the earthquake!
ST THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274) Priest, Theologian, Dominican Doctor Angelicus (Angelic Doctor) Doctor Communis (Common Doctor) Added by Pope Saint Pius V in 1568
Our Morning Offering – 26 February – Thursday of the First Week of Lent – Ferial Day
To Thee, O Master Morning Offering By St Macarius the Wonder-Worker (Died 850)
To Thee, O Master, Who loves all mankind I hasten Mn rising from sleep. By Thy Mercy, I go out to do Thy Work and I make my prayer to Thee. Help me at all times and in all things. Deliver me from every evil thing of this world and from pursuit by the devil. Save me and bring me to Thy eternal Kingdom, For Thou art my Creator, Thou inspire all good thoughts in me. In Thee is all my hope and to Thee I give glory, now and forever. Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 25 February –– Ember Wednesday – 3 Kings 19:3-8; Matthew 12:38-50 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The sign of Jonah”
Matthew 12:39
“It was, too, to lead the Ninevites to firm repentance and to convert them to Him, Who would deliver them from death, amazed as they were by the sign accomplished in Jonah … In the same way, God permitted man to be swallowed by that great monster, the author of disobedience, not so that he should altogether vanish away and die but because God, had prepared beforehand, the salvation fulfilled by His Word by means of the “sign of Jonah.”
St Irenaeus (130-208) Bishop of Lyons, Martyr and Father
“To do penance is to bewail the evil we have done and to do no evil to bewail.”
“But He still follows behind us and counsels us, although we have despised Him, 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 Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church
“What are we doing? If we really love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we should offer penance and sacrifices in order to make reparation for our sins and the sins of others and, to propitiate this adorable Heart, Which ardently desires to bestow new favours upon us.”
Quote/s of the Day – 24 February – Feast of St Matthias, Apostle – Acts 1:15-26, Matthew 11:25-30 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, Who knows the hearts of all men, show which of these two Thou hast chosen, to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath, by transgression, fallen …”
Acts 1:24-25
“You did not choose Me but I chose you…”
John 15:16
“That is amazing grace! For what were we before Christ had chosen us besides being wicked and lost? What then has He chosen in those who are not good? You cannot say, I am chosen because I believed. For if you believed in Him, you had already chosen Him. Nor can you say, before I believed I did good works and, therefore, was chosen. For what good work is there before faith when the Apostle says, “Whatever is not of faith is sin?” What is there for us to say, then but that we were wicked and were chosen, that by the grace of having been chosen, we might become good?”
St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace
“Day by day follow God’s path, keeping Him closely attached to you by His promise. In fact, He Himself said, through the mediation of His Apostles, to all those who seek His will and His testimonies that He would be with them until the end of the world (Mt 28:20) where paths and footsteps will be unknown (cf Ps 76:20), as the divine David said in his songs. Yet, in an invisible way, He is present to the eyes of the mind, making Himself seen by those who have a pure heart and conversing with them. So pursue your path …. ”
St Theodore the Studite (759-826) Abbot, Confessor, Father of the Church
Our Morning Offering – 24 February – Feast of St Matthias, Apostle and Martyr
Exsultet Orbis! Let the World Rejoice! Unknown Author
Now let the earth with joy resound, And Heaven the chant re-echo round; Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
O ye who, throned in glory dread, Shall judge the living and the dead, Lights of the world forever more! To you the suppliant prayer we pour.
Ye close the Sacred Gates on high. At your command apart they fly. O loose for us the guilty chain We strive to break and strive in vain.
Sickness and health your voice obey, At your command they go or stay. From sin’s disease our souls restore; In good confirm us more and more.
So when the world is at its end. And Christ to Judgment shall descend, May we be called, those joys to see Prepared from all eternity.
Praise to the Father, with the Son, And Holy Spirit, Three in One; As ever was in ages past And so shall be while ages last. Amen
(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles) An Office Hymn traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time. The Hymn is found as early as the 10th Century in a Hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
Quote/s of the Day – 23 February – Monday of the First Week of Lent – The Feast of St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Cardinal Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
“Let us detach ourselves in spirit from all that we see and cling to that which we believe. This is the Cross which we must imprint on all our daily actions and behaviour.”
“The best penance is to have patience with the sorrows God permits. A very good penance is to dedicate oneself to fulfill the duties of everyday with exactitude and to study and work with all our strength.”
“We hold our tongues in check because if they are undisciplined they empty the soul of the strength of heavenly grace and weaken its healthful vigour.”
Our Morning Offering – 23 February – The Feast of St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Cardinal Bishop, Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church
Have Mercy, Lord By St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Father & Doctor of the Church
Have mercy, Lord, on all my friends and relatives, on all my benefactors, on all who pray to Thee for me and on all who have asked me to pray to Thee, for them. Give them the spirit of fruitful penance, mortify them in all vices and make them flower in all Thy virtues. Amen
St Alexander Akimetes St Boswell St Dositheus of Egypt St Felix (Died c650) Bishop of Brescia St Florentius of Seville St Giovanni Theristi (1049–1129) Monk Bl John of Hungary
St Lazarus Zographos (c810-c 867) Priest, Monk known as “the Painter and the Iconographer.” Lazarus lived before and during the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. The Roman Martyrology states of him today: “St Lazarus, a Monk, whom the Iconoclast Emperor Theophilus ordered to be put to torture for having painted holy images. His hand was burned with a hot iron but, being healed by the power of God, he painted anew the holy images which had been defaced and finally rested in peace.” The Painter Saint: https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/23/saint-of-the-day-23-february-st-lazarus-zographos-810-865/
St Serenus the Gardener (Died 307) Martyr. Serenus was by birth a Grecian. He left his family estate, friends and country to serve God in celibacy, penance and prayer. With this design he bought a garden in Sirmium in Pannonia, which he cultivated with his own hands and lived on the fruits and herbs it produced. His Life and Death: https://anastpaul.com/2019/02/23/saint-of-the-day-23-february-st-serenus-the-gardener-died-307-martyr/
Martyrs of Syrmium – 73 Christians who were Martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know no details about them, and only six of their names – Antigonus, Libius, Rogatianus, Rutilus, Senerotas and Syncrotas.
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Our Morning Offering – 22 February – The Chair of St Peter at Antioch
O Prince of the Apostolic Senate! Hymn to the Prince of the Apostles By St Peter Damian (1007-1072) Cardinal Bishop of Ostia Doctor of the Church
O Prince of the Apostolic Senate! Herald of our Lord! First Shepherd of the Faithful! watch over the Flock intrusted to thee.
Lead us through verdant pastures, feeding us with the nourishment of the Word and lead us, thus fed, into the heavenly fold, whither thou hast already gone.
To thee, Peter, have been delivered the Keys of heaven’s gate and all things, both in Heaven and on earth, acknowledge thy authority.
Tis thou that choosest the City where is to be established the Rock of the True Faith, the foundation of the building, on which the Catholic Church stands immoveable.
Thy shadow, as thou passest by, heals the sick and Tabitha, who made garments for the poor, was raised to life at thy bidding.
Bound with two chains, thou wast set free by an Angel’s power; he bids thee put on thy garments and thy sandals and lo! the prison door is opened.
To the Father unbegotten and to the Only-Begotten Son and to the co-equal Spirit of them both, be praise and kingly highest power. Amen.
Prayer, Fasting and Mercy St Peter Chrysologus (c400-450) Bishop of Ravenna “Doctor of Homilies” Father and Doctor of the Church
“There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one and they give life to each other.
Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no-one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them, or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others you open God’s ear to yourself.
When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself, that which you deny to others, your asking is a mockery.
Let this be the pattern for all men when they practice mercy – show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you wish others to show mercy to you.
Therefore, let prayer, mercy and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defence, a threefold united prayer in our favour.” – (An excerpt from his Sermon 43)
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