Category: FATHERS of the Church

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, POETRY, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The HEART, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day– 6 July – We are not without a Shepherd!

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day– 6 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 32: 23-33, Psalms 17: 1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b and 15, Matthew 9: 32-3

We are not without a Shepherd!

“I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world
but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours.
All mine are yours and all yours are mine
and I am glorified in them.
… Holy Father, keep them in your name,
which you have given me,
that they may be one,
even as we are one.”

John 17:9-11

“This, beloved, is the way in which we found our salvation,
Jesus Christ, the High Priest who offers our gifts,
the patron and helper in our weakness (Heb 10:20; 7:27; 4:15). I
t is through Him, that we look straight at the heavens above.
Through Him, we see mirrored,
God’s faultless and transcendent countenance.
Through Him, the eyes of our heart were opened.
Through Him, our unintelligent and darkened mind
shoots up into the light.
Through Him, the Master was pleased
to let us taste the knowledge that never fades,”

St Pope Clement I (c 35 – c 99)

“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.”

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Pray in the spirit and sentiment of love,
in which the royal prophet said to Him,
‘Thou, O Lord, are my portion.’
Let others choose to themselves,
portions among creatures,
for my part, You are my portion,
You alone I have chosen for my whole inheritance.”

St Augustine of Canterbury (Died c 605)

And if by chance you do not know
Where to go in quest of Me,
Do not go far My Face to see,
Searching everywhere high and low,
But in yourself must seek for Me.

For, soul, in you I am confined,
You are My dwelling and My home;
And if one day I chance to find
Fast-closed the portals of your mind
I ask for entrance when I come.

Oh, do not seek me far away,
For, if you would attain to Me,
You only need My Name to say
And I’ll be there, without delay.
Look in yourself to seek for Me!”

St Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, SAINT of the DAY, The RESURRECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 July – “The girl is not dead but sleeping” – Matthew 9:24

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One Minute Reflection – 5 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 28: 10-22a, Psalms 91: 1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab, Matthew 9: 18-26 and the Memorial of St Anthony Mary Zaccaria CRSP (1502-1539)

“The girl is not dead but sleeping” – Matthew 9:24

REFLECTION – “Let us consider, dear friends, how the Master is continually proving to us, that there is to be a resurrection, of which He made the Lord Jesus Christ the first fruits, when He raised Him from the dead.

Let us observe, dear friends, the resurrection that is regularly taking place. Day and night show us a resurrection – night falls asleep, day arises; day departs, night comes on. Let us take the crops – how and in what way does the sowing take place? The sower goes out and sows each seed in the ground. They fall into the ground dry and bare, and decay; – then from their decay, the greatness of the Master’s providence raises them up, and from a single grain, many spring up and bear fruit…

Do we, then, regard it as a great and marvellous thing, for the Creator of all things, to bring about the resurrection of those who have served Him with holiness in the assurance of a good faith?… With this hope, then, let our souls be bound to Him, that is faithful, to His promises and upright in His judgements. He, Who has commanded us not to lie will much more not lie Himself. For nothing is impossible to God except lying (Jn32:17; Lk 1:37; 6,18).

So let faith in Him be rekindled in us and let us understand, that all things are possible to Him. With His majestic Word He constituted all things and with a Word, He can overturn them…when He pleases and as He pleases, He will do everything and none of the things He has decreed will pass away. All things are in His sight and nothing has escaped His Providence.” – St Pope Clement I (c 35-c 99) Pope from about 90 to 99 – Letter to the Corinthians, §24-28 ; SC 167

PRAYER – Almighty Lord and God, protect and strengthen us by Your power throughout this day, even as You have enabled us to begin it. By Your grace, may the our faith be our guide and let our every thought, word and deed aim at doing Your will and what is pleasing in Your sight. Grant that by the prayers of Saint Anthony Zaccaria, we may ever turn our eyes and hearts to our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, Your divine Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God now and forever, amen.

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PAPAL PRAYERS, PARTIAL Indulgence, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 4 July – “So he could not perform any mighty deed there, … ” – Mark 6:5

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One Minute Reflection – 4 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Ezekiel 2: 2-5, Psalms 123: 1-2, 2, 3-4, Second Corinthians 12: 7-10, Mark 6: 1-6

“So he could not perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them …” – Mark 6:5

REFLECTION – “One meaning of “could not” is simply the limits of some human will. Take, for example, the point ,that Christ “could not” fulfill any signs in Nazareth was due to disbelief on their part.
Something essential for healing is required on both sides—faith on the part of the patients, power on that of the healer. So one side without its counterpart “could not,” so to speak, perform them.
As this can be seen in medical care, it can also be seen in moral transformation. Similarly involving the limits of the will are the texts: “The world cannot not hate you” and “How can you speak good, being evil?” The metaphor of “impossibility” here must mean free refusal by the will.
The same idea applies to those passages which say that what is, impossible for humanity is possible for God.
Note also those passages that say that a person “cannot” (in one sense) be born a second time and a needle’s eye “cannot” let a camel through. What would stop these events happening if God willed them directly?
Besides all these, there is, as in the case we are presently considering, a “cannot” in the sense of that which is totally inconceivable.
We cannot conceive that God can be evil or fail to exist.
It is inconceivable that reality cannot exist or two times two is fourteen.
So here, it cannot be the case, that the Son would do anything which the Father would not do!” – St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390) Archbishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church – Oration 30 (On the Son),10-11.

PRAYER – Lord our God, make us love You above all things and all our fellow-men, with a love that is worthy of You. May we look to Your Divine Son in total trust, faith, love and imitation. Grant too, that by the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we too may be granted the grace to follow Your only Son, no matter our sufferings, to one day reach You, in our heavenly home. We make our prayer, through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever amen.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus in satisfaction for my sins and for the wants of holy Church. – Indulgence 100 days, Each time, Pope Pius VII, 22 September 1817.

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on DOUBT, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 3 July – I believe!

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Quote/s of the Day – 3 July – Feast of St Thomas Apostle – Readings: Ephesians 2: 19-22, Psalms 117: 1bc, 2, John 20: 24-29

Jesus said to him,
“Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

John 20:28-29

“For by your doubting,
I am taught to believe,
by your forked-tongue,
that revealed the Wound
on the Divine Body that was pierced,
I harvest the fruit for myself, without pain!”

St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father and Doctor

“I believe
though I do not comprehend
and I hold by faith,
what I cannot grasp
with the mind.”

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

“To one who has faith,
no explanation is necessary.
To one without faith,
no explanation is possible.”

“Believing is
an act of the intellect
assenting to the divine truth,
by command of the will,
moved by God through grace.”

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Doctor Angelicus/Doctor Communis

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, I BELIEVE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, SAINT of the DAY, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 3 July – “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” – John 20:29

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One Minute Reflection – 3 July – Feast of St Thomas Apostle – Readings: Ephesians 2: 19-22, Psalms 117: 1bc, 2, John 20: 24-29

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” – John 20:29

REFLECTION – “There was a wonderful providence behind these words of the Saviour and they can be of very great help to us. They show, once again, how much He cares for our souls, for He is good and| as Scripture says: “He wants everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” (1Tm 2,4).

Even so, this saying of His may surprise us. As always, Christ had to be patient with Thomas, when he said he would not believe and, with the other disciples too, when they thought they were seeing a ghost! Because of His desire to convince the whole world, He most willingly showed them the marks of the nails and the wound in His side; – because He wished those, who sought this evidence, as a support for their faith, to have no possible reason for doubt – He even took food, although He had no need for it (Lk 24,41)…

But when anyone accepts what he has not seen, believing on the word of his teacher, the faith, by which he honours the One his teacher proclaims to him, is worthy of great praise. Blessed, therefore, is everyone who believes the message of the holy Apostles who, as Saint Luke says, were eyewitnesses of Christ’s actions and “ministers of the word” (Lk 1,2). If we desire eternal life and long for a dwelling place in heaven, we must listen to them.” – St Cyril of Alexandria (380-444), Bishop, Father and Doctor of the Church – Commentary on Saint John’s gospel, 12, 22

PRAYER – Father, let our celebration on the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, be the source of his unfailing help and protection. Fill us with Your life-giving grace through our faith in Your Son, Jesus the Christ, whom Thomas acknowledged to be his Lord and his God. We make our prayer, through our Lord Jesus in union with the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever and ever, amen.

Posted in CONSECRATION Prayers, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, INDULGENCES, JULY - The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN Saturdays, MAY - The Blessed Virgin MARY'S MONTH, Our MORNING Offering, PARTIAL Indulgence, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRECIOUS BLOOD PRAYERS, The MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Our Morning Offering – 3 July – Most Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God

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Our Morning Offering – 3 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” and a Marian Saturday

Most Holy Mary,
Virgin Mother of God
Act of Consecration
By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Indulgence of 300 days, for each recitation
St Pius X, 17 November 1906

Most Holy Mary,
Virgin Mother of God,
I ………., most unworthy though I am to be thy servant,
yet touched by thy motherly care for me
and longing to serve thee,
do, in the presence of my Guardian Angel
and all the court of heaven,
choose thee this day to be my Queen,
my Advocate and my Mother
and I firmly purpose to serve thee evermore myself
and, to do what I can, that all may
render faithful service to thee.
Therefore, most devoted Mother,
through the Precious Blood thy Son poured out for me,
I beg thee and beseech thee,
deign to take me among thy clients
and receive me as thy servant forever.
Aid me in my every action
and beg for me the grace never,
by word or deed or thought,
to be displeasing in thy sight
and that of thy most holy Son.
Think of me, my dearest Mother
and desert me not at the hour of death.
Amen

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, CONFESSION/PENANCE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MEDITATIONS - ANTONIO CARD BACCI, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on FORGIVENESS, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on PEACE, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST

Quote/s of the Day – 2 July – I am a sinner

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Quote/s of the Day – 2 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 23: 1-4, 19; 24: 1-8, 62-67, Psalms 106: 1b-2, 3-4a, 4b-5, Matthew 9: 9-13

“It is not the healthy
who are in need of the physician
but those who are sick”

Matthew 9:12

“… Veiled in a human body,
He was able to communicate with humans.
He who wanted to assist the guilty
hides the fact that He is a Judge.
He who did not deny dignity to faithful servants,
conceals his Lordship.
He who desired the weak
to be embraced by a parent’s love,
covers His Majesty.”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
“Doctor of Homilies”
Father and Doctor of the Church

” Indeed, the instant you say:
“I have sinned against the Lord”,
the response is given you:
“Your sins are forgiven” (Mt 9:2).
… Only do not keep away, or distance yourself,
from He who has chosen you to sing
and pray but all your life long,
remain close to Him,
either through pure confidence,
or by a holy audacity and courageous confession.”

John of Karpathos (7th Century) Bishop

“My beloved Redeemer,
how much did it cost You to raise me from the ruin,
which I brought on myself through my sins?
What can I do without Your grace?
I can do nothing but pray
that You will help me
but even this prayer comes
from the merits of Your suffering and death!
O my Jesus, help me!”

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most zealous Doctor

“Even if we are unfaithful servants
and are covered with the leprosy of sin,
let us go to Him and He will heal us.
Even if we have deserved Hell a thousand times,
let us shed tears of repentance at His feet
as Magdalen did and,
He will give us His forgiveness and His peace.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)

“Lord Jesus Christ,Son of God,
Have Mercy on me, a sinner.”

(Cf Luke 18:13)

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on JOY, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 1 July – ‘Have faith!’

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Quote/s of the Day – 1 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 22: 1b-19 Psalms 115: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9,: Matthew 9: 1-8

And Jesus, seeing their faith,
said to the man sick of the palsy:
“Be of good heart, son,
thy sins are forgiven thee.”

Matthew 9:2

“This is the work of God,
that you believe in him
whom he hath sent.”

John 6:29

“Let us become like Christ,
since Christ became like us.
He assumed the worse,
that He might give us the better;
He became poor,
that we through His poverty,
might be rich.”

St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Have faith and the One
you cannot see,
is with you.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Be joyful and keep your faith and your creed.”

St David of Wales (c 542-c 601)
Bishop

“Rest is in Him alone.
Man knows no peace in the world
but he has no disturbance
when he is with God.”

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

Posted in CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES for CHRIST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 1 July – “When Jesus saw their faith”

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One Minute Reflection – 1 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Readings: Genesis 22: 1b-19 Psalms 115: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9,: Matthew 9: 1-8

“Which is easier to say: Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say: Arise, and walk?” – Matthew 9:5

REFLECTION – “And people there brought to him a paralytic.” Saint Matthew merely says that this paralytic was carried to Jesus. Other evangelists describe how he was let down through an opening in the roof and placed before the Lord without expressing any particular request, leaving it to Him to assess the needs …

“When Jesus saw their faith,” the Gospel says, that is to say, the faith of those who had brought the man to Him. Consider how sometimes Christ pays no attention to the faith of the sick person – perhaps because, the latter is incapable of it, being unconscious or possessed with an evil spirit. However, in this case, this paralytic had great trust in Jesus, otherwise, would he have allowed them to let him down in front of Him? Christ responds to this trust with an extraordinary miracle. With the power of God, He forgives this man’s sins. Thus He showed, that He is equal to the Father, a truth He had already shown, when He said to the leper: “I will do it – be made clean” (Mt 8:3) … and when, with a word, He stilled the tempestuous sea (Mt 8:26), or when, as God, He had cast out the demons who recognised in Him their ruler and their judge (Mt 8:32). So here, He shows His adversaries, to their great astonishment, that He is equal to the Father

And once more, the Saviour shows here, how He turns away from anything spectacular or a source of vainglory. On all sides the crowd is pressing Him, yet, He is in no hurry to work a visible miracle by healing the external paralysis of this man …. He begins with an invisible miracle – by healing the man’s soul. This kind of healing is far more beneficial for him and, outwardly speaking, less glorious for Christ.” – St John Chrysostom (345-407) Priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Father and Doctor of the Church – homilies on Saint Matthew’s Gospel, no. 29, 1.

PRAYER – Lord God, be the beginning and the end of all that we are and do and say. Prompt our actions with Your grace, may Your light be our only way, may Your commands be our only need and complete all, with Your all-powerful help. May the prayers of all Your Saints and our most Blessed Mother, grant us the grace of always seeking You in all things! We make our prayer through Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever and ever, amen.

Posted in "Follow Me", DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, GOD is LOVE, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, SACRED HEART QUOTES

Quote/s of the Day – 30 June – “… Dwell in the Heart of Jesus!…”

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Quote/s of the Day – 30 June – “The last day of the Month of the Sacred Heart”

“ For where thy treasure is,
there is thy heart also.”

Matthew 6:21

“We, Christians,
are the true Israel which springs from Christ,
for we are carved out of His Heart,
as from a Rock!”

St Justin Martyr (100-165)
Father of the Church and Martyr

“How good and pleasant it is
to dwell in the Heart of Jesus!
Who is there who does not love a heart so wounded?
Who can refuse a return of love
to a Heart so loving?
Amen.”

St Bernard (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

“By giving yourself to God,
you not only receive Himself in exchange
but, eternal life as well!”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

“Where is the heart that loves?
On the thing it loves.
Therefore, where our love is,
there our heart is held captive.
It cannot leave it;
it cannot be lifted higher,
it cannot go either to the right or the left;
see, it is fixed.
Where the miser’s treasure is,
there is his heart
and where our heart is,
there is our treasure.”

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

“The well-being of souls is only in Christ.
Therefore, let the love of Jesus
be our perfection and our profession,
let us light our hearts
from the eternal flames of love
that radiate from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

Bl Paolo Manna PIME (1872-1952)

Posted in "Follow Me", DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, St PAUL!, St PETER!, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Quote/s of the Day – 29 June – Saints Peter and Paul

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Quote/s of the Day – 29 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

“Look at the holy Apostles.
It was by sinful jealousy
that Peter was subjected to tribulation,
not once or twice but many times;
it was in that way, that he bore his witness
before leaving us for his well-earned place in glory.
And Paul, because of jealousy and contention,
has become the very type of endurance rewarded.
… In him we have one of the greatest
of all examples of endurance.
… [And] we too, are in the same arena
and have the same conflict before us.”

St Pope Clement I of Rome (c 35-99)

Letter to the Corinthians, 5-7

“Nothing escaped the wisdom and power of Christ,
the elements of nature lay at His service,
spirits obeyed Him, angels served Him.
… And yet, out of all the world,
Peter alone was chosen to stand at the head,
for the calling of all the peoples
and the oversight of all the apostles
and Fathers of the Church. .”

St Pope Leo the Great (400-461)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Peter and Paul are our teachers –
they learned the way of life fully
from the One Teacher of all
and continue to teach us today.”

St Bernard (1091-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

MANY MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/06/29/quote-s-of-the-day-29-june-peter-and-paul/

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on PERSECUTION, QUOTES on SUFFERING, QUOTES on the CHURCH, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SAINT of the DAY, St PAUL!, St PETER!, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

One Minute Reflection – 29 June – ‘ … They are the two pillars who support the Church …’

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One Minute Reflection – 29 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Readings: Acts 12:1-11, Psalm 34:2-9, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18, Matthew 16:13-19

“Upon this rock I will build my church” – Matthew 16:18

REFLECTION – “Though the earth and all who dwell in it quake, I have set firm its pillars” (Ps 74[75],40). All the Apostles are pillars of the earth but, at their head, the two whose feast we are celebrating. They are the two pillars who support the Church with their teaching, their prayer and the example of their steadfastness. The Lord Himself strengthened these pillars. For at first they were weak, completely incapable of supporting either themselves or others. And in this, the Lord’s great design appears – if they had always been strong, people could have thought their strength came from themselves. That is why the Lord wanted to show, what they were capable of, before strengthening them, so that all might know their strength came from God… Peter was thrown to the ground by the voice of a mere servant… and the other pillar was very weak too: “I was once a blasphemer and persecutor and an arrogant man” (1Tm 1,13)…

Hence, we ought to praise these Saints with all our heart – our fathers who bore such trials for the Lord’s sake and who persevered with such determination. It is nothing to persevere in joy, happiness and peace. But this is what is great – to be stoned, scourged, struck for Christ (2Cor 11,25) and in all this, to persevere with Christ. With Paul it is a great thing to be cursed and to bless, to be persecuted and to endure, to be slandered and to console, to be like the world’s rubbish and to draw glory from it (1Cor 4,12-13)… And what shall we say of Peter? Even if he had undergone nothing for Christ, it would be sufficient to celebrate him today in that he was crucified for him… He well knew where, He Whom he loved, He whom he longed for was…: his cross has been his road to heaven.” – St Aelred of Rielvaux (1110-1167), Cistercian Monk – Sermon 18, for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul – PL 195, 298

PRAYER – Almighty ever-living God, You give us the great joy of devoting this day to the honour of the great Apostles Peter and Paul. Grant Your Church may follow their teachings fully because these are the men who first taught us to worship You in Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, St PAUL!, The APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS

Our Morning Offering – 29 June – St Ambrose’s Apostolorum Passio

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Our Morning Offering – 29 June – The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Apostolorum Passio
By St Ambrose (c 340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church

This happy day is sanctified
As Martyr’s glory we recall,
The cross bedewed with Peter’s blood,
The sword that won a crown for Paul.

The triumph of their Martyrdom
United these great souls in death,
Whose faith in Christ had crowned their lives
In service to their latest breath.

Saint Peter held the primacy,
Saint Paul would equal him in grace,
When once, as chosen instrument
The cause of Christ, he would embrace

Once, Simon, leaving Rome, turned back
To give, by death, full praise to God,
That by the cross he too should tread
The self-same path his Master trod.

Now Rome exults, as well she may
And strives to give devotion’s due
To one who sealed with his own blood
His work as Priest and Shepherd true.

And who can count the crowds that come
As loving children to her gate,
Where nations’ teacher, holy Paul
Once dwelt and gladly met his fate.

Grant us, O Lord, the final grace
Of sharing in their joy above,
That with such Princes we may praise
Your bounty and undying love.
Amen

Translation: The Benedictines of Saint Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on DISCIPLESHIP, SAINT of the DAY, The LAMB of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 28 June – St Irenaeus

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Quote/s of the Day – 28 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Memorial of St Irenaeus of Lyons (c 130 – c 202) Martyr, Father of the Church, Bishop, Theologian, Writer, Confessor, Defender of the Faith, Apologist.

“He is the Word of God
who dwelt with man
and became the Son of Man,
to open the way for man, to receive God,
for God to dwell with man,
according to the will of the Father.”

“This is the glory of man –
to persevere and remain
in the service of God.
For this reason,
the Lord told His disciples:
‘You did not choose Me but I chose you.’
He meant that His disciples
did not glorify Him by following Him
but, in following the Son of God,
they were glorified by Him.
As He said:
‘I wish that where I am
they also may be,
that they may see My glory.’”

“When we stand in the light
it is not we who illumine the light and cause it to shine
but we are illuminated and made shining by the light…
God grants His blessings on those who serve Him
because they are serving Him
and on those who follow Him
because they are following Him
but He receives no blessing from them
because He is perfect and without need.”

O Lamb of God
By St Irenaeus (c 130 – c 202)

O Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world,
look upon us and have mercy upon us,
You who art Yourself, both victim and Priest,
Yourself, both Reward and Redeemer,
keep safe from all evil
those whom You have redeemed,
O Saviour of the world.
Amen

St Irenaeus (c 130 – c 202)
Bishop & Martyr, Father of the Church

Posted in CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, Hail MARY!, I BELIEVE!, MARIAN PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on GRACE, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on VIRTUE, SAINT of the DAY, The ASCENSION of the LORD, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The HOLY GHOST, The KINGDOM of GOD / HEAVEN, The LAST THINGS, The RESURRECTION, The WILL of GOD

Quote/s of the Day – 27 June – St Cyril of Alexandria

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 27 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Memorial of St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Church ) – “The Pillar of Faith” & “Seal of all the Fathers” – Doctor Incarnationis (Doctor of the Incarnation)

“Christ has dominion
over all creatures,
a dominion not seized
by violence
nor usurped but His,
by essence and by nature.”

“Our lives are all controlled
by the Spirit now
and are not confined to this physical world
that is subject to corruption.
The light of the Only-begotten
has shone on us
and we have been transformed
into the Word,
the source of all life.”

“We must note, therefore,
that he that does things pleasing to God,
serves Christ but he that follows his own wishes,
is a follower, rather of himself and not of God.”

“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.”

“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.”

“…[The Kingdom of God] … is within you.
That is, it depends on your own wills
and is in your own power,
whether or not you receive it.
Everyone, that has attained
to justification, by means of faith in Christ
and decorated by every virtue,
is counted worthy,
of the kingdom of heaven.”

Hail, O Mary, Mother of God
By St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)

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

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444)
Father and Doctor of the Church

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, INDULGENCES, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PAPAL PRAYERS, PARTIAL Indulgence, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 June – ‘ … He is aware of all those who touch His clothes …’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 27 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Readings: Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24, Psalms 30: 2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13 (2a), Corinthians 8: 7, 9, 13-15, Mark 5: 21-43

“If I but touch his garments, I shall be whole”…Mark 5:28

REFLECTION – “It is our faith that touches Christ; it is our faith that sees Him. It isn’t our body that touches Him; the eyes of our nature cannot seize Him. For seeing without perceiving, is not seeing; hearing without understanding, is not hearing, neither is touching if one doesn’t touch with faith…

If we consider the size of our faith and if we understand the greatness of the Son of God, we realise, that, in relation to Him, we only touch the fringe; we cannot reach the top of His garment. Therefore, if we too want to be healed by Him, let us touch, in faith, the fringe of Christ. He is aware of all those who touch His clothes, who touch Him while He has His back turned. For God doesn’t need eyes to see; He doesn’t have physical senses but He has, in Himself, the knowledge of all things. Happy then those who are able to touch at least the borders of the Word: for who can seize it entirely?” – St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church – Commentary on St. Luke, 6, 57-59 ( SC 45)

PRAYER – Almighty Father, grant that our trust and faith may grow each day. Help us to be secure in Your unfailing love and help. Even in our times of fear, pain and distress, give us the trust to know that You are always with us and that Your healing grace does indeed work miracles in our lives. Grant us strength, O Lord, to overcome all our fears with confidence in Your loving care. Through Jesus Christ in union with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. – Indulgence 100 Days, Once a Day. Raccolta 161 Blessed Pius IX, 29 February 1868.

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN TITLES, SAINT of the DAY

Madre del Perpetuo Soccorso / Mother of Perpetual Succour (Help), Matka Boża / Mother of God of Gietrzwald and Memorials of the Saints – 27 June

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Traditional Calendar) +2021
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time +2021

Madre del Perpetuo Soccorso / Mother of Perpetual Succour (Help) – Feast 27 June:
Patronage: Porto Cesareo, Italy, Haiti, Labrador City, Labrador, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, 8 Diocese. – https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/27/thought-for-the-day-27-june-the-feast-of-our-lady-of-perpetual-succour/

Matka Boża / Mother of God of Gietrzwald, Gietrzwałd, Olsztyński, Warmia, Poland, 1877 – 27 June, 8 September;

Our Lady appeared for the first time to Justyna Szafrynska (13) when she was returning home with her mother after having taken an examination prior to receiving the First Holy Communion. The next day, Barbara Samulowska (12) also saw the ‘Bright Lady’ sitting on the throne with Infant Christ among Angels over the maple tree in front of the church while reciting the rosary. The girls asked “Who are you?” she answered, “I am the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception!” “What do you require, Mother of God?” they asked, the answer was: “I wish you recite the Rosary everyday!” There were 13 more apparitions from 27 June 1877 to 16 September 1877.
2 February 1970 – Pope Paul VI elevated the Church in Gietrzwald to the rank of Basilica Minor.

St Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) Father and Doctor of the Church ) – “The Pillar of Faith” & “Seal of all the Fathers” – Doctor Incarnationis (Doctor of the Incarnation) – (Optional Memorial
Biography:
https://anastpaul.com/2018/06/27/saint-of-the-day-27-june-st-cyril-of-alexandria-376-444-father-and-doctor-of-the-church/
AND:
https://anastpaul.com/2017/06/27/saint-of-the-day-27-june-st-cyril-of-alexandria-doctor-father-of-the-church-the-pillar-of-faith-seal-of-all-the-fathers-doctor-incarnationis-doctor-of-the-incarnation/

St Adeodato of Naples
St Aedh McLugack
St Anectus of Caesarea
St Arialdus of Milan
St Arianell of Wales
Blessed Benvenutus of Gubbio OFM ) (Died 1232) Lay brother of the Order of the Friars Minor of St Francis
St Brogan
St Crescens of Galatia
St Crescentius of Mainz
Bl Daniel of Schönau
Bl Davanzato of Poggibonsi
St Desideratus of Gourdon
St Dimman
St Felix of Rome
St Ferdinand of Aragon
St Gudene of Carthage

Bl Hemma of Gurk
St Joanna the Myrrhbearer
St John of Chinon

St Ladislaus I – (c 1040-1095) King of Hungary, Apostle of Charity, Defender of the Faith.
His Life:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/06/27/saint-of-the-day-st-ladislaus-i-c-1040-1095/

Blessed Louise-Thérèse de Montaignac de Chauvance OSHJ (1820-1885) Religious Sister and Founder of the Pious Union of Oblates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
An Apostle of the Sacred Heart:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/06/27/saint-of-the-day-27-june-blessed-louise-therese-de-montaignac-de-chauvance-oshj-1820-1885/

Blessed Maria Pia Mastena
St Sampson of Constantinople
St Spinella of Rome
St Tôma Toán
St Zoilus of Cordoba
—
Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe: Among the thousands of Christians murdered by various Communist regimes in their hatred of the faith, there were 25 members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Russian Byzantine Catholic Church, priests, bishops, sisters and lay people, whose stories are sufficiently well documented that we know they were murdered specifically for their faith in eastern Europe and whose Causes for Canonization were opened. Their Causes were combined and they were beatified together. They have separate memorials but are remembered together today. They are –
• Andrii Ischak • Hryhorii Khomyshyn • Hryhorii Lakota • Ivan Sleziuk • Ivan Ziatyk • Klymentii Sheptytskyi • Leonid Feodorov • Levkadia Harasymiv • Mykola Konrad • Mykola Tsehelskyi • Mykolai Charnetskyi • Mykyta Budka • Oleksa Zarytskyi • Ol’Ha Bida • Ol’Ha Matskiv • Petro Verhun • Roman Lysko • Stepan Baranyk • Symeon Lukach • Vasyl Vsevolod Velychkovskyi • Volodomyr Bairak • Volodymyr Ivanovych Pryima • Yakym Senkivsky • Yosafat Kotsylovskyi • Zenon Kovalyk. Beatified – 27 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II in Ukraine.

Posted in CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SACRED HEART QUOTES, SACRED HEART REFLECTIONS, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS, The LAMB of GOD, The WORD, Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 26 June – “And all that were sick He healed” – Matthew 8:15

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 26 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart”- Readings: Genesis 18: 1-15, Luke 1: 46-47, 48-49, 50 and 53, 54-55, Matthew 8: 5-17

“And all that were sick He healed”

Matthew 8:15

“ Think of the many cures
of which the evangelists do not speak.
They do not tell us about all of them, one by one –
rather, in a single sentence,
they let us see an infinite ocean of miracles.
… The gospel brings the testimony of the prophet,
which is as extraordinary and as surprising
as the deeds themselves:
“ … thereby fulfilling what had been said
through Isaiah the prophet:
‘It was our infirmities he bore, our sufferings he endured.’”
(Lk 8:17; Isa 53:4)
It does not say “he destroyed” but “he bore”
and “he endured”
thus showing, in my opinion,
that the prophet was speaking more of sin
than of bodily illnesses.
And that is in conformity with John’s words:
“There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29)

St John Chrysostom (345-407)
Father and Doctor

Commentary on St Matthew’s Gospel, 27

“Christ is the artist,
tenderly wiping away
all the grime of sin
that disfigures the human face
and restoring God’s image
to its full beauty.”

St Gregory of Nyssa (c 335–C 395)
Father of the Church

“Dust, so to speak,
had forcibly entered humanity’s eye;
earth had entered it,
had injured the eye
and it could not see the light.
… That physician made a salve for you.
And because He came, in such a way,
that by His flesh,
He might extinguish the faults of the flesh
and by His death, He might kill death … ”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“Love Him, then, keep Him as a friend.
He will not leave you as others do,
or let you suffer lasting death.
Sometime, whether you will or not,
you will have to part with everything.
Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death,
trust yourself to the glory of Him,
Who alone can help you
when all others fail.“

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
(Book 2 Ch 7)

“What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist?

It is God, who, as our Saviour, offers Himself each day for us to His Father’s justice.

If you are in difficulties and sorrows, He will comfort and relieve you.
If you are sick, He will either cure you or give you strength to suffer, so as to merit Heaven.
If the devil, the world and the flesh are making war upon you, He will give you the weapons with which to fight, to resist and to win the victory.
If you are poor, he will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and for eternity.
Let us open the door of His Sacred and Adorable Heart and be wrapped about for an instant, by the flames of His love and we shall see, what a God who loves us, can do.
O my God, who shall be able to comprehend?”

St Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859)

Posted in "Follow Me", FATHERS of the Church, MARIAN TITLES, ONE Minute REFLECTION, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 June – ‘ … The slave’s sickness gives health to his owner. … ‘

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 27 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart”- Readings: Genesis 18: 1-15, Luke 1: 46-47, 48-49, 50 and 53, 54-55, Matthew 8: 5-17

“Many will come from the east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven” – Matthew 8:11

REFLECTION – “I have seen our Lord in the Gospel accomplish many miracles and, reassured by them, have strengthened my fearful words. I have seen the centurion throw himself at the Lord’s feet, nations send their firstfruits to Christ. The Cross has not yet been erected and already, pagans hasten towards their Master. The words “Go, teach all nations” have not yet been heard (Mt 28,19) but the nations are already hastening. Their race precedes their call, they are burning with desire for the Lord. The sound of preaching has not yet been heard but they are hurrying towards the one who preaches. Peter… they have now been instructed and they gather around the one who is teaching them; the light of Paul has not yet blazed beneath Christ’s standard and nations are coming with incense, to adore the King (Mt 2,11).

And now, see how a centurion begs Him and says to Him: “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, suffering dreadfully.” Here is a new miracle indeed! The servant whose limbs are paralysed leads his master to the Lord; the slave’s sickness gives health to his owner. Seeking his servant’s healing, he finds our Lord and while he is seeking for his slave’s cure, he becomes Christ’s conquest.” – Basil of Seleucia (?-c 468), Bishop, Father of the Church – Homily 19 on the Centurion.

PRAYER – God our Father, You open the gates of the kingdom of heaven to those who are born again of water and the Holy Spirit. Increase the grace You have given, so that the people who have been purified from all sin, may not forfeit the promised blessing of Your love. Grant that we may ever keep Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, before our eyes and do all in Him and through Him and for Him and may the prayers of our Mother of Perpetual Succour ever guide and bear us in her care! We make our pray through Christ, our Lord, in union with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES for CHRIST, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 25 June – “’You can make me clean.’” – Matthew 8:2

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 25 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Readings: Genesis 17: 1, 9-10, 15-22,Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5, Matthew 8: 1-4

“’You can make me clean.’”

Matthew 8:2

“… There is one Road
and one only,
well secured against all possibility
of going astray
and, this Road is provided
by One Who is Himself
both God and man.
As God, He is the Goal,
as man, He is the Way.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of Grace

“Let us stand fast in what is right
and prepare our souls for trial.
Let us wait upon God’s strengthening aid
and say to Him:
‘O Lord, you have been our refuge
in all generations.’”

St Boniface (c 672-754)
“The Apostle of Germany” – Martyr

“Loving You, O God,
brings its own reward here on earth,
as well as the eternal reward of heaven.
By becoming mirrors of Your love,
by wearing the mask of Your likeness
and by allowing You to make us perfect,
we can know the joy of heaven,
even while we abide here on earth.”

William of St Thierry O.Cist (c 1075 – c 1148)

“Lord, help me to live this day,
quietly, easily.
To lean upon Thy great strength,
trustfully, restfully.
To wait for the unfolding of Thy will,
patiently, serenely.
To meet others,
peacefully, joyously.
To face tomorrow,
confidently, courageously.”

St Frances of Assisi (c 1181-1226)

ACT of FAITH

O MY GOD,
I firmly believe
that Thou art one God in Three Divine Persons,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
I believe that Thy Divine Son became Man
and died for our sins
and that He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe these and all the truths
which the Holy Catholic Church teaches
because Thou hast revealed them,
Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.
Amen

ACT of HOPE

O MY GOD,
relying on Thy almighty power
and infinite mercy and promises,
I hope to obtain pardon of my sins,
the help of Thy grace
and Life Everlasting,
through the merits of Jesus Christ,
my Lord and Redeemer.
Amen

ACT of CHARITY

O MY GOD,
I love Thee above all things,
with my whole heart and soul
because Thou art all-good
and worthy of all love.
I love my neighbour as myself
for the love of Thee.
I forgive all who have injured me
and ask pardon.
of all whom I have injured.
Amen

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 24 June – The Birthday of St John the Baptist –

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Quote/s of the Day – 24 June – The Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist

“ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,
the baby leaped in her womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit …
“For behold, when the sound
of your greeting came to my ears,
the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”

Luke 1:41,44

“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord is with him.”

Luke 1:66

“At my birth,
I took away my mother’s barrenness
and while still an infant,
I healed my father’s dumbness,
for You gave me in childhood,
the gift of working miracles.”

St Gregory the Illuminator (c 213-270)
Bishop

Homily on the holy Incarnation, 4

“John is a voice for a time
but Christ is the eternal Word,
from the beginning.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Bishop, Father, Doctor of Grace

MORE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/06/24/quote-s-of-the-day-24-june-st-john-the-baptist/

Posted in FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, ONE Minute REFLECTION, SAINT of the DAY, St JOHN the BAPTIST, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 24 June – ‘ … The spirit and the power of John still go before the Lord and Saviour’s coming today…’

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 24 June – The Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist – Readings: Isaiah 49:1-6, Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15, Acts 13:22-26, Luke 1:57-66, 80

“The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.” – Isaias 49:1

REFLECTION – “The birth of John the Baptist is full of miracles. An Archangel announced the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus; similarly, an Archangel announced the birth of John (Lk 1:13) and said: “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb.” The Jewish people did not see that our Lord did “signs and wonders” and healed their illnesses but John leapt for joy when he was still in his mother’s womb. It was impossible to hold him back and when the mother of Jesus arrived, the child already tried to come out of Elizabeth’s womb. “The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby leapt in my womb for joy.” (Lk 1:44) Still in his mother’s womb, John had already received the Holy Spirit …

Scripture then says: “Many of the sons of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.” (Lk 1:16) John brought back “a large number,” the Lord brought back not a large number but everyone. For it is his task to bring all men back to God the Father …

I, for my part, think that the mystery of John is being fulfilled in the world until the present. The spirit and the power of John, must first fill the soul of whoever is destined to believe in Christ Jesus, “to prepare for the Lord a people well-disposed” (Lk 1:17) and to “make ready the way of the Lord, [to] clear him a straight path” (Lk 3:5) in the roughness of their hearts. Not only at that time were “the winding paths … made straight and the rough ways smooth;” rather, the spirit and the power of John still go before the Lord and Saviour’s coming today.
Oh greatness of the Lord’s mystery and of his plan for the world! ” – Origen Adamantius (c 185-253) Priest, Theologian, Exegist, Writer, Apologist, Father – Homilies on St Luke, no. 4, 4-6

PRAYER – Almighty God and Father, You sent St John the Baptist, to the people of Israel to make them ready for Christ the Lord. Give us the grace of joy in the Spirit and guide the hearts of all the faithful, in the way of salvation and peace, as they harken to the voice of John, the Lord’s herald and bring them safely to Jesus, whom John foretold. St John the Baptist, may your intercession for the Church, bring us to the Light and the Way. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God with You, forever amen.

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, FATHERS of the Church, INDULGENCES, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 23 June – “By their fruits, you shall know them.” – Matthew 7:20

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 23 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Readings: Genesis 15: 1-12, 17-18, Psalms 105: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9, Matthew 7: 15-20

“By their fruits, you shall know them.” – Matthew 7:20

REFLECTION – “Try to gather together more frequently to give thanks to God and to praise Him. For when you come together frequently, Satan’s powers are undermined, and the destruction he threatens, is destroyed in the unanimity of your faith. Nothing is better than peace, in which all warfare between heaven and earth is brought to an end.

None of this will escape you if you have perfect faith and love toward Jesus Christ. These are the beginning and the end of life – faith the beginning, love the end. When these two are found together, there is God and everything else concerning right living follows from them. No-one professing faith sins; no-one possessing love hates. “A tree is known by its fruit.” So those who profess to belong to Christ will be known by what they do. For the work we are about, is not a matter of words here and now but depends on the power of faith and on being found faithful to the end.

It is better to remain silent and to be, than to talk and not be. Teaching is good if the teacher also acts. Now there was one teacher who “spoke, and it was made” (Ps 33:9) and even what He did in silence, is worthy of the Father. He who has the word of Jesus can truly listen also to His silence in order to be perfect, that he may act through his speech and be known by his silence. Nothing is hidden from the Lord but even our secrets are close to Him. Let us then do everything, in the knowledge, that He is dwelling within us, so that we may be His temples and He may be God within us.” – St Ignatius of Antioch (c 35-c 108) Bishop and Martyr, Apostolic Father of the Church – Letter to the Ephesians, 13-15

PRAYER – God our Father, You open the gates of the kingdom of heaven to those who are born again of water and the Holy Spirit. Increase the grace You have given, so that the people who have been purified from all sin, may not forfeit the promised blessing of Your love. Grant that the Holy Spirit may ever guide and bear us in His inspiration. We make our pray through Christ, our Lord, in union with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen
O HEART of love, I place all my trust in Thee; for though I fear all things from my weakness, I hope all things from Thy mercies. – Ejaculation of Saint Margaret Mary – Indulgence 300 Days, Everytime – Raccolta 180 St Pius X, 3 June 1908.

Posted in CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, CHRIST the KING, CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on THE WORLD, QUOTES on TRUTH, SAINT of the DAY, The HEART

Quote/s of the Day – 22 June – St Paulinus of Nola

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Quote/s of the Day – 22 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Memorial of St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431)

“He is the Light of Truth,
the Path of life,
the Power and Mind,
Hand and Strength of the Father.
He is the Sun of Justice,
Source of Blessings,
Flower of God,
God’s Son, Creator of the world,
Life of our mortality
and Death to our death.
He is the Master of the virtues.
He is God to us …!”

“By His rights as Lord,
He demands wholly
our hearts, tongues and heads.
He wishes to be the object
of our thought and understanding,
our belief and reading,
our fear and love. . . ”

Above Poem 10, from The Poems of St. Paulinus of Nola,

“With all my heart I pray,
for the hope of heaven
because hope and faith,
are of much more value,
than all the riches of this world.”

“The man without Christ
is dust and shadow.”

St Paulinus of Nola (c 354-431)
Bishop, Confessor, Father of the Church

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One Minute Reflection – 22 June – “The road that leads to life” … Matthew 7:14

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One Minute Reflection – 22 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Genesis 13: 2, 5-18, Psalms 15: 2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5, Matthew 7: 6, 12-14

“The road that leads to life” … Matthew 7:14

REFLECTION – “This, beloved, is the way in which we found our salvation, Jesus Christ, the High Priest who offers our gifts, the patron and helper in our weakness (Heb 10:20; 7:27; 4:15). It is through Him, that we look straight at the heavens above. Through Him, we see mirrored, God’s faultless and transcendent countenance. Through Him, the eyes of our heart were opened. Through Him, our unintelligent and darkened mind shoots up into the light. Through Him, the Master was pleased to let us taste the knowledge that never fades, He who is “the radiance of His splendour, who towers as much above the angels, as the title He has inherited, is superior to theirs” (He 1:3-4) (…)

Let us take our body. The head is nothing without the feet and the feet are nothing without the head. The smallest organs of our body are necessary and valuable to the whole body, in fact, all parts conspire and yield the same obedience, toward maintaining the whole of the body (cf.1 Co 12:12f.).
Therefore, let the whole of our body be maintained in Christ Jesus and let each submit to their neighbour’s rights in the measure determined by the special gift bestowed on them. Let the strong care for the weak and the weak respect the strong; let the rich support the poor and the poor render thanks to God for giving them the means of supplying their needs; let the wise show their wisdom, not in words but in active help; the humble must not testify to themselves but leave it to another to testify in their behalf. Those who are continent must not boast, knowing that it is another who confers on them the ability to remain continent.

Let us, therefore, reflect brethren, of what clay we were made, what and who we were when we entered the world, out of what grave and darkness, our Maker and Creator has brought us into the world, where He has prepared His benefits before our birth. Since, then, we owe all these blessings to Him, we are obliged to thank Him in every way.” … St Pope Clement I (c 35 – c 99) – Pope from c 90 to c 99 – Letter to the Corinthians, § 36-38

PRAYER – Increase in us, Lord, Your gift of faith, so that the praise we offer You, may ever yield its fruit from heaven, May the Spirit pour into our hearts, that we may walk in Your light and become like You. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Grace and all Your Saints, help us in our striving for holiness. Through Christ, our Lord in union with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
SWEET HEART of my JESUS, Make me love Thee ever more and more! – Indulgence 300 Days Everytime – Plenary Once a Month – Raccolta 162 – Bl Pius IX 26 November 1876.

Posted in "Follow Me", ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, CHRIST the HIGH PRIEST, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, SOLDIERS/ARMOUR of CHRIST, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 20 June – “Is Christ asleep in you? – Mark 4:35-41

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One Minute Reflection – 20 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – Job 38: 1, 8-11, Psalms 107: 23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31 (1b), Second Corinthians 5: 14-17, Gospel: Mark 4: 35-41

And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” – Mark 4:39-40

REFLECTION – “Your heart is imperilled, your heart is taking a battering. On hearing yourself insulted, you long to retaliate but, the joy of revenge, brings with it another kind of misfortune – shipwreck. Why is this? Because Christ is asleep in you. What do I mean? I mean you have forgotten His presence. Rouse Him, then; remember Him, let Him keep watch within you, pay heed to Him. … You have forgotten that when Christ was being crucified He said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). Christ, the sleeper in your heart, had no desire for vengeance in His.

Rouse Him, then, call Him to mind. (To remember Him, is to recall His words; to remember Him, is to recall His commands.) Then, when He is awake within you, you will ask yourself, “Whatever kind of wretch am I to be thirsting for revenge? … He who said, ‘Give and it shall be given you; forgive and you will be forgiven,’ would indeed decline to acknowledge me. So I will curb my anger and restore peace to my heart.” Now all is calm again. Christ has rebuked the sea. … This is the moment to awaken Christ and let Him remind you of those words: “Who can this be? Even the winds and the sea obey him” Who is this whom the sea obeys? “It is he to whom the sea belongs, for he made it” (Ps 95[94]:5); “all things were made through him” (Jn 1:3).

Try, then, to be more like the wind and the sea – obey the God who made you. The sea obeys Christ’s command and are you going to turn a deaf ear to it? … Words, actions, schemes, what are all these but a constant huffing and puffing, a refusal to be still at Christ’s command? When your heart is in a troubled state, do not let the waves overwhelm you.

If, since we are only human, the driving wind should stir up in us a tumult of emotions, let us not despair but awaken Christ, so that we may sail in quiet waters and reach at last our heavenly homeland.” – St Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo, Father and Doctor of Grace – Sermon 63

PRAYER – Waken us holy Lord, to Your presence in us, with us, now and forever. Open our eyes to see Your presence and our ears to hear Your voice. Teach us that You are always with us and Your presence is all we need to survive the storms and the winds of this world. For You, just You, are our rock and our foundation, our ship and our harbour. Grant that the prayers of all Your Angels and Saints with their Queen and ours, Mother Mary, may serve to remind us of Your love and power. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
EUCHARISTIC Heart of JESUS, model of the priestly heart, have mercy on us.
COR JESU Eucharisticum, cordis sacerdotalis exemplar, miserere nobis. – Indulgence 300 Days, Everytime – Raccolta 177St Pius X, 11 September 1907

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, HOLY COMMUNION, Our MORNING Offering, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 20June – O Lord, My God, I am Not Worthy By St John Chrysostom

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Our Morning Offering – 20June – “Month of the Sacred Heart”

O Lord, My God,
I am Not Worthy
Prayer Before Holy Communion
By St John Chrysostom (347-407)
Father & Doctor of the Church

O Lord, my God,
I am not worthy,
that You should come into my soul
but I rejoice that You will come to me,
because in Your loving kindness,
You desire to dwell in me.
You ask me to open the door of my soul,
which You alone have created,
so that You may enter into it,
with Your loving kindness
and dispel the darkness of my mind.
I believe that You will do this
for You did not turn away Mary Magdalene
when she approached You in tears.
Neither did You withhold forgiveness
from the tax collector,
who repented of his sins,
or from the good thief,
who asked to be received into Your kingdom.
Indeed, You numbered as Your friends
all who came to You with repentant hearts.
O God, You alone are blessed always,
now and forever.
Amen

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, I BELIEVE!, QUOTES on DIVINE PROVIDENCE, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, QUOTES on WORRY/ANXIETY, The WORD

Quote/s of the Day – 19 June – Will he not much more provide for you? Matthew 6:30

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Quote/s of the Day – 19 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart”- Readings: Second Corinthians 12: 1-10, Psalms 34: 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, Matthew 6: 24-34

“If God so clothes the grass of the field…
will he not much more provide for you,
O you of little faith?”

Matthew 6:30

“He [Christ], protects their faith
and gives strength to believers,
in proportion to the TRUST,
that each man,
who receives that strength,
is willing to place in Him.”

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

“The soul’s every movement
is a reminder of God,
the taking of a step,
the extension of the right hand,
the raising of the arm,
with thanks for good works,
with shame for bad,
for familiar conversation
and public addresses,
in rational discourse,
in works of success,
in the fervour of virtue,
day and night,
we are guided by You
in the useful movements for our spirit,
asleep or awake … ”

St Gregory of Narek (950-1003)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“You first loved us
so that we might love You—
not because You needed our love
but because, we could not be
what You created us to be,
except by loving You.”

William of Saint Thierry (c 1075-1148)

“What are you afraid of, you men of little faith?
That He will not pardon your sins?
But with His own hands He has nailed them to the cross.
That you are used to soft living
and your tastes are fastidious?
But He knows the clay of which we are made (Gn 2:7).
That a prolonged habit of sinning binds you like a chain?
But the Lord loosens the shackles of prisoners.
Or perhaps that angered by the enormity
and frequency of your sins,
He is slow to extend a helping hand?
But where sin abounded,
grace became superabundant (Rom 5,20).
Are you worried about clothing
and food and other bodily necessities s
so that you hesitate to give up your possessions?
But He knows that you need all these things (Mt 6,32).
What more can you wish?
What else is there to hold you back
from the way of salvation? ”

St Bernard (1091-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor of the Church

Commentary on the Song of Songs, Sermon 38

Posted in "Follow Me", DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, SACRED HEART QUOTES, The HEART, The WORD, Thomas a Kempis

Quote/s of the Day – 18 June – Where is our treasure?

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart”- Readings: Second Corinthians 11: 18, 21-30, Psalms 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, Gospel: Matthew 6: 19-23

“ For where thy treasure is,
there is thy heart also.”

Matthew 6:21

“You have made us for Yourself
and our hearts are restless
until they rest in You.”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“ He who finds Jesus, finds a rare treasure,
indeed, a good above every good,
whereas he who loses Him,
loses more than the whole world.
The man who lives without Jesus,
is the poorest of the poor,
whereas no-one is so rich,
as the man who lives in His grace.
… Let all things be loved, for the sake of Jesus
but Jesus, for His own sake.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)

“By giving yourself to God,
you not only receive Himself in exchange
but, eternal life as well!”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis

“Where is the heart that loves?
On the thing it loves.
Therefore, where our love is,
there our heart is held captive.
It cannot leave it;
it cannot be lifted higher,
it cannot go either to the right or the left;
see, it is fixed.
Where the miser’s treasure is,
there is his heart
and where our heart is,
there is our treasure.”

St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660)

Posted in ASPIRATIONS and EJACULATIONS, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, JUNE-THE SACRED HEART, ONE Minute REFLECTION, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on GREED, WEALTH, QUOTES on HEAVEN, SACRED HEART PRAYERS, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 18 June – ‘You are a jailor of your wealth, not its owner … ‘

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One Minute Reflection – 18 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart”- Readings: Second Corinthians 11: 18, 21-30, Psalms 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, Gospel: Matthew 6: 19-23

“Lay not up for yourselves, treasures on earth … but lay up for yourselves, treasures in heaven” – Matthew 6:19,20

REFLECTION – “You are a jailor of your wealth, not its owner, you who bury your gold in the ground (cf Mt 25,25); you are its slave and not its master. Christ said: “Where your treasure is, there also your heart will be” so it is your heart you have buried. Rather, sell your gold and buy salvation; sell what is metal and acquire God’s Kingdom; sell the field and purchase for yourself, eternal life. In saying this I am speaking the truth because I am relying on the words of Him who is Truth: “If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mt 19,21).
Do not be cast down by these words lest the same thing be said to you, as to the rich young man: “It will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (v.23). Still more, when you read this sentence, consider that death can snatch these possessions away from you, that the aggression of someone powerful can carry them away.
At the end of the day, you will have seen no further than insignificant goods, in place of great wealth – these are no more than a treasure of coins rather than treasures of grace. By their very nature they perish, rather than remaining forever.” – St Ambrose (340-397), Bishop of Milan, Father and Doctor of the Church – Naboth the poor, 58.

PRAYER – Lord God, You fill us with Your grace and teach us true faith. Strengthen in our hearts that faith that no trials may quench the fire, that we may seek Your face in every moment and accept AND LIVE all of Your will. May You be our first thought and our last each day. Grant us the grace of true charity of our neighbour that no earthly wealth can equal the treasures of love. Send us Your Spirit to keep the fire blazing. May the humble love and intercession of Mary Mother of our faith, be our succour and may she intercede for us on our pilgrim way. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
DIVINE Heart of JESUS, convert sinners, save the dying, set free the holy souls in Purgatory. Indulgence 300 Days Everytime – St Pius X, 11 September, 1907